Context...

The life of a football supporter is full of ups and downs. Of moments of joy and insecurity. And of course of Schadenfreude. And the weekend just gone has been a microcosm of that for Arsenal supporters. The team have ended the week one further point ahead of the chasing pack, but if you read or listen to some fans it's probably the end of the world. 

All this hs to be taken in context. So let's examine matters in the cold light of day.

Let's start by taking a look at Arsenal's 'rivals' for the title. And we're down to just two of those - if that... 

No better place to start than the Manchester derby, which saw what can only be described as a genuine NMB (New Manager Bounce for the uninitiated) from United. All of which does mean that questions need to be asked firstly of the newly-departed Ruben Amorim, and also of the players. From Arsenal's point of view, it was a great watch on Saturday lunchtime as City were made to look pedestrian for much of the game, as the returning Bruno Fernandes (from injury), Mbuemo and Amad (from AFCON), and a reversion to a back 4 tore into City's injury-riddled defence at every opportunity. Despite the return of Rodri, City had no answer, and were possibly lucky to come away with just a 2-0 defeat.

The two main things I'm taking out of that game are firstly that teams can see that City can be got at, and so hopefully they will do so from here on in. There's no denying their range of attacking talent, but they're in a bit of a mess defensively. Even the imminent signing of Marc Guehi cannot be enough to sort that out; and when even the great Rodri is overrun in transition in central midfield, there is a massive issue there. Plus - lest you forget - this is not the City side of two, three, four years ago. 

Secondly, that United's next game is Arsenal away on Sunday; so what looked likely to be a stroll in the park for The Gunners is now likely to be considerably less so. Which may have repercussions on Arteta's midweek team selection (a matter to which I will return later on).

As regards Arsenal's other closest pursuers, Aston Villa... well, they certainly blew an opportunity on Sunday afternoon as they went down to a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Everton. How they lost that game, I honestly have no idea, as the away side rode their luck and the excellent form of Jordan Pickford. Between the other set of goalposts, Emi Martinez made yet another mistake which led to the decisive goal; surely this is his last season in the Premier League. With Liverpool - trailing well behind in any case - failing to win at home to Burnley this really wasn't the terrible weekend that some are describing a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest as meaning.

Before I discuss that, I think it's time to quickly talk about a subject from which I've kept away recently, as it's so insignificant in the world of Arsenal supporters. But it's time, I think... so here we go.

Tottenham Hotspur. They're cr*p; and that is all. To contrive to lose at home to the team on the worst run of form in the division on Sunday was quite a feat. And don't we just love it?!? Dr Tottenham. Banter FC. and - as Arsenal's away support have been keen to remind us: "Arsenal fans are on a bender. Thomas Frank's a Silver Member!" 

But on to far more important matters; the main talking points from Saturday evening's drab draw in Nottingham.

Firstly, team selection. And in the continued absence of both Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie Arteta once again opted to switch Jurrien Timber to left back. Whilst the Dutchman can do a job there, it's not his best position, and his presence does upset the attacking equilibrium on that side of the field. The alternative, MLS, isn't really a full back - but he has plenty of excellent attributes even if he hasn't been able to kick on this season, and I would imagine that both he and Ethan Nwaneri are somewhat bemused by their lack of game time this season as compared to last. Up front, Arteta opted to rest both Saka and Trossard, and stuck with Big Vik at the pointy end of the field.

The thing is... nobody - and I include Mikel Arteta in this - knows what the "Life Or Death, If It Was The Champions League Final" starting XI is. We can probably all nail down 7 slots, but the rest are conceivably up for grabs, and the key to becoming a fluid unit is to find the combinations of players who work best together. On Saturday, a left hand side of Timber and Martinelli was below par. On the right, Madueke - for all his positive attributes - is quite possibly just as difficult for his team-mates to read as it is us supporters. 

Behind him, the choice between Timber and White is not as cut and dried as we might think; Timber is undoubtably the better defender, but White's attacking link-up play is on another level to the Dutchman's, and Benny Blanco has an excellent on-field relationship with Odegaard and Saka. And the jury remains out on Viktor Gyokeres; but the alternatives to the Swede are not clear cut. Does Jesus really give us what we need? When will Havertz be fit enough to start making a meaningful contribution? Would it be a backward step to go back to Merino? And so for me, on Saturday, there was something of a disconnect in some parts of the field; leading to a consequent lack of fluidity going forward.

