This afternoon saw a clash between two in-form sides as Manchester Utd pitched up at The Emirates to take on a resurgent Arsenal. As The Doc pointed out in his excellent preview this was an opportunity for us to do the double over Manure for the first time since 2006-2007. Personally, I enjoyed the reminder of the away game that year, which I remember well as I won a bet on Adebayor to score first and that meant extra drinking money to celebrate with. Before kickoff today I’d have taken another 1-0 victory in a heartbeat.
The team was announced and we were missing Tierney and Auba, as expected, but Saka was also missing with a hip problem. It was a piece of bad news that we were without arguably our three best players. On the plus side Partey made his third start in a row. Pepe kept his place but started on the right to accommodate Martinelli on the left. Laca, ESR, Xhaka, Holding, Luiz, Bellerin and Leno all played in their usual positions with Cedric playing left back to complete our eleven.
The game started slowly. The first excitement saw Cedric get a yellow for what Michael Oliver saw as an arm in Fernandes’ face, and there was a minor flair up between the two Portuguese as the players showed that they did have some skin in the game. Fernandes then avoided yellow for a nasty rake on Xhaka’s leg which VAR deemed worthy of a red card check, even though Oliver had failed to award as obvious a yellow card as you will see go unpunished. Unless you watch a lot of Manure matches, of course.
Both sides had short spells on top in a stodgy half. Leno made a good save from a Fred curler. Laca shot hard at De Gea from outside the box after Gabigol had nicked the ball and played him in. The in-form Frenchman should have played it back to the energetic Brazillian who was in an ocean of space as he attacked their box.
Pepe took our first corner, which was notable for being actually quite good. Xhaka got his head to it but it was comfortable for De Gea. Manure had a bunch of corners but didn’t do much with them. Fernandes shot across Leno but couldn’t bend it back into the far corner. The chance came about after Pogba won a header from a Leno goalkick and played the ball through early. It was the only time we left a gap that was easy for them to exploit and thankfully we were not punished.
The abrasive McTominay came off with a belly issue with ten minutes of the half to play. He had looked in some serious discomfort. Martial came on and Manure looked to have more threat. Cedric made an important interception from a cross and then there was a hearts-in-mouth moment as Rashford got the ball at the back post but Leno came out to smother his chance to shoot. They won a freekick on the edge of the box from his layoff. David Luiz provided us with a comedy moment when he deflected Fernandes’ effort over the bar and celebrated with an enthusiastic fist pump. (Phrasing!) The frizzy-haired defender looked like he was well up for this one.
The teams went in even at half-time. Neither had done enough to take the lead but there were signs that the second half might have goals in it. Certainly there would be chances…
Half time (The Arsenal 0 – Man U 0)
Willian replaced Gabigol at half-time, presumably just a precaution as the young Brazillian gradually returns from injuries. The older Brazillian was straight into the action. He had a great chance at the back post but his shot lacked conviction and was blocked. It is the sort of chance which he would bury if he wasn’t in such a slump. A minute later he played a ball across to Pepe who hit a fantastic first time shot that was going straight past De Gea and into the bottom corner before it hit the grateful ankle of Harry Maguire. Unlucky.
As so often recently, we had started the second half of a match very well. The stats on 53 minutes showed we had 83% possession. Willian went down injured and Gooners everywhere held their breath… but fortunately he was okay to continue. What? Did you think I was going to make a cheap joke there? That fruit was hanging too low (and you had all already made it for yourselves!)
We continued to be the better side. Partey was unusually off the pace, his passing in particular was astray but Xhaka was having a good game, as were the centre-backs. ESR looked his usual elegant yet robust self.
United served notice that they were still an attacking threat when Cavani shot just wide from a Luke Shaw cross. He could so easily have scored. The excellent Lacazette responded soon after by doing well to win a freekick and then coming close to opening the scoring only to see his effort from the dead ball ricochet back off the underside of the bar. ESR then forced a decent save from De Gea.
Both teams had half chances and the pattern continued. We were slightly on top but both teams were in it. Pepe had a good chance with ten minutes to go but his shot went through Slabhead’s legs and a foot to the wrong side of the post. However, the Ivorian had been excellent all game. He worked his socks off, defended well, won headers and his attacking output was better. He took shots, lost the ball less than he has sometimes done and showed some real intent to make things happen. He has had a couple of good games, now he needs to build on them and keep improving. We are behind you Pepe!
