All the media houses and some of the journalists and pundits are rattled by our set pieces antics. Some of them are calling it illegal, some others calling it not in the spirit of game. Well, I have something to remind them – Aaron Ramsdale! More than a couple years back, Kamara from Aston Villa hindered Ramsdale with no intention to play the ball. He basically reverse hugged him, blocked his views and movement and Villa scored. The referee was sure it’s not a foul on Aaron, VAR also took a look and decided it wasn’t a FOUL AT ALL.
These same media houses and pundits were calling us cry-babies at that time. They are rattled now, because we haven’t let the VAR and REF guys forget it and we are doing it to other teams in a more subtle way. Fuck’em. Here’s a clip if you are thinking we shouldn’t be doing it.
Match Report
We beat Man Utd 2-0 to go closer to Liverpool on the points table. Both of our goals came from set pieces, Timber scored the first and Saliba the second.
First half was not an exciting affair for either side. A Declan Rice corner in the 2nd half when Timber sneaked between Bruno F and Hojlund to connect and put it in the nets made sure we were 1-0 up. Raya had couple of brilliant saves before another corner from Bukayo was connected by Thomas Partey, hitting the back of Saliba and making into the nets.
A 2-0 score was enough for us and United. This is the first time in history where we have beaten Man Utd 4 games in a row. It wasn’t a very exciting game per se, but we took 3 points out of it, and continue our winning run. It also brought us closer to Liverpool who had to share points with Newcastle in a thriller 3-3 game.
Only 7 points different between them and us, and that’s very much achievable if we keep doing what we do best – WIN.
Injury niggles are concerning
We played without Gabriel Megalhaes, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori in the defence against Man Utd. We have injuries earlier to Mikel Merino, Saka missed couple of games, Martinelli was struggling and Declan Rice wasn’t unavailable for 1 game at least. Our performance went downhill when Odegaard was not available for a stretch.
At this point, it’s concerning and we are just lucky that none of them have affected us like it’s doing to Man City. Well, may be Odegaard one did, but we are 7 points short of the Liverpool and we are still in the title race. But, it could have been worse. It can be worse in future.
Mikel keeps on playing same XI and we are happy with it – simply because those are our best 11 players and we want to win. But when there are 2 games a week, with travelling and hardly any rest, the players are picking up small injuries here and there and it’s only going to get worse as the season continue. We need to find a way to deal with this, and the best is to use the other 13 players we have.
Tierney is fit. I know he is not on our levels. I also know he is not that bad to play a game against Southampton or Ipswich. Nwaneri is getting his 10 minutes but he should get more minutes when we are 2-0 up against any team which do not call themselves Man City or Liverpool. Odegaard is our single point of failure, and Nwaneri sharing his 30 min every other game is not a bad thing for him and for the club. Thomas Partey is playing every game, sometimes at RB, at CB and in the midfield. He is covering a lot of ground, he is playing some brilliant football but lets not forget his injury history and lets keep him fit. Jorginho is fit and capable enough to share his load. It’s the same in defence, Saliba + Gabriel playing every minute for us when Tomiyasu can cover for them.
We need to be smart here. We should learn from Man City’s mistake and not wait for ours.
What’s next!
We are fighting on 3 fronts and we are still competitive in all of them.
Premier League
Only 7 points short of the leaders Liveprool, with almost 2/3rd of the season left. It’s a long grind and nothing’s lost yet after Newcastle did us and Man City a favor. Arne Slot will have his challenges at some point and we just have to make sure we keep winning to profit from it.
We are playing Fulham away next. That’s a tough fixture, they are punching above their weight and are 6th currently ahead of Aston Villa, Tottenham, Man Utd and Newcastle. We have Everton next, and Crystal Palace, Ipswich, Brentford to play till 1st of Jan 2025. It’s a ‘relatively’ easy draw and we should be looking to accumulate as much points as possible.
Champions League
7th after 5 games with 3 games left against Monaco (H), Dinamo Zagred (H), and Girona (A). All three are relatively easy games, and two of them are at home. Though anything can happen in Europe on a given day, two wins our of 3 will make sure we qualify for round of 16 and do not have to go in a 2-legged face-off against any team.
We are playing Monaco on 11th Dec. Dinamo and Girona game is in January so there’s still time to think about it.
Carabao Cup
Carabao cup is in advance stage now. We need to get through Crystal Palace on 18th Dec to qualify for semi finals. Newcastle needs to play Brentford while one of the Tottenham and Man Utd will be out of the cup after they face each other. Southampton will play Liverpool in the other game.
We need to win against Crystal Palace and then we will be facing one of the Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham/Manchester United. Semi final and final will be 2 very tough games to win a cup.
From January, we will part of the FA cup games as well.
Wrapping up
December is going to be fun for football lovers. It will be even better for us if we win most of the games and get closer to the league toppers. We also need to qualify for semis in Carabao and win the game against Monaco in Champions League.
Lets hope the winter brings us good.
Good old Arsenal
We’re proud to say that name
While we sing this song
We’ll win the game !
Cheers.
Ambarish
After Fulham the next few games are relatively easy – the only banana skin is probably Brentford, who on their day can beat anybody.
