#MindTheGap hopes and memes coming true?

by .

‘In TWO games they could close the gap to ONE point’

I could only catch the game intermittently because apparently, even in foreign countries, the coverage is f*cking pony.

But… what a bloody evening people!

Mind. The. Gap

The dream is starting to come alive for Unai Emery. He won’t win the league, but a sure-fire win in the eyes of all Arsenal fans would be if he could topple Spurs and land 3rd place. 

Spanking Bournemouth 5-1 sure was a good way to get the ball rolling on that agenda.

There were many things to smile about, first and foremost for me, an ACTUAL performance. I thought the most likely output of our third quick start in a row would be an exercise in energy conservation. If there was any critique of the Southampton game, it was that we didn’t try and attack our goal difference.

Emery didn’t make that mistake last night. Mesut Ozil opened the evening with one of his famous shots that he stubs into the ground, assisted by Kola.

Our second involved Mesut again. Mikhi picked up a shocking pass from Adam Smith, he found Ozil’s run into the box, the German returned his pass unselfishly and the Armenian showed no mercy with his volleyed strike.

We took a moment to look silly, Guendouzi losing the ball twice, the second when he was on the edge of the box, he was brutally mugged and Mousset finished off a squared pass into an empty net.

Laurent K finished a Mikhi cross for the third of the night. A great move started from a freekick. The Armenian popped up with his second assist of the night after intercepting a pass on the edge of our box, powering forward with a run and finding Auba in a footrace that he easily won, rounding the keeper, passing into an empty net.

The final goal of the night was a well-worked freekick. Arsenal players splitting the wall in a pre-planned set-piece, allowing Lacazette the clip freekick through the gap. Keeper should have done better, but the craftiness was truly appreciated.

A great night and absolutely perfect preparation for a massive game at the weekend.

Chelsea easily beat a depressed Spurs, all the more impressive considering the drama they’d been dealing with over the Kepa incident, plus the draining impact of a 120minute cup final that ended in defeat. Don’t write Sarri off quite yet.

Also worth remembering Arsenal are quite often the exact team you want to play when you’re on a bad run, this weekend is the perfect chance to change that perception.

The season is on a knife edge.

Beat Spurs and United in succession and 3rd could very well be ours. Lose our next two games and top 4 starts to look a little tougher.

Still, the overarching point here is we’re now heading into March and the squad everyone said couldn’t compete for top 4 is sitting in the top 4. We are more than capable of winning at the weekend and we should certainly give United a run for their money the week after as long as we learn the lessons from last time. Namely, don’t play to their strengths.

… and to my point at the top of the post. Last night was a proper performance. That wasn’t us stumbling over the line. That was our senior players who are paid a shit-ton of money stepping up and showing their value. Mesut Ozil landed 1 assist and one goal and created 4 chances. He kept the ball moving in the final third, making the most passes there. He also made the second most ball recoveries, two behind MGs 8. Mikhi, a very capable talent has 6 goals and 4 assists in 17 starts in the EPL. He has been great since coming back and was decisive with two assists and a goal.

Here’s the other point… 3 of our best players should be Ramsey, Mikhi and Ozil. If they are coming into form, remember that they are 3 of the freshest players at the club. They’ve played 51 90 minutes between them (17 games each)! They really could be our secret weapon as we tackle Europe and #Top3.

Who knows who will start at the weekend, but it’s clear Emery’s olive branches are being taken and we’re seeing the results on the pitch.

Right, have a good day and let’s hear you in the comments! x

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China1

Qna yeah it’s all a big joke I assume loans are a wage loophole because we probably treated the cost as a one time payment to Barcelona to pay his wages rather than us adding his wages directly to our own books. That’s just my guess But the situation is this – we were not allowed to spend money despite having plenty in the bank on buying new players because of our wages situation. But we were allowed to sign a player on loan (presumably avoiding calculating his cost as part of our wages). This is the dumbest situation ever… Read more »

qna

Un. That’s true. I’m just asking whether it was correct that some rules didn’t allow us to sign a permanent player, or if it was just a decision we made not to spend.

China. That would be the only explanation that makes sense. Otherwise we simply decided there was nobody available that we wanted to sign permanently. I’m fine with this too. Would be nice to know which.

HillWood

Marc
The Walmart Stadium has a certain je ne sais quio about it don’t you think

Bamford10

Arsenal Truth explained the wages issue some time ago and we discussed it here some time ago. See below. __ “Why Kroenke CANNOT invest big money” Tuesday, January 1, 2019 It’s an age-old debate we’ve heard ever since Stan Kroenke joined Arsenal as owner. Why doesn’t he put his hand in his pocket and invest? This is usually accompanied by complaints that the wrong owner was brought into the club, and that Alisha Usmanov would have spent Arsenal back to competitiveness. Although history has proved time and time again that spending money alone is not the route to competitiveness –… Read more »

Bamford10

Midwest

It wasn’t a great point, but I think the person who brought up Robert Kraft was suggesting that his recent, much-publicized misstep is evidence that one need not have an owner who makes wise decisions to be a successful organization. The Patriots are the Patriots, goes this argument, yet look at this clown.

