Goonerholics Forever

A great first half and a fantastic result against Leeds threw up a huge number of talking points in the late (only) kickoff this Saturday.

Apparently, Rob Holding reported some racist abuse during the match. Everything else can take a back seat whilst we still have to face these issues with such depressing regularity. We, as a football community, must do our part in what is undoubtedly a wider societal issue, and bring education and basic decency to places and people who are sadly in need of them. Let’s keep taking on that challenge.

As for the football itself, well, I am not going to do this one blow-by-blow as I’d still be writing at midnight. We could have scored double figures today, and although it is strange to say of a performance in which we scored four goals, we really did not make the most of the chances we created.

I’ll make a few points and look forward to the discussion in the drinks! 

First off – there is so, so much to like about this young side. Saka was just immense. Gabriel Martinelli has grabbed his opportunity to be a deciding force in matches in a way that is just a joy to watch. Martin Ødegaard has found his feet in this league and is starting to show what he can do. His ball through to ESR was perfect, just perfect. And not a single one of them is anywhere near their ceiling. These are exciting times!

Tomiyasu is an absolute beast. He is just playing so well. Furthermore, his position is key to our success. Having a defensively secure right back who can contribute going forward, as well as tuck in-field when necessary, is vital to the structure of the team. As well as the quality of his actions, it is just the fact that he is almost never out of position which is so useful to the ten other blokes in matching shirts. What a player!

Gabriel is excellent. Nuff said. Ditto Ramsdale.

Now, Ben White got some serious minus points for a stupid tackle to concede a clear penalty. Although he amused me with his pretence that it was a good challenge, in an effort to throw Andre Marriner off his game (kudos to Ramsdale for how quickly he cottoned on to this and went with it. A classic bit of “yes, and…” improv from a young keeper who seems able to do pretty much anything)

Raphinha showed Laca, and anyone else interested, how you take a penalty. He smashed it into the top corner, and no-one is saving that.

Speaking of Raphinha, he was perhaps lucky to be on the pitch. Not because of his own actions but because of a certain cretin he had the misfortune to play against who tried very hard to snap his shinbone with a disgraceful challenge that I was embarrassed and disgusted to see.

Yes, folks, it is time to talk about Granit Xhaka.

Now, cards on the table, for anyone who has been living under a rock… I really don’t like the guy. I don’t like him as a player. I don’t like him as a man. As a player he is slow and his recklessness makes him a complete liability. As a man, he talks a good game but consistently behaves in a way that lets his team down. Whatever code of conduct he adheres to, it is a Granit Xhaka personal code of ethics. And if that code clashes with the Arsenal Football Club code then he doesn’t give a toss. I will never be on board with this sort of individual who pretends to be a team player but consistently lets down the badge.

So, with that disclaimer out of the way, I will simply say that he played quite a good game, including a lovely pass for Gabi’s second, but he should have been red carded, the yellow he did get for time-wasting was brainless, and if I never saw him in my team’s colours again that would be a lovely Christmas present. Thank goodness Raphinha was able to continue. If Xhaka had done that to him in the street he would be arrested for assault. Just a nasty, horrible, needless challenge lacking in basic professionalism, let alone the class we hope to have as a club.

Which brings us to VAR. If it is not going to send him off for that challenge then what is point of it? Just like every other week, it proves itself unfit for purpose.

Partey has stabilised somewhat. Not great, but a solid presence. He also took a shot that was on target. I assume his contract stipulates that he will be fined for this.

ESR scores when he wants. He is just brilliant. So good to watch.

Lacazette has every right to see who is offering what money for his services next year. And he won’t be getting a bumper offer from us. But if he fancies a one-year deal I hope we make him a decent offer. The guy is playing some of the best football of his career. ESR, and especially Gabigol, are wonderful foils for his current interpretation of the striker’s role, as they both get into the box when he has dropped back. He needs them to be there, or it just looks like he is in the wrong space, but defenders struggle so much when they don’t know whether to stick to him as he drops off, or track runners, or whether this is the time he is going to make the near post run. He is a clever player. He also played the whole game tonight and is good captain material. Even if he does leave at the end of the season, he is really giving everything for the colours. Top man.

Leeds will go down if their standard is like it was tonight. They made it easy for us. We missed so many chances, in the first half especially. Our goal difference could have been given a huge boost tonight. Saka in the third minute missed an absolute sitter.

Covid has certainly changed the Fantasy League landscape! We will have to keep an eye on developments as there are serious issues about the viability of playing matches for the first time in a while. Christmas with cancelled matches would be very depressing.

I laughed very much at Graeme Souness on Sky. He is just so bitter about everything. I hope something good happens to him soon, although I have no idea what he might consider to be good. Tonight he looked like he was only breathing grudgingly, and on the condition that he could use the oxygen keeping him alive to make criticisms.

