A Tale Of Two Goalkeepers

Apologies that this is out late. A medical appointment put my Monday out of kilter...

But narrow victory over Chelsea, and the three points were really all that mattered when it comes down to it. Lots to discuss, so let's crack on.

Sunday March 1st would have been my father's 96th birthday. It was he who first introduced me to The Arsenal (aged 6), and he had a load of pet sayings on game day and at the ground about the club/team - a tradition I have continued. 

For example: 

'It's Arsenal weather!' - irrespective of the weather... 

'Come on Arsenal - nothing to beat!' - at the start of every half of football. 

'Top right/left hand corner!' - this might vary, depending on the mood; but at every direct free kick. 

And when an opposing player went down injured, it was: 'I hope it's nothing trivial!'  

As a special homage to my father, I made a point of using every one of those sayings at the match. It was the least I could do. 

Anyway, back to the matter in hand:

No changes from the romp at The Toilet Bowl; a not unexpected decision from the manager, with Eze - in particular - and Gyokeres clearly deserving of starts following their respective braces in that match. Havertz back on the bench, but no Odegaard; and still no Ben White. Hincapie is currently clearly the preferred choice over Calafiori at left back, but the combinations up front are still - despite it now being March - very much up in the air.

Make no mistake; Chelsea are a decent side. Not quite there yet, but they are getting there. They have some exceptional players amongst their ranks - law of averages I suppose - but who wouldn't mind the likes of Reece James, Palmer, Enzo, Caicedo and Joao Pedro in their squad? This week's announcement of a further £355m loss isn't going to help their cause, though. Their away supporters are amongst the most irritating in the entire Premier League, however. My level of contempt for them is almost as high as it can get, and they're up there with fans of Manchester United, Tottenham and - perhaps bizarrely - Aston Villa.

Arsenal started pretty well, helped greatly by a typically nervous performance from Chelsea goalkeeper Sanchez. And this not for the first time against Arsenal - remember that Declan Rice goal a couple of years ago? He is a disaster with the ball at his feet, and couldn't command his area either. If Chelsea don't replace him on the summer, that would be extremely negligent of the club. In comparison with David Raya... well, they're like chalk and cheese.

From very early on, when Gyokeres caught him in possession, both Arsenal players and supporters were on his back throughout, and he hardly recovered from that. One instance midway through the half, when Eze had the front to try to lob him from fully 50 yards, saw casual play from him and a further mistake as he carried the ball over the goal line for what should have been a corner. The linesman was far too far away to spot that, but the crowd made it quite clear what had happened! And with a string of errors with the ball at his feet, he looked like a disaster waiting to happen.

For Chelsea, Palmer looked the main weapon. He took up a lot of really dangerous positions; dropping into spaces strangely unoccupied by either Rice or Zubimendi. Half way through the first half, there was a change in defensive tactics from Arsenal as Arteta - having spotted the danger himself (I'm not the only tactical genius at the ground on match days, you know) instructed Saliba to follow him almost everywhere, leaving Gabriel to cope with the dangerous Pedro. Interesting.

Meantime, neither Eze nor Gyokeres were having the sort of games that one would have hoped for following last week. Up against a different calibre of opposition, of course. Neither Saka nor Trossard looked really on it, either, so one started to suspect that a set piece might be the answer. And so it proved.

An Arsenal corner in the 21st minute. And I spotted something new; pointing it out to all and sundry around me as the players lined up for it. Normally, Gabriel either takes up a position close to the penalty spot, or beyond the far post but close to goal, but this time he was not far from the far corner of the penalty box, and looking to run in from deep. 'Look at Gabriel', I said. 'This is new!' And it was certainly something that Chelsea hadn't bargained for, as a combination of strength and determination from the King of Brazil saw him burst past James and win the first header from Saka's dead ball, for Saliba to nod the ball goalwards. Saar could only divert the goal-bound ball into the opposite corner. Thank you very much. 

As Graham (aka Animal) who sits in front of me said: 'You're wasted here. They should have you on the bench with Arteta!' Sarcasm, eh... but never a truer word...

The news that came out later that Nicolas Jover is on a goal bonus was not a surprise; and Arsenal are now a goal away from breaking the Premier League set piece goal record with fully 9 matches to go. So he's doing OK for himself.

Meanwhile, Chelsea were looking dangerous. From both open play and set pieces. Entirely different tactics to the insipid performance they put up in the Carabao Cup a few weeks ago. Palmer was conducting matters, Enzo and Neto were making headway towards the home goal, Reece James' delivery from dead balls was at Declan Rice levels, and things weren't entirely comfortable. I remarked that Arsenal were going to need at least one more goal, as the away side looked sure to score at some point. We were hopeful after half an hour or so, however, when Palmer sat down in midfield looking injured. 'I hope it's nothing trivial,' I remarked... but unfortunately he was soon ready to continue.

So it came as no surprise when they drew level just before half time. The timing was annoying, as there were seconds until the whistle, but that's the way it goes sometimes. But not as annoying as the timing of Manchester City's winner the previous day - 13 seconds before the end of first half stoppage time...

A James corner was almost deflected into his own goal by Declan Rice. Not by his head, but his elbow. An elbow that was wrapped around Hato's neck... Rice lucky to get away with that one on more than one count; but a great save from Raya, who clawed the ball behind for a further corner. 

And from this one, Hincapie's intended clearance merely flicked off his head and deceived everyone; ending up in the far corner of the net. Deflating.

And Chelsea started better in the second half, looking far more likely to score than Arsenal. Raya parried an Enzo shot away for a corner, as they dominated the early possession and pushed Arsenal back. It was one too many losses of the ball by Trossard that saw him hooked by Arteta long before the hour mark; and his replacement, Martinelli, was to have a critical impact on the match not long after.

In the interim, Arsenal retook the lead; and from the most obvious source - a corner. This time from Rice, whose delivery was bundled home by the knee of Jurrien Timber. Sanchez wanted a free kick for a foul, but it was his own player who had impeded him as he staggered around his 6-yard box, looking lost and bemused. In the aftermath, Neto was booked for over-protesting the non-existent offence.

Look, I don't care - and I'm sure you don't either - how the goals go in. They just need to keep doing so, and Arsenal need to keep doing just enough. But this seems the ideal opportunity - as the football media seems to be all over it at the moment - to discuss corners.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am not jumping on a bandwagon when I say that even as an Arsenal supporter I am fed up with the unedifying sights with which supporters are greeted at every corner. Even though Arsenal are main winners here - with the highest number of goals direct from corners in the PL this season. But this isn't the first time that I have declared my frustration with the jostling and grappling that goes on; starting long before the ball is in play. Something must be done about this. And, because there is so much contact, there are inevitable long post-goal VAR checks. We see this again and again. All of which add to the anxiety of supporters, of course.

