Let me start this blog by saying: there is no such thing in Arsenal fandom as ‘crowing after a win.’
Arsenal vs Spurs, wherever you stand on the spectrum, was a win for us all. If you feel aggrieved after a NLD win, let me be clear, f*ck off with your ‘views,’ no one cares what you have to say. You can have an opinion, but the litmus test for whether it lives here after a dominant NLD win against Jose Mourinho is whether you can be happy. If you can’t, who are you? Why bother?
Now, let’s crack into what was a glorious day for Arsenal.
The big menace to the narrative before we’d even kicked a ball was that Auba was benched. When I originally heard it, I was over the moon. The game was about control, movement was key, sometimes our captain is eaten up by good defenders in deep-blocks. Then it turned out that he was dropped over discipline. It was a non-negotiables move because he’d turned up late to the team meeting. This wasn’t the first time either, I’ve heard plenty of sloppy stories about him prior to this, beyond just lateness.
Let’s be clear. The decision was absolutely correct. Lee Dixon said, ‘if the club meeting is at 10:00, you show up at 09:50’, and he’s right. Basic rules keep order and structure in a chaotic profession. Timekeeping is an absolute minimum, on the face of it, it feels unimportant, but really… it’s all about respect for leadership and respect for one another.
There’s a famous Van Halen story. On their gig rider, they’d demand all brown M&Ms were removed, if they landed at a venue and they weren’t, they’d pull out, because if the management couldn’t take care of a bag of sweets, how could they be trusted to host a complex gig?
If you can’t take care of the small details as a leader, how can you be trusted with the big ones?
When the standard-bearers breach the code of conduct, it has to be addressed, otherwise, leadership is weakened because everyone else is watching and judging. Those decisions are HARD to make as a leader. There is nothing more difficult than having to pull a high performer to one side and tell them they broke the rules. It is easier to let it slide. But it ALWAYS costs you trust capital in the long run. Auba is a HUGE character at Arsenal, but turning up late for a NLD meeting, when the young players are analysing every moment for positive cues, well, it’s hugely embarrassing.
My only wish? Arteta told the press the move was tactical.
Still… weaker leaders like Emery would have caved. If you have ever led in a high-performance culture, you’d not question the decision. Anyone that tells you Arteta was wrong is a bad leader, a weak person, or they lead in an environment where the work is inconsequential. Basically, anyone that tells you they’d accept repeat lateness to company meetings from their most senior talent is a joke… there’s no counterargument.
Now, onto the game.
Did Arsenal miss a beat over Auba? No. You knew this would be a performance from minute two. ESR, MO, and Saka worked the ball like demons. We absolutely controlled possession, like we have done in nearly every game since Christmas, and we made Spurs look average.
Spurs weren’t bad, we were good. Let’s get that straight. This performance wasn’t a surprise. It was a continuation of the good football plenty of us have been championing. They had no answers because that’s the new Arsenal. We restrict chances, dominate possession, and we’re really, really hard to beat (unless we offer it up as a gift).
The first half was all about ESR. Starboy #2 showed up with a vengeance. It was his best performance yet. He absolutely destroyed Doherty down the left. There was a point when I called the Arsenal abuse hotline to report breach of club rules on the pitch because it was so humiliating.
‘Sir, could you calm down and tell me what you see’
‘He’s the blonde one on the pitch and I’ve watched him put this Spurs chap in his pocket for like, the 5th time in 10 minutes. It’s awful to watch, I think this guy has family watching, they’re crying. Please send a steward’
ESR hit the bar, created 4 chances, his pass completion was 97% (against a deep block), he was a fucking menace. The kid the melts called ‘average’ absolutely savaged Spurs. By the end of the half, they were trebling up on him and still losing.
But, for all the chance creation, the possession dominance, and the twice rattled woodwork… we still conceded first. Spurs who offered nothing finally found space in our area, Erik Lamela received a terrible short pass slightly behind him and had to pivot his movement to low punch a rabona past 5 Arsenal players into the bottom corner. It was disgustingly flukey, average to look at, and against the run of play… but predictably part of the Arsenal script of late. It felt like the new norm… Arteta was cursed… the Arsenal would always perform well, but forever be fucked over in the most outrageous of ways.
