Feed on
Posts
Comments
Embed from Getty Images

Burnley, oh Burnley! That bucolic spot! Where warm Westerlies blow cumulus clouds across the Costa Hibernica to deposit nutrient rain on lush meadows beside the confluence of the Rivers Calder and Brun in a valley beneath Pendle Hill. There, itinerant Mesolithic Britons knapped flints and incoming Neolithic farmers built tumuli and stone circles. Seek not lush banks and braes today, stranger. A few millennia bring changes!

The agricultural village of Brun Lea grew around an early Anglo-Saxon religious foundation to become a prosperous market town and weaving centre. From the late eighteenth century Brun Lea underwent a trajectory epitomising Britain’s industrial revolution. Cotton mills (no doubt, dark and Satanic), iron foundries (certainly Satanic), machine shops and coal mines were developed. Canal and railway links eastwards and westwards facilitated growth. These concerns generated much local wealth in the nineteenth century (check out the Derbyshire origins of the Hill Wood fortune) including an ambitious new football club but also shocking deprivation. The town reached its zenith in terms of wealth, population and power-looms circa 1911. From WWI onwards, it shared the long economic decline of conurbations based on cotton, textiles and heavy industries. 

That’s all very well but what about the football, I hear you say! 

Burnley FC was founded four years before the Arsenal and has played at Turf Moor since 1883. The club was one of twelve founder members of the Football Association in 1888 but has had only two periods of top-flight success. Burnley has won the First Division twice, in 1920-21 and 1959-60, each closely related to runners-up spots (1919-20 & 1961-62). The latter period included a European Cup QF appearance in 1960-61 and an FA Cup Final appearance in 1961-62. From the late 50’s to the early 70’s, under legendary chairman Bob Lord, a local butcher, Burnley were hailed as one of the most progressive clubs in England for their youth policy, scouting system and purpose-built training ground. The names Jimmy Adamson and Jimmy McIlroy from their early 60’s side may ring bells for readers of a certain vintage. I remember a free-flowing side from the late 60’s with Willie Morgan, Ralph Coates and Andy Lochhead up front. In the 70’s the club’s fortunes declined and Burnley plummeted through all four tiers of the Football League, avoiding relegation to the Conference only on the final day of the 1986-87 season. The benefit of this peripatetic history is not merely an archive of nationwide curry shops sure to make C100’s mouth water but it provided the distinction of being one of only five sides to have won all four professional divisions of the Football League. 

Burnley’s other distinction in the record books was to hold, from 1920-21, the longest unbeaten run (30 games) in a single league season until it was bettered by a club dear to your heart in 2003-04. Another piece of Burnley trivia that might interest denizens of this ‘bar’ is their promotion of a unique tipple said to be uniquely available at Turf Moor. ‘Béné and Hot’ has been served at Turf Moor since it was brought back from Normandy by surviving members of the East Lancashire Regiment who had found it restorative in the trenches of WWI. Apparently over 30 bottles are sold at each home game making Burnley FC one of the world’s biggest sellers of Bénédictine! Who’da thunk it? Flat caps, whippets, black puddings and Bénédictine! As to player links, I know of only one Burnley alumnus who played for the Arsenal in the modern era. A very fine gentleman, loyal servant and committed Gooner he is too.

Today’s hosts are a very different side from the teams of Burnley’s halcyon years. Sean Dyche is, in some respects, their Arsene Wenger, achieving Premiership status in 2013-14, in his first full season in charge with a small squad, bouncing straight back in 2015-16 after relegation and keeping them in the Premiership ever since, apparently spending just £135 million since promotion. In 2018-19 he took Burnley into Europe for the first time in 51 years via a seventh-place finish. 

However, Dyche’s achievements on a limited budget are his only similarity to Arsene. In all other respects, he is a laryngitic disciple of the Odobonid with precisely the same temperament and football philosophy. Like Fat Sam’s Bolton, Burnley play right on the edge of or indeed, outside the Laws of the Game to foil their opposition and rely on long balls and ‘putting it in the mixer’. Pretty, they are not. Yet, they do have some talented players. Pope is a decent keeper, perhaps England’s best. Tarkowski is a big strong centre back, likely to move on in the summer. Mee, their captain, organises their defence well and always gives 100%. Westwood is a hard-working midfielder with an eye for a pass and Barnes and McNeill can cause defences problems on their day. In summary, Burnley epitomise direct, tough & gritty, no-nonsense, Northern English culture without frills, pretentions or grace.

