If you are coming here thinking I’m going to gloss over the luck today, you’d be wrong.
We were lucky.
Woodwork. Marginal offsides. Missed penalties. A worldie save. A blatant handball.
That second half was built for a United comeback.
Do I give a f*ck? Absolutely not. Arsenal haven’t rode their luck against a big team all year, we haven’t had VAR work in our favor, nothing has gone for us all season. That changed today.
Make no mistake, that was a pretty poor performance from Arsenal. When people say age doesn’t matter, watch the match back, those kids were wrecked by nerves.
Defensively, we were shambolic at times. Gabriel and Ben White clearly had Ronaldo posters on their wall as kids, they were petrified of a man 12 years their senior. Cedric was getting roasted all game by Sancho, he had no confidence moving the ball forward, and he struggled. Nuno Tavares was a mess, his decision-making was poor all game, and he had some real donut moments despite the great goal. Aaron Ramsdale read too much into his good press and now he’s suffering, because he’s just not the same guy he was 4 months ago.
That’s mostly down to inexperience.
But you know what? They did enough. They will learn so much from being under siege playing below par.
Attack-wise, I thought we were really sharp. League One Eddie has transformed our attack, he runs the lines, he’s a nuisance, and he, you know, does striker things like shoot. Does anyone doubt he’s Premier League levels? They don’t. I hope we sign him to a new deal.
Our two best players were Big Mo and Granit Xhaka. They were sensational for the second time in a week. Elneny just does the simple things, he reads play well, breaks it up, then plays the simple pass with an 88% success rate. Granit was a monster, the man bleeds Arsenal even though we don’t credit that reality, his pass completion rate was 96%, and that goal was fucking outrageous. The kisses he blew to the fans felt very, very special.
Defensively though, we were a bit of a car crash, we let Ronaldo connect their wingers in the same way Lacazette has done for us during the dry times. You know United are in trouble when they can’t even ride a narrative. Ronaldo is dealing with an extreme mental toll, he comes out and scores from nothing, the winds of inevitability start blowing, United wins a penalty… and Bruno gets it? What the hell was that about? He put it wide and United struggled for anything after that.
Bukayo Saka was key to Nuno’s opener but looked in trouble all game. Arteta said he was in pain but insisted he start. The gamble paid off with the three points, but at what cost to his body?
Still, let’s worry about that next week. Right now, we can celebrate a monster win. 7 goals against United and Chelsea. We’re now leading Spurs in the table, that will likely change after Brentford, but the point here is we’re going to ask questions of them.
Game the next 5 games out with me:
Assume Spurs win today. They have to beat Leicester next Sunday, Brendan’s team has been awful this season, but they are more than capable of doing a job, don’t count on it though.
West Ham will likely lose to Chelsea tomorrow, if that happens, Europe via the league is a pipedream. The Europa is where it’s at for them. They have Frankfurt on Thursday. If they don’t get beaten 3-0, chances are, they are going to rest all their stars for the Arsenal game. It would be fucking nuts to do anything else, beating Frankfurt then Rangers or Leipzig is a lot easier than lucking out in the Premier League.
If Arsenal can take max points there, then we go into a hero weekend. We play Leeds, who will be safe. Spurs go to Anfield, who will 100% be in the title race needing a win at home.
We could go into that game at the bowl ahead on points now. Get a point there and we are in very, very good shape for our final two games against an in form Newcastle and an out of sorts Everton.
This is where we wanted to be this season. Competing for top 4 until the final games of the season. All the muppets that spent the last three weeks telling me we’d finish 8th, where are you now? We’re 10 points from hitting 70. I’m not sure we’ll deliver on that, but getting 10 points from 15 feels a little more achievable than it did 2 games ago.
Then factor the bigger picture so many have refused to see…
Rio Ferdinand was on TV earlier saying United need to be honest about where they are and copy Arsenal. He also said it’s stupid to buy a striker that isn’t perfect for your long-term vision. That’s Rio Ferdinand purring over what we’ve done. Ralf Rangnick thinks United needs 10 new players and at least 6 years to get to Liverpool’s level. Arsenal has done the hard work, we’ve cleared out 20+ players, signed in a load of young players with high ceilings. Whether it was a visionary plan or an accident is another question. Point is, we’ve stumbled on the smartest way to get back to the top. We have been honest about who we are and everyone is noticing.
