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Are the shadows of Albion stirring?

Apr 5th, 2024 by

Arsenal travel down to the South coast of England on Saturday to take on Brighton and Hove’s Seagulls in an early-evening tilt at the Falmer Stadium. We’re coming off our workmanlike 2-0 win over Luton this midweek, after Sunday’s chess match at Al-Citeh’s oil-slick dump. Brighton drew with Brentford this week, having lost to Liverpool 2-1 over the weekend.

We come in on a better run of form, where in addition to advancing to the final 16 of the Champions League we are undefeated in the Premier League in 2024. The Albion defeated Sheffield United mid-February 5-0, having won or drawn a string of games where they were scoring for fun, but since that win at the Blades they’ve fallen out of the Europa League to Roma, and are struggling for goals while being somewhat porous at the back.

Nonetheless, the portents are dark and veiled, for Brighton have been difficult for Arsenal to beat over the past few years. In 8 games across all competitions Arsenal have won 4, lost 3, and drawn 1, the latest Premier League game in December ending 2-0 to the Arsenal. Naturally, as this is the second game of an April where we play just about every three days, this game can be considered something straight out of the Velvet Underground (& Nico). We need to tread carefully…

Brighton and Hove

Roberto de Zerbi’s team is certainly going to be missing some key players. Danger man Mitoma is out for the season with a lower back injury, and Hinshelwood, Gilmour, and March are out for the foreseeable future. Milner is struggling with a thigh injury, and Ferguson has an ankle knock; the latter is likely to play, but probably start on the bench. We may see one of Enciso or Pedro, both of whom are working their way back to fitness after injury.

Expect them to line up in a 4-2-3-1, with Groß and Baleba shielding a back four with Dunk and van Hecke flanked by Lamptey and Estupiñán; the latter pair like to move up in support of a front four that includes ex-Arsenal man Welbeck and the not-so-subtly-hated Lallana. Dunk gives the defense both height and solidity (not to say grit, but not NOT to say it), and keeper Verbruggen is solid, if unable to keep many clean sheets this season (and those have come against Forest, Brentford, and Sheffield…so…). They will really miss Enciso (should he not play) and especially Mitoma; both are integral to Brighton’s success, but their lack of goals coincides exactly with the period since Mitoma went out after the Sheffield League game.

The Arsenal

As noted, our form coming into the game is very good, though not quite as scintillating as it was prior to the interlull. Our defeat of a decent Luton squad was professional and somewhat restful ahead of our busy April. We were able to rest Saka completely; Rice got a quarter-game off the bench, and Martinelli had a stretch of his legs after being out for three weeks with his injured ankle. As TTG discussed in his report, MOTM Smith Rowe, Partey, and Nelson were given starts, thus time to sharpen what might otherwise be dull legs after being out through injury or omission these past months. We’re in good shape, actually (knock on wood), with Saka being probable for the game and Timber being our only absentee at the moment.

I do believe this will be another good game to give some of the players hovering around the red zone some rest. A bench with Ramsdale, Saka, Ødegaard, Rice, and White (among others) could lead to a starting lineup that looks something like this:

Raya
Tomiyasu — Saliba — Gabriel — Kiwior
Partey — Vieira — ESR
Jesús — Havertz — Martinelli

Chancy, I know, but it gives us solidity defensively across the back without sacrificing too much ahead of it, and gives another solid rest for those who really need it. The only real doubt I have about this lineup is Vieira in the middle; he’s not really close enough to captain Mø to replace him, but perhaps this is the game to try. If we’re playing with too much Portuguese descanso by early in the second half we can bring in the captain and move with our usual Nordic elan to win the game. Alternatively we could start ESR in the controlling midfield role alongside Jorghino and Partey, but that could tend towards the mildly defensive in a game where we really should be able to get at them. It’s also a game where Nwaneri could take a bow; he looked good coming on as a late sub during February’s 6-0 demolition of Wet Spam, and according to MA8 he’s pushing for first team action after signing his first professional contract.

The Holic pound

While I won’t be betting on this game, preferring rather to send that money to World Central Kitchen in support of their grief over losing 7 aid workers this week. However, if you wish, you can get 14s on a 3-0 Arsenal victory. Add another Arsenal goal and you can nearly double that, at 27/1; add two Brighton goals to that and you are at 40/1.

