GOOD MORNING TO YOU ALL!
It’s a huge day for our shared agenda.
Spurs go to Anfield.
Liverpool needs to keep their title fight alive.
Spurs need to take at least a point to keep Thursday spicy and open.
The Premier League this season does not give a fuck about what you think will happen, it works to its own beat, so don’t write of Antonio Conte. He’s a lucky manager, Spurs have been lucky all season, they could easily walk away with 3 points from 1 shot all game, such is the qualidee of Son and Harry Kane.
Then tomorrow, we have to fight for our lives and bring home the 3 points, no question.
The biggest threat Leeds pose is twofold:
- They will fly at us regardless of the personnel
- They have so few players to choose from it’ll be hard to predict their line-up or tactics
There are also annoying narratives that favor them: they haven’t beaten a top 6 side all season. That’s usually a sign to the footballing gods to work something our way.
Am I thinking about Mark Viduka? Am I thinking about Harry Kewel scoring and running to the corner flag? Am I thinking about David O’leary ruining the Arsenal party of yesteryear? Maybe.
My Uncle, total geezer, major Leeds away day fans, reckons they’ll get slapped. He has zero faith that his team can do anything and he’s not playing games. Says they don’t have the quality to do what they did to us in the past.
Leeds lack top playerrs, they have very little experience, and their defence lives for giving up spaces. They are a club that is pretty incapable of delivering a deep-block for 90minutes. My uncle is adamant that Leeds are going to go down this season.
Mikel Arteta needs to have the team super focused. I’m quite confident we’ll create lots of openings because we tend to do that in most games. In front of our home fans, in the sunshine, with an electric atmosphere, it’ll be very hard for Leeds.
I’d love Eddie to head into his log cabin, chop up some wood, and put a mile-high stack of chips on his shoulder. Leeds treated him badly. He was moved there, he should have gone to Dusseldorf, his career suffered when he sat on the bench. A hat trick would be NICE.
I’m not sure how Arteta will line-up, I’d love to see ESR back in the starting 11, his form has been a bit up and down, he’s clearly not fully fit, but now would be a great time to make a case for the Thursday game.
NO INJURIES is mainly where I am on secondary hopes and dreams.
What is even more tantalizing is that Chelsea dropped 2 points from a winning position against Wolves. They were dreadful again, Thomas Tuchel is overseeing a car crash by Chelsea standards, so a win at Leeds could very much open up the idea of a 3rd place finish.
Also, United losing, AGAIN. Remember how many people thought Ralf Rangnick was the silver bullet they needed and that it was curtains for our challenge?
Tomorrow is a big, big chance to attack a higher position.
It’s a HUGE chance to change how we approach Thursday. If we beat Leeds, Spurs HAS to come and play against us because a point won’t be enough.
This is exactly what we wanted at the start of the season. For our games to matter heading into the final throes of the season.
Before we go, I do want to quickly reference some cheques I’ve been cashing. Remember when we went on an exceptional run of wins after we lost the opening three? And people started throwing around the xG table as a reason to be terrified? I do.
I penned an article about the weaponisation of xG. People went at me about it. DATA IS OUR GOD NOW, PEDRO. But, turns out, my new turn as a data non-believer has led me down a righteous path.
Now I’m cashing cheques, people are all like, ‘oh no, we were just having a rational conversation about xG’… no, we weren’t.
Here’s what was missing from being concerned that we were 5th, but playing like 16th.
There was no context in the xG for the covid outbreak
No context for a newly assembled young team dealing with the top 3 teams so early
No context for game state: xG stated that we lost against Spurs and LCFC. If you watched those games, you’ll have remembered we battered them early, then sat back
There was also a lack of understanding about how young teams perform in general, and teams under Arteta had developed (season prior, post December, we went on a tear).
- Arteta has a very specific playing style
- His ideas are complex
- He relies on automatism that come with time
- Top young players get better
People couldn’t get that info from xG, but it was clear to anyone paying attention post-December was going to be a lot better, which is why the xG pearl-clutching was bollocks pushed by people who wanted to throw shade at the progress.
xG is a guide, not a god.
