Afternoon guys.
Just like the men, Arsenal’s women were knocked out of the League Cup this week. Man City won the game 2-1 with literally the last kick of the game. Having gone 1-0 down, we equalised from the penalty spot. City then had a penalty of their own which van Domselaar saved. Chances to win the game came for Slegers side but none were converted. Then right at the end, City scored a lucky winner.
Yesterday, the women’s Champions League draw took place and it’s Real Madrid who await Renée Slegers side.
The men won’t find out for definite who their next opponents will be until the playoff fixtures have been played.
Have you seen the photos of the Arsenal players heading off on a warm winter break to Dubai on Arsenal.com? Admittedly, there aren’t many but Ben White and Bukayo Saka and were captured on film. What a boost it will be if both return to action after this break. Gabriel Martinelli has travelled too despite reports suggesting he’s set to miss a month of football with a hamstring injury.
A number of academy players boarded the flight to Dubai – winger Charles Sagoe Jr, winger/forward Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, midfielder/right-back Michal Rosiak, tight-back Josh Nichols, midfielder Max Dowman and goalkeepers Jack Porter and Tommy Setford.
Whatever happened in Dubai around this time last year, I sure hope happens this year too. We’d been on an awful run of form, winning just one game in seven. To suggest we needed a change in results was an understatement. We got it, not quite enough to see us pip City to the title but we came as close to winning the Premier League than we had in years. In the end, just two points cost us that dream. Losing 2-0 at home to Villa was a big disappointment during the final few weeks of the season, especially as we’d only conceded two goals in the league in 2024 before that game.
Talking about this trip, Mikel Arteta said:
There are a lot of things that will be similar. The location, where we train, but of course we will have to modify it. We are going at a different moment of the season, different numbers, probably the team needs a different stimulus, so we are preparing a few things and hopefully it will work like it has the last few times.
This season has certainly been one of hope so far and I don’t mean hope it’s third time lucky in the race for the title. There’s been hope that the officials would actually treat us fairly, hope we’d not pick up a lot of injuries because our squad is small, hope we’d score a lot of goals like last year and hope we’d defend as robustly as we did last year too. So far, such hopes have been dashed. Or should I say, obliterated.
Not much in my opinion has gone our way. It startied with Mikel Merino and Takehiro Tomiyasu as far as injuries go, rapidly followed by Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and now, Gabriel Martinelli. None have been a one or two games missing kind of injury either. Those have lumped on to others. Not once this season has Mikel Arteta had a 100% fully fit squad to select from and he won’t either, not with Jesus ruled out for a long time.
The officials, well, they are what they are. Not very good and certainly not very fair. None of our four red cards should have stood but only one was rescinded post game. Yet within 24 hours, a similar scenario to the Saliba one took place involving a Chelsea defender but did he get sent off? Of course not and don’t get me started on the second bookings for Rice and Trossard because I’m not sure I’ve actually seen another player booked for delaying the restart.
Lastly, our potency in the final third has been seriously lacking and we’ve been a bit lackadaisical in defence at times. It often seems to me that when mistakes are made at either end of the pitch, it hurts us badly which sounds obvious I know, but when the two come together in a game, which I think tends to happen, we usually drop points. We seem to be either great going forwards, or great defensively, or poor in all areas. If the best of our attack and defence could come together as one more often, I’m pretty sure our performances would be better all round, results too for that matter. Which is what we need if we are to have any chance of making the title race a case of third time lucky.
The above paragraph made sense in my head, so I hope it does in yours. There’s that hope again.
I’m absolutely loving watching Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly but neither can or should be expected to start every remaining game of the season. In an ideal world, no player would regardless of their fitness levels. Our injuries and sending offs not only lessened Arteta’s rotational options in the game which followed but it meant that on four occasions, it was 10 v 11 for long periods in the game. It’s knackering so no wonder some of our players have looked leggy in a few matches.
We’re all desperate to see Ben White and Bukayo Saka back on the pitch I’m sure and it’s likely that White’s return is imminent. Not only is he a an excellent defender but he gives the team something in attack too. The return of Takehiro Tomiyasu would be a boost too because he’s another option defensively should one be needed. Goodness only knows when he might return though.
Three and a half months of this season remain and then we’ll be into what could very well be a very busy summer for Arsenal. The further we can go in the Champions League the more money the club will earn. The same applies domestically too.
As it stands, Tierney, Partey, Jorginho, Neto and Sterling will leave the club in the summer so we’ll need to sign a keeper, unless Hein is to takeover the number 2 role. We’ll definitely need a central defensive midfielder, two ideally and a winger and that’s before we think about a striker or two. Then, it’s quite likely that a number of players will be sold. Zinchenko and perhaps Trossard, both whose contract expires in 2026. As does Tomiyasu’s although there’s an option of another year. The rest are tied down until the summer of 2027 or 2028.
Anyway, going back to the players time in Dubai, I really do hope the manager and players benefit from the break and come back refreshed and ready to do battle for the title.
Catch up in the comments.
Good morning Rico the only thing we, as onlookers, can do is hope. Watching Arsenal I sometimes shout at the screen it is illogical to think it makes any difference to what is happening on a pitch perhaps hundreds of miles away, but I still yell occasionally.
I sincerely hope our players and staff come back from Dubai rejuvenated and ready to take on and beat all comers.