Our record against Burnley was very respectable until our last meeting on 13 December 2020. During this season’s awful late autumn/early winter slump we managed to lose 0-1 to a late Aubameyang own goal after creating and spurning the vast majority of chances. Critically, we also had Xhaka sent off for a foolish and totally unnecessary altercation with Westwood. That was Burnley’s first win against us since a League Cup tie at Turf Moor in 2008 (only our second meeting in over 32 years due to their extended tour of English football’s nether reaches) and their first League victory over the Arsenal since 1974. Post-match, Dyche and his players who had clearly set out to achieve a goalless draw appeared astonished (and of course gleeful) to take all three points. Throughout our history, we have met Burnley 110 times before this match, winning 54, drawing 22 and losing 34. We have an even better Premiership record against Burnley since they first achieved that status: a run of 11 straight victories is bookended by a draw at Turf Moor in 2009 and a 2020 draw at their place plus that December defeat. It is time we regained our Indian sign over them.

What about the good guys? 

Mikel Arteta will choose his starting eleven with one eye on our forthcoming treadmill of fixtures and consideration of recently tired legs. However, this week he also has the rare luxury of a full week for R&R and time for tactical work on the training ground. I expect Burnley to concede possession and adopt the same low block tactic that earned them three points in December and I expect the boss to select his team accordingly. We will have loads of possession and will have to find a way to unlock Burnley’s well organised defence and to pull their defenders around with our mobility. The challenge Burnley offers requires all available creative players and the best finishers. ESR’s injury at Lesta will probably rule him out while the performances of Cédric, Pépé and Willian may put them into contention. Hence, I expect a starting eleven akin to:

Leno

Cédric – Luiz – Marì – Tierney

Partey – Xhaka

Saka – Ødegaard – Pépé

Aubameyang

The Holic Pound? I expect our players to strive to make amends for that shocker in December and to produce the application and determination to earn all three points. Burnley don’t score many goals themselves but will make us work very hard to hit the net so I don’t expect a high scoring game. A 2-0 for the Southern Softies seems a possible outcome but the odds are parsimonious at 13/2. If you’re optimistic that our boys have rediscovered the way to goal, 3-0 is available at 11/1 and 4-0 is available at a tempting 20/1. Has this Arsenal team turned the corner sufficiently to thrash a poor team properly? We shall see.

Enjoy the match Holics, wherever and however you access it.

115 Drinks to “Welcome to the North-South Divide”

  1. 1
    Countryman100 says:

    Bath that was a University level seminar in the history and habits of the Benedictine supping Burnley FC. Bravo.

  2. 2
    Trev says:

    Super stuff, Bath !

    Love the history bit – amusing and educational. I have, due to work pressures, already started on the preview for our match against Middlesex next weekend. It too will include a historical prologue, but don’t expect it to reflect the same degree of sophistication as yours. Not be a very long way !

    Like the look of your team – nothing at all to disagree with. Let’s hope the manager is equally brave and attack minded.

    The main surprise in your post is that they eat flat caps and whippets at half time in
    Brun Lea. Actually, maybe it’s not that surprising – that’s why they usually howl at the referee all through the second half 😉

  3. 3
    TTG says:

    I have a brother-in-Law who cut his football-spectating teeth at Turf Moor and reminds me that given their average crowd pre-lockdown they have the biggest local support in the Premier League . This superb preview deserves to premiere better opposition than Dyche’s Desperadoes but I have learnt much about our industrial history and pre or post match beverages in Lancashire !
    Burnley in the sixties were one of the first teams I remember and had some super footballers like McIlroy, Adamson, Connelly ( in the World Cup squad), Pilkington and a good striker in Ray Pointer . This team are a pale, scuffling shadow of that one and I hope we wreak revenge on them. I think your team is quite close to Mikel’s choice but he may start Bellerin . If we don’t fire on all cylinders super sub Willian awaits ! I believe we will record at least a two goal win and Aubameyang will be on fire

  4. 4
    bt8 says:

    Thank you Bathgooner for a Brun Lea education likely never to be topped in these parts. As to the other four clubs that won all four divisions, or the one Burnley alumnus who played for the Arsenal in the modern era, I won’t hazard a guess knowing Ned is lurking but here’s to the start of another multiple decades-long streak of domination over the northern wannabes. Eagerly anticipating that moment when Brun Lea’s flood gates are breached. COYG

