Author: bradybergkampandbeyond

At least we ended up with eleven players on the pitch.

We wasted the first half performance with a sloppy second half. Within 3 minutes the game turned. Thiago played a backpass that Cigarette intercepts. He’s not able to turn and shot on goal so instead lays it off to Odegaard. His shot then deflects of Allison over the bar. Within two minutes Thiago slices a pass through our defense. Party, Saka and especially Cedric are by-passed and then Ramsey is between at the near post.

The game was not over until we presented them with the second goal soon after. I can’t count the number of times we had to clear the ball. Between Tierney then Xhaka and then finally Gabriel who decided to pass his way out of the penalty box we created another opportunity from them. And then when we cleared the ball Saka lost his challenge with Robertson to create another chance for them. This time, with everyone out of position Fermino waltzed pass Gabriel to slip in a neat goal. This killed the game off. It put a nail in the coffin of that first half when we went toe to toe with Liverpool. We were able to make them look average. But threw that away with how we came out in the second half.

Maybe we invested too much effort in the first half because it looked like we lost our legs a little. As anyone who is unwise enough to regularly read the drivel produced on this site knows, I never expected to get anything from this game. It’s just so frustrating to throw it away in the manner we did. We did not seem to recognize the change in patterns and interplay. Maybe it’s immaturity. But it just felt like a waste. An opportunity to creep up a level to really make them work for the entire game. Instead, we made it easy with sloppiness and too many mistakes. The loss of those second tackles killed us today. And it was epitomized with that second goal. The overriding feeling is one of frustration. As good as Liverpool are, we killed ourselves.  It seems, we are fated to lose every game to them 2-0.

So many things were right about that first half. They could have scored in the first 2 minutes but rather than be disrupted by their fast start we established our style on the game. Good passing and movement with outlets on both wings. Today we had real threat down our left. Martinelli was our stand out performer today. He took Trent to the cleaners today. And in the first half left him rooted to the spot on numerous occasions. We lacked that final pass. But, sorry to have to state this yet again, we missed a real striker. Cigarette was not at his best today. Aside from being too slow on the Thiago mistake, he failed to accept the quick pass from the free kick from (I think) Odegaard. And generally, he would arrive, in the box, just too late to have an impact. Outside the box he was slightly better but fairly anonymous. As good as Martinelli was though this was also offset by the lack of threat from Saka. As good as he was against Leicester, he was as quiet today.

Odegaard, aside from missing the game changing chance, was less impactful. It did not help that the center of the pitch was clogged up. But he had one or two chances to play Saka through and underhit the pass. Unfortunately, against this team, at this level, the margins are paper-thin. What you can get away with against Leicester you can’t again Liverpool. They operate at another level. When you get your chance, whether in front of goal, or to play someone through, you have to take it. There is no margin for error at the highest level. These little mistakes cost you. And we saw that today. And that’s whats’ frustrating. Of course, there’s a context here. The pressure Liverpool apply, the quality of their players. It drains you, it takes away your energy and causes the focus to meander.

Partey was again very strong. He and Martinelli were our best performers. Tierney was solid. As, I thought, was White. Gabriel reverted a little. His passing was off. The mistake he made for that second goal was annoying to watch. He should have battered it into row Z in the stands. Watch Van Dyke – he’ll do that in addition to passing it out. You have to know when and where to take chances with coming out of the back. And from the edge of your areas when you surrounded is not one of those.

The fans though were our stars today. They were vocal and engaged fully. Even after giving away those goals they were still behind the team and willing them on. Their performance was at least consistent for the entire 90 minutes. You could feel the atmosphere in the stadium. It’s just a shame the players let them down in the end.

Not that this is the end of the world. For that just cast your eyes over to Kiev. This was more a disappointment. To see the hard work of the first half wasted in such a frail manner. And I think we saw the players recognize that. We had a few other chances but never really threatened their goal after that one guilt edged chance. That’s how it goes against the best teams. And maybe we saw tiredness creep in as well. This is why you need a larger squad when you play mid-week. They were able to bring on Salah and Firmino and still leave quality on their bench. We had ESR and then it’s Pepe and Eddie. Sure Pepe changed the game against Wolves but today – like Sunday – he had minimal impact.

I’m not devasted. And I’m still impressed with how Arteta set out the team. We have not lost the race for 4^th place – that was never going to be decided today. It’s the games against those we’re directly competing with that will. And we saw enough to see that we are close to the level we need to be. But we have to find away to cut out these mental mistakes. Maybe that’s just down to youth. Though that would not explain Cedric. Not that this is entirely down to him. I can’t help feeling though that with a fit Tomi at right back we’d not have been sliced open for the first goal nor would he have been out of position for the second. I support to be fair I should be critical of Ramsdale for that firsts goal. But I won’t. Because he’s a star and he’s earned enough good will to have us ignore this one. He’s still irreplaceable. He’s still the best goalkeeper in England. I would take him over any other goalie in any other team in England. So, maybe, I’m just a little biased. He could pick up the ball and drop kick it into our own goal and I’d still find some way of defending him and blaming the goal on Cedric.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy the implosion of Stamford Bridge. Let’s hope that no-one can close out the deal. Unfortunately, someone will swoop in and buy an undervalued asset – it’s a fire sale. But whoever comes in, they surely won’t squander as much money as the Russian villain. There will at least be some fiscal control. They won’t be able to out bid everyone, they will have to operate within budgets. No-one else would be insane enough to spend go on the spreading sprees they have in the past. Nor pay off managers right after winning the European Cup. The idea that they lodge a request to have their weekend cup tie played behind closed doors also give you some insight to the caliber of people in the club making football decisions. For them to invoke the notion of protecting the integrity of the competition is behind ironic.  It’s beyond laughable. It speaks to people who have lost touch with reality. And, that, for their fans, should be a little worrying. And for us, with a ring side seat at the long awaited demise of a once irrelevant and shitty club (no, I’m talking about the one in West London).

OK, so now we’re off to Aston Villa. Let’s hope we can put today’s disappointment behind us and channel the frustration at todays sloppyness into a mistake free, and focused performance. I would be nice to see Saka shine and Odegaard have the space to orchestrate some goals. And, on the plus side, we don’t have to play Liverpool again this season. Nor see the ugly face of Jota.

-LB7

Partey time at the Emirates. That was smooth looking football and we displayed no fear of listless Leicester. Not only did he score with a header but then had a shot that not only did it not end up at the back of the stadium it actually hit the target – albeit the crossbar.

From the outset Arsenal settled into a rhythm today. There was no falloff post Watford. We saw smooth link up play, control from the back and Odegaard pulling the strings from midfield. Even before the first goal we saw nicely constructed moves that warranted a goal. The corner from Martinelli looked like it was short – like the last few against Watford from Cedric – but Partey nipped in for a well deserved lead. Even then we continued to control the game and create. This week, because Xhaka was just a little more involved there was more two-sided balance.

Saka though was the stand out in that initial 25 minutes. Turning and beating his man and generally creating havoc. Unfortunately as the tide turned all their chances came down our right. And that, my friends is because Leicester targeted our boy Cedric. And it was pretty clear why. And it got worse in the second half. All their chances originated right by him. It’s not that he played badly but he continues to drop too deep to break out own line and then is exposed to balls over the top. Thankfully we had Ramsdale behind him to save us – literally.

And in front of Ramsdale we have the axis of White and Gabriel. Aside from Gabriel being smacked in the face – which would have gotten Xhaka, of course, sent off – he had a refreshingly solid and uneventful game. No mistakes and a aclear reliance on handing off the ball to White. White was a rock today. In the second hald he flung himself into a Ramsdale deflected shot to prevent an equalizing goal. Overall, his performance was nearly faultless. Of coure you do have to take into account the toothless opposition. But, nonetheless, this axis helped keep yet another clean sheet.

And then there is Ramsdale. That save in second half from Barnes (I think) even had Smooth talking, superficial Rodgers smiling and clapping. It was the game changer. That was their one chance and Ramsdale, though not quite soaring like an eagle, still displayed cat-like reflexes to prevent a certain goal. In the last two games he has not quite been at his highest standard with some dodgy distribution and unsure handling. Today he was back to his best. Some of his longer pass were pin-point. And yet there were times when he’d play direct vertical passes into Partey, Odegaard or Cigarette that would turn defense immediately into attack. To think people (cough, cough) ever doubted the money we spent on him.

