Make no mistake – that was the performance of the season from Arsenal.
We absolutely controlled every aspect of the Aston Villa game from start to finish. Stevie G didn’t know what to do, his side were totally nullified, they had no outlets despite having plenty of players that offer them.
Emi Martinez told Emi Beundia to turn down Arsenal, hahahahah!
Villa tried to convince the world they were a squad on the rise, worthy of Emile Smith Rowe, hahahaah!
Back to the game.
Defensively we were imperious. Arsenal fans often criticise Arteta for crosses into the box, well, how about Villa trying to beat White and Gabriel in the air all day without getting a sniff? It was more than that though, it was setting up perfectly so the passing lanes for Villa’s backline were dead, it was strategically pressing them at all the right moments, it was every single player showing up and being accountable for the clean sheet.
We did all of that with our second choice right-back and a keeper that has barely played all season.
Arsenal is now joint 3rd for clean sheets with Chelsea.
Attacking wise we also showed a lot of character. All those people complaining about expensive defensive signings are now seeing the error of their ways. We play out the back and it’s pure silk on my eyeballs. There are no weak links there, there’s no drama, it’s just a beautiful feature of our system. What makes it better is when the players ahead know what they are doing. Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka did a great job connecting our attackers today, Bukayo Saka put on such an elite performance, no doubt giving Ashley Young nightmares in the process. It was so much fun watching Arsenal create overloads then popping perfect balls for Saka to torment his 47 year old adversary. His goal was superb, he powered his low shot through a crowd, his 10th of the season, his 5th in 5 games, who said it was a bad idea to bet on youth?
Everything about Arsenal is intelligent, committed, and high level. You can see that all those players work for each other. Always remember, this is the youngest squad in the league, they have no right to be this good, this fast.
Top 4 is really on now. We closed out March 4 points clear of United with a game in hand. We’ve turned the pressure over to Spurs and West Ham.
If you thought 70 points was the number we needed to be at, then consider this:
10 games left
16 points to 70
5 wins. 1 draw = 16 points
Our next 3 games.
- Palace
- Brighton
- Southampton
If we can win those games, we are very, very, very close to hitting our target.
It also means Spurs and West Ham have finer margins to deal with if they want to take our place.
Spurs need 7 wins from 10. So do West Ham.
We need West Ham to win tomorrow.
They are in great shape in the Europa League. Beat Lyon and they will have Frankfurt or Barcelona in the next round. That game will come right when we play them. Do you think a bunch of quite old players are going to be thinking about Arsenal when they have a trip to the Camp Nou brewing? I hope not. West Ham are less likely to put on a 10 game run than Spurs.
The season is in our hands, we have the special sauce, the momentum, and everyone in the league can see it.
It’s just a joy being an Arsenal fan right now. I said at the start of the season that fan connection would be huge. It’s easy to be a supporter when things are going well, less so when things are tough. Our fans have been there through every moment this season, that faith has turbocharged the development of the kids. No player fears 22nd minute groans with misplaced passes because the fans decided to back the kids. I’ve told you before, I was getting leaks that some of the players didn’t like playing at The Emirates, I bet that’s not the case now, because that place is a damn fortress.
Arteta has done a spectacular job on that front. Making IRL tickets worth the expense.
Now, let’s pray for healthy bodies after the break, because my word, are we going to need everyone fit to help.
NOW LISTEN TO THE NEW PODCAST.
Any idea what was with the yellow shorts?
We had many problems tonight but AOS was
definitely not one at them.
The forward line is a total
Mess
Oops, wrong sport
Would love a West Ham win tomorrow, a draw wouldn’t be bad for us either.
Hopefully West Ham aren’t too leggy after Thursday.
There are several posters smugly and even angrily crowing about how they were always supporters of Arteta and how stupid others were not to agree
While this is a very special period, there were moments when supporting Arteta was less obvious than it is now
Arteta himself said that something ‘clicked’ for him and the team in the break after our first three losses
So, yes it is easier to support Arteta and the project now, but the earlier scepticism was not entirely unfounded
I would be delighted if we continue this trajectory 🙂
Just watching match of the day. Realised that the free kick that our goal came from was given away by Ashley young.