I have heard a suggestion that perhaps attackers should not be allowed into the 6-yard area before the ball is kicked into play, and that's as good a suggestion as I have come across so far. But this is a contentious subject, and should surely be high on the rule-makers' agenda for the summer. Interestingly, teams in other European leagues don't get away with anything like the sort of stuff that Premier League teams do, for example - so if anyone is thinking that England are going to have a massive advantage at the World Cup they should think again. Despite having the likes of Trent, Reece James, Rice and Saka available to Tuchel this summer, World Cup referees aren't going to stand for it.

What we've been seeing and hearing, of course, is that Arsenal are boring, can only score from dead balls, and wouldn't deserve the title even if they do get over the line. Which is nonsensical, of course; but as we know Arsenal are subject to entirely different standards and levels of scrutiny than any other side - much, if I may digress, as Israel are compared to how genuinely genocidal regimes are viewed when it comes to conflict. Martin Keown summed it up perfectly in response to serial curmudgeon Chris Sutton, who argued that Arsenal are ugly and boring:

'I was looking earlier in the season, and there were 4 or 5 teams that turned up at Arsenal that didn't even have a shot on target in some of those matches.

And it's like - well... people saying that Arsenal are not really creating. But teams just sit on the edge of the box and not to have a single shot for 90 minutes... you know, there were 4 games on the bounce earlier this season.

They've had to be imaginative, and they've had to find other ways. And in the end, it's a dominance of possession that gives you all those free kicks, corners, throw-ins. And then ultimately there's just so many of them, and they're so good at it, that they're gonna score from those areas.

'So I don't see that as ugly. I just feel that's someone wanting to put a label on something...'

This is something of which you, I and everyone else is fully aware, and is another thing I've pointed out in previous posts. I couldn't have said it better than Martin did.

A word for referee Darren England here. He managed to prevent no less than three successive possible Arsenal counter-attacks following Raya grabs by stopping play when Chelsea players obstructed him. Could easily have let play gone on, and then come back to the infringement. The crowd, already in a state of anxiety, had a scapegoat. I actually thought that the type of obstructions we were witnessing was a bookable offence, but apparently not. It used to be, and still ought to be...

On 70 minutes, a bizarre series of events. Firstly Declan Rice scampered back to stop a fast break down the Chelsea left from Enzo, with Timber stranded upfield. A superhuman effort to get to the ball, but he then hoofed the ball behind for a corner and limped away as a result of all the effort. Timber headed  the subsequent corner clear, and Martinelli set off in a foot race with Neto. Neto brought Gabi down - as clear a yellow card (maybe even a straight red) offence as one could possibly see - but Martinelli jumped back to his feet to continue the attack. Nonetheless England yet again failed to play advantage and stopped the game in order to send Neto off. And it did actually appear that Neto hadn't been aware that he'd already been booked... all very strange.

But the drama of that minute wasn't over yet. Not far from my seat, we saw Gabriel and Rice in frantic discussion. It seemed clear that the former was telling the latter that he needed to go off, with Rice refusing to do so. Martinelli sprinted to the other side of the field to tell one of the Arsenal physios that Rice had an ankle problem, and moments later Norgaard was preparing to replace Dec.

Chelsea's 9th (!) PL sending-off of the season. Haha and oh dear. And for a while Arsenal wrested back control, with Eze testing Sanchez with a firm left-footed shot. Havertz and Norgaard on for Gyokeres and Rice by this point. But - and we've seen this before this season - nerves started to get the better of the Arsenal players despite the man advantage as the end of the game approached. They dropped further and further back, allowing Chelsea onto them, and the anxiety levels in the crowd went through the roof. Sam, to my left, told me he couldn't take much more of it and my wife, to my right, told me that she'd rather go home than wait until the end. As I explained, this is all part of being a match-going supporter of a team that has something to play for; and that they needed to 'suck it up'. I was doing my best to hide my nerves, but my pulse rate was also dangerously high as we entered injury time and Chelsea continued to threaten.

And we have David Raya to thanks for the preservation of all the points. A despairing dive to claw away a Garnacho cross-shot - and he'd had to wait to dive because of the presence of Pedro; millimetres away from deflecting it in the other direction. And then a superb double save from a Pedro overhead kick, before Delap poked the all into the empty net. The Arsenal crowd were in shock and disbelief at seeing the ball in the net. Especially my wife. But - and even though we were over 50 yards away - I confidently announced that it was definitely offside. The fact that Pedro had indeed been a good yard offside doesn't detract from the quality of the save. 

Further disappointment for Linked-In Liam, and Arsenal had clung on. It wasn't pretty, but at this stage of the season that doesn't matter. 9 to go...

It's going to be like this until the end of the season now. What could have been something of a procession for Arsenal is anything but. Some thought it might be easy, but it is not. It rarely is. And so on to Brighton on Wednesday. Three points the only requirement. One game at a time. And - probably right to the end of the season - it's a game every 3/4 days.

The Premier League has to tbe the priority, but I cannot go without mentioning the Champions League draw; which, as the saying goes: 'If Carlsberg did...' Bayer Leverkusen, then Sporting or Bodo/Glimt, before a likely semi-final meeting with Barcelona. In the other half of the draw are PSG, Chelsea, Bayern, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Liverpool. Teams get a bit more space to play in Europe, and that should suit Arsenal. And the spectre of playing against another Premier League team has retreated, with neither Newcastle nor Tottenham (hah!) likely to progress much further in Arsenal's half. To be honest, I'd prefer to play Bayern or PSG than City, Liverpool or Chelsea, should we get all the way to Budapest. Let's not count any chickens, but the draw could not have been kinder.

OK - I'll be back on Thursday. COYG!

Hang on... in all the excitement I almost forgot! Happy St Totteringham's Day - the earliest ever! And Tottenham are in trouble - but you won't find a shred of sympathy on this page. Cheerio. Cheerio. Cheerio...

“Probably The Best Team In The World?”

Talk about lurching from one extreme to the other! The midweek disaster against Wolverhampton really had us in a tizzy, but there is of course no better antidote to such soul-destroying footballing moments than a visit to 'Dr Tottenham'. 

This fixture always causes nerves amongst the fanbase, but Tottenham are of course a) shockingly bad, b) massively depleted by injury and c) in absolutely terrible form to boot. So whilst nerves are natural - and this would have been added to by Wednesday's debacle - I think that we all suspected that we knew what was likely to happen. But there's always that nagging doubt...

I personally had a very testing afternoon. I could not watch the game live, as my wife and I were invited to an engagement party very shoddily organised for a 4pm start... and with the young man and his family all Arsenal fans. I mean... the heartiest of congratulations and all that, but where are your priorities, Ashley?!?

Of course, it was a wonderful, joyous occasion and we wouldn't have missed it under any circumstances, but it did make for a trying couple of hours; especially in a room chock full of Arsenal and Tottenham fans. But somehow - via a mixture of begging and threats - we managed to get home from the party - having stayed off of social media - without knowing anything of what had transpired, and sat down to watch the game 'as live'. A miracle, frankly. And we therefore got to experience all the emotions that everyone else did; except three hours later.

