Mikel completed his 6 years as the Arsenal manager 4 days back and he won his only trophy – an FA cup – in Aug 2020. It’s been a long journey for him and the club and of course the supporters, we have spend more than a billion GBP and have 2 playing XI that would finish in top half of the table. But as the former British F1 Champion, Damon Hill, used to say, “the only ones who remember when you come second are your wife and your dog”, finishing 2nd and making into the semi finals means nothing.
And in the pursuit of greatness and the trophies, Mikel and Co. are going head to head against Crystal Palace in about an hour in Carabao Cup. Newcastle and Man City have already qualified and will play each other in the semi final and if we win today, we would be playing Chelsea. It’s not going to be easy, but to come to that stage, we must beat Crystal Palace first.
We have beaten them in Premier League at home, thanks to an Eze goal and we can do that again. The line up is out and Mikel has gone with some changes –
Kepa gets his start today in the goal. Timber and Saliba keeps their position while Calafiori shifts to CB to make way for MLS at LB. We will see a midfield of Norgaard, Merino and Eze. Saka gets some rest and Madueke starts in his place, Martinelli gets the nod ahead of Trossard and Gabriel Jesus makes his first start after 23 years and 6 months. With all the players we have, Mikel couldn’t have picked up a weaker playing XI that us. A midfield without Declan Rice or Zubimendi will struggle and Calafiori / MLS are LBs and only one should be on the pitch at any point of time. Also, I am not sure how fit Jesus is, and will he hold on for 90 minutes. If he can’t, there was no point playing him ahead of Gyokeres.
But, hey, I won’t care if we come up with a win. Personally I think Nwaneri could have started ahead of Merino and must be sulking to not make into the playing XI. We have a strong bench though, so Mikel can certainly make some changes if something goes wrong.
WE NEED A TROPHY. See you during the game.
That’s a massive 2 points dropped by Liverpool.
Great advert for the thrills of the PL today. Four drawn games, three of them scoreless. Good to see the coaches shaking hands straightaway though instead of being rude arse fuckers like stubborn.
2 points dropped by all of them.
Pricksy—(1) they broke through our lines with relative ease on numerous occasions from deep-lying positions…btw you should never speak about other sides flopping about, that’s our fucking MO
(2) we sit back on a regular basis and invite pressure, even when the other side hasn’t earned that respect…surely you can’t view what happened the other day as an anomalous situation
(3) do you think that I’m the only one who has spoken about MA’s negative tactical practices…we’ve been a sideways borefest for the better part of his tenure…do you even watch our matches???
as for Maresca’s sacking, it was a foregone conclusion once he adopted MA’s thin margins project and the results started to dip…Enzo would have lasted here for several more years, but that’s not the Chelsea way, like it or not…only time will tell if the hook came out a little too quick, but I’m certainly not offended by the manager paying a price when expectations aren’t met, especially when the money has been spent
Well played Sunderland, they gave city a tough physical battle and never sat off city like many sides do, city dropping points doesn’t surprise me as I have said all season that the title will be won by the team with the best away record as there are very few easy wins on the road in this league.
4 points clear , which is nice but we need to keep exerting pressure on city as they have many players who have not experienced title success.
Having a cushion at the top could prove decisive as we go into a very busy period for both clubs, squad depth gives Arsenal a slight advantage, Arteta can basically put out a complete and very strong 2nd 11 in the cup games , something which city can’t do as they haven’t yet qualified for the top 8 , they will be praying that they don’t pick up injuries this month as the games pile up, city playing Newcastle in a 2 legged semi will know they are in for another physical battle….Newcastle will be 100% committed that’s for sure.
We are now in a situation where our squad is almost fully fit with the likes of eze, jesus havertz, madueke , martinelli, Nwanari, Skelly, mosquera, norgaard and kepa raring to go so there should be no excuses rotation is the key.
TRVL
“they broke through our lines with relative ease on numerous occasions from deep-lying positions…”
And never had a shot on target until the 92md minute , though I agree that they had a very dangerous 10 minute spell early on, which was halted when Onana decided to sit on his arse for 3 minutes deciding whether he was injured or not which completed halted the villa momentum and gave Arteta the chance to reorganise and from then onwards villa were never quite as dangerous and eventually were given a football lesson.
