The Preview/Review/Community Shield Roll Up blog post

This post is uncomfortably long - I am very sorry :(

I remember attending the 2015 Community Shield on a blindingly hot August afternoon; a match notable for being Petr Cech's Arsenal debut, for Mikel Arteta starting the game on the Arsenal bench, for The Ox's winning goal, and most memorably for Arsene Wenger going to great lengths to avoid shaking the hand of soon not-to-be Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. There had been a lovely 9 week break since Arsenal's second FA Cup Final win in two years, and with the Alexis/Ozil tandem in full swing hopes were high for a better Premier League season.

Over this weekend Arsenal played in another Community Shield, on a much colder and damper August afternoon, and after a mere three week break on the back of Project Restart. The result is in many ways irrelevant due to the transient nature of both the Arsenal and Liverpool teams/formations (multiple changes), and Alexis is long gone, with Ozil still somewhere around but ostracised. But, with Arteta now the Arsenal coach and lots of business still to be done before the end of this transfer window, hopes are once again high for a better Premier League showing. And a trophy is, I think you'll find, a trophy (and not just an Audi Cup).

Now, I started writing a review of last season after the FA Cup Final, but so much went on that it just felt like too long a read (and write!), so I've picked out the best/worst of it and written about it below. And it's STILL too long!

And I'm going to go about this blog post a bit upside down. Firstly, a quick review of the Community Shield action, then a precis of last season (for all that there was far too much to talk about and take in), and finally some thoughts on the current transfer window and the season ahead.

So to the genuinely pre-season action against Liverpool; and, of course, a 'trophy'. It is clear that Arteta's methods are bearing real fruit, as an Arsenal side barely back from a break held off a far more prepared Liverpool side courtesy of another Aubameyang team goal/worldie, a thoroughly disciplined performance, and 5 perfect penalties. 

I'm not going to dwell too much on what was essentially a pre-season friendly - albeit at Arsenal's second home, Wembley, and with a presentation ceremony at the end of it - but it's quite clear that such performances and results can only help to enhance confidence levels. And in a necessary dig at Tottenham Hotspur, I'd like to remind their fans that it is 28 seasons since they won a trophy that would make them eligible to even play in this game. Big club...

I'll cover the implications of some of the team selections and performance below when I talk about my hopes and expectations for the transfer window, but I will say this; at this stage, I would not swap Mikel Arteta for any other coach on the planet.

Of course, the tumultuous 19/20 season is all water under the bridge now, but there were so many moments worth documenting that it's worth putting them into some sort of context; so many incidents (and accidents, hints and allegations) that I've (sort of) bullet pointed them below instead of too much of an in-depth analysis 

Readers of a certain vintage may remember the film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly; one of a trio of 'spaghetti westerns' from the 1960s, and starring Clint Eastwood as the eponymous Good. As an 'homage', I've given each of these moments a vote as Good, Bad or Ugly. This is because of the clear correlation with last season; there was some Good, lots of Bad, and a number of incidents that can only be regarded as Ugly. But with FA Cup Final victory, Good triumphed in the end.

Anyway, here goes. And I've tried to make it short but it's been impossible, frankly...

• The season started following a summer notable for the club record signing of Nicolas Pepe from Lille for a (contentious) club record £72m and left-back Kieran Tierney from Celtic, but with the likes of Monreal and Mikhitaryan in the side (amazingly just three of Emery's first selection played in the FA Cup Final), and on the back of the Ozil/Kolasinac car hijacking incident. Not a normal start, but two wins nonetheless; notable mainly for Aubameyang starting as he meant to go on, and for a very promising debut for Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos. Good

• The following two matches saw a loss at Anfield notable for encouraging signs from Pepe - and also for David Luiz's first (and somewhat harsh) penalty concession of the season - and a home draw with Spurs that saw Arsenal show some fight to come back from 2-0 down. Bad

• And then... what I regard as the beginning of the end for Unai Emery; a 2-2 draw at Watford notable on the positive side for a sumptuous 'pre-assist' from Mesut Ozil that of Premier League players I'd say only he and Kevin De Bruyne are capable, and on the negative side for a dire defensive display that featured some of the worst playing out from the back I've witnessed - including leading directly to a goal - another penalty concession from Luiz, and this time the loss of a 2-0 lead. After which - and this is where I pin down the issues that dominated the end of Unai Emery's time at the helm - captain Granit Xhaka stated in his post-match interview that Arsenal had been 'scared' of Watford. Let me repeat; 'Scared'. Of Watford! Quite how that mentality had been instilled into the side I cannot imagine. Ugly

• There then followed a series of relatively easy matches - including in the Europa League - of which the most notable was a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford that will be remembered for one of the easiest VAR overturns ever, with Aubamayang, two yards onside, being flagged off before putting the ball in the net and the inevitable 'blatant error' dealt with correctly. However, performances were getting worse and with Pepe having saved his team from ignominious home defeat to Vitoria Guimares with two late (and glorious) free kicks, things weren't looking too promising, despite the emergence of exciting young talents Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka in the Europa League and EFL Cup. On the whole, Bad

• And then... the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace which will be remembered for Xhaka's response to being substituted (and the crowd reaction to it) which led to toxic scenes as he left the field. It was so bad that looked like there was no way back for the Swiss international at the club. More signs of dressing room issues, and of a disconnect between manager/players and fans. Nonetheless, Arsenal were robbed of victory by a terrible last-minute VAR call as the crowd gave them their full backing - despite the less than perfect performance. Ugly