I thought we’d melt, we did not. ESR and Tierney worked some magic down the left, Tierney picked out Odegaard in the Spurs box, the Norwegian captain kind of buried his first-time strike. Game on. Notable how fast we had players in their box all game, compare that to pre-Chelsea, it’s a really bit of progression.
Arsenal fans were talking about what Spurs could do in the second half to tighten up. Errr, not many options beyond the Tony Pulis shithousing they’d started the game with… so it was always going to be game on in the second half. Spurs had a little bit more to offer, Lucas Moura was problematic at times, but again, the game plan from Jose was simple and bland: get it to Kane 3 times and he’ll score once. Kind of staggering that a manager of Jose’s caliber doesn’t build a system that has him on the ball all game. He’s so, so good.
Anyway…
We scored the third goal. Nicolas Pepe came on at halftime for Saka (pray for him). He volleyed a loose ball pass at Lacazette first time, the Frenchman lashed at the ball, but was smashed by Sanchez at the same time. The ref went to the VAR. I thought it’d be overturned. The ref disagreed… the penalty was given. Laca stepped up and buried his kick. Another perfect penalty.
Spurs started to play nasty. Harry Kane got away with an ‘I AM AN IMPORTANT ENGLAND PLAYER’ shoulder barge on Gabriel. Argentine Erik Lamela didn’t get away with a slap to Tierney’s face and was red-carded.
THAT DID NOT END THE STRUGGLE. Thomas Partey was more like Thomas-OH-MY-GOD-BAD-Partey for the last 15. He was flipping possession and giving away freekicks in Harry K zones like a 20-year-old Carling Cup debutant. Arteta looked like he was pacing the halls in a hospital with a wife giving birth in hour 79 to a 39lbs baby, I’ve never seen someone drink a bottle of water with more pent-up aggravation. Kane rattled the post with one effort (how bad was the carefully constructed wall?!?), the follow-up headed away by Gabriel (HERO). Kane also whipped a really nice cross that Alli missed, as well as having a goal disallowed for a clear offside. It was not a comfortable end, it was turbulence over the Bermuda triangle… if you exited with clean whites, you’re a person with sharper control of their sphincter than me.
We closed the game out after 34 minutes of extra time and took a HUGE win.
In 15 months, Arteta has taken down all of the top 6 managers, Mourinho the most irritating of them all.
So where are we?
What I am hoping is that the game went some way towards vindicating the positive narrative I’ve been pushing over the last few weeks (ok, 15 months lololol).
Arsenal are not the complete package. But we are offering up something the best clubs do before they bang. We are hard to beat, we’re controlling games, and we are creating high-quality chances over and over again.
Quick round-ups:
- Kieran Tierney is a beast and he should be our future captain. He’s fu*king immense. I love him.
- Lacazette missed some chances, but he worked wonders dropping deep to bring the creators into the game. HUGE performance for me.
- Nico. We thought he was on his way out. He’s taking on Kanu vibes. He took his chance in the second half, looked interested, stayed focused, delivered the pass of the game that led to the penalty.
- Martin O. Honestly, were people calling him average? This guy is mustard. Efficient, surprisingly fast, a really, really hard worker… and he turned up with a goal. We need him next season and there has to be a BUY option.
- Great insurance is a product you don’t notice. David Luiz and Gabriel were immense. Super tidy, disciplined, and clever all game. Keeping that Spurs front line quiet is NOT easy, they did it.
- Cedric deserved to start. He seemed a little fearful of Moura at times, but overall, I love his pace, his compactness, and his solid attributes both ends. A great game from him.
- GRANIT. The man has had plenty of criticism from this site, so I will not deny him. He was brilliant. Loads of clever movement, some big tackles, and really positive game. He’s our second-best midfielder, even with the errors, his inclusion is no longer controversial. We have to accept that.
It is totally acceptable to say the last 15 were nervy. We have to get better at seeing out games… but again, context, we sneeze at the wrong moment of late and someone scores. This team has been punished to the max every time they make a mistake since January. I am not surprised they were panicked going into the last phase of the game. We’ll improve that each game we stop doing dumb things.
We aren’t going to compete for the league this season, what we might do is win some big games that make the fans believe there’s something special brewing.
Against Spurs, you saw the special sauce. You can’t deny it now. That wasn’t a fluke. That game has been brewing since December 29th. Where are the ‘he plays bland football because that’s how he was as a player’ crowd now?
