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You’ll Always be Shit

Jan 15th, 2023 by

A magnificent first-half performance from The Arsenal, followed by a more pragmatic second half, was enough to see us do the double over the old enemy for the first time since 2014.

There was just so much to like about today that I hardly know where to start.

Did I mention that we’ve beaten the shower from the wrong end of Seven Sisters Road for the second time in the league this season?

Oh, I did?

Well, fair warning, I’m probably gonna do it again…

The match started at a traditionally fast pace for us but the Tiny Totts also resisted the temptation to start as they usually do – as though they have spent the last 30 minutes listening to Richarlison provide them with a step-by-step guide to his special method for waxing his nether regions and are suffering from all the trauma one might expect such an abomination to provide. The horror, the horror.

Instead, they showed that they were well up for the challenge of playing against the league leaders, at least initially. And make no mistake, playing against this team is one hell of a challenge. It soon took its toll.

After a feisty opening few minutes the Arsenal press forced an error, and a clever flick from Gabi provided Eddie with his first chance of the match. The young man’s left-footed shot was thwarted by a good save from Lloris, and it set the pattern for his failing to make the most of his chances today. What is fantastic to see is that even without a goal our junior striker is putting in far more complete performances than many of us thought possible and proving such a handful for quality defences (and this one today, starring Eric Dier).

Despite this initial save, Lloris had not set a pattern of excellence. On fifteen minutes, Partey played a ball over the top, Saka cut in from the channel and his deflected cross bobbled nicely for the ex-France captain to smother it into his own net. Lovely stuff.

Halfway through a half that we dominated with an absolutely sublime team performance was a moment of sheer class from TP5 that was a couple of inches away from being one of the all-time great derby goals. Chippy would have loved it! Unfortunately, his volley from outside the box crashed into the post. Watch the spin on the ball as it arrowed to the goal. The technique was outstanding and even at this level there are few players capable of hitting a ball like that. It was one moment picked from a fantastic performance from a player who has become perhaps the most irreplaceable cog in Arteta’s machine.

We pressed forward, and Romero finally got a yellow card for about his fourth nasty foul. His deal with the devil has been good for him though, as he managed to shit-kick his way through the rest of the match without receiving his marching orders.

He did however showcase the other side to his game a few minutes later. As well as kicking lumps out of better players, he is also able to turn his back as one of the best players in the league smashes a ball past him and into the corner from 25 yards. Ødegaard wheeled away having done the damage. What a player – he was simply magnificent today. He was a joy to watch, playing the game in a beautiful spirit inversely proportional to the snide, shameful way Romero played.

The Norwegian is growing as a captain, becoming more vocal, and his calm, respectful manner, coupled with a steely determination that should not be underestimated, is an example that his teammates are latching onto. He is playing so, so well. And his class on the pitch is matched off it. What a guy.

The away fans managed a round of “Tottnum Hotspur – You’ll always be shit” that was clearly audible on the telly. Excellent work everyone.

We did give Kane a chance with a header just before half-time, but Ramsdale was having none of it all day, even though Kane is an unfortunately excellent player and had a decent game.

There was a strange kerfuffle when it looked as though Craig Pawson had awarded an undeserved yet crucial penalty against us as the half ended. Strangely, he decided not to do so. I hope the poor chap is okay and recovers swiftly from whatever malady has thrown him so far off his game.

Harry Kane was very confused that he hadn’t been given a chance to score from the spot. Then again, Harry Kane gets very confused by childproof paracetamol bottles. How are you supposed to open them, witchcraft?

The second half was tougher. Saka was quieter. Having run them ragged in the opening 45 (when he wasn’t having the shit kicked out of him, obviously) he joined most of our players in having a less effective second half.

The exception was Rambo, who made a string of saves. If we are going to win the league, we will need days when our keeper steps up and wins us points. He has had a good season but today he stood out and I hope he builds on this performance as he is a player who has a much higher ceiling than we are currently seeing. He won a deserved MOTM today, the LWCs actually managing a decent collection of chances, even if their overall play was not great.

