{"id":11718,"date":"2025-08-24T00:58:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T23:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=11718"},"modified":"2025-08-30T11:49:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T10:49:23","slug":"rice-n-eze-does-it-well-vik-n-timber-actually","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=11718","title":{"rendered":"Rice \u2018n\u2019 Eze Does It – Well, Vik \u2018n\u2019 Timber Actually!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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After Tottenham won at C115\/130y in the lunchtime kick off, the pressure – if there is such a thing on Match Day 2 – was on Arsenal to capitalise on Abu Dhabi\u2019s loss and give Dirty Leeds a good metaphorical kicking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A proper kicking would have been nice payback for bygone days but you can\u2019t have everything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team news was in. Ben White\u2019s problem had not been overcome, and Madueke had earned a start in place of Gabriel Martinelli. With the strength of squad we now have, it\u2019s time to regard all players as possible starters and not assume that someone is dropped because they have been rotated for a game or two. This way of working is essential if we are to compete on four fronts and maintain a hopefully successful campaign to the end of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At any rate we lined up as: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Zubimendi, Rice, \u00d8degaard; Saka, Gy\u00f6keres, Madueke; Subs: Kepa, MLS, Mosquera, Kiwior, Merino, Nwaneri, Dowman, Martinelli, Trossard – with Eberechi Eze announced as our new No 10 before kick off at 5.00pm!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And hats off to all at Hale End. Bukayo Saka now one of the first names on the team sheet; Miles Lewis-Skelly established in the team; Ethan Nwaneri in the squad with a new 5 year contract; and 15 year old Max Dowman in his first Premier League squad, and he doesn\u2019t even take his GCSEs for another year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quite ridiculously at this point, there are still plenty of journalists, pundits and the more hard of thinking Arsenal fans who want Mikel Arteta replaced if we don\u2019t win either the Premier League or Champions League this season. I haven\u2019t heard a single suggestion of who would do better but that, of course, is never the concern of the armchair expert. Fortunately, the manager, the owners and the current squad appear to be in complete accord over the direction of the club and the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just look at the quality of those players listed above and compare with the squad that Arteta inherited six years ago which included the likes of C\u00e9dric, Willian, Mustafi, Sokratis, Luiz etc. That transformation has been achieved with committed, skilful, hard work. It would be absolute madness to tear the heart out of it when we are so close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And RIP former director Richard Carr who was remembered before kick off after his recent passing on 12th August. He was a businessman and director of Arsenal Holdings PLC and a director and board member of Arsenal Football Club. He held a 4.6% share of Arsenal until May 2008, when he sold that to Stan Kroenke. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First half.<\/strong>
Arsenal started with good energy and dominated the early play with \u00d8degaard firing our first real effort on goal just wide after 7 minutes. A minute later Bogle earned a first yellow card for Dirty Leeds with a foul on Madueke. Leeds were getting themselves in a mess trying to play out from the back and presented Gy\u00f6keres with a chance right in front of goal on 15 minutes. The Swede span and hurriedly scuffed wide not realising how much time he had. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tactically our midfield three were interchanging regularly and bossing possession but not really creating clear cut chances or getting the best out of Gy\u00f6keres. To do that we have to move the ball more quickly. Martin \u00d8degaard can be a bit of a culprit there as, for all his cleverness and skill, he tends to want to run with the ball too often, rather than play the early pass. Calafiori was getting forward regularly on the left hand side to support Madueke although they will improve as they understand each other\u2019s movements better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the half way point of the first half we had survived a goal attempt from a Leeds corner, with a fine save by David Raya, but had dropped our pace and passing tempo and reverted to our slow sideways approach, compressing the play and closing down the space Gy\u00f6keres needs to run into. Gy\u00f6keres should not be our only tactic but that particular aspect will need work – not surprisingly after a game and a half!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, on 26 minutes, Martin \u00d8degaard went down with a shoulder problem incurred when he was bundled over earlier in a Dirty Leeds sandwich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The game changed on 33 minutes when Timber turned a great header into the net from a brilliantly delivered Declan Rice corner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 1-0 Dirty Leeds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zubimendi then cleared Club Level with a shot after 37 minutes and \u00d8degaard left the field to be replaced by Ethan Nwaneri. Just before half time, Saka ran onto a lovely weighted pass from Timber and advanced to fire a curling shot past Perri in the Leeds goal and into the top far corner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half time: Arsenal 2-0 Dirty Leeds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were no half time changes to either side. Just 2 minutes into the half Gy\u00f6keres finally got an early ball, this time from Calafiori, into space just left of centre. He sprinted into the box, cut in past two defenders and span to shoot inside the near post – what we have come to expect as his trademark finish. Account opened – 3-0!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 3-0 Dirty Leeds <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sweeping attack which ended with a shot from Calafiori unfortunately found Bukayo Saka stranded on the deck having pulled up, grabbing his left hamstring. He had run a long way at great pace in that attack and he was now forced to walk very slowly and carefully off the pitch to be replaced by Leandro Trossard. It is not the hamstring that underwent surgery last season but it is still very bad news for Bukayo, the team and us. We have played two games and now have White, N\u00f8rgaard, \u00d8degaard, Havertz and Saka all injured. Please, Injury Gods, just give us a break – or maybe a rest! 
A scramble in the Leeds goal mouth following another excellent Rice corner, saw Jurrien Timber prod home at the second attempt for his second goal of the day on 55 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 4-0 Dirty Leeds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, Leeds replaced Tanaka and Piroe with Longstaff and Nmecha, and the diminutive James and Gnonto with Okafor and Aaronsen to try and beef up their team a bit. Arsenal took off Timber, Calafiori and Madueke and sent on Cristhian Mosquera, old man Lewis-Skelly and Max Dowman who at 15 years and 234 days had to get a parental pass to stay up for the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trossard found Dowman with a terrific cross field ball and the extremely young man cut in and fired well over for his first attempt on goal. He then drew a yellow card from Gudmundsson before hammering a left footed shot closer to goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The game had become a walking football training session, with Leeds refusing to come out and leave themselves exposed, and Arsenal eschewing the opportunity to incur any more unnecessary injuries. That was until Nwaneri broke to feed Dowman in the 92nd minute, who promptly won a penalty as a Dirty Leeds defender brought him down in the box. Gy\u00f6keres duly blasted the spot kick into the bottom left hand corner to complete his brace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full time: Arsenal 5-0 Dirty Leeds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Liverpool next weekend it\u2019s fingers crossed for our injured players. We have great squad depth now but we don\u2019t want to find room in the team for our new players by filling up the treatment room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully a 5-0 win will quieten the impatient, less bright section of the fan base down. There were clear improvements to be made on today\u2019s performance but we won 5-0 ! Gy\u00f6keres said post match that he is still not properly fit ! And, we are top of the league, say \u2026\u2026\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, a word for today\u2019s referee. It did not bode well when Liverpool fan Jarred Gillett, one of last season\u2019s villains of the piece, was announced for our game before a trip to Anfield. He actually had a very fair game. I can\u2019t remember a single contentious decision. More of that, please. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come on you Reds !<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After Tottenham won at C115\/130y in the lunchtime kick off, the pressure – if there is such a thing on Match Day 2 – was on Arsenal to capitalise on Abu Dhabi\u2019s loss and give Dirty Leeds a good metaphorical kicking. A proper kicking would have been nice payback for bygone days but you can\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11718"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11718"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11770,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11718\/revisions\/11770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}