Category: Uncategorized

As an homage to Sergio Leone’s epic western I should keep the sequence in the order above, but if I end this post on a negative note you might disregard the positives from the beginning and will consider me a killjoy or call me Pessimist Pete (if you ever wondered what the first letter in PB stood for). So let’s start with the sad parts and work towards the good.

While Arsenal fans are rightfully happy after an away win against a strong and high prestige opponent, independent supporters didn’t particularly enjoy the game. Gary Lineker tweeted it to be „dreadfully dull”. It might have to do with the amount of shots on goal (2-2) and the key passes (MU: 8, Arsenal:5). These figures are indeed low, especially compared to Everton-Liverpool (11:14) or Fulham:-Crystal Palace (15:11), but far from being the worst as Brighton-WBA (4:5), Liverpool-West Ham (6:1), Tottenham-Brighton (6:4).

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ElwiUnMWMAsDjQn?format=png

Rob Holding said in the interview that „we could have won by three or four”. And while I love the guy I don’t agree with him. We had about 3 half-decent chances. Saka might have hit the target with his header, but that was not a foolproof goalscoring opportunity – probably not for even Giroud himself. Similarly, Willan wasn’t unlucky that the bar saved de Gea, rather lucky that he managed to hit the target with his weaker foot. Furthermore, Auba’s curl from outside the box could have gone in but only about 3 times in 10 attempts, definitely not 9 of 10. And when Bellerin was fouled inside the box he was as far from creating a goal-scoring opportunity as one can get in the penalty area. I’m not saying that a 0:0 draw would have been more fair though; my point is that despite our midfield dominance (which didn’t materialize in possession stats) and defensive stability we couldn’t translate our superiority into clear chances, thus we weren’t particularly unlucky that we needed a penalty to break the deadlock.

Let’s move to the independent area. Modern football doesn’t really care about the number of shots to be enjoyable, though. We had many ’almost’ and ’soooo close’ moments, while Manchester didn’t. So our win is completely justified. Mike Dean was refereeing in a decent manner. And our opponent wasn’t particularly bad either. They are a bunch of skilled players trying to pursue a sub-optimal strategy. We were lucky only from the perspective that MU had Martial suspended, and OGS experimented with the formation (and I don’t see scary when Fred and McTominay playing in midfield together), while we – despite our long injury list – didn’t really have to make compromises from our best XI.

I am probably hopeless for wanting to see games like our 4:1 win against Liverpool (2015) or any of our 5:2 wins against Tottenham, but my enthusiasm is at bay if the keys to victory are „controlled hostility” and „smothering the opponent”. Nevertheless this was a fixture where we haven’t won for the last 14 games, so I don’t mind making a compromise here. But I hope that our scoring statistics will improve, as we scored 4 goals in the last 5 PL games losing 3.

And the good part: Arteta also experimented, but not with the formation, rather with players. And he succeeded; both the last minute inclusion of Holding and the equally improbable and unforeseeable pairing of the forgotten Elneny with the new guy Partey proved to be masterstrokes. However – as it was correctly pointed out by many in the blog, this performance was particularly strong from the team effort point of view. We didn’t have any weak contribution on Sunday night, and we had quite a few really strong ones. I won’t go into details, as TA and others have already been singing their hymns, especially on Partey and Elneny. (I don’t remember the last time when Adrian Clarke awarded split Main Man prizes before this weekend.)

But I cannot overlook the process that transformed a shaky error-prone defense into the best record in the PL. There are several reasons behind that – probably asking for a dedicated post – but the here are my key explaining factors:

1. Changing formation to 3-4-3 with 3CBs and 2 wingbacks
2. New Players of the highest quality (Tierney, Gabriel, possibly Mari, Saliba and Soares)
3. Extreme pressing from the top, notably Lacazette and Nketiah
4. Emerging leaders such as Luiz (short term) and Gabriel (hopefully long run)
5. Removing Steve Bould from the first team coaching staff…

We are paying the price for the 5-defender line-up resulting in fewer chances, less goals and some boring games, but this is a price many of us were willing to pay. Arsenal now has a solid, reliable, talented (and mostly young) defence, and a lot of capable and experienced players – along with gifted and success-hungry youngsters – in midfield and attack. Now Arteta needs to find the best formations and tactics to maximize the chances and goals. He might need a creative midfielder, but we probably have the right players, just need to find the best way to utilize them.

By PB.