Mikel Arteta deserves a lot of credit. Some of our football tonight was brilliant. We have exciting young players who want to attack and score goals. It is increasingly easy to see how the basic structure provides the platform for them to express themselves and improvise some truly wonderful football. I am tearing my hair out at the manager for his sadistic picking of Xhaka in the middle of the park (it just hurts me at this point) and he has a lot to learn. But he has taken plenty of stick when things have not gone our way, and I think most people can now see what he trying to build. Top four this year, then onwards!

Right, that’s all a bit jumbled up, so pick out the bits you like and talk about them in the drinks. And tell me what bits I’ve left out…

Have a good one ‘holics.

Arsenal moved into the top four for the first time this season with a dynamic 2-0 victory over rivals West Ham at the Emirates on Wednesday evening. Much of the pre-match build up was centred around Pierre Emerick Aubameyang being stripped of the captaincy after his latest breach of Arteta’s non-negotiables. However, much like the win over Southampton on Saturday, his teammates did not seem to miss his presence. 

The crowd were very much geared up for this one. After some mixed results of late, perhaps fans were unsure what to expect from this Arsenal side, who were up against a strong West Ham side who had already beaten Liverpool and Chelsea in the league in recent weeks. Arteta named an unchanged side for the third league match in a row for the first time as manager. Emile Smith Rowe had shaken off a knock but had to make do with a place on the bench.

The Gunners started strongly, dominating possession without creating too much in the way of clear-cut chances. West Ham seemed fairly content to sit back and let Arsenal play in front of them and attempt to draw them in and catch them on the break. Bukayo Saka looked particularly lively on the right-hand side causing West Ham to double mark him. However, it was the visitors who had the first real sight of goal. Ben White cleared a free kick from Bowen but it only fell as far as Pablo Fornals whose curling effort whistled wide.

Shortly before the break the dangerous Saka exchanged passes with Martin Ødegaard before laying the ball to Xhaka who saw his effort well blocked. The ball broke out to Tierney who took a touch to set himself before crashing the ball onto the bar. Replays showed that Fabianski did get a touch. But this encouraged Arsenal, and Saka was also involved in the next move as he fed Lacazette who swivelled and shot from the edge of the area but once again the ‘keeper met it well. Goalless at the break but an encouraging half from the home side.

The second half continued in very much the same vein. Arsenal continued to dominate, and, on 48 minutes, the pressure finally told. Gabriel played a forward ball to Lacazette who turned and sent Martinelli through with a pass that Dennis Bergkamp would’ve been proud of. If the assist was Bergkamp-esque, then the finish from Martinelli had Thierry Henry written all over it. The Brazilian took one touch before curling the ball into the far corner sending the home fans into raptures. It was just the latest indication of just how much potential this young man possesses. After a stunning first season in English football his second season was frustratingly disrupted by the serious injury, he picked up in the first lockdown, but he has forced his way into the starting line up over the past few weeks. Martinelli was constantly overlooked by Arteta in the opening weeks of the season, but he now has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 4 starts in the Premier League. 

Often this season, Arsenal have been guilty of sitting back after taking the lead instead of taking the initiative. Would this be the case today? Well, at one point it looked like Arsenal were indeed slipping back into old habits as Ødegaard, who was under no pressure, played a blind pass in a dangerous area that was seized upon by Jarrod Bowen who saw his curling effort well saved by Aaron Ramsdale. It was a big warning sign for Arsenal. Then came the biggest talking point of the match. Arsenal gained possession in the final third after some good pressing, Martinelli fed Lacazette, who was brought down in the box by Coufal. Watching it live, it appeared as though Coufal got the ball, but Anthony Taylor, who sent off Victor Moses and Matteo Kovacic respectively for Chelsea in our 2017 and 2020 FA Cup Final wins, pointed to the spot. Whilst the defender got some of the ball, much of his foot went over the ball which caused him to bring down Lacazette on the follow through. Perhaps if it were given against us, we would feel aggrieved, but we’ve certainly seen penalties go against us for far lesser offenses. After being booked very early in the game, the Czech Republic international was given his marching orders for a second yellow. Lacazette himself, stepped up to take it in the absence of Aubameyang. The Frenchman had never missed a penalty for Arsenal. Well, he has now. Fabianski guessed right and saved well from the striker. Fun fact: Arsenal have won three penalties this season and they’ve missed all three. However, thankfully, all these missed penalties have come in games we’ve gone on to win. But maybe we should find a new penalty taker anyway. Lacazette held his head in his hands. Would that miss prove costly for Arsenal?