Don't be fooled by Forest's position in the table. They were able to field their strongest team of the season on Saturday; and that was a side that almost qualified for the Champions League last season. They are defensively strong, have a powerful midfield and dangerous wingers and under Dyche are well-organised and well-motivated. But for all that - and for the second league game in a row! - Arsenal prevented their opponent from getting a single shot on target. Although despite that amazing statistic Arsenal have taken just a point apiece from those two games. 

The problem is quite clearly further forward. And some of the statistics are pretty damning for Arsenal's attackers. Gyokeres; one goal - a penalty - and zero assists in his last 10 PL matches. Jesus 1/0 in his last 8. Madueke no goals or assists in his last 24 PL matches! Martinelli 1/0 in 19. Saka 0/2 in 8. Trossard 1/0 in 7. Odegaard 1/3 in 16. Thank goodness for our secret weapon, Own Goal. And for being Set Piece FC.

It's up to Arteta to find the key; the correct formula. And when he does Arsenal will really cook! But he has to get his team selection right. What I would add is that despite those statisitcs Arsenal are 7 points clear at the top, and have maximum Champions League points so far. But - as a caveat - I believe that despite the size of the squad there is an element of fatigue in the players' legs. It has been a very intense month, and the treadmill doesn't stop. 

Since December 3rd Arsenal have played  Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, Saturday, (a whole week's break!) Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday; and before the end of this month they are faced with Tuesday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday. 17 matches in the space of 59 days - a match every three and a half days on average. No wonder the quality of football has dropped.

That's not to suggest that they didn't have enough decent opportunities to win Saturday's game. Martinelli missed a virtual 'sitter'. Gyokeres broke following a Forest attack but couldn't quite shake off Murillo, neither Gyokeres nor Rice could quite meet a clever cross from Ben White, and the latter also missed a decent opportunity on the volley from 18 yards. Zubimendi shot across goal. Saka had a header brilliantly tipped away by Sels. Jesus almost converted a Zubimendi header into a goal. A Merino header just missed the target. 

And then there was that penalty incident. For me, Aina makes a sweeping movement with his hand to prevent the ball going out for a corner. There were extenuating circumstances, but any manager is going to be disappointed not to have that given.

On another day, one of those chances gets taken, and the conversation is different. But Arsenal need to create better chances, and be more clinical. There is little to concern us at the other end of the field, but a few those chances need to start going in. And I can absolutely assure you that nobody is more disappointed about failing to win these successive matches than the players themselves - Declan Rice has been widely recorded as being extremely annoyed about matters.

Meanwhile, for all the moaning from certain quarters, the gap is 7 points. Pretty healthy by any standards, and it's merely a matter of matching City's results in the 16 games that remain. If you're not feeling positive about Arsenal's title chances, that's completely down to you.

Just a quick mention regarding Wednesday's semi-final at Stamford Bridge; which I covered a few days ago. A 3-2 win and a lead to bring home next week is OK, but Arsenal should frankly have been out of sight. Chelsea scored twice from an xG of 0.65, and that's pretty irritating. We ought to have enough to see it through and get to Wembley.

Meantime, there are two massive games this week. But Inter away in the Champions League pales into insignificance compared to Manchester United at home on Sunday. So if I'm Mikel Arteta I'm rotating quite heavily for Inter - Arsenal are in an extremely strong position in the group stages, and have the worst team in the competition at home to round off the qualifying. They can actually afford to lose to Inter, in fact. I want to see White, MLS, the returning Mosquera, Norgaard, Merino, Eze, Madueke and Martinelli all starting in Italy. And maybe Havertz too. Let's hope that these are the type of thoughts that Mikel is having. Because Manchester United MUST be vanquished on Sunday.

Keep the faith. COYG!

Arsenal’s Cups Runneth Over

Two away Cup games down. Two victories. Sitting pretty everywhere you look. All is joyful in Arsenal’s world. 

Well... isn't it?

I personally believe that there are still plenty of areas in which this group can improve. And I’ll take a look at a few here, while I quickly discuss the two games we’ve just watched.

By the way, read on for a couple of controversial opinions...

Unsurprisingly, the boss made 10 changes to the starting XI away to Portsmouth. In the final analysis, it was more than enough, but there were certainly moments of concern. Not least when a dodgy sequence of passes in attempting to play out from the back as early as the third minute of the game led to Madueke losing the ball, and Portsmouth taking the lead when Kepa could only parry a shot straight in front of him and directly into the path of centre-forward Bishop.

