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 –
The Real Vieira Lynn
October 19, 2024, 4:39 pm
-we all felt that MA had fabricated injury news on a myriad of occasions in order to best facilitate his favourite options and this simply confirms those suspicions…that’s why it’s so difficult to know who will and won’t be available on any given match day
Conspiracy loon alert
You need to want to learn from people who know better Vera.
At a certain point, you’d think a grown man would realise the common denominator is himself. You’re banned for being a bit of a dolt. ‘They’re” not the problem. Your stupidity is.
The Real Vieira Lynn
October 5, 2024, 4:31 pm
—good to know it wasn’t only me, considering my history of being excommunicated from sites with little to no warning
LOL—your rubber room awaits
Masterful tactical insight from a dummy who never kicked a ball in his life. I’m being sarcastic. This is run of the mill Vera inane. Man is obsessed with balls and cocks. Probably a secret stuff
The Real Vieira Lynn
September 16, 2025, 6:04 pm
looks like we’re going to Sociedad them to death…wake me up when we grow a pair
Never one to miss a male genitals related metaphor.
Lead dunce Vera cries about not getting Mudryk while still managing to keep penises foremost in hid analytical armoury. Most people would say not spunking £90m on Mudryk was good. Vera stays in the idiot take box but gets to talk shoehorn in a topic closer to his affections.
The Real Vieira Lynn
January 31, 2023, 3:35 am
when it comes to transfer windows, under the tutelage of Arteta and Edu, we’re a bit of a messy bitc
…first we get punked by Chelsea, after investing months on this particular acquisition, then we get in on a layup deal, involving Trossard, who wouldn’t have been on even the longest of wishlists if it weren’t for the fact that he fell out with his club and we tripped over our dicks with Mudryk, and now we’re doing some 11th hour desperation shopping
Vera and his talk of imaginary ‘assurances’. That he has no evidence of except his delulu.
What does worst shooting team in Europe even mean?
You can be sure it wasnt based on any available data but another revelation from the delusions of Vera
4 lines, two stupid comments. Efficiency.
The Real Vieira Lynn
February 4, 2023, 4:33 pm
this is one we will talk about if things go tits up come season’s end…we’re still the worst shooting team in Europe…like I said before, Jorginho didn’t come without assurances and he didn’t even make one forward pass of consequence…nothing
Delulu scouting from Vera.
After 70 mins he sees what others cannot. A world of pure imagination and he deigns to comment on Arteta’s acquisitions and our to scorer last season.
So daft.
The Real Vieira Lynn
June 16, 2024, 6:41 pm
after watching only 70+ minutes of Sesko, it’s clear to me that he’s miles ahead of Havertz
A surprise to the non delulu commentators. Vera imagines someone being a target and gets mad about it.
A world of pure imagination. ‘Top of the list’ you say?
The Real Vieira Lynn
June 17, 2024, 4:29 pm
Have a good one bud
Lunin was absolutely atrocious today, so it’s hardly a surprise that he’s at the top of MA’s list of potential Ramsdale replacements
What the fuck is this? Giving Sesko ‘assurances’? After scouting for 70 mins. Delusional. I could go through the stupidity line by line. Is anything in this apart from the named people existing accurate? Anything at all.
At least you got what you hoped for. You were wrong. All the waffle just to get angry about something you imagined.
Transfer strategy; lock people in a room until they sign. That’s false imprisonment and against the law man. So facile.
The Real Vieira Lynn
June 19, 2024, 4:45 am
since MA cocked-up the whole Sesko gig, due in large part to the presence of Havertz, it appears that we’ve had a complete rethink regarding our transfer plans…so let me get this straight, at one point the focal point of our entire window was to acquire a bona fide Striker, but when our first attempt failed, instead of finding a plausible alternative, we’re now looking to rely even more heavily on Havertz and Rice in the final third, yet neither has a clinical bone in their respective bodies
if this is to be believed, which we won’t know for certain until we see what happens in the coming weeks and months, I have even more concerns about the possibility of MA having what it takes to get things done here…how is it fucking possible that MA’s inabiity to secure the services of a 21 year old Slovenian Striker could derail things to just such a level that our only backup plan was to simply add a depth piece or two and run this failed project back again…fuck, if he was so vitally important that you were willing to put all your eggs in his basket, you get his people in a room and you don’t let them leave until he’s signed on the dotted line
personally I would suspect that either our little egomaniac was reading his own headlines again and thought he could lowball the kid, with no definitive assurances, even though he had ample options, or this was simply another half-baked plan that was destined to fail from the off, which makes me seriously wonder if he ever really intended to acquire a Striker in the first place…tbh this has all the feels of a latter days Wenger maneuver, where whenever a sizeable contingent from within the fanbase and punditry clamored for a positional upgrade, the likelihood of it ever coming to fruition was slim to none…I sure hope I’m wrong, but if not, that’s some short-sighted ego-driven bullshit
Vera, you’d be wrong less if you abstained from fantasy more you crank.
