{"id":452,"date":"2020-03-08T05:03:43","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T05:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=452"},"modified":"2020-03-10T05:20:20","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T05:20:20","slug":"welcome-to-goonerholics-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=452","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Goonerholics Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This match report marks the public\nunveiling of the \u2018Goonerholics Forever\u2019<\/em> blog. As outlined in \u2018About Us\u2019,\n\u2018Goonerholics Forever\u2019<\/em> has been developed by a group of regulars from\nthe \u2018Drinks\u2019 in Dave Faber\u2019s Goonerholic<\/em> blog who are keen to preserve\nDave\u2019s legacy and the community he established. In \u2018Ode to the Guv\u2019 you\u2019ll find\na fine tribute to Dave crafted for the \u2018Gooner\u2019<\/em> by TTG, one of our\nnumber. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of \u2018Goonerholics Forever\u2019<\/em> is\nto provide a forum offering the congenial and supportive environment of the Goonerholic<\/em>\nblog though it will inevitably lack the wit and wisdom of the Guvna. \u2018Goonerholics\nForever\u2019<\/em> will provide match previews, match reports and occasional\nArsenal-related articles with an opportunity for discussion in the \u2018Drinks\u2019 in\nthe tradition of Goonerholic<\/em>. You\u2019ll find we already have an archive\ndating from our beta launch on 4 January reporting Mikel Arteta\u2019s press\nconference after he had had just over a week to survey the wreckage left by his\ncompatriot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We welcome \u2018Drinkers\u2019 old and new to join discussion in the \u2018Drinks\u2019 provided you follow the etiquette outlined in \u2018The Guvnor\u2019s Rules\u2019. Come on in and enjoy the craic.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Arsenal vs. West Ham, Saturday 7th<\/sup> March 3pm<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fortune favours the VARsenal against bubbling barrow-boys<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3pm on a Saturday always used to feel like the\nnormal time to watch the Arsenal but this match was only our second this season\nwith the traditional kick off. Our visitors are hovering merely on goal\ndifference just above the relegation places but had lifted their game in their\nlast two outings. The Spammers are clearly now fighting for Premier League\nsurvival. After Mikel Arteta\u2019s exhortations at his pre-match press conference,\ncould we expect the Arsenal players to fight to bridge the gap from 10th<\/sup>\nplace to the European places? This ought to be a big game for both clubs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The selection of Sokratis in preference to Hector at right back was a surprise but many of us were pleased to see Pablo Mar\u00ed start at centre back and Eddie Nketiah continue at centre forward. Despite Tierney being back in full training Saka kept his place at left back. The rest of the line-up was predictable with Pepe regaining his place from Nelson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An encouraging opening period of pass and\nmove by Arsenal was terminated by a deep Xhaka pass straight to Bowen whose\nshot from the edge of the box Leno tipped onto his left post at full stretch.\nThat sloppiness then set the tone for the rest of the first half. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least we showed purpose in possession and Ceballos energetically pulled the strings in midfield but the service to the forwards was erratic and unproductive. Xhaka attempted a \u2018sighter\u2019 from 30 yards that went well over then Fornals was shown an early yellow for tripping Pepe as he sprinted down the right. Saka was lively and attempted several crosses from the left throughout the first half but these were cut out without reaching the danger zone. The best opportunity fell to the visitors as Antonio sprinted behind onto a ball that evaded a desperate lunge by Mar\u00ed but he squared the ball behind Haller rather than taking the shot himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 15 minutes our best chance was a blocked shot by \u00d6zil from a knock down by Nketiah inside the box. Mar\u00ed produced an excellent long ball to Saka leading to yet another blocked cross. We were dominating possession without creating any real chances but Antonio occasionally looked dangerous on either flank when West Ham escaped our half-hearted press. After Pepe lost possession midway in our half, Noble sent Haller clear down their inside left channel but Leno made a brave, well-timed save at Haller’s feet as he drove into the box. Despite Arsenal dominating possession, West Ham had certainly had the better chances in the first quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our best chance of the first half came from\na corner on the left. When the ball ultimately reached Aubameyang on the right he\nlofted it to the centre of the area where Sokratis\u2019 header struck the cross bar\nwith Fabianski beaten. Service to our forwards was poor, largely because we\nlost the ball so frequently through misplaced passes or tackles as we\napproached the West Ham massed ranks on the edge of their box. In contrast our\ndefenders found it difficult to stop West Ham\u2019s occasional rapid probes and\nFornals had a clear shot on goal which Leno caught it easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fabianski owes us a few blunders and after\nconfidently clutching an \u00d6zil delivery from a corner, he dropped the ball on\nthe edge of his box as he was about to kick it upfield. He then appeared about\nto pick the ball up outside his box but we failed to take advantage and he\nkicked it clear. We\u2019ve definitely upgraded that position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pepe had had a quiet half but came to life\nlate on with a dribble into the box that was finally stopped by a last-ditch\nRice tackle as he wriggled past Ogbona. In contrast, a simple long ball to\nAntonio pierced us but he too was smothered. Our newly-awakened Pepe then\nreceived the ball on the halfway line at speed from \u00d6zil, drew three defenders\nat the edge of the opposition box, beat them but delayed releasing the ball to\nthe onrushing Nketiah who was offside when his shot was saved by Fabianski.  