#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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Dissenter

Even if an oil baron or gulf state buys the club, it does not guarantee success.
It certainly wouldn’t still give some joy.

The other moneyed clubs will just ramp up their spending.
Spending money to win isn’t a given, at least in England in 2018. It will,improve the quality of players but that does not always guarantee success. It may have worked in France because the league was really famished for money.

Bamford10

Dream

So you think we will look something like this?

____________Leno
_____Must__Sokr__Kosc
Jenk___Xhaka___Guen___Monr
______Mkhi_______Iwobi
_____________Laca

Why do you think he’ll start Mkhi over Ramsey, btw?

JDavey

Surely miki deserves to start off the back of recent performances?

Receding Hairline

That was brilliant China

“30 years ago I lived in a big house and you expect me to be impressed that you’re laying foundations???”

LOL

gonsterous

guns

I wouldn’t employ any of you insane bastards to work sweeping leaves.

cheapskate, you’ll do it yourself, wouldn’t you?

Dissenter

Koscielny is playing like a proper captain and leading by example.
Hope he leaves the club in a high, lifting a trophy in Baku.

This has to be his last season, surely

Guns of Hackney

Judge Emery in May, right?

Okay. Let’s compare notes then.

Dissenter

The other day, someone here [cough, cough] said he will still fire the manager even if he won the EL and secured 4th place.
Such is the state of his blog now.
The state of his teeth matters more that the attainment of objectives. He has no special sauce because he didn’t seat next to Guardiola.

China1

Lol guns but would you employ arteta? 😉

Guns of Hackney

China

In a heartbeat.

HighburyLegend

Seriously… GoH is in fact the insane version of Pedro.

Bamford10

JD

Yeah, I’m not asking about Mkhitaryan because I don’t think he has been playing well. I agree that he has. My question is more about what our approach is going to be, which players best fit that approach, and which players work together best.

Dream10

Bamford

Yeah the shape is spot on. Wouldn’t mind Guendouzi over Torreira as his passing can relieve pressure, Lucas likely gets the nod.
He’ll optfor Kolasinac for Monreal.

I think Mkhitaryan will start because he’s in the best form of any Arsenal player at the moment. Emery uses Ramsey as a player to mark an opposing creator. He doesn’t value Ramsey. especially in a 3-4-3. Last year before his.injury, he was very good in the double pivot in 3-4-3.with Xhaka. He was able to provide the link btwn Xhaka & Özil/Iwobi, and got forward to support the #9.

Guns of Hackney

Peter and I have never been seen together.

China1

Haha

mysticleaves

Guns of Hackney your views on Arsenal at the moment show you wear idealism like a cloak around you. Snap back to reality.

Bamford10

OK,so actually you expect him to start like this:

____________Leno
_____Must__Sokr__Kosc
Jenk___Xhaka___Torr___Kola
______Mkhi_______Iwobi
_____________Laca

You’re probably right. Somehow I don’t see that front three causing Spurs much trouble, even with an overlapping Kolasinac.

To give them trouble, we’re going to need to add Ozil and Ramsey, I think. Maybe he’ll do this 60-70 minutes in.

China1

Does anyone have any idea why we signed Suarez?? LOL

Guns of Hackney

Mystic

I’m fed up with the way I perceive the club I support to be run. Simple. It’s not supernatural…I’m a disgruntled fan who thinks we could be doing so much better.

After Wenger, I thought we had a real chance to reinvent ourselves. We didn’t. We got a drab manager who has made us play pretty dire and predictable football. We’re still being mauled by the big clubs and conceding in every game.

The truth is, I am bored of Arsenal. Bored of football. I only really enjoy reading the insane garbage people write on here…including mine!

Dream10

Bamford

It’s 3-4-3 or a 3-5-2 with Xhaka/Guendouzi/Torreira in the centre with Mkhitaryan/Lacazette combo. Last year, if I recall correctly, AW went for safety first witha back four and Xhaka/Jack/Elneny. We lost 1-0, but they battered for us 30mins in the 2nd half. We were playing with a back seven for half an hour. Ugly scenes. Lacazette was isolated with no runners. That’s where you need Ramsey.

Having three CMs who play behind the ball does nothing defensively for us.

Bamford10

Hackney

The first goal is CL football. A genuinely interesting manager — and genuinely interesting football — will come later. IMO.

