Category: Uncategorized

You’ve got to fight for your right to Partey…

Arsene loved his midfielders more than any other positions, and he had so many (potentially) good ones over the years. In a way we were spoiled with all this talent at our club but we have also suffered at the hands of Arsene’s  inadvertently poor choices, especially in the last decade. The problem with most of them was their lack of fitness/robustness to survive game after game in the PL.

Most of our midfielders in the last 15 years or so either went too early or were far too injury-prone to become part of a title-challenging team. Cesc, Hleb and Nasri went far too early, Ramsey never became a reliable player in our midfield, Diaby and Jack were such promising midfielders but it stayed with that, Song and Coquelin looked promising for a long time but were let go by Wenger and, sadly, I can mention more unsuccessful Arsenal midfield sagas.

Emery was given the talented and promising Torreira and inherited Xhaka and Ramsey. The former has not really established himself yet, but there is still time. The latter has left for the Juve as to sit out the best years of his life on the zebra-bench. 

I know that not everybody rates Xhaka but all his managers have done and do. He may be a bit slow and now and again misplace a pass leading to danger, but he is the metronome of our team, our nerve centre, our heart/the pivot of the team. I am a massive fan and am convinced he will be strutting his stuff at the home of football for years to come. Arteta needs him and sees the Swiss maestro as his embodiment on the pitch.

There really is only one vacancy left in Arteta’s team and that is the position next to Granit the Great. Who is going to take it? This player needs to be able to do box to box footie, needs to able to defend and work closely with Granit when we sit back, and he needs to link up with attack constantly. He also need to have the physical strength and discipline to stay fit for at least 30 PL games. Xhaka sits back naturally and his team mate needs to be drawn forwards without forgetting his defensive duties.

Joe W looks made for this but needs to grow into the role. Ceballos is showing promise in recent games so he MAY be the answer; it is a big decision for Mikel to make regarding making Real an offer they cannot refuse… I am still not sure he is the answer, but if Mikel goes for him…

Lucas could still come good and Granit rates him a lot, but this combo has not really worked well as the Uruguayan also likes to sit a bit deeper naturally. AMN has a lot of potential but just like Joe he is a young work in progress.

So if Arteta goes with Ceballos then we should be covered in all areas, but if not he will need to buy, if at all possible given our financial position in the C-19 era. The name of Atletico Madrid’s Partey is mentioned and he may well be the answer. Some believe he would be a replacement for Xhaka but I think he is much more likely to be an ideal box to box player, and would sit next to Granit.

Not that Granit will not venture forward ocassionally. Arteta wants all his central midfielders to move into the box at times and try and finish off an attack. Xhaka did so recently and it was a welcome sight. The man has also a howitzer of a left foot that has been underused far too long.

But from the videos I have seen of Partey and his stats – 1.7 dribbles per game, 0.8 key passes per game – he looks like the ideal replacement of Ramsey. No doubt he could also play instead of Xhaka when required, as his defensive stats are good too, but to me he looks like somebody who would be the final link in Arteta’s midfield and with that the team.

Our current midfielders have a good chance in the remainder of the season to convince Arteta they have the right to party in the team next season. They better take it.

By TotalArsenal.

 

An almost perfect first half and dogged second one were just not enough to take all three points.

After a disciplined start in which the Foxes were given the initiative, Arsenal started to venture forward and soon we were in front. A fine throughball by Ceballos finds Saka who then finds Auba with a measured and deadly cross past the Leicester box. 1-0 to the Arsenal.

The Foxes are rattled and we produce a couple of good chances for the as always hard working Lacazette. He should have taken one of them to give us that all important second goal cushion; but as he didn’t we knew the second half would be hard. The visitors were slightly better in that half, even though they did not create much. Arteta tried to change the momentum of the game by making some substitutions and putting fresh legs on the pitch… but then Eddie gets a very harsh red card and we have to play 10 v 11 for at least 15 minutes.

