Bournemouth registered a goal against us in just under 9 seconds, the second fastest in Premier League history, and it looked like ‘one of those days’! We gave another one when the second half commenced, and with 2-0 down, it looked like an impossible task when all they had to do was put 10 players in defence, not giving any space for any of our forwards to create something.
However, there was a story to be written. In the 62nd minute, Partey scored of a tap-in from corner which ESR tried to head in. It didn’t take much time to level up, Ben White scored off a volley assisted by Nelson. Bournemouth wasted time, we were given 6 extra minutes to win the game, and it was the 97th, from the last corner of the game, when Nelson decided to score one of the best goals of this season off a clearance. What a shot! What a goal! And what a game!
That last goal meant we keep the 5 point lead from Manchester City. We remain at the top, and there’s only 12 games to go. We have a game in buffer, which, even if we lose, won’t allow City to go past us.
One thing that impressed me was Arteta’s in-game management. It had been poor in the past, but he has learnt his lessons. Bringing in Ben White in 46th minute for Tomiyasu, who mind you, wasn’t having a very sh*t day, turned out to be a very good move. Our attack on the right side improved, White has developed a very decent chemistry with Saka and them both overlapping created a mess to Bournemouth.
An injury to Trossard forced Arteta to bring in ESR, who was subbed out for Nelson. I mean you need to have guts to sub in and sub out a player during a game where the player is a fan-favorite. In the end, it mattered the most with Nelson scoring in the last seconds of the game, creating madness everywhere.
Nelson is out of contract at the end of this season, but there are media persons talking on his behalf that he is happy in North London and would love to sign da ting. I don’t think it will be a problem, he is a gooner and we need him. Having Saka, Nelson, Martinelli, Trossard gives us 4 very good options which can rotate on either side of the wings. If things get worse at some point, Jesus can cover too. That’s wings sorted for 5 years at the very least.
WE NEED A STRIKER! This is what happens when one of your CF gets a long term injury and the other one has a running nose. We either need someone proven, or we can try integrating Balogun. With Champions League football next season, it would be tough with 2, if one of them gets injured, you can’t play a CF twice a week.
Anyways, no complaints today. We are winning, luck is on our side and we are managing to earn all 3 points in games which we would have lost couple of seasons. Do you remember people walking away in 60th minute when 2-0 down not long ago? Yeah, that don’t happen anymore. We are bossing games even if we are behind.
Only 12 games to go. Some easy ones being Fulham (A), Crystal Palace (H), Leeds (H), Southampton (H), Brighton (H), Forest (A), Wolves (H). Games where we have to give everything and pray the VAR is in good mood – Liverpool (A), West Ham (A), Man City (A), Chelsea (H), New Castle (A). That’s 15 points that would require a fight. A lot to do still, but #COYG.
p.s. Hosting is renewed, domain registration extended for LiR. We remain independent for another year. Cheers!
The different papers have us in the summer going for Napoli’s Osimhen but he will not come cheap £133m is what is being battered around. If this comes to fruition we would have one hell of a squad for next season and may just be able to win the CL two years late as promised to Willian, but nevertheless a possibility.
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We would also have a to be feared front line with Saka, Jesus, Martinelli, Trossard and ESR rotating. only thing left get a world class DM or backup for Partey plus if we are selling KT a replacement at LB.
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As far as in game management is concerned, I do have to agree MA has definitely improved or shall we say learned? It does take guts to take of ESR who came on as a sub and replace him with Reiss but it did prove to be part of the winning formula. As much as it pains me to admit this, but still deserved credit where it belongs.
