Arsenal March On... Plus Cheats Apparently DO Prosper

This hasn't been a great couple of weeks in general for English sides in the Champions League. Whilst both Arsenal and Liverpool qualified for the quarter finals, the other 4 English sides suffered heavy aggregate defeats.

Both Chelsea and City lost home and away - the former very badly; ending up with a thoroughly embarrassing 8-2 deficit to PSG - to exit the tournament. The departures of Newcastle and That Lot were far more predictable, of course.

So what did I take out of Arsenal's progress? Let's look at some key areas:

• It's easier to play/be expressive in the Champions League than it is in domestic football. Two victories over Spurs aside, Arsenal's most impressive and fluid performances this season have been against European sides. You know... teams that actually want to come out and play

• Ebere Eze is finding his role in the side, and his team-mates are adjusting to him. Whereas earlier this season he had looked lost - and like he was often being bypassed - Arteta has started to adjust Arsenal's attacking play in order to involve him more. Less recycling to the wings - although there's still plenty of that - and more down the middle of the pitch. We are seeing a lot more of the ball appearing around the 'D', and Eze has been doing a lot of excellent work in that area recently. Tuesday's goal was sensational! It will be interesting to see what Arteta does when Martin Odegaard is fit again

• Bukayo Saka is not back to his best - or, frankly, anything close to it - but he looked better with Ben White supporting him than he does when Jurrien Timber plays at right back. Timber, however, offers a little more as a 'package' than Benny Blanco, and I can fully understand that Arteta prefers the Dutchman there. However, this is certainly food for thought 

• Declan Rice had been looking a little leaden-legged over the past few weeks. Along with his partner Zubimendi. Not surprising bearing in mind the amount of work that they have been asked to do, with Arteta reluctant - for reasons I do not fully understand (but I'm not at training, after all) - to rotate either Christian Norgaard or MLS in occasionally. However in this game both - and Dec in particular - looked revitalised; culminating in a goal that sums Rice up to a 't'. The anticipation to see the opportunity to intercept. The speed of body and mind to get there in front of the opponent. The drive towards the penalty area. And then the exquisite finish into the bottom corner of the net; the little 'peck on the cheek' to the goalpost making it look all the better

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• Arsenal's press looked in top order in this game. Whilst Gabriel Martinelli is always full of energy, I sense that Leandro Trossard is the 'smarter' presser; he and Starboy really put the squeeze on the Leverkusen defenders. Big Vik is also becoming smarter in that regard, and really settling in as the season progresses

• David Raya - well, what can you say? Called on just the once, late in the game, to do anything significant. And producing another to add to the pantheon of spectacular saves this season. Alongside his generally excellent distribution and command of his penalty area, he is surely right up there now as one of the very best keepers in the world at this time. Watching poor Aaron Ramsdale shipping 7 goals at the Nou Camp makes us realise how correct was Arteta's decision to make that change

Anyway, we move on to a clash with Sporting Lisbon in the next round. Something that Viktor Gyokeres will be looking forward to. Although he may not get the hero's welcome that he might have hoped for, having gone 'on strike' to get his move last summer. Sporting will be tough - as one would expect any team in the last 8 of the Champions League to be - but there are certainly tougher opponents out there.

Liverpool went through by thrashing poor travellers Galatasaray, but now have to face the mighty PSG. As for the other 4 English sides... well, I think that the collective phrase that I can use here is 'were thrashed' by their respective opponents. With Newcastle and Tottenham that was little surprise, but Chelsea and Manchester City both under-achieved. The only pity regarding City going out is that they will have their feet up - watching Arsenal I'd hope - whilst the Gunners take on Sporting. Arsenal go to The Etihad 4 days after the second leg; worth keeping half an eye on.

As for Chelsea; well, many of their supporters are already starting to question the wisdom of appointing Liam Rosenior to replace Maresca. And he does appear out of his depth now. I can't see him lasting past the end of the season, the way things are going; especially if he fails to secure them a Champions League spot. The blame for his appointment falls very squarely with the owners.

Further thoughts on those two clubs follow here. I'll start with Chelsea, and then move on to City - and there will be a Carabao Cup final preview in there too. Here we go - and I hope that I don't sound too bitter with my views...:

I've been maintaining for the past 20 years that Chelsea Football Club were financially 'doped' from the moment that Roman Abramovich took ownership. He laundered his vast ill-gotten fortune, and changed the entire landscape of Premier League football in the process by making available hitherto unrecognisable amounts of money as he turned the club from a second tier Premier League club into a behemoth. 