Richarlison came on and reached his usual level of integrity and sporting fair play. After twenty minutes of this, as the match ended, he unnecessarily engaged Ramsdale as he went to get his gloves, and sparked some reaction from the Spurs fans, one of whom stood on an advertising board and kicked out at our keeper. To be fair, this one idiot is not representative of most Spurs fans and I don’t think any of us need to be clutching our pearls. The guy is a moron who should be banned and all proper football fans will agree on that regardless of their allegiance – ’nuff said from me.

We didn’t let it mar a great performance and result. The players went and celebrated a fantastic three points with the faithful.

Apparently, that was the second time we’d beaten them in the league this year. I’m sure I saw that mentioned somewhere.

It also puts us 8 points clear at the top of the Premier League.

I’m looking forward to hearing from all the usual suspects in the Drinks, and I extend a special invitation to any lurkers or first-timers to come and have your say on a great day for the club.

St. Totteringham will be here before we know it!

Posted in Match Report | 116 Drinks »

Mikel’s Boléro

Jan 15th, 2023 by

Given the somewhat manic urge of our age to reduce expressions and experiences to purely mechanistic modalities of biological explanations, lately there have been attempts at “explaining away” the throbbing vitality of Boléro’s incessant rhythmic pattern and melodic motif to be the outcome of the neurological disorder of progressive aphasia which had marked the beginning of Ravel’s rapidly progressing dementia, likely to have expedited by a severe automobile accident when he was in his fifties. Much to Ravel’s surprise, Boléro became his most famous composition in his lifetime, and after his untimely death had gained significant popularity, and remained his most recognized work. A lifelong Ravel fan, I listen to his peerless piano pieces like Miroirs or Gaspard de la nuit more frequently, but the power and magic of Boléro remains undeniable.

Boléro is no longer, or rarely so, performed outside its purely orchestral interpretation, though it was first publicly performed as a ballet, choreographed by the great Polish dancer Bronisława Niżyńska.  Its essential rhythmic and melodic predictability is complemented by a gracefulness of movement that is mesmeric because of its inevitability.

In footballing terms, I suspect something like that is what Arteta and his coaching team are aiming for: an essential consistency and predictability of structure and shape on which graceful movements are built like layers of melodic motifs, driving towards the inevitable crescendos of attacking brilliance. If Arsène’s best teams were sometime compared with the improvisational philosophy of jazz – where great players in a group align on some fundamental rhythmic, harmonic and melodic ideas to then express their originalities in manner that is singularly individualistic but never at the expense of the collective – I find Mikel’s meticulous attention to every detail and the exquisite structural control more akin to classical compositions. It is worth noting though that these two different approaches are not always mutually incompatible: Ravel was a lifelong fan of jazz music, the love for which he openly admitted, in his solitary trip to US – recalled in a poetically imagined novel by Jean Echenoz that I highly recommend to anyone remotely interested in the enigma of Ravel’s life and music. He spent significant amount of time with Gershwin listening to jazz in Harlem, and jazz greats over the years have professed their undying love of Ravel.

And I don’t know about other Arsenal fans outside this wise, understanding and friendly universe of Goonerholics, but I personally have fallen in love with this Arsenal team almost as much I was in love with the great Wenger teams, in days of jubilations and heartaches alike. I now look forward to the next match with an eager anticipation, I enjoy the sublime moments to my heart’s content, and when things don’t really work out as planned, I still feel proud of how the team (and Mikel on the sidelines) behaves collectively in a manner that shows a great combination of humility and determination. I don’t really know why the various people on the anti-Arsenal media and establishment are all about, but I find the behavior of the youngest team in the league coached by the youngest manager as passionate but impeccable. 

