Arsenal became the first team to win all of their group games since UEFA revamped the group stage of the Champions League, with a 3-2 win over Kairat Almaty who are the best team from Kazakhstan that I’ve seen.
I must crave your indulgence with this report as a change to our train timetable meant that, had I stayed to the final whistle, I would have been an hour and a half later home than if I’d missed the last ten minutes. I’ve managed to catch the highlights of that period on the train, so you’ve missed none of the action but as the last ten minutes featured a disallowed goal for Gabriel Jesùs and a headed goal for Kairat by Ricardinho I think my early exit was a portentous move.
Pre-match I had the privilege of a drink with BtM and Bath although Bath was partaking of Bovril, not a bad choice on a January night!
Arteta picked almost a complete second string to face Kairat with Havertz returning to start a game for the first time in many months. Calafiori also started – at centre back – and Eze and Nørgaard joined Havertz in midfield – or was that Havertz’s position? See later!
The game began at a frantic pace and we were ahead after just over a minute. Kai showing Kairat that his long lay- off had not left any signs of Kai rot, threaded a ball through to Gyökeres who ran onto it, moved it to the right and bent it past the Kairat keeper who was irate at the lack of cover (couldn’t find a K for that one).
Arsenal 1 Kairat 0 – Gyokeres, 1 min
No sooner were we toasting (metaphorically) this breakthrough when a nasty VAR notice appeared on the screen for a penalty review against Arsenal. After a visit to the screen the ref awarded the penalty which Jorginho despatched past Kepa. Jorginho looked very different from when he played for us but that’s life in Kazakhstan for you!
Arsenal 1 Kairat 1 – Jorginho, penalty, 6 mins
We are making a habit of letting sides with an xG of not very much score against us but the game had an open feel to it and we were soon ahead again.
Havertz was playing in an advanced role which seemed to increase the threat from both him and Gyökeres and he showed pace, control and a fierce left-foot finish to restore our lead after he and Gyökeres chased a ball threaded forward by captain for the night, Ben White.
Arsenal 2 Kairat 1 – Havertz, 16 mins
We were notably more dangerous albeit that Kairat were playing a high line that verged on the disastrous. Eze, Madueke and Martinelli caught the eye, Gyökeres missed some presentable chances and MLS combined with Martinelli in an incisive left wing move.
Our third goal came when Havertz turned the ball across and Martinelli
made a better job of finishing the pass than Gyökeres. It was immediately disallowed for offside call on Havertz but you can’t trust these identical twins on the line and after another thrilling VAR review the goal was given.
Arsenal 3 Kairat 1 – Martinelli, 36 mins
Arsenal’s fluidity was pleasing but they were wasteful in finishing and the overall impression at the end of the first half was that we hadn’t fully emphasised our superiority.
Half Time – Arsenal 3 Kairat 1
Havertz and Calafiori were withdrawn at halftime for Ødegaard and Hincapié. Ødegaard was diligent but failed to finish a couple of very basic headed chances and Kairat who defended notably deeper found it easier to repel us, although we created plenty of chances. Martinelli and Madueke had their fullbacks on a piece of string but we couldn’t capitalise. Jesùs replaced Havertz and Brandon Bailey-Joseph made his first team debut to relieve Martinelli. Later, Ife Ibrahim also made a late debut. Jesus had a late effort disallowed for offside and then Ricardinho nodded home from close range to create a very misleading scoreline.
Arsenal 3 Kairat 2 – Ricardinho 90+2 mins
Full time – Arsenal 3 Kairat 2
Arsenal fans should be very proud of our achievement of gaining a 100% record from a schedule that included four tricky away games and two home games against European giants in Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid
But not the two entitled idiots I met on the tube before the match who described our form as ‘terrible’. Plastic fans like those two are intensely irritating and help to create what can be an underwhelming atmosphere in the ground.
Tonight was a strange game with zero jeopardy but some exciting football. I was impressed with Mosquera and Eze. Madueke combines brilliance with a regularly errant final ball, Gyökeres showed us what he is capable of with a fine finish and a number of misses from straightforward opportunities but the big dividend from the night was the return of Havertz who brought real quality to our attacking play. At the moment, I’d choose a fully fit Havertz above Ødegaard in the ‘right eight’ position.
So, our next European involvement will come in March when we will find out just how good we are. The presence of five English clubs in the top eight underlines the strength of the Premier League and that is where we must now turn our attention.
