In our last missive from the usually serene Western Front, your humble scribe and amateur military historian asked whether our Spanish general would spin a yarn of conquest or tragedy. Well, m’luds, I am pleased to report our Generalissimo Mikel (the San Sebastian Sun Tzu) outdid even the Great Bard of Avon himself weaving a tapestry of history, tragedy, and uproarious comedy. I must admit, however, the day began somewhat disconcertingly as matchday intelligence reports from some of our very own friends and patrons trickled in from Villa Park. The team line-ups were all wrong and the fare on offer included something described as Currywurst. My worst fears were coming to fruition…the Lonestar intelligence network was being overrun by exotic foods. As I packed Lonestar Gooner the Younger (hereinafter referred to as “LGtY”) into the truck for, what turned out to be, am unexpectedly long day of youth academy football, urgent calls were being made to recall the intelligence “weather” balloons and burn the human intelligence assets whose information led me to so poorly anticipate both Arsenal and Villa deployments. After all, an army may well fight on its stomach, but a blind squirrel doesn’t find enough nuts to…well, you get my meaning.
The Lineups
Arteta very sensibly determined that freshening-up the squad did not necessarily mean throwing the baby out with the bath water and remained faithful to his accepted starting eleven (there is a reason he is the manager while I sit in the peanut gallery). Benjamin White returned and Jorginho (more on him anon) again deputized for the ailing Partey. The most notable managerial change was resting Martinelli in favor of Trossard. Eminently reasonable.
Ramsdale
White—Saliba—Gabriel—Zinchenko
Ødegaard—Jorginho—Xhaka
Saka—Nketiah—Trossard
There is such a thing as the Fog of War, and the Villa team selection projections are where my “intelligence assets” really let me down (or maybe I’m just an idiot, you pick…or, maybe Emery’s an idiot – yes, I think I prefer that explanation). Uncle Unai obviously plumped for athleticism and thuggery as he made six changes from his line-up against the-expensively-assembled-€itzens-of-(allegedly)-Off-Balance-Sheet-FC.
Watkins—Buendia
Coutinho—Kamara—Luiz—McGinn
Moreno—Mings—Konsa—Cash
Krusty the Clown
Although Arsenal had recorded three straight Premier League victories over the Claret and Blue (history), Wednesday’s defeat, and the concomitant hand-wringing meant we needed a result. Arsenal began brightly, building play from the back and shifting the focus of attack well. From the offing, however, it was clear the Villa “players” were instructed to kick Saka and Ødegaard to bits. With no protection from the chunky, but funky, Simon Hooper, Moreno and Coutinho assaulted our Starboy, and the odious Mings mauled Ødegaard. However, Saka gave as good as he got (and was booked for it, wtaf, Simon), and Ødegaard refused to allow himself to be kicked out of the game. Allow me a very brief word here for PGMOL and Howard Webb. If you refuse to protect the brightest, most marketable footballing asset the Football Association has from the absolute thuggery he receives week in and week out, you open yourselves up to, what might be unreasonable, criticism. I mean LGtY’s absolute favorite player is Saka. Teenage lady Gooner’s favorite player is actually Jude Bellingham (but Saka is a close second). If it was Harry Kane…look, I’ll leave it there.
Somewhat against the run of play, Matty Cash, the Edgbaston clodder himself, actually made a decent football play (his only contribution, to my recollection) by tackling Zinny and playing a delicious diagonal to Ollie Watkins. Watkins took a characteristically poor first touch (remember what I wrote about Villa getting out of their own way?) which should have been enough to allow our usually competent Saliba to stifle the threat. This time, however, Saliba dawdled; Watkins penetrated and fired a composed finish inside Ramsdale’s far post. One might ask whether Ramsdale could have gotten down faster, but his saves later in the game more than made up for this blemish. It was the best start Villa could have anticipated, and Emery (dressed like an aged, no-longer-teenage mutant ninja turtle) celebrated lustily. Guess who else celebrated, albeit less lustily? One Tom Hanks, veritable Hollywood royalty, who was a guest in the Villa Director’s Box. Given the Tom’s choice to support Villa, the judgment of one of his offspring suddenly appears a tad bit less questionable. “…And that’s all I’m gonna say about that.”
