Back On It

As hoped/anticipated/predicted, Arsenal got back on the winning bandwagon at Villa Park on Saturday. In a game very much of two halves, they totally dominated the first half (and should have been further ahead than 1-0) as Villa were far too passive, but Gerrard's tactical changes in the second half forced Arsenal back. And as Arsenal tired following their midweek exertions so they defended deeper and deeper, and by the end I doubt that was alone in feeling nervous.

Injury to Ramsdale - it apparently happened in the first half on Wednesday and must have impinged on his movement - and illness in the case of Martinelli meant changes to the starting XI, with Leno and ESR slotting in. Thankfully, these were places in the side where the backups are rather more than adequate. Leno slotted back in with little trouble, and whilst his kicking isn't of Ramsdale's standard (it got a little wayward the longer he went in the second half) it is clear to see that it has improved. ESR played well and could have had a goal (or three), but needs more minutes to get back to his best. Maybe he'll get some for England over the next week or so?

As we saw, Arsenal pushed Villa back from the start, and were well worth their goal when it came. Bukayo Saka's finish beat the unsighted Martinez as it passed through a number of legs following a free kick, as he once more shone brightly on the right. His knee slide celebration almost went badly wrong, though...

Some glorious one-touch football, judicious use of the switch from either left to right or right to left, alongside the domination that the colossus Partey produced in central midfield meant that they were in complete control, and 3-0 at half-time would not have flattered them.

The only major moment of concern was Tyrone Mings' reckless tackle on Saka, which must surely have been an Arsene Wenger 'dark orange' card (Saka was booed throughout from then on; clearly for having the temerity to put his ankle in the way of the fast-moving boot of the centre back). Many Villa fans are claiming, by the way, that it wasn't even a foul!

And if there's any further proof required about the way that Arsenal - and in particular - Granit Xhaka - are treated by referees try this:

Xhaka - one foul (and barely one at that); yellow card

Matty Cash - 4 fouls (each perhaps worthy of a caution); no card

Yet referee Madley booked the Swiss for 'persistent fouling'... he was barely adequate throughout, I thought, by the way.

For Villa, McGinn was comfortably their best performer, and they wouldn't like to lose him over the summer. Whilst Ollie Watkins - occasionally linked with the Gunners - was lively and caused some trouble, but is perhaps not quite of the required standard for a step up to what will hopefully be a Champions League team.

Of the Arsenal substitutions late on Rob Holding did his normal job well, slotting in to make it a back 5 for the last few minutes. However both Nketiah and particularly Pepe put in the type of pathetic, shameful shift that explains why they don't get any starts. The Ivorian may as well have been wearing claret and blue, as everything he did seemed to help the opposition. Disappointing; but Leno's save from Coutinho from Villa's sole shot on target in the 95th minute - free kick un-necessarily given away by Pepe on the edge of the area - sealed the win. Nice to see the love shown to Leno at that moment, btw.

Cue wild celebrations as another 'cup final' was won. And cue the arrival of the 'celebration police' - this time in the form of serial 'nasty piece of work' (and bird poo swallower) Ashley Young, who was on duty this week in the absence of Ruben Neves. And of Gabby Agbonlahor (I'm not one to talk, but he's certainly put on a few pounds since he retired), who effectively argued against himself when he implied that it's only OK for Villa to celebrate a goal/win. Get over it, ffs!

Unfortunately, Tottenham also won over the weekend; thus surely finishing West Ham off, I guess. A 10th own goal of the season in their favour set them on their way, and once more they have benefitted from the way the fixtures have fallen as they've recently beaten Leeds and Everton sides that were palpably out of form, and now a West Ham side fresh from an exhausting Europa League tie and with several players missing. 

It's looking increasingly like a two-horse (or donkey in the case of Tottenham) race for 4th spot, and it's looking likely to be tight. Looking at the worst case scenario - that we lose at The Toilet Bowl - I believe that a further 16 or 17 points from the remaining 9 matches will do it for Arsenal. Arsenal remain three points ahead, and with a game in hand; their fate is very much in their own hands.l

Arsenal will need to beat Manchester United (and perhaps West Ham) alongside the matches that we'd expect them to win. I don't expect anything from Stamford Bridge, but the key weekend may be the first in May, when Tottenham go to Liverpool. It's going to be 'squeaky bum time', I would think; but Arsenal currently have the advantage.

A quick word about Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang at this point. He's banging in goals left, right and centre for Barcelona. Which leaves me to wonder where this particular version of Aubameyang was for the greater part of the past two seasons in North London. I believe that the phrase Gary Neville employed (about Mesut Ozil, I think) is 'nicking a living'.

Anyway, on to another Interlull - I hate them. I'd imagine that Aaron Ramsdale will be forced to withdraw from the England squad, and if I were Arteta I'd find an excuse to do the same with Bukayo Saka. I expect Ben White to start at least one of the two England friendlies. Other players are flying out to join up with their countries, and with numbers so tight let's hope that they all come back safe and sound.

In the meantime, the tension builds as we come to the business end of the season. COYG!

Reality Check. And The Importance Of Starting A New Sequence Immediately

Nobody ever likes to lose. But this defeat needs to be taken in context. Up against one of the best club sides in the world, Arsenal put up the sort of fight that we'd hoped for. It is a measure of the progress that the team had made over the past few months that they went toe to toe with Liverpool for so long, and never looked like being blown away; something we've seen so often recently.

There's no point into going into too much detail of how the match went - we've all seen it - but I just want to make a few points about what we saw, and what it indicates for the club. So here goes:

Liverpool have had Jurgen Klopp at the helm since 2015. He has put together a fantastic team, with great players wherever you look, and barely a weakness to be seen. Plus he has depth in many positions. Alisson, VVD, Fabinho and Salah are quite possibly the best in the world in their respective roles, with others not too far behind. They are a formidable outfit.

