ARSENAL MONSTER UNITED (LONG READ)

by .

Make no mistake about it, Arsenal’s win over Manchester United wasn’t close, it wasn’t about the details, it was a good old-fashioned spanking for the ages. 63 touches in their box, 25 strikes at their goals, an xG of 3.16. All those numbers represent the best we’ve done against any team this season.

Mikel Arteta and his boys put on a masterclass for the ages, an iconic game that entertained the crowds thirsty for a victory, the atmosphere had something about it… it felt like that ‘something special’ we knew was brewing had real substance. The evening felt like a title-winning performance you look back on and point to as the moment.

That was my first game at the stadium this season, my oh my, what a game to pick. The whole of North London was electric. I’ve never wandered around before a United game and felt a mood like it. There were nerves, sure, but not the nerves of 10 years ago that festered in the pit of your stomach. No, these were the nerves that something exciting was about to happen. Ashburton Army deserves a huge amount of credit for what they do every game, but what is so striking about the ground these days is there is no singing section… it’s everyone. All game. As loud as possible. I overheard one of the guys next to me make a joke about the tannoy guy asking for people to take their seats, ‘take our seats? We haven’t taken our seats in the North Bank all season.’ Clearly the relaxing of rules is making for a better noise experience.

I won’t do play-by-play commentary of the game, but overall, the takeaway I had from the game was the only reason it felt close was two pretty lucky goals. Marcus Rashford, who genuinely looked like Thierry Henry out wide in the first 30 minutes, crashed a stunning shot past Ramsdale from outside the box. The goal of a man who is fighting for his next contract. Mad to me that United wasted a year of that player’s form on the dreadful Ronaldo idea. The second goal game from an Aaron Ramsdale mess in the box, the ball didn’t clear Lisandro, he looped a very speculative header just over Gabriel. United had 4 shots on target from 6 total and scored from two of them.

Going down against United, weirdly, was kind of what we needed at this stage of the season. Conceding against a big team, on the rise, that can defend, was the sort of challenge young players need. It didn’t take long to respond, 8 minutes in total. Zinchenko was really at the heart of the goal, playing deft vertical balls into Granit and Odegaard, the ball wound up wide with Xhaka, he weighted a perfect delivery into Eddie who had an age to fluff his lines, but instead, buried his header past De Gea.

We took the lead in the second half from Bukayo Saka, a moment that really did feel like him announcing himself as the top boy in the league. It was all him, he cut in from the wing, switched his auto-target at De Gea’s far post, and launched a missile that had no chance of missing. Luke Shaw must have felt pig sick, he stepped off him, no understanding the ramifications. Those are the moments big players set up in, we know he’s a big player, but did we know he wanted to be in the same conversations Mo Salah used to be in?

I think most of us that have a memory of football longer than 5 years understand the pattern of big games with big teams. If you are a title contender, the last 15 minutes is where you come to play. All the big teams over the years do mad things when the game looks dead. You could sense in the air that Arsenal was going to do something.  United started to fade, their defensive line dropped deeper and deeper, and Arsenal looked like sharks thrashing around a small fishing boat in a Spielberg movie.

The final moment came from Arsenal creating overloads. Tomi, Saka, and Odegaard pulled United one way, Saka found Partey in the middle, he scuffed a pass to Trossard who did well to drop deep, collect and drive forward. He picked out Zinchenko who powered towards the box, threaded a pass to an incoming Odegaard (5 players around him), his shot was miscued, but Eddie was there waiting to fox in the box it for our third. It was a weird sensation cheering, then having to wait, but my word, when they announced the goal we lost our minds.

Does any photo sum up the mentality of Arsenal this season better than this one?

So what do you take from that?

Arsenal are title contenders. We cannot escape the truth. No longer can we hide from the reality that has been BEGGING us to just be honest with the world.

It is now the halfway point of the season, we have 50 points, and a goal difference of +29. This is the youngest squad in the league showing ruthless efficiency. We’ve dealt with injuries to key players, we’ve managed an unlucky defeat, we’ve played tough away games, and we’ve broken records for points totals at this stage of the season.

This is not normal to a fanbase that has had what can only be described as an abusive relationship with hope. But look, where are the weaknesses in the squad these days? Who has a better system in the league? Is there a squad of players that look hungrier than ours? Not in my opinion.