Points on the table are more valuable than theory points on an xG table.
Most people cannot be trusted with free data.
Arsenal wouldn’t have spent time fretting over that xG table because they knew what was going on.
We move.
See you in the comments, pray to the gods of gegenpressing, and hope lady luck isn’t in cahoots with Unai Conte this evening.
x
Eddie needs a fat new contract. He does the business and can challenge for a starting spot with our shiny new striker next season. How he hasn’t managed more games is beyond me.
From here I think we can do some smart game management.
We are in complete control. No need to over exert ourselves. Let’s keep it simple and keep the players fresh for Thursday, bring some bigger players off as soon as is practicable.
It stays like this, most of not all the pressure is on Spurs on Thursday. And we wont be as stressed all week as we could have been!
Great great half. Just what the doctor ordered
Re the red card, it’s absolutely embarrassing that var had to review the easiest red you’ll ever see for a solid 2 mins then get help from the ref who also had to watch another 8 times to reach a decision.
Unreal incompetence. Absolutely unreal. It was blatantly two footed, dangerous, out of control and studs up. If you need 25 replays to determine that’s a red you have no place anywhere near a football pitch
At least gabi megged ayling before he got sent off. 😀
So the striker solution was always hiding in plain sight.
Yip generational genius.
Great half for us, Eddie and Martinelli have been excellent.
In total control. Let’s get a couple more early doors second half then get a few off for a rest for Thursday night.
Eddie looks like a man these days. Very much gone are the days of Bambi
Arteta should have a non-negotiable. No pretty GF. You can get distracted.
Tomiyasu doesn’t seem to be fully fit. He trips over his own leg a few times.
If I were arteta I’d have the team push hard for an early third then immediately take Saka off.
3-0 and a man up the game will be truly dead and we need him for the Spurs game. As well Leeds are dirty today and pissed off, we don’t need to let him face any more dangerous of a bad foul than is necessary
I would replace Xhaka by Lokonga
China1
Yes. Bring ESR in.
If Martinelli and Eddie can have this understanding and relationship in every match..our attack would be rolling. Hopefully more of the same this half.
Great to see the old lads from 71
Hopefully we can get a third, then get Tomi off, only his second start since January, and we have another 2 games in the next 8 days
i remeber tr7 rap and the arteta and arsenal is shit gang trying to tell us that the system was holding auba and laca back now it’s eddie was the solution all along. this guys have no shame for real..,
Yeah were those all Ben Whites wags? The smile on that brunette.
Great half from the lads
Nice seeing the ‘71’ team and graham also
Why replace xhaka? He’s doing well
Take Cedric off and bring ESR on. Go to a back 3
Interesting that arteta moved elneny into the partey position and moved xhaka to a left 8
Yep Tony… Charlie George in the house.
Let’s see how good we are against low block.
Elneny has shown real class since he came back into the starting 11
You won’t find better coverage than Elneny
I want to see.Gabriel move inside more and unleash a shot.
Ode needs to more in this half. This is the sort of performance where criticism is fair. His stats will probably look good but he isn’t influencing the game. So far, Granit has looked like what we expect Ode to be.
Can xhaka calm the fk down? Whys he trying to act like a tough guy all the time.
Why is Xhaka getting involved
Asking for a friend
Whoaaa Marti juked Raphina out of his shorts.
He’s a bird brain🤦🏽♂️
Xhaka, please don’t find a way to fuck things up by getting yourself sent out.
Elneny has improved his game
I’m giving arteta credit for that
I think we should keep him
That was smoothly worked..good to the eye
Imagine laca leading the line. Jesus, his injury was the best thing to happen to the team this season.
Gabi MOTM so far
Calling it early
Martinelli for motm
Deserves a goal also
Xhaka getting heated is like watching a car crash in slow motion. I’d sub him.
We don’t look like scoring another goal.
Waht a move
Pathetic.
Ffs
Told ya 2 nil is dangerous
What a calamity
Absolutely damning defending
And that’s why u kill off games chaps…..
And that’s what happens when you cruise a two nil.
