Author: TotalArsenal

Arsenal’s Starting 11 Performances in just a few words

TotalArsenal

Our Heroes in a few words.

Raya: the man with two swans on his back. Could his night have been any calmer? A doddle.

Miles-Skelly: wisdom has no age. Showed more discipline and calm than an entire convent.

Kiwior: made us forget Big Gab for ninety minutes; there is no bigger compliment for an Arsenal CB.

Saliba: keeper of the castle. Found it so easy that he lost his concentration – just about human after all.

Timber: Vini, Vidi, Vici: Jurrien Timber, you just ate a man.

Rice: omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient. A footballer in full, Emperor.

Odegaard: they’ll lift you up where you belong. They missed YOU in their non-existent midfield last night. Bringer of relief and creativity.

Partey: the Emperor’s most trusted first soldier. Makes it all look effortless.

Martinelli: Became a Man last night. Perfect balance between duty and selfishness. Rewarded with the timeless winner. Well deserved.

Merino: epitome of a team player. Adaptable as an octopus and brilliant at all he is asked to do. Two assists to allow others to shine, says it all. No wonder the fans sing his name all the time.

Saka: he dinks when he wants. Perfect balance between confidence in ability and humility. A wonderful human being and footballer, and he is one of our very own.

By TotalArsenal

Arsenal v Real Preview and Line-up: A Night Made for Odegaard

TotalArsenal

So, we are just a few hours away from the biggest game of the season, so far. The boys truly rocked the Blancos at home, and now comes a test of nerves, tactics and belief. The Galacticos are not used to being outplayed, and in the second half they really and truly were. So their pride is hurt and they do not want to embarrass themselves again at the Bernabeu, that’s for sure.

But Arsenal are a pretty complete team when it comes to playing tactical variants, these days. Gone are the Wenger days of the one-style-needs-to-beat-all. Arteta can play Mourinho-ball, Ferguson-ball and Wenger-ball; he will adept to what gives us optimal outcomes. Sitting back, absorbing, and then pouncing on the rebound/counter is the most likely approach. With Odegaard, Merinho, Rice, Partey, Saka and Martinelli, and fast wing-backs, Arsenal can hurt RM badly, tonight. Our opponents will be weary of this, yet they must attack, attack, attack. The crowd will demand it and the large deficit does not leave them much else to do.

But then Arteta may decided to attack RM from the start and dominate midfield. Of course this is not without danger, as RM have the sort of players who love to run into space with and without the ball. But this could lead to an early goal for us after which we can sit back and absorb pressure. A fourth goal for us over the two ties should normally settle it. However, playing with a high block carries another danger for us: the risk of hauling somebody down and getting a yellow or even a red card. Playing with 10 men with say 70 minutes on the clock would be a nightmare.

I think Arteta and his fellow managers, and the captain, MO, will have a detailed plan that will see different approaches during different phases of the game. Arsenal have a great midfield and RM will truly miss the hard-as-nails (and probably their best midfielder), Camavinga. This is such an opportunity to boss this pivotal area, even at the Bernabeu. Once-Twice-Baby is puffed up with confidence and Martin will have been dreaming of this game ever since he joined us from the Spanish capital. Partey, if indeed fit as is reported, will also want to play his socks off; his friends from Atletico will have jeered him up to no end.

I have high hopes that this will be the night that Odegaard truly announces himself to Europe – the Frenkie De Jong/Modric of Arsenal.

Big games will need to be played by the full backs and their supporting wingers. They will want to get behind our defence from the flanks and the likes of Vinicius, Rodrygo, Mbappe and Bellingham are capable of the the best wing-play in the business. The beauty of Saka and Martinelli is that they are excellent at supporting the defence and then also spring a counter-attack with great close control, energy and thrust. They will get kicked, and I hope the referee understands that they will need protection. A fair referee is of course crucial, and from what the Duke of Normandie has told us I think we should not worry about this part of the game.

This is very likely to be a tense game for 90+ minutes, unless we can put one or two in the net in the first half. Don’t count this out, and I will put my money on Martin netting at his former stomping ground.

I guess our biggest area of attention will have to be our left side of defence. Kiwior and, most likely, MLS will play there, or is Calafiori earmarked for this one? There is no update on him on Arsenal.com… It also seems that Ben White is available again. If fit this would be a great addition to our defence.