  5. 5
    Osakamatt says:

    A fine preview Bath👏👏👏
    Educational indeed, but doesn’t
    I’m afraid make me like the current
    bunch any more than I did and
    I’ll happily call a cab for them on the
    way out of the PL. Sadly, maybe not
    this season.
    I do know the player who played
    for both but won’t say at this
    early stage in the drinks….
    Who’ve won all four divisions is
    a tougher won though – Wolves
    may be one. Preston? Hmm I
    got nothing. Unless Blackburn?
    Anyway, I’ll happily go with 4-0
    as it’s certainly what we should do
    to them. Cheers Bath and a large
    🥃 on the bar for you sir.

  6. 6
    Doctor Faustus says:

    A genuine pleasure it was reading this preview Bath! This consummate ease of weaving multiple threads in a supremely enjoyable narrative while staying focused still on the main issue at hand is a rare skill. Bravo!

    I like your team. However I feel that after Willian’s performance of the season last weekend Arteta will try to give him some chance to build on that. Ødegaard may too find the experience of being kicked around every time he touches the ball a little too novel and unnerving. Saka — who by now has grown a remarkable resilience against the blatant thuggery of the opposition defenders and equally blatant lack of protection by the referees — can play the attacking midfield role where he can rotate with Willian. So, same team, except Saka moving central for Ødegaard, Pépé on the right and Wilian on the left. Anyway, that’s my guess.

    I quite like the possibility of a 3-0. Hard though it is to score goals against them…

    Come on Arsenal!

  7. 7
    North Bank Ned says:

    Sheer delight, bath.

  8. 8
    North Bank Ned says:

    OM@5: Four of the five teams to have won all four divisions are currently in the Premier League, although two of them haven’t won the top-flight title since the 19th century if that helps your guessing.

  9. 9
    bt8 says:

    Intriguing clues, Ned. Tottenham?

  10. 10
    bt8 says:

    Sheffield United?

  11. 11
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Ned, my guess: Burnley, Sheffield United, Preston NE and Wolves …

  12. 12
    Doctor Faustus says:

    For the fifth team I am will guess most likely Leeds, won’t be surprised if Aston Villa or Leicester…

  13. 13
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Or maybe even Portsmouth?

    Anyway, I am certain of Burnley, Preston, Wolves and Sheffield… the rest is a toss between Leeds/Villa/Portsmouth…

  14. 14
    bt8 says:

    Arteta very generous praise of Burnley in his presser https://www.arsenal.com/news/they-have-defined-style-executed-perfection. Possibly excepting the “what they sometimes do” part:

    “they merit much more credit for what they do than what they sometimes do.”

  15. 15
    TTG says:

    Of the five teams I’d go Wolves and Preston , Sheffield United and Portsmouth
    Tootenham might be the answer if they’d won the Premier League!

  16. 16
    bt8 says:

    If not Preston then maybe Sunderland?

  17. 17
    bt8 says:

    Someone at the International Football Association Board must have watched Fulham v Tottenham yesterday whe Fulham’s deserved equalizer was ruled out for a ludicrous handball that could have been avoided only through amputation.
    https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/56291850

  18. 18
    North Bank Ned says:

    Dr F’s short-list of seven looks good but needs two clubs eliminated.

  19. 19
    bt8 says:

    Villa?

  20. 20
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Ned, as you said four of the five are in PL now I guess I leave Portsmouth out and add Leeds in…

    Preston, Wolves, Burnley, Sheffield United, Leeds

  21. 21
    North Bank Ned says:

    bt8@17: It looks as if amputation is being reserved for offside. Arm is being deemed to end at the bottom of the armpit. Anything fingerward of that won’t be taken into account for offside decisions.

    None of these rule changes will come into effect until July 1.

  22. 22
    North Bank Ned says:

    Dr F@20: Wrong eliminations.

  23. 23
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Ned, urgh! Preston, Wolves, Burnley, Sheffield United, Aston Villa …

  24. 24
    Bathgooner says:

    Thanks fellas. I enjoyed writing that one.

    Ned, I think we should keep the intrigue going a little longer.