Before long, Arsenal were level; with the first of no less than three set-piece goals. Not a shock that Arsenal should do some damage here - they're very good at them, and Portsmouth's record defending them is nothing short of shocking. Here, chaos from Madueke's delivery led to an own goal. 

And soon after it was two. Madueke delivered from the other side - with his other foot! - and Martinelli rose unchallenged to flick home at the near post. An excellent (one could almost call it Rice-like) piece of work from Noni. 

Although he let himself down later in the half; winning - but then missing - a penalty. He tried to be too cute with it, I'm afraid.

Two second half goals wrapped things up. Martinelli's hat-trick (the third goal almost a carbon copy of the first) would have helped him recover from the bad press he received following his incident with Conor Bradley in midweek. 

On the positive side, Kai Havertz got a few minutes into his legs, but it is clear that he is being eased back even more gently than Gabriel Jesus. Both will certainly be needed as the season hots up.

On the negative side, Portsmouth did create a few chances that I wouldn't want to see replicated by better sides/players. A Ben White block and a full-length dive from Kepa helped keep the score comfortable. Sure, the team was vastly altered, but we are going to have to expect these players to play their part as we head towards the business end. They must keep their standards high. 

But I truly believe that there remains much more potantial in this group than what we have seen so far rhis season. We have yet to see the best of Saka, for example. There is so much more to come from Eze. Havertz has barely been sighted. So, so interesting and exciting.

With no less than 6 Premier League teams going out, and a home draw against Wigan in the fourth round, the FA Cup is opening up nicely for Arsenal. 

Next, another competition; and another away game. This one was always likely to be a lot more testing! Chelsea away in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final; and the home debut for (yet another) new Chelsea manager - Liam Rosenior. Arsenal have an excellent recent record at Stamford Bridge, as it happens. The ground holds few fears for the Arsenal players. It's not Anfield, and will never have that aura.

I'm sure that all Arsenal fans share an antipathy for Chelsea with me. They are very high on my list of clubs I love to hate. And we had the usual pantomime chanting to deal with:

'Champions of Europe - you'll never sing that!' came very early. Let's see if we can kick that one into the dustbin on May 30th.

'We won it all!' - inevitably. Countered by 'You bought it all!' from the away fans. All the usual nonsense; but it's this whole perception of what Abramovich's ownership did for Chelsea - and to English football in general - that aggravates us Arsenal supporters. Watching the way they operated in the Abramovich era made my skin crawl. And watching what they're trying to do now (I'm actually not even sure that they know what they're doing) has me questioning whether their current owners have any real idea about how to build a genuinely successful side. For me, they will always be the flash Johnny-Come-Latelys of English football. The football equivalent of Harry Enfield's 'Loadsamoney' character. Unlike the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool, they've not tried to do things organically. And I despise them for it. Still, I don't suppose that their fans give a flying f*ck about all that! But, by any measurement, they've bought it all.

Moving on to the match itself. Arteta went very strong. Full strength, with the exception of the goalkeeper (I can only assume that he's keeping a promise to Kepa). With no less than three of his eight-strong defensive cohort out injured, the manager plumped for Timber at left back. The rest of the side was as expected, I guess. Chelsea were missing a few due to injury or illness, so they were by no means at full strength. No James, Palmer or Delap. Still, they have a massive, bloated squad, so they were hardly short of players. Regarding Kepa; he's an upgrade on what Arsenal have had in reserve for a few years. But he's no David Raya. I wonder what Arteta will do should Arsenal reach the final?

An early goal - almost inevitably from a (Muller) Rice corner - set Arsenal on their way. Ben White notching his first goal since he scored a brace against Chelsea a couple of seasons ago. 

I must say (perhaps controversially) at this point that I believe that the Laws of the game need to be dramatically altered insofar as it comes to set pieces around the penalty area. Whilst acknowledging that my club is a master at the art of set pieces, I am sick of seeing all the pushing and grappling that goes on prior to - and during the taking of - corners and free kicks. For me, it simply isn't football. I'd be penalising the blocking off of the goalkeeper, and equally penalising all the holding and pushing that defenders do. Stuff that would be punished anywhere else on the field is let go by the officials at dead balls. Something really needs to be done. 

Meanwhile, Nicolas Jover is doing a remarkable job with his set-piece routines. When Arteta said a couple of years ago that he wanted to take every small advantage he could in every aspect of play, he really meant it. And his coach and players continue to deliver regularly on this aspect.