The enjoyment of this game came not just from the Odeegard and Saka link-up play but the inclusion of Partey. In fact, the interplay between Partey and Odegaard was not something we’ve seen before. It’s a further sign of the evolution of this team. The building of these onfield relationships and understanding is helping glue this team together. I’d still make the argument that Xhaka is not really suited to the left sided equivalence to Odegaard but he was better today. And Tierney was involved which was also positive to see. He was further up the pitch than we’ve seen him recently. And some of his last minute defending – especially in the first half when, again, Cedric was beaten was vital. Against a better team, I don’t know, let’s say for example, eh, Liverpool we will be torn apart down our right hand side. We need to get Tomi back and it’s a shame it won’t happen before the Liverpool game.

Finally, Cigarette gets a goal. He needed that. Again, we saw good link-up play from him but limited goal threat. He had to bide his time as VAR took it’s time. It seemed they were just looking for anyway to not award that one. I think it took them 4 minutes to decided what we all knew after the first replay. By then Cigarettes’ beard had grown another inch or so and Schmeichel had tried all his mind-game tricks. But, unlike the previously missed attempts, this one was clinical and even had the benefit of having Schmeichel protest like a baby. But this was well-deserved. We had the measure of them even when they were in possession. There was a period at the end of the first half where they dominated but aside from that we had them under control. And we managed to manage the flow of the game in ways we did not against Watford.

We are now firmly in 4^th after the enjoyable Old Trafford result. We have a very  tough road ahead though. But now it’s ours to lose. So now it becomes mental. But it also requires the core elements of our team to remain fit and not sent off. If we lose Partey I doubt our chances. He has now become key to this team. He was imperious today, In control and dominant. As impressive as Odegaard was – and he was silky and smooth today – I thought Partey was the fulcrum of this team. And his interplay with Odegaard enabled him to find his way out of tight spots. He seems to be enjoying his football. Gone are the days when he only lasts 70 minutes. His evolution mirrors that of the team. So we need to wrap him in cotton wool and make sure none of the refs target him for red cards.

Liverpool is a game we can’t win. I would just like us to finish the game with 11 players.  And then quickly move on. Beyond that we have Manchester, WHU and Sp*rs. And then, if they are not bankrupt, Chelski. It’s karma. It’s hard to feel anything but smug glee to watch this spineless, classless, club that was fueled by financial doping. Their oligarch changed – for the worse – the game as we know it. As David Dein said, they parked their tanks and fired £5 notes (and now it’s £100 notes) at all the players out there. He (who shall not be named) paved the way for the Man City investment, the distortion of PSG and, lastly, the entrance of the Yemen destroyers at Newcastle. And it started in West London with him throwing around his weight to overpay any and everyone and out bid teams. He inflated the market and caused others to get sucked into the vortex of super inflationary wages and transfers. And it took, literally, a war to cause the FA to grow some balls. But selective ones. They won’t apply the same standards to Newcastle. Or the next autocrat with money. But, just maybe, the next one will realize that all their money could be locked and tied up at a minutes notice. Maybe what happened to Chelski is a warning now to others that they could get locked out of their club, unable to sell their asset or even pay credit card bills. Maybe that will give other to pause before entering our market. The vagueries of this process – the politics of it – might just be enough to scare off equivalent type “investors”. And that would not be a bad thing. It’s not like the FA has a backbone. They have haplessly stood on the sidelines for decades now. But this move, with the help of Parliament, will help slow down this process. I hope. But then money has a way of watering down resistance. I mean, the world cup is still headed to Qatar. So let’s hope by the time we have to play Chelski all their players appreciate they won’t have a team to play on next year and will all be looking to move on without caring what happens to this soulless club.

Regardless of the outcome though there can be no doubt as to our teams evolution and growth. We are pointed in the right direction. We are ahead of schedule. Just remember that while watching us get dismembered by Liverpool. With both Xhaka and Cedric on the pitch there will be too many mistakes for us to withstand their relentless pressure. Don’t be too despondent. Better to have a coming down to earth against Liverpool and then regroup for games we can not and should not lose. And try not to laugh out loud too much as we watch the destruction of Stamford Bridge in order for them to pay reparations. Justice. Karma.

-LB7

A well deserved 3 points even if we made the last 5 minutes more hectic than needed. We were clearly playing at a different level from them – and a level superior to that of our recent history. That this team has evolved is unquestionable. And now we have goals coming from different players.

Watford did not deserve anything but then they never do. They are destined for the Championship where they belong. Though after 17 seconds it was not that obvious. Hesitation by first Cedric and then Gabriel was worrying and thankfully the linesman made the right call. But thereafter, we took over and dominated. Watford sank into a low block while a combination of Saka and Odegaard ran the game.

Odegaard today was particularly impressive. Pulling the strings mainly on the right but drifting across the field. The link up play with Saka was on a different level. The first goal was a thing of beauty but beyond that the two of them – with noticeable contributions from our friend Cedric – sliced Watford apart and operated at a different level. The smoothness of their interplay and their understanding meant that nearly all our pressure came down our right hand side.

On the left Martinelli was not at the races today. The partnership with Tierney is not at that same level and Xhaka, playing higher up the field again, was not able to guide our play and his influence was not equivalent to Odegaard on the right.  And on the defensive side, in particularly in the first half, we looked vulnerable down our left side. Martinelli did not seem to track back as energetically and enthusiastically as normal. For their first goal, as well as it was taken by cheating Hernandez, Xhaka did not pick up the overlap. And let’s not forget the rolling on the ground and faking a head injury by Hernandez in the second half when White out-jumped him to head back to Ramsdale. He clearly thought we was auditioning for the Olympics. After losing the duel Whites arm grazed his shoulder but he managed to crumple to the ground and then roll 5 times clutching his face in agony. The real-plays showed there was no contact on his face – not that the commentators mentioned that. I despise this cheating. It’s all to prevalent now in the EPL. Trying to get the other player sent off and the fake head injuries which compels the referee to stop the game. A sensible rule that’s introduced to protect the players is not being manipulated to either break up play and/or get an opponent sent off. The best laid plans are paved with good intentions.  And here we see the unintended consequences. But just remember that Hernandez is an acrobatic, talented cheat.

When Xhaka was playing deeper alongside Partey he used to track these runs better. Watford continued to try long cross-field passes over Tierney. And too often he was left exposed. Though it’s funny how Tierney noticeably refused to head the ball back to Ramsdale. Maybe he’s risk averse but each time he headed it back up field it would go to one of their players. So, ironically, even with Cedric on the right we were more at risk on our left.

Cedric was reassuringly solid today. Aside, that is, that moment late in the second half when, just outside our box, he decided to pass the ball backwards to their player. A decent team would have scored but thankfully White was there to block their shot. We need Tommy back but, to Cedric’s credit he was not at fault for their goals today. Unfortunately, we need to look at our friend Xhaka. In particular their second goal started with his unnecessary and flamboyant cross field pass that went straight to their player. Then as he tried to track Sissoko, he could not quite intercept the pass. And then White should have been able to dispossess Sissoko. Maybe when ESR recovers from COVID he could take Xhaka’s spot. Or, at worst, Martinelli. But we’ll need to fix this imbalance on the left soon.

We have become a right-sided team. And that’s not such a bad thing. The fluency and creativity we saw today was at a level that was reminiscent of elements of Man City. And that speaks again to our progress. In addition to the excellence of Saka and Odegaard, there was the purring engine of Partey. What a difference, for him, when he’s the only defensive midfield player in a 4 – 3 – 3. I know Watford are useless shits, but nonetheless, Partey was yet again imperious in how he strolled around the pitch. There was even a shot from him in the first half that was reasonably close to the goal. He has established himself as the backbone of the team now; the platform from which we spring forward.

Behind him Gabriel had a shaky day. His distribution was uncertain and indecisive – by his prior standards. And behind him Ramsdale had a couple of poor passes that put us at risk. Though one of Ramsdale passes to Saka was a thing of beauty – as was Saka’s control. Going back to Saka – and who can’t – he was so dominate today. He was aggressive, direct and demonstrated ridiculous ball control. Watford really could not get close to him. And, thankfully, unlike a West Ham type defense, they did not try to hack pieces out of him.

In fact, this was not such a great day for our Brazilians today. Martinelli – aside from his sumptuous goal to create the needed breathing space – was ineffectual. Between the two of them they seemed off the pace today. Hopefully after Gabriels aberration against Wolves this will be a wake up call.

