We have been on a great run this year. I have never seen such a winning streak with score lines ending like it used to do in my college days playing FIFA all night. Crystal Palace 5-0, Liverpool 3-1, West Ham away 6-0, Burnley away 5-0, Newcastle 4-1 and Sheffield United away 6-0. Add 4 clean sheets to this to make it even better. We have this habit of downplaying our own achievements and to give extra credit when someone else does it. Credit where it’s due, Mikel and that Dubai trip has somehow motivated the team to score, and score a lot. It doesn’t take away the fact that we need a CF but at least it’s not costing us as of now.
The title race is ON
It’s getting tough at the top. The gods are giving Klopp and Liverpool some luck since he announced his departure, Pep and City are world champions and they intend to keep it that way, and Mikel and team are trying to prove the last season’s fall is not a pattern.
If you don’t put much effort in calculating all the permutations and combinations like me lazy arse, there are 11 games and whoever wins the most of it will walk away with title. The two most important games of this season will be played in this month
Liverpool v Man City – March 10th
Man City v Arsenal – March 31st
Man City has twice the probability to go behind, and whoever beats Pep will have a better chance of winning. Rest of the games are almost against similar opponents for all three teams.
Our mantra would be, win the winnable ones and give it all on 31st March. Mikel has to beat Pep, to win… – the beauty of football but only if, he does it.
Arsenal v Brentford – Match Day
We are playing Brentford tomorrow. We always have suffered against them and it’s going to be a physical, counter attacking game from them. Mikel knows this and acknowledged it in the pre-match conference.
Every point that we left, or we left this season hurts, and that’s still there. We have a lot to play for, the difficulty of the match is always really tough. We’ve played them twice already and we suffered, we always suffer against Brentford. On Saturday I expect a really similar match.
source: Arsenal.com
Well, we expect a different result though. Nothing less than a WIN because when anyone of the City or Pool loses, we need to go to the second place. We can go top if it’s a draw.
In the team news, almost everyone’s fit and available. It’s good to see Partey back because inclusion of Jorginho has allowed Declan to play in an advance position and Thomas can do a better job than Jorginho. Saka and Martinelli took a very small injury in the last game but will most likely be available for the game. Tomiyasu remains a doubt, Fabio got back in the playing XI against Sheffield and our academy product in Emile, Nelson and Eddie are fit as well.
Expectation? A win. You don’t win titles just by beating the top 6. You need to remain consistence against all 19 you play and we have seen last season how much it can cost. I hope the players see a trophy in front of them and they keep playing like they have been in last couple of months. It’s just a matter of 11 weeks and your name would be in history.
Winning against two of the best managers in the world is going to make it even sweeter. It’s in our hand.
Right, that’s all for today. Almost weekend now, and hope it’s get better tomorrow with a win and both the City and Liverpool dropping points.
you can’t expect a Keeper to be at his best when he hardly ever sees the pitch, which certainly doesn’t excuse Ramsdale for his cock-up…if Raya had been in net for that Toney attempt from distance, it would have likely gone in
Game has reverted to type. No direction, no plan
Enjoy the process
Havertz should have been booked for his horrible flop in the box…not sure why Havertz has remained on when Jesus entered the fray…just par for the Arteta course…maybe he will fall backwards on a set piece and the ball will accidentally careen in off his head
this better not be an indication of what’s to come in our return home match against Porto or we might have only one thing to play for this season
some moves that might be deemed more positive, with Nelson and Zinchenko coming on, but I’m baffled that he didn’t take off Havertz for ESR now that we have some more speed out wide, as that should open up the middle of the pitch a bit
when’s the supposed top-notch passing version of White going to finally show up, as that was all the rage when we paid through the nose for his services…he’s performed admirably in recent times, but not to the level worthy of our initial investment
If we win this, I will eat the humble pie served by Havertz!
how ironic that after my previous comments White would pass to Havertz for our much-needed 2nd goal…my bad on this day…that said, even a broken clock is right two times a day
time to take this home then see where we stand following the Pool/City fixture
we need to curtail all this whining to the ref shit…I wonder where they learned that from
if we come out on top today, which looks increasingly likely, I’ll take far more positives out of this much more resilient performance than any of those cake walk fixtures…not to mention, it’s the first time we actually got something out of our summertime purchase from Chelsea
good hard-worked victory, one befitting of a title challenger
Arsenal 2 Ramsdale 1
Brentford – what a bunch of cunts.
Arteta doing a hulla hulla on the pitch.
Another Salt Bae level behaviour
we need to curtail all this whining to the ref shit…I wonder where they learned that from
Vieira – from Brentford in thus game at least.
Players and Frank wishing Ramsdale profusely tell a story.
It will play out if at all the wheels come off
…you reddsss!!! Say, we are top of the league, say we are top of league.
Brentford surprised me, they made it hard, that was expected, but the shithousing came as a surprise. I don’t know if I’d missed it before or that’s just how they are now.