From an Arsenal supporter's point of view, this was particularly galling as all that coincided with the club having to tighten its purse strings and change direction in order to be able to afford the new stadium. I still regard the day that Ashley Cole left to join Chelsea as a sad, watershed moment that changed the fate of the two clubs and sent them in different directions.

Now, if it wasn't enough that the Premier League failed to stamp down on the Abramovich excesses - allowing them to lose tens or hundreds of millions of pounds, year after year after year as they built their stockpile of great players, we now know that they were also breaking the Law of the land by paying people 'off the books'. This has always gone on, of course; but paying somebody £200 in cash instead of being invoiced £250 would often suit a tradesman and his customer (the tax man would lose out)  - that is one thing. However, we're talking about £47.5 million here!

Compare and contrast the penalties applied to the likes of Everton, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Luton Town - to name but a few - who have all been hit with points deductions ranging from -6 to -21 over the years for their own financial irregularities. So for the Premier League to come up with a punishment of a £10.75 million fine is nothing short of a joke! There is simply no justification for such leniency; for all that their new owners 'self reported' - before reporting a £355 million loss themselves last season!

So for all the excesses and cheating over a sustained period, I would suggest that a relatively small fine is a totally disproportionate punishment when looking at the huge number of trophies that the club accumulated over those years. It's obviously difficult to take the trophies away, but the punishment doesn't fit even a small amount of the 'crime'. 

If that's me passing judgment, I'm hitting them with an immediate 20-point deduction, and further 10-point deductions in the next two seasons. It's the least they deserve. And - meantime - their fans are laughing. "We won it all", they sing every time they come to Emirates Stadium. And we nail the response - "You bought it all". I tell you this; whilst I am no fan of the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and latterly their neighbours, I have nothing but utter contempt for Chelsea Football Club. And this ruling only makes it worse. So to see them humiliated by PSG this week gives me nothing but pleasure, and I hope that they struggle to get back to the top table for years to come.

Now to Manchester City, the route to whose rise to power - backed by a nation state for goodness sake! - was paved by the excesses of Chelsea. Another club who put together the most fantastic team over the years; but, the question remains, how did they do that? We still await the verdict on the 115 charges they are facing - two thirds of those for alleged financial impropriety; and the other third for 'failing to co-operate with the investigators' (the latter surely a clear sign of guilt). Charges that go back 10 years or more now, with the investigation having concluded over a year ago. Yet still we wait... whilst they continue to spend tens or hundreds of millions of pounds on transfers. An utter travesty, in my opinion.

Of course, the big worry is that the Chelsea ruling is paving the way for further leniency with Manchester City. Which would only make matters worse when put up against the punishments recently imposed on other Premier League clubs for single breaches of the rules.  If Chelsea deserve much more than they received, even that will be dwarfed by what City should have coming to them if even 20% of those charges are proven.

Meanwhile, the Manchester City first team are in a state of flux. Sure, they sit in (a distant) second place in the table. But the current side doesn't come close to recent iterations. Of course, it's almost impossible to replace the likes of De Bruyne and Kompany, so one would expect a drop off, but I personally wonder what the mood in that camp is currently. 

Dumped badly out of the Champions League by a non-vintage Real Madrid, alongside highly disappointing draws with Nottingham Forest and West Ham United - all in the last three weeks. Surely confidence must be low, with questions over Pep's state of mind and immediate future, the form and fitness of Rodri, and even over Erling Haaland who - it would appear - is starting to look almost human after all. 

I personally feel that this is a good time to be facing them, and whilst I wouldn't call myself confident regarding Sunday's match I am certainly not worried per se. I believe that Arsenal match up well against them. Gabriel and Saliba have mainly had the better of Haaland recently, I believe that Rice and Zubimendi are more than a match for Rodri, and they have weaknesses in central defence (especially with Guehi missing; cup tied). The main dangers are going to come from the wings, with Semenyo and Doku a threat to any side. But Pep will have enough to worry about himself. 

This could be the first trophy in what may yet end up as a glorious season. 16 'cup finals' maximum until the end of the season - and hopefully three of them will be actual Cup Finals. But - and I cannot emphasise this enough - one game at a time please.

Nonetheless, I cannot wait for Sunday. COYG!!!

