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
Or should we call you Mr North Korea as your so blinded?
Crimson he’s meek as hell on the pitch. That’s where it counts
I don’t know or care if he’s a billy big bollocks around the house or at the supermarket.
On the pitch he doesn’t speak and permanently seems to be a victim as he gets bullied too easily. He should’ve taken a lead out of eddie’s book who was the same in previous seasons but bulked up over the summer and came back ready for the battle
What has my opinion on Pepe got to do with North Korea 😂😂
Another example of absolute fruit loops.
China, this was also a nice one from you when you were spending a lot of time trying to convince people what I was writing here was wrong. ‘Sorry Pedro but what’s the basis of this comment? ‘ Bankz, I have a better idea of what is good for the future of Arsenal than most. I like the idea of the project, I like the make-up of the squad’ The reality lies only in the second part of this quote. You *like* the idea so you support it. That’s completely unrelated to whether or not it is actually *good* or… Read more »
So crimsons the extent of your point is
‘You are blind like north Korea’
‘You are a fruit loop’
Smashing this one out the park
China, I agree he’s meek but that’s not even his biggest problem. He lacks a football brain. Most of the goals he scores are him creating something on his own. But that’s not sufficient. He rarely initiates smart moves that open things up for others and he rarely finishes of such moves. He frequently loses the ball in dangerous positions. He doesn’t track back well. His defensive positioning is poor. The list is long and it outweighs his end product. The best thing for him is to go to a club that plays on the counter where the cost/benefit of… Read more »
Easy win against spurs. Third place is up for grabs.
Hi guys, have been a long term reader of this blog, it’s been over 12 years or thereabouts. I don’t comment, as am a silent reader. I want to use this this opportunity to appreciate Pedro and all of you. This blog has been a source of happiness for me all these years even when am going through so much. I don’t think it’s right for me to do this here, but I have run out of choices. I am going through so much right now and I think I am tired and don’t know how long I can battle… Read more »
There is no park…. ?
Kelvin, I just e-mailed you. Stay strong mate! x
but if you want to chat here, we’re all ready mate.
Whatever you need my man x
Kelvin. Don’t jump. We are silly gooses and amazing in our own histrionics ways. You are a gooner. So you are a part of this crazy arsenal life.
Just message my number, Kelvin. Call or text if you need.
Kelvin buddy dark night of the soul can get the best of us wobbly. Dont over power it just keep going. These times are brutal but dont give up on yourself. Reach out, like you did here mate. Keep reaching!!!
Kelvin,
Please don’t do anything rash. I know many of us here have either personal experience with dark thoughts and depression, or have friends and family who have struggled. But even if things feel hopeless, you are not alone! Reach out to people. Talk to your friends and family. There are hotlines you can call if you need help with getting grounded. And ask for medical help. There are people all around you who want and are able to help you. Just take that first step and ask for help.
Kelvin don’t scare us! Email Pedro and have a joint or something. ❤❤
Thanks guys for your concerns. It’s a great community on here and it’s good to see total strangers showing so much care. God bless you all. I emailed Pedro already.
That’s great Kelvin. Hang in there buddy. One step at a time.
This blog is full of assorted assholes. But if you need a thing…we are here. Life is brittle.
Crimson, never a truer word said. We might disagree on the trivial (football), but we’re always here for the real things
Kelvin
When I feel like how you feel, I listen to REM. “Everybody hurts”.
Then i know I am not alone and it keeps me going.
Then I listen to 3rd Day.
Asking for help in that circumstance is one of the most difficult things to do, and it must have taken a lot of courage to do that. So good for you Kelvin, hope the sun shines a bit brighter for you tomorrow than it did today.
If that still dosen’t work, go watch Brighton vs Man United.
When we beat spurs on Thursday and get champions league. easy win Kelvin. Thanks to you..
Now argue……..about insignificant things.
