We all had our hopes pinned to the relegation bound Nottingham Forest drawing against the might Liverpool. They were unlucky, do were we… because Nunez scored a goal in 9th minute of extra time which allowed Liverpool to keep their points advantage at the top. They now sit at the top, 4 points ahead of Man City and 5 points from us, where we both have a game in hand. A loss to them last night would have made everything more exciting.
Anyways, you don’t win titles because of someone else’s downfall. You win because you have the heart and courage to fight, and convert into performance on the pitch on gamedays. There are still 12 games to go, both City and Arsenal will get chances to go back to the top, if we take or it let it go like season is what will decide our fate this season.
We are playing Sheffield United tomorrow. They are having a rough time, and most likely will be relegated. They are 20th, with 13 points having won just 3 games in 26 which they have played and there is no way we should lose to them. I would even expect us to improve that goal difference by few goals.
We have some positive news from the fitness point of view. Thomas Partey is expected to make the matchday squad after months, Zinchenko and Tomiyasu might not make it tomorrow but they are close as well, and we could see them back in a week. Timber has started training with the team, he won’t play for a month at least but he is recovering well and we need everyone we can have for the remaining 12 games and the Champions League run.
We ran out of options last season because some players were out injured, others were fatigued and we don’t want to repeat that this season.
Mikel Arteta had different views for playing against Sheffield United, when asked about what challenges they will pose, this is what he had to say…
They’re a really difficult team to beat. I’ve watched four or five games now with the City game, the way they started against Villa, and then obviously the game took a different route, but as you mentioned they are extremely well coached. I know Chris really well and I admire his teams, a lot of things that he does with them. It will be Monday night football and it’s going to be a tough night.
source: arsenal.com
Look, we don’t like to play against the bottom teams. They sit back, they let us have all the possessions and sometimes Mikel Arteta don’t know what to do with that. We need to break that, because that’s what Sheff’s are going to do.
Right, a short one today. I will be back before the game tomorrow. Hope you are having a nice weekend!
And breathe… I’m such a wanker sometimes.
we should be going for double-digits against this most pathetic of sides!!! since the beginning of December they’ve allowed a 5 spot against BHA twice, Villa and lowly Burnley
3-0 to the good guys already, albeit only one was “clean”
how bad are you if you’re subbed off in the 17th minute
Blades Leaving? No, surely not.
Sheffield ought to be deploying some time-wasting measures post-haste
we should see Jesus, Vieira, ESR and/or Nelson at the start of the second-half
Sheffield are seeing ghosts…3 passes to a player who had vacated that spot 5+ seconds earlier
fans already leaving the scene of the crime
the last straw for those departing = conceding a goal to our resident drunken giraffe
if we score again this could become a full-blown home game
I’ve never seen our central defenders setting up shop in such advanced spaces in the first-half of a match
they should go for the first-half goalscoring record now that Rice potted the 5th…only 1 more will get it done
even the extra official must hate SFU’s display or how else could you justify 5 minutes of add-on time
Mismatch. Yeah, that player (Norwood) who was subbed, apparently uninjured, must be feeling really bad. Agree that some early subbing would be best.
Blades players are hiding, that’s unforgiveable at any level. Their fans can see it and have probably seen it regularly enough this season to know it’s hometime.
Disagree with the presenter describing Havertz as a fringe player, he’s important to the way we play.
only one sub is ALMOST unbelieveable on MA’s part…ifnot now, when???
Viera on! Seems like ages.
Smart to take Saka off.
Some guys on for Blades.
Hopefully they have a bash for 10/15 mins
you know things are going horribly awry when Ben White scores against you…to be fair, Sheffield’s halftime subs have made a difference in regards to the attitude on the pitch, but they’re still a bag of toys at the back…must get some other subs onto the pitch so we’re not just going through the motions for the next 30+ minutes
there’s no doubt that we’re an above average passing and pressing team, but since the end of the window we’ve had a handful of exhibition matches…some of which weren’t totally surprising, whereas others were rather out of character for the opposition, like our one-sided affairs against the Hammers, Newcastle and Palace…two of those teams are known for their ability to park the bus, then counter somewhat effectively, yet when we played them they did no such thing…thankfully this has happened in the business end of the season, unlike the previous season when some very similar matches took place before the break…let’s face it, if it were all about us, what transpired in Porto a couple weeks prior, would never have been possible
on a side note, Marts should have been removed at half
You have to laugh. Is this Vierra Lyn character for real? Arsenal have just thrashed several teams, including Newcastle & Liverpool, scored a ridiculous amount of goals & he is on Arteta’s back? Again. What kind of fan is upset with the manager when you score 5, 3, 4, 6, 5, 6. Sorry we didn’t score ten, sack the manager.
context and nuance are beyond your capabilities little guy kev…we just beat a team with a -50 goal differential, who didn’t even show up for the first-half…until we do something of real consequence we’re functionally the Dallas Cowboys of the PL…now head on back down to your troll cave before your Mom gets home
81 percent possession.