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Europe – Still to be Conquered!

Mar 21st, 2024 by

Confession time – on a recent trip to Liverpool I took the opportunity to visit Anfield. I took the stadium tour and found myself envying one particular feature of their history – their achievements in Europe. For the record they have won six Champions Leagues (or European Cups) and three  UEFA Cups. They’ve also won four Super Cups and the World Club Cup once. That’s some European pedigree!

Manchester United bemoan their record in Europe. They’ve won the Champions League or equivalent three times, four other European trophies and one World Club Cup. Chelsea have eight European trophies including the Cup with big ears (on two occasions) and one World Club trophy. Even our noisy neighbours over at the Toilet Bowl whom we rightly deride for their lack of silverware have won one more European trophies than we have. Just after the 2015 FA Cup Final as we wended our way back to Marylebone a rather pathetic Villa fan gloated (if you can gloat after losing 4-0!) that we hadn’t won the European Cup and they had. 

Arsenal won the Fairs Cup in 1970 and the Cup Winners Cup in 1994. We came an agonising twelve minutes away from winning the big one in 2006 in Paris, a night that was about as excruciating as any I have ever known supporting this great club and we’ve lost four other European finals. I was at most of them. Somehow, it’s harder to take defeat in a foreign final than anywhere else in my experience and the beer is usually MUCH more expensive! 

You get the idea? We support one of the true giants of English football, a club with a massive global fan base and an illustrious record of trophy gathering in our home country. But in Europe we languish way behind not only a lot of otherwise much less successful English clubs but also a lot of Europe’s relative minnows. The likes of Schalke, Villarreal, Hamburg and even West Ham, for goodness sake, have a better record! 

This article posits some ideas about why this may be and it is to be hoped that the general  angst we all experience when we contemplate Europe will dissipate in a few weeks time at Wembley when we eventually triumph to win our first Champions League. But we have a lot of work to do before we secure that very special landmark.

A History Lesson 

Of course, statistics can be deceptive. Firstly, until 1993 only the Champions of each country could enter what was known as the European Cup. When it became the Champions League in 1993 runners-up and leading clubs from the major European leagues could also enter. A logical person might feel it should have started off as the Champions  League and then morph into the European Cup. In fact it did the opposite! 

So, until thirty years ago you only got a shot at the big prize if you won the league. We only won the league three times in that period and when we won it in 1989 English clubs were banned from Europe because of  the problems at Heysel before the Juventus/ Liverpool final. Thanks Scousers…. we had an extremely good team then. 

Our first attempt in 1971-72 saw us eliminated by a fine Ajax side in the quarter final. Ironically it was a very similar Ajax  side to the one we had eliminated two years earlier in the Fairs Cup. I still remember Peter  Marinello clean through in the first minute of the second leg and failing to score. George Graham got the winner in the second leg but unfortunately it was for Ajax!

We had to wait until 1991 for a second shot at the prize. We started the competition as favourites and thrashed the Austrian champions 6-0 at Highbury in the first leg of our first game. We then met Benfica and drew at the Stadium of Light. Back at Highbury we saw a collectors item when Colin Pates scored first for us but Benfica came back to score three goals which delighted their manager … one Sven Göran Eriksson. I had the opportunity to discuss the game with George Graham a couple of years later. He felt that he learnt valuable lessons about controlling European ties that night. A few months after he told me that, we triumphed 1-0 against Parma in the Cup Winners Cup Final in Copenhagen. That was George’s last tilt at a European crown with us as he was not in charge a year later when we lost to Real Zaragoza in the Nayim (from the halfway line) final. 

The Wenger Years 

Even before Arsene Wenger arrived officially at Arsenal he flew from Japan to take charge of a (losing) UEFA Cup tie in Germany. The following year when we won the title we had dropped out of the UEFA Cup very early losing to PAOK Salonika. Had the Premier League had four qualifiers for the Champions League at the end of Wenger’s first season, we would have entered that but in 1998-99 we qualified as PL champions and because of restrictions on capacity at Highbury we played our first two seasons in the Champions League at Wembley. How I loved the 5 am starts to drive to Wembley, park around the local residential roads which closed pre-match and the long drive home after the match. It really wasn’t a good experience in many ways. We failed to qualify from the knockout stages and lost to among others Barcelona, Lens and Fiorentina. In 1999-2000 we dropped  into the UEFA Cup and reached the final in Copenhagen against Galatasaray. Copenhagen held very happy memories from 1994 but these were obliterated against the Turks. It was the single most unpleasant day I have ever spent watching football – and I lived through the seventies and eighties. Lunching with friends my daughter was sending messages about where the rioting was currently taking place so that we could navigate our way around the city. The game was a huge disappointment ending defeat in a penalty shootout after a goalless 120 minutes. And then, my return flight was delayed four hours! 

