Onward Arsenal Onward

TotalArsenal

Onward

Leave off dreaming, leave off hesitating. 
Wander on tirelessly!
When your strength is nearly failing,
'Onward' is the right word.

You must not tarry when the hour
Brings you roses;
When from the depths of the sea
The siren tempts you.

Onward, onward! In song
Wrestle with the pain of the world,
Until upon your burning cheek
Falls a golden beam from above.

Until the wreath, thick with leaves,
Weaves about and shadows your brow. 
Until your head is transfigured
By the flame of the spirit hovering above it.

Onward then through the foe's battlements,
Onward through the pain of death,
Those who wish to win entrance to Football Heaven, 
Must be true warriors!

Words by the Clara Shumann, with just one word added by yours truly.

Come On You Rip Roaring Gunners!!!

By TotalArsenal.

94 thoughts on “Onward Arsenal Onward”

  • (with a little help from Arundell – and Genge !! – but …) the Scots’ just had an outstanding first half. A great game of rugby it is, actually … 14-man-England still have what it takes to prevail, eventually, imo …

  • Beautiful, Total. And here is me thinking she was just a pianist! May those “golden beams” rest upon the cheeks of our boys”.

    Proud edward’s army is heading homeward tae think again.

  • Yes Stu, Clara was a phenomenal woman in the 19th century. One of my heroes. She was instrumental in the composing successes of her husband Robert, she composed herself, she played the piano for 60 years at the highest level and everywhere in Europe, raised 8 children in the process, and had to deal with her husband becoming mentally ill, of which he eventually died young, sadly. She was also a big support and influence on Brahms. A powerhouse in so many ways.

    Greetings from a Rugby-Calcutta happy Edinburgh. 🙂

  • HT in Cardiff
    Wales 7 France 26
    Some nice moves, but this Welsh bunch id the weakest I’ve ever seen …
    Strong XI:
    Jesus
    Martinelli-Eze-Madueke
    LewisSkelly-Nørgaard
    Calafiori-Saliba-Mosquera-White
    Kepa
    Myles’s debut in midfield will be scrutinized … he’ll make the most of it, you read it here first.
    Don’t really see the need to pick BigBill, tbh, unless our Ecuadorian gladiator needs a rest – but he was one of our best at the GTech, wasn’t he?
    The guy who didn’t pick Matt Smith as a starter for this game deserves to feel his soul and body burn and rot in hell for an eternity of eternities.
    COYG

  • Cala must’ve picked something
    Jesus
    Marti-Eze-Saka-Noni
    Nørgaard
    Myles-Mosquera-Bill-Ben
    Kepa
    … it is
    too bad for Myles, but Bukayo more central I like a lot
    7-52 in Cardiff btw

  • The ref on the near side has been dodgy with his offside calls, in the absence of VAR.

    I thought Jesus was onside that time, and then, this call on Ben White has to be wrong.

  • Life is football, football is life. Sometimes you just can’t bounce back unless you’ve truly hit rock bottom.
    Maybe that nightmare in Brentford was just what Eberechi needed to shake off once and for good whatever doubts, questions, had been weighing so heavily on his Arsenal fan’s mind.
    What we do need, and will, in the weeks to come, is the Eberechi whose through balls, inspirations, goals (?) can tear any team apart. As far as long, through balls are concerned, Nørgaard’s weren’t bad either, were they? As for the finishes, hard to tell (for me, at least) which of Noni’s, Marti’s, or GJ9’s, was the classiest.
    I wish Matt had refused to come on, told his b…..d of a gaffer go f..k himself, and stayed on the bench to watch us put a dozen past them. How can such an idiotic brute have become a manager at professional level is beyond me.
    Now, there’s a fair chance we’ll get to see BigBill come off, and Marli come on in the 2nd half … and impress us this boy will !
    COYG

  • Good morning gentlemen. What a pass from Eb’s. Let the monkey that’s been upon his shoulder be banished to that same place LG mentioned above.

  • 2nd half resumes with Saka going off for Gyokeres.
    Now, Gabby Jesus doesn’t have to stay central in the forward areas. He prefers playing and contributing from deep, apparently.

  • The assistant ref on that side with another dodgy offside call on Martinelli.

    Gyokeres unlucky with that shot. I’d love him to get his goal here too.