So much for the ‘tough game’ doomers!! 🤣🤣
I can never take people like this serious.
First goal conceded from a corner this season?
I told you guys we wouldn’t score a lot we just can’t put teams to the sword too many matches where we should be aiming for a 4 or 5-9 win but end up with 2-1
Damn it
We need to score that 3rd goal now to put this away.
I’m not even sure who to blame for this goal. Every aspect of it was pathetic.
Yeah, let’s keep managing the game. Let’s even rest some players for Thursday.
We need goals…. Thursday will be dealt with on Thursday – not today
That’s what happens when the boss tells you to tippy tappy.
Generational
Squeeky bum time.
2-0 is not a dangerous score line with us having a man advantage
Now Leeds have to come out and play so we’ll, get more chances
Why are we so soft bellied? when it comes to having a lead why can’t we punish teams ffs.
Big Rob showing why he’s our best cb
Ffs this is going to be shit 30 mins.
2-0 is not a dangerous score line with us having a man advantage
I’ll be careful what you say here.
Martinelli should have scored one of those many chances he wasted
The Lesser Spotted Pepe!
Diss
All it takes is one set piece and their level.
Don’t fuck this up
Why we have slowed the pace down is beyond me.
We are/ were getting too comfortable with the one mam advsntage despite some good posts for a 3rd goal.
We need to push for thst 3td goal.
Good call to sub off Saka for Pepe.
You can hear the nervousness in the stadium.
Samesong’
If we can’t win from being 2 goals up and one man up by the 12th minute at home
…then we don’t deserve to be in the CL
Dissenter a man less doesnt really matter on set pieces..thats why 2 nil is still dangerous when up a man too…thats exactly what happ there
One man advantage
Posts = efforts
That 3rd
Arteta wants to copy Peps Wednesday night’s collapse!
Speed the game up not slow it down
Stop with the crosses ffs.
Diss
Let’s concentrate on Leeds first. This is a mentality thing with Arsenal we always go into comfy mode. Without creating any big chances.
Oh ffs Ode
So much for bump up the GD
Jonko
We need to stop being so wasteful with our chances
Ode could have passed that into the net, plonker
Leeds are going all out so we’ll get loads of chances
Problem is …can we finish our chances
I dont give a fuck how scrappy this one is, we need to get over the line here and take the 3 points any way possible.
We play really slow after they went down to 10.
ESR coming on!!!
Martinelli was wasteful in front of goal
He had a good game though
I dont give a fuck how scrappy this one is, we need to get over the line here and take the 3 points any way possible
Feels like this game is going on forever..
Seriously got a bad feeling about how this is going to end
What position is Tomi playing?
How is it a player who is probably the worst crosser on pitch allowed to chuck in 50 form crosses per game AND take corners?
It’s so poor I’d start docking cedrics wages every time he puts in a cross because they’re fucking hopeless
Hang in there Jonko!!!
Jonko
Take a purgative to get rid of you bad feeling. It’s something in your colon
We are more likely to score than concede
Odegaard early days yet but he’ll prove to be way more influential than ozil ever was
China
His crosses are ok we are shit in the air.
Samesong
Tomi is at LB.
Leeds have to do kamikaze attacks now
They have nothing to lose now but going all out
Is that his betting slip.?
We are playing slow and soft.
We should have put Leeds to the sword
That player lying down blocking the low shot, if we shoot and hit his arm, is that a pen?
If we show up like this at the toilet bowl we will get smashed
Haha James ..was weird.. I think it told Leeds who they were marking on set pieces. or something. Never seen an actual hand written note before being passed around.
Much has been made about how we’ll improve once we have a better CF but I’m not sure how much difference it will make. Unless we’re playing on the counter against a better team, we only know how to play horseshoe football in 3rd gear. It’s so predictable. ESR is the only player that breaks patters and he gets benched.
We can hang on!!!
Come on The Arsenal!!!
Why did Tomi do that
He didn’t have ti
Pepe is brain dead
Didn’t he know the goalie was up for the corner
Pepe is shit
Shoooot!!!!! awww damn.. that could have been a 60 yard goal.