What Wenger achieved (and was unfairly pilloried for) was regular qualification for the Champions League. In the first decade of the millennium Arsenal qualified for the latter stages of the competition every time but apart from the solitary Final appearance in 2006 we only progressed beyond the quarter final once, in 2008-09 when we reached the semi-final only to lose to Manchester United. But supporters develop expectations and the feeling was that the club was too preoccupied with simply  qualifying for the Champions League gravy train but not committed to winning it. The outlier in 2006 was remarkable. We lost heavily at home to Inter Milan in the group, looked likely to go out when we were struggling to beat Dinamo Kiev only for Ashley Cole to score late on. We went to the San Siro and outplayed Inter in a glorious 5-1 victory and entered the knockout stage. We drew Real Madrid and in the midst of poor domestic form and an injury crisis played a Real team filled with Galacticos and played them off the park. Henry scored one of the great goals in our history in a 1-0 win . That kickstarted an incredible run which saw us draw with Real at home, comfortably defeat Capello’s Juventus over two legs and then defeat Villarreal in a very nervy semi-final where Lehmann’s wonderful last minute penalty save took us to the final in which, ironically, Mad Jens was sent off after ten minutes. Sol Campbell’s header saw us take an unlikely lead which we held until shortly before the end. On two occasions Henry missed great chances and Ljungberg also missed another great chance to clinch the trophy. 

The amazing thing about that team was its back four of Eboue, Senderos, Toure and Flamini who set a CL record of fourteen successive clean sheets that still stands. Would you believe those four defenders could achieve that?  Much was made of the coaching that Martin Keown gave that unlikely quartet and how effective they became. 

Contrast that with the Invincibles who in 2004 were by common consent the best team in Europe. We were eliminated at home by a Chelsea side we had defeated three times that season and had drawn with at Stamford Bridge. If ever an Arsenal team had the quality and opportunity to take the Champions League crown it was in that year.

Since 2010 we have only been beyond the last sixteen once and have suffered a number of shattering defeats (some facilitated by appalling refereeing) to the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Our last elimination came at the hands of the Germans in 2017 by an aggregate of 10-2. It was increasingly beginning to be felt that Arsenal were waning as a European power, just a part of the line-up but never real contenders.

We failed to qualify for the first time in 17 years in what proved to be Wenger’s last season and although we have qualified for the Europa League in all but one of the subsequent seasons we have only reached one final, in Baku where we were humiliated by Chelsea. Then in 2021, Arteta received some criticism for being outwitted by Emery at the semi-final stage. But this season our home performances back in the Champions League have been outstanding and the sense is this team is on a sharp and positive upward learning curve.

So, What are the Conclusions ? 

The Champions League is essential!

One of the modern developments in football is the expectation of the top players. These are the players you need to sign if you hope to compete effectively at home … and in Europe. Can you imagine Declan Rice being willing to sign for a club that is not competing in the Champions League? Similarly would Kai Havertz or Jurrien Timber be interested in a side not in that elite competition? If you want to sign the very best and established top players you must offer them Champions League football and you are unlikely to be able to afford them if you don’t qualify. I’m being told that our Champions League campaign so far will bring in about £90 million for the club. If we go further the rewards will be astronomical. Europa League victory is only worth a fraction of that figure.

European football is different!

One of the benefits of playing in Europe, especially in the Champions League, is that aside from the money and the glamour, playing against different teams from different leagues and against top-class players improves your squad. The two Porto games, which a lot of pundits had suggested were a gimme, were in fact extremely challenging and made for compelling entertainment. Their mid-block disconcerted an Arsenal team that was dismembering Premier League sides in between those fixtures. To triumph in Europe you need durability and tactical flexibility and I am sure Arteta has benefitted from the experience he has had against opposition coaches in the Europa League. It takes a while to assimilate the differences in Europe and we saw how improved the side was in Seville after the defeat in Lens.