 

Max-imum Impact

Arsenal have played three times since my last post, but as you'll be aware I generally stick to writing only after a Premier League game. But in the course of this post, I will cover the win over Mansfield and the draw in Germany (plus a short preview of the return leg and of the Carabao Cup Final); as the season heads towards what could yet be a sensational climax.

However, there is only one place - and one person - with which to start. Max Dowman.

I’m not going to suggest for a single moment that I am alone in being aware of his potential for quite a while now. Because that would be nonsense. But I was telling friends in non-Arsenal footballing WhatsApp groups to look out for him over a year ago. And my pre-season Preview post in August did include the following two paragraphs:

“He's 15 years old - putting that into context, he'll be starting Year 11 and studying for his GCSEs at school from next month - and yet from what we have seen of him he makes Ethan Nwaneri look almost ordinary! We have had some exceptionally talented youngsters come through the ranks at Arsenal over the years - the likes of Fabregas, Wilshere, and of course Bukayo Saka - but I think that we can be as excited about Max as about any of them. 

In fact, I'd go as far as to say that he can currently be bracketed amongst such teenage superstars as Owen, Rooney, Mbappe, Yamal and (yes, I'm actually going to say it) even Lionel Messi for potential. An absolute gem, but one that needs careful polishing and protecting. We have already seen him make an impact in pre-season - winning two penalties and consistently embarrassing seasoned professionals - but we must temper our enthusiasm because of his age. Saying that, I'd like to see him on the bench on Sunday!”

Look, you've all heard about and seen - if you're like me, possibly 200+ times for the clips of the goal from various angles - his performance. How transformative it was. And what a difference it could just make to Arsenal's season. But here's my take on his cameo:

Firstly, it was clear when Arteta summoned him from the bench that he was going after the win Big Time. To see the formation revert to Rice as the sole 6, Saka and Eze as twin 8/10s, and Martinelli and Dowman on the wings either side of Big Vik was a real signal of intent. Especially against a side who are no mugs. And the fascination for me was that firstly Arteta had shown so much faith in him - there was no place for Norgaard on the bench for this game, and Max came on whilst Brazilian international Gabriel Jesus was left warming the bench. And then that with all that attacking talent on the pitch, the established players continually looked to him - a real sign of belief in his ability to change the course of the match. His statistics were amazing for somebody who had just 16 minutes to make a mark, and he had experienced international left back Myolenko on toast - the moment when he just stood on the ball and froze time, with the Ukrainian afraid to dare to make a move, showed both his talent and confidence.

The sequence of actions for the first goal was really interesting. It started with David Raya putting his foot on the ball, and then passing it back and forth with Gabriel. All whilst the crowd were going ballistic - begging for the ball to be hit long up field. Myself... I was saying - out loud - 'No. No. This is sensible. He's trying to draw them out'... and once he had done so he was able to bypass 3/4 players and find Mosquera in loads of space on the right-hand side. Down the line to Dowman, and off an Everton player for a throw in. And I'll tell you this: if Raya reacts to the crowd and goes long, Arsenal do not score that goal.

Everton must have been expecting a long throw, and backed off. Fatal mistake. The ball at Dowman's feet, and Myolenko with yards to make up on him. No hesitation from the boy, as he swung a gorgeous long cross towards the far post. And there's a lot more to what happens in there that you may think. Yes, Pickford comes, but barely deflects the ball. But it's not as bad an error as suggested, because his contact took the ball beyond the onrushing Martinelli. But what on earth was left back Hincapie doing beyond Gabi? It was all out attack! And yes, the bounce of the ball off the Ecuadorian's groin and thighs was fortunate; but there was Gyokeres in EXACTLY the place he was bought to be at moments like that. Thank you very much!

Cue the requisite pandemonium. Joy mixed with relief, of course. Followed inevitably by anxious glances at the clock...

As we moved into the seventh minute of 6 minutes of injury time, Arsenal conceded first a throw in and then - following a mix up between Gabriel and Hincapie - a corner. Pickford made his way up the field. And everyone was thinking the same thing. Memories of late concessions against Manchester United, Sunderland and Wolves came flooding back. But...

Gyokeres threw himself at the cross and headed it away from goal. Martinelli headed it on and - and this is fascinating if you look for it - there was young Max to pick up the loose ball. His positioning for the corner was way over the other side of the penalty area, but a certain sense that only the truly gifted have attracted him towards where he felt the ball might drop.

