That’s the big news. Arsenal are 100% fit for the NLD this weekend. What a game this is.
Nuno started strong and has faded.
Arteta started so badly it made eyes bleed, but now there’s a glimmer something good might be happening.
Both fans are waiting to see if their season can get a massive boost from a mega performance this Sunday.
Arteta went for the heartstrings. He said there’s a difference between a fan and a supporter, and ‘supporters’ is what he’s had this season. I agree. The fans in the ground have been amazing.
‘It’s a privilege to play in front of people that have the knowledge of the history of the club, and they are fully behind the team’
Tomorrow is a huge one for us. We need to show at the ground. A massive atmosphere for our young squad will go a very long way. These players need Arsenal supporters in the down moments, if we give them what they need, they’ll be better for it.
Arteta gave a big pointer to the midfield starting 11, stating that ideally Xhaka would have more minutes under his belt. I think it’d be really rough to give him the nod after all the nonsense he’s given us so far this season. Let’s see what Odegaard or Sambi can do there. Reward the change. Since Xhaka was absent, we’ve won three on the bounce. Simple stuff.
Tell us about Tomi:
‘I’m impressed with the way he has gained everyone’s appreciations. Against Burnley he was exceptional.’
Tell us why you have no injuries:
‘Everyone wants to be involved and we have fantastic physios and sports science department.
Tell us if you need to sell Lacazette:
‘He’s a phenomenal character that is always pushing’
Tell us about Auba’s form:
‘We need to get him more chances, he is in great form’
The positive outlook has continued. He’s pumping players, giving a little more insight about them, and radiating confidence. It’s a small thing, but the reality is, the leader in the dugout controls how the fans feel.
We need a win though. The team need a proper performance. There will be no spoiler tactics tomorrow or dry grass to bemoan. Spurs will come to The Emirates, sit deep, and spring counters that we have to be sharp about.
Harry Kane and Son are Arsenal kryptonite. We have to have an answer tomorrow.
Everyone needs to do their part.
A great result and life is better for everyone.
A bad one? You can’t even think about it.
On that note, take a look at the latest video/pod that we recorded yesterday… and I’ll see you in the comments.
It is not beyond the realms of possibility that we can win our next 3 league games which will see us in and around the top 4 as the top clubs are all finding it difficult to maintain consistency .
This maybe because of their heavy workload so this is the time for Arsenal to use our advantage in this respect as we should be fit and free from fatigue and injury
China
“In the last couple of games ramsdale played like Emi”
I agree , I’ve said previously that Ramsdale has many of Martinez characteristics when keeping goal …
Fan or supporter.
If your a gooner your one for life.
Its THE day today, lets just smash that lot
Pedro much appreciated on the investment you’ve been putting into this blog Despite the fact I’m a Bally wearing bed wetter who challenges you on the daily, I have a huge amount of respect for that financial commitment on top of the time investment Btw how does that cost roughly break down if I may know? You have the domain name, I guess you have a subscription to a platform that facilitates the blog interface? Some kind of infra support overhead in case Ishola and I bring the site down with 40,000 anti Xhaka posts in a single minute? Could… Read more »
Rumour has it that Chelsea could offload Kante in summer….likely destination for another Chelsea pensioner
When you’re winning by a single goal in the last 10 mins and they throw a really dangerous ball into the box, a keeper rising above, *catching* and slamming down into the ground without spilling it is as satisfying as any winger skinning someone with trickery. It’s soul food
Unless something has happened to Kante I’d take him in a heartbeat to support partey and oversee the development of sambi
Allllllll day
If Chelsea are thinking of selling Kante, and they’re happy to sell him to us, at a reasonable price That should tell you everything about where they think he’s at physically Kante will be 31 in March, he’s all about energy and dynamism Take away that energy and dynamism, and all you’re left with is a midget midfielder, who’s best days are behind him We’ve seen it plenty of times, young players often take 2-3 seasons to develop into consistent performers But when older players drop physically, it’s usually a rapid decline, straight off the edge of a cliff It’s… Read more »
I see Brentford gets mention for their performance against Liverpool. I’ve been watching then on and off since 2010 and here’s the thing: they’ve introduced the style of football they play in season 2013/14, so they’ve been doing it for past eight seasons. It didn’t happen out of blue
Arsenal’s performance against Brentford was poor and the real concern was how the team was easily bullied.
Nevertheless it should not be forgotten that our starting X1 today is completely different from the team that started in that game.
Ramsdale has replaced Leno, Tomiyasu and Gabriel have replaced Chambers and Mari, Partey and Odegaard have come into Midfield and Aubameyang and Saka have come back
into the team.
Our performance against Spurs will provide a much clearer measurement of this team’s potential and outcome this season.
Rich I wouldn’t pay a lot of money, super high wages or offer a really long contract
If he has more than 1 year left on his deal:
15m fee
150k wages
1 year deal with an option to extend 1 more year
If Chelsea and the player accepted those terms, great. If not never mind
Actually 15m would be generous considering his age. 8-10m instead
2 year deal rather than 1 + 1
Rich
I would not recruit any more players from Chelsea. We have had generally bad experience with
players coming from that club. Also Kante is now 31.