Will El B rotate against lesser teams in order to keep the likes of Saka fresh – I doubt it.
NORG
He should considering that every other player is suffering with a knock however slight it may be. December is relatively easy in all comps and we should make most of it.
By Jan 01, we would be in a position to guess most of the things for ourselves.
Good piece, Ambarish. Here’s an interesting stat I just read.
Interesting Ode stats. As it says across the web page 1 goal and 2 assists from 6 games. Double digits for both metrics would represent at least 20 goals from both. With Kai often awol our midfield needs to weigh in with more goals and assists.
https://one-versus-one.com/en/players/Martin-Odegaard
Sorry, by the above I mean from open PL play.
I don’t see a problem Ode adding another 8 assists, but I don’t see him hitting 9 more PL goals this season. It’s why Ethan should play with Ode as 8. Ethan has proved he can score from a half chance.
They would probably hit 5 each in the remaining games with Ethan adding assists.
I sound like a wildly ambitious fanboy, but all those games are winnable all the way through to and including the FA Cup tie against Manure. Monaco in the CL is arguably the toughest but we’re at home and have already seen off PSG.
Fulham away? Match them for energy, score first and we should be winning that. Iwobi looked sharp against Brighton, ESR not so much. Rice, Partey, Saliba and hopefully a returning Gabriel will keep them quiet. I’m confidently expecting a pretty impressive next four weeks providing El Bastardo remembers to rotate.
I really enjoyed your report Ambarish. County’s game tonight has been postponed. People have been advised against all kinds of travel so it was inevitable
KP—agreed…this is why I felt strongly about our ability to rewrite our narrative a bit if we could string together a month’s worth or so of performances against a whole host of overmatched opponents…btw Brentford is the most obvious banana skin affair in my estimation…of course saying it and actually doing it are two totally different animals…my biggest hope is that our most talented players, who don’t fit the new bully ball script, will make sure that the beautiful game isn’t totally forgotten simply because MA can’t hang with managerial upper crust…have a good one
Morning all
KP
I saw the weather maps for the UK this morning and wondered how much football will actually get played. Looks like being tucked up at home with Mrs KP for the weekend with howling gales all snug, warm and dry is the way forward this weekend.
Have you watched 50 shades? lol
I agree with you & TRVL we should be good for the 3 points unless the elements turn us over, because playing against the wind is so difficult, having to keep the ball on the ground or it has a mind of its own directionally always being blown around making control sporadic.
That said, it will be the same for all games this weekend, so maybe we can expect some strange results, which is ok so long as we bag 3 points.
LIR
Was reading that Klopp struggled in local derby games with Everton. Slot’s assistant was a Toffee for 5 years, so has the skinny on Dyche’s 2nd best set piece PL goal tally to us, which again will not be easy judging the flight of the ball in such windy conditions.
I don’t see the modern day Pulis beating Slot, but he might nick a draw with a strong wind behind them and Pool being off the pace again as they were agains the Bar Codes.
Pool v Everton & Palace home to City are the games I’ll watch today where our prayers will be answered if both drop points. Can Edu’s Forest take points from Manure?
Sunday sees our game and Spuds vs Chavs so hoping Spuds can do us a favour with a draw or beating Chelsea at the toilet Bowl.
An interesting weekend of football that I hope leaves us 4 points behind Slot’s pool come Monday morning.
Finally, MA says it’s a compliment to be called a Stoke type side. Galaxy brain reigning supreme once more thinking he’s the new Pulis or happy to be associated with Pulis football.
Am I dreaming for the points? Hope not ….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fdAFmtq-o8
Madhu—just read your weather-related response on the previous thread…I’m likewise quite familiar with what’s on offer come wintertime in Alberta, as my wife and I have relatives who reside in Canmore and north of Edmonton…we were just stupid enough to visit the latter location in late January one time and that was 4 or 5 hours north of the city in a farming community known as Smoky Lake…trust me, that will never happen again…what a layering up shit show, especially for me, considering my daily intake of blood thinners…actually, the weather system that’s laying a massive white dump all over southern Ontario originated in that province and is commonly known as an Alberta Clipper…as for Vegas, I’ve been there on a multitude of occasions for the usual reasons, but I would much rather experience all 4 seasons, even if that required me to endure a 3 month winter season, rather than live in LV all year round…I’m sure I would have thought differently at different times in my life…Cheers
I simply must make a brief statement regarding MA’s pre-match interview, which included his much-expected yet incredibly disappointing response to the Pulis comparison…in this interview he spoke at some length about his endless pursuit of making our club the “best” at everything, and I mean fucking everything…surely even he couldn’t believe that was the case, as he’s made a plethora of choices which were clearly not a means to that ends…now if he had made that statement right out of the gate, some 4+ years ago, I would have given him the benefit of the doubt, which I did anyways, but to utter such blatant nonsense nowadays, especially with all the available evidence, makes me think that either he’s full-blown bonkers or those bag-sucking twats that annointed him the next one are the only ones in the room who matter to him anymore…as to the latter point, not surprised whatsoever considering the massive ego-stroking re-up he just signed that has somehow made him one of the highest paid managers in world football
I was wondering what David Beckham and Posh have done to deserve a knighthood?