The final twenty minutes had an unusual dynamic to them. Whilst West Ham were down to ten men, they were a goal down and the onus was partly on them to go forward to get anything out of the game. Arsenal were caught in two minds as whether to hold what they had or to use their numerical advantage to put the game beyond doubt. West Ham began to have more possession but to little effect as the likes of Antonio and Lanzini were largely nullified by a resolute and determined Arsenal defence. Emile Smith-Rowe had been brought on for Ødegaard to give Arsenal more energy in the final third. The Gunners nearly put the game beyond doubt when Tierney fed Martinelli who pulled it back for Saka, whose goal-bound effort was deflected wide by Issa Diop. 

But the game was finally put beyond any doubt in the 87^th minute. Tomiyasu tussled for the ball with Said Benrahma, winning the battle and allowing Saka to go on another run. He then played in the energetic Smith Rowe who cut inside on his “weaker” left foot and drilled a low effort into the bottom near corner, doubling Arsenal’s money and sealing a huge three points. 

So, Arsenal’s win sees them finally break into the top 4 for the first time this season, leapfrogging the Hammers in the process. Due to Covid, both Spurs and United have games in hand (United have one, Spurs have three) but points in a bag are better than potential points in a bag. That’s two excellent home victories in the space of four days, scoring five goals, conceding none. Now we just need to sort out that pesky away form. We will have an opportunity to do that at Dirty Leeds on Saturday evening before our attentions turn to a Carabao Cup quarter final against a third division side who have triple the number of league titles as Spurs, in the shape of Sunderland.

Onwards and upwards. 

This morning saw me set off for my second live game of the season, hoping it would go rather better than had the first. It did.

I fear this match is not destined to live long in the memory. Indeed even now, only eight hours after it kicked off, I have no clear recollection of the game, so what follows is a set of probably disjointed snapshots of the action.

The match started slowly for the Arsenal, with Southampton having the ball for long periods without doing anything much with it. An early Arsenal attack ended with Lacazette flat on his back in the Southampton box – no foul. In another early attack, Saka was pulled back in the penalty area but managed to keep his feet although he had been sufficiently slowed down that the ball ran out for a goal kick; again no foul. In a similar area, Saka was booked following an incident that from across the pitch looked particularly innocuous. It’s a relief to know that all regulations were scrupulously followed.

After a little more than 20 minutes, Saka again running down the right hand side of the penalty area passed the ball to Lacazette who got his shot away and on target. 1-0 to the Arsenal.

Any Southampton rally was short-lived as around five minutes later Tierney took the ball to the goal line on the left of the penalty area but his attempt to cross the ball along the six-yard line failed. Somehow he regained possesion and tried again to find a team-mate in a more central area. Again he failed but again he managed to retain or regain possession. For a third time he tried to cross the ball, successfully this time and Ødegaard scored with a smart header.

I recall little more of note happening in the first half.

The second half was a little more open. A lovely quick-passing movement from one end of the pitch to the other ended when everyone’s favourite Albanian Swiss fired high, wide and not particularly handsomely from the left side of the panalty D early on. This is not to say that everything Xhaka did was bad, he played plenty of quick balls forwards during the game and did stirling work organising those around him.

Southampton also managed to get their act together sufficiently to draw a couple of saves from Ramsdale – one diving to his right and one leaping backwards and pushing up a hand to deflect the ball over the bar. There was even a period of sustained Arsenal pressure that must have lasted several minutes – as many, perhaps, as three.

Gabriel had the ball in the net at the far post following a corner out on the left but the referee disallowed it for offside – a decision I found surprising given how long the ball seemed to have been bobbling around but one which was supported by VAR. However, this was to prove only a temporary respite for Southampton as the same player scored with a header following another corner from the left only a few minutes later.

And so the match wound down. Capitola Rob came on for the goalscorer a few minutes after the third goal went in and later took the armband when Pepe replaced Lacazette in the dying minutes.

I noticed that all 20 outfield players were compressed in an 18-yard deep rectangle half the width of the pitch for every goal-kick by either side. I’ve never noticed this tactic before and can’t work out what it means in terms of either team’s perceived ability to spread the play when they receive the ball. I was also struck by an apparently very conscious effort by the Arsenal team, particularly early in the first half, to slow things down when a Southampton attach broke down – the experts in the row behind me remarked after the first goal showed that it showed what happens when you move the ball quickly; I wondered whether the quick movement would be as effective if you don’t lull the opposition into a sense of security by moving the ball really, really sloooooowly for 20 minutes or so first. I suspect there’s some truth in both views.

In summary, the Arsenal did what they had to do in this match without looking particularly impressive. Even without looking at the league table, I think it would have been clear to any passing alien (who happened to be a Premier League football fan) that neither of the teams on the pitch are likely to win the title this season. That’s the sort of thing that happens when a team is in transition, though, isn’t it?

Finally, I must admit that some wine and cheese was consumed following the match.