Arsenal go to Molineux on Saturday afternoon for what looks to be a tricky visit to the Midlands. The Wolves ground is situated just a ten minute stroll from the City centre, opening up all sorts of parking, eating and drinking opportunities for the visiting supporter. The ground itself is well presented, with lots of recent refurbishment, though with the very odd set up that away supporters get the whole, shallow lower tier along one side, from one penalty box to another, rather than the more usual end behind a goal. The Wolves supporters really do have only one song, which, a la blowing bubbles or YNWA, they sing before kick off. Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining strikes up and then as the chorus looms, the PA goes silent and the home crowd belt out “And it’s Hi, Ho Wolverhampton!”. At which point there is usually a somewhat embarrassed silence.
However they’ve had a bit more to sing about against us since returning to the Premier League in 2018. In fact we haven’t beaten them yet, with two home draws and then an absolute away thumping last April when their 3-1 win did not really reflect how much better they were that night, in a game I had the misfortune to attend. In our last game against us this season, at the Emirates in November (from which the image above is taken), we took an early lead through Auba and managed to hold it until they equalised with 15 minutes to go. On balance they were again the better team and probably deserved three points more than we did. So overall, Wolves are favourites for this game.
Since Nuno Espirito Santo took over, almost three seasons ago, they have won the Championship, reached the semi final of the FA Cup and finished 7th in last year’s Premier League, a result which put them into this year’s Europa League. This season, after 32 games they sit sixth, six points ahead of us and with a good fighting chance of making a Champions League place. Since the restart they have had three fairly comfortable wins against West Ham, Bournemouth and Villa.
So, a plucky small club getting it right through good organisation and team spirit? Well, not quite. NES’s appointment was the first arranged via the super agent Jorge Mendes. Since then Mendes has brought over ten players to Wolverhampton and he appears to have an almost monopoly on player recruitment, something which no doubt is highly lucrative for him. Mendes appears to have the support of the very hands off Chinese owners Fosun. At a time when we are debating, not least in this bar, the advisability of Edu’s mate Kia Joorabchian (bringer of Luiz and Soares to the club and with strong rumours of Willian, another client, joining over the summer) growing increasingly influential at Highbury House, Wolves are taking a very modern approach to their football.
Wolves bring many threats to their game, including Adama Traore, Diogo Jota and Raul Jiminez and they play a nice, pacy passing football which will test our defence. This game is the first of a tough run of games following our three on the bounce wins. After Wolves we play Spurs, Leicester and Liverpool, plus a Cup semi against Manchester City. This is a crucial period for us.
I expect a back three to continue, with Cedric Soares getting a start at right wing back after his goal scoring debut against the hapless Norwich. I also hope to see Rob Holding on the left of the back three replacing Kolasinac. Lucas Torreira is available for selection. Who knows the situation of the two lads on the naughty step, Ozil and Guendouzi?
My expected line up is
Martinez
Mustafi, Luiz, Holding
Soares, Tierney
Xhaka, Ceballos, Saka
Auba, Eddie
The ‘holic pound can be obtained at 21/2 for a 2-1 win, or a slightly tastier 17-1 for 2-0. I’m for a cautious 2-1 to us, though my head says it could be a draw.
Will the good mood continue or will we be thrown back into despair? 5.30 tomorrow will bring the answer.
Drink!
Cheers Countryman! I’d take a draw meself.
Didn’t get a chance in the last drinks to commiserate with BtM over hydrangea related strain. Stiff upper lip while doing your four-a-day exercises old chap!
Objectively speaking, a draw would be a decent result for us in this game.
Thanks for your excellent preview, c10000.
Nicely set up, C100 and that’s a good looking team you’ve picked. A win at Molineux will be a very distinct sign of progress. I’m hoping that happens.
That’s the stuff to give the troops.
Up The Arsenal
The pace is bloody relentless these days innit.
COYG
Rumours abound that Auba is willing to sign a new contract and wants three years at £250k/week. Sign him up I say.
c100, sweet preview. makes me want to stop in wolverhampton if i am ever driving through. i’d be surprised to see soares start. it’s a bit too much into the blender for me.
re the pace, too bad son of faustus’ effort didn’t get more airtime.
btm, i hope your back’s better. when needed, chiro mixed with acupuncture are my ticket to regaining back health. and not planting hydrangeas 🙂
My hydrangea is wonderfully healthy and has just burst into flower. My back’s alright as well.