Makes it even sweeter. 😄
Ray in la only Nigel is ramming it up people regarding MA I wish he would not but that’s our nige
Southgate on Ben White’s recall: “It is easy to picture how he would slot into the way we would like to play. “He’s asked to progress the ball and play under pressure from the back & has that ability, because of his speed, to be able to defend high up the pitch.” “Very often in our games, we’re going to be in control of matches and we’re going to have to deal with quick transitions. So he’s got a lot of those attributes, I think he’s playing a big club where there is pressure to perform and that was a… Read more »
Rich, you gotta love it… best centre back in England.
Ray, just to defend some people… this place was a literal hell hole for about a year with people taking what they thought was vengeance on the treatment of Emery.
If believers want to crow a bit, let them have their moment.
Reality is, who gives a shit, if arsenal are winning, we’re all winning.
Great win. Three points. Clean sheet.
Almost all good, except for the news of Aaron Ramsdale’s injury.
I do hope it is a short spell in the sidelines… but in Leno we do have a perfect back up!
Thank goodness that we don’t have to rely on Runarsson!
In other news, an ex Gunner Luke Ayling was immense in helping Leeds beat Wolves… and guess what THEY CELEBRATED! An immense 3-2 comeback after going 2-0 down.
P.S. Ashley Young doing a “Reuben Neves” and complaining that we celebrated too much.
As if they wouldn’t if they had scored with that free kick deep into injury time…
What utter sad spoilsports!
Leedsgunner The fun police are the worst. I kind of get it though, when I seen Jota + Firmino celebrating the other day, I wanted to put my foot straight through the tv screen, particularly when I seen the Spurs result, it just added salt into the wounds. They’re not bitter about our celebrations, they’re angry that they lost, and we’re celebrating instead of them. I love that our players celebrate wins, I loved that after a loss they look mortified, it shows they care, and if we can press the buttons of all the right people during our celebrations,… Read more »
Great win
Kudos to arteta and Viva la Arsenal
LeedsGunner
I always smile at the hypocrites when complaining about our young players celebrating. It’s jealousy. Odegaard said he has never been to a club with the togetherness Arsenal has throughout the squad. Watching Ramsdale & Lens celebrating with s great to see. Arsenal have never been liked so the haters are just going to have to start getting used to being pissed off.
“Emi Martinez told Emi Beundia to turn down Arsenal, hahahahah!”
Grow up, you continually demonstrate a lack of any professionalism with your posts. Rise above with the maturity that your age demands Pedro.
I see that our starting 11 has been developed to become a well oiled machine. Our team play today outclassed the Villa’s in their backyard. Our performance is consistent for both home and away games.. Let’s hope that we can keep our starting 11 healthy for the remaining 10 games. I can see that the team wouldn’t suffer much only with these 4 backups; Leno, Cedric, Holding and ESR. ( I prefer Martinelli as our starting LW.).
West Ham v. Spurs
I suppose we should want a draw? Or I have to admit I love it every time when Spurs lose…
*I have to admit
Concentration levels are the key for the last 10 fixtures. Coaching staff should ensure the boys are up to it every moment of the game.Massive learning from all players.
Love it that Arteta says we need 90 goals per season maybe he brings in clinical striking talent. The togetherness of the team is already riling opposition. Maybe they want to join in the Arsenal party but are to proud to say in public.
Xavi: “In England, if you do a couple of things right and play a few good games, people talk about you being a legend. The media overreacts a lot and overrates a lot of the players.”
The same applies for managers.
Ernest
He is allowed to take the piss. What is football without that.
Its still a way to go and qualifying for CL will directly who we bring in. Its a given that we need a RVP like striker. Predator in the box and can at least hold the ball up a bit. I will say it again, Lewandowski is not an unrealistic target if we qualify. Big city, beautiful stadium, we are playing good football. We are ticking boxes. My other target would be Podence. I thought over the 2 legs we played against Wolves he was causing us endless problems. Would be ideal replacement for Pepe
“I suppose we should want a draw? Or I have to admit I love it every time when Spurs lose…“
Hoping for a West Ham win, Spurs are looking like they ca. Seriously challenge us for that fourth spot
Call me arrogant but we should be aiming for 3rd now. Chelsea draw a couple of games and we win our games it’s possible.