Villa 1 – Arsenal 0
Arsenal rebounded from the shock of the Villa opener. After a particular tasty sequence, Benjamin White floated an inviting cross into the center of the box that Nketiah dutifully headed onto the bar. I’m sorry, but you simply have to work the keeper from that position. Eddie labored manfully, and deserved an assist, but he looks a little tired to me. Not to be deterred, after another period of increased pressure and probing, Saka absolutely thumped a left-foot volley from a poorly-executed Mings clearance. What. A. Player. Saka’s intellectual and physical maturation is wondrous to behold. From his ice-cold penalties, to his creativity, to his willingness to be the first player entering the breach (much like Caesar’s willingness to lead his line in Spain and Greece, eh, ClockEndRider?), Saka has become indispensable and undroppable (although we need to rest him, surely). He must be protected.
Villa 1 – Arsenal 1
Villa were not inclined to lie down peaceably and contrived to string together five or so passes ending in a Buendia dummy that, somehow, found its way through Xhaka’s legs to Coutinho. The aging, erratic midfielder wrong-footed Ramsdale with a decent shot from just outside the box. Arsenal should have done better defensively, but the other team gets to play, too.
Villa 2 – Arsenal 1
A word here about Xhaka. As many of you know, I would rather have seen Vieira start this game in Xhaka’s place (and I think Vieira’s later contributions support this). Xhaka didn’t perform particularly poorly in this match, but he was just anonymous to me. I agree with Clive Palmer (of ArsenalVision acclaim), we have better offensive players to play the left eight (although he prefers Zinchenko in that role), and Xhaka is making fewer defensive contributions to warrant his continued inclusion in the starting role. Let’s see what develops. Arsenal huffed and puffed but were unable to equalize before the half.
HT: Villa 2- Arsenal 1
Those of you who watched All or Nothing: Arsenal are familiar with Arteta’s motivational talks. They can be, generously, described as hit-or-miss. Not that the players are not responding to him, mind you, I think he definitely has them under his spell…and long may it continue. Whatever, our well-coiffed colonel said over chocolate oranges and tea should be archived for future reference because the Boys started the second half on a mission. Ødegaard, particularly, after again being assaulted by Mings, elevated our midfield intensity several gears. Arsenal, attacking from left to right, directly into the loving arms of our lively and vocal away support, fashioned the first of several bright chances in the 56th minute when Nketiah sent another header just off target. Now, I get that headers are low-probability shots, but…dude?
After another period of Arsenal dominance resulted in a corner from our right, Saka played a short corner with Ødegaard over to Zinchenko who lashed a left-footed “F-You” low into Krusty’s near post. What a hit! Now, having been beaten at his near post, Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (better known as Krusty the Clown a/k/a Emi Martinez) will definitely be asking himself questions…wait, who am I kidding? Krusty has as much introspection as my housecat. Back to Zinny, what a way to break your duck! How is it, now, that he hasn’t previously scored a Premier League goal? As the kids say, “Don’t know. Don’t care.”
Villa 2 – Arsenal 2
Even as Arsenal continued to press their dominance, that spectre of doom began to creep in as the clock edged closer to full time. Eddie squandered a delightful opportunity from a scrumptious Ødegaard through ball. In the 77th minute, Ødegaard spurned a guilt-edged chance as Eddie, having pressed the Villa defender into a turnover, placed the ball on a plate, and Martin (with a spiritually open goal) fizzed the shot just wide. Minutes later, Leon Bailey (one of several Emery second-half substitutes who hilariously contrived to make the Villa side weaker) collected an aggressive diagonal ball from deep, drove forward, and forced Ramsdale into one of his two key saves. Say what you will about Ramsdale, he has big, brass bollocks. Go on, my son!