Anyway, not to go into too much detail on the game apart from picking up on some of the more salient points: And firstly team selection. No Havertz in the squad (I really hope he can be back for Chelsea), and disappointingly no Ben White either (one would have to seriously start to think that he may not be at the club next season, I'm sorry to say). The only alternative to a leggy Timber was therefore Mosquera, and I guess that even with Odegaard back and approaching full fitness the correct and most serendipitous choice for Mikel in the most advanced midfield role was Eberiche Eze. Hopefully this performance from Eze will have shown Arteta the way forward. 

As for the home side, their new manager decided that the best way to use the few tools at his disposal was to play a central midfielder as a centre half, and select just two players who could remotely be regarded as forwards. What could possibly go wrong?

I understand that just before the game the stadium announcer pronounced over the tannoy: "They're worried. They're nervous as hell. We're calm. We're ready." Please don't ever change, Tottenham... forever finding new ways to embarrass themselves.

It was Arsenal dominance from the start, and an away goal soon looked inevitable. Gyokeres headed into the centre of goal from a Timber cross, when if he'd have gone for his near post he would have scored. Not long after, he got away from Dragusin but shot just wide. We were all wondering if it was going to be another one of those days for Viktor; although to be fair he was at least seeing a lot of the ball, making it stick, and getting his shots away. In between, Vicario showed his nerves by unnecessarily haring 25 yards out of goal to head the ball clear and almost getting caught out by Trossard's subsequent attempted lob.

Despite having their flow interrupted by an embarrassing 7 minute delay for a communication breakdown between the officials (I'm going to blame the home club for that), Arsenal soon picked up the pace once more, with the possession statistics hysterically stacked in the away side's favour. A couple more chances followed - Saliba following a corner, Trossard's attempt from 25 yards miles off target following a bizarre mistake from Simons - before the home side belatedly started to see more of the ball. Although mostly, I hasten to add, due to individual errors from Arsenal defenders, who seemed to have some sort of 'my turn to give the ball away cheaply' rota. This is something that they won't get away with against more clinical opposition.

When the goal inevitably arrived, it was apt that Eze should deliver it. An acrobatic finish from short range after Saka had fortuitously found his way past Saar and into the penalty area. Justification for Arteta's selection; and to be fair Eze was already having a decent game, as he found space consistently in front of a Tottenham back line that was being given the run around by Gyokeres. Amusingly, this was Eze's first shot on target in the Premier League since his hat-trick in the reverse fixture. He seems to be personally trolling the club for whom he so nearly signed; and I think that despite being used sparsely so far he cannot be regretting that last-ditch telephone call to Mikel Arteta. As for Simons, who Tottenham signed when they lost Eze; nah, sorry - not fit to lace Eze's boots.

It took just 20 or so seconds following the restart for Declan Rice - who had been in the middle of the huddle following the goal cajoling his team-mates to concentrate and not let the lead slip - to join his team-mates in giving the ball away. And this time it was punished when Muani finally broke his Premier League duck by breezing past an unusually weak Saliba challenge (perhaps concerned about conceding a penalty) with a rasping shot down low to Raya's left. At least Dec could see the funny side; and he held his hands up, and then rolled up his sleeves. Of course, you don't want to give the neanderthals in the home crowd any oxygen, but they were naturally joyous - it was, after all , their first foray into Arsenal's penalty area. 

But despite the jolt to the system I can't say that I was too worried; so poor were Tottenham overall and despite them profiting from a little bit of basketball-type stuff towards the end of the half (with Arsenal still looking far more likely...).

To give him his due Muani, who has managed to look the shadow of the player that we've previously seen in a PSG and France national shirt now that he's plying his trade in N17, was giving both Arsenal centre backs a hard time. Towards the end of the half Gabriel was probably fortunate not to concede a free kick - or worse - as he tangled with the forward under a high ball. And there was a later incident, to which I'll refer in a couple of paragraphs.

1-1 at half time, and the second half started the way the first had; with the officials sending out for extra supplies of AA batteries. Pathetic...

But two minutes in Arsenal were back in front, with Gyokeres scoring his most important goal thus far in an Arsenal shirt; and in typical Gyokeres Sporting Lisbon-version style - collecting a clever pass into the middle by Timber, getting the ball out of his feet quickly, and hammering a shot past the despairing dive of Vicario. YEEEEESSSSS! A delightful goal; and one that followed the theme of the previous meeting as Tottenham once again left acres of space in front of their centre backs for forwards to exploit. Eze did that three times back in November, as I'm sure you will recall.

As I promised, another incident involving Gabriel and Muani. The Frenchman bundled home following Gray's deflected cross, which had looped high into the air. But he had placed two hands on Gabriel's back and whilst Gabi ought to have been stronger - and this isn't the first time this season that we've seen this - he chose to go down and look to buy a foul. It was really soft, but these are how the Laws are written these days. Wrongly, in my opinion - you see far worse at every single corner.

Those of us with longish memories will recall a similar piece of contact by Cedric on Son ending up as a penalty in a previous version of this fixture - and that was a really soft decision; so karma, eh... And Tottenham fans may well feel aggrieved that an Ekitike goal earlier this season was allowed to stand after he did far worse to Romero. This is the issue with officiating and VAR; the former is ridiculously inconsistent, and the latter is not fit for purpose.

From an Arsenal perspective, as the game moved on it was good to see them not sitting back and looking to protect their lead, but pushing for a third goal to kill off the opposition. A change in attitude? Perhaps. What we do know is that they've had a couple of what I can only assume were somewhat fractious team meetings since Wednesday evening, in which they would have told each other a few home truths about how to concentrate on the task in hand, and to see games out properly. Hopefully, we will see more of this as we get right into the business end of the season.

With Eze and Gyokeres both having their best games so far for Arsenal, it was apt that the two goals that did wrap the game up should be shared by those two. What a delight to see Eze finding space in unusual pockets of the pitch, and to see him actually being found in them. By dint of being there, it was he who seized on a ricochet to finally break Spurs hearts with his fifth goal against them this season. Remember when Spurs fans thought he was going to join them?... And time to fire an amazing statistic out at you; Eze has as many NLD goals now as both Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie!

In injury time, Gyokeres completed the rout with an even more Gyokeres-type goal, holding off Gray in the left hand channel and slamming the ball past Vicario,. By this time, there were barely 10,000 home supporters in the ground. 'Stadiums are emptied, everywhere we go...'. 

Moments before, Gary Neville on Sky commentary had given the POTM match award to the Swede, and whilst we were arguing that Eze deserved it more Gyokeres justified the decision with the goal. Just this once, Gary... just this once.

Shortly prior to that, we saw what may have been the save of the season from David Raya, who somehow threw himself back to claw an extremely clever and deft flick from the returning Richarlison off of the line. A brilliant and vital save, as Arsenal supporters would not have fancied 10 minutes with the score at 3-2. Especially after Wednesday... 

The sight of Richarlison once more had me reaching for a pair of imaginary boxing gloves... he has the most punchable face in world football, and I defy you to name a more punchable one (although I may allow you Bruno Fernandes, actually).