Desired (not necessarily predicted) line-up (subject to actual fitness levels):

Raya

White-Saliba-Kiwior-Timber

Partey-Odegaard-Rice

Saka-Merino-Martinelli

It is a real shame that Jorginho is not available for this one, as Arteta could do with the tactical variant(s) he offers. I love MLS but I fear he will be earmarked for a sending off. However, a cameo in the second half could give the team a wonderful boost. Same goes for insomniac Trossard, and yes, Sterling, who has the maturity to finally make a difference for us.

I believe in these boys and as long as they keep cool heads and take one or two of their own chances, I think we will go through.

Ooh to BE.

By TotalArsenal.

Arsenal v Real Madrid 3-0: A Superb Team Performance Has Red North-London Dreaming

TotalArsenal

You know, just when you finally come to terms with it, that it isn’t going to be your season, that everyone, the media, Sky, TNT, MotD, the tv pundits, PGMOL, the Premier Lge, Lady Luck et al are against you whilst everything is going right for your main rival and you just want to see the season end. Our much maligned but brilliant manager, his coaching staff and our wonderful, wonderful players drag us back in and hope springs eternal again…

I never saw last night coming, I was expecting a draw or a narrow 1-0 win at best, just to keep us involved for another week.

At half-time I was anxious, Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo had shown us glimpses of their power and speed on the break, allied to the fact that we had missed the few decent chances we’d created, I’d seen this many times before play out, a hopeful 45 crushed by the quality and efficiency of a foreign rival with far more experience of these scenarios and an underlying confidence you couldn’t quite put your finger on, but it was in their swagger. Was it expectations?

I was waiting for the referee to give Madrid a decisive decision in their favour based on the fact that, they are Madrid. But our Bosnian friend and his capable VAR assistant showed a capacity for honesty and common sense far far beyond the capabilities of any of Howard Webbs mob of jokers.

I don’t know what Arteta said at half-time, maybe it was planned but we went for it in the 2nd 45, Bukayo and Declan in particular drove us forward like men on a mission. Declan has a love affair with European football and Bakayo is just a wonderful human being and footballer.

The Gunners drove into the heart of Madrid and showed why they’re so interested in William Saliba, because the Madrid defence crumbled.

Courtois was immense, making a string of saves; and although I’ve seen him criticised for his wall positioning at the free kicks, I think that takes away from the quality of Declan’s strikes and is almost like the pundits trying to find something to be pedantic about.

The walls covered the goal just fine but the swerve and dip Declan put on his strikes made them redundant and left one of the best goalkeepers in the world grasping for thin air, he wasn’t even close to either free kick that’s how good they were. In fact, I’m struggling to recall a better pair of free kicks in all my many years as an Arsenal fan. I think both were simply unsaveable: they were perfect.

Declan’s first was a work of art, the pace, the bend, the accuracy. We knew that Declan is a fine striker of a dead ball but this was majestic, it took your breath away, and the Madrid players looked perplexed and a little concerned after it exploded into their net. Arsenal should have made it 2-0 from open play as they ramped up the pressure but a succession of goal line clearances saved the day for the greys. Courtois must have made half a dozen top saves in this match, Raya made maybe one or two at a stretch.

Nobody noticed or commented on Kiwior, he quietly went about his work alongside the ever improving Myles, that boy is a dream.

Another dazzling dribble by Bakayo was brought to an abrupt halt by a foul but this was further out and more to the left of the goal, Courtois was favourite to deal with any shot on goal from here.

As Declan addressed the ball I know we were all thinking ‘surely he can’t do it again’ I know I was.

Well Superman Rice ran up and connected with the ball as perfectly as you could ever wish to, and it flew like a cruise missile right into the top corner of the net. Courtois was miles away, it was accurate, it was on target and it broke Madrid hearts. They just shook their heads and despite a late rally in the last 10 minutes when I was dreading a consolation goal to give them hope and an edge in Spain, we held out, all our defenders were heroes: Big Bill, Jakub, Jurrien, Myles, Benjamin and Kieran, not forgetting Raya, those guys were the foundations of this performance.

But wait a moment, just when we thought it couldn’t get any better it did. A slick move between Trossard and Myles saw the ball presented on a platter to Merino. Now what I like about our part-time striker is his calmness in front of goal, no Odegaard style miskicks over the bar for him, he simply took a couple of steps back anticipating a Myles pass and Myles duly delivered an accurate pull back with just the right pace for Mikel to run onto which he just slide-ruled it into the corner of the net.
Party time, Saliba was waving his arms as he ran towards the crowd, that boy knows how to celebrate, Myles had the biggest smile in football, everyone was dancing and laughing, it was as if a season of frustrations had been exorcised.

