Morning all.
Well that game had it all. For the neutral, it was probably enjoyable but I found it frustrating because we looked so out of ideas in the final third. I thought to myself, if the Arsenal team was a pop group, it’d be called Everything But The Goals!
Wolves took the lead thanks to a well wrapped gift presented to them by Gabriel and that’s how it stayed for most of the game. Wolves had a few really good opportunities to increase their lead, we certainly had plenty of chances to equalise.
The break came and went and the game looked like it would fizzle out with Wolves taking maximum points back to the West Midlands but then Mikel Arteta made his changes. On came Nicolas Pepe and off went Cedric Soares. What an impact he had too. 1-0 soon became 1-1 thanks to his turn and shot. A super goal. Time wasting along with confusion over a Wolves substitution meant 6 extra minutes were added on at the end. Just long enough for Alex Lacazette to nick a winner. Own goal my foot! LOL
Whilst it might be frustrating, disappointing too that Arsenal are struggling to convert scoring opportunities into goals, this group of players refuse to give up. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen Arsenal as they were last night, for a long time and as much as I’ll always be grateful for the goals Aubameyang scored for us, the group Mikel Arteta has now, seem a tighter unit. We have a player wearing the captains armband who is prepared to track back, defend and clear danger. A guy who then turns to his fans and asks for more, and gets it. A guy who might be struggling to score goals, but leads by example in every other sense of the word. Why? Because that’s what Mikel Arteta clearly asks of his players and they are responding.
Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey are now doing things in games which they weren’t doing before Christmas. Cedric Soares is playing as well as he’s probably ever played and the Arsenal dugout consists of players and staff who clearly feel part of what’s going on on the pitch. The reaction when Pepe equalised was of pure joy but when Lacazette scored the winner, the celebration went up a notch. They knew, just as we fans did, that the victory was massive for the club. The way the result was achieved was huge. Arsenal won last night because no one gave up. I don’t think Arsenal were at their best, but the three points won will possibly feel like the best they’ve won for a while.
I’m often having a moan and groan about Mikel Arteta and his substitutions but last night, they made the difference. A ball from Martin Odegaard found Eddie Nketiah, he cut the ball back to Pepe who took a touch with his right foot, spun so the ball was on his left and finished with precision. Lovely to watch. The winner, well I’m sure you’ve seen in a few times by now but it came after some nice touches from Odegaard and Pepe and a slight deflection from the Wolves keeper. But it was no more than Lacazette deserved.
Wolves are a very good team. They are hard to beat because they’re hard to break down. Yes they wasted a lot of time because they had a lead to protect but let’s not get all holier than thou because I’m sure Arsenal have been guilty of time wasting in the past, just as I’m sure they will sometime in the future but the six minutes added on because of it, cost them dear in the end. Perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned from that.
We don’t play now until March 6th but West Ham play Wolves this weekend so one of them, maybe both will drop points. Totts face a Leeds side which shipped 6 goals at Anfield in the week and Man Utd take on Watford who’re our next opponents so that’s worth keeping an eye on.
See you in the comments.
Morning all!
I’m proud to be an Arsenal fan!
Morning Jm, all.
Is that because Arsenal beat a Portuguese English team? 😜
Nice one, Rico! I’m buzzing…
Reminded me of Leicester game (remember Welbz?!). That soupçon of luck (cheers, Sa!) right at the death could very well prove key come the end of the season.
I had a look on a Wolves blog; some actually moaned about the time added on; asked where it came from – can you believe it?! 🤣 Loved how the announcer said “Daniel Podence eventually being replaced by Leander Dendoncker” haha, brilliant!
Seeing Ramsdale celebrating in front of Neves made me smile.. had I been on the pitch I’d have gone all Keown/Van Nistelrooy on him 🤣🤣
Loved your ‘Everything But The Goals’ – surely they’d have been singing ‘Missing’ haha!
Well, Rico, I’m actually tempted to go again after that… happy days!
Keeping other things out of the debate and it’s good to be waking up in the morning after the night before . There’s nothing like a last minute winning goal. to get the blood pumping and getting the two we needed so late in the game enables you to leave the ground or turn off the box on a high which may last a few days .
Wolves turning up in London again on Sunday is just as important to us and although we are not in action gives us a point of interest for the weekend
A West Ham win and they are level on points , a draw leaves them 2 points behind but we have 3 games in hand . As for Wolves a win and they get to 2 points behind , a draw 4 points behind with us having 2 games in hand.
Before we get to complacent however we need to see the games that we have to play .
Man Utd , Spurs , West ham , Chelsea and Liverpool are on the horizon and the other 9 teams have their own agendas and won’t be easy .