HTH
gabi just signed a new long-term contract for an undisclosed fee. yaaay! with kt3 and saka that could be our left side sorted for a while!
C100
I love the atmosphere you create by your knowledge of so many of the away grounds …and pubs..Great preview and very balanced .I’ve driven past Molineux but never seen a game there . Because of my advanced years , when I started following football Wolves were THE team. They were the champions at the start of my first season and won the league again in that season. They played in the European Cup and ITV would carry the second half of their ties live on the telly . So despite their travails I can never think of them as a small club, rather a sleeping ( and at one stage a comatose ) giant .
We will do well to take a point tomorrow but I think we will get one . We are building up some momentum, we have Europe in our sights and I think Wolves’s style works better away from home. They are a super agent’s toy and a grand old club rolled into one and we need to be finishing above them.
Great news about Gabigol . There is much more buzz around the club now. If only we’d beaten Brighton .
@9 Holey trousers seem to work magic 🙂
You need to keep off the golf course BtM. That’s what’s doing your back in. And keeping your mind off your hydrangeas!
Gabi Martinelli in his Instagram announcement of his new contract has quoted Tony Adams. “ play for the name on the front of the shirt, and they’ll remember the name on the back”.
Gabi
Oh Martinelli
He comes from Sao Paulo
And he plays for Arsenal
Excellent preview, CM100.
This match will be more of a test of how effectively defensive organisation has been drilled into the team than the Norwich game was. We rode our luck a bit against a fairly toothless Sheffield United attack last weekend and I think we are going to need a bit more of that luck tomorrow to get anything from this game. I share the view that a draw will be a good result for our team at this time.
Your team selection strikes me as almost correct. However I think Hector will keep his starting place due to his greater familiarity with the team and the way it plays. If Saka replaces Pepe, will he play on the right or on the left? If on the left, will Auba move to the right? I hope Mikel gets it right.
COYG
Good news on Martinelli. A good week for the contracts team. Now for the hat trick!
Excellent preview, C100. I’d bite your hand off for a 2-1 win. Well, I’d get Luis Suarez to bite your hand off…
I think you have got Cedric at right-wing back right, with Hector back in for the intensity of the NLD. Saka would have to start on the right in your line-up, as he did against Man City, but I don’t think it is optimal even for a player of his versatility. So Pepe to start, Saka on the left and Auba down the middle. There is a lot of Torreira in the training photos on the club site. I wonder if he will get the start in place of Ceballos, especially if Pepe starts.
Given what the neighbours got from Sheffield, perhaps we out-played them in the Cup more than we realised.
Cheers Countryman !
Hope the Wolves don’t inspire any howlers from Mustafi who strangely now seems to be first choice. He has improved under Arteta but he’ll need his wits and sprinting legs about him against a rapid Wolves attack. A 2-1 win would be a great result.
Fine and thought-provoking,
thanks C100.
I’d add Doherty as a danger
coming forward, but we
could also get in behind him.
The team will probably start
with Bellerin even if he hasn’t
really earned his place recently.
They work very hard in midfield
and we must match them there
or get done again.
Fingers crossed we will and Auba
can go on a run after a mini
drought by his standards. 2-0
to The Arsenal.
Alas wilting hydrangeas,
Besmirching gardens.
BtM’s heart hardens
As he plots their Waterloo.
Mendes at Wolves is a clear
CoI no matter how they dress
it up.
If we sign Willian, it’s the same
thing with Joorabchian.
To be fair, the average agent is
no more corrupt than the average
PL club owner.
@ 15 I had been pondering exactly the same question on Saka, Bath. I think that Tierney, Saka and Auba is a very potent left side but leaves us unbalanced and consequently impotent on the RHS* – and so easier to defend against. I thought that Saka had one of his poorer games on the right.
An alternative approach might be a back three Holding, Luiz, Tierney, Cedric and Saka wing backs, Xhaka and Ceballos in the middle with Pepe, Eddie and Auba up front.