Aitcho
I would let TRVL dig his own grave, now is the time to talk about how we have the potential to dominate the league and Europe in the next 5 years.
Berta has to take much of the credit for an excellent summer transfer window and helping along with Arteta to convince our squad to commit to the club for the next 4/5 years.
Of course we need to win that first trophy in 5 years , if that means playing a George graham style of football rather than wenger football then so be it , but let’s not forget that when we won the league in 1998 we had a run of something like six 1-0 wins on the bounce , it wasn’t all open expansive football until the final run of games when we demolished the opposition.
I’m loving every dropped point from our opposition and every win by The Arsenal , momentum is the key and we have that in abundance , our injured players returning will make us even stronger and give the manager better options off the bench .
Brighton un the league cup will be interesting and will be a chance to give squad players some game time
Kepa
White
Mosquera
Hincape
Skelly
Norgaard
Merino
Martinelli
Nwanari
Dowman
All Should be given ample game time, losing this game is no big deal as those 2 legged semis in jan/Feb can have a detrimental effect on the squad, though this season we should be able to cope with any eventualities with the strength and size of the squad.
Vera’s 70 min scouting unearths another dud. Currently tearing it up at the Happy Hammers. So daft
The Real Vieira Lynn
June 23, 2024, 10:35 pm
looks like a number 9, finishes like a number 9 = Niclas Fullkrug
that’s right, Fullkrug, not the waste of space wandering about Havertz, who once again squandered every chance and offered nothing of real
When one invests so much time among archives to dig up dirt , unless are a gardener you have wasted a portion of your life.
Nothing to impress by the way
Vera with more fantasy. You were right to be unsure about your fanfic and should have kept quiet in those circumstances.
The Real Vieira Lynn
June 27, 2024, 4:54 am
Not sure if Barca are feigning interest in Mikel Merino so they can pursue their real Sociedad midfield target, Zubimendi, undisturbed, but it certainly wouldn’t be the worst strategy
Vera and his fantasy ‘assurances’. Again. Obvious to the Obviously deluded.
The Real Vieira Lynn
June 29, 2024, 6:02 am
(3) we were the only one’s willing to provide incoming players with significant playing time assurances, like with Raya, Havertz and Willian, seemingly without care or concern for positional competition(even when things went sideways or at least didn’t go according to planned)…not to mention, it’s quite fucking obvious that we gave Rice assurances about playing in more advanced spaces, even though no one would ever pay 100+M for Rice
Vera always frames football issues in the context of genitals.
The Real Vieira Lynn
April 18, 2023, 6:22 pm
no one would have dared to have suggested such notion when Klopp’s Pool finished the season with 90+ points 3 times, yet only won a singular crown,…only poor old conspired against Arsenal could evoke such a ridiculous “kick in the dick” sentiment…it’s like we’re the second coming of LC, except that we’re most definitely not, as we have a storied history that places us well within the PL’s upper crust,
No problem Hoopah, I’m sure Vera endorses your comment and loves you for your support.
It’s not even digging, just tap a random post and view the idiocy flowing from Vera’s keyboard.
This is the 300th post, who wouldn’t be curious as to how many contained Vera’s tokens of daftness?
So far, it’s all.
is that all you’ve got dicksmack? the only thing you’ve proved is that you’re even more of a trolling clown than I first suspected, which is quite a feat…even those whom you felt might back your insane-level nonsense want nothing to do with you, so unless this was just an elaborate cry for help, this attempt to bully me from this platform was all for naught…your type, and by that I mean homophobic basement-dwelling fucks, will never dissuade me from speaking my mind…maybe my original comment about “coming to your workplace” struck a cord and for that you should come to terms with your closeted feelings by speaking with a professional or maybe a member of the clergy…btw you wouldn’t be nearly so chesty with your commentary if this was an in person encounter, in fact, you would have jumped on my early “apolgy” offer then scattered like a cockroach when the lights come on…I apologize if the word cockroach triggered you my sad little puppet
You’re waffling again Vera. Pointless though. What kind of oddball thinks I want ‘backing’ on a blog? That’s your neediness coming through by way of projection.
I’d be even more chesty if you were in person, in between the laughter. It’s not bullying and you still don’t get an apology you loon.
Time for more of your rambles. Speak your mind but don’t get upset if I laugh at it.
BRB
Hoopah
Well said – the crap that is posted in the last day or so isnt worth reading and best be flushed away.
Based on the last 6 matches we are the in form team – interestingly also in the last 6 matches we are just in front of Villa, Bournemouth and the mighty Man U. Perhaps the unthinkable has happened and United have turned a corner.
It is a long way to go before we start flag waving.