  25. 25
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Ned @ 21: The offside rules now sound more and more like Calvin-ball …

    For those yet to discover the magic of Calvin-ball, here is a primer …

    Relationships Are Games Of Calvinball

  26. 26
    Doctor Faustus says:

    A perfect encapsulation in this strip …

  27. 27
    Silly Second Yella says:

  28. 28
    Silly Second Yella says:

    Welcome to Fart mooR

  29. 29
    North Bank Ned says:

    bath@24: You set this pidgeon loose. I just happened to know the answer…

  30. 30
    bt8 says:

    6:30am kickoff means an early Friday bedtime for me, being six hours behind GMT, but it is better than last week’s 6am kickoff. Just hope Sean Dyche’s ugly face isn’t the first thing I see in the morning.

  31. 31
    Uplympian says:

    Thanks Bath for a masterful preview, full of interest & information.
    This is a game we should win, and after the debacle of the home match earlier in the season, the will for revenge is strong. Lets hope the team Mikel outs out have the same mindset, Burnley only have sweat & dark arts to combat.
    The neighbours down the road showed how it should be done – no excuses this time lads and a 2-0 win to the good guys will do very nice thank you.

  32. 32
    Esso says:

    Cheers Baff!

    Burnley fully paid up members of the Lancastrian clubs who make up ‘Cunt Corridor’, as christened by WestStandTone on Arseblog. Shocking place. Genuinely.

  33. 33
    Esso says:

    21
    Chambers
    23
    David Luiz
    22
    Mari
    3
    Tierney
    18
    Partey
    34
    Xhaka
    7
    Saka
    11
    Odegaard
    12
    Willian
    14
    Aubameyang (c)
    Substitutes
    33
    Ryan
    2
    Bellerin
    16
    Holding
    6
    Gabriel
    25
    Elneny
    8
    Ceballos
    19
    Pepe
    35
    Martinelli
    9
    Lacazette
    Burnley
    TBC
    Substitutes
    TBC

  34. 34
    Esso says:

    Leno, Chambers, Tierney, Luiz, Mari, Xhaka, Partey, Saka, Odegaard, Willian, Aubameyang.

    Subs: Ryan, Bellerin, Gabriel, Ceballos, Pepe, Holding, Lacazette, Elneny, Martinelli.

  35. 35
    TTG says:

    Thanks Esso
    This suggests to me that Cedric has an injury . It’s a strong bench with options

  36. 36
    bt8 says:

    Thanks Esso.

    C’mon Calum.

  37. 37
    bathgooner says:

    Thanks Esso.

    Chambers at RB gives me nightmares. I hope he doesn’t have a ‘mare. He’s up against Dwight McNeill who will test his fitness, mettle and pace.

    No problem with the rest of the team here provided it’s the Willian from last week rather than his dopple ganger from the previous 6 months.

    As TTG observes, at least it’s a strong bench as long as they’re used in a timely fashion when required.

  38. 38
    Osakamatt says:

    Pepe and Laca a bit unlucky but
    hard to leave out Auba or Saka.
    Calum readier for a physical battle
    than Hector or better in the air
    perhaps?
    Hope Xhaka / Partey will not let
    any dickheads wind them up

  39. 39
    bathgooner says:

    COYG!

  40. 40
    bathgooner says:

    Yay

    Beautiful work and movement from Leno to PEA to GOAL!

  41. 41
    scruzgooner says:

    that makes for a better start!

  42. 42
    Countryman100 says:

    Boom Auba!

  43. 43
    Countryman100 says:

    Delightful play out from the back led to that.

  44. 44
    ksn says:

    Such a pleasant surprise to see us ahead after just seven minutes. Hope we make the most of it and score a hatful.

  45. 45
    bathgooner says:

    You heard it here first.

    Ødegaard is a good player BUT ESR is a better one!

  46. 46
    bathgooner says:

    ESR’s movement is better, his pressing is better, his first touch is better and most importantly his decision making is far, far quicker.

  47. 47
    bathgooner says:

    My thoughts precisely ksn @44.

    Plus DON’T LET THEM BACK INTO THE GAME!

  48. 48
    ksn says:

    Saka misses an open goal!

  49. 49
    Osakamatt says:

    had to score that
    Calum doing fine so far.

  50. 50
    bathgooner says:

    We’re conceding our dominance here. Front foot again please.

  51. 51
    ksn says:

    They had a big game against Leicester on Wednesday and are now running all over the park and should tire by the hour mark, unless they are on drugs. So we should get many opportunities to score. Saka just spurned one of them. But they are fighting relegation and will scrape till the end and that is the reason we need to make sure they don’t get back.