Listen to know it all sid trying desperately and floundering to put down the guy who’s bringing us back to CL
Real gooner talk
Leedsgunner
Its always funny to see Spurs lose , lets hope Rice and co dismantle them , a Moyes masterclass against Conte .
Samesong
A lot needs to happen for us to get to 3rd . A win over Chelsea , Other teams taking points off Chelsea . Meanwhile 4th is in our hands , just need to keep our cool like yesterday , be top professionals.
I’d take a draw in todays game. If Spurs are in touching distance of us by the time we play them, it will be so sweet when we beat them at their place.
Ben white i like , but occasionally he does have a tendency to switch off. Against Villa White was superb , i believe that Arteta must have had a word with him about the importance of staying focused for 90 minutes after he had a couple of poor positional moments v liverpool that in part contributed to liverpool’s 2 goals. If he had been more switched on for both goals they could have been prevented , though of course neither goal would i put him solely culpable for.. Giving Partey the freedom of the central midfield is a masterstroke by… Read more »
Ernest Reed – you don’t have to be the adult in the room it’s quite dull really
The realgooners demanded for a minimum of top 4 finish from day one, while others set mediocre targets.
ESR in Xhakas position would upset the balance, he should replace Laca.
Happy with the 3 points and we have time to prepare for Palace.
Paddy in his first season at Palace and Arteta 31 odd months into his project should make for a great game I still expect us to win.
I feel game weariness played a big part in the 2nd half where Pepe and Eddie should seek some introspection after such poor showings for both players.
The poster that suggested top 3 is a man i would want on my team. Alpha mentality.
Spurs are the biggest worry for me because of their strikers. If they decide to go on a scoring run then it will be difficult. But we can’t lose the NLD. They have very easy games left. Norwich, Burnley, Brentford, Brighton, Leicester and Newcastle. All these teams would either be safe, relegated or have nothing to play for. Burnley the potential banana skin but I think they will win a lot of these games. What they have to worry about is Liverpool, Westham , Arsenal and may be villa away. We just need to keep winning. 5 more wins and… Read more »
Good to see you back Sid.
If there were still any doubts about the fans support for Super Mik..
https://www.youtube.com/embed/57usyciQVEE
Great result and excellent individual performances, Partey, Gabriel, White, and Cedric. Saka showed us what we know and ESR slipped back into the starting 11 with ease. However I think the game showed as much about where we still need to improve as much how good we can be. That we need a goalscoring CF has been made clear, love Laca to bits but a clinical finisher would have had that game over by half time. We need more end product from the chances we create, and we’ll get there. We also have limited strength in depth and Eddie did… Read more »
As has been said, just hope our first 11 is available for most of the remaining games. If they are then I think we’ll be fine. Our consistency is now good with most of our players getting a steady 7/8 out of 10 with one or two players standing out. ESR should be given the opportunity to play instead of Xhaka or Laca depending on the opponent. If it were Xhaka, Tierney could be asked to play a little more defensively and if Laca, Martinelli could interchange with him. ESR is such a skilful player that his ability to retain… Read more »
Surfer X – must admit I wished we could have come up with our own song and not just stolen Chelski’s Tommy Tuchel chant and had to downgrade the last line (from winning the Champions League to being in it). Makes us look like wannabes of Oligarch FC. I would have preferred more of a note to our own heritage with a dig at Chelsea. “Mike Arteta’s magic He wears a magic hat And when he saw the fourth placed trophy He said I’m having that – as it’s now a very real thing despite the concept being universally derided… Read more »
So Ashley Young, one of the biggest cheats to ever step onto a football field, said that Arsenal players over celebrated. Excuse me but #### off! I think these players have gone through enough over these past few years to justify celebrating the way they do. The fans were fantastic yesterday and I must admit it’s great to see the interaction between players and supporters which is something that I’ve not seen at our club for many many years. Just to highlight to Mr Young, maybe you should question your own on field actions over the years and think of… Read more »
White was good but Gabriel was immense. True leader and he should be captain before Tierney.
Laca and Eddie will leave in the summer so we need 2 top class strikers and another world class midfielder that can relegate xhakq to the bench.
