Morning all.
Firstly, a special mention for the under 18’s who thumped Totts 6-0 yesterday. Any victory over that lot is something to smile about regardless of which Arsenal team it is so well done boys…
Secondly, there’s a few headlines around which suggest Arsenal are soon to announce that ex Director of Football at Barcelona Raul Sanllenhi is joining the club. Well, that has to be good news if it’s true. Sanllenhi is a chum of Ivan’ Gazidis according to reports. Do I dare suggest our very own CEO is behind this move? Regardless, if Sanllenhi arrives it suggests life after Arsene Wenger is not far away.
Off up north we are then ready to face a very disciplined Burnley side and no doubt we Arsenal fans are wondering the same this morning. Which Arsenal team will turn up? Personally I’ve no idea just like I’ve not for the six or seven years.
Last weekend we were at it, focussed and together. Today we have to be at the same level although the Burnley defence will be far better than the Totts. One only has to look at how few goals they’ve conceded to realise that. Sean Dyche is doing a fantastic job with his team, a team which no doubt cost far less than ours to assemble, and earn far less than our players get paid but what they have as a group, can’t be bought. It has to come from within, the manager, the coaches and the players. They are all clearly together as one.
We as a club are in a bit of a mess. We have players who want out, a manager many fans want gone and a board who never fail to impress, but for all the wrong reasons.
i digress.
Results this weekend have done us a bit of a favour, but that favour will only help us if we win today. Totts drew, Liverpool drew with Chelsea and now it’s up to us to take advantage. Three points would see us leapfrog the Totts into fourth spot. Liverpool too will drop down a place and just one point would then separate us and Chelsea.
As already said, first up we need to win!
Two players, that’s all we have missing from the squad right now. One is Santi, the other Theo but the latter is just ill and bearing in mind it’s November, it’s a miracle. But it’s also a massive boost as we enter the busy festive period real soon.
Burnley will no doubt sit back and try to hit us on the break. Apparently their defence like to push out from defence in order to catch the opposition offside so our front line needs to be smart and not get caught out. A cute ball through their defence and we’ll be in on goal.
We have to play with speed because tippy tappy stuff won’t work, not against a team who’ll be on us as soon as we get the ball. Ramsey needs to quit the flicks and tricks and concentrate on the simple stuff, they all do. This Burnley side is full of workers and they’ll give everything from start to finish.
The biggest question is will we?
So far this season we’ve been poor away from home, results reflect that so it’s about time Wenger and his players started performing on the road. It’ll be cold up north but the best way to keep warm is by working hard on the pitch and giving everything they’ve got for the Arsenal shirt on their backs.
If anyone has a good stream for the match, please post the link in the comments, thanks.
Thanks Rico for a post that summerises everything we need to know, I`ll just add one thing ….we have to look after Robbie Brady as he statistically has the most crosses in the EPL…….a one man team ! hahaha
Morning Rico. Good post and you’re right. We never know what team will show up and whether they will fancy it.
Ah, but are the good crosses Lc? I read yesterday that Tripper was the most successful with his crosses…
Morning Adam, thanks.
It’s totally the opposite of Wengers early years isn’t it? I used to expect us to win back then, just as under George I expected us to keep a clean sheet. Nowadays I haven’t a clue from one match to another..
Dont know about that Rico, but Brady is second today as a Newcastle player played yesterday and overtaken him by 2 !.
All stats here……………
https://www.premierleague.com/stats/top/players
Burnleys defenders are high up on clearances blocks etc`stats……………..they park the bus !
Great post – honest even if we hate to admit it! We are a true enigma, and whatever mood we are in sets the tone of the game. Hopefully, we are still up from the spuds win. We have to be tight, press high and break at lightning speed like city do. My thoughts on Theo? Leave and reinvent a fast disappearing career.
Whatever they’re doing Lc, it’s clearly working and if we can’t beat them today it’ll be them in the top four and not us. A draw is unthinkable really…
Thanks DB.
Pace is certainly the way to go, width too. But if we start passing sideways and backwards, Burnley will lap it up all day…
Might take a cracker from Xhaka to open the game up because if we can take an early lead, it’ll make Dyche change his tactics…
Problem is their parked bus is very organised and pace will only catch them out IF they attack !…………..we wont need to press as ythey will already be defending in their area !………………we will have to work our way inside and outside of them and I`m afraid that means lots of possession and thats means a lot of sideways and backwards stuff, but as you say, a few long range shots might help from Xhaka and Alexis……………………….you`re also right that an early goal from us will make Dyche change tactics and open up which we can then exploit !…………………7-0 to the good guys then !
🙂
I reckon you’re underestimating Burnley Lc…
Hahaha…………All said with tongue firmly in cheek, but I do expect nothing other than a win and anything else and I`ll expect to be reading some entertaining stuff from Lee and Jeff !
😆
Morning all,
It will be cold up North but we can’t use that as an excuse, the one thing this team does have is gloves !
Cold, windy, sleety rain, they better be up for it, a goal against the run of play and back on the team bus with all 3 points, that’ll do me today.
Think we should rename someone George Micko Graham…………..
Looks as if Arsene has had to accept change whilst he was in charge and maybe that was the real reason behind his delay in signing his ‘last’ contract.