Now let’s talk about another stupidly obvious point that no one wanted to hear after 3 losses. Arsenal are 4th in the league with 5 games to go without a recognized certified banger of a striker. We’ve scored 52 goals. Joint bottom of the top 7 with West Ham. But… we’re 4th and we don’t score goals. How can anyone that claims football knowledge not recognize that if we put an elite striker in that side we are a Champions League level team?
Edu is talking about one or two signings this summer. That will be a striker, that scores more than 10 goals a season, that will cost in the range of £60m+. Jesus isn’t going to be that guy, even though he’s not managed his 5th goal in the Prem this season. It’ll be a proper name that is tall, can score goals, that can run the line, and bully defenders. Hopefully Eddie can show enough this season to prove he can compete with that player. That’d save us spending on a back-up.
The second player will be an elite midfielder that can compete with Thomas Partey. My hope is it’s Neves. Did I see that Declan Rice refused a contract at West Ham? I did. Arsenal like him, who doesn’t. I’m not sure we’re rich enough for either. Whoever it is will reduce our reliance on our Ghanaian superstar. Those two players alone would have us taking Chelsea’s 3rd place this season.
I doubt we’ll leave it at two, but we’ll be smart with our other signings. Free transfers and players with 18 months left on their deal will fill out the remaining holes.
Arsenal are not far from being a title-challenging team. Liverpool will dip post-Salah/VVD. City will dip when Pep packs it in. Then we’ll be there, ready, with a team of young players that have transitioned to experienced players in their prime.
The overarching point, is don’t listen to the doom prophecies that happen after every blip. Don’t listen to the folk that say we should let Arteta run his deal down next season or think it is insightful and disqualifying to say he makes errors. Don’t listen to people that believed Arsenal were considering firing Arteta if he only made Europe. This is a long-term plan, it is on track, and I will maintain that regardless of the finish this season.
… but, a top 4 finish would be epic. That is the stretch goal. That would be us a year ahead of schedule. It would be sensational considering what we don’t have in the squad. The system is solid, the young players we have are developing Arsenal IP every single game, this project will be the benchmark for how you rebuild with limited funds.
Enjoy your day. Get your Brentford shirt on. Pray for something Spursy.
Podcast will happen later today, I’m flying to New Mexico! x
Its been a great day
Oh
The
Bankz is here for the tr4phy again
4th
Tr4phy
Ruined my day Mofo’s
Sorry guys.
You can’t beat me to this
Bankz by 2 seconds lol
Still shocked we took the 6 available from Chelsea and United after losing 9 points to bottom 10 teams.
Eddie really came in and gave our attack a new dimension
What a day! Rode our luck a bit, but kudos to the squad for bouncing back.
12Lauren
Never been a Fan of Mo.He surpassed his performance on Wednesday .
IF Brentford do us a favour later, and we win next two, then potential date and place for St Totteringham Day’s celebrations could be 12th of May at WHL? Do I dare to dream? It would be sweet.
Elneny had another solid game kept it simple coming off the back of his Chelsea performance another that deserved more minutes.
Tavares a big worry no doubt Ramsdale has to settle down he was shaky in the first half nearly gave away a disaster of a goal Gabriel bailed him out.
Odegaard and Xhaka both had good games, Tomiyasu has to come in shift Cedric to LB we were all over the place at full back but great to put the pressure back on Tottenham and that’s the small chance United had top 4 totally gone.
Around 60th minute mark I was hoping Nuno would get sent off in order to strengthen us. I was that desperate.
Wow, fantastic week, back to back wins over two huge rivals! Nervy game, amazing that Rinaldo didn’t take the pen at 2-1, but what a goal from Granit Xhaka. He has kept his head down and gone about his work with a professional understated efficiency, and it’s difficult to criticise him right now. These big wins will only make these players grow in belief, they are milestone victories for our youngsters knowing they can beat the Chelsea’s and United’s of this world is massive in terms of development. Massive credit has to go to Arteta for this new found steely… Read more »
*Ronaldo
Agree with you re Xhaka and Elneny, totally disagree with you re Ramsdale, he was never going to keep up his earlier form and made by the way one brilliant save today..
