We have a game against PSG on April 29 and Thomas Partey, due to his idiotic yellow against Real Madrid, will be suspended from the game. Mikel, in his last press conference, wasn’t sure about Jorginho’s availability for the PSG game. So, we don’t have a DM for the biggest game of our season, the semi-final in Champions League. However, the positive thing is that we can use today’s game and the game against Crystal Palace on 23rd to find a solution.
There’s a problem as well to this. We are sitting on 2nd position and Liverpool has a 13 points lead with 6 games to go. We won’t catch up to them, lets be real. Also, there’s a very good chance (still) that we end up outside top 5 and don’t qualify for the Champions League next season . Forest is sitting on 5th position, only 6 points behind us. We have to not only prepare for the PSG game, but we have to make sure we don’t lose games, confidence and our form while doing so. A conundrum Mikel needs to go through!
Ipswich are a tight team. They will most likely get relegated after a sensational Premier League promotion but they can make fun of you sometimes. They don’t have anything to lose and this gives them some freedom to cause chaos. We have to manage this chaos, from the midfield. I’m a big Partey fan but we have only 2 games to find a solution for PSG game, and I would rather let him sit on bench. There are a few options we can try –
Move Timber to LB, put Ben White back to RB and promote MLS to midfield. A midfield of Odegaard, Declan Rice and MLS should be able to hold the fort against Ipswich and if it clicks, we find a solution.
The second option is to keep the defence line as it is, with Kiwior + Saliba as CBs, Timber on the right and MLS on left and introduce Nwaneri in the midfield. This is the best solution according to me, we are disturbing only 1 position (Thomas Partey) and keeping the rest of the winning squad in their position.
Mikel might also bring back Merino in the midfield and put Trossard up top, this is the most likely solution but I have never been convinced with Trossard as a striker. Against PSG, with Donnaruma in their goal, he wouldn’t be so much effective.
Back to today’s game. Calafiori will not be available along with the usuals – Havertz, Tomiyasu, Gabriel M and Jesus. It’s Ipswich last chance to survive the relegation and I am pretty sure they will put up a fight. This is the third consecutive year where we are playing on a Easter Sunday, and we have drawn the last 2. It makes me nervous a bit, but we should go through.
Also, it would be exciting to see one of the Nwaneri or MLS start in the midfield, because (I know you will come after me) ultimately we would have to improve on Odegaard.
We need to win, and we can do that in first half. Lets start the usuals, score couple of goals and then introduce Nwaneri / MLS in the midfield. We can start with that line up against Crystal Palace to practice one more time.
What’s the weather there? We have been suffering with this heat and the only thing keeping me sane is football. See you during the game, I have my set up ready.
Liverpool don’t do this. They get ahead and kept attacking til games are beyond doubt.
KP—it was as if MA thought our PSG match was in a few days…this Palace side was ripe for the picking as they were squarely focused on their FA weekend fixture…why else would they leave Eddie on the pitch for 70 minutes…another piss poor performance against a middling team…we’ve had 7 draws against this types of sides in 11 total fixtures(only 3 wins)…if that doesn’t provide you with enough proof that we need a bona fide talisman, nothing will…enough said
yet another draw – perhaps our new DoF will have seen enough to know the problem lies with a negative El B. Possession doesnt win matches out scoring the opposition does.
these middle of the pack sides
Poor performance, were the players under orders not to give more than about 70% as we never made a tackle in the game and hardly attempted to take a player on out wide, it was a game where we tried to stroll through with as little physical contact as possible and it would have been successful but for another mistake at the back from saliba.
Last season v Newcastle away and West ham home , the opposition were allowed a goal despite the ball being clearly over the byline, the reason they allowed the goal was because they stayed with the onfield decision , they also said part ( a fraction) of the ball may have been over hanging the line despite the camera appearing to show the ball clearly not touching the line.
Taking all that into account , what was the difference between last night’s disallowed goal and Newcastle and West ham’s goals, neither official gave a goal kick and the camera view of the ball was about as conclusive as the camera view for both incidents last season.
Personally, I thought all 3 goals should have been disallowed as the camera showed the ball over the line on all 3 occasions , my question would be have the rules changed from last season and they are not going with the onfield decision , or were the rules applied differently last night because as far as I’m concerned all 3 incidents were quite similar .
Thankfully we got through last night’s game without injury , though it is concerning that white and Merino were not even on the bench..we will see a much more commited Arsenal next Tuesday v PSG , everything about that game will be different, the atmosphere, the commitment from the players, the intensity and the physicality…all aspects of our game that were missing last night .
