Arsenal Roast Leicester In The Heat

An attacking display full of promise and intent, spearheaded by Gabriel Jesus, aided and abetted by Gabriel Martinelli and featuring an atypical show of attacking intent from Granit Xhaka that may give an insight into the future, all culminated in an ultimately comfortable 4-2 win over Leicester City on Saturday.

There were many positives on the attacking side of the ball, but there is clearly some work to be done on defensive shape and organisation. But this was a display full of promise and intrigue for the future. All taking place in a white hot Emirates Stadium and in front of a rapturous crowd. In 33 degrees, I must add; quite the hottest temperature that I’ve been in attendance for. In the words of legendary weather person Paola Fisch - Scorchio!

Taking points for me:

Gabriel Jesus

Arteta has let him off the leash. He’s the main man at Arsenal, instead of being something of a bit-part player at Manchester City. And as a result I think that we will see the player that Pep may have hoped to get, but in whom he never quite had sufficient confidence, nor gave sufficient opportunity to, in that squad packed with superstars. 

Big fish/smaller pond; and Arsenal look sure to reap the benefits of this. An all-action display with two goals - the first a thing of beauty - and two assists bodes very well for the future. With a little bit of good fortune he may have netted three, four, or even five goals in the game.

I don't know who he 'calls' every time he scores a goal, but he'd better have unlimited minutes on his mobile contract!

Granit Xhaka 

I’ve never seen the guy pop up so often in the opponent’s penalty area! Arsenal’s new-found fluidity on their left as a result of the acquisition of Zinchenko and the coming of age of Martinelli has given him extra freedom. He scored one, hit the post and generally made a massive nuisance of himself. A fascinating development. 

Zinchenko

Not content with playing the left-back role, he had licence to pop up in all sorts of surprising places - secure in the knowledge that Xhaka or Partey would fill in for him if necessary. 

There’ll be some games when the added defensive qualities - negated somewhat by less assurance on the ball - of Kieran Tierney may be viewed with more importance. But he adds an extra dimension to Arsenal’s attacking play. Even if I reserve some concerns about his defending; he was certainly bypassed a little too easily in the build-up to Leicester’s second

Gabriel Martinelli

He’s like a hornet! He must be a nightmare to come up against, with his speed, new-found strength and customary directness. Always busy. Always buzzing around. 

There was one moment when he made a complete fool of £80m-rated Wesley Fofana. He took his goal superbly, and is currently un-droppable on the left hand side

Arsenal’s right hand side, upon which they relied so much let season, isn’t seeing too much of the ball at the moment. Odegaard continues to oil the wheels centrally, but it could be said that Bukayo Saka has been a bit quiet in the first two games. I wouldn’t worry, though; when he gets up to full speed opponents won’t know who to defend against first!

Defensively, there are issues. Some of Aaron Ramsdale’s kicking was once again sublime yesterday - one beautifully weighted ball down the middle to Jesus split the Leicester defence apart. But some was less good. I suppose it’s a function of the risk/reward ratio of what he’s been asked to do.

As I mentioned, Leicester’s second goal was preventable. Zinchenko was by-passed, Gabriel perhaps a little slow to react, and Ramsdale won’t want to watch his attempt to keep the ball out too often again for sure.

As for William Saliba, this was another performance full of promise, but also littered with the sort of mistakes that one might expect a 21-year-old centre half to make. He was unfortunate with the own goal, but should have played safe and headed wide of goal - his header ended up wrong-footing Ramsdale. And there was one moment in the first half when Vardy outwitted him and would have been clean through on goal had he received a better pass. But Saliba looks completely unflustered on the ball, and his recovery speed is awesome. He will surely learn from any mistakes, and quickly. I continue to get Van Dijk vibes from him. 

What was remarkable was the reaction of the crowd to his own goal; a short pause to take stock, and then a massive outpouring of love and support for the young man.  

Elsewhere, Vardy (and his lovely wife) received dog’s abuse - particularly after the penalty incident. And I particularly enjoyed the North Bank’s serenading of (possibly) Emirates-bound Youri Tielemans.

On the whole, this was a thoroughly enjoyable display, full of future promise. We can only hope that it continues, and it’s good to see that every game up to the first Interlull looks winnable. Whilst talk of challenging for the title is highly premature, every point is going to be vital.

On other matters now, quickly, before I sign off. Firstly, I think that we should all take a small moment to have a damn good laugh at the current state of Manchester United. Arsenal had plenty of excuses for defeat at Brentford last August. Not so for United, who are in a bigger mess than anyone could have imagined.much to amusement of everyone else, of course.

And a quick word on the Chelsea/Tottenham game. Is it only me that sees Spurs getting the benefit of every contentious decision? For me, they were extremely lucky to escape with a point, and both of their goals should have been chalked off - one for offside and the other due to an outrageous assault by Romero on Cuccurella. I’m sure that it’ll all even out in the end… except that Tottenham seem to be this year’s Establishment Darlings; and I’ve no idea why.

Anyway, let’s go back to the most important matter in hand. Three points from the Vitality Stadium next Saturday evening, please, lads.

North London Forever. COYG!

Then I Saw His Face!

