Morning all.
Here we go again then, Newcastle Utd are in the city and Mikel Arteta’s players need to send them back up north with nothing, nada, zilch!
The task for Arsenal is simple with five league games left, we need to win them all and hope Man City drop points. Alternatively, win every game by hefty score lines so that our goal difference is superior to City’s. Simple on paper, tough in reality. Especially for a team which has hardly set the footballing world alight over the last few months.
Arsenal’s performance against City last weekend was better but we still lost. We had plenty of opportunities to score but our finishing, well, it left a lot to be desired.
Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori are likely to be back in the squad if Mikel Arteta is to be believed but no sign of Jurrien Timber or Mikel Merino just yet.
During his Press Conference, Mikel Arteta was asked on Zubimendi’s relationship with his teammates and if he’s gone through highs and lows:
He’s very good. I mean, to play 50 games for Arsenal in your first season at the level that he’s done and the amount of games that we’ve won, you have to do things in an exceptional way. He’s very much liked by everybody. You can sense that if you go back to clips in September, October, November, I can show you when he scored goals or assists or whatever. The reaction and how he feels with his teammates is so good. We are blessed to have him.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry over the above reply. We know Martin Zubimendi was brilliant during the first half of the season and to be honest, Arsenal as a whole were pretty darn good but it’s post Christmas when we start to struggle, when players are clearly feeling the pain of having played so much football. Roughly an average of six games a month in our Spanish midfielders case. That’s not including international fixtures of course.
Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme:
Newcastle’s stock formation is a 4-3-3, built around a trio of hardworking midfielders and wingers with blistering pace, but Howe has also dabbled with a back three on occasion, as well as a 4-2-3-1 by using Nick Woltemade as a No. 10.
Counter-attacks will be a major weapon with the pace of wide men Anthony Elanga, Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy, as well as forward William Osula, and the speed of their attacks ranks joint-third fastest in the division, while no one has produced more open-play crosses. Newcastle are also a strong side on set-pieces, netting 14 goals from dead balls, a tally only ourselves and Manchester United can better. Centre-back Malick Thiaw, with four goals, is to be shackled closely at corners.
However the Magpies have kept just one clean sheet since mid-January, and have shipped at least two goals in eight of their last 11 top-flight outings, so keeping things tight at the back has not been easy. Their away form has also been problematic, claiming just four victories on their travels.
A lot of our players should know Aaron Ramsdale’s strengths and weaknesses so I hope they focus on the latter. Up the other end, I hope David Raya has a more convincing performance between the sticks. No faffing around with the ball at his feet or passing out to someone who has an opponent breathing down his neck. Let’s see a bit of fast forward football for a change, you know, the kind of football which goes from back to front with pace, precision and purpose.
Kai Havertz or Viktor Gyokeres up front? Thankfully not a call you or I have to make and whilst the general consensus across the internet seems to be that the German was very good against City, his miss at the end was a bad one. Had that gone in, City would have been deflated whereas we on the other hand would be going into tonight’s game with a little bit more confidence.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s not the only player guilty of spurning opportunities in front of goal but when the big chances come in big moments, big game players take them. Arsenal have five league games left, five massive games. We need five massive performances from everyone. Including Mikel Arteta.
Catch up later..
Good morning Rico.
Thanks for the pre-match as relevant as ever.
We need to not only win all five matches but we need to up our scoring rate drastically. If that means starting both Havertz and Gyokeres then so be it, but I don’t think Arteta sees them as joint strikers ,so I won’t hold my breath.
Beautiful morning here in Norfolk, clear blue sky, brilliant sunshine with a hint of chill in the light breeze.
Morning Cicero.
Agree re the goals, it would be refreshing to see us score a few goals, we certainly need them..
Aaron Ramsey would have been forgiven for putting his feet up after announcing his retirement earlier this month. His was a long and distinguished career, and one which was scarred by injury too.
But the former Wales captain and Arsenal midfielder has taken a different path. On Sunday, he will be running the London Marathon.
“I’m excited,” Ramsey tells BBC Sport Wales. “Training’s been difficult, when the rain’s coming down and it’s wet and windy, and it can be quite a lonely place sometimes.
“But actually, I’ve enjoyed it in a weird way, being in the trenches a little bit.”
There is a reason why Ramsey is putting his body through this ordeal so soon after stepping away from his life as a professional footballer.
The 35-year-old is running the marathon to support It’s Never You, a charity founded by his friends, Ceri and Frances Menai-Davis, after their six-year-old son, Hugh, died from a rare cancer.
Ceri is also taking part on Sunday. He will be carrying Hugh’s shoes around his neck, while wearing the names of more than 500 children affected by serious illness on his back.
“As a charity, it’s really close to my heart,” says Ramsey. “I know Ceri and Fran and their family. I knew Hugh very well. My eldest boy, Sonny, is a similar age and they used to play with each other.
“I can’t imagine what they went through and what they are going through, but they’ve been an absolute inspiration to me, my family and many others.”
💪👏
Nice preview thanks. The Aaron Ramsey story does him a lot of credit.
The performance last week was a lot better,without a doubt we need more,clinical finishing would be nice. A big decision will be if Saka starts or comes off the bench. We’ve missed his directness,at least he will take a shot on goal
The last 5 league games are all must win,how awful would it be if City drop points and we don’t take advantage.
Assuming Saka is on the bench (it wouldn’t surprise me if he starts though) does Arteta start with Madueke or shake things up with Max Dowman? I would go with Dowman to give the Geordies something to worry about.
