They were dark days indeed, my friends. Unai Emery took the Arsenal job, and I was not happy about it from day one. I tried to hide my disdain for the hire (for 3 hours), but I knew that he’d not be the right fit over the long term.

In the end, I was right. Arteta was the promised land. The Emery-istas have been firmly mudded. But the karmic forces have not forgiven me and they regularly slap me in the form of Arsenal punishments (Villareal and Villa in December).

This weekend, Emery has the chance to destroy our title dreams. If he does, it’ll be my fault.

But… are there clues as to why this might not happen?

Here’s the thinking. The Europa Conference represents UEFA coefficient points. The more points England achieves against Germany, the more likely the 5th place UCL position goes to England. Emery has the chance to impact that final number where I believe all Euro comps at this point have the same level of points that contribute to the total.

So what do we know about Emery?

The man is a playboy, he was having affairs in London with the white witch, he’s a big dog alpha male who loves winning things. He has an ego like all the best managers do, and his not winning a trophy at Arsenal dented his rep.

What do we know about Villa?

They haven’t won a trophy since 1996. That’s 27 years. If Unai can win something for Villa, that’s a new 5 year deal at a higher number than he’s on now. It also cements him as a legend at a big club.

This is what he said in January.

“To win a cup is very difficult, and here in England I think it’s more difficult than in other countries.

“I want to do something but every opportunity I have is a challenge.”

Trophies are on his mind and we know the sort of trophies he’s good at winning… the European variety. Here’s what he had to say about playing Lille in the quarters of the Europa Conference.

“We are having experiences and that is most important, being competitive and trying to be successful.

“We are excited and we wanted to get the opportunity we have in front of us in the quarter-final of the Conference League.

“For us, it’s very important to try to focus on this way because everything we did before was getting us to the quarter-final and trying to enjoy the moment we have.”

What am I reading here? That the priority is a trophy.

What stands in his way?

Lille’s next two games are Villa. No Ligue 1 games. Emery is clearly rattled by this. It will be affecting his thinking because Villa have played a lot of games.

“Lille is the same. Respect the competition and respect the opponent. They have experiences in Europe, Lille as a team. I know their president is very competitive and an experienced man in Europe.

“They are focusing on this competition and this quarter-final, not playing between two matches against us in the French league. They have good players with good experiences in Europe.

“They have a good coach, Fonseca, an experienced coach. They have very good players, individually. They are a very competitive team with a very good coach.”

What do we know about Villa in the Premier League?

Manchester United are not catching Villa or Spurs. 4th or 5th is not a trophy for Emery.

So let’s sum this all up:

• Villa is guaranteed top 5 this season bar a catastrophe
• The better English clubs do in Europe, the higher the chance the EPL gets the 5th CL spot
• Beating Lille adds to the chances of securing Champions League (because of coefficients)
• Lille has a straight shot at Villa with no games in-between

If you are Emery – are you going all-in against Arsenal? Or would you rotate because of the context of the moment?

Are you risking the fitness of players that are tweaking?

Are you risking your very best players in a high-intensity game?

If you have a big ego, what is more important… 5th place in the league, or ANOTHER European trophy?

I think you know the answer to all those questions.

… and as a little reminder. 2 seasons ago, David Moyes put all his chips on beating Arsenal in the league despite having a chance at Champions League qualification if he could beat Eintracht Frankfurt in the semis of the Europa League. He fatigued his side and West Ham went out 4 days later. It was a very dumb decision.

Question is this: What is more important to Unai? Avenging my aggressive blogging… or a trophy for Villa?

We’ll wait and find out.

See you in the comments.

Well that was a very weird evening. Arsenal heads into the second leg of the Bayern game with a 2-2 draw and a sharp reminder that top teams, with top players, do not roll over to the new kids on the block.

Things started well, Bukayo Saka created a wild piece of individual brilliance when he received a Ben White pass with his back to goal and with one smooth turn, managed to front up to goal and bang an unstoppable missile past Neuer.