• There then followed the madness of Carabao Cup defeat on penalties to Liverpool, following a wild 5-5 draw during which Arsneal blew 3-1, 4-2 and finally 5-4 leads (conceding in the 94th minute). It is worth noting that Mesut Ozil had a fabulous game... but there again he was playing against Liverpool Reserves! All in all, Bad

• November was dire. No win in 6, performances getting worse and worse, and signs that Emery had lost the plot completely. I was certainly not alone in calling for his head and finally, following a pathetic home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, the manager was put out of his misery. One could perhaps feel a bit sorry for him; in a foreign country/culture and unable to speak the language properly, unable to get his ideas over to the players, having made a rod for his own back with his '5 captains' indecision, and ultimately (and perhaps inevitably) out of his depth taking over from the living legend that is Arsene Wenger. But enough was by this stage enough, as Emery had lost the confidence of players (I remember Lacazette appearing annoyed with himself for his 96th minute equaliser at home to Southampton), supporters and finally the Board. Bad 

• Club legend Freddie Ljungberg stepped into the breach, but had an impossible task. With no coaching staff left to help him, and a squad of players at a very low ebb, results barely improved. Victory at West Ham was acheived due to a sudden 10 minute burst of quality in an otherwise dire showing, and Europa League qualification was achieved in a home draw with Standard Liege that left us relying on a late Vitoria winner in Germany to see Arsenal through as group winners. It wasn't getting any better. Bad

• And finally, following weeks of speculation, Mikel Arteta was confirmed as new permanent Head Coach just before Christmas. Perhaps he should have got the job when Emery did, but here we are... And whilst results didn't immediately improve, performances certainly did - and a certain amount of luck played a part; especially in a third round FA Cup win over a rampant Leeds United who did everything but score at The Emirates. This following an unlucky 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea over Christmas that finally had the crowd singing 'We've got our Arsenal back!'. Thus confidence began to be restored. There were too many draws, but draws are better than demoralising defeats. Good

• The most exciting match in this sequence was a 2-2 draw in the return match at Stamford Bridge, which saw 10-man Arsenal (David Luiz sent off trying to compensate for a catastrophic Mustafi error) come back twice. The match was most notable for Gabriel Martinelli's goal, a hybrid of Thierry Henry's famous pitch-length goal against Tottenham and Robin Van Persie's second at Stamford Bridge (thanks to John Terry's highly amusing slip) at Stamford Bridge in 2011. Good

• The good mood - and series of results - was punctured by embarrassing elimination to Olimpiakos in the Europa League, with Arsenal going behind in injury time and then Aubameyang inexplicably missing a sitter after that! However, I did not and will not hold that against him as he was Arsenal's best and most important player all season. Bad

• League form continued to improve, and Arsenal's quest for unlikely Champions League qualification was boosted by a home win over West Ham (a 6th in 8 matches, and 5th clean sheet in 7). Good

• Almost immediately after came Mikel Arteta's positive COVID test, and the football season came to an abrupt stop in almost all of Europe. I'm not going to dwell on the hiatus, as it's been well documented. But it would be 102 days before Arsenal played again. Ugly

• And following the restart, Premier League optimism swiftly disappeared. Thrashed by Manchester City (more Luiz errors), humiliated by Brighton (plus Leno injury at the hands of the snide Maupay); and of course the Guendouzi incident (we can only speculate as to why Ozil has not been seen at all, nor Guendouzi since the Brighton game, but I suspect that their Arsenal careers are done). And that meant that all hope of a Champions League spot had evaporated. Bad

• Nonetheless, Arsenal's form did bounce back, as finally Arteta's methods began to click into place; culminating in three outstanding results. Firstly, a fortunate (but disciplined) win over champions Liverpool, and then two superb performances to win the FA Cup. Firstly, an almost faultless display in the semi final against Manchester City, and then Cup Final victory over Chelsea. I'm not going to go into detail here; we all know how it went. Suffice to say that over this period Aubameyang, Martinez and Maitland-Niles were outstanding, and the influence and control of the Xhaka/Ceballos axis served the team well. And most interestingly, there was redemption over this period for the now fully-restored Xhaka, and for both Luiz and Mustafi who were showing considerably more discipline and control over their own actions (well, most of the time). So... Good (all good films should finish with the good guys winning)

And so to pre-season - controversy and changes within the club, transfer speculation and hopes for the season. And there's been quite a bit of Bad and Ugly to report, with hopefully lots of Good to come over the next few weeks.

So firstly the announcement just a few days after the FA Cup Final that 55 members of staff were to lose their jobs. There are two main strands to this: firstly, the vast majority of Arsenal's first team squad took pay cuts early on in lockdown, based on a guarantee that no members of staff would lose their jobs. Disingenuous, to say the least, from club heirarchy; especially bearing in mind that their total salaries would be less than £3m p.a. - a mere drop in the ocean compared to the costs on the football side. Secondly, a number of the job losses saw the dismantling of the majority of the club's scouting system, and quite what that means going forward we are yet to discover; although the influence of football agents Kia Joorabchian and Artur Canales does concern me.