Can it get any better from here?
I don’t know, we should be confident of doing a job in Spain next week, after that it’s in the hands of the Gods and maybe Stu needs to have a word?

This season has been for the most part an anticlimax after pushing City all the way two years running. Questions have been asked of the manager and the club, some of them rightly, many just hyperbole, but we’ve also experienced some exquisite performances by this team, mainly in Europe.

Anyway, we can at least dream for another week and possibly beyond that, roll on next Wednesday.

By Allezkev

Arsenal v Real Madrid: A Big Night for Now And the Future of Arteta’s Super Talented Team

TotalArsenal

A big night for club, manager, team and supporters: Real Madrid are in town and Arsenal need a game for the ages. There is tremendous potential in our team and manager, this we all know. This season should be our first league win in decades, but too many draws (11 already), injuries to key players, and Liverpool just being more consistent than us, will cost us the title. Nevertheless, I am proud of this team and believe that the most important thing for us is building a base from which the team can continue to perform at the highest level for many seasons to come. This is exactly what Arteta and Co have established, and I cannot see any of the other top teams having established such a strong base right now.

The one thing that is still missing is the much needed “over our dead body will we not win today” approach to games. I am missing the ruthless leadership required to win silverware. We are too systemic, too organised, too professional, too calculated far too often. Some how the boys do not go for the kill enough.

For example, not winning at Goodison Park, and at Old Trafford recently, are a direct consequence of this. How do we get this sort of mentality into the team? Is it a matter of experience, of growing up in a team? Or do Arsenal need to buy a few players with this sort of attitude? I like to think that Declan, Martin, Bukayo, Ben, Big Gab, Rayo, Tequila, MLS, Jurrien, etc all have this in them. Maybe Arteta needs to give these players a bit more freedom to express themselves rather than stuffing them up with too many tactical instructions? Maybe he needs to tell the likes of Declan, Martin and Will to go out there and lead the troops and die for the team on the pitch a bit more?

I don’t think we need to worry about this for tonight’s game, though. The boys are always at their best physically and mentally for the big ones. But maybe a win tonight will just give the team the confidence, the balls, the chutzpah to push on and start turning the many PL draws into wins, as well as creating the belief that they can eliminate the reigning CL champions over both legs.

Arsenal may, or may not, prevail against RM. There are many factors that decide such encounters, such as luck, the quality/fairness of refereeing, injuries, etc. If the team can come out of these two legs with the strong belief that they are as good or better than Real Madrid, then that for me would be the biggest bonus for our young, fast-developing and mega-talented team.

Come On You Rip Roaring Gunners!

By TotalArsenal.

Bukayo, Martin, Martinelli, Ethan, and Super CF Mikel Merino: Let’s Go Wild?!

TotalArsenal

Bukayo is back and ready to rock & roll. Ethan and Martinelli are chomping at the bit after a long interlull, Merino just keeps scoring for club and country, and Miles creates smiles everywhere. OOh to Be.

Martin bagged four assists in two games and Declan got two. OOh to Be a Gooner.

Form is everything at the business end of the season, and it looks like our boys are just peaking at the right time. We will still be missing our established CFs, Kai and Jesus, but the return of Super-Saka after a long period of absence is the tonic the boys needed.

We got used to playing with a double DM pivot of whom one can roam forward, but what if Arteta went wild and played Declan or Partey in front of the back four and allowed Miles or Jurrien to support them when appropriate? This would allow us to play Martin AND Ethan in front of an all moving and penetrating attacking trio:

——–Raya———–

Timb-Tequila-Gab-Miles

(Timb)-Declan-(Miles)

—Ethan—Martin—

Saka-Merino-Martinelli

Now, I would not start like this v Real Madrid, even though it would be something to behold, but, at some point in the game, it may be just what we need to surprise and overcome the Spanish giants. We certainly need to up the creative drive from the middle as Odegaard cannot do it on his own. Saka will help with this of course, and having back the triangle of Timb/White-Ode-Saka on our right will give Arsenal a huge uplift. Almost the same goes for playing Miles-Declan-Marti on the left. But that extra bit of creativity and push from attacking midfield may well be needed to really end the season on a high. Martin seems to need it, and I think Ethan Nwaneri is just too good to leave out. Together they will add a lot of thrust, unpredictability and chance-creation/goals to the team.