The first 45 was the best since Arteta took charge. We play attractive football which I’d class now as a clear identity. We are now a progressive side, there’s always an interesting plan with innovative features. We are competitive in every single game these days.
Remember that time when people said Klopp couldn’t coach a good defence? Then he bought good defenders and a keeper and everything clicked. Arsenal are maybe a year out from that. Spurs didn’t bank on that today, they didn’t have control of that game at any point, they were flustered and upset. That wasn’t a bad performance, that was a tactical masterclass by Arteta.
That was the sauce.
Now, we could lose on Thursday. We could lose at the weekend. Point is, would you take the Spurs project over the one Arteta is offering up? No. Would you take the Everton one? No. Do you still want the Southampton one? No. Are you still wondering about Nuno? No. The Arsenal project is a good summer away from proper top 4. It’s two good summers from competing for the league. The absolute joke is we’re now 7 points off 5th, 10 from 4th, and we play Chelsea, West Ham, Liverpool, and Everton out of that pack.
Progressive coaching is the future of the game, it’s finally clicking for Arsenal, and regardless of what happens the rest of this season… it’s clear that Arteta is the best coach for us moving forward. There’s no one better for the role. He’s done enough since December to prove that. Next season is going to be way, way better… I am absolutely clear on that.
Now let’s see what he has for the rest of the season.
Europa now feels doable. Who knows in the league. For now, let’s enjoy beating the scum. It’s been a while.
See you in the comments.
P.S. Listen to the latest podcast. Matt goes so hard at ESR lovin’, the player might put out an injunction. Johnny admits he might finally be a believer (Check out his excellent fatherhood pod here). I just have a lot of fun because that was special.
Rich,
I prefer to think that the Willian signing will be used as a yardstick from now on, Arteta is a quick learner, he rolled the dice and tried for the quick return to CL football after seeing our midfield, it didn’t work out but if we are going to judge every top/potentially top manager in history or presently on a bad signing you will have to look hard to find one that hasn’t.
He hasn’t done a lot else wrong in such a short time.
Well said Earnest.
We all have to love Arteta no matter what.
The Pedro and Geoff mantra no longer applies now.
Have an opinion as long as it’s the same as mine!
Has anyone defumigated Hale End since Harry Kane’s departure?
That guy is one dirty dirty player. How he is an England captain I don’t know.
Has there been a more dirty, and a more incoherent man for the national captaincy?
“it.Arsenal won yesterday, not Mikel Arteta.”
Unless we lose that is !
Excellent performance – should have been 3 up at half time. Unfortunately the Spuds goal, well against the run of play, will be replayed time and time again – their only highlight of the game. We completely dominated for 80 minutes and should have had clear ground between us prior to the nervy ending. Everyone gave their all in a solid team performance. Mourinho played into our hands today – very poor from him – Arteta sprinkled the sauce around! Odegaard is a keeper – we need to sign him on a permanent – all class and will develop ESR… Read more »
Has there been a more dirty, and a more incoherent man for the national captaincy?
John Terry wasn’t a saint!
Doesn’t take long for the insecure insurrection to resurface !
Doesn’t take long for the insecure insurrection to resurface !
And who’s that ? At least be brave enough to name and shame?
Holy Fudge
I’m glad we got it but if I’m honest, had we conceded one like that in a derby, I’d be saying some unpleasant things about refs.
Oh I fucking love Mondays after beating them down the road. So many potato men to take the piss out of throughout the week !!!
SamesongMarch
“And who’s that ? At least be brave enough to name and shame”
No need, they stick out like a sore thumb, those with empty little lives and bitter about everything, wanting to infect everyone with their misery.
I’m sure you know the type !
“I prefer to think that the Willian signing will be used as a yardstick from now on, ”
Don’t know about you Bergkamp, but that made me cringe!
I so honestly hope that the days of desperate contracts are behind them.
Ernest,
I’d like to think we will start shipping players out when they reach 28/29 in future, not bringing them in !
Totally Bergkamp! Just think of how much further along this team would be if they did not hamstring themselves with some of the most ridiculous contracts ever given out.
Mourinho is a has been
Bale is finished
Kane an overatted crock
You heard it here 1st, yesterday!