Merino’s only tactical objective, in the midfield, was to foul the opposition or foul bait his way into set pieces…at one point he tried to bait the ref into giving Onana a yellow by feigning he was seriously injured, as per usual, then he quickly retaliated by raking his cleats across Onana’s head…it looked rather innocuous at first glance, but anyone who’s played the game knows that was an intentional attempt to injure…he’s a dirty flopping prick, which doesn’t mean he’s not a skilled footballer, it just means he’s a dirty flopping prick…Merino likewise should have been sent off with a second yellow when he held back Rogers…you would have been having an ape shit if the shoe were on the other foot
btw it wasn’t a 10 minute period, as you’ve suggested, it was intermiitently, which is typically the case when you’re tactical approach is to counter from deeper-lying positions…Onana not only provided a couple high quality stretch passes, he likewise ran through our midfield seemingly at will…then he came off injured and they folded like a house of cards…McGinn is clearly out of form and I wouldn’t be surprised if his time at Villa was coming to an unceremonious end, unless Unai leaves, for whatever reason, in the summer
btw when one gives a “lesson” it usually means that whatever was done is an easily repeatable act or series of acts, when in fact all of our tallies were more of the one-off variety than par for the course: (1) a set piece where Emi was actually bullied off the ball, (2) Tross scoring from distance on the right side of the pitch, (3) a well-weighted pass by Ode to our “DM” make a beeline through the center of the box and (4) Jesus hitting the fucking net from outside 2 feet…schools out fucktard
Art
Derek Hales – a blast from the past. Thick as two short planks but he knew one thing – where the goal was and where to put the ball to put it past the keeper. His family came from a small village near Rainham, Kent and the FA had banned them from having a team in 1947 when they lost for the first time since leagues restarted after the war. Most of the team worked at the Dockyard in Chatham so were home based and did not go off to fight.
Their first loss in over 18months led to a massive brawl after the game.
Derek was signed by Luton as an apprentice but did not make the grade – when he returned home his Dad kicked him out and he went to stay with his Aunt and uncle John who had been a player at Charlton. Desperate to play football he applied to our local Town team but they turned him down so his cousin, a friend of mine and Gillingham apprentice reject got him a game for the Saturday Pub team he played for. In the first game he played he was scoring for fun (if my memory serves me well – a double hat trick). The following morning he joined the B team (including me) and he repeated his scoring feat. His uncle John had tipped off the Charlton scout and the rest is history. I believe he now runs a pub not far from the village where he was raised.
I’ve enjoyed your exchange about Hales and Flanagan lads. I thought for a moment that NORG was talking about that mediocre cockernee (so-called) comedian Micky Flanagan who’s about as funny as an embolism.
I just googled Derek Hales and there’s some magical material about him. A proper 70s one off, with echoes of Robin Friday, Duncan McKenzie and Tony Currie.
That North Kent football scene is a bit familiar to me. I was born in Gillingham and saw many games as a young kid at Priestfield Stadium. The Gills were decent back then…Dick Tydeman, Damien Richardson and David Peach were the main men in the early 70s iirc. My first ‘up the steps and see the pitch’ experience is something I remember vividly. The Gills were playing Palace whose fans were trying to take the home end. Burning flags, snarling police alsations and fans and coppers fighting everywhere. My first in the flesh introduction to professional football. My brother and I were transfixed and enjoyed every minute of it.
NORG
Didnt Hales go to Derby County for a record British fee under Tommy Doc?
Great characters these lads.
Real men , not big fuckin babies we now have to suffer.
Tommy Doc who was a very good Arsenal player.
Loved to have heard his views on this current cunt in charge we have.
TD would have been too busy hanging out the back of Mary Brown (who iirc was the wife of the Manure physio).
Who’s up Mary Brown?
Who’s up Mary Brown?
Tommy Tommy Docherty etc.
He would have eaten stubborn for breakfast. So would Dave Sexton, GG, Don Howe etc. Different times.
TRVL
“…Merino likewise should have been sent off with a second yellow when he held back Rogers…you would have been having an ape shit if the shoe were on the other foot”
Ordinarily I would agree that the Merino foul on Rogers merited a 2nd yellow if it wasn’t for the fact that the ref was just being consistent and fair as there was a very similar incident in the first half in the same area of the pitch when in the 30th minute Tielemens put both arms around Merino from the back resulting in a free kick but no yellow card.
So no, I didn’t go “ape shit” when tielemens got away with one and I was just happy that the ref was consistent in treating both incidents in a very mature and honest manner.
As you know , I can and will provide evidence if required because I see no point in fabrication.
TRVL
“btw it wasn’t a 10 minute period, as you’ve suggested,”
Wrong again , during the period from about the 10th minute to about the 20th minute , Watkins put the ball wide when it was easier to score, Onana made a pathetic dive to try and con the ref to award a penalty after a very good run from midfield, hincape robbed Jason sancho in the box after a suberb kick from martinez , and Watkins had another poor attempt at goal which went well wide, apart from that the threat diminished to next to nothing apart from a saliba intervention which was offside anyway….the fact that they didn’t have a shot on target until the 92nd minute tells us all we need to know ….it was a football lesson in the 2nd half .
TRVL
“(1) a set piece where Emi was actually bullied off the ball, (2) Tross scoring from distance on the right side of the pitch, (3) a well-weighted pass by Ode to our “DM” make a beeline through the center of the box and (4) Jesus hitting the fucking net from outside 2 feet…schools out fucktard”
Ha ha , you seem very bitter about Arsenal playing so well .