We rambled onward into six minutes of stoppage time thanks to utterly rubbish officiating. Simon is a tosser, and I feared he and his crew would make a draw the likely outcome. However, the Bard of London Colney had a few more plot twists in store. Cast your mind back just a few weeks to the end of the transfer window as Arsenal were being thwarted at every turn by Todd Boehly spending money like a drunken sailor. On the eve of the transfer window closing came a scurrilous rumor of Arsenal doing a deal with said Yank billionaire and the bent Chavs to buy Jorginho? What? No way…surely not. Yes way, and don’t call him Shirley. His name is Jorge Luiz Frello Filho Cavaliere OMRI, he is Italzilian, and he relishes pratfall comedy. Understanding that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in the 93rd minute, Jorginho called for a cutback from Martinelli (who had been subbed-on for the decent, but rather anonymous Trossard). As the ball comically cutout six Villa “defenders,” Jorginho called on his inner-Partey to lash a right-footed thunderbastard onto the angle of post and bar. The ricochet, in a way that could only have been written beforehand, rebounded off the back of a diving Krusty’s head and into the net. Cue Pandemonium. Cue hilarity. Jorginho might have been a €helski See You Next Tuesday, but, after the Thrilla in Villa, he’s a Red Bastard. He just needs a good song:
He came to us when Partey went.
Jorgi. Jorgi.
He scored a goal, made Emi bent.
Jorgi. Jorgi. (it’s a work in progress).
As an aside, just as Jorginho’s shot nestled into the back of the net, LGtY, himself, laced a right-footed shot from about 18 yards into the top right corner of the goal. Although I had shouted in celebration of Jorginho’s goal, as I had cheekily brought my phone to watch proceedings from the parent’s gallery, the timing was such that all attendees thought I was cheering my boy’s goal. It was a good goal, but not as good as Jorginho’s 😉. Those parents who looked disapprovingly can do one!
Villa 2 – Arsenal 3
Not satisfied the tragi-comedic script he had written so far, Arteta went full Rowan Atkinson. In the dying embers of stoppage time, hopes of the Villa faithful were tantalizingly buoyed as the boys in Claret and Blue crafted a last-ditch attack and earned a corner. They couldn’t…could they? As the final seconds ticked, and the players jostled, (evidently to Emery’s horror) Krusty’s ostentatiously orange kit joined the fray. The Villa keeper was coming to save the day…only he didn’t. The resulting cross was headed to Vieira who broke at pace and played-in Martinelli who easily outpaced the Villa defenders and Krusty who, to be fair, was running in clown shoes. Vieira (who performed admirably in his substitute appearance) celebrated after the pass, and Martinelli hilariously celebrated before he slotted home the fourth goal.
FT: Villa 2 – Arsenal 4
Conclusion
The three points were indeed heading back to London, but The Bard of London Colney remained unsatisfied. Adding to yesterday’s comedy, as the coach (I assume they traveled by luxury coach) motored down the M1, Arteta sent missives to City Ground, St. James’s Park, and the bus stop in Fulham. Each of the recipients duly obliged his request. Forest’s dogged determination to hold the-expensively-assembled-€itzens-of-(allegedly)-Off-Balance-Sheet-FC to a draw brought tears of laughter. The Scousers won after hilariously getting the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Saudi Arabia’s goal keeper sent off for handling the ball outside the box. And lowly Southampton edged Graham Potter ever-so-closer to the sack through the sublime foot of James Ward-Prowse. Arteta is both a talismanic general and better than Shakespeare, and the title challenge is back on. There are many twists and turns to come, but Saturday was a fantastic day to be a Gooner.
Finally, as much as I enjoyed bringing you both the match preview and match report, I only penned the match report because one of our regulars is supporting an ailing family member. I extend positive vibes and earnest prayers for a speedy and full recovery to that individual’s family and to all the other ‘Holics contending with their own infirmities. Be well and take care of each other.
Until the next time, Up the Arse!
MCMBD.
First, besh wishes to the intended correspondent. I hope all is as well as can be in the circumstances.
Second, an excellent follow-up, Lonestar, to your preview, especially as you stepped into the breach.
As for the game itself, their two goals should have been prevented. Watkins wouldn’t have scored the first if Zinchenko hadn’t lost possession in their half (Zinchenko had an uncharacteristically sloppy first half overall). Coutinho wouldn’t have got the second if Ben White hadn’t allowed a pass inside him in the build-up. Arteta said after the game about how the team got simple things wrong in the first half. Those were two of them.