And then he was away. A clever header that took him beyond Myolenko, who had signalled the retreating Dewsbury-Hall to cover him. But the moment that made this goal so special was the clever slowing down of his own momentum by Max, alongside two delicate touches with his right (wrong) foot, that threw Dewsbury-Hall off balance and onto the ground. The midfielder could only look on in horror as Dowman suddenly had the freedom of Emirates Stadium to run into - nothing but fresh air between him and his first ever senior goal for Arsenal, with his nearest pursuer Gabriel Martinelli. Gabi was there for emergencies only - cleverly shielding Max from the nearest defender as he approached goal and stroked the ball home. 

Two clips of the goal here. The first showing the brilliant trickery, and the second with the most magnificent French commentary!

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https://x.com/Laminex22/status/2033006114946830421?s=20

The entire crowd, however, had already been on their feet for at least 10 seconds by this point. A crescendo of noise built around the stadium as the inevitability of what was about to happen became clear. Roars of encouragement and excitement. For this was an "I Was There" moment. And then the ball was in the net, and Max was wheeling away towards the corner flag, pursued by his team-mates, all the substitutes and most of the coaching staff. The joy was unconfined. 

This was a moment at least equal to Arshavin's winner against Barcelona, Thierry Henry's triumphant comeback FA Cup goal against Leeds, Danny Welbeck's last-minute winner against Leicester, Reiss Nelson's last-minute stunner against Bournemouth, and two match-winning goals against Manchester United in the very recent past (Jesus and Nketiah the scorers). It eclipsed anything we'd achieved against Tottenham at this ground - including the successive 5-2 wins. And even this season's critical injury time Martinelli equaliser against Manchester City. It was just the most unbelievable thing to witness; to feel; to be part of. It's what you go to matches for. A star was born. And apt that he should do it against Everton, for it was against Arsenal that Wayne Rooney first announced himself to the world, was it not?

But back to the rest of the game. Because there was much of interest long before Dowman entered the fray. Starting with Arteta's selection. Havertz preferred to Gyokeres and Jesus up top. Eze keeping his place at 10. Madueke in for Martinelli on the left hand side following his excellent shift in midweek. And Calafiori in for Hincapie at left back. 

All fascinating moves. No real surprise to see Kai start, as he offers something completely different to what the Swede does; and ability that the latter does not have to knit the play together. Madueke deserved an opportunity, although he is better on the right, so I may have asked Saka to go to left wing for a change. As for the re-introduction of Calafiori - he makes a massive difference to the way that Arsenal attack. Unlike Hincapie, whose main strengths are defensive, Ricci adds a sense of unpredictability to Arsenal's attack and get opponents onto their heels. If he can remain fit, he can have a massive impact on what's left of this season.

Everton weren't simply there to make up the numbers, however. It was helpful that they were missing both Tarkovski and the gigantic Branthwaite from central defence, which meant that Garner had to revert from midfield to right back, but their trio of attacking midfielders were a handful for Arsenal. Most of the danger came from McNeil, who twice in the space of a minute exploited the space left by Calafiori's wanderings. Firstly to fire in a shot that the Italian blocked in a manner I've never seen before; throwing his feet high into the air like an acrobat to keep out an effort that looked sure to beat Raya. And then to strike the far post with a stunning curling strike from 25 yards. Dewsbury-Hall also had a decent effort beaten away by Raya. So Arsenal had to tread cautiously. 

Everton's last real opportunity came early in the second half, when Raya saved Beto's goal bound shot with an outstretched boot following a corner. The second half was mainly driven by the home side, for sure; although with no rewards until right at the end.

There were people around me who were disappointed with Arsenal's performance. And yes, the substitutions did make the difference. But I felt that Arsenal were playing with more confidence and freedom than we had seen for a while. This made the game a little more open than some may have liked, but at this stage of the season it does feel like Arsenal need to take a few more risks in order to receive their reward. That's how Liverpool won the title last season. Despite the lack of goals, I preferred this Arsenal performance to many we've witnessed over the last month.

I think that they're still trying to get to grips with how to feed Eze in the number 10 role; so used have they become to continually recycle the ball to the wings. And it was fascinating to note how often William Saliba found himself in advanced positions. Nonetheless, Eze showed further glimpses of his ability in this game, was unlucky that one of his 6 or more shots didn't find the net, and is really starting to prove his worth.