Talking of which, Arsenal's second goal saw another aspect of gaining every little advantage. We've all read about the recruitment of a 'throw-in' coach - one Thomas Gronnemark. And one immediately thinks that he'll be there teaching the players how to throw the ball even further than before. But that's not the only aspect of throw-in play. For Arsenal's second goal, an atypical quick throw-in from White saw Saka released on the touchline - crucially, ahead of his shadow, Cuccurella. Saka cut back inside instead of crossing - much to the annoyance of the excellently-placed Gyokeres - but he then found the overlapping White, and the full back's cross evaded Sanchez for Big Vik to slot home from three yards. A goal that the Swede badly needed. Although, to give him his due, he looked better than he has recently in this game, and also got the assist for Zubimendi's delightful third goal (set up by a quality through ball from Merino to Gyokeres, and a decent lay off to Zubi, who still had plenty to do but delivered with aplomb - and with his left foot)..

The point I'm making is that this was something we've hardly ever seen from an Arsenal side recently. And particularly from White, who often takes an absolute age to throw the ball back into play. Nice work all round, lads.

As for Robert Sanchez... for me, he is a weak link for Chelsea. He ought to have cut out White's cross, so was very much to blame for that goal. And if Rosenior wants to stick with playing out from the back in the way we watched his side do yesterday I don't see how Sanchez can survive much longer. in goal He looks nervous, and continues to make poor decisions with the ball at his feet. Arsenal exerted pressure on the Chelsea keeper and back line all evening, and made things very uncomfortable for them.

In truth, Arsenal dominated most of the game, and were comfortably the better side. Which makes the concession of two goals all the more annoying. Both were very preventable; although I must grudgingly give credit to Garnacho for the quality of his finishing. Chelsea finished the game with three wingers on the pitch - Garnacho, Neto and the very exciting Estevao - and they were the most threatening Chelsea performers throughout. But a one goal lead going into the second leg should hopefully be enough, with The Emirates being the fortress it has been thus far this season. It's looking odds on an Arsenal / Manchester City final.

Another two away games follow for Arsenal. In two further competitions. It's out-of-form Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening, and then Inter Milan at the San Siro in midweek. 4 competitions, and 4 away games, in a two week spell. Another block of fixtures that I'd like to see the team put behind themselves successfully. With a record so far this season of P32, W26, D3, L2, one would like to think that the momentum can be maintained. But nothing gets decided in January.

One game at a time. COYG!

Such A Letdown!

So… Arsenal 0, Liverpool 0. And - if you ask me - both sides were lucky to get nil! 

Of course, if you’re a fan of one of these clubs - and, let’s face it, if you're reading this you almost certainly are - there is always an element of jeopardy about any game between these two powerhouses. But for a neutral that must have been as boring a game as one could possibly imagine. Two hours of my life that I will never get back…

An almost unforgettable evening. Driving to the ground in pouring rain wasn't a great start. Although I was optimistic. As my father used to say: 'It's Arsenal weather!' - although to be fair he'd say that no matter what the weather was!!!

As for the game, there are a few - but only a few - talking points. So I’ll concentrate on those. And then take a view of how things stand in the aftermath.

And I’ll start with team news. Afternoon rumours that Timber was out were unfounded, and Arteta named the side we anticipated. Both ‘first choice’ wingers were back, with the rest of the side exactly as anticipated. Havertz was back on the bench; but he’s clearly being reintegrated extremely slowly. I suspect that despite that massive raft of changes that will surely be made for Sunday he may only get half an hour. 

For Liverpool, there was no Ekitike. With Isak and Salah also missing, this looked to dictate how Slot would go about things. No genuine centre forward, so he packed the midfield and one of the three ostensibly forward players would rotate into the centre forward role. As if a midfield due of MacAllister and Gravenberch (a player I really like) isn’t extremely strong already. Arsenal’s trio often found themselves outnumbered and - for much of the time - outplayed. 

Arteta’s tactics were also on the cautious side. How much Manchester City's result the previous evening had dictated that call, we cannot be sure. Rice was much deeper than one might expect, but that may have been as much a function of the strength of the opposition. And Odegaard consistently dropped deep to receive the ball also. Chances were created early on, with Saka looking to very much have the measure of Kerkez and Timber continually looking to over- or underlap the winger. But the quality of chance was underwhelming, and Gyokeres was finding space almost impossible to find. On the other side of the field Bradley fouled Trossard twice, but inevitable the first name in Taylor's book was the diminutive Belgian (a pull back of a shirt deemed these days to be worse than a kick on the ankle or shin).

