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We Like Everton’s New Stadium, So Far

Dec 20th, 2025 by

As mentioned in Ned’s excellent preview (it was so good I borrowed the photo from his piece above) this evening saw our first trip to Everton’s shiny new stadium. What did we make of it? We came, we saw, we conquered. 

For various reasons, not least of which is the short turnaround in games before our Carabao Cup deja vu tie with Crystal Palace in the week, I have decided to do an old-fashioned quick match report of our trip to Everton and hope you will forgive any failings of my aging eyesight or creaking at the grammar or style joints as you wend your merry way through. The errors are all my own 

It looked like a cold, cloudy evening on a noisy Merseyside as the teams emerged – the Arsenal XI was much as expected……

Raya

Timber Saliba Hincapié Calafiori

Zubi Øde Rice

Saka Viktor Leo

Bench: Kepa, MLS, Eze, Nørgaard, Nwaneri, Merino, Martinelli, Madueke, Jesús, 

Although he traveled with the team, young Salmon was apparently off the menu. Perhaps midweek?

First Half

It was the usual scrappy stuff to start the game, we passed it around a little, I thought to be honest we seemed like a team searching for a bit of form but we did at least quieten the crowd. Everton then won a couple of corners around 10-15 minutes in and Raya had one of those moments when your keeper comes for it, doesn’t get close, and your heart makes a rapid journey to your mouth. Fortunately, the ball was cleared by I couldn’t see who (Hincapié maybe on the replay) and the danger passed eventually when they wastefully booted the 2nd corner straight out. We got a touch more purposeful after that, Zubi shot over, Viktor nodded an Øde cross just wide and then wanted a penalty for an O’Brien push that truthfully I thought he made the most of but instead just got a corner. But a corner is as good as a penalty for us right? An excellent Rice corner followed, and then in real time I thought Cala had just mistimed it and nodded wide of the Everton net but wait….. Yes, there on the replay was O’Brien jumping hands above his head to divert it away from the incoming Cala’s beautifully arranged bonce. Inexplicable really, perhaps he thought it was his day after getting away with the push but anyway it was a penalty, clear as day.

Everton 0 The Arsenal 1

Up stepped Viktor, my nerves jangled and I wished hard for him not to miss it, not the report I had any desire to write, but fortunately Viktor is a man of sterner nerve than I and blasted it straight down the middle while the irritating Pickford obligingly dived out of the way. After Viktor’s excellent penalty we set about passing Everton to death for about 10 minutes and though little of note was created, it did serve to draw any sting out of an Everton response to falling behind. Little of note that is unless of course you count the almost inevitable Tarkowski booking. Declan did shoot over and Viktor sniffed for a second but that was about it until just before the break when as we came forward Øde played a ball forward to Viktor on the right, it was just too wide but Viktor got a cross in that Saka nodded wide – we really needed that the other way round: Øde, Saka and then Viktor with the header at the time. Anyway, I nitpick and the referee then blew the half-time whistle for oranges. So far, so good. Everton had really not been a lot of threat, perhaps they were missing Calvert-Lewin who had already stuck two past Crystal Palace in the night’s other rearranged game

Second Half

No changes at half-time. The game kicked-off and as you’d expect after a mostly toothless first half Everton tried to push forward, snap into tackles more, claim ludicrous penalties, get the crowd more involved etc. To be fair I did hear The Arsenal fans singing soon after. The Everton attack soon petered out, for the time being… Viktor then tried to bulldoze through but was just foiled and then a Saka / Timber combo set up a decent shooting chance for Bukayo but he unfortunately and uncharacteristically hit the first defender. Everton came forward again then and the game was much open than probably a glowering Mikel on the sidelines wanted. Everton then appealed for yet another penalty as Saliba caught the bottom of Barry’s foot as he attempted to clear – I was a bit worried, I must admit, as I have certainly seen those given but perhaps Barry’s theatrical fall turned the judges against him. 

