Back On It

As hoped/anticipated/predicted, Arsenal got back on the winning bandwagon at Villa Park on Saturday. In a game very much of two halves, they totally dominated the first half (and should have been further ahead than 1-0) as Villa were far too passive, but Gerrard's tactical changes in the second half forced Arsenal back. And as Arsenal tired following their midweek exertions so they defended deeper and deeper, and by the end I doubt that was alone in feeling nervous.

Injury to Ramsdale - it apparently happened in the first half on Wednesday and must have impinged on his movement - and illness in the case of Martinelli meant changes to the starting XI, with Leno and ESR slotting in. Thankfully, these were places in the side where the backups are rather more than adequate. Leno slotted back in with little trouble, and whilst his kicking isn't of Ramsdale's standard (it got a little wayward the longer he went in the second half) it is clear to see that it has improved. ESR played well and could have had a goal (or three), but needs more minutes to get back to his best. Maybe he'll get some for England over the next week or so?

As we saw, Arsenal pushed Villa back from the start, and were well worth their goal when it came. Bukayo Saka's finish beat the unsighted Martinez as it passed through a number of legs following a free kick, as he once more shone brightly on the right. His knee slide celebration almost went badly wrong, though...

Some glorious one-touch football, judicious use of the switch from either left to right or right to left, alongside the domination that the colossus Partey produced in central midfield meant that they were in complete control, and 3-0 at half-time would not have flattered them.

The only major moment of concern was Tyrone Mings' reckless tackle on Saka, which must surely have been an Arsene Wenger 'dark orange' card (Saka was booed throughout from then on; clearly for having the temerity to put his ankle in the way of the fast-moving boot of the centre back). Many Villa fans are claiming, by the way, that it wasn't even a foul!

And if there's any further proof required about the way that Arsenal - and in particular - Granit Xhaka - are treated by referees try this:

Xhaka - one foul (and barely one at that); yellow card

Matty Cash - 4 fouls (each perhaps worthy of a caution); no card

Yet referee Madley booked the Swiss for 'persistent fouling'... he was barely adequate throughout, I thought, by the way.

For Villa, McGinn was comfortably their best performer, and they wouldn't like to lose him over the summer. Whilst Ollie Watkins - occasionally linked with the Gunners - was lively and caused some trouble, but is perhaps not quite of the required standard for a step up to what will hopefully be a Champions League team.

Of the Arsenal substitutions late on Rob Holding did his normal job well, slotting in to make it a back 5 for the last few minutes. However both Nketiah and particularly Pepe put in the type of pathetic, shameful shift that explains why they don't get any starts. The Ivorian may as well have been wearing claret and blue, as everything he did seemed to help the opposition. Disappointing; but Leno's save from Coutinho from Villa's sole shot on target in the 95th minute - free kick un-necessarily given away by Pepe on the edge of the area - sealed the win. Nice to see the love shown to Leno at that moment, btw.

Cue wild celebrations as another 'cup final' was won. And cue the arrival of the 'celebration police' - this time in the form of serial 'nasty piece of work' (and bird poo swallower) Ashley Young, who was on duty this week in the absence of Ruben Neves. And of Gabby Agbonlahor (I'm not one to talk, but he's certainly put on a few pounds since he retired), who effectively argued against himself when he implied that it's only OK for Villa to celebrate a goal/win. Get over it, ffs!

Unfortunately, Tottenham also won over the weekend; thus surely finishing West Ham off, I guess. A 10th own goal of the season in their favour set them on their way, and once more they have benefitted from the way the fixtures have fallen as they've recently beaten Leeds and Everton sides that were palpably out of form, and now a West Ham side fresh from an exhausting Europa League tie and with several players missing. 

It's looking increasingly like a two-horse (or donkey in the case of Tottenham) race for 4th spot, and it's looking likely to be tight. Looking at the worst case scenario - that we lose at The Toilet Bowl - I believe that a further 16 or 17 points from the remaining 9 matches will do it for Arsenal. Arsenal remain three points ahead, and with a game in hand; their fate is very much in their own hands.l

Arsenal will need to beat Manchester United (and perhaps West Ham) alongside the matches that we'd expect them to win. I don't expect anything from Stamford Bridge, but the key weekend may be the first in May, when Tottenham go to Liverpool. It's going to be 'squeaky bum time', I would think; but Arsenal currently have the advantage.

A quick word about Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang at this point. He's banging in goals left, right and centre for Barcelona. Which leaves me to wonder where this particular version of Aubameyang was for the greater part of the past two seasons in North London. I believe that the phrase Gary Neville employed (about Mesut Ozil, I think) is 'nicking a living'.