Close, but no cigar! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile Antonio having switched to our\nright flank, was giving Sokratis problems. He then astonishingly turned the\nball wide from 3 yards as he swivelled on a corner ball headed down by Diop. Arsenal\nlooked too vulnerable again at a set-pieces as the visitors missed another big\nchance. We have conceded 12 goals from corners this season, only Villa\nconceding more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As half time approached, Saka had another\npair of threatening crosses cut out then Luiz had to reciprocate on a Cresswell\ncross with a shoulder prompting a check by VAR for a penalty. In stoppage time,\nNgakia collided with Nketiah as he dealt with a bouncing ball in the box but Mr\nAtkinson rejected penalty appeals and was supported by VAR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite Arsenal dominating possession, the\nvisitors had created more and better chances to score and had looked more\nthreatening in possession. Surely, we would be better in the second half? Could\nMikel give them more zip?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half Time: Arsenal 0 West Ham 0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second half started with more urgency\nfrom Arsenal again dominant in possession, with smooth but square passing and\nmovement up to the massed ranks at the opposition box culminating in an odd\nspeculative cross from wide. After 6 minutes a mazy run by Saka set Nketiah up\nfrom 8 yards but Fabianski came out quickly and blocked the shot.  We were seeing more combination between \u00d6zil\nand Pepe wide right but the absence of a right foot between them or an\noverlapping full back hampered their ability to deliver crosses or low balls into\nthe box though a through ball from \u00d6zil almost set up Nketiah on the right.\nMeanwhile West Ham remained a sporadic threat and Leno made an excellent save\nfrom a point-blank Antonio header from a Haller flick on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikel Arteta had finally seen enough after\n60 minutes and sent on Lacazette for Nketiah to sharpen his attack. The speedy Antonio\nremained dangerous and Sokratis had to block him off at the cost of a yellow\ncard. The free kick led to a series of \u2018up and unders\u2019 into our box and we rode\nour luck with several ineffective clearance attempts. Our lack of an effective\nmidfield screen saw Bowen allowed to run from the West Ham half straight\nthrough our midfield and defence and fire a shot at Leno who nevertheless\nfumbled it initially. Immediately thereafter a cross by Aubameyang from the\nleft ended in a blocked shot from Pepe on the right with Lacazette wrestled in\nthe penalty area without sanction from either referee or VAR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arteta was clearly getting impatient and Nelson\nreplaced Pepe after 69 minutes. Yet West Ham continued to offer an occasional\nthreat. Noble won a free kick 30 yards out going to ground easily on an \u00d6zil\nchallenge. Leno punched out both Noble\u2019s resultant lofted ball as well as David\nLuiz. Again, Noble went to ground easily, this time inside his own half when\nXhaka won the ball back in a useful position. A compliant Mr. Atkinson obliged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than a fine victory to mark the\nlaunch of \u2018Goonerholics Forever\u2019<\/em>, this game looked like delivering a\nfrustrating 0-0 draw in which we had consistently failed to craft clear chances\nwhilst Leno and the visitors\u2019 ineptitude had kept us in the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in the 78th<\/sup> minute, an Aubamayang shot from the edge of the D was deflected into the air, dropping to \u00d6zil who headed it back to Laca to slot it past Fabianski. Instantly the lineswoman\u2019s flag came up (no hackneyed observations about females and the offside law please, as we have plenty inept linesmen). Over two minutes of VAR analysis followed. As time drifted on it was clear that \u2018the powers that be\u2019 were agonising over their decision and in the ground that felt more and more promising. The crowd began to chant \u201cArsenal\u201d louder than at any previous point in the match. Sure enough, the decision that the VAR official and his assistant found so difficult to make was announced. No offside! A goal for the Arsenal! Cue delayed febrile celebrations from players and fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