Secondly, and linked to the above, was the sudden departure of Head of Football Raul Sanllehi. This occured just a few days after Stan Kroenke appointed Corporate Solicitor (specialising in takeovers, but I'm not prepared to speculate on that!) Tim Lewis to the Club Board in order to act as his 'eyes' in London - especially with both Stan and Josh stranded in the USA. He was apparently initially tasked with examining the Pepe deal, as the figures didn't add up. And suddenly Raul was gone; coincidence it may be, and I'm not prepared to add two and two together here in print.

What this does mean that the spotlight is very much now on Edu and Arteta as they look to mould a competitive squad. And interestingly, the club having decided to come away from the amount of control that Arsene had previously by appointing a Head Coach in Emery, Arteta appears to be shaping his own role very much in the way that Wenger shaped his own.

Changes to the coaching staff are also very interesting, with coaches in the Arteta mould coming in to reinforce what he is teaching his players. And all of this looks likely to bear fruit; just think about how different playing out from the back looks now compared to how it did under Emery - Arsenal now look much more like Manchester City and Liverpool when they do that, as opposed to a pub side as they did last autumn.

And now, finally, to squad makeup. It looks like Aubameyang is staying, and two or three are coming in. Gabriel Magalhaes to join Saliba in shaping a new look central defence, and perhaps one or two midfielders (notwithstanding that the almost forgotten Elneny made a 'triumphant' retun this week, and we are not sure what's happening with Ceballos at this stage). Willian is a sensible acquisition too. 

As to who will leave, I won't be too sorry to see the likes of Sokratis, Holding, Kolasinac and Torreira (plus Mustafi and Chambers, who are currently injured) go in the light of the way Arteta is looking to work. Not sure about what's going on with Bellerin, but I suspect that he is now coming back to full fitness. As for Lacazette, his sale may be required to fund acquisitions and that's understandable. But two I wouldn't like to see depart are Martinez and Maitland-Niles, both of whom are being linked to moves in order to generate funds but both of whom have been absolutely outstanding recently. With a number of exciting youngsters emerging - Saka and Martinelli leading the way - things are shaping up better than one might have thought they would.

All we can be sure of is that the squad Arteta chooses for the Fulham game in two weeks will bear little resemblance to the squad he'll be working with come mid-October. And as for the season... difficult as it may look to break back into the top 4 spots, I have confidence in seeing major improvements in results over the season.

Alright - I'm finally done now. Come On You Reds!

14 Is The Magic Number

So much to discuss. So much to be excited about. So many ramifications for this result. Because yes, Arsenal have won their 14th FA Cup - extending their lead as the trophy's winning-most team - thanks to another Man Of The Match performance from their world class Number 14, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

This is going to be a long-ish post, because there are so many things to consider; from the game itself but just as importantly as a result of Arsenal's victory.

Firstly, a word for Chelsea. Gallant losers, for whom little went right and whose Manager, Frank Lampard, went up in my estimation with the frankness of his post-match interview. The match exposed both their strengths and their weaknesses, and the tactical battle between him and Arteta - ultimately won by the latter - was fascinating and revealing.

The match hinged on two moments; firstly the injury to Pulisic, who was by far Chelsea's most dangerous player, and then the sending off of Kovacic. On the latter, I have two comments; firstly, Kovacic and Jorginho, as a pair, are masters of the 'tactical foul' (Manchester City and Liverpool's midfields are good at it too, but it does often work best when your side dominates the ball and you can commit a tactical foul to prevent a breakaway), and it was perhaps unfortunate for Kovacic that he was given the ultimate punishment in the FA Cup Final. Live by the sword and all that...

And secondly, one aspect of there being no crowds that has perhaps been overlooked is the difference it can make if a player who has been fouled makes a sufficiently loud noise as he hits the ground. Shouts and screams that would not be heard in a full stadium are completely audible in an empty one. Xhaka took advantage of that; again, live by the sword etc.

So to the game, and boy did Chelsea start well, with Lampard initially outwitting Arteta by pushing Pulisic and Mount infield and onto Xhaka and Ceballos, thus totally outnumbering them. The goal - beautifully taken (and don't underestimate the skill of Giroud's flicked assist) - came as a result of just one of numerous occasions when the Arsenal duo were robbed or pressured in the early stages, and Chelsea could have been further ahead by the time the drinks break came.

Arteta used the break well, advising his players to miss out the midfield as often as not and hit long balls intended to turn Chelsea's ponderous central defenders. And soon Arsenal were level as a result of that advice, with Tierney's punt from deep in the Arsenal half catching Azpulicueta on the wrong side of Aubameyang, and forcing the defender to foul him as Auba headed for goal. It started outside the penalty box, but ended inside it and a penalty was rightly awarded. And the defender was lucky to stay on the pitch, in my opinion; given the benefit of the doubt as Rudiger was perhaps close enough to prevent a goal-scoring opportunity. In my opinion not; with a clear run Auba would have got his shot off long before Rudiger got round to cover. And if that had been David Luiz?...

No matter; Auba dispatched the penalty with power, skill and aplomb; and not long after 'Dave' pulled one of his suspect hamstrings and had to leave the pitch in any case.

So 1-1 at half-time, and Arsenal in the ascendancy. But whatever Lampard said at half-time had an immediate impact as Chelsea once more shot out of the blocks. And it was whilst bursting past a static Holding and heading for goal that Pulisic pulled his hamstring, meaning his match was also over and thus eliminating Chelsea's main threat. With that, Chelsea's balloon was fatally punctured.