And to be honest, that consistency of football quality, that unique combination of confidence and humility, that passion and togetherness, those magical moments of exquisite movements on and off the ball, those innovative interpretations of traditional positions, the technical composure on the ball, the repetitive but unstoppable ways of reimagining the space on the football field…those are enough for me as a football fan and as an Arsenal fan.  Watching Arsenal gives me genuine pleasure once again and sitting on my living room on the other side of the ocean, it also brings me great joy to see how this Arsenal team is making Faustus Junior feel so proud, and how he senses the connection between the fans on the ground and the player growing. 

I don’t know who we will or will not sign in this window, and I don’t know whether we will or will not win the league. But whatever happens, I am looking forward to how this composition evolves in time over the years, as much as I look forward to how it unfolds in the confined space of the football field every few days.

Our away form has been very good this season in the league, though not as record-breakingly impressive as the home form. We have won all but two of our away matches, a rather unfortunate loss away at United and a draw away at Southampton who have over the years gave us, and many other top teams, enough trouble in their home ground. But probably no away match in the league calendar carries as much of an emotional association as the one that we are going to play on Sunday. It has been quite a while we have won there. The 2013/14 league season was the last time, when Tomáš Rosický’s stinging outside-of-the-right-foot (trademarked Rosický?) volley from the right side of the penalty box – following a sharp exchange with Oxlade-Chamberlain – gave us a 1-0 lead in the second minute that we protected with a strong defensive display led by captain Per Mertesacker (ably assisted by two other leaders in Arsenal defense, Sagna and Koscielny), excellent keeping by Szczesny, and a disciplined midfield organized by one Mikel Arteta.

Our last year’s away loss there was dispiriting not only because it ended our Champions League qualification chances but also the manner of loss itself: a combination of naivety and tiredness from our part and some inexplicable, but sadly not entirely unexpected, refereeing decisions. Whereas we don’t have any control over the latter, and officiating in the English game has now entered a surreally nightmarish state of affairs, we don’t have any reasons to be tired yet and have had ample opportunity to learn from last year’s mistakes.

This is exactly the kind of match where we will miss Gabriel Jesus, not only his technical abilities and big match nous, but also his street-wise professionalism, and his relentless menace and whirlwind energy. Another chance for Eddie Nketiah to show us all again how much he has come along, and I think he will cherish playing against them the way Saka or ESR do.

The rest of the team more or less pick themselves. In the Tierney or Zinchenko debate by stance is unequivocal: both. :–) I think they do not quite replace each other but offer somewhat complementary qualities. If both are fit, I suspect Zinchenko will start ahead of Kieran as the Ukrainian’s interpretation of the left back role allows us better control over the midfield, allows Xhaka to operate better as an attacking force, and thereby unleashing more of Martinelli’s abilities on and off the ball. It does make us a little bit more vulnerable against speedy wingers and fullbacks down our left side, so Gabriel needs to be at his best, and so does Saliba who typically ends up covering a wide area on both sides of Ramsdale’s goal.    

Ramsdale

White – Saliba – Gabriel – Zinchenko

Partey

Ødegaard – Xhaka

Saka – Nketiah – Martinelli

Captain Ødegaard – November-December PL player of the month – had a relatively subdued game against Newcastle at home the weekend before last, and this is a perfect match for him to forget that blip, especially given the fortnight of match rest he has had.

It was wonderful to see Emile Smith-Rowe back on the pitch on Monday’s FA cup away tie against Oxford. He is too rusty to start in this match but let us hope if he were to be introduced later in the game it is only to give him more match practice, after we have already secured a strong lead.

A win in this match would not only strengthen our position on the top of the league but would also give us an extra boost of confidence before a run of games against strong opposition. The North London Derby is known for its often-chaotic nature where form may matter for little if you don’t keep your composure. I believe (hope) that Arteta and his coaching team will prepare the squad mentally to see through the difficult patches of the game and make our undeniably greater quality count at the end. A 3-1 away victory at this ground hasn’t happened in a long time, but tomorrow can bring in a new era of such results.

Enjoy the match everyone. Come on Arsenal!