Nonetheless, the work in progress that is Arsenal - the project only really started this season - matched them toe for toe for almost an hour. Arsenal are a very young side and have little or no depth to their squad, yet they managed to be the better side for much of the first half. OK, very few chances were manufactured on either side, but this was a proper contest where games against Liverpool really haven't been for many seasons now. But it's clear that Arsenal managed to rattle Liverpool.

There were little victories in many parts of the pitch. Martinelli gave TAA a torrid time - the like of which I've never seen before - and this has clearly contributed to the hamstring injury that's going to rule the defender out for several weeks now. 

If the Brazilian had been a little more decisive on one or two occasions, Arsenal may have scored a goal or two. Odegaard was surrounded every time he received the ball, so concerned were Liverpool by him. For Thomas Partey, it was a similar story. However, Xhaka wasn't quite as closely marked; they were clearly less worried about him. Defensively, the sight of Kieran Tierney outspeeding not only Luis Diaz but also Sadio Mane at one point was very satisfying.

However, Arsenal barely created a decent opportunity. For all that Liverpool looked well off their best - especially in the first half - and that can be put down to Arsenal's efforts - the home side found it very difficult to do much damage up top. And that can be attributed to two things; firstly, Lacazette was no match whatsoever for Liverpool's two man-mountain centre halves - just how good is Virgil van Dijk, by the way? - and then if he dropped short there was no room for him to operate. 

As Arteta mentioned in his post-match interviews, the difference between the two sides on the night was the decisiveness shown at crucial moments. Where Lacazette and Odegaard failed to make the most of Thiago's errant back pass early in the second half - kudos to Allison for not losing his cool - Liverpool punished Arsenal defensive errors severely. 

Ramsdale knows that he was at fault for the opening goal (and if I never see Jota on the pitch again against Arsenal, even that will be too soon!), and a series of minor errors led to the second goal; beautifully taken by Firmino. 

Something I noted was that with all the movement exhibited by whoever was in the Liverpool front three, our defenders often didn't know who to track. That's something that they'll have to work on.

After that Liverpool controlled the game and sat on 2-0. And why wouldn't they? And whilst Arsenal toiled away, the football purist in me admired the brilliance of the likes of van Dijk, Thiago - I hadn't really noticed him first half, but paid more attention in the second period and he was magnificent - and when he came on, Mo Salah. What a talent he is! And whilst both he and Mane have the type of face that you just want to punch, it's impossible not to imagine a neon sign above the Egyptian's head that says: 'Genius at work'.

And so the difference boiled down to a) Liverpool have better players, although Arsenal are closing the gap in that respect - and considerably greater squad depth, and b) Liverpool are relentless; they punish mistakes severely. However, it is clear that the gap is narrowing (and that can also be reflected in the league table), and that given more time (and money) it ought to narrow further. Last season, this game might easily have ended up at 4- or 5-0.

And hopefully this result will serve as a reality check for those Arsenal fans who were getting carried away. 'Come on - there's no reason we can't beat them!', and stuff like that. Those of us who had our feet more firmly planted would have been happy to take a draw, and defeat was - as we'll all admit - no surprise.

Just a word on Sadio Mane. Booed throughout, outpaced by Tierney at one point, throwing himself about and one particularly outrageous dive, for which he really ought to have been booked. He's a little bit more than a pantomime villain. 

One other thing I noticed was Liverpool's judicious use - Manchester City style - of the rotational foul. Dominate possession, lose the ball high up in the opponent's half, and immediately commit a foul that stops any break dead. I wish that referees were wiser to it. I can't stand it.

Nut it's now time to deliver on more realistic targets. There's no better time to start a new sequence than immediately, and we don't have long to wait. It's Aston Villa next, and they're certainly beatable. And with Tottenham having won on Wednesday to close the gap, Arsenal need to kick on again. COYG!

50 up!

Following victory over Leicester City Arsenal have consolidated 4th place, gone over 50 points for the season, and have a full 14 points more than they had at this point last season. The progress is there to be seen. And in the battle for 4th, Arsenal find themselves a point ahead of Manchester United, three points ahead of West Ham and 5 ahead of Wolves, with three games in hand of each of them.

It's additionally been a particularly bad weekend for Tottenham, who lost at Old Trafford and then watched Arsenal, West Ham and Wolves all win. They're now down in 8th place, but with two games in hand on the three teams above them. Their inconsistency is making life particularly difficult for them. 

However... it is worth pointing out that Arsenal's games in hand are against Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham, so there is no room for complacency at London Colney. I still see the latter as our biggest rivals for 4th.

I was sad enough to go through an exercise a few weeks ago to try to work out how many points Arsenal might need from their last 17 matches in order to take that 4th spot. I made it 35 points from 17 matches, and with 5 cup finals won since then the equation appears to be 20 from 12. 71 points. There is, however, a long, long way to go; so whilst we can dare to dream that's all I'll be doing.

Just a quick recap on Leicester. And what a pleasure it was to see that Vardy - who has been a gigantic pain in our side for years now - was injured. Leicester had been underperforming over the winter, but are now back in some sort of form, so it was never going to be easy. They have a number of talented players, of course; including James Maddison, with whom Arsenal were linked over the summer. However, his market price was twice that of Martin Odegaard... I need say no more...

Leicester started with a high press, but Arsenal had control over the early part of the game and were rewarded with a goal in the 11th minute. It was perhaps no surprise that it came from a corner, seeing as Leicester's record defending corners this season is dire - this was the twelfth this season - but perhaps it was a surprise that it was Thomas Partey who headed home at the near post. Two things on this - firstly, this goal was almost identical to the one he scored against Villa earlier this season. And secondly it was a close-range header and not a long-range shot, because... well, we all know that those end up in a similar place to Kepa's penalty the other day!

The rest of the half was much more even. Partey hit the bar - getting closer - but Leicester started to push Arsenal back as the half wore on and only a last-ditch sliding tackle from White, and a spectacular save by Ramsdale from a Barnes header prevented an equaliser. So 1-0 at half-time.