And that was that. Tottenham duly vanquished, as we all in our hearts suspected they would be. And to choruses of the Gyokeres song, the Eze song, and inevitably of 'Is there a fire drill', 'Are you Tottenham in disguise?' and 'Sacked in the morning' the Arsenal players made their way gleefully over to the away fans to celebrate. The gap to City is back to 5 points, and Chelsea next week is massive - especially with City looking to have a number of winnable games against sides in the relegation zone coming up.

Just a few things to chuck at you before I go:

1.    Quite how Bernardo Silva - for the second game in a row - has got away without a second yellow card (this time for a disgraceful challenge on Dan Burn) I do not know. Do referees think that he's 'not that kind of player’ Because he is...

2.    Why was no action taken against Rodri for his: 'the referees are against us' rant a few weeks ago? It was appalling, and should not have gone unpunished

3.    The news that Gianluca Prestianni of Benfica has been provisionally banned by UEFA following the incident with Vinicius Jnr is most welcome. I just hope that the investigation doesn't drag on for too long. I hope that he gets what's coming to him

4. Make no mistake; Tottenham are under real threat from relegation. They're in worse form than any of the teams around them, and have to play them all in the next few weeks. If they don't get their act together, they will find themselves in deep doo doo. You have to laugh... as Paddy Power have been doing for the past 24 hours...

Interesting to hear Igor Tudor pronounce Arsenal as 'Probably the best team in the world' in his post-match interviews, by the way. What is interesting about it is that this is how Arsenal are regarded all over Europe, but not in England. There's more scrutiny, I guess, in this country. And I keep saying this - even with the season three quarters down; there is still more to come from this group. Arteta is still learning about their capabilities, and needs to get the right mix onto the field at the right time. Sure, there is less doom and gloom than there was in the week, but it was only Tottenham. 

The truth is somewhere between the two extremes. Arsenal may well be the best team in Europe/the world, but we haven't seen them at their best. Yet. And they're not as bad as Wednesday made them look. Perhaps they've been given - and have now given themselves - the kick up the arse they probably needed to kick on. Let's hope so.

Anyhow, the good news is that the players get a week off now, before going into another long run of 'three games a week' weeks. A couple of days in Dubai wouldn't go amiss, I reckon, before Chelsea rock up (probably - and rightly - chastened by failing to beat Burnley this weekend). Another three points in what is Arsenal's second-most difficult remaining fixture would be extremely useful. With Chelsea having lost Fofana to yet another sending-off, this is certainly an opportunity to put them away.

Perhaps our latest Silver Member will be in attendance? Props to whoever sorted this, by the way...

COYG!

The ‘B’ Word

Loads to get through today, obviously And there’s no other place to start than with the Wolves game. On which I’m not alone in having a lot to say!

After that, I'll give you my thoughts on two extremely controversial talking points from the week that has just passed; namely 1) the FA Cup officiating fiasco, and 2) the Vinicius Junior racism scandal. The latter is a really serious issue, and everybody needs to be united on it. 

Anyway, here we go. And, unsurprisingly, it makes for grim reading. Especially because I’m not generally the sort of supporter who veers from ‘Everything is wonderful’ to ‘Everything is shit’ and back on the back of a single positive or negative performance and result. But this decline is beginning to feel terminal, and serious questions need to be asked. 

Those who have read my words over the season know that I have remained amongst the most optimistic of Arsenal fans these past few weeks; even while points have been dropped and the team has failed to take advantage of numerous opportunities to place large swathes of daylight between themselves and those chasing them. 

I’ve kept the faith. I’ve believed. I’ve convinced myself that the past couple of months was a blip and nothing more - all whilst the team have gathered just 10 points out of a possible 21 in the calendar year.

But, after this latest capitulation against bottom of the table Wolves, I have to hold up my hands and join the tide of Arsenal supporters who have been watching history repeating itself becoming less of a possibility and more of a probability as each game passes.

Others have seen the writing on the wall long before me. The struggle to lay a glove on Liverpool. The sterility of the performance at Forest. Losing to Manchester United. Failing to get to grips with Brentford. Even conceding two goals at home to Kairat Almaty. And now this.

Because - and make no mistake about this - this is utter ignominy. To fail to beat what is statistically one of the worst ever Premier League teams - from two goals up! - is a sign of both physical and mental fragility. It is not the behaviour or performance of future champions. And it is a sign that even this group - possibly the deepest squad ever assembled in Premier League history - is finding itself unable to cope with the pressure. Yes - and I’m going to say a word I thought I’d never need to use - they are indeed ‘bottling’ it.

Whether you put the blame on the players, the manager and his staff, or a combination of both, a switch needs to be flicked immediately. 

Not on Sunday - when suddenly even the thought of a weak and depleted Tottenham side doesn’t feel like the simple task it ought to be - but right now.

Today.

This morning. 

If I can use the recent words of notorious Tottenham vodcaster Expressions Oozing… ‘To-now!’

I’m not going to go into too much detail on the game. You’ve all seen it or read enough about it. But I’ll summarise it by saying that the warning signs became more and more apparent as the game wore on. Despite taking a really early lead, the team failed to put the opposition to bed, choosing apparent ‘control’ over going for the jugular. Why they would choose to do this instead of looking to put the game out of the opponent’s sight, I cannot understand. And if anything, this played into Wolves’ hands and gave them hope, despite them creating nothing themselves. And this is a pattern that we have seen all season. 

In the second half, when one would have expected Arsenal to come out on the back of a team talk and up the tempo, the opposite occurred, and it was almost against the run of play that Arsenal went two goals up. And frankly, despite the flow of the game still feeling wrong, at 2-0 that ought to have been that. 

Yet the players looked tired, leaderless, rudderless as a unit. Not even Declan Rice - for all his effort - was able to drive them on. There was no discernible plan or pattern of play apart from merely hanging on to the ball for as many passes as possible to use up time. Or hoofing it up the field as far as possible. The game was flat, boring even, and from early in the second half I was getting nervous. I couldn’t wait for it to end. All this against a really poor side who are tailed off at the bottom of the table.

Players were looking unfit and/or fatigued all over the pitch. And physical frailty leads to mental errors. We saw tired players physically unable to make runs and find space when opportunity presented. We saw simple passes and simple triangles regularly go wrong. And - yes - of course the first goal was Wolves’ first shot on target - totally unsavable and yet another ‘worldie’ - but Arsenal had been giving them the hope to have a go. After all, what did a side already doomed to relegation - and fully knowing it - have to lose?

And then… and then… as time ticked on and I was glancing at the clock in the corner of the television screen literally - and I literally use that word literally! - every 5 seconds the mistake came. Raya ought to have left Gabriel to clear a cross, but got tangled up with his defender on the edge of the area and left the goal almost completely unguarded. That a raw 18 year old - in his first ever appearance for the home team - took advantage - and for the defender who had managed to get back onto the goal line to fail to clear the shot - said it all. Mental fragility and the scars of yesteryear were laid bare in those three seconds. The sounds of chickens coming home to roost went through my head. Just like you, I was deflated and livid in equal measure. 