It is a degree course in tactical awareness!

Wenger’s detractors claimed that he struggled to match the tactical acumen of the top European coaches. That may have become true as his star declined but I can remember many outstanding  Arsenal performances home and away in Europe under Wenger.  If you can recruit the right quality of player, European success,  even in the Champions League, is accessible but when you reach the knockout stages it becomes a postgraduate degree course in tactical sophistication. Although the Premier League is a very strong division, the Champions League is in an entirely different level. A side new to the challenges will take time to adjust to its level. But I believe Arteta and his coaching team are elite and have the capability to enable Arsenal to challenge for the Champions League trophy .

Ambition!

Revisiting the past brings pleasure and pain but it is increasingly clear to me that with greater ambition Arsenal could have retained their best players and added to them. We could have seen more success in the League in the early 80s and with that success we could have attained greater European success. At that time, it was arguably harder to win the other European trophies than the European Cup. Similarly George Graham was held back relatively speaking and Wenger was naturally prudent in his expenditure but was superb at recognising unpolished gems. The establishment of a wider qualification model has changed the balance of power and created a gravy train that ambitious clubs have to clamber aboard.

Arsenal now seem to have a very intelligent management team and above all owners who have experienced equivalent success in the USA. The impression that they were satisfied with mediocrity has been dispelled. But it is still extremely difficult to compete with clubs financed by nation states. 

Serendipity! 

I hate Wayne Bridge! He was responsible for eliminating a far superior Arsenal team in 2004. His Chelsea team stumbled against an average Monaco side in the semi-final and one had to feel we would have had a wonderful chance of crowning that special season with the Champions League if we had just got past Chelsea. Nobody could  claim Ranieri was a superior tactician to Wenger but on the night and given that we had played an intense FA Cup semi-final the weekend before we came up short. 

Squad diversity helps in Europe! 

Some excellent players shine more in Europe than in the Premier League. Gabriel Jesùs is a case in point. Some players cope well with the intensity of the Premier League but struggle in  a more cerebral environment in the Champions League. A top club needs to encompass both competitions … and that doesn’t come cheap !

Ashburton Grove is a hard place to visit! 

We have played four games at home this season and won them by an aggregate of 13-0. We defeated a PSV side carrying all before them in Holland by a 4-0 scoreline and a resurgent Lens by 6-0. Porto players visibly melted faced by a passionate North Bank during the penalty shootout. Don’t underestimate how forbidding it may be to visit North London with the crowd and support we have now.

So how do you succeed in Europe? 

If you look at the last ten winners, Real Madrid have won five times and Bayern Munich,  Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City have one victory each. It took Guardiola, one of the greatest coaches of all time, a long time to win it. 

Financial muscle is very important but Liverpool have a great record without being one of the richest clubs. Tradition is important. All of those clubs have a number of appearances in the final. They have the fan base, the quality of squad and, with the exception of Chelsea, the aura of serial winners. That aura takes time to acquire and needs to be supported by a clear process to develop and continually strengthen the club.

Three Premier League  clubs have won the competition in the last decade but only one has won both the Premier League and Champions League double in the same season. Looking across the whole span of the European Cup and Champions League competition, although an English club has won the European Cup/Champions League on 14 occasions, the English domestic league and European Cup double has been achieved on only 5 occasions: Liverpool (1976-77 & 1983-84), Manchester United (1998-99 & 2007-08) and Manchester City (2022-23). Meanwhile, Barcelona alone have achieved that double on five occasions, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Ajax three times each and Inter Milan twice, whilst eight other European clubs have won that European/domestic double on one occasion. The intensity of our league may stretch resources more than their domestic league does those of clubs in other countries … but it is possible, and the impact of European success creates a virtuous circle of success with league progression that sustains the attempts to win both competitions. 

Runners up in the last decade include Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Liverpool (all twice), Manchester City, Inter Milan, PSG and Tottenham although the latter’s attempt to win expired with a whimper. My conclusions would be that stability of coaches matters, ambition of the club is important and to a degree, so does the belief of the fans. At Anfield they expect to win the Champions League but their resources are no greater than ours. Their success suggests that belief is amply justified.