What do you think? Too attacking/ leaving us vulnerable through the middle/at the back? Or just what Arsenal need to add some drive and deadliness to our attack?

By TotalArsenal (inspired by PB’s comments)

Eight Arsenal related Questions

TotalArsenal

The season is entering its final stage and, just for a bit of fun, here a few questions for you:

  1. Who is the most improved Arsenal player this season, and why?
  2. When all are fit, who would you play in attack and as nr10?
  3. Which one player would you add in the summer to make a real difference to our attack, and why?
  4. Why is our midfield super trio of Odegaard, Partey and Rice not producing more goals and assists, and what needs to change going forward?
  5. What’s your favourite Arsenal song at the moment?
  6. I don’t think there is a dedicated Saka song as yet: any suggestions?
  7. Where will Arsenal finish in the League?
  8. Where will Arsenal finish in the CL?

By TotalArsenal

PSV v Arsenal 1 – 7: Eight Observations

TotalArsenal

PSV 1 – 7 NO CFs Arsenal

There are many good reasons to love the beautiful game, and it is especially its ability to spring a surprise that makes it such an endearing sport. Let’s face it, we all would have taken a 1-0 to the Arsenal, or even a draw from last night’s encounter with the Dutch champions. With no CFs available and no goals against the Hammers and the Tricky Trees in recent CL encounters, who would have thought Arsenal would hit the net nine times of which seven were deemed legitimate? I really think we are on to something special with Arteta and Arsenal, but it is all about evolution and we may not see the full potential for another couple of years (or more). Every season, the team grows stronger and what is so typical of this season is that Arsenal are now capable of big results such as the 5-1 v Man City and now the 1-7 v PSV. The PL title has Pool’s name on it, as they are as good as Arsenal and have just been much more lucky than us. I can live with that. The CL is a hard competition to win, but Arsenal are thriving in it and the European teams seem to suit our style of play really well. With the likes of Saka and Martinelli to return sooner or later, Arsenal may well spring a surprise and overcome one of the Madrid giants in the next round.

Eight Observations:

  1. Facing Arsenal cannot be easy for opponents. Who to focus on in terms of goal threat? With six different scorers, more than half the team, Arsenal must have been so hard to read for the PSV defence. I love this! Everyone has a responsibility to assist and to score (and to defend); it’s what total football is all about. Our full backs epitomise this. They are such athletes and have an incredible skillset. MLS produced a peach of an assist, Timber rose higher than Haaland to score the opener, and Calafiori scored a beautiful diagonal across the keeper. PSV were utterly bamboozled by the omnipresent goal-threat of the mighty Arsenal.
  2. Arsenal have their jet-engines back! Rice and Odegaard were the big difference between Arsenal and PSV. The Eindhovenaren have very decent midfielders at their disposal; they certainly made the difference v Juventus in the epic games they played against them. But it was boys against men last night, with Partey and Rice dominating the base of midfield and Rice and Odegaard also bossing the area in front of PSV’s ‘D-area’. Partey is having a great season but, as per previous post, if Declan and Martin can keep their newly found mojo going we are in for a treat. If you want to know the difference between the Premier League and Eredivisie, it’s all about intensity and time on the ball. Arsenal’s intensity and tempo were insane and Rice and Odegaard were just too much for sorry PSV.
  3. Ethan! The embodiment of elegant deadliness. Pundits don’t dare to say it out loud, but yes there is something Messy-esque about his style and ability. Can you believe that Arsenal have both Saka and Nwaneri in their team and they both come from our own Academy?! Ooh to BE.
  4. Merino is such a good buy. The sort of player who can play everywhere and will do his utmost to shine. He has taken on the Kai-role with real verve and now has three goals in four games. But it’s his ability to be everywhere and influence play that I like especially about him.
  5. The full-backs Timber and MLS did not impress me with their defensive tasks last night. Miles cannot make such full-on tackles when already on a yellow card (against one of the UEFA darlings he would have been sent off for it), and Justin made it far too easy for opponents to cross into the box – this was the only weakness in our defence. I will need to watch the game again to see whether Ethan and also Partey and Saliba could have helped him more, but it was too easy for PSV to attack us at the right side of our defence.
  6. Combine the qualities of an elephant and a giraffe and you will get the CB-duo of Saliba-Gabriel: defensive powerhouses.
  7. I was especially pleased with the second half performance. It would have been natural to sit back after Arsenal scored the fifth goal but the boys remained ravenous for 90+ minutes. Arteta and the players deserve all the credits for this.
  8. My final observation goes to our Belgian winger. Boy did he work his socks off yesterday and what an allround quality performance we got from Trossard. That was one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt.