  • It ends 4-0 and Eberechi Eze has had a vastly improved performance today. How we would love to see him replicate this more often in the run-in

    To be fair we could have added to the scoreline but the visitors raised their game in the second half and got more physical. No need taking risks with injuries as we have bigger fish to fry.

  • Don’t know what is wrong with Welsh rugby, Duc, but there is cert’s a swagger returning to the French team. Eight tries, free flowing rugby and an obvious joie de vivre on the faces of players and fans alike. I’ll be getting up to watch the 15th March battle v the poms.

  • Exactly Eris, I think the intensity dropped from our play after the 4th goal after that it was more about keeping something in the tank for Wednesday and Sunday whilst avoiding injury. It became more like an Emirates Cup game with the players enjoying themselves and putting on a show.

  • It was great to see Marli Salmon get half an hour alongside Mosquera, two teenage centre-backs and then Marli dropped into the right-back spot when Ben went off. In fact if Ben hadn’t gone off it’s possible that O’Neill would have got a run-out?

  • Norgaard again showed his quality, I do wish that Mikel would use him off of the bench more, all the same it’s comforting to know if Rice or Zubimendi miss a game or two that we have such reliable cover to come into the team. With Merino sadly unavailable for who knows how long we should see a lot more of our Christian in the weeks ahead.

  • A really great draw for the fifth round. Let’s hope Newcastle and Wolves do us a big favour by ousting City and ‘pool, or taking them to draining replays.
    Interesting to see Bukuyu playing centrally (how do you think he went, LG?) and interchanging a bit with Noni. With Max coming back into the picture we are blessed for choice on the right. Great, indeed, Kev to see Norgaard earning MOTM against Wigan. Quiet, understated but hugely reliable, in a Gilberto kinda way.

  • Mansfield away is a good draw but we have learnt never to underate the lower league sides in the FA can be a handful in front of their fans.

    Agreed on Norgaard. I feel he is good enough to start some games or come on as a sub for others but Arteta seems to have different thoughts, rather praising his patience and professionalism as a senior statesman in the dressing room. Not sure that’s what he would want to hear as he looks to elongate his career, but it is what it is, I guess.

  • I like to see more of Norgaard too. A great professional and talented. But… has he once said that he is unhappy and that Arteta had promised him much more game time? I dont think so. I think he is loving being part of this journey and play his role whenever and wherever he can. With Morino out and Ethan away on loan, we will see him get more game time. And, God forbid, if either Declan or Zubies get injured, he will be our man.

  • Bukayo at a Crossroads …

    I found him a bit, I don’t know, tentative maybe, Stu.
    Truth is, first we don’t really know how fit he is at the moment – he’s looked better, hasn’t he? – and second the efforts you have to produce when playing central, both physically and mentally, are very different from those required from a winger.
    “Classic” N°10s – Martin at his peak – are constantly on the move and periscoping the pitch so no pockets of space where they could be of use will go unnoticed to them; in a pride on the prowl they’d be the stalkers, full of stamina, with brains on constant alert.
    Wingers are jousters, their lane is the territory they have to be the undisputed masters of, through short bursts of raw power; they’d be the catchers, once the attack is launched the body, the instincts are in control – brains disconnected, breath-catching seconds are needed in order for them to be ready when the next chase comes up.
    Which means that, should Mick give him another go at it, Bukayo’d have to be given time to finally perform at the level we’ve been used to seeing him do on the right … and time, at this moment in the season, Mick and the squad simply don’t have. All games have to be won from now on, period … as good a surprise as Mick’s last-minute setup may have been Sunday, I think tinkering with our starboy’s position at this point in time might disturb, not only the lad himself, but the whole squad.
    Lastly – I think I’ve told you this before, mates – “classic N°10“ is not where I think Bukayo’s brightest future lies. I’m biased here, and being very … French, I admit it. I’m under the influence of the setup which brought us the unforgettable moments of 2 WC wins.
    This is 100% fan-fantasy football, no need to tell me, but this fantasy I have is Mick taking inspiration from France ’98 or ’22, with Bukayo given one of the “nine and a half“ parts performed by (and adapted to) “Zidane-Djorkaeff“ first – right behind Guivarc’h or Dugarry, sheltered (and given peace of mind) by the “Karembeu-Deschamps-Petit“ midfield backup; then by “Mbappé-Griezmann“ – behind Ollie, with “Kanté-Pogba-Matuidi“ having their backs.
    In this ideal fantasy world of mine, we’d have Saka-Eze behind Kai, with Merino-Zubi-Rice both protection and launchpad behind; but Saka-Havertz behind Gyö with Øde-Zubi-Rice behind is alright by me too, or again – tomorrow, for instance – Saka-Trossard supporting Gyö, their backs on a Zubi-Nørgaard-Rice wall, etc. etc. Nørgaard gorgeous pre-assist to Ebz on our first goal Sunday, is the perfect example of what kind of playmakers in disguise these three guys may (have to) be, btw – let’s not be fooled by the “DM“ label.
    I don’t think this setup is sure to be an absolute winner under all circumstances of course (there’s never been such a thing in football anyway), but what makes me think of it is the squad Berta and Mick have assembled last summer – adapted to it to perfection imo – and … the certainty I have Bukayo in that “free as a bird“ position would pile up assists, goals, well … dazzle the whole world of football.