And, the Champions League winner 2024 is …..

I firmly believe that we are on a very positive path to success and that over the next few seasons we will become ever more credible contenders for the biggest prize of all. I don’t believe that we can win it this season because of the lack of elite squad depth and the inexperience of the squad but I believe we will win it in the next five years if we retain Mikel Arteta. I want to see a trophy wall developing at Ashburton Grove to rival that one at Anfield!

Posted in Interlull, Review | 115 Drinks »

Through to the CL Quarters at an Emotional Emirates

Mar 13th, 2024 by

Picture taken by your correspondent

I had been nervous about this game. The late kick in the teeth from the winner in Porto deep into added on time had changed the mind-set completely. Suddenly we had to score twice to win during the game, with the possibility of extra time and even penalties. And all against a side with Champions League pedigree and nous. Whereas it was many years since we had been in the competition regularly and even more since we’d progressed in the knock out stages.

So as we walked down the steps to Block 7, row 9, in the North Bank, it was with a fluttering in the “tummy” as Mikel likes to call it. The flags were dotted around again and as we got closer to kick off were being waved with enthusiasm. It had absolutely chucked it down for most of the day in London, although it was a mild evening, and as the flags were waved the accumulated raindrops from them formed a fine mist, soaking us. ‘North London Forever’ and the CL theme, all added to the grandeur of the atmosphere. Arteta had gone with the same team as against Brentford, bar swapping Raya in for Ramsdale (and how important was that to be!). 

This isn’t going to be a play by play report. I didn’t get home until 1.30 am and still haven’t watched the game back. But I want to talk about Porto. They are a schizophrenic team. They specialise in the dark arts and showed us in the first leg how they will waste time, collapse without being touched, con the referee and argue incessantly. Why would you want to watch a team like that I hear people asking? Well ask the passionate Portugese in the sold out away section or back at their fortress of a stadium. Because they are a highly skilled team, with a great defence and lightning fast wingers. They were good on the ball and, although they proved not great in the box, outplayed us for portions of the game. Respect. I remember back in the early 90s watching Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle play John Beck’s Cambridge United in what is now the Championship. You could see the Newcastle players being flummoxed by the über long ball tactics and complaining to Keegan. He bawled back at them “Don’t moan about it! Do something about it!” It’s the same with the Portos and Brentfords of this world. If they can make it work they are entitled to play their way.

So how about Arsenal? Remember we were still playing late on Saturday evening in a tough physical game. So it was a short turn around with essentially the same team. So no wonder we didn’t marmalise them as we have many PL teams lately. I thought Ødegaard (who is approaching Berkamp levels for me), Kiwior, Raya (who apart from his penalty heroics made key saves in each half) and Rice were outstanding. Trossard for me had a poor first half. He lost the ball four times out on the left wing, due to a combination of a poor touch and being out-fought and I was terrified that each time it was going to lead to a counter-attack and a goal for Porto. We badly missed Martinelli during that period.  I was among many others calling for Leo to be subbed off for Jesùs at half time. And then of course it happened …. just before half time as the crowd were just starting to get nervous.

Ødegaard picked up the ball in central midfield. He juggled with it, exchanged passes with Leo on his left, manoeuvring the ball to get it just right and (I think he took four touches using both feet) then, as Leo started his run, unleashed a defence splitting pass that took out three men deep in the penalty area, right into Leo’s path. Leo finished beautifully, guiding the ball through Pepe’s legs (ha, ha, ha). We were level, at a key moment in the game. And that, gentle reader, is why your correspondent is third from bottom of the GHF prediction league and Mikel Arteta is paid the big bucks. 

The second half and extra time didn’t produce a great deal of chances. We had the ball in the net, but it was chalked off for a foul called on Havertz’s tug on Pepe. It looked, all the time, as though Porto were playing for extra time and penalties. And so it came to pass. 