From the outside , Saliba appears to be a strong enough character to not allow his 2 recent mistakes leading to goals affect him for the upcoming semi final but I would say that he will probably not be as confident as prior to his mistakes.
Of course the problem is if there is the slightest mistake on the ball at the back then we are presenting the opposition with basically an open goal as Raya takes up a wide position, I don’t suppose Arteta would even consider telling Raya to be a little more conservative when vacating his goal so let’s hope our back 4 are perfect on the ball .
More of the usual shit from Arteta – he’s lucky City have left going on a good run so late or he’d be looking at 3rd or worse.
Which fuckwit decided that having an FA Cup Semi Final between Forest / Man City and the likely title decider between Liverpool and the Spud’s kick off at the same time was a good idea?
Do the PL and FA not realise that they’ll both lose viewing figures as there are a lot of fans who’d watch both if possible?
The main argument against Arteta is his lack of trophies , his one success in the FA cup was achieved with predominantly wenger players and he chose to dismantle that squad and spend a fortune bringing in his own players.
Arteta joined Arsenal in December 2019, we were 10th when he arrived and finished the season in 8th position, a minimal improvement.
Season 20/21 began with the most dismal football and by December 2020 we were languishing in 15th position with a distinct possibility of a relegation battle for the 2nd half of the season.
However, Arteta got lucky when a few regulars went down with injuries and suspension so he was forced to play Saka-Smith Rowe -Martinelli behind lacazette in the 3-1 victory v Chelsea and that was the catalyst for an excellent 2nd half to the season that pulled us up to 8th position.
Since December 2020 our football and results have improved as Arteta has spent almost 700 mil net but has failed to win a trophy.
When you take into account that wenger only spent 250 mil net over 22 seasons , winning 10 trophies with a similar number of runners up it makes you wonder why he was slaughtered by the media and a small (but loud) section of Arsenal “fans”.
In fact if you take into consideration Wenger’s last 5 seasons compared to Arteta’s first 5 seasons it is clear to see why Wenger was the far superior manager.
Wenger
2013/14
League position 4th
FA cup winners
2014/15
League position 3rd
FA cup winners
2015/16
League position 2nd
2016/17
League position 5th
FA cup winners
2017/18
League position 6th
League cup finalist .
Of course this group of players also went on to reach a europa final and win another FA cup under different managers, and yet they were regarded by a small(but loud) section of fans as bunch of wasters .
The likes of xhaka and Ozil took the brunt of the criticism despite the fact that the arrival of Ozil immediately brought trophies to the club after a number of barren years…
I actually really liked that group of players that included the likes of Cazorla, Sanchez , Ozil, Wishere, giroud, Walcott, Ox , Ramsey ,Aubamayang but unfortunately the knives were out for wenger despite the club winning trophies and qualifying for champions league in 20 straight seasons , which wad a remarkable achievement considering his net spend over that period
I won’t print what Arteta’s record is over his 5 seasons at the club but I think it’s fair to say that considering his net spend his achievements are completely overshadowed by wenger’s achievements even during the period when wenger was being slaughtered by the media and a small (but loud) section of the Arsenal fan base.
. Of course this could all change in the next 6 weeks or so and Arteta lifts the European cup , the previous 5 years will be forgotten (unless your marc) as I would expect us to dominate the league and Europe for the next few years .
unfortunately the longer we go without winning a trophy the harder it becomes .
I was reading your nuggets of wisdom Herr Wickmeister and thinking yes…yes…yes, he’s having an epiphany and is about to fire his AK47 at the diminutive tosser in the black jumper.
Only to be disappointed as you spared el
Bastardo some righteously Wicksian wroth (easy for me to say!) and only to offer the most cloyingly fulsome (look that word up Wicksy – it
doesn’t mean what you might think it does). You’re a tease…
Enjoying watching mega Gooner Rocket Ronnie’s renaissance (it’s national alliteration day!).
Marc – football authorities are cunts, not to put too fine a point on it. These sorts of SNAFUs are almost always related to filthy lucre.
KP—imagine the unmitigated gall of this halfwit, who literally appeared out of the fucking blue with the sole mission of stomping on our dicks, giving us a history lesson on all things Arsenal-related since the cutting of the Emirates ribbon…either he’s daft as fuck or he thinks we don’t know our arses from our faces…methinks his parents wrongly praised him too much…as for my rating of his drivel, I give it two Benny Hill slaps and 3 swipes by the tiniest of cheese graters along his taint
TRVL
your barking up the wrong tree, KP secretly enjoys my “nuggets of wisdom” , I’m sure you have covered many of the subjects regarding Arsenal on LiR but my posts are my opinions and I will continue to give you particularly the benefit of my knowledge on the game.