And not long after (67) came the decisive goal. A lung-bursting 30-yard run from Bellerin and the ball broke to Pepe (who chose the right day to have his best game in an Arsenal shirt) on the right, 25 yards from goal. He fed Aubameyang, whose clever shimmy and dummy left Zouma for dead. And at that point there was little doubt as to what was going to happen, as his deft left-footed flick over the helpless Caballero nestled in the onion bag. Make no mistake, Aubameyang is a world-class player and MUST stay at Arsenal.

The final puncture of the Chelsea balloon came with the departure of Kovacic (already discussed above), and from then on the only moment of concern came when Martinez flew out of goal and caught the ball literally right the edge of the penalty area. It didn't look good, and his body was outside the area, but videos showed that the ball was on the line. Phew!

And from then on there was little danger, as Chelsea failed to register a single shot on target in the second half. I must give sympathy to Pedro here, too, as he looked to have badly dislocated his shoulder in injury time.

A quick word about referee Anthony Taylor here. Arsenal have had some luck with him, both in the 2017 Final when Alexis's goal was allowed to stand and this year with the sending-off of Kovacic. Can he ref us every week?

And so Arsenal ribbons were wrapped onto the FA Cup for the 14th time. But this win means so much more than the bare trophy. It means European football, a bigger transfer kitty, more clout with the Board for Mikel Arteta and most importantly extra leverage with Aubameyang. 

The latter was naturally coy about whether he is going to re-sign, and I have concerns that Arsenal have got themselves into a similar position as they did with Robin Van Persie; and we know how that played out...

As for Mikel Arteta, I'm not afraid to announce that I have a crush on him. I have high, high hopes for Arsenal with him at the helm. But he needs the support of those around him. We can only wait and see.

I'll be back in a couple of days with a Season Review - and of course, the Premier League campaign was well short of expectations and a lot went on - but finally a quick word about Tottenham Hotspur (I can't help myself, I'm afraid). All the gloating, all the gyp, all the nonsense about whether this season will see a 'St Totteringham's Day' or a 'St Gooners Day', but when it comes down to it Tottenham have won a single League Cup this century (4544 days ago). It's 10,669 days since they won an FA Cup, and a whopping 21, 657 days since they won the League. The bare facts speak for themselves.

And as for Harry Kane; world-class centre-forward for sure, but not a single medal to show for 11 years at Tottenham. Emi Martinez has an FA Cup medal from a mere 11 appearances for Arsenal. Say no more.

Back in a day or two. Stay safe, and COME ON YOU MIGHTY GOONERS!!!!!!

Watford review and Cup Final preview

Many people are doing their end-of-season reviews this week, but I'm going to save that until next week, when we have a full picture of this utter sh*tshow of a Premier League season. At least we'll be able to put the final punctuation mark/emoji on it, based on the result of Saturday's FA Cup Final.

So for the meantime I'll stick to a review of the final Premier League game of the season, and a preview of the massive game on Saturday.

So it's to the Watford game first. Now, Watford aren't very good, and that's why they ended up going down, but despite going into a 3-0 lead it looked to me as if Arsenal were doing their very best to help them stay up (having initially put them in real trouble by losing to Villa previously). Gifted no less than three goals, Arsenal nonetheless looked almost as sluggish and disinterested in this game as they had at Villa Park - in stark contrast to the diligent performances against Liverpool and (especially) Manchester City the previous week. If they display this attitude against Chelsea on Saturday, they will be torn to pieces!

So to the award of the penalty for the first goal. It was a rash challenge by Dawson, and Mike Dean's decision to wave play on was rightly overruled by VAR. Now some are looking at Dean's reaction to having his decision overturned and claiming that he was disappointed to have to award a penalty to Arsenal (and we've seen similar reactions from him before) - left, 'celebrating' Saha's goal at The Emirates; right, disappointed at overrule:

However, I look at it another way; he likes to play advantage, but is nothing like as good a referee as he thinks he is, and as a result makes high profile mistakes. So he is in fact 'celebrating' that he allowed play to continue on the left, and merely 'expressing disappointment' that he made a wrong decision on the right. Therefore, I will go against the flow and give him the benefit of the doubt. Of course, he couldn't wait to give a penalty against David Luiz in the second half - and that wasn't totally clear cut for me - but he was at least decisive.

However, there is no hiding from this table, which shows the number of penalties awarded to each Premier League club throughout the season, against the number of touches made in the opponent's penalty area:

It's plain for all to see, and I do not need to comment further. Except to reiterate that there is, of course, no anti-Arsenal conspiracy...

Following Tierney's deflected effort for 2-0, Aubamayang scored his second with a smart overhead kick to close to within one goal of the Golden Boot for a second successive season, but despite Nketiah's attempt to tee up his hat-trick he ended up one short. In a side shorn of a genuinely creative midfielder in the continuing absence of Ozil, and playing from the left, 22 goals is nonetheless a phenomenal return. 

At 3-0 you'd have thought it would all be plain sailing, but Arsenal contrived to not just let Watford back into the game, but almost to allow them to help themselves to all three points. They got two goals back, and had numerous other chances to level and go ahead; Martinez's save from Welbeck's flick was quite exceptional.

On the whole, once again, this was totally inexcusable on the effort/mental side; and especially, as I have mentioned, when put up agaiinst the semi-final performance.