P.S. Given that I started this preview with a musical reference, and especially to Boléro, let me also take this opportunity to sympathize with other Jeff Beck fans in our readership. He was a guitarist’s guitarist, and for us complete novices and amateurs, the skill, versatility and expressiveness of his playing were a source of wonder and inspiration. Like all true genius, he always sounds ‘…at a slight angle to the rest of the musical universe’ (to paraphrase E.M.Forster’s remarks on C.P. Cavafy).

Posted in Match Preview | 29 Drinks »

The Treble Is On!!!

Jan 10th, 2023 by

Anyone up for a treble? Of course, this isn’t a “real” treble but that doesn’t really matter. We can pretend it is. Arsenal kept their “treble” dreams alive with an enthralling 3-0 win at Oxford on Monday evening. In the same way watching paint dry is enthralling. Arteta made seven changes from the Newcastle game although it was a team almost exclusively made up of full internationals even if they didn’t play like it for the opening two thirds of the game. 

The less I say about the first half the better. In fairness Oxford gave as good as they got in the opening forty-five minutes. Both sides failed to register a shot on target before the break. It was a difficult watch. Oxford’s midfield included former Hale end Academy graduate, Marcus McGuane. He initially left us in 2018 to join Barcelona B. He now plays for a team who are 14th in League One. The grass isn’t always greener after all. They also had Josh Murphy who is the brother of Newcastle’s Jacob. If I am correct, I believe he was also on the Magpie’s books at some point. 

The first half passed without much incident other than that we should have had a penalty when Lokonga saw his shot quite literally saved by an Oxford defender. The Arsenal players surrounded the referee but in the absence of VAR, not that it would’ve made a difference, there was nothing doing. Other than that, there was very little of note to report. It was the kind of game where if it was being played in your back garden, you would draw the curtains. Due to the Kassam Stadium’s unique design, there were only three stands, with the other “stand” being a car park! A couple of fans decided to watch the game standing on the roof of a car. Can’t do that at The Emirates. Magic of the cup and all that!

We did improve after the break. Perhaps an Arteta rocket up the backside was all that was needed. That or the half time oranges. There was a brief moment of panic where an Oxford player was sent through on goal, but Matt Turner’s excellent starting position snuffed out any danger. On the hour mark, Martinelli was scythed down and we had a free kick which was beautifully floated in by Fabio Vieira and Mohammed Elneny headed in expertly to break the deadlock. It wasn’t the Pyramid Pirlo’s usual howitzer from outside the box but a goal is a goal. 

We began to turn the screw as the U’s were forced to commit more men forward. Granit Xhaka, who had replaced the mostly ineffective Lokonga in midfield, won the ball back in midfield, Elneny fed Vieira, who sent a delicious through ball to Eddie Nketiah who rounded the keeper and passed the ball home for number two. It was two assists in less than ten minutes for Vieira who Arteta said, in the build up to the game, was now at the physical level to compete. He could still do with a bit more bulking up but there really is no questioning his technical ability. Every time he plays, he seems to make a big contribution and you sense he is a player who is only going to get better. A brace of assists won’t have done him any harm.

Just six minutes later we had a third. Martinelli carried the ball into the final third before releasing Nketiah who sumptuously chipped the ‘keeper for his second of the game. That’s four goals in four starts since the resumption of club football following the World Cup. Our number 14 has had a lot of pressure foisted upon him following the injury to Gabriel Jesús but at the moment he is seizing his chance with both hands. I said at the end of last season, I would be disappointed if we let Eddie go for free and I don’t think I was alone in celebrating when he signed a new long term deal in the summer. That’s seven goals in all competitions this season in just eleven starts. He is now level with Bukayo Saka, Ødegaard and Martinelli. That’s a rather good front four. We then saw Emile Smith Rowe make his long awaited return from injury as he got on for about 15 minutes or so. With our number 10 back and the news that the Mudryk deal is inching closer to completion, we seem to have a fair amount of depth in attacking positions, particularly on that left hand side. And we are going to need it if we are going to be competitive on all three fronts. 

