Before I begin, I want to thank you all for sticking to the blog. This is the 300th article on LONDON IS RED. I started this in March 2021 out of frustration; fans saw Arteta as the next Arsenal God without anything to back up those claims and I wanted a place where people can be critical of the team they support without being told off. We have celebrated the wins, we have criticized the losses and we will keep doing it. There’s no agenda here and we don’t worship any manager or player but the club.
The beauty of Champions League is that there’s a better wanker out there than you. Arteta loves to control the game and sometimes, it comes at the cost of boring, uninspiring football where you see your striker defending in your own box. Well, he gets to play someone who does it better and been doing it for much longer. If the rules permit, Simeone will jump on the pitch himself to add an extra defender. We are going to see two of the most defensively drilled teams play together in the Champions League today and you shouldn’t expect an exciting, goal laden match.
However, it’s a home game and with 2 wins in first 2 games, you have the advantage of going for a win. Atletico are one of the worst teams to play against. They crushed Frankfurt earlier with 5 different goal scorers and almost made a comeback against Liverpool at Anfield after going down 2-0 in first 10 minutes which they lost ultimately, thanks to an extra time goal from Van Dijk.
Team News
Both our midfielders in Zubimendi and Rice has earned 2 yellow cards in first two matches, and if they happen to receive another one, they will get a one match suspension. Playing them together will have the risk of missing out on both in the next game, and hopefully Mikel is not that foolish.
Without Odegaard, we would have to rely on a midfield of Eze, Rice/Zubimendi and Merino. Yes, Nwaneri is not going to get his starts anytime sooner and both Rice and Zubimendi shouldn’t be on the pitch, which leaves us with Merino. Against Atletico, I would be tempted to start Martinelli, he is in goal scoring form and can run through their defence.
Saka-Gyokeres-Martinelli up top does the job for me. Defence will pick itself, with Timber and Calafiori on either side and the best CB partnership will start.
Wrapping Up
You can’t relax against them. You can’t think 2-0 is enough. You can’t try to dictate the game because they will be tough to break and you simply can’t park the bus hoping for a set piece goal because that’s what they have been doing since 2011. What’s the way then? Attack.
We should go into the game with a positive, fearless mindset. We have a solid defence and with an attacking midfield, we could create them some problems. The game will not be played in the middle, so the onus lies on Saka, Gyokeres and Martinelli/Trossard to convert whatever they get in the opposition penalty box.
Also, we will get to know who the master of dark arts is. See you during the game.
Arsenal Goal scorers list is out for this season and I am updating it regularly. We don’t have the desired results from the front 3 so far, with Timber an Zubimendi in top 3 in Premier League; Champions League stats looks okay though. Take a look –
Wow you mum lets you watch Only Fools and Horses – maybe you’re 7.
Your ticket sold on the exchange. It wasn’t so long ago that would have been far from a certainty Marc.
There’s a demand to watch wining teams. We do that quite well. The guy next to me flogs his on tx fairly regularly and it always goes.
People take joy in different things. £100 all in for a nice afternoon out watching the team you support isn’t unreasonable for most teams especially London prem teams, you’d find little change for the same even lower down the pyramid. But 58 for just the ticket is fine.
Maybe at least 7 Marc. I don’t think Only Fools and Horses has been on for over 30 years you wally.
I think you should do hilarious threat like Vera, at least he’s trying to be funny.
The fans at my side didn’t shout for him to take it into the corner and it was the same corner.
The commentators heard wrong, you should know better than to trust them. The commentators aren’t even in that corner to make that comment. Fake news my man.
Like I said we were doing ‘we’re the North Bank’ from about 65. You know as well as I do that’s a sign of Emirates chill.
Achoo
Repeats of Only Fools and Horses are on constantly.
Makes it sound like you’re not even in this country.
Marc—that was my bad for even responding to someone who clearly doesn’t have the intellectual capacity to go toe-to-toe…in many respects it had the feel of a Bizarro World Make-A-Wish interaction, where Achoo played the role of one of those prepubescent foul-mouthed online gamers who’s last wish was to be put in their place by a master of the sardonic arts…just doing my part to make the world a better place
Who on earth would watch repeats of Only Fools and Horses in 2025?
You sound like you can’t afford Netflix.
Another win without any fuss , a perfect scenario after defeats by Liverpool, city and Chelsea against weaker opposition.
The gap is widening at the top just as I predicted, and we have managed to be 6/7 and 8 points clear of city , Liverpool and Chelsea despite having limited cover in attack , Havertz, Jesus, madueke and odegaard out with medium and long term injuries would decimate any team looking to compete for the title but the manager has handled the squad rotation really well as we have gone from strength to strength.
There has been criticism from entitled fans who complain about the football being boring with too many set piece goals but they don’t take into consideration that having 4 attacking players out will affect the style of football we play due to lack of striking options on the bench.
I believe that once Arteta has close to a fully fit squad we will see the handbrake come off and the goals will come from open play if teams decide to actually come to play instead of defend.
I look forward to reading from the usual suspects of how Arsenal are only top of the league due to other clubs failing.
If you have to tell people you’re a ‘Master’ of the Sardonic arts perhaps you’re just a div who pretends online that he’d have the balls to find someone’s workplace and have a scrap and not anywhere as smart as you wished people believed.
