‘Did you think you had Eze’ – asked a reporter from Thomas Frank. Thomas, appointed only recently as the manager of a shite club, responded in an attempt to create some humour by asking back –
‘Who is Eze?’
Well, he just scored a hattrick in a NLD after 47 fucking years and by the time 90 mins were done, Spurs fans were already at home, probably sobbing and blaming the cold. If you are one of those and delusional enough to think you own North London, let me just say that even with a 4-1 win, we were more frustrated than you lot because we couldn’t keep a clean sheet. You are used to losses so that was just a regular day for you.
Right, that was a brilliant evening for us Gooners. A 4-1 victory over Spurs, at Home, hat-trick from the man who had almost joined Spurs but the club brought him to Emirates in the last minutes, Saka dancing and fans staying and singing once the match was over. And we did all this without our first choice striker, and our best defensive player while Hincapie started his first game in place of Gabriel. Our captain was missing too.
We took the lead in the 36th minute when Mikel Merino set up a beautiful ball to Trossard who, very precisely, put it into the nets. Eze, doubled the lead in 5 minutes when he put the ball into the nets courtesy of Rice’s assist. We went into the break 2-0 and Frank made some changes hoping he could turn it around. I am pretty sure he is aware of the spursy nature of that team but hey, he is paid enough to at least try. Eze made it 3-0 only 1 minute into the second half, assisted by Timber but that lad was dreaming of something more.
Richarlison scored a good one from far away. When you play a high line and your goal keeper is involved in setting things up, this can happen. I don’t mind it more than Raya, who would be furious to not add this game to another one of his clean sheets. Frank made some more changes but Eze scored his 3rd in the 76th minute and made sure that no one but the red and whites celebrate the day.
Spurs were so shite we didn’t even need to use set pieces to beat them.
We had finished 2nd, three seasons in a row. We lost points in dead games, injuries derailed us and there were some very odd decisions from the manager. This season, we lost our best defender and yet Hincapie finished his 1st full game with a 9.5/10. Odegaard is out injured but Eze comes in and does better. I was doubting Trossard but he has proven that he can play better than Martinelli when he is given a chance. We have a saucy striker who looks adapted now, was out injured but we didn’t miss him. Saka was world class and will remain so.
Now, onto the next game in Champions League tonight against Bayern. Only 3 teams are with a perfect score so far, and two of them are playing each other today. Bayern sits at top of the table with equal points and same goal difference but have scored 3 extra goals than us. That also means we have conceded 3 less than them, in fact, we have conceded fuck-all so far in 4 games in the group stages and Bayern will test that today. We will be without our best CB partnership but Hincapie dropped a bombshell of a performance against Spurs so I am not really bothered.
To finish in top 8 and avoid 2 extra qualifying games later, we have to win at least 6 of the 8 games. After today, we will be playing Club Brugge, Inter and Kairat. Inter Milan is the third team with all wins so far. Frankly, it’s not a do or die situation for us but there’s always some uncertainty in Champions League. We saw Chelsea beating Barcelona last night, and Newcastle losing to Merseille thanks to 2 goals from the ex-Arsenal man, Aubameyang. Anything can happen, so make the most out of what’s in front of you.
Martinelli and Madueke are back in the team. Odegaard might also be available, though I doubt Mikel will bench the hattrick man for him. Mikel, when asked about facing Bayern, had to say this –
For sure, this is the kind of game in the competition that we want to face, and we’ve been very consistent in both competitions; they have been as well, and tomorrow is a great test for us to see where we are.
source:Arsenal.com
A very challenging game indeed, and the one which will highlight whether we have progressed to win something of importance of this year. Beat Bayern today and the boys will go home in confidence. Also, there can be only one team sitting at the top and we would love to be the one.
See you during the game.
Noni’s second tally should put this one to bed…I would suspect that more will be coming if Brugge open things up more
Marts is loving the CL this season…5 in 5…that was an old school Alexis strike
Very pleasing. Two marvellous goals and the cross for Madueke’s seconds was pretty fine too. Really impressed with Madueke – possibly the first transfer this century where Chelsea will be wondering if they made the right decision.
When fit, the defence and midfield basically picks itself as the likes of Raya, timber, calafiori, Rice, Zubimendi, Saliba and Gabriel have earned their place , though Ben White and Hincape have excelled recently.
Offensively Saka is a starter and then it becomes very difficult for Arteta as the choices are endless with at least 3 players in each position.
Eze/Odegard/Nwaneri
Martinelli/Trossard/madueke
Jesus/Havertz/gyokeres
And there is Merino who can play in a multitude of positions if required.
Whoever gets the nod offensively this weekend v wolves is in an enviable position as wolves are as poor a side as I’ve ever seen inn the Premier league.
A 5-0 is on the cards meaning a starter will be able to put in a performance that will impress fans, so we can expect Odegard to show us his range of skills as this is the perfect stage for him as his best perfmances are in exactly these type of games when the pressure is off.