We will now travel to Manchester in round four to take on our title rivals, Manchester City at the Emptihad. It will be interesting to see how we get on with that game coming a couple of weeks before our eagerly anticipated league encounter with the champions at the Emirates. It means our next three games are against Spurs and Manchester United in the league followed Manchester city in the Arsenal Cup. We then have league games against Everton and Brentford, before the potential title deciding clash at the Emirates. The next few weeks are set to be season defining. 

COYG!!

Posted in Match Report | 45 Drinks »

And Now For Something Completely Different …..

Jan 8th, 2023 by

So after the Winter World Cup, a break for some players of six weeks or so, then three Premier League games condensed into nine days, it’s time on Monday evening for something very old and very traditional. No, not TTG, but the FA Cup or, as it’s referred to in the Tottenham trophy cabinet, the Sweet FA Cup., ‘cos it’s that long since there’s been one in there.

Our 3rd Round tie away to Oxford United has come at a convenient time for our squad, which has been tested to the limits of Mikel Arteta’s confidence by three hard league games and a number of injuries in key areas – namely across our attack. I am unfortunately old enough to have been present at too many cup upsets to imagine that Arsenal will consider this game a foregone conclusion, but we should realistically be able to rely on a high proportion of squad players to see us through to Round 4.

The Stats
Oxford sit in 14th place out of 24 in League 1 and after 24 games in that division, have amassed 29 points, winning 7, drawing 8 and losing 9, with an overall goal difference of 2, having scored 29 and conceded 27. There is nothing to choose between their home and away form, so they cannot and we shouldn’t regard their home Kassam Stadium as any kind of fortress. If you’re going to the game by car, the venue is also known as Grenoble Road. They clearly have a feel for the exotic in Oxford – the ground is actually named after it’s owner and former chairman of the club, Firoz Kassam. If you are one of the travelling faithful, you have been very lucky, or very deserving, as the ground holds only 12,500 people. 

Oxford’s only success in cup football came in their most elevated era in 1985-86 when they beat Queen’s Park Rangers 3-0 in the final of the League Cup, not far off a hundred years after the club was founded in October 1893 as Headington United. They played in a number of minor leagues before changing their name to Oxford United in 1960 and being elected to the Football League in 1962. “Big” Ron Atkinson holds the record for most games played for the club – 560 times between 1959 and 1971.They have never won the FA Cup but Oxford University won the competition in 1874, taking over from Wanderers who had been victorious in the previous two seasons.

By contrast Arsenal, of course, have won the competition a record 14 times and even in the latter Wenger years saw success in 2014, 2015, 2017 and in Arteta’s first season in 2020. We have played Oxford twice in the FA Cup and beat them both times, in 1963 and forty years later in 2003, at Highbury, when a certain Dennis Bergkamp scored his 100th goal for the Arsenal.

Oxford won the League Cup tie between the two teams in 1984 at their old Manor Ground, and also beat us 3-0 there in May 1986 in the old League Division One. I have to say I have no recollection of them being in the top flight of the league, but indeed they were, between 1984-85 and 1987-88. Our record wasn’t actually particularly great as we Won 2, Drew 3 and Lost 1 of the six encounters.

The Arsenal
All this, if history is any indicator, should mean that Arsenal can trust a majority of squad players to see them home in this one. Emile Smith-Rowe is reportedly back in full training and will hopefully play some part. He will be a huge and welcome boost to the attacking half of the team after months out following groin surgery, but I would be surprised to see him play more than a half, or 60 minutes at most, and everything will be crossed that he can avoid any referred muscle problems. 

Reiss Nelson could also be fit but the thing that set my heart racing while looking up “football London” was the news that Gabriel Jesus had posted another update on his injury, which would give a “massive lift” to Arsenal fans. I speed read my way through the article to find out exactly what this revelation was going to be. Well, the “massive” news is that, after last week’s update, Jesus no longer needs crutches to walk ! Good news indeed, but on that basis I think we are unlikely to see him playing any part on Monday evening!