Valentin

@Midwest, Bamford,

Calm down both of you.
I was not trying to make a point, It was just a joke about the fact that he got arrested for soliciting a hand job.

Pierre

And the know nothing’s said Ozil was finished. All Emery has to do was to play him instead of playing silly games with him in the hope that he would walk out of the club and now Ozil is making Emery look like a mug. Emery started messing Ozil about after his superb performance v Leicester where he put on a virtuoso performance. Emery then decided to sub him off in the next game v palace when we were 2-1 up (finished 2-2) , Ozil played very well in the 1-1 home draw with Liverpool and in the next game… Read more »

Bamford10

Pierre Complete nonsense. Yes, Ozil played well, but that was a depleted Bournemouth, not top opposition. Let’s see Ozil contribute in big game against top competition; then you can crow. Because I’m giving this guy at Arsenal Truth a read this morning, I’ll add what he said about Ozil in his Bournemouth write-up: “Next up Spurs. Emery’s substitutions were revealing. Leaving Ozil on for the full 90 implies he won’t start the North London derby, and neither should he despite being Arsenal’s best player last night.” “Player Rating: Ozil – 7/10 – Played well but had it easy. These aren’t… Read more »

Dark Hei

Bamford10

Thanks for the post.

Arsenal Truth explained STCC clearly.

I wonder what will happen to Arsenal Truth 10 years down the road.

I think 80% of the content will still somehow have something to do with Wenger.

Freddie Ljungberg

Hold your horses Pierre, this is not the first time Ozil has performed at home against weak opposition and no one questions his ability to do so when he feels like it.

Is that worth 350k a week though when that money could be spent much much better and get a couple of players in that will perform in big games home and away as well, or even in any games away?

DaniAltos

I can understand wanting the ones on this list. What I can’t understand is why Emery’s name shouldn’t be among them.You say young and hungry, all are about the same age (minus Carlo and including Emery). So what’s your metric for rating manager hunger?

You people never learn do you?You are dealing with someone who wanted arteta from the onset,therefore he doesn’t like Emery …I can even assure that if Emery were to win a treble,he would still criticize him.Stop wasting your time

Bob N16

Pierre, I love watching Ozil play when he’s at his best. His touch and vision is world class. I have been an advocate of playing him in an attacking midfield position, to bring cohesion to our attack and provide our top strikers opportunities. This being said, there is an understandable question mark over Ozil. The list of games against better opposition where it appears that he’s not ‘up for it’ is long. With his ability, he should be the man who makes the difference in games when we really need his talent. I have a certain admiration for your support… Read more »

Valentin

Let’s Play devil’s advocate and defend Emery. If like Ornstein is suggested that Özil exile was management decision and that Emery was just following instruction, I think that the defeat to BATE shook them up. I think that they suddenly realised that elimination by a ridiculous poor team would be the end of them. Changed their tune on Özil and Hey presto he is back in the team. I still think that Emery was only too happy to make their bidding as it is not only a style of player but also a personality conflict. The good news is that… Read more »

Pierre

Bob I am well aware of his deficiencies, I know he is crap defensively, I know he won’t challenge for a ball in the air and I know he can struggle in certain high tempo games ( as many players do) but his form this season has been good. Early season he had scored 4 goals in 4 starts up until the Leicester game then Emery decided to mess him about . Bamford My points are correct . Ozil had been marginalised He would not have played another game under Emery if the team had played decent without him. Emery’s… Read more »

Fire

We’ve become a better team with Mikki rather than Ozil.
All hail Mikki for his recent turnaround

Pierre

Bamford quoting ” Arsenal truth” ““Player Rating: Ozil – 7/10 – Played well but had it easy. These aren’t the games he should be judged.” If anyone believes that Ozil’s performance only merited a 7/10 then they are either clueless or have an agenda against our most talented player ( probably both) . 96.9% pass completion rate is an astonishing figure for a player so high up the pitch . It is no surprise that our defence is looking less under pressure if Ozil is taking care of the ball so well…let’s hope the younger players ( Guendouzi,Torreira and iwobi)… Read more »

Pierre

Fire
Mhkitaryan is vital to Ozil playing well as he is an intelligent footballer.

I have said previously how the return of Mhkitaryan is benefiting the team . Should be a starter every week for me.

Fire

Pierre
Agreed.
Iwobi suddenly looks a better player with those two on the field.

Bob N16

Pierre,
How would you set up tomorrow? I might be wrong but I suspect Emery will have a defensive set up to start, bringing on Ozil in second half reverting to a back 4.

HighburyLegend

Joke friday : “Manchester United risk losing David de Gea unless they make him the club’s highest-paid player alongside Alexis Sanchez”

LOLZ

HighburyLegend

“Let’s Play devil’s advocate and defend Emery.”

Let’s play the f*cking hypocrite!! lol

Valentin

@Highbury,

Make your point instead of insulting people.
Unless you don’t have a valid argument, you are just one of those people who like to shout and abuse people who dare disagree with them.