Anyone?
Good morning all Gooners. Weather in midlands have been a little mild. It’s raining and windy but I guess I will go for my badminton game at 8. We did have snow for a day late Nov but that’s it. Hopefully it remains that way. My energy bills are just atrocious and wouldn’t need more colder spells. I can control the heater and keep it off for some periods at least.
Regarding MAs statements I guess he is playing to the galleries and his fanclub who believes he can do no wrong. It’s really sad to see Ethan not getting enough mins. We are killing our home grown talent this way. If he doesn’t play much with the team how will he improve. Surely not on the training ground. This is one area where I will never understand MA. His treatment of the squad is pretty amateurish.
We should have enough to beat Fulham though they are playing good but very unpredictable. They miss loads of chances and without Owobis goals they haven’t been much of a threat. So we should be good for 3 points. ESR has not been doing much and last match looks like Riess has injured himself. He pulled up running with the ball late in the second half and had to be replaced.
Posh & Becks receiving Knighthoods. How low can we get.
This morning I was chatting to my wife’s closest friend from her schooldays. Her husband has just had a second cataract op and I wondered how he was. Her father was Peter ‘ Midd’ Middleton – one of the founding members of the SAS. Damien Lewis makes a special mention of him in his book ‘Daggers Drawn’. He became a teacher when he left the SAS. He only ever received service medals but clearly he deserved a lot more than that.
NORG
Oh we can go much lower – the talk is Sadik Khan’s on the shortlist for a Knighthood.
Marc
I think that one is a dot on the card. How to get praise for mismanagement.
Looks like the Merseyside derby is off due to weather safety.
I think Slot will be the happiest manager now getting to play Everton on a level playing field sans gales.
Heavy winds reduce games to chaos tactics when the ball is all over the place.
Marc
Get this: your wig wearing buffoon of a Tory mate. I give you…
SIR Michael Fabricunt. That is the bottom of the barrel. If viewers don’t know this wretch, look him up and see if you can spot his wig, or Syrup (of figs) for non cockney speakers.
Before you piss yourself laughing, I have an award. An OBE. I seldom talk about it but thought I’d mention it today as your blood is evidently boiling in the issue of awards.
Sadiq AND Kroenkephobe. What is the world coming to? By the way, I can defend the reason why I agreed to it despite my politics but I’d rather not go into too much detail.
If anyone does want to check him his real name is Fabricant. You’ll be amazed that this guy was an MP until you find out he was only a Tory.
Kroenke
My issue is with Khan – London knife crime has gone through the roof under his mayorship. People are joking that he’s being awarded it for services to knife sales.
We’ve got kids killing other kids and all he cares about is taxing cars off the road.
I don’t know how anyone can justify even considering the idea.
Palace 1 up against City.
I expect City to go on and win but you really get the feeling that City’s problems aren’t a blip they are not the team (for whatever reason) they were in the last couple of seasons.
Marc
The cracks are opening up at City. Prominent figures have started taking a dig, Jose first and Arne Slot later though Arne called it a joke but you don’t joke about such incidents in media unless you want to.
Pep’s face earlier and then the confrontation in public with some bloke the other day is his frustration. Pep or Arne may know something which we don’t about what’s going to happen!
I was full 3 years in UK and I found no one, absolutely no one happy with Sadiq Khan. Politicians shouldn’t be awarded anything at all, they are all the same – a word that starts with C and ends with T.
City does look washed up. CP testing them on counters.
As soon I posted my previous comment, they scored. Damn.
Ambarish
There’ll definitely be inside info / gossip on City – players talk to each other. There’s a good chance the media know more than they’re saying but can’t print / broadcast it without proof etc.
2 all is a really bad result for City, normally it’d be an odd game where they’ve dropped points but this is a run of 4 points from their last 18.
Pep trying to fight the ref.. probably telling him he is not invited to Dubai next summer.
Marc
Makes sense, players can’t speak against the Club or Manager, Media won’t until they get the verdict. No one can stop Mourinho to speak though.
Marc—in the more recent past City has had just enough depth and world-class pieces(Haaland, Rodri & DeBruyne) to mask any shortcomings, but with Rodri out and KDB struggling for form, Pep has to rely upon those who aren’t quite ready for primetime…of course they’re still a team to be reckoned with, but I don’t think they’ll be a bona fide title contender come late spring, unless they make some moves in January for some readymade options…this is why we should have moved all our chips in last season, then doubled-down in the summer, instead we nibbled around the edges and completely ignored the obvious…think about it, why would a team that had been runner-ups twice running all of a sudden completely flip their tactical script, unless the manager was trying to both justify his misplaced Havertz purchase and appease Rice’s ill-suited final third dreams
TRVL
Can City spend big in Jan? With the FFP charges hanging over them spending big may be seen as telling the PL etc to go fuck themselves, you’ve then got the issue of will top players join them with the risk of finding themselves relegated a couple of divisions come the summer.
relegated a couple of divisions come the summer
Sounds music to my ears. Amen.