
And so the Stadium of Stone for our 205th competitive match with Aston Villa in the Tailend Charlie event of Saturday’s Premier League programme. This match will bring together the two PL managers with the most luxuriant, glossy and immovable heads of hair. It must be a Basque thing.
Unai Emery, once of this parish, has won three of the six encounters between the two men. There has been one draw, which means — not the most testing of arithmetic — that Arteta won the other two. Ours is the man in form, winning the most recent game at their gaff earlier this season.
The very first game at ours was also the inaugural meeting of the two clubs, as it took place in our debut season in the old First Division. On a sunny but windy October 8, 1904, we won 1-0 before a crowd of upwards of 30,000 at the Manor Ground, Plumstead. In the 65th minute, Bill Gooing, who had notched up more than 80 league goals over the previous three seasons in the Second Division, scored from close range after Villa’s keeper, Billy George, had got a foot to a shot from Tim Coleman.
Coleman’s footnote in football history was to be one of a handful of holdouts who maintained their membership of the Players Union, formed to fight the Football League’s recently imposed maximum wage of £4 a week (£628 in today’s money; not £628,000 a week, please note, Mr Haaland). The league was supported by the ever-progressive FA, which banned players from being members of the union, and Coleman’s stance probably restricted his England caps to the one he got in 1907.
‘Following [Coleman’s goal], the Arsenal showed great dash, quite overplaying the Villa, who never settled down’, reported The Umpire, a Sunday newspaper that billed itself, splendidly, as a ‘Sporting, Athletic, Theatrical and General Newspaper’. Its successors, one of which bore the even more splendid masthead of The Empire News and The Umpire, would eventually be absorbed into the News of the World. One could detect an inkling of that fate in the small ads on the back page of the October 9, 1904 edition, one of which was for ‘Rubber appliances…for both sexes, sent free in plain cover…All communications strictly private’. Nor was it the only ad of that ilk. The monks made their excuses and left.
We digress. It was the Daily Mirror’s report that echoes down through the years. Let me quote its second paragraph:
All the draughtboard-like work between the forwards and half-backs; the cunningly-contrived schemes to defeat, first half-back, and then back; all the finesse that one could wish to see were there, but on top of all, just like the ‘Spurs of Tottenham, the Villa forwards, after leading up the most elaborate openings, simply could not shoot. How often this defect occurs in ultra-scientific sides. I often think that in cases of this kind it would be well to sacrifice some of the combination, and have a rough diamond in the side in one of the inside forward positions, who could be relied upon to shoot hard, and at every opportunity.
For Villa 1904-05, read Arsenal 2024-25. Beyond the gratuitous dig at the neighbours’ incompetence — some things clearly never change — the Plan B hoped for by the Mirror’s anonymous correspondent could apply to our modern team. It matches the sentiments expressed of late by any number of the denizens of this fine establishment. What price an Edwardian Delap, Sesko or Osimhen?
Emery
Since taking over in November 2022, Emery has elevated Villa from 16th in the PL to Champions League football. Only Pep and Arteta have won more PL points in that time. However, this season, Villa has blown hot and cold. It sits seventh in the table, having won ten, drawn five and lost six of its 21 games, although it is unbeaten in its last three. On Wednesday, it won the latest edition of the most frequently played fixture in English top-flight football, grinding out a 1-0 win at Goodison Park over an even more vapid Everton to ruin Moyes’s return.
It was Villa’s first away clean sheet of the season. Some commentators have suggested that Villa is struggling to cope with the additional strain of CL football.
Another reason could be the summer sales of Moussa Diaby to Al-Ittihad and Douglas Luiz to Juventus. Both were key components of Emery’s midfield last season. Half the £110 million the pair raised was spent on bringing the giant DM Amadou Onana in from Everton, but he has taken time to settle. Ollie Watkins’ form has dipped this season, too, although he found his shooting boots on Wednesday.
Emery has settled back into playing 4-2-3-1 after some early season experiments with playing two banks of four; he went 4-4-2 when we visited Villa Park in August, for example. Who knows how he will set up on Saturday, but the fashion is to flood the centre with bodies to stop us from working through the opponent’s final third.
The opposition
Emi Martinez, another formerly of this parish, will be the glove butler. After a minor injury, he returned for Villa’s midweek game.
First-choice centre-backs Pau Torres and Diego Costa are off games, so the back four will likely comprise the familiar names of Matty Cash, Ezri Konza, Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne or Ian Maatsen, another summer arrival who has struggled to cement a place in the starting line-up.
Onana will likely be partnered in the double pivot in front of them by Boubacar Kamara, with Ross Barkley missing because of injury. Ahead of them, the likely starters are the pacey winger Leon Bailey, Belgian international Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, who is having a breakthrough season.
