With the news that our leader has been laid low, how are our players dealing with the corona virus? Well each has his own technique …..
Bernd Leno – tried to catch the virus but couldn’t quite hold on to the little blighters. Eventually decided to punch the bugs, rushed off his line and accidentally punched Richarlison in the face – so the virus isn’t all bad.
Shkodran Mustafi – decided to slide into a crowd of bugs and scythe them all down – mistimed his slide and got infected through every orifice before turning to David Luiz to blame him for his stupidity.
Just at that moment Luiz almost involuntarily threw out an arm and caught a shower of bugs flying from Guendouzi’s billowing hair as he ran late and aimlessly past the hapless centre back.
Kieran Tierney – has been self isolating in the treatment room for over two months and has therefore successfully avoided contamination .
Hector Bellerin – like Tierney has undergone weeks of treatment room isolation. Has recently returned to action on the pitch but has so far failed to get near enough to any opposition forwards for contamination to be a possibility.
Alexandre Lacazette – despite a number of bugs trying to land on the centre forward, they have all bounced off him and landed at least a very safe four metres away.
Mesut Özil – has such a clear picture of where all the bugs are, he has appeared to be able to avoid any contact and has successfully made himself invisible to his would be attackers. The virus calls him The Ghost.
Granit Xhaka – simply walked towards a crowd of bugs assembled at the side of the pitch and told them all to “Fuck off!” Despite badly aggravating the bugs into a frenzy of activity, it seems they decided to leave him alone and let him play on unaffected.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – constantly switches position from one side of the pitch to the other, so that the bugs have no idea where to find him.
Reiss Nelson – has only allowed himself to be seen on the pitch for a few minutes at the time. When he does get out there, he appears to either use Mikel Arteta as a shield or runs so fast the bugs can’t catch him.
Any more contributions in the drinks please!
We know this is serious, but you’ve still got to laugh!
Throwing the control aside in disgust Matteo Guendouzi
reflected that three hours of Fifa was an unsatisfactory way to spend time he
should have been playing real football. He also considered that the eleven year
old who had just dominated him like Sead Kolasinac dealing with potential
muggers was probably a Spurs fan anyway. Life must be pretty grim for him and
Matteo did not grudge him his victory. At least in the game the poor little kid
got to see his team play with strikers. And without the grim spectre of
Mourinho pouting on the sideline, shoulders hunched into his coat, the short
greying hair giving him the air of some sort of scavenger bird, a wily buzzard
waiting for his team to die before picking their carcasses clean. Guendouzi
felt a cold tingle down his spine and shivered.
Glancing at the clock he saw that it was 7.26 pm. It was
agonising. He should have been coming out of the tunnel at the home of last
year’s champions. The injury to poor Lucas would surely have got him a start?
The boss could not keep playing Granit forever, could he? He frowned at the
thought of a man who could make turning 180 degrees with a football look more
laboured than an octogenarian doing the same with a shopping cart. Back in the
home country his great grandpa had done all his own shopping and that of two of
his neighbours well into his nineties. He had still looked more sprightly than
the Swiss, and, unlike Granit, you could rely on his distribution.
Matteo looked about aimlessly, lost for inspiration. He
needed something to do.
When he had first been told that he was not allowed to go
anywhere near any of the other members of his team he had had a flashback to Unai
Emery’s tactical briefings. Once he understood that it just meant that he had
to stay at home for a few days he calmed down a little but now the reality of
life without chasing a ball was hitting home and he yearned to be training with
the lads. He thought of them, wondering what they were doing right now, right
when the match should have been kicking off.
He thought of Xhaka, at home cooking dinner, really, really
slowly. Perhaps trying to bake some chicken with tomatoes and managing to give
the ball away on the edge of the penalty area. How could anyone be so good at that?
He imagined Shkodran, slide tackling his children before bed, his arm raised in
a desperate appeal to his wife that the younger one was surely offside? He
thought of Papa, sitting motionless and staring angrily at a wall, trying to
knock it down with the sheer force of his disapproval.