Jurgen Klopp is so rattled he’s making negative references about Arsene Wenger. Pep G is singing our praises in the media, whilst lamenting his home support, and questioning the hunger of his expensively assembled squad.

What do you have at Arsenal? Total harmony. We have the loudest fanbase in the Premier League. Our squad is one of the most likable in world football, packed full of humble talent, everyone pulling in the same direction. There’s nothing disturbing rumbling beneath the surface.

Who wants to debate with me whether Mikel Arteta is a generational coach in 2023? Who wants to mock his sauce levels? Does anyone talk about finishing 8th anymore? No, they don’t. He’s a top 3 coach in the Premier League, he’s already better than Antonio Conte, who has been so bad at Spurs, there are reports he hasn’t been offered a new deal.

What I love so much is getting to this stage involved suffering. My favourite insight into life of late is that if you want to be part of anything truly great, personally or professionally, you have to be prepared to suffer. The current culture doesn’t accept that. You see it all around you, people that work on iconic films, on historic projects, or videogames that sell in the billions complain that work/life balance wasn’t right, or they are the victim of something hideous. That mindset, that you can be part of greatness, and not feel pain, is what drives the culture around football. I wrote extensively about what was going to happen at Arsenal, and that it would require some pain…

… it takes a few windows to get to the right squad balance.

… it takes time to acclimate players into a complex system.

… we can’t buy readymade talent, so it’ll take time for players to develop

… great teams have to suffer setbacks

… it’s better to not sign anyone than sign a player not right for the system

… some players you love won’t make it

… culture ain’t for everyone

At every step of the way, there have been outpourings of complaining because people didn’t like the suffering.

But now, there is no more suffering. The only pain we’ll feel moving forward is top-level suffering of fine margins.

Remember when everyone would get their panties in a twist over other clubs fans mocking us? Look at them now…

Mark Goldbridge thinks the blame of that result is because the Glazers didn’t spend money. Incorrect.

Chelsea fans thought spending £500m indiscriminately would keep them in the conversation, it’s done the opposite.

Spurs fans think their problems are money-related, nothing to do with hiring dinosaur managers on the decline, instead of investing in a system.

Those big clubs struggling at the moment are failing to deal with reality. Success comes with pain and throwing money at the problem is like taking painkillers for something terminal. At some point, you have to face up to the fact that to succeed you need a long-term vision and you need to suffer for it.

We suffered, we took the hit of two 8th-place finishes, and we invested in an idea. We suffered in ‘trust the process’ purgatory. But we did it the right way. Chelsea, United, and Liverpool fans don’t get that they will have to suffer as well, and even if they do everything right, they are competing against two clubs that have the best managers in the business, along with elite talent ID. It’s a great place to be.

Back to some commentary on the game.

Leandro Trossard was the preferred weapon of choice to come on to drive the game to the end. My take? He’s a lot faster than a lot of the pre-game commentators let on. He’s very two footed, he has total control of the ball, and he moves the ball at speed. I really got some strong Santi Cazorla vibes from him. His impact was key to the 3 points yesterday, I’m very excited to see what he can do for us. I’m a little worried that ESR didn’t get the nod, but I guess he’s way behind in form and probably needs some more cup games to get sharp.

There were too many top-level performances to pick a MoTM, but Zinchenko was up there. You don’t truly grasp his game and movement until you watch what he does in the ground. He’s so alert, always moving into space to make himself available. He has that unique skill of making the game look incredibly easy, like he’s dominating a 5-aside game. His passing is so precise and it has dare devel levels of verticality to it. I thought he was a nightmare for United yesterday, they couldn’t handle him packing out our midfield.

Eddie Nketiah put in a proper #9 performance. So many people came up to me after the game to say ‘how does Jesus get back in?’, it’s a good question, and it’s the sort that Mikel needed Eddie to ask of him. I wrote before his second stint in the team that people really underestimate his all-round game and his ability to learn from those around him. His United performance was best practice. He was available, he controlled the ball really well, it generally stuck to him, he was alert, I thought he looked like a man enjoying his game. Most importantly? He scored two MASSIVE goals in a MASSIVE game. 9 goals in 1200 minutes of football this season. Who is saying he shouldn’t have the #14 shirt? Who is offering that sort of value for £100k a week? Eddie isn’t in the ‘who is the best back-up’ conversation, he’s in conversations about the best strikers in the league these days. He has it all, eat it up, another elite-level Hale-Ender has hit the level.