The first roar came as our captain won the toss and pointed to the North Bank. He then won the second toss and we got to go first. Afterwards, David Raya said that we spend a lot of time preparing for penalties, both outfielders and goalkeepers (why does this not surprise me?). We looked visibly confident as we stepped forward. Ødegaard, of course, led the way and smashed his penalty home with verve. As the Portuguese players stepped up they were met with a wall of noise and twirling scarves in the North Bank. Their first penalty sent Raya the wrong way. Havertz came up and did his hop skip and a jump to score. The Porto left back, Wendell (who I thought was excellent) went to Raya’s left. Our ‘keeper got a hand on it, pushed it onto the post, and somehow it didn’t go in off him. Next up Saka, who looked the picture of confidence as another great penalty went in to make it 3-1. Raya almost saved the third, getting a hand on it (I loved the fact that afterwards he was visibly disappointed that he didn’t save that as well). 3-2 and here comes Declan Rice. He put the ball down, took a deep, calming breath, gathered himself and smashed home his penalty con brio. Is there anything this man can’t do?

So Porto were now at the point of no return. Ironically their scorer from the first game, Galeno, was the man tasked with keeping them in the game. He struck it again to Raya’s left. Our ‘keeper guessed correctly, got two big hands on the ball and we were in the quarter final. 

Cue huge celebrations. I loved the fact that Ramsdale was one of the first to give Raya a huge bear hug with a huge grin. That tells you all about the spirit of the team and also what a big man, in all ways, Aaron Ramsdale is. Saliba was jumping about like a mad thing, clutching the flags and celebrating with the fans. Lovely to see. This is a very together bunch.  

The Porto manager proved himself a bad loser by claiming Porto were the better team and Arteta had said something about his family in Spanish. He refused to shake hands. He has serial form for this type of antics. Well, cry me a river. As Arseblog said this morning, fuck off back to Portugal and I hope Ryanair lose your luggage. 

I think this game was absolutely critical for the rest of our season. We are top of the league and in the CL quarters. We’ve played 11 games since Bahrain, won ten and only lost at Porto, which we put right last night. We await the draw for the quarters. We now have six days off before the international camps start and 19 days off before our next game (cough, away at City). From that point on March 31 we are playing football twice a week through April and May. Tough on the players and the fans.  During the dark periods of the last 20 years (last year excepted), at Easter, bar the odd FA Cup and trying to get top four, our season was over. We are where we want to be, with a talented young team and an incredible manager. Wherever you are watching, in Asia, Australia, the USA, Africa, various parts of Europe and the UK, or for the lucky few who are going to the games, we are privileged to be Arsenal supporters right now. 

Keep the faith!

Posted in Match Report | 202 Drinks »

Trás os Defensores

Mar 12th, 2024 by

Two hours or so inland from the city of Porto lies the northeastern Portuguese province of Trás-os-Montes, or Behind the Hills.  I drove that route nearly 30 years ago but recalled it this week because Arsenal will have been working on some clever ways of getting in behind the Porto defenders to prevent a recurrence of the away leg when they failed to score a solitary goal.

In that first leg, played in Porto on February 21st, the home side scored in the last minute of stoppage time to take a one goal lead coming into Tuesday night’s deciding game in the Champions League Round of 16. Arsenal struggled to create many attacking opportunities, and the laissez faire referee allowed Porto to frustrate the Gunners with a nearly constant stream of borderline fouls.  The match was Arsenal’s most difficult and disjointed of 2024 to date, but the one goal deficit leaves the Gunners in decent position to score a come-from-behind victory and advance to the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2010.

Mikel Arteta set the stage in his pre-match presser, saying “You can’t wait in these situations, you have to go and make things happen and that’s the approach tomorrow.”  He added, “Now we know (Porto) a bit better. We have played these kind of games many times in the Premier League, we played one two days ago.”

We know that Brentford, who Arsenal defeated over the weekend, were taking a page from the Porto playbook, attempting to prevent Arsenal from playing their free-flowing football. We also know that Arsenal figured out a way to score two goals in that game, and should have had at least one penalty if the referee had gone by the rule against yanking on an opponent’s shirt in the penalty area and pulling them to the ground, so assuming that Porto play similarly (or even if they don’t) the Gunners should be in with a decent shout of overturning their deficit.