I’ll assume Countryman100 and C100Jr will be heading South on Saturday. For them, and for all who are making the trek, bon voyage, good voice, and may a fair, winning wind guide you back to North London after the game.

Posted in Match Preview | 64 Drinks »

Handbrake-on Arsenal cruise back to the top of the league

Apr 4th, 2024 by

Arsenal eased back to the top of the Premier League with a largely untroubled 2-0 home win over Luton Town tonight. It was an excellent outcome on a night when Mikel Arteta made five changes from the titanic show of defensive resilience at the Emptihad on Sunday.

He brought in Zinchenko at left back for Kiwior, started Reiss Nelson in place of Bukayo Saka (who was not on the bench), replaced Declan Rice with Thomas Partey, Jorginho with Smith-Rowe, and saw Kai Havertz play centrally with Jesús on the bench as well.

Luton had numerous injuries and were fresh from a late and dispiriting defeat at the Toilet Bowl where they had led for much of the game. They found it difficult to penetrate Arsenal all night in the way they had the inferior Tottenham, and the first half was an entertaining but relatively low-key affair.

Rather than give you a detailed blow by blow account I will look at some of the new personnel for Arsenal and some of the issues this performance raised. Suffice it to say that Arsenal began tentatively, which was understandable with such a rotated side, but soon grew into the game. Trossard and Zinchenko had shots blocked before Kaminski saved well from a cross-shot by Smith Rowe. Arsenal’s intensity increased and in the 24th minute ESR robbed Mpanzu in midfield and fed Ødegaard. Ødegaard exchanged passes with Havertz and drove the ball past Kaminski’s left hand.

Arsenal 1 Luton 0 – Ødegaard 24

Luton tried to up the tempo after the goal, and a Townsend cross bounced awkwardly in front of Raya who dealt with it well. Havertz had a couple of close range shots well blocked by the keeper and was making his presence felt in an effective way. Arsenal increased their lead in the 43rd minute when ESR got in behind the right flank of the Luton defence and cut the ball across to Nelson. Luton’s Hashioka beat him to the ball but could only turn it into his own net. In the spirit of Trev one might say he made a bit of a hashioka of his clearance!

Arsenal 2 Luton 0 – Hashioka og 43

The half ended with Barkley testing Raya for the first time with a free kick but the Spaniard made a comfortable save.

Half-time Arsenal 2 Luton 0

My comments on the second half action will be necessarily brief because there wasn’t much! Arsenal made a raft of substitutions. Rice, Nketiah, Martinelli, Tomayisu, and Jorginho replaced Partey, Havertz (just after he was booked for simulation), Nelson, Zinchenko, and ESR. Tomayisu drove just wide and Nketiah forced a good save at his near post from Kaminski.

Luton, to their credit, did not cave in but Arsenal played with a degree of handbrake on and were largely (and rightly) content to control the game and prevent Luton from threatening the Arsenal goal. The game finished with Arsenal well in control with the job done professionally and competently.

Full time – Arsenal 2 Luton 0

There was a lot of speculation in the blog about how many changes Arteta would make, and it would be fair to say five was more than most people expected. How did they do?

The most effective performance came from Smith-Rowe, who was enterprising, energetic, and skilful, and had a hand in both goals. I understand TNT gave him Man of the Match which would be a great lift for him. He produces pace and thrust and always looks to provide a goal threat, and hopefully will have a big part to play as the season nears its climax.

Partey played largely a deeper, holding role in midfield and picked his passes well. He oozes quality and again could have a big part to play for the rest of the season.  Nelson worked hard but didn’t have the impact he would have hoped for. I’m not as big a fan of his as some on the blog but it is expecting a lot of him to create a huge performance tonight in his first league start for four years. But I don’t think he will be with us next season.

Zinchenko is a bit of an enigma. Arteta knows much more about the game than I will ever know but he is playing a midfield player at left full back and I think he is too sloppy in defence and seems to lack concentration in some of his passing: he gave a number of balls away tonight and was not tight enough to Townsend or the winger who replaced him. He also made a brilliant interception when Luton looked threatening and produced some clever, creative passes. But in a tight game against a side with pace out wide I think he can be a liability. If he wants to know how to take care of a winger he need only look at the brilliant Ben White who is in outstanding form. Gabriel and Saliba were excellent as always and Ødegaard shook off a knock midway through the half to play his usual high-intensity match at the heart of our midfield, linking attack and defence with creativity and precision. Tonight I also felt Havertz unsettled their back line and although he lacks pace he creates mayhem between the lines.