Make no mistake; this was an embarrassment. Blame the players. Blame the manager. Blame both. It doesn’t matter. But they MUST respond.

As well as finding the game a hard watch - and when they play like this there is nothing to like or enjoy about this side - I wasn’t impressed with Arteta’s response either. I didn’t like the substitutions. They didn’t help in any shape or form. Yes, Madueke never looks capable of playing a full game, but Saka is clearly not fully match fit, and should have been the first to come off. Gyokeres certainly needed to be hooked after contributing virtually nothing (11 touches in 60+ minutes!). Martinelli looked knackered. Trossard should have been on far earlier - and should have started, frankly. Why did we not see Norgaard? And why, with a fully fit MLS on the bench, did Arteta send on an obviously struggling Calafiori late on?

The television was switched off as the final whistle went, by the way… I couldn’t bear to see or hear any more.

Arsenal got exactly what they deserved from this game. And - make no mistake - this is a full-blown crisis. The final piece in any elite sportsman’s DNA is his mental strength, and this needs to be harnessed immediately. Don’t think that this performance and result won’t give even a weak and depleted Tottenham side cause for optimism. Because it will. Because anyone can see that if you put any sort of pressure on this group of players they may crack. No, they WILL crack.

Blame the players if you want to. And for individual errors you certainly can. But the manager has to shoulder more than his fair share of blame. It is he who sends them out to play in the style we have to suffer week after week - all of which is fine if you're winning, but certainly is not if you're not. A style based on his own image. A style too deeply rooted in pragmatism, and one that sucks the enjoyment out of watching football. The 'umbrella football'. The 'arc of disillusion'. Whatever you want to call it. And he has overplayed key players, so they look tired - both physically and mentally. Enough now - change direction, before it's too late!

Changes have to be made. Immediately. Firstly, a psychologist needs to be brought in. With a single brief. To change the individual and collective mindset of the group. Nor should the manager think that he is above being forced to take a good look at himself.

Secondly, I believe that the time is ripe for a change of tactics, of shape, and of personnel. Whatever Arteta has been looking for has stopped working, and he needs to free the players up to express themselves; to impose their undoubted abilities on the opposition. Start Odegaard if he is fit. Or start Eze. Put Saka back on the right, and Trossard on the left. Give Norgaard a start. And - if he’s fit enough - start Kai up top. Play in a less predictable style. Get the ball into the space in and around the 'd' of the penalty box instead of going round the outside, and back again. Rip it up and start again. Because the team needs a complete reset.

‘Control’ is not the be all and end all. Arsenal do not need 65% possession. They need decisiveness and speed of mind and body - especially in transition phases. The manager must be able to put his trust in the exceptional defensive group he has assembled to deal with turnovers. 

Set them free, Mikel. Before the club set further unwanted records and go down in history for all the wrong reasons. The season can be retrieved. But - as the saying goes - the biggest sign of madness is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result. Yes, it’s still in our hands. But it’s slipping away. All of it.

That’s it. I’m done on Arsenal for now. I just can’t…

On to the other two matters at hand. And we'll start with the performance (or lack of) from Chris Kavanagh and his assistant last Saturday at Villa Park.

No need to go over the errors. You’ve seen them or read about them. The offside goal. The second yellow (at best) card offence by Digne. And the Frenchman’s handball offence. All of which received incorrect responses from the officials.

The ‘goal’ was clearly offside. Digne should have walked. Yet that all pales into insignificance compared to the failure to give a penalty for the handball. An offence two yards inside the area given as a free kick two yards outside it? 

Kavanagh is clearly at fault. His ‘assistant’ let him down. This wasn’t even Sunday League level officiating - indeed I personally know Sunday League referees who’d be ashamed of making such decisions. But - and this is what’s laughable about it - Chris Kavanagh has just been promoted to UEFA’s Elite list!!!

For me, the reasons for the poor (or lack of) decision-making is obvious. It’s VAR. Officials don’t feel the need to make key decisions any more, because of the safety net of Stockley Park. So they defer to their colleagues in the booth. And - worse than that - they are becoming incapable of making decisions because they’ve forgotten how to! And don’t get me started on slowing down the action replays instead of showing them at full speed - which can paint an entirely different picture.

But when you see how much better VAR works in UEFA competitions, you have to be asking questions of PGMOL. We thought that Mike Riley was bad at his job, but Howard Webb turns out to be worse! The justification of poor decisions - and contradictory arguments - paints him and his organisation in a very poor light. As for his weekly televison appearances alongside Michael Owen; nothing more than PR spin. 

Personally, I’d prefer to scrap the whole bloody thing. I’d rather deal with human error than the inconsistency that still comes with the technology. Grrrrr…

Now to the appalling scenes - and aftermath thereof - at the Estadio De Luz earlier this week.

Firstly, what a fabulous goal from Vinicius Junior! But secondly, even whilst he was doing it I was saying to myself ‘enough with the celebration now’. Because it was unnecessarily provocative to both the home supporters and players. However…

There is no excuse for the use of racist language on a football field. Or anywhere. Whatever Pestrianni said - and he can deny all he likes - was designed to hurt VJ. White man to black man. Argentinian to Brazilian. Inexcusable. He should be suspended by UEFA, and an investigation needs to take place immediately! For all the protestations of innocence, and the backing of his club, there’s no smoke without fire; after all, why cover your mouth?…

There are those who point out that this is anything up to the 20th time that VJ has ‘played the race card’ in football stadiums. But he has every right to. Spain is a hotbed of racism against black footballers, and whilst the authorities there fail to clamp down properly on it, then it isn’t going to stop. And yes, I know that this was in Portugal… I’m certainly not going to disbelieve what he claims to have heard directed at him.

As for the response of Jose Mourinho... well, I'm sorry, but there is zero justification in playing that card. Benfica cannot be racist because their greatest player was Eusebio. What nonsense! Eusebio was playing 60 years ago, in a different world to today's. Own it, Jose. If it were possible - and I didn't actually think it was - he has gone further down in my estimation as a human being. This is typical Mourinho gaslighting, and if he had any hope of going back to manage Real Madrid next season then he's blown that out of the window.

Please, UEFA, respond immediately. Before the second leg is played. Be decisive for once. This cancer must be eliminated from football. Not just from football, but from society. But UEFA only have jurisdiction over football, so they can start there.

Before I go, here's a quick preview of Sunday's game; the return NLD. By any measure, here are two football teams going in completely the opposite direction. Despite recent events... 

Arsenal have a large and virtually fully fit squad, have a far higher ceiling than their opponents (for all that there remain psychological issues still to overcome) and are still clear at the top of the table. Whereas their opponent are in freefall, have just sacked their manager (and made a completely out-of-the-blue choice of interim), have a small, weak and additionally hyper-injured squad with barely 11 fit outfield players from which to choose, a diabolical home record - and an outspoken captain who is perma-banned. Indeed, they appear in real danger from relegation! So this can only go one way - right?