For me, this game should have no bearing on who starts in the future as I doubt the ease of the fixture will be repeated in the league,
Games like Everton away next week is where the title will be won and lost, games away from home where the opposition do not give you time on the ball and the physicality goes up a notch or 2…City at palace this weekend is a similar game.
Jesus little cameo last night was impressive and shows the difference in technique and intelligence on the ball between him and gyokeres, jesus little touches in and around the box with his quick feet and link up play we be a bonus for us in the coming weeks, and no I’m not advocating that he should start at the weekend or next week , just that he is a different type of striker compared to gyokeres/havertz/Merino.
Wicksy
What’s the midfield that picks itself?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c80x38e04yro
Fans of international football are fucking mugs…I suppose someone has to pay for that orange cunt’s ‘peace prize’. I’m sure there’ll be an organised boycott. The visa thing is even worse.
The World Cup to end all World Cups.
Marc
Rice/Zubimendi
Well that’s between 2/3rds of a midfield or 2/5ths depending on whether you think we play 4-3-3 or 4-5-1. Not starting an argument or debate on the formation.
The 97/98 team had a midfield that picked itself – Overmars, Petit, Vieira and the Romford Pele. We currently don’t and that was my point.
When everyone is fit where does Eze fit in or do you drop Ode? Eze wide left doesn’t really suit him and means dropping Trossard or Martinelli. No ones going to drop Saka other than rotation / injury so where does Madueke fit in? He doesn’t look anywhere near the player on the left – which also pushes Martinelli, Trossard and Eze down the pecking order for that position.
You really need to stop making sweeping statements trying to make Arteta look good. Rice is a top player no argument, Zubi is looking good (especially for his first season in the PL) but we have an awful lot of players competing for a handful of places.
We haven’t even mentioned Merino, or Nwaneri and we’re going to have VG sitting on the bench when Havertz is back.
Having good cover is great but too much means shoehorning playes (where have I heard that before?) or players not getting enough game time or friction in the camp.
I give all the credit in the world to a struggling Brugge side who actually played to get a result…if it weren’t for their subpar finishing skills, things might have been far more interesting late on…as for our side of the equation I think it’s important to note that nearly every goal we’ve scored from distance this season have come from players MA doesn’t favour in their best respective positions, whether tha be Noni, Eze, Marts or even Ethan…it will be interesting to see how our shoehorning fucktard navigates these situations when it comes to the business end of the season
KP—surely you can’t be surprised by such an agregious milking considering the corruptible forces involved…even when that bloated orange-haired fuck was giving his acceptance speech for his farcical “peace prize” all he wanted to talk about was the supposed records they were setting when it came to ticket sales…they were well-aware of how the ticket aftermarket has made an absolute killing when it comes to supposed higher tier concerts and sporting events in North America so I knew they were going to attempt to circumvent that situation by raising prices from the off
the bang average Taylor Swift has fucked anyone who isn’t a thirsty wannabe fuck who cares more about the cachet that came with the real or imagined costs of her tickets than the concert itself…I can remember a time when people were so livid with the ticket supplier for making the public pay for a small fee to get a wristband to reserve your spot in line for Pink Floyd tickets that they had to issue a public apology…btw with the those fees included the tickets cost a grand total of $42.00…now you couldn’t even get two fucking waters for that price…I get that prices were always going to up over time, but the percentage by which they done so, over such a relatively brief period, is fucking bonkers
“has” come from players..
for making the public pay a small fee for a wristband
Hi Vieira
No, but the scale of the increase over the equally awful WC is Qatar is fucking nuts. A perfect example of greed and capitalism wrecking things.
Pointless dwelling on it really, not least because I couldn’t give a flying fuck and will be playing cricket next summer, but what is the logic? Announce really high ticket prices, and then overturn it blaming faceless FIFA cunts and by implication make the orange paedo and irredeemably bent Infantino look like the good guys?
Naturally, I’m desperate to attend and am rapidly deleting all the nasty things I’ve posted about anyone, anywhere in order to get through US immigration. I should be done by Christmas….2030! Oh fuck!
A mate of mine – and a musical philistine and clinically depressed Hammers fan – paid good money to watch an Australian Pink Floyd tribute band play in Cardiff recently. Lots of people get really moist about watching someone doing ersatz cover versions of other people’s work it seems. If that’s not already a cultural phenomenon in Canada, I’d say you are lucky.
In my usual polite way, I told him it should be illegal for tribute acts to even exist, particularly when the original band in question is still fucking alive! Made me wonder if Walters and Gilmour are actually taking in money from their tribute acts? There must be a copyright ©️ issue I suppose.
