{"id":7580,"date":"2023-03-12T23:36:17","date_gmt":"2023-03-12T23:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=7580"},"modified":"2023-03-15T18:06:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T18:06:57","slug":"thank-goodness-we-dont-have-to-play-them-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=7580","title":{"rendered":"“Thank goodness we don\u2019t have to play them again”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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As good Holics do, we were about to leave the ground when we noticed a brand new bar (which had been besieged at half-time) was virtually empty. So we did the obvious thing and carried out a taste test to see whether the Camden Pale Ale at Craven Cottage was inferior to that at the Home of Football. Inconclusive – one of the very few inconclusive things we saw today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I shuffled to the bar (I always slow things up when I\u2019m paying) I came face to face with a very unhappy looking Fulham fan. Being a conversational sort and not wanting to gloat or even reveal that I was an Arsenal fan I made inane conversation about hoping this time next week things might seem a lot happier from a Fulham perspective. (They play United in the sixth round of the FA Cup.) His reply was instructive. \u201cOh, it will mate, we don\u2019t have to play this lot again. They\u2019re the best team in the league and no one can get near them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a source of great pride and satisfaction to see one\u2019s team described like that but today it was a very fair assessment. I watched Manchester City play an inferior team last night (Fulham beat Palace 3-0 at Selhurst) and really struggle to overcome them. Today, we saw a team who less than 72 hours before were locked in battle in Lisbon quash a team that has been one of the revelations of the season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pleasure of the match was immeasurably enhanced by the company of two of GHF\u2019s finest, BtM and Bathgooner and in Holic fashion we prepared for the match by taking lunch in a cheeky Italian eaterie near Putney Bridge. Neither of my companions had visited Craven Cottage before and we were to be ensconced in the new, unfinished Riverside Stand. Two weeks on and we\u2019d have been able to see the Boat Race as well! The Riverside Stand is starting to rival the Sagrada Familia for the time taken to construct it! I didn\u2019t notice Gaud\u00e9 had signed the architect\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In truth, it was a good vantage point and we were greeted by the news that Trossard had returned to the starting eleven and Jes\u00fas was on the bench. I had been concerned that a return over Easter would lead to the most extensive litany of \u2018Jes\u00fas returns\u2019 headlines ever seen. His earlier resurrection was both a surprise and an inspiration to his many disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, to the game. Our team was the usual back five, the usual midfield, with Trossard as a false 9, flanked by Saka and Martinelli. Though having said that, the bewildering interchange involving Zinchenko, Trossard and Martinelli was way too much for Fulham. After an energetic but sterile first ten minutes in which Fulham tried to compress play in the Arsenal half we took the lead in the 16th minute when Xhaka played a fine ball behind Tete and Martinelli tested Leno, formerly of this parish, only to see Leno\u2019s parry bounce in off Robinson. The spectre of VAR soon appeared and the goal was eventually ruled out for offside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, the team was not affected and four minutes later Trossard\u2019s corner was headed in by Gabriel. Fulham put nobody on the post and got outmanoeuvred by Partey and Gabriel for our twelfth goal from a set piece this season.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

0-1, 20 minutes <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were now massively on top and increased our lead a few minutes later. The goal was notable for the quality of the assist from Trossard. After 18 consecutive passes, beginning on our left midfield flank and progressing to our right defensive flank, the 19th raking pass from Saliba on the right side of our box found Xhaka in space in left midfield. Xhaka advanced towards the Fulham backline then put Trossard in on the left of the Fulham box. The Belgian had little room to work with but put up a steepling cross and Martinelli outjumped Robinson to head it in. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

0-2, 24 minutes <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confidence flooded through the team. Saliba ended a fierce forward run with a shot that went narrowly over. A great ball by \u00d8degaard was dummied between Trossard and Xhaka to leave the latter to walk the ball in, but he couldn\u2019t. Trossard sliced just wide after another fine move. Fulham offered little riposte. A conventional striker like Mitrovic gets marginalised in a game where his team has so little possession. Solomon on the left looked lively and speared one ball across goal but even in two long spells of possession Fulham couldn\u2019t ever get into our penalty area. Just before half-time, a lovely break down the left saw Xhaka play in Trossard who fed \u00d8degaard a long chest-high cross which he controlled effortlessly, went round a defender and bent the ball into the far corner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

0-3, 45+2minutes <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half-time <\/strong>came immediately after: Fulham 0 Arsenal 3 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a comfort break I heard the in-house Fulham magazine bemoan the situation and suggest that \u201ca win was fairly out of the question\u201d. Get away!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal played a canny second half although the bar was rattled from a right wing cross and Ramsdale didn\u2019t deal cleanly with balls into the box. Mitrovic was totally neutralised except for a fine second half header which smacked the bar and Ramsdale saved from De Cordova Reed. However, Arsenal created the better second half chances, the best of which fell to Jes\u00fas who returned 20 minutes from the end to huge relief and excitement. He brilliantly span a defender on the left, fed Vieira who passed the ball back but Leno blocked Jes\u00fas\u2019s shot. He threw himself on the floor in frustration. But, in that moment you remembered just how exciting Jes\u00fas makes our attack and how hard he works.  Partey produced a couple of filthy pieces of control and strolled through the game like the world\u2019s best holding midfielder, which he may well be and the team exerted complete control despite numerous changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Time: Fulham 0 Arsenal 3 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a superb performance which showcased just how good we are becoming. We made three or four relatively small mistakes in ninety minutes and they stood out like sore thumbs because the quality of our passing, covering and movement is so excellent. We are particularly good at increasing the tempo to warp speed, catching defences on the hop rendering them unable to cope. Picking a MOTM is an invidious if enjoyable job. Trossard was very effective, \u00d8degaard quite brilliant in his control of the game, Partey is a sublime monster and Saliba takes your breath away. I think my choice would just be \u00d8degaard, the metronome of the team but the introduction of Trossard has simply been a triumph of enlightened team-building and we now have so many options with players returning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are heady times. Champions League qualification is effectively assured with a dozen games to go but we want, we crave and we deserve the title. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fulham is a nice club, a good club and who knows, the next time we play them may be the Community Shield in August! Wouldn\u2019t that be nice? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As good Holics do, we were about to leave the ground when we noticed a brand new bar (which had been besieged at half-time) was virtually empty. So we did the obvious thing and carried out a taste test to see whether the Camden Pale Ale at Craven Cottage was inferior to that at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"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\/7580"}],"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=7580"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7598,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7580\/revisions\/7598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}