To say he’s believing his own hype is just lazy
Nervy game, like the Chelsea game, two poor defences, luckily united was worse. Our first goal was shocking defending by united. Love it. I’ve given xhaka grief on here, but credit where it’s due. He has been good the last 2 games, not the long term answer, but Well done. Eddie getting starts and looking good, who would have thought it. Saying he’s not good enough when he was getting 15 minutes at the end of games we were usually losing. And complaining he wasn’t scoring, lol. We rode the luck, even var didn’t screw us today, so that’s a… Read more »
Nuno is just not a defender, he will reduce his footballing errors as he gets older but he can’t defend at the moment, add a proper back up to KT to the shopping list.
What a crazy match! Fate definitely favoured us on that one but I’ll take it.
Nuno really struggled and I’m surprised at how bad his shooting is from around the box given he’s a professional. It’s like he grew up playing rugby.
We learnt we have agreed terms with Jesus and he then spanks in 4 to mug a lot of le Grover’s off get in beating manure
“Eddie getting starts and looking good, who would have thought it.”
————————————————————————————————
Pierre.
Jesus must be a keen Le Grove reader because he has just more than doubled his entire season PL tally today, lol.
Lol the day Jesus is linked with us he hits four, maybe pep will keep him and we can knicķ haaland! Lol
WE, Jesus took my slander personally
Winning ugly is something the lads need to be able to do. Yes, there were huge dollops of luck, but you have to be able to take advantage of those breaks, and we did. I’m over the fucking moon to beat Man Ure. I absolutely hate them. So I’m prancing around like Graham frigging Norton right now. There is individual quality in that Ure side so the lads have done a job today. Although some of the lads need to take Tavares around the back of the cycle sheds and go to work on him with a 2×4. Looking ahead… Read more »
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. 😂😂😂 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 know this season, you’ve gotten more things right than wrong… and goodness know I… Read more »
Leeds,
I will eat the L. I deserve it.
However, I do not believe he will sign as our mail striker.
Might also get a new deal at City.
Don’t think he will sign a new deal at city due to haland going he won’t be playing .plus I hear he has agreed personal terms with us 100k a week double what he is on
Football, bloody hell. I’m on the west coast of the states for work and had to wake up extra early, but worth every second.
Credit to the manager—I did not know he could adapt to overcome our injuries and stop the slide, and he’s proven me fully wrong on that this week. Two massive, massive victories and we’re right back in contention for that fourth spot. This team is clearly made of sterner stuff than I’m used to and it’s lovely to see.
we may have been lucky etc but noooo one can honestly say utd were the better team out there fernandes saved from a red card in 2nd half. rrams w a save to putn one against the post. this defensive form is not a lack of focus its exactly what happens in the prem when opposition teams do their research, your strengths get nullified and youre forced to strengthen yer weaknesses. doesnt help that ramsdale still looks unfit after the hip injury. that is a type of injury that disrupts every part of your body – you dont think about… Read more »
VAR is such a joke. Eddie had a good goal chalked off today.
I sincerely hope the club don’t get excited about one decent G Jesus showing. He is not the answer. Better value with more reliability out there for the money.
Come on Brentford… Carpe Diem!
Donut moments = Listening to Ferdinand spout a load of shite
Cmon brentford
Spurs look like idiots in purple too
Great win today we did ride our luck at times but who cares ee have had more than our fair share of the bad luck.
Have yo agree with a lot of comments about extending Elneny as a squad player he is proving his worth. Eddie should also be signed. Jesus if he is a Pepe replacement.
Come on you Gunners
Come on Brentford
As long as pep and klopp are around I am not expecting any dips to the point that we can win the title while they are here. We absolutely rode our luck today. Ramsdale is off form but still he isn’t shit even at his worst. He will regain his form and confidence. I still see pedro is underrating Gabriel Jesus. I guess if he signs we are going to find out how good he is. And he isn’t staying at city. Fabrizio and Ornstein both confirmed he is leaving. It will be a matter of if he will leave… Read more »
Brentford playing brightly and with purpose.
I like GJ with his positional sense and intelligence with movement
I think he’ll add dynamism to our front line
Great post Pedro, Arsenal blogs are always easier after a win, especially against top end clubs. We had our fair share of luck today and more especially the reffing decisions. There were several events that ould easily have been penalties, and Tavares was very very lucky. Not that it is not overdue, we have been sucking the hind tit in the luck/decisions department for the whole season. It was fantastic listening to the Man U pods and vlogs ranting at the unfairness of the decisions……welcome to our world. I am sure I remember a similar situation in the reverse fixture… Read more »
I told you we would win
Can’t disagree with any of that Pedro, which may well be a first!