So Watford are down, and as a very local club to me I feel sorry for their fans - indeed, some of my best friends are Watford fans. Deeney's cojones weren't quite big enough for the job, obviously. But this is an Arsenal blog, so we'll stick to the main subject and move on to Saturday.

Of course, we are expecting - and likely - to see an entirely different Arsenal performance at Wembley. The difference between playing the last two opponents and Chelsea is that we should expect to play in a completely different way. Against Villa, Arsenal could not cope with the 'low block' and got caught on the breakaway. Against Watford, it was like watching a basketball match. I think that we can expect to see something like the pattern of the City semi-final, with Chelsea dominting possession and Arsenal looking to defend and then hit them hard with pace on the break.

It's clear to me that this can be a good match-up for Arsenal. Chelsea's strength is clearly going forward; Pulisic is in amazing form and Giroud is doing his job extremely well. Plus we'll need to look out for Willian's delivery and the subtleties of Mount or Barkley from midfield. I'd expect to see both sides playing 3-4-3 formations, and it's that - with the defensive weaknesses of Chelsea's wing backs - which can work in Arsenal's favour - providing they keep things tight. Pepe owes us a proper performance, and in Marcos Alonso he probably has the perfect opponent.

I see Arsenal lining up as follows:

Martinez

Holding-Luiz-Tierney

Bellerin-Ceballos-Xhaka-Saka

Aubameyang-Lacazette-Pepe

and that's probably currently Arteta's best XI. Thereafter, it'll be down to attitude and commitment, and I'd hope and expect to see something more akin to the one demonstrated against Manchester City than the poor subsequent efforts. And if we see that, then Arsenal have a chance. 

I didn't expect Arsenal to reach the Final, but now they have the optimist in me is going for a narrow Arsenal win. All available extremities will be crossed, anyway.

And of course this game is absolutely critical as far as next season is concerned. The difference between winning and losing will be reflected in a number of areas:

• Aubameyang stay or go
• Europa League or no Europa League
• Extra cash in the Bank - and the prospect of Europe - helping to attract new players
• Forcing Tottenham to go through Europa League qualifying

So it's not just about the game.

I'd just like to finish by saying: Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham, we see you. All that mockery of Arsene Wenger and Arsenal for claiming that a Champions League spot was like a trophy... and then - United and Chelsea celebrating Champions League qualification exactly like it was a trophy, and the hypocritical Mourinho dancing about on the pitch with his playing staff following their 'thrilling' 1-1 draw at Crystal Place. As I say, we see you.

And as for Harry Kane; 27 years old yesterday, and quite rightly lauded for his goal-scoring prowess. But with no trophies to show for it. Surely he must leave for a big club to get the rewards he deserves?

Until next week's Season Review. Stay Alert and Safe, please. Come On You Reds!

After The Lord Mayor's Show...

Just when we hoped that a corner had been turned...

Please, people, put this game into context and look at the bigger picture. Whilst there was justifiable euphoria at the previous two results, perhaps this shouldn't be too much of a surprise. But for Arsenal, there is a big jigsaw to finsh; and it has barely been started.

I was of course extremely disappointed at the performance. As I am sure we all were. But that's the beauty of football; if you're not fully 'on it', then this sort of thing can happen - no matter who are the opposition. It's difficult to equate victory over Liverpool and (heroically) Manchester City with meek surrender to Aston Villa, but perhaps with hindsight it was no surprise, factoring in the levels of fatigue and number of team changes.

Strangely, I feel worse for Watford and their fans (but not their owners, obviously) than I do for us. Whilst they've got themselves in to this position by not being very good, the past few sets of results have been devastating for them. Fortunately for them, they're got a game against Arsenal to finish their season, and based on this performance they've got to think that they've got every chance of staying up!

And I'd suggest that once again what he witnessed last night will further crystallise in Arteta's mind how he needs to change squad personnel. What's perfectly clear is that there is little squad depth, and that - even if they were willing to stay (and apparently they are not) - both Kolasinac and Torreira are not of the required quality for the rebuild. And Cedric was a thorough disappointment; I am unconvinced by the 4-year contract he received.

Clearly, it's difficult to be too dogmatic when the entire team were off their game (with the exclusion of the goalkeeper). The first half performance was dreadful, and although the substitutes made a difference it was not to be. The most damning statistic - leaving aside the 69% possession - was the zero shots on target stat. So in the same way that our previous two opponents struggled against our 'low block', so Arsenal struggled against Villa's. Whilst there were 6 changes to Saturday's side, the team that Arteta put out ought to have put up a much better show than they did. Questions may be asked about creativity - could Mesut Ozil have made a difference? - but this was opposition in relegation trouble, after all.  And by the way, I'll take Jack Grealish should he become available. There's a player who can carry the ball through midfield as well as pass.

Unquestionably, the mentality of the players as a group must be questioned. There should be no excuse for not being 'up for it'. There was still plenty to play for - not least the opportunity to give themselves a fighting chance of qualifying for Europe via League position. 

Now that is gone, Arsenal find themselves languishing in 10th place - behind Burnley (!) - on just 53 points, and are going to finish in their lowest position, and with their lowest points total, since 1995. That was the year that George Graham was sacked, and the squad included such luminaries as Chris Kiwomya, Jimmy Carter and Glenn Helder.