This proves too much and the Foxes equalize soon with a dollop of offsite-luck through the most-fox-like-looking person on earth. After that we hold out for a point and the boys can be proud of themselves.

Player Ratings:

Martinez: 8 – solid, king in the air, and a good understanding between him and his CBs.

Tierney: 8 – solid, full of energy and intensity in his game. Final ball in the box always looks promising but a little bit more composure is still needed. A joy to watch though and truly un-droppable for Arteta now.

Luiz: – 7.5 – led the team and read the game so well for almost the entirematch.

Mustafi: 7.5 – fought like a tiger and seems to feel at home next to Luiz.

Bellerin: 7.5 – much improved attacking play and unlucky not to have an assist to his name due to Laca’s aerial scoring limitations.

Xhaka: 7.5 – worked his socks off against a strong Leicester midfield.

Ceballos: 8 – same as Xhaka – with whom he forms a good partnership now – but extra half point for his fine throughball for Auba’s goal.

Auba: 9 – MOTM sublime team game and he scored the only goal. Great support to his left-sided defenders and just such a great leader to have in the team.

Laca: 6 – worked his socks off but did not fulfill the first line of his job description.

Saka: 8 – created chances and chaos in the Foxes defence and a very fine assist to boot.

Subs: none of them played long enough to score them fairly, and the reduction to ten men strongly influenced their ability to help us protect/extend the winning position we had.

By TotalArsenal.

Arsenal v Leicester City – July 7^th, 2020

 Formed in 1884 by a group of old boys of Wyggeston School as “Leicester Fosse”, the club joined The Football Association in 1890. Before moving to Filbert Street in 1891, the club played at five different grounds, including Victoria Park south-east of the city centre and the Belgrave Road Cycle and Cricket Ground. The club also joined the Midland League in 1891, and were elected to Division Two of the Football League in 1894 after finishing second.  In 1907–08 the club finished as Second Division runners-up, gaining promotion to the First Division, at that time, the highest level of English football. However, the club were relegated after a single season which included the club’s record defeat, a 12–0 loss against Nottingham Forest.

In 1919, when League football resumed after World War I, Leicester Fosse ceased trading due to financial difficulties of which little is known. The club was reformed as “Leicester City Football Club”, particularly appropriate as the borough of Leicester had recently been given city status. Following the name change, the club enjoyed moderate success in the 1920s; under the management of Peter Hodge, who left in May 1926 to be replaced two months later by Willie Orr; and with record goal scorer Arthur Chandler in the side they won the Division Two title in 1924–25 and recorded their second-highest league finish in 1928–29 as runners-up by a single point to Sheffield Wednesday. However, the 1930s saw a downturn in fortunes, with the club relegated in 1934–35 and, after promotion in 1936–37, another relegation in 1938–39 would see them finish the decade in Division Two.

They bounced around through Div 1, Div 2, the Championship and the Premier League from 1937-38 until 2013-14 when they finally settled down in the Premier League.…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Leicester won the 2015–16 Premier League, their first top-level football championship. They are one of only (now) eight clubs to have won the Premier League since its inception in 1992. A number of newspapers described Leicester’s title win as the greatest sporting shock ever; multiple bookmakers had never paid out at such long odds for any sport. As a result, the team was dubbed “The Unbelievables”, a spin-off harking back to Arsenal’s undefeated team “The Invincibles”. The club’s previous highest finish was second place in the top flight, in 1928–29, then known as the First Division.

Throughout their history, Leicester has spent all but one season in the top two divisions of English football. They hold a joint-highest number of second-tier titles- six Division 2 and one Championship. The club have been FA Cup finalists four times, won the League Cup three times, and competed in four European campaigns. 

If football were simply a game of numbers then Leicester City would stand no chance of getting any sort of result at The Emirates on Tuesday. They have only taken home a single point on Arsenal ground in thirteen attempts and that was twenty five years ago on February 11^th, 1995, and overall we have out scored them thirty six to eleven.