While some people want Mikel Arteta to rest the entire first eleven, I think we will see some familiar faces lining up. If we are taking the competition seriously, expecting additions over the next three weeks to bolster the squad for later rounds, I would rather see a slightly stronger side establish a lead that would allow the youngsters to be subbed on later in the game, than a disjointed, inexperienced team struggle, followed by a twenty minute charge of the light brigade at the end. We have, after all, six days recovery time before the North London derby on 15th January, and Arteta may prefer to keep some game rhythm going in the players legs than give them a twelve day break. 

A stab at the team might be:

Turner;

Tomiyasu, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney;

Xhaka (Elneny), Lokonga, Vieira;

Smith-Rowe, Nketiah, Nelson (Marquinhos).

On another note – RIP Gianluca Vialli Gianluca Vialli sadly passed away with pancreatic cancer on Friday at 58 years of age, far too young for one of football’s good guys. By all accounts a humble, fun loving, decent man, liked by everyone – except Martin Keown who tried unsuccessfully to intimidate and incite him with “a certain type of introduction” (😏) – a failure that no doubt irritated Keown but earned Vialli his great respect as, in Martin’s words, “he was far too clever for that”.

In case anyone hasn’t heard it, there is also the story of Vialli’s first game in charge for Chelsea, where he had been installed to try to overhaul Arsenal’s 1-0 lead in the two legged League Cup semi final of 1998. His pre-match talk included a glass of champagne to get all the players relaxed ! Strength and conditioning coaches might like to note that it worked as they went out and won !

And finally …

It seems that Oxford’s fans are becoming increasingly unhappy at the club’s mediocre performances. At the end of their last home match, a number of £1 coins were thrown onto the pitch. Police are still trying to find out whether this was an act of hooliganism or a takeover bid. 😳

The Holic Pound
I have omitted the betting odds for this very unusual game as I would imagine there would be next to no value on any positive outcome for the Arsenal, and in these difficult times, and especially after Christmas, nobody except TTG would have any money left to gamble with anyway !

If you’re going to the game, good luck finding one of the 2,000 unreserved, first come first served parking spaces (that is true). If you’re not, the tie is on ITV1 in the UK, kick off 20.00.

Referee for this game is David Coote, the fourth official is Michael Salisbury, and I can find no mention of *VAR at all. If you are reassured by any of that – good luck ! I’m beginning to despair of finding a referee who turns in a fair and consistent performance, and who doesn’t want to be the star of the show. 

And really finally …

*VAR will apparently be in use in the 3rd Round only at ties hosted by Premier League clubs. That amounts to nine altogether. The rule book for this season’s competition states: “The Association reserves the right to select any match in the Competition Proper, at its absolute discretion, in which VARs will be used.”

So there you are. Perhaps the most surprising thing about that is that the words “The Association” and “it’s absolute discretion” all appear in the same sentence! The least surprising thing is that it makes no nod whatsoever to consistency in officiating. 

Whatever happens with refereeing decisions in this game, I hope the club has been well briefed with regard to the expected standards of behaviour. The players must not protest if they see, for example, a team mate being pulled to the ground by the neck, in the area, and no penalty given. If the opposition manage to keep the ball dead for an entire half of the match with play acting and time wasting tactics, the manager must not show his annoyance and frustration. And, travelling fans, if we win, please do not celebrate as though we have just “won the Champions League”. It’s better to file quietly out of the ground like nothing has happened, than pay some respect to the opposition by showing that you are elated to have beaten them. 

Only players, managers and fans of other clubs – think, for example, of Klopp, Guardiola, Ferguson and Mourinho’s Chelsea – are allowed such indiscretions (ooh, that word again) without sanction or a week’s discussion across the media.

We know we’re getting good when they all start moaning about us.

Enjoy, Holics !