Final talking point is our midfield. Partey, Xhaka and Odegaard. Those are three immensely talented players at the top of their game. Martin Odegaard is the best at what he does at the moment, I’ve always been impressed with his play, but yesterday, I was blown away by the driving nature of his game. He is electric, the fans stand to watch him on the ball, he was pumping the stadium like peak-Patrick at one point. £35m? What a steal. Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka are the best pairing in the league, great friends off the pitch, and superstars on it. They offer so much control and threat. Defensively, watching Partey gallop back to cover an error was spectacular. This is a combo no one saw coming, but what a delight. If there’s a danger to our season, it’s one of those two not being available for a stretch, they are indispensable.

So to close out, what an exceptional day out. That was one of the best days of football I’ve had in 20 years. It was incredible to meet so many happy people, to sit in a previously soulless Emirates and feel alive, and watch the sort of football we could only have dreamed of 3 years ago.

… and remember, we are only getting started. This squad, technically, has 4 years until it ‘should’ be winning titles.

There’s a long way to go this season, there will be bumps in the road, the media is waiting to call off our title run, so expect things to get panicky if there’s a dry 3 game run… but remember, the key is to be within spitting distance of Manchester City by the time Champions League returns. Decisions will need to be made for them on priorities, and my suspicion is the trophy eluding Pep G will consciously or subconsciously occupy more of their attention. Then we’re cooking.

Ok, long one today, our On The Whistle Podcast should be out by about 4pm GMT later. I am very sorry if you were sat on the link last night. Come join live later!

282 Comments
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MidwestGun

Oh and Son should have absolutely been sent off.

Freddie Ljungberg

Looks like Uefaa are going to close down the whole “signing players to 8 year contracts” thing in the summer. Maximum 5 tears allowed, poor Todd are going to have to find another way to dope his club.

Dissenter

The league should have an aesthetic committee
Spurs ought to be fined every time they wear these away jessye. It’s an affront to the eyes.
UK viewers should call ofcom at 0300 123 3333

LoveSausage

Freddie,

I’m sure he’ll find a way. After all, this is the genius who wants his team to play 4-4-3. A true out-of-the-box thinker.

Pierre

Romero is half asleep at the back for tottenham tonight , looks like he doesn’t want to be there

Rich

Xhaka at the base of our midfield with the likes of Holding, Chambers, Lichtstiner, Mustafi, Mari, Sokratis + Luiz behind him, is a massive issue. Particularly with low intensity forwards like Ozil, Aubameyang + Pepe in front of him. Xhaka’s issues are when the game becomes stretched, the game becomes stretched if teams play positionally aggressive football, without the right athletic + physical qualities behind the ball, and without the right level of aggression off the ball from their forwards Xhaka at the base of our midfield isn’t ideal, but it’s much less of an issue with the combination of… Read more »

MidwestGun

Well Dodger dude is a baseball owner.. baseball is the sport that invented the saying…. if you aren’t cheating , you aren’t trying.

Dissenter

I think they’ve promised Arteta a marquee signing and Declan Rice it will be.
There’s still something magical about signing local players, maybe I’m too romantic.

MidwestGun

Since when is getting kicked in the face not a high boot? hahaha … oh man… var.

Dissenter

Mid
Baseball is really borderline cheating at the baseline
The players even saw abrasives into their pockets to use to wear the ball down.

WengerEagle

”He’ll struggle to get another job at a club that’s considered “big”, not that spurs a big club.”

Not in Italy, he’ll never be stuck for a job in Serie A. His resume speaks for itself.

But as far as the PL and La Liga goes, I tend to agree. Possibly a Simeone replacement at Atletico Madrid? He’d fit in like a glove there.

Dissenter

If Arsenal ever crowded a referee like that, they’ll march the firing squad unto the field

MidwestGun

Diss. yeah basically… here in Texas we had the Houston team signaling from the outfield to the batter what the pitch was gonna be the year they won the championship. It’s a cheating type sport.

WengerEagle

It’s kind of annoying that Lampard couldn’t survive one more PL game for our visit, they’d definitely downed tools on him by the end.

Not that they are any use mind, we should still spank them.