We need in midfield an “engine” to play alongside Partey. I would much rather recruit Bissouma.
Pierre
Not only do you have one eye shut, the open eye is focused on the past.
Ozil, Martinez are gone, pal. Look to the future.
Have to hope that Arteta doesn’t over complicate things as he has a tendency to do in big games like Villarreal last season and city this season. One would think that the team almost picks itself today. Ramsdale in goal , Tomiyasu and Tierney full backs , White /Gabriel central defence. Partey with lakonga or Odegaard in centre mid Saka and Pepe left amd right wiith smith rowe or Odegaard in the hole .. Aubameyang up top. No other players should really come into the equation, The main question mark is the midfield area ..there are 4 choices. Partey/lakonga …in… Read more »
‘Juventus are ‘willing to let Aaron Ramsey leave the club for NOTHING in January as the Italians look to shift his £400,000-per-week wages with West Ham, Everton and Newcastle all interested’ in the former Arsenal midfielder’
If this is true, then it’s a no-brainer
Sign Ramsey on a 1.5 years contract on ‘about 150k weekly to help out the youngsters. That’s if we care about goal scoring midfielders
..I also want to entice Paulinho to come back here 😀😀😀
Dissenter
What’s your season expectations for Arsenal?
Where do you think we’ll finish?
How many points do you expect us to get?
You fancy coming down off that fence?
Arteta started so badly it made eyes bleed, but now there’s a glimmer something good might be happening.”
Jesus
Ramsdale has replaced Leno, Tomiyasu and Gabriel have replaced Chambers and Mari, Partey and Odegaard have come into Midfield and Aubameyang and Saka have come back
into the team.
Ramsdale has proven he is better than Lenno alrready has he?
Something is wrong at Juve as they are 12th in Seria A with 5 pts in 5 games. After a season they lost the title to Inter, it’s looking like they will fail to take what it’s normally theirs again. I would speculate that they are in a crisis of some sort. It’s probably why Cristiano moved even if the move was to a club that won’t win much this season either.
If Ramsey was to start in more games, Juve might have done better.
3 points today,nothing less-not interested in advanced systems or intricate play,3 points-or it is the fat lady warming up.
50,000 fans in a midweek game show we are a massive club,that doesnt deserve the product being served up.
I dont want to see the make a wish Arsenal foundation turn up to lift sad Harry Kane’s sad spirits or another VAR controversy going against us.
Craig Pawson reffing a NLD will no doubt try to do his best Mike Dean impression so cool and calm heads need to prevail today.
Rich, like you I expect around 70 – 73 points as we will be fresh in the spring with no Europe. If we had been in Europe, I’d have expected 65 – 68. 70 – 73 could be 4th, but 5th is more likely. Ishola and Pierre, yes, in principle Pepe on the right makes sense, but the few times he’s played on the left, he was on average slightly better for me. Not by much, but better. “Overwhelming evidence” is not possible because the number of games on the left has been low due to Auba often playing on… Read more »
Pedro: “Olumide, super performance against Burnley, we were brilliant against Brighton. West Brom was loads of fun. We played well against Norwich.”
Super performance? We had a 1.1 xG to Burnley’s 0.8 xG. Super performance?
Brilliant against Brighton? 2 goals by Pepe and a grand total of 0.77 xG for us. Lol?
Our peak performances btw.
70 – 73 could be 4th, but 5th is more likely.
We aren’t finishing anywhere near 4th. Sorry to say.
Rich
How you doing?
The target has to be top-4
If we miss out on one point, Emery-style then I can ride with Arteta for another year on that basis, still whining all the way, like I typically do.
Top-4 is reasonable because the so called top-4 are vulnerable, this weekend shows us they can be beaten
I didn’t trust Arteta to even come close. We aren’t scoring enough and he makes baffling decisions too often.
Will you still be sympathetic towards ‘Tets if we stumble towards another 8th place finish?
So we’ve had Kris, Rich, Matt B, and Pedro all predicting a fifth place finish in above comments (in Pedro’s case, more of a “run at top 4”). Interesting as I still have city, Chelsea, pool, United, west ham, villa, ahead – and the way it’s looking you could easily see a few of Everton, Spurs, and even mighty Brighton finish ahead. I’d bite a hand off for 5th place
I want some of that optimism, just haven’t seen that we have turned any sort of major corners in the burnley and norwich performances. Maybe my eyes are playing tricks. Let’s beat Spurs by any means necessary and see where we go!
Receding used to write that Leno was condemned for the 9 goals we conceded against happy Brentford, the European champions and the league champions while Ramsdale is being overly praised for the wins against the dregs of the league . I appreciate Ramsdale’s infectious enthusiasm, his high starting positions and the difference he brings to crosses. That said, he’s at best a poor man’s Emi Martinez. He’s behind Emi in even those areas he’s strongest. I’m never going to praise Arteta for ‘fixing’ a problem he created needlessly after two tries. The club wasn’t irrevocably broken when he came on.… Read more »
I’m not surprised that golden boy Anthony Joshua lost yesterday since he stepped out his protective cordon.
He was very good at avoiding strong fighters, until yesterday.