  • Lovely answer, Duc. What a prospect, watching our starboy “dazzle” for the remainder of this decade.

    Difficult to imagine that PV4 was only an impact sub in that tournament. I do remember his pass for Manu’s goal in the final.

  • Folarin Balo-Goal is on fire tonight, isn’t he?
    And now, PSG have Ousmane Dembele subbed off for a niggle.

  • That was fun …
    Our boy has matured a lot, hasn’t he, Eris? There was his finishing, of course, but I found his link-up play excellent, too.
    A sight for sore eyes watching him play is (yes, you can call me Yoda LG – Master is only optional, though 😉)

  • He was all grown up and played with authority, LG. His movement and positioning for his first goal was brilliant; his link up play and run, for his second showed a man in form.

    Happy for him.

  • Good morning, gentlemen.
    I enjoyed watching a replay of that Monaco v PSG game, along with the other play off matches. Folarin had a fine game, as did our old boy Lucas Torreira for Galatasaray.

    Looking forward to reading the line up for Molineux…

  • Hmmmm. I..n..t..e..r..e..s..t..i..n..g….

    Mikel obviously reads Berkampesque, or otherwise LG has his ear.

  • We’ve taken our foot off the pedal, again …
    We’re so superior, couldn’t just drive the nail down, deeper, deeper.
    … and deeper?
    C’mon, boys!!

  • Come on boys, slap in that second and kill this image of the Slenderman creeping into my morning imagination.

  • I am still in shock! What was Raya doing not giving a proper shout, if he really wanted that ball?

    For me, if we can’t beat Wolves, we cannot make any pretence to this league title. And if we fail to win it, it will be the worst of all our failings.

    This truly is upsetting. We have a couple of scapegoat today and none bigger than Martinelli who appeared to be showing off to the south Americans on the opposite side than seeking to help the team win it. I would leave Madueke on and be taking Marti out for Trossard, honestly. He wasn’t affecting the game positively.

  • TA, Wolves was a huge game. For me, a win at Wolves would have set us up nicely for the NLD and the rest of the season. These boys are nervous at 6 points ahead. They may just crumble at 2 points ahead. God forbid we have such a situation.

    Having said all that, the season is still a long way to go.

  • All agreed, Eris. This loss of two points is a big setback. I am not going to excuse the team tonight. Lets see what they are made off on Sunday.

  • How can you watch players barely able to trot and leave fresh legs on the bench? Poor game management all round…

  • The fans are divided on two questions. First, how big our current problem is; where shall we stand on the scale from happy and hopeful to sand and season-burying pessimistic.
    However it pretty much came down to the fact that this is not a matter of objective data: it is based on the attitude and optimism of the individual fans, which has NOTHING to do with the form of the team, the fitness and skills of the players, or our actual chances in further games.
    It could still be a 4-trophy season. It is possible that there will eventually be only one or two. And of course it cannot be ruled out that we will be left hanging this year, too.

    Therefore this wasn’t the topic I am trying to poll here. Because I think the much more interesting question would focus on what wrong with the team is – what might be the root cause if we don’t win the league this year.