Man United 0 – 1 Arsenal

Player Ratings:

Leno: 7 Not much to do but had presence and held the high balls well. Distribution could be better.

Tierney 7.5 You don’t mess with Tierney. Not faced at all by the opponents or the place.

Gabriel 8 See Tierney. Great presence and so assured. Close to MotM.

Holding 8 Wow didn’t expect him to play today. Masterful in the air and natural partner to Gabriel and Bellerin. A good Arsenal team needs a typical English CB. Holding is our man. Close to MotM.

Bellerin 7.5 Not as effective as Tierney or Saka but he got us the penalty and he fought for every ball.

Elneny 8 Positionally very strong and fine partnership with Partey. Tried hard to speed up the game with forward passes. Possibly his best game in red and white. Close to MotM.

PARTEY 9 MOTM First game at Old Toilet and he made the team play the Vieira way. We bossed the midfield and this was because of his physicality, intelligence of reading the game and superb passing. There were many good players but Partey was simply stellar.

Saka 7.5 Provided that extra attacking threat, especially in the first half. The boy is becoming a man.

Auba 7.5 Took the pen and scored the goal so extra point for that. Still finding his form.

Laca 7. 5 Worked hard for the team.

Willian 8 His best performance in red and white. Much tighter with the ball than Pepe. Unlucky not to score. Loved his maturity at OT.

Subs not long enough on the pitch to pass judgement.

By TotalArsenal.

Arsenal v Manchester United – November 01. 2020 – A bit of history.

With the end of WW11, the impending resumption of football led to the managerial appointment of Matt Busby, who demanded an unprecedented level of control over team selection, player transfers and training sessions. Busby led the team to second-place league finishes in 1947, 1948 and 1949, and to FA Cup victory in 1948. In 1952, the club won the First Division, its first league title for 41 years. They then won back-to-back league titles in 1956 and 1957; the squad, who had an average age of 22, were nicknamed “the Busby Babes” by the media, a testament to Busby’s faith in his youth players. In 1957, Manchester United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, despite objections from The Football League, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season. En route to the semi-final, which they lost to Real Madrid, the team recorded a 10–0 victory over Belgian champions Anderlecht, which remains the club’s biggest victory on record.

The following season, on the way home from a European Cup quarter-final victory against Red Star Belgrade, the aircraft carrying the Manchester United players, officials and journalists crashed while attempting to take off after refuelling in Munich, Germany. The Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958 claimed 23 lives, including those of eight players – Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Billy Whelan – and injured several more.

A stone tablet, inscribed with the image of a football pitch and several names. It is surrounded by a stone border in the shape of a football stadium. Above the tablet is a wooden carving of two men holding a large wreath.

A plaque at Old Trafford in memory of those who died in the Munich air disaster, including players’ names.

Assistant manager Jimmy Murphy took over as manager while Busby recovered from his injuries and the club’s makeshift side reached the FA Cup final, which they lost to Bolton Wanderers. In recognition of the team’s tragedy, UEFA invited the club to compete in the 1958–59 European Cup alongside eventual League champions Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite approval from The Football Association, The Football League determined that the club should not enter the competition, since it had not qualified.

 Busby rebuilt the team through the 1960s by signing players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand, who combined with the next generation of youth players – including George Best – to win the FA Cup in 1963. The following season, they finished second in the league, then won the title in 1965 and 1967. In 1968, Manchester United became the first English (and second British) club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1 in the final with a team that contained three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best. They then represented Europe in the 1968 Intercontinental Cup against Estudiantes of Argentina, but lost the tie after losing the first leg in Buenos Aires, before a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford three weeks later. Busby resigned as manager in 1969 before being replaced by the reserve team coach, former Manchester United player Wilf McGuinness.

Arsenal v Man U – EPL Away Games
GP	Date	W	D	L	GF	GA
1	24-Mar-93		1		0	0
2	19-Sep-93			1	0	1
3	22-Mar-95			1	0	3
4	20-Mar-96			1	0	1
5	16-Nov-96			1	0	1
6	14-Mar-98	1			1	0
7	17-Feb-99		1		1	1
8	24-Jan-00		1		1	1
9	25-Feb-01			1	1	6
10	08-May-02	1			1	0
11	07-Dec-02			1	0	2
12	21-Sep-03		1		0	0
13	24-Oct-04			1	0	2
14	09-Apr-06			1	0	2
15	17-Sep-06	1			1	0
16	13-Apr-08			1	1	2
17	16-May-09		1		0	0
18	29-Aug-09			1	1	2
19	13-Dec-10			1	0	1
20	28-Aug-11			1	2	8
21	03-Nov-12			1	1	2
22	10-Nov-13			1	0	1
23	17-May-15		1		1	1
24	28-Feb-16			1	2	3
25	19-Nov-16		1		1	1
26	28-Apr-18			1	1	2
27	05-Dec-18		1		2	2
28	30-Sep-19		1		1	1
29	01-N ov-20
Totals	3	9	16	19	46