He knew that Nicolas did not cook himself but was not
allowed even to serve dinner at home anymore. After his chef had spent so long
preparing wonderful meals everyone found it infuriating to see Pepe bring them towards
the table only to turn away, turn back, turn away, turn back and repeat this
maddening dance for minutes until he finally put the cold food down on the
kitchen counter, about ten feet from where anyone wanted it.
He wondered about checking Sky Sports to see if Auba had
scored. If anyone could get a goal without actually playing a match it was him.
By the same token he wondered if Laca had missed any chances yet? Mesut crossed
his mind but flitted out of it almost immediately, leaving no trace that he had
ever been there. Perhaps he was a ghost? Berndt, however, was surely a vampire?
With reflexes sharper than any human being. And a mortal fear of crosses.
He thought about calling Gabigol for a chat but dismissed
the idea. He had probably ignored the advice to isolate himself and was playing
street football with a bunch of kids who hated him because he never stopped
running and acted like every game was the World Cup Final. Gabigol was the only
one who Matteo thought liked running more than he did. Although Gabi liked
everything more than everyone. He could be locked up in a prison cell for a day
and still find a way to be relentlessly enthused about the possibilities. And
cover eleven kilometres.
Suddenly his phone buzzed. He looked down and saw David was
calling him. He smiled as he answered the call of his
Hair-Brother-From-Another-Mother.
“Yo! David!”
“Ola, Matteo! What are you up to?”
“Nothing man. I am so bored. You?”
“Mate. MATE! I am having a hilarious time. Best night in EVER!
I had to call you, you are the only one who would understand. I am gonna send
you the photos.”
The laughter from the end of the line was infectious. Matteo
had never heard David like this.
“What photos, David? What’s going on?”
“I am telling you mate. I wish I had had this much time to
myself before… It never occurred to me to do it… I never knew how brilliant
they were. This is the funniest thing ever. I look HILARIOUS!”
“Dave, seriously, cut the suspense. What are you doing? What’s going on?”
“Matteo, I have just discovered HAIR STRAIGHTENERS!”
The past, and the future. Image courtesy of Getty Images.
Last week, while idly pondering Manchester City’s stadium name, I discovered that Etihad is only the second-largest airline in the UAE, trailing Emirates, the leader. What with Arsenal having named their stadium Emirates and signed a long-term “Fly Emirates” shirt sponsorship, some people might think Arsenal should be able to get better commercial deals than City, seeing as Emirates must have plenty of money to spend, but I will leave that point for others to determine. In any case, Manchester City sport a much larger transfer budget than Arsenal, who never seem to be pursuing the same players as City in the transfer market, at least not in my reading of the headlines over the dozen years since they were purchased by Sheik Mansour of the Abu Dhabi royal family. None of this is to say Arsenal cannot compete with their oil-rich rivals, or even to defy the odds and come up with a win on any particular occasion, but let’s just say the scales are tilted against them. But enough of the grim reality.
On Wednesday evening Mikel Arteta returns to the Etihad, the site of his top-level coaching apprenticeship of three and a half seasons under Pep Guardiola, to lead Arsenal into a battle that most observers will give him little chance of winning against the two-time defending Premier League champions. Guardiola will do his best to give his protege another coaching lesson, but this time not a friendly one. Pep was not only Arteta’s mentor but gave him his first chance to coach at a big club, albeit in an assistant role. Arteta was Guardiola’s right-hand man during City’s 2017/18 and 2018/19 Premier League title-winning seasons so this match; being the first time Arteta faces his old employers since he left to become coach of Arsenal, it should be an emotional and memorable occasion for the two men.
Arsenal
last played Saturday at home when they saw off West Ham by 1-0. Their
opponents will be playing on a day’s less rest, last having played
Sunday at Old Trafford when they lost by two goals and were unable to
score. Arsenal next play Saturday away at Brighton while the Citizens
host Burnley the same day, so on Wednesday both clubs will be playing
their second of three games within a week, and the managers will need to
consider the fatigue factor in their team selection and substitution
decisions. Arsenal currently sit ninth in the table, trailing
Manchester City in second spot by 17 points. The positive spin is that
City lag league leaders Liverpool by an even larger margin of 25 points,
which made me feel much better until I realised Liverpool have
collected more than twice as many points as Arsenal, but Liverpool will
not be the opponents at hand in any case. Despite their recent decline
City are still more than capable of outclassing any opposition,
particularly when playing at home. In their last four league
encounters, City have outscored Arsenal by 11 goals to one, and by five
goals to nil at the Etihad, so Mikel will need to come up with a better
game plan than his two predecessors were able to do.