“ I’d like to think we will start shipping players out when they reach 28/29 in future, not bringing them in !”
Although I agree with this, it wasn’t so long ago when Wenger did this effectively by only offering over 30s an extension of rolling one year contracts… and condemned for it by some. Ironically the first player he broke this rule for was one Mikael Arteta, who was 29 when he arrived at the club and I think he was offered a 4 year contract.
Looking back now, with the
*Looking back now with the benefit of hindsight, I realise EVEN MORE what an absolute GENIUS Wenger was in building a squad.
For Thursday, I would play Elneny and Ceballos and rest both Xhaka and Partey. Currently, Partey can only be fit for 70 mins.
Ødegaard’s skill on the ball under his feet is the best in our team. When everyone around him were panicking, he still kept his cool and made intelligent passes.
Just watched Jenas crying over the penalty. Couldn’t be more bitter could he?
As for his condescending “you don’t understand football” tweet to someone who disagreed with him, wel that needs to be treated with the contempt it deserves. He should also read more about the rules of the game he played for 20 years.
Leeds,
Funny enough, after I wrote that, I thought of Wenger too, he just stayed way too long and tainted his reputation sadly.
Yesterday, Mou’s game plan fell apart after Son’s injury. Kane lost his outlet. Before the game, I was wondering whether Mou would take advantage of our brain farts. It’s good that he kept his game plan. Obviouly, Arteta’s system is better than Mou’s system.
Chris,
I watched MOTD2 and he was really bitter about it, the fact is, the ball was still in play when laca was clattered into and the ref saw it as reckless more than anything.
The fact that laca missed his shot completely has absolutely nothing to do with it, simply a late challenge.
He was also apoplectic about Lamela’s first card when he clearly knew what he was doing when his trailing leg took out our player, the ref knew it too !
“There’s a famous Van Halen story. On their gig rider, they’d demand all brown M&Ms were removed, if they landed at a venue and they weren’t, they’d pull out, because if the management couldn’t take care of a bag of sweets, how could they be trusted to host a complex gig?” It’s weird that I heard this story at work in a different way only last week – it was described to me that they wanted bowls of only green M&Ms and it was part of the contract requirements for the company building the stages … and they would not… Read more »
“Mou’s game plan fell apart after Son’s injury”
It’s a good point that Pedro doesn’t mention; Spurs without Son are a different beast so while ye, we were tactically good, would we have looked that good with Son pulling the strings? Maybe, maybe not. We had to lose Saka at HT and it didn’t affect us as much, Spurs still cause us plenty of problems in the last 15 when they had to pivot to save the game; personally I think Son would have made a huge difference but I’ll still take it!!
Seems like a lifetime ago but our home game against the Spuds last season (which was under Emery) also had a penalty under similar circumstances. On that occasion Xhaka went through Son after he had already taken a shot. Kane scored from the spot.
Great win yesterday and fuck off Mourinho.
I admit that I didn’t know ESR had that much pace oh him. His best attribute is his intelligence. He keeps the game simple and most of the time plays one touch football so defenders can’t get close to him.
Like I have said before, we should try a 4-3-3 with Odegaard Partey and ESR.
Happy gloating Pedro, you’ve earned it.
Still buzzing from the Mourinho beat down, the peak of banter. Really have become shithouse FC under the Special one, Kane reminds me of Van Nistelrooy in his most cunting days constantly simulating, backing dangerously into defenders. That said i’ve a feeling we’ll be doing battle with them again over 180min. That will be a serious test. Arteta’s side now, putting Auba on the bench for fixture that magnitude and pulling it off in pretty stellar manner is big window into whats to come. Has no problem making example of anyone, something this crew seriously lacked. No idea what comes… Read more »
Tom Of course, if that penalty had been against us I’d be upset too, Laca got very lucky that he mishit the ball so hard that it just bobbled on and stayed in play, rather than hitting Row Z, and I perfectly understand Maureen and Tots supporters moaning about it. What I don’t like is that a panel of supposedly ‘neutral’ pundits can be that one-sided and up in arms about a situation that wasn’t even close to controversial, if you stop and think about it for a second. I promise you, if that had been Luiz taking out Kane… Read more »
Bergkamp63
A strong director of football laughs a 3yr mega deal for a 32yr old, at the beginning of a global pandemic, straight out of the room
Handing out a 3yr deal to Willian was insane, we should have at very least made him earn the third year
As we’re seeing with Luiz, contract renewal time focuses the mind
We should return to offering only 1yr extensions to players over 30
You never know when players will dip physically, or lose interest, and when they do, it’s game over.