Everything was going well, Bayern had no answers, until they had two.

Bayern did well to capitalise on two very dopey mistakes by Arsenal. For the first, David Raya was out of position, that threw Big Gabi into making a mistake with a pass that missed a flatfooted Kiwior, Bayern broke in transition, Goretzka turned Mesut Ozil and slipped the perfect ball into the diagnol run of Serge Gnabry and the rest is history. Last time I saw Serge do something in the Champions League it was when he was a teenager and he gave the ball away allowing Schalke to score. No such luck last night.

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The quarterfinals are finally upon us, Arsenal are back in the big time, and we’re playing one of the giants of European football. Bayern Munich, the club Ivan Gazidis held up as the model he wanted to adopt at Arsenal 10 years ago, are coming to town. They elicit Bavarian pride, they are competitive, and they dominate the cultural landscape in Germany. Arsenal kinda move like Bayern these days. We’re hoovering up the best talent in the league, we play expansive football, and we’re getting close to dominance on the pitch.

This evening is a chance to show that we can be dominant on the biggest of stages.

Major questions around selection are all over the pitch because we have a fully fit squad to choose from.

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Start of the week. What does this week contain? A quarter-final in the Champions League against the MIGHTY Bayern Munich. This is what football is all about, people. Being in the mixer for a massive competition, with the chance to avenge a very one-sided abusive relationship with a German institution.

I’m excited.

I spoke with top-tier German football expert Rafa Honigstein about the game and he was not particularly bullish about Bayern Munich’s chances given the shift in our form and the decline in their form. You will obviously go and listen to the podcast, but overall, the vibe is their team isn’t in a good place from a confidence perspective, the system isn’t really working, and there are questions of commitment from some of the players.

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The Brighton away game was undoubtedly one of the toughest of our nine remaining fixtures. De Zerbi is a great manager, Brighton has speed and technical talent in abundance, and their home record amounted to just one loss since August.

It didn’t matter, again.

Our 2024 has been so impervious to pain that Arsenal fans were genuinely losing their minds after 12 rough minutes. Brighton got in behind us through the middle because we were pressing them so hard.

Still, the defense held strong. There weren’t many high-quality strikes at our goal, and for all their huff, there was very little to show for it.

Arsenal looked totally in control and incredibly fresh. It was hard to point out one player who was setting the tempo, because this squad has been built around 11 tempo setters. David Raya’s passing was electric, Gabriel and Saliba were composed and free from constraint. Our midfield had Odegaard, Jorginho, and Rice all at the top of their game. Our front line had the relentless pairing of Jesus and Kai. Saka was playing injured and he still looked decent.

It was Saka who opened the scoring. Jesus won a stonewall penalty that the pundits couldn’t seem to fathom. Even De Zerbi agreed after the game it was a good decision. Bukayo made no mistake with a very convincing penalty that sent the keeper the wrong way. We spoke on the podcast about never really feeling totally convinced by his penalties, but he doesn’t miss many. So maybe I need to get that on the agenda with my therapist?

Just before halftime, David Raya stepped forward with something we’ve all been waiting for… a really fucking big save. Encisco, who looks very much like Martinez at Villa, created some space just outside our box and let off a curling shot that had a similar flight to the Porto goal, but this time, the footwork was perfection from Raya and his giant outstretched arms kept the ball out.

Do we want to talk about the disgusting piece of skill from Saliba inside our box to set an attack on its way? Wild. He is the best centre back in the world right now. No doubt.

I had conversations at halftime about the dangers of the second half. Concede early, the crowd get fired up, and it’s the Alamo. 1-0 was dangerous, even 2-0 was nervy. How would the players approach the game?

They dug in deep, channelling the defensive and shithousery powers of the greatest joy-killing teams of the past. Inter, Porto, and Athleti would have been proud.

We let Brighton have the ball and we shut them out of the game. We duelled like our lives depended on it and absorbed their pressure hoping to catch them in transition and kill off the game.