As we reached the hour mark I think most of us were probably thinking about subs, however, we had finally started to get a bit of control and after some slick passing, Rice played in Leo on the left, I must admit I thought he had stuck it away but it hit the post and bounced away. Given the season he is having I really thought he was going to score that one and settle the nerves nicely for the remaining half-hour. Jesús replaced Gyökeres, I will resist the Christmas pun, and then another scare, this time an injury one as Saka went down. He was ok though (I’m watching you Grealish you oaf) and so were Everton after Zubi hit the same post as Leo. Another chance arrived but unfortunately a Timber / Saka mix-up led to one taking the shot off the toe of the other and on we went with our slender one-nil lead. As the half-way point of the half arrived normal control had been resumed and we were managing the Everton challenge far better, Gabi M came on to join Gabi J on 80 minutes as Leo went off and my thoughts wandered unpleasantly to the last 10-15 against Wolves. Would we be as passive again? Actually, no as it turned out and it seems that lesson has thankfully been learned for now. Certainly, Everton huffed and puffed but we never really gave them a clear-cut chance as we saw things through with a noticeably more assertive final 10 minutes, we looked the more likely to score. A last-minute minor scare was cleared by Hincapié, who I thought played well, and that was that. Moyes berated the referee for his penalty shortcomings I suppose (the Saliba / Barry one at a guess) and The Arsenal and Mikel waved happily to the equally happy-looking travelling faithful.

Overall, a very welcome three points for The Gunners and another Christmas No 1. The plaudits must go to the whole team this time as we ground this one out. However, while One-Nil to The Arsenal is always welcome, I don’t think anyone would reasonably argue that it wasn’t a fully deserved three points on the night. Well, I would usually wish you all a Merry Christmas on that note but we have one more wafer-thin mint to be forced down before tucking into our turkey. Yes, next up is the Carabao Cup so see you soon! 

Posted in Match Report | 22 Drinks »

Reset and Recharged at the Hill Dickinson

Dec 19th, 2025 by

And so to Bramley-Moore Dock for a first visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, the new Merseyside home of Everton, for Saturday night’s league fixture. 

The eponymous Thomas Bramley-Moore was a politician and merchant who made his early money in Brazil off the back of the early-19th-century slave trade when he was simply Thomas Moore. He assumed the Bramley and the hyphen six years after returning to Britain in 1835, and one year before becoming chairman of Liverpool’s dock board. He oversaw the expansion of Liverpool’s northern docks, which led to one being named after him. 

Goodison Park, Everton’s home since 1892, is now history, too, at least for men’s senior football. Everton’s women’s team now plays there.

The links between the club and Hill Dickinson, a Liverpool law firm dating back to 1810, long predate the stadium naming rights deal. One predecessor firm was Cuff Roberts, with Cuff being Will Cuff, who was Everton’s secretary (what would now be called its manager) at the time of our first visit to Goodison in April 1905. He went on to become the club’s chairman between the First and Second World Wars. 

Cuff was elected president of the Football League in 1938, a position he held until he died in 1949. One of his first actions was to require all players to wear numbered shirts. Our club was a pioneer in this regard, having first worn them — black numbers in a white square sewn onto the back of the jerseys — in a match against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough ten years earlier.

The Hill Dickinson has a capacity of 52,888 seats, making it the eighth-largest football stadium in England and the 11th-largest in Britain. Like many contemporary sports venues, it is designed to be the focal point of an urban regeneration scheme.

There is a drone fly-through video at the end of this preview for those unable to attend the game, which also marks the first anniversary of AS Roma’s US owners, the Friedkin Group, adding Everton to their portfolio.

Moyes

David Moyes’s return in January after more than a decade away, during which his managerial career looked as adrift as the club he was returning to, has, however, brought a degree of desperately needed stability to both club and career.

After replacing Sean Dyche last season, Moyes got a team that had needed Houdini-like powers to escape relegation in recent seasons to a 13th-placed finish. In the summer, he overhauled his squad, if nothing else, to reduce the age of what is still the joint-oldest squad in the league. Ten of the 27 players who made first-team appearances last season are gone.