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
Total:		12	1	0	36	11	25

Our overall historic home record is very impressive with Leicester only winning four games in sixty three attempts and they have been outscored one hundred and fifty one to sixty four.

But we all know that both teams have changed immeasurably in the past few seasons with Leicester sitting in third place and nine points ahead of us in the Premier. Brendan Rogers joined Leicester City from Celtic in February 2019 and has them playing some top class football. Mikel Arteta has only had a few months to mould Arsenal in his style of play and in the last three games it appears to be coming to fruition.

This is a very difficult game to forecast but my earnest feeling is that Arteta has the team well enough drilled to keep the winning streak alive.

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	1	0	36	11	25
Total	41	18	4	151	64	87

GunnerN5

TA’s ideal team to beat the Foxes:

3-4/5-2 with a return of El Torro and a start for Laca. Saka in the hole or a bit deeper to keep the midfield tight. A start for Ceballos is also okay with me and maybe Pepe gets to play and celebrate the birth of his baby,,,

COYRRGs!

Arteta is a career-salvager genius – 8 observations from Molineux Stadium (Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Arsenal).

1. We are so lucky with Emiliano Martinez. Not just because he is a capable keeper with quick reflexes and fine distribution, but also because he is patient, doesn’t mind playing second fiddle behind Leno, and yet doesn’t disappoint when he is given a chance. I don’t know how many teams have a back-up (cup) goalkeeper with 6 clean sheets out of 8 league starts. He was humble in his years with the club, and I’m happy he is making up for lost time. He made a long journey from his blunder against Reading in that unforgettable 5-7 game to having back-to-back clean sheets in away games.
2. Kolasinac has been reinvented big time! He was signed with high expectations, as he was the LB of the Bundesliga team of the season just before his (free) transfer. And after a few decent performances we had the understanding that his best position is LWB as he is a beast in attack (’the Bosnian Hulk’), but largely unimpressive – if not untalented – when it comes to defence. Well, yesterday he was WhoScored’s MOTM, and while we know that this is a statistics-fetishist bunch, hats off to Sead for his 4 tackles (field high together with Xhaka and AMN), 5 interceptions (field high), 2 clearances, 1 block and 1 dribble. And I didn’t notice Wolves were deliberately targeting him.
3. TA sometimes has demonic prognostication skills. He didn’t only foresee all 11 starting players (and 2 substitutions) in his lineup-prediction below GN5’s fine preview post, he also foretold this being young Saka’s evening. And Buyako – who has recently signed a new 4+1 year contract, committing his future to the club – did deliver, scoring his first Premier League goal. Thus becoming the youngest Arsenal goal scorer in a PL game since the Ox in 2012, the youngest British Arsenal goal scorer in an away PL game since Robson in 1981 and the youngest Academy graduate ever scoring in the Premier League (assuming Fabregas is a La Masia graduate).
4. As LeGall pointed out perfectly, Lacazette showed not only his greatness as a striker but as a team-mate as well by not complaining about the internal competition with Nketiah, but playing full steam when coming in, pressing and harassing the defence. He has the skills and experience to use the occasional technical or mental slip as the opponent’s CBs grew tired, and he finished with aplomb. That was surely good for his confidence, but was good to Arteta’s and the team’s self-esteem as well. Him competing and mentoring Eddie is a great promise for the upcoming seasons (unless he ends up swapped for Thomas Partey).
5. Arteta is gambling with substitutions, but so far it seems to work. To be frank I didn’t expect to substitute AMN for Tierney. If I would have to replace the tired Scotsman I would either have substituted him with Holding and have swapped Rob with Sead, moving Kolasinac into LWB/LM, or have substituted Kieran with Nelson, moving him to RW and reposition Saka to LM. Anyway, bringing in Ainsley was a genius move that AMN acknowledged with a solid performance – his best of the season. The Saka-Willock move was also unexpected – especially as he had a genuine RW on the bench – but was similarly successful.
6. Let’s keep Joe Willock. If you followed my comments, I wasn’t the biggest fan of young Joseph. I saw him as a diligent, hard-working, muscular athlete, but I wasn’t fond of a midfielder with such limited passing skills. I never doubted his dribbling and shooting abilities, but he didn’t feel Arsenal quality for me. And while I still wouldn’t prefer him a starter the last few games showed me how valuable his pace and aggression as a late sub are. He can make up for his lack of technical savvy with his speed and energy in the final phase of the games, he is driven, can bully midfielders and defenders alike. Well, I still don’t know if Willock is an AM, B2B CM or a winger, but if he can maintain this intensity for the last 20 minutes, pressing high and creating chances, then who cares?
7. Despite the obvious and important improvement at the back, this is not Wengerball, not even Emeryball. Probably it will never be. But putting this clearly fine performance into perspective, we painfully didn’t create enough chances from open play in the middle. Yes, Arteta changed our luck with VAR, hitting the post or forced errors – peace be upon him – and greatly improved our wing-play, but without Sanchez, Ozil and Ramsey we don’t have a squad capable of playing attractively and scoring the eye-candy goals like we did against Leicester and Everton Last season. I’m obviously old school but I would swap 2 dangerous crosses from the byline to a through ball from the middle by our CM/AM any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
8. Arsenal has developed game management skills. This might be even stranger than beating a team above us on the table in an away game. We played focused – especially in closing minutes of both halves, without the trademark lapses of concentration. We responded to the changes made by the opponent. We played a disciplined way – even though I didn’t particularly like the time wasting in the end. We pressed as a team when trying to dominate the game and we defended united when the opponent put their pressing in the 5th gear protecting our lead. We committed some tactical fouls to release some pressure. I’m not saying I would prefer to see this in every game, but it is good to know that the boys are capable of this side of the game, too.