Arsenal v Man U – All Away League Games
GP	League	W	D	L	GF	GA
10	Division 2	1	3	6	8	24
63	Division 1	12	17	34	61	120
28	Premier	3	9	16	19	46
Totals	16	29	56	88	190

Our away record against Man U is perhaps the worst against any other club, in our history we have played them away on101 occasions and only have 16 victories – the last being a 0-1 victory on Sept 06, 2006.To look on the bright side we have drawn the last two games – so maybe just maybe a victory is on the cards.

GunnerN5

Predicted Line-up by TotalArsenal:

It looks like Arteta has moved to 4-3-3 and with so many CBs out of contention it would make sense to go with four at the back, including FBs. I cannot see Mustafi starting his third game in seven days after his long injury layoff, and if Luiz is indeed injured then it would not surprise me if Saliba will start. If the latter is the case then there is extra good reason to play with four at the back and ask Bel to stay deeper than usual.

The midfield should see both Xhaka and Partey start and the third player could be either Elneny, Ceballos or Willian. I am going for the Brazilian’s experience in big matches.

In attack I expect Auba and Laca to start and Saka to be the third attacker. Saka and Auba will change sites a lot and I expect Laca to play a lot in midfield to help out Partey and Co.

I expect Tierney to bomb forward a lot and Xhaka to cover for him. The same may be the case on the right side, but it is more likely that Bellerin will be instructed to stay back as much as is needed and allow Willian to link up with the attackers, possibly playing most of his time in the ‘hole’ area.

There will be a key Vieira-esque role for Partey who will sit in front of the defence but will also be allow to bomb forward whilst probably Xhaka will cover for him. I would expect Elneny to replace WIllian after 70 minutes to tighten things up.

I have a good feeling about this game and we may finally win at the Old Toilet again. COYRRGs!!!!!

Arsenal 3 – 0 Dundalk

Well that was a refreshing game to watch. The Railwaymen of Dundalk lacked the power and imagination in midfield to really worry The Gunners, but they parked their carriages rather effectively in front of their semi-ancient goalkeeper and the boys had a job to do.

Eight Observations:

1. Pepe was unchained in a much freer role and played with a smile on his face. His goal with his porcelain right foot was a beauty: a little Irish dance of a left-foot-right-foot with the ball and then he posted the stamp in the top right corner. But it was Nico’s overall involvement, movement and presence that really surprised me; and, as with him, it put a smile on my face.
2. Runarsson started and this game will have done him good. We did not see him much in action so it is hard to have a first impression, but I liked his distribution and energy.
3. Joe Willock was majestic throughout the game. He danced with and without the ball, mastered it in the tightest of spaces and added total unpredictability to our game. His goal was classy and composed and I liked his presence on the pitch. Here was not just a player who was prepared to do his tasks for the night, but one who took the bull by its horns. And that’s what had been missing for a while. Joe is a technical athlete with good vision and leadership, and last night we saw the proof of it.
4. It was Reiss & Roll for Nelson who, like Pepe and Willock, felt like dancing with the ball last night. We spoke about the need for movement of our attackers as to worry defences and find the holes and opportunities, over the last few days; and Reiss was keen to make things happen alright. I loved his dribbles and team play, and he needs a few more games like this to get to his best form… and then the assists and goals will come too.
5. Eddie scored the all important first goal and Laca will have been proud of him. He pounced on a half-opportunity and breached the Fortdalk in a flash. It was not pretty but just what was needed, as Dundalk had defended valiantly until then and strong aggression was required by the Gunners. Nketiah scored a very mature goal. He had more opportunities and will know that he should have added to his tally, but, just as with Laca in many a game, if a CF works hard for the team all game long they will sometimes be too tired or unfocused to take good chances.
6. The wingbacks/fullbacks, Soares and Kola, were involved but did not overly impress. Kola tried hard and I always appreciate effort, but he is well below Tierney in terms of effectiveness. Soares seems to be a man of a few moments in every game and I would like to see more full-blooded performances from him. The right wingback position is there for the taking for him.
7. I predicted Elneny to play in defence but Arteta surprised by putting Granit at the back. It was very effective and he didn’t have to break too much sweat, so well done to the Maestro(s). Elneny, supported by AMN and Mustafi, kept it tidy and organised in midfield and allowed the boys in front of him to play all night long.
8. The last observation is on Arteta’s game plan, and I will use two quotes from fellow bloggers. First is from Allezkev: “I think that Arteta got just about everything right this evening all the way down from his initial selections, his tactics and down to his substitutions and taking guys off that he might need at Old Toilet this Sunday. I’m glad that he seems to be finally getting the hang of making subs, tonight was, according to Martin Keown, his 39th match as a manager so good for him… Second is from Highbury Harmony: “It’s nice to know that Arteta’s game plans are good and have attacking intent, it just took players who have been at the club for a while that know how to play the Arsenal way to execute it. I get that the level of the opponent makes a difference, but it was nice to see a total performance.”