You will have to revise your prediction of nine points from our last handful of games though….
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!!
Andy, I think one more win and we’re clear for Europe next season.
So if 70 points is enough historically for fourth 10 points from 5 games is surely possible for us and I can start dreaming about that champions league music at the start of a midweek Arsensl game.
Just looking at the table now, somewhat idly, but if Liverpool can rattle a few goals past Spurs and we can get a big win against Leeds at home, the goal difference currently in Spurs’ favour may also become less of a factor and possibly go in our favour.
John G,
West Ham is the big one. If they get beaten tomorrow, they’ll hopefully rest players for Eirpea.
A mix of players lacking focus / preserving their bodies might be good.
Just a shame LCFC will do the same at Spurs.
Damn Pedro, why did you have to point out that Liverpool will likely rest players, was banking on that game as a spuds loss
My son just said of the Tottenham away purple kit… “It’s the colour of my spit after I use the plaque displacement tablets…”
So proud. 😂😂😂
John, Liverpool won’t rest players!
Proud of your son too, Leeds.
Not watching the spuds but going by the stats Brentford are doing ok and may help our cause
Liverpool can’t rest players if they want to win the league…
Oh yes sorry Pedro just realised you were referring to Leicester. Off course Liverpool won’t rest players they are going for ghe title DOOH
Ridiculous dive by Son
Well I looked a bit silly there but I am very happy about it as my Liverpool banker is back on
I dont really care whether we rode our luck or not. Its swings and roundabouts. We have scored 7 goals in 2 games therein lies the difference. Worried that Saka looks quite seriously injured. Onwards and upwards.
Spurs are crap when it comes to carving a low block. Unless Kane or Son have a worldie, I am expecting them to drop points today. Bees will get something out of this. Beat westham and it will be ours to lose after that.
Yes if we lose Saka that will be another big loss
Hopefully we have some Horse placenta knocking around from the winger days, don’t think the opposition defence would want yo go near him as it will likely be a bit stinky by now 😉
Winger not Winger
Bloody autocorrect WENGER
Pedro, remember waving the white flag the bedwetter style just a week or so ago that the top four challenge was over? Or berating Bacary for his take on the Chelsea win while doing pretty much today what he did then……..attempting an honest assessment of what happened? 😉 But anyway, I thought we deserved it in both games, even if we rode our luck a bit. Re top four, I think Spurs are in trouble. I always thought their defense and mid were average at best but now it looks like their attacking trio have gone off the boil too.… Read more »
we will beat west ham
Well so far Spuds strategy of trying to bore Brentford to death is working. Hopefully Brentford get a deserved goal in the second half.
Come on Bees!!!
Brentford 0 Tottenham 0 at half time.
Brentford the better side.. had about 9 corners which they did nothing with.
Tom, would be great if we are in a position that the NLD won’t matter as my heart will probably beating out of my chest on that day
Great game, atmosphere was something else. Real tension in the stadium and some of the players were definitely affected by nerves. We cheered them through the 90 minutes & Tavares new we had his back. Mind you at time he was nervy as hell. Ramsdale made one amazing save from Dalot. As for Idegaard, omg what a player he is!! The loudest cheer of the day may have been his nutmeg. Road our luck but every team do a from time to time. My curry tonight is going to taste so sweet.
Ps: …and Jesus bagged 4, well said Leeds!
Mohammed Elneny is only 29 ! How the fuck is he still only 29 ? He is been around forever . Clearly Arsenal’s player of the month , the fact that he bossed Kante and Utd’s midfield in a matter of week . What a glorious week and one I never thought would happen . That super Mik Arteta song is so catchy and on point . Bravo to the lads .
Pedro, Not as a main striker…. If we can get Gabriel Jesus, he would be as a winger/2nd option as striker. It would be money spent to improve in more than 1 way. I expect Jonathan David or someone else along those lines to come in as well. With 5 subs next season, European football, we are going to need someone Arteta likes and trusts to go along with Martinelli, ESR, Saka and the new main striker who has size. Gabriel Jesus is such a good fit in our system it’s ridiculous. If he leaves, he and Arteta love each… Read more »
My word that Gabi Jesus show was on tonight , Pedro. Arshavin Vibes all over . Why cant we have him replace Pepe , we’d definitely score more .