Porto

Porto is the most decorated Portuguese team in Europe with seven trophies won, including the 2004 Champions League and the 1987 European Cup.  As one of the big three clubs of Portugal, Porto have been regular participants in UEFA competitions.  They have qualified for European competition in every season since 1974–75, and share second place in the total number of Champions League group stage appearances with Bayern Munich, one less than Barcelona and Real Madrid. Porto are third in the Primeira Liga table with 55 points, trailing Sporting by four points, but sport the league’s stingiest defence having conceded only 17 times, three fewer than the next stingiest club, second placed Benfica.  They last played on Thursday when they defeated Portimonense away by 3-0 in the southern beach town of Portimão.

Arsenal

In the first leg Arsenal had no attempts on target and their last minute sloppiness put them in something of a hole when a draw was looking a certainly. But many a Premier League side has tried to stop them from scoring multiple goals in the last two months and none has succeeded so they have reason to feel confident. But they need to defend staunchly for 90 minutes and every second of time added on.

At left back Zinchenko is back from injury having come off the bench against Brentford, and he is probably the better choice for this match, to deliver some smart balls in behind the defense, although Kiwior has been very good recently as a more traditional left back. Gabriel Jesus also made a successful return recently, but Gabriel Martinelli remains out with a cut foot, so the starting team should look something like this:

Raya
White – Saliba – Gabriel – Zinchenko
Odegaard – Rice – Havertz
Saka – Jesus – Trossard

The ‘holic pound

It’s our moment to shine. This is our home leg and we must play to our potential, and show the Portuguese as little hospitality as Arsenal received in the first leg, but I think we will manage to do all of those things. Arsenal 3 Porto 1 is my prediction, with Bukayo Saka getting in behind os defensores and scoring a late beauty to moot any consideration of extra time and penalties, and send Arsenal to march on to the quarterfinals. This young squad is due for just such a coming of age moment. If so, be sure you have emerged from behind the couch with two eyes open.

Have a good one, ‘holics.

Posted in Champions League, Match Preview | 40 Drinks »

We are top of the league… say, we are top of the league!

Mar 9th, 2024 by

A dramatic night at the Home of Football saw us (eventually) restored to our rightful place at the top of the Premier League with a late header by Kai Havertz. It decided a bad-tempered and tense affair pockmarked by Brentford’s play-acting and simulation of head injuries. The ball was in play for less than fifty minutes in a game that lasted nearly a hundred! 

A comedian once told me that there are only seven types of joke and I suspect there are only a limited number of types of football match. This game fell into the bracket of a very one-sided game turned on its head by a catastrophic error by an Arsenal keeper playing only because his replacement in the first team line up was ineligible to play against the team from which he is on loan. Given this scenario, football dramas dictate that the replacement keeper saves a penalty or compounds his errors. Ramsdale did neither but made two fine saves in the second half in what may be his valedictory performance as an Arsenal keeper.

The game degenerated as a spectacle as Brentford employed every underhand trick in the book to waste time, dupe the referee and wind up their opponents. There are many Arsenal fans tonight who will, as a result, be hoping Brentford’s plunge towards relegation goes into free-fall.  Their demeanour was ghastly and their shithousery raised the temperature of an already febrile Emirates to boiling point. 

Yet it had looked relatively routine throughout a very one-sided first half. 

Arsenal began with Trossard replacing Martinelli in the only change from Monday’s cakewalk in  Sheffield. Toney was called on to clear a Rice corner off the line in the second minute. Our tempo was electric, our interchanging bewildering but Brentford’s low block held firm until the 18th minute when Benny Bianco curled in a right wing cross which Declan Rice glanced wide of Flekken in the Brentford goal . 

Arsenal 1 Brentford 0

We switched the ball constantly between wings and Havertz had a shot blocked by the keeper before screwing wide after a beautiful Jorginho pass. Trossard was put through by a brilliant piece of distribution from Ramsdale but lacked the pace to finish and Saka drilled just over. All seemed set fair until just before half time Gabriel nudged the ball back to Ramsdale who dallied on the ball allowing Wissa to deflect the ball into the net. Before too many sages reflect that Raya would never commit such a mistake may I refer you to his error early on in the crucial game against Manchester City when he almost let in Alvarez.