Did I mentioned how impressive Saka was today. This was the best overall performance I’ve ever seen from him; this was his best game ever for us. From beginning to end he shone brightly. He contributed in so many obvious and not obvious ways. From setting up the first goal to scoring the second and then releasing Cedric for the third. Though technically Arteta should also get an assist as the ball boy. I’m sure though that the FA, UEFA and FIFA will launch an inquiry into how Arteta could have roamed so far outside of his designated touchline area. The collective wisdom, intellect and general open-mindness of these great organizations will have to investigate how the referee and VAR did not capture this egregious violation of this little white box. I think it would only be fair if points were deducted along with the removal of various body parts.

It’s just a shame that Cigarette can’t shoot – or head. Now I know this might seem like rudimentary requirements for a striker but evidentially we’ve found a way to compensate for this minor deficit in his skill set. So, if we ignore the couple of chances he completely fluffed it would be only fair to note his link up play for both Saka and Martinelli’s goals. In both instances he provided the perfect passes for them. This is not something our prior Captain could have managed. So, while we might miss the goals he’s now seemingly discovered in Barcelona, the reality is that Cigarette actually fits our style of play. He drops off and links up play. It’s just a shame he can’t score goals.

Let’s go back to that third goal. That was as close as I’ve seen us come to a Liverpool type goal. Immediate, one-touch interchange culminating with Martinelli crashing it home. That was slick and impressive. This, along with other moments – let alone that first goal – yet again demonstrated the progress of this team. There was a calmness that permeated our game. Sure, the last 5 minutes were a little nerve wracking but overall we were in complete control playing smooth, controlled football. I’m not convinced that we’ll end up 4^th at the end of the season – and certainly not third – but, irrespective, you can see the growth. You can see the progression. There should be little doubt now that Arteta is the man for this job – the right man. The man to take this club forward. I’ve had one of two doubts after one of two games this season. But in the last month we have continued to build on our team philosophy and develop a style of play that suits our club and the players we have. I fear for suspensions or injuries to Partey or Saka. We don’t have the squad depth to sustain a long-term challenge for the title. We are no-where near the standard of Liverpool or City. But then they have a 5 year plus head-start and ‘000s of millions of dollars invested in their teams.

Now we’re down to a limited number of games. Unfortunately – or fortunately – these involve games against all the teams around us. There is plenty of opportunity for us to implode – for the referees to send of Xhaka etc – but the converse is that, with our games in hand, we can also help derail their efforts to overtake us. We don’t always have to beat them we just can’t lose to them.   I exclude the Liverpool game from this. They will beat us. I would just like us to finish that game with all of our players on the pitch. But the games again United, West Ham, Chelski and that other lot – now that’s all going to be the decider for our season. But, we’re now in the right position today – 4^th. And after performances like this today where we dominated and played great football should give us some confidence. But we’re a young team and we are still learning.

Today was another anxiety free performance. How I’ve missed these days. Goal opportunities being created out of our fluent football.  And domination of a sub-standard team. And then to see Maguire allow City to further impact their challenge for 4^th. Let’s just hope he’s not injured for our game. We need him and his ugly mug in that team. To leave you with an unpleasant picture. Imagine if the Kane and Maguire could find have way to have a child. The combination of the nose and the chine. Imagine how ugly that baby would be. Excuse me while I throw up.

-LB7

This is why we love football. This is why we love Arsenal. And this is the sound of joy typing away at the keyboard. Two great days. Both filled with tension and perfect outcomes. If we celebrated too much at Molineux, then we did not celebrate enough tonight. What a victory. Talking about having a fighting spirit! Let’s have another 9 days off please. And then go again.

I did not see that coming. As the game wore on the best I could hope for was a point. I’m not a greedy man (OK, maybe, technically, that’s not true – put food in front of me – especially bacon and I’ll show you a greedy fat basterd). I would have been fine with that. We huffed and puffed but seem to be missing that little sprinkling of either luck or skill. Cigarette was having another one of his games whereby outside the box he worked hard but inside the box he is incapable of finding the target. Saka worked hard as well but missed too many opportunities. Balls over the top that he could not control, touches that were too heavy or taking too long before shooting. Neither really tested the goalie until the end.

BTW, how was that a yellow card for Saka? And how easily did Atkinson let the game out of his control today? I like the fact that he did not want to wave yellow cards around (except for Saka). But that late substitution situation was a farce. They did not even put the board up but he tries to walk off Raul, gives him a yellow card and then he’s not even substituted. But it allowed Wolves to waste even more time. They thoroughly deserved this loss. They had chances they wasted but more than that, their attitude was to hunker down and preserve their lead once Gabriel set up their goal. They wasted a mammoth amount of time whenever they could. Sure, maybe it’s good game management but it effected their attitude. It caused them to try and hold their lead rather than build on it. So, justice was more than served with the result.

So back to the game. Right after that careless Gabriel mistake we started to assert ourselves and try and break Wolves down. It was mighty hard and we would tended to over engineer any chance we had. Aside from Saka and Cigarette, this was also not the best game for Martinelli. We missed someone like ESR today. The build up play was just a little too slow in the first half but that was also due to Wolves closing us down so quickly.

I like the way White was the one responsible for distribution from the back. And Partey – more on him later – was one of his main outlets.  With Xhaka on one side and Odegaard on the other we should have had more attacking intent. But, aside from a few passes at the end, Xhaka was fairly quite. Steady but not dominant. And as he played further up the pitch than normal, that exposed Tierney as well. And watching Xhaka try and recover once he’s beaten is like watching a tortoise in a sprint race. Odergaard however continued to push and try and create. He has a clear football IQ and, just maybe, could turn out to be the child that Bergkamp never had. A long-way to go and a ridiculously high bar I know.

The base of the team today and the stand out performer was Partey. Minus that is his moon shots on goal. Maybe he was trying to launch missiles into Moscow. His shooting defies explanation. Thankfully the rest of his game was outstanding. He was the outstanding presence in midfield today. He would broke up play, win tackles and turn upfield, then he cut through their lines and created. And he provided important defensive cover. Reassuringly, he remained on the pitch for the full 96 minutes. These gaps between games seem to be helping him. He is finally finding his groove. Today he was majestical in his control and passing. Moving the ball quickly and defining our approach.

I had felt that Arteta had waited so long to make any changes. And the first one I’d have taken off would have been Cigarette. But, clearly, every change he made worked perfectly. It’s fair to say Pepe changed the game today. From scoring the first to setting up the winner. After watching Cigarette continue to fluff his lines in front of goal it was a joy to see the masterful, calm and fluid way that Pepe took this goal. That gentle first touch followed by that sweeping shot. And that after watching us miss so many chances to get anything on goal. And credit to Eddie as well for the run and cut back. Though I’m not Eddie’s biggest fan, he like Pepe made a difference today. It also allowed Saka to switch to the left. He tried an ESR like attempt with his right foot which their goalie did well to parry. I figured that was the end of the game but Pepe brought ball back and then interchanged with someone though he was so good it could have been himself before unleashing Cigarette. It took a few seconds to register that the ball had gone in. The visual did not make sense. It’s only on replay that you realize their goalie steered it in. How else could Cigarette have got anything on target? Anyway, cue mayhem. This is the kind of come from behind victory that other teams engineer – not Arsenal. Actually, usually it would have been against Arsenal. This was truly stealing victory from the jaws of defeat.  

And it was all down to Pepe. Even though he nearly cost us a goal when they countered down their left and he could not follow his man before the ball was pulled back from them to shot just wide off Gabriel’s’ leg. He more than made up for it by jump starting us. As soon as he came on we looked livelier. That’s a nice, expensive and talented substitute to call off the bench. And today he made a difference.

At the end we had to switch Tierney for Tavares. Tavares did manage to pass sideways when you could see he was tempted to storm forward or play a risky forward pass (a la Liverpool). But he resisted the temptation. But he still stormed upfield, over-dribbled and then lost the ball to allow them to counter. He makes me nervous that boy.

What a wonderful result. What a wonderful game. Ok, it was not so wonderful. But, by the end of I was out of my seat screaming and dancing. Brilliant. That’s how you climb the table. That’s how you build a team for the future. And though our balance is still off, we are learning as a team. And we are progressing. And we are in fifth now with a clear shot at 4^th. We still have Liverpool and Chelsea to suffer through. Not to mention United, West Ham and that other lot. So, plenty of important games for us to deal with. And arguably a harder fixture list than anyone else. But, at least, we don’t have to play again mighty, mighty Burnley.