Arsenal v Dundalk – October 29, 2020

The Dundalk Great Northern Railway (G.N.R.) Football Club was established in 1885 as a rugby football club.In September 1903 it switched codes to association football, setting in motion its journey to become the modern-day Dundalk Football Club. The new club, known locally as “the Railwaymen”, adopted the Dundalk Athletic Grounds (a facility near the town centre shared by several sporting codes) as its home ground. They played challenge matches at first, then became founder members of the first Dundalk and District League (DDL), formed in 1906. There are no records of the club being active between 1907–08 and 1912–13, but they re-joined the local league in 1913 for what turned out to be the final season before the outbreak of World War I. The DDL was dormant during the war, but the G.N.R. club entered both the Irish Junior Cup and Leinster Junior Cup competitions of 1913–14, 1914–15 and 1916–17.

After exiting the Irish Junior Cup in January 1917, the club appears to have been inactive again for the following two seasons. They re-formed for 1919–20, affiliated with the Leinster Football Association, and joined both the revived DDL, and the Newry and District League. They spent three seasons in the DDL, winning it twice, and also qualified to represent the district in both Junior Cup competitions each season. They reached their first final in 1920, a Leinster Junior Cup Final, losing out to Avonmore in a second replay. Looking to progress, they were elected to the Leinster Senior League for 1922–23 to replace sides that had been promoted to the nascent Free State League.They played four seasons in that division, before being elected to the Free State League on 15 June 1926 to replace Dublin club Pioneers, as the national league looked to spread to the provinces.

On 21 August 1926 they travelled to Cork to face Fordsons for their league debut, eventually finishing eighth in the 1926–27 season. By this stage, the team represented the G.N.R. works in name only, and the club’s management committee decided to make it independent of the company. In December 1927 new colours of white shirts with a crest of the town’s coat of arms were adopted, and by the end of the 1928–29 season the “G.N.R.” moniker had been phased out. With a new manager, Steve Wright, “doing everything except selling the programmes”, they finished as runners-up in both the League and the FAI Cup in 1930–31. Proof that they could compete at a national level gave the management committee confidence to press ahead, and the club was converted to a membership-based company— “Dundalk A.F.C. Limited” —on 25 January 1932.

1936 the club moved permanently to land made available by former committee member P.J. Casey on the Carrick Road, on a long-term land lease, naming the new ground “Oriel Park”. Almost 10 years to the day after Dundalk G.N.R. played their first League of Ireland match away to Fordsons, the same club (as Cork F.C.) were the first visitors to the new ground, with the home team winning 2–1.  Oriel Park’s attendance record is an estimated 18,000, set in 1982 for Dundalk’s European Cup Winners’ Cup second round tie against Tottenham Hotspur F.C. On occasions when Oriel has been unavailable due to works, matches have been moved to United Park in Drogheda or Gortakeegan in Monaghan. The ground has had an artificial playing surface since 200On occasions when Oriel has been unavailable due to works, matches have been moved to United Park in Drogheda or Gortakeegan in Monaghan. The ground has had an artificial playing surface since 2005.

Domestic records held by the club

  • Most Premier Division Titles: (8)

  • Most consecutive Top-Two League finishes: (7, 2013–2019)

  • Most points in a League season: (87, in 2018)

  * Most points in Group Stages of a European season: (4, in 2016–17 Europa League)

  • Most goals scored in a League season: (85, in 2018)

  • Largest Goal Difference in a League season: (+65, in 2018)

  • Fewest defeats in a 30+ match League season: (1, 2015)     

I can find no record of previous games between Arsenal and Dundalk, but given the huge disparity between the two teams it will be a major shock if Dundalk go home to Ireland with any points.