Arsenal 1 Brentford 1 – Half-time 

The half-time interval felt similar to the one against Liverpool where they scored a freak goal on the stroke of half-time. As the enormity of Ramsdale’s error dawned, he was comforted and encouraged by several team-mates. I reflected how fortunate it was that the odious William Gallas had retired.

Arsenal tried to up the pace from the start of the second half but Brentford dropped into a narrow and deep block. We forced many corners which saw farcical pushing and shoving matches and the ineffectual referee Rob Jones exercise a degree of tolerance that I thought was far too generous to a cynical Brentford side. We had two decent shouts for penalties for fouls on Trossard and Gabriel but Brentford felt Havertz who had already been booked was guilty of simulation in going down too easily about fifteen minutes from the end.  Our two best chances saw a Gabriel header blocked on the line and Declan Rice fire a fine effort following a corner onto the angle of post and bar. But Brentford were dangerous too. Toney tried to take advantage of Ramsdale’s advanced position with a dangerous effort that Ramsdale tipped wide at full stretch. With twenty minutes left Collins, a perpetual nag to the referee popped up in the Arsenal box to fire in a header which Aaron tipped athletically over.

We were just trying to estimate the amount of injury time that the referee would  add (predicting that it would be woefully inadequate) when Benny Bianco produced another excellent cross this time to the near post and Havertz arrived to head firmly home off the bar. Cue pandemonium and wholesale disapproval at the inordinate amount of injury time (seven minutes) that  the referee had allowed! 

Arsenal 2 Brentford 1 

We managed to survive the seven minutes with few alarms and thankfully the labyrinthitis which had spread through the Brentford team throughout the second half, miraculously disappeared. 

Full Time – Arsenal 2 Brentford 1 

It was the sort of messy, highly charged game that occurs in our situation at this stage of the season. It is about a year since Reiss Nelson’s last-second ‘worldie’ against Bournemouth. We had nothing like as late a goal today but it was tight and tense and ultimately triumphant.

Ramsdale, while not completely redeemed, did not cost us any points and made two terrific saves. I was taken by the intelligence of Jorginho whose passing is a delight, the runs between the lines of Havertz who is really developing as a 2024 version of Martin Peters for those of older vintage, the consistency and effectiveness of Ben White who is now such an effective attacking weapon and the industry and quality of Rice and Ødegaard who are players of the highest class. 

A narrow squeak, but one of those games I felt we were always going to win. Now for Anfield and hopefully an eagerly contested draw! 

Posted in Match Report | 59 Drinks »

Win No 8 — That’s How We Like It

Mar 8th, 2024 by

And so to the Stadium of Stone on Saturday, when Brentford are our visitors as late afternoon turns to early evening and twilight brings the promise and menace of the night (OK! For a 5.30 kick-off).

Our home league record against the Bees is surprisingly flat. Although we’ve lost only once, in 1938, we have only two wins in the seven games, a 2-1 in February 2022 when Saka and Smith Rowe scored (the lesser spotted ESR has only scored one other goal since) and a 2-0 in May 1939 when Ted Drake and Alfred Kirchen scored. Both, like Eddie Hapgood and ‘Gentleman Jack’ Crayston, were playing what would be their final league games for the club as the storm clouds of war gathered. 

A side note to that game is that it was filmed for use in the movie version of the best-selling caper whodunnit, ’The Arsenal Stadium Mystery’. Brentford played in white shirts and black shorts, the colours of The Trojans, Arsenal’s fictitious opponents in Leonard Gribble’s original story, which had been serialised in the Daily Express. Presumably, Brentford would not have played in their customary red and white stripes anyway because of the colour clash. 

The mystery revolves around the death of a Trojan player during a charity game at Highbury. Cliff Bastin and Hapgood had cameos, but only manager George Allison got a (small) speaking part. Drake’s goal was shown in the film making the score ‘one-nil to the Arsenal’, giving Allison the line ‘And that’s how we like it.’

You can watch the film here if you have a mind or just can’t be arsed with the rest of this preview.

In the actual league match, Drake’s goal was the second, near the end of the game. Kirchen’s opener was controversial. His shot hit the bar, bounced down to the ground and spun back into the field of play. To the fury of Brentford’s players, the referee adjudged the ball to have crossed the line and whistled a goal. Where was VAR when you needed it? Thankfully, still three-quarters of a century away.