By TotalArsenal.

Declan and Martin Hold the Fate of Arsenal’s season

TotalArsenal

“Over my dead body!”. Arteta taught me a lesson this week.

I know that I am not the only one who has mentally surrendered the league to the Liverpudlians. It follows my somewhat Stoic mindset of lowering expectations and only focus on what I can influence. If I project this onto my beloved Arsenal, then it makes sense to believe that all the setbacks on the injury front and odd but devastating refereeing interventions, as well as Liverpool having a near faultless season in the post Klopp era, just means that this is not going to be our season.

Yet this way of thinking is exactly what the League leaders want everybody to adopt. Giving up now means that they can cruise to the title and maybe even win the CL in the process. Arsenal were on a good run but let it slip against the Hammers. West Ham do this now and again to a top team. We really could not afford dropping these three points, but it is only a game. Many more to come and giving up is not an option. “Over my dead body”, indeed.

Do I expect Pool to slip up? Not really, but we all love football’s ability to spring a surprise, and if the Scousers do slip up Arteta is the man to get the team firing on all cylinders again. It would be a miracle if Mikel can get this non-firing team – both in attack and in midfield – to do so.

Clearly, he needs a different approach to the low-block teams coming to the home of football. We just have not got the weapons to crack those defences at the moment. Odegaard and Sterling lack form, Trossard is best suited as our super-sub and has not got the same penetration speed as Martinelli, Ethan is good but obviously still learning. Morino, Rice and Partey are all not natural attackers. It is a tough one, right now, but with a clean sheet in each game a single goal will suffice. So maybe the team should sit deep(er) for the rest of the season and aim to win ugly for a while. Arsenal have the meanest defence in the League, so let’s build on this strength.

The real area of concern, but also opportunity, is our midfield. I just cannot grasp why the likes of Rice and Odegaard have just not been able to dominate this area much, much more. Partey is having a relatively fantastic season, but Declan and Martin are just not playing anywhere near their abilities. It is not for a lack of effort as both try their hardest to overcome their lack of form this season. Declan suffered with fatigue after the Euros and Martin suffered from a bad injury. When you look at their faces you can see the despair at times.

I love these boys because they really, really care. If Mikel can somehow get these two to their top level, I think we will have a beautiful end to the season (whether that means silverware or not). Easier said than done. Maybe it is time to bring an Arsenal Legend to the club to coach them. The blog’s name will give you a clue who I think is ideal for this, but Freddie or Robert would also be fine. The club needs to do everything to get these two pivotal midfielders to shine again…. Any ideas?

By TotalArsenal

Leicester v Arsenal Review: Who needs a CF hey?!

TotalArsenal

It’s been a tough few days for the Gooner family, any enjoyment we took from seeing our favourites resting, training and growing together in the Dubai sunshine was cruelly cut short with the devastating news of Kai Havertz being ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring. What had we done to deserve such bad luck, for anybody else a hamstring means 3 weeks recovery but for Arsenal it’s 3 months!

Fortunately we have a man in charge who doesn’t allow the darkness to fester and after a short few moments of despair Mikel Arteta got to work on the emotional well-being of his players, no time to feel sorry for yourself you have two trophies to fight for – what a man.

Leicester away on paper, given their recent results, looked a nailed on 3 pointer, although no Premier League team rolls over, well maybe Tottenham. But with no physical presence up front it was going to be a tough assignment. Arteta needed to be creative and he was as creative as he could be given his resources.

It was a miserable, miserable day, a heavy drizzle made the pitch slippery and ball control an issue, Leicester stuck 10 men behind the ball leaving the wily Vardy to plough a lonely furrow up front. Nobody can bounce off of a defender and win a cheap free kick like our Jamie even if that burst of pace has deserted him, he’s scored more EPL goals against Arsenal in his career than any other club (11) so the threat was still there in his aging legs. 

Ndidi had returned to the Foxes midfield and added a degree of quality and resilience, he’s one the club could look at in the summer,  Ayew did what Ayew always does – leaves his foot in, he’s a tough nut and he gave Timber an interesting afternoon.