As I said, two great days. Both the manner of their loss and the spectacle of their manager having an emotional breakdown. It’s got to be hard waking up in the morning knowing that you’re the manager of that lot.  Only they could beat the best team in the land and then find a way to lose against one of the worst. How very, very Spursy. And how delightful. As much as I don’t want to see Burnley accumulate points and preserve their status that’s more than out-weighed by the delight in the pain, suffering and despair in seeing Sp*rs lose yet again. They are beyond arrogant and conceited. If only this would make them realize their station in life. To see Conte nearly burst into tears and concede he has no clue what to do was priceless. This was a successful Chelski manager – like one of their previous ones – that was supposed to stabilize their ship. We’ll, in a way he has, they now are predictable and stable. Except that translates to consistently losing their games. Perfect.

So, two great days. Two great results. It’s a shame February is a short month. But it makes up for that long January. Anyway, give Arteta credit for this one. Along with Partey and Pepe. Enjoy this victory. They don’t come like this that often. Wallow in it. And laugh out loud. If you can’t enjoy this then you’re either dead, a vampire or a Wolves fan.

-LB7

That’s how it goes when you don’t have COVID. And it’s not the first game of the season away against a newly promoted team. Compare this team to that that we put out. Night and day. And it showed today even if the scoreline flattered them.  Even with Jon Moss as the referee, there was little angst. Of course, there were no penalties for us but then we only received one yellow. And no red cards either. So, that’s what it’s like to finish the game with eleven players. And with three well deserved and well earned three points.

We should have scored in the first half and, in terms of timing, fortunate that we scored early in the second half. ESR was involved in the first half but was not penetrating enough. In contrast to Martinelli, he plays deeper and but works back better. It’s when he – and Saka – start to drift along our frontline when our creativity improves. Though it also felt that Tierney was more involved in the creative side today. He actually passed the ball forwards on a number of occasions. But that first goal was the game changer. Whereas we’d seen Odegaard – who was generally bright, lively and excellent today (against mediocre opposition it has to be said – and there, I’ve said it) spurn the chance to shoot and we’d seen Cigarette manage to stray offside for our disallowed goal – ESR was direct and confident and resulted in a great goal – even if their goalkeeper could have done better.

BTW, remember a couple of years back when we were looking to buy him before we picked up a random Icelandic goalie instead? I’m glad we left him where he was. Too many poor passes and not real presence. Whereas in our goal Ramsdale continues to lead that defense and even if one or two passes were dubious there was a number of long passes to ESR that were outstanding. But back to ESR and Saka. How energizing are these two? They demonstrated the lack of fear that seems to be overwhelming Cigarette. I’ve always been a believer in Cigarette. But I fear now he’s decaying rapidly right in front of our eyes. Today was one of the worst performances I’d seen him put in. His touch was awful, his possession was limited and his inability to score is undermining this team. Today his play defined his role – he has become our own false 9. We now play without a real center-forward but just choose to give that number of a person to randomly occupy the space a center-forward could occupy if they were in fact a center-forward. Arteta has not just emulated but transcended his mentor Pep. Arsenal have now taken the concept of a false 9 to a whole new level. None of this placing a creative attacking midfield player into a slightly withdrawn role. Nope, just put Cigarette out there and have him produce nothing and miss any chance that comes his way.

Within 40 minutes I wanted to see Eddie out there. That’s the definition of going out of the frying pan into the fire. Which, given ESRs performance, leads into an interesting conundrum. With Martinelli coming back from suspension, does ESR return to the bench? Todays performance argues for replacing Cigarette with Martinelli. Arteta won’t do that. That would remove one of our three grown-ups from the team. And at least one of the other two will get sent off in the next game and that would leave us with a child care issue for the remaining players. I think there is some FA rule about leaving unattended kids playing, unsupervised, in such a large space. So, I fear our False 9 will continue. When Eddie came on with the armband Xhaka refused to take it, so we have a false 9 and a false captain.

Brentford were boring – though not in a Burnley way – just devoid of creativity or threat. Nonetheless we handled them perfectly. Out midfield was strong. This was one of the easiest and strongest performances from Partey today. He even managed to last the entire 90 odd minutes. His passing was constructive and his tackling was perfect – and no yellow card. Xhaka, alongside him, was barely tested and seemed to coast through linking up well with Tierney and ESR.

The center-backs, like Ramsdale, were barely tested. Gabriel of course had to get one yellow for a last ditch challenge but overall they remain a pillar of defensive stability. Contrast that with the first game of the season! Alongside them Cedric remains passable but only barely. This was not his worst game – a low bar indeed – but he has a nasty habit of drifting backwards to be the deepest in our offside line of defense. We saw this against Wolves and again today. It was him that kept them onside for their token goal. But too often he drops too deep and then keeps their center-forwards onside and undermines the high line of the rest of the defense. Hopefully Tommy will be pushing Cedric back to the bench in our upcoming games. Better opposition will expose that weak link.

It’s a shame we went into containment mode after 70 minutes and allowed them some space to grow into the game. But even then I can’t remember Ramsdale having an actual shot to save. And then it became time for our favourite, most expensive player to make an appearance. Which, conveniently lead to Saka swapping sides and then dispatching our second goal in somewhat similar circumstances to ESR. Though, in this instance with a little more authority. It makes for nice headlines I’m sure – the two kids from our academy scoring both goals. It’s not fair to say the two were the difference today. With Odegaard, Partey and Xhaka we clearly controlled the game. It is fair though to say they were the only two who looked likely to score for us. They are our top goalscorers now. Pretty amazing fact. And as the season progresses, jut a little worrying.

It again highlights the paucity of goals from our main striker. But maybe it’s time to rename that position. Technically he would remain a forward by virtue of being further run the pitch. In cricket, he would be called the non-striker – up the other end of the pitch as the no-facer to the bowler – so that does not work. Maybe we could call him our Misser or our Mister Misser. Our double M. Our own M&M if you will. At some point, but surely next season, we’ll have a player who can feed off all the crosses that are put into the box. Someone who can win a header and/or even shoot on target. But a man can dream, right?

Another week then to idle away until our next game. The rhythm of this season is so different given our lack of European football, COVID cancellations and these annoying international breaks – of which we still have one more to suffer through. In a funny way, the lack of mid-week football allows time for other parts of life to creep in. But, as we know, that’s really not a healthy or good thing for anyone. No football does not equate to a real life. But it does mean that the tension, fear and worry is at least not present mid-week. And it allow our players to rest up in anticipation of their next red card or missed goalscoring opportunity. And it allows me time to rest up my weary fingers from all this typing. Maybe I can find a substitute typist. Or seek a postponement because of my other European obligations. Or maybe I’ll be called up to some international team of lost souls. Nope. Much better to stay focused on the next game. Which, it turns out, is next Thursday against Wolves. So, in fact, not an entire week before the next one. But, surely a match in which we’ll have a player sent off. And then we’ll watch to see how much they celebrate any points they might gain against us. I used to quick like that team. But after all their moaning and crying after the game at their place I developed quite a strong dislike for them. Not up there with United and certainly not with another team in London, but a strong disdain nonetheless. This will be a game unlike today. Where we will need someone to help score goals. So, lets wrap up Gabriel and be thankfully we’ll have Martinelli back. Now I’ll just telepathically try and convince Arteta to leave Cigarette on the bench for this one.

-LB7

And I’m back. A microscopic mid-season break denied the world the views on the past few games. After the Villa and Leicester performances this match was always going to look the easiest on paper. And in some ways it was. But it was just a little tense at the end there.

Now is not the time for another international break. As desperate as I was for one after the initial run of three losses and as much as I enjoyed the lack of stress during the last break, this team has begun to find itself – finally. By playing Cigarette in the false 9 and removing Pepe, there is more coherency to our play. Not that today was our finest performance. The first 20 minutes against Leicester was the gold standard. But we dominated and without Aubameyang the margin would have been more reflective of the gulf in the two teams.