A tiring ESR came off for Odegaard to make his debut with ten minutes to play. He had a couple of nice touches and looked fine but wasn’t on long enough for us to get a good look at him. We wasted a freekick in the last five minutes. Because that is a thing we do. Cedric this time was given the responsibility of hoofing the ball out for a goal kick, sailing it in an elegant arc over the heads of Holding and Luiz, who might have been forgiven for wondering why they bothered going up for it when we were obviously going to smash it out of the park. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me four thousand, six hundred and twenty seven times…
We were hoping for one big chance before the end of the game. Unfortunately it fell for Cavani, whose volleyed shot went narrowly wide. It would not have been a deserved winner but it was close enough to remind us that we could have left without even a point for our efforts.
There was time for Laca and Maguire to collide. Our striker was down with a head injury for a while and eventually hobbled off to be replaced by Eddie for an appearance that was more a statistic than an opportunity to play football.
Full time (The Arsenal 0 – Man U 0)
Nil-nil at full time then. David Luiz got the MOTM from Gary Neville, and he did have a good game. (Luiz, not Neville) All the players worked hard and we kept our shape and made some good chances. We looked a much better outfit than we did a few months ago. I hear that Edu is planning to open up a club laundry service now the club has remembered how much it loves clean sheets.
Our form has been excellent since Christmas and it is unrealistic to expect us to go from a run of draws and losses to winning every week, so I am happy enough with a point from this game. We could have gotten more but four points from six against United is a good return. Now we must turn our attention to Wolves and to ensuring that we take the maximum three points we can still take off them this season.
Have a good one ‘holics.
Excellent and rapid report GSD. I’m very happy with that result, given the injury situation. Momentum maintained.
ha. edu and the laundry, i hope he washes out the stain of injuries. thanks for a fun review, dino.
McTominay does seem abrasive. Didn’t see the belly issue though.
Thanks for your excellent report Gunnersaurus SD.
Good effort by the players and a fair and decent result especially considering the circumstances and injuries. Onwards and upwards. Nice in-game commentary ksn and Steve T.
Excellent review, Sir.
Must say I have been really impressed with Fernandez but he left a sour taste today. When he wasn’t diving and holding various parts of his anatomy in faux agony, he was quite deliberately raking Xhaka’s Achilles. Of course Neville and the tame commentator made a joke of it. One suspects that had it been a case of roles reversed, it would have been considered a near capital offence, warranting endless slow motion replays. As it was, the at best inconsistent interpretation of incontrovertible evidence provided by VAR showed itself for the farce it has been all season by deciding that the referee wasn’t clearly and obviously incorrect.
Apart from that I thought we were good value for a point, very encouraging following our difficulties in the run up to Christmas.
Seven clean sheets from eight. Can you even imagine that under Emery? All praise to our goalkeeper, our defence and our manager. You keep clean sheets you do well.
George knew, you know
George did know and as someone who played for both clubs he would have probably thought it a fair result . But he has a room dedicated to Arsenal in his house so he wouldn’t really !
That is a fair, entertaining and enjoyable report GSD . Given our injury situation that was a decent performance . We defended decently, Leno made a couple of good saves and we look so much more fluid with ESR at no.10. Even Willian ( blocked shot aside) had a reasonable game .
It’s an extraordinarily tight league with a lot of surprising results and we must hope we can put a very consistent run together now. If we do we may get into the Top six or even the Top Four .
Good work GSD
Good going, GSD. A fun read and a quick and accurate report. Given how teams now seem to struggle at home and prosper on the road, I guess a draw is a good result. As I said in a previous drinks if we get seven points from today and the next two games, we will be progressing. We are on track for that. I still think we looked disjointed today. Perhaps to be expected as we were missing three of our best players, but our passing seemed untypically wayward — and not just Partey’s. Can’t fault the fight, commitment and work rate, however. Others have mentioned the standouts, and there were no overall sub-par performances even if there were some sub-par moments. Leno’s save from Fred was a stand-out moment, however. Yet again a top-quality save to keep us in the game.