  52. 52
    ksn says:

    Xhaka fucks it up and Burnley score. Fucking Xhaka, grrr.

  53. 53
    Countryman100 says:

    Our usual late half madness

  54. 54
    bathgooner says:

    Absolute stupidity from Xhaka. This game was there for the taking. Now we’ve not only let them back in. We’ve given them a free pass.

  55. 55
    Steve T says:

    No words.

    What the fuck were we doing? Why the fuck do we persist with Xhaka?????

  56. 56
    bathgooner says:

    In the immortal words of Alf Ramsey, “You’ve won it once, now win it again!”

  57. 57
    ksn says:

    Was their goal a handball?

  58. 58
    Osakamatt says:

    that was my own hope ksn but
    sadly not

  59. 59
    bathgooner says:

    Shades of the Wolves match. Total dominance for long stretches. 2-3 excellent chances spurned. Then late on a moment of stupidity in our box lets a team that should be dead and buried back into the game. At least this time we have 11 men (so far).

    That first half sums up this team. Flattering to deceive up front. Vulnerable to individual errors at the back. That’s why we are in 10th and won’t get into a EL place let alone a CL slot. Lots of work to do on that squad.

  60. 60
    Countryman100 says:

    No. They checked. Off his hip.

  61. 61
    Steve T says:

    We’ve played some nice stuff in the first half. Could have been 3 up. But then the Xhaka effect kicks in and we are all square. I had first thought that Leno was equally as culpable until you see the footage from behind the goal. Xhaka calling for the ball, one touch, looks up, one all. Fucking bizarre.

    PEA, Saka and Willian are all looking threatening. Need to focus and get this game back. 3 points is a must today.

  62. 62
    bt8 says:

    There is a lot of work to do on the squad but consider how much less work we’ll have after we get a mobile upgrade on Xhaka.

  63. 63
    Steve T says:

    Apparently Xhaka has made more errors that have resulted in goals in the time he has been with Arsenal than any other player in the premier league??????

  64. 64
    bathgooner says:

    Keep doing what we were doing in the first 30 minutes. Make no defensive errors. Get it right in the second half and we win this. As ksn observes Burnley should have less in their legs than we do. As Steve T says, this is a must win for any team with pretensions (and we do have pretensions!).

  65. 65
    bathgooner says:

    No surprise there Steve @63, is it?

  66. 66
    bathgooner says:

    I do far prefer to see us playing the ball around in the opposition half than this obsession with doing so in and around our box.

  67. 67
    bathgooner says:

    TOO SLOW! TOO PONDEROUS!

  68. 68
    Steve T says:

    No Bath, sadly not.

    Partey having a mixed game as well.

  69. 69
    Steve T says:

    We are so devoid of any attacking ideas at the moment. It’s all too slow and too lacklustre. No flair and no spark. I agree totally with Bath.

  70. 70
    Steve T says:

    Saka needs to be very careful.

  71. 71
    ksn says:

    Hope Saka doesn’t get sent off.
    Even though they have played an extra game they are still beating us to the second ball and showing more desire. We are poor against overtly physical teams for the last decade plus and it is showing today as Saka Odegaard, Willian and Auba are just pushed off the ball so easily. They are dominant in the air their passing appears better and possession wise we have not dominated as we usually do. All in all very poor. COYG.

  72. 72
    ksn says:

    Add slow and ponderous as Bathgooner said and the picture is complete.

  73. 73
    Countryman100 says:

    Clear handball and penalty

  74. 74
    bathgooner says:

    That should have been a pen. Unsurprised Kevin Fiend didn’t agree.

  75. 75
    ksn says:

    Xhaka has learnt nothing as he gives the ball away in a dangerous area but is saved by the off side flag.
    I was so surprised to see spuds knock four past them and we are struggling to get the ball off them.
    Penalty not given after clear handball in their penalty area.

  76. 76
    Steve T says:

    We have no presence in midfield. Partey had been very hit and miss. Xhaka has been worse than he normally is. I would rather have seen one of them removed and Dani given a run out.

    No idea how under the current climate that is not a pen?????

  77. 77
    ksn says:

    We are lucky Leno saved or else even a point at we have opulent be gone.

  78. 78
    Steve T says:

    Fuck me we need to wake up. Not quite sure why Saka is still on the pitch. No idea how we weren’t given a penalty.