Interesting decision to drop Auba for lateness to ream meeting. Compare Wenger who put training back to a later time because a couple of players kept turning up late. That’s the culture of failure that Arteta is trying to change. First half was top notch. Cant understand the moaners after a result like that.
Baying mob Son doesn’t pull the strings he just gets in the end of long balls let’s just get that straight.
did not watch the actual game, but instead had the aftv watch-along on the computer, there
are some mentally unstable fans there but it was enjoyable all the same, hope Saka gets
rested for Thursday and we score 2 goals in the first half. Partey must dominate west ham.
Tierney is the most hilarious player to watch Because he plays like a 12 year old. He’s incredibly basic. He even looks basic with a scruffy bowl haircut lol. Proper little boy business But he does the basics so ridiculously well than no one can stop him. It makes me smile every time he savages his man (usually over and over again) because you see players like saka and ESR who beat their man with this kind of elegant, cultured, technical, intelligent, skillful approach and then you see Tierney just roasting his man over and over again with basic play… Read more »
I absolutely guarantee you Tierney May diet consist primarily of fish and chips, beans on toast and micro pizzas
Fairly sure he’s driving a Ford Fiesta as well
Partey rabona
Also fairly sure Tierney is still using MSN messenger, chatting on AOL chat rooms, and has a Walkman with just two tapes which he never gets bored of (blatantly a blue one and an oasis one)
Blur*
If the pandemic ended tomorrow and you have Tierney two weeks off as holiday I guarantee you instead of Dubai, New York or Sydney you’d find him on holiday in Weston Super Mare
Fish and chips and a stick of rock on the beach
Lovely jubbly!
SpanishDave, I’ll say it again, if you are angry today after that win, you are the problem, not me… and yes, correct, I don’t want fans on here bitching after that win. That’s not being an Arsenal fan and never has been Ernest, it’s only insufferable if you’re locked into your own personal agenda. I am perfectly content being insufferable after a NLD win… shame so many would rather be here when we’re losing to troll. It is what it is, but I do love to see people taking notice of our new reality. Not just me either. Blackscarf here… Read more »
The Baying Mob
Solid point of reference the Van Halen Rider, said it earlier it became Arteta’s side yesterday.
Reminded me of Fergie binning Becks to the stands for missing training. Not a move Arteta’s predecessor’s would of pulled, culturally this club needs a bit of the Fergie after letting the rot run riot for far too long.
I am not angry but highly delighted.
What did concern me was the subs and the last ten minutes when we did our best to try and concede.
When we try and sit back we rarely do it well.
ESR and Ode are working well and giving the midfield more buzz.
Arteta needs to be consistent with punishment as Willian was allowed to go to Dubai .
Auba really shouldn’t be captain, I think he maybe wants to move on.
Lets hope that Saka was pulled for precautionary reasons as the understanding is that he tweaked his hamstring. For Thursday he should not even be a selection consideration, but that too depends on Arteta’s thoughts regarding the importance of the match.
2 great arsenal days in a week. knew it was coming and glad it came for the NLD. Really believe things will be playing out a lot differently after this match. So important to get the experience of hard-fought wins like this one and the olymnpiakos result for the younger fellas and the new guys. no substitute for hard earned team belief and momentum. this is exactly how liverpool did it, exactly how all times that don’t have the bayern-like advantages do it. The penalty was earned with our play. Refs are going to be a lot more willing to… Read more »
Spanish D
I don’t see it but If Auba wants to go and solid offer comes thru, fuck it sell him bring in younger player.
With Martinelli and Balogun potentially advancing certainly not the worst thing.
I have no personal agenda Pedro, i only want what is best for the team, period. As to whether Arteta is the best possible manager for this club, time will tell. He’s hitting the right buttons when it comes to attitudes that crippled the club for far too long, and between he and Edu they have done a great job of ridding the club of said attitudes and for the better. If Auba has been taking liberties with club rules then Arteta did what any self-respecting manager would do, bench his stupid arse for being stupid. The one area that… Read more »
Dave, in fairness, he did drop Luiz and Willian during the late December period
You cannot bin posters then claim they only come here to mosn when we lose.