The season is boiling up into an incredible climax and we are very much involved. This term we are more mature, better organised and our game management is of a completely different order to last term. Luton were never likely to affect our momentum but we handled the challenge of a game a few days after the intensity of the Etihad very sensibly. Arteta is seriously impressing as a great motivator, planner and general.

Posted in Match Report | 12 Drinks »

Lootin’ and Shootin’

Apr 3rd, 2024 by

With apologies for the title to The Slickers, whose reggae classic Johnny Too Bad (including the lyrics “you’re looting and you’re shooting now you’re too bad”) runs through my head whenever Luton is mentioned, Arsenal will hope to demonstrate their superior footballing skills when they host 18th-placed Luton Town on Wednesday evening, three days after the emotions and exertions of Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Manchester City.  They certainly wouldn’t do wrong to put some special emphasis on the defensive side of the game in comparison to what they did in the reverse fixture in early December when they prevailed by the skin of their teeth thanks to Declan Rice’s 97th minute header, finishing off a crazy 4-3 win at Kenilworth Road.

After a slow March that featured one of the most tedious interlulls in memory prior to Arsenal’s return to action with Sunday’s masterclass in how to execute a low block against Manchester City, the Luton game will be the first of at least eight fixtures for the Gunners in April.  It goes without saying that Arsenal must be completely focused in this one, so as to avoid slipping on the proverbial banana skin and to maintain their momentum in the title race by collecting all three points.

The opposition

In the reverse fixture Luton scored two goals directly from corners on headed balls, one each by Osho and Adebayo.  After his side nearly took at least two precious points away from Arsenal, Hatters manager Rob Edwards commented “Arsenal wanted a game of order and we made it chaotic at times.”  In retrospect, Arsenal’s close call at Luton was a harbinger of the points that Arsenal dropped later that month, at home to West Ham and away to Fulham.

Luton’s away form is not so good but they are in the middle of a relegation dogfight so they won’t be short of industry.  On their away forays the Hatters have 2 wins, 4 draws, and 9 losses. They have scored 43 goals this season overall in the Premier League, with three of the 43 scored against Arsenal.  Those same three goals also represent a significant chunk of Arsenal’s league best of 24 goals conceded, so the Gunners must do much better in that respect.

With injuries and whatnot Luton could have as many as 13 players out on Wednesday. Edwards commented this week: “It is the most difficult and challenging period I’ve ever faced, I’ve never known anything like it, and we are coming up against the best teams in the world in this period as well.”  After facing Arsenal, Luton’s next away game is at Manchester City on 13 April, when all their injured players hopefully will have recovered and be able to contribute to a famous upset of our title rivals.

Arsenal XI

It was encouraging to see our injured players (Thomas, Tomiyasu and Martinelli) come back on Sunday and contribute to our valiant team effort. All three of them are contenders to be in the starting XI against Luton, but something tells me the Japanese defender will be the only one that the manager picks to provide a bit of rotation.  With only nine league matches left to play, and a the team in contention to win the league for the first time in a generation, I think Mikel Arteta will keep personnel changes to a minimum, although the sage Mike McDonald at Gunnerstown predicted quite a bit more rotation with Partey coming in for Jorginho, Tomi for Kiwior, Trossard for Saka and Martinelli for Havertz, and Jesus moving to center forward.  But my predicted team is:

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

The ‘holics pound

Although the Gunners did not score on Sunday, since January the team has been scoring goals for fun in most of their league fixtures, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they put at least four goals into the Hatters’ net.  As a matter of fact, you might not be able to find very good odds on Arsenal scoring that few, but based on our recent attacking exploits I don’t think I am being outlandish with a prediction of: Arsenal 4 Luton Town 1. Remember, as we focus on avoiding that banana skin this is another opportunity to improve our goal difference so more than four goals would be most welcome if they happen to come our way. Have a good one, ‘holics.

Posted in Match Preview | 32 Drinks »

Gunners Show Who They Are, What They are, And Who They Represent

Apr 1st, 2024 by

23 years ago yesterday, we lost the footballing great that was David Rocastle. He was famous for his wonderful skill, his indomitable spirit, his boundless tenacity. It was somehow fitting that Arsenal should be playing one of the biggest games of the season, in which we would need to exhibit all these qualities, on the anniversary of his passing.