I agree Emery’s substitutions weakened Villa. By taking off Buenda and Coutinho, he dismantled their shape in midfield that had prevented us from taking control in the first half. Bizzare.
get in, lonestar. well-covered, despite your prior commitments. pretty much the game i saw, though my eyes thought they’d deceived me when the ball bounced off emi’s head. i laughed!
i guess ma8 has a substitute partey piece, finally. he’s even stealing his shot. i wonder if emi walked around with a glove on his head after that…
COYG!
Outstanding and entertaining review, Lonestar. Also outstanding stepping into the breach.
Huge win and mood lifter, and thank you Clunky the Clown although Jorginho really deserves credit for the goal. Also, we might as well call Simon Hooper Chunkythe Clown for failing to deter the hacking job on Saka or the time wasting by Clunky. And on to Leicester
Cheers Lonestar, brilliant report. This weekend of football has been pretty good so far.
And best wished to who needs them.
Lonestar ,
You’ve emerged as a shining star of this blog , able metaphorically to play in any position . This is a provocative ( in a good and fair way ) report and you make some excellent observations .
Firstly players who ( I think) might be doing better
Ramsdale – beaten easily for the first goal and went the wrong way for the second he made a hugely important save at his near post from Bailey . Or his parry flew off the post . I don’t think he’s a top-class keeper , his handling is sloppy and he is hopeless on crosses .
But his distribution is great and he has great presence .
Xhaka – I hammered this guy for years but he started this season really well. But he’s regressed and he isn’t creative enough nor does he win enough tackles
Nketiah- He’s not playing as well as he did but is working very hard and I believe in him
Saliba – bad start to the game but he got better and better
Zinchenko – ditto and he is one of the leaders
Jorginho- I thought he was comfortably our best player as he was against Citeh . I’ve never rated him but neither have I studied him closely. He is someone we should consider at no.8. At least until Declan Rice arrives
It was a wonderful tonic, that game ,and hopefully will rejuvenate the club
Great report !
Great and very funny match report Lonestar and many thanks for stepping into the breach for a fellow ‘holic who needed to put his family first!
Yesterday was an extraordinary match and one of the great away games. I love games in the Midlands because they are an easy journey from Cambridgeshire. We wandered down to the fine old ground from our parking spot about 15 minutes away and through the gates into the Aston Villa fan zone. Surveying the culinary delights on offer we spotted a curry wurst stall. Now Lonestar regards curry wurst as an exotic food. I can only surmise he has never visited Berlin where it is a common street food. Fried sliced sausages with onions are then cooked in a rich curry sauce with dried onions on top and a roll for dipping in the sauce. Delicious and very warming.
Suitably fortified we wandered round and entered the away end in the Doug Ellis lower stand by the corner flag. A superb view, with no stanchions in the way. We were in the back row and as we gazed around, it became apparent that we were right below the tv studio. Peter Crouch and Martin Keown beamed down benevolently on us, prompting cries of ‘there’s only one Keown”. Off we went. Lonestar has described the game well and the truth is we really weren’t really on it in the first half. Three very good goals (Saka’s hit was superb) left Villa 2-1 up and several of our players, including Zinny and Tross, looked well off the pace. Indeed there were many voices, mine amongst them, opining that Zinny needed to come off for KT3 at half time. Which is why I am not the manager of Arsenal Football club. The voices of the travelling faithful had faded a bit as the half ended and we were a bit frustrated and glum.
Second half and Arteta sent the team out very early, having told a few home truths. Whatever it was said, it worked. We were much much better in the second half and the away end was in full cry again. We poured forward towards the goal in front of us with our little Ukrainian full back and our Norwegian captain to the fore. We made chance after chance and Zinny stroked one in on the hour to huge roars. Surely we would win this one? But first Eddie, then Gabriel and finally, awfully, Mo, missed gilt edged chances and up the other end Ramsdale performed some minor miracles to keep them out. As the clock ticked down to 90 minutes we feared our opportunities had gone.
But then started the eight minutes that might just change our season. Emi Martinez, despite his loyal service to the Arsenal over the thick end of 10 years, and an FA Cup winners medal, is not greatly liked by Gooners due to his disrespectful comments on leaving (Villa is an upgrade etc). He won the World Cup a few weeks ago, which no one can ever take away from him, but behaved like a prat afterwards. He was picking up a few boos from the start, but his egregious time wasting, from the start, attracted our ire.