Kelvin
Stay strong buddy. Surely the things that are happening to you are extremely hard and the pressure is high, but Im sure you are better than that, if you have the courage to ask for help, then you have it to keep fighting, life always hit hard, but harder hits bring bigger rewards, the storm will pass, it always does.
If you need to chat we all are here to listen.
Thanks for the overwhelming show of support guys. I swear, I am not crying. I wasn’t expecting this, never. I didn’t know why I had to say all that on, it’s very much unlike me as I like to bottle it all up like a “man”. God bless you all. Smashing spurs on Thursday would definitely help though, lol. Thanks guys.
Kelvin
Take care of yourself and with any luck we can all celebrate closing the deal against Spurs on Thursday.
Touch a boob and don’t duvet dive too much.
You got this…
Will Arteta change to a five at the back to negate spurs potential potential?
https://youtu.be/wjCJv4W4kvw
Kelvin don’t do anything rash as said above
There are better times ahead and in those times you will look back on such moments and thank god you stuck at it. Just remember that in our lives we can make a million bad decisions but we can usually undo the damage with time and effort. But suicide is the irreversible mistake that cannot be undone.
I’ve been through enough hard times in the past so let me know if you need any advice or feel free to just do a bit of venting. That tends to help
Stay strong kev. Have no expectations and live by the day man. You will get through it. “Asb79The differenxe between Walcott and Nketiah is that the former wants a bigger wages package why the latter wants bigger game time pacakage.” Lol what??? Walcott already had game time package. Infact he was our star boy then. Pedro, we were willing to offer Dusan 160k PW. And remind me again how much Saka is on? Or how much you think we should give him? Pepe on 140k PW, coming from the ligue un where he won the league and top scored to… Read more »
Also think there will be still no look in for Mavro if Stuttgart gets relegated and he comes back to the club. We have a settled back CB pairing, plus Holding (who seems better than both G and W). Then we have Saliba coming back into the fold next season. Obviously we can’t have a 5th choice CB that’s not a youth player???
I would love Mavropanos to be with us.
But depends on his club getting relegated… I fear his mind is distant.v
I’m assuming outright that Mav leaves us
Considering his contract situation tho it will be for pennies. 3-5m is my guess.
Gabriel white holding saliba mav is genuinely one of the deepest squads of CBs anywhere in Europe. But yeah realistically 1 or even 2 of them are not here next season
Pepe would be a nice back up next season. I don’t think anyone believes we will sign 7 players this window. I’m guessing about 3 maximum and maybe 1 or 2 for the future.
Pepe is a confidence player. His confidence looked shot yesterday. Can arteta do anything about it? Or are we blaming it all on the player?
A great result but a mixed perfomance. All good for Thursdays
monster game If we can keep Son and Kane quiet we will win.. Agree with posters Pepe isn’t that good and needs to be sold. How we ended up paying £72m for him I will never know.
The game cried for the 3 goal.. but Arsenal had no appertite to finish off the game?? Pepe
came on early to rest Saka but managed to have zero impact !! Its imperative to get him off
our hands and wage bill. The man has no desire and no drive.
Gonsterous I think it’s safe to assume the following this summer A CF (first choice or competing with Eddie) A CM (first choice) A backup keeper (seems it will be a very cheap signing from MLS) A backup left back (Scottish lad in Italy looks quite likely. May end up being direct competition for Tierney as he’s always injured and nuno is suspect Anything else would be a bonus imo. The bottom two would cost a combined 20-25m I guess. I am assuming the CF and CM combined cost around 100m give or take. I’d hazard a guess we’ll make… Read more »
By the way I’d be very happy with the above business in principle. I hope that’s what edu and arteta are planning.
If recent history is any indication, don’t be surprised if Pepe is sent out on loan next season with the intention of increasing his sale value next summer even with just a year left on his contract.
Preferably we can sell him outright. I can actually see him in the black and white of Newcastle. He could thrive on the opposite flank to Saint-Maximin.