In general we got what we expected from our defence and midfield, dominated possession and pretty much pinned Leicester into their half. The low block in front of Leicester’s goal reminded me of Marble Arch gyratory on a Saturday afternoon (minus the kamikaze cyclists) room was at a premium and as much as Arsenal tried to tiptoe through the tulips there was just too many blue socked legs in the way.

Leicester created the odd hairy moment, but that’s to be expected when the onus was on Arsenal to go for it, but generally Arsenal kept the back door shut in the 1st 45 even if our creatively output was not going to get you off of your seat. I was pretty much in 1-0 to the Arsenal mode.

The 2nd 45 was a bit more open, maybe Leicester sensed an opportunity to earn a surprise victory with Arsenal labouring up front? Leicester’s best chance came shortly after the hour mark as a low cross flashed across our goal with only a timely Myles Lewis Skelly toe poke preventing a far post tap in for De Cordova-Reid.

Arteta had seen enough and on 69 minutes he took off the ineffective Sterling and sent on Mikel Merino, but honestly was this midfielder going to turn the game in our favour? What had he really done up till now?

MM made a bit of a nuisance of himself in the box and Trossard, the recipient of some nasty ankle ‘taps’ moved out onto the left wing. On the 76th minute Arteta made the crucial substitutions of Califiori for the impressive but tiring Lewis Skelly and Jorginho for the disappointing Partey, Jorginho immediately took control of the midfield and Califiori added some energy and physical presence on the left flank and 5 minutes later we were, or I was, dancing around the front room celebrating.

A smart combination of passing resulted in Nwaneri clipping a diagonal cross from the right edge of the penalty area towards the far post and rising like a salmon to head home was Mikel Merino with twisted neck muscles to direct a powerful header past the helpless Foxes goalkeeper. Cue pandemonium in the away end and the birth of a new, melodic song for our new ‘striker’… Cue pandemonium in my front room with two bemused cats looking at me as if I was having ‘a moment’.
Well I kinds was tbh.

The weight seemed to collectively lift from the team and we moved the ball around sweetly after that, Leicester of course came back at us but the Foxes don’t have the quality they once had and we kept them at arms length despite a few crosses into the box. On the 87th minute the ball found itself at the capable feet of Leo Trossard and with Leicester stretched he had at last the time and space to measure the perfect low cross/pass to Super Mikel Merino racing in on the right side of the goal area who calmly adjusted his stance to left foot a low shot into the net, job done!

At the end the team celebrated but didn’t overdo it, we don’t want to trigger anyone do we?

I can honestly say that this was one of the most satisfying victories of this season for me all things considered, it shows that we’re still in the fight and Liverpool will not have an easy ride to the end of the season.

Nwaneri was man of the match and produced a sparkling performance that’ll excite the fans and give Bakayo food for thought and maybe  Bakayo’s future lays elsewhere in this team, that said we certainly won’t need to flog him like a pack horse anymore?

Special mention to Timber who had his hands full and Saliba who was getting his mojo back after Isak and of course the King of Brazil who never fails. MLS was so good they named him twice, Rice I thought had a great game, working like a Trojan, getting into the box, helping out the defence, compensating for an off-form Partey, he never stops running, tackling, passing etc. Sterling was bang average and basically played himself out of the team, you know, you want him to do well but you just can’t keep kidding yourself, he might be a lovely fella who his team mates love but he can’t do it anymore.

Trossard had a couple of control issues when in good positions but he never hides, he always makes himself available and gets routinely kicked into the bargain, he came off on the 87th minute to be replaced by Mr Tesco, always good to see him on the pitch.
Odegaard is still struggling to find his A game ( is he carrying an injury?) but he’ll still give you everything. Califiori made an impressive contribution and he never sulks, a great team player and a thoroughly likeable character. Jorginho brought an air of composure and control to the midfield, maybe he deserves to start the next game?

And so we fight on…

By Allezkev

Newcastle v Arsenal Review

TotalArsenal

No team I believe, had lost by 2 goals (or more) in the 1st leg of a League Cup Semi Final and actually managed to get through to Wembley – and that stat still remains after a near perfect performance by Newcastle this evening. They were aggressive, left a bit on our players and generally roughed us up.

Arsenal had previously lost 3 of the last 4 matches with Newcastle so this fixture is becoming a bit problematic for Arteta, who maybe needed a slightly different approach, but Mikel leaned into his inner Arsene and we pretty much played our usual way, but as good as we were against Man City we were this evening unfortunately poor.