* C100 may have thought this was the starting point for something more horticultural. Nope. Enough of that stuff.
ATG,
I attempted to cut and paste some stuff relevant to Ned’s mention of Arteta’s record to date yesterday. This attempt resulted in the site disappearing and a “Gone” message appearing. Several tries returned the same result. Do I have yet another infestation or is this a function of our new site?
Any other Mr Pastries had this issue?
BtM – I’m not sure exactly what’s happening to you.
1) Are you attempting to cut-and-paste text from this site to somewhere else, or into this site?
2) What browser and operating system are you using?
I doubt I’ll be able to help, but I’m sure AtG will need this information sooner or later.
Pangloss,
I copied some stuff from the blog, dropped it into Word, added some words, copied all of that, pasted it into the blog, pressed ‘submit’ and the blog disappeared completely. The “Gone” message appeared.
Testing, Testing,
“BtM – I’m not sure exactly what’s happening to you.
1) Are you attempting to cut-and-paste text from this site to somewhere else, or into this site?”
Ned, from previous drinks, that isn’t a bad record. The 3 defeats were 1) Chel$ki, Bernd’s brain fart and then Rudiger’s second yellow not given 2) Emptihad, David Luiz “Come on Down” 3) Brighton Rock (a tough one to chew). The draws were the achilles heel. Can the monks advise how many resulted from winning positions?
Cheers C100 for an excellent thorough & thoughtful preview. Your team selection is spot on though I suspect the boss will choose Hector ahead of Cedric. Wolves have some dangerous players and particularly someone such as Adama Traore could cause us a lot of damage with his pace & power. We also have dangerous players so it’s an open result as far as I’m concerned.
My one & only visit to Molineux was in 1976 for a 3rd round FA Cup encounter. Sadly we got trounced 3-0 with a certain Alan Sunderland on the scoresheet ( later to be redeemed ) whilst we were playing a youthful 18 yr old David O’Leary in his break out season ( I think he played a few more matches for us subsequently 😉 ). As C100 says the ground is quite accessible near the town centre and we found the locals nicely hospitable – no fear of retribution for wearing visiting club colours.
I’ll be happy for us to return home with a share of the spoils and think a 1-1 quite possible.
Interesting.
Recollections of hospitality received by some Arsenal fans in Wolverhampton puts me in mind of ‘holic’s writings on visits to family in the Black Country. Tough act to follow, c100, but you did admirably.
BtM@27: The five draws:
Bournemouth (1-1): Came from behind
Crystal Palace (1-1): Lost lead
Sheffield Utd (1-1): Lost lead
Chelsea (2-2): Came from behind
Burnley (0-0).
Remember some cowardly Wolves fans setting about a lone bespectacled Gooner who they kicked in the head after the semi- final in 1979 at Villa Park . I was thanked by a senior policeman for coming to his aid. He then beat the shit out of the three Wolves fans despite the fact he was about twenty years older . Very different times !
OM@20: Thought you might have gone for the haiku there:
Hydrangea turns white
Gardener grimaces in pain
Chiropractor beams
C100@29: My question would be is that differential sell-on fee something we dreamed up or is it common practice?
The AP report Blogs quotes concludes:
Simon Leaf, the head of sports law at London-based Mishcon de Reya, said it was a “pretty surprising decision” given the prevalence of sell-on and buy-back clauses in transfers and that it “will have an impact on how future deals are structured.”
NBN my reading of the judgement was that there is no problem with a sell on clause. The issue was having a differential between 40% for U.K. clubs and 30% for non U.K. clubs. This was deemed as interference in a free market as it was an incentive not to sell to U.K. clubs. I am not a lawyer of course.
C100@35: I get that. i just wondered if other clubs also use differential sell-ons.
I don’t think FIFA is in much of a position to lecture anyone about unrigged markets.
Cedric starts. Bellerin on the bench.
TEAM NEWS: Martinez, Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac, Cedric, Ceballos, Xhaka, Tierney, Aubameyang, Nketiah, Saka
Martinez
Mustafi, David Luiz, Kolasinac
Soares, Ceballos, Xhaka, Tierney
Aubameyang (c), Nketiah, Saka
Bench: Macey, Bellerin, Holding, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Willock, Nelson, Lacazette
No Pepe in squad.