Thanks for the report TTG. Good call on ducking out early. I was hoping we would hit them for five+ but winning all six group games is terrific with the performances against Bayern, Atletico and Inter the highlights.
Great to have Kai back and now Mikel has a full squad at his disposal. Couple of big games coming up. I would’t describe our League form as “terrible” but it’s worrying. A win at Leeds will cure that!
Thank you for a lightning-fast report on what, as you say, was a strange game with zero jeopardy, TTG. It was like watching a trialists match in some sense.
It was, indeed, good to see Kai back. It caught the eye that he made Gyökeres look much more threatening — unless Big Vik is inherently more threatening when not faced with the speed and strength of PL centre-backs. I’d like to think that Arteta always saw them in tandem as a strike force that was more than the sum of their parts, but has been denied the opportunity to play them together by Kai’s injury. However, I can’t shake the feeling that there is a touch of the Luther Blissetts to Gyökeres. When he misses chances, he misses them quite badly, yet he gets a lot of chances, so he still scores goals.
I agree that Mosquera had a fine game, and MLS, too. Eze caught the eye for his sumptuous talent, but doesn’t seem to have got into the groove with the rest of the team yet. You’re right that Madueke needs to find a final ball; we’d have quite some winger if he could.
Thanks TTG, nice report of a game we probably should
have won 5-0 but did anyway round off a fine octet.
Pleased we could get a couple returning, a couple of
new bright young things, a couple rested and a couple
of games off in February – I will couple off now.
A fine summary and your penultimate paragraph captured my own thoughts perfectly. Pleased you didn’t get carrotted away, stay till the end and then miss your train. Mosquera was our most impressive player over the entire 90 minutes. Kai Havertz presence made us look like a much more effective attacking force. Norgaard looked like a man who merits more minutes. Noni put on a fireworks display but my hometown H&S man won’t let him anywhere near for fear of damage to the fabric of the neighbourhood rather than dark sky illumination.
Thanks TTG, for the late night extra !
I also agree with your penultimate paragraph. Madueke impresses and infuriates in equal measure – great approach work with zero end product. I thought Mosquera looked great again – Gyokeres disappointed given the quality of the opposition. Havertz and Eze worked excellently together at times and looked like they could provide some great creativity and less predictability.
You could be right about Odegaard who is still struggling to get back to his best on a consistent basis. There were noises online yesterday – related to the Daily Mirror – about him being “open” to a move away. I don’t want to see him go – and I know no more detail than that . Do you ?
Trev,
I’ve heard nothing re Odegaard and social media buzz is very often wildly inaccurate but he is not the same player ( in terms of consistency ) since he was injured last season playing for Norway . You know infinitely more than I do about the impact of injuries but he seems to have lost a degree of confidence and plays as if under strain .
Whether there are issues behind the scenes I have not heard but he does not currently sail straight into a starting role . But at his best he is an outstanding player and if he can return to that form we will benefit hugely
Thanks TTG for a swift and accurate distillate of a strange game in which our dominance was not reflected in the scoreline and which ended with a disgracing sucker-punch. The invigorating return of Havertz is the story of the night – one goal and two assists reflecting the scale of his dynamic and inventive contribution. His assist to Gyökeres in the first minute brought hope of a cricket score and a renaissance for the Swede but despite this ‘back-up XI’ playing him in far more often than he has been in PL matches (or was it simply the lower quality of the defenders he faced?), our ‘number 14’ squandered a catalogue of opportunities to show that he could be the long-awaited ‘fox in the box’. I can’t remember which of the early 80’s donkey centre forwards he reminds CER of (there were a few) but on this showing, Gyökeres is certainly not the answer to our goalscoring problems.
I agree with others that Mosquera had an outstanding match as well – good to see such quality back-up in that position and I expect him to be a first choice within 18 months. It was also good to see Calafiori return albeit to concede a silly penalty as well as to strut the stuff he does so well. His replacement was not so impressive and for me was culpable yet again for a late goal. Whereas I expect Mosquera to compete for a starting place, at this juncture Hincapié looks likely to be, at best, an Andy Linighan-like back-up. On the other hand, this was a better game from Eze and I think he will deliver for us in the not too distant future. Madueke! If his final ball was half as good as his approach play, he would be a world-beater. Props to Martinelli for a high energy performance capped by his goal -that Gyökeres failed to connect with!