Pre-match I must confess to being surprised at seeing Stones on the bench and Walker completely missing. Football managers can tend to be economical with the actualité and I had assumed that their early removal from England games and statement of their lack of fitness had been part of the well-known City approach to a certain amount of, shall we say, obfuscation. Conspiracy theories be damned…. For our part it was a surprise to see Martinelli on the bench rather than the pitch.

The game started as expected with City dominating both ball and territory. It was immediately noticeable that Arsenal were quite willing not to press and be moved out of their shape when the City keeper in particular had the ball. This was clearly a planned approach on the part of Arteta. And it began to reap rewards as we were beginning to win the ball back high up the field as a result of not being a man down through not pressing the keeper, when in the 7th minute we broke their possession in the final third as they attempted to play out from the back, resulting in a super cross from Ben White to find Jesùs who chested down and got his shot off, just pass the post. In response on 15 minutes a City corner resulted in Ake managing to misconnect with a header and the ball dribbling to Raya. Replays clearly show Ake pushing his marker, Jorginho, in the back in order to win the space needed but as we know from the other petro-financed club, some pushes are more equal than others so I wouldn’t have expected any resulting goal to have been overturned. 

Having weathered the initial 25-minute onslaught, Arsenal began to grow more into the game, still from the security of the compact, disciplined tactical approach. The game slowed down to the extent that it rather more closely resembled a Serie A game than the usual blood and thunder of the Premiership. Arsenal were winning the psychological battle and the noise from the home fans was noticeably diminished.

The second half began and it immediately became apparent that Arsenal had decided that they could now put the press into effect. Arteta had clearly figured out that you can’t press City for 90 minutes and so, in true George Graham-Anfield ‘89 style, elected to keep it tight until half time and expend the energy in the second half. On 51 minutes, the change in approach nearly yielded a reward when the pressing from Havertz, Odegaard and Saka resulted in a loose pass played into the midfield from Dias. Finally, the ball was won back by White and Saliba, who had run as far as the edge of the City defensive third in order to press Gvardiol and Foden respectively. Saliba’s immediate pass forward to Ødegaard allowed the Norwegian to slip in Saka, who had made an excellent run in between Foden and Dias in the inside right channel. Saka hit a low first time cross towards the far post and Jesùs slid in but was a couple of feet from putting the ball into the net. Slick, quick, crisp passing. From the quick goal kick City tried to break but first Jorginho, twice, and then Ødegaard made tactical fouls to ensure that the forward momentum which had resulted in us being momentarily out of shape could not be pounced upon by City. Unsurprisingly, the City players complained in unison in the petulant manner one might expect employees of a club with 115 financial irregularity charges hanging over it to do. But the referee, probably inured to seeing City perform the same trick many times over recent years, took no further action than awarding a free kick.

On 60 minutes, Guardiola brought off Kovacic and Foden and replaced them with Grealish and Doku in a signal of attacking intent. Normally we are used to seeing Doku deployed on the left, where his lack of faith in his left foot noticeably results in him having to cut inside. Today he was positioned on the right and it very much looked as though the Arsenal defenders had been given detailed instructions to try to show him inside onto his left, as, one magical shimmy aside, he was shepherded expertly by the Arsenal defence,.

In response to these changes, Arteta acted quickly and on 65 minutes replaced Kiwior, who to my mind had been very good, especially bearing in mind he had played 120 mins for his country in midweek, with Tomiyasu in order to assist with keeping Doku quiet, and Jorginho with Partey.  Earlier in the season there was some disquiet around the perceived unwillingness of Arteta to make substitutions in a timely manner. Here he acted calmly and decisively, spotting exactly what was needed. Jesùs was booked for stupidity shortly after and again Arteta acted promptly by substituting him with Trossard, a clearly tiring Saka also being replaced by Martinelli minutes later. Saka had bust a gut in acting as back up for Ben White to ensure City could not overload down his wing, as indeed had Jesùs on the opposite flank. Attention to detail is a cornerstone of Arteta’s management and we are all the better for it.

Going into the final 15 minutes, the game opened up as both teams somewhat released the handbrake. Space started to appear as the dominant defences tired. On 83 minutes, Haaland somehow failed to capitalise on a corner which resulted in him being free at the far post, looking to knock the ball back for the onrushing Dias to put into an empty net. However, he miraculously missed his kick, showing fine motor skills resembling those of a newborn deer. Perhaps it was as a result of him struggling to get accustomed to the bright light shining down in the spring sun, having spent much of the previous 80 odd minutes in the inside pockets of Saliba and Gabriel.