Off out shortly for a pub lunch celebration of my long suffering wife’s eightieth
birthday. I have given her an I O U for a hot air balloon ride. Twenty years ago we want hang gliding off of the top of a French mountain. Next month it’s our fifty-ninth wedding anniversary, God knows what she will want to do on that day. 😉
Morning Cicero, I was out early this morning visiting my mum on her 91st birthday… The 8th is obviously a special date.. Happy birthday to your wife.
Ha re the yelling, you’re not alone..
Happy Birthday Mrs C 😀
59 years eh, thought my 47 was going some!
You both must have married very very young…. 😜
We are at 55 years . It seems marriage is like supporting the Arsenal . A long term commitment with it’s ups and downs .
Ha ha…
Married at 20 rico, and 8 years before little Arsenal fans 🙂
When you know, you know Andrew, regardless of age 😀
Married at twenty-three, father at thirty grandfather at sixty.
Ben White back training, brilliant news.
Some great pics on AFC.com, great to see the boys getting in some quality work, sunshine and R&R.
These trips are great for morale and I notice Saliba in the middle of it…
Real Madrid and their Spanish media lackeys can feck off…
Amen to that Kev. Real Madrid can take a long walk off a short pier.
White back training is a big deal in my opinion. He’s such a cool, calm and yet feisty player. Suddenly our defensive options look really strong. Shame the same can’t be said for our attacking unit. 😜
Big game this week with Liverpool playing their game in hand at Everton. Hope Moyes has a few tricks up his sleeve.
I wouldn’t hold out too many hopes on Everton, a draw would be good.
Even if Liverpool drop a few points I don’t think that we have the resources to take advantage…
They’re going through a good spell aren’t they Kev? Lol
Ditto, I’m more concerned about those behind us. It’s close.
https://x.com/kpmufc/status/1887807317812383813?s=48&t=Giqjrxdp3Hy_zEge4zqU-g
Just a thought
Just tried to c&p that link into tomorrows post but it doesn’t work
Incredible though, the officials aren’t biased though eh.. shocking!
I was reading somewhere that there are likely to be 5 champions league places for the Premier league. At the moment it’s between England and Italy for the 5th place. Of course that could all change very quickly.
I actually fancy Arsenal to reach at least the last 8,hopefully more,maybe that’s wishful thinking ! Hopefully Saka will be back for the later rounds.
I expect Liverpool to win this afternoon,come on Plymouth get stuck in,a few tough,physical challenges please.
I’m not saying that the Premier League is bent but there are obvious cases of favouritism that the MSM gaslight and ignore
Good afternoon Rico and all
24 years ago, a tragic day for Arsenal….Niccolo Galli tragically died while driving his motorcycle. I have just seen an interview done by Italian tv to his dad Filippo Galli.
Arsene Wenger said that even at 17 years of age his composure and technique and tactical skills were already evident. Who knows what could have been.
Seems that the lads are enjoying themselves at Dubai. I hope they come back refreshed.
Happy birthday Rico’s mum and Mrs Cicero. I hope both of you have a wonderful day and a coming year full of all that your hearts desires.
Arsenal Women 2 – 0 London City Lionesses 90· 5 minutes in the W F A Cup
Full time 2 – 0. 🔔🔔
I was glancing through some FACup highlights from yesterday and I noticed that Azeez had actually scored two goals for Millwall at Leeds, as I watched the highlights I thought that Azeez had changed a bit from when he was at Arsenal, but good on him – then I discovered that it was his brother. 🙄
What a performance from Plymouth, brilliant 1-0 thrashing of Liverpool…
Limey, they did. 😂
Afternoon Devil, thanks, I’ll pass it on..
Kev, you won’t believe it but I did the same. I googled him to make sure I wasn’t going mad.
Former Arsenal defender Julio Pleguezuelo helped Plymouth knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup this afternoon.
He was really good too..
Rico 😁
Sorry Spuds mashed again, lost two one to Villa. Out of both domestic cups in a week. Ange on the verge!6
No, we don’t want that:
#AngeMustStay
Agreed, we need him to stay..
And to think his name was often mentioned as being a replacement for Wenger by someone on here. His name escapes me 😂
Well it wasn’t me, I’d never heard of the guy until he washed up in the New Swamp. 😉
😂 Cicero
Removing the Totts rivalry etc, Ange made a valid point after the game about how the pundits/media don’t treat all clubs the same. Totts injury list is hideous, if Liverpool, City, Chelsea, any club were without the same number of first team players, they too would struggle.
Tottenham’s injury list:
Richarlison
Micky van de Ven
Cristian Romero
James Maddison
Dominic Solanke
Brennan Johnson
Destiny Udogie
Guglielmo Vicario
Radu Dragusin
Timo Werner
Wilson Odobert
Rico my heart bleeds for them, really! 😉
We are linked, this morning with Liverpool’s striker Diego Jota 28, Liverpool are said to be willing to sell him for the right price because of the number of games missed through injury. Just what we want NOT.
As does mine Cicero, but, it’s more proof that fairness in football remains absent.
Look at how they were with us when we had injuries, players with Covid etc and were beaten on the opening day of the season a few years ago. The media have very short vision.
Jota, no thanks.
Merse needs help, he reckons Kane could join Arsenal. 😝
New post up now..