We shifted to Emirates from Highbury more than 18 years ago in 2006. In these years, we have won 335 of our games at Home with a win percentage of 67%, shared points on 93 occasions and has 71 defeats. Our shifting also coincided with the rise of Chelsea under the Russian billionaire while Manchester United still dominated the league. Our position in the league shifted from winning and competing with Man Utd to qualifying for Champions League. Arsene Wenger was adamant in keeping the books clean, made money for the club by sending our prized possessions and spending little to nothing to compete. Man Utd had their own downfall in post-Ferguson era and they are in a much worse situation compared to us at the moment. The leagues, in last 10 years, have mostly been dominated by Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool while the two biggest clubs in Premier League fought for the scraps.
But… that doesn’t mean the rivalry has died down. One part of Manchester still believes Arsenal are their biggest rivals even with their neighbour winning 4 seasons in a row and we, at Arsenal, call them ours because hey, Spurs don’t count.
So, here we are, two of the fiercest rivals, competing again today at our 500th game at Emirates.
Man Utd has appointed Ruben Amorin and it’s too early to say if he can sort out their problems. For us, we are in a good state after winning last 3 games but some injuries are going to make life difficult for Mikel.
In the team news, we have some set backs. Calafiori is out injured so Zinchenko starts at LB. Gabriel has also picked up a knock and Kiwior gets a shot at CB along side Saliba. Timber keeps his place. Odegaard, Rice and Partey starts in midfield with Saka and Havertz up top. Martinelli is back in place of Trossard.
I am a bit worried about the back 4. Having 2 players who have hardly played this season start against Man Utd is not a good thing, and when you are chasing Liverpool who has 9 point lead against you, you can’t afford to lose. Now, I would have personally preferred Ben White to start in place of Kiwior but he is also out and can’t even make the bench. We didn’t have much options, Tierney is back but he shouldn’t be starting for us. Lets see if Mikel knows what he is doing.
Addition of Martinelli brings the chaos at left side but having Zinchenko behind him is not going to help him in any way. We need our right side to perform, Timber / Odegaard / Saka are developing a very good chemistry, Timber has picked up where White had left and our Right Side game is a treat to watch on it’s day. Havertz needs to step up because in a game like this, you might get only a limited chances and no matter who is the manager and what state your club is in, anything can happen in a game of Arsenal v Man utd.
Right, I will keep it short. It might be an ideal time for the UK viewers, a 8.15 PM show on a Wednesday but I don’t like a midweek late night (1:45 AM IST) show that ends up by 4 AM in morning. I am sure I can make the first half, and if the game’s interesting, who knows.
See you during the game.
That was shot from Isak. Liverpool 1-0 behind, good for us if they lose.
good on Timber for getting a touch, but we’re relying way too much on set pieces…we should have been in full-bore press mode from the off, but MA’s still scared shitless of Amorim
I bet Amorim was hoping to hold us off until the 65th, make the changes he’s making now, then try to nick a late one against the run of play
big time save again by Raya…I must admit he’s been in good form for the better part of this season
this is the kind of match where we could really use Ethan…instead we’re doing that stupid switch where Partey plays at RB and Timber flips over to LB, where he’s half the player
good to see Saliba on the scoresheet…a bit of a lucky touch, but they all count the same
horrible shot by Havertz again…we need a real Striker posthaste…surely this set piece wet dream can’t last forever
it will be intriguing to see who survives the mass Amorim culling come the off-season…I would imagine he only favours about a handful or so of his current players
If that was anyone but Antony it’s likely a 2-1 scoreline…great setup, weak-ass attempt to finish…he’s been a shockingly poor hire
MA had better find a way to properly incorporate Ethan into the lineup as this blunt instrument factory needs some more cutting edge…I’m sure Ethan could be deployed on the left side of the midfield and still be more effective than anyone else on our present roster…problem is MA has a built-in excuse to not experiment as we’ll be chasing points all season long…not to mention, he probably doesn’t want to give him too many minutes before he re-ups because if things go well it could drastically impact their negotiations…Ethan’s no dummy, he knows full-well that you need managerial assurances to ensure minutes
Sorry Vieira.