Almost immediately Arsenal had a wonderful opportunity to score. Partey received the ball facing the Arsenal goal in our final third, turned smartly, shaking off the attentions of the possibly still blinking Haaland, and played a delightful through ball to Ødegaard who passed it smartly on down the outside left channel to Trossard. The Belgian had timed his run to perfection to break the high line but needed to pass immediately to the far post where Martinelli was running in. Having not taken this option, Trossard managed to retrieve the situation partially and got a shot off, but in truth the save was comfortable for Ortega.

The referee blew and I imagine the deep breaths from the Arsenal fans felt like the first they had taken all match. Competitive spirit was still high and Gabriel, who was having none of the Norwegian T-1000 cyborg’s nonsense walked off still arguing the toss him. It was good to see.

Conclusions

The performance yesterday was full of the qualities so familiar to those us who had the pleasure of watching that great No. 7 of days gone by. – skill, spirit, tenacity. David Rocastle would not have been out of place on the pitch in this game. Look at the way in which Jesus and Saka sublimated much of their forward ambition in order to provide extra security for the full backs. Look at the way Foden and de Bruyne were shackled by a midfield which was resolute in understanding and sticking to a compact, disciplined approach. Above all, look at the way Saliba and Gabriel refused to be bullied by the huge physical presence of Haaland. City had not failed to score at home for two and a half years, a remarkable feat. We restricted them to a grand total of a single effort on goal and at the same time, to my mind at least, we had the better chances. For me, yesterday was the day that this manager and team truly came of age. We may not win anything this year, but even the most purblind pundit can’t fail to see the progress we have made and the inexorable upward trajectory of the club as a whole. David Rocastle would, I am sure, have been proud of the team and the manager and the way in which they refused to be cowed into submission against the team which is current holder of the Premier League and Champions League titles. We have a team once again capable of living up to that famous quote.

Posted in Match Report | 39 Drinks »

Learning to Fly

Mar 30th, 2024 by

It has been more than 12 years since Arsène Wenger had publicly raised certain concerns about the financial mechanics of squad building of our opponent this weekend. A lot has happened in the world of football since then, but his questions have remained unanswered. And true to the profound capacity of the human race to become complacently well adjusted to any new reality, we all seem to have become inured to a kind of unfairness that should strike as deeply antagonistic to what is considered to be the inviolable spirit of all sporting competitions. 

Against such a backdrop of heavily tilted landscape, this young Arsenal team’s assured march – characterized by a joyful élan that carries within itself the promises of a memorable future – into the center stage is all the more impressive. Since the start of the new year, Arsenal’s Premier League results have been nearly as eye catching as the performances: 5-0 (h), 1-2 (a), 3-1 (h), 0-6 (a), 0-5 (a), 4-1 (h), 0-6 (a), 2-1 (h) – eight consecutive victories, with a positive goal difference of 29 (33-4).  In the four away games the goal difference is 18 (19-1).  

Statisticians – or Ned’s monks, if they feel like spending a minute or two away from their scholarly pursuits in the lesser pleasures of remembrance – will be able to confirm or refute my claim, but I feel that no team in PL history has ever gone through an eight game streak quite like that. I won’t say in the history of English football, for I have learnt over the years (again, thanks often to those aforementioned monks and their flawless memories) that however outrageous a piece of footballing statistics might appear, English football in its rich history has already seen everything. :–) 

Historically unmatched or not, these results have propelled Arsenal to the top of the premier league table, with ten games to go, helping them to recover from their Christmas time malaise, and maybe equally importantly have inculcated a degree of self-belief and confidence that are as important an ingredient for success as the quality of football in this final stretch of the seasonal marathon. Last season, around these days of early Spring Arsenal’s title challenge started to collapse as an injury depleted, inexperienced squad could no longer keep up with the physical and emotional rigors, while a more generously lubricated machine sprinted expectedly away to the finish line.   

Manchester City, contrary to what some football commentators have been saying, I find is no less of a team compared to last season. There have been some changes in their squad, but the overall quality, depth, variety are as strong as ever, and if anything there is just a bit more nous about when and how to time the season defining performances. The fact that both Arsenal and Liverpool are fighting with them in such a tight race to the top says a lot more about those two teams’ unique strengths – different though those are from each other’s – and I think whatever the league table may end up looking like at the end of the season, Arteta’s Arsenal is on an upward trajectory and is on a journey that we fans find it a privilege to be part of. 