I guess it makes sense for Gazides to be making the changes necessary whilst there is some stability in the managers office.
I can see Gazides continuing in this vein and we may well see a managerial change sooner than we think.
Never again will we see one man trying to run the whole show again.
Morning Rico and all
Being on level points with the inbreds can be read both ways and they don’t concede much nor score many.
Same team for me that beat Spurs and gratefully Walcott still has a cold. A narrow win is the order of the day.
Interesting thought Kev and seems like you’re right as I’m sure if it was down to Wenger, he’d be ploughing on with things as they were.
I’m still convinced he’ll be replaced in the summer..
Afternoon Kelsey
One change from last weekend. Iwobi in for Ozil who is not even on the bench.
Drat and double drat !……………….no Holy Trinity !……………………will have to adjust my prediction, this will now be a close game and I take us to edge it 5-0…………….
Team…………………
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/934768718000939008
Lee mason is effing cnut !
What’s he done Kk?
We holding on but that cnut keep giving Burnley imaginary fouls and free kicks.
Afternoon rico. .it’s a conspiracy
Ah right, no surprise there then.
1st half Burnley came into us with their high and long balls, but we held on ..Mustafi has been excellent so far ..sanchez looked very disinterested. .may be he misses his body ozil
Ramsey trying hard but no quality and missed a good chance when lacazett played him on. .
Buddy ozil I meant
We have to improve in the final third otherwise I see us loosing this on 2 nill
Not all going our way then by far. Good to hear that re Mustafi..
1 nil to The Arsenal Wath !!!
Bloody heck, Mason gave us a penalty then….
Good win..
Well well well. ..I did say Mason is effing cnut ??
Soft penalty but no complain from me. .
Definite penalty?
Nor me Kk…
0-1 !
Many doubts in the penalty.
Wilshere was the worst player.
I told you we would win easy !
🙂
Nearly right on the possession, I said we would have 65/70%…………………!% out……64%……………………………nearly right on the score aswell……….just 4 goals out !
😆
Lets celebrate current 4th spot…….all around Rico`s for a party !
🙂
I do love a late penalty win. 🙂
Second half Burnley parked 3 double decker buses,
our passing and crossing in the final third were very poor. .
Solid performance from mustafi, kosa and monreal, poor from bellerin and kola.
Good win by all accounts!
Must be frustrating for Dyche played us to perfection then as the game is dying one of his players acts the idiot.
But there is nothing to celebrate we really are toothless when we come up against this type of team.
Perfect way to win and upset the rest of the country. Poor gallant little Burnley. Bollox to ’em I say! 😀 😀 😀
The best bit ?…………………into injury time and Spud fans are getting ready to take the piss, but we like to lead them into a false sense of security ! hahaha……………………….think how sick they will be feeling that we have gone above them at the death !…….hahaha
Fcuk the rest of the country,Bob, upsetting the Spuds is enough for me !
😆
If Ozil is fit on Wedfnesday, then expect a record EPL home win score…………………………one day I will get it right ! hahaha
Dyche can go back to his other part-time job as a bailiff going around houses repossessing pigeons and flat caps etc from skint northerners !
We beat them home and away in injury time last season as well, life’s a bitch.
I know we won, are 4th and upset the Spuds………….as well as Bindippers, but I am missing Lee and Jeff`s Wenger rants !……………..they make my day happier from boredom !…
😆
Is it worth me watching the highlights later, or just the last three minutes of added time? ?
I`m even more confident we will rack up a record score against Huddersfield, they couldn`t even beat Mansour City with 20% posession and no shots on target !……………………..these northern teams are rubbish and wont be able to handle the near tropical heat of the south and thats if trhey get to the ground as they will probably be arrested for being vagrants before entering fortress Ems…………………
I shall watch the whole game tonight Rico as one of my anorak passions is to watch and see how many people( not Arsenal fans) I can count at Turf Moor who are not wearing a flat cap and dont have pigeon shit on their flies !
rico, you’d be better off reading about it in tomorrows post, that’s what I do anyway.
Here you go Rico…………penalty and decission………………………you may see that the supporters in the background cellebrating are not wearing flat caps, they are the Arsenal fans !..hahaha
https://twitter.com/xArsenalTerje/status/934813315305525248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Farsenalarsenal.net%2F2017%2F11%2F26%2Fup-north-again%2F
Don’t think it’s on anywhere Lc.
Micko, that’s a great idea and exactly what I’m going to do… lol
If I watch that Lc, it’ll ruin motd later… lol
I think Rico`s post tomorrow, Micko, is going to be about the …..”power shift “!
😆
Huddersfield are going to be a tricky side to play this week, they caused City a few problems by all accounts. They are a rough lot too…
Night guys..
Morning all.
So much pushing and shoving by defenders occurs during set plays, yet it hardly ever draws a foul.
Poor old Giroud is monstered all the time, but then, it could be said he’s big enormous go to cope 🙂
Still, I only saw the incident once, and thought it was penalty.
Not to say it doesn’t happen all the time, but it doesn’t make it any less a foul.
We’ve had a better November than most years, recently.
“Big enormous” should read big enough!!
Morning Scott, all.
New post up now.