I was watching it sans phone trying to manage the biggest and nuttiest Labrador in the world which I’m looking after for a mate. He ended up pinning me to the floor for most of the first half. I feel violated. 😡
Rather a pleasing night. Maybe an opportunity to say it was only 2 set pieces but we bossed that game. Not the 8-2 revenge I’d hoped for but pretty convincing. We were hesitant at first but I think the lads realised Manure had very little to offer. What a dreadful bunch of wrong uns. Amorim has his work cut out for him.
And ego would ever have believed that those miserable Georgie maggots would do us a favour?
we’re only down 7, following Pool’s draw with Newcastle, which was by far the most entertaining watch today, but we actually dropped a spot, as Chelsea potted 5 against Southampton, who were down to 10 men for a considerable period
Watched the game this morning before leaving the resort to drive home. Another resort using vastly exaggerated pictures that is not what it should be. They are comping me with knowing smiles. Just not funny for me.
Pretty much agree with you all. Deserved win but we are too reliant on set piece goals.
12/27 (9) games target wins for 27 points.
My view is we played The Chavs & Manure at the right time before their managers stamp their identity and authority on their sides.
Rice has found his corner range but still need more pace and less air in the ball’s flight.
Comfortable win catching up 2 pints on Slot but Chavs improving all the time.
We looked better in the 2nd half so happy to have the 12 points from 4 wins on the bounce.
Our play continues to be very predictable so still don’t see us winning the league.
minus a grand total of about 7 minutes, we were clearly the better side, but everyone knew that would be the case long before this match even started…what I cared far more about was if MA would recognize this fact and put them to the sword…instead his tactically timid self re-emerged once again, which is why our pressing was half-assed and why we made a grand total of 1 meaningful final third direct pass during the whole of the first-half
now if Amorim had been at United for a considerable period or even if he had deployed his most offensively-minded 11 from the get-go, I might have better understood his trepidation, but his tactical decisions simply reiterate that fact that Amorim still lives rent free in his head and that he’s not a big game manager…minus our set pieces, of which we had a dozen attempts before the 70th minute, we carved out fuck-all grade A chances, except when Havertz hit Onana square in the chest from point blank range…personally I think it’s delusional to put our fate in the hands of the set piece gods, then I read MA’s post-match quotes and it simply confirmed what I knew all along, that delusional is what our manager does best:
On Arsenal’s set-piece threat: “We want to be very dangerous and effective from every angle and every phase of play…We could have scored from open play, like we did against West Ham and Sporting. The team has belief. We have the capacity to threat the opponent from every angle.”
now I liked much of what we did against Sporting, but let’s not forget how good fortune has smiled upon us in the last 3 matches…from the insipid performance by West Ham, until the match was functionally out of hand, to getting to play two sides in the thralls of a transitionary period, who both performed as such, we couldn’t have asked for 3 better lambs to the slaughter opponents…of course, you still need to lace them up and get the expectant results, but how you go about your business matters…for me MA is still a scared little man, regardless of his public facade, and until he conquers his tactical and selection fears, when it matters most, we’ll never win jacksquat
TVRL- spot on agree with you there. Watching the match yesterday I would have fallen asleep unless I had Liverpool match on the other pad. What a bore watching Arsenal nowadays I never imagined I will say this in my entire 2 decades of watching Arsenal. We are a stoke city in disguise. If Jover is so effective then why do we need MA. His tactical switches and subs are set in pattern. He will move all pieces to accommodate his fav midfield of Rice and Merino. His hoarding of defenders is making sense now as he needs his players to force a corner somehow and get his big defenders to score. Through the course of this season other teams will sort their defending out and will block our corner routines. What then? While Ethan and his talent will go waste. Talk about killing a homegrown talent.
When I said we still won’t win the PL, it was precisely for the reasons TRVL and Madu have laid bare in their above posts.
You’ve found the right blog to post, Madhu, same, the rest of us persona non grata posters who who have reasonable footballing IQs and knowledge of the game – probably 250+ years if you add TRVL, you, me, Marc, KP, Norg, Hoopah +++ and our blog master, Ambarish.
