{"id":3285,"date":"2021-05-09T21:36:50","date_gmt":"2021-05-09T20:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=3285"},"modified":"2021-05-10T12:39:17","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T11:39:17","slug":"brilliant-willian-goal-condemns-fat-sam-to-the-drop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=3285","title":{"rendered":"Brilliant Willian goal condemns Fat Sam to the drop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<a id=\"1G4c6cbBQDVHnWUCB-Gl9A\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1232794254\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'1G4c6cbBQDVHnWUCB-Gl9A',sig:'oq5hJgeVujKxhCddFJJC8V8AaO34TX-EYKntiFs3FN0=',w:'594px',h:'383px',items:'1232794254',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\" async=\"\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The compressed time schedule we developed because of the Double features meant that I was required to produce this report shortly after the match. So in the interests of expedition I decided to think before the game about the issues that would probably concern us after the game&#8230;if we could bother to be concerned at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The apathy post-Thursday night has been almost tangible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was not a good week to celebrate a huge past achievement which has served for many of us to highlight the difference between a heroic past and a very problematic present and future. 50 years ago today a crowd of around 750,000 people thronged Islington Town Hall celebrating a huge achievement of skill and resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That sort of joy seemed a world away tonight as an&nbsp;almost audible groan echoed across the Goonerverse when the Arsenal team was announced. A midfield two of Ceballos and Elneny with Willian wide presaged little but at least Martinelli started upfront through the centre. Saka returned to left back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My musings pre-match were along the following lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How engaged were the team after a massive disappointment, at the end of a ghastly season in an empty ground against a team we thrashed 4-0 just after Christmas?&nbsp;They were likely to be much more motivated than us. Could we play positive front-foot football, something which has largely eluded us this season? In the end we could, but only for about fifteen minutes, and tonight it was enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Could we&nbsp;relegate&nbsp;the odious Fat Sam Allardyce, a man who in the past has presided over several assaults&nbsp;on Arsenal teams, most notably at Bolton in 2003 when three Arsenal players were kicked off the pitch in twenty minutes, arguably costing us the league title? That would be some scant consolation. I vowed never to watch an England game when he was made the national coach but thankfully his naivety and keenness to supplement his income led to his early demise. We did indeed send Sam down, and it was a cause of some celebration for most right-thinking Gooners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally could the team ignite some passion among an understandably apathetic fanbase? I feel, and I know a number of you do too,&nbsp;that there is a potentially exciting nucleus here, young players that could presage a better future. Could we end the season on an upbeat note starting today? Tonight we saw the immense potential of Saka, the drive of ESR and they showed up&nbsp;in stark contrast to an otherwise pedestrian display although P\u00e9p\u00e9, as ever, played in flashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About an hour before kick off a scurrilous rumour circulated, spread by Countryman that the teams were in the bar. Maybe, I thought, the managers are looking to relax the&nbsp;teams prior to kick-off?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report from here was written in real time and reflected my thoughts as the game unfolded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We started kicking towards the North End. We have started really slowly in most home games, and we weren\u2019t exactly quickly out of the blocks tonight. We took five minutes to get into their half and then P\u00e9p\u00e9 fired wildly over. The early play was fairly moribund with West Brom looking the more assured side, and a Pereira drive on 12 minutes was narrowly wide of Leno\u2019s left-hand post. Robinson was adjudged offside when hitting the bar minutes later. Pereira then speared another longshot wide.&nbsp;Saka was thwarted by a brilliant tackle by Furlong, and was looking our best attacking weapon. Diagne then failed to turn home a low Pereira cross as West Brom attacked with an incisiveness Arsenal only showed when Saka was on the ball. Willian continued to look utterly pedestrian, possibly the slowest wide player in the Premier League. Whatever possessed us to sign him on a three year contract? A swap with the excellent Pereira seems a deal worth doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then on twenty nine minutes a more penetrative move saw Saka get to the byline and cut the ball back for ESR to produce a beautiful volley for his first Premier League goal. It was beautifully worked and completely at odds with what had gone before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 1 (Smith Rowe 29) West Brom 0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ceballos was growing into the game and we then saw the brilliance of P\u00e9p\u00e9, who on 34 minutes cut in from the right and hit a beautiful left-footed drive into the top lefthand corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 2 (P\u00e9p\u00e9 34) West Brom 0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Martinelli was dropping deeper to receive the ball and had not figured until on 38 minutes he hit a dipping shot narrowly over. West Brom could not handle the runs of Saka on the left and he threatened danger every time we attacked. Fat Sam shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It was good to see. The seat may have been too small. That must happen to him a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Willian then set up Chambers on 41 minutes for a fierce drive over the bar. Willian then put in Saka yet again, and his near-post drive was blocked by Johnstone in the West Brom goal. The half ended with Arsenal completely in control and Fat Sam with one foot and one of his very large buttocks sliding through the trapdoor into the Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Half-Time &#8211; Arsenal 2 West Brom 0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second half began with P\u00e9p\u00e9 testing the keeper with a low snorter, and then ESR hitting a swerving drive at Johnstone. Martinelli was looking a little lost through the centre partly because Arsenal tend to move the ball wide at every opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Twelve minutes into the half we survived a series of corners but on 59 minutes we broke slickly again through Saka, but Martinelli and ESR failed to turn it home. It was Martinelli\u2019s last action as he was hauled