We’re reportedly trying to renew Elneny’s contract, and Tielemans is our top midfielder target
Tielemans down to his last 12 months of his deal at Leicester, he’s had a disappointing season, but if we could pick him up for around £25 million, and £80,000 p/w, would be a decent signing
Wouldn’t be my top pick, but he’s still an experienced PL midfielder, who just about to enter his prime.
Before we get ahead of yourselves with an early transfer season; we still need to smash spuds on Thursday.
If that happens, I will happily sign up for a 1 year membership of the AR-KB club.
Kelvin.. Many of us have experienced what you’re going through – it’s horrendous, but I promise you it will get better! It’s a long road to recovery, but you’ve taken that all important first step – you’ve asked for help!
Stay strong and remember – you’re not alone, it may feel like it, but you’re not! We’re all here for you ❤
I was at the game yesterday and frankly we should have won it by a country mile. In the first half we scored two goals in first ten minutes and then so outplayed Leeds that they resorted to playing “dirty”. This was frankly an opportunity to score four or fives goals and keep a clean sheet thus closing the goal difference gap with Spurs. Instead the team came out in the second half and we played as though this was a training game. When you play in this fashion you become sloppy and the consequence was that Leeds with their… Read more »
I was following the earlier debate about Partey being our best midfielder and also the point made about his injury record…
I was thinking that if you take the player ratings for the games they play and give them zeroes for the games they miss the average will give you a better assessment of what they bring to the team…
8’s and 0’s are where we find ourselves with Partey out
Rich I believed following the games at C.Palace, Brighton and Southampton that we needed to offload seven players in our current squad. That number has now reduced to four. The four I would now offload are Leno [replaced by Turner], Tavares sent out on loan, Pepe and Lacazette. I would keep Elneny and Nketiah. Soares is frankly not good enough to play against top level opposition, but good enough to sit on bench and play in an emergency. We need to add a fourth string centre back ie Saliba as well as a full-back who can act as cover for… Read more »
Crimson, you need to do a bit of self reflection after your North Korea comments out of nowhere and then going on to call someone else a fruit loop.
Talk about lack of self awareness
Also Kelvin.
Hope you’re ok mate. This is a great community on here and we are all here for a chat.
Has been great compassion shown on here and it’s a real plus for everyone on here.
Keep up the good work le Grove!
Ray+in+LA Partey’s muscle injuries are a big concern, he was very good before he went to AFCON, and before his injury, his best form in an Arsenal shirt But any type of offer around the £20-£25 million, and we should let him go. Tierney + Tomiyasu have had a few injury issues, and we don’t want to end up in a cycle like when Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky+ Diaby we’re perpetually taking turns to get injured Partey + Xhaka is a good midfield pairing, having 2 midfielders with over 900 career games between them, gives us security But I’d definitely jump… Read more »
Glad to see that my unenthusiastic and pragmatic approach to Partey is spreading
In the case partey leaves we will need a guaranteed starter and someone else to challenge xhaka properly, where we ease him in. Tough ask considering we love to leave gaps in the squad
Just because we will need the security of xhaka, can’t see us bringing in a new starting midfield combo.
Would be brilliant though so I’ll hold my breath
Rich
I would certainly not offload Partey this summer, but we need to recruit a central midfielder who can rotate with both Partey and Xhaka. That will be needed when we play 50+ games a
season.
The same situation is applicable with centre back, full back and wing positions. Our current
options if they get injured, lose form or need a rest are not realistically good enough.
I’m now confident about the Spurs game. I don’t think we’re losing and I think we’re more likely getting all 3 points
My predictions never come true, so bet big on a Spurs win. Sorry guys
Partey doesn’t need offloading he just needs protecting
We know he’s good. We know he’s injury prone. It’s important that next season we don’t expect him to play every match just because he’s available. As long as he’s wrapped in cotton wool during the hectics periods of the season he’ll be fine and we’ll be better for it