Our recent results against City in the league have been wretched to say the least, especially since Guardiola took over. Arteta – since he left Pep’s coaching team to return to his beloved club – has not kept it a secret how much he considers the level of City as the bar his young squad must aspire to, calling the current City even ‘best of all times’. Somewhere in that mixture of true admiration and hyperbole meant as inspiration to the team, there is also a detectable hint of his fiercely competitive spirit. One of his most admirable qualities – at least to this scribe – is his relentless pursuit of excellence, and not settling for being second best to any one. And, however respectful he might be to his friend and mentor, one suspects that defeating the most decorated manager in football history to the league championship will bring him an extra measure of satisfaction. 

Arsenal has already beaten City twice this season already – at the curtain raiser of Community Shield in August, albeit on penalties, and then in a fiercely competitive 1-0 home win in the league in October – and a victory away at City this Sunday will bring us our first league double against them since the 2007-08 season, when a solitary Fabregas goal gave us a 1-0 home win in August, and later in February Eduardo and Adebayor combined for a 1-3 win away. Our last away win at City came in the January of the 2014/15 season, when a Santi Cazorla masterclass earned us a memorable 2-0 victory with Giroud adding to Santi’s early goal scored from penalty. Arteta, the new club captain for the season, was absent from the matchday squad due to the injuries which plagued his last couple of seasons at Arsenal.

It appears that we have been able to avoid any injury scares in the last international break – and let us hope it remains so for the rest of the season. However, it is not clear if any of the three injury-enforced absentees from their respective national teams – Saka, Martinelli, and Gabriel – are fit enough to play this weekend. Mikel, as is his wont, gave nothing away in his pre-match interview.  All three are, when fully fit, guaranteed starters in a match of this importance, and one suspects not all of them will start this match on the bench. Before the international break Martinelli’s injury was likely the most severe one, and his position is also likely the one that can be most effectively compensated by either Jesùs or Trossard. 

Zinchenko and Kiwior – our two first choice left backs – both must have returned energized from the internationals by their respective nation’s successful qualification play-off campaigns to participate in this summer’s Euros. Whereas Kiwior played each minute of Poland’s two matches, the Ukrainian captain was substituted after 76 minutes in their first match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereas he didn’t even appear until the 64th minute against Iceland in the second match – Ukraine winning both by 2-1 after conceding the first goal.  The fact that in a match of that importance Zinchenko was not considered fit enough to start, indicates that he will likely not be risked by Arteta this weekend, especially given Kiwior’s good form for both club and country, and given the packed schedule ahead.   

Another key decision for Arteta about the starting eleven would be whether to play Rice – joining over the international break the ranks of great Arsenal luminaries who have also captained the English national team –  in a deeper #6 role, or start Jorginho there and play Rice as the left sided #8, a position where he has really started to flourish on both sides of the game. Jorginho’s technical savvy and ability to control the tempo may be a great asset in an away match of this importance. 

Kai Havertz carried his superb goalscoring form for Arsenal to his national team, and I think his clever hybrid positioning, physicality and his rediscovered calmness in front of goal makes him a more natural starter in the center of the forward line in this match. Especially so if Martinelli is not fit enough to start, with Jesùs bringing more of the full-throttle relentlessness on the left. If Tomiyasu and White are both fit and ready, Ben is likely to start on the right, and the versatile Tomi can be relied upon to sub any of the four defensive roles later in the game if necessary or, if we are winning comfortably, even to offer an extra presence to see out the match.  

My predicted starting line-up:

Raya

White – Saliba – Gabriel – Kiwior 

Ødegaard – Jorginho – Rice

Saka – Havertz – Jesùs     

This does feel like one of those season defining matches that brings with it the weight of expectations as much as anxieties of imponderables. However, pragmatically speaking, whatever the result of this match, we will still be very well placed in the league table, with nine more games to go. A win will of course be fantastic, but a draw would be a very good result as well. A loss on the scoreline may feel unrecoverable, especially immediately after the match when easy narratives of foregone conclusions are bandied about liberally in the punditry saturated media, but I think as long as the team plays to its true potential and learns from the experience, this is a match from which we can only grow forward.  

Enjoy the game everyone! 

Come on Arsenal!

Posted in Match Preview | 53 Drinks »

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