{"id":12530,"date":"2025-12-31T01:05:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T01:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=12530"},"modified":"2026-01-02T19:41:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T19:41:47","slug":"arsenal-too-good-for-villa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=12530","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal Too Good For Villa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I\u2019ve been saying all season that we are the best team in this league. I said it after we lost to Liverpool in our third game. I said it yesterday after a run of single goal victories that had some fans encouraged and others nervous. Well, you can bet I am still saying it now after watching us thump the third placed team by four lovely goals to one frustrating reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our underlying stats are simply excellent. We have been going through our annual December period where our entire team forgets how to finish chances but it has been clear that as soon as we sorted our finishing out these one goal winning margins would be a thing of the past. So it proved tonight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Villa have similarities to us in past seasons: they are having a great run but a couple of injuries and suspensions left them looking very thin on the bench. We were without Rice due to a knock on his knee, but Timber returned and Gabriel was able to start. We also had Havertz on the bench which was great to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We started well but then had a dodgy twenty minutes when we let Villa play through us far too easily on the break, although they did not manage even a shot on target from some decent positions. When Onana became the latest Villa player to go down on twenty-six minutes, our whole team went over to Arteta and whatever he said sorted the issue out and plugged the leak. We were back on top for the rest of the half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had chances. I think we have to accept that in Gy\u00f6keres we have a player low on confidence. As such, I am lowering my expectations slightly and acknowledging that he needs to build himself up a little bit. Adrian Clarke on the Handbrake Off podcast made the excellent point that it can take a while for a player to step up and feel like he belongs when he arrives in an environment like Arsenal, where everything and everyone is elite, and Gy\u00f6keres has not settled yet. With this in mind, and as I am always as encouraging as possible of anyone in red and white, I thought he had a very decent game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early doors, he headed over a Hincapi\u00e9 cross (excellent through ball from Merino). He missed another header a bit later but it was a good run, in front of the defender, and he was unlucky not to score. He pressed well, ran hard, managed a few decent bits of hold up play and won some fouls. It\u2019s not exactly what we wanted for our sixty million quid, but it wasn\u2019t bad and was definitely something he can build on. He has qualities we need, and as long as he puts in a shift like he did today then he\u2019s alright by me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when he dropped into the centre circle to receive a pass from Saliba he promptly lost the ball and Watkins ended up missing a good chance. So, a reminder to all of us that he ain\u2019t Havertz. As we well know, he needs balls into the space behind defenders, not into his feet under pressure in the middle of the pitch. Maybe we could try giving him a few more of them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We attacked primarily down the left. Trossard, Merino and Hincapi\u00e9 linking well and leaving Saka hungry for the ball on the right. Frankly, it was a bit odd to see so much on the \u2018wrong\u2019 side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Villa\u2019s players knew from kickoff that they were not as good as ours. They played like underdogs, trying to hit us on the break and timewasting from the fifth minute. Those are perfectly sensible tactics from a pragmatist\u2019s point of view (although possibly not from a protagonist\u2019s?) and were somewhat vindicated when Darren England gave a mere three minutes of first-half injury time and the teams went in goalless. However, psychologically I felt Villa ceded something to us, and whatever the boss said at oranges saw us come out on fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost immediately, Gy\u00f6keres held the ball up well and fed it to Timber who won a corner. Martinez pushed Gabriel, then weakly tried to catch the ball under the defender\u2019s challenge. It rolled down his body and our centre half stuck out a leg and bobbled it in. VAR checked it and confirmed it. Excellent stuff. Couldn\u2019t happen to a more deserving keeper!