Saliba had arguably his worst game of the season, Gabriel was rattled, Raya seemed edgy, Havertz was ineffective, I could go on but it’s seems churlish to pile into the team after such a great performance vs Man City, it was the perfect storm for the Geordies with the Newcastle fans creating a raucous atmosphere as Isak and Gordon made the most of the acres of space afforded them by us to run into.

I felt we created a lot more problems for ourselves by allowing Newcastle to get under our skin, by being too open at the back and making poor passing decisions and executions that ultimately led to turnovers. Martinelli had made some progress on the right jinking one way then the the other trying to create an opening, then he carelessly gave away cheap possession and Newcastle were off like greyhounds, a cross-field pass found Isak pulling away from Gabriel and his powerful shot blasted past a helpless Raya. Fortunately VAR came to our rescue and the goal was ruled out, but the warning was there, we had to take note and treat the ball like an old friend.

Newcastle were pressing us all over the pitch but after some patient approach work we opened them up, a sliding doors moment again. Some passing in the penalty area presented Odegaard with the chance to change the whole balance of play, to create some uncertainty in the Geordie fans and make the Newcastle players nervous. He should have scored, but screwed his shot wide and just as Havertz had missed that chance at the Emirates it was costly.

From the goal kick the long ball found its way to Gordon who flicked it onto Isak who took the ball in his stride and with Saliba flailing he blasted his shot past Raya. Fortunately it hit the post and flew across to the other side of the penalty area, Gabriel briefly hesitated and Murphy pounced to put it into an empty net. So in a matter of minutes what should have been an aggregate score of 2-1 was instead 3-0, and that was a mountain to climb.

Shortly afterwards Trossard had a chance, but his shot lacked bite and  Dubravka saved. That was it from an Arsenal attacking sense until the last few minutes of the game. Arsenal have failed to score against Newcastle in 3 of their last 4 games and so it proved again. Newcastle smothered anything Arsenal tried to create, our passing, so crisp against City, was ragged and we sorely missed the magic of Saka.

Martinelli went down with what looked like a hamstring and Nwaneri came on in the 37th minute to replace him, it just wasn’t our night!

Newcastle comfortably saw off Arsenal’s attempts of a comeback and went off at half time with a spring in their step.

We needed a miracle, a quick goal second half to inspire a revival, there was still hope, but that was quickly extinguished as Raya, faultless in so many games made that error you kinda dread with the style we now employ. Pressed energetically, he played a suicidal pass to Rice who lost the ball before it arrived and Gordon turned it home and with that ‘hope’ got onto the next train to Kings Cross Station.

All that was left was for Arteta was to make a few subs and not to let it turn into a catastrophe. Odegaard who had struggled came off and Trossard who’d been the recipient of a few hearty kicks joined him, on came Merino and Sterling. They did steady the ship but a comeback was a pipe dream although us scoring would have been good.

For Newcastle it was game management after their 4th goal on aggregate, the game was won and they generally managed the game better than Arsenal. The Gunners kept fighting as we always do. California came on for Timber and Jorginho for Partey, and close to the end Lewis Skelly probably should have scored with his head from a corner, but it wasn’t our night and that’s how it goes sometimes.

Trippier, Bruno, Tonali and Schar, in fact most of the barcodes turned up the volume on the dark arts, trying to get Lewis Skelly, Gabriel and Rice into trouble – I was dreading another red card, we didn’t deserve that, but our boys kept their heads and Myles came out of the game with a lot of credit, Ethan also had a decent game, Rice toiled away and supported Myles when that turd Trippier tried to provoke him, Myles just smiled as he always does – I love that boy.

As disappointing as the game was it was always going to be a tough assignment. In truth we lost the tie at the Emirates – but Arteta also needs to come up with a new approach to the deep block, don’t ask me what but he’s gotta find it? We’re great when we’ve got space to run into as was the case against City, but this was the reverse, I’m not sure that even Isak would have looked half as good if he’d been up against his own defence tonight?

The boys gave it everything tonight, you cannot fault their effort or their endeavour but it just wasn’t clicking and our attack, as we already know, is badly in need of some reinforcements. Anyway, off you go to Dubai you lucky lads and hopefully bring a fit Ben White and Tomiyasu back to the U.K. with you…

By Allezkev