Dissenter

We need a motivated spurs hanging into top-4 beliefs to take on city on Feb 5th
For that to happen, they need to win today

Goona

City will declare at half time against the spuds if tonight’s drudgery is anything to go by.

WengerEagle

Antony was an even worse signing than Pepe for us.

Cannot believe they paid so much for such a limited player. That’s why you always have to be so vigilant buying from Holland.

MidwestGun

Spuds are bus parking at this point.

Dissenter

I’m sure Anthony must be wondering why he’s so hated everywhere he goes in the league

WengerEagle

Dissenter

Because he’s a show-off and they aren’t the most popular types. Neymar has struggled with popularity due to this as well but at least prime Neymar was magic as opposed to this one-trick pony.

He also has quite a punchable face and the petulant blonde hair thing going on.

Dissenter

Richarlison is 0 goals in 12 games
Coil have happened to a better guy.

LoveSausage

Where’s the FA charge for surrounding the ref?

WengerEagle

I tried telling people on here in the summer that Richarlison is bang average.

He managed to fool a few with his goal at the WC.

Dissenter

The media seem to be willing on Kane to break some stupid record
He didn’t care about that when he was trying to jump ship.

MidwestGun

That was a killer World Cup goal, though… hahaha This game is like watching paint dry.

Mr Serge

Did someone die in the stadium atmosphere is awful

Rich

WE

The crazy thing about the Antony signing, was that Ten Hag had worked with him extensively, you would have thought that if he’d green lit that type of fee, then his talent ID would be on point.

Still early days, he didn’t get to United until late August, but so far he’s looking like exceptionally poor value.

MidwestGun

Mr Serge …, they made an announcement that the trains were running only one way or something …. than half the crowd left.

WengerEagle

Rich

I was never even particularly impressed by Antony in his CL cameos, he always looked over-reliant on his left and one-dimensional.

Not sure what ETH was thinking with that one because Martinez on the other hand looks a good buy.

They got rinsed by Ajax on the fee, you nearly wonder if it was a parting gift from ETH to the club overpaying that much.

Dissenter

Spurs have to believe they can catch Newcastle to get their shit together to beat city in two weeks time.

Mr Serge

Middy had to be something never heard it so quiet

Dissenter

The annoying part of the Anthony deal is the chain events it set off.
It made Shakhtar believe that they to can squeeze out moolah for Murdryk … and they were right.

Dissenter

“Antonio Conte: “I’m really proud to be the #Tottenham manager.”

That’s it, getting revved up for the city game at the toilet bowl.

Markymark

Placing the psychological effect to one side. Arsenal could draw out City at home and so take out one more game. Go on another extended win streak and then lose at City. It’s more about how we bounce back from draws and the odd defeat plus deal with a possible extended run from City. City themselves know they cannot afford to dip after 4-5 games which appears to be their pattern so far.

izzo

I remember Leedsgunner was raving about Antony. Nowhere to be found since.

Pierre

What we learnt from the united game is the importance of making the right decisions when playing from the back and through midfield . In the first half we were sloppy and casual in possession which led to poor decision making and losing control of the game, leading to conceding the opening goal. I’m sure at half time Arteta explained the importance of tightening up on our passing, making the correct decisions, remaining patient and ultimately taking total control of the game.. . After United equalised with their 2nd goal I thought we were superb , we were relentless in… Read more »

Ray+in+LA

this was in the comments section of an Athletic article on our recent game [during some banter about Newcastle and Manure in some obscure cup competition]…

“For Newcastle to win they’d need to actually try and win a game rather than sit back and time waste from the first 5 mins. They did it at Old Trafford and again at the Emirates. The highlight seeing a Chris Wood get poleaxed by 5 foot 6 Fred 😂 At some point they’ll need to show some ambition and stop playing for free kicks.”