just a couple of things—(1) we don’t have a game in hand, as that mid-week affair was the match that brought us level with City, from a games played standpoint…still really pumped that we took all 9 available points this week, no matter the “level” of the competition (we have played one more than United, but their serious bedwetting on Sunday has likely made this a two horse race)
(2) regardless of Nelson’s beauty of a strike, we shouldn’t rush to re-up him anytime soon, as I’m not sure if he makes sense if our ultimate goal is to compete for major awards year-in and year-out…these are the kind of short-sided decisions, simply to avoid paying transfer fees, which have come back to bite us, like with Eddie and Xhaka, amongst others…of course, sometimes re-upping makes perfect sense, like with Marts, Saka and Saliba but Nelson certainly isn’t in their respective leagues…I’m always a little concerned whenever we choose the path of least resistance, like with our recent transfer window, as I would much rather we made one high-priced seminal purchase than 2, 3 or 4 coin toss propositions…not to mention, Nelson’s propensity for injuries shouldn’t be overlooked come contract time
(3) the whole subbing off a sub gig is an interesting one….from what I’ve heard and read ESR was on a “pitch count”, so he was coming out regardless of the circumstances…considering our lack of bench depth I’m not sure who could have logically come on minus Nelson, as I find it very difficult to believe that MA had planned all along to give Reiss any significant minutes…now if I’m wrong I would have no problem whatsoever apologizing for my previous statement, but oft-times the greatest predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour and there’s nothing I’ve seen thus far that would lead me to believe that Nelson’s on MA’s selection radar…ultimately I’m happy that he potted such a glorious goal in such a timely fashion, as this could be a definitive turning point should we win the title, regardless of the circumstances
(4) we’ve got 4 games before a much-needed international break, 2 League fixtures and 2 Europa matches against Sporting…under the best of circumstances I would want us to start are best 11 in all 4 matches, but with our present injury concerns I would very much doubt that this is a viable option…as such, I would do whatever it took to ensure that our best players were healthy and starting against Fulham and Palace, whereas if we needed to be a bit more inventive with the selection pricess against Sporting, I would have no problem with rolling the proverbial dice…of course, this is by no means an attempt to disparage the Europa gig, but for me it takes a distant second to our League pursuits…who knows, maybe Nelson can put on his cape again in Lisbon
by a couple, I meant 4 things LOL
Trvl
I meant the 5 point lead gives us a game buffer where even if we drop points, we would still be on top.
Regarding Nelson, I agree with you. There are players which are good to have, and some we must keep. Saliba, Saka, Martinelli needs to be kept for whatever it takes. Frankly, Nelson hasn’t achieved anything with us, Mikel favors him which is the only reason we still get to see him. I doubt we are going to up his salary significantly,if we decide to keep him. A 30% hike? Sure.
He does a good job. He is young. He will improve. Treat this as a first contract and not an improvement to the previous one and we are Ok with that.
Regarding the subs, there was no way in world Mikel planned this all through. He was planning things with Willian who used to play whole 90 stinking all over pitch. ESR wasn’t meant to play 70minute after this injury, Trossard injury forced him to come early but then he had an assist, and he is a fan favorite. If Nelson didn’t win us the game, you can imagine the anger.
White in place of Tomi coming in 46th minute helped too. How many times have we condemned Arteta for leaving the subs to 82nd minute? A lot.
Interesting that you also prefer playing the best XI in League, neglecting Europa.
Cheers
Killroy
Osimhen would be awesome. Two concerns though, he is in a different league, playing against weaker opponents compared to PL. Heck, even Laca started scoring. I have not seen him personally, gonna wait for next Napoli game now 😅
Second concern being the big money transfers almost always don’t work. Eden Hazard career after a 110m pound transfer broke my confidence.
If I have a choice between winning the El versus topping the League I do take the league and therefore I would play my best XI in the league games. Money wise winning the EL is peanuts and IIRC it compares to either being in the last 16 or 8 of the CL. Further money wise winning the league compared to 2nd or 3rd is also quite a difference. So, for me it is winning the league as top 4 is virtual assured for us next season and that is the big price of winning the EL.
From the last post from HerbsArmy – couldn’t agree more. VAR has fucked up more than fixing things.
Players score beautiful goals and wait for 2minutes to celebrate. Either automate it completely which fixes any manual errors or let the god damn human do the job on field.
We are robbed even with VAR, what’s the point.
I have been following Napoli this season because I like the club and the players they have. The Georgian Kvaratskhelia is tearing up Serie A and is now on the radar of the European elite clubs. He is the Vini Jr. of Serie A and he is 22 yo. Osimhen is fast tall and terrorizes defenses in Serie A as well as the Champions league. They play the 2nd leg against Frankfurt and take a 2:0 lead into that leg.