GunnerN5

Predicted Line-up by TotalArsenal:

With Luiz now out for a few weeks we are down to two available senior CBs for tonight’s game and I would not risk Gabriel for this one anymore, as opposed to my thoughts yesterday. We need an organiser at the back and I think Elneny is probably best suited, with Kola and Mustafi to do the dirty work on the left and right of him. To avoid these defenders to become too exposed, I reckon Partey (or Xhaka) will have to play and this may be a great opportunity to play AMN in midfield, who is a bit more defence-minded compared to Willock. Joe and Soares on the wingback positions and the attack picks itself, unless Mikel will want an experienced attacker from the start (Laca or Auba).

Losing a game we felt Arsenal had a good chance to win will always lead to disappointment, but I am a bit surprised with the more structural nature of the criticism of the manager and the team, not so much on Bergkampesque but on other blogs. Mikel is working on something which is fundamentally different from what we have seen over the last 10 years or so, and it will take time, hard to take losses and feelings of despair before we get there. We either give him the time or not, but if we don’t we will undermine what the gaffer is doing and it will become quickly unsustainable for him and the club.

It is a long journey and we just stopped on one of those filthy rest areas with overflown toilets and rubbish everywhere. It is horrible to have been Vardy-ed but let’s get out the hand-sanitizer, cancel the credit cards, take some refreshments and go again! Victory Through Harmony and all that.

Just keep those high expectations in check for a while; as a former stalwart on this blog from the lofty tops of Lake Tahoe used to tell us… it’s the key to happiness.

Next up are the Railwaymen of Dundalk and then we have to go to Old Toilet. But OGAAT – one game at a time – of course and, in anticipation of a possible historical post by GN5, let’s for now talk about how we could line up against the Irish High-Flyers on Thursday.

Many are saying this is an opportunity to play some of our promising and exciting youth players, and I agree. We still need a bit of balance through experienced players though, as no team makes it into the UEFA League group stage without being a decent team these days… And we can ill afford another loss tomorrow.

So I welcome your suggestions for your preferred team/formation for Thursday’s game, with ideally some explanations so we know where you are coming from.

I will kick off with my ideal line-up for Thursday (taking into account injuries and potential fatigue of players, as well as the need for a very strong and fresh team on Sunday).

My preferred team:

Another 70 minutes or so for Gabriel should be good for him and Kola and Mustafi have to play (although I would welcome the inclusion of an Academy central defender a lot). To protect the weakish defence, I suggest to start with Partey and Elneny and, once the game is in the bag hopefully, replace them with Willock and ESR to strut their stuff.

AMN and Soares need games and so do Nelson, Eddie and Pepster.

SO this would be my team, but what are your thoughts?!

By TotalArsenal.

Arsenal 0 – 1 Vardy City

Player ratings:

Leno 6 – did well to stop Vardy’s chance to make it two but offered a good chance with a poor kicking at the very opening of the game.

Bellerin 5 – lucky to stay on the pitch as it was a clear second yellow. The referees don’t like Arsenal but for some reason they like Bellerin – that was third time I can recall he was allowed to get away with a second bookable offence (Manchester United FA Cup 2015, Spuds 2015-16). He is worse player at 25 than he was at 20.

Tierney 6,5 – unlucky not to get an assist to his name.

Luiz 6 – one of rare players with a passing ability in the team. Was unlucky to get injured.

Gabriel 6,5 – another strong performance from the Brazilian. He has been surprisingly good for us.

Partey 6 – was isolated by his own men.

Xhaka 5,5 – what the hell was he supposed to play? A LB? A LCB? He was supposed to play in the middle, not wide.

Ceballos 4 – awful performance. Created nothing worth of a note. Games like this make me say: “Thanks God he is only on loan with us.”

Saka 6,5 – our only creative player wasn’t himself after Fofana’s foul. He was withdrawn due to injury. Poor touch on the ball in few occasions when things could have been better for us.

Lacazette 5 – he did score a goal that was disallowed for some reason but made another expensive miss. One of those players who has been burying Arsenal managers, one after another, because no other big club in the world is ready to buy him.

Aubameyang 4 – invisible. He was supposed to be our a) captain, b) top scorer and c) top earner among the registered players. He doesn’t play like he has accepted any of his roles. Playing him on the right was always a mistake.