China1
are you implying that footballers are in the majority a refined and thoughtful crowd or do you just have something against scottish people?😂
Iirc arteta didn’t drop Willian for going to Dubai
He dropped him a few games later when there were rumblings that he and Luiz were out to get him sacked or something
I may remember the details wrong as it was a while back tho
“Iirc arteta didn’t drop Willian for going to Dubai”
No worse, Arteta made Willian actually eat the food at his restaurant!
Always nice to beat the Spurs. But I have to say, the Arsenal Vs. Spurs rivalry doesn’t mean all that much to me! I grew up under the Wenger years where Spurs weren’t even an afterthought. They were just some team we beat twice a year!
United is my main hatred. Can’t stand the cheating scum and their glory-seeking fanbase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtpQxBaaS8E&t=606s&ab_channel=HotShotTV
What strikes me now looking back at some of these old games was just how crocked the officiating was.
When watching it in real-time we were so desensitised to United’s cheating ways. But Looking back on it now it is crazy to watch. How did they not have two red cards within the first 10 minutes of that game?!
Did Arteta. call out Willian and Luis publicly during their alleged benching like he did Auba?
Yeah, another fairy tale and fable
I reckon Tierney’s music tastes comprise a roll call of the best from Scotland in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Aztec Camera, the Skids, Big Country, Altered Images, The Orange Juice, early Simple Minds and The Hibee supporting Proclaimers. I agree that the medium would be C90 tapes recorded from John Peel sessions. “Tae save money likesay” .
He’d eschew all that fancy shite like lamborghinis and drive his mum’s old skoda.
He was outstanding yesterday – sublime.
Great post Pedro. Absolutely loved the game but wish we hadn’t feel sorry for Spurs when they went down to 10 men by bringing on Willian to even things up!
What great performances and it’s unbelievable we’re still lurking in 10th despite looking better than anyone we’ve played since Chelsea win other than City.
And the BMX Bandits and Teenage Fan Club.
Pedro
Are you really in any position of giving Superfan speeches after years of shitting on Wenger? and being an everyday moaner during Emery era?
How weird
Kjelli
Talking about AFTV will probably put us in Pedro’s kangaroo court. But Lee Judges and Kelechi are the main men for me – along with Robbie of course.
“Are you really in any position of giving Superfan speeches after years of shitting on Wenger? and being an everyday moaner during Emery era?”
He who owns the blog calls the shots…
KT loves a deep fried mars bar with an Irn-bru
Godfather
perhaps a better name for you should be The Schoolteacher
U Coq – what a bizarre comment. A lot of people on here bemoaned Wenger’s later years. We all took that view at different times. I wasn’t quite as ready to do so as others but ultimately i had to agree his time was done.
Emery was an appalling manager and most of us had had enough after Baku. The following 1/2 season was just painful and some of the worst football ever delivered.
Why wouldn’t we support Arteta’s time if by and large it is appearing to be gong in the right direction.
Utterly bizarre and confused thinking mate
“What great performances and it’s unbelievable we’re still lurking in 10th despite looking better than anyone we’ve played since Chelsea win other than City.”
Dropping points against teams you should be beating (Burnley, Wolves, Villa) will reflect in the table before long.
underrated Coq, absolutely.
Wenger tanked the club. I called it. It happened.
… but. Let’s be clear. NEVER would I cry over a dominant win against Spurs.
That’s never been a position.
Ernest – it already does cos we’re in 10th! Te way we’ve been playing we should be 4th having bettered Chelsea, Leicester and now Spurs along the way. Only City have been better than us.
So not sure what point you’re really making other than another being half empty glass merchant. I’m however taking great pleasure in the gradual change of direction and seeing a much brighter overall future.
Northbanker, amen to that, each week that passes it becomes a little harder to be miserable about the project.
We went to hell, that’s why we are where we are… but we’re 10 points off 4th in our worst season ever and I’d take our project over plenty of those around us.
Kroenkephobe, you forgot Bay City Rollers !!
Tierney still rocking 3 EPs the Beta Band, loud.