Arsenal did dominate the half, but there was a 10-minute period of Liverpool possession which boded ill for later in the game. What was fascinating is that the possession was very comfortable, with Arsenal barely pressing. In this period came the away team's best opportunity, as Bradley opportunistically lobbed Raya only to hit the bar following a misunderstanding between Saliba - whose knock back was hit with too much power - and the goalkeeper - who could only stab the ball away. Hearts in mouth as the ball arced towards the unguarded net...  

In that period of play, Hincapie's challenge on the speedy Frimpong set the tone for later in the game as it was a borderline foul/penalty; and Frimpong stayed down for two minutes as Arsenal headed for the other end of the pitch with Liverpool's players - led of course by Van Dijk - livid at the home side's refusal to put the ball out of play. 

At the other end, there were half-chances for Saka and Rice, but in truth nothing to bother a keeper of the calibre of Allison as crosses and cut-backs failed to find their targets. We could only hope that things might improve, as in truth it had been a tedious watch. Both sides, whilst in possession, had been happy to have the ball yet do little with it. Like being stabbed with a feather duster...

Second half; and this certainly did NOT improve as Liverpool started to boss possession, and I started to pontificate that the Arsenal players were looking tired. Yet whilst the away side dominated the ball, they did little with it as Arsenal stood off. The crowd were getting restless.

Now there's something about an Emirates Stadium crowd when things aren't going so well. Sure, we'd like to have something to rouse us, but we don't really do enough to help the players at such times. Around me, plenty of angry voices were telling the players to get closer to the ball, get stuck in etc. But the players looked unwilling and indeed incapable of doing so. Not that there was any real danger to speak of, with Liverpool's only attempts on goal being a succession of free kicks from Szoboszlai (invoking scar tissue from earlier in the season, of course). One of those skimmed the crossbar, but there was nothing to truly bother Raya. And - as we discovered later in the evening - this turned out to be the first time since March 2010 that Liverpool had failed to have a single shot on target in a Premier League game. In total, indeed, both sides raised a massive 0.88xG. Such an anticlimax!

And so with Liverpool having much of the ball and doing even less with it than Arsenal had whilst they dominated in the first period, the words 'boring' and 'sterile' could be heard in Block 17. Of course, there was jeopardy; one point the minimum requirement in order to match City (and Villa?...). All that there was left to concentrate on was the odd 'incident'.

The first of three notable incidents was when Wirtz - perhaps impeded by Trossard - went down in the penalty area. Again, it was a soft one. However, the German's imitation of a rag doll when Gabriel attempted to lift him back to his feet was laughable. Taylor soon waved play on.

Then Martinelli - on for Trossard - went down (and stayed down) in the Liverpool penalty area. Like the earlier incidents, it was all a bit soft. We didn't expect Liverpool to put the ball out of play, and they did not do so. Martinelli eventually ran it off. 

But there was major controversy as the clock ticked to 90 minutes. Martinelli challenged Bradley close to the technical areas, and the full back went down, clearly injured. However at the moment he did so, Martinelli was looking the other way. Not realising the severity of the injury. Gabi dropped the ball on the stricken Bradley's back and then - having watched the injured player drag himself back onto the field of play - looked to throw him back over the touchline. Cue handbags all around...

Now there are several things to say here. Firstly, it looks like Bradley - who has suffered no end of injury misfortune - is once again going to be out for a while. One has to have sympathy. Secondly, I'm really not sure why he should have looked to drag himself onto the field; because that looks like play-acting/time-wasting - and it clearly wasn't! And finally - and I say this with great care - Martinelli is 'not that kind of player'. And I certainly don't mean to tar him with the same brush that was painted when - for example - Ryan Shawcross did what he did to Aaron Ramsey...  I thought that at the time - and even mentioned it in a WhatsApp message to my Liverpool-supporting mate Ian straight after the game finished. Slot acknowledged that after the game, when he stated: 'I don't know Martinelli, but he comes across as a nice guy. The problem for him is that there is so much time-wasting from players... I am 100% sure that if he knew what the injury might be he wouldn't do that.'

So to find out that Gary Neville had eviscerated Martinelli in commentary, and that Roy Keane - who, lest we forget, admitted trying to end Alf-Inge Haaland's career! - ranted about the incident afterwards is a sickening turn of events, intended to set an agenda. It's simply not on - but is, I guess, a legacy from those old United/Arsenal battles of 20+ years ago. Get over it, gents.

Time for one last chance, as from a very late corner Gabriel failed to make decent contact on Madueke's cross to the back post; hampered, as he was, by Gabriel Jesus! That pretty much summed up the night. Although how amusing would it have been for Arsenal to undeservedly snatch a winner from a set piece with the very last kick of the game??