To think that fans were moaning when Arsenal used to finish in a lowly 4th spot! Some advised that we be careful what we wish for, and now here we are. But whilst the decline started to set in after 2007/8 and has accelerated over the past two seasons, we can only look forward with hope with Mikel Arteta 'at the wheel'. For all that we can see that he has a lot to learn yet.

To an FA Cup Final, for starters; and for all that St Totteringham's Day has had to be cancelled once more, that's something that them lot haven't got. The ultimate Schadenfreude of them finishing 7th and us winning the Cup, thus knocking them out of a European spot, would make a Cup win all the sweeter.

Which makes this banner...

...both irritating and unnecessary. I'm absolutely sure that this wasn't the message that Arteta was trying ot convey in recent interviews. And as I pointed out in my last post, it's not fair to say that money hasn't been spent on players; £300m+, plus wages, is not chicken feed.

Anyway, we should probably gloss over the Villa game, look to come through the Watford game unscathed, and then look for a considerably better attitude and performance on August 1st against The Blue Enemy.

Stay safe. Back Monday.

What. Did. She. Wear?

Joy. Endless, boundless, relentless joy - euphoria even. What a night. What a week!

Performances like the one we've just seen - and following on from the Liverpool result - have been both agonising and immensely pleasurable at the same time. I mean... who in their right mind could have possibly predicted that an Arsenal side sucked dry of confidence following the Tottenham defeat could have possibly done what it has just done? And in the space of just three days! Amazing.

I for one was fearing the worst. I'd found it hard enough to take in that we'd beaten Liverpool - fortunate as that was - but there was no way I could see lightning striking twice. But this was different; Arsenal are on a steep learning curve and both tactics and execution were spot on. Credit must obviously go to Mikel Arteta for the plan, for the team selection, and for instilling belief in the players. But, as Arteta acknowleged in his interview, he just sends them out; they must take the plaudits.

So what we saw - for the second match in a row and yet again aginst considerably superior opposition - was a fully committed, backs-to-the-wall performance in which it is difficult to single out any single player - they were that good from front to back.

Although I am actually going to single out a few (whilst not diminishing the contributions of any of the others):

• Ainsley Maitland-Niles - a surprise selection at left wing back and preferred to Kolasinac, and an inspired choice. Chosen for his pace and mobility over the ponderous Serbian in order to combat the threat of Mahrez, and he dealt with him almost perfectly
• David Luiz - after what he'd been through in the match at The Etihad immediately post-resumption, this was something like redemption. He was everywhere, reading the game well, marshalling the defence and putting his body on the line continually. This was precisely the reason why he was brought to the club, and I thought that he also handled himself superbly in the post-match interview 
• Granit Xhaka - a landmark performance shielding the defence. Always in the right place, and making crucial interceptions. Compared to where he was with both club and fans in November, this is again redemption
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - two superbly taken goals (having missed an excellent opportunity early on) but not just that. Yet again he worked tirelessly for the cause. He MUST be persuaded to stay

Come to think of it, this was a completely atypical performance - something for which Arsenal sides have not been known since the George Graham era of 1-0 to The Arsenal. And something which not many of us thought the squad were capable of doing. Not even once - let alone twice in successive matches!

Unlike Unai Emery, and even Arsene Wenger before him, Arteta has managed to wring performances out of this set of players that we thought unimaginable.

Now, of course, it's time celebrate the achievement. But it does give further food for thought as to what may happen over the summer. Can the coach improve some of these players enough to cut down on the need to invest? With the limited amount of money likely to be available, he is going to need help from above. But this week has changed many peoples' perspective.

To be clear, and as pointed out to me by a Watford supporter earlier this week, it's not as if Arsenal haven't spent money over the past few years: 

• Mesut Ozil - £42.5m in September 2013
• Alexis Sanchez - £30m in July 2014 (plus a further £63m on 6 other players)
• Granit Xhaka - £35m in May 2015 (plus a further £22m on 5 other players)
• Skhodran Mustafi - £35m in August 2016 (plus a further £20m on three other players)
• Alexandre Lacazette - £47m in July 2017
• Pierre Emerick Aubameyang - £56m in January 2018
• Bernd Leno - £19m in June 2018
• Lucas Torreira - £26m in July 2018 (plus a further £23m on three other players)
• Nicolas Pepe - £72m in August 2019
• Kieran Tierney - £25m in August 2019
• David Luiz - officially £8m in August 2019 but unofficially three times that amount

Total - over £500m, and with a 'mere' £209m recouped (largest amounts on Oxlade-Chamberlain and Iwobi). So net spend £302m. But the likes of Manchester City (net spend £601m!), Liverpool (net spend £173m but with that £142m fee for Coutinho included) and Manchester United (net spend £631m!!!) and have all spent considerably more in that period (Chelsea - net spend £264m - would have easily matched that if it wasn't for their one-year transfer ban). And that's one of the reasons why the gap has grown.

So it's not rocket science (actually, I really dislike that phrase, but it fits here). Arsenal now has a young, up-and-coming coach who is capable of going to the top of his profession. So that's one part of the jigsaw finally sorted. At some point, he may well get a mention alongside the current greats (I'm talking Klopp and Guardiola here). But he needs strategic support to help him achieve what we'd all hope are the ambitions of everyone connected to the club. 