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minutes later the magnificent \u00d8degaard won it in midfield, drove forward and played a beautiful pass to the equally magnificent Zubimendi, who had used the full license he is afforded to make a centre forward\u2019s run. He finished the chance with the outside of his right boot, tucking the ball into the side netting past the onrushing Martinez. Just a lovely goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rogers challenged Hincapi\u00e9 with a high foot and was somehow awarded a foul by the erratic referee. From the same passage of play Merino grabbed and held Rogers\u2019 shirt. This time England’s scattergun approach went in our favour as, much like Dias against Forest in City\u2019s last game, our man deserved a second yellow (mind you, we were two goals ahead at the time, not all square). Anyhoo, in this instance, my internal justice-o-meter was satisfied as the first foul given against Hincapi\u00e9 should never have been awarded anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were all over them. Hincapi\u00e9 slipped whilst marauding into their box. Pity! Martinez made a fantastic save from a well-placed but slightly under-hit \u00d8degaard shot. Then the magnificent Trossard scored. Timber went down claiming a penalty (subsequent events overtook that incident so I never saw a replay) but we recycled it and \u00d8degaard crossed for Saka to challenge between Lindelof and Digne. The left back emerged with the ball but Timber nicked it on the edge of the box and Trossard swept it home first time with a sublime finish. Martinez didn\u2019t even move. VAR checked everything they could think of but happily concluded it was a goal. And what a goal it was!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emery was making his fabled subs through the half. None of them appeared to do much. Our magnificent Gabriel went down with cramp on seventy-six minutes. He and Big Vik were replaced by MLS and Jes\u00f9s just a couple of minutes after N\u00f8rgaard had come on for the magnificent Merino who was sailing close to a red card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We looked good. We played out from the back. \u00d8degaard controlled it on his chest and flicked it over his shoulder in one motion. Zubi beat his man and laid it into Trossard\u2019s path. The Belgian raced onto it and pulled it back for Jes\u00f9s on the edge of the box. His first touch of the match controlled it in front of him. His second buried it in the far corner. His smile as he celebrated was a real pleasure to see. He\u2019s just such a likeable player and I hope he stays fit and carries on playing with the freedom he is right now. He could be so, so valuable for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saka missed a good chance, shooting over with his right foot as he has done too often lately. He needs to go back to roofing them. The ref decided that now was the time to properly award injury time and gave eight minutes. With Gabriel off, our recent habit of conceding late goals reared its ugly head. We tried to let McGinn score after he followed up a Watkins header that hit the post, but the Villa captain, on at half-time for Onana, somehow shot straight at Raya from three yards out. I\u2019m sure the Spaniard will take it, but that one was all about the Scot\u2019s lack of accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, we gave conceding an unnecessary goal another go and this time we came good. Former Gunner Donyell Malen rode a challenge from Jes\u00f9s and another from Saliba. The Frenchman got a foot in but kicked the ball straight into the attacker\u2019s left foot, which somehow saw it land perfectly in front of him so he could strike it with his right without breaking stride. His right-footed shot slid through Raya\u2019s legs, hit the post and rebounded in front of the goal where no-one was marking Watkins, who tapped it in. Hincapi\u00e9 had been sucked across to cover the space where Saliba would usually be and MLS wasn\u2019t switched on to cover him. It was both ridiculously lucky for Villa and downright ugly from us. Arteta will be reviewing that one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We still had another chance to score, Trossard missing at the back post before Zubi smashed the rebound into Lindelof\u2019s hand (I make no claims to understand the handball rules anymore so I\u2019ve no idea whether that should be a penalty or not) and \u00d8degaard finished the move by forcing a final save from Martinez. Soon after, the final whistle went and the stadium celebrated a great result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve only used \u2018magnificent\u2019 as a descriptor for our players. It\u2019s good for all of them on the night. If I were doing player ratings then they\u2019d all be right up there. If I had to single one player out it would be the captain \u2013 the last two games he has been back to his imperious best. This was a top performance from everyone. The manager nailed it, the players nailed it, the crowd were up for it and they got the combined performance and result they\u2019ve waited all month for. I\u2019m sure they enjoyed it. I know I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was one of the good days and we are, still, the best team in this league. Bring on the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until next time, \u2018holics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been saying all season that we are the best team in this league. I said it after we lost to Liverpool in our third game. I said it yesterday after a run of single goal victories that had some fans encouraged and others nervous. Well, you can bet I am still saying it now after watching us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"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\/12530"}],"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\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12530"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12559,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12530\/revisions\/12559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}