By PBarany

A battling, fine win at Molineux that all of a sudden offers a way into the top five. We will analyse the game over the coming days, but here are BK’s player ratings.

Player Ratings

Martinez: 8 – Did he make a mistake yet since replacing Bernd? Great interceptions and anticipation of danger. Offers real presence from set-pieces and on one-to-ones with attackers. Love him.

Mustafi: 7.5 – MOTM according to BBC football. Offered real presence and showed again his ability to outleap his opponents time and again. His distribution and passing out of defence was below par but he did well defensively and has become one of Arteta’s first choices.

David Luiz: 7.5 – Had a fine game and lead his defence effectively. There were a few moments when Wolves threatened to overwhelm us in the second half but Luiz’s presence and decisive interventions redressed the balance straightaway. This was vital.

Kolasinac: 7 – Slowly improving game by game. Closed a lot of gaps and did not allow his opponents any time on the ball.

Soares: 7 – Tenacious and energetic. Just looks like he has been playing for us for ages. Great pass to Auba for our first goal. We needed that quick thinking and accurate pass to break open the stubborn, well-organised Wolves’ defence.

Ceballos: 7.5 – Disciplined and tenacious. This time he had to sit deeper to protect the defence with Xhaka. So no sexy throughballs on this occasion but graft and discipline instead. He nevertheless produced some lovely touches and passes. Is growing on me.

Xhaka: 8 and MOTM – Another great shift by the Swiss maestro against a very strong Wolves midfield. A good DM is often at the place of danger at the right time – it is a sense Granit has in abundance; Xhaka did that time and again. His passing was crisp, he interceptions forceful and his positioning spot on all night. Einfach Wonderbra.

Tierney: 7 – Getting better every game. There is more than a bit of an Ashley Cole about him.