Along with nine new players, Moyes has replaced Dyche’s pragmatic, old-school 4-4-2 football with more controlled, possession-based play in the modern manner. He still wants a compact defence that is difficult for opponents to play through; Everton’s 4-2-3-1 collapses into a 5-2-3 when the opposition has the ball. Yet, despite Jordan Pickford’s eye for a long raking clearance to spring a counterattack, Moyes’s Everton no longer invariably goes long as did Dyche’s.

The opposition

Pickford falls into the same set of irrationally irritating people as Chelsea’s Cucarella, but England’s No. 1 keeper is a big reason that Everton has not conceded as many goals as the stats suggest they should.

In front of him, there should be the two big men in the centre of the defence, James Tarkowski and the much courted 23-year-old Jarrad Branthwaite. However, Branthwaite has a thigh injury that will sideline him until the New Year.  

The veteran Michael Keane will likely fill in. I say veteran, although at 32, he is a year younger than fellow ex-Burnley man Tarkowski. Both were good enough to be on the fringes of the England team when they were younger men.

Left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko is an established Ukraine international with 51 caps. Club captain Séamus Coleman is also gone in the fetlock, so Ireland international Jake O’Brien is likely to start at right back.

The Africa Cup of Nations will deprive Moyes of two key midfielders, Idrissa Gueye, who anchors the double pivot, and Iliman Ndiaye, who has been a revelation since switching wings to accommodate Jack Grealish, on loan from Manchester City, on the left. 

Moyes has also lost Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, a £25 million summer signing from Chelsea and joint top scorer with Ndiaye, to a hamstring injury sustained last weekend, while Merlin Rohl, an attacking midfielder who joined on a season-long loan from Freiburg in the summer, has been out for several weeks. Grealish, who is also nursing a dodgy hammy, is 50/50 to be fit.

That will probably mean Moyes lines up young Brummie Tim Iroegbunam alongside Birkenhead-born James Garner, who is one yellow card away from suspension, in the engine room in front of the back four, but will struggle to assemble an attacking midfield ahead of them.

Options include the teenage Tyler Dibling, who was bought from Southampton for £35 million plus add-ons in the summer, for the right wing, another Burnley retread, Dwight McNeil, on the left, and Carlos Alcaraz, a 23-year-old Argentine who joined from Brazilian club Flamengo in the summer, in the centre. Dibling, Alcaraz, and McNeil would form a respectable PL midfield, but it is a level below Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, and Grealish, and at least two levels below Ødegaard, Zubimendi, and Rice.

France youth international Thierno Barry, a £35 million summer signing from Villarreal, will likely start up front. Portuguese-born Guinea-Bissau international Beto will offer fresh legs later in the match. Moyes prefers a centre-forward who is tall and strong, can run tirelessly, and is willing to be physical. Both strikers meet those criteria.

However, both have managed only a single league goal each this season, typifying the team’s struggle to score.  Only Notts Forest and Wolves have scored fewer than Everton’s 18 league goals this season. That stands in stark contrast to a defence that is the seventh meanest. 

In losing 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last weekend, Everton struggled to create chances, and Chelsea cut through their defence more often than Moyes would have liked.

The Arsenal

After last weekend’s reversion to the late-era Wenger horseshoe of ennui against Wolves, the hope must be that the unaccustomed luxury of late of a week without a game — and two full days off for the players — has recharged minds and bodies.

However, Benny Blanco has now been added to the broken bodies list, comprising Kai Havertz, Gabriel, Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman. On the plus side, Riccardo Calafiori returns from suspension.

We’ve won only once away to Everton since 2017, and this will be a challenging game. Arteta will select his strongest available XI. The main uncertainties are whether Gyökeres, Merino or Jesús starts up front, and who among Eze, Martinelli, Madueke and Trossard will be playing on their left. I hazard:

Raya

Timber, Saliba, Hincapié, Calafiori

Ødegaard, Zubimendi, Rice

Saka, Gyökeres, Eze

We can’t say that the Hill-Dickinson is always a tough place to go, as we haven’t been there before. Nor will there be an emotional return for Arteta, on the sixth anniversary of his appointment as our manager, to the pitch where he played for Moyes from 2005 to 2011. (Moyes says he remembers Arteta as a great player but a moaner.)