And so, following this result, the status quo was maintained at the top of the table. Tempered by the disappointment of this having been a frankly terrible game of football in the circumstances, this was the very least that those associated with Arsenal could have hoped for. The gap remains 6 points, one further game has been chalked off, and Arsenal have easier fixtures to play than Manchester City. We could almost afford to lose at The Etihad... 

Worth noting that Arsenal have failed to score home and away against Liverpool. The only two times this season that they have 'failed to trouble the scorer, (to give a cricket analogy). Also worth wondering where this Liverpool team - who looked so good in possession for so long - have been all season. Perhaps Arsenal should have played on Liverpool's well-established Achilles Heel and played in an ultra-low block? 

And finally worth noting the paucity of Viktor Gyokeres' performance. Because this was a genuinely bad one. Looking to go toe-to-toe with Konate (that's one thing you don't do!), he had just 8 touches of the ball (just one in the second half) in 67 minutes, and whilst one can have sympathy in the way the match was played, it was almost like playing with 10 men. If I were Arteta (and what do I know of these things) I'd be starting him on Sunday at Portsmouth t try to give him some confidence. But sitting him down for a few games afterwards with Jesus now back, and Havertz soon to follow. Something new must be tried now, for all the Swede's other laudable attributes. I don't wish to particularly single Big VIk out, by the way; the whole team were below par.

That's two of the 9 January matches gone now. Four different competitions in four games follow; and all away from home. There will surely be massive rotation for Sunday at Portsmouth, and an element of it at Chelsea in the League Cup on Wednesday. Arsenal will need to be at full strength for the main priority - a league game at Nottingham Forest that follows those two. And then it's Inter away in the Champions League (frankly probably Priority Number Two in the grand scheme of things).

Busy busy busy... Arteta will be doing a lot of juggling over the next couple of weeks. But we move on, and survey our kingdom from the summit of its highest peaks. Forget the performance against Liverpool; console yourself with the league table.

COYG!

 

Rice Double Serves Up Three More Points

Three more hard-won points for Arsenal on a frigid evening on the south coast, which stretched their lead at the top - temporarily at least - to 7 points (Spoiler Alert; thanks Chelsea - it’s still 6). But the scoreline once again doesn’t tell the full story, with lots of little sub-plots to consider. Of course, it’ll be going through all of our minds that Arsenal hold an unwanted record; on the last 5 occasions that they have led the league at the turn of the year, they have failed to hold on to it until the end. 

Arteta chose this game to rest both of his wingers. But he was at least able to welcome back Declan Rice to the side after his enforced midweek rest. Calafiori and Mosquera remain out, and there was no room on the bench for either Nwaneri (for a second successive match) or Havertz ('load being managed').

This has often, of course, been a tricky fixture for The Gunners; and we can hardly forget the daft ( re-refereed by VAR) sending off of William Saliba at this ground last season. So I’m sure that we were under no illusions that nothing could be taken for granted. For all their lack of recent points, Bournemouth are decent; there are very few 'easy' games in the Premier League these days.

As for myself, I remained blissfully oblivious of the live action due to dinner/theatre arrangements made many weeks ago. And you’ll be thrilled to know that I did survive with my phone off until I got home to watch ‘as live’ at 11pm.

Early on, the home side made a lot of the running. But Arsenal were just starting to get a foothold when The King of Brazil made a calamitous error, a ball played across the penalty area (weren't we always told never to do that?) presenting Evanilson with an opportunity that he could not possibly miss. All I could say was: “Aaaaaargh!!!”

Fortunately, it was very early in the game, so Arsenal had no need to panic. And they were soon back in terms, as following a dead ball situation (inevitably, some may say), and some excellent work from Madueke, Gabriel redeemed himself with an emphatic finish. 

However, it was by no means one way traffic, with Bournemouth giving as good as they got as Arsenal gave possession away far too frequently. Rice was his normal effective self, but Zubimendi’s first half was - to say the least - ineffective, as he was often bypassed on the break. Further forward, Madueke was giving his full back a torrid time, but Arsenal mostly failed to work the goalkeeper. Whilst Noni took his chance to shine on the right, Martinelli failed to do so on the other side of the pitch.