There
was some fairly egregious last-minute rescheduling of this fixture,
which was postponed from the weekend before last when City defeated
Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup final, and Arsenal dispatched Portsmouth
in the FA Cup. The Premier League announced the new date just seven
days ago, presenting considerable added difficulty for teams and fans
who will have had to readjust their travel schedules. Arsenal
announced: “The game will be played next Wednesday to avoid potential
fixture congestion for both teams towards the end of the season. We are
pleased to confirm that the club is subsidising coach travel to/from
Manchester for this match.” Hopefully, more than just a few traveling
Gooners will be able to take advantage of the travel subsidy, hastily
rearrange their plans, attend the match, and see a performance that
justifies all their effort.
Pending
appeal Manchester City are banned from European competition for two
years because of financial shenanigans, so the race is on for fifth
place, the final Europa League spot, and despite all odds Arsenal are
still in the hunt. Will Guardiola be able to motivate his players to
expend maximum effort when there is relatively little of tangible
meaning left to play for? Having just lost the Manchester derby, the
air seems to be coming out of City’s sails a bit, so it might not make a
great deal of difference to some of them whether they finish in second
or third place, but there is no way to know for sure until the game is
played. But young players like Phil Foden must have greater motivation
compared to older teammates like David Silva. City are still in the
Champions League and the FA Cup but their season has an air of
disappointment about it. This week Raheem Sterling was quoted in the
press saying the players have been “slacking” which could be a rallying
cry, a call for help, or both at the same time.
City
have suffered the loss to injury of central defender Aymeric Laporte
for much of the season. Last year Laporte looked capable of becoming
Vincent Kompany’s successor in the heart of defence when the club’s long
time captain returned to Belgium. But Laporte was injured in August
and missed the next five months. He played in three of City’s last four
league games but has not yet played 90 minutes so their defence is
still in a relatively unstable situation, and the team news says Laporte
will not play on Wednesday. Most of the season Laporte’s position was
filled by 34 year old defensive midfielder Fernandinho who did a decent
job but apparently not quite good enough to keep City in the Premier
League title race. Nicolas Otamendi at centre back and Kyle Walker at
right back have been near certainties in the team but Benjamin Mendy and
Oleksandr Zinchenko have shared the left back position. City’s
midfield foursome has been stable with Kevin de Bruyne, Rodri, Ilkay
Gundogan and Bernardo Silva starting most Premier League games. David
Silva has played a significant number of minutes but fewer than last
year as he winds his career down, and Riyad Mahrez has featured on the
wing more often than last season. Sergio Agüero has played less often
as he and Gabriel Jesus have shared time at the main striker position.
Speedy Raheem Sterling has played more minutes than any other player
excepting De Bruyne and their dependable goalkeeper Ederson.
Team selection
Against the Hammers Bernd Leno was most observers’ Man of the Match, and he will surely keep his place in the Arsenal goal. The back four must feature David Luiz, who has so much experience against big teams on big occasions, but Arteta has an interesting decision as to Luiz’ centre-back partner between Pablo Marí, who played calmly and effectively against Portsmouth and West Ham earlier in the week, and Shkodran Mustafi, who returned to full training last Thursday after his 2020 resurrection as Luiz’ regular partner was interrupted by injury. Hector Bellerin and Bukayo Saka should be the fullbacks assuming both are fit.
Under three managers Granit Xhaka has been one of the only constants in the Arsenal team, despite my protestations, and I see no likelihood the Swiss will be left out of this one. Dani Ceballos is in an excellent run of form and it would be a shame to rest him now, but it would be great to see Joe Willock get a chance in the advanced midfield role filled since Arteta’s appointment by Mesut Özil. The timing of this match, given the number of games Özil has played in a brief period, suggest there could be an opening for the young man. Reiss Nelson impressed in his 30 minute cameo against West Ham in place of the frustrated Nicolas Pepe, and it would be refreshing to see Nelson play there from the start at the Etihad. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, who scored in his last two substitute appearances, should take their places in the remaining attacking positions.