Posted in Match Preview | 38 Drinks »

Not-quite-Dominance Asserted as Arsenal Draws Stoke United-upon-Tyne

Jan 4th, 2023 by

In our last post Bathgooner called for our Arsenal to assert its dominance against chasers Newcastle United in the Tuesday evening game hosted at the New Home of Football in North London. Unfortunately, rather than the Newcastle United expected to show up to play football, the rotationally-fouling Stoke United-upon-Tyne got off the bus and proceeded to take to heart the idea of “having a kickabout”. Arsenal certainly asserted its dominance, and left the field of play bruised and battered with heads high in spite of not scoring a goal for the first time in the league this season. The 0-0 draw was more than United deserved, and while we couldn’t pull out the three points we strove to actually play football until the very end against a side dedicated to time-wasting, stoppage of play, and getting by with everything the MWTW Madley was willing to let them.

Writ large, we dominated large stretches of the game, including most of the first half; Newcastle’s only real threat was a long shot from Wilson gathered by Ramsdale. We had success in the first twenty or so minutes down the right, combinations of White, Saka, Partey, and Mø creating potential breakthroughs that just didn’t quite come off. Credit to Newcastle’s defense for shutting down this route, or forcing us away from it with double- and triple-teams against the ball carrier (primarily Saka). They closed Martinelli/Xhaka/Z/Mø down the same way on the left as the game progressed. Saka had a shot saved in the first five minutes, and shortly after that Martinelli crossed for Xhaka to hit the side netting after good work from Saka carrying the ball across the field from defense. There were some other nice moments, including a great turn by Eddie on a ball in defense; he ran half the field with the ball before cutting back to Xhaka. Saka would have been through on goal if Granit hadn’t miskicked his pass.

We kept making intricate strides through their defense after passing the ball in a no-longer-death horseshoe, and yet we couldn’t make the final ball match some of the quality of the buildup. Newcastle’s reaction to all this was to play on the break, foul rotationally, and waste time, from the very early parts of the game. In the 20th minute Joelinton was down, and about five minutes later Bruno and Wilson were carded for kicking Eddie and Saliba, respectively. MA8 was haranguing the fourth official, who really, really wanted him to stay in his box. Our defense was gritty and composed in spite of the type of football Stok…er…Newcastle was “trying” to play.

In the second half one would have expected more of the same, but Newcastle came out and strove to actually play football for a few minutes. Even then they reverted to type. On a break early on Xhaka was adjudged to have “fouled” Wilson. Xhaka touched both of Wilson’s shoulders, but lightly, and Wilson dove like cryptocurrancy after exchange fraud. After a poor freekick by Trippier, Ramsdale nearly handed Newcastle a lifeline with poor play from the back, his pass out tipped by Wilson to Almiron at the edge of the box. Only a sliding block by Xhaka prevented Almiron from waltzing in on goal, and in the end our defense regrouped enough that none of his teammates could get a touch on his cross across the box.

By the 57th minute Newcastle’s non-Stoke nature had been exhausted, and earned two more quick yellow cards. The first came when Joelinton tripped Saka at the edge of the box reaching to get the ball; to be fair, he did get a slight touch on the ball, but had to trip Saka over to do so (Saka would have gotten the ball, I think, had he not had to deal with Joelinton’s leg). The second was for a combination of timewasting and stupidity on Almiron’s part. He kept creeping further and further over the 10-meter foam line after Madley told him to stop. And then came, probably, the moment of the game.

Saka took the freekick, looping it in towards goal. Pope punched away, and on the recycle Mø’s hopeful punt was gathered by a grateful Pope. However, the MWTW missed a very, very obvious hold of Gabriel’s shirt by Burn, who pulled Gabriel to the ground by it without sanction. Given Madley’s penchant for punishing shirt-pulling, having given out three yellow cards during this very game for that sort of foul, somehow Burn’s action did not even warrant a VAR check. There was a VAR check on Gabriel’s “foul” on Burn at the end of the first half, surely this was reviewable? I’m not really sure why it wasn’t…

Moments later Burn put his elbow into Saka’s mouth just inside the penalty area; it was an accident, but it prevented Saka from trying for Partey’s lofted ball. I’ve seen those given, too, in other areas of the pitch, but no, not by Mr. Madley. Also, a question for the Madman: is the corner quarter circle no longer the limit for placing the ball on a corner kick? This is something, I suppose, for the PGMOL to address (ha!), but it seems like the ball is getting further and further away from the line with each passing week, whenever the corner is on the side opposite the linesman. I can’t say Arsenal isn’t guilty of this, but it speaks to the laxity and variability with which games in the PL are refereed.