Not quite our worst Pedro as I go back to 1974/75 when we were bottom of Div 1 for a short while. The 3 seasons from 73/74 to 75/76 were dire. “Fans” on here just so spoilt no idea what dire football is(although Emery had a damn good go at simulating last season)
Willian!!! That’s right, take it to the corner mate…yeah…oi..wait..no, NOOOOOOO, WTF!!?? YOU AGENT PRICK…….FFS YOU’RE EXPERIENCED!!! FFS C#NT!
I remember those years. Amazing how we went from double winners to strugglers in such a short period.
Northbanker, I just don’t understand how you can look at what’s going on and not be excited.
We just controlled Spurs. The post game commentary about them being bad is wrong. We were just excellent. The only managed 6 attempts at our goal. The system is top class.
Gabriel deserves loads of credit yesterday too. Hard to believe he doesn’t speak English, it’s his first season in the Prem, and he’s 2 years younger than Holding.
So much potential to become elite. I really like him.
“Are you really in any position of giving Superfan speeches after years of shitting on Wenger? and being an everyday moaner during Emery era?”
Pedro was correct for both cases.
Spurs didn’t bank on that today, they didn’t have control of that game at any point, they were flustered and upset. That wasn’t a bad performance, that was a tactical masterclass by Arteta. That was the sauce. / Hmmm. Interesting take. So what i get from this is that you’re saying Spurs are the bigger team. The better team (goliath). Amazingly Arteta (david) was able to usurp the gigantic task of beating Jose and Spurs at home. Hmmm interesting take. Can I ask. When did beating Spurs signal that Arsenal (The supposedly 3rd biggest club in English history) were on… Read more »
Pedro – agreed. It was a statement match in so many ways. I still have some real reservations about Arteta and some decisions -Leno tactics; Emi sale; Martinelli and Saliba treatment; and above all signing up Willian for 3 years. At moment giving that benefit of doubt. All other MA signings are coming good. Posters on here were calling out Cedric and Mari transfers before they had properly seen either. Both looking to be excellent additions. Gabriel is a great signing. Ode – slow stat but now springing into life as he gets match fit These players plus Saka’s development… Read more »
“So not sure what point you’re really making other than another being half empty glass merchant” Half empty, half full? Either way, momentum can carry the day and if they keep putting up decent results then the rest takes care of itself. Just pointing out that until such time that this team greatly reduces its propensity for the boneheaded, its tough to progress in truly meaningful ways. Being realistic should never be confused with being accused of being a merchant of optimism/pessimism. Try to stay in the moment North, not everyone is out to get Arteta or the club. I… Read more »
Croqueta
Let’s admit that Arteta vs Mou is like david vs goliath, especially when Arteta was defected by Mou in the previous encounter. It just confirmed that our team has improved since then.
It is interesting how many are seeing MO as something for the future. It presupposes that of course somehow Arsenal are able to pry him away from Real with a good offer or, at the very least, look to extend his loan. It would be quite a coup if they were able to acquire him, but equally I’d like to see Cellabos’ term come to an end at seasons end – he’s really not what this team needs moving forward.
Leeds
“That guy is one dirty dirty player. How he is an England captain I don’t know.Has there been a more dirty, and a more incoherent man for the national captaincy?”
Shearer ?
La croqueta, I explained it all in the blog. There’s about 1800 words there for you. Go back and read again.
Ernest – ok sorry its ‘realism’ not pessimism
Dropping points against teams you should be beating (Burnley, Wolves, Villa) will reflect in the table before long. = statement of obvious and was posted by you in response to my comment that it was incredible we were still 10th given how many teams we have been better than since Chelsea (actually since prev Spurs game) other than City ie all of them
We are playing like a top 4 club and that will come soon enough
“It just confirmed that our team has improved since then.” I dont think I’d classify Sp*rs as better than Arsenal at any point in time. What made the earlier loss to them bitter to swallow was the abject performance of some of the so-called leaders on the team. Arsenal have not really improved in the manner that some describe, its more that Sp*rs were punching well above their true ability at the time of the first meeting. Yesterday’s performance was very much in keeping with historical expectations. Sp*rs are a crappy team, always have been and always will be. Arsenal… Read more »
“We are playing like a top 4 club and that will come soon enough”
Sincerely hope so, North.