So, before mauling our captain, I would note that Aubameyang’s work rate has noticeably increased in the last month. He works much harder and defends more. Having him pick up yellow cards for aggressive defending from the front is not a bad problem to have. And some of his goals this year (i.e. against Sp*rs) have been pivotal. But, oh my, today was a disaster. Everything he touched turned into pooh. Every touch he took, every move he made, I was watching him. (see the Police reference? – look that up any youngsters out there). From the first mis-control after the good work by Cigarette that caused to ball to ricochet to Saka for the first off-side goal, to the penalty miss and finally the redundant touch for what would have been our second goal from Odergaard. Today was just not his day. In a funny way, if he can get this game out of the way when we still claim the three points that’s not a bad thing. But it was just painful – and predictable to watch; a truly bad day at the office.

On the other hand, our defense, again was – minus one cock-up between White and Ramsdale – rock solid. Gabriel – as against Leicester – was immense. He does not get out muscled and the partnership with White is developing. Their understanding and position organization is improving. And, behind them today, we did not need any heroics from Ramsdale. Both full-backs provide solidity and attacking options. Tavaries was missing the final pass today but has such huge potential and the advantage of genuine pace.   

Clearly this is a game that last year – if not at the start of the season – we could easily have drawn. And if Watford had come out of the shell earlier and had been more adventurous, they could have. But the fact is, they did not. Another victory with a team that had yet more changes to the lineup. Today, for this humble observer, the man who shone like a beacon right from the first minute was Ainsley Maitland-Niles; the man with too many names. Maybe the quality of the opposition enabled him to shine because he had just a split-second more on the ball. But his defensive work, his physical presence was impressive. He seemed to win every duel. And if when he seemed beaten he would recover. Whether it was on the half-way line or when they tried to break through our lines. He was always there. And, if was his high press interception that set up that first disallowed goal. AMN provided grit and balance to the mid-field today in a way he’s not demonstrate before – well, at least not as consistently for 90 minutes. There were not causal giveaways, no over-committing to attack but sound positional awareness and a dominate performance. Again, maybe against Liverpool he could get out-played and out-powered. But today he was our best player.

Alongside him Sambi contributed to our performance. Not stellar like AMN but more than good enough. There were a few instances where he got caught on the ball on the edge of our area – as we saw against Crystal Palace – so let’s hope he can learn that lesson (finally). But, again, for a 23 year old new to this league who we thought would play as a fill-time for some games, he has more than exceeded expectations. And credit to Arteta. With Partey again being unavailable he could easily have selected Elneny. But instead he went for the untried pairing of Sambi and AMN. And boy did it work.

Saka picked apart Rose all day. And Rose, who is too fat and too languid to play at this level, was kind enough to donate us a penalty and generally too lazy to track back. But then Saka challenged and beat him all day long. This was much closer to the type of performances he made last year. Hopefully he’d finding his way back to us.

ESR is slowly turning into our little Pires. Sneaking in to claim vital goals. Though the team started brightly today ESR was quite in those early stages but then found his way into the game. Generally, when we i.e. Cigarette and others, had a chance to shoot we instead decided to make that extra pass. So, apart from the importance of the goal, it was nice to see him take a first time shot. Generally, we need to be braver. There is a tendency to pass the responsibility off to others. But here, one of our youngest players took the initiative themselves and was rewarded. And hopefully they will give him the confidence to inspire him to also be just a little bit more brave.

So in a two week period the manager-go-round has gone into overdrive. None of this makes sense. And all I can hope is that all these teams get relegated. And let’s not forget how close some people think we came to replicating this type of brain-dead, retarded and futile manager change at Arsenal. Remember how sections of our own fans reacted after our first three games – and the defeats. Not too dissimilar to the reaction last season prior to our home victory against Chelsea. People have no patience, no sense of the “long-game” and not strategy. They make snap judgments based on an emotional response without playing out the impact and consequence of any decision. These same idiots will surely raise their voices again about Arteta when we inevitably miss the top 4 again this year. And that’s because these morons move the goal-posts when it suits them. This league is more competitive than ever with more teams spending more money. But, as the last 8 games have demonstrated, we’ve found a backbone for our team and an identity. Of course, I’m sure, against Liverpool at Anfield we will get overrun and torn apart. But that’s one game. I care about our trajectory and development. And you’d have to be a blind man – or Mike Dean – not to see it.

We are a young team. We lack a vocal leader on the field. There was a time today in the last 5 minutes where we started to sit back too far; we ceded too much space to them. Someone on the field should have identified and corrected that. Against better teams, we’ll pay a price. But this is a team that’s learning. And at Anfield, given the quality of the opposition, I expect the worse. But that’s OK. As we can see, every team has shit games – just look down the road to our local idiots. We just don’t want to have too many of them.

So we beat Villa and they fire Smith after they again lost. How can you do that? He brought them up again to the EPL. He got them out of relegation the season before last and last year they nearly got into the NoHopaCup. Ok, they are having a tough spot but they are not in the relegation zone. But now they deserve to be. Who would take over that team now? How can you not have faith in a proven manager when all the prior ones were disasters. I seem to remember our friend Remi Garde having a short run out as well.

Norwich, another one we slayed recently kicked out their own Nazi. Why? They sold their best player to Brighton and barely re-invested. I had thought they had a sound business model. Get into the EPL, take the TV money, don’t spend it, get relegated with the balloon payments and then get promoted again. A few yo-yo seasons like that were providing them with deep financial pockets. How did they expect Farke to succeed? Why would they fire him. They are doomed to relegation (again). And we all knew it.

Then there’s the Saudi team up north. I feel sorry for Bruce. He managed against a back-drop of hatred and with one of the most despised owners not behind him but hiding in the shadows. There was minimal investment and they have a below average team. Maybe now they’ll bring in the nice-guy Howe. But that won’t last. Next summer they’ll be in the Championship looking for a new manager.

And then finally it’s the arrogant, conceited lot down the road. That lot who’ve not won anything in more than 10 years – and even that was a stupid cup. That think way above their station; consider themselves elite when they are bang average. Who wasted a chance to get more than 100m for their best player and then re-invest it. The team that fired Potch after getting them to the CL finals. Only to replace him with Darth Vader. And then they fire him before a cup final? And replace him – eventually – with Nuno. What’s not to like about Nuno. What did they think they were hiring? This all started when they fired Harry. The man who had got them into the CL in the first place. For the first time ever. But, oh now. They are too good for that. They need better. So they start off again the manager-go-round. Guess how many managers they’d have since Ley became chairman? Eleven! How the fuck can you run a team when you churn through that many managers? And there’s no accountability for this. Not that I’m complaining. It just exasperates me when I hear Sp*rs fans (I know, why do I even talk to such people let alone listen) pontificate about their team and their aspirations. It’s so far delivered from any sense of reality it’s stunning.

And I’ve not even touched on Watfords merry-go-round.

Which is all to say – there by the grace of God go Arsenal. There are so many warning signs as to what happens if you don’t stick with your philosophy and strategy. Of course, they are fine examples, like ditching Rioch for an unknown AW. But when you look at the fiasco at Man U and then consider West Ham with the same manager, surely a footballing person would extract the obvious lesson. Anyway, let’s hope this year they find a way to relegate all four of these teams.

So as we enter into yet another unnecessary international break, let’s prey that Partey is not released for international duty. We need him to be fit. And, ideally, we need him at Anfield. But at least we need him for the long run ahead of us.

After todays performance I wonder whether that changes Edu view of the upcoming transfer market. With Partey and Elneny at the AFC and Xhaka still knackered, can we rely on AMND and Sambi? I doubt it. But long-term, it’s not about this season. It’s about the overall team shape we’re building. We are susceptible for a few key injuries still but AMN deserves time. I just doubt he’ll be given it.

It’s good to be fifth though. It’s higher than I think we’ll eventually finish. But it’s also good to change the perception and narrative on this team. Some of our fans will of course claim this is the least we should be aiming for. But, remember, they are the brainless, petulant, childish ones, Tune them out. I clearly don’t. We continue to move in the right direct. This is part of the re-build and it’s progressing. It can’t be too rushed. And we will inevitably have set-backs. As we nearly had today. But, I for one, am a believer. I saw his (Artetas’) face, now I’m a believer. Not a trace of doubt in my mind. I’m in love. I’m a believer, I could not leave him if I tried (a Monkees reference for you youngsters).

Wow, this was much longer than I expected. That’s what happens when you send me away on a mini mid-season break. It’s good to be back. I feel better now.

-LB7

This could have been worse. It should have been worse. Then we might have more confidence that the club would do the right thing. Unfortunately, there might have been just enough in this game for Unai Emery to retain his job. It’s a shame; we’d have benefited by being more clearly thrashed. Then there would be no more reason to waste time with our B- coach.