Eight wins out of eight CL games is a great achievement and we must remember that this was a dead rubber played by a back-up XI but our bluntness up front is a clear issue. Adam Clery has some good thoughts:
Thanks to Kevin Whitcher for this breakdown of what we earned from the group stage of the Champions League
Based on the UEFA document for the 2025/26 Champions League, Arsenal would receive:
a) Participating in the league phase (Starting Fee): €18.62 million
This consists of a down-payment of €17.87m and a balance of €750k
b) Qualifying for the round of 16: €11 million
c) Finishing in first place: This has two components:
League ranking bonus: 36 shares × €275k = €9.9 million (the first-placed team receives the maximum 36 shares)
Top 8 bonus: €2 million (all clubs finishing 1st to 8th receive this additional amount)
Total for first place: €11.9 million
So in addition to the €16.8 million from their perfect 8-win record, Arsenal would earn:
€18.62m (participation)
€11m (round of 16 qualification)
€11.9m (first place bonuses)
Combined total from these three categories: €41.52 millio
It’s certainly a nice little earner isn’t it?
TTG@8: That figure is a slight understimation.
Participation: €18.62 million
League phase performance:
Wins (8 x €2.1 million): €16.1 million
League ranking (36 x €275,000): €9.9 million (this is a provisional minimum figure as the €275,000 is an estimate that UEFA won’t confirm until the end of the competition)
Top eight finish bonus: €2 million
Reaching Round of 16: €11 million
Value pillar: Share of €853 million calculated after the tournament based on broadcast market value and five-year UEFA coefficients. This will likely be worth several tens of millions of euros, growing in size the deeper into the tournament a team goes.
At this point, we have trousered a minimum of €57.62 million plus matchday receipts from home games, minus expenses and costs for away games.
There is an additional €71 million in prize money available to the winner of the whole kilbasa.
Do you think, if I asked very nicely, they would spare me just one million ? Would they even notice ?
Ned,
Thankyou , I will pass those figures on to Kevin . It is clear that the Champions League is the only place to be and is fundamental in our financial planning . Additionally if you do win it, it opens the door to Super Cups, World Club Cups and the like plus it attracts very serious commercial partnerships . It is interesting that whereas at the start of the season I suspect if we had a choice of one trophy to win, it might be the Champions League , now almost everyone you speak to wants to win the Premier League most .
Funnily , I think one of the keys to how well we can do might be whether we can win the Carabao Cup . Success and silverware may get a monkey off our back .
Trev@11: I can’t believe you are trying to take food out of the mouths of the poor people at UEFA. They get only €387 million for organising the CL. Can you not imagine how hard it would be to get by on €386 million?
TTG@12: He just left out the win bonuses.
An interesting twist is that UEFA sends the prize money to the FA, not directly to the clubs. I wonder if the FA takes a cut for passing it on. English clubs have won just north of €300 million from the CL so far this season. Putting that on overnight deposit would earn around €1.6 million in interest. It must be tempting to hang on to it for a day or two.
On the value of the PL v CL, Liverpool won just over €200 million in all for winning the PL last season v the €144 million PSG got for winning the CL. I’d just be happy for us to win both.
Ned @13 – I apologise half heartedly ! Whatever was I thinking. There are, after all, only so many snouts that can fit in one trough. 🐷
Trev@15: Your contrition almost becomes you…
@12 TTG,
Interesting point about the CL/PL, my hastily contrived theory is that the expectation of a much stronger challenge from Liverpool in the PL with their new turbo charged attack probably tempered some expectations in the PL at the start of the season. I remember the BBC did their usual pre-season kind of pundit overview where their resident hacks and ex-pro’s all predicted their Top 4. Very few had The Arsenal top, only a couple of ex-Arsenal players I think. Now, however, we have dominated the league since about October it would be very, very hard to take not winning.
I tend to agree too about winning the Carabao but mainly from the perspective of many of
our fans 😃 The mood swings after victory or defeat have become quite alarmingly severe,
usually I’d prescribe large single malts all round but we might need to break out the beta blockers at this rate. I include myself of course, I couldn’t care a less if we won the carabao a month or so back, but I’m now nervous and invested in the 2nd leg. A must win game in the Carabao? It feels like a contradiction in terms.
A great piece by a fellow resident of the Tein Coties who I haven”t yet met, Laurie Laker. https://substack.com/home/post/p-186157839
Thanks bt8, it is a great piece about the reality of the current situation.
It has been difficult to understand from the outside how
this could possibly happen but it has been horrifying and it makes
me sick. It’s good to see decent people like Laurie Laker speaking up about the
blatant lies they are being fed by simply disgusting people.