I agree that Emery is probably not going to give us scintillating, entertaining football. At the moment, though, that’s not what we most need.

gonsterous

guns

I’m fed up with the way I perceive the club I support to be run. Simple. It’s not supernatural…I’m a disgruntled fan who thinks we could be doing so much better.

care to explain how we can become a force in football in under a season ??

Guns of Hackney

Bam

I do not see emery delivering on point no.1.

Ergo…the rest is moot. Then we’re back to square one looking for a manager.

From Arsene to Emery is plain lazy.

Bamford10

Dream

Interesting. So your 3-5-2 would look something like the below?

____________Leno
_____Must__Sokr__Kosc
Jenk___Xhaka___Torr___Kola
____________Guen
_______Mkhi_____Laca

What about Aubameyang where you have Mkhitaryan, and Ramsey or Mkhitaryan where you have Guendouzi?

Bamford10

Hackney

Given that Emery has won the Europa League title three times and finished top four in La Liga with modest squads, I’d say he was a pretty good hire for what his task is. No?

Guns of Hackney

Gons

It’s not about and never was about being a ‘force’ in a season. It was about redefining what the club stands for. After 22 years, Arsenal were primed to start fresh. We did nothing.

We had a chance to go for either a young hungry manager or go big for an established one. We did neither. And that’s the problem.

If afraid we are still a really boring team and club.

Let’s see if this Monchi has a magic wand. I still don’t think emery is and will be the guy to deliver a vision for Arsenal.

Guns of Hackney

Bamford

Brendan Rodgers has won about 560 trophies with Celtic…and I wouldn’t want him anywhere near my club.

Arsenal aren’t Seville.

gonsterous

We had a chance to go for either a young hungry manager or go big for an established one. We did neither. And that’s the problem.

put up a list of who was available and interested in the arsenal please.
I’m sure you’ll find only one other name than emery. Your whole argument from day one has been based on the fact that arsenal did not hire arteta.

Marko

I kinda agree with gambon I feel like we needed United and Chelsea to drop points last night to keep a bit of a buffer between us. But I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom though our next two games are massive lose both and we’re fucked at the very least we’ve to beat United. And also as bad as our recent away form as been we can easily turn it around we were excellent away from home earlier in the season and we can get back to that

Marko

We had a chance to go for either a young hungry manager

Arteta? Has never managed therefore not a manager.

Marko

Bam I don’t know why you’re trying to engage with GOH he’s literally here for shits and giggles and can’t be taken seriously.

Guns of Hackney

Gons

Everyone is available for the right package. Jesus. Offer someone big money, a vision and a project and they will have a decision to make.

Allegri
Jardim
Vieria
Arteta
Nagglesmann
Tuchel
Ancelloti

Probably a few more that I can’t think of.

The point is, to say no one was available or fancied the job is bullshit.

We went safe.

Guns of Hackney

Marko

Ole is doing okay with a much bigger club under more pressure and with bigger players.

Lampard. Gerrard. Vieria.

All doing okay with less than 50 games between them.

HighburyLegend

I see Arteta is part of this prestigious list…

So I was right, fact is there’s 2 Pedro on Le Grove.

gonsterous

guns

arsenal aren’t a big draw to most of those names. We aren’t the arsenal of 10-20 years ago. We have no budget, no CL footie nor any WC players that managers want to manage.

How much pull do we need to convince tuchel to not take the PSG job and come take over arsenal. Be honest ? You want to come across realistic but are living in a fantasy world where arsenal are the top 5 club in the world.

salparadisenyc

Massimiliano turned us down so we can eliminate him from the list.

Agree with those stating 4 going to be hard unless we see some real Spursy behavior opening up 3rd and and 4th. Biggest league game yet for Emery Saturday , really hoping he doesn’t opt for a side filled with defensive numbers. We need to striker early and fill them with doubt.

Seeing Poch loose three on the trot would be poetic.

Guns of Hackney

Gons

Arsenal could be a managerial kingmaker.

Tuchel will be fired from PSG. They operate in the rarified atmosphere of CL billionaires. We would have given him a platform to make his name.

We made a mistake.