Toney, he’s not bad but not worth splurging North of £80m just to disrupt our play. I wouldn’t say no, he’s decent and didn’t have a bad game, but given scoring goals isn’t in question, an overpriced striker isn’t the answer. I’m happier with the way more pressing needs were address in the last couple of windows and it seems be bearing fruit.
If a guarantee 25 a year striker comes available then take him, I think there’s only 5 or so sure shots and it doesn’t look we’re in a position to buy them now. Unless we sell. I’d like us to have a bash with Biereth next season, he’s done well this season. But that may be a reason to flog him while his stock is high a la Balogun.
We’re not going to blow everyone away 6-0 so we have to find ways to win the tighter games. We spent the first half of the season trying to work that out and it will stand us in good stead this run in.
Bookies still have City at close to even to win the prem. Clowns.
Tomorrow, if it can’t be a draw then City win, that way we still have some control over our fate. Beat them at home.
Enjoy the run in.
Aitcho
I agree about Toney. Vastly overrated in a mediocre team. Wissa would suit Arsenal’s current style of play much more. If Toney was an Arsenal player, I doubt too that he would have been much use today. If we want something different and more muscular when chasing a game, he’d be worth a punt (scuse the pun) at a figure significantly less than we’d be able to sell Eddie Unket. Given Toney’s age, and his limitations, I would bid much more than 25 million for a player like that. Brentford are sniffing glue with a valuation like that.
It sounded like a tense but ultimately raucous night. Grimsdale redeemed himself but that howler took me back to the days if Eboue, Senderos and Almunia combining to fuck things up.
Agreed…Toney isn’t the answer to our questions…if he had half the valuation, I would take a flyer on him for the short-term, but certainly not at the suggested price…if we could find a suitor for both Jesus and Eddie, as there’s no way Havertz is going anywhere, we could go all in on Osimhen…otherwise we would have to hope that an up-and-comer, like Zirkzee, could find their way in the PL from the hop…I would much rather we went the readymade way, but the half-measure option seems the more likely
I’m genuinely elated that we got the desired result today…all criticism aside, good on Havertz for finding a way to finally contribute in a fashion befitting his dumbfounding wages…it’s clear that MA feels far more comfortable with 2 DMs and Kai up top, so the number 8 experiment is officially on hold…against teams who have neither the inclination nor the midfield horses to disrupt our 70+ possession numbers, this could work on most nights…with the bus officially parked, we can push our defenders further up the pitch, which allows Rice the luxury of going hunting in and around the box…with Saka and Marts receiving plenty of double-teams, this will inevitably leave our more physical imposing players in advantageous situations when crosses are sent into the box from wider spaces…this isn’t the way to glory, but a very plausible stop-gap approach until we make a few pertinent personnel tweaks
the only disconcerting element of the next “phase” of this project is that I’m not totally sure we will invest heavily up top come the summer, even though everybody and their brother is suggesting otherwise…the big question is what would become of Havertz if we were to going shopping for high-end talent…surely he can’t return to the 8-hole, as that was woeful, and he makes way too much money to move on from or to functionally bench…not to mention MA’s going to do whatever is necessary to not have another Willian shit show on his hands, even if he has to pay every pundit a hefty sum to properly fluff-up his contributions on a weekly basis
so with all that in mind, I’m starting to think that we’ll somehow end up with a duo of Havertz and Jesus up top next season, as the latter can’t seem to handle the rigours of a starter’s schedule and he can likewise provide some wide-side depth….then we will once again invest at the back and try to find a proper Xhaka replacement/upgrade…this player will be a Douglas Luiz-type, or the man himself, who will distribute from a bit deeper spaces then make his way to just outside the top of the box…this will allow Rice to do exactly what was promised to him when he signed on the dotted line, a chance to be a more offensive contributor
in the meantime, here’s hoping that our plan works a little more swimmingly against a Porto side that will undoubtedly try to emulate many of the very same tactical maneuvers as a banged up yet rather game Brentford side did yesterday…fingers-crossed Marts will be available for selection, as he could be a deciding factor in this particular matchup
Yesterday’s game was a split game for me, as I went to sleep after the first half being 1:30am 2nd half resumption for me, and I’m driving through mountains for 90 minutes in the morning. Don’t get me wrong Thailand being a freer country that allows common sense to prevail so driving can be fun with very affordable fines and affable police as the generally get us all.
Normally, 2 or 3 cars will find their lines on near empty lanes, and so a swan lake ballet on 4 wheels takes place, as we have fun with each other in a gentle wacky races, mock race; I’ll assume Dick Dastardly with Ryan as Mutly if on the drive. Same, many moons ago in America when you could get mixed in with a bunch of 40 wheelers and travel at their speed without impunity from the bears, so long as your didn’t get in their way.
Thailand is like that, but, and there’s a big but, if you screw up, it’s going to cost you mucho deniro, as I’m sure KP will have heard of in the BKK embassy during his years here.
It was a fun ADHD brain speed 2.6-hour drive that should be 3.7-hours according to good old Google.