Unai Emery, a man perfected to manage a mid-table Spanish team is well on his way to replicating that at Arsenal.  He has had ample time to improve this club. For example, look at our opposition. In less than 9 months Rogers has had a material impact on Leicester. He’s taken the elements of their team, reshaped it and extracted more from the same players. Can anyone say that about Emery? If anything, with even better players at his disposal this year he’s managed to find a way to extract less.

Our team has no obvious shape, no identify and certainly no personality. Today was no different from any game bare the first two this season. There is no progress. We might win a few games here and there but this team will never compete for the Champions League. It’s inconceivable that this team can finished above 5^th. And that might be a reach. Eventually ManUre and Sp*rs will fix their teams and then overtake us as well.

Unfortunately, the club might think there’s just enough development to justify retaining Emery for the balance of the season. A more clinical display by Leicester would have helped enforce the outcome that is predictable and obvious. Emery won’t be our manager next year. The only question is do we have the appetite to ditch him now – mid-season – and start the rebuild. Or do we waste the balance of the season.

This depends on a couple of factors. Do Arsenal have an alternative in mind and is that alternative available now. Would the club be OK with a transition manager while we wait for the ideal manager? Because this one, Emery, is neither transitional nor ideal. I honestly can’t see any progress that’s been made in the last 18 months. He’s had 50 games now and, aside from this daft fetish with playing out of the back, that our defense is no better, we have no defensive midfield and we can’t leverage our attacking players, what has improved? Actually, there is one area of clear improvement. The first and second team kit. You have to love Addidas. Maybe we can appoint Addidas as our manager. We would continue to look the nicest team in England.

I sometimes hope that Emery is our Bruce Ricoch. A stepping stone to something serene. Currently he feels like our Moyes. Our Sherwood. A stepping stone to despair. Except this team – player for player – is better than either of those two teams. Emery is incapable of balancing the team nor instructing them. This team is neither one thing or another.  It is neither a team than can defend resolutely and counter-attack. Nor is it an all-put attacking team that could not defend. That would be the Wenger team left behind. Now it’s no longer a team but a disjointed collection of individual players. Albeit it players that are better than the ones Wenger had.

If I believed there was any progress that could be made with Emery or even, just a little more time for him to adjust and adapt I’d be happy to be patient. But, honestly, it’s not going to happen. Not after 50 games. I know there’s a fear that we’ll become a revolving manager door team like to many others. But, in truth, this was inevitable after the miracle of the last 22 years. That was such an unnatural period of stability. That experience reset our expectations. The manager after Wenger was always going to be the fall-guy. And, boy, do we have our fall guy. Waiting until the end of the season will just allow the rot to set in. And, worse, it sends a message to players coming to the end of their contract, that the club is not ambitious and lacks leadership. This season has already passed us by. I knew that before the season started. I was merely hoping for progress and development. We won’t get that either. So let’s suck it up, put on our big boy pants and firer the fucker. If we have to hand it over to Freddie while we wait for our Messiah, then so be it.

As for the actual game today. We weren’t entirely awful in the first half. We had one or two breakouts where Lacazette should have done better; should have scored. But through the balance of the game I don’t remember Schmichael having a save to make. Chambers was good today but Guendouzi failed to track his man on multiple occasions, Torreira looked positional lost and Ozil barely received the ball. Bellerin was rusty – which is not surprising – and Holding was exposed too often and made poor decisions. The only forward movement came from David Luis. Most of the time we played the ball backwards and square. Ironically our best moments came before they scored the first goal. We seemed to be growing into the game. But every time we start to dominate possession we leave ourselves open at the back. It’s the lack of balance that has been our Achilles heel for 18 months. The majority of their penetration came down our left hand side. We could not track their players. And when Grey came on it descended into a joke. Too often they had a spare man that we could not track.

Leicester aren’t a bad team. They played good football but we found ways to make them better. But, to their credit, they are improving as a team. They have a style of play. And they have passion and commitment. Not exactly a description you can apply to us.

Poor Pepe. What must he be thinking? When he come on he looked lost. And why wait until we’re 2-0 before making any changes? We should have switched from 3 at the back right away. But, even then, we could not create any chances. There was so little interplay between our creative players. There is just nothing going on. We played a holding game in the first half and then once we fell behind could not create chances in the second half.

So now it’s over to Edu and Saul. Do they have the believe and determination to make a change that the entire fan base would support? Do they have the leadership and vision to accept that this is not working. There should be no recriminations. Most people thought it was a good decision at the time. I, for one, did not want Arteta. That was too risky for me. But now it’s too risky to persevere with Emery. I can’t take another one of his interviews; his dreary drivel in pigeon English where he stumbles along in broken clichés and says nothing.

We have a two week break. Let’s use that to break away from Emery. Let’s not waster more time and opportunity. Let’s start building for next season now. It was a good idea at the time but it did not work. So, please, let’s move on. It might take a time to get it right. All we know is that what we do have is wrong.

-LB7

VAR is killing football. Emery is Killing Arsenal. And Xhaka is mortally wounded.

We should have had three points today. Undeserved but still three points. Somehow, some unaccountable overlord determines that our third goal should not count. The referee – who refused to award us any free kicks throughout the game, consider it a legitimate goal. Not a single Crystal Palace player remonstrated with the referee; they all accepted it. But then under microscopic examination it was determine that Chambers (I assume) fouled someone. It was an entanglement of legs. Yet somehow this warranted overruling the referee. Where is the standard of “clear and obvious error”. It took many minutes and was by any objective measure not clear and not obvious. This will kill the game. Hands down we’ve taken technology that could be beneficial and chosen to deploy it in the worst possible way. Sure, in a year of two they might get it right. In the interim it’s sucking the life out of a game. How do you know when to cheer and rejoice when everything is subject to a 3 minute review. This is worse than the NFL. Surely this was not what was intended. Why does every goal need to be reviewed and thereby hold up the game. This really is a disaster.

As were Arsenal. You can’t give up a two goal lead to CP at home. Though evidentially you can. But like that? We seem to have become dead-ball specialists. Of our last three goals (in the league) all have come from a dead-ball. That tells you something about our lack of creativity. For most of the game the build up play was ponderous and slow. There was little urgency and drive. Only when Xhaka was removed did the pace pick up. Of course, by then he’d helped to gift them their second goal. Chambers, who again played well, was at fault for the first. Here, unfortunately, VAR generated the right (but wrong) outcome. It was obviously a penalty and did not take long to overturn Atkinsons decision. It was fun to see him give a yellow card though when it was abundantly obvious that Chambers left a leg out. What this (and the other missed) decision says about the quality of the referring is quite clear. Atkinson was as shit as Xhaka. Today he barely gave us a single call. But each time a CP fell over he rewarded them. He’s not biased. He’s just crap. He’s even handedly inept. And equal opportunity fucked-up referee. Yet he’s one of the more senior referees. In a face-off between Mike Dean and Atkinson there can be no winners – the only loser would be football itself.

Back to our suffering. Of the many things that make no sense. For example, why are there still penny coins? How did we end up with an orangutan in the White House? How did old-boys from Eton take over the county (again)? I’m also left with the dilemma of why would you chose Xhaka as your captain and then needlessly embarrass him through painful substitutions. I would not pick him for this team – ever. But then I did not make him the team captain. And everyone knows he’s liable to attract negative crowd reactions. So why set Xhaka up for failure. Of course he acted like a juvenile when substituted but Emery did him no favours. And now Xhaka has to come out and apologize otherwise he’s done as an Arsenal player. You can’t pull off your shirt and throw it away. You can’t cup your ears to bait the crowd. And nor can you let a donkey horse player like McArthur beat you to put in a cross for Ayew to equalize.

The last three results should have returned 9 points. Instead we get 4 from Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace. How’s that progress?

This feels like Arsenal have finally revert to last years end of season form. Drawing games we should win and dropping points against the average teams. You can be sure we’ll lose against Wolves. This team shows no sign of progress. Even when we have improved players. For example, on his full debut, Tierney looked excellent. A genuine addition that will help the team. In the first half the creativity came down that side of the pitch. But then there was little creativity from elsewhere. Ceballos was better when he came central after Xhaka departed. But why play him out on the left wing. What’s the point? Does Emery have any idea what his structure is? And why does he refuse to play Torreira? It’s so predictable now. A pattern has emerged of Arsenal underperforming and lacking fluency. Today we were fortunate to get two goals from corners. But, again, at home, to not be able to defend that lead is not the behavior of a top 4 team.