Our reward came exactly that way. Jorginho nicked the ball, Odegaard used his Norwegian radar to catch his run, the Italian sauntered into the box unfollowed and picked out the run of Kai Havertz.

We had another transitional moment when we caught Brighton exposed at the back. Trossard, who as booed coming on, belted through the middle, Kai Havertz found his run, the Belgian glided into the box and chipped the Brighton keeper with a ‘fuck you very much’ goal for the scrapbook.

The only dampener of the evening was Saka admitting he played the game injured. He’s a warrior, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see him play against Bayern this week, but it was still a concern.

I said before the restart this pod of three games was going to define our title credentials. If we could win all three, we’d faves for the title, if we could avoid losing, we’d be in the mixer.

Well, we’re firmly in the mixer and looking like the best team in the league… still.

There are going to be twists and turns. I don’t think all the teams are going to win all their games. But it’s starting to feel like an unsightly draw might be enough to take teams out of contention. Lady Luck has been with Liverpool and even City yesterday. Will she be there for the rest of the season?

Hope not…

Liverpool vs United would have been one of those ‘could be a draw’ afternoons if it were 1999. But it’s not. It’s 2024 and they are a trainwreck across the board. They have a manager who is marching a Premier League green mile. They have a squad that just doesn’t give a shit about anything. Even the bright lights of prime time on Sunday, at Old Trafford, with the chance to kill Liverpool… will not be enough. It’ll be a shellacking today. The last serious game EtH lines up for before he plots his move to a Bundesliga team this summer. Do not waste air getting excited about that game.

All we can do is focus on what we’re doing… and that’s really good right now. Mikel Arteta has created a monster team that is winning the Premier League over the next two seasons. We have everything you need to win big trophies now… imagine what things will look like when we add 2 or 3 massive players that can add depth.

All our summer signings have been blowout successes. Kai Havertz has been transformative in 2024. He’s so complete for this system. His output is the best it’s been since moving to England. He creating, assisting, and doing serious amounts of off ball work that has been crucial to making us meaner and more aggressive.

Even our January signings from last season have been crucial to who we are this season. Trossard is an output monster, and Jorginho has made it really hard to move him out of the starting 11, even with the re-emergence of Thomas Partey. That’s a next man up attitude that sums up this squad perfectly, and the manager running it.

This is a blessed season. When I started writing this blog with my dad, the hope was for a better, more competitive Arsenal. Only a few teams in world football can win the major honours, all you ask for is your club do their best to make sure they are in contention every season. We are in contention for UCL and Premier League. We could realistically win either. The last time you could say that was 2004 and I’m not sure we ever really felt those Arsenal sides were tactically equipped to deal with the best of Europe.

Well, now we are. We have a generational manager, a tag no one scoffs at now. We have generational players. A generational owner if we’re honest. We have the best system in world football. Add a sprinkling of special this summer – and let the experience of this season bed in – and we are back to the big time for next 8 years.

Just remember this: Don’t get wrapped up in being a snob. We’ve tasted poverty, it was horrible, now we’re back in the big time always remember where we’ve come from. Why do I say that? Because I’d never truly tasted hardship growing up – when the glory years landed, I didn’t enjoy them enough. I am going to enjoy this era like you wouldn’t believe, because you never know when it’ll stop.

Ok, that’s me done. If you want to listen to the On The Whistle, you gotta sign up to our Patreon (HERE). Also, I have an elite German football writer on the podcast to talk Bayern with me later today. One of my fave writers on sport across all genres. That’ll drop on Patreon too. So sign up, or I’ll knock on your front door and ask some very serious questions.

Happy FRIYAY, everyone! How’s it going? I’ve been tinkering with ChatGPT to iron out those pesky grammar and spelling errors. AI is phenomenal, but let me tell you, its best feature is making things very mediocre.

In short, you won’t be replacing me with a pocket tech pet anytime soon.

The Arsenal news world is buzzing.

Bukayo Saka is apparently undergoing a late fitness test. You never quite know with Mikel – this could be genuine, or it might just be him throwing out misinformation to keep a beastly opponent guessing about his strategems.