To be honest, irrespective of the form of the two sides I always have a sense of trepidation when it comes to this particular fixture. But this year I had none of that when they came to our place in November, and had Arsenal have beaten Wolves I would have even less now. By any normal measurement, this can only go one way, irrespective of any so-called NMB ('new manager bounce' for the uninitiated). 

However, Arsenal's result and performance at Molineux will have given Spurs a shot in the arm. They will be able to see a way to get at Arsenal. Which is precisely why Arsenal need to respond quickly, be sharp off the blocks, and to put them back in their place as quickly as possible. Which they are capable of doing... depending on the work that is going on whilst you're reaading this piece. I'm not sure that Mikel Arteta would have got a wink of sleep after that, by the way.

Here's something for afficionados of early1980s punk music; specifically Eddie Tenpole and his band Tenpole Tudor. Should Spurs get well and truly thrashed on Sunday, will Igor Tudor be given the monicker TenGoal Tudor, having been slashed to pieces by The Swords of a Thousand Arsenal Men?  "Hear our roar. Hear our sound. We're gonna fight until we have won this town. Hoorah hoorah hoorah yeah. Over the hills with the swords of a thousand men!"

We can only hope so. Difficult as it must feel at the moment, there is another game soon - a chance to kick back on. For all it feels like shit today, the Quadruple remains a possibility (saying that, playing like they are now, I wouldn't fancy Arsenal to beat eggs...). Which is why we need Arteta to produce some magic this week.

So... try to keep the faith. They're still our team. COYG.

A Difficult Evening

Arsenal endured one of the most difficult matches of their season to date at the GTech Stadium on Thursday evening. A 1-1 draw was probably a fair result, with both sides possibly coming away disappointed at not having secured all three points. But - and make no mistake about this - Brentford are very difficult opposition. Especially at home.

They're actually a remarkable club. They have risen from the depths of League One very rapidly in recent years; on a safe and solid financial footing and a very specific way of going about their business. Their modus operandi is very similar to that of Brighton, who have achieved similar success. Actually, I understand that Brentford owner Matthew Benham is not very popular with Brighton owner Tony Bloom, with whom he used to work. I'll leave the reasons for that to your imagination...

It was interesting to hear Brentford manager Keith Andrews, when interviewed after the game, implying that the way that Brentford work in selecting their playing staff would lead him to not fancy trying to implement what works at Brentford with 'other groups of players'. Suggesting that character is very important when putting together successful groups, and probably implying that disparate groups of individuals - the likes of those put together by clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Chelsea - are far more difficult to keep pulling in the right/same direction. Fascinating... As Arsenal fans, we know that character is a key trait that Mikel Arteta and his team take into consideration when looking to bolster the Arsenal squad. So the clubs appear to share that viewpoint.

To the game itself:

The news a few days prior of the loss of Havertz for several weeks was - frankly - not unexpected; if nonetheless disappointing. One doesn't come back from a year out and expect smooth sailing. If he can be back for Chelsea, that would be handy. 

The loss of William Saliba through illness was another blow; for all that his deputy Cristhian Mosquera did well enough.  And whilst Saka and Odegaard were back on the bench, this all meant that Arsenal were perhaps a little light on 'first choice' players for a test of this magnitude. The key selection was that of Eze in an attacking midfield role - how he performed was likely to be critical to the way the game went. With Manchester City having literally strolled to victory the previous evening (Fulham having rolled over for them) to cut the gap to three points, the pressure was certainly ramped up a little for the league leaders.

The atmosphere felt electric - at least from my armchair. I am sure that stadia such as the GTech under the lights, with big visitors such as Arsenal rocking up and the opportunity presented to try to make a statement, must feel different to any relatively mundane fixture on a Saturday afternoon. And Brentford were clearly up for the fight. Andrews had mentioned looking to 'create chaos', and this is something that the home side certainly did manage to do. Early on, Arsenal's play was jittery and error-strewn, as the ferocity (and I don't mean this as suggesting violence, by the way) of Brentford's press put Arsenal players under pressure all over the pitch. 

Nonetheless, there was little to report as regards penalty area action. A fairly tame header from Gabriel from a corner was all that Arsenal had to show for the first 10 minutes of play, whilst Brentford created nothing, and looked most likely to cause damage through the gargantuan long throws of Kayode. As it happens, the first one of those went out directly for a goal kick, but the aftermath of the second led to the game's first big chance. Raya - over-ambitious - gathered the loose ball and looked to set Rice away, but his roll-out was easily intercepted by Jensen. and the midfielder's subsequent cross was met with the full power of the forehead of Igor Thiago. Raya redeemed himself with a brilliant point-blank stop.

And for the next 10 minutes or so it was almost all Brentford, with alarm bells ringing amongst the Arsenal ranks. This was not how this was supposed to go. Thankfully, the home side created little, but Arsenal are simply not used to this. It took them a fair while to regain possessional and territorial dominance. But half time arrived with very little more to report - apart from a booking for Gabriel - and with plenty of room for improvement from a nervy away side. Arsenal were offering little going forward, despite regaining control, and Brentford continued to look dangerous from set pieces; and especially on the break.

The almost completely ineffective (and fast becoming something of a disappointment) Eze was replaced at half time by Martin Odegaard, in the hope that he could inject some urgency into Arsenal's attacking play. Which he initially did; looking busier and helping Arsenal to move the ball quicker in the opponents' final third. There were early half-chances for Gyokeres and Trossard, as Arsenal started to look a little more like... er... Arsenal.

Just a word at this point on Eze. And Odegaard. And even David Raya. The former Crystal Palace player is still struggling to adapt to life at Arsenal. There have been flashes of brilliance - the assist for Martinelli against Manchester City, and of course the hat-trick against Spurs. But his languid style of play is often unsuited to the frantic nature of some games, and he needs to adapt to that. Odegaard, on the other hand, sometimes seems almost TOO eager to impose himself on matches. As I have said before; when he drops deep, there is no central link to the forward line He needs to learn the discipline of his role.

As for Raya. Well, I must say that I was disappointed at his distribution in this match. He seemed either flustered, or simply too eager to go long. Which made life difficult for Gyokeres, who was up against two gigantic central defenders.

On the hour, Arsenal finally got their noses in front. Hincapie, who had managed to work himself into several good positions at various points, intercepted a clearance and looped a cross to the far post where Madueke leapt higher than the diminutive Henry and diverted the ball back from whence it came and into the corner of the net, with the wrong-footed Kelleher flailing at thin air. The winger's second goal in successive away games, and a vital contribution.

Brentford upped the pace immediately, and the pattern was set for the rest of the game. It's funny how a goal can change players' mindsets, and the pattern of a game. A side can be on top and take the lead, but then a switch goes off and they change modes. In this instance, there was very much an element of looking to hold on to the lead - and this was evident almost immediately. All of which fed into Brentford piling on the pressure - especially from set-pieces.