Phew! And breathe…

Over the summer, one can almost forget what it’s like to watch an Arsenal away game. Until it comes flooding back. The nerves; the tension…

For the second successive season, Arsenal had been set up for possible early failure by the fixtures computer and Sky, with a trip to the scene of one of their worst performances and results of last season; memories of a chastening 3-0 defeat in the Spring were all too fresh in the mind. 

But this time it felt different. Transfer business was done early for once, preseason had gone well, and squad depth looks vastly improved. So this was an entirely different team compared to last season’s wounded warriors.

There were Premier League debuts in the baby pink for Zinchenko and Jesus, and - at last - a first competitive start in England for William Saliba. With one or two players still short of match fitness, the team picked itself, frankly.

I’m not going to be boring you with minute-by-minute minutiae this season - you’re all watching the games. I’ll be talking about what I regard as the key talking points. And I’ll start with Gabriel Jesus:

Here’s what Arsenal have been missing for a few seasons now - a moving target up top. We’d seen a little of it with Nketiah towards the end of last season, but Jesus is clearly a step or two up; and his presence - plus a summer’s recuperation for the squad - gave the whole team a different energy. He was unlucky not to have a goal - and an assist - and it’s clear that his team-mates are relishing his presence.

Secondly, William Saliba:

This was the first time I’d seen a full 90 minutes of him in an Arsenal shirt. The sample size is obviously small - despite the plaudits (and full caps) he got in France last year - but what a start! He’s a commanding presence, and his game management looked superb. He topped many of the vital defensive statistics, but most crucially helped Ben White out on multiple occasions as the latter suffered at times playing out of position against the tricky Zaha. A really promising debut, a Man of the Match performance, and a sense that this young man could be another Adams, Terry, Ferdinand or Van Dijk. Yes, he looked that good. So let’s hope that this song catches on:

Thirdly, game management. And of course - despite what ultimately ended up a comfortable win - there were those moments that remind you about how difficult it can be to watch Arsenal, and quite how far they have to go to match the likes of Citeh and Liverpool. I spent quite a lot of the second half calling for Rob Holding, and thought that Arteta took a little too long to make changes; especially with the new 5-substitute rule in operation. 

Concerns: firstly - and I can understand why they’re being told to do it - one touch passing. Once or twice, deep in their own half, Arsenal got themselves into trouble. Perhaps a little more judicial use of the one-touch stuff may be advisable? 

Secondly - Ramsdale’s kicking. He made some very important saves, but - and perhaps because the mistakes came at a time when Arsenal were dominant - there was a touch of over-confidence in his kicking game. Again, better to be safe than sorry. He very much redeemed himself, of course, with two critical saves.

And finally - and I’m being picky here - Martin Odegaard was not at his best; twice looking to pass when he had decent opportunities to shoot. As I say, I’m being picky; and he at least got himself into position, so it’s the decision-making I’m questioning. But this does make me even more curious about Fabio Vieira.

And now a quick shout out to Nicolas Jover. Who?, I hear you ask? Well, he’s Arsenal’s set piece coach. He did an excellent job last season, and the routine that led to the opening goal was something I’d not seen before. Keep ‘em coming, Nico.

Of course, we also saw the first appearance of the ITWGX Index. Eze dives - play waved on. 20 seconds later a similar action involving Xhaka, and out comes the yellow card. Another piece of simulation by Eze later; again no card… I wish that referees would, for once, officiate the match situation, and not the player. Plus ça change. and there were a couple of incidents in other matches in this first round of fixtures where players weren’t punished for rash challenges; one dangerous sliding tackle by a Tottenham player (Romero? - can't find the clip), plus this Scott McTominay over the top effort that went unpunished. 

Incidents that had me thinking: ‘If that was Granit Xhaka…’

Not much else to say. Except to say that the green shoots of progress are clearly sprouting. Selhurst Park on a Friday night is an extremely difficult place to go, but this group managed it well. Three points in the bag from one of the most difficult away tests in the division is a great start. So we move on to a series of winnable matches in a positive frame of mind.

I can’t wait to get back to my seat next Saturday afternoon. North London Forever! 

And with that, here’s a message from Arsenal fan Martin Kemp, of Spandau Ballet:

https://twitter.com/realmartinkemp/status/1555867530501275652?s=11&t=eiwWAuIsyJxmhCzXUqAvNw

Be Excited

In the words of Josh Kroenke: 'I would say, be excited'. And we ought to be. Because it really feels like Arsenal are back on the right path now.

Now, disappointment and anger meant that I couldn't bring myself to post right at the end of last season, so before I launch into optimism here's a quick summary of that - dictated to me by my old nemesis Captain Hindsight:

Arteta and Edu took a calculated risk by not reinforcing the squad last January. We were concerned at the time that losing Auba would leave us light up top, and so it came to pass. However, we were more hurt by the subsequent losses to long-term injury of Tierney and Partey. The squad was very light on numbers at that point, with little room for rotation, and by the end of the season those left standing were running on empty.

Without wanting to depress you by reminding you: successive losses to Palace (thrashed), Brighton (unlucky) and Southampton (flat), were followed - incredibly - by successive victories over Chelsea (amusingly), United and West Ham that coincided with the belated introduction of Nketiah to the starting XI. And then, from pole position, the pressure told. Abject capitulation at Tottenham, followed by an even worse performance at Newcastle, and that was that. The margins were fine, but the gamble ultimately failed.