The ‘holics pound
Arsenal
will concede in this game, I don’t think there is any way around it.
If we can avoid conceding two goals we will be doing well considering
all the creative players and finishers at Manchester City’s disposal.
But I don’t think we will manage quite that well defensively, which is
why I’m going for a scoreline of 2-3 with Gabriel De Jesus to score
first and Sterling second, but Auba to go bang bang bang in a scorching
second half salvo. Quite enough to cure your halftime blues, I would
think! Come on Arsenal, let’s see you hang with the big boys. Have a
good one, ‘holics.
This match report marks the public
unveiling of the ‘Goonerholics Forever’ blog. As outlined in ‘About Us’,
‘Goonerholics Forever’ has been developed by a group of regulars from
the ‘Drinks’ in Dave Faber’s Goonerholic blog who are keen to preserve
Dave’s legacy and the community he established. In ‘Ode to the Guv’ you’ll find
a fine tribute to Dave crafted for the ‘Gooner’ by TTG, one of our
number.
The aim of ‘Goonerholics Forever’ is
to provide a forum offering the congenial and supportive environment of the Goonerholic
blog though it will inevitably lack the wit and wisdom of the Guvna. ‘Goonerholics
Forever’ will provide match previews, match reports and occasional
Arsenal-related articles with an opportunity for discussion in the ‘Drinks’ in
the tradition of Goonerholic. You’ll find we already have an archive
dating from our beta launch on 4 January reporting Mikel Arteta’s press
conference after he had had just over a week to survey the wreckage left by his
compatriot.
We welcome ‘Drinkers’ old and new to join discussion in the ‘Drinks’ provided you follow the etiquette outlined in ‘The Guvnor’s Rules’. Come on in and enjoy the craic.
Arsenal vs. West Ham, Saturday 7th March 3pm
Fortune favours the VARsenal against bubbling barrow-boys
3pm on a Saturday always used to feel like the
normal time to watch the Arsenal but this match was only our second this season
with the traditional kick off. Our visitors are hovering merely on goal
difference just above the relegation places but had lifted their game in their
last two outings. The Spammers are clearly now fighting for Premier League
survival. After Mikel Arteta’s exhortations at his pre-match press conference,
could we expect the Arsenal players to fight to bridge the gap from 10th
place to the European places? This ought to be a big game for both clubs!
The selection of Sokratis in preference to Hector at right back was a surprise but many of us were pleased to see Pablo Marí start at centre back and Eddie Nketiah continue at centre forward. Despite Tierney being back in full training Saka kept his place at left back. The rest of the line-up was predictable with Pepe regaining his place from Nelson.
An encouraging opening period of pass and
move by Arsenal was terminated by a deep Xhaka pass straight to Bowen whose
shot from the edge of the box Leno tipped onto his left post at full stretch.
That sloppiness then set the tone for the rest of the first half.
At least we showed purpose in possession and Ceballos energetically pulled the strings in midfield but the service to the forwards was erratic and unproductive. Xhaka attempted a ‘sighter’ from 30 yards that went well over then Fornals was shown an early yellow for tripping Pepe as he sprinted down the right. Saka was lively and attempted several crosses from the left throughout the first half but these were cut out without reaching the danger zone. The best opportunity fell to the visitors as Antonio sprinted behind onto a ball that evaded a desperate lunge by Marí but he squared the ball behind Haller rather than taking the shot himself.
After 15 minutes our best chance was a blocked shot by Özil from a knock down by Nketiah inside the box. Marí produced an excellent long ball to Saka leading to yet another blocked cross. We were dominating possession without creating any real chances but Antonio occasionally looked dangerous on either flank when West Ham escaped our half-hearted press. After Pepe lost possession midway in our half, Noble sent Haller clear down their inside left channel but Leno made a brave, well-timed save at Haller’s feet as he drove into the box. Despite Arsenal dominating possession, West Ham had certainly had the better chances in the first quarter.