Shit Aaron Ramsdale
You’re just a shit Aaron Ramsdale
He got booked for time wasting for the third time this season and then the ref proved he’d noticed by adding on six minutes. Still time for a winner! And so, deliciously, it proved. Jorghino (always rated him 🤪) absolutely twatted it from the edge of the area, it bounced down off the bar, hit Martinez (I thought it was off his arse, but it later proved to have been off his head) and rolled in. Pandemonium. Limbs as the young call it (so 21CG tells me. Everybody hugging everybody else. Keown going nuts in the studio above us. Then Martinez was serenaded.
Oh Emi Martinez!
Then the final corner. Martinez goes up. Slightly nervous Gooners. But the ball is cleared, Vieira plays a delicious pass between two men and Gabi walks the ball into the net. More pandemonium. The whole team, plus Xhaka from the bench congregate in front of the away fans. Cries of Jorghino! Jorghino! rent the air. It’s over. Late winners are rare. Late winners away from home are even rarer. This, as I say above, was one of the great away days, full of twists and turnes. I am so glad I was there.
Coda. On the way home we listened to the City Forest game on the radio. 20 miles from home Forest equalised. My son, who was driving, nearly swerved off the road celebrating. We were top of the league again, two points clear and a game in hand!
24 hours later I’m still buzzing. What a day. Only football can do this.
Curry wurst stall.
An excellent match report, LG. Better than our stuttering first half performance and as excellent as our second half performance yesterday. This reached a climactic denouement with a pair of hilariously ironic moments, the like of which the Bard of Stratford would have been proud to use in the final scene of one of his Comedies.
That final scene was all the better that Jorginho, still dismissed as a despicable Chav villain (I paraphrase) in several of the slow-thinking quarters of Goonerdom, became the Hand of Nemesis for the truly despicable ex-glove butler of our Manor who, having spent a year or two regularly slandering the Arsenal, displayed his puerility and complete lack of class to the whole world with his lewd gesture in Qatar. Goodness me, the sheltered ladies of Qatar must have quivered with shock behind their veils.
Jorginho and Ødegaard share MotM for me with the former proving even better than Mikel Arteta hoped for. That goal (what a billiards player he must be!) was worth his transfer fee alone.
We need to maintain that second half drive for 90 minutes in each of the next few matches.
Away win – check
Victory in the last couple of minutes – check
Pantomime villain at fault for victory – check
Excellent report from long-time reader, first time GHF report writer – check
C100 report from the away end complete with food review – check.
Stokechester United lose, City prevented from winning in the last minute and Private Equity Athletic beaten by bottom of the table Southampton – check.
If Heineken made weekends…….
Does the Emirates have curry wurst stalls? If not, why not??
Heads might have to roll.
Not to my knowledge bt8. The Midlands has the best footy scran. Wolves and Villa are superb. Honourable mention for the Wigan pies.
Congratulations to the mail young ‘un on that fine goal even if it wasn’t quite up to the standard of Jorginho’s. 😜
Previous drink addressed to Lonestar, but please ignore “ mail” inserted by spillchucker.
Cheers, all, for your kind words. I think this is something I might do more often if you all will have me.
C100, guilty as charged. I’ve never traveled to Berlin. I would love to do so. Just who ate all those pies? IIRC, there used to be a website ranking and reviewing the best footy scran. Selhurst Park was pants. Emirates was very hit or miss.
Bt8, the lad is still chuffed…and irritated that no one caught it on film. I’m not THAT dad 😂.
MCMBD
The Emirates, and the stalls around it, only sell expensive, indigestion inducing rubbish. The only decent food is in the restaurants. Just say TTG sent you. Or, if you go to Il Papagone in Finsbury Park, mention Baff. He’s known as (Don) Carlo there.
Very enjoyable report LG, and thanks for not filling up the wall with our English dead.
As others have said it was a great day to be a gooner.