Our experience is very eclectic being multinational. I consider myself more of a cultural mongrel with 25 years here and the rest in 5 other countries and about to do it all again. So, I’m blessed to have experienced football from some interesting POVs, much like we do here now. KP from his embassy hopping, we all have stories that are nuanced from what we lived through.
Will be nice to see LIR grow with more experienced views from well rounded people adding to the flavor of the blog and extending the LIR family……
El B’s best signing must be the set piece coach. I missed the game as I was travelling back from London and my train journey was taken up with a whats app call. My wife picked me up from the station, switched on 5Live – her comment – this doesn’t sound very exciting.
Looks like some nasty weather coming your way, KP. Your mate’s dog sounds like fun.
Wonder if the weather is going to have an effect on the weekend’s fixtures? Looks like it’s going to blanket England, Wales and N Ireland.
Read the list of comments. Have not watched the match for the unearthly deep slumber time in India. Having read Ambarish ,TRVL , Tony, Madhu, Norg …you guys said everything to get a perspective. So thanks guys.
I have a theory about nice people . They love dogs and if dogs feel free to roll over them, there is no better person down there..eh KP ?
My GSDs would love you. Unfortunately they understand only Portuguese.
Nice one Hoopah. He’s the biggest goofiest kindest dog you could wish for. Very sweet but immense. He looks like a small great Dane. You’ll have to tell us about your pack of canines sometime.
I hope you enjoy the game when you have time. We bossed it although I concede we didn’t play with our usual fluency. Manure really aren’t a team we need to be worried about these days. The likes of Villa, Newcastle and Brighton are all.much stronger than Manure. I hope stubborn el bastardo plays a string team against the in the cup too.
Tony
Storm Darragh I think it’s been called. Guess who’s stewarding tomorrow night.💦💦💦
Ms Kroenkephobe and I are off to Málaga next week. They’ve had floods recently so it might be a busman’s holiday.
That place you stayed in sounds like Thailand’s answer to Fawlty Towers.
NORG
Agreed. Jover’s tactics are making a massive difference. The kids and I were remembering games towards the end of Wengo’s reign of terror when we’d have 20 plus corners in a game where Ozil would unerringly hit the front post full back. Rinse and repeat. It didn’t get much better under Emery iirc.
Positioning our 5 tallest players in a bunch, working to a signal and then being back in that group in a new part of the area with no opposition to challenge you is tactically terrific. And we now have three brilliant corner takers.
And the thing is, Jover is bright enough to readjust mid game to take account of the opposition’s response. Unlike El Bastardo of course.
…and he’s able to stay ahead of the game. Expect new tactics or improved old ones at any time.
KP
My aunt was in Malaga when they had the heavy rain. It lasted a day and flooding was minor. Within a day it was back to normal. I was speaking to a contact in Cartagena this morning – it is glorious there at the moment but Felix said the whole of Southern Spain is expecting a cold snap from the middle of next week. Of course their cold snap is nothing like ours so expect the Spaniards to be wearing their winter overcoats as it will be a freezing 15 C. They will also likely to still be eating outside.
Thanks for the meteorological intel mate. As I write, storm Darragh is blowing in off the beach from the Irish Sea so anything in the Costa del Sol should be manageable.
no need to pack your shorts
Over here in the Great Lakes basin we’re getting hammered by a Nor-westerly Snowmagedden. the likes of which would send a shiver down the spines of those who were sent to the “Wall”…I’m looking at you John fucking Snow!…over one particular 24 hour period I spent a total of 8 hours with a shovel in my hands…at first it’s incredibly invigorating, then it’s fucking not!!…we’ve experienced 4 such weather systems in the last 25 years, all in early December…the first two had an almost mystical quality, as my children were younger then…schools were closed and adventures were had that would never have occurred otherwise…I miss those times and the energy they produced…if I could, I would so tap into it right now…Cheers and take care
TRVL
The first falls of snow is always pleasing on the eye, but that’s where I draw the line. I like 4 seasons and don’t mind a month of snow like we had back in the 60s to 80s in the UK. After 4 weeks we’d be happy too see the back of it, so I can imagine winter snow is no fun in the long term.