  79. 79
    ksn says:

    Pepe misses in front of an open goal.

  80. 80
    Steve T says:

    Pepe back to the old Pepe.

  81. 81
    ksn says:

    We have been given a penalty but looks like VAR will reverse it.

  82. 82
    bathgooner says:

    Pepe needs a third shot at goal. He’ll score the next one.

  83. 83
    ksn says:

    Penalty was correctly ruled out but the earlier one was a clear penalty and would have been given against us.

  84. 84
    Osakamatt says:

    Not looking like our day is it?
    Saka and Pepe both have to
    score. Stone cold penalty to
    me. Xhakered and friendless.
    Hope we nick it last five COYGS!!

  85. 85
    ksn says:

    We looked like a shit team and the question whether Arteta is taking us in the right direction has surfaced or am I over reacting?

  86. 86
    bathgooner says:

    Spot on Matt.

    We have been utterly turgid in the second half. A win now would be highway robbery. But I’d love it.

  87. 87
    ksn says:

    Resurfaced

  88. 88
    Steve T says:

    I hate to say it but Arteta needs to take a long hard look at this today. He is responsible for putting that side out all with his own game plan and tactics.

    It’s been incredibly poor today, regardless of what happens in the last minutes.

  89. 89
    ksn says:

    We hit the post. Real bad luck and definitely not our day.
    We shot ourselves in the foot.

  90. 90
    bathgooner says:

    We are who we are.

    Just not good enough.

  91. 91
    Esso says:

    Cant help feeling a bit cheated

  92. 92
    gedo says:

    Sometimes I hate football.

  93. 93
    bathgooner says:

    Yep. I suspect that non-penalty against Peters would be a penalty 9 times out of 10 against an Arsenal defender.

  94. 94
    North Bank Ned says:

    Can not say that overall we deserved anything more than a draw out of that. Two-thirds of the way through the first half, I thought to myself that it hadn’t been for Pope fumbling for the early goal, it would have been 0-0 and we would have been bemoaning our lack of creativity and failure to convert the chances we did have. We did not look much sharper in the second half until near the end. Even then we had a couple of gilt-edged chances to win it. We won’t get back to too-four contention until we start routinely winning games like these.

  95. 95
    bathgooner says:

    Nutshell, Ned.

  96. 96
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Mikel puts too much faith in players who are not consistent under high pressure 50-50 challenges. We also reverted back to the type of shot shy
    Pépé had an air shot but in his 15 minutes, but should have had a penalty, had one goal bound shot blocked off the shoulder and more touches in the final third than Saka who completely understandably looked exhausted.

    Partey still doesn’t look consistent under intense press as he demands time on the ball.
    We are a mid-table team and two more windows before top four looks like a feasibility and not just hope.

    Xhaka should really be off after this season. Always catastrophic mistakes …

  97. 97
    bathgooner says:

    Spot on on Saka and Partey. As too often the subs came too late. Saka does look a bit jaded despite his rest though TBF he didn’t have a bad game. Partey ran out of steam after 40 minutes and was anonymous in the second half but he will hopefully fitter and may be better next season as he gets used to the PL. I think Xhaka will stay another season as, despite his mistakes, he’s head and shoulders above Ceballos, Elneny and Willock in that midfield. We need better but I can’t see us splashing enough cash for an established upgrade.

  98. 98
    Osakamatt says:

    Leno did well on the save in the
    2nd half, Auba scored and Calum
    did fine after a long while out.
    Willian got an assist with a good
    run and Pepe looked lively.
    Can’t think of any more positives
    from a game that mostly fucked
    me right off. Step forward against
    Leicester and a step backwards
    today.

  99. 99
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Easier said than done but getting quality midfielders with PL experience should be top on the priority list. Even after 4 years Granit is yet to master the ability to look up and pass forward through the lines in one go. Partey after years in Spanish league has become used to having an extra second on the ball and doesn’t have the quick feet of Santi or David Silva to buy him the time. Maybe will come with a pre-season. Our midfield cannot play forward through press unless ESR is playing. I don’t think Ødegaard trusts his fellow midfielders sans ESR for quick triangles to move through pressing lines. Without significant overhaul in the engine room we won’t be going forward fast.

    At this time of the season and given than we finally have built a little consistency this was a must-win match, penalty or not.