On the one hand, 8th to 5th was clearly progression. However, 4th was within touching distance. And worst of all, what hurt most was that it was Tottenham who took 4th spot. And how we've suffered on a personal level over the summer as a result of that.

Anyway, that's done, and we have certainly moved on now. Arteta/Edu were looking not just for bodies, but the right bodies. So in January it was Vlahovic or nobody; and so nobody it was. 

But it's an entirely different matter now. And I cannot recall the last time I was looking forward to the beginning of a season as much as this. Perhaps the day we signed Alexis Sanchez? A while ago, certainly. 

For me, Gabriel Jesus is the PERFECT new central striker for Arsenal. We've already seen how he's relishing being the 'main man' at Arsenal instead of being a bit part player at Manchester City. His movement makes him the perfect foil for the likes of Saka, Martinelli and Odegaard, and he'll improve those three - and the whole team.

Additional signings so far have included Zinchenko - another supposed City 'cast-off'. Nonsense. And who cares? The guy can do several jobs at Arsenal - indeed, when Tierney's fit he's going to give Arteta a headache when you consider that Xhaka always starts when available. We're yet to see Fabio Vieira (woah oh) in an Arsenal shirt, but if what I've read about him is true we've every reason to be excited.

But perhaps the most significant addition to the squad may yet turn out to be William Saliba - the very personification of LANS ('like a new signing', for those who aren't very good with acronyms). He's looked big, strong, fast and utterly unflappable in pre-season. And with both Tierney and Tomiyasu still not match-fit, we've no reason to have the sort of concerns that we had this time last year.

And there may be more signings to come. Arsenal remain a major draw - Champions League or no Champions League. Edu is proving that, and for a second summer in a row he and Arteta are receiving the full support of the owners. Perhaps we can start changing our minds about the Kroenkes now; I sense that now they've tasted further success in the US - the LA Rams and Colorado Avalanche have won recent titles on the back of investment, so perhaps Stan can finally see the correlation?

I'd feel more comfortable with another central midfielder - for reasons I'll touch on in a moment - and with an extra centre forward. Let's tackle those in reverse order:

Jesus and Nketiah, and up to 70 games to be played. Possible World Cup in between for the Brazilian. Even counting Martinelli as the nominal third striker, that doesn't feel like enough. What of possible injuries? What of possible suspensions? How will the new 5-substitute rule change things? I'd feel comfortable with another option; somebody who offer something different. A Giroud-type figure who can hold the ball up and lay it off, perhaps? What do you think?

And then there's the sub judice midfield elephant in the room. There's one key position in the side for which we have no genuine like-for-like cover, and that's at the base of midfield. We have a player in there who's finally been beginning to show why Arsenal bought him, but there's no guarantee - for other than footballing reasons - that'll he'll be in the side in a few months' time. And whilst it's well nigh impossible to replace somebody with his qualities, we have to ask whether the midfield players we do have are capable of offsetting the loss of those qualities without upsetting the applecart elsewhere in midfield. So another one in, please. Rumour has it that Tielemans is pretty much a done deal, and it's merely a question of pressing the button. He'd do fine, so what are Arsenal waiting for? Sales, I guess; not for the transfer fees, which would be relatively paltry, but in order to free up wages. Get something done, please, Edu.

And so we move on to Palace; the scene of one of Arsenal's worst displays of last season. Of course, Arsenal will have a vastly-changed line-up for this one, and Palace will be severely weakened by the loss of their Chelsea loanee from last season. But for all that they're big and strong, have Zaha in their side, will look to bully Arsenal, and will have the backing of one of the most impressive sets of home supporters in the country. This has a similar ring to it as Brentford did last season (thanks, Sky), and Arteta must mitigate against them gaining any momentum. I'm considerably more confident about this game than I was when the fixtures came out, but it's nonetheless a concern. I wouldn't be surprised by any result, but I'm hoping that Arsenal can put down a marker immediately.

And so to prospects for the new season: Manchester City have signed Haaland and Alvarez (and will thus change the way they play slightly), but have lost Sterling as well as the two we've signed. I wouldn't call that strengthening. Liverpool have lost Mr Elbows, but signed Nunez. Again, not necessarily strengthened. But those two sides are well ahead of the pack, and it would be an enormous ask to expect Arsenal to breach that gap this season.

Elsewhere, Chelsea appear in disarray. Their transfer policy appears to be to wait and see who everyone else is scouting, and then look to gazump them. All the more amusing to see Barcelona raining continually on their parade. I don't think that they're ready, and they don't appear to have improved their squad. Manchester United remain a mess. New manager, but essentially the same players. Ten Haag has a lot of work to do, and it wouldn't surprise me to see them outside the Top 6 by the end of this season if they don't take drastic action somewhere.

Newcastle? Another season or two, I reckon, before they get to join the Big Boys Club. The aim this year will surely be Europa League, and they haven't seriously strengthened over the summer.

As for Tottenham, who I've saved till last: they've done some decent business. Perisic is past his best, but is a fine player. Bissouma is certainly an upgrade on what they had in central midfield, and Richarlison is the perfect foil for Kane and Son - they'll be diving across the full width of the pitch now... However, I feel they still lack creativity in central midfield. Remains to be seen how much that will hinder them, but they have a top manager. It's worth pointing out at this point, by the way, that this week we reached the tipping point that means that their last title win is now closer to the 19th century than the 21st - a tremendous statistic!