Second half, and 10 minutes in Arsenal were awarded a penalty by the VAR following a handball by Soyuncu during a goalmouth scramble. Two things on this again - firstly, it was Partey's header that he got his fingertips to, so Thomas was actually not too far off of claiming a hat-trick (!), and secondly I'm not sure how it took two minutes for the penalty to be awarded; nor what Rodgers and Schmeichel were complaining about! Despite his serious attack of shyness in front of goal, Laca buried the spot kick with aplomb.

And from then on it was frankly comfortable; the points never in doubt from that point as Arsenal saw the game out with ease and turned the screw on their rivals. Thank you very much.

A quick word here regarding individual performances. Once again, both Odegaard and Partey were outstanding. But everyone is playing their part. Gabriel and White in the heart of defence, Tierney on the left, and Lacazette all had superb, if understated games. Let's keep this up.

And now, on to a big test in Liverpool. Now, some might say that is a bit of a 'free hit', but it isn't really. As important as the points are - and I'd take a draw right now - it's also an opportunity to see how far Arsenal have come since the autumn. We're in the best form we could possibly be; so let's see how we compare against one of the powerhouses.

Because Liverpool are a formidable side. Fine players in every position, a strong bench, and no team presses as hard, nor moves the ball as quickly as they do. There's a small chance that Salah may miss out, but when you look at their last team selection and see that Klopp went with Salah, Mane and Diaz (where did they find him from - he looks like a magnificent acquisition; the new Alexis Sanchez perhaps!) but still had Jota and Firmino on the bench! Quite terrifying, really.

How Arteta chooses to line up for this game will be interesting. For many reasons:

• this is the first time in several weeks that Arsenal have actually had a midweek game. They will also have had 28 hours less rest than Liverpool, who played on Saturday lunchtime, and themselves play again on Saturday lunchtime. Is the Villa game more important? Surely he must rotate?
• I'm having nightmares over the thought of Cedric having to deal with Sadio Mane (and his flying elbows). Does Arteta bring in Holding and go with 5 at the back? And if so who does he leave out further up the pitch? Or does he maybe shift White out to right back for his physical presence?

So many questions? And the key is to at least not take a hiding in this one. A point would be highly significant. 

We'll see. In the meantime, let's keep glancing at the Premier League table whenever we have a wobble at the thought of playing Liverpool. I know I will. COYG!

State Of Play

I feel that it might be timely to draw breath at this juncture and take a look at the possibilities for the rest of the season for Arsenal. Whilst there are still many games to be played, the situation is slowly becoming clearer. So it's probably worth - instead of going into too much detail regarding the Watford game - looking at what we might expect to see unravel over the next 11-12 weeks.

I will also take some time later in this piece to discuss what's going on at Chelsea - a team who have caused us no end of pain over the last 18 years.

But before I go into more detail, I will start with an apology to my thousands (haha) of readers. A bout of Omicron - contracted, I believe, at the Burnley home game and which hit me later that week - knocked me off my feet, and I spent over a week in bed as fatigue overwhelmed me. Then some complications off the back of it, and I was still too ill to get to the Brentford game. And I'm still suffering a bit; the after-effects are hanging around and I'm off for more tests this week. And most importantly that means that you're several blog posts down; but I've made it back to my keyboard at least!

My last post was after the disappointing home draw with Burnley, which concluded a January to forget. However, February and the beginning of March have seen fortunes turn, with successive victories over Wolves (twice), Brentford and Watford (results have been so good that one of my friends has begged me not to post anything, just in case it breaks the good run!). 

As I say, I'm not going into too much detail on the performances - we've all seen the games, after all - but there are one or two salient points that I did want to make about how the team are performing. And it has really helped, of course, that other clubs in the running for fourth spot have been graciously dropping points left, right and centre.

So to the two points I wanted to make: Firstly, there's Arteta's subtle tactical change; which has seen Thomas Partey now being given the space to operate on his own in the centre of the field, with Granit Xhaka pushed over to the left - and mainly slightly further forward. There are times when this has worked well - Partey is a monster of a player on his day, who appears to have eyes in the back of his head at times. However, I'm personally not convinced by this change in role for Xhaka; if it's intended to balance the right side axis of Saka and the considerably more nimble and skilful Odegaard, I don't believe that the Swiss has the tools to do the same job on the left. And it also takes away from his defensive duties - we saw how Sissoko managed to run off him for Watford's second last week. So whilst I like the tactical idea, I think that in Xhaka we lack the personnel to deliver effectively. And whether Arteta would consider leaving Xhaka out of the side and playing ESR in there is something that we'll perhaps see addressed later on this season.

Secondly, I wanted to touch on the personality of this group of players. We've seen a lot of the good, and something of the bad, from this group over the past few weeks. The good has been in the never-say-die performances against Wolves (particularly at home). The noise in the ground at that last-gasp win was reminiscent of some of the most memorable moments we've had at Emirates Stadium; Arshavin's winner against Barcelona, Welbeck's injury-time winner over Leicester, the two 5-2s against Tottenham and the day we went 3 up against United after less than 20 minutes.

...and the bad in the entirety of the defensive performance at Watford, where I sensed (I was in the ground) that the opposition were taken far too lightly from the very start. Despite the warning of the first-minute disallowed goal, and the scintillating attacking play that punctuated the performance, Watford were treated in a manner that I can only describe as lackadaisical.

Nonetheless, at this point all we can say is that the team has made the most of a reasonable set of fixtures over the past month - it gets trickier from now on; if anything, of all the fourth place contenders Arsenal have possibly the hardest set of remaining fixtures. But because of dropped points elsewhere Arsenal have games in hand too. From here, frankly, there's no place to hide; and no excuse. And what a remarkable turnaround from bottom to fourth it has been! 