My take? Don’t gamble when there are two trophies up for grabs and still 23% of the season left to play.

Brighton might be conquerable without Saka, but I’m not so sure about Bayern.

Arteta assures that Saka will fly through the rest of the season… so that’s promising. He’s the game-changer. Can’t wait to have him back! He has the aura some of the Arsenal greats had. He is psychological boost for the fans and the player. Also, he’s someone who keeps managers and defenders up all night because he’s a nightmare to deal with.

Speaking of the German side, they’re grappling with some injury woes of their own ahead of their match tomorrow. Neuer, Sané, Coman, Pavlovic, and Mazraoui are all sidelined. It’s uncertain whether it’s just rest and recovery or something more serious. But for a team with nothing left to fight for domestically, it doesn’t quite add up to leave key players out of the squad, especially when they’re struggling.

Brighton isn’t the most ideal opponent to face before a crucial home game as they’ll put our fullbacks through the wringer, ensuring a fiercely contested 90 minutes. Nonetheless, a quick trip back home is always welcome. Players can hit the sack early, gearing up for a pivotal few weeks of football.

I’m not sure if Arteta will opt for major rotations in this game, but it’s something he’ll have to consider. Relying on the squad for the final 11 games of the season is imperative. Exhausted players don’t win matches. If the Premier League games have taught us anything, it’s that City and Arsenal seem to be in better physical shape than Liverpool. Many are predicting that both City and Liverpool will sweep all their remaining games, but I have my doubts, particularly about Liverpool.

It’s just a shame they won’t drop points against a United side that has conceded a whopping 200 shots since the turn of the year. They’re both incredibly poor and fortunate simultaneously. However, that luck won’t hold up at home this weekend. My prediction? We’ll witness a landslide victory and an early exit for EtH, putting an end to his lacklustre campaign. Fingers crossed Gareth Southgate steps in afterward.

Kai Havertz is the talk of the town among fans, so it was refreshing to hear Arteta speak highly of him, with the player returning the sentiment.

‘He’s been a guiding force since my arrival, introducing me to a whole new dimension of football that I had yet to experience, aiding my development on the pitch as a player.

‘I’m immensely grateful for his assistance and his dedication to improving players, and that’s what sets him apart.’

‘I’ve never encountered a coach who’s so meticulous and offers such diverse insights, possibly even uncovering aspects of the game I wasn’t aware of.’

Players won’t openly criticize a manager, but they certainly aren’t obliged to sing their praises. This sentiment has been consistent with Arteta since his Manchester City days. He possesses a unique perspective, knows how to communicate effectively, and elevates players’ performance. If you’re not convinced by now, I’m afraid I can’t sway you.

One player I’m eager to see a better performance from tomorrow is Gabi Jesus. With Saka’s fitness in question, we might catch a glimpse of Jesus in a more versatile role. Assuming Kai starts in the middle, could we see the two Brazilian wingers filling the remaining spots? It seems plausible… and I’d prefer Jesus over Trossard any day.

Alright, that’s a wrap for me today. Check out the latest Patreon with Matt, Johnny, and Pedro. It’s a real gem. I think I might even talk about myself in the third person… or was it AI tech?

Catch you in the comments. xxx

P.S. Don’t forget to console all the Erik Ten Hag fanboys this weekend. ‘He’s got an identity in 4 weeks’ was the tagline. Yet yesterday, he managed to set a record for conceding 200 shots in the year 2024. Madness, I tell you.’

The rotation merchants took a scalp in the Luton Town game. Mikel Arteta made 5 pretty substantial changes to his starting 11 and exited with two goals, a clean sheet, less than 0.3 xG, and a MoTM performance from Emile Smith Rowe.

It was a great evening considering we rested Kiwior, Rice, Jorginho, Jesus, Saka, and Martinelli. I’m not sure there’s too much to write about. It was drama-less. We started strongly, controlled the spaces we normally control, and we were clinical when we needed to be.

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