Saka: 7.5 – Sumptuous goal that made all the difference. In my overenthusiasm I called it Messi-esque but there really are only a few who can ‘pass-volley’ the ball in like that from such a high bouncing ball at speed. Would like him to play a bit more central than he did but another good game.

Nketiah: 7 – Put in a shift and was unlucky not to score with a fearless attempt before Saka scored. Linked up well with the other attackers and plays with great energy and confidence. Really gives Laca a run for his money now.

Aubameyang: 8 – Put in a great shift and had such desire to do well for the team and set an example, which of course is super important in games like these.

The Subs:

Bellerin: 6 – Took over well from Soares. Couple of a good interceptions.

Torreira: – Not long enough on the pitch to rate him.

AMN: 7.5 – Loved his presence on the pitch straightaway. A couple of great tackles and he helped us to re-boss the Wolves again. Great tactical sub by Arteta.

Willock: 7 – Similar to AMN, he added presence and a good passing outlet. Joe topped it off with a fine assist for Laca’s goal.

Laca: 7.5 – Superbly taken goal with a smooth first touch and a wicked diagonal shot into the far corner. Alex needed that goal badly and so did we, the supporters, too.

By TotalArsenal.

 

Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers – July 4^th, 2020

 

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as Wolves, is based in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Formed as St. Luke’s FC in 1877, the club has played at Molineux Stadium since 1889 and competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football, after winning the 2017–18 EFL Championship. Wolves also compete in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League: this is the first time the club has qualified for a European tournament for 39 years, by virtue of finishing in seventh place in the 2018–19 Premier League, their first season in the top tier since the 2011–12 season.

Wolves was one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888. The club in 2019–20 is enjoying its 65th season of top flight football; Wolves’ longest continuous period in the top tier was 26 consecutive seasons in the 33 years between 1932 and 1965. In the 1950s, Wolves were English League champions three times (1953–54, 1957–58 and 1958–59), under the management of Stan Cullis. Wolves have also finished League runners-up on five occasions, most recently in 1959–60.

Wolves have won the FA Cup four times, most recently in 1960, and finished runners-up on a further four occasions. The club has also won the Football League Cup twice, in 1974 and 1980.

In 1953, Wolves was one of the first British clubs to install floodlights, taking part in televised “floodlit friendlies” against leading overseas club sides between 1953 and 1956 in the run-up to the creation of the European Cup in 1955 and the first participation of an English club side in that competition in 1956. Wolves reached the quarter-finals of the 1959–60 European Cup and the semi-finals of the 1960–61 European Cup Winners’ Cup, and were runners-up to Tottenham Hotspur in the inaugural UEFA Cup Final in 1972.

Wolves’ traditional kit consists of old gold shirts and socks and black shorts. Since 1979 the kit has also featured the club’s “wolf’s head” badge. Wolves have long-standing rivalries with other West Midlands clubs, the main one being with West Bromwich Albion, against whom they contest the Black Country derby, although the two clubs have not met since 2011–12, the last time they competed in the same division.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

On September 24, 1904 Arsenal played their first Division 1 game it was a home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers and was also the day we scored our first ever top flight goal.

Charlie Satterthwaite holds the honour of scoring Arsenal’s first ever goal in the First Division. The striker had a keen eye for goal during his six-year spell with the Club and scored 48 times in 141 appearances. Satterthwaite made history on September 24, 1904 with the opening strike in a 2-0 victory over Wolves – Arsenal’s first goal and victory of their maiden campaign in the top flight of English football. He had joined five months earlier from West Ham and made his debut on the opening day of the 1904/05 campaign in a 3-0 loss to Newcastle. Satterthwaite finished as the team’s top goal scorer that year and also in 1906/07 (with 19 goals) before retiring in 1910 at the age of 33. His younger brother Joe also played for Arsenal, which made them the first siblings to achieve the feat. 

So we managed to beat Wolves in our second game in League Division 1 – 116 years ago, the big question is – can we beat the 2020 version of Wolves at a crowd-less Molineux Stadium?