Yet again, Esso, you are faster on the draw…
No Pepe, Guendouzi nor Ozil
I got the team almost right. Kola keeping his place over Rob the only difference. So we have Kola, Tierney and Saka all on the field. Auba on the right?
Apparently his wife is giving birth shortly.
Thats Pepe
In terms of getting beyond Wolves back line, that is probably the best combination we can put out.
Papa Pepe
Team sheet suggests Auba on the right, C100, but my guess would be that he and Nketiah will play as a front two ahead of Ceballos and Saka in a 3-3-2-2 formation, giving Cedric and Tierney the room to push up high on the flanks.
i worry about traore’s speed v kola, though power v power may negate part of traore’s advantage.
That’s one of Kola’s strongest features, Scruz – the number of different aspects of his performance that can get you worried. 🙂
I’m hoping Kola is only getting so many games right now to raise his price in the shop window.
So what is going on with Ozil? Arteta trying to freeze him out? Make him train with the kids?
Battle station manned. The sofa is flush with the back wall so there is no hiding behind it, not today. COYGBTFUBCS
aye, btm. he’s always got something in him to surprise. sigh.
c100, they’re working özil into the umbrella concession?
Looks like Saka on the right.
we look noivous. COYG!!
COYG…..we need settle down a bit
i do NOT like how we let traore run at us right down the middle, backing off all the way.
cedric doesn’t look out of place; is that a nod to his quality or an indictment of this squad?
what’s with the greasy pitch?
Our midfielders are not doing a great deal in there
Scruz,
The greasy pitch?
Wolverhampton is a steamy place a bit like the Bayou….or they watered it 😃
I don’t like Saka on the right.
this is a game crying for more risk taking on our part. it looks like we are playing for a point.
close, auba!
TTG at 62. You’re so right. 90% humidity in the Black Country in July.
C100 neither do I, he works well with Tierney in my view.
i’d guess that’s the bayeux effect then, ttg. a slippery tapestry.
This Arsenal defence is always likely to concede. They really are not robust and always look like they have a mistake in them .
Nketiah hits the post! Close!
we are *so* hesitant at times.
eddie, great save keeper!
Once upon a time Arsenal had midfield players who wanted the ball, positioned themselves to get it and then moved the ball forward rather than passing it backwards.
btm, no doubt. but i’m looking at kola, and cedric. tierney has the right idea, and ceballos often.
eddie works so hard up front.
For me both Xhaka and Ceballos are bot doing the right things
yaaaaaaaaaaah! saka!
Saks!!!!
Get is Saka come on 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😉
Saka is a little genius !
Great hit from Saka! Said he was good on the right. 😁
so pretty from cedric, auba, tierney, and saka. aided by the deflection to saka.
The goal shows why Saka is so highly rated. The technique was superb.
so damn glad the lad signed on. he’s so good.
WHAT. A. FINISH!!!!!!!!!!!!
it really was, ksn. he just passed it into the corner, no chance for the keeper.
great time for the goal. what a lift!
Solid half against a good team. Lovely hit for the goal. That kid is a hell of a talent.
Sublime finish by Saka this lad has talent!
We have looked vulnerable in earlier matches (Brighton) after taking the lead. We have the whole second half to defend the lead. Another goal is needed to calm my nerves.
Right on, Scruzgooner, Saka is an all rounder and can play in any position without looking out of place. Good basics.
That half showed modern football at its most staccato. Nobody took a risk with their passing and Wolves were very negative . We deserve to be ahead because we had better possession and created more . Tactically Arteta anticipated them well
Big worry is the Luiz yellow card . Wolves are bound to try to get him one on one with Traore and that’s only going to end messily for us .
Saka Do Do Do
Push Pineapple Shake A Tree
😁😁
I didn’t really think it was working for Saka on the right but he took that chance beautifully.
Wing backs working hard and well. Tierney made me laugh at 20 minutes. “I had to f*cking mark two men there, Kola!”
Pity about Ozil’s back, some midfield creativity would pay dividends. Need to come out fast and strong for the second half – because they will.
So far so good!