1-1 at half-time. And Arsenal are normally very effective immediately after the turnaround after Arteta makes his half-time tweaks. Yet again, they made it pay; taking the game to the home side and giving the match an entirely different look and feel. Rice scored his first from an exquisite Odegaard assist - it didn’t look too special, but the set-up was perfect. However, we need to credit Gyokeres for the work he did then - and does almost invisibly - in occupying the centre backs and pushing them back. Whilst he isn’t scoring, his other work is invaluable to the team as he makes others’ lives easier by dint of his hard work. I remain confident that the goals will come. It took Robert Pires an entire season to settle, after all.

On 66 minutes, Arteta summoned the cavalry in order to put the game to bed. On came Saka, Trossard and Jesus. And within moments Saka had set up Rice for his second with a run to the bye-line (found by the excellent Odegaard) and clever cutback. 

With Arsenal on top, that really ought to have been it. But there was a notable twist in the tail as a result of the personnel changes. Because whilst the new players gave an extra attacking impetus, the change from Gyokeres to Jesus meant a massive drop in Arsenal’s ability to pressure their opponents from the front. Jesus has many qualities, but he cannot replicate the physicality of Gyokeres. Thus Bournemouth could build from further up the field, and Arsenal dropped back -something that has cost them over the past few weeks. So when Bournemouth substitute Kroupi pulled a goal back with a rasping effort from outside the penalty area with fully 15 minutes to go, there was nobody near him to close him down.

Thankfully, Arsenal saw the rest of the game out comfortably. They continue to pick up maximum points from matches that they failed to do last season, and are setting a furious pace at the top of the table. 15 wins out of their first 20 matches, and well ahead of last season on comparative matches. They need to keep going, of course, but this squad is so much bigger that last season’s - remember how far down to the bare bones they were towards the end of last season?

And so, with the lead now up to 6, it’s Arsenal’s to lose. It’s Salah-less Liverpool next, and a chance for revenge for that earlier defeat at Anfield. They must continue to keep their pedal to the metal before the chance to rotate on Sunday in the FA Cup. And some people need to 'Stay humble; eh?'

COYG!!!

Return Of King Of Brazil Sparks More Complete Performance

Happy New Year to my thousands of readers. Holiday, family and New Year obligations make this post considerably later than I’d have liked; but I do get to report on the state of the league table following the completion of the 19th round of matches. So every cloud... 

I tend to write two types of blog posts. One type is a chronological summary of the action, and the other more of a list of what I regard as the hottest takes from a particular game. This post is going to be a bit more of the latter - so off we go:

And the headline is the return of Gabriel Maghaeles, which sparked a change in fortune for Arsenal as they finally reaped the rewards that their general domination of most of their recent opponents deserved. 

This game was, of course, massive. And victory imperative. With Manchester City within touching distance, Villa on a long winning streak and revenge in the air, a statement needed to be made.

 

Firstly; team news. And we’d known from mid-afternoon that Declan Rice was going to be out. Extremely worrying in the context of this match. This was tempered by the knowledge that Big Gabi and Jurrien Timber were to return, and that Ben White and the long-term absent Kai Havertz were going to make the bench. The loss of Riccardo Calafiori during the warm-up was a further blow, however. Hincapie, originally benched to make room for Gabriel, was drafted back into the side.

The renewal of the best central defensive partnership in world football had a positive effect on every part of the team; although it did take a little while for the players to get to grips with Aston Villa’s early tactics, and particularly the power and pace of Amadou Onana. Critically, neither Gabriel nor Saliba had been available for the painful loss at Villa Park earlier in the month. Whilst the team can cope short term without one or the other, both being missing is another matter entirely.

It is worth noting also that with Eze, Martinelli, Jesus and Havertz on the bench there was no room whatsoever for Ethan Nwaneri. I remarked as soon as Eze was signed that Nwaneri was likely to be the biggest sufferer in terms of game time, and that has certainly come to pass. Quite what the immediate future holds for the extraordinarily talented teenager I do not know. Nor do I know what guarantees Arteta will be able to give him as regards game time.

Arsenal featured the ‘Real Sociedad’ midfield of Zubimendi, Merino and Odegaard, but for a while the trio looked a little at sixes and sevens, with simple through balls enabling Villa to carve their way through a gigantic Declan Rice-shaped hole in the midfield. Onana, all power and telescopically long legs, and Rogers took the game to Arsenal at pace, and the early stages of the game were rather worrying.

Arteta and the players did manage to tweak a few things ‘on the hoof', with Merino obliged to drop deeper than ideal, and the centre halves playing a little closer together. This essentially nullified the threat to a great extent, but the half was pretty even. Saliba’s pace and positioning were crucial at times, as Villa looked to hit the home side on the break; one interception in particular was world class.