Thanks for a fine report, GSD. Very much the match I saw and I agree with your assessment of the players. I was particularly impressed (again) by ESR who showed no sense of being intimidated by that opposition and looks to be comfortable in any company. How I wish that his excellent shot had beaten de Gea – what a moment that would have been for the lad.
I obviously feel the same way about Willian’s shot – what an opportunity for him to prove himself as a Gooner! It’s a pity he didn’t get enough behind it. Nonetheless he had his best 45 minutes since Fulham. His later cutback to Pépé was excellent and Pépé’s shot was a cracker. Another goal would have been a great boost to him. He had as good a game as I’ve seen from him without scoring and I do concur with Dr F from the previous Drnks that he is improving his game off the ball. He’s certainly taken the advice from Drink 48 from two blogs ago. Remember lad, consistency is more than two consecutive good performances. Laca too had a good game and scrapped throughout, being very unlucky with that great free kick effort.
I agree with many Drinkers that, shorn of three of our most important players, a draw was a good result. We could have been punished twice by Cavani and once by Rashford but in the main our defenders managed their threat pretty well. We could have won it but didn’t deserve to lose it – not that justice is a regular feature of this game.
Leno, as ever, was superb, reacted brilliantly to Rashford when he had the ball 6 yards out and his save from Fred effectively won us the point.
A final hats off to Xahka who had another fine game and seems to relish playing with his new midfield partner despite the said TP18’s passing being truly abysmal for most of the game today. Perhaps he was tired as you suggested C100, or maybe it was just one of those days?
Thanks, GSD, for a fast and accurate report which I enjoyed reading (especially the slabhead part). The match was absorbing but difficult to watch as it was a very tense affair. We could have won it if Laca’s excellent free kick had sneaked in or Pepe’s shot had not hit Maguire’s ankle. We were very lucky that a player of Cavani’s class missed two sitters from about 5 yards out as did Rashford and we had a couple of fine saves from Leno which kept us in the game. It would have been devastating if we had lost today after all the hardwork the lads put in. Everyone put in a shift and no one, not even Willian, had a below average performance. Hope Saka, KT and Auba will be back for the Wolves away game on Tuesday and we get to see more of Odegaard in that match.
Given that we were without three of our best players, I thought we played well and a draw is okay by me. Mostly agree with the previous drinks but thought I would share some observations:
It wasn’t too long ago that we were desperate for quality CBs. And now we have multiple good pairings in: Holding/Luiz, Holding/Mari, and Holding/Gabriel. See the common denominator!!?? (or in the way I listed the pairings, the numerator) I think Holding is way underrated in part because of his struggles coming off his injury and he is not flashy. But now I see the Holding that bossed Diego Costa in the FA Cup final.
Bellerin has lost his pace. I don’t know what has happened but he should not be slowing down at his age. And he seems to be lacking confidence. I hope he can find that pace that allowed him to chase down Pedro on the break, take a couple of steps running even with him to chat about the weather, and then taking the ball off his feet with a perfectly timed tackle.
And lastly to Pepe. The last two matches I thought he has shown vast improvement. It seems like a few weeks ago he was not enjoying being on the pitch. Something has changed and he is playing with more confidence. Is he living up to all the hype when we signed him? No, but I think he starting to become a solid player and I think that once he and ESR get on the same wavelength, we could see a Pepe that we haven’t seen to date.
I haven’t felt this optimistic about Arsenal in a long time, and Arteta still has a lot of work to do, but I think the future is bright.
Great report GSD and quick too.
Some well-thought out drinks above,
which I agree with and I have nothing
to add really.
It’s a good time to play Wolves now
and I hope we can continue to progress.
Goods points all, ecg. Holding is developing an aura of quiet authority and benefits from starting regularly. Bellerin’s loss of pace, I am sure, is a function of his injury. I fear that if he has not got it back by now, it has gone for ever.
holding’s qualitee is all down to the qualitee of the beer in capitola 🤣
Excellent review GSD! A disciplined and committed performance, even though a bit disjointed. A very competent clean sheet with the customary super save by Leno. Auba may still be in quarantine but let’s hope Tierney and Saka are back against Wolves and we get a win there to continue our progress.