If anything, Everton have yet to turn their new home into a fortress, winning only four of their eight home matches so far, drawing two and losing two. However, Everton’s ultras, the 1878s group, will stage a tifo spectacular ahead of kick-off to raz up the atmosphere, with everyone in the 15,000-seat South Stand taking part in the display.

Must win, again

After a frenetic run of seven games in 21 days that left us looking heavy-legged, I trust a week of rest and recovery will have recharged us, ready for the frenetic run of seven games in 22 days across the festive season. 

With City at home to West Ham earlier in the day, we could be off the top by the time we kick off, so this game becomes yet another must-win. Yet, we should have enough to win and return to the top, especially as Everton will be missing some of their most potent threats. 2-0 to the good guys.

Enjoy the game, ‘holics, near and far.

Fly through the Hill Dickinson here – don’t forget to pick up three points!

Posted in Match Preview | 29 Drinks »

If you can’t be good – be lucky

Dec 14th, 2025 by

When I originally put my name down for the report for this match, I was intending, as usual, to be in my place on the North Bank, even though 8pm on a Saturday night is far from my favourite time to go to a football match two hours from home. However, in attending an active health class (oh the irony), I managed to trap a nerve (the femoral nerve for those of a medical disposition) in my back which rendered me off games as my walking (and driving) is severely constrained while it heals. So I transferred my ticket to Trev, who had laid his healing hands upon me, but now will probably never talk to me again after I sent him to this dreadful performance late on a cold Saturday night. So I watched the TNT coverage from the sofa.

Before the game, most Gooners were predicting a goal fest for the Arsenal. Top vs bottom and Wolves with only two points, heading firmly towards being the worst premier league team ever. At last an easy game, we crowed. To add to this sense of superiority, we were at last getting players back from injury. The injury list at kick off was a relatively short one, consisting of Havertz, Gabriel, Dowman and Mosquera. Arteta picked a strong team, with a very strong bench and promised to go “full gas” from the beginning. Reader, he lied. 

Raya, White, Saliba, Hincapie, Timber,  Zubimendi, Eze, Rice, Martinelli, Gyokeres, Saka

Subs: Arrizabalaga, Odegaard, Jesus, Trossard, Norgaard, Madueke, Nwaneri, Lewis -Skelly, Merino

It was a bit of a surprise to see Timber picked at left back over MLS, but he had played most of the game against Bruges mid week. Calafiori was suspended for this game. 

So off we went and …nothing. The first half was undoubtedly our worst 45 minutes of football this season. Wolves of course went with a low block, just as expected (well what else could they do?) and aimed to hit us on the break. The game never found a rhythm, being broken up by Wolves players collapsing every time they were brushed by one of ours and the goalkeeper taking ages over each goal kick (again totally normal and expected), plus some pretty tenacious defending. Our passing was all awry, failing to find each other and, above all, being painfully, unacceptably, slow. Saka appeared to be our only true outlet for creativity and threat. 

However we made chances. Timber missed a header and appeared to take it off Gyokores’s head. Martinelli managed to butcher an undefended header three yards out somehow. Saka beat his man and slid in a delicious low ball to Gyokores who was on his heels in the six yard box and missed a tap in. Martinelli had another chance but blazed wide. Even our corners were coming to nothing. 

And it was from one on those corners, after 27 minutes, that found all ten of our outfield players within 20 yards of the opposition penalty area. Hee-Chan was loitering in his own half inside the centre circle and was found with a quick long ball and he was in and one on one with Raya. Three of our players chased him down but he still got his shot away, comfortably saved by Raya. The chase back had banjaxed Bennie Blanco’s hamstring and he came off for Lewis-Skelly who slotted in at left back, moving Timber to the right. Later, in another rare attack, Hincapie slipped, letting in Larsen, but he recovered well and blocked the shot. 

A dreadful, dreadful half of football from The Arsenal. Wolves and their 3000 travelling faithful (and all credit to them for selling out their allocation late on a Saturday night to support this team) were ecstatic. Only Manchester City had kept us to zero goals in the first half this season. For those in the ground, I’d be interested to know what those on the terraces were saying. I can guess. 