Ray+in+LA

I thought Martinez had a good game, looked liked a competent player and I admired the way he stayed on the pitch and interacted with the Arsenal players

China1

Lol Antony aka spininho/washing machinho/Nani 2.0/richarlison 2.0

If he spent half as much time doing something with the ball as he spends pouting, doing pointless skills and strutting around he would be an ok player. But he doesn’t know how to stop, so he will likely remain ass for the foreseeable

China1

Antony literally has no idea that how many tricks you do per 90 and how good you are are not remotely related

Best winger in the league is Saka. How many tricks does that boy do per game? Usually ZERO. Go figure…

China1

One player who knows exactly how to use skills is Ode jeeeeez The guy keeps it simple 80% of the time (always the correct balance) but when there’s nothing on he uses skills to make something on and he pulls it off the vast majority of the time. That’s EXACTLY what skills should be used for. Not spinning in a circle twice then kicking the ball out of play like Antony Perfect example was Ode breaking forwards with xhaka ahead of him the other day. He wanted to feed Xhaka in one on one but the angle was blocked. So… Read more »

Zacharse

Pete
what a lovely write up. milestone stuff. funny, was getting sentimental thinking about reading this site back in like ’11 or earlier even can’t remember…. my how things have changed. and how your writing has really gotten great. lovely to be a witness here to all of this

Nigel Tufnel

I’ll say it again… PIERRE WAS RIGHT…. Regarding Jesus moving wide sometimes to get more playing time for Nketiah at CF. Not every time, but he and Trossard could truly rotate a little with Saka and Martinelli giving Eddie some starts at up front. Also, when Eddie comes on as a sub, I NEVER again want to see him pushed out wide. Too much of a waste of his striker skills. Many neutral pundits with no agenda are saying you can’t sit Eddie down for Jesus with his current form. Jesus needs to be worked in very slowly anyway, after… Read more »

Nigel Tufnel

Bob,
I also noticed Lisandro Martinez hanging around long after the game to congratulate each of our players.
Very classy and respectful.

dSidstathopoulos

ETH decision to replace Antony an attacker with Fred favoured Arsenal

dSidstathopoulos

Zinchenko is the most important player in how we play, without Anthony occupying him, he had more freedom to do what he does.

Wengaball

Bringing on Fred signalled United we’re settling for a point.

For this Arsenal side, that was like a drop of blood for a school of piranhas. The last twenty minutes United were hanging on for their lives while our boys feasted on them.

Sid – your point about Zinchenko being freed up 👍. Super observation.

Useroz

New centre-back Jakup Kiwior says he was “ecstatic” when he learned that Arsenal were interested in signing him and that he couldn’t help laughing when he was presented with a Gunners shirt with his name on.

“It’s huge for me that Arsenal were interested and that I’m able to be here. I’m aware that Arsenal are a massive club in a top league, so I didn’t really have to think about much else. I was just ecstatic and really wanted to come… ”

Like wot he says, sounded a bit more genuine haha… Hope it works out!

Useroz

The 15 min interval scores are telling…

0-15 7-0
16-30 7-2
31-45 5-3
46-60 13-4
61-75 7-6
76-90 6-1

Most important is when we started letting the opposition coming back a bit, presumably when the team having a breather after attacking on turbo at the start of 1H( 1-15) and 2H (46-60),…

Like looking a touch ‘vulnerable’ at 7-6 in the 61-75 min slot… should we therefore putting subs on before 60″ now that there are some options on the bench?

Like that we are almost as strong in the last 15 min (6-1) similar to the first 15 (7-1)!

Db10 legend

@WengerEagle

Regarding your comments last night. I agree 100 percent. The way Arteta has everyone singing from the same hymn sheet is incredible. Kudos especially to Arteta and we’ll done Edu. Loving the football, attitude everything surrounding Arsenal these days. It’s been a horrendous last 10 years, watching a past it Wenger dragging the club down and overloading the team with average players. What Arteta has achieved in 2 and 3/4 years is astounding

Markymark

Dissenter – The Spuds can’t let themselves concede an avalanche of goals in the 2nd half either. I suspect City like Arsenal have issues with counter attacking sides breaking with longer passing. Therefore Spud revenge is a possibility. No way will Spud 🥔 fans go along with “we lost 0-5” and messed up Arsenal at their Toilet Bowl ground. The humiliation will be too much to bear

Useroz

Wengverball…. I commented the same live when ETH put Fred on amd took off an attacker( thou Antony was a bit shit).

How could Manure and their pundit cohort claim any title ambition when the manager practically gave up winning with 15, 20. mins to go in such a big game? Probably hoping Rashford could nick another on the counter ?