The biggest opportunities for either side in the first half centred around Viktor Gyokeres, who squandered two presentable headed chances, and whose lack of strength and awareness against the Villa press offered up a real opportunity for Watkins. Must do better.

Worth noting Villa’s time-wasting at this point. The ball was in play for just 24 minutes in the first half, as referee England exhibited very little understanding or control of what was going on. Just three minutes of injury time when it ought to have been 6 or 7. And worth mentioning pantomime villain Emi Martinez at this point - booed at every touch of the ball, and exacerbating matters by pushing the limits of the crowd’s patience throughout. Still, Instant Karma’s gonna get you (John Lennon knew…).

Onana, who had spent a good three minutes down injured in the first half and who had been having a running battle with Merino, failed to appear after half time. This, coupled with extra intensity from the home side, changed the course of the match. 

I have a long-term superstition that I take to home games; the requirement for a ‘lucky second half lollipop’. For much of this season, I hadn’t felt the need to even unwrap it (Manchester City having been the exception), but it was out and ready as the second half started - and it immediately paid dividends as, from a corner, the pantomime villain contrived to drop the ball into his own net with Gabriel in very close attendance. Look, the guy made himself very unpopular with some of the stuff he said when he left the club, so it was extra pleasurable to know that it was his mistake that led to the goal. It’s Christmas time, so I’ll chuck in a seasonal Ho Ho Ho.

From that point there was really only one winner. But a word of caution: Merino, already booked in the first half following a tangle with Onana, was perhaps fortunate not to receive a second yellow for a tug back on Rogers. Rightly, Arteta hauled him off as fast as he could.

Thereafter, Arsenal continued to take the game to their opponents. Odegaard, who had been working on his aggression in the press on the training ground with Gabriel Heinze, reaped the rewards of that hard work when he robbed Sancho, drove towards goal and played an exquisite through ball for Zubimendi to finish cleverly. And here’s the thing… here was the supposed further forward of the midfield trio pressing from deep, and finding the ‘most defensive’ of the three as he burst into the penalty area. Bravery and fluidity.

We had noted that Odegaard had been heading back to his best over the past few weeks, and his second half performance backed this up as he took the rest of the game by the scruff of the neck. Our skipper is most definitely back. On a day when Bukayo Saka was noticeably quieter than we’d have hoped, it is important for others to step up. Which he certainly did. 

The two further goals that soon followed were both superb finishes. Trossard curled one into the corner from 18 yards and then Gabriel Jesus, on for Gyokeres and with his first touches of the ball first controlled and then exquisitely finished past Martinez; the latter in a manner that I doubt Gyokeres is capable of doing. At 3-0 and then 4-0, the atmosphere in the crowd was joyous - and all the more for being so unexpected bearing in mind how the first half had gone. The Villa fans - for whom I’ve had a massive dislike since hearing their sickening chant about Aaron Ramsey following his leg break at Stoke - slunk off back north to their mountains of waste lining the streets.

The 94th minute concession to Watkins was annoying - worth noting that Gabriel had been withdrawn by that point - but the celebrations continued. Television recorded that Unai Emery classlessly ran off down the tunnel without shaking Arteta’s hand. And Emi Martinez was taunted relentlessly as he went down the tunnel. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke, if you ask me… And I half-expect Villa to suffer a semi-collapse at this point.

By the way, if anyone is concerned about the negative effects of competition for the centre forward position, just take a look at this photograph:

Further good news, with Manchester City dropping points at Sunderland to open up a 4-point gap. Remember when Arsenal ‘only’ drawing there was apparently a disaster? Just 57 points left to play for…

Players are coming and going due to injury/recovery, but hopefully the squad will remain robust enough to survive the inevitable problems. It’s big enough; let’s face it - and I can’t see any incomings in this Transfer Window barring some sort of disastrous clutch of injuries in one spot. Outgoings? - maybe a loan for Nwaneri, which I’d be sad about to be honest.

The games continue to come thick and fast. Bournemouth away on Saturday will be the first of no less than 9 matches in January. For me, having theatre tickets on Saturday evening (preceded by a pre-theatre meal booked with friends) is going to require careful handling. Phone off - news blackout - watch 'as live' when I get home. Thanks ever so much, Sky Sports...

Anyway, Arsenal move on happily into 2026; surveying all and sundry from the summit of every table. One game at a time, of course... but I believe that there is still more to come from this group. COYG!

And finally a word for Chelsea FC; MAD! That is all...