And so to predictions: a decent run in all three Cups - I'd be looking to win the Europa League, and - if I'm realistic - third place at best. Plus Jesus for the Golden Boot. Third or fourth would be progress, and acceptable, but fifth or sixth will only be acceptable if they win the Europa League. It's Champions League or bust, baby!

North London Forever!

*u**. **i*. *u***. *o**o***!

A 'perfect storm' hit Arsenal last night as all the worst case scenarios hit in the same - critical - match. A raucous atmosphere, a good dose of bad judgment, plenty of bad luck and some questionable refereeing decisions (Paul Tierney never gives Arsenal the benefit of any doubt), alongside the underlying issues of a squad that's not quite big enough, important injuries and absences, and (Hello Captain Hindsight) poor team selection meant that they crashed to a morale-sapping defeat at The Armitage Shanks Arena (for those who aren't aware, Armitage Shanks are a famous maker of toilet bowls, and if you type Armitage Shanks Arena into Google Maps it kindly directs you to The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 😄). 

It's also worth noting that the team failed to perform to anything like its optimum levels. But it's been a funny old two months. Defeat at Crystal Palace was unquestionably deserved. They didn't get the rub of the green against either Brighton or Southampton. Victory over a distracted Chelsea was meritorious. Manchester United could frankly have gone the other way. They lived on their nerves at West Ham. They made things very difficult for themselves against Leeds. And at The Toilet Bowl they finally cracked under the pressure. Some would say that they 'bottled it'; and I suppose that wouldn't be far off the mark.

Fortunately, it's all still in Arsenal's hands. Two wins and Tottenham's victory will be pyrrhic. Although it was disappointing that The Celebration Police, who are so quick to charge Arsenal, failed to make any of the 55,000 arrests that they ought to have made last night. The ringleaders, Conte, Kane, Son and Paul Tierney, should all be under lock and key today.

Much as I'd like to try to write this piece without going through several bunches of sour grapes, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to fail to do so. In fact, I'm not even going to try... I do try to be as fair as I can when I write, even if it is from an Arsenal perspective, but perceived injustices do sometimes make it very difficult to stay as calm and rational as (and I know my friends will agree...) I usually am.

Unquestionably, Tottenham come out of this game with massive credit and momentum. Despite a slow start, they soon took the initiative, and Son made life a misery for Cedric and Holding with his undoubted talent; allied to his trademark 'professional' antics. 

Look, he's a very good player. But I'm frankly sick of hearing how players are 'clever' to connive their way into winning favour and decisions from referees. And Son is a master at that. He also - as I'm sure you'll agree - possesses the most punchable face in the Premier League (and that's quite something when you consider the existence of Salah, TAA, Vardy and Mahrez). I mean, just look at this...

... a sure invitation to violence.

Cedric's defensive inadequacies meant that Holding was constantly exposed to Son's pace, trickery and 'professionalism', and he responded poorly to it. He committed two fouls that could easily have been bookings before finally receiving a yellow card - although please note below the sly elbow in the aftermath of one of those from Son that VAR failed to notice or deal with https://twitter.com/i/status/1524836005722869786 - and then definitely blocked Son off and so gave Tierney the opportunity he wanted to get his red card out. Assistant Referee Kane was immediately on hand to tell him to do that, you will have noted. You can't even say that Son made the most of it - he didn't even see it coming. It's a second yellow; difficult to argue that it isn't, frankly. 

By this time, of course, Arsenal were already a goal down as the result of a soft penalty decision from Tierney. A big decision to make in such an important match - and one that doesn't get given to any away side - not even LiVARpool. Cedric mistimes his attempt to block my favourite Korean off, and barely makes any contact - but the latter makes the most of his opportunity to go tumbling to the floor https://twitter.com/i/status/1525066919598075905 

And whilst that's a penalty according to the strict letter of the Law, then this decision surely means that further penalties are going to be awarded at most set pieces from now on. Inevitably, Kane stepped up and sent Ramsdale the wrong way (I knew that he was going to go the side he did, by the way; but it's all a matter of bluff and double bluff; ask Bruno Fernandes).

This seems an ideal time to address team selection and match management. Captain Hindsight tells me that Arteta should probably have matched Conte up formation-wise... but White wasn't match-fit, of course. I suppose he could have got round it by going with Cedric and Tavares as wing backs, and dropping Tomiyasu alongside Holding and Gabriel. It would certainly have given added security, and would have offered a different solution to the one he gave to Kane dropping deep; which was keeping Elneny close to him and thereby meaning that Hojbjerg and Bentancur - impressive yesterday - had the advantage over Xhaka. He could have afforded to let one of the three centre backs follow him out, but still leave two behind. How he could have done that was leave Bukayo Saka - who was very quiet; and I'm sure that's down to fatigue - out of the starting XI. Certainly, Martinelli had to play, so Starboy was the sensible option for a rest (despite the magnitude of the game). Anyway, Captain Hindsight is always boasting about his 20/20 vision, but I'm not giving him any credit for it.