Cheers GSD!
Nice stuff Dino. Thank you.
Dr F, from the previous drinks. Apologies, I’ve only just seen your comments. Thank you. I’m not a great follower of European football and had never heard of Pepe before we were linked with him. I would agree that he did work hard yesterday and put a shift in. But my view is that just because he worked harder than normal, doesn’t mean to say he had a great game. I don’t want to sound harsh but I can’t remember anything he did of any significance. 87 strip overs that results in him cutting in on his left foot???? If someone offered us half of what we forked out for him then I would happily drive him to wherever he needed to go to partake in his onward journey.
All in all I thought it was a good team performance. The Mancs had by far the better chances and on another day it coukd have cost us. But we battled and fought hard for a point. We defended well as a team and we are very much more organised these days.
Luiz, Holding and Leno were all outstanding. Cedric will give the boss a headache as and when KT is back and fit. KT will come back into the side, but if I were Hector I would certainly be a little uncomfortable at the moment.
Partey looked as if he is still a long way short of match fitness. I think there is one hell of a player in there and he will turn out to be one tremendous signing for us.
3 players missing so I’m happy with a point. As Ned said, I would be more than happy with 7 points from Mancs, Wolves and Villa. If that is what we are toasting next Saturday then we will be right in amongst it all.
Keep the faith.
Where’s Cynic these days??? I miss his differing viewpoints. Would love to have known what he made of yesterday’s game.
A week is a long time in football with games coming at the rate they are at present, Last week we were questioning whether we played a strong enough team in the Cup and our win on Tuesday suggested we had gone out of the Cup to an inferior team suc( was the comfort of our victory . Subsequently Arteta reminded us that we had several players struggling with injury and we must respect his prioritisation. Yesterday was a positive day and we saw the improvement in Cedric and Pepe which provides the strength in depth we need . ESR has been the main catalyst for our improvement and I endorse Bath’s remarks about him . Emi was sensational for Villa yesterday and I am delighted it has worked out well for him . Leno has done extremely well this season so it was a sensible move for all parties.
I hear we are being linked with Van Aanholt . One of my old school friends is a confidante of Parish at Palace and when we were linked with him before he commented ‘ he’s a flash git who thinks he’s worth more than he is because he gets a few goals each season. He’s not a good defender ‘. Make of that what you will .
Thoughts turn to Wolves and I think we can continue their poor run
Arteta seems to have a low threshold when it comes to flash gits, TTG.
Chelsea’s win pushes us down to tenth. You can never rely on Burnley when you need them. Here’s hoping Brighton beat the neighbours.
Good game. Good report. Fair outcome.
I had thought before the game that Partey would be pivotal in midfield. Whatever p-word might be appropriate, it wasn’t pivotal. He’ll have better days.
Five great chances to score with none taken, in harmony with the season’s hallmark – inability to put the ball in the net to secure all three points. Another clean sheet – becoming a happy habit.
Keep winning. Play better.
If you haven’t yet seen Salah’s second goal for Liverpool today do seek it out. It is absolute football porn. A truly incredible goal.
Between us in tenth, and West Ham in fifth, is four points. Not everyone has played the same number of games, but it is so tight. It would be a great time to go on a run of wins. Would’ve a great night for Brighton to turn over the neighbours.
Would say Cynic went on holiday but don’t want to be presumptuous. (Sounds like a movie title.) Hope he returns soon with his rapier wit in tow.
Cheers all. Top drinkers in the bar. Have a bevvy on me.
Sp@rs goal conceded.
Mourinho pregame interview:
Q. How will you handle playing without Harry Kane?
A. I don’t want to talk about it.
Subject of the rest of the interview?
Playing without Harry Kane. 🤣😂🤣
To echo C100 the second goal by Salah was beautiful in its directness, simplicity and consummate skill. Kentish Magicians moved dramatically before the transfer deadline to sign him as a result
Ned
The Monks are required urgently.
My brother has texted me to say that in winning all 9 games they played in January including Cup games,
Man City achieved something never done before across all 4 divisions since the Football league was formed in the late 1800’s.That cannot be true can it. ??