But what I'd say is this; going forward, despite playing essentially without a target man, Arsenal are looking great - that Odegaard/Saka axis looks almost telepathic at times. In midfield, we have the usual Xhaka-based concerns, but Partey (his John Jensen-like shooting notwithstanding) is in the middle of his best spell in an Arsenal shirt. And in defence... well, they just need to concentrate better.

And so we move on to Leicester (thankfully without our nemesis Vardy) on Sunday, Liverpool - almost a 'free hit' - on Wednesday, and Villa next Saturday. Three games in a week; that's unheard of! I'd be very happy with 6 points out of 9, and anything more must surely be seen as a bonus. Avoiding gratuitous dives and flying elbows are of course the main requisites on Wednesday.

And now to the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and what it means for Premier League football:

It has always been my position - and solemn belief - that the arrival of Roman Abramovich and his 'dirty' money completely upset the Premier League applecart; and in particular Arsenal's. In the blink of an eye, a half a billion pounds spent on transfer fees in the space of two years meant the end of the United/Arsenal duopoly, and literally nobody thought it was fair. 

There have been questions from the very beginning about the origins of Abramovich's fortune, and I amongst others (including Arsene Wenger himself) have used phrases like 'financial doping' and 'money laundering'. Abramovich's money changed the financial landscape of European football, and led to the arrival of nation states as owners. 

Manchester City, PSG and now Newcastle United have owners richer than any of us can possibly imagine. Is that fair? Of course it's not! And amongst those owners are some of the worst human rights abusers in the world; meaning that alongside the failure of FFP there is a distinctly awful 'fit and proper person' test. 

All of which stakeholders acknowledge, but then conveniently turn their backs on... Of course, Arsenal have been by no means innocent in this respect; there was a long-time dalliance with the equally sanctioned Alisher Usmanov (who'd have thought that by having the Kroenkes in charge we'd have dodged a bullet?!?), and I'm not too sure about the human rights record of Rwanda, to be honest.

And whilst football was never a level playing field, it has all led to an obscene growth in the finances of top-flight football - and lest we forget a massive percentage of that money leaves football for ever in the form of wages paid to the players. Sat in The Rookery with the Watford fans on Sunday (I did keep quiet!), I was struck by how difficult it is for 'little' Watford to compete with the big boys, despite spending a fair bit of recent time in the Premier League (their fans always expect a struggle). And similar scenarios go up and down the leagues and lead to the sort of issues that have recently befallen Bury and Derby County - and I could name several other clubs who have suffered as a result here.

Abramovich paved the way. And then employed the likes of Mourinho, Terry and Diego Costa; some of the absolute dregs of football humanity. And with the inevitable success brought about by a £3bn investment came the gloating entitlement of the Chelsea fans; something that has been very hard to take. Everyone - most of all Chelsea's own fans - knew where that money came from. But the success that came with it meant that they merely turned the other cheek.

Now don't get me wrong; some of my best friends happen to be Chelsea fans. But Chelsea fans in general have had a reputation for being some of the thuggiest and most unpleasant around. And to then chuck that 'loadsamoney' entitlement on top has made matters quite unbearable at times. 

From the day Mourinho's full strength side beat Arsenal's kids in Cardiff, through the Drogba and Costa years and then especially Arsene's 1000th game, it's been awful for Arsenal fans who have had to witness the equivalent of the oik from down the street winning the lottery and joyfully throwing his money around. When Chelsea made a failed bid for Thierry Henry one summer, David Dein described it as Abramovich rolling up in a tank on our lawn and firing £50 notes at us.

And so there is, I'm afraid, just a little bit of Schadenfreude to be had. Those 18 years of almost unprecedented success look like they've just come to an abrupt end. English, European and World Champions they've been. So yes, Chelsea fans, 'we know what you are'. But I do sense that alongside Manchester City's recent success Chelsea's trophies will always have the sense of a 'virtual' asterisk next to them.

So it's the clubs who have had success by means of more of a self-sustaining model who need to take extra plaudits here. Manchester United, despite being a bloated behemoth, at least generate most of their own income (and then blow it!). Liverpool have done an awful lot on the back of the £150m Coutinho sale, but their model in general is much to be admired. And if Arsenal manage to turn things around after a mere five years out of the Champions League that'll be a major feather in their cap.

As regards custodionship of football clubs, things have to change now. Whether on the back of this a different set of rules regarding FFP and FPP kick in remains to be seen. But we can no longer ignore the 'dirty money'. In some way I feel sorry for Chelsea fans; they've always known in the back of their minds why their club have been so successful, and the enormity of the change in their financial position will now hit home very hard. Goodness knows what their playing squad will look like next year, but it certainly won't include two or more world class player in every position, and 20+ players out on loan in top leagues all over Europe. Massive, massive uncertainty. Oh well... if you sleep with dogs, you will inevitably catch fleas.

OK - that's me done. Let's hope for three more points on Sunday. COYG!

January Is The New November

Remember Novembers? The month that Wenger Era Arsenal supporters used to dread? Regularly, the month when things started to wobble? Well, we got through November unscathed this season, but January has been a pretty horrendous month, has it not? 5 matches with just a single goal, three red cards, two goalless draws; and knocked out of two cups. Plus the NLD postponement debacle. And a depleted squad. And yet...

I'm not quite going down the doom and gloom route today. A glance at the Premier League table will tell you that Arsenal's Top 4 aspirations are completely in their own hands. Two points off of fourth place, and with a game in hand. And whilst the result against Burnley was disappointing, two of our rivals lost. So there's all to play for.

But I can't see how they can achieve their aims without reinforcements. Whilst the 4 players that have been loaned out/released this month are all fringe players who weren't getting any sort of look-in, the squad is looking very bare. AFCON, injuries, disciplinary issues and general tiredness have eaten into that even more...  and then there have been the idiotic suspensions. Of which I'm sure we'd all agree that of Thomas Partey was the most idiotic and avoidable of all; even more idiotic than Granit Xhaka's latest transgression.