    The fan community is already quite scattered here. And allowing for several (maybe even all of them) to be true, it does matter which one is contributing most. Because it should be corrected in the first place, therefore our next summer should optimize around that. Nevertheless I think these are the most likely causes of our recent struggles, depending on whom we ask:

    A) Nothing: everything is fine with the team; we are leading the PL, terrorizing the Champions League, we are in the League Cup final, and in the FA Cup we are cruising with 8:1 GD after two games. We should be thankful for being disappointed after a few draws on the road.
    B) The injuries: we have a damn strong squad, but the boys couldn’t play together enough neither at the back nor up front, hence we don’t have the synergies and partnerships among the players that are needed for a trophy. We have a XI that not only can, but would likely beat anyone, but those 11 players were/are hardly ever available at the same time.
    C) Kroenke: that cheap old bastard didn’t give us enough money, despite seeing year after year that we will only have silverware without splashing the cash. Moreover, we can’t compete with the big teams in terms of salary either. If we want to aim for trophies we should start taking investments seriously.
    D) The squad: this is all you can from this group. Even though a class DM was signed in the summer, without a quality LW and an elite striker, we can only win games, but we have no chance for remaining on the top. We need 4-5 top players, just like City signed Guéhi and Semenyo in the winter.
    E) Arteta I: while Mikel has clearly developed our defenders to demigod level, he can’t seem to do the same with our attackers. He simply cannot unlock their creativity (or maybe doesn’t want to) making our play highly predictable after the first half of the season.
    F) Arteta II: the squad is already strong & deep enough to go clinch the final victory on multiple fronts, but his tactical, rotational and game management deficiencies pose a lower ceiling to our performance than the individual abilities or shortcomings of the players.
    G) Arteta III: Mikel is not tactically weak, but he “depreciates” our game by always wanting to play the same tactics with our (allegedly) strongest players always in the same formation. He doesn’t seem to acknowledge that a different approach might be needed against different teams, and that the strengths of some players work better with certain teammates than with others.
    H) Mental block: the team and the individual players are all technically, physically and tactically capable of winning the Premier League (or any competition), but psychologically they cannot handle the load and pressure of the odds in our favor.
    I) Luck: Our players don’t make more mistakes than other teams, but at the wrong time. We lose points by conceding 2 goals on a 0.17 XG. We are not targeted by poor refereeing, but when they make mistakes, they are more costly to us.
    J) Time: It is perfectly fine that integrating 7 new players to the squad takes a year. Liverpool won the league when they didn’t buy a player in the summer, and are struggling for making the top 4 after spending half a billion on new signings. Just give the team one more season, and the trophies will keep flowing “next year”.

    Which (2-3) do you see as the root-cause? And what would you do about it?

  • Debacle in Twickenham …
    England’s series of wins before last week’s lost Calcutta Cup had been so impressive, and now they can’t tackle right; they didn’t even regroup when the ref’s injury gave them the opportunity to do so – how un-rugbyesque that was!
    Actually, the Paddys were very good, of course, but what they did today was “just” execute the basics perfectly (but yes, Gibson-Park is a great player …). The importance of the mind in team sports is a continent yet to be thoroughly explored, isn’t it?
    I even thought there was an outside chance march 14th’s game in Paris might be payback time for Twickenham ’23; now I just don’t know – might be time for the RFU to decide today’s horror show was Borthwick’s swan song …

  • Thanks Peter. That’s a great breakdown of causes to be considered.

    Fact is that Arsenal are indeed doing really well in all competitions, but it comes at a price with a mixture of injuries and fatigue. There has not been any time at all to take a breath and refocus with two games every single week. In attack we lack quality in depth. Gyö, Jesus and Martinelli miss too many chances, and Kai is a fitness nightmare.

    But we drew our last game because tactical mistakes and fatigue, and the manager is also at fault here.

    Lets try and get 3 points tomorrow, and thwn refocus for the rest of the season.

    Onward.

  • Welcome back, P.
    Too tense right now to write anything sensible, but after tomorrow’s final whistle, I’ll do my best to come up with your-points-based comments.
    COYG

  • Not unexpected at this stage, but City ahead 2-1, at half time, with the Geordies giving signs they can also threaten. O’reilly is some talent.

    If they keep it at 2-1 into the second half, City should get jittery too. I must say they are on the up though, playing with confidence and intensity.

  • Ends 2-1. City held on for the 3 points in a brilliant bit of game management.

    The baton has been passed on to our boys. It’s going to be a humdinger of a NLD, if the title means anything to us.