  100. 100
    Steve T says:

    I was just chatting to a Geordie pal of mine a few days ago about their plight, and about penalties. This was his view of VAR. Seems to sum it up perfectly on today’s performance.

    “That was before VAR. Now, you can get a pen, sat on the bus, and awarded by some cunt sat in a shed in Wales.”

    Or not awarded, as the case may be.

    Seems appropriate for today…

  101. 101
    Steve T says:

    Raised bat

    Politely acknowledges the crowd.

  102. 102
    Steve T says:

    Just saying….

  103. 103
    North Bank Ned says:

    Dr F.@98: I think you are right about Ødegaard’s need to play with quicker midfielders. There was one instance where he received the ball from Partey, laid it off one-touch into space where Partey should have been but Partey had not moved after making his pass. Nor is Willian a player of quick one-touch passes in the way that ESR is. As for Xhaka, he was having a slow thinking day even by his standards.

  104. 104
    North Bank Ned says:

    Leno made a couple of important saves and his catching was good (he seems to have given up punching crosses away). Mari had another decent game. David Luiz and Chambers were solid, but KT3 seemed a bit subdued.

  105. 105
    TTG says:

    Steve ,
    I acknowledge the data you have provided . I really do try to avoid criticising Xhaka and around Christmas I did give him credit for some better performances but he is not anywhere near good enough to represent Arsenal. GSD and I bang on about this every few games when he does something stupid but then you get the idiot who wrote the blog on Bergkampesque saying he was ‘ without doubt the best deep-lying midfielder in the Premier League ‘. I snapped at that . I named at least fifteen off my fingers but there is a tendency because he can look very neat on the ball to think he does more than he actually does . His constructive impact on a game is minimal, his destructive impact is much greater as we saw today. The argument that four Arsenal managers have picked him simply shows four Arsenal managers have made a very big mistake.If Arteta places too much faith in him he will be very badly let down. Our lack of achievement in league terms which Steve quotes , is in my opinion , no coincidence .
    There are plenty of other issues but I really don’t want to hear what a valuable and underrated player he is . He isn’t either and when we put him up for sale ( as we did obliquely before ) he attracted one bid ( pre Covid) from Hertha Berlin who probably needed a slow, flaky, unreliable midfielder who can’t tackle

  106. 106
    North Bank Ned says:

    Well in for the ton, Steve T. Just being able to raise your bat probably puts you in line for a place in the England top order.

  107. 107
    North Bank Ned says:

    Xhaka has made more errors leading to goals since the 2016-17 season (eight) than any outfield player in the Premier League.

  108. 108
    Doctor Faustus says:

    If this entire season all the time taken on the pitch by Willian was shared between Pepe, Reiss Nelson, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie (he can score goals if you put balls in the box) we would have been better off by at least 5 point. Today Willian got an “assist” for which he should get no credit, Auba manufactured that goal. He played a little better in the last couple of matches but didn’t have a single shot on goal, rarely gets in the penalty box and almost never dribbles past.

    Playing against Burnley trying to score a winning goal and still keeping two holding midfielders in Xhaka and Partey for much of the second half was too conservative. Our strength is in our front line, and Mikel is too rigid in his formations to benefit from the unpredictability the front line can provide. And this match again showed how much of ESR’s between the line clever play has saved Mikel’s blushes this season.

    Still support him and will continue to support him wholeheartedly, but Arteta himself has a long way to go…

  109. 109
    Pangloss says:

    TTG@104
    “I really do try to avoid criticising Xhaka” – Irony? Self-parody? Attempt to re-write history?

    Do tell. Please.

  110. 110
    TTG says:

    Pangloss
    I think everybody reading this but you appreciate my views on Xhaka. I really do try to avoid criticising him hence if you look at my comments after the Chelsea game on Boxing Day through the next five or six games I gave him credit for a big improvement in what Dr F calls ‘ verticality ‘.
    My more recent criticism has been based on recent performances which have regressed. But tell me what did you think of his performance and mistake today ?

  111. 111
    Countryman100 says:

    Did you watch the game Pangloss?

  112. 112
    Silly Second Yella says:

    disarray

    up
    AND
    d
    o
    w
    n

  113. 113
    TTG says:

    SSY
    That’s CBAish!

  114. 114
    Silly Second Yella says:

    Baresi, Cabrini, Zambrotta, Pessotto, Gentile, Nesta, Facchetti

    We need

    GoodFellas

  115. 115
    scruzgooner says:

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>