Here's a quick recap of the Liverpool defeat before I move on to Burnley: and I'm afraid that for all the hope that had been engendered by the magnificent rearguard action at Anfield, the second (or first?) leg looked difficult from the moment we heard about the squad issues that surrounded the calling-off of the NLD. Tiredness and injuries that had been exacerbated by the loss of Xhaka at Anfield were of the sort that could not be cured in just 4 days, and so whilst Tomiyasu and ESR returned for the game - many others had looked like they were running on fumes too - neither looked fit. Indeed lethargy surrounded the entire performance, and from the moment that Liverpool took the lead that really felt like it.

As for the Partey debacle... well, he'd kindly rushed back from AFCON - where Ghana were shockingly eliminated by Comoros (!) - but can hardly have been in sufficient shape (either mentally or physically) for a game against one of the world's best teams. But because the squad is so lean, and because things were so desperate, Arteta threw him on. With devastating results. And it wasn't just the avoidability of the sending off; it was the knock on effect for Sunday.

The problem with lack of squad depth is that there's so little experience to bring on to try to change things. And we saw that in the second leg, and again against Burnley. Promising as the likes of Patino, Salah Eddine and Hutchinson are, it's literally men against boys. We saw how the most promising of our under 23s - Balogun - struggled right at the beginning of the season when Arteta was forced to start him. These guys, with barely 10 minutes of First team experience between the lot of them, would be eaten alive out there! And so even with the squad down to its Redknappian 'bare bones' it was easy to understand why Arteta didn't want to risk any of them. Of the 4 January departures, that of AMN is really the only one that could be questioned. But it must have been difficult to stand in the guy's way with a 'please play a few games as a stand-in, and then I'll let you go' message; when he'd had very few minutes over the previous couple of months. That's hardly an inspirational offer, is it?

And so to Burnley; and starting with the news that Tomiyasu's calf injury - which under normal circumstances should have kept him out against Liverpool - had flared up again. With Chambers also unfit - apparently merely on the bench to pad it out - White moved over and Rob Holding took his place. In midfield, it looked like Lokonga - the only 'senior' available central midfielder - as an inverted single pivot with Odegaard and ESR ahead of him. And thus the folly of the two cup sendings-off came back to haunt Arsenal. 

The bench was Leno, Tavares, Nketiah, the injured Chambers and then the under 23s. So at a time when it would have been really helpful to rotate - ESR still isn't fit, and a rest for Saka would certainly not have gone amiss - there were no viable alternatives. 

The stats for the game told the tale. 76% possession, 12 corners, 20 shots (that's a lot for Arsenal - but 13 of them were from outside the penalty area), 564 accurate passes (but no less than 275 of them in the Arsenal half), and no less than 34 crosses (inclusive of corners and free kicks to be fair). But only one 'big chance' created, and no goals. 

The pattern of the game was dictated by the shape that had been forced onto Arteta by the enforced absences of Xhaka and Partey. With Odegaard and ESR too far up the pitch, Arsenal struggled to get the ball to Lokonga, and so the pattern was often a series of sideways passes followed by a raking crossfield ball from White to Martinelli on the other wing. Fabulous accuracy from that distance from an aesthetic point of view, but ultimately useless. On the rare occasions that Arsenal did manage to find a bit of room in midfield to beat the Burnley press, chances of a sort were created, but nowhere near enough I'm afraid. And as for the large number of crosses; well that's as Aaron Ramsdale said afterwards, 'meat and drink' to Burnley.

What was notable, however, was the amount of time the ball spent off the pitch. Despite Arsenal players - and the crowd! - continually drawing referee Coote's attention to the amount of time-wasting at restarts, he did nothing about it. In excess of 30 seconds per goal kick and for free kicks, and in excess of 20 seconds even for throw-ins. I doubt that the ball was in play for 60 of the 90 minutes, and this really added to the frustration. Although I suspect that Arsenal probably wouldn't have found the net if they were still playing now!

And of course some inevitable controversy, as Westwood's nasty challenge on Tierney led to a yellow card, when to the naked eye - even from the other side of the pitch where I sit - it looked like a red. And moments later an elbow by the same player on Gabriel. 

Time and again opponents are not punished for bad challenges on Arsenal players; yet far more innocuous  challenges committed by Arsenal players receive the ultimate penalty. This year we've had Godfrey's stamp on Tomiyasu's head, Mane's elbow on the same player, Harry Maguire's blatant penalty area tug, McArthur's assault on Saka, and now this from Westwood; none of which have received a punishment to fit the crime. Some of those would have led to prosecution had they taken place on the street! I'm no way condoning or defending Arsenal's appalling disciplinary record, but it's been more clumsiness and bad decision-making than malice that has warped the statistics.

And so the game meandered to its inevitable and frustrating conclusion, with sections of the crowd booing the team off. But they cannot be faulted for lack of effort; they are tired, and it's been the squad issues that have led to Arteta being forced to pick this XI that have done for Arsenal over the past two weeks. The short break before the next game on February 10th will be much appreciated.

But Arsenal's football heirarchy cannot afford to sit back and do nothing during this break. The next few days are critical to the way the season is going to pan out. With no additions, Arsenal stand no chance of ending the season where we all hope they will. But so far it's been 4 Outs (with perhaps two more still to follow) and Zero Ins. And reinforcements are desperately needed, both up front and in midfield.

The optimistic pursuit of Vlahovic looks over now, but there must surely be options out there. Even if there's no purchase, some sort of loan for the rest of the season - and then an all out attempt at one (or even two) of several striking targets may have to be the way to go. Talk of Calvert-Lewin, Isak and David may be just that for the moment, but there must be an opportunity to pick up a player of sufficient class who may be out of favour at a big club. The obvious one is Jovic (a player I've always liked the look of) at Real Madrid. In midfield, I'm not sure that Arthur Melo is particularly exciting me. But I would be interested in Wijnaldum - not getting a game at PSG and again a player I've always thought could do well at Arsenal. 