Lonestar
By all means say I sent you, but charge your meals to Countryman’s ( numerous) accounts
Big question now is whether Man U is a contender for the title . I’d reluctantly conclude they have a slight chance . It might be preferable if they beat Barcelona on Thursday
In the long ago Leno / Emi debate I marginally favored Bernd at the time but Emi certainly left with my best wishes and I think those of almost every other gooner. Since then he has squandered them more or less completely but he is what he is I suppose and I will try to remember the Cup Final. Anyway, that Leno / Emi debate has long since been decided in favour of Aaron who is a much better fit than either for this Arsenal team.
Talking of Aaron I honestly don’t think anyone could have saved the first Villa goal. Credit where it’s due, Watkins did very well after his poor first touch, not many players have schooled Saliba this season but he did there, and then produced an excellent finish.
Course William played him very well after that, he keeps on keeping on very well for such a young player.
C100 & TTG,
Always happy to trade on other peoples’ names and purses. The Bank of Friendship and Che will always be fond memories.
Still buzzing, btw.
MCMBD.
Just got around to finishing the away day report, thanks C100.
Sounds like a great day and I must admit I had the same thought
about Zin being subbed.
Jorginho played well again and it’s starting to remind me of the David Luiz transfer. I didn’t want us to sign either of them as I simply didn’t rate them. But Luiz grew on me over time as I watched him more closely / regularly than I had before. He was a very good player I now think and you just have to accept that from time to time he is going to do something completely stupid. In Jorginho’s case I think he is also better than I had expected but we will need to accept that from time to time his lack of pace will cost us.
Cheers Lonestar!
Esso! 👀
MCMBD.
Lonestar, huge thanks for your help at a difficult time – and thanks to everyone involved in running this blog for their help and friendship. These are exactly the things that Dave stood for and he would be proud of all of you.
At least I left you with a pretty special match and victory to report on – and what an excellent job you’ve done. Top stuff – preview and review !
Thanks again – I owe you one !
C100@7: As savoury an awayday match report as the currywurst. And what a day to be there.
TTG@6 and OM@20: I have to side with OM on their first goal. Watkins’s shot was low, hard and accurate. Ramsdale wasn’t out of position and reacted quickly enough but was beaten by the pace of the ball. The only way to have saved that shot might have been to stick out a foot and hope to get lucky.
Trev@26: Good to see you coming up for air.
Cheers, LG! Awesome double header performance from the blue sky! Wow!
We needed some smiles from the top of the Olympos though as we were showed how deus ex machina is working. Poor Emi.
For me Jorgino was the MoTM and just because his goal but his presence felt in the middle he had many perfect forward passes and his positioning was excellent.
The game itself resembled the ones against Manure and Mugsmashers. We had the same never giving up, no surrender attitude and the belief.
COYG
Cheers Ned !
That’s been my MO with the ladies for years – stick out a foot and hope to get lucky …
Got to trip one up these days to make them fall at your feet 😉
Lonestar — if 21CG last year had a Gabriel Jesus like impact on the quality of Goonerholicsforever’s collective output, you are raising the level even further with Zinchenko like nous and technical brilliance. Bravo!
Jorginho has been surprisingly front footed. He doesn’t have Partey’s athleticism to cover as much vertical ground and instigate the transitions as quickly, but his passing in the final third has been incisive and even imaginative. As others have already mentioned we may even try Partey-Jorginho combination when the Ghanaian is back fit.
All the four goals were so distinctly different and yet equally enjoyable. But maybe the third goal was the best among the equals. 🙂 Loved Zinchenko’s reaction to his equaliser; no time wasted celebrating, just a momentary expression of exhilaration (his first PL goal, scored for the club he followed since boyhood) and then determined run back to the Arsenal half to go for the winner. One of the things the current squad does impressively well — especially given how young they are — is to never feel sorry for themselves even when provoked (the brutal assault on Saka was protested vociferously by the others but without ever letting it impact their emotions) or after making mistakes (Saliba after the mistake for the first goal very smoothly readjusted his approach a bit and didn’t let Watkins win a single duel).
This was far from a flawless performance, but filled with a self-belief that as long as they stick to their plan and do their basics rights they will outscore the opposition. It’s fantastic to watch the relentlessness of wanting to do the right things even when mistakes or bad luck happen, and one marvels at the effort at every level of training that must have taken place to build such synergy of body and mind in a group.