It’s an old cliche but One game at a time and keep collecting the points . it’s all we can do.
Nice post, Rico.
To reply Potter (on Auba) from the previous thread:
I hate Piers Morgan, but I’m afraid he does have a point “Loved our resilience in coming from behind to win, but our main striker hasn’t scored since Boxing Day, while Aubameyang is banging them in for fun at Barca. Losing him was a massive loss and so unnecessary.”
Anyway if we end up playing in the Champions League many mistakes will be forgiven, but there were, are and will be mistakes…
Wonderful atmosphere in the ground at the end of the game. A late late winner from a player that couldn’t hit a barn door the whole night.
Wolves players celebrating in front of us really rubbing it in on purpose. I hope the result really hurt them.
P Barany , I don’t agree with you on Auba . I only mentioned it out of a sense of irony but the way he was playing for us he was detrimental to the team . I have said before that he is a short term fix that has an eye for goal but is also inclined to rest on his laurels and then firstly blame others and then sulk .
Apparently it’s a pattern the followed him from St Ettiene ( I think ) to Dortmund and then Arsenal and probably will happen at Barcelona too.
I can’t dispute the goals he hasn’t scored but he made Saka’s in the last game and got the deflection last night .
I remember when Lampard was considered a great goalscoring midfielder which is where Lacazette is playing at the moment . How many of his goals were deflected ? Quite a few in my memory.
A great win last night. A strange narrative that grew like a weed as the game unfolded was how we were told to way beyond the point of irritation, how supreme Wolves are when they have goal lead. Well, we gave them that and then started banging our collective heads against a Wolves wall against the incessant time-wasting and general feigning of injuries, supplemented by “Wolves totally in control’ shtick coming through the TV speaker. This interrupted only by the nasal scouse whine of Coady bitching whenever he didn’t get his way.
Of course the deliciousness of the irony was that the great Bruno Lage, with all the individual quality that he undoubtedly has in his team, couldn’t get them to force many saves out of Ramsdale. In fact and apart from a never ending list of shoulda, woulda, coulda incidents, he could come up with no tactic that exceeded the time-wasting. The age that Semedo took to go off, the debacle of the substitution that was and then wasn’t, the nonsensical Moutinho’s continual feigning of injury and Sa’s shenanigans whenever a goal keep was awarded mounted up and allowed Atkinson to add the time on that it took us to score.
Wolves are a decent team with several overrated players, but badly managed I think. They lost to a 10-man Arsenal only a short time ago and bitched about the fact that we celebrated. They were, in my opinion, exceedingly lucky to beat Leicester at the weekend and now they shithoused their way to a late defeat last night.
As a team were were a bit disjointed with some very low par and average performances I’d say, but we got the win by playing through that and somehow that makes it just that bit sweeter.
Thanks Sue. I remember that Welbeck goal as just before he headed it, I wrote, “he won’t will he?” He did.
I’m loving the spirit Arteta is bring to the squad, but, this has to be the way going forward and not just the odd game or two at home. My big toe is stepping off the Arteta fence I’ve been sitting on though.
Ha ha re Missing, perfect.
I’d love to go again too, maybe next season..
It might be an old cliche but it’s true, one game at a time and don’t think about what we might achieve because that’s when things go wrong in sport. Think of the journey and not the finishing line.
Thanks Pbarany. I’m afraid I’m on the Auba needed to leave side. As much as he might be scoring for Barca now, he wasn’t for us. In fact his body language was all wrong.
The Aubameyang we signed was very different to the Auba who left.
So do I Pete, after they’ve nicked a point off of West Ham and Man Utd if the two sides meet which I think they do.
Isn’t it about time that the government froze Abromovich’s assets in the UK? You know like Chelsea…
Morning Rico, nice post, was that the Todd Terry remix?
Last evenings game certainly was a Rollercoaster, but we Walked the Same Line to 3 points. 😉
As for Aubameyang, yeah, he’s started well at Barca just as he did at Arsenal but I wonder how long it’ll last before his discipline starts to wane. Maybe his departure could have a beneficial effect on Pepe because our record signing has to step up to the plate now?
Yes Pete, I think that the Premier League should relegate the Chavs
Morning Rico and all
Finally it’s us getting that goal in the final minute to steal a win, and another positive was that we didn’t give up and kept trying until we finally got in front
Good morning all.
Right up to the eighty-second minute I was resigned to dropping three points, so many wasted chances, so many wayward passes and then Pepe stepped up to the plate, a great first touch, a classy turn and a precise finish. Suddenly Wolves were in disarray having to attack rather than sit and defend and so the breaks were on and the gaps were opening up. Well done Laca, who cares if it was judged to be an own goal, it guaranteed us three vital points.