  • What I’d like to see at ko time … (might answer some of your points, P., I don’t know … just tell me)
    First what I wouldn’t: both Kai and Martin Ø on the pitch, even if they’re available. None of them has been 100% PL fit in ages, why would they miraculously be today?
    From what he’s shown in Marseille, if there’s one thing Tudor can do, it’s get his players to fire on all cylinders. I find him to be a kind of defense-minded Bielsa. Just as El Loco, he runs his players into the ground, and it so happens he’s had nearly 2 weeks without a game, which is more than enough for someone like him to bring a february PL squad back to full fitness – physically, they’ll be ready, so we must pick players who’ll be, too.
    Now both Kai and Martin can bring a touch of technique on, or just after, the hour-mark, of course …
    Technique is the main reason why what I’d like to see (at last!) is (I know I won’t, no need to tell me):
    Trossard
    Eze-Saka
    Rice-Nørgaard-LewisSkelly
    Calafiori-Gabriel-Saliba-White
    Raya
    I think anyone can agree both Jürrien and Zubi were on their last lags, lately – Ben and Nørgaard benched again today would be beyond incomprehensible, imo.
    Myles, now … he plays very little, and when he does his performances don’t exactly set the house ablaze, I know, but … he’s one of the few in which I can feel the very same NLD fire burnin’, as it did in old-timers like Dicko, Martin K., Tony, Nigel, etc. (you name ‘em). Pick him, Mick, please.
    Upfront, now … Look, guys, I like ’em, I know their commitment, team spirit, etc. is faultless but when the three of Marti-Noni-Gyö are on the pitch, we’re simply not good enough. Technically, each of them is PL mid-table level at best, so it’s really no wonder that when they make up for more than 25% of our lineup, we can’t even be superior to Wolverhampton. (Having watched Noni play for quite some time now, seriously makes me wonder about Ethan being given the cold shoulder – and finally loaned out, btw …}.
    This deficit in technique, inspiration, creativity, efficiency is all the more glaring when a genius like Eberechi is made to sit games out. I still don’t get why it had to be that way, but … let’s just say, and admit, his first NLD was a false start, for some deeply mysterious reason, but the time has come for Mick and him to turn this “humdinger”, as Eris just said,into the real one …
    Lastly … they’re without Porro-Romero-Bentancur-Kulusevski-Bergvall, all sure starters if fit. So yes, we have to win, but it has to be convincing, too.
    COYG

  • Good background on the Spuds manager, LeG.

    That lineup wouldnt work for me, but i like your consistency.

    Big test today. You feel a win today wwill be a great omen.

  • When rugby is meant to have prozac effects (spoiler: it fails …)
    France 19 Italy 8
    They’re an excellent team, these azzuri. The score is actually harsh to them, “Les Bleus” have been good at countering, but not dominant.
    Just seen the lineups, Tudor has built a wall in midfield; we’d better be in a creative mood …
    COYG

  • I like the way you’re thinking, LG. The team needs some (minor) changes/tweaks, even in personnel.

    The team sheet is out and Arteta still relies on his main men for good reason. It’s no time to rock the boat too severely (easier if we were still in October/November). I was even toying with Kepa in for Raya since he showed nerves at WOLVES. But all of Raya, Timber, Hincapie and Zubimendi start.

    The Spuds clearly want to crowd the midfield and get physical on our boys, to get a result of some sort. It is up to the lads to show us what they’ve got.

    COYG!

  • Arsenal starting XI: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres

    Subs: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, Jesus, Odegaard, Martinelli, Norgaard, Madueke, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly

    Tottenham starting XI: Vicario, Gray, Dragusin, Van de Den, Spence, Bissouma, Palhinha, Sarr, Gallagher, Simons, Muani

    Subs: Austin, Richarlison, Tel, Solanke, Souza, Oluesi, Williams-Barnett, Rowswell, Wilson

  • This break/delay can only be of advantage to Spurs. We had all the momentum and were all set to score early.

    Let’s hope they don’t let up after the restart. .

  • Ebz Eze scores again, off Saka’s endeavour. Only Eze could have pulled off that finish.
    1-0 to the good guys.

    Now, can we keep going till we get a 2nd and a 3rd…….

  • Oh dear! Of all people, Rice with the error.

    Wrong man to play around, Kolo Muane. .

  • Hahahaha! I think Gyokeres will start to get more of the trust of his teammates, after today.

    Man of the match performance.