Additionally, was Arteta right in finding an on-field solution to his centre-back shortage? Well, if White wasn't quite ready, then 70 minutes of a North London Derby wouldn't have been ideal. I can't argue with what he did. However, I certainly can argue with Nketiah being detailed to look after Kane at set pieces. And we saw what happened...

And so, at half-time, it looked all over. Once or twice a year, I am tempted to turn the television off - I never actually do, of course - and this was one of those occasions. But when Son got his goal so early in the second half it was then purely a case of seeing the game out; and it was a combination of self-flagellation and my curiosity as to how far the Sky Tottenham love-in was going to go that kept me watching.

The icing on the cake was a late injury for Gabriel. It looked like glute or hamstring, so let's hope it's not serious as his absence would leave Arsenal with precisely zero fit centre-backs for Monday. But, amusingly, it was great to see Mr Punchable looking miserable to be substituted when he's pushing for the Golden Boot. Highlight of the second half for me:

To hear the opposition fans ole-ing after just an hour - especially when so many of them are barely able to prevent their knuckles from scraping the ground when they walk - was quite sickening. But just as sickening was listening to Martin Tyler and especially Gary Neville (who bears a 25 year old grudge against Arsenal, lest we forget) waxing lyrical about Tottenham. I know that it's in Sky's interest for the fight for 4th to go down to the wire, but how they can be so partisan I simply cannot understand. Anyone would think that they'd won the World Cup! I find it considerably easier to be at a ground watching, than to listen to TV's agenda-riven commentary.

And at this point I must mention Theo Walcott, who was in the Sky studio (looking ridiculous, may I point out) and who declared pre-match that he'd like to see a draw. I mean... WHAT? Way to tarnish your legacy, sonny!

I must say that I did love Arteta's post-match interview with the annoying Geoff Shreeves. Defending his players, and saying what many Arsenal fans had been pointing out about the referee's performance. Siege mentality - correct response.

So what does this result mean? Well, as Paddy Power so eloquently pointed out...

And it makes Arsenal's position completely transparent. It's in their hands. They'll know precisely what they need to do on Monday, because Tottenham play on Sunday lunchtime - and we can but hope that they go all Spursy and drop points to Burnley (as they did earlier this season, straight after having beaten Manchester City!). Two wins and Arsenal are there, no matter what Tottenham do. But quite how much this defeat will have taken out of them - mentally as much as physically - remains to be seen. 

Newcastle and Everton... not the worst of opposition to have to face, I guess. Newcastle haven't scored so much as a single Premier League goal against Arsenal since April 2018, which is a good omen. And Everton are simply awful. So let's remain hopeful; if no longer confident. And let's hope that Sky - as well as all those gloating Tottenham fans - have egg on their faces on May 22nd. COYG!

I'm Not Nervous. No, Honestly...

I've been up since around 3.30am. But let's just makes things clear here; I'm not nervous.

Something other than a mere football match must clearly be bothering me. It's just that I can't quite put my finger on what it is... Anyway, I'll just get a few things in writing, and see if that helps.

Firstly, despite 4 wins in a row I don't think that anybody can accuse Arsenal of being in great form. Three successive defeats prior to that may have been harsh - and oh, what would we give for a couple of points from those games! - but they've had their moments of concern in each of those 4 matches. Conceding so soon after taking the lead twice against Chelsea, and once against both United and West Ham, made for difficult viewing. Add the 'sliding doors' moment that was Bruno Fernandes' penalty miss. Followed by the inexplicably painful final 20 minutes against a 10-man Leeds United who should have been put to bed well beforehand.

Talking of the Leeds game, I have to take some responsibility here. First for something good, and then for something quite bad. Two 'assists', technically.

Any time an opposing defender at Emirates Stadium makes a back pass that is heading between the goal posts I shout 'Leave it!' Now, the goalkeeper can't hear it - I'm at least 50 yards away and in a crowd of 60,000 people - and all it really does is annoy the people around me (although they've heard it hundreds of times and therefore now ignore it). Yet this time... Meslier makes the mistake, Eddie nips in, and Marksy takes the credit and the 'assist'. As I pointed out to all and sundry at the time...

But then... as Leeds prepared to take their first corner of the game I pointed out to my daughter sitting beside me that Arsenal had not let in a goal all season directly from a corner; from no less than 188 attempts. Cue Llorente's stunning volley, and a volley of abuse from my offspring. Well deserved it was too.

By which time, of course, Arsenal should have been well out of sight. 2-0 up in no time, Leeds a man down - crazy challenge from Ayling, by the way - and with a host of chances to be at least 5 goals ahead. In my opinion Arsenal started relaxing - which you simply cannot do - and paid the price for it. And of course it could have been worse - those last 20 minutes were painful, as were the latter stages at West Ham - but the points were bagged and that was that.

Which left Arsenal 4 points clear of Tottenham, with just three games to go. As you know, the first of those is of course the NLD. But I'm not nervous...

Whether Tottenham had drawn or lost at Anfield on Saturday night was immaterial, really (a thumping loss would of course have been considerably more preferable). Just as long as they didn't do the unthinkable and do to Liverpool what they'd done twice to Manchester City this season. Extraordinary, in fact, that they've managed to amass no less than 8 points out of 12 in matches against those two sides this season, yet still find themselves 'languishing' in fifth spot. It's a function of the Conte's 'Italian' methodology, I guess, that they're much better on the counter-attack than when they have to take the game to their opponents.