The FA, the Premiership and the PGMOL must get together and sort out the timewasting prevalent throughout the game in general.
Last night it was ironic that Wolves’ got bitten in the arse by their own timewasting tactics.
On Auba, one of Arteta’s better judgement calls, he was hanging around the club like a fart in a phone box. we are much better off without him.
I think so Pete.
Morning Kev, thanks. If last night is anything to go by, you might be right about Pepe. I hope he steps up.
Morning Geoff.
Agree re Wolves Cicero, they got what they deserved after their antics.
“I step off the train….” Kev, you’ve got me singing that Todd Terry remix now 😆
I’m pleased for Auba, and Guendouzi, who also scored last night. Happy they’re both playing and scoring.
Rico.. I’m still on the fence, I’m afraid, and will remain there until May…
I wonder when Tomi will return? Worrying how it’s his other calf with the issue now… Cedric has stepped up in his absence though. Well done to him; nice to see everyone playing their part!
It’s only one big toe stepping off Sue, I’m still to be convinced.
I don’t know about Todd |Terry but I keep trying to remember the Chechen rebels one sung to ten green bottles could be adapted to todays unfortunate situation.
Found it , feel free not to post it if you think it’s too close to the bone .
50,000 muppets going to Stamford Bridge,
50,000 muppets going to Stamford Bridge,
But if one Chechen rebel should shoot Abramovich,
There’ll be no fc*king Chavski and no Stamford Bridge..
@Potter nice one, athough 50,000 might be stretching it a bit, 35,000 as most of their games don’t sell out!
I know somebody that met Roman A. He said he is an extremely dangerous character and Putin’s de facto man in the Uk (at the time).
Potter, Rico, you might be both right about us being better of without Auba. I’m not denying it (as a possibility).
All I’m saying is Aubameyang was a valuable asset with a valuable year and a half contract to the club.
Even he had to leave as the conflicts or frictions were beyond manageable (which might be a coaching failure, but off topic here), I would have preferred if Arsenal either receives some fee for its captain and second highest ever signing or a player coming the other way. I’m quite sure that Barcelona had a few players not necessary in Xavi’s long term plans that could have fit Arteta’s strategy, or we could have swapped Auba to PSG, Real, Atletico, etc. until somebody is giving me 8M in return instead of the 8M compensation we had to pay for Auba.
The quote from Piers ‘eejit’ Morgan was brought only to show that contrary to popular misbeliefs PEA is not an unmitigated disaster whose departure should be celebrated, but player that has seamlessly slotted into the starting line-up in one of the few clubs that are far better than Arsenal.
Inspiring write up rico, afternoon all. I was actually angry at 6 minutes extra. Normally it’s 3 or 4 for substitutions and stoppages anyway. Then there was the injury and the joke of the on-off substitution. How both those only amounted to 2 minutes I’m not sure. Never mind now, wonderful feeling at end, makes up for those 2 injury-time spurs goals recently. I was happy with a draw actually, after going behind. Serves Wolves right, but do hold them as one of the nicer prem teams and their manager seems decent.
Agreeing with Andrew.
Regardless of the Neves vs. celebration situation I kind of sympathize with Wolves. They “created themselves” from scratch using proper signings from scouting instead of oil money, they refrain from sneaky faults, they employ relatively unknown managers with vision and creativity instead of the big salary roamers…
Besides being happy for the first back-to-back win in 11 years I wish them all the best.
@PB Wolves are hardly created from scratch. Don’t forget that they are funded by the Chinese co. Fosun. Plus they seem to be a conduit for half the Portuguese national side courtesy of their shifty friend Jorge Mendes.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Fosun pull the carpet soon as Mr Xi wants to cut money leaving China to dubious football deals.
We’ll see.
I don’t think another club would have afforded his wages Pbarany, same reason we got nothing for Ozil and even a few others.
Thanks Andrew, I’d hoped for longer just to give us a chance but as it turned out, 6 mins was perfect. Lol
Pbarany, I’m with Pete on Wolves. A lot of underhanded wheeling and dealing goes on up there imo.
Pete, Rico, you were right.
I remembered that Wolves have spent about the same amount on incoming transfers as they received for selling some of their key players (Jota, Patricio, Mir, Doherty, Costa).
But while they indeed had a narrow loss on transfers (less than 10M) that applies only to the last 2 seasons. And the 2 seasons before they spent 80M over their transfer incomes.
Even though it is less than Newcastle’s and Arsenal’s deficit this campaign, it does not qualify for the my prior ‘created from scratch’ comment.
Morning all
New post up now