Subs:

Mustafi 0 – the worst Wenger’s purchase of all times. In universe. If Arteta is indeed a righteous leader who punishes players for their lack of commitment, he should fire Mustafi to the Moon after watching the video of Leicester’s goal and the one when Leno had to make a save. Another gravedigger among the players.

Pepe 2 – offered nothing after introduction but at least he wasn’t at fault with their goal.

Nketiah 6 – tried something but never got a chance or a decent ball from his team-mates.

Manager: Arteta 4 – poor in-game management and inability to keep the same level of quality from the first half for umpteenth time. His gamble with Özil looks more and more pointless as every game passes by. He still has my support but let’s not fool ourselves – we looked so poor that we might celebrate finishing 10th this season (Liverpool, Man C, Leicester, Man U, Chelsea, Spuds, Wolves, Everton, Aston Villa, Leeds, Southampton and even West Ham look better than we do).

By Admir

The Big question:

I’ve been worried about chance creation for some time and it’s simply not by adding a creative player that will help. The quality of our chances being created right now is dreadful, aside from the occasional moment or two of brilliance we’ve only seen in glimpses.

We really need to either try playing Willian, Saka, Ceballos or ESR through the middle in a more advanced role to generate some more through the middle. A plan B of sorts would be beneficial in keeping things fresh, but I understand the attacking patterns will take time to learn. There’s quite frankly too much talent in this side to be as impotent in attack as the underlying attacking numbers are suggesting.

I’m still incredibly deflated, more so because the second half of the Leicester game was a carbon copy of the Villa/Spurs/City games where teams essentially backed off the press and forced us to break down their low block and we still have no answers.

Anyone have some ideas for solving the low block (or just some general positivity)? I feel we are too stationary and are ball watching, do not move the ball quickly enough and most players have not been brave enough to make the incisive forward passes when the opportunity presents itself.

By Highbury Harmony

Arsenal v Leicester City – October 25, 2020

 Some Leicester City F.C. records and statistics

Striker Arthur Chandler is currently the club’s all-time record goal scorer, netting 273 in his 12 years at the club; he also found the net in 8 consecutive matches in the 1924–25 season. The most goals managed in a single season for the club is 44 by Arthur Rowley, in the 1956–57 season.The fastest goal in the club’s history was scored by Matty Fryatt, when he netted after just nine seconds against Preston North End in April 2006.

Jamie Vardy broke the Premier League record for scoring 13 goals in 11 consecutive league games, in the 2015–16 Premier League season. Vardy is also the ninth player to score 20 top-flight goals in a season, following Arthur Chandler, Ernie Hine, Arthur Rowley, Jimmy Walsh, Ken Keyworth, Jackie Sinclair, Frank Worthington and Gary Lineker. Vardy’s goal at Sunderland on 10 April 2016 saw him become the first player since Gary Lineker in 1984–85 to score 20 top flight goals for the club, having already become Leicester’s highest Premier League scorer in a single season.

The record transfer fee paid by Leicester for a player was around £40 million for Monaco midfielder Youri Tielemann. The highest transfer fee received for a Leicester player was approximately £80 million from Manchester United for Harry Maguire; at the time of the transfer this was the eleventh highest ever fee, the highest ever move between two English teams and the highest ever for a defender.

The club’s record attendance is 47,298 against Tottenham Hotspur at Filbert Street, in a fifth round FA Cup clash in 1928. The highest league record at their current home, the King Power Stadium, was 32,242 for a competitive match against Sunderland on 8 August 2015. The highest ever attendance for a non-competitive football match of 32,188, was seen at a pre-season friendly against Spanish giants Real Madrid on 30 July 2011.

Leicester’s highest ever league finish is first in the Premier League in 2015–16. Their lowest ever league finish was first in League One in 2008–09. Leicester are joint equal with Manchester City for having won the most English second tier titles. The club has reached four FA Cup finals, yet lost them all. This is the record for the most FA Cup final appearances without winning the trophy.

Leicester’s longest ever unbeaten run in the league was between 1 November 2008 and 7 March 2009, to which they remained unbeaten for 23 games on their way to the League One title. (This was their only ever season in the third tier of English football). Their longest run of consecutive victories in the league is nine, which they achieved between 21 December 2013 and 1 February 2014 (in the Championship).