I dread to think what you enjoy behind the wheel TRVL? I don’t see you happily sitting behind mom & pop with the urchins hogging lanes. Here it’s legal to any form of overtaking, so long as no parts of the cars touch. I have to say I’m pissed off the with the SUV’s pre-collision warnings when you’re in tune to the music and road simultaneously. In retirement I get family pool car; this time the Everest 4WD which I kept a frustrated Thai driving an E Class in my RVM.
What’s even more amusing is that there are 6 serious mountain road checks, so I can always expect a pull over and some banter. You have no idea how much fun I’ll have when we win a PL title here with 5:0. This time just knowing smiles and a salute with the road guard holding his sheet of paper for the unlucky ones.
The 13 vids pre-covid I made from life with a MC club over 4 years was priceless driving fun on rides.
I digress because it was my first solo outing for a total of 4 years while I stayed safe from covid, and then was advised to stay home much longer. My BKK cardiologist has looked after me for 16 years where I send him Garmin data so he can advise on that input because they calibrated everything for me.
Literally locked down for 4 years with depression for company. Extreme highs and lows as I designed and built my EAVR room. After it was completed misery ensued for the quite severe ADHD with OCD for good measure compelling me to feeling like I was in prison.
I’ve now broken the hold my lockdown held on me. I’m not complaining, as I think if I were not lucky enough to have my house I spent 20 years building, I would have gone stark raving mad. As it was I only went mad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBYHwH1Vb-c&themeRefresh=1
With the chain finally broken I want to thank you guys for just being you guys. My oft mad ramblings helped me through the long days of solitude as my family went about their lives and straight to shower when they got home.
KP, Marc, TRVL you have no idea how much individually and collectively you have kept me Goonering on, so my heartfelt thanks for all over the many years.
Ambarish, thanks for your patience, and with new settings come less offended views of El B until he…….. If we win the PL this season, I’ll be happiest for you and Ryan, my son.
The rest of us predate Wenger some of us by too many decades with I think NORG being our eldest Gooner here, where LIR is much better for his input from where I sit. I enjoyed your views on the unmentionable Spanish waiter blog too, Norg 🙂
I mean he’s still a cnut in my eyes for the way he’s been with younger players et al, but I guess he’s our cnut, so he’d better wrap up this season with the PL trophy, as we have had the squad since the beginning of last season.
So, I got home before writing this post and watched the 2nd half without knowing the score.
HAVERTZZZZZZZZZZ………………………………
If he’d had missed that, oh man I don’t think he would have recovered from such a crucial miss. The look on Havertz’s face told me he’s been suffering. It was a grimace rather than a smile growl. Instantly I thought of all the negativity he’s having to face and he still has the fight and belief to do it. He just needs to reduce the swings and misses and crumbling ala Jesus.
As with Pool grabbing late points, and us in the 86th minute, I feel titles are won on such things. We should have had a pen for the arm wrap of Trossard in the 6-yard box, but we got there in the end.
For me Rice is the difference maker, which begs the question why didn’t we go after Rice when we bought Partey as in instead of? Rice lets Jorginho and Ode play. It’s that simple. His towering performances all over the pitch are a joy to watch.
Jorginho gets the time on the ball he needs to work his triangles and split-hair passes through the channels or centrally. Before Rice, Jorginho was always caught on that ball in areas that hurt us. Ergo he was deemed a liability and wasteful signing. Now, we get what we paid for; a gifted footballer where his lack of pace is no longer an issue.
Rice and Jorginho-Feijoada are a very tasty midfield dish.
We still need an 8, and 9. If Havertz proves to be some kind of lucky talisman – albeit a very expensive one, but if trophies come from goals – like last night, then I guess it’s the silver lining signing we needed; even as contrived as it sounds.
Last night was like the early 00s for me being in hotels and bribing the manager to change channels, now being in a hotel in the far north where the Internet can be intermittent, and where hotels are like SMART homes fueled by the local ISP. Then I’m using a MacBook running the dubious app in 720 run by the satellite company with the subscription football channels. Sadly, in such conditions picture freeze and reboots are very quickly needed.
This renders me with the laptop on my chest laying in bed, so the necessary changes can be made at speed.
OK, it’s all about tonight with Pep V Klopp. A draw would be perfect I think with our current form,……… and ‘nine will be fine’ if we beat Porto. I fancy us to do it even though we didn’t find our real home form of late yesterday.
Then after Porto on the 13th, we don’t play until 31st. Dubai really worked for us, so I hope they go back for more of the same.
See you all at the game tonight.
………..Then in a couple of days, I’m off to BKK for 4 nights for my 4-year overdue heart check up and once completed some shopping & partying therapy. Going to finally look at Hasselblad’s new offering up front & personal. Then with some friends I’ve been forced to neglect seeing during my covid sentence.
Anyone thinking of coming to Thailand soon should; hotels are very competitive post covid where it will take time to for pre-covid tourist levels to pick up again.
New post.