WALKING IN A TROSSARD WONDERLAND

ARSENAL RE-ENTER TITLE RACE

Sometimes, to tee up a match report, you focus on what the best manager in the world is saying about his game.

“It’s unacceptable,"

“Because I’ve won I have the courage to tell you. For the health of the players, it’s not normal. I don’t understand how we survived today. Why play today and not tomorrow, when Coventry, Chelsea, and United didn’t play midweek? Why not have one more day for the health of the players? Tell me how you prepare for this final against Chelsea in the best moment of the season? How? It’s impossible. There’s no chance.”

City put on a disasterclass. They didn't hit the target in the first half. They avoided a loss only because Nico Jackson offered up Darwin Nunez-first-season levels of finishing.

So, if Man City is struggling – with a better squad, better players, way more experience, and double the wage bill – you'd expect the same from Arsenal.

Wrong.

Arsenal went to Wolves and discharged an almighty dump on the concern we'd fail. Arsenal had 24 shots, 9 on target. We limited Wolves to 0.14 xG. Our second half was 100% better than the first. Some of our best play came after 88 minutes. Given fatigue, the emotional drain, and the difficulty of the opponent... that was a really f***ing good result.

This is from the BBC:

Of the top five, only Liverpool have won at Molineux this season and even then they needed to come from behind with two late goals.

Manchester City and Tottenham have been beaten while Aston Villa only took a point in October.

Extending it to the top seven, Newcastle drew 2-2 while Manchester United needed Kobbie Mainoo’s injury-time winner to snatch a bonkers 4-3 win two months ago.

That win was massive. There were so many outrageous performances:

Ben White was nearly Man of the Match. Insanely good. The Daily Mail tried to ensure away fans booed him after his England snub, but it hasn't happened. Fans like him. He is an incredible player. What an absolute star. There are so many layers to his game, the idea Timber is coming to replace him is pure absurdity.

Declan Rice's reputation for being a robot incapable of fatigue took a hit. He wasn't having it, brutalizing Wolves for 90 minutes. When you need to lock down a game, he's the guy you want cleaning up – or powering into Wolves' box with a bursting run. His energy gave the team such a lift. What a leader.

David Raya, you absolute KING. That save where he tipped the ball onto the post rescued our season. If we go 1-0 down, we're dead. No chance we're clawing the back. Besides another worldie save, his basics are so f***ing good. His passing has swagger, his ability to make our box very boring is so damn welcome. The fact he chooses to hold the ball as his first instinct is in stark contrast to Jose Sa at the other end.

David Raya is just the second goalkeeper in Premier League history to keep a clean sheet in six consecutive away Premier League appearances after Edwin van der Sar for Manchester United between November 2008 – February 2009 (a run of 7).

— Harvey Downes (@HarveyDownes92) April 20, 2024

Kai bloody Havertz. Started the season with a negative favorability rating, now he's the first name on the team sheet. His blank expression fools people into thinking he's not doing bits on the pitch. The guy is relentless. He'll put his leg in a blender to win a duel, he's first into the press, he connects everybody, and is so damn good at winning the ball back. £65m was a bargain.

How about Trossard? Some parts of his game aren't always ideal, but one feature you can't get enough of is the goals and assists. Everyone plays by the rules in our squad, apart from this guy – the only player who comes close to greedy. He's who you look to when SCREAMING, "please dear lord SHOOT." His goal might have been an accident, but as Wayne Gretzky said, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.” Damn right, Wayne. That Trossard squeeze kept our heads in the game and saved our season.

The unsung hero has to be Arteta. He lifted a team dead on their feet and got them to play harder in the second half than the first. His tactical setup and motivational skills kept Wolves quiet and allowed us to dominate a game most fans thought was a massive banana skin. Credit where it's due - he stopped our April from going off the rails again.

Will there be harder games ahead? Sure. But that massive win will give the players renewed belief heading into a rough Chelsea game and a cup final away at Spurs.

The biggest achievement now is pushing City until the end of the season. If they want to go on a perfection run, what can you do? All we can ask of the boys is to create their own perfection and leave it all on the field. I wasn't sure we could do that before yesterday. Now, I think we could do something, and I don't think City is nailed on for 6 straight wins.

But we'll see. If you wan the podcast, sign up to Patreon or Substack, and remember, Le Grove will be moving there permanently very soon!