Spurs were top of the league when we last met them in December and people were calling them legitimate title contenders.
To say the improvement since then is being overblown is a massive understatement.
“Spurs were top of the league when we last met them in December and people were calling them legitimate title contenders.”
As long as they have Mourinho guiding them Pedro, they will never be contenders for anything other than pretenders. Unlike dry salted bacalhau, Mourinho’s gone spoiled bad past any expiration date.
And yes I can say it, my Mother is Portuguese!
Winning the NLD is of course in reality a sideshow but tbh its always going to play a big role for me. Its more the fact that i cant stand them winning it. I am still haunted by being in their Executive Box when we lost 5-1 (the Bendtner fight night) and having all these Spuds fisting salutes in my face. Fact that we played juniors didn’t seem to matter (League Cup)
Pierre
Nah mate. Alan “chicken n beans” Shearer is an urbane sophisticate compared to the lisping cheating lunatic HK. Most Spurs players are impossible to like, even less so after yesterday.
Doherty, the Gooner, being an exception not least because he was sub par yesterday.
Looks to me like an unhappy ship with Mourinho cast as Captain Bligh. Fuck ’em.
Its always shifting goalpost with the moaners , when Spurs were playing well it was all Mourinho is a gamechanger and now when we beat them , Spurs were crap. Nobody is mentioning Ancelloti now that he is in mid table skirmish just like us. Typical Maureen people on here.
None of us knows for sure what Auba did (or didn’t do). Chronic lateness seems likeliest. But those who say Arteta should have kept it sub rosa are mistaken. A captain breaking the disciplinary rules sets a bad example, especially for the younger players. Absolutely right to show him up, discomfit him. How will Auba respond? I fear badly. IMO giving him a long contract and a huge wage was a mistake. He is in the comfort zone, like Ozil was. And like petulant Ozil, his ego may count most. Fortunately Arteta has learned a lesson from Ozil. You do… Read more »
Ernest, bit of a pattern on here of underplaying every team we beat. Spurs favourites for the top 4 yesterday, now they’re shite.
Also when we beat West Ham, they were a ‘bottom 4 side’ in the Elite Power Rankings.
Aged well.
Evening, Great performance yesterday barring the last fifteen minutes. We can never do anything the easy way. Top marks.for arteta having the balls to drop auba, could have really blown up in his face if we lost yesterday. In hindsight it was probably a good thing as laca never stopped running yesterday. Midfield two were quite poor I thought, xhaka was his usual average self and partey was quite poor as well. Let’s hope that was just a blip from him. But it’s small grumbles, you win the NLD and it sets up your week. It’s been a pretty poor… Read more »
Our league position is false as we will see by rhe ed of the season . I said back in january that with a good summer transfer window we could compete for the title and i still believe that. Arteta needs to focus on the football and not become distracted again by wanting to show the world who is the boss. The emergence of Smith Rowe has given the team a new dimension in our play. I think Arteta has done well to integrate Odegaard and smith rowe into the starting line , though personally I believe smith rowe is… Read more »
Providing he’s fit, Thursday would be a good time for Martinelli to get some action. His pace and directness would terrify Sokratis. I’d have some quality on the bench but I’d be looking to make quite a few changes to yesterday’s team so that they get some rest and we line up the same for the hammers as the spuds. And give Ryan a game too.
Don’t know how anyone could watch the game yesterday and say that xhaka was average. Him
and Partey (even though he didn’t have his best game he was still influential) controlled the midfield and won a lot of 2nd balls.
I’m impressed with how Arteta has grabbed the opportunities that ESR provides for the team.
I do have to ask; what took him so long?
Why did he wait until December to give him a run out at the top level?
Pedro, Everyone is, or should be, excited by yesterday’s performance. And if they aren’t overjoyed then they should admit that they simply are not Arsenal fans. I started attending games in the 1960s. I’ve attended great and dire games. I don’t take the good days for granted. But having said that, we need to keep an eye on the big picture – as you Matt and Johnny also say you do in your great blog: 1. We played up to our potential with a great plan. 2. Maureen came with a terrible plan and Spurs were dire. 3. But we… Read more »
My team for Thursday:
…………Leno……….
Bellerin—Holding—Mari—Cedric
…….Elneny—Partey…..
Pepe—Willian—Martinelli
……………Auba……….