Arteta is in the USA, meeting with Kroenke, and I'd hope that Stan's current good mood - Colorado Avalanche are on a roll, and the LA Rams are into the NFC Championship Game - might persuade him to dust off his cheque book again this week. Internal solutions are limited, and on the assumption - sad in many ways - that Auba is done, then maybe Arteta could look at Martinelli down the middle.

Fingers crossed for new faces, anyway. And with this enforced break I'll give you some time off too. I'll be back in a couple of weeks. 

Away to Wolves is a big game! COYG!

We Are The Arsenal So **** *** The Rest!

Long read - sorry, guys; lots to cover...

It's been a couple of weeks of mixed emotions for Arsenal fans - from the communal outrage at the nature of the defeat to Manchester City, to communal anger at the nature of the performance at Nottingham Forest. But these last few days have been quite something else! However, what one can definitely say is the for the first time in many years the fanbase are united; it's us against the world - as we always knew it was. We all know the old song, don't we? The one that ends: 'We are The Arsenal and we are the best! We are The Arsenal so F*** O** the rest!'

I've covered everything up to Forest, but the two matches since then - one that did take place and one that did not - bear a deal of discussion. I'm going to take them in chronological order, starting with the First/Second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool.

Both sides went as strong as they could for this one. And I'm sure that we were all pleased that Granit Xhaka had recovered from his latest bout of Covid to take his place alongside Sambi Lokonga in the centre of midfield (little did we know...). Elsewhere, Odegaard was the latest Covid victim, Tomiyasu and ESR remained out, and Eddie Nketiah kept his place up front (in the absence of any viable alternative).

It was fairly even for much of the first 20 minutes or so - although there was little or no sign of any goalmouth action - until... well, we all know what happened. Xhaka sent off for a challenge on Jota as both chased down a lofted ball from Robertson. Xhaka's attempt to beat Jota to the ball was reckless and clumsy, and I'm afraid that a red card was inevitable.

Several things to discuss here: firstly, one can't knock Xhaka for a lack of effort as he had to sprint back fully 60 yards with Jota - and he stayed with him. But then, as so often happens, made a wrong decision on how to deal with the danger; this, combined with his inherent lack of flexibility, led to the inevitable. Michael Oliver couldn't wait to get his card out! For a moment, I thought that Xhaka was hard done by; he only had eyes for the ball, I thought. But on seeing the replay I couldn't think of a single reason why it wasn't a sending-off.

Secondly, we should probably look at how Xhaka was left in that position in the first place. But it's purely down to how Arteta wants his team to play - which is press high and hard. So Tierney was bypassed halfway inside the Liverpool half, and then Gabriel also, close to the halfway line. Xhaka was alert to the danger and sprinted to cover, and perhaps could have been saved if Ramsdale had been in a better position to deal with the high ball (I should point out that in my view this was Ramsdale's least effective day in goal for Arsenal so far, despite keeping a clean sheet). Jamie Carragher analysed this well at half time.

Thirdly, where does this rate on the ITWGX - If That Was Granit Xhaka - Index (©@gunnerblog). Well, this was Granit Xhaka, and some might say that he is refereed differently to most players in the Premier League, and therefore receives harsher treatment than most. But I think that anyone - except Harry Kane, obviously - is going to walk for that. 

And yet again this was Xhaka at the centre of things. And as I and many others have mentioned before, he's a really decent and solid player; around 98% of the time. But it's that 2% that kills Arsenal again and again - that's 5 times he's been sent off in an Arsenal shirt now - and so I think that this needs to be the last of last chances and as soon as Arsenal are able to they really should be moving him on and upgrading.

By this time, Arsenal had already lost Cedric to injury - he'd managed to do damage to himself in the very first minute - and had been replaced by the lesser spotted Calum Chambers. And Arteta had to reshuffle when down to 10, with poor Eddie's latest chance to impress taken away as Rob Holding took his place and Arsenal went to a back 3/5, and a very, very 'low block'. And from then on, inevitably, it was all Liverpool.

Now I'm not going to dwell too much on what went on for the rest of the game, except to say that it was heroic and memorable, as Arsenal withstood tide after tide of attacks. But without Mr Dive and Mr Elbow (both, like Partey and others, away at AFCON), and with TAA and Robertson short of their best, there were few opportunities for Liverpool. Minamino missed the very best of them, late on - much to the delight and amusement of Ben White (see first photo above).

If anything, the very best chance fell to Bukayo Saka following a rare Arsenal break. However, I don't suppose that it was a surprise that his legs betrayed him at the vital moment., and his usually reliable touch was a bit off. 

Arteta had redeployed both Saka and Martinelli in midfield, and they both worked their socks off -as did every one of the 9 remaining outfield players. Heroes to a man, and when the final whistle went several of them simply collapsed with exhaustion.

Afterwards, Arteta praised them to the heavens, using words like 'emotion', 'commitment', 'fight', ‘brotherhood’ and 'desire', and the expression 'go to war'. Difficult to argue with that. And he gave special praise to the travelling Arsenal fans, who were magnificent throughout; their non-stop vocals must surely have additionally inspired the team. 

So it's 0-0 going into the second leg. And make no mistake, it'll be just as hard - even if we're at home. Liverpool, even without Mr Dive and Mr Elbow, are a top, top side. There's plenty to be done yet.

And so to the North London Derby. However, it wasn't that simple, as Arsenal requested a postponement. And here's the thing - or many things actually:

Arsenal's first leg Carabao Cup game had been postponed when Liverpool claimed a Covid outbreak. Arsenal fans were up in arms, but the club simply accepted the ruling. This was the first time that Arsenal had requested a postponement, although they had some grounds earlier in the season; but did not meet the criteria. And this was the 21st game to be postponed due to Covid and other related reasons. For none of the others, had anybody kicked up a stink - including Arsenal when they'd had matches called off late. Yet as soon as Arsenal asked, there was outrage.