Anyway, on to another Interlull - I hate them. I'd imagine that Aaron Ramsdale will be forced to withdraw from the England squad, and if I were Arteta I'd find an excuse to do the same with Bukayo Saka. I expect Ben White to start at least one of the two England friendlies. Other players are flying out to join up with their countries, and with numbers so tight let's hope that they all come back safe and sound.

In the meantime, the tension builds as we come to the business end of the season. COYG!

Reality Check. And The Importance Of Starting A New Sequence Immediately

Nobody ever likes to lose. But this defeat needs to be taken in context. Up against one of the best club sides in the world, Arsenal put up the sort of fight that we'd hoped for. It is a measure of the progress that the team had made over the past few months that they went toe to toe with Liverpool for so long, and never looked like being blown away; something we've seen so often recently.

There's no point into going into too much detail of how the match went - we've all seen it - but I just want to make a few points about what we saw, and what it indicates for the club. So here goes:

Liverpool have had Jurgen Klopp at the helm since 2015. He has put together a fantastic team, with great players wherever you look, and barely a weakness to be seen. Plus he has depth in many positions. Alisson, VVD, Fabinho and Salah are quite possibly the best in the world in their respective roles, with others not too far behind. They are a formidable outfit.

Nonetheless, the work in progress that is Arsenal - the project only really started this season - matched them toe for toe for almost an hour. Arsenal are a very young side and have little or no depth to their squad, yet they managed to be the better side for much of the first half. OK, very few chances were manufactured on either side, but this was a proper contest where games against Liverpool really haven't been for many seasons now. But it's clear that Arsenal managed to rattle Liverpool.

There were little victories in many parts of the pitch. Martinelli gave TAA a torrid time - the like of which I've never seen before - and this has clearly contributed to the hamstring injury that's going to rule the defender out for several weeks now. 

If the Brazilian had been a little more decisive on one or two occasions, Arsenal may have scored a goal or two. Odegaard was surrounded every time he received the ball, so concerned were Liverpool by him. For Thomas Partey, it was a similar story. However, Xhaka wasn't quite as closely marked; they were clearly less worried about him. Defensively, the sight of Kieran Tierney outspeeding not only Luis Diaz but also Sadio Mane at one point was very satisfying.

However, Arsenal barely created a decent opportunity. For all that Liverpool looked well off their best - especially in the first half - and that can be put down to Arsenal's efforts - the home side found it very difficult to do much damage up top. And that can be attributed to two things; firstly, Lacazette was no match whatsoever for Liverpool's two man-mountain centre halves - just how good is Virgil van Dijk, by the way? - and then if he dropped short there was no room for him to operate. 

As Arteta mentioned in his post-match interviews, the difference between the two sides on the night was the decisiveness shown at crucial moments. Where Lacazette and Odegaard failed to make the most of Thiago's errant back pass early in the second half - kudos to Allison for not losing his cool - Liverpool punished Arsenal defensive errors severely. 

Ramsdale knows that he was at fault for the opening goal (and if I never see Jota on the pitch again against Arsenal, even that will be too soon!), and a series of minor errors led to the second goal; beautifully taken by Firmino. 

Something I noted was that with all the movement exhibited by whoever was in the Liverpool front three, our defenders often didn't know who to track. That's something that they'll have to work on.

After that Liverpool controlled the game and sat on 2-0. And why wouldn't they? And whilst Arsenal toiled away, the football purist in me admired the brilliance of the likes of van Dijk, Thiago - I hadn't really noticed him first half, but paid more attention in the second period and he was magnificent - and when he came on, Mo Salah. What a talent he is! And whilst both he and Mane have the type of face that you just want to punch, it's impossible not to imagine a neon sign above the Egyptian's head that says: 'Genius at work'.

And so the difference boiled down to a) Liverpool have better players, although Arsenal are closing the gap in that respect - and considerably greater squad depth, and b) Liverpool are relentless; they punish mistakes severely. However, it is clear that the gap is narrowing (and that can also be reflected in the league table), and that given more time (and money) it ought to narrow further. Last season, this game might easily have ended up at 4- or 5-0.

And hopefully this result will serve as a reality check for those Arsenal fans who were getting carried away. 'Come on - there's no reason we can't beat them!', and stuff like that. Those of us who had our feet more firmly planted would have been happy to take a draw, and defeat was - as we'll all admit - no surprise.