Tight game as expected
Wolves are known to score more often in the second half. A marauding Traore and aLuiz on yellow card can turn out to be a deadly combination.
In the last few gams we have begun the second half like sleep-walkers. I hope they put the correct powder in their tea at tthe interval. Where’s Zico when they need him?
Give them a kick up the backside Mikel.
Right the wrong done at Brighton. Better yet, Saka how ‘bout one or two more.
ksn, i dare say saka harkens back to other arsenal players who read the game really well, know where to be and what to do in the game’s moment, and have the technique and strength to impose themselves when given the opportunity. and that goal was pure dennis.
so re luiz, put in holding? i’d be worried in a different way…much as i love holding.
COYG!
kt3 not giving traore much purchase.
sets it on a plate for…
Again we start the second half slowly
Bama
we are forcing changes out of them.
well in for the ton c1000. and the tabs, btm!
Oh for Adams / Keown and Campbell in the middle of tg3 der3nce. Gilberto and Vieira in front of them will be h@ndy too. Watch Xhaka carefully. This half will show how much he can give to the side in tight situations. We need more in midfield
That’s a real pity. Tierney has been grand. Injury?
I honestly don’t get this sub
yikes, i thought kt3 had adama’s number. amn better hold up his end.
That’s a very curious sub
C100
He doesn’t look injured to me
maybe he was beginning to tire? amn has new energy, and adama has been playing hard v kt3. tire adama out to keep him relatively ineffective?
Good block by Luiz and now we got away with it
boy are we lucky.
Traore is a beast. His combination of physique and speed can be unsettling for any defense.
Wolves have a good, technical game which almost them through twice in two minutes. Traore missed a sitter, Jimenez would have buried that.
We need to hold the ball better and take the sting out of the game.
This is a matter of time and shows how dubious NES’s tactics were in the first half .
we have to take more control in the midfield.
get willock on for dani, and nelson on for auba.
Arsene Wenger’s 70 minute reinforcements. Good man, MA8.
Scruz
I wouldn’t take off Auba but I might put him in centrally upfront instead of Eddie . His pace will worry Wolves and they won’t push up as far
saka off for joe? pfft. well played, saka!
Good first start by Cedric.
If my house was on fire, I’d hope that Kola, Musta and Xhaka would be nowhere near the fire engine. 🙂
Bellerin and Willock on for Cédric and Saka.
Wolves definitely playing the better football.
Welcome back Torriera 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Kola is a poor footballer mispassing often and mostly passing sideways or backwards.
Lava and Torreira on for Nketiah and Ceballos. Time to shut shop.
Lava!!!!
Get in Laca
Lava, actually. The excitement was too much.
Well played Joe Willock! And a great clearing header from Mustafi.
Laca,Laca,Laca. Bloody auto correct.
Willock should have scored there.
Surely a pelanty?
Fuck yes, get in Laca
Joe did well
Oh then a golden chance but
great stuff boys and a shout to
AMN on the left
Let’s have the clean sheet too
Three points, well deserved.
Outstanding and very unexpected result.
Saka, Laca, Boom!
A significant result for the Gunners. Dissipates some of the Brighton sting. Substitutions worked really well.
Well deserved win at an awkward place.
Arteta actually saw off NES tactically. Wolves were very conservative in the first half and we were able to defend deep and ultimately pick them off. It was not an easy watch but boy has Arteta improved this side and its resilience
@133
Unexpected result??
I refer you to drink @19 sir
😉😁😁😁
Fuck yes!
COYG
That is a very welcome and well-won three points. MOTM to MA8 for two drinks-break team talks and some smart subs which turned things around when Wolves were looking on top.
Was too distracted by yours @20 to notice that @19, OM. That could have been worth many yen methinks.
A solid second half as well. I think they had only one real chance when Traore got through and Martinez was in hiss face and he put it over. Managed the game well: dealt with everything they threw at us then began to assert ourselves before scoring the goal that settled it. Lovely first touch from Laca and nice finish. Pleased for him. Hopefully that’s him back on the goal trail.
A huge result for these players, for this season and for the club.
Onward.
Great call by Mystic Matt, the Osaka Oracle.
The kids are alright!
This one’s for Steve T.
Odds on us going unbeaten to the end of the season? Odds on us winning them all?