Wicked Willy

Just rewatched the match. Tomi and Xhaka total unsung heroes…I’ve never been so in love with this football club as I am right now

Nigel Tufnel

Willy,

I said here after the game, that when people watch it a second time, they will notice so many things that Xhaka does right, that help in defense, attack, transition. Nothing flashy, just always on point. Leadership not a bad bonus too.

dSidstathopoulos

Utd targeted Tomi alot but he handled it well, White seemed unruffled by Rashford or had fitness issues.

dSidstathopoulos

The biggest battle vs man c will be Mahrez vs Zinchenko, when we played Brighton, they targeted that side and we looked vulnerable( Trossard fluffed 2 good chances).

Wicked Willy

Nigel

That’s exactly it. He’s like the oil that keeps our system moving. I was actually shocked by how instrumental he was both on and off the ball. No Hollywood stuff like Zinny and Ode, just steady, reliable, rotational JdP that took advantage of all the spaces opening up offensively and closing them down defensively. Kudos.

Mulerise14

Thinking of it now….. just maybe it was not one of , instead both of Zinchenko and Martinez we went for last summer.. as they are dissimilar in what they bring to the team. Martinez is a fine defender with those Hollywood long passes and Jakub in his own words says he loves lunching passes to help his team in attacking phase.Although Gabriel the defender has really step up this season, Tets wants a playmaker to come in in competition for the LCB spot. Also Tets wants pace, though we are generally quite fast these days, but he wants to… Read more »

Goobergooner

So damn late to the party, but boy oh boy, what a fucking buzz this Arsenal side has brought. What an incredible win and incredible half of a season. Gotta give it to Arteta and the boys big time. What a brilliant turn around, and the Arsenal process is looking the absolute goods. What a fucking roller coaster. God damn rashford to start things off but the insane show of character from the team was tremendous to watch. Arteta has brought in a whole new mentality that is growing with the young team. Something special is definitely brewing here my… Read more »

Jim Lahey

I think the main achievement for Arteta and his coaching staff since their arrival at Arsenal is to stomp out the loser mentality that was rife throughout the club since the mid-2000s. We were a club that would sooner collapse than stand up and fight. We have seen it countless times over the past 20 years. Collapse after collapse. Cesc spoke about the mentality at the club, Sol spoke about it. Arteta has done what had to be done and rooted the problem out by the roots. Any player who showed mental weakness or wasn’t up for the fight has… Read more »

Goobergooner

And I was pretty much calling xhaka one of our weaker links in the build up to the game, he absolutely destroyed me with his play.
I’ll take the legrove curse as a blessing this time ’round 😂

Goobergooner

Yep so true Jim,

He’s even gone a step further on the mentality front, players like guen who have that fight but are more playing for themselves have also gone.

It is a proper team right now and I can’t get enough of it.

It shows that until the 3rd goal went in, we had 3 joint top scorers. Eddie just pipped Saka and ode.

Great to see the goals being shared around and everyone positively contributing

Jim Lahey

I remember Cesc speaking about being on the bus after losing a game, where he would be in bits only to look around and see everyone else joking around totally unaffected by the loss.

Sol on his return said the dressing room was full of players who acted like they were premier league winners when none of them had won anything.

Jim Lahey

@Goobergooner –

Another one when you look back was Martinez he was nailed on as a starter, but when told there were no guarantees for anyone regarding a place in the starting 11 he wanted out.

For too long the club fostered players with a weak mentality, its great to see how far we have come in just 3 years.

Goobergooner

Just looked at the London is red fantasy league for the first time since the start of the season, glad my picks from back then have been good enough for the wooden spoon 😂😂

Goobergooner

Jim,

Yeah in hindsight can’t say Arteta was wrong on that at all. Even if I wanted Martinez to stay.

That fostering mentality being the reason players like Almunia stayed for so long haha.

Freddie Ljungberg

Danjuma to Everton on loan done.

We should still beat them but the timing of this game could have been better for sure.
New manager bounce and new players in.