With European football next season, we will need a bigger squad with better team rotation. Its important that we keep leno because we will then need another top GK as back up to ramsdale.
Yesterday Pepe seemed to forget how to play football. He made mistake after mistake. He could cost us the match. Eddie didn’t do much. Still he didn’t make any mistake.
@Invincibles Sure- I agree. But, my point was that was the fans unequivically backing the manager. Which is great to see- but also does act as a counter-point to some of the bs and negativity that has been posted about the direction of travel on here over the past couple of years. Arsenal needed a reboot after the Wenger-demise years and Emery. He wasnt first choice for many- which is fine and in the past- its all opinions and conjecture until you have evidence to see whats working and what doesnt. And, after a few misteps its now working- that… Read more »
Dissenter,
You don’t actually think villa are 1-2 players from being competitive at the very top do you?!?! (Well apart from the managers affect on the team)
“Did we have better players than Villa today? I think not, it’s Arteta’s organization that’s bearing fruit.We wont be out of depth plying Liverpool or city if we we can attract 1-2 top class players with a CL qualification.”
It is not just a top CF we need but Pepe’s shocking cameo illustrated our need for some experienced utility players like Milner to held grind out results next season.
With Cedric being more an attacking FB than Tomi he appears to be helping Saka be more dangerous as Cedric overlapping will create space and more options.
To compensate Tierney is playing deeper i.e a reverse of when Tomi plays . Main benefits are we now attack better down the right, no more aimless Tierney crosses and hopefully less muscle injuries for him
Always gives me a kick to see Spurs lose, even against Man U or Liverpool or Chelsea, but I think a draw against WHU would suit us better. A single point would mean Arsenal gained two on both. And neither would taake comfort from that, not in their struggle to overtake us.
What Wolves & Villa fail to understand is that our celebrations have nothing to do with them.
There’s a bond, something, going on at Arsenal that is transcendent & transformational – team, fans, manager – we can feel it. They can’t.
All about arsenal. Who cares about young in 2022? Please.
Ashley Young… Lol
What Wolves & Villa fail to understand is that our celebrations have nothing to do with them.
There’s a bond, something, going on at Arsenal that is transcendent & transformational – team, fans, manager – we can feel it. They can’t.
All about arsenal. Who cares about young in 2022? Please
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoZXEbo96Lg AY talking with his mouthful again
Jesse Marsch comes across as a really great guy.
I’m sure the Leeds players are already benefiting from his positivity.
Great to see most of us here converging on the fact that this project is going well. Long may it continue. Sone started out skeptical whijst others took a leap of faith early. All fair, I would say. I did a yo-yo quite a bit, but I’m now fully convinced and convicted (as the religious ones would say) Seems quite a number on here go to home games. Would be great to see if we can meet more Le-Grovers in-person. I do home games whenever I am in London during a home game. East Stand, centre line is where I… Read more »
Looking at other games today hope for a WHU win or draw at least they are coming off a big win but similar rest period to us a derby so I expect a tight game either way. Also hoping for a Man City win……only reason we are due to play Soton 16th April they win today we have another game rearranged as the FA Cup semi’s are 16/17 April. Great to go into the international break top 4, still going to need at least two good results against Tottenham, WHU, Chelsea and Man Utd but really like most I’m taking… Read more »
This is the vision Freddie Lu and Mert laid out,
its great that the team appointed after them have put in lots of time and money following their footsteps.
Frost “What Wolves & Villa fail to understand is that our celebrations have nothing to do with them.There’s a bond, something, going on at Arsenal that is transcendent & transformational – team, fans, manager – we can feel it. They can’t.” 100% You nailed it. A far cry from the time Freddie Ljungberg was telling the board the players had bad attitudes and didn’t care about the club. What a transformation under Arteta. I copped a lot of flak for backing his policy of non-negotiables but he’s been completely vindicated. Again. Compare these players togetherness to Guendouzi running around boasting… Read more »
Definitely want a westham win as spurs are defo a bigger threat.. good thing is we can go into every game thinking we can get something including Chelsea
Ashley Young – my abiding memory of him was when he was Man U.
He had his mouth open gormlessly as usual and just at that moment a bird decided to drop a load of shit in his mouth.