In the 2015–16 season, Leicester won what The Daily Telegraph described as “one of the most astonishing league titles of all-time” and achieved many new historical, club records. They had the fewest away defeats in any top flight season, as they were defeated only twice on their travels. They also recorded the fewest losses in any of the club’s Premier League seasons, losing just three matches throughout their entire campaign. The club produced another record for the most consecutive wins in the top flight, each coming against Watford, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Sunderland. Coincidentally, they kept a record of five-straight clean sheets all set against each of the same five opponents. The King Power Stadium home crowd in 2015–16 saw their team beaten just once in the Premier League all season.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

LEICESTER City suffered a huge tragedy when their owner Mr. Srivaddhanaprabha was one of five people killed in a helicopter crash outside the King Power stadium.

Mr Srivaddhanaprabha, a Thai billionaire and businessman, frequently used the helicopter to travel to and from home games, boarding it from the centre circle.

The aircraft plunged from the sky shortly after take off following the match between Leicester City FC and West Ham, and exploded into a fireball in the carpark. 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

We have had the upper hand when playing Leicester City at home in the Premier League – in 14 attempts Leicester have only managed to pick up 2 points and we have outscored them 37 to 12.

Arsenal v Leicester EPL Home Games
	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	11-Feb-95		1		1	1	0
2	12-Apr-97	1			2	0	2
3	26-Dec-97	1			2	1	1
4	20-Feb-99	1			5	0	5
5	07-Aug-99	1			2	1	1
6	26-Dec-00	1			6	1	5
7	25-Aug-01	1			4	0	4
8	15-May-04	1			2	1	1
9	10-Feb-15	1			2	1	1
10	14-Feb-16	1			2	1	1
11	26-Apr-17	1			1	0	1
12	11-Aug-17	1			4	3	1
13	22-Oct-18	1			3	1	2
14	07-Jul-20		1		1	1	0
15	25-10-20
Total:	12	2	0	37	12	25

All Home Games v Leicester City
	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Division 2	5	5	0	22	11	11
Division 1	24	12	4	93	42	51
Premier	12	2	0	37	12	25
Total	41	19	4	152	65	87

Under the management of Brendan Rogers Leiceter are a difficult team to beat, they are currently tied with both Wolves and Arsenal for fourth place in the EPL.

Given their away record with Arsenal I expect Arsenal to keep them at bay and we will maintain our home unbeaten record against them.

GunnerN5

Predicted Line-up by TA

The above is my predicted one (Willian may not be fit enough and I expect Nelson to get a game then), but I was pleased to see a predicted 4-3-3 starting-11 in the Guardian and I would certainly welcome that line-up:

Rapid Vienna 1 – 2 Arsenal

After a poor first half and then a poor start to the second half, Arsenal found their feet against a stubborn, well-organised but unexciting Rapid Vienna and then Luiz and Auba found the net to give us the win.

Arsenal were too timid in the first half. The tempo was too low, the midfield sat too deep and the attackers gelled with each other like sawdust. The opponent’s D area saw very few Gunners trampling its grass and everything we did went via the left side, it seems. Clearly, the opponent was expecting this and were keen to outnumber us there. With little in the middle of our attack and our right wing once again performing under par, it made for a dire game up to the seventieth minute when Luiz headed in from Pepe’s fine freekick. Bringing on fresh legs on the flanks – Auba on the left and Hector on the right – and pushing up the central midfielders to the area around the D made the difference in the end.

Player Ratings:

Leno: 4 – A game to forget for Bernd with not one but three mistakes that could have cost the win.

Kola: 5.5 – The game passed him by at times. Operating in such a tight space up-front is not for him, but he kept trying and had a few decent defensive interceptions. Together with Soares the weakest outfield defender on the pitch for Arsenal.

Gabriel: 7.5 – A very established and assured performance. Love him.

Luiz: 7.5 – Less assured in defence but an extra point for scoring the important goal.

Soares: 5 – started off well but he lacked the intensity needed for bombing up and down the right wing. Really disappeared after the first third of the game.

Elneny: 7.5 – another very tidy performance and he produced THE through-ball of the night. Very good interplay with Partey and all other players.

Partey: 10 – MOTM What a debut! Glorious midfield play with such composure, fine reading of the game and real presence. I cannot wait to see him play with Granit.

Saka: 6.5 – Had a tough game on the left without his buddies Tierney and Auba and RV committing so many players to their right wing. Still his composure was impressive and he worked hard throughout his time on the pitch.