This year ManU and Sp*rs are failing miserably to claim the 3^rd and 4^th spot. With our squad of players we should be able to improve enough to claim 4^th. But not the way we’re playing. This looks like being another year when we fail to exploit the opportunity. There is no way Cheklsi, ManU and Sp*rs can be this bad next year. Yet, we’re not making any progress. Even the addition of David Luis has not protected the defense. He also should have done better on that second goal.

Simple things confuse me. Why does FIFA exist? What is the point in a uni-cycle? And, why do our center-halfs spend the bulk of their possession passing sideways. In the first half our build up play was as glacial as our melting icebergs. Rarely did Xhaka or Guendouzi drop to receive the ball to build up play. The few times Ceballos receive the ball in the center of the pitch our game had pace and momentum. This is how it’s been for months now. Somehow we have substituted sideways possession for creativity. Somehow we think this makes us a better team. And of course this come back to Emery. What is his philosophy? Apart from being the blandest, dullest person to ever leave Spain we have yet to see any actual benefits of him being our manager. And the pressure on him will surely build. The honeymoon period is over now. And we’ve moved straight into therapy; to be soon followed by an amicable separation. Because he’s not taking us anywhere – well, not anywhere good.

Aside from Tierney, the other bright spot was Guendouzi. He was excellent again. Ending the game with a perfect rugby tackle on Zaha. Guendouzi was even more instrumental when Xhaka went off. I wonder what he’d be like it paired with, oh, I don’t know, Torreira.

Sokratis and David Luis scored our two goals? How many chances did Aubameyang and Cigarette have? And Pepe? How often were they feed the ball?  How do you bring on Saka when you have Ozil sitting in the stands? What is going on with this team.

Even with all this we should have had three points. It comes back to the soulless, unaccountable VAR. Why do we never see referees review the decisions themselves on a monitor? Because they don’t’ want to be accountable? Or they are being held to reviews and standards (post-game) that we’re not aware of? This system is killing the game. And killed todays game. I would hate to have been in the stadium not knowing what the hell is going on. But I hear no football wide reaction to this. But then we hear nothing about games being played on Friday nights or Mondays. Decisions that will destroy the game are being made by people who have no long term interests in the game. Only when money drips away from the game will people wake up. If only clubs had the balls to voice their resistance; it’s their game not the PFL or EPL; they can reclaim the game – but they have to unwrap themselves from the embrace of money.

Post Sheffield and even midweek, I’ve become progressively pessimistic on the short-term prospects for Arsenal. With Emery in place we’re destined to be boring, bland, dull – just like our manager. Nor am I convinced it’s wise to change manager mid-year. I don’t want us to morph into a ManU or Sp*rs where we can managers quicker than our underwear. Where we place the faith of our club in ex-player legends. Remember Tim Sherwood? Or the other raft of managers through the turnstiles at WHL? And Nice FC can’t win a game either.

-LB7

Lucky Arsenal.  Very lucky Arsenal. We snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. And it would have been a well deserved defeat. Everything about our team today – aside form that last 10 minutes – was wrong. Our team now has the personality of our manager. The manager has no personality and nor does the team. This was a thoroughly undeserved victory that can’t paper over the clear deficiencies in our team nor, more concerning, our manager.

We started the game with the wrong selection – again. The wrong tactics – again. And, obviously, with the wrong manager. We were lackluster. Missing any drive, pace and urgency. Villa were  exposing our lack of midfield cover. In other words, it felt like every other game.

The selection was strange – again. Sakka was in which must have pissed off Nelson. He, unlike our other forwards, looked good. Aubameyang missed a chance in the first few minutes set up by Sakka. And then proceeded to misplace every pass and miss hit every shot until the last 10 minutes.

Xhaka was his dependable useless self. He continues to slow down our team with his touches and sideways passing. He makes Guendouzi play worse. But overall the balance and mix of the team was dreadful. There is no passion in the team. And it makes is so hard to watch. Against teams like Villa we seem desperate to go down their level. Except that they were playing better football. We could not string any passes together. It’s as though it’s the first time some of our players have played together. There was no understanding between Aubameyang and Pepe. None between Pepe and Maitland-Niles. Ceballos hardly received the ball. Players ran into the space occupied by others. It’s as though the team has no idea how they should be playing the game.

Villa counterattacked and exposed our predictable lack of defensive cover. It was Watford all over again. It seems like we are incapable of learning anything. We hear how studious Emery is. How it watches game film till 2 in the morning. Clearly it’s not our games he’s watching because nothing changes in his tactics. Pairing Xhaka and Guendouzi brings out the worst in Guendouzi. Any pairing would bring out the worst in Xhaka. In that respect he’s gifted.

This is such a painful game to dissect. It was so unenjoyable for such long periods. Instead of feeling relief and excitement from undeservedly getting the three points, I can’t look past the dire performance of the team and the lack of balance in this team. For the majority of the game we were passive and exposed by an average Villa team. Even when we did score we found a way to hand back the lead within 90 seconds. How is that possible? Grealish skipped past Xhaka (of course) and then Sokratis without a challenge. For their first goal no-one closed down the person putting in the cross and then the entire defense stood still, Guendouzi ball watched and ignored his man and then we’re 0-1 down. And our reaction was non existent. More of the same sideways passing without David Luiz looking to play out to the sides. We created very little though Sakka did look good.

Maitland-Niles did not exactly have his a-game today. He was caught out (as was the camera man) with a through ball when he received his first yellow card. And then a full on tackle gave Fat John Moss the chance to brandish a second yellow even though Maitland-Niles clearly won the ball. Maybe he was sent off because of the absolute hash he made inside 5 minutes when he blasted over with his left foot. Or maybe Moss deemed his reckless cross-ball pass unsuitable for the fans. Either way, this was one of Maitland-Niles’s worst performances and luckily it was limited to less than 45 minutes.

So, at half-time we saw Chambers come on for Sakka. The young kid should feel good with his contribution even if he should not have started. Chambers was more solid and dependable at right back but we’re down to 10 men. The hope was the team would come out fired-up in the second half. Unfortunately, it was more of the same dire football. No cohesion, no link-up play and no momentum. It’s difficult to watch us these days. It’s so fleeting that we actually play football.

The one change we saw though was a change in Guendouzi’s attitude. He grabbed the midfield and took charge. Unlike the elder statesman alongside him, he was energized and direct. Arguably against the run of play he won us a penalty by charging into the box. Pepe got his first goal for us. Maybe we should bring him on for only penalties. But then we wilted immediately to give up the second goal. Xhaka by then already had a yellow card otherwise he would have fouled Grealish. His earlier yellow was absolutely childish and quintessentially Xhaka. It was unnecessary and lazy. That should be his epitaph. It’s remarkable to think he’s played 80 times for his country. Pulling Grealish back by the half way line when there was nothing going on was wasteful and give you an insight into the (lack of) football brain.

Remarkably it took Emery 70 minutes to make the obvious change. The change that everyone but our blind manager could see. He finally took Xhaka off the pitch along with Ceballos. With the introduction of Torreira and Willock we finally regained our energy levels and momentum. From them on it was a case of whether we could generate enough opportunities such that we’d actually take one. It turns out we took two! The first one was (again) created by Guendouzi. A great pass to the back post that Chambers met and then swept up the rebound. Contrast that with Maitland-Niles in the first half – thank you referee Mills. By now 10-man Arsenal had pushed Villa onto the back foot. But you knew there would be chances for Villa. But then, finally, up stepped Aubameyang to grab the three points. With Pepe and David Luiz standing over the ball and given his inability to get any shot on target today Aubameyang was the last person that should have taken the free kick. But that was a great strike. So 2 of our 3 goals came from dead-ball kicks. Therein lies a story. The other shots came from Guendouzi pushing the team forward. Their goalie, Heaton, barely had any saves to make and yet we score three goals.

What did we learn today? Not much. We knew Xhaka should not be playing. We knew that Emery should not be our manager. Both were reinforced by what we saw. How does Emery make the same tactical errors and selection mistakes game after game? Why does he persist with Xhaka? Why does he not see the change in energy levels when Xhaka was removed from the game? Torreira and Willock might have changed the game but the game was saved by Guendouzi. As mediocre as he was in the first half was as dynamic as he was in the second. You could see the anger and passion on his face. This is the 20 year-old shouting at the establish, senior players to up their game. So today we learned the following – Guendouzi is the White Viera.