The opposition

Unlike us, Brentford comes into this Saturday’s game on a poor run of form. Two wins in their past 15 games have dropped them to 15th in the league, six points clear of the relegation zone. Last weekend, they drew at home with the mob from the Bus Stop, having been behind and then ahead. Holding leads is a problem; Brentford has dropped more points, 28, from winning positions this season than any other team in the league.

That points to the Bees’ potency and porosity, which makes the game another potential banana skin. To be sure, Arteta has hit on a simple solution to avoiding banana skins: scoring five or six. Yet Thomas Frank and Brentford are a cut above hapless Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United. We can expect stiffer resistance than that offered at Bramall Lane on Monday evening, even if, in the end, one trusts, it will prove just as futile.

Frank has settled on a 3-5-2 set-up after chopping and changing his formation in the first half of the season. His team plays an intense, high-pressing game but without dominating possession. It averages 35% this season, the eighth lowest in the league.

David Raya’s replacement, Mark Flekken, will be between the sticks. Frank’s defence is missing Ben Mee, Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey and Ethan Pinnock due to injury. Thus, the back three will likely be Denmark international Mathias Jørgensen, who goes by the name Zanka, Ireland international Nathan Collins, and Norway international Kristoffer Ajer.

Look for the five across the middle to comprise wing-backs Sergio Reguilon, the Spaniard on temporary day release from the Marshlands as part of his rehabilitation back into society, and talented young Dane Mads Roerslev, outside of fellow Dane and club captain Christian Nørgaard, Nigerian international Frank ONyeka and the former German U-21 international Vitaly Janelt. Yet another Danish international, Mathias Jensen, will be an option from the bench when Frank finds his starting midfielders stymied by Rice and Ødegaard.

Up front, it will be Ivan Toney, possibly to be seen next season in a shirt of a different arrangement of red and white (although I wouldn’t bet on it), alongside DR Congo international Yoane Wissa. French-born Cameroon international Bryan Mbeumo, top scorer this season, and summer signing Kevin Shade are out with injury. Unfortunately, the grody Neal Maupay is fit and available.

Toney and Wissa are a threat. Toney is one of the few to give Saliba as good as he gets. Stifling the supply to the Bees’ frontmen will be crucial. Yet, one of Arteta’s less heralded tactical successes this season has been to cut the opposition’s main men out of the play. Bowen barely had a kick against us but scored a hat trick in his next game; Guimaraes and Gordon were anonymous for the Barcodes, ditto Fernandes for the Red Mancs.

Toney is also a threat at set-pieces. With Ramsdale in goal because Raya is inelligble against his parent club, Brentford wll likely try to engineer opportunities to test the theory that the Englishman’s cross catching is inferior to the Spaniard’s. We have conceded fewer free kicks than any other Premier League side this season. That discipline will need to be to the fore against an opponent that has shown twice before against us this season its willingness to scrap even in a losing cause.

The Arsenal

Picking the team is an unusual challenge compared to the stability of selection in recent games. We must consider this game and Tuesday’s Champions League second leg. Thus, I think Jesús starts against Brentford but comes off after an hour to rest for a start against Porto. Partey starts on the bench in both games but will get minutes in both. Jorghino will step down to make room for Havertz. This assumes Saka and Martinelli pass late fitness tests. Vieira and Trossard, respectively, are likely replacements if they do not, though some will hope for ESR. Thus:

Ramsdale

White – Saliba – Gabriel – Kiwior

Ødegaard – Rice – Havertz

Saka – Jesús – Martinelli

There is no need to rehearse our record-breaking AD (™21CG) run of seven wins. The team’s energetic, intricate attacking has been a delight, but its goal-scoring is an outlier. Our xG for the seven games in which we have scored 31 goals was 19. As for our defence, three goals conceded when the xGA was barely two. What can one say? Means will reassert themselves at some point, but even if they do, this team, emerging like a butterfly from its chrysalis, should still be playing winning football.

Every game is a must-win from here on in. Arteta will keep the team focused on Brentford and on dropping another three points in the poke, to use BtM’s argot. Do that, and we will be top, at least until Sunday, possibly longer, depending on the result at Anfield. 

Enjoy the game ‘holics, near and far.

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