Just a word on Sadio Mane. Booed throughout, outpaced by Tierney at one point, throwing himself about and one particularly outrageous dive, for which he really ought to have been booked. He's a little bit more than a pantomime villain. 

One other thing I noticed was Liverpool's judicious use - Manchester City style - of the rotational foul. Dominate possession, lose the ball high up in the opponent's half, and immediately commit a foul that stops any break dead. I wish that referees were wiser to it. I can't stand it.

Nut it's now time to deliver on more realistic targets. There's no better time to start a new sequence than immediately, and we don't have long to wait. It's Aston Villa next, and they're certainly beatable. And with Tottenham having won on Wednesday to close the gap, Arsenal need to kick on again. COYG!

50 up!

Following victory over Leicester City Arsenal have consolidated 4th place, gone over 50 points for the season, and have a full 14 points more than they had at this point last season. The progress is there to be seen. And in the battle for 4th, Arsenal find themselves a point ahead of Manchester United, three points ahead of West Ham and 5 ahead of Wolves, with three games in hand of each of them.

It's additionally been a particularly bad weekend for Tottenham, who lost at Old Trafford and then watched Arsenal, West Ham and Wolves all win. They're now down in 8th place, but with two games in hand on the three teams above them. Their inconsistency is making life particularly difficult for them. 

However... it is worth pointing out that Arsenal's games in hand are against Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham, so there is no room for complacency at London Colney. I still see the latter as our biggest rivals for 4th.

I was sad enough to go through an exercise a few weeks ago to try to work out how many points Arsenal might need from their last 17 matches in order to take that 4th spot. I made it 35 points from 17 matches, and with 5 cup finals won since then the equation appears to be 20 from 12. 71 points. There is, however, a long, long way to go; so whilst we can dare to dream that's all I'll be doing.

Just a quick recap on Leicester. And what a pleasure it was to see that Vardy - who has been a gigantic pain in our side for years now - was injured. Leicester had been underperforming over the winter, but are now back in some sort of form, so it was never going to be easy. They have a number of talented players, of course; including James Maddison, with whom Arsenal were linked over the summer. However, his market price was twice that of Martin Odegaard... I need say no more...

Leicester started with a high press, but Arsenal had control over the early part of the game and were rewarded with a goal in the 11th minute. It was perhaps no surprise that it came from a corner, seeing as Leicester's record defending corners this season is dire - this was the twelfth this season - but perhaps it was a surprise that it was Thomas Partey who headed home at the near post. Two things on this - firstly, this goal was almost identical to the one he scored against Villa earlier this season. And secondly it was a close-range header and not a long-range shot, because... well, we all know that those end up in a similar place to Kepa's penalty the other day!

The rest of the half was much more even. Partey hit the bar - getting closer - but Leicester started to push Arsenal back as the half wore on and only a last-ditch sliding tackle from White, and a spectacular save by Ramsdale from a Barnes header prevented an equaliser. So 1-0 at half-time.

Second half, and 10 minutes in Arsenal were awarded a penalty by the VAR following a handball by Soyuncu during a goalmouth scramble. Two things on this again - firstly, it was Partey's header that he got his fingertips to, so Thomas was actually not too far off of claiming a hat-trick (!), and secondly I'm not sure how it took two minutes for the penalty to be awarded; nor what Rodgers and Schmeichel were complaining about! Despite his serious attack of shyness in front of goal, Laca buried the spot kick with aplomb.

And from then on it was frankly comfortable; the points never in doubt from that point as Arsenal saw the game out with ease and turned the screw on their rivals. Thank you very much.

A quick word here regarding individual performances. Once again, both Odegaard and Partey were outstanding. But everyone is playing their part. Gabriel and White in the heart of defence, Tierney on the left, and Lacazette all had superb, if understated games. Let's keep this up.

And now, on to a big test in Liverpool. Now, some might say that is a bit of a 'free hit', but it isn't really. As important as the points are - and I'd take a draw right now - it's also an opportunity to see how far Arsenal have come since the autumn. We're in the best form we could possibly be; so let's see how we compare against one of the powerhouses.

Because Liverpool are a formidable side. Fine players in every position, a strong bench, and no team presses as hard, nor moves the ball as quickly as they do. There's a small chance that Salah may miss out, but when you look at their last team selection and see that Klopp went with Salah, Mane and Diaz (where did they find him from - he looks like a magnificent acquisition; the new Alexis Sanchez perhaps!) but still had Jota and Firmino on the bench! Quite terrifying, really.