Emery has good midfield options from the bench in Emiliano Buendia and young Jacob Ramsey, who is being eased back into the team after injury. However, the feisty Scot, club captain John McGinn is out with a hamstring injury, and Ipswich has bought Jaden Philogene for £20 million. That has paid for Dutch winger Donyell Malen, newly signed from Borussia Dortmund for a reported £19 million plus £2.5 million in add-ons. We sold Malen as an 18-year-old to PSV in 2017 for £500,000. Emery hints that Malen will get some debut minutes on Saturday.
Up top, Villa will have Ollie Watkins, who is starting to recover the form that made him such a potent striker last season but has been missing for much of this. Colombian super sub Jhon Duran, available but unused against Everton after a three-match ban for violent conduct, will undoubtedly come on at some point.
The Arsenal
The rosy glow from Wednesday’s NLD still lingers, but on the principle that you are only as good as your next game, the team will have to knuckle down to another stiff test that again must yield all three points.
Despite no relief on the injury front — i.e., none of Jesùs, Saka, Nwaneri, Tomiyasu or White will be available, nor Calafiori by the sound of it — I still fancy Arteta to rest and rotate where he can. Thus:
Raya
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly
Ødegaard, Jorginho, Merino
Sterling, Havertz, Martinelli
This might be a game to start Tierney at left back, with Lewis-Skelly allowed to rest that smile. I pencilled in Sterling for a start, not so much because his Wednesday performance justifies it, but because, in fairness, he probably needs a run of starts if he is to get up to full speed — and Arteta doesn’t have many alternatives unless he throws in a youngster like Ismeal Kabia or Nathan Butler-Oyedeji. They both trained with the first-team squad pre-game, as did striker Khayon Edwards. Nonetheless, Sterling does have to start showing that he is not a spent force.
I expect Villa to be well-organised and combative. Emery will aim for a successive clean sheet and to score on the counter, as his team did so devastatingly during their last visit. Some Villa fans suggest that a draw would be a satisfactory result. However, we cannot afford to let any points slip (and we shall know the Scousers’ result at Brentford before kick-off).
If we can recapture the vim and vigour of Wednesday and the crowd is as loud, a 2-0 victory seems achievable. North London Forever again sung to the rafters in celebration after the final whistle would be simply splendid.
Enjoy the game, ‘holics, near and far.
Cheers, Ned and thanks for the excellent preview. Three points and a muusing of Unai’s hair is a mus(s)t, so COYG!!!!
muusing = mussing
My apologies
Ned
Another superb preview mixing history with current developments. Last year’s game was a really depressing experience. We played very well in the first half but faded on a day when Liverpool had lost earlier .
Even huge football fans are reeling from the amount of games concentrated into such a short period . We may need reinforcements as the season builds to a climax but we needed them ideally at the start not the end of January .
I think Rice will start but I agree that Sterling needs minutes although he very much needs to prove he still has what it takes . I hope for a win but it may be narrow and harrowing unless we can find our shooting boots
RIP Denis Law
One of the most exciting players I’ve ever seen
I had the pleasure of meeting him about twenty years ago. He was delightful company with an impish sense of humour . For younger Holics try to get clips of him in action. He was electric … and he almost came to Arsenal before he moved to Italy
Ned, that’s an excellent preview to set us up for another ‘must-win’ against a club that committed an act of grand larceny at the Grove last season.
I hope we start with the verve and virtuosity with which we started the NLD but finish more of our chances and keep a tighter back door than we did on Wednesday. It’s high time we had a clean sheet!
I think you are correct that Sterling will start and Mikel will rotate a few players, though his options are few, and I too expect Merino to replace Rice and Martinelli to replace Trossard but I suspect Partey will start. It would be delightful if we could achieve the kind of lead by 60 minutes to let a couple more young guns to show their paces but I don’t expect that will happen and I expect another tight nail-biter.
Just win, Gunners. Any which way.
And RIP Denis Law, boyhood hero. Always wished he’d played for the Dons.
Thanks Ned, an excellent preview of the game as well as review of events in Plumstead in years gone by.
Declan is starting to play very well again and I think he could rest against Zagreb midweek.
I thought Zin might start if we want to rotate but happy to go with a 2-0 win.
Thanks Ned
2-0 does for me, hopefully both squirting under slimy Emi.
UTA
Cheers Ned.
Great stuff. I have no recollection of Denis Law, but have obviously heard of him.
And wasn’t Dennis Bergkamp named after him?
I think your team would be stronger if TP5, Rice and Martinelli all started, Ned, however the need to rest as many sets of very tired muscles and strained sinews as possible may well mean that your starters appear at 5.30 with either Zinnny or KT in addition providing a viewing experience from the bench of our new Starboy.