KP–in my youth there was several well-known Floyd cover bands who had sizeable followings, most notably Clearlight…normally I would agree with your assessment but during this time period, when most felt they would ever get the opportunity to see the real deal, this band became a must attend event for myself and several of my closest friends…they were serious individuals, both from a musical and presentation standpoint…I’m sure they had to pay something to the band, as we both know Roger wasn’t giving anything away for free…I eventually saw PF again, on the Momentary Lapse of Reason tour, and Roger on numerous occasions (Pros & Cons, Radio Kaos & Amused to Death), which were all well worth the price of admission, but nothing compared to a full lineup Pompei revisited gig, like on that Italian barge…Cheers
Marc
I thought it was obvious that I meant Zubimendi and Rice in the engine room are starters , I also outlined the difficulty of selection with the remaining 3 positions.
“Offensively Saka is a starter and then it becomes very difficult for Arteta as the choices are endless with at least 3 players in each position.
Eze/Odegard/Nwaneri
Martinelli/Trossard/madueke
Jesus/Havertz/gyokeres
And there is Merino who can play in a multitude of positions if required.”
This is how I see it panning out over the next 2/3 months selection wise to enable Arteta to rotate and importantly to give game time to a number of players..
The league is the priority so when fit Arteta will probably go for what he considers to be his strongest line up, which will probably be a line up that will provoke a lot of discussion.
During this period we could have as many as 6 /7 cup ties, league cup, da cup and Europe.
We have already qualified top 8 in Europe so for the final 2 games we should massively rotate similar to Brugge on Wednesday night.
We have palace in the league cup before Christmas which is another game for the fringe players, win that and we will have a 2 legged semi final which is another chance to rotate .
January we have the fa cup, another chance for the fringe players and if we beat Portsmouth we will also have a 4th round tie.
So I don’t forsee a problem in keeping everyone happy , plus of course there will be the usual injuries that may put a spanner in the works , but hopefully good rotation will lessen fatigue which should reduce the risk of injury and then we can look forward to the possibility of challenging on all 4 fronts from March onwards with a fit (not fatigued)squad .
I was lucky enough to be at Earls court 1973 , the year Pink Floyd released Dark side of the moon.
A never forgotten memory .
Strangely (or not strangely depending on how you’re wired) the way to deal with the FIFA issues is actually pure capitalism – if people not only boycotted products made by companies who sponsor the world cup but also included companies who advertise during the TV breaks then companies would move away from supporting FIFA. Add to that dropping subscriptions to TV channels and a mass movement to stop the BBC using license fee money to buy the TV rights and things would change.
FIFA is one of the most corrupt organisations in the world the only way to stop them is to cut off the money.
‘MFans of international football are fucking mugs…I suppose someone has to pay for that orange cunt’s ‘peace prize’. ‘’
You talk a lot if shit Kroenkephobe.
And shame on you for disrespecting the 47th greatest prez doing his darnest to save the greatest country ever created by Jesus Christ himself.
For an opinionated old twat such as yourself it’s a real shame all your takes are just plain wrong.
Like your take on expelling Maccabi fans from European football for example.
A terrible idea, if I’ve ever seen one.
All these dudes are IDF on R&R and blowing off some steam.
If anything, UEFA should make it mandatory all IDF attends.
Its sure as fuck better than the alternative.
Respectfully, another old-ish twat.
I haven’t read a lot of the previous posts but if I was a fan of International football I would clearly be concerned the prices of tickets are absurd. I suppose somebody has to pay for the glitter ball prize that FIFA now award – the FIFA Peace Prize – what a joke. Both the award and the first recipient are laughing matter.
Tom
Man, you’re really shrewd aren’t you? The king of keyboard warriors. You need to learn how this sort of thing works if you’re going to have any credibility. Put your thinking cap on.
So last week was irony Tom and this week is real Tom right? Or do you just suffer from severe schizophrenia?
Post something about yourself – if you must -and I’ll start the simple process of ripping the piss out of you as well. Or you can take the easier route of making friends with your politically extreme buddies on here. I don’t give a fuck either way.
Welcome to LiR comrade. You’ll fit in well here with some people. Great take on Israel and the IDF by the way. I’m sure you’d love to have them bombing your street indiscriminately and shooting your neighbours. Very cowardly but very on-point too.
What’s your tipple? Or do you prefer stronger stuff? I’ve got you down as a Evostik user at this stage but a bit of clarity about what you’re taking will also help frame our imminent debate.
I earlier said you should dip your toe in the water on here but on second thoughts don’t bother if that is anything to go by. Even Wicksy, as an ideological ally, will be able to see you off.
And shame on you for disrespecting the 47th greatest prez doing his darnest to save the greatest country ever created by Jesus Christ himself.
Paedophile, Rapist, Racist, Convicted Felon, Xenophobic, Cheat, Spiv, Adulterer, liar, Halfwit, Shit-stinkingly incontinent, Micro-Penis, Bankrupt, Small-handed, Big Mac eating cunt.
Is that enough disrespect Lobo-Tom-y? What kind of creep supports someone with a rap sheet like that? Get a grip or join a kibbutz and fuck off.