They are an extremely well managed and disciplined team under the tutelage of  manager Nuno Espírito Santo and are currently one place above us in the Premier League and six points ahead of us.

This is the first of four very tough games against Wolves, Leicester, Spurs and Liverpool, only an extreme optimist can see us coming out of these games with more than 50% of the points – so being more of a realist my forecast will be D, W, D, L. 

We have an excellent away record against Wolves losing only once in our last visit. 

Arsenal v Wolves – EPL Away Games
		W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	07-Feb-04	1			3	1	2
2	07-Nov-09	1			4	1	3
3	10-Nov-10	1			2	0	2
4	11-Apr-12	1			3	0	3
5	24-Apr-19			1	1	3	-2
6	04-Jul-20
Total :		4	0	1	13	5	8

Overall our historic away record against Wolves is very even with Arsenal ahead by just one victory. 

Arsenal v Wolves – All Away Games
	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Div. 2	1	0	1	2	2	0
Div 1	15	11	17	65	79	-14
EPL	4	0	1	13	5	8
Total :	20	11	19	80	86	-6

 GunnerN5

TA’s team to make the Wolves howl with fear:

Wolves are excellent in midfield so we need to man up in that area. I would add Saka to it and so play with five there. Saka to play mainly in the hole and Ceballos to stay with Xhaka as much as required. Playing both Auba and Eddie upfront, with a license to roam and confuse the Wolves’ defence as much as possible, would give our midfielders plenty of options. Big day for Bellerin. Big day for Kola. This could be THE DAY for Saka!

COYRRGs!

Spurs had a goal disallowed and later on Man City had a goal which would have been their 5th disallowed, both after the ball inadvertently brushed the arm of a player from the side that scored in the build up. Technically it was hand ball, but whatever happened to the term ‘deliberate’ – has that now disappeared along with ‘common sense’ and ‘spirit of the law or game’ in this modern era of robotic refereeing?

Of course when it happened to the mob from Middlesex I just chuckled, especially when I saw the not so special one having a meltdown on the sidelines, that’s always good and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I was a bit miffed later on when what would have looked a total walk over at 5-0 was reduced back to 4-0 in the City vs Scouser game, which whilst still emphatic, at the the same time isn’t quite as complete at a good old 5-0…

Now so far the Glorious Gunners have avoided those kinds of disappointments. We’ve had three referees in our last three games who we usually don’t have and I think in general we’ve been treated fairly, but we all know that we’ll get Mike Dean again and the hopeless Atkinson, probably when we play Spurs and Man City in the Cup. It’s almost as if the PGMOL are setting us up, giving us a fair crack of the whip before engineering another major stitch up in a game that matters.

I had hoped that VAR would be beneficial to Arsenal as we seem to suffer more injustices than most, but I’m not sure that it has with Riley still at the helm and the usual suspects sitting in judgement in Stockley Park.

What do you think?

By Allezkev

Arsenal 4 – 0 Norwich: Arteta’s plan is starting to bear fruit and Ceballos is starting to blossom.

Norwich had impressed against the Red Mancs at the weekend, but other than 15 minutes in the second half, after a tactical adjustment by the manager at half time, they offered little opposition to Arteta’s well-drilled and motivated boys.

Mikel seems to have moved to a 3-4-3 formation with Xhaka and Ceballos/Willock in the centre of midfield and two wing-backs in quite forward-orientated positions. The latter positions were taken by the tenacious Tierney and the willing but somehow not very confident/effective Bellerin, and they were able to really stretch the Norwich defence by staying wide and making constant runs behind them.

But the big star, at least in the first half, was Ceballos. The Zidane (seasonal?) cast-off played with energy and panache and he sliced the Canaries’ defence open at will. That goal in Sheffield clearly has given him wings and today he played with them for the best part of an hour. It was a Fabregas-esque performance, a joy to watch.

