ARSENAL VS MANCHESTER UNITED – IT MATTERS AGAIN

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Arsenal vs Manchester United isn’t the game it used to be, but for once, a game against the two clubs, in April, finally has something riding on it outside nostalgia.

Manchester United, according to 538, has a 1% chance of top4, but they are still a team of very good individuals, and Ronaldo will start and he’s obviously going to pull out a superhuman performance if he’s started after the absolutely horrendous crisis in his personal life. That could spark United so we have to be prepared that there’s a game on our hands.

Arsenal, according to the same 538 analysis now has a 51% chance of making it into the top 4.

Spurs and Arsenal, tracking on the same points, but Arsenal has a problematic goal difference. The reason I’m not concerned about that is the hope we can kick up a head of steam and make the game against them the decider.

Am I dreaming? If rather not speak…

United have had one more day rest than us. I also think it’s worth remembering that a total spanking and humiliation generally doesn’t mean the next game is going to be the same. I don’t know what the data is, but when a team gets hammered, they generally play a much more disciplined game the week after in a bid to rectify it. I’d rather play a team with three 1-0 losses on the bounce than go to a team licking wounds from a humiliation.

I’d also rather go into a home game after pulling off a miracle win no one saw coming with a beaten-up squad.

Arteta has to keep the adrenaline firing. He has to have the top 4 bonus pinned to the wall. If top 4 were a person in an office, we’d be so close, it’d be an HR complaint. Beat United, in front of the home fans, and we’ll be in really sexy form heading into a West Ham game you’d have to imagine David Moyes will not really be interested in.

Lose… and we’ll have to listen to all the whingers again and it’ll be a coin toss of a race until the end of the season.

This is a big game.

If we play the way we did against Chelsea, we’ll win, it’s as simple as that.

Things I’m looking for?

We really need to sharpen at the back. Ben White needs to find his swagger, he’s been in rough form. Aaron Ramsdale needs to get his confidence back, I don’t like seeing him punching balls and pushing shots into dangerous areas, because I have seen him at peak, and peak Aaron is a force of nature. Tomiyasu might be back in the mixer if training goes well today, I’d have him at right-back. I have to be honest, I would rather have Bukayo as a left-wingback against the United forward line, Tavares is still very green, and Bukayo is just a far more accomplished player for a game of this magnitude.

The big thing? We need to be ruthless with our chances. We scored 4 goals from 4 shots on target against Chelsea. If we’re going to beat United, we have to find our finishing boots. An in-form Eddie gives me confidence we have someone who will 1) get into dangerous positions 2) finish a half chance. The great thing about Eddie is he’s played so little, it’s very hard to prepare for him.

The most important people in that ground are the home fans. They’ve been fucking magnificent this season. I’ve been trying to put my finger on what is missing with a certain type of very online fan and I think it’s the lack of understanding around proper fan culture. Someone told me yesterday, on my own site, that they wanted a truce on shitting on Arsenal… if we beat United. This is the day after beating the European Champions.

Firstly, supporting a club can’t be predicated on winning every game. Secondly, that sort of rhetoric is shaken out of you at a young age in England. Criticise the club, have a pop at players, protest, scream in your car on the internet after a loss… but when it comes to winning games, if your first thought is how you can degrade it or minimize its impact… you are doing it wrong. Jurgen Klopp said the after the semi with Benfica, ‘if I can’t be happy after a win, what is the point?’.

Part of it comes from a generation of fans who watch youtube videos from standards merchants. They think that getting excited about a win or the chase for top 4 means you aren’t elite. It’s a badge of honor to put themselves above the above joy of every other Arsenal fan. It’s not. People that behave like that, more often than not, have no standards in their own personal lives and it’s just a projection… the equivalent of a celeb standing next to a private jet, only to get on a Ryanair flight.

The best foreign fans get the culture, they work hard to be a part of it, they are often crazier than the home fans. Pop down to O’Hanolons in New York if you want to see that in action. When I moved away, the thing I missed the most was the shared misery of being in the stadium with 60,000 others that were feeling the same. So when you see people trying to create shared misery after wins, it rankles. The home fans this season get it, they know the squad is young, they see something special is brewing. That atmosphere that has been created this season home and away has been worth 10 points, it’s magic, it’s just a shame that some people are so desperate to seem important, they can’t even enjoy a win. Why bother?

MOAN OVER.

Let’s hope there’s a massive response. We’re in the mixer. We need to be after tomorrow. The only way that happens is if the team shows up and the fans do the same.

I CANNOT WAIT.

P.S. Watch our podcast. We had the biggest 24hrs we’ve ever had post-Chelsea game. It is AMAZING that more people tune in after a win.