I wish all of you there the very best and hope all the efforts being made will
be fruitful one day soon
Bt8
Thanks for sharing . Sometimes football is one of the few things that makes life bearable .Didn’t someone say it was the most important if the things ttat don’t matter or words to that effect ? Pride in your club can raise your spirits and us a constant in life when everything seems to be in chaos
Bath@7,
It wasn’t any particular one of the 3 Strikers of the Apocalypse from the early 80’s – John Hawley, Ray Hankin and Lee Chapman, the first two of whom both looked and played as though they’d just come off an 8 hour shift in a Sheffield steel mill. The flashbacks I have when he miscontrols a pass are the stuff of nightmares. I won’t go as far as the Hincapie/ Linighan comparison though! And Adam Clery is very good again. Rather more balanced and thoughtful than the plastic fans/eejits with cameras gathered in the concourse and asa result far more worthy of a watch.
Off to Leeds on Saturday. No thanks to Thameslink and TfL who are both conspiring to make it as difficult as possible to pick up the coach at 8 am at the Emirates.
While I ‘enjoyed’ the Adam Clery video, more than ever I was left with the feeling that I could have produced that one myself, accompanied by pretty much everyone who’s watched us struggle our way through many deep block games.
The sole reservation I have about Nwaneri’s release to the south of France is that, more than most, he has the ability to run at, beat defences and then shoot. Hopefully he’ll hone that feature of his game to perfection in sunny Marseille to our benefit on his return.
Fortunately, in the meantime, Kai Havertz may well have much to say on the conundrum Clery describes. I do hope so.
Oh, and Martin O, speed ye back to your very best. Please.
Thanks for the link @18 bt8. A great piece indeed. I am aware of Laurie via social media. I also know the Twin Cities quite well. Back when I was working I visited the US many times to see clients. 3M were a regular call.
Cheers TTG!
Muppets like you met on the tube are doing my head in. Even a bit miffed with Blogs and his ‘… you can’t tell people what they should feel etc.’ OK no you can’t – but you can point out that anyone who’s denigrating our form atm after only losing 3 times this season in all competitions, is likely to get short shrift from the likes of me. Also – the trauma of finishing second 3 years in a row! Yeah frustrating but talk about 1st world problems. Fans of other clubs must find that a very patronising attitude. Should have tried living through 71 – 89! 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, other cup final heartbreaks, never even a sniff in the League, and a near relegation battle to boot!
Anyways UP THE ARSE, and as the guvnor always used to exclaim – Cannons facing outwards!
Esso @24. Great post.
Esso – 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
and yes, I did do 71 – 89. Ooof !
bt8@18: Thanks for that link. A sobering read. It echoes the fears felt in New York, though magnified a zillion times in Minneapolis-St Paul by the presence of thousands of armed, combat-dressed federal agents.
Stay safe.
And what Esso said @24.
Very positive thoughts on the game from Mike MacDonald
https://x.com/gunnerstown/status/2017243318229594448?s=61&t=cVFjCyGkt4y-Ne45LtfqkQ
BtM@22: I thought that that Clery analysis had an uncharacteristic whiff of ‘here’s one I prepared earlier’ to it. Charitably, I will say that, perhaps as we watch our team struggling to break down low blocks week in, week out, it was a less revealing video than for those who see our team only when we play their own. However, I hope the viewership targets Clery sometimes mentions that ACFC has to hit under its I ownership (itself owned by the Daily Mail these days) will not mean he cranks out the content at the cost of quality. It would be a waste of a very good analyst if he did.
C100@29: Thanks for the link. Interesting POV from Mike McDonald, as ever. His Nørgaard/Zubimendi point was particularly well made, I thought. This is the first season in the Spaniard’s career in which he hasn’t had the mid-winter break that Spanish football takes. He will feel that in his legs at the sharp end of the season if he isn’t given adequate rest in the meantime.
Esso- lovely to see you in. Great post
Mike McDonald can be a tonic but that post is a bit OTT . We were playing the weakest team in the competition. I might have looked pretty good upfront on Wednesday . But it’s nice to see Norgaard getting some flowers . He is a talented midfielder
We should also note the good news that Max Dowman has signed a pre-contract agreement to turn professional at the end of the year, when he reaches the ripe old age of 17.
https://www.arsenal.com/news/arteta-dowman-we-have-amazing-talent
Esso@24 – Spot on, Sir.
bt8, thanks for sharing @18. I am in awe of the courage and determination displayed by the people of Minneapolis St Paul. Let it be an example to the rest of the country.
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