“It is a VAR, VAR better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a VAR, VAR better goal that is given than I have ever known.”<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 1 West Ham 0, 78 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noble was replaced by Soucek. Having\ndominated possession for most of the match, we now decided to concede\npossession for the remainder. Haller had a close-range effort on the right from\na penetrating ball from Bowen that was well saved by Leno then Fornals sent a\ndrive well over. Our defensive confidence was undermined by Sokratis shepherding\na corner out for West Ham that was fortunately punted away by Xhaka. Then Fornals\nhad a close-range effort from a long cross followed Luiz stopping Haller\nconnecting with a cross ball directly in front of goal. Rice was then allowed\nto run from his own box into our box unchallenged and lay off the ball for a\ncross that Leno clutched on the head of an attacker. Bellerin replaced \u00d6zil on\n88 minutes to change us into a back five and Snodgrass came on for Bowen on 89.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five additional minutes gave the visitors\nhope but began with a well worked opportunity for Nelson that he blasted well\nover from the edge of the box. However, he followed that up with good defensive\nwork on the right. Antonio picked up a yellow for a trip on Ceballos as he\ndrove out of defence. Bellerin showed residual pace to dispossess Anderson on\nthe break. The back five seemed to be dealing with the visitors\u2019 threat better\nso Atkinson decided to spice it up with a soft free kick to West Ham 40 yards\nout but Arsenal cleared the ball and Aubameyang took it into the corner before\nthe final whistle blew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Time, 1-0 to the Arsenal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikel Arteta acknowledged the magnitude of\ntask that West Ham had set us, observing: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are days when you have to find a way\nand that\u2019s what big teams do. When they find opportunities and when they need\nindividual action that is when their goalkeeper and defenders put a clean sheet\non, they do it and today we found a way and we won the three points!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(West Ham) had moments. They did really\nwell. The game plan worked for them. They were waiting really deep for us to\ngive the ball away and exploit the spaces. I think we lost a lot of unnecessary\nballs which put ourselves in trouble big time. After that we started to control\na little bit better without generating a big amount of chances but they are a\nthreat and credit to them because I think they were \u2018at it\u2019 today and they were\ngood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to make of this game? Without question\nwe have made progress since Mikel Arteta has taken the reins. We look more\npurposeful and confident than we did under Emery but we still fail to make sufficient\nclear chances and we still give away more chances than we make. The stats that\ncount say 1-0 to the Arsenal and our possession was 69% versus 31% but the 9\nArsenal attempts on goal versus 14 for West Ham and 2 Arsenal shots on target versus\n6 for West Ham tell another story, as do the xG figures of 1.27 for Arsenal\nversus 1.48 for the visitors. We rode our luck today, as we did against Everton\nbut it is difficult to see this team, playing like this, taking the points we\nneed to reach the Champions League places, from opponents with good strikers. Some\nsuch opponents are looming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless there are several positives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

VAR has finally given us a decision! A win\nis a win and the three points were the most important thing today. We\u2019re up to\n9th<\/sup>, only 5 points off fourth place and we\u2019ve gone 8 games unbeaten\nin the Premier League. We\u2019ve reached 40 points and we\u2019re now safe from\nrelegation too! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00d6zil has an assist and Lacazette has\nanother goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pablo Mar\u00ed looks a useful addition. He is dominant in the air, has nimble feet for a big man, is assured on the ball and can pick out and deliver penetrating long passes to both wings. A lack of pace may be an Achilles heel that might see him embarrassed by zippier forwards than Haller and Bowen but time will tell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ceballos, apart from a few misplaced\nforward passes, had his best game for us, dominated the midfield in possession\nand made some key challenges. If he can maintain that form, he would be a\nuseful member of the midfield next season. His speed of thought and deft close\ncontrol would be more effective with less snail like companions (no names). But\nfor the key saves by Leno that secured the three points, Ceballos would have been\nmy man of the match. Leno wins that accolade for being a match winner again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now for our match in hand. Surely, it\u2019s a\ndead rubber for the opposition? Let\u2019s surprise everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This match report marks the public unveiling of the \u2018Goonerholics Forever\u2019 blog. As outlined in \u2018About Us\u2019, \u2018Goonerholics Forever\u2019 has been developed by a group of regulars from the \u2018Drinks\u2019 in Dave Faber\u2019s Goonerholic blog who are keen to preserve Dave\u2019s legacy and the community he established. In \u2018Ode to the Guv\u2019 you\u2019ll find a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452"}],"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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=452"}],"version-history":[{"count":47,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":507,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions\/507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}