Our best chance of the first half came from
a corner on the left. When the ball ultimately reached Aubameyang on the right he
lofted it to the centre of the area where Sokratis’ header struck the cross bar
with Fabianski beaten. Service to our forwards was poor, largely because we
lost the ball so frequently through misplaced passes or tackles as we
approached the West Ham massed ranks on the edge of their box. In contrast our
defenders found it difficult to stop West Ham’s occasional rapid probes and
Fornals had a clear shot on goal which Leno caught it easily.
Fabianski owes us a few blunders and after
confidently clutching an Özil delivery from a corner, he dropped the ball on
the edge of his box as he was about to kick it upfield. He then appeared about
to pick the ball up outside his box but we failed to take advantage and he
kicked it clear. We’ve definitely upgraded that position.
Pepe had had a quiet half but came to life
late on with a dribble into the box that was finally stopped by a last-ditch
Rice tackle as he wriggled past Ogbona. In contrast, a simple long ball to
Antonio pierced us but he too was smothered. Our newly-awakened Pepe then
received the ball on the halfway line at speed from Özil, drew three defenders
at the edge of the opposition box, beat them but delayed releasing the ball to
the onrushing Nketiah who was offside when his shot was saved by Fabianski. Close, but no cigar!
Meanwhile Antonio having switched to our
right flank, was giving Sokratis problems. He then astonishingly turned the
ball wide from 3 yards as he swivelled on a corner ball headed down by Diop. Arsenal
looked too vulnerable again at a set-pieces as the visitors missed another big
chance. We have conceded 12 goals from corners this season, only Villa
conceding more.
As half time approached, Saka had another
pair of threatening crosses cut out then Luiz had to reciprocate on a Cresswell
cross with a shoulder prompting a check by VAR for a penalty. In stoppage time,
Ngakia collided with Nketiah as he dealt with a bouncing ball in the box but Mr
Atkinson rejected penalty appeals and was supported by VAR.
Despite Arsenal dominating possession, the
visitors had created more and better chances to score and had looked more
threatening in possession. Surely, we would be better in the second half? Could
Mikel give them more zip?
Half Time: Arsenal 0 West Ham 0
The second half started with more urgency
from Arsenal again dominant in possession, with smooth but square passing and
movement up to the massed ranks at the opposition box culminating in an odd
speculative cross from wide. After 6 minutes a mazy run by Saka set Nketiah up
from 8 yards but Fabianski came out quickly and blocked the shot. We were seeing more combination between Özil
and Pepe wide right but the absence of a right foot between them or an
overlapping full back hampered their ability to deliver crosses or low balls into
the box though a through ball from Özil almost set up Nketiah on the right.
Meanwhile West Ham remained a sporadic threat and Leno made an excellent save
from a point-blank Antonio header from a Haller flick on.
Mikel Arteta had finally seen enough after
60 minutes and sent on Lacazette for Nketiah to sharpen his attack. The speedy Antonio
remained dangerous and Sokratis had to block him off at the cost of a yellow
card. The free kick led to a series of ‘up and unders’ into our box and we rode
our luck with several ineffective clearance attempts. Our lack of an effective
midfield screen saw Bowen allowed to run from the West Ham half straight
through our midfield and defence and fire a shot at Leno who nevertheless
fumbled it initially. Immediately thereafter a cross by Aubameyang from the
left ended in a blocked shot from Pepe on the right with Lacazette wrestled in
the penalty area without sanction from either referee or VAR.
Arteta was clearly getting impatient and Nelson
replaced Pepe after 69 minutes. Yet West Ham continued to offer an occasional
threat. Noble won a free kick 30 yards out going to ground easily on an Özil
challenge. Leno punched out both Noble’s resultant lofted ball as well as David
Luiz. Again, Noble went to ground easily, this time inside his own half when
Xhaka won the ball back in a useful position. A compliant Mr. Atkinson obliged.
Rather than a fine victory to mark the
launch of ‘Goonerholics Forever’, this game looked like delivering a
frustrating 0-0 draw in which we had consistently failed to craft clear chances
whilst Leno and the visitors’ ineptitude had kept us in the game.
