A very happy new year to you and your family. Hope the year brings a trophy or two for us Arsenal fans. Also, I am at my hometown and the cold win is reminding me of those London days. I can’t get away from it, can I.
We are half way through the season with 45 points, sitting at the top in Premier League. Man City were closing up but Sunderland, led by the mighty Granit Xhaka, decided to help us a bit by restricting Pep’s side to a goalless draw.
Chelsea fans were pretty excited, claiming they would win this season with Enzo Maresca, but the club has sacked him already. Maresca’s most cherishing moment of the season would be a 1-1 draw against Arsenal with 10 men, lol. Liverpool are 12 points behind, so they aren’t catching up anytime soon and Aston Villa will do a ‘Emery’ eventually, probably already started with the 4-1 loss to us. Injuries aren’t helping them though.
So, yeah, the second half of the season is a race between Arsenal and Man City. With our involvements in Champions League, Carabao Cup and FA cup, and the injury list growing, Mikel has some tough days ahead but he has spent about a billion GBP to build up two 2 playing XIs with enough back ups / rotation options in each place. We have preferred players in the name of versatility and it will be tested.
We start the year with a game against Bournemouth today away from home. Last season, they beat us both home and away, denied us of 6 important points, started our downfall from the top spot. We shouldn’t forget that, and we I hope the players have some anger about it in them. 5-0 minimum can fix it.
In the team news, both Calafiori and Mosquera are still not available. Rice will be checked before the game. Gabriel is back, MLS can cover the LB position and we have Zubimendi doing the dirty work in midfield these days. We have 5 days before the next game against Liverpool, so we should be okay and can risk everyone available.
See you during the game.
Another great night of football.
Normally I just stick with one game until it goes a way I don’t like.
Never done so much hate-channelhopping in one eve.
Hoping Burnley top it off, I don’t even mind Ssesko scoring, he’s still so crap. Imagine being mugged into buying him?
City 10 games unbeaten ..
Villa one defeat in 14..
But the relentless pressure from the Arsenal is starting to tell , every draw is like a defeat for city and villa.
My 10 points in front prediction may be sightly conservative as the other teams begin to crumble.
What a great time to support the club I’m sure you’ll all agree..
“Never done so much hate-channelhopping in one eve.”
Exactly
https://x.com/i/status/2009032888893784572
Frank is an Arsenal fan through and through.
Aitcho
Very eloquently put. That type of evening that we witnessed yesterday was close to perfect. A schadenfreude special. I mainly enjoyed watching the spuds (I know, old habits die hard) but the final 10 minutes from a depleted and depressed Etihad were wonderful.
Let’s hope Mr Carefully Plucked Cunty Balls can get the lads up for Liverpool eh?
What a great time to support the club I’m sure you’ll all agree..
It has always been a great time to support the club regardless of our position however we could have been in a much stronger position years ago.
The Etihad last night was like a morgue, from the outside it looks like the fans have given up on the team, lots of empty seats and a total lack of atmosphere.
In comparison, the Emirates tonight will be rocking , the results last night give us breathing space in the knowledge that whatever happens we will have at least a 5 point lead on villa and city.
Of course a win would be perfect but Liverpool are no mugs , they are currently on a 9 game unbeaten run but they will coming to the Emirates hoping that they are not humiliated rather than looking to win.
4 weeks ago I posted this
“”City winning 3-0 at palace may look like it was a stroll but they were very fortunate to go in at half time with a lead, in fact if you look at city’s last 2 games they have allowed 31 shots at goal (conceding 1) , whilst attempting only 18 (scoring 5) , very efficient in the final third but conceding so many chances will eventually catch up with them.”
I called it right , it has caught up with them , city are neither as clinical in front of goal nor as fortunate to not concede with the number of chances the opposition were creating.
City are on a long unbeaten run but Pep knows that they have to be more or less perfect from now on in , but they have a very tough schedule and he may have to prioritise as there will be games when he will have to field very weakened sides , there is a possibility that he may prioritise the cup comps over the league.
The reason I say this is he rested Rodri, cherki and O’reilly last night in a crucial league game, why would you rest 3 important players if you wanted to stay in contention.
Somewhere along the line he is going to have to rest Haaland, foden and bernardo silva, city have Exeter this weekend at home but after that they 3 tough away fixtures ..Newcastle in the semi league cup, united in the league and bodo glimt in Europe, his team selection for those 3 away games will give us an idea of his priorities….he can’t go weak in Europe as top 8 should be a priority otherwise they have to play a knockout round home and away .
Also I’m not sure pep will want to put out a weak side in a semi final, his team selection for the Newcastle game will give us an idea of his priorities as it will be a tough , physical game at st James park
Wicksy
Manchester is a few degrees colder than London. I live in Mid Norfolk and my daughter lives in Herne Hill – the difference in temperature is often in the region of 4 C. I can remember a mid week game at Highbury where the attendance was around the 14K mark. The clock end was open (the boxes had not been built) and hardly a sole to be seen. I expect the current conditions would have had something to do with the lack of numbers whereas a warming wind will be far more pleasant in London.
I expect Newcastle supporters still attend their games shirtless.
KP – Much snow in your part of the world?
TRVL – I expect it will be you for a couple of months. My Great Grandfather moved to Canada in 1910. My Nan was 7 when she moved their 1n 1912. They could all skate on ice.
NORG
No, we’re right on the west coast so snow seldom accumulates. Been constantly raining for the last 7 hours so pretty standard stuff.
Team just out. Looks the same as the one that took the field against Bournemouth. No Ekitike for them. Wirtz up front (as a false 9?). We have a far stronger team than them on paper. No excuses. 2 nil win expected.
KP Should be a comfortable win tonight though Slot will be setting his sites on a top 4 finish (perhaps Wenger was his hero).
Absolute pig of a night the weather could play a part.
Really fucking glad I sold my ticket.
Norg—the last couple of years the winters have been rather mild, relatively-speaking, but this year has been a real mixed bag, with ice storms, bomb cyclones and colder than usual temps in Novemebr and December…as such, I’m not sure what to expect, except that it will undoubtedly be shitty until at least early March
as it currently stands, there’s no reason in the world why we shouldn’t win the chip this season…if not it will be the greatest cock-up of MA’s time here, which is saying a lot…for all the interloping fucks that are always excusing the manager due to our injurues/absences, what we’ve faced is nothing compared to that of City and now Pool, considering the players in question…that siad, when it’s all said and done, this will be looked upon as one of the worst seasons in recent memory, from a competition for the title standpoint…no wonder MA went full blunt instrument with his tactical approach…at least when LC won it all you had the whole cinderella narrative and the fact that they played an attractive brand of football
we’re incredibly lucky that Bradley didn’t give Pool the lead…I guess if you’re going to give that chance toi anyone you might as well give it to someone who’s never.found the back of the net in the PL
actually he might have potted one in 23/24
Why with high winds and the rain pissing down would you not tell your players to have a couple of shots from distance?
If nothing else it’d give Liverpool something else to think about.
Marc—if MA wasn’t so gutless he would have started Marts and Eze…the latter of whom has clearly landed himself in the doghouse with the former…that’s what happens when a manager sets you up to fail…with Pool’s obvious lineup issues, from an offensive output standpoint, we should have put them to the sword from the off, as they don’t have the horses to keep up
imagine what our resident tin foil hatters would have been spewing if that were the reverse scenario and Wirtz was on a yellow…personally I didn’t think it warranted a penalty, but Tross had better slow his roll before he gets himself tossed
we should be thanking Frimprong for his piss-poor final third touches…he could quite easily have a goal and a helper by now