To my astonishment there were no changes at half time. And we continued in the same way, knocking in crosses and winning corners but all to no avail. We still had not had a shot on goal or forced a save. So on 60 minutes the cavalry were sent on. Trossard, Merino and Odegaard for Martinelli (who had a stinker), Eze (who was completely ineffective) and Zubimendi (who looked very pissed off at being hooked). 

We began to look better. Trossard and Odegaard had shots saved or slipped just by. Then on 72 minutes we won a corner on our right. Saka took it and hung in a beautiful inswinging corner high to the back post. The Wolves keeper, Johnstone, clawed at the ball and finger tipped it onto the post, from whence it rebounded onto him and into the net. A comedy goal, reminiscent of Emi Martinez at Villa a couple of years ago. One nil to the Arsenal. Now, surely we would relax and put them to the sword?

No we did not. Instead we slipped into a low block of our own. From the 80th minute on I was imagining a late equaliser flashing into our net as we not only ceded possession to Wolves, but possession in our half. No semblance of a front press. Instead we put 11 men behind the ball and hacked it away only to find Wolves players. Jesus was brought on for the largely ineffective Gyokores. Then in the 88th minute it happened. Mane swung a cross into our area. Arokodare got in front of Hincapie and flashed it into our net. The nightmare of last season had happened again. 

Now we started playing again. We poured forward and bombarded the Wolves net. In the 92nd minute we got the ball out to Saka on the right. He half beat his man and swung in a cross. Jesus challenged for it but Mosquera (the Wolves Mosquera) got his head to the ball and it flew in. Another own goal. Redemption. We managed to play out the remaining minutes and, somehow, had won. Three very valuable points after the Villa defeat but a truly awful performance.

Afterwards Arteta seemed genuinely angry, first at the missed chances in the first half and secondly at the supine way we tried to defend the 1-0 lead. 

Saka was the stand out player for us by a long chalk. It’s difficult to pick out any other performances as being worthy of praise. 

After a long run of games every three days, we seem to have picked up the habit of playing poorly (Chelsea, Sunderland, Villa, now Wolves). We now have a week off before we go to Everton next Saturday in another 8pm kick off. A week of working on the training pitch and trying to pick the right mix I the team to play against a low block. Because we will face many another in the rest of this season. We must play quicker with more pace and precision. 

Sorry Trev. I know you stayed until the end, so at least you had the balm of a late winner to enjoy. 

Posted in Match Report | 35 Drinks »

Top against Bottom

Dec 12th, 2025 by

Arteta decides on the 9-pint minimum

This ought to be as close to a foregone conclusion as you can get in this league but with City breathing down our necks, we really can’t afford to take anything for granted.

That said, Wolves are truly terrible. I am a little surprised that they’ve been as bad as they’ve been. I think most expected them to be somewhere near the bottom but with just two points accrued in 15 games, they remain on course to become the worst side in the Premier League era. They need nine points from their remaining 23 games to equal Derby County’s record low of 11 points in 2007/08. In the past we’ve seen some sides threaten to take Derby’s unwanted crown only to muster up enough mediocrity to scrape beyond the extremely low bar set by the Rams, but I’m not sure we’ve seen anything quite as bad as this Wolves side.

Our opponents began the season with Vitor Perreira at the helm after he was able to steer Wolves away from relegation after a poor start last season. However, after this year’s horrific start, his position was deemed untenable and he was replaced by Rob Edwards. It was a curious decision at least on Edwards’ part given his Middlesborough side were, and still are, looking very good for automatic promotion whilst he was walking into a dressing room which bar a sporting miracle are already consigned to relegation. I’m sure the money was a factor.

Ownership issues has no doubt played a major part in Wolves’ sharp decline following a period of success. They probably did overspend to get back to the Premier League in the first place, given they managed to convince Ruben Neves, who had already captained Porto in the Champions League, to play second tier football amongst other big purchases. Initially it seemed to have paid off. Wolves finished seventh in their first season back in the top tier, playing some exceptional football with a strong team including the likes of Neves, Raul Jiminez and the late Diogo Jota. This qualified them for the Europa League, a huge achievement for a newly promoted side. They made it through numerous qualifying rounds all the way to the last eight before narrowly losing to eventual winners Sevilla.