Did Jose forget to remind Son to eat his pregame kim-chee?
We are two points behind Spurs who have played one game fewer. We are four points behind West Ham in fifth, level games. It is as tight as the ducks rear end in water for the European places.
A lesson in never giving up.
A belated thanks Dino for a fine match report – top notch as normal. A draw with the team missing 3 of our top was satisfactory in the circumstances and a fair result on the play. A win course is always preferable. Some good performances all round – most significant was that it was a team performance, they all appear to be singing to the same Arteta hymn sheet which augurs well for the future.
A good weekend of results for us topped by another Spuds loss this evening – the gift that never stops giving.
I was fairly confident that the ‘ Mourinho effect ‘ which eventually brings his clubs to their knees would be seen within the next few months but if this is a sign that he may be ahead of schedule in wrecking his latest club.
In reality I think it shows their dependence on Kane and in acknowledging C100’s point about the tightness of the league much depends on squad strength and luck with/ management of injuries . That is why I think we can be very pleased with last night’s result because we coped very well without three top players.It is also why we need to think very seriously about who we release on loan and who we retain or even bring in tomorrow. You will need a very strong squad to survive in a decent state this season
🤣🤣
That Salah goal was magnificent today. But if anyone is in any doubt who the true master was.
C100@37 – Has the odious Portuguee always talked this much sense, and I’ve just never noticed? He really has go it absolutely right in that comment.
Regarding yours @32, my thought, looking at the table with the latest round of matches complete, is that there are four teams that are fewer than three points ahead of us. It would be very surprising if all of them won in the next round, so, provided we win, we can expect to move up the table. It’s unfortunate that three of those four teams have played at least one game fewer than we have, but let’s get ahead of them before we start to worry about how we stay ahead.
COYG
Pangloss/ C100
I think the cliche ‘ it’s a marathon not a sprint ‘ has never been truer than this season . It is incredibly tight and results like Newcastle’s yesterday and Sheffield United at OT show the capacity for any side to create a shock result.
If, and it’s a huge if, we were able to put a run of wins together Champions League football is quite feasible
Nice job, GSD, thanks !
Can’t disagree with anything you wrote – not that I especially wanted to 😏
It did seem that McTominay for ManUre yesterday was likely having another sort of manure problem of his own. I wondered if his urgent departure would leave a hole in the rearguard and while we did catch them with their defensive pants down once or twice, we failed to do the business in front of their goal.
For all his talent, Fernandez is a cheating little toe rag. If you are interested in Man Utd’s midweek games, I’m sure you can see Fernandez next Tuesday. Oh yes he is !
I was wondering if McTominay had any good runs while he was on.
One would think given that he plays for Manure…
Thanks C100 for the Bergkamp clip. Those were the days.
Thanks for the clip C100
The second greatest player to represent Arsenal after TGSTEL
transfer deadline day
we got our reserve goalie, who has already
shown he’s a good fit by getting injured.
And some back up for ESR.
Papa, Ozil,Kola have gone too.
Mus isn’t going yet.
AMN seems to be the only one getting
mentioned in the media. I see no reason
to help Leicester or West Ham who are two
candidates but on the other hand I wouldn’t
like to stand in AMN’s way either.
Solskjaer had to take McTominay off if he wanted any chance of a clean sheet! 😆
So it’s looking like same starting XI as against United. Possibly Willian over Martinelli. Possibly Odegaard to come in for either of them.
I’d like to see Odegaard on the right and Pepe moving to the left where he played against Southampton
Mitchel Bergkamp has joined Watford under 23s.
Mustafi to Schalke and we get a loan fee . What a team Schalke are going to have !
Willock to Newcastle which makes sense.
No likely incomings with AMN staying
Clive@30: Monks a bit snowed under at the moment, quite literally: a blizzard swirls around Castle Ned. What is the alleged record to check? Playing nine games in January or winning nine games. Either is conceivable but would be an extreme outlier. Playing nine games in a month when the weather can be bad would be very uncommon, especially in the days before undersoil heating and modern stadiums. But the players were hardier creatures back then.
We seem to have played twice a week forever but still played only seven games in January.
It is a lot of seasons and divisions to check so it may take some time.