Champagne charlie

Banford Is finishing top 4 in La Liga comparable to top 4 in the Premier League suddenly? Also Emery finished 9th with Sevilla after taking over in Jan 2013. Then 5th, 5th, 7th in La Liga in his full seasons. At Valencia (2008/2012) Emery finished 6th, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd. Closest he came to the big two was 21 points. Meanwhile Simeone took over midway through 2011 at Atletico, then delivered a 3rd place finish in 2012 just 11 points back of the top two, won the league the next, then 3rd the next two points back of Real. So no,… Read more »

mysticleaves

Allegri Jardim Vieria Arteta Nagglesmann Tuchel Ancelloti 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? in mine Allegri – rejected us. was hugely not hungry to come to us against the prospect of winning the UCL with Ronaldo incoming Jardim – wasn’t considered and seemingly was unavailable Vieria – Very hungry and would have taken the job but am sure he’d be glad,… Read more »

gonsterous

CC

don’t compare simeone to emery. Simeone is a genius and I rate his as one of the best managers in the world. I rate him higher than klopp, mou, and Tuchel.

Dream10

Bamford

Not sure we’ll create much with a Lacazette/Aubameyang pairing and three
CMs who play behind the ball. We’re back to having Kolasinac as the main man to make chances. Emery probably prefers that way

Guns of Hackney

Mystic

Mate. You just compared us to Bayern.

That’s your credibility gone.

We will never know now but I still feel we played it safe. I’m disappointed that’s all.

gonsterous

guns

Arsenal could be a managerial kingmaker.

yup, with a 70m budget and WC players like ozil, and iwobi Wonder why more managers didn’t want to come.

mysticleaves

Lol, we are very comparable to Bayern. we might not be delivering the results because of mismanagement and/or make up of our respective leagues.

Dream10

Jardim was the one who was attainable. He’s achieved success playing offensive and defensive football in different seasons.
Adaptable and knows how to use creative players and play with good structure.

Emery this season has been similar to Wenger of the last few years. He’s struggling to maintain good defensive shape while trying be an offensive team. Not sure it’s just down to personnel. Not everyone is Guardiola or Simeone though.

Thomas

Even if Arsenal were to get CL next season they will get bounced in the last 16 at best.

Won’t be winning the league or Champions League anytime soon.

Guns of Hackney

Is anyone else going to step in and tell mystic that we are nothing like the great Bayern Munich.

More leagues than anyone else in Germany.
More cups.
Legendary players.
European cups/champs leagues.
One of the best stadia in the world. Twice.

Arsenal aren’t even the best in our own league.

Come on.

Champagne charlie

How are Arsenal comparable to Bayern Munich?

What is being compared here..

Guns of Hackney

CC

Probably we both play in red.

HighburyLegend

One thing for sure is that GoH has stopped to be an Arsenal fan… for the moment.

Guns of Hackney

HL

I’ll always be a fan. Just not full time.

Tosingo

Considering Man city’s recent on field success then I actually think Arsenal has got the better sponsorship deal…Our deal is worth £60M annually for a period of 5 years while theirs is a £65M deal for a whopping 10 years

qna

Looks like Madrid are trying to flog off Asensio putting it out there that Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern are all willing to spend €100m on him.

Of course this is all bull. But if they really are trying to flog him off to the highest bidder then I hope we put in a bid. His return this year is pretty dismal so he might “only” cost the same as Pepe. I’d prefer Asensio and maybe we could fund a big part of that by selling Auba.

mysticleaves

That comment that Arsenal is comparable to Bayern can be very easily misconstrued so I better brace up for backlash.

No doubt they are more successful in terms of leagues won and UCLs but these are largely down to the make up of their league. They may have battered us recently but we all know why. Our revenues are comparable, appeal and following are about same level

Dream10

qna

Asensio to Chelsea or PSG. Sarri would love a player like him that score goals from midfield.

HighburyLegend

“I’ll always be a fan. Just not full time.”

So easy… being a fan when everything is fine.

Guns of Hackney

HL

I’m like Homer Simpson and his support for the Isotopes.

mysticleaves

Dream10, wan

Or ones that miss open goals because he wants to score without looking.

Think I’ll pass on Asensio and concentrate on getting Pepe. Often praised to high heavens, Asensio, but still dont know what he’s about till now. No way should he be quoted near 70m for.

mysticleaves

*qna changed to wan on my previous post

qna

Dream. Sarri won’t be there long enough. PSG won’t because of Neymar. I know we wont land him but that would be a brilliant signing for mine. He has had a poor return this year for a player hyped up so much. Maybe he slips through to us?