Which leads me on to a preview of the game. And there are several aspects to it that bear a bit of discussion.

Firstly, there's the question of how much Tottenham will be motivated by the match having been called off on its original date due to Arsenal taking maximum advantage of the Premier League's Covid regulations. Probably a bit of a red herring - for all the outrage at the time - and here we are now in any case. There are surely more important motivating factors than that, I'd have thought.

From their point of view, team selection is easy. We've not heard about any new injury concerns in their camp, so they'll surely line up as they've done for most of this year. They have issues at wing back, however, and these are areas that I'm sure that Arteta will be looking to target.

The news from the Arsenal camp is of course a little more worrying. Already without Partey and Tierney - and any solution that Arteta can muster to the latter's continued absence is at the very least imperfect, with Tomiyasu looking uncomfortable at times at left back on Sunday (but still surely the best alternative), there are doubts as to whether Ben White is ready to step back into the side. And also some concerns about Bukayo Saka. Both of these two must surely be well inside Arsene Wenger's famous 'red zone' on fatigue levels.

So it's complete guess work as to how Arsenal will line up. If White is fit, Arteta has to decide whether to slot him back in alongside Gabriel - thus leaving the option of bringing Holding on late to shore up the defences - or to match Tottenham's formation up, as he did at Stamford Bridge. 

There are two deciding factors to weigh up here. Adding a defender means losing an attacker. Obviously. But if Saka isn't fit to start, for me it's a 'no brainer' and that's what he should do. After all, Arsenal don't need to win this game; a draw would more than suffice. If Saka is fit to start, then perhaps stick to a four. Because they have to attack, and Arsenal's forward line has dynamic capabilities in transition and on the counter-attack. Interesting...

Of course, in Kane and Son - the most successful combination for combined goals and assists in Premier League history (which by the way is Not A Trophy!) - Tottenham possess a massive threat. But the key is to force them to play in front of our defence. If they get in behind, they are frankly deadly. Therefore the key is 'What we have; we hold'. And what we have at kick-off is a point.

Of course, they do have clear weaknesses, as I mentioned. Sessgnon is much better going forward than defending. And Emerson Royal is simply not very good; I'd be expecting Martinelli to inflict some damage on him. In midfield, Xhaka and Elneny should match up fairly well against Hojbjerg and Bentancur. But a key tactical factor will be how Arteta chooses to deal with Kane dropping onto midfield. Does he let him go and stay solidly behind the ball, or does he detail somebody to track him? We shall see.

For what it's worth, I've not spoken to a single Tottenham fan over the last week who is confident of victory this evening. But that, of course, makes no difference at all to what happens later. It's not just about bragging rights; there's so much more at stake.

Either way, this is massive. For all that Arsenal's fate will remain in their own hands even if they lose, I'd much prefer Tottenham's final two games to Arsenal's. The visit to Newcastle next weekend might be very tricky. But I wouldn't expect anything less than victory over an Everton side who firstly aren't very good - they managed to fail to beat Watford last night, after all - and secondly may actually be safe by the time they walk out onto the Emirates pitch on May 22nd.

Anyway, it's one game at a time. For some it's very much 'squeaky bum time'. But I'm not nervous.

It could even be St Totteringham's Day today, for all we know. I'm not banking on that, but... COYG!

Fine Margins, and 5 More Games

I've had a hectic week - so apologies for this being so late. So here's a quick recap of the United game, and some thoughts on the run in. But there'll be another piece from me on Monday; without fail!

As I’ve said before; fine margins. And against Manchester United they went Arsenal’s way. The Ronaldo disallowed goal that possibly wasn’t offside. Cedric's handball incident. The Bruno Fernandes penalty (hysterically funny! - but why didn’t Ronaldo pull rank?). Dalot hitting the bar; and then later the post via Ramsdale’s fingertips. And Xhaka’s goal could easily have been cancelled out for offside on Nketiah. 

Fine margins. Moments. But, for a change, this time they went Arsenal’s way. I'll take that, and it's about time! And if United and their fans felt hard done by... go on; ask me if I care!

Arteta went back to a back 4 for this game, and it's clear that he is going to mix and match between now and the end of the season. Holding dropped out - but of course that meant that he could bring him on when necessary (I don't know about you, but I recall thinking to myself with about 20 minutes to go at Chelsea: 'When's he going to bring Holding on?' - when he'd started the game...). Elneny and Nketiah quite rightly kept their places. 

It looked to me that Rangnick had finally stumbled across his best XI for the game, but United are disjointed - they look a complete mess, in fact - and it doesn't really matter who he selects. But as long as he selects Ronaldo, who is still brilliant, and whose very presence on the pitch made us nervous throughout, they will always have a chance. He is simply 'carrying' this United side.

An early goal settled the nerves. Varane and Telles made a meal of a Xhaka cross field ball to Saka, and the latter's shot was palmed away by De Gea to Nketiah - no wait; is that Nuno Tavares? - who prodded home from two yards. What our left back was doing there I do not know - and nor do I care. Regrettably, as the game progressed Nuno channelled his inner Eboue and regressed as his confidence waned. Quite how he lasted the full game, I do not know.

