Morning all.
Fresh in our minds no doubt was how sick we all felt when Aston Villa scored their winner in added time at Villa Park just a few weeks ago. That feeling has bubbled away just under the surface since as Arsenal has struggled to score the goals we probably deserved, goals which would perhaps have calmed our frayed nerves. With that recent blow uppermost in the memory of the Arsenal players in particular, the fans most certainly and importantly, the manager Mikel Arteta the most awkward of opponents Aston Villa made the return journey to North London for last night’s showdown.
Revenge was in the air…
Arsenal had a mixture of injury news going into into yesterday’s re-match with an arguably much stronger squad than had travelled to Birmingham a few weeks ago but one absentee sent shivers down our collective spines such is his influence. Returning to the squad and onto the bench was Kai Havertz and Ben White after their protracted layoffs whilst also returning after a short absence was Jurrien Timber to rejoin the King of Brazil who returned to partner William Saliba and thus giving us our strongest defence for quite awhile. Myles dropped down to the subs bench and Ethan missed out altogether. The fly in the ointment was the absence of Declan Rice.
Arsenal went for it from the off whilst Aston Villa spent an inordinate amount of time over goal kicks, throw ins and questionable injuries, disrupting the flow of the game.
After 7 minutes Hincapie got free and charged down the left flank putting over an inviting cross which Gyokeres could only loop over the bar with his well maintained haircut. Arsenal continued to probe but worryingly Villa would spring forward dangerously following turnovers and one of these was when Gyokeres was easily dispossessed which led to Watkins missing a sitter, putting his shot the wrong side of the post – too close for comfort. That was on 13 minutes and soon after Rodgers came close, Villa were waltzing through our midfield far too easily at that time as Villa looked supremely confident and Arsenal looked edgy.
Arteta made a few tactical changes but we still seemed vulnerable as was the case on 31 when Odegaard took a free kick into the Villa box and was snatched out of the air by Martinez and moments later the ball was down the other end and Villa earned a corner. Finally on 35 Trossard clipped a nice cross into the box following a mazy dribble but Gyokeres lifted his header over the bar after skilfully avoiding his marker. As the game approached half-time Sancho burst clear and put over a teasing low cross that had Watkins salivating but a big Saliba toe knocked it away, a great interception that in the end didn’t matter as Sancho was offside.
Half-time 0-0
Arteta made no changes at half-time – which I thought he might – but as it turned out he didn’t need to because his words and instructions had the desired effect on the players as the Arsenal we know and love emerged from the tunnel.
On 47 minutes a Saka corner was arrowed into the goal area and despite Martinez making a meal of it Big Gabby forced it home, no VAR and Arsenal were flying. On 52 Odegaard stole the ball from a dithering Sancho and slide a wonderful pass into the heart of the Villa penalty area where Zubimendi just ran onto it and passed it into the net around a flailing Martinez, the Arsenal fans were in raptures now.
On 62 a quick throw in and some slick interplay from Timber and Saka saw Odegaard narrowly firing over the bar with Martinez nowhere. 3 minutes later an invigorated Odegaard got free in the Villa area and his low shot was just tipped wide by Martinez. A couple of minutes afterwards Odegaard broke free and as Gyokeres pulled to the right taking the Villa defence with him the space opened up on the left for Hincapie bursting into the Villa box but he inexplicably tripped himself over as he received the ball, tragically missing his moment to be a hero.
On 69 minutes and following more incessant Arsenal pressure the ball ran across the face of goal and it found itself at the feet of Leo Trossard who just hooked his shot around a Villa defender and into the net as Martinez stood flat-footed. There were two offside checks by VAR and we all waited and hoped that after winning the Ashes that our Aussie VAR man Jarred would feel a tad more sympathy towards us suffering North London Poms. He did and it was 3-0.
Mikel Merino who’d been cautioned already committed another foul and was walking a tightrope so on 73 minutes Arteta sensibly took him out of the firing line, sending on the reliable Norgaard who had a very solid 20 plus minutes. Then on 77 minute Arteta finally made a couple more changes as on came Jesus for Gyokeres and Myles for Big Gabby who’d taken a couple of big challenges, he’d been absolutely massive.