I took a hiatus from le-grove after the first few games of the season as I didn’t know where we were going. I was critical of: 1. Spending 50 million on white 2. Spending 30 on ramsdale 3. Arteta having no recognizable style of play 4. Arteta not taking the club in the right direction after 2 seasons in charge Man oh man, what a complete idiot I’ve been made to look! Ben White and ramsdale (+tomi) have been sensational, the recruitment team (huge kudos to edu, who got his fair share of abuse) nailed the last window. So much… Read more »
All these other teams hating on Arsenal know deep down we are doing great things.
Sid,
Welcome back
It seems like a real struggle for you to compliment Arteta. Rather than acknowledging his fundamental importance to our improvement, you attempt some mental gymnastics and prefer to imply Freddie and BFG were the real masterminds and that ‘ time and money follow(ed) their footsteps’.
It’s a slightly jaundiced angle to take but I guess we shouldn’t be surprised!
Arsenal played well yesterday considering that we played three difficult games in six days. We have consolidated fourth place with a game in hand over Manchester United. I think that today’s match between Spurs and West Ham may determine whether either of these two are serious challengers for fourth place. My gut feeling is that this game could turn out to be draw, which would be good news for us. One question, which needs to be answered. What happens to fourth place if West Ham were to win the Europa Cup and qualify for Champions League? Do they replace fourth… Read more »
RockyRoe, great post. I was not convinced either but I am more than happy to get off my fence. Only a couple of players I slightly groan to see on the team sheet otherwise there’s a lot to love.
Sid- any comments about RockyRoe’s post?
ES, five CL place allowed for one country so no problem!
Not trying to have a go but do you accept that Arteta’s lack of rotation was the the correct decision in the last three games or do you stick by view that we should have rested a few players on Wednesday? Obviously we won yesterday but was it too tight for comfort?
After the Newcastle owner beheaded 81 people in one day, some of them under age when they were caught posting against the Saudi government in social media. Beside, his air strikes killing the children of Yemen for 7 years Now, Man City’s owner was pictured hugging and strolling with Syria’s mass-murdering tyrant Bashar al-Assad, who has used chemical weapons on his own citizens. Amnesty International said both Assad and the UAE are guilty of“human rights violations and war crimes.* Is the UK government going to give them the Chelsea owner treatments or wait until their relationship with the US or… Read more »
Bravo SurferX re your earlier post. I agree and know where you are coming from when you say this feels like a proper Arsenal side. We will likely never see a better quality of football played then under the peak Wenger era but this side isn’t that anyway (although they can play some sublime stuff don’t get me wrong). They are more an early George Graham team with the academy influence and a real steely resilience and strong characters throughout the squad (again early GG teams were also exciting to watch judging by what my dad would tell me and… Read more »
Bob N16
I expressed previously my opinion.
I would have rotated my squad for the Liverpool game.
As I posted previously the two critical games were against Leicester and Aston Villa. Realistically we needed 6 points from those games.
Anyway we won both games and that is what matters.
When a team is mature, not only you play with more confidence. You also run less because you know the position of your teammates well and you know what they will do. That help a lot.
Also our starting 11 needs to build up experience against both strong teams and teams with low block. Now that they can play MC and the Pool equal, they can take on the Spuds and Chelsea with confidence.
No doubt now that the refs will give more pens to Man U to help them win to get 4th.
Thanks Bob N16, missed you too.
The reason you need me to comment on Rockyroes post is you hate contradiction. If i point to contradiction and pervese incentives ( where the solution causes more problems than it solves) your mind thinks Sid is an enemy of progress.
“”””Is the UK government going to give them the Chelsea owner treatments or wait until their relationship with the US or UK breaks down and then sanction them””””
Your answer is right there, im telling you for free!
Sorry Sid, 12.40 – ‘contradictions and perverse incentives’ if you can be bothered can you elaborate on this statement as I don’t understand it.
When I pointed out Rockyroe’s post where he’d acknowledged that he was wrong about how he’d judged Arteta and the path Arsenal were taking, I thought that you might it might have some resonance with you.
Time up – do you think we should have a problem with our Emirates sponsorship?