We shall see, but as I've said before; sort out the future of a few key players and hopefully we can then see the right sort of progress - both on the pitch and - with proper Investment (not Cost) - off of it as well. The value of Stan Kroenke's investment has been diminishing over the past few years. He can surely now invest with greater trust than previously. We shall see.

In the meantime, we have a couple of mundane Premier League matches to follow - which nonetheless have plenty riding for the protagonists; they could send both Villa and Watford down - before the FA Cup Final. Which reminds me; if anyone has a couple of spare tickets, please let me know...

And the answer to the question in the title of this post is of course... a yellow ribbon!

Rope-A-Dope

Sometimes you just have to laugh. Much like Mohammed Ali took all that George Foreman had to offer and then landed the old one-two, so Arsenal perfomed the same trick on Liverpool last night. 

Every side has been on the end of results like the one Liverpool just suffered. I remember with less than fondness a home game against West Ham in April 2007 when Arsenal lost 1-0, having had most of the possession and 35 shots - 11 on target - and West Ham notched up no less than 59 clearances - yet lost to a speculative lob, at full stretch, from Bobby Zamora. I can still hear the West Ham fans singing: "One shot. We've only had one shot."

Games like this are freakish, and to be on the right side of this one is frankly meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Liverpool are almost on their holidays, yet totally dominated the game from start to finish. 69% possession (most of it in Arsenal's third of the pitch), 24 shots (9 blocked) to three, 13 corners to two, 609 passes against 278, 35(!) crosses - and two hilarious defensive blunders.

And that barely tells the story of Liverpool's dominance, so complete was it. Arsenal could literally hardly string two passes together. If the club heirarchy needed any proof of the gap that needs to be breached, it was there for all to see throughout the game. Three shots by Arsenal, two gifted after horrendous errors and one in the 90th minute, says it all. For much of the game, one can sense how General Custer must have felt.

Let's be clear about Mikel Arteta's position after the game. He made no bones about it, saying: 'The gap between the two teams today is enormous. We cannot improve on it in two months, but the accountability - the fight - is now equal and I am very proud of that. The rest will take some time. (Money) is a big concern. You need quality. Quality players and a big squad to compete in these competitions. It is a challenge.'

Over to the owner and the board of Directors. The gauntlet has been laid down. Do they match Arteta's ambition, and that of the fans?

Very soon, we shall find out. The transfer window opens in just over a week. And whilst we're hearing less good news about Thomes Partey, there are plenty more fish in the sea. It just depends how far, and how deep, the hierarchy are prepared to cast their net.

It is clear where the squad needs to be improved (almost everywhere), and there are big decisions to be made over the next few weeks. The future of Aubameyang is probably the most crucial, whilst getting shot of Mesut Ozil would be helpful for many reasons.

Arsenal fans are, of course, prepared to be patient. Provided, that is, that they see action being taken where it needs to be. It took Klopp 5 years to get Liverpool to where they are now, but it isn't just about the coach; just look at the amount of support he got from his owners, with huge fees spent on Van Dijk and Allison and many, many other squad improvements. Arteta has been in charge for 17 Premier League games so far, and his record compares favourably to Klopp's - more wins, less defeats, more points, more goals scored, less goals conceded - so the signs that he can coach a team that can compete at the highest level are there.

And so quickly to the game itself. Total Liverpool dominance until they scored - and a wholly preventable goal with Cedric chasing the ball too far upfield and getting winded in a challenge; thus causing Holding to slide across to deal with Roberton, Luiz to follow him to cover the gap, nobody keeping up with Mane as he kept running, and Tierney too slow to fill the next gap. Easy finish. 

And total dominance after that, until... a complacent pass by Van Dijk - a collector's piece - let in Lacazette who rounded Allison to slot into the empty net. And then a misunderstanding between keeper and centre half (Alisson's volleyed pass would have been fine if Van Dijk had been paying attention) leading to the Frenchman nipping in and feeding Reiss Nelson. Who, by the way, finished beautifully. 

And then the game reverted to type, with Liverpool all over Arsenal in scenes reminiscent of The Alamo or Little Big Horn - but this time with something to hold on to. Many moments of danger, but Arsenal clung on for a frankly most undeserved, yet highly satisfying and amusing victory.

Just a quick mention for VAR here. An explanation on this would be nice:

Top - Nketiah on Justin last week - didn't actually know the opponent was there when he turned; yellow card given - VAR intervenes and upgraded to red after use of pitch-side screen.

Below - Alexander-Arnold on Saka. Yellow card. No VAR review. Why the hell not?!? Anti-Arsenal conspiracy? Natch...

And so to the FA Cup semi-final against Citeh on Saturday night. Can lightning strike twice? I very much doubt it. Two freakish results in a row would be quite something, and being realistic I don't hold out much hope.

However, there's still a chance of a Europa League place, with two very winnable Premier League games to end the season. Despite what others are saying, I think that it would be very helpful to be in the Europa League next season, for all sorts of reasons. 

And after that, it all depends on how far Stan Kroenke is prepared to go into his pockets.

Back Sunday. Stay Safe and Vigilant, please. And wear a mask!

Errors. Errors. Errors.

So, just as night follows day, Arsenal's defensive frailties came back to haunt them once again. And in such a critical game, questions about their mentality must raise their heads once more.