I’ve never warmed to Sterling and over the years have expected nothing from him, particularly in an England shirt. He’s a warm body at best based upon his contributions so far and judging by Wednesday night, I can’t imagine Ismael Kabia could do less well (this from someone who’s never seem him play!). It would be good to see him get a few minutes tonight.
Last year’s visit to the stadium was tough to take. We dominated the first half, Saka and Ode had wonderful opportunities to score but didn’t and then sh*t happened. A clean sheet and a breach of the dam that is impacting the goal flow from our forward line would be wonderful compensation during today’s visit.
Just win, Arsenal.
P.S. Might the Monks be able to provide more details The Empire News and The Umpire? Asking for a friend who is interested in the rubber goods mentioned therein.
Ned, thanks for another interesting historical look at the club – amazing detail you have uncovered. Many of us have led very sheltered lives and have no understanding of your references in The Empire News & The Umpire – perhaps you could clarify further 😀.
Let’s hope the effort in subduing Sp💩rs Wednesday evening has not depleted the energy levels for the match later today. Villa themselves must also have similar problems but they always give us a hard physical contest – survival of the fittest perhaps.
Time to put last years match to bed and send the Villains back to Brum empty handed. A win of any score will do very nicely.
COYRRR
Strong suggestion Saliba has a hammy and won’t play .
He mustn’t be risked even if it exposes Kiwior to Watkins and Duran.Imagine trying to sabotage Arsenal.
You’d look for injuries to Odegaard, Saka and Saliba and a persistent need to rest Declan Rice . This is the season from injury hell
Noosa. Squirting under slimy Emi. Is it even allowed to say that sort of thing on here? 😉
Mind you, I wouldn’t mind seem a few balls squirting under that slimy no goodnik especially if it means three points foe the good guys. 😎
Thanks, Ned – excellent interesting read as ever.
No Saliba today -as if things could get any worse – and Liverpool have beaten Brentford so another must win game for us. Is there any other kind ……
GTFI squirming over the slimy
Martinelli 1-0
Our makeshift back line is looking quite solid, so long as Thomas can practice his throw ins at halftime.
Big performance needed all around in this second half to pull us across the line. It would be nice to have Thomas in midfield actually so our makeshift midfield needs to step up. Merino included.
Sterling’s big chance.
Threw that away really. Advantage Liverpool. No one to bring on up front unfortunately.
That should have been 2-0, just saying. Vim and vigour but no victory.
Hard one to take from 2-0 up
And a late winner taken away
The dispiriting thing about the Havertz handball is that it was handball by default, as the ball went into the net. Had the ball not gone in the net, the incident would have been open to argument about whether it was an unavoidable ball to hand, especially as Havertz was moving his arm behind his back when Merino’s shot struck him.
I also think that Watkins would not have slipped his marker for their second goal had Saliba been playing.
That makes it 12 points dropped from winning positions this season, against nine the whole of last season.
The crowd seemed in fine voice except for a few minutes after their equaliser.
It’s just not meant to be unfortunately. We just need to keep plugging away and see where we end up but I think what we are witnessing is a team affected by missing out too many times, and all the injuries to such key players.
Sadly, we are just not good enough to win this league without our key players while the Mugsmashers have a surfeit of strikers AND luck.
A village has lost its idiot and he has been consigned to the appropriate bin.
I don’t think any side in the league could sustain a successful title challenge given the proportion of injuries to key players .
But my mind went back to the signing of Raheem Sterling on transfer deadline day . It was highly serendipitous and given the financial conditions a no-brainer. It is highly unlikely that we would have signed anybody else in tgat position had we not been offered Sterling .
What does that say about our assessment of appropriate squad strength ? Today on the bench we had three kids , none of whom have played in the first team , three left-backs and Jorginho as well as Neto probably the rustiest keeper in the league , and Sterling . We have had awful luck with injuries but we are deficient in cover in several positions and while Liverpool are enjoying better luck with injuries they also have much better and more plentiful options all over the park. Is this a tightening of the KSE belt, the influence of Garlick , Edu misjudging our needs or Arteta not anticipating the problems he might face ? They say George Graham used to collect centre backs. What does Mikel collect – left-backs most of whom are regularly gone in the fetlock ?
We are incredibly vulnerable now and without being melodramatic, without at least two and possibly three first-team quality players , with the emphasis on attackers our quest for honours could be over .
It will be very hollow when everyone returns in March if we are out of contention then
I was willing Sterling to do well today, but he just doesn’t seem to have the hunger for it anymore at this level. I know Arteta sees the youngsters in training and we don’t, so we don’t really know their level, but I can’t believe that putting one of them on would have been any worse than what we had. And I’m sure we’d have got more enthusiasm to make a mark.