Outrage from Sky Sports pundits Neville and Carragher! Two men who had literally cavorted with the Brentford fans after they'd beaten a depleted Arsenal on the first day of the season. I wouldn't want to accuse them of doing anything except toeing the party line in trying to pressure the Premier League into not sanctioning the postponement; after all, it was Sky's main event of the weekend (great to hear Graham Souness and Micah Richards taking the opposite view, by the way).

Outrage from journalists! Jumping on the bandwagon, without actually reading the guidance.

Outrage from other media pundits! All with their own (anti-Arsenal) agenda. And one or two of the more morally-bankrupt ones (O'Hara, Collymore) claiming that Arsenal were acting immorally.

Outrage from T*ttenham! Expressions of disappointment etc... Whatever...

And Outrage from their fans! And this was fun - especially after the Premier League finally sanctioned the postponement 24 hours later. 'Same old Arsenal; always cheating.' 'Arsenal are running scared.' 'This will go down in history.' And more... Hysterical.

And here's where it's important to examine the current Premier League rules regarding Covid postponements. Click this link to read them: https://www.premierleague.com/news/2426753

The key part of the guidance, when assessing Arsenal's request for a postponement - which was lodged on Friday - is this (and I've put what I regard as the most relevant sections in Bold):

'When making an application, clubs must provide the Board with the following details, together with clear reasons why they believe the match should be postponed:

- Players and staff who have returned a positive COVID-19 test, their vaccination status and, if known, the source of their infections

- Players and staff who are self-isolating

- Players who are unavailable to play through injury or illness

- Players listed on the club's squad list who are still available to play in the match, including appropriately-experienced Under-21 players (which includes Under-21 players who have played for the club, another Premier League or EFL club, or an overseas club in the current season. However, any Under-21 player who participates in a club's FA Cup Round Three match and has not played in any other first-team competitions for the club this season will not be considered by the Board as appropriately experienced)

- Supporting medical information to verify the status of each unavailable player, which will be reviewed by the League's medical advisers

As the guidance shows, the Board will consider the following principal factors when making a decision:

1) The impact of COVID-19 infections on a club's squad, as well as injuries, illness and those isolating, and the number of players available on the squad list and any Under-21 players with appropriate experience. Where a club cannot field 13 outfield players and a goalkeeper either from its squad list or its appropriately experienced Under-21 players, the match will be postponed

2) The status of any COVID-19 outbreak within a club, including the number of individuals affected, the sequence and source of infections and their proximity to the match in question

3) A club's ability to safely prepare its players in the lead-up to a match

4) Medical advice as to whether there is any unacceptable risk to the health and safety of players and staff by playing the match

I also want to add a bit of extra context and background here:

1.    Arsenal went into their very first game of the season with 4 cases of Covid, including both of their first choice centre forwards (and the next in line injured). The rules didn't permit a postponement, so they had to play, with an out of his depth Balogun up front, and duly lost. They still had Covid issues in their next game, against Chelsea (difficult enough with a full strength team) and lost that too. And then got slaughtered at Manchester City. Cue much hysteria from all and sundry as Arsenal found themselves in last place after three games, with no points and no goals

2.    Arsenal have also been on the other side of this particular coin, having played - and easily beaten - weakened Leeds and Norwich sides. Again, if the absences didn't meet the criteria, it's end of discussion

3.    Arsenal have had a total of 12 cases of Covid in the First Team squad since December 21st. This sort of things has an impact on being able to rest and rotate. Arsenal haven't moaned about this at any point. At least one more player is now isolating following tests made just after the match was called off

4.    Arsenal didn't kick up a stink when Wolves requested a postponement just after Christmas, when it was evident that this was almost exclusively down to injuries and not Covid

5.    Arsenal fans - but not the club - were unhappy with Liverpool having the semi-final first leg postponed with a huge amount of 'false positive' tests. The outrage appears justified when all bar one player were available for a match just three days later!

6.    There's no mention of AFCON or loans in the Premier League criteria. Why should there be? These are side issues and part of everyday life for a top level football club. And the absences could all be accounted for, and left them short of the requisite number of available players. Here they all are:

27 man squad: Comprised of 3 goalkeepers. 4 players at AFCON (Partey, Elneny, Pepe, Aubameyang), 2 out on loan (AMN, Balogun), 1 with Covid (Odegaard), 3 on the treatment table prior to the Liverpool game (Tomiyasu, Kolasinac, Smith Rowe), 4 suffered knocks/injuries during the Liverpool game (Cedric, Chambers, Tierney, Saka) -  plus of course Xhaka now suspended, but that fact is discounted from any calculations. Leaving available just 9 outfield players (White, Gabriel, Holding, Tavares, Mari, Lokonga, Lacazette, Nketiah, Martinelli). And as for Under-21 players with appropriate experience as per the Premier League criteria... well, there are none.

Now, any ludicrous comment like 'play the kids!' needs to be treated with utter disdain. Firstly, Arsenal are already playing the kids. They have the 17 youngest starting XIs in Premier League history, and 19 out of the youngest 24 - all this season! And secondly, do you think that being obliged to field 3/4 teenage debutants in a North London Derby is fair to the rest of the Premier League? Especially those clubs hoping to challenge for Champions League spots? No, of course it isn't. Let's face it - the 'salty tears' of T*ttenham and their supporters are down to a perceived missed opportunity to pick up an easy win; after all, a midfield comprising Lokonga and Patino is going to end up making even Harry Winks look like a decent footballer!

And this made me laugh!

Anyway, we're all united in Siege Mentality mode - and there's nothing wrong with that. Bring on Liverpool - and then a very important game against Burnley. COYG!

Lads, We're Playing In White!