ACAST | SPOTIFY | AUDIBLE

348 Comments
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raptora

Honestly I would blame Arteta for our team losing focus for 3 games as the team in the last 2 games is completely different to the one in those 3 games. He couldn’t motivate our team for games versus the minor clubs and he must be able to do so as the team motivates on their own in the big games like the ones vs Chelsea and Manure. He needs to get better in that swiftly but just like he deserves the critique, I’ll say that we’ve just achieved 2 incredible wins and if I was sitting next to him… Read more »

MidwestGun

4 goals for Jesus …. sheesh

Dissenter

We like to say the premier league is the most competitive league in the world but the total point haulage and GD of the to- two team negates this narrative
Liverpool and City have a goal differences of +61 and +58 respectively., that’s not a sign of a competitive league

LoveSausage

Leeds,

I’d rather ship him out on loan and let someone else take the risk on his development. Several times in the game, he pushed up all the way to their penalty box and then just lingered there, letting ESR deal with defending.

After 2.5 years of Artetaball, if there’s one thing I know about the man, it’s that he loves positional discipline. He sure as shit didn’t instruct him to play like that. So in addition to being technically poor, he doesn’t seem to follow instructions either.

WengerEagle

LOL at Merse’s pronunciation of Jesus.

‘Jay-Sue’.

WengerEagle

”4 goals for Jesus …. sheesh”

You might even say ‘Jesus’…

I’ll get my jacket.

LoveSausage

G Jesus is making me eat my words from yesterday.

Gabriel – if you’re reading Le Grove, my sincerest apologies for spouting shit about you! Come to Arsenal!

Mr Serge

Make that 4 Jesus

MidwestGun

Haha Yep Eagle. Jokes write themselves with him.

Sly

Great win today
I have elneny as my motm, he’s really stepped up his game and really stepped in for partey (I’ll credit arteta)
Mobile, aggressive in defensive midfield and forward passing has come in to his game
Saka, ode, Nketiah, xhaka had great performances
We don’t talk about Nuno🤦🏽‍♂️ In defense but had positive contributions offensively. I think he’ll improve with coaching
Ramsdale is shaky atm
Big credit to arteta and the team. Very impressive

Habesha Gooner

Site was down. Fantastic win. We rode our luck in a lot of moments. But the result is what mattered today. Nuno Tavarez needs protection from himself the rest of the season. We need to play tomi or white ar RB. Tavarez and Cedric on each side is a gamble we don’t need to take. We need an upgrade on him if he plays like this. Our midfield was porous at times too. But all that mattered was the 3 points. In other news, Gabriel Jesus is smashing it today. There is a very good striker there. We just need… Read more »

Mr Serge

Diss it is competitive just those two are playing it by themselves the rest of us are competing believe that man

Csn I say I was one of the ones advocating Jesus last night lol

Dissenter

Mr Serge
Yea, I see your face as the lad keeps banging in the goals
He’s starter for Brazil, that alone should be enough to keep anyone motivated to stay at their best.

MidwestGun

Man…. I still can’t believe this season.. Lose to 3 fairly crap teams scoring what 2 goals in those 3? and then take down Chelski and United with 7 goals in the 2 matches and honestly it could have been a lot more.

Brian Muff

Classic Jesus smashing in 4 today. He must read le grove!!!

Samesong

Will this start a bidding war now for Jesus?

MidwestGun

Is it a done deal that Jesus is even leaving?

Samesong

Won’t be hearing the stat comparison with Lacazette now.

Dissenter

Samesong
Where else can he go in England

We have prime position because both the manager and DoF have worked with him before.
He has only one year left so city don’t have that much say.

He’s ours until we eff it up.

Habesha Gooner

We can’t whip out the “I told you so” card on Gabriel Jesus. But I genuinely believe he can get 20 to 25 goals a season in all competitions. I have seen him the last few years. And I also believe he can make our wingers and attacking midfielders better because he is technical, agressive in pressing and can run in behind. The only weakness is aerial duels. But we can’t get players worse than him just because they are better in the air. There are few that are better than him in the market. Especially at the ridiculous price… Read more »

Dissenter

Midwest
He refused to sign an extension because of a lack of game time and then they bought Haaland
Last summer they went all out for Kane

He knows he’s not going to play much at city and he’s already 25 years old. It’s also a World Cup year and he may want to be certain his Brazilian place is secure.

andy1886

Getting close to ‘come on You Bees’ time! Could there still be another twist to come?

Danny

Gotta stop playing ESR on the wing, a complete waste of time for our best player.
Hopfully we wont see Cedric anymore, Tomiyasu showed in his 2 minutes what we’ve been missing.

CG

Arsenal 3 Manchester United 1

Thats was sort of game A. Wenger gave us for x 2 decades. An End to End classic.
The JSP and tactics in the bin where they belong.