Nervy win but I’m glad we crossed the line. I always maintained we’d get 70 points.
Now, with Tomi back, away from home play Cedric, even though, he looked legless.
Fun game, but we had a lot of luck, as Arteta acknowledged openly. Some credit to Arteta … we’ve watched El Neny for years now under different coaches and for Egypt.. he’s always been the same Pirlo of backpasses and safe player…. what we saw from him in his 2nd start today was much quicker, more aggressive, looking to pass forward much more, even making quick turns away from opponents to pass forward and move. He is not the answer, obviously, but I wouldn’t mind him around the way he played today. Good coaching by the manager. Also, Eddie over… Read more »
Gnabry just score a worldie.
Elneny and Cedric are good players but mediocre if we dream to be top again
Others have said here, and correctly.. Romero is Mustafiesque.
Brentford need to score because spurs do their smash and grab rubbish.
Cedric has served his purpose but we need better. I hope we don’t keep him on for sentimental reasons.
Hopefully someone will take give us a million or two and take him off our hands.
With European football., longer domestic Cup runs and five subs we definitely need to keep the likes of Big Mo, Eddie, even AMN (who might have learned a lesson) blood Charlie P and Azeez, Flo and Willy Saliba, and hopefully MA has learned the rotation lesson. Definitely need a deeper squad.
3 points but we are still a shambles at the back
good job MO IS PLAYING REALLY NEED A FLAMINI IN THERE..
White looks better than he plays .👨🏿🦯.
Any links for the Showdown FURY v WHITE THANKS.
Take Son and Kane off the Spud team and you’ve a relegation team.
Time Up
“Take Son and Kane off the Spud team and you’ve a relegation team.”
Nice one. When you rely on one main source for goals injuries or lack of form kill you. Much less risk if you can share goals around.
certainly I would never pile-on regarding the whole Jesus narrative, as one game should never tilt any evaluation process too greatly one way or the other, even though I totally understand why Leeds couldn’t refuse such a silver platter offering…absolutely crucial result considering the opponent and the race for 4th…of course, lady luck was clearly on our side, but as many have already suggesting that’s not always been the case, so I would never look that gift horse in the mouth Elneny has now put in back-to-back performances of some note, which certainly wasn’t a given considering his glaring lack… Read more »
On Cedric… What do you expect from a second choice RB? Tell me… We are not going to spend 50 mil on that spot, so why does everyone say that he has to go? Man City, PSG, United will spend for something like that, we won’t. The guy is satisfied at this point in his career to accept his role, but plays hard when called upon. Some of you people are unrealistic babies. We have him signed through next year… we should be looking for a good championship loan for Norton Cuffy, and maybe we’ll have an inexpensive internal answer… Read more »
Pedro Brillaint result, and it’s been a bit of a rite of passage for you this season. You committed to Arteta from the outset despite some understandable misgivings from other fans and that’s all fair enough, but some of the anti arsenal, doom mongering that I’ve read on here has been shocking, especially from so called arsenal fans. It begs the question: what’s more important to a true fan- arsenal succeeding or proving your half baked theories are correct on Le grove and having the shallow satisfaction of gloating about it on here. I’ll go with the former. We’ve had… Read more »
How did Son avoid a card from that blatant trip?
Great honest write up Pedro
Xhaka was blowing kisses to his family though not the fans 😢
Brentford game is another nail biter !!!
Not sure a draw will derail Spurs too much due to goal difference though
If Brentford were to grab a late winner then it would allow us a draw to stay in front
“What do you expect from a second choice RB? Tell me…”
Someone who can defend would be nice…
Someone who can defend would be nice…
Djed Spence
Cedric is clearly not elite level . Sancho properly messed him up today. That’s the best I’ve seen Sancho perform mind.. Might have to put up with him til we get a youth understudy ready. Keep Tomi fit. Cedric’s okay against lesser wingers. Winning lucky is so heartwarming. Especially when you get the added shot of MK trolling Rio to breaking point. Poetic. What to do with Nuno tho?? Not sure he can be confidenced into a passable back up. Is Granit the frog that’s finally been kissed? Not only were his numbers good as quoted, but he coped under… Read more »
That was the chance for Brentford.
Jeez that was the chance
What a shame
2 more mins Bees . Come on.
Spurs are shit. Boring shit too
5 more minutes
Brentford should be winning.