Tumbleweed rolls through the bar….
Blogs nailed it for me this morning, nicely summing up what we saw yesterday and what we’ve seen this season.
Four key points for me are 1. that Partey at right back isn’t very good, as well as costing us in central midfield, where he is much more effective (he played a reverse through ball on the edge of their area yesterday which was pass of the match, sublime stuff). It is too simplistic to look at the stats and blame him as a rb for the games we lose when he plays there, but the second goal yesterday was so, so poor from him. Just don’t let Watkins run unmarked to the 6 yard box and we win the game. Very frustrating.
2. Our starting 11 were running on fumes. They gave so much and I’m proud of their efforts.
3. We didn’t have options on the bench to win it in the last 20 minutes.
4. I’ve got no issue with the handba decision. The shot is going wide until it clearly hits Havertz’s hand and deflects in. I’d be Livid if that were allowed against us.
I’ll further add that if we sign just a single attacker, get Ben White fit, and get Nwaneri back, I think we would be in a much stronger position. If we can make a good signing I think we are still right in the PL race.
Spuds at least trying to cheer me up.
And wot Dino said @28
GSD@28: Four fair points. The more one looks at the replay of Watkins’s goal, the more horrible the defending looks. Watkins got himself five yards clear in the time it took for the cross to come in. Playing Rice at CB, Timber at RB and Partey as the DM isn’t such a bad idea.
It seems that Saliba will be out for some weeks. Concerning. We remember what happened when he missed the final eleven games of the 2022-23 season.
When I learned that Saliba was out, my mind immediately went to “Kiwior starts then?” He didn’t. In came Partey, and Timber moved to CB. Thomas has played some excellent games this season, but not a single one of them has been at RB. Yesterday was no exception – a throw in to Watkins feet in the first half preceded some very poor defensive work in the second half.
The team doesn’t do well when TP5 starts at right back. Period.
Make no mistake. By far the better team yesterday was Arsenal. When we were 2-0 up, I thought let’s make this a statement win, 4-0 or 5-0. Instead, we went into self-destruct mode. What was Trossard doing taking Watkins out when he could easily have been shepherded to nowhere land? Stupid tackle, stupid yellow that set up the set piece that made it 2-1 (and when Merino watches the replay, he’ll think “Oh shit, what was I thinking”). The defending for Villa’s second half was equally bad, Havertz and Partey both at fault and a great big hole which wouldn’t have been there with Saliba and Timber in their usual berths.
Still, plenty time to recover the situation. Frankly, recovery wasn’t aided by the introduction of Sterling. He, Partey and Ode are as far from automatism-ready as it’s possible to be and that non-readiness wasn’t helped by the ‘pacy’ (cough) winger coming inside the slower Partey when we did attack down our right.
And then we scored the winner. Joy and chaos in the stadium. By this stage, I just hoped we’d hold on to 3-2 in the remaining few minutes. However, as is customary, VAR intervened and killed the joie de vivre of 57,00 souls in the stadium and, no doubt, millions in red watching elsewhere. (*Correct decision unfortunately – but harsh without any intent on Havertz’ part – the rule book not Kai at fault, as it was when his goal at Villa last season, was ruled out for exactly the same accidental contact).
With White, Saliba, Tomiyasu, Calafiori, Nwaneri, Saka and Jesus all fit to play we’re probably still two attacking players short of the ideal for a title winning team. Yesterday demonstrated very clearly that without all of them, we’re just too short despite the fantastic effort and skill set that was so evident during the best of our play yesterday.
Yesterday’s Gunners’ team was Liverpool without Trent, VVD and Salah with Nunez and Jotta both gone in the fetlock. Would they have managed a draw with Villa? Less likely than me hitting a golf ball 200 yards right up Arnie’s Slot** (** A well know par 5 in Tennessee).
*Interesting footnote – immediately after the “No goal” page on the big screen in the stadium, for the first time I believe, a picture of Havertz with his arm firmly at his side but in contact with the ball appeared. Will we soon have slow-mo reruns of VAR incidents in the stadium? Don’t hold your breath’s, Holics. And if we do, will they have been doctored?
Happy inauguration day, tomorrow, US friends.
Reports from France suggest Saliva may miss five games with a two week hamstring strain
It is hoped he could be back for the game with C130y
Saliva? Saliba ! It’s enough to make you spit !
5 matches would mean back for Leicester City not Man City, TTG.
Saliba unavailable for the Man City game would not be good news. The Frenchman has made a habit of keeping Haaland tucked in his back pocket. Plus City seem to be finding some form again.
The five games is a guess. They hope he may be back for C130y
I hope that too!!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>