We also saw an angry Kolasinac demonstrate that he could defend – at times. This was one of his better defensive performances. Going forward he was more conservative than normal.

Today was the first time I started to develop real doubt about Sokratis. Maybe I’ve been ignoring the warning signs of the last month or so. First off his acting is appalling. The rolling on the ground after his entanglement with Wesley was embarrassing. As was the ease with which Grealish went past him for the second goal. I can’t wait for Holding to come back into this team.

While too many players were sub-par today – Ceballos contributed little – our main concern has to be our manager. He does not seem to have a clear vision of how this team should be playing. He then waits too long to make changes. And then does not seem to learn any lessons from those changes.

Our next EPL match – at Old Trafford – will surely result in changes in team selection. He must bring in Chambers. He must drop Xhaka. But I fear Emery will be his normal, boring, bland and predictable self. Today was a chance escape from disaster. Coming back and winning, with only 10 men for more than ½ a game – should be a time for celebration and enjoyment. It does not feel like it. It merely feels like we’re delaying the onset of disaster. It would be how the travelers on the Titanic felt when they skipped that first small iceberg. Until Emery demonstrates he can evolve and learn we are destined to monumentally fuck-up. We are teetering on the edge of a precipice. This manager has to show some personality. He can’t manage this team like a bank manager. He has to instill some passion and energy. Based on todays performance that feels like wishful thinking.

So, for now, I’ll be looking to Edu to be keeping a close eye on that manager over at Nice FC.

-LB7

Unbelievable. Unforgivable. Unforgettable. Ridiculous. Last week we turned around a 2-0 deficit and this week we returned the favour. But this time against the bottom team in the league. A team that we had throughly beaten in the first half. And we were beating in the second half. But then Sokratis gifted them the easiest goal they could ask for.  From domination we went to looking like a team that was lucky to leave there with a point.

And for this in I blame Emery. Again, his tactics were wrong. The diamond does not help our defense. We gave up – as we did against Liverpool – the wide areas. We were exposed there the entire game. And we did not provide cover for our defense. Ceballos is wasted out left. And Guendouzi looked lost our right. And Xhaka is always lost. On the counter-attack we were always exposed. It helps when you play Watford not Liverpool. And it helps when you have Aubameyang. Two great goals. The first one was a pure strikers goal while the second one was a classic Arsenal goal teed up by Ozil. From them on it was plain sailing.

There were signs though of the usual Kamakazi play out from our goal kicks. Twice we were caught out. We are so predictable with this. We’re playing the ball to Guenzouzi when he has two players around him. And then he feels the need to take extra touches. And then losses it. What a joke. This is schoolboy football. But it’s coming from the manager. Sure do it when it’s there – when the space is available. But to force it like this is idiotic. It smacks of a team without common sense. A team that is told to do one thing and can’t adapt or exercise game management. Instead they had the worst team in the league a life-line. It completely changed the momentum of the game. It brought the crowd into the game. And put us under pressure.

So Emery takes off one of our best players; leaves Ozil on the pitch and brings on Willock. Then Nelson. And lastly Torreira. How does that make sense? Then Nelson proceeds to play further up the pitch than Ceballos. We now have four forwards. And so, inevitably, we get caught on the counter-attack and David Luiz gives us a penalty. I won’t blame him for this. But I will blame Emery. Why play this set up? Why don’t revert to a 4-4-2. Protect the lead man! But no, we get sucker punched. By the worst team in the league.

How is Emery managing this team? How is he adapting the tactics intra-game? Wenger got blamed for being inflexible; for not having a plan B. And what did we see today? The same shape the entire game. And that shape does not work for us. Ozil, apart from the glorious pass for the second goal, was barely in the game. Pepe was frustrating. He can’t seem to score and drifts out of the game too much. He’s touch is not quite there and there is little link up play with Maitland-Niles. And Maitland-Niles also gifted the ball away in dangerous areas. Along with Guendouzi they both played multiple cross field balls in our 1/3^rd of the pitch. I think Ceballos tried this once as well. Against a real team (like Liverpool) we will get murdered.

So now I’m beginning to worry. Not about our position in the league – I never thought we’d end up in the top 4. But about our ability to progress and develop as a team. We’ve now got the majority of the players we needed and got rid of the ones we did not want. It’s hard to complain about a team with Aubameyang, Pepe, Ceballos, Torreira etc. So now it’s down to how we use them. And it’s down to our tactics. Again, today, Emery got it wrong. He should have changed the balance of the team – especially after we let in that first goal. But before that he need to provide a beter shield in front of the defense. But he’s got Torreira on the bench and Guendouzi out right. Watch the last 30 minutes of that game. Xhaka struggled to keep up and stay with any runners. We were exposed too often and yet Emery persists with him. Even when Torreira was brought on he looked like a ghost of the player from last year. In a diamond I don’t think either he or Guendouzi know where to play.

This is a game we absolutely should have won. Even for a 6^th place team you have to win against a team as weak as Watford. But instead we decided to give them mouth to mouth resuscitation. Unforgivable. And I doubt Emery learned anything new from this. He’s got the players so it’s now down to him to use them. How can you waste the goals of Aubameyang like this? When is he going to install a backbone in this team? No-one can blame Wenger now. Or Bould. Emery owns this defense and midfield. It’s unbelievable that we can throw away the win at Watford.

We were so open and exposed that Watford could rightly claim they should have won the game. They are most probably in their dressing room lamenting dropping 2 points. Whereas we had them dead to rights at 0-2. How does a team like Arsenal – so early in the season – throw away these two points? Because the balance of the team is wrong, the manager has the wrong shape and the team religiously commits to passing the ball out from our goal kicks. There were times when the ball went out for a corner and I felt less worried than when the ball went out for our own goal-kick. What is the point in doing the same thing over and over again from our goal-kicks. It’s a high risk strategy for very little return. There were three times we turned it over right outside our own box (and the one they scored from). Why not at least vary your approach. We have become so predictable. It’s as though it’s a point of pride that we need to prove to other teams we’re good enough to play it out from the back. And yet we’re clearly not. Sure Liverpool or Man City have the right to do this. We don’t. And we don’t seem to have the awareness to know when something is not working and then adapt. That is the most worrying part.

Today was as frustrating and depressing as I can remember since we threw it all away in Baku. All the early season good will went out of the window today. This was a truly crap Watford team. It was a team that had no way to earn a point. We had the game under complete control. So instead we handed them every opportunity. We were casual. We weren’t professional. We are sloppy. And then we were the team that looked at risk. How can this be? Where is the leadership in this team.

Where is the progress and development? Emery seems intent on trying the same thing over an over again each time expecting a different outcome. For the one or two times it might come off there will be 10 times when it does not. We seem intent to do the wrong thing in the wrong situation. Maitland-Niles was needlessly put under pressure when he receives the ball in a tight situation. Guendouzi on multiple times ran into the same issue. Why not spray the ball out wide. Stretch the pitch rather than be so predictable.

For all the energy and belief that comes from a 2-0 comeback in the NLD today was crushing to any belief that we have a plan to progress. And this lies with Emery. First, why would you play Ozil? Play Ceballos in the floating position and put Torreria in midfield. And play a holding pair of Xhaka and Torreira. Or Guendouzi and Torreira and leave Xhaka on the bench. Start Willock and don’t bring on Nelson to play in a diamond because he’ll get caught upfield. Immediately before their second goal both him and Torreira were caught upfield. You’re 2-1 away from home with 10 minutes or so left. Why is there no game management? This was classic Wenger. But I thought this was supposed to change. That we would exercise some judgement.  What has Emery done differently to address our long-term, known by the entire world defensive deficiencies? The players have changed but everything else is unchanged. There is not a single player that’s the same in this defense from the last year of Wenger and yet the problems remain the same. Because it’s about coaching and tactics.

All I’ve asked for is progress and development. As in previous years, there are shit teams competing for the 3^rd and 4^th place. There is every opportunity to take one of these spots. Except that we have shown – as we did last year – that we don’t have the mental fortitude nor the appetite to grab the required points. We are unable to defend. We have defenders. But we can’t defend as a team and we show no signs of learning how to.

So, Coach Emery, what’s the plan now?

-LB7