The game ebbed and flowed, but then came the 27th minute VAR farce that led to the second goal. Odegaard's clever reverse pass found Saka, who was brought down by Telles. As we screamed for a penalty the ball broke to Nketiah, who finished tidily. And VAR then took three minutes to a) rule the goal out for offside (really tight), but then b) rightfully give the penalty. Which, despite a fair amount of United shithousery (a special award to MacTominay here), Saka despatched into the opposite corner to the one on Wednesday evening; sending De Gea the wrong way in the process. Further redemption for Starboy.

Yet in a repeat of Wednesday Arsenal conceded almost immediately; Ronaldo first to react to Matic's cross as he darted between Gabriel and Tavares to half volley the ball left-footed into the roof of the net for his 100th Premier League goal. Is he really 37 years old? The guy had a terrible week on a personal level, so I wasn't going to begrudge him a landmark goal - provided it didn't cost us the points, that was.

Early in the second half came the United missed penalty. Daft handball from Tavares, but then Bruno Fernandes capped a truly awful performance by outdoing himself with his stupid tippy tappy run up and jump, and hitting the outside of the post. Oh how we laughed!

In the 70th minute Granit Xhaka settled the game. Whilst we appealed for another possible penalty - this time for handball - Elneny recycled the ball to the Swiss, who thundered home from 25 yards. A bit of redemption for him too. And that was that, really, as the final 20 minutes were seen out in relative comfort.

We later watched That Lot fail to manage a shot on target for the second game in a row - something that maybe doesn't matter to them, seeing as Own Goal is their third highest goal scorer this season - but they were lucky to escape with even a point from Brentford. This leaves Arsenal two points ahead with 5 games to go, including the massive NLD on May 12th.

Like the rest of us, I've done some calculations. If we win our two home games and avoid defeat in the three away games, then on the assumption that That Lot lose at Anfield they cannot catch us. That'd do. It's between them and us now, for sure, and both our next games are against sides with more pressing European matters to worry about. I think that Arsenal can go to West Ham - who have just one half-fit, first choice, cat torturing centre-back available - and win. That Lot face Leicester, who have a deeper, fitter squad than West Ham and Jamie Vardy coming back to fitness. I mean, just matching their result would do, but if they can drop two or three that would take the sting out of the NLD. 

I've given up trying to predict results now - especially after the last 5 games... but let's have a go:

West Ham vs Arsenal - Away win

That Lot vs Leicester - grudging Home win

Liverpool vs That Lot - massive Home thrashing!

Arsenal vs Leeds - Home win

NLD - I have to say Draw, but of course I'm concerned

That Lot vs revitalised Burnley - grrrrr; Home win

Newcastle vs Arsenal - Draw

Norwich vs That Lot - it couldn't be much easier, could it? Away win

Arsenal vs Everton - Home win.

So let's hope for That Lot to drop some unexpected points. And as for the guy on Twitter who's predicted a set of results which could lead to a play-off for 4th place... I may have to kill you!!!

But I think we're just about favourites now. COYG!!!

Would You Adam & Eve It?

Fine margins. That's what I talked about in my last piece, and what hadn't been going in Arsenal's favour for much of the previous three matches did so last night. And just so typical of Arsenal to end a run of three defeats at Stamford Bridge.

For sure, Arsenal weren't as bad as those three successive defeats had indicated (the first half against Palace being the exception), but at Stamford Bridge many of those little pieces of good fortune manifested themselves into the breaks that the team needed to get them back on track. And those opportunities were firmly grasped in a superb affirmation of where this team just might be heading over the next few years.

So first to team news; and there was plenty of head shaking going on at the news of the return of Elneny, and the omission of Martinelli. Maybe it was a desperate roll of the dice by Arteta, but what he'd done was revert to what has worked before against this particular opposition - match them up formation-wise, stifle their midfield creativity, and be prepared to hit them hard on the break. Three centre halves for starters. Then for Maitland-Niles read Tavares; for Aubameyang read Nketiah (you can only work with what you've got). And bringing back the ever-dependable- if distinctly unexciting - Elneny was a masterstroke.

As anticipated, Chelsea made much of the early running. Arsenal looked a little unsure of what they were doing, as Holding took time to settle back in and Alonso pressed high. At the other end of the field, the triumvirate of Nketiah, Saka and ESR did look like they could cause a Chelsea defence missing both Rudiger and Thiago Silva problems. And so it proved as, having weathered an early storm, Arsenal took the lead following a horrendous error from Christensen. Nketiah, who had hounded him into the mistake, nonetheless had plenty to do, but took the opportunity superbly.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long before Chelsea levelled. A series of minor errors from several players led to Werner's shot deflecting off of Xhaka and wrong-footing Ramsdale (who might, perhaps, have done better). However, a terrific counter-attacking goal saw them back in front, as following cool and brave defending by Xhaka and clever link play with Odegaard, Saka tied Saar in knots and, via a clever pass from the Norwegian, ESR passed the ball into the net from fully 18 yards. Stunning.

But yet again the lead lasted less than 5 minutes as Azpu... Azpuli... whatever his name is - shall I just call him Dave? - swept in a low cross from Mount, with Nuno Tavares seemingly unaware of his presence behind his right shoulder. I'm fairly sure that White was fouled in the build-up; but it was Jon Moss in charge, so that was never coming back. Annoying.