However, in the 78th minute, an Aubamayang shot from the edge of the D was deflected into the air, dropping to Özil who headed it back to Laca to slot it past Fabianski. Instantly the lineswoman’s flag came up (no hackneyed observations about females and the offside law please, as we have plenty inept linesmen). Over two minutes of VAR analysis followed. As time drifted on it was clear that ‘the powers that be’ were agonising over their decision and in the ground that felt more and more promising. The crowd began to chant “Arsenal” louder than at any previous point in the match. Sure enough, the decision that the VAR official and his assistant found so difficult to make was announced. No offside! A goal for the Arsenal! Cue delayed febrile celebrations from players and fans.
“It is a VAR, VAR better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a VAR, VAR better goal that is given than I have ever known.”
Arsenal 1 West Ham 0, 78 minutes
Noble was replaced by Soucek. Having
dominated possession for most of the match, we now decided to concede
possession for the remainder. Haller had a close-range effort on the right from
a penetrating ball from Bowen that was well saved by Leno then Fornals sent a
drive well over. Our defensive confidence was undermined by Sokratis shepherding
a corner out for West Ham that was fortunately punted away by Xhaka. Then Fornals
had a close-range effort from a long cross followed Luiz stopping Haller
connecting with a cross ball directly in front of goal. Rice was then allowed
to run from his own box into our box unchallenged and lay off the ball for a
cross that Leno clutched on the head of an attacker. Bellerin replaced Özil on
88 minutes to change us into a back five and Snodgrass came on for Bowen on 89.
Five additional minutes gave the visitors
hope but began with a well worked opportunity for Nelson that he blasted well
over from the edge of the box. However, he followed that up with good defensive
work on the right. Antonio picked up a yellow for a trip on Ceballos as he
drove out of defence. Bellerin showed residual pace to dispossess Anderson on
the break. The back five seemed to be dealing with the visitors’ threat better
so Atkinson decided to spice it up with a soft free kick to West Ham 40 yards
out but Arsenal cleared the ball and Aubameyang took it into the corner before
the final whistle blew.
Full Time, 1-0 to the Arsenal
Mikel Arteta acknowledged the magnitude of
task that West Ham had set us, observing:
“There are days when you have to find a way
and that’s what big teams do. When they find opportunities and when they need
individual action that is when their goalkeeper and defenders put a clean sheet
on, they do it and today we found a way and we won the three points!
“(West Ham) had moments. They did really
well. The game plan worked for them. They were waiting really deep for us to
give the ball away and exploit the spaces. I think we lost a lot of unnecessary
balls which put ourselves in trouble big time. After that we started to control
a little bit better without generating a big amount of chances but they are a
threat and credit to them because I think they were ‘at it’ today and they were
good.”
What to make of this game? Without question
we have made progress since Mikel Arteta has taken the reins. We look more
purposeful and confident than we did under Emery but we still fail to make sufficient
clear chances and we still give away more chances than we make. The stats that
count say 1-0 to the Arsenal and our possession was 69% versus 31% but the 9
Arsenal attempts on goal versus 14 for West Ham and 2 Arsenal shots on target versus
6 for West Ham tell another story, as do the xG figures of 1.27 for Arsenal
versus 1.48 for the visitors. We rode our luck today, as we did against Everton
but it is difficult to see this team, playing like this, taking the points we
need to reach the Champions League places, from opponents with good strikers. Some
such opponents are looming.
Nonetheless there are several positives.
VAR has finally given us a decision! A win
is a win and the three points were the most important thing today. We’re up to
9th, only 5 points off fourth place and we’ve gone 8 games unbeaten
in the Premier League. We’ve reached 40 points and we’re now safe from
relegation too!
Özil has an assist and Lacazette has
another goal.
Pablo Marí looks a useful addition. He is dominant in the air, has nimble feet for a big man, is assured on the ball and can pick out and deliver penetrating long passes to both wings. A lack of pace may be an Achilles heel that might see him embarrassed by zippier forwards than Haller and Bowen but time will tell.
Ceballos, apart from a few misplaced
forward passes, had his best game for us, dominated the midfield in possession
and made some key challenges. If he can maintain that form, he would be a
useful member of the midfield next season. His speed of thought and deft close
control would be more effective with less snail like companions (no names). But
for the key saves by Leno that secured the three points, Ceballos would have been
my man of the match. Leno wins that accolade for being a match winner again.
Now for our match in hand. Surely, it’s a
dead rubber for the opposition? Let’s surprise everyone.