  • Season Top Scorer Goals Minutes
    2025/2026* Viktor Gyökeres 15 2350
    2024/2025 Kai Havertz 15 2800
    2023/2024 Bukayo Saka 20 3900
    2022/2023 Bukayo Saka 15 3750
    2021/2022 Bukayo Saka 12 3400

    Just an Easter egg: contrary to most commentators, Gyökeres’ name should be pronounced as Yuh-keh-res. The first sound (the scary Hungarian double-consonant: Gy) should be pronounced as you start the word ‘due’ (as in “credit where it’s due”). And the last letter sounds like ‘sh’, as you’d pronounce Schweinsteiger, not like Szczesny.

  • Interesting poll, PB. A combination of opposing factors go into a title challenge, you’ve outlined them in classic PB style (glad you are back, mate).
    If I had to pick two, I’d go for Luck and Psychological pressure, and add Poor Finishing into the mix.
    We have the squad with enough skill and power to dominate matches, XG demonstratively proves this. I think the only time we have had a lesser XG than an opponent this season was our home game v City, and my eye test in that match had us as the better team. Same in our loss at Liverpool.
    Luck is a variant that is hard to mitigate, bad luck tends to cover a multitude of small, seemingly insignificant failings, good luck is usually a consequence of persistent hard work. LG bemoaned the “Injury gods” as potentially being our Achilles heel. Injuries are avoidable only if you don’t play EPL and CL level football. The pace, physicality and match after match demands of modern football are incredible. What these guys put their bodies through over 90 minutes let alone the course of a season, or indeed a career I find frankly astonishing. It’s why the likes of Gareth Barry and James Milner are due enormous respect. Hats off to our own David O’Leary (722 first team appearances).
    Psychological pressure. Are we not feeling it ourselves as fans, even as physically removed from the field of battle as we are? I love it, the tension makes me feel so in the moment.
    Poor finishing. We didn’t see that this morning, tho’ a couple of good chances did go begging, but I remember Wrighty saying that if a striker buries one out of three chances then he is doing his job. Martinelli had chances against Brentford and Wolves which could have won us four points, Gyo has had me scratching my head many times this season.
    You mentioned bedding the squad in, PB. I sense this happened quickly with our new defenders and midfielders, but it is taking Mikel more time to get the best out of our Eb’z, Noni and Gyo. We are seeing flashes and hopefully the gelling will develop for the marvellous and very challenging March which lays in front of us… EPL, FA Cup, CL and a Carabao Cup Final.

    In the words of the great Steve Marriot and Ronnie Lane…
    “I said that things
    They’re gonna get better
    I’ve got to tell you things
    You know they’re gonna get better
    Yes, I got the feeling
    I got the feeling.”

  • Good team selection and far better game management, Mosquera coming on for Timber was just what we needed, leaving Gyokeres on pinned the Tottenham defenders so no conceding a late goal, well just about!

    Taking off Trossard for Martinelli made sense not that Gabby made that much of an impression, Odegaard for Eze seemed fair. Thought we might see Norgaard but Zubimendi had a decent game and his level stayed high.

    A week to rest up, maybe a couple of days off, before Chelsea, Havertz should be back by then.

    Still annoyed by the Wolves result…

  • “You Crush”

    “I want to get serious right away
    You-Crush, I got a crush on you
    What you doin’ today or any other day?
    You-Crush, I got a crush on you
    Just one look and I go insane
    You-Crush, I got a crush on you
    It’s true”