Gabriel Jesus could be getting close to a return and if so in the nick of time.
https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/players/gabriel-jesus-injury-return-arsenal-26286757
Looking forward to the resurrection. The more options the better.
Overall, Eddie has done well (to me) even though he has got a bit of stick lately. He won us a penalty against Shitteh and would have had an assist against Villa but for Ode’s radar going wonky.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/feb/20/barcelona-la-liga-xavi-hernandez-former-referee-payments-scandal
Barca joining Shitteh and Juve in this seasons Shocking Scandal Stakes.
When I say shocking I actually mean completely unsurprising.
Trev @26 – de nada, mi amigo. I hope the patient continues the recovery apace.
Las @28 – gracias.
Dr. F @30 – your words are too kind…I’m blushing. Thank you.
C100 – speaking of currywurst, Footy Scran is on the bird app:
https://twitter.com/FootyScran?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
The double ribeye cheeseburger at Ashton Town (six quid) looks tasty.
MCMBD
Speaking about Jorgino, here is a very analysis about his game agains Villa:
Elnenny has extended his contract to summer 2024.
https://www.arsenal.com/news/mohamed-elneny-signs-contract-extension
…and extends his name by a ‘n’. No, not really.
A quote from the FA’s head of women’s psychology in a BBC piece on the Lionesses’ use of sports psychologists (https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/64641087) could equally apply to Arteta’s approach, “You don’t win by wanting to win….you win by having a really good strategy for success and having real clarity around what you need to do and how you go about your business.” It pairs well with Arseblog’s remarks today about Ramsdale’s comments on the need to fix the defending faults seen in the first half of Saturday’s win at Villa.
Re: Lonestar @34, Looking through that thread, it looks like the J-League’s food options may be a cut above the rest. I wonder if OM has partaken…
bt8 – Agreed. J-League does look like they really mean it. As per usual, American sports continue to take fans for mugs. Tickets are outrageously expensive; parking is extortionist; and, once you finally make it into the stadium, food and beverage options are provided by highwaymen. I much prefer to take in American sports at home or in the local.
Interestingly, I could find no approving pictures/views on currywurst (eh, C100). Beginning to have concerns…might be “not scran.” 😉
MCMBD.
Dunno if it’s scran (other than c100’s report from Villa for which there is so far no corroborating evidence) but if it’s pictures you want there’s no shortage to be found, LG. Getty alone has many hundreds of currywurst photos, i.e.:
https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/currywurst
Here you are Lonestar. You can try this at home.
Ha! Cheers, Ned!
MCMBD.
Just curious how many times ‘Holics have watched the third goal against Villa. I’m on 37 and still laughing!
ecg, not as many as that, but many. a lovely prat-fall.
Villa may have gotten 0 points against Arsenal, but you certainly have to give him credit for his sleeveless vest. I doubt even Pep would have thought of that one. 🍺
Him above being Unai Emery, desperately trying to show Arsenal fans he has turned a new leaf. Speaking of leaf I wonder if that’s his ganja smoking jacket. 🤔
Emery vest vibes…
https://media.entertainmentearth.com/assets/images/2e3a93130f5b4abfaad518538005f020xl.jpg
MCMBD
🤣🤣🤣🤣
*heads it in*
Well in Ollie. Have you ever played cricket?
Well in for the half-ton, Ollie.
C100@51: French cricket, perhaps?
Afraid not, C100. Am I out hbw?
I can’t match Lonestar and CER’s Roman history, but when it comes to the French revolution, there is a quote attributed to GM Trevelyan, a historian more read in my youth than today, that “if the French nobility had been capable of playing cricket with their peasants, their chateaux would never have been burnt”.
Most of what I know about cricket comes from Lagaan, although the songs and dances outshine the cricket.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagaan
And a link to the entire three-hour movie link if you are so inclined.
The pasting at Anfield put me in mind of our last CL game with Bayern
I looked up our team
OspinaBellerin Mustafi Kos Monreal
Ox Xhaka Ramsey
Walcott Giroud Sanchez
I think we have strengthened don’t you ?
Ned @54 – CER is learned Roman scholar. I’m just a country hack.