How Arteta chooses to line up for this game will be interesting. For many reasons:

• this is the first time in several weeks that Arsenal have actually had a midweek game. They will also have had 28 hours less rest than Liverpool, who played on Saturday lunchtime, and themselves play again on Saturday lunchtime. Is the Villa game more important? Surely he must rotate?
• I'm having nightmares over the thought of Cedric having to deal with Sadio Mane (and his flying elbows). Does Arteta bring in Holding and go with 5 at the back? And if so who does he leave out further up the pitch? Or does he maybe shift White out to right back for his physical presence?

So many questions? And the key is to at least not take a hiding in this one. A point would be highly significant. 

We'll see. In the meantime, let's keep glancing at the Premier League table whenever we have a wobble at the thought of playing Liverpool. I know I will. COYG!

State Of Play

I feel that it might be timely to draw breath at this juncture and take a look at the possibilities for the rest of the season for Arsenal. Whilst there are still many games to be played, the situation is slowly becoming clearer. So it's probably worth - instead of going into too much detail regarding the Watford game - looking at what we might expect to see unravel over the next 11-12 weeks.

I will also take some time later in this piece to discuss what's going on at Chelsea - a team who have caused us no end of pain over the last 18 years.

But before I go into more detail, I will start with an apology to my thousands (haha) of readers. A bout of Omicron - contracted, I believe, at the Burnley home game and which hit me later that week - knocked me off my feet, and I spent over a week in bed as fatigue overwhelmed me. Then some complications off the back of it, and I was still too ill to get to the Brentford game. And I'm still suffering a bit; the after-effects are hanging around and I'm off for more tests this week. And most importantly that means that you're several blog posts down; but I've made it back to my keyboard at least!

My last post was after the disappointing home draw with Burnley, which concluded a January to forget. However, February and the beginning of March have seen fortunes turn, with successive victories over Wolves (twice), Brentford and Watford (results have been so good that one of my friends has begged me not to post anything, just in case it breaks the good run!). 

As I say, I'm not going into too much detail on the performances - we've all seen the games, after all - but there are one or two salient points that I did want to make about how the team are performing. And it has really helped, of course, that other clubs in the running for fourth spot have been graciously dropping points left, right and centre.

So to the two points I wanted to make: Firstly, there's Arteta's subtle tactical change; which has seen Thomas Partey now being given the space to operate on his own in the centre of the field, with Granit Xhaka pushed over to the left - and mainly slightly further forward. There are times when this has worked well - Partey is a monster of a player on his day, who appears to have eyes in the back of his head at times. However, I'm personally not convinced by this change in role for Xhaka; if it's intended to balance the right side axis of Saka and the considerably more nimble and skilful Odegaard, I don't believe that the Swiss has the tools to do the same job on the left. And it also takes away from his defensive duties - we saw how Sissoko managed to run off him for Watford's second last week. So whilst I like the tactical idea, I think that in Xhaka we lack the personnel to deliver effectively. And whether Arteta would consider leaving Xhaka out of the side and playing ESR in there is something that we'll perhaps see addressed later on this season.

Secondly, I wanted to touch on the personality of this group of players. We've seen a lot of the good, and something of the bad, from this group over the past few weeks. The good has been in the never-say-die performances against Wolves (particularly at home). The noise in the ground at that last-gasp win was reminiscent of some of the most memorable moments we've had at Emirates Stadium; Arshavin's winner against Barcelona, Welbeck's injury-time winner over Leicester, the two 5-2s against Tottenham and the day we went 3 up against United after less than 20 minutes.

...and the bad in the entirety of the defensive performance at Watford, where I sensed (I was in the ground) that the opposition were taken far too lightly from the very start. Despite the warning of the first-minute disallowed goal, and the scintillating attacking play that punctuated the performance, Watford were treated in a manner that I can only describe as lackadaisical.

Nonetheless, at this point all we can say is that the team has made the most of a reasonable set of fixtures over the past month - it gets trickier from now on; if anything, of all the fourth place contenders Arsenal have possibly the hardest set of remaining fixtures. But because of dropped points elsewhere Arsenal have games in hand too. From here, frankly, there's no place to hide; and no excuse. And what a remarkable turnaround from bottom to fourth it has been! 

But what I'd say is this; going forward, despite playing essentially without a target man, Arsenal are looking great - that Odegaard/Saka axis looks almost telepathic at times. In midfield, we have the usual Xhaka-based concerns, but Partey (his John Jensen-like shooting notwithstanding) is in the middle of his best spell in an Arsenal shirt. And in defence... well, they just need to concentrate better.