An away win is a great uplifter.
Traore was starting to get round the back of Tierney more and more once Wolves went to three at the front. Bringing on the more defensive AMN snuffed that out. Martinez looks the part of a Premiership goalkeeper. Mustafi had another solid game. Luiz was Luiz but the only comfort to be taken from Kola’s performance is that he wouldn’t be playing if Mari was fit. Xhaka and Ceballos were OK. Saka looks out of place on the right and just isn’t as familiar with playing with Cedric as he is with Tierney, and it showed. His goal, however, was terrific. I thought at first blush that it must have been Auba who struck it so good was the technique. Eddie worked hard but neither he nor Auba got the service they needed with sufficient frequency. So pleased Laca has found the net at last.
Enjoyed that! First half a bit dull apart from that magic Saka finish, but second half quite enthralling and result was just amazing!
A massive win and very good away performance from the Arsenal. Laca could not have chosen a better game to end his away goal drought. His first touch and finish was top class and him picking up confidence could be a big boost for us during the run in. Arteta has improved his in-game management remarkably in the past few games. Earlier he didn’t seem proactive but now he is ringing in the changes and using the five subs very effectively. The changes he made today had a big impact especially AMN doing a good job over Traore.
The fact that we won today without Pepe and almost a make-shift right wing with Saka filling in, is another great sign. Reiss Nelson must be worried now – Saka is being picked ahead of him on his flank. More competition should force Nelson to improve his further. And Saka fully justified his selection with a fantastic finish. He has great technique and a footballing instinct and intelligence far beyond his young age. His finish capped a brilliant week for him and a very positive one for the Arsenal.
Emery took on Ozil but could not provide the results on the pitch and had to bring him back into the squad. Arteta has got the results and public opinion in his favor and Ozil might just find that his PR/social media machinery will not work in his favour this time. Arteta had picked him regularly before the lockdown and it’s a shame that Ozil somehow keeps finding non-football reasons to get into confrontations with managers. It would be great if the club could find an exit strategy for him so that everyone can move on and concentrate on the fantastic young team taking shape under a manager showing real promise.
Just to finish, big credit to Emiliano Martinez for his performances ever since Leno’s injury. He has looked calm, composed and competent at distribution. Leno and him would be a formidable number 1 and 2, infact Martinez is making a claim to become a regular Cup keeper with Leno being the league keeper.
Martinez is a good keeper and Leno will have to be at his best in training to regain his place. I’m not convinced Hector has a lot to worry about from Soarez. Good squad player. Mustafi is growing better with every game under Mikel. Luiz didn’t do anything wrong and made several key blocks and interceptions. Kola gets himself in the way a few times but his passing is kack. Tierney was very good until he tired and AMN was an excellent sub in that position.
I thought Ceballos had an excellent game again but Willock gets forward better as his work for Laca’s goal shows. Xhaka was quietly effective and became more impressive as Wolves tired. Fortunately his customary rick didn’t come to anything.
Saka seems less effective on the right but was surrounded by ‘strangers’. However he took his goal with aplomb. Eddie worked his socks off at CF and was unlucky not to score. Laca’s first touch for his goal was excellent and created the chance which he took well. Auba was tireless and looks very happy in this Arsenal team.
Good stuff from Mikel as well. Excellent subs and good coaching at the water breaks.
Top marks all round.
@90
Countryman100
That chant just HAS to happen!
Thought that was probably our most ‘complete’ performance under Arteta. Does not bode well for Ozil or Guendouzi.
Emi Martínez definitely looks to be a good Premier League keeper, and today showed very good instincts as to when to play out from the back and when to put his foot through it to get the team out of danger.
just finished watching from the 70th minute after an hour zoom call with family.
what a goal by willock and laca. great subs, great defense, brilliant. so happy amn just shut down traore. wooooo!
I have found nothing to disagree with in the comments and well predicted OM. I thought 2-0 was a tad optimistic , I thought we’d get a draw but we managed the game really well and we had some excellent performances. Martinez has given reassurance and solidity to the defence and Mustafi looks like a proper centre back under Arteta . Very good substitutions by Arteta, clever in the second half to take the drinks break and then introduce the subs . It stopped them getting back into the rhythm they were developing . Given their standing they created very few good chances .If we’d beaten Brighton we might have a great shot at CL football. Europa League will be important financially next season and will be more attractive to new signings than no European football
I’m beginning to feel hope stirring, which is a worry since that is what kills you.