I had my first -40*C in Toronto when on my first tour of Canada in 79. We then flew to LA to drive back up to Vancouver via, Vegas, Frisco. Portland, grunge capital, Seattle, fishing for mud sharks from our hotel balconies and then Vancouver at the Edgewater.
Needless to say we all got moby-dick from such contrasting weather temps.
Looks like the Jan TW click-bait is out in force this morning. Newcastle are bracing themselves to lose Isak. City want Nico Williams, which would probably get their title challenge back on track if they can legally buy? That would piss off MA, as Williams was MA’s last main summer target.
PSG want Salah, and so it goes on.
Who is in charge of our Jan TW?
If MA, then we’ll have two see if MA’s football stock has risen this season, as he couldn’t lure any striker of note last summer. They all ghosted him except Sterling, which proves my point.
Seeing the Toffee’s new stadium leaking torrents of rain water into the stands made me laugh, but the Emirates has its issues too, I re3member quickly.
With a glance at what Dyche was saying where I was surprised to read that Everton are 2nd in the PL set piece goals to us sitting 15th with a -7GD. What that suggests is we are lucky to have such a tight defensive unit keeping us on +14GD because we can’t score many from open play to save our lives.
Sooner or later managers will start to nullify our set piece goal tally that is so difficult to defend against when the perfect ball is whipped low with pace that Saka whips in to perfection of 3/4 attempts, and Rice @ 1/3 he improved a little from 1/4.
We have a 9 who defends more than he attacks. When that changes, our open play goals will start to be regular again.
Some interesting games this weekend not least the Liverpool derby and the Spuds v Chavs London derby & Palace vs City. The top 8 gap is widening now with 6 points being the gap between us at 3rd and Villa sitting 8th.
We should take 3 points from Fulham away, but won’t be an easy game and a potential banana skin for us.
Only 3 points will do!
KP
Enjoy the game stewarding and don’t forget your thermals and flask. Can you take your mates pooch with a brandy barrel under his chin? Should be, he’s big enough to be a St Bernard.
You could always get a sledge, add a big barrel of brandy, and get the canine life saver to tow the cask where you can sell nips from the touch line. lol.
If I may make a suggestion, buy antique Hine brandy. Hine and Belvedere Vodka were my spirit tipples way back when I used to drink nearly 10 years ago now. I prefer the non hangovers life I live these days. I was never even a weekly drinker and never at home, so alcohol was never an interest for me. I’ve never had a local pub as I was always the nomad.
Hope you get the win and the weather isn’t life changing…lol
I saw a BBC article comparing us to Pulis’s Stoke side(talk about being late to the party)..the tenor of the piece was rather shocking in that it appeared to be suggesting that this was some sort of accomplishment, which seems like a mindbogglingly poor take considering their glaring lack of success…Pulis himself even spoke about how it was high time that someone finally saw the light, which would only make a lick of sense if you were somehow convinced that every dominant team since that time, who didn’t adopt his approach, were managed by a bunch of fucking tactical halfwits
I would suggest that most top-shelf managers tend not to mimic the actions of lesser lights who never really did a damn thing except for avoiding relegation considerably longer than most first thought…let’s not forget that during his 7 year tenure at Stoke(2007-13), which was actually his 2nd go round there, he had a winning percentage of around 36%, yet somehow won just as many titles as our current manager during his first 5 years, a FA Cup…talk about lowering the bar, now we’re staring down the barrel at a manager who looks more like a cross between Pulis & Moyes than a hybrid of his last two bosses…surely we didn’t spend hundreds of millions and endure the multitude of nonsensical phases for this to be our tactical endgame
on the meteorological front, since my last posting I’ve now spent another 4 hours removing another 4 feet of snow from my property…I can’t even see the fucking road when I’m backing out, as the adjacent snowbacks now sit about 8 feet high…time to self-medicate and hit the hay…Cheers