Wenger stalwarts Xhaka, Elneny and Eddie N all covering huge swathes of that big Emirates pitch to assist with the 3 points,

Toney the Gooner to do more damage shortly……

Dissenter

Habesha
He will definitely raise the game of the players around him because he’s coming from a very successful city team.

Matt

Ericsson to score would be phenomenal!

Habesha Gooner

Midwest
He has a year left. And city are lining up Haaland after they signed Julian Alvarez in january. He is definitely leaving. They won’t let him go if they don’t get Haaland though. But they will lose him for free the next summer. They also have a young striker called Kakky or something.

Habesha Gooner

Dissenter
Yeah definitely. I would prefer Darwin Nunez if we can get him. If not I would take Jesus in a heart beat. He is better than all the strikers we have been linked with apart from Nunez for me. Vlahovic was also a miss. And we can’t get Osihmen.

Leedsgunner

Earlier today I, along with others, were saying Gabriel Jesus would be a fabulous signing for us and Pedro disagreed with the following… “Leeds, my man… why would we want someone who doesn’t score?” Pedro, my dear sir, may I refer you to today’s game that Gabi J played in today? I think he’s answered your question most eloquently. 😂😂😂 In one game equaled and then surpassed Laca’s goal output for the season. By the way, I mention your quote Pedro, not to rub it in your face but because I know we both want the best for Arsenal. I… Read more »

MidwestGun

Diss/Habesha – Ok.. I’m sure he will have other suitors though.. too. Although we definitely have the insider Brazilian connections if that’s what they decide.

Thorough

If we blow top 4 now Im going to break something.

izzo

I remember suggesting Gabriel Jesus if we were shopping for PL strikers. Still think we should go bigger for CF position and use Jesus as a Pepe replacement and likely left wing starter/back up striker/plan b.

MidwestGun

About to become the biggest Brentford fans ever in about an hour.. myself. Come on Erikson and Toney.

Leedsgunner

*or so…

Globalgunner

Why so quick to dump the lad Tavares. I thought we had a manager who could improve youngsters?

MidwestGun

I’m not dumping him Global.. I think he can improve.. if we can figure out a way to rein in the bad stuff and still let him use his energy and enthusiasm to good purpose. I do understand why some people are like wtf.. though.

Mark

Andy 18
“On my way to the game, my prediction is 3:1 and unless the officials are dodgy I can see a red card for One of United’s agricultural players.”

Spot on with your prediction, and Fernandes ( dirty little Cunt should have seen red.

Great win today, let’s see what Brentford can do for us. I’d take Toney up front for us, might do a lot with all the crosses we send in.

Batistuta

Man did i sure pick the perfect game to attend, that was not good for my BP either as a gooner or a gambler who penned us down to win that one.

I don’t like Tavares or Cedric and Ramsdale seems to be running on stupid overconfidence with some of the stuff he did in the first half.

Saka brilliant and so was Odegaard. We really do need at least 3 strikers coming in this summer.

Now for Brentford to bring this ACCA home for me

Leedsgunner

Global

“Why so quick to dump the lad Tavares. I thought we had a manager who could improve youngsters?“

Exactly… good point well made sir.

Gommit

Waiting for a Sp*rs game to begin is a weird way to spend a Saturday…

MidwestGun

It’s a Brentford game Gommit… 😀

Madhu

Bruno G scored again today. Somehow feel we missed this one in Jan TW. Looks a very good player and a superb chip finish.
Great win for us though had couple of.jeart attacks watching yeh game. Our defence seems to look shaky now. But holding steafies them. Have to get him.in defence somehow for the run in.
Xhaka and.Mo.take.a now. Superb shift by them and assist for Mo on that xhaka thunderbolt. Bruno F was lucky not.be get a red card for his late challenge on Nuno. Studs up challenge and VAR looked at it and didn’t overturn it. COYG.

Time Up

Good results, all we need now 3 wins out of our 5 games and we’ll get CL football.

Northbanker

Best way to improve Tavares is to accept he is not a LB. Put him in left side midfield and don’t let him shoot from outside the box until he has learnt how

Chris

Didn’t get to see the game today but just in and seen the result. Fantastic although I read it was a bit topsy turvy at times. I will hopefully get to watch it back later or tomorrow.

At this stage though, just give us the 3 points each time.

For now, come on The Bees!!

Samesong

Brentford corners are spot on!

raptora

Spuds can kiss my hairy pork sword!

Still games left to go though.

Emiratesstroller

West Ham were forced to play today with only one Centre Back [Dawson] against Chelsea. The
other three on their books were out with long term injuries.

Dawson was red carded. So he will be unavailable for our game next weekend. It will be interesting to see if Zouma and Diop can recover to play against us.

Otherwise West Ham may be playing without established CBs.