They also repeated a top-seven finish that season but were denied a European spot by ourselves after we finished eighth, outside the European spots, but our FA Cup triumph meant we took Wolves’ place in the Europa League. This was of course before the introduction of the Conference League.

But since those lofty days, Wolves have steadily declined, continuously selling star players to meet PSR requirements. This past summer they lost Cunha and Ait-Nouri to the two Manchester clubs and that appears to have been the straw which broke the camel’s back as far as their Premier League status is concerned. Many Wolves fans are asking their owners why this money from sales has not been going into building the squad and building on those early seasons competing in the top third of the table. As a means of protest against their owners, many Wolves fans boycotted the first 15 minutes of their home game against Man United, and it made for a hugely toxic atmosphere inside Molinuex which no doubt contributed to their mostly spineless 4-1 defeat. Their fans will undoubtedly be dreading their visit to N5 on Saturday night.  

And they have good reason to. Even putting their general crapness aside for a moment, they have lost all of their last eight meetings with Arsenal, our longest current winning run against a Premier League side. They also have the league’s most porous defence against the second most potent attack. Even with our injury issues we should be getting a few goals here.

In terms of team news, Arteta was typically giving nothing away in his press conference earlier. He was very coy regarding the fitness of Saliba, Rice, Timber and Trossard. Given we have a rare clear midweek following this game, maybe he will risk one or two of them. I wouldn’t bank on it though.

I think we will see a similar side to the one that lined up in Brugge. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nørgaard line up at centre back again alongside Piero Hincapié. Calafiori is suspended so MLS will get his first league start of the season. As for the midfield Rice is battling with a runny nose so it’s anyone’s guess as to his involvement on Saturday. I wouldn’t be against giving him another rest and giving Merino a go alongside Zubimendi and Ødegaard. In attack Saka will come in for Madueke despite the latter’s excellent brace in Belgium. I would stick with Martinelli on the left after his own exceptional strike in Brugge whilst Gyökeres will get another go mostly due to Jesus’ lack of fitness.

It’s a rare Saturday night KO so if you will be in attendance, you must be in the pub no later than 11am otherwise Arteta’s henchmen will not permit you to enter the stadium. A minimum of nine pints must be consumed prior to arrival to the ground, and all fans will be breathalysed upon entry including children over the age of 36 months. You have been warned.

Given the disparity of quality between ourselves and our hapless opponents, I am going for a nice and relaxing 4-0 thumping. COYG!

Posted in Match Preview | 37 Drinks »

Job Done, With a Few Frights Along the Way

Dec 11th, 2025 by

Embed from Getty Images

It was with some trepidation that I switched on the telly box last night to watch The Arsenal visit the fair city of Bruges to take on the local team.  This despite the Belgians having dispensed with their manager at the weekend, despite sitting in 3rd in the Belgian first division. My reasons were really around the on-going injury crisis – and I don’t use the word lightly – we are currently suffering, with Timber, Rice and Trossard not even travelling to Belgium, along with Saliba, Mosquera and Gabriel, with Havertz no closer to a reappearance and now 15 year old Max Dowman being added to the lengthy list of the Sick, Lame and Lazy, as my old P.E. Teacher used to describe them. To plug the gaps, we denuded the younger teams of some of their players with Nichols (19), Copley (19) and Salmon (16) filling out the bench. The starting side was as strong as it could have been, with a back four of White, Norgaard, Hincapie and MLS.  The manager chose to play Odegaard back into form rather than starting Nwaneri and Gyokeres started for the same reason. Thankfully, Saka was rested giving Madueke a chance to make his case along with the ever willing, never hiding Martinelli on the wings. Eze was dropped to the bench, presumably as a punishment for falling asleep on guard duty at the weekend, and the bench welcomed back Gabby Jesus after 11 months out.  Bruges for their part started with a former Man City youngster Carlos Forbs and Belgian international Vanaken in midfield.