Because I have the US streaming service Paramount+ it carries all the EL & CL games with TH14 as a studio pundit and in addition it broadcasts Serie A so yes I watch Napoli and the Italian giants when I can.
By the way Kvaratskhelia is nicknamed in Napoli Kvaradona.
Good post Ambarish. Agree with some, but also TRVL makes strong alternative thinking.
With Arteta you know he’s going to want to make a statement this summer, especially when (if) we win the league. He’s already said he wants 4 new players and is ready to let Xhaka go.
Where it’s all gone wrong before is Arteta’s 1st, carved in stone choices have all gone to other clubs or stayed where they are. Will it finally go right this summer is in the hands of the footballing gods and how deep KSE’s pockets are and if the player wants to play for Arteta – at the end of the day it’s the player’s choice only.
I am not buying for one minute that Trossard and Jorginho were out Jan targets or even plan Bs. I believe they were never on our radar as has been said before.
Jacob Kiwior from what I watched of him playing as an AM chasing shadows for the U21s is; he clearly needs loans. To be fair ESR didn’t look much better in the1st half using it as more of a fitness run out. Kiwoir looked lost and it wouldn’t be fair to judge him on that showing. I’d also like to see him in his preferred DM position a few times.
We got lucky with Trossard falling out with De Zerbi. Equally, Jorginho was on their Chav’s clear out list so father Ted B can continue to create a footballing nightmare for Potter.
I think Fulham away is a tough gig to go to and a potential banana skin.
Our home games looked safe bets until Bournemouth turned up gung ho, guns blazing. The presses are going to get tougher because it’s the only way most teams can beat us getting turnovers and quick counters, bar City and Pool; they have better and more experienced squads this season.
Palace, Southampton and certainly Brighton will push us hard where with Leeds on a good day will be also fast & furiously hard with obscene fitness levels.
The Hammers have dropped levels so not worried about our trip there. Obvious concerns are Pool & City away: we need to take something from each game, either 1 or 3 points. Newcastle will be another tough game I feel we’ll scrape through.
City’s run ins is no walk in the park and should be our only rivals for the PL crown. https://www.mancity.com/fixtures/mens
Junior is in the same boat as you, Ambarish, hasn’t seen a title win. We have the squad if it’s managed right with selections & in-game management. I’m afraid, Ambarish, I disagree with you Arteta is still getting both wrong. Bolagun should be back now as a precaution. Just think if we had Guendouzi to partner Partey?
Too many mistakes are continuing to be made by Arteta, but our blind hope continues, as does our undying support for our players in the trenches.
It’s still ours to win and maintain our grip on its handles. If nothing else this is going to be a nail biting 12 games, not for the feint hearted.
So 1st quandary facing us is who to play against Lisbon and who to keep for the PL?
Any ideas? Bench and Hale Enders for me.
The PL is far more important because we’d have to really shit the bed to finish 5th.
Haven’t seen you for a while Almunia, hope all is well with you and fam. What’s your take on all this?
Just a quick James Horncastle quote from the Athletic:
Osimhen, 24, is enjoying the best scoring season of his career with Napoli, having joined the Italian side for €70million (£62.1m) in the summer of 2020.
And on Monday, Osimhen spoke about his future while receiving an award from the foreign press. “I’m working so hard to make sure that I achieve my dream of playing in the Premier League some day but like I said, it’s a process and I just want to keep on this momentum and continue to do well.”
Killroy
Let’s hope Osimhen’s process and Arteta’s process intertwine in the summer.
Great signing but would create a big headache for Eddie, Nelson & Bolagun.
Jesus would be 2nd striker or false 9.
I watched a good part of that Fulham-Brentford game yesterday and the 3-2 defeat flattered them frankly. Bernie is as slow as ever with the ball at his feet and their efforts to play out from the back were as bad as that early Emery era was for us. Craven Cottage is a small ground so we should be able to press them for most of the game meaning lots of action in their half. Gabriel M and Saliba should have enough between them to cope with Mitrovic. I think this weekend will be a good time to play Fulham. And I suspect old boys Bernie and an only slightly rejuvenated Willian won’t be able to put up much resistance.