  • About your points, P. …
    I think (A) has to be taken into consideration seriously, actually … We’re 3 months to the end of the season, how many English clubs in history have been in such a position by then? How many times have Arsenal? (I, for one, don’t know …).
    Now we were indeed disappointed, after a few draws, or should we say, frustrated by quite a few of our performances. In every fan, there’s a “cruel to be kind“, “spare the rod …“ kind of passion burnin’ inside, isn’t there?, and truth is it’d be much faster to list our exhilarating performances this season than the … let’s say, I don’t know, perplexing ones.
    Many of the ones which kept us on the edge of our seats were played in the CL (Bayern, Atletico, Inter; Brugge was fine too, all the more so since Mick didn’t field his first-choice team, and Brugge have proved since they can be quite a pebble in the shoe of many …).
    In the PL lies the rub … which games deserve to be remembered as trademark Artetaball, not only as jobs well done? The two NLDs sure do, Villa’s 2nd half in London, Leeds and Newcastle away certainly – Newcastle, because of the reaction to blatant injustice, not for the quality – probably, but otherwise … I think most final whistles had us exhale a sigh of relief, because the results kept us on the track to the title, but not much more …
    So, why is that? I’d go with Stu about (H) … I don’t think the lads are not able to handle “load and pressure …“, though, but … well, I’m afraid I have to bother you with French football again here.
    10 of the ’98 WC winners (Barthez-Thuram-Blanc-Desailly-Lizarazu-Karembeu-Deschamps-Petit-Djorkaeff-Zidane) have now become legends of football, so it’d be easy now to picture them as immune-to-pressure natural-born winners. After all, haven’t they won everything winnable? Such an achievement may blur memories – in France, it certainly does -, but … the football they played during this WC before the final was atrocious, Zidane himself in particular was (very) poor, before the two headers which took him up to the top … Only after they were crowned did they become a formidable bunch, almost unplayable, actually, between August ’98 and the 2000 European title (with the addition of a few come-of-age youngsters some of you may have heard about btw: Henry, Vieira, Anelka, Wiltord, Pires, …).
    What I mean of course is that the way to the first major title of a group of players can only very seldom be a yellow brick road, it has every chance to turn in to a Way of the Cross. Only after it’s been bagged can a squad show their true colours, quality-wise, or so I think anyway … As a matter of fact, let’s narrow down the question above: how many teams have been in our position by the end of February, AND played mind-blowing, jaw-dropping, breathtaking etc. football? Guardiola-youngMessi’s Barça, maybe, but otherwise …
    Now where does my own personal frustration come from sometimes? As I’ve told you several times before, I have a feeling – for a club with our ambitions of course, not “absolutely“ – our technical level is not as high as it should be. I think that’s why we’ve struggled to break down “bus-parking“ teams, but also our direct rivals (Cheaty, ‘Pool, Utd, …).
    Now there’s quite a number of such showdowns coming up, domestically as well as in Europe … Mick’s teams’ bedrock is well-known, and undisputable – it has become our identity, hasn’t it?: 7 players from Raya-Kepa-(Setford)/Timber-White-Saliba-Mosquera-Gabriel-Hincapié-Calafiori/Zubimendi-Nørgaard-Rice-LewisSkelly … with Declan the only one absolutely irreplaceable imo.
    Among the remaining players, Bukayo, is for me, the only one with no equivalent … so, 3 positions remain to be filled. It’s very likely we’ll have to face again, not only City, but also (in Europe) some among ‘Pool-Real-Bayern-Barça-PSG. I’ll feel much, much more confident by then, if the three remaining lads in the starting XI were taken from MartinØ-Kai-Ebz-Leo-GJ9-(Merino) than from Marti-Noni-Gyö. Offensively, because to tear these teams apart, we’ll need one-twos/dummies/etc., not powerful straight runs; defensively because we’d be giving the ball away much less often – all these teams sure know what to do with it, when you surrender possession to them …
    Now, make no mistake, I love the 3 lads I appear to be casting off. Gyö, for instance is already a success, he’s by far the best buy of last summer’s CF transactions in the PL. There’s no question about that, and the three of them can – and will – be tremendous X-factors off the bench. But should PSG come our way soon – and for what it’s worth (spoiler: very, very little) – I wouldn’t lose any sleep about picking Kai upfront rather than Gyö, with 2 of Martin-Eberechi-Leandro-GJ alongside Bukayo …
    Well, that was much longer than I expected – not sure you lads will bear with me from start to finish, but it’s done now.
    Btw, what are your own thoughts about all this, P.?

  • Reading U21 – AFC U21
    O’Neill
    HarrimanAnnous-Agustien-Mooney
    Ibrahim-Julienne
    Washington-Clarke-Salmon (c)-Dixon
    Porter
    (Ranson-Ogunnaike-Marciniak-Stevens-BaileyJoseph)
    No Max D. – a lil’ disappointed
    COYYoungGuns

  • HT Reading 0 AFC 1
    The best half I’ve seen from one of our youth teams in a long, long time.
    It’s Mooney upfront and O’Neill on the right-side; our newly-signed Scot is the one whose name’s on the scoresheet … and what a goal that was.
    Won’t describe it, you’ll have to check it out.
    2nd half under way; COYYG

  • Reading 1 Young Guns 4
    Love these youth football nights.
    Our latest additions (Dixon,Mooney) have found their feet already, three of our goals were beauties. Too bad for the unclean sheet, but the young Royals deserved to score, tbh …
    There was joy in our football which, after all, is the first thing to be asked from youngsters. The playoffs should be fun to watch.
    Marli will be blamed for showing off in the final minutes, but his aura is just exceptional for a boy his age; I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Max were given quite some playing time at Mansfield …
    Well done again, lads!