Sid If we want to be in a position to influence geopolitics, then we can’t completely alienate other countries. It’s better to sit on information and gather intelligence, than to waste leverage when we don’t really need it. Russian owned assets on British soil are leverage Russian owned banks + businesses on British soil are leverage Oligarchs and their families living on Western Soil are leverage We can only ban countries from our payment systems, if they’re using them to begin with. We can only confiscate their money, if we know where they keep it, and have a paper trail… Read more »
Slightly off topic, PSG are getting handed their arses at Monaco. That might be enough to see Poch get the push.
Inside right
How’s Tchouameni playing?
Didn’t watch the whole game, but the bit I saw he seemed OK. PSG look fragile at the back. He did put the boot into Neymar and got booked.
I watched a clip of that post match interview Ashley Young garage after yesterday’s game
In fairness to him, the interviewer teed him up, by asking about how Arsenal celebrated
Sports ‘journalists’ are always trying to create news, rather than just report the news.
PSG lost 3-0 against Monaco. The end is nigh for Poch.
@Rich, my father told me, you live with pigs, you smell like pigs.
He also told me, there was a man walking naked and his longstuff kept swinging up, down, up down. A hyena followed him thinking it would fall off……
Maddison with a beauty.
2 great goals in this match
So that’s Agbonlahor, Young, & Neves coming out to say they don’t like the way we celebrated our wins.
Lol now I’m actually enjoying our celebrations even more.
Here’s hoping all 11 players do Cartwheels when we win against Palace.
Crystal Palace just smashed Everton and they are going to Wembley , Patrick Viera doing wonders with the squad . Palace away is gonna be way more tough than Villa .
DevineSherlock.
Palace did a good job last summer [and the summer before]
They bought some of the best young talent in the championship and it’s paying off.
They have a group of Eze, Rak-Sakyi, Mitchell, Conor Gallagher, Marc Guéhi, Nya Kirby, Nathan Ferguson and Michael Olise,
Gallagher will go back to Chelsea to languish on the bench but Palace will be okay
Dissenter
If as Pedro suggests City are eyeing Arteta as succesor to Pep , we should definitely keep Patrick Viera in our list !
barca v real today… any question about real stomping them? may watch this. lewandowski’s gotta be headed to madrid next season, no way haaland goes to la liga…
They had good players before too but its the addition of Viera that has given them a playing style and an identity.
wouldn’t mind potter/viera if tets gets poached
diving the test will be next year i think. a lot of older players in that squad, as well theyve made some great purchases, the attack is quite solid no? and guehi. doubt theyb keep the chelsea lad next season though and that will be a big loss
West ham are useless
Damn, Harry Kane with a Cesc like assist…someone said we should be worried about Spurs more than any other team chasing that CL spot.
Kane and Son combination is quite something. West Ham are giving a lot of space and time to Spurs to play their own game, looks like easy 3 points for them. I expected more resistance from West Ham.
Let the Spursiness commence.
ES One question, which needs to be answered. What happens to fourth place if West Ham were to win the Europa Cup and qualify for Champions League? Do they replace fourth place finisher? If a team outside the top 4 wins the CL then the 4th placed team drops Ito the EL If a team outside the top 4 wins the EL as Bob says England gets 5 CL places If there are indeed 5 English teams in the CL and say Palace win the FA Cup or Leicester win the EL conference then then there won’t in all likelihood… Read more »
10 fekking own goals for Spurs this season ?!
Mike Dean to retire at end of season, now we just need West Ham to get a result and the weekend will have been excellent!
Diss
Gallagher will go back to Chelsea to languish on the bench but Palace will be okay
Don’t think that will happen. Pretty convinced they will sell either Jorginho and or Kante. Both are still decent players but getting to the latter stages of their careers and both have value.
Gheui will almost certainly be sold this season but the problem any buyer has that Chelsea were said to have a 25% sell on clause as well as a buy back option
I made the point a few days ago that Arteta wanting Arsenal to score 90 + goals a season is a tall order when you consider that he thought Aubamayang/willock were surplus to requirements, and kept Lacazette ( 2 goals from open play) and plays xhaka ( no goals in 16 months) in a more advanced position, plus he has benched our top scorer fot the last 3 months (and no he hasn’t been injured).. I will be interested to see how Arteta addresses this area as it is obviously a concern for him to highlight the discrepancy compared to… Read more »