We seem to be blessed with rather a good bunch of homegrown talent atm. Who’s running the academy these days, is it still Per? How long does it take for a good Academy talent to get to the stage of challenging for a starting place in the first team squad? Obviously there’s a fair amount of luck involved in who turns up at the doors, and who’s playing when the scouts go around, but the Academy coaches/manager at the time deserve a lot of credit.
Tomorrow’s game at Turf Moor doesn’t look like a gimme for Sheff U. Would could well finish the weekend in seventh. (That shouldn’t be a cause for celebration, but is a hell of a lot better than it has looked for much of this season. We still need people to slip up, but there’s always a good chance of that with recently comatose giants(c) and Leicester City have yet to find any form post-restart. Finally, St Totts is very much in our hands. As it bloody well should be. )
COYG
We’ve just got to take it one game and three points at a time. Five games left. Fifteen points to play for. We need the lot, and I suspect at leat 13 to secure European football for next season.
This is a damning statistic: This was Arsenal’s first away league victory against a side starting above them in the league table since September 2015.
@140&142
Thanks Bath & bt8.
Been a while since I got one
right!
@153
agree with you TTG, MA earned his
money this week with some excellent
thinking. Traore is very dangerous but
an erratic finisher fortunately for us.
Onwards we go with a spring in our
step.
Quite a mature performance, can’t remember one quite like it. We were really organized at the back and put in one hell of a defensive shift. Headers, interceptions and the needed hoof ball to clear danger. Of course, a timely goal or two never hurts. Probably will set up the same way on Tuesday as Leicester likes to play on the counter. Let’s go boys three points!
Pangloss,
It is really enjoyable to see good young players come through and they have much more chance of maturing in a coherent environment like the one Arteta has created rather than the chaos that Emery engendered.
Per is in charge of the Academy now and I have a high regard for his intelligence and integrity but this generation were developed and nurtured before his watch began . The credit goes to the scouts and coaches. Ken Gillard coaches the U18s and Steve Bould the U23s ( where he does a much bette4 job than as first- team coach in my view) . I always feel you look at the Youth Cup team, add two years and then they are ready to stake a claim for the first team if they are good enough.
In fact I don’t think this lot of youngsters are vintage but two are standouts ( Saka and Martinelli) and if you get two from each generation making the first- team this is exceptional. We had Brady, O’ Leary and Stapleton in the 1970s and the real star generation was Rocastle , Thomas , Merson and Davis supplemented by lesser talents like Hayes . This generation have the two I mentioned plus Nketiah who I like a lot. I’m not sure Willock or Nelson are quite good enough but we have some interesting ones below like Azeez, Coyle , Greenwood and Smith .
Nowadays young lads not given a start will walk as we are seeing in Balogun . Chelsea keep them by bribing them to stay and loaning them but it makes sense to develop the Dortmund model where you become the hothouse for young talent who know they will play and then be sold on two or three years later at a big profit . Sancho, Haaland and Reyna are blowing the doors off in the Bundesliga and we saw Bellingham choose to go there rather than United where he may languish on the fringe of the first team. The problem with the Dortmund model is you lose your best talents but that happened to us anyway and Liverpool have showed intelligent trading builds you a great team. Stan Kroenke should love the Dortmund model
@159 great summary TTG. No doubt that the Academy, with Per in the Hale End nucleus, is one of the Arsenal’s primary assets. The increased focus on better, more relevant loan opportunities (e.g in the Bundesliga) is an important recent enhancement.
Saka and Martinelli are indeed standouts (the latter not really an academy product, more a virtue signaller of lower-level scouting excellence).
Interestingly, were MA8 to play AMN and Saka as wing backs, Joe Willock as box-to-box, Nelson, Nketiah and Martinelli as the front three in a competitive game I’d be excited rather than phased. All five have had outstanding first team games. Time, with MA8’s coaching talents and, critically, the influence of senior players around them will tell. I’ll buy tickets to watch.
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