The Tierney “discomfort” gets more worrying.
Supposedly had a late fitness test before the United game – and hasn’t been able to train since ? This does not compute, Captain. I gave an opinion on it a while back and I’m still hoping that turns out not to be the case. I just feel if the problem were a normal strain it would have been identified as such with a scan. This continuing vague “discomfort” is a worry.
Thanks, Countryman for the Bergkamp video. I always struggle to decide between Brady, Bergkamp and Henry as the best ever, but comparing different styles in different eras is impossible really. I just love all three and think we are lucky to have had all of them at their best.
Bergkamp and Henry together was a lethal combination and each made or allowed the other to be even better than they were singly.
When you think we also had Vieira and Pires in the same team, I’m surprised the opposition ever bothered turning up.
The monks have run a quick check on just our seasons. Our first nine-game January didn’t occur until 2011. W6 D2 L1. We had four league games, three FA Cup ties, including a replay, and a two-legged League Cup tie.
Up until the 1970s, four or five games were typical for Januarys (and three not uncommon). From the 1970s, it crept up to five to six games and then to six to seven this century. That, I would suggest, reflects improving stadiums and easier travel over the decades. As you can imagine, Cup replays are also a factor.
It also suggests that playing and winning nine in January, as Man City has done, is exceptional, and maybe unprecedented.
When I got up this morning i didn’t care much about deadline day but I have to say that if we are able to get rid of Mustafi until his contract has run its course anyway, and to loan out AMN and Willock (who both seriously need gametime) to add to the rest of the excellent business we have already done then I would be very happy with that. It would give us a much more streamlined squad instead of the bloated one we have had so far this season and i think it would help the players in terms of getting the right spirit and togetherness around the camp.
Trev @54, I share your concerns about KT3. The cause for concern is increased by the rumours of a possible loan deal for either Bertram or van Ahnholt, both journeymen in comparison to KT3 but a clear indication that there may be a need to bring in a B-list 30/31 year old.
Man City playing and winning 9 games in January is a fantastic achievement. And one they have been good value for.
It sounds even better if no team has ever done it in all the divisions of the football league. Wow . What a stat!
…but I am not sure that adds much gloss if no-one had played nine games in January for 120 odd years until it began happening recently.
I mean, as far as I am aware, we are the only team to win the FA Cup in August since it was inaugurated…
Trev,
I have bad vibes about Tierney without having the knowledge and professional experience you have . I wasn’t happy that we played him for 120 minutes against Newcastle in the Cup. When you think we subsequently went out playing a weakened team it’s not very coherent planning . He’s a lad who gets through an enormous amount of work and running in each game .
Re your point about the riches we had on tap in the Invincibles we were truly spoilt . I remember a game against Middlesbrough early in the season after our unbeaten one . We went 3-1 down at Highbury early in the second half and I looked at Bergkamp. He picked the ball up put it on the centre spot and I think he scored within about forty five seconds of the third Boro goal! . Pires then scored a couple of minutes later and then Reyes scored the minute after that. The bloke next to me had tears in his eyes ( he was quite a hard nut ) and I remember him saying to me that we needed to treasure this team because we would never see anything like it again. Then Henry scored ! Wonderful times . If you want fun on YouTube that game in August 2004 is worth treasuring
Bath @57, indeed. The vagueness or lack of a diagnosis is what really bothers me. Things are usually kept obscure because they’re serious. The move to sign cover at LB suggests this is not trivial, considering we could play Cédric there if necessary, or even Saka, although that detracts seriously from our creative capability. There must be someone in the U23s playing there too, if all we needed was an occasional stand-in.
TTG, I used to have exactly the same thoughts about that team having a quality we would never be able to reproduce.
Unfortunately for me, that period was the only one since the old North Bank standing ST, when I didn’t have a season ticket, due to my own series of knee operations.
Still, I did get to see Hornsby and Johnston 👍🏻🤣
Thanks, TTG for the enjoyable Middlesbrough clip.
We will have shipped out Mustafi permanently and Willock and AMN on loan as well as switching Matt Smith from Swindon to Charlton . No time to bring anyone in which suggests we may see more of Callum Chambers in this part of the season
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>