And so we move on to Leicester (thankfully without our nemesis Vardy) on Sunday, Liverpool - almost a 'free hit' - on Wednesday, and Villa next Saturday. Three games in a week; that's unheard of! I'd be very happy with 6 points out of 9, and anything more must surely be seen as a bonus. Avoiding gratuitous dives and flying elbows are of course the main requisites on Wednesday.

And now to the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and what it means for Premier League football:

It has always been my position - and solemn belief - that the arrival of Roman Abramovich and his 'dirty' money completely upset the Premier League applecart; and in particular Arsenal's. In the blink of an eye, a half a billion pounds spent on transfer fees in the space of two years meant the end of the United/Arsenal duopoly, and literally nobody thought it was fair. 

There have been questions from the very beginning about the origins of Abramovich's fortune, and I amongst others (including Arsene Wenger himself) have used phrases like 'financial doping' and 'money laundering'. Abramovich's money changed the financial landscape of European football, and led to the arrival of nation states as owners. 

Manchester City, PSG and now Newcastle United have owners richer than any of us can possibly imagine. Is that fair? Of course it's not! And amongst those owners are some of the worst human rights abusers in the world; meaning that alongside the failure of FFP there is a distinctly awful 'fit and proper person' test. 

All of which stakeholders acknowledge, but then conveniently turn their backs on... Of course, Arsenal have been by no means innocent in this respect; there was a long-time dalliance with the equally sanctioned Alisher Usmanov (who'd have thought that by having the Kroenkes in charge we'd have dodged a bullet?!?), and I'm not too sure about the human rights record of Rwanda, to be honest.

And whilst football was never a level playing field, it has all led to an obscene growth in the finances of top-flight football - and lest we forget a massive percentage of that money leaves football for ever in the form of wages paid to the players. Sat in The Rookery with the Watford fans on Sunday (I did keep quiet!), I was struck by how difficult it is for 'little' Watford to compete with the big boys, despite spending a fair bit of recent time in the Premier League (their fans always expect a struggle). And similar scenarios go up and down the leagues and lead to the sort of issues that have recently befallen Bury and Derby County - and I could name several other clubs who have suffered as a result here.

Abramovich paved the way. And then employed the likes of Mourinho, Terry and Diego Costa; some of the absolute dregs of football humanity. And with the inevitable success brought about by a £3bn investment came the gloating entitlement of the Chelsea fans; something that has been very hard to take. Everyone - most of all Chelsea's own fans - knew where that money came from. But the success that came with it meant that they merely turned the other cheek.

Now don't get me wrong; some of my best friends happen to be Chelsea fans. But Chelsea fans in general have had a reputation for being some of the thuggiest and most unpleasant around. And to then chuck that 'loadsamoney' entitlement on top has made matters quite unbearable at times. 

From the day Mourinho's full strength side beat Arsenal's kids in Cardiff, through the Drogba and Costa years and then especially Arsene's 1000th game, it's been awful for Arsenal fans who have had to witness the equivalent of the oik from down the street winning the lottery and joyfully throwing his money around. When Chelsea made a failed bid for Thierry Henry one summer, David Dein described it as Abramovich rolling up in a tank on our lawn and firing £50 notes at us.

And so there is, I'm afraid, just a little bit of Schadenfreude to be had. Those 18 years of almost unprecedented success look like they've just come to an abrupt end. English, European and World Champions they've been. So yes, Chelsea fans, 'we know what you are'. But I do sense that alongside Manchester City's recent success Chelsea's trophies will always have the sense of a 'virtual' asterisk next to them.

So it's the clubs who have had success by means of more of a self-sustaining model who need to take extra plaudits here. Manchester United, despite being a bloated behemoth, at least generate most of their own income (and then blow it!). Liverpool have done an awful lot on the back of the £150m Coutinho sale, but their model in general is much to be admired. And if Arsenal manage to turn things around after a mere five years out of the Champions League that'll be a major feather in their cap.

As regards custodionship of football clubs, things have to change now. Whether on the back of this a different set of rules regarding FFP and FPP kick in remains to be seen. But we can no longer ignore the 'dirty money'. In some way I feel sorry for Chelsea fans; they've always known in the back of their minds why their club have been so successful, and the enormity of the change in their financial position will now hit home very hard. Goodness knows what their playing squad will look like next year, but it certainly won't include two or more world class player in every position, and 20+ players out on loan in top leagues all over Europe. Massive, massive uncertainty. Oh well... if you sleep with dogs, you will inevitably catch fleas.

OK - that's me done. Let's hope for three more points on Sunday. COYG!