Don’t make me go back through your comments and laugh at your dim-witted comments with you. Here. In public. If you learn to hold your tongue, I’ll even explain why they’re so enduringly stupid just to help you out.
The Real Vieira Lynn
October 1, 2025, 3:34 pm
Marc—great points…let’s remember that it’s going to take a little time for them to figure out what to do with both Isak and Hugo…not to mention, Isak’s only been there for a cup of coffee…interestingly enough the guy who score for Gala was the Striker we should have gone after
Victor Osimhen with a release clause of £120?
So daft
What a weirdo. This is why she left you man.
The Real Vieira Lynn
April 19, 2025, 4:48 pm
Marc—as you know I’ve been ignoring our “new” meddling twat for quite some time now, but it just so happens I was conversing with Tony two nights ago about the patterned behaviour of these trolling fucksticks, so I set in motion a little plan to prove my point…with this in mind, I planted a couple of seeds and lo and behold he responded just as I predicted…as such, I can sleep much easier knowing that the experimental rat is still in his cage
What happened to Tony and his pretend son who was so handsome they begged him to enter Miss World once he found the cure for cancer?
oh my, never have I ever witnessed someone who worked so hard to prove absolutely nothing except that you’re a humourless prick and a simpleton fuck LOL!!! (which we already knew) talk about playing yourself
Remember your comments just before Merino scored v Madrid? I checked. Yes, they were stupid. As per.
You’ve clearly never played or learnt anything about the game. You’re a goldmine of thick takes. Let me know when you want to visit me at my workplace Vera. Or get to your fireplace early
The Real Vieira Lynn
April 8, 2025, 9:18 pm
big shot by Rice…he’s been chomping at the bit today…now take Merino off and get Ethan on the pitch
Some people just want to make stupid points for no good reason. That 3rd was nail in the coffin. You make stupid points for no reason. I’m going to revisit your, I anticipate l, stupid comments after the 5-1
You’re a ‘master’ of the sardonic arts. Or you’re a div.
Both can be true at once maybe
The Real Vieira Lynn
February 3, 2025, 9:07 pm
the general consensus is that we won’t be making any moves this window…of course, MA’s PR minions have made sure that everyone is well-aware of our supposed transfer windfall come the summer…whoopee fucking shit, as a lot can happen between now and then to derail said imaginary plans…how many times can this organization allow our MIT to kick the proverbial can down the road???
fact remains, the whole Watkins lowball bid was, as expected, another ruse in a similar vein to the +1 Suarez debacle…it’s clear they wanted media outlets to report that we had come extremely close to their valuation, but I’d bet my life it was 15 to 20M under that mark..in many respects, he tried to do exactly what Wenger did to get his fame thirsty ass to the Emirates…maybe he was preying upon Ollie’s fandom and hoped that he would help to push a much cheaper deal over the line…frankly, it’s just another embarassing moment for an organization who’s experienced their fairshare during the post-Highbury era
so until this fucktard can convince anyone of consequence to come here, without any strings attached, we’ll never be a true blue contender…now we can still matter in this lightweight transitional era, but until we act like a “serious” club we’re far closer to LC in 2016 than the Barcas or Reals of yesteryear…only saving grace is that Ethan’s going to get a lot more attention from those in the “media”, so MA’s going to be forced into having to incorporate him into the tactical plans or he will undoubtedly face a significant backlash
(btw I just read that the Spurs deal will include a option to buy—so possibly another MA-inspi
A whole essay of dumbhead takes. It takes effort to be this wrong.
you’ve still unearthed nothing of consequence…how terribly sad…now just press your medical alert button so that you can get the care you need without any further embarassing incidences
Vera getting upset over stuff he made up. Oddball vibes. We were never in for Tel dummy. You knew that but just like to rant like a dummy
The Real Vieira Lynn
February 2, 2025, 4:15 pm
“After rejecting Tottenham, Tel has two main choices if he wants to come to the Premier League. Manchester United are one, but Arsenal are the other. Before making his choice, the Bayern Munich forward wants to know how big a role he would play”
Tel is not the answer, especially if MA does his best Oprah again and offers assurances up top, as that would likely derail our summer plans about going after one of the Striker targets we should have bought for cheaper last summer…just to show you how much monies we’ve spent on controlling narratives, the same author offered up this ridiculous claim, “Tel and Sesko are two of the most in-demand strikers this year”..I can’t remember one comment regarding Tel until just recently, when his people let it be known that his head could be turned…of course, to cover our manager’s ass, should he make a last second desperate maneuver again, they want it out there that these two are comparable Strikers, which simply isn’t the case…our clownish contrived behaviour knows no bounds
Yes, you’ve guessed it. Clown in Chief utters stupid comment just before last season’s top scorer scores.
£60 million down the drain Kai Havertz scores again
The Real Vieira Lynn
February 2, 2025, 5:56 pm
Marc—how dare you question the power of Havertz up top…he’ll come good as soon as the nets are stretched a couple of feet and the Keepers are removed from the equation (so long as they’re not replaced with cardboard cut-outs)
It’s not that deep Vera, you’re just a bit dim.