Pepe: 6 – This would have been a 5 if it wasn’t for his fine freekick that led to our equaliser. A few of this set pieces were poor and his wingplay just lacked conviction once again. Time to find the inner-tiger Nicholas.

Laca: 5.5 – he tried and he hustled but it was to little effect, but he was also left too isolated and the service was poor.

Eddie: 5 – Nketiah on the left wing was painful to watch at times. He tried to play the Auba-role but it did not look good.

Subs:

Bellerin: 7 – excellent assist and spirited performance from the moment he came on.

Auba: 7 – excellent goal and spirited performance from the moment he came on. A real captain.

Tierney, Willock, Nelson: Not enough time on the pitch to pass judgement.

By TotalArsenal.

Highbury Harmony wrote (in the previous post):

Hard to accommodate an Ozil like player while remaining in the current formation, though!

I’ve seen Partey play some exquisite passes and same with Dani and Saka (even Xhaka too). I feel like part of the problem is our front three are all more inside forwards than true wingers looking to create. The chemistry and directness is still not there yet, as the understanding of where to move and pass to, in order to combine and break down a team is still a work in progress.

Fulham game aside, we looked our best in attack this season with Willian central, Auba up top and Saka/Pepe on the wings. If Arteta dares to move to 4 at the back, there could be a solution. I am maybe just a bit naive to think there’s still more we can maximize in the 3-4-3 to create more chances.

I agree with HH. An Ozil like player is unlikely to get a foot in, unfortunately. Also a good point about chemistry. I think our attackers simply get outnumbered a lot at the moment, so excellent mutual understanding and blind connectivity is key. However, if you look at Pool and MC they push up and then have the numbers around the oppositions’ boxes to do the passing and finding the gaps and cracks. They also have established that vital chemistry between the attackers. Numbers + chemistry = increase in chances and thus goals.

It takes us a lot of effort to get to the same potential overload situations at the moment. We still sit too deep and don’t dare to push up quickly, because we cannot afford to fall back into ‘Emery-ball’ in which we create and give away equal numbers of chances with the hope that we score one more than them…

It is a work in progress and for me it is vital to sort out the right wing of the team next.

Ceballos has a tendency to veer leftwards, where Xhaka is at home. We need him, or most probably Partey, to sort out the right side the way Granit bosses the left side of midfield. That is why I am so hopeful Partey will make a big difference in terms of improving our attacking play. He can do the b2b in an athletic sort of way. Only Elneny could do this until now, but I see him more as back up to Granit.

So Partey (and Ceballos as back up) can help us with the link up on the right, and Arteta will now have to put his plan in place for our right side of the team. It is not clicking at the moment, although there was progress v the Blades before the international break.

Arteta will need to get the right set of players together. Who should be our nr1 RCB, nr1 RWB, nr1 RFW? Their style of play and key skills need to fit well with each other and make the whole more than the sum of its parts. I have a feeling that Holding has won the RCB spot, that there will be a battle/competition between Hector and Soares (and AMN) for the RWB position, and that Willian is ahead of Pepe for the RFW role (like you I see Auba and Pepe as ‘Inside Forwars’).

So I am most excited about the way Partey will play and how he will help us to get the right wing working much better, and with that improve our attacking play significantly. For me he is the missing link. I see potential in Ceballos and it is great to have him in the squad but I think Partey will push us to another level. Mikel has to make some difficult decisions, but I reckon sooner or later we will see an established right side of Holding, Soares, Partey, Willian/Pepe – with back up of Bellerin for Holding (if we play 3 at the back, until Chambers is back) and Soares; Ceballos for Partey; and, Nelson for Willian/Pepe.

Finally, I am hoping that we will have a player who occupies the area in front of the opposition’s D a lot whilst connecting well with our central midfielders AND fellow attackers. Laca has been our main player for this and Willian did in my opinion a good job of it on Saturday. The false nr9 things makes sense when we have lethal attackers like Auba and Pepe on the pitch. We need a proper goal threat from such a player so I am happy with either Laca or Willian to play there. The latter is the better passer, and the former the better finisher but they are both great players and will benefit tremendously from a well-balanced and constantly connecting midfield and a much improved right wing.

My final, final point is whether we can improve further on this ‘false 9’ position and whether there was genuine interest in Aouar this summer? Or do we have an even better internal alternative? I would play a young man in that position, one who can defend like a full back or a DM, can dribble and can pass billiard balls when others are playing cricket and can score goals from all angles and even with his head. 🙂

By TotalArsenal and Highbury Harmony