Tomorrow will see us turn our attention back to the Premier League with the visit of West Ham. Since we beat Everton in that eventful 3-2 win we have played in two cups, with contrasting fortunes. Our disappointing loss to Olympiakos in the Europa League can be offset against our win against Portsmouth in the FA Cup. I think we have a more realistic chance of winning the latter, even if Sheffield United away in the next round would be the first of three tough wins required to do so. The way history views the Europa League exit may depend on our league form until the end of the season. As Mikel Arteta prepares to face the first of two former bosses he will come up against in a week he is cautioning that we must keep our focus and take things game by game. When asked about possible Champion’s League qualification he said:
…if we beat West Ham it will look more likely. So that’s the only aim.
If game-by-game we go and start grabbing three points and three points and three points, and then we’ll have a chance in the last three or four games of the season.
Whilst many of us think we are unlikely to qualify outright
for the CL we now have no reason not to give everything we have to climbing up
the league and finding the silver lining in the home defeat by the uninspiring Greeks.
As the boss notes, if we get a winning run together then we will have something
to play for in those last few games and that is as much as we can ask for.
We will be without the unfortunate Lucas Torriera whose
ankle was fractured against Pompey in what we must expect to be a season-ending
injury. After fielding a much changed side at Fratton Park it will be
interesting to see who gets the nod now there is no Europa League game to
provide minutes to those who miss out. Will Mari be deemed fit enough to
replace the resurgent Mustafi, whose time without making a drastic mistake
surely cannot continue indefinitely? Will Laca start or will his form keep him
warming the bench? I will have a guess at the side…
Leno Bellerin – Luiz – Mari – Saka Ceballos – Xhaka Pepe – Ozil – Aubameyang Nketiah
If we were to see Papa, Willock, Nelson or Laca get a start
I would not be surprised so we shall wait and see what MA goes with.
Most of my mates are West Ham fans and I find them, as a
club, a lot less objectionable than most in London, although Leyton Orient are
the only other London club I have any real affection for. As a youngster I saw The
‘O’s play out many a grim 0-0 with football made out of parts that Arsene would
not even have put in his sausages. There is no caviar at Brisbane Road. Recently
there has been none at the London stadium either. David Moyes, who our current
boss has a deep respect for after playing for him at Everton for many years,
arrived in Stratford claiming that winning was what he did. It has not panned
out like that since his December recruitment by the Two Davids and The Irons
find only goal difference and the uplift created by all those bubbles keeping
them out of the relegation zone. They bought Jared Bowen from Hull City in
January in a bid for goals and I have heard he is one to watch. Antonio can be
a handful with his direct, physical nature and Sebastian Haller is starting to score
too. Mark Noble will captain them, and also wash the kits, make the tea and
offer free haircuts to under-10s at half-time in his 43rd season at
the club, whilst Lukasz Fabianski will return to The Emirates a far more
consummate performer than he left it. Gooners will have forgiven him his recent
horror show at Anfield after the heroics of Watford but we can still hope that
he throws in a couple of clangers anyway. Go on Lukasz, for old times’ sake.
The holic’s pound
This is a tough call as there is very little value out there
on a home win. The 2-0 win I fancy only gets you sixes, so, in search of some
value, we will go with a 5-1 win to the good guys which you won’t find at worse
than 40/1. Dave would consider it a Hail Mary but it is worth throwing to beat
the mediocrity available on more staid bets you can make for yourselves. I
shall be hoping for some backlash from Auba after his miss against the Greeks
(hat-trick please) and a spirited display from our boys showing that the
manager has got them well up for the fight until the end of season.
This result also has a personal appeal as I was present in
the stadium for this fixture seven years ago when I witnessed a second half blitz
when we scored four goals in what was certainly the most devastating ten
minutes of football of I have ever witnessed live. More of that would be most
welcome. Special apologies to Santi who cannot be seen in the photo header
despite a beautiful performance that night (I think he is between Giroud and
Big Per but too short to be visible!) We repeated the 5-1 scoreline away in
2016, so we are surely due another one by now?
As ever Holics, I wish you all the best for the game, and
remind you to raise a glass to the Best Barman in Heaven.