The game started in a surprisingly open fashion, with both teams looking to get forward and attack. Arsenal looked a little easy to play through with Vanaken evading the attentions of Zubimendi and Odegaard and providing opportunities for Forbs, who can best be described as being like the proverbial off a shovel giving MLS – noticeably not terribly well backed up by Martinelli for once – a torrid time. On 20 minutes a cross from the right-hand touchline from Norgaard came out for MLS to skew a shot fortunately into the path of Hincapie who poked the ball first time from 8 yards out onto the post. On 25 for me came the key moment on the match. Madueke received the ball in midfield back to goal from Zubimendi. The defender closed him, but Madueke showed considerable strength and guile to shift the ball inside and hold him off, quickly moving into a sprint and pulling away from a second midfielder. Closing on the penalty box, Madueke took another touch inside and let fly a left footed, out-swinging shot which was still rising as it, satisfyingly, hit the underside of the cross bar and went in, with the keeper making a good effort and still getting nowhere near. The silence from those who started and signed that ridiculous petition was audible. This is a player who can really develop further under the tutelage of Arteta and his team and I for one am thoroughly looking forward to watching it.

As if spurred into action by Madueke, Martinelli – who up to this point had been somewhat ponderous- kicked into action. His corner, won by attacking his man with a tricky run – was well hit towards the back post for Hincapie, again, to head across goal, only to see the ball hot a defender on the line.   There followed the period of 10-15 minutes up towards half time when the home team began to play again, seemingly having recovered their composure. At this point it felt rather like we were hanging on for half time and they had a couple of efforts, notably from Stankovic which tested Raya, the latter effort requiring a very good save after he had way too easily broken a high line offside trap, set free once again by Vanaken. Madueke finished the half strongly by cutting inside again and letting fly, this time only for the keeper to make a good flying parry-save.

Arsenal seemed to start the second half with renewed vigour and belief. After only a couple of minutes, Zubimendi was given the ball on the left side of the final third and decided to run into the space offered by Bruges. His defender didn’t really get too close and Zubimendi hit a fantastic, floated ball towards the back post for Madueke to head in from underneath the crossbar. It really was an almost dreamlike passage of play, as the cross seemed to stay in the air for an age while all around blue and black stripe-clad opponents sleepwalked, leaving Madueke alone to head in. At this point the game was all but done. 8 minutes later it truly was over. Martinelli received a pass from MLS in the edge of the final third on the left-hand touchline. Martinelli controlled and turned, brushing off his defender as he pushed the ball inside. He then dipped his shoulder beating a further defender as he continued to move at pace inside and from the left-hand side of the area hit an unstoppable curling effort into the top right. In the summer, there was, as for Madueke, some ridiculous criticism levelled at Martinelli, with some Arsenal fans – apparently – saying that he should be sold.  The man has just become the first Arsenal player to score in 5 consecutive Champions Leage games.  He gives everything and never hides, unlike some wingers we have had in the past.  I hope this puts to bed such nonsense. The keeper really hadn’t done too much wrong but had been beaten by 2 powerful, perfectly placed shots and a sublime cross for the second.   

Shortly after, the ineffective Gyokeres was replaced by Jesus, to what sounded like a cacophonous welcome by the travelling support. Calafiori replaced Hincapie, whom we will need on Saturday. In his 30 minutes, Jesus looked bright and sharp and had a few moments of sublime skill. He offers us something which neither Havertz and certainly Gyokeres don’t with his guile and trickery and even managed a shot off the bar. Nwaneri came on and had a couple of efforts as well as the game now ran away from the home side. There was still time for Bruges to mount a couple of spirited attacks and on another day, a cross from Furo which was parried by Raya might have fallen sweetly for Forbs. But in keeping with the rest of the evening, it didn’t and Arsenal were rewarded with the 3 points and a clean sheet.

In truth, the scoreline doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story, as at times the opposition played through us with ease. I put this down to the 8 players missing though. We now only require 3 more points from games away at Inter and home to Kairat Almaty to finish in the top 2 of the group stages. Now for a few days rest, followed by Wolves and then a whole week without a game. We need the break.

Posted in Match Report | 15 Drinks »

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