The defence did not have too much to do other than between the 45-60th minutes; our attack was lively rather than efficient it forced the Canaries into a number of mistakes for which they paid the ultimate price.

Player Ratings:

Martinez: 8 – made a very important low to the ground save at the start of the second half and just oozed confidence and presence for 90 minutes. This is his moment.

Mustafi: 6 – the game was too easy for him in the first half and as a result he lost his concentration towards the end. Probably subbed because of injury (Arteta is a Y-Manager and does not substitute players at half time to ‘teach them a lesson’).

Holding (Mustafi’s replacement): 6.5 – took over well from Mustafi.

Luiz: 7 – similar to Mustafi dropped in concentration levels towards the end of the first half. Still, Davide is a leader on the pitch with presence and positivity.

Kolasinac: 6 – looks out of place in the left-CB position but he put in a shift.

Tierney: 7.5 – great wing-back play throughout the game and quickly becoming one of Arteta’s automatic picks. Combines tenacity and fight with calm and high-quality crosses. Fecking love him.

Xhaka: 8 – take him out of the team and we are missing our foundation/ our conductor. There are still people who want Xhaka gone/ don’t believe he is ‘Arsenal’ quality… Ah well… Took his goal very well.

Ceballos: 8.5 MOTM – see also above for my praise for him. Dani danced us to victory today.

Bellerin: 6 – tried hard but the final ball is too slow and lacks conviction. Something is missing and I wonder whether Bellerin’s time may be up….

Soares: 7 – impressed straightaway and scored the sort of goal Hector currently isn’t able to score.

Nelson: 6.5 – tried to add attacking intent where and when possible. A skillful and intelligent player who needs a number of games to play himself into the team.

Willock: 7 – Norwich overpowered the midfield at the start of the second half and Arteta had to bring Joe on to readdress the balance; and the boy of only 20 Springs did very well. Willock added presence and helped us push Norwich back towards their goal with his smart runs and passes.

Laca: 7 – a seven for effort and impact on our overall attacking play. He gets himself in good scoring positions too but really has to focus harder on converting the more than decent chances that come his way in every game.

Auba: 8.5 – MOTM – two goals – ‘one of them and Eddie’ – and an assist, but there is much more to his game: hard work, making other player more effective and help out in defence, to name a few.

Eddie/ Pepe: – not seen enough of them to give a score.

By TotalArsenal.

 

Arsenal v Norwich City – July 1st, 2020

 

During 1992–93, the inaugural season of the Premier League, Norwich City quickly emerged as surprise title contenders, before faltering in the final weeks to finish third behind the champions, Manchester United, and runners-up Aston Villa. Their top scorer that season was Mark Robins, who had been signed from Manchester United the previous summer.

The following season Norwich participated in the UEFA Cup for the first (and only) time, losing in the third round to Inter Milan, but defeating Bayern Munich. Winning 2–1, Norwich were the first British team to beat Bayern Munich in the Olympic Stadium. Mike Walker quit as Norwich City manager in January 1994, to take charge of Everton and was replaced by first team coach John Deehan who led the club to 12th place in the 1993–94 season in the Premier League. Norwich began the 1994–95 season well, despite the pre-season loss of top scorer Chris Sutton to Blackburn Rovers for a national record £5 million, and by Christmas they were seventh in the league. Norwich then won only one of their final 20 league games and slumped to 20th place and relegation, ending a nine-season run in the top flight.

After bouncing around the leagues Norwich finished the 2017–18 Championship season in 14th place. Despite a slow start, the following season was far more successful and the team spent most of the season at the top of the table – helped on by top scorer Teemu Pukki. Following a 2–1 win over Blackburn Rovers, the club was promoted back to the Premier League after a three-year absence as champions of the Championship.

Our Premier League home record against Norwich has been excellent having lost only one game – back in August 1992, since then we have drawn two and won five. Although they are at the bottom of the league and destined to once again be demoted they showed in the FA Cup quarter final loss against Manchester United that they can play sharp disciplined football.