Ambarish—my bad about the whole “games in hand” misunderstanding…as for the rather “unusual” White for Tomi sub, I would suggest that this might have been in the works prior to gametime, as I think MA wanted to see how they were going to defend Saka…when it was clear that they were going to layer-up their doubleteam and not send two defenders directly at him at all times, it made infintely more sense to have White come on and overlap the shit out of them…of course, it could also have something to do with the fact that White was salty when the reverse happened in a game recently
Killroy—like you, I’ve watched Napoli all season on Fubo, as they’re the only truly watchable team in Serie A this season, minus the odd Atalanta fixture or a Milan derby…I’ve been a big fan of Osimhen’s ever since he made a big splash in Ligue 1, but I very much doubt he will ever don our kit, at least not for the foreseeable future, as I beleive he’s priced himself out of our particular financial equation…I would suspect that we will focus on different positional needs, so long as Jesus comes back and perfomrs well, as we have both Eddie and Balo on term…as for the Georgian winger, Kvaratskhelia, he’s been a real revelation, not to mention he’s incredibly enjoyable to watch
KP—I likewise “watched” the Brentford/Fulham affair and I wasn’t impressed whatsoever by Fulham’s performance, as they looked listless at times and totally ill-prepared to handle what the Bees’ had on offer…the scoreline flattered them, as it was fairly one-sided 3-1 encounter until a late somewhat sloppy tally,…the only positive I could really find was when Leno almost touched the ball on Toney’s penalty kick, which considering his historical ineptitude was a rather surprising development LOL…if that Fulham shows up on Sunday we should have little difficulty putting them to the sword
For me Eddie was always a backup striker that has purple patches and doesn’t offer anything really in the air. Jesus is excellent centrally and on the wings. Perhaps the deal for Osimhen can be struck by sweetening the pie with throwing in one of the hale enders. I definitely feel we need a top striker if we want to go deep next season into the CL tournament.
Killroy—I totally agree with your sentiments, I just don’t think this sort of potentially astronomical investment is in the cards for us…not to mention that Napoli are an incredibly difficult organization to conduct business with even at the best of times, so just imagine how they will try to milk the shit out of this particular transfer…the only possibility where I can see this happening is if the player himself creates such an acrimonious situation that Napoli are willing to take a cut-rate deal before it negatively impacted his market value even further, which is possible considering Osimhen’s history in this regards…that said, I think MA, much like Wenger, has no interest in cowtowing to a superstar Stirker of this ilk, especially considering how it might tie his hands when it comes to both his tactical and selection options
Anyone still feel we could have used Willock in our midfield? I didn’t want him sold. Guendouzi for discipline? Fine.
But Willock had a good patch and he is young, could have been an attacking midfielder, could have replaced Xhaka. Could have played along side Partey. We let him go too cheap.
Ambarish—Willock was simply a short-sighted sacrificial lamb during the first phase of Artetaball, or was it the second, it was so hard to keep track…at that time MA had opted for a much more experienced lineup, so all of a sudden Willian, Xhaka and Auba etc mattered most, so JW was deemed expendable…now if we had known that he was going to be given another mulligan, when his makeshift retool went sideways, then I would have much rather we had kept Willock and shipped Xhaka…of course, normally when a manager shows a glaring lack of foresight they’re subsequently sacked, but not only did that not happen, he was actually given a raise and a king’s ransom…ironically JW plays almost the same advanced role as Xhaka, but he contributes considerably more in the all-important final third
as a follow-up to my earlier response, I just want to add that I’m not suggesting that if JW jhad stayed he should or would be an everyday starter for us…I just think that he made sense for a variety of reasons: (1) his long-term connection to the club, (2) his age, from a narrative persepctive, (3) he’s more offensively prodcutive than Xhaka, which means we could have shown him the door and (4) from a financial perspective, in that he was a re-up so there was no transfer fee required, so we could have put the monies saved towards properly redressing our longstanding midfield concerns…let’s face it we functionally replace JW with Lokonga and we all know how that’s panned out thus far
productive