With regard to the French Revolution, I always thought it had something to do with someone telling someone else to let other folks eat cake? Something had to burn…would you rather your chateaux or your choux?
I’ll get me coat.
MCMBD
One other thought is that there is grave concern that Arteta will decamp to The Emptihad if/ when Pep leaves . But maybe a very natural successor to Lep with massive Citeh DNA is emerging in NW England tge heartland of the PGMOL.
Vincent Kompany has got Burnley playing great possession football. One of my best friends is a Millwall regular and he said they played Tge Lions off tge Park before succumbing to a late equaliser . If Chelsea sack Potter and genuinely do want to find a generational coach Kompsy May appeal to them too
Kompany could be an interesting call. Another with Citeh and even more Arsenal DNA is Patrick Vieira who is not doing himself any disfavors at Palace.
Bit late to the great scran debate but in answer to bt8 @39 I can’t tell you anything first hand about the grub in the JLeague. I can tell you that in general the food and drinks at Japanese sports events are way better than in the UK. I went to my first baseball game on a hot summers day in Osaka and found out that nice young ladies dressed in cut down versions of the team uniform circle constantly through the crowd carrying ice boxes full of chilled beer at very reasonable prices. Made for an enjoyably hazy afternoon.
Certainly better than the truly bad lager they used to sell in the Clock End in the 80s.
Sounds like an excellent to attend a Japanese sporting event, OM. I wonder if it’s the same at the sumo wrestling.
Very interesting analysis and discussion in the comments section regarding our recent defensive foibles. https://7amkickoff.com/index.php/2023/02/22/arsenals-defense-has-been-the-problem-this-month/
It is with regret that I must announce the passing of John Motson. The most prominent football voice of my formative years along with David Coleman and I suspect that for many of us. Motty always seemed such a nice chap. With the passing of Dickie Davies earlier this week, the celestial producer must be recruiting for the launch of a new celestial sports channel. RIP
And a reminder of his style…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/41163874
Terribly sad news about John Motson.
His finest hour. https://mobile.twitter.com/TheN5News/status/1628692615708147714
Going to school in Sp*rs territory, it gave me untold hours of pleasure to do the commentary after each playground goal.
CER @66, I love that!
Sad to learn of Motty’s death. Another piece of our past is gone. He was of that golden generation of television commentators who saw their job as describing a game as a fan would see it but with the gift of using the right words at the right time and knowing when not to say anything. For me, Motson and Brian Moore (and the incomparable Peter Jones on the radio) were the great practitioners of their craft. And not one of them was a former player.
I was struck reading Motson’s obituary by an anecdote about him being driven to and from the Hereford-Newscastle cup tie that was his broadcasting breakthrough by two of the Hereford players. The past was a different country.
OM @60: Sounds like a fun experience. I don’t even care much for baseball, but the lure of beer maidens and affordable prices would be too much to resist. When the World Series was in Arlington a few years ago (I think it was Rays v Dodgers), I took LGtY to a game. Food options were poor and pricey, but, hey, it was the World Series.🤷🏽♂️
MCMBD.
Ned @68,
Yep. When I played for East Barnet John Motson and his pal Ricky George (Hereford goal vs Newcastle) came along to some of our 5-a-side training sessions. They were mates of our first team captain, Bob Sims, and were involved together with race horses in some way.
Bob was on the verge of hanging his boots up and I was just leaving school. Quite the game to play in – good fun. RIP Motty.
There’s a superb soliloquy from Brian Clough towards the end of this piece with Motty. His criticism is even more germane now:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/16039736
Bath, typical Clough, harsh but true and, as you say, even more pertinent these days due to the endless prattle of pundits over VAR, Co-commentators, and “expert” opinion from a pet referee.
Oh for a return to one commentator, no co-comms and pundits , if we have to have them, who can provide some insight rather than merely a description of what we can already see.
Barry Davies was probably the master at describing the scoring of a goal – typically “One – Nil !”
That’s not a criticism of Motty, by the way, who I thought was great.
I caught the end of Kenneth Wolstenholme then the heyday of David Coleman who was a distinct upgrade but the era of Motty and Brian Moore was the golden age of commentary for me. It’s been downhill all the way since then.
>>>>>>>