Even as Arsenal fans were celebrating the recent success of Arteta's new system of playing three centre-backs (based, regrettably, on the unsuitability of any of them playing in a two) individual errors cost the team momentum and ultimately a game in which once again they could easily have found themselves out of sight of the opposition with a little bit more control, composure and common-sense. And ultimately they paid the price for profligacy, lack of a convincing knockout blow, and specifically those well-documented defensive issues.

Good as the results had been over the past fortnight, it was foolish to lose sight of the possibility - no, likelihood - that Mustafi is capable of Mustafi-ing at any point during any game (Bad Mustafi returned big time in the last 20 minutes), that David Luiz is David Luiz and that, whatever his attributes are, passing is not one of Kolasinac's footballing strengths.

Actually, I sensed bad vibes from kick-off, when Arsenal started sluggishly, gave the ball away and almost conceded in the first minute. Against a team who had only managed a total of two shots on target in their previous two entire games, Arsenal (Luiz, in fact) conceded a chance and shot on target immediately from kick-off.  Indeed, whilst dominating possession for much of the game - and especially in the third quarter - they looked vulnerable to the counter-attack every time they lost possession. Kane should probably have scored early when he ran on to a through ball (past a totally unaware Luiz); he was denied by clever and brave goalkeeping. 

Losing possession and the immediate aftermath of that is any side's achilles heel, and it showed up against Spurs. For all Arsenal's possession they looked all at sea without the ball in transition, and against a rapid group of forwards. And this must change for next season. 

One of the reasons that Spurs looked so dangerous on the counter-attack was the ease with which they could find their way through a midfield pairing who, as I have mentioned before, look uncomfortable without the ball; thus exposing the three centre backs again and again - the last thing you'd want to see as far as those three are concerned. And towards the end the mental - as well as physical - pressure told and they simply couldn't cope at all.

Very often - during the first half as well as the second, but brought into stark relief during the latter stages of the game - losing the ball would signal panic in the Arsenal ranks (and in my living-room). With Bellerin and Tierney pushed well forward, and with Ceballos (for all his skill in possession) and Xhaka continually exposed, there were knock-on effects to the cumbersome back three.

Leaving aside the relative experience of the two managers, this was a clash of philosophies; hard-bitten pragmatism against the desire to use the ball as much as possible. And at the end of the day pragmatism won over aesthetics. Arsenal's system worked to a great extent as they saw much more of the ball, yet their frailties were exposed in the second half by Mourinho's tactical adjustments to make his side considerably more compact, and the pace and skill of Kane, Moura and Son. I would venture to suggest that at this time Arsenal do not possess the personnel to become as compact as Spurs became in the second half; although Torreira was not used at any point, of course.

Vitally, however, the pattern of the game had been changed by Kolasinac's foolish error in the aftermath of Lacazette's thunderbolt of a goal. Instead of being able to consolidate their lead, Arsenal let Spurs back into the game almost immediately. I had already been asking myself why Kolasinac's preferred pass was the square ball back to Luiz instead of out wide to an often unmarked Tierney just beyond the half-way line (perhaps he was operating under instructions?), when he made a crucial error; a simple 10-yard ball totally wrong-footing Luiz and setting Son free on goal. And he was never going to miss, lifting the ball over the otherwise totally excellent Martinez as he went to ground. So for all the beauty and purity of Lacazette's shot - below - there was the spectre of the defensive beast.

So a first half that Arsenal had dominated ended all square, and it was during the initial stages of the second half that Mourinho's tactical changes began to bear fruit. While Arsenal continued to play in the same way - and saw considerably more of the ball - that was by Mourinho's design. It's a risky strategy at times, and Aubameyang had two chances that on many other days would have been goals, but Arsenal failed to score and finally the pace and movement of Spurs' front two outdid them. A succession of schoolboy errors (almost all by Mustafi) built pressure, and from a corner needlessly conceded Aldeweireld headed home almost unchallenged (why Tierney was marking him, and not a centre-back, I cannot answer; the Belgian is not the tallest of players, but he is 4 inches taller than the over-matched Tierney).

A word on Aubameyang. He looked marginalised on the left during this game, and would be of far more use in a game like this one in the middle - alongside his mate Laca. This is the sort of game that will encourage him to leave London in the summer.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the veteran manager had outsmarted his younger, promising opponent. One could argue that Arteta does not possess the personnel to stamp change on matches - especially in the continued - and shameful - absence of Mesut Ozil from the Arsenal squad. However, as we have seen him do many times before, Mourinho exploited his opposition's continual pushing forward by use of the deadly counter-attack. It goes against the grain to give him credit for this, but I suppose that one must; the ends justified the means. 

Of course, it's Mourinho's problem to work out how these same players have performed so diabolically recently. I honestly don't care about that. What concerns me far more is how Arsenal bounce back from such a demoralising result.

And so Spurs creep above Arsenal once more. And with Wolves and Sheffield United winning even Europa League football looks unlikely for Arsenal next season. And to top it all, it's Liverpool next. Arteta now needs to make changes, because the thought of what Liverpool's front three might do on Wednesday chills me to the bone. Revert to a back 4, bring in Holding and Torreira, and play in a far more compact manner would be my practical approach to the problem.

Arteta will have had his thoughts on the need for personnel change further crystallised by what he has just witnessed. Whether he gets the support of his Owner and Board (we have at this point no idea what the restructuring of the Club's debt means going forward) remains to be seen, but for all the optimism of the previous few games it is clear that they were merely paper over the cracks.