I will just correct you on a few points
1) martinez tried to bully Gabriel and failed miserably.
2) Trossard was in the centre of the pitch .
3) Zubimendi has had 6 goal involvements this season (3 goals and 3 assists) so I’m not sure why you would be surprised at his ability to create of score coming from deep position.
4) I thought you’d be happy that jesus curled a beauty past martinez from distance …obviously not as it doesn’t suit your agenda.
How nice it is to see city buckle under the pressure….isn’t it ?
(1) apples to oranges…for some strange reason Merino gets a pass/benefit of the doubt more often than not, even though most players who “engage” with the opposition in a similar fashion would be on every refs’ radar by now…he’s lanky and messy like Havertz, who flops about like a player half his size, and a cross between an awkward Palhinha and a heavy-footed Xhaka, from a defensive perspective, yet he’s not treated as such…he’s the kind of prick who will intentionally put his cleats in between your feet from behind then act as if it was an innocent coming together of legs…just more darks arts nonsense…I would suspect that he’ll be found out soon enough and the calls won’t go his way nearly as much, like the aforementioned players…I’m sure if he had been deployed more often in the midfield this year and last, instead of up top, he would have found himself in more situations like the other evening and his antics would be on display much more often, which would undoubtedly change the present Merino-friendly narrative (once again that doesn’t mean he’s not a skilled footballer)
(2) it will suprise no one that you’re a sworn enemy of team eye test, which is why you have such a affinity for our one and a half trick pony of a manager…your wackjob perspective on the supposed 10 minutes in which Villa threstened our goal has been overly skewed by the fact that they were so piss-poor in and around our box…if they had shown even a fraction of the skill it took them to get in those advanced positions, when they were in those advanced positions, they could have easily been up by a couple goals before the break…btw the fact that they didn’t have a shot on target doesn’t support your argument, as their lack of success in the final third had far more to do with their inabilities than our abilities
(3) obviously my more nuanced point about the rather unique nature/circumstances surrounding those specific goals went way over your head…who would have guessed…I wasn’t attacking their individual efforts, in and of themselves, but the unlikelihood of them happening again in the same fashion…Jesus, Tross, Ode, Zubi and even Gabs should be suitably pumped by what they each accomplished, but I certainly wouldn’t like our chances moving forward if we were relying on those “particular” sort of goals for our offensive production…it would be a significantly different scenario if it were Eze, Ethan or even Noni scoring from distance or Ode feeding a direct run by Saka or Marts, as no one would view them in the same anomalous manner…simple and believable
surprise no one
KP
I was born in Chatham (All Saints Hospital – once a workhouse that Dickens based Oliver Twist). My first football game was at Priestfield. Their rivals in the early 60’s were Millwall. I can remember about 22000 crammed into the stadium – the Gills were winning and the Millwall supporters invaded the pitch to try and get the game abandoned. One of our Masters at school played for the Gills (I cannot remember his name). At the time our games master was Tim Brio, England B distance runner. His best mate was Bruce Tulloh, the barefoot runner. Being a good cross country and distance runner I enjoyed the summer camp they ran for a week in the summer holidays.
Art – Hales did go to Derby and then West Ham before returning to Charlton. I bumped into his cousin a few years ago – we had a good trip down memory lane over a couple of pints of Shepherd Neame bitter.
Shepherd Neame ale and a trip down memory lane.
Lovely jubbly.
These kids that go today. They won’t have any of that. And they will probably be drinking sparkling water or poncey latte or some weak US piss lager if they feel rebellious.
Too many games, too many players, too many frauds, zero characters and too much VAR for anything to stand out in time.
Are we all cheering on the cherries today or is just me again?
TRVL
as I said previously, villa were their own worse enemies with their constant attempts at slowing the game down , especially when they had the upper hand for that 10 minute period when they were extremely dangerous.
Why Onana had to sit on his backside for almost 3 minutes to decide whether he was injured or not was baffling as it gave Arteta a golden opportunity to sort things out and close the door on Villa’s counter attacks, and as we all know Arteta is very good these days at changing the course of a game in Arsenal’s favour.
Villa needed to maintain their momentum as they had us on the ropes , the 3 minute break was a mistake on their part and it cost them the game , I lost count of the number of times they went down injured in the first half , unsurprisingly once we went in front there was no feigning injury in their desperate attempt to rescue the game, maybe they should just concentrate on playing football , which is something I mentioned at half time in the game.
Match day post is live.
Small world NORG. I spent as much time as a kid in Chatham as I did in Gillingham. Not surprising given they’re almost joined I suppose. My grandmother used to tell me about the rivalry between the Gills and Charlton but it doesn’t surprise me that Millwall also got in on the act.