Jim Lahey

I know he is something of a cult hero with the Reddit crowd but another player I would point to was Laurent Koscielny. My long-standing memory of him as an Arsenal player and an Arsenal captain was whenever we conceded he (along with the rest of the backline) would stare at the ground and avoid eye contact with anyone. This would drive me crazy at the time, with no one taking accountability and your captain staring at his feet. That and him kicking the ball off his own face to allow Antoine Griezmann to score the goal that knocked us… Read more »

Un

This feels like 97:98 all over again It just has that air of destiny about it Not just that we are going to win the title and beat the most dominant and financially superior team in the league but that it’s the start of an era when we will continually battle this rival for dominance, despite their riches If klopp goes then Liverpool will sink If chelsea don’t trust potter to mould his team then they will sink with Bholy however you spell out Spurs are way off It’s looking like United and Newcastle for me as the teams bubbling… Read more »

1970 Gooner

Jim

I couldn’t agree more. So good to see a proper team again after so many years of Arsenal being everyone’s push overs, the team you wanted to play when you needed a result – and Arsenal used to duly oblige! Huge credit to Arteta and everyone else involved in Arsenal’s renaissance. I’ve seen many ups and downs over my 50 plus years of support, and it’s so good to see Arsenal back where we all want to see them.

Goobergooner

Jim 😂😂😂😂
I was actually going to say mert and Kos, but they also kept some very good defensive records.

That Kos assist you mention though hahahaha. I wish you hadn’t reminded me 😂

Jim Lahey

@Un –

“This feels like 97:98 all over again”

You’re forgetting about the 6’5″ Norwegian freak of nature that has 25 goals in 19 games.

Un

Jim Lahey

Mate they are worse with him for 1
Also,

That United side was generational and up there with the greatest of all time in Europe.
Giggs scholes keane stam becks yorke cole ole sherringham Irwin schmeichel Neville
They ruled the league, had the best players and the most money and we came from nowhere with petit anelka and overmars and took it from them

Chris

Un We said this the other day (about 97/98) and there are some nice parallels. When you think back to the season before 96/97 and Wenger coming in, our play style changing, the impact of Vieira. Like the 21/22 team, missing out on CL by a whisker. It was easy to see back then that some big impact signings would have is challenging at the very top. The equivalent this time is Arteta bringing in Zinchenko and Jesus. Plus the incredible job has done with the players he already has, much like Wenger did. Worth noting we had a sticky… Read more »

Rich

Jim There’s more than one way to score the 90+ goals required to compete to win a PL title. We’ve now got plenty of goals spread around, after signing Trossard, with Smith Rowe returning, and Vieira more settled. Our attacking options are the best they’ve been for years, we’ve got a lovely blend, and good options from the bench. I’d rather have our attack than City’s, where we focus on the collective, rather than have our play go through one player, who the entire attacking structure is built around, with one player scores a high percentage of the goals. There’s… Read more »

raptora

Thinking for a second, I’m not sure I’d change Big Gab with Lisandro looking at both for a while now. Yes, Martinez looks like a quality player, but I feel physicality is so important that Gabriel is helping us so much. I’m not sure I’d change that for a better ball playing ability and probably a bit better decision making. Gabriel manhandling a big lump like Weghorst while he was still able to cover for Zinchenko and nullify Antony was a top performance. Lisandro scored hist first goal for Manure, but other than that, Eddie destroyed him because his positioning… Read more »

raptora

New post ofc.

Jim Lahey

@Rich –

I agree, I much prefer our attacking options. Just scary to have that monster loose in the league!

Un

Chris

My thoughts exactly and I couldn’t have put it any better
3 first team players this season have altered our absolute to win games in a way petit Amelia and overmars did
Saliba Jesus and zinchenko

The difference is technicality and mentality this year
We now have the ability to dribble past opponents and hold onto the ball. We have a striker capable of running defenders ragged while bringing others into the game and creating a totally unique goal threat in the league this season. It’s not brute force like Haaland. It’s variety and finesse

Rich

The plan was likely to sign Martinez + Zinchenko, I’m not surprised Arteta has gone for Kiwior, we needed another versatile left sided defender, hopefully we’ve got our talent ID right. Martinez had played centre back in a back 4 + 3, left back, and as a No6, Kiwior has played in similar positions. The plan was always to sign this style of player, we were never going to sign competition/cover for Gabriel, who could only play one position. I like Tierney, but I suspect his race at Arsenal is run. we can’t sign another full back like Zinchenko who… Read more »

Ray+in+LA

Somebody may have shared this already, but just got this from a friend in England…

Conte complements the groundsman on how good the pitch looks

Groundsman replies…”It should, we put 300 million quids worth of shit on it every other week”

Ankle-biter

A