So 2-2 at half time, and whist there was talk at that time of being happy with a draw I did sense that Chelsea were there for the taking. And so it proved, with Nketiah's second nicely taken, but accompanied by some good fortune as two ricochets fell his way inside the penalty area. Still, who honestly cares, eh? And the first substitute over to congratulate Eddie -  was Laca... The chance was created, by the way, by a pass pinged in to him by Tavares, who adds something of a Yaya Sanogo-type chaos factor in the opposing half. 

And this despite the hapless Christnesen having been replaced by Thiago Silva at half-time. Reece James was also surprisingly quiet, by the way; if he was intimidated by the attacking threat of Tavares then then would be quite something. As for the rest of the Chelsea side, Saar was poor, as was N'Golo Kante. Lukaku was just awful, and Tuchel's substitutions made little difference. Great to see Tuchel clearly losing his rag during his post-match interviews, by the way. Extra Brownie Points for Mikel Arteta there, I'd say.

And whilst Chelsea spent most of the final half hour in Arsenal's half, they barely looked like creating much. This despite the utterly ineffective Lukaku being replaced by Havertz straight after Arsenal's third. Indeed, Arsenal's threat on the break was certainly not diminished when Nketiah went off (he'd run himself to a standstill) with Martinelli taking over his role. And so into injury time, when 'Dave' dragged Saka to the floor by the penalty spot, leaving Moss no choice but to award a penalty. And what a joy it was to see the boy, who'd been vilified all evening by Chelsea's special brand of 'fans' for missing the final penalty in the final of last year's Euros, send Mendy the wrong way. Redemption.

So those were the bare facts. But what else can we take from the game. Well, quite a lot, actually:

• As I mentioned, this team selection felt like something of a last roll of the dice for Arteta. But perhaps he's found a template for the more difficult of the final few games now? West Ham away. That Lot away. Newcastle away. A back 5, solidity in midfield, and pace and trickery up front

• One thing's for sure - Nketiah's not coming out of the side for the foreseeable future. Laca's not putting away either of those chances. And he could have had a hat-trick in the first half alone. He said he wanted minutes, and he justified it with that performance. It remains to be seen if he'll be at Arsenal next season - and he's still got a massive job to do in the next month - but there looks like there may be a role for both him and the returning Balogun behind a marquee new signing next season - especially if European football is on the agenda

• I am a little concerned with the form of Aaron Ramsdale. He may well have been playing above himself when he first came into the side, but there have been signs of nervousness and some poor decision-making recently. Let's hope he sorts his head out in that regard. Nonetheless, he still scores 10/10 for general shithousery!

• Defensively, Arteta has to make some decisions now. Tomiyasu looks like he'll be back imminently; perhaps even for Saturday. Does he come back in? If so, does Tavares keep his spot or does he flip Cedric over there? Does he stick to three centre-halves for the rest of the season, or does he go on a game-by-game basis? I can't imagine that he'll need three for all the games, and it does mean losing a player higher up the field

• In midfield, Xhaka was absolutely immense against Chelsea. Non-stop talking and manoeuvering of his team-mates, and played really well too. He is much-maligned, and can be relied on for 98% of the time. The question is do those other 2% justify moving him on. I think that he'd like to stay; and there's certainly a role for him next year if he wants it. Although I'm sure that Arteta is looking to bring in a starting midfielder...

• As for the player to slot in alongside him between now and May 22nd... well, perhaps it's Sambi for home games and Elneny for away games. That's a distinct possibility

• Odegaard re-found his mojo last night. Long may that continue. The combinations he helps knit together with the Hale End boys are a joy to behold

• And as for Starboy, what else can be said. He's the best player in the side, and I love him. He had Alonso on a string all night, and could develop into an absolute world star. A big - and long - new contract is required, and we should be looking to build a team around what is clearly a generational talent. And lest we forget the monkey he shook off his back with that penalty. Bless you, Little Chilli x

A couple of final points on the game before I wrap up. Firstly, I'm not sure how Mason Mount stayed on the pitch. Three fouls that were very high on the ITWGX Index, but just the one begrudging booking from Moss. Still, we're used to that sort of thing now.

And secondly, a word for the Arsenal away support, who were once more magnificent. I really wish I'd been there last night. The support was for both players and Manager was unwaveringand, and the banter was utterly superb. My favourite chant was undoubtedly: 'There's nobody here. Just like the old days - there's nobody here.' (this being the first game, I believe, for which Chelsea had been unable to put tickets on general sale since sanctions kicked in against their oligarch ex-owner... superb). Plus the standard: 'Shit club, no history.' which is a big favourite of mine. The players definitely take something from the unstinting support of the travelling fans. 

And so to Manchester United on Saturday. And make no mistake, they are in complete disarray. A mighty club in huge decline, and following the thrashing they took at Anfield on Tuesday Arsenal need to rub salt into those wounds. The main threat, as always, with be Cristiano Ronaldo (should he play; and if he does, I hope that our fans behave themselves - much as we dislike the player, we all have sympathy for the man after the week that he's had).

Then, later on Saturday, That Lot go to Cristian Eriksen-inspired Brentford. Let's hope that he shows them what they're missing and helps The Bees take three vital points. 

It's really hotting up now! COYG!!!