off to be replaced by Lacazette, a frustrating night for the young Brazilian who failed to grasp the opportunity he was given as a striker. Kieran Tierney arrived on 62 minutes as ESR was subbed off after a fine display. Saka moved into ESR\u2019s role. Lacazette\u2019s first action was to fail to touch home another brilliant Saka cross, although he was judged offside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal seemed to find it hard to connect with a series of left-wing crosses,  and then they were punished: Pereira carried the ball from his own half and drilled the ball past Leno in off the far post. The ease with which he made ground was ominous. That swap deal looks increasingly attractive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 2 West Brom 1 (Pereira 66)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal\u2019s inability to control midfield was starting to cost them and give hope to West Brom. Fat Sam flashed a smile, not a pretty sight, but evidence that we weren\u2019t able to dominate the game as we had in the latter stages of the first half. Furlong headed wide on 73 minutes and I made a note that Partey for Willian might be a good idea. Arteta heard me but took off Ceballos, who had a decent game. One wonders if Willian has a minimum minutes to be played clause in his contract? He had started slowly and faded. After 78 minutes Willian went down and required treatment but came back on &#8211; cue sighs from Gooners everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The feeling was that West Brom\u2019s substitutions were significantly more effective than Arsenal\u2019s who had lost all rhythm. A better left-wing move saw the&nbsp; ball sit up for Chambers who blazed over on 84 minutes. Fat Sam masticated in the stand but the camera mercifully panned away rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then on 89 minutes the brilliant Willian, so vilified by so many cruel Gooners, fired a superb free-kick into the top lefthand corner to settle the argument and restore a two goal lead. Arsenal haven\u2019t scored three at home very often this season and all three tonight were excellent strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 3 (Willian 88) West Brom 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve nothing against West Brom except that I intensely dislike their manager and he looked unhappy as the realisation of relegation started to dawn on him. That soothed my mood like a nice glass of Merlot as the referee blew time on Albion\u2019s Premier&nbsp;League campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A strange game in which we played sublimely for around ten minutes but otherwise showed all the frailties and insecurities that have plagued our season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Final Score &#8211; Arsenal 3 West Brom 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong>THE CONVERSATION:  EPISODE TWO<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>And again&#8230;the second part of the conversation, and the second part of our Double Celebration<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">GHF.com are pleased to release this, especially considering the Arsenal events of these past couple weeks.  <strong>Lift your spirits<\/strong> by watching the second episode of two video conversations with Bob Wilson and Pat Rice about Arsenal&#8217;s 1970-71 Double year, on the 50th Anniversary of our FA Cup win over Liverpool at Wembley.  Remember to donate to <a href=\"https:\/\/willowfoundation.enthuse.com\/pf\/goonerholicsforeverforwillow-24136-5ca24\">Willow<\/a>, or bid on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?page_id=2492\">GHF.com Auction<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Click on the image below (or on the Youtube link below that) to watch<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong> &#8220;Episode Two: Double Glory &#8212; The 1971 FA Cup Run&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video oncontextmenu=\"return false;\" controls=\"\" controlslist=\"nodownload\" preload=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ghf_ep2_fa_cup_double.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Or, watch here:  <strong>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/tXKX_cJKyow\"><strong>Episode Two: Double Glory &#8212; The 1971 FA Cup Run<\/strong><\/a>&#8220;<\/strong> (on Youtube).  This is especially helpful if you&#8217;re having any loading issues with the link to the one the site is serving above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let us know what you think in the &#8220;drinks&#8221; section below!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong>THE AUCTION<\/strong>:  NOW ACCEPTING BIDS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/auctionitems-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2891\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We are also pleased to remind you that our auction of signed 1970-71 Double memorabilia <strong>is now open for bids!<\/strong>  For full information, please visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?page_id=2492\">The Double\/Willow Auction<\/a> tab above. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just a taste&#8230;the lots offered are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Lot 1<\/span><\/strong>: A 1971 Cup Final replica shirt signed by Bob Wilson, Pat Rice, Frank McLintock, George Graham &amp; Charlie George.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Lot 2<\/span><\/strong>: A 1971 Cup Final programme signed by Bob Wilson, Pat Rice, Frank McLintock, George Graham &amp; Charlie George.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Lot 3<\/span><\/strong>: A second 1971 Cup Final programme signed by Bob Wilson, Pat Rice, Frank McLintock, George Graham &amp; Charlie George.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Lot 4<\/span><\/strong>: Bob Wilson&#8217;s autobiography, &#8216;Behind the Network&#8217; signed by Bob Wilson &amp; Ars\u00e8ne Wenger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All proceeds from the auction go to the Willow Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"534\" height=\"154\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2855\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image.jpeg 534w, https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-300x87.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-75x22.jpeg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images The compressed time schedule we developed because of the Double features meant that I was required to produce this report shortly after the match. So in the interests of expedition I decided to think before the game about the issues that would probably concern us after the game&#8230;if we could bother [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"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\/3285"}],"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\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3285"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3332,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3285\/revisions\/3332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}