I’m looking forward to the game,it’s last chance saloon time. Not a good kick off time for our Australian and New Zealand fans,I’m sure no one will mind if we win.
COYG
Thanks Limey.
Good question re Dowman, I think he’ll be on the bench along with Saka although like you, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him start after having time out. If he starts, maybe Eze will start left. Who knows but at least the players should feel good after a week off.
We’re going to have some very difficult games and we’re not very optimistic. Just like me. The League wasn’t lost last week. Let’s wait and see…
A. Madrid played their last 2 games with their reserves. And they already played this weekend’s match.
Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Rice, Zubimendi, Odegaard, Eze, Madueke, Havertz.
Handbrake off please Arsenal…
Let’s hope our German Crouch can bag a few. 😝
Were it not for Tonali-Guimaraes, their bench ‘d look stronger than their starting XI – puzzling, isn’t it?
Don’t know what to exactly make of this tbh, but right now I kind of like it.
COYG
Can’t stand the bloke but Neville is spot on in his assessment of our football.
What a goal Eze….
This is awful, what are we doing? Hoping to play out a one nil win?
Too many passes, too slow in the build-up too passive.
Arteta needs to read the riot act at half-time. Move the ball forward much more quickly and press much higher up the pitch.
We switched off for a dozen minutes or so, but a good – not outstanding – half it was.
We even were treated to 1-2s in succession, or 1-2s for the 3rd man , would you believe it? Two big positives imo, for which Mick and his staff deserve credit.
First the way Ødegaard and Ebz have been made to understand what their respective pockets of space exactly are; they don’t trample on each other’s feet any more now, and what a technical boost for the team the partnership of these 2 is. Bring on Bukayo, along with Merino, and the whole face of the team ‘ll be changed, for the better. Second … the smart way our CK routine has evolved – looks like we’re back to being one step ahead of everyone on that front.
Anyway, pleasant half but we need to score another asap. I wish our press were more effective; Myles for Zubi ‘d help … just sayin’.
COYG
I thought the half was drab, I’m with you Cicero..
Lg, I’d love to see Merino come on. 😜
Just hit it Dec!
One goal, clean sheet, three points, back up on top. Just another day at the office.🔔
Good evening Rico and all
The three points are the only positive for me today. Hand brake seems to be still on. Two injuries….Havertz and Eze. Let’s hope they are not serious and need just rest. Its worrying that Havertz lasted only 34 mins.
Its quite easy to see why Arteta prefers Kai up front. With him the team functions better. Fingers crossed that the coming season HAvertz will have an injury free one plus Gyokeres learns from him how to hold the ball and bring others into play. He has done a lot this season especially covering for Kai, however, he needs to adapt to Arsenal’s system and Arsenal need to adapt to him. Victor cannot do what Kai does all the time.
I enjoyed reading the post Rico. And also like the new set up
Evening Devil.
I didn’t enjoy that game at all, apart from the Eze goal.
Atletico will be quaking in their boots. Not..
On the plus side, it was only the 3 points. The statistics are clear: we only had more corners. Less possession, fewer shots, etc. A few years ago, we played football, we lost due to defensive errors, we weren’t strong defensively. Now, it’s worse than in G. Graham’s time. We score (when we score), we defend, and we destroy. We don’t shoot because we must be forbidden from doing so. We suffer until the end. We yearn for the final whistle. Even if scoring more goals might be important in the end. There’s no confidence, and we expect others to do what we’ve failed to do. If we become champions, there’s no pride. No class. No nostalgia for this kind of football.
Praise The Lord. Another peaceful game at the Emirates… How sweet that final whistle sounded.
Thanks for the preview Rico, and the story about our Aaron’s efforts. Heartbreaking for that family.
You called it, LG. MLS on for Zubi. Hincapie was, again outstanding, and Eb’s finish had the angels singing. NJ has come up with some clever CK variations, Kai’s part not to be ignored. Please, Lord let his injury not be serious.
Believe it or not boys, when that final whistle sounded the dawn chorus started up outside my bedroom window.
It will be a different game altogether Rico. Atletico in Europe are not the EPL teams, where each team plays out of their skin when playing against us while lying back and think of England while rolling over for teams like City and Liverpool.
Spuds are still in the bottom three even after winning. WHU won as well. Forest won as well. four games to go for them.
Raya got another clean sheet. Will he make it three golden gloves in a row? we wait and see. Hopefully he gets another 4 clean sheets in the EPL so he will make it. Plus three clean sheets in the CL
We found it tough against Sporting Devil because we’re not playing as freely in either competition imo. Atletico have just knocked out Barca, they’ll be favourites against us..
Hope you didn’t stay up for the game Stuart. Lol
I have to live every moment with our brave boys, Rico. Who can sleep at this stage of the season?
As Keats has it, “Awake forever in a sweet unrest”…
Bright star! would I were steadfast as thou art—
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night,
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like Nature’s patient sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors—
No—yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever—or else swoon to death
Why was Eze smiling and even laughing when he went down injured? Four attempts on goal and only one on target is no laughing matter.
With Odegaard approaching full fitness I don’t want to see Eze on the left, I think he can best be employed from the bench if Odegaard has to come off. We needed Martinelli much earlier as Hincapie was isolated when he went forward.
That short corner routine will very soon be nullified, it might survive to the end of the season, if we’re lucky.
Watching that game Stuart nearly sent me to sleep.
Still more chances and a goal more than any other player Cicero..
On that note, night guys..
Loved to have scored more goals but at least a win will keep the pressure on Man City
Morning all.
New post up.
Nice win but we need to score more