Champagne charlie

“Our revenues are comparable, appeal and following are about same level“

What are you implying with this comment though..

Marko

England captain Harry Kane won’t face disciplinary action for aiming a headbutt at a player. That’s surprising… absolutely no one. Perhaps if it was Sterling or Johnny Foreigner

Thomas

mysticleavesFebruary 28, 2019 14:09:16
Lol, we are very comparable to Bayern. we might not be delivering the results because of mismanagement and/or make up of our respective leagues.

___

We’re not anything like Bayern. They’re a proper run club.

Guns of Hackney

Peter

I think he was referring to my actual support for The Arsenal, not the continued misery I spout every day about said club on this delicious website.

The thing most people miss about me is that I absolutely love Arsenal. I just find supporting them really hard when they make such poor decisions.

Oh well, at least my cat loves me.

MidwestGun

HL, GOH has been chatting on here for years, hardly fairweather. ________ Yep.. old timer.. but fuk me.. He wont be happy unless we are winning the Premier League every few years… top 4 in CL with a chance to win.. and our owner is pouring his money into the team to show ambition? hahaha Good God.. and we are all idiots and stupid for not being miserable because we don’t expect the same thing in 1 season post Wenger. because we are the mighty Arsenal.. ..? sounds like some elitist throwing his toys out the pram to me. The… Read more »

Guns of Hackney

Midwest

She ain’t. Trust me!

Bamford10

Marko

Believe me, I’m well aware of that. I wonder sometimes why others bother.

Pedro

Why are you so hostile to Receding? Sure, he pushes back against your narrative (and others’ narratives), but he is reasonable, informed and intelligent, and unlike certain other people here, he doesn’t (constantly) resort to personal insults.

HighburyLegend

“She ain’t. Trust me!”

Hope that she don’t read that blog…

Guns of Hackney

HL

Nah, she has a life. Unlike me.

MidwestGun

Midwest She ain’t. Trust me ____ Lol Fair enough.. I’d settle for the girl next door, who doesn’t know she’s hot but with a little work could be a supermodel. I understand Wenger sucked the air out of the balloon trust me… but you have to have a little happiness or what’s the point.. ? It’s not about finishing above Spurs in general … to be satisfied but it would be pretty satisfying to finish above them when they have been talking sh,it about winning the League this year no? And if Emery can deliver that to me… I would… Read more »

Guns of Hackney

Midwest

You’re making a good point palatable. I like reading your comments.

All of a sudden I am a big fan of Emery!

Don’t get me wrong, if I’m a Spurs fan…and i look at Arsenal’s clusterfuck…I’m wondering how we’re still behind them.

Maybe spurs and Arsenal should amalgamate and become one north london superclub.

Spuranal. Or just North London FC.

MidwestGun

Maybe spurs and Arsenal should amalgamate and become one north london superclub.
Spuranal. Or just North London FC
_________
Oh Fuk… Don’t give Kroenke any ideas.. hahahaha.. Don’t get me wrong .. I wish Stan would sell the Club.. to somebody with a clue but that’s not exactly what I had in mind.

Pierre

Our last 3 games have been different. We actually looked comfortable in the closing stages . We had control of the games and never looked like losing control. We didn’t force the play in the 2nd halfs , we remained patient. We retained possession of the football to take the sting out of the game. There have been very few games this season that we have been able to coast home so consequently we have had to play at full throttle for the whole 90 minutes and this obviously takes its toll with fatigue and injuries. The games this week… Read more »

LeMassiveCoq

So apparently Rogers is going to have 200 mil to spend in the summer at Leicester.

Begging the question…why the fuck have they got 200 mil and we’ve got the free tokens from the back of cereal packets

Dissenter

Guns of H
I love the way you buried Arteta’s name smack in the middle of the other six managers.
Very Trumpian, I must say.

Dissenter

LeMassiveCoq,
“So apparently Rogers is going to have 200 mil to spend in the summer at Leicester.”

Lets wait to see if that is true, shall we?

Bamford10

It’s “Rodgers”. Get shit right, people. 🙂

Doublethink

CC while I don’t think Emery is a better manager than Simeone I think it’s worth mentioning that the 4 year period he was at Valencia, was the same 4 years Pep was at Barca.

Guns of Hackney

Diss

Purely coincidental, mate.