Barely a minute after coming on Jesus carefully caressed the ball past a static Martinez to make it 4-0 after good work by Zubimendi and Trossard who clipped a tantalising cross to the man who belongs to Christmas. 2 minutes later Saka drove just over the bar as Villa wilted and the Arsenal fans cheered their ole’s.
But it wasn’t over as on 92 Watkins, who never stopped working, headed a chance onto the Arsenal post with Raya seemingly nowhere. The ball rebounded to McGinn who had to score, but Raya saved his effort and the Arsenal fans then began serenading Martinez with some interesting little ditties.
Finally on 94 Malen wriggled past Jesus and Saliba and as his low shot evaded Raya and who was there to score his goal, Watkins. A minute later Arsenal were at the other end and almost made it 5-1, but in the end it ended 4-1 and that’s pretty cool.
The second half was one of Arsenal’s best performances since we beat Tottenham and Bayern and it signalled the end of our recent stuttering run. In past seasons our campaigns have suffered irreparable damage during these runs, but not this time.
It also sends a well-timed message to those arrogant Etihad financed 115 charges merchants in Ardwick and it says, we’re gonna get ya this season…
We march on…
By Kev.
Well done Kev, going for a swim now, back later.
Good post Kev, thank you.
Morning to you, Cicero and all.
Big win last night as Utd, Chelsea and of course Villa dropped points.
Second half was so much better. We did things quicker and with more purpose. But our midfield lacked strength without Rice. Merino just isn’t strong enough imo so I hope Norgaard comes in against Bournemouth if Rice is ruled out.
Emery sulked and scooted off after the game. lol
Good Morning Rico and all. And to those who will be reading the above after 17.00 hrs I bid you Good Ebening.
Lovely match report. Worth reading it over and over again after yesterday. I still found it hard to digest that Arsenal wiped the floor with Villa. And it could have been much more than 4. We toyed with them so much that Martinez lost it at the end, Emery didnt shake Arteta’s hand but went off in a huff. Very disrespectful.
Fingers crossed that Sunderland take points from City tomorrow.
I agree with you Rico against Bournemouth I also feel that Norgaard should come in instead of Merino and push Zubimendi in Rice’ role. I quite like him as a player and feel that he should start more games to give Rice and Zubimendi some needed rest.
Yesterday’s hero was a quiet one….Trossard. He was purring around without any noise but was pulling the strings. Odegaard stepped up as well. The only thing missing was a goal or more by Gyokeres. He is not getting frequent service and has to feed on scraps. I was happy for Jesus that he scored….he needs it. But was a bit pissed off that Gyokeres didn’t manage to score while the player who replaced him did with his first touch. Still we don’t have anyone who does what Gyokeres does.
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. And wish you all a very good year ahead.
Yesterday was a day of endings.
Arsenal ended Villa’s 11 game winning run. And Man Utd ended Wolves 11 game losing streak.
Morning Devil.
Agree re Gyokeres, he’s being lambasted in the media but I still think he’s contributing on the pitch in an important way. His goals will come I’m sure, he perhaps should have had two last night, not that either was easy.
I just hope that second half kind of performance becomes our norm from now on.
Yep, come on Granit and co, do us a favour.
To be fair the heckles were up on the North Bank as we watched Villa using every possible delaying tactic and hitting the ground so many times that it was wondered if there was a sniper on top of the East stand. Couple this with a compliant referee that fell for every one of their tricks the players were getting just as frustrated as the crowd who were totally frustrated by the 3 minutes injury time added when Villa had wasted considerably more .
The second half and the North Bank got the pleasure of an extremely antagonistic Emi Martinez who was getting the brunt of the fans displeasure with ” your just a sh*t David Raya ” and “You’d never save that “ringing in his ears you could see him getting rattled . Obviously this spread to the rest of the players and in the end the benches.
Getting to see things live is different to TV . you get to see the movement off the ball and I am glad to see that Kev mentioned Gyokeres drawing their defence around because he makes space for others although it would be nice for him should one of his irregular half chances make it into the net. White got 4 minutes plus the strange 8 at the end still it gave Arteta the chance to change tactics and go all defensive until they eventually scored .
We have to cut that out because following the McGinn save and another couple of chances had they gone in before Watkin’s goal , we might not be singing the same songs this morning .
Last Christmas you gave me your heart and the very next day you gave it away , this year to save us from tears we’ll give it to Zubimendi.