Arsenal re-asserted their dominance after Saka recovered from Burn’s elbow. Martinelli curled a right-footed shot to the far corner that was caught by Pope. Saka drove down the right, evaded one defender at the edge of the box, then had Joelinton poke away the ball for a corner as Saka bore down on goal. Eddie made a great turn at the top of the box and drove into the box; his pass to Martinelli was cut out and made its way through to Pope to smother.

In the 75th minute Tomi came in for White. We came at them repeatedly, and had a number of corners that we just couldn’t convert into anything meaningful; Gabigol put one header just past the far post from Mø’s corner. Newcastle kept falling over at the slightest touch, kicking the ball away, and complaining to Madley, wasting more and more time. By the 87th minute it was clear Newcastle were running on fumes; St.-Maximin replaced Willock to try to give Newcastle some sort of energy. Willock had had a rough day. While Partey purred in the engine room, he physically dominated Willock in a way I haven’t seen since Arsenal got the Partey started.

And then we had our best chance of the game. Partey and Gabriel played keep ball out by the center circle, then Gabriel put through a beautiful ball to Xhaka, who simply let it carom over his foot for Eddie to run on to. His left-footed strike was excellent; unfortunately Pope’s left-foot save was equal to it. It would have been a fitting goal for Eddie to have scored. He worked really hard today, playing in the half spaces that Jésus usually occupies out towards the halfway line, using his strength to back down and/or turn defenders, and came closest of all to scoring to win the game for us. In the three games since we’ve lost Gabriel Jésus he has shown himself to be a formidable replacement. It’s unfortunate he can’t play every minute of every game until GJ gets back. Note to our board: BUY A BACKUP STRIKER IN JANUARY!

That was the end of the 90 minutes, and *gasp* there were only 5 additional minutes added for all the time wasting Newcastle put forward. According to one observer the game involved only 53 actual minutes of football, the rest was time wasted. There has to be a better way… In stoppage time Tomi came a long distance to cut out a pass on a Newcastle break. Nearly every time Arsenal were threatening we overhit our final ball, or just didn’t have the right touch. At the end of stoppage Xhaka’s crossed ball hit Murphy’s arm from close range inside the box. VAR gave nothing (and I think rightly so, there was nowhere else for his arm to be as he turned away from the ball), but it spurred handbags between Arteta and Howe, mostly thrown from the Arsenal manager’s tactical area. The whistle blew shortly thereafter, and the draw was on the cards.

If you’re still awake and reading this far down the page, remember what I said in the opening paragraph: we left the field of play bruised and battered with heads high. We were clearly the better side, and if we’d gotten the rub of the green, a review of certain fouls, and a few more minutes of stoppage time I think we could have pulled out a win. As it is we’re still 8 points ahead of City with their game in hand against Chelsea on Thursday, and 9 ahead of Newcastle with our game in hand. Our 44 points from 17 games still specs out to nearly 2.6 points per game, or 98 points if we can keep it up over a whole season. We may not do that, we may not win the league, but I am so proud of the way we played today in spite of Stoke-upon-Tyne’s visit to our house.

A note to the board: INVEST IN JANUARY and we just might make this a season that sets the foundation for the next decade or two. We might still if no investment is forthcoming, but if that is the case it’ll be down to an amazing group of players and a manager who infuses intelligence, passion, and grit into his players, allowing them to play with flair, wit, and joy. Aren’t we all enjoying this so far? I know I am.

COYG!

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