Buried the lead deep so no one can find it.

MidwestGun

Don’t worry … you could give Brenda 200 mill and he would probably buy.. Lallana, Lovren, Markovic, Ballotelli, Moreno, Origi , Emre Can and Rickie Lambert..
Just sayin..

Luteo Guenreira

Hey Sanford10

Fuck your correct spelling and go choke on the D

Guns of Hackney

If Leicester had £200m…they wouldn’t have got Rodgers, would they?

Bullshit.

Mind you, if they did…weapon.

Dissenter

Pierre
“Having intelligent footballers on the pitch with good technique allows the team to retain possession of the football which ultimately takes the pressure off of our defence.”

We all know what you’re trying to say.
Just spit it out already.

Luteo Guenreira

CC while I don’t think Emery is a better manager than Simeone I think it’s worth mentioning that the 4 year period he was at Valencia, was the same 4 years Pep was at Barca.

Awesome. Emery couldn’t get enough of watching Pep win trophies in Spain so he came to England for an encore viewing.

Marc

If Leicester give Roger’s £200 million to spend that’s brilliant for us. Means another idiot with money to burn is an option to unload a few of our players.

Pierre

Dissenter
“We all know what you’re trying to say.
Just spit it out already.”

I’m trying to say that you don’t need to have the best running stats in the league to win football matches .

I’m trying to say that there is this little round thing called a football and there used to be an old football adage ” let the ball do the work ” and this week ,for the first time this season , we applied that logic of letting the ball do the work.

Dissenter

Pierre
I get your point but we’ve also had three consecutive home games with weak opposition
Our best defenders [Kosh and Sokrates] are playing together
Ozil and Mykhi are coming back to form

What did you think of Jenks?

englandsbest

Anybody who says that the owner of a football club is irrelevant is daft as a brush.

Pierre

Dissenter
We have played weak opposition previously but very rarely have we coasted home with half hour left on the clock .

Personally, I think jenkinson as a wing back is ok , he has not let the team down this season.
Will be play at the weekend,I doubt it ….lichsteiner will probably come in .

Dissenter

That Manchester city deal with Puma is dismal. It’s for all the 5 clubs in the city group.
What were they thinking?
Why didn’t they benchmark it with our deal with Addidas? They have fewer fans than Arsenal despite all the new influx bandwagon fans.

Champagne charlie

“while I don’t think Emery is a better manager than Simeone I think it’s worth mentioning that the 4 year period he was at Valencia, was the same 4 years Pep was at Barca.“ Why’s that worth mentioning, I don’t understand? Valencia can only play Barca twice a year in the league, that doesn’t change with Pep in charge. Emery’s best season finished 21 points behind the top two from what I gather when scanning. I merely compared that to Simeone finishing 11 points back, winning it, then 2 points back of the mega duo in his first three full… Read more »

HighburyLegend

Next challenge for the Puma designers : to make shirts more ugliest than ours.

(I’m talking about the green one, in particular)

Receding Hairline

I thought Leicester have a director of football, Joe Rudkin, English!! (Yay Charlie George)…wouldn’t he see to it Rodgers doesn’t flood the club with all his old pals.

Besides i don’t believe Brendan is as stupid as some of you believe him to be.

jwl

Seen on twitter – “Mesut Ozil has scored in Carl Jenkinson’s last three PL starts at the Emirates. Proof Jenkinson is the key to getting the best out of Ozil.”

Frost

Bamford10

“It’s “Rodgers”. Get shit right, people.”

Shut tf up lecturer!

Dissenter

From the Leicester city official website; “Brendan, 46, has signed a deal with the Foxes to June 2022 and will be at King Power Stadium for Tuesday night’s Premier League visit of Brighton & Hove Albion. He will take charge of the squad for the first time ahead of Sunday’s trip to Watford. Joining the Club’s established team of First Team staff will be Assistant Manager, Chris Davies; First Team Fitness Coach, Glen Driscoll; and First Team Coach, Kolo Touré’ This is for Pedro’s consumption. This is to remind him that the practice of manager’s coming in with fitness coaches… Read more »

Words on a Blog

Jwl- love The Jenkinson Theory of Ozil Over-Performance!

Words on a Blog

Emery is clearly a second-rate manager if it’s taken him so long to work out that the key to getting Ozil to play well is to play Jenko