Of course, Arsenal should have had a first half penalty when Kai Havertz was caught on the ankle from behind by Keane. Lovely through ball from Eze, by the way. The referee didn't give it, despite having a perfect view of the incident. And - as we were all asking in the stands - why would Kai go down for any other reason than being fouled when he could see the whites of Pickford's eyes? The extraordinary thing is that VAR - the supposed fail-safe for such moments - failed to do its job; indeed, taking a mere three seconds to back up the referee's call. A referral to the screen would have led to a penalty being awarded, and a red card for Keane. Clear as day. And incompetence of the highest order, in my opinion.

Madley had a terrible game, in fact. Getting decision after decision wrong. Calling fouls when there were none; and waving play on at blatant assaults - one from Garner on Madueke would have led to his arrest if it had occurred outside the stadium. As a consequence, I'll say two things. Firstly, if Arsenal hadn't have gone on to win then the penalty incident would be the centre of everyone's attention. And secondly, I guess that we would have been robbed of Max's moments of glory if things would have worked out how they frankly should.

The most important thing, of course, was that three points had been secured. 10 points clear, with City's match away to West Ham to immediately follow. And we were able to enjoy that at our leisure - and in a very good mood of course. A mood further improved by a Man of the Match performance from Konstantinos Mavropanos. Once a Gooner... And so we can now concentrate on other matters with no Premier League game until the middle of next month. Sitting pretty? I guess that we are.

On to other matters quickly now. Firstly, a narrow win at Mansfield to get us through to an FA Cup quarter final. Away to Southampton? The draw could have been worse. Two quick things to say about that match. Firstly, that Max Dowman was Arsenal's best player here too; for all that it was a bit of a struggle with a much-rotated side. And secondly that Mansfield gave Arsenal a considerably harder test than Tottenham had a couple of weeks prior. We can park the FA Cup for a couple of weeks now, of course.

And then to Leverkusen; which was a difficult test. They have an excellent home record, so to come away with a draw is fine. And whilst Arsenal went on to win at the weekend, Bayer had a really bruising encounter with no less than Bayern Munich. I'm taking nothing for granted, but we ought to expect that home advantage will be enough to see Arsenal through to the quarter finals in this competition too.

And then to Sunday, and the Carabao Cup Final. Who knows which Manchester City will turn up, but they've had some setbacks over the past week or so - including a crushing 3-0 defeat in Madrid - so whilst this is absolutely a one-off fixture, with considerable pressure on Arsenal to lift a first trophy in 6 seasons, I'd imagine that their opponents' confidence must be at a relatively low ebb. I am lucky enough to have a ticket, and am really looking forward to it.

We move on. Respecting the ball whilst we do... 

COYG!

Sh*thouse FC Do The Business

Fabien Hurzeler was asking for it before the game, was he not? Getting a pre-game moan in about Arsenal’s ‘time wasting’. A tactic that has been used in football for as long as I can remember. Arsenal’s opponents have been exasperating us for years at Highbury and Emirates Stadium by engaging in those very tactics, so to have that accusation chucked in our faces is almost music to the ears. When we win, at least...

I personally don’t give a damn at this stage of the season how Arsenal win; just as long as they do. And with Bukayo Saka’s early goal giving Arsenal the opportunity to indulge in such tactics, Arteta’s men were happy to oblige Hurzeler. Watching him and the home crowd get more and more annoyed was a wonderful sight to behold - the match itself, obviously, being much more of an eyesore.

In truth, this was a very under par performance from Arsenal, but this was a tricky fixture against a side that have recently come back into some form. Plus - frankly - it's difficult to pinpoint any easy games (Tottenham notwithstanding) when it gets to this stage of a season when you have a title on the line. I'll just run through a few - and there aren't many - little points before commenting on the fallout/aftermath.

With William Saliba out injured (yet again), Mosquera was drafted in. And although we must have all expected to see Christian Norgaard start Arteta send Rice and Zubimendi to the well yet again. Up front, Martinelli was preferred to Trossard (who'd had a poor game at the weekend) on the left. Eze continued at 10, with Havertz continuing his comeback off the bench.

The game did not start well, as Raya made an uncharacteristic error; presenting the ball to Baleba in looking for Rice, when a much simpler ball to Mosquera was on. I'm pretty sure that if that's Saliba, Raya passes to him. Either way, Baleba's lob was cut out by the ever-vigilant King of Brazil. 

Thereafter Arsenal had the better of the early opportunities, especially when Saka made a clever run (beautifully found by Eze btw); only for there to be nobody on the end of his cross right across the 6-yard box. Whither Gyokeres? Whither Martinelli?