Looking forward to Tuesday night, here is a positive thought to stop you having your usual negativity towards The Arsenal.
This year
ARSENAL 5-1 MANCHESTER CITY
ARSENAL 5–1 REAL MADRID
let that sink in as we take on a team who like us have never won it.
Kroenke
I know money drives football decisions but this is the opposite – I’d watch both matches tomorrow if on at different times (as I’m sure would tens of thousands of other fans) so the channels are losing viewers which reduces ad revenue.
I’d guess its more ego between the PL and FA about who’s got the biggest “trophy”.
Pick that out – stunning goal by Eze for Palace.
“I will continue to give you particularly the benefit of my knowledge on the game”
clearly you must have been experiencing some lighting issues in your Mom’s basement when you wrote this world salad of a gem…night-night little guy
Marc
Can you believe we let Eze go when he was a teenager? I remember watching him pre-Palace when he was at QPR and he really stood out back then.
I’m curious do the fanboys make up the excuses in advance or do they just jump on whatever band wagon is convenient?
Because if its the former what’s the excuse for next season?
Marc—speaking of which, I thought you might appreciate the following:
“the familiar grumbles from North London have reached an almost delusional level. Arsenal fans, once again, find themselves playing the role of nearly men, and rather than facing up to the uncomfortable truth of finishing second again, they’ve opted for the greatest hits of denial: refereeing conspiracies, fixture complaints, and injuries that all clubs encounter
This would mark the ninth time Arsenal have finished as runners-up in the Premier League era—an astonishingly consistent return for a club that’s so often allergic to trophies. But in this current run-in, the bitterness has boiled over to incredible levels. For a fanbase that prides itself on class and history, there’s an alarming lack of humility when the table doesn’t reflect their narrative.
If you’ve spent more than five minutes in Arsenal Twitter’s echo chamber lately, you’d think Howard Webb personally intervenes every weekend to keep the Gunners trophy-less. Amongst the propaganda, there’s apparently a laundry list of perceived injustices—but none quite enough to justify the reality: Arsenal have dropped points when it mattered most. Again. This is not a new story or tale, but a common reality that is rolled out throughout each and every season under the watch of Mikel Arteta.
Blaming the PGMOL has become a weekly tradition, despite Arsenal having received a favourable VAR call or two themselves. The truth is that conspiracies are easier to digest than accepting the occasional tactical blunder or attacking no-show. The alternative is admitting that Liverpool, despite injuries, transition, and a managerial farewell tour, simply outperformed them. The hours that were spent on the Arsenal training ground perfecting set pieces may well have garnered some success, yet it is surely detrimental when building a fluid side to win major trophies.
Arsenal’s response to pressure? A flurry of post-match pressers where Arteta bemoaned, well, anything but his own decisions. Meanwhile, Liverpool—despite being told they were “in decline” by rival fans—has stitched together one of the most balanced and dynamic campaigns of the modern era, all while navigating a managerial succession in real-time.
And for all the chatter about officiating and favouritism, Liverpool’s lead at the top is earned—not handed. It’s built on late winners, squad depth, and a refusal to cave under pressure. That, not Twitter trends or ‘what if’ scenarios, is what titles are made of. So if Liverpool do wrap it up against Spurs at Anfield this weekend, don’t expect apologies from Arsenal fans. Expect more conspiracies, more victimhood, and more coping”
all that said, we still have a CL title run in the offing…right now I would favour Barca, but considering that the other two sides, PSG and Inter, are presently experiencing their own respective rough patches, I would say that we have the 2nd best odds to lift the trophy, which is nothing to sneeze at…Cheers
Dear Gooners take a bow for Arsenal women who thumped Lyon multiple CL winners 4-1 away from how to book finals against Barcelona. What a comeback. Rene Slegers who was made permanent only recently has turned the team around and created something beautiful. What a glorious story. What a day for Arsenal Women and AFC as a whole. Great day
Something that I didn’t realize this is liverpools 2 nd title in 35 years so much for PGMOLs based refereeing for northerners. I am not well versed with UK geography but I think Liverpool is considered as a northerner team. Chelsea who is the same city as us during the Roman era won many titles. Guess Roman with his vast money and his KGB connects had dossier for each referee and used that for his club sake. Similarly Man C used their wicked ways to get refs to favour them.
AFC is a that poor weakling who doesn’t get favours from Refs as there is an institutional bias towards them. They have to perform twice as much as Liverpool who won their second title in 35 years to win anything.