That's not to say that Arsenal didn't have the odd chance on the break. From one, Odegaard robbed his man and found Rice inside the penalty area. He probably ought to have shot, but passed to Gyokeres - and the ball was taken off his toe by Kayode. But for that intervention, Arsenal would have put the game to bed. But Brentford broke directly from that, and Thiago worked Gabriel and Raya hard as he bore down on goal.

For the rest of the game the heart was in the mouth. Gabriel and Mosquera were both working overtime to keep Brentford at bay, and at every dead ball situation the home side were giving Arsenal a taste of their own medicine, with space in the 6-yard box at an absolute premium. 

I hate watching all that jostling at corners and suchlike, as I've mentioned before. Players get away with stuff in there that they cannot get away with elsewhere on the field. For all that Arsenal have profited over the years - and especially recently - from their prowess in these situations, I do wish that FIFA would change the Laws of the game here. It's unseemly and unsightly, and simply not football.

From another Kayode long throw, Brentford equalised. The ball was headed on at the near post to an unmarked Lewis-Potter, who got the wrong side of Odegaard and directed a powerful header back past Raya. Which was what the home side deserved, frankly. But was there a foul on Gabriel as the ball came over?

Odegaard hurt his knee in trying to prevent the goal, and whilst he was able to carry on and finish the game he was limping badly afterwards. I hope that he's ok.

The rest of the game was frantic, with my pulse rate through the roof. Gabriel brought down Outtara out on the left hand side. Could easily have received a second booking, but got away with it. Mosquera made up for an error in a chase with Thiago by getting back to prevent a shot on goal from the prolific Brazilian (who must surely have a chance of making his country's World Cup squad; such is his excellent form). Rice nipped in superbly to take the ball off of the toe of Damsgaard. Not long after, Thiago fired a cross-shot wide of Raya's goal. Arsenal were hanging on to a precious point by their fingertips. Brentford piled forward, and Arsenal certainly weren't looking like Champions-elect.

But there was more drama to follow as the game entered 5 minutes of stoppage time. Timber, set free following some proper centre forward play from Gyokeres, headed directly for goal with Henry trailing in his wake. He set up Martinelli who, by cutting back onto his right foot  instead of hitting the ball first time with his left foot, gave Kelleher the chance to get a block in. What an opportunity!

And so it ended 1-1 with, for a change Arsenal's xG (0.6) dwarfed by Brentford's 1.34. But this could be an absolutely vital point. From Brentford's point of view, this could also be vital as they hit 40 points, and go in search of their first ever European spot. A spot that they richly deserve.

And as the WhatsApp group I mentioned last week went into another meltdown, I pointed out that we are in fact allowed to feel differently from each other about the current state of the run in. Arsenal are 4 points clear, and that's either a lot or not much at all depending on one's state of mind. As in every season, there ar sure to be twists and turns aplenty. 

I suppose that this is as good a time as any to look at the remaining fixtures of the main protagonists. That was one of Arsenal's most difficult remaining games, with only Chelsea and Manchester City themselves likely to cause Arsenal trouble on the run in. It is, of course, dangerous to predict, but I seriously expect Arsenal to gain 33 points out of their remaining 36 available, and that - irrespective of what Manchester City do - will be enough. I remain confident; if not quite as confident as a win against Brentford would have made me. Provided the squad stays relatively fit, they'll be ok.

So what’s next? Wigan at home in the FA Cup should be a formality. And then it's Wolves away in midweek - which should stretch the lead to 7 points. Next weekend, City host Newcastle and Arsenal go to crisis club Tottenham Hotspur. And the week after that is Arsenal's second most difficult remaining game - at home to Chelsea. Win that, and I seriously think that we'll be over the line. 

The fact is that Arsenal struggled to cope with Brentford's style. But not too many of their remaining opponents are capable of playing like that. Thank goodness! And, of course, the possibility of 4 games against City before the season ends is daunting... but I cannot get out of my head that they lost to Bodo/Glimt and made Spurs look good only a few days ago.

Let's keep the faith. COYG!

Media Madness

Lots to pack in following a fascinating week. Let's get straight in to it.

I'll be covering the 'routine' home win over Sunderland, the highly satisfying win over Chelsea on Tuesday; and the madness of Liverpool vs Manchester City, which according to Sky Sports has 'blown the title race wide open'. Here we go then:

A second successive Saturday afternoon 3pm league kick off? What on earth is going on, television companies? Actually, I suspect that they are obligated to cover every team a minimum number of times per season, and want to save Arsenal matches up for the business end. 

Sunderland, without Granit Xhaka, were nonetheless a pretty tough nut to crack They have bought well, and are not flattered by their inflated position in the league table. Like pretty much every team that visits Emirates Stadium, they sat in deep and looked to hit Arsenal on the break. Their main variation on what other opposition has done this season was to make sure that they got the ball into the Arsenal box with long diagonals at every dead ball opportunity; early on causing a deal of panic as Raya dropped a high ball. They bought a number of very decent players - including Xhaka - in the summer, and will hope that they can hold on to them going into next season; I suspect that 'bigger' clubs are going to be sniffing around the likes of Mukiele, Diarra, Sadiki and the massive unit that is Brian Brobbey over the summer.

It was interesting to note a variation in Arsenal's tactics in this game. Another string to the bow. Having scored one of their two goals in the away game against them from distance (Trossard the scorer), Arteta looked to repeat that tactic, and the number of shots from outside the box was notable. Arsenal sucked defending Sunderland midfielders into places they didn't want to go, and made use of the ensuing space around the corners of the penalty area. There were close calls for Declan Rice (from the left) and Kai Havertz (from the right), before Martin Zubimendi's sublime daisy-cutter with the outside of his boot cut across the ball, beat Roefs at his near post, and went in via the inside of that upright. A glorious finish. Lovely to see the goalscorer's 'homage' to the injured Mikel Merino, as he mimicked his team-mate's 'around the corner flag' celebration.

I'm absolutely obsessed with Zubimendi. Yes, he has the odd mistake in him; and in the position he plays those can be fatal (and have been at least twice this season). But the difference he makes to the way that Arsenal operate compared to what Partey contributed last season is noticeable. He is metronomic in the pace of his play and the quality of his passing; and he dovetails superbly with Declan Rice. On top of that, he is now scoring goals - and different types of goals at that. Which is a string to his bow that I'm not sure even he knew existed. Last week, a late run into the penalty area to head Arsenal into the lead at Leeds. This week the finish I described above. And who can forget his Goal of the Month volley against Nottingham Forest in September?

Sunderland, for all their huffing and puffing, created very little. Just 0.17xG; another side who found it almost impossible to penetrate this amazing Arsenal defensive line. But they didn't feel out of the game until Big Vik, from off the bench, put Arsenal two up on the back of a clever and clinical assist from Kai Havertz. 

Jesus, who had been given the start ahead of the Swede, did typically Jesus things, and was perhaps unfortunate not to have scored - or at the very least won a penalty - just before he came off (he was adjudged offside despite having both feet inside the Arsenal half as he began a defence-splitting run).