I normally only post following Premier League games, but this one deserves an extra piece of work. And for all the wrong reasons! Because the abysmal defeat at Nottingham Forest was as horrendous as last week's against Manchester City.

Despite an admittedly much changed team, I can offer not one single crumb of comfort to you. All over the pitch, Arsenal came off second best to a well-drilled Forest side who have their own up-and-coming young manager, and had the man of the match in young right back Spence - who must surely, along with right winger Johnson, be playing in the Premier League next season.

The extremely commendable #NoMoreRed campaign to combat knife crime meant that Arsenal played in an all-white kit for the first time that I can recall. However, it seemed to me that a 90-minute brain fade meant that this fact hadn't registered in the players' heads, as pass after pass ended up at the feet of a red-shirted player. I can't find a stat for passing accuracy, but despite 67% possession it felt embarrassingly low, and I cannot recall a single shot on target from an utterly feeble and toothless Arsenal side.

Let's look at what went wrong. And that started with the line-up - although it's difficult to lay too much the blame for that at the feet of the manager bearing in mind the hand he was dealt, and bearing in mind that Arsenal have to face Liverpool twice, and That Lot, over the next week or so:

• Leno for Ramsdale, who was rested; fair enough, and the German did well, made a couple of very good saves and was powerless to prevent the winning goal
• Cedric for Tomiyasu, who had a slight calf injury. Cedric is second choice right-back, but he's nowhere close to the Japanese quality-wise. Atletico Madrid are interested in Cedric, apparently - and I'll be happy to drive him to Heathrow after that showing
• White kept his place. Well, with the alternative being Pablo Mari, that's understandable
• Holding for the suspended Gabriel. Holding had as bad a game in an Arsenal shirt as I can remember
• Tavares for the rested Tierney. And following a nightmare half hour of which Freddy Kruger would have been ashamed, he was hooked in favour of the man he'd replaced. Whilst Tierney wasn't brilliant himself, he at least managed to find a man in the right colour shirt occasionally. And for all the promise that Tavares has shown whilst he was in the side, this should serve as a wake-up call as regards attitude. It's embarrassing to get hooked midway through the first half, but young Nuno was by far the worst of a pretty pathetic bunch, and Arteta clearly felt that he had to do something

• Midfield - and this was the central issue (no pun intended). With Thomas Partey having departed for AFCON (along with Mohammed Elneny), Granit Xhaka out following a positive Covid test, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles inexplicably allowed to leave on loan so early in the Transfer Window, all Arsenal could muster in there was Sambi Lokonga, who for reasons I cannot fathom hasn't kicked a ball in anger in well over a month, and young Charlie Patino, of whom so much is expected but who was shown up as nowhere near ready for First Team football. They were completely overrun
  

• Martin Odegaard kept his place, due to ESR's slight groin issue. He had very little opportunity to impose himself on the game, and dropping back into central midfield to support is not something that I feel he is comfortable doing
• Up front, one would have expected more of both Martinelli and Saka, who kept their places in the side. Saka was easily Arsenal's most dangerous player, but himself didn't create nearly enough. And Martinelli was put in the shade by Spence, who was more than a match for him in skill, pace and - unforgivably - attitude
• Eddie Nketiah in place of Lacazette. And in this game we saw precisely why Eddie is not good enough to play up front for Arsenal. He was unable to hold the ball up, made very little of what service he received, and missed Arsenal's best chance with a limp misdirected header from a Saka cross

• As far as substitutions were concerned, see my comments on Tierney above. Laca couldn't make any difference late on as he replaced poor overwhelmed Charlie Patino, and it was impossible to fathom why, when in desperate need of a goal. Arteta should choose to bring on Kolasinac at right back with a couple of minutes to go. Unless as a signal to the Board about the paucity of resources?

What this does indicate is precisely that. That whilst Arsenal's best XI is good enough to go toe to toe with the best that England has to offer - as we saw last week - there's nowhere near enough depth in the squad to deal with absences. Arteta has suggested that Arsenal will be active again in this Transfer Window, and the Forest display indicated how urgent that is. The next three games are central to Arsenal's season, and they suddenly look totally exposed and unprepared for those looming tasks.

I'm not going to go into too much detail regarding the game itself. As you'll be aware, Arsenal were as poor this weekend as they were good last weekend. So poor, in fact, that I think I actually fell asleep for a short while during the first half. And despite whatever rocket Arteta put up them at half time nothing much improved. On loan Villa striker Kienan Davis, who has looked utterly useless whenever I've seen him play, was allowed to look like Romelu Lukaku, and when he was hooked - exhausted to be fair - the experienced Grabban replaced him and put Arsenal out of their misery late on with a goal that summed up Arsenal's day. Ball lost in midfield, sprung on the break, defenders not in the right position to deal with a simple cross, and that was that. No coming back. Well played,Forest.

There's a fair chance now, by the way, that Arsenal will have just two games in the whole of February. Apart from losing the opportunity to win a trophy, this shows how bare the table is. No Europe and no FA Cup, and with Liverpool in the League Cup semi final the odds are stacked against whoever is left standing over the next few days for those games. We're not used to this at all, and it's bloody depressing I can tell you!

Still, there's a chance or three for redemption over the next week or so. But much to be done. And literally all the optimism from last week has been sucked out of us. Fingers crossed - more in hope than expectation now - for the next three games.

I should mention, by the way, that I popped down to see my local team play on Saturday. And congratulations to Boreham Wood, who put in a spirited display to defeat an admittedly terrible AFC Wimbledon side and reach the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history. From the moment that their first goal went in, they were in complete control. 

Bournemouth away is their reward, and that'll be much more difficult - but I wish them the best of luck. They are a proper community club who are on the up, and once more challenging for promotion. I hope, for the sake of the town and of the numerous friends who go to watch them every week, that we'll see them plying their trade in League Two next season. A season ticket at Meadow Park is looking quite tempting at the moment. Wood Army!?!