Bet that will now be an ear worm for all today.
Morning all,
Thanks Kev,what a great result,hilarious to see the look on the face of Martinez,I like him as a keeper but he plays the villain so well. Raya is amazing,how great to see the Saliba/Gabriel partnership back.
It was important for our confidence and belief going forward to score a few goals.
I actually thought Gyokeres played well,he badly needs a goal though.
It’s got to be one game at a time,if Man City win all their games they are champions,same for us so it’s close. I’m sure points will be dropped by both sides,there’s a long way to go.
I wouldn’t rule Liverpool out either but really it’s City that are our rivals.
Come on Sunderland.
Happy New year everyone.
The fans ridiculing Martinez came across loud and clear on the TV. It was great.
Midfield definitely missed Rice and in hindsight, which is such a wonderful thing, we might have been better with Norgaard started.
Afternoon Gooners, afternoon Rico and thanks for the positive responses.
Yeah, Gyokeres is never going to get any credit for the unselfish work he does but I noticed both Havertz and Jesus with Viktor at the end in a huddle as part of the strikers union.
I agree Rico with Norgaard starting at Bournemouth, Arteta also needs to keep a close eye on Leo Trossard as he must be due a sit-down after all his hard work of late. Hincapie continues to do a sterling job at left-back and as cover for Big Gabby, the media won’t notice of course but frankly who cares what those tossers think…
I’m not holding out much hope for a weakened Sunderland but I guess you never know?
In the end it’s what we do that counts and if we can keep on winning it’s in our hands.
Have a very Happy New Year and a prosperous 2026 with much sparkling silver to celebrate outside the Town Hall in Upper Street.
Raya’s double save was brilliant, shame they scored from a ball which went through his legs though.
Agree Limey, Martinez is a great keeper but he comes across as a ghastly person. Arrogant too.
Used to be similar with Lacazette Kev, a grafter for the team but judged on his lack of goals.
Certainly need to shuffle the pack a bit at Bournemouth, both Madueke and/or Martinelli could do with a start. Nwaneri needs time on the pitch too.
I hope Ethan stays Rico and doesn’t go out on loan as has been mooted and when we get to Wembley in the League Cup that he is part of the squad and gets some minutes on the pitch because that would be great for his development both technically and emotionally.
Me too Kev, not sure why he’s not at least coming off the bench. Not even making the squad will have hurt I’m sure. However, I think he’s contributing will go out on loan, perhaps after the FA Cup match.
Merino was lucky not to have received a second yellow card in the second half. The foul he committed was worthy of a yellow card. It would have been his second.
Tossard has been the most influential player at Arsenal this season. Good year to everyone and may Arsenal be Champions (at least this title…)
He certainly was lucky Jm.
Afternoon all, good report Kev, it sent shivers down my spine😆.
That Saliba tackle was all important, it was onside and VAR would have given the goal as linesman put flag up after the ball was out.
Amazes me that our players often have big back lift and often such weak shots. Jesus hardly a back lift and a beauty of a goal, all in the timing.
An early HNY to all housers and especially rico for keeping the good ship sailing.
Nwaneri out of squad yesterday, who will join him if Rice is fit on Saturday?
Happy new year to you too Andrew.
I guess a number of players are going to miss out on being in the squad, especially when Mosquera and Calafiori return.
A very good problem to have. Except we probably won’t, because more injuries will be suffered. It’s what we do😂
Ha ha, let’s hope that’s not the case for once and Arteta can use the squad to keep us pushing through.
We had a great win but how many times did the commentators try to help Villa by talking about their injured players during the match and yet hardly mentioned ours.
Congratulations to the fans who were very loud, from the start and never gave the Villa fans a chance to boost their players.
Happy New Year Rico and all
I just woke up. Been sleeping since last year 😂😂
Fingers crossed it will be a good year for us…. Ending with winning the Charity shield and European Super Cup.
Goodness knows how much we deserve that. We have suffered a lot. We got called quite a lot of names….we have gone from Set Piece FC, Boring FC, Own goals FC, Penalty FC etc. and we are top.
Morning Devil 😀 happy new year to you and all.
New post up.
May I wish you all what you wish for yourselves in 2026.
Thank you Rico for your hard work keeping the House in tip top running order.
some good results last night with both Man C and Liverpool drawing in their matches.
New post up.