Soon after, Timber found Saka, who decided to do it on his own this time. A trademark cut inside and shot - and a deflection off of Baleba was enough to wrongfoot Verbruggen, who let the ball squirm between his legs for a vital goal. A nice way to mark one's 300th Arsenal appearance for Starboy.

Thereafter it was all Brighton for the rest of the half, with very little creativity or ambition being shown by the boys in red. Gabriel - magnificent again - blocked a shot from Mitoma. Georginio had a shot blocked by a team-mate. Mosquera got himself booked, and looked far less assured than he has done. It was all very unsatisfactory.

Further forward, Martinelli failed to impose himself at all, and Gyokeres had an awful time of it; losing duel after duel after duel (so many that I was surprised to see him appear for the second half). Arsenal went in a goal up, but from a single shot worth an xG of 0.01. Remarkable - but who cares? This felt like a game to be endured.

Although they were improved at the start of the second half, with Gyokeres actually winning a couple of duels, and Saka wandering into handy positions. But with little or no end product to report. And it was the same for Brighton, with a shot from the edge of the box from Georginio and a header from Wieffer straight at Raya all they had to show for their domination of possession. Then, after Mosquera was exposed on perhaps the fourth or fifth occasion, Arteta began to make changes, with Calafiori replacing him and Hincapie - who'd had yet another solid game at left back, sliding all the way over to right centre half.

Further changes saw Trossard - roundly booed by the home fans at every touch - and Havertz on for Martinelli and Gyokeres, and Arsenal did improve. Havertz gave a new dimension to the Arsenal attack; much more effective than the Swede. Clever runs gave those behind him more options, and he put the Brighton defence under pressure. 

Further back it was interesting to see the difference in Arsenal's left hand side with Calafiori on the field. Hincapie may be a more solid defender than the Italian, but the latter adds a maverick and exciting element to the side when he's on the field. A difficult one for the manager.

Anyway, time ticked on... and whilst I didn't feel that the team were in anything like as much jeopardy as they had been on Sunday it was still a relief when the final whistle went. Especially alongside the news that Citeh had been pegged back a second time by Nottingham Forest. In truth, I was watching Arsenal on my television, with half an eye on the City game on my phone. And so when the final whistle blew in Manchester there was much rejoicing - in my house, obviously, and I suspect in yours too - especially in the away end at The Amex, with that news being met with a bigger roar than the final whistle at our game.

And what this means is that Arsenal are now 7 points clear of City, who as we know do have a game in hand. Which means - dare I say it - that we could actually afford to lose to them on April 19th... On paper, Arsenal's run-in is definitely easier than theirs now. So this could have been a pivotal evening.

With West Ham winning at Fulham, there were obvious implications for the other end of the table. And this was a truly terrible evening to be a Spurs fan. Forest and The Hammers are now right on their tail, and their game against Crystal Palace - still not played at the time of typing - thus takes on massive significance. With very match day that passes, their Premier League tenure becomes less and less secure. Such fun!

But what I really want to talk about is Herr Hurzeler's comments; both before and after the game. All they did was buy into the narrative that Arsenal are 'boring' and 'anti-football', and I'm not buying it! We've seen delaying tactics done to us for years and years now - I recall Chris Kirkland of Wigan time-wasting in the third minute at The Emirates in 2007 - and so I'd say that if the situation demands it then, as the saying goes: 'If you can't beat them; join them.'

Yes, it's true that Arsenal do take ages over dead balls and even throw ins. But if they were breaking any Laws then I'm damned sure that they'd get penalised. And yes, they do go down 'injured' perhaps more often than they should. But - and this is the most important thing - they are under no obligation to anybody but themselves, they've been on the other side of the coin on countless occasions, and it's not as if any other manager wouldn't tell his players to do the same should situation demand (despite Hurzeler's protestations to the contrary). Arteta dealt with it all superbly, if you ask me.

Of course the media buy into this too. I am sick of hearing television and radio presenters go on about dead balls and time-wasting. Like there's nothing else to Arsenal. Clear at the top of the table. 100% record in the Champions League. Carabao Cup Final. 5th round of the FA Cup. But let's be negative... I'm sick of it.

So now is the time to start the siege mentality. to hell with everyone else, and let's do what we need to do - and however we need to do it. You've only come to see The Arsenal.

Can you not almost touch it now? Feel it? CIty have blinked first; and that's bloody brilliant! COYG!

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 right from Enzo, with Hincapie 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 own 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!