  • Thanks Stu and LG for your detailed answer – and I did read them from start to finish. 🙂
    I don’t have the ‘correct answers’ either.

    I acknowledge that probably all 10 listed factors play some role in the big picture, but I refuse to blame the mental fatigue or psychological pressure, although many mates in the Hungarian Arsenal community advocates that we need to push really hard for the first trophy and the rest will flow. To be honest, I don’t really believe in the ‘winner’s mentality’. I mean it obviously exists as a set of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral traits but that would distinguish us from the Arsenal boys. But I don’t think that such difference would exist between Gabriel and Hincapié, or that we should sign serial champions (Zinchenko: 4 PL title + 6 domestic cups) to ‘teach’ or infuse the rest of the squad into winning. What I don’t share is the ide that winning titles switches a flag/block in the player’s mind; that Rice would be a worse player if he didn’t clich the Conference League or Odegaard’s value stems from his unexpected Spanish Cup trophy with Real Sociedad. Leicester City could ‘bypass’ this catch-22, and so did Liverpool last season.
    Nevertheless it is TA’s area, even if it isn’t his literal profession he is much more qualified to argue about it.

    You know me, LG, it won’t surprise you that I think Mikel’s ceiling is a bottleneck. I’m well aware it is not a popular theory hereabout, and I wouldn’t have brought it up just to provoke, but when TA talks about a “disappointing performance by the entire team” and even Kev acknowledges “poor game management”, then you never know…

    So yes, I do believe that we have a amazing squad, not only the best in 2 decades but maybe even on par with the Invincibles. We have Arteta to thak for that, but probably the 824M spent only in the last 4 years didn’t hurt either. That’s why I think we could be playing not only more fluid and creative but also less predictable football.

    I admit I don’t really know the coaching team dynamics. So it is absolutely plausible that just like Jover is claimed to be the mastermind behind our set piece heroics, and there are dedicated defensives coaches (like Heinze, but even before him there was someone responsible for our clean sheet record), so we might be only a world class creativity-unlocking attacking coach (Bergkamp? Cazorla?) away from winning the league with 15 points (or unbeaten). And perhaps he could be seamlessly integrated into Arteta’s staff. So contrary to popular misbeliefs I’m not an Arteta-out guy, but I find it indeed alarming that in the last 3 (maybe 5) years we have been ALWAYS playing with the very same 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 formation and for a year and a half with the very same tactics. Rotation didn’t become a popular tool even after crazy investments into the squad depth and bench quality, substitutes are position-for-position which often disregard current performance and fitness/stamina, game management is non-existent.

    I am so happy that we have players in the same position with so different profiles: Trossard vs. Martinelli, Jesus vs. Gyökeres, Hincapié vs. Calafiori, Rice vs. Merino, White vs. Timber, Odegaard vs. Eze (vs. Havertz), Saka vs. Madueke. But exactly because of this competency and profile diversity I almost find it insulting that Arteta don’t utilize it to unlock the opponents’ defense. Don’t kid yourselves: our ‘game plan’ against bus parking teams is to bring on the back-7 in order not to concede goals, and hope that are individually gifted attackers somehow find a goal. And when they find we protect our lead instead of trying to go for the jugular. We are at the top because it often worked in the first half of the season, but the 1:0 / 2:0 / 2:1 victories against bottom-half teams are acceptable outliers, but should never be the expectation (or best case scenario) for a title-aspiring team.

    So while I absolutely agree with you about our struggle to break down “bus-parking“ teams, I’m not sure if it’s entirely about technical skills. I would pursue different partnerships (maybe MLS, Hincapié and Calafiori not simply have different profiles at LB, but would complement our LW or even our LCM). There could be opponents where even a fully fit Saka or Odegaard should start on the bench, because Eze, Havertz or Madueke could bring the skillset that is needed to unlock those stubborn defenses. When picking which striker to start the deciding factor shouldn’t be the competition or who is the first-choice, but takng the defenders into consideration, as well as who could be more efficient against the tired defenders from the 70th minute. This is something we never see. In fact we are starting to appreciate when an overused first-choice player gets some minutes to rest, but even that did not yet become common practice. But it is only February…

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