Overrated, overprotected and over-monied
ooooohh imagine, a midfield of:
Kante
Ramsey
Wilshere
😂 fans.
Dissenter All good thanks, absolutely bouncing for today The league is competitive, it’ll be tight and go to the wire, but if we don’t get a minimum of Europa league, with no European distraction, then Arteta’s position becomes untenable He might get away with 7th or 8th, providing we win a domestic cup, and he’s within a couple of points of fifth, and spitting distance of 4th But if we end up in that second tier of Europa, or no European football at all again, then we’ll have to make a change I don’t buy the overall doom and gloom… Read more »
Rich
You left out the player who scored our goal of the season on Wednesday night , plus he created the opening goal with a perfectly weighted ball for Martinelli to win the pen…
There’s only so long that Arteta can wait for our attack to click into gear before he will turn to Eddie and he won’t regret it.
Buzzing for today ,can’t wait as we can beat these fuckers just need to be defensively switched on . We cannot under any circumstances concede , if we do we are not winning because we all know there is not more than 1 goal in arteta’s tactics and style against PL teams . Clean sheet is imperative
Pierre
I’ve always agreed with you on Eddie, we’ve managed his career trajectory terribly, he should have been out on loan for the last 18 months gaining experience
I wouldn’t be against using Nketiah as an internal replacement for Lacazette
He’s at an age where he needs consistent football though, and if he’s not getting that at Arsenal, then I’m sure he’ll go somewhere, and forge himself a very good career
Another young talent, who’s being advised badly by his agent
Poor man’s Emi. He’s 23 years old, Emi was still doing a paper round at that age.
MASSIVE day. Cannot wait for this one. That first 20 is so important, we’ll know which Arsenal showed up. That said, spurs were good for the first 45 last week.
⚪️🔴
Lucas MOURA one player we need to keep an eye on today
back from injury a really dangerous Brazilian -QUALITY.
just win today boys! Set the tone and pace early and the results will follow.
It takes some talent to be a good goal scorer. Nketiah has it but Saka and ESR don’t. Of course it also needs physical strength. Nketiah still needs to build up more physical strength.
Ramsey chat – a bit 2018 isn’t it? Best leave him alone. I’d take Kanye though. 3 year contract. He seems to have a great attitude. Think Makele when he went to Chelsea.
Ramsdale is good against botton table teams that will give Arsenal time to play from the back
Leno is good against top table teams where Arsenal park the bus and concede many shots on goal since he is a good shot stopper
When do we find out the starting 11?? All this chatter about Xhaka is making me nervous.
We need to do what Chelsea did and survive the first 30 without conceding. Do that, and I think we’ll win.
On a lighter note even JOSUHA could’nt bring a trophy to – TOTTENHAM.
Sid, no team gives you time to play out the back.
If you cant get pumped for todays NLD, you aren’t likely breathing. Lets go boys!!!
I have to admit that Arteta has setup a solid defense including the GK. The biggest gamble EDU made was claiming that Auba and Laca together will deliver 40 goals this season. I can’t see that happening. The success of this season will depend on whether other attackers can chip in enough goals.
There are variations with pressing schemes,
Burnleys pressing is incomparable to man c
Sid
Where do you expect us to finish this season?
Where do you think we’ll finish?
How many points do you think we’ll get?
@Rich, ideally Mertesacker should take over after Potter embarrases Diet Pep, if this happens we make it to the Europa league
Rich Great to have you back. Your well reasoned knowledgeable & ‘fair’ comments have been missed. Having you back might make others return & help make the blog more inclusive. Tough game for what is a young team in development but there is no doubt we have bought very well. Like you, given time I believe we have the makings of a great side and it seems the fans in the stadium agree. See where we are Christmas for my prediction because it’s far too early to judge, these players have only been available for 3 games. Beating Spuds would… Read more »
Top 6 for me this season.
Rich Liked the look of your formation you posted. Interesting and complex. Tend to agree about Laca. Then Pierre suggested MA doesn’t over complicate things, and I thought, yes, man after my own heart. Thing is, I always believed it was a simple game, that was until Pedro posted the Juego De Posicion piece. Only then could I understand why players like Pepe look so confused the whole time. Those big, glazed over eyes. He has the shocked look of a man who’s just been probed by aliens, whereas all along it was simply his brain deciphering the orders from… Read more »
“Wenger left some good things in Emi…..” ? How can anyone give Wenger any credit for Emi Martinez…who played maybe 1 or 2 PL games for Wenger in 7-8 years and was loaned out to multiple lower league clubs where he hardly played (…appreciate he may have been injured a few times but his appearances were almost non existent). Either Wenger completely failed to understand how good EM was or EM showed absolutely nothing in his first 8 years at the club to suggest he was anything special ( and bearing in mind the dross we had that says something)…which… Read more »
AFC Forever
Thanks
I’m bouncing for today, didn’t get to sleep until gone 3am, and was up before 7
Like you, I’m expecting a tough game today, hopefully we can push the margins in our favour 🤞
New post
Don’t agree with xhara… But u never know… May work.
In Arteta we trust…. Felt like watching a Wenger team