I would think that the loss to Man U must have been very demoralising and will not put them in a good head space for Wednesday’s game, whereas our win against Sheffield U must have raised our team spirit.

Arsenal v Norwich EPL Home Results
		W	D	L	GF	GA
1	15-Aug-92			1	2	3
2	30-Oct-93		1		0	0
3	01-Apr-95	1			5	1
4	02-Apr-05	1			4	1
5	05-May-12		1		3	3
6	13-Apr-13	1			3	1
7	19-Oct-13	1			4	1
8	30-Apr-16	1			1	0
9	02-Jul-20
Total :		5	2	1	22	10

Here are the latest standings at the bottom of the Premier League – it will need a remarkable turnaround by Norwich and a complete collapse by two of the four teams immediately above them in order for them to retain a position in the Premier League and I cannot see that happening.

Pos	Team	GP	GD	Pts
15	Brighton	31	-7	33
16	Watford	32	-20	28
17	West Ham	31	-19	27
18	Bournemouth	31	-21	27
19	Aston Villa	32	-24	27
20	Norwich	31	-31	21

 I fail to see how they can beat us on Wednesday but our defensive frailties against set pieces are well known and could once again be our Achilles heel.

Arsenal v Norwich All Home Results
	W	D	L	GF	GA
Division 1	11	5	1	32	10
Premier	5	2	1	22	10
Total :	16	7	2	54	20

Even given our defensive shortcomings they have only beaten us at home twice in football league history so I forecast a 2-0 victory at a crowd less Emirates Stadium, in our first home game since March 7^th.

 GunnerN5

TA’s Team:

Sheffield United 1 – 2 Arsenal

The FA Cup fighters did it again! A priceless win takes us to the semi-finals at Wembley. A very good first half in terms of structure and discipline finished with 1-0 to the Arsenal. But then an under par second half followed, in which we gave away the initiative, invited the Stoke, ooh sorry the Sheffield United, high balls into the box and then almost paid the price for it. A late equaliser was finally conceded and the prospect of a knackering extra 30 minutes, and possibly penalties, threatened; but then came Ceballos with a superbly taken goal to keep us in the competition. More on the game later but here are my player ratings.

Player Ratings

Martinez-Happinez: Very impressive. Plays like he has been in goal for years and was nearly faultless. MotM 9

Tierney: What a battler and complete wingback this wee Scottish Beastie is Is getting better and better and some great crosses into the box: 8

Mustafi: Nothing pretty or masterful but sheer hard work for 90 minutes help to see us through: 7

Luiz: Redeemed himself with good blocks and energetic defending: 7

Kola: Similar style to Mustafi: frantic, energetic but also partly to blame for the goal against us and iffy with keeping the shape in defence: 5

Saka: Worked hard but struggled to get into the game. Was fouled a lot and still had one or two moments of quality: 6.5

Xhaka: A lot of what he means to the team is invisible to many but today he was just so influential in his quiet and intelligent way: 8

Joe: Very good first half with one or two fine key passes and good support for Xhaka in midfield. Dealt very well with the Stoke United physicality. Wilted in the second half and that made us weaker. You can see all his potential and he is getting better every game. 7

AMN: very strong first half and good second half too. Wasn’t to be bullied and worked well with Pepe on the right. 7

Pepe: was a few times in the right place at the right time and was our most effective attacker. Loved his improving work rate as well and he took his penalty very well: 8

Laca: worked his socks of for the team and thus created space for others. He is not as effective as we would like such an attacker to be but he still made a big difference: 7.5

Holding: did okay but was not able to settle down our defence when he came on: 7

Ceballos: scored a priceless winner and worked hard to help us regain the midfield in the second half: 7.5

Eddie: took over well from Laca: 7

Big Sok: Not long enough on the pitch to rate him.