Gyokeres applied the coup de grace in the 93rd minute following a fast break, during which he kept pace with Gabi Martinelli before the Brazilian unselfishly set him up for a tap in. That's now 6 goals in 7 matches for Gyokeres, by the way. As I said several weeks ago, the goals were going to come. He needed time to settle, and get up to speed having not had a pre-season. 

Plus - and I cannot emphasise this enough - the key to the lock that is Kai Havertz is making a massive difference to the capability of the whole side - but particularly Gyokeres. The German's ability to generate space that Odegaard, Eze and Merino (although the latter is a very clever player himself) cannot locate is really helping change Arsenal's normal patterns of play. His fitness is key to this becoming the landmark season that 2025/26 could easily become.

If there was a single downside to report on the Arsenal performance, it was the showing that Riccardo Calafiori - replacing Hincapie at left back - put in. He looked off the pace; caught out of position and flapping at the ball at times. He is only just back from injury, and we know what he is capable of doing, but at this stage the Ecuadorian looks a far more solid option at left back. At his best, the Italian is a quite unique player, but he looks to have a fair bit to do to get back to that level. On the right wing, Madueke wasn't at his best either. But he's the type of player from whom one expects the odd below average showing. But a 3-0 win is pretty comprehensive; three more points in the bag, and one fewer game left to play.

Now to events at Anfield, and the mood swings that the changing fortunes generated. Firstly, what a hit that was from Szoboszlai! A rare and unique thing of absolute beauty. And one that had us Arsenal fans dreaming of ending the weekend fully 9 points clear at the top. Alas, it was not to be, as firstly the thoroughly irritating Bernardo Silva pulled a goal back and then Allison - now no longer the world's best goalkeeper in my humble opinion - having a crazy rush of blood to gift Manchester City a penalty. As the ball was running harmlessly off the field, I hasten to add. 

There was no way that Haaland was going to miss, was there? And, if I can bring this back to Arsenal, how that's a penalty and Nick Pope's foul on Viktor Gyokeres at St James Park earlier this season was not I simply cannot fathom.

There was then the farce of the goal that wasn't a goal, and the mutual shirt-grabbing between Szoboszlai and Haaland that led to Cherki's 50 yard shot being disallowed (thus costing me 5 vital FPL points, I should mention), and to the Liverpool player being given his marching orders. Yes, I understand that the officials reached the correct conclusion by the letter of the Law; but why not just let the goal stand - last kick of the game and all that - and just move on? As a result, the Hungarian has a ban, and City are deprived of a goal that would have been a fitting end to the match.  

And so to the fallout. Firstly on Sky Sports, and then in one particular WhatsApp group that I inhabit; in which I received absolute pelters after the Liverpool/City game ended. And we'll start with Gary Neville, whose punditry and agenda-setting - with its innate anti-Arsenal bias - I am getting more and more aggravated about. 

Suddenly, the 'Title Race' is 'back on', apparently. This despite the gap between Arsenal and Manchester City remaining exactly the same as it was before the weekend, and there being just 13 matches left to play. Look, I know that Sky feel that it's their duty to try to make things interesting, but the gap is fully 6 points. And I'll take Arsenal's remaining fixtures over City's every day of the week.

Yes, City play before Arsenal in midweek, and the gap may be down to three points by the time Arsenal kick off their next game. But with a goal difference 5 better than City's, a deeper and fitter squad than their rivals', and far fewer weaknesses I know who I'd rather be.

In the WhatsApp group, however, my pronouncement that it's not really a race was greeted with both derision and anger. Like it's my fault that they feel that way. Yes, City have been there and done that - although not too many of this particular group of players, I must add - and Arsenal have not. But whilst the manager and players appeared steel-focussed on their targets, many elements of the fanbase - if fairly represented (as I would say they are) by this WhatsApp group - are collectively losing their minds. Yes, we all bear the scars of recent history and those three successive second places. But this Arsenal team/squad is an entirely different animal to that of the past three years. 

Anyway, I reined back from describing it as 'not really a race at all' to saying that I remain confident. And whilst I can expect to take the blame personally if Arsenal implode on the run-in, I promise not to tell my peers that 'I told them so' back in February if the season ends as we all hope. Meanwhile, it's one game at a time. That's how the players have to approach it.

It does appear, however, that Arsenal and City are on a massive collision course as we approach the end of the season. The Carabao Cup Final. A league game at The Etihad on April 18th or 19th. And - if we examine the Champions League draw closely - the likelihood of a quarter final showdown in that competition too. But should we be afraid? No we should not. Cautious; yes. Afraid; no - why should we? They ought to be more worried about playing Arsenal than Arsenal ought to be about playing them. How Liverpool failed to score at least two more goals against them I'm really not sure - although our nemesis Donnarumma does have something to do with that - and this is a side who were recently defeated by Bode/Glimt, and who managed to make even Tottenham look good a week or so ago. So, guys... let's keep calm.

I cannot end without going quickly back over the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg victory over Chelsea, which remarkably propels Arsenal to their first final since the FA Cup Final of 2020. And firstly, I should mention that thanks to the antics of their match-going away supporters, Chelsea have finally made their way above Tottenham and Manchester United to the top of my particular chart of teams I love to hate! It's something about the arrogance and lack of self-awareness of these oiks that makes my blood boil! I am sick of their 'We won it all!' chant; a chant which we, quite rightly, counter with 'You bought it all!' - which goes over their heads, no doubt... Can't stand 'em.

But to the match itself. And for all that outsiders and neutrals could sit in front of their televisions commenting about Chelsea's negative tactics and general lack of threat, that didn't stop me from 90 plus minutes of nerves. Indeed, when the away side won a free kick around 25 yards out with 10 or so minutes to go I checked my pulse on my Fitbit; and it was 111bpm... 

All's well that ends well. How pleasurable it was to watch Kai Havertz going through on goal against his former club, rounding the goalkeeper and slotting home, and then kissing the cannon on his chest. For all that his goal won Chelsea a Champions League, I don't think that he has much affection for that club. He's found somewhere where he's appreciated at Arsenal, and I don't think that he ever felt that at Chelsea. Waka Waka.

Some might find it difficult to reconcile my nerves throughout the semi-final to my relative calm as I contemplate Arsenal's title challenge. I can't quite understand it myself, to be honest. I guess that it's the jeopardy of a one-off game, and I have to assume that as the season goes on my match-going nerves are going to increase exponentially. As the games are ticked off, all I can hope is that Arsenal continue to ease themselves clear of their Premier League opposition. Meantime, there's a Cup Final to contemplate, and I know that I'll be a nervous wreck for that one.

I'm holding my nerve in the belief that Arsenal have been through their 'blip'; those two successive 0-0 draws, and the defeat the Manchester United which resulted from one errant back pass and two absolute 'worldies'. It's been plain sailing since then, and whilst I'm sure that it won't be that until May, hopefully we've got enough in the tank to hold the opposition at bay. Meantime, for all that I'm starting to hear certain rumblings in some quarters, I am banning the 'Q' word from this page.

Meantime, it's Brentford away on Thursday. Back to the grindstone, and COYG!