Morning all.
Another day, another game, although after today, the players have a bit of a breather as this weekend is FA Cup weekend. No rest though as Champions League football returns for Mikel Arteta’s team next Tuesday with an away fixture against PSV Eindhoven.
After a dismal performance against West Ham on Saturday, Mikel Arteta will no doubt be expecting a lot more from his players tonight. Admittedly, it’s his tactics and pre match preparation but once those players cross the white line, it’s up to them to play at their highest level. As a few of us having been banging on about for the last couple of seasons, do what they’re doing but for goodness sake, do it quicker and with more intensity and purpose. Nottingham Forest will, that’s for sure.
Mikel Arteta held his pre match press conference yesterday during which he was asked about the Premier League title chase.
Whether he thinks we can still win the Premier League title:
If not, I will go home. Mathematically it’s possible. You are there, you have to play every game. Suddenly three days ago we could close the gap and you are one and a half games away, it doesn’t matter, we have to continue to go.
Whether he’s clutching at straws:
No, it’s the difficulty. It’s higher than it was three days ago, but if you want to win the Premier League, you will have to do something special. If you’re going to win the Premier League with the circumstances we have, you’re probably going to have to do something nobody else has done in the history of the Premier League.
He’s right, if Arsenal don’t keep on fighting to win each game until the end of May, what is the point in playing? What would be the point in the fans bothering to pay for tickets and going to the games? The biggest thing to play for each season is not just silverware but Arsenal Football Club and the thousands of football fans who support it.
I don’t expect us to chase down Liverpool and not just because of the points gap but I still hope to see the team put the kind of performance we saw against West Ham in the past and never repeat it. If the team lose but lose fighting, not literally of course, then so be it.
We’re second in the league despite the referees and despite our injuries and with a bit of luck, both Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka will return as good as new. Ethan Nwaneri is fine which is good news after suffering with cramp at the weekend. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him given a breather tonight because the last thing we need is him suffering any kind of injury let alone a serious one.
Myles Lewis-Skelly is suspended for this match but otherwise, those who were fit, still are. I wonder if Arteta might be tempted to bring Kieran Tierney into the starting eleven tonight. He’s a great defender but he also offers something in attack and is no slow coach either. I think Raheem Sterling might start too. Personally, I’d like to see Jorginho and Thomas Partey in the starting eleven too if for no other reason than to make us
Nottingham Forest have been really good this season under Nuno Espirito Santo but after thrashing Brighton 7-0 at the beginning of the month, they’ve stuttered a bit, especially away from home but they did hold Liverpool to a draw back in the middle of January. Their only other home league win that month was a 3-2 defeat of Southampton.
I watched some of the Newcastle v Forest game at the weekend and it was bizarre. Forest went 1-0 up at St James Park before conceding four goals in eleven minutes before halftime. A combination of Forest fighting a comeback and Newcastle taking their foot off the gas, the game ended 4-3.
Forest aren’t a typical Premier League club in the way they play. Whilst many managers/coaches in the game focus on possession, Nuno’s team are more direct. They have good players in Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi and Edwards going forwards but they also have the big fella up top in Wood. They do press from the front but not in a way we do when we’re at our best with Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli applying pressure. They tend to let opponents faff around at the back for a few minutes before applying pressure.
I suspect we’ll see a lot of the ball as is often the case but unless we’re decisive with our passing and progressive, we’re likely to struggle to break down an organised team at the back. Newcastle beat them with pace and swift passing so we have to try and do the same. As said though, Forest’s strength is the speed in which they break and they’re pretty good on set-pieces too, not only because of Wood but Milenkovic too.
Liverpool might be 11 points clear at the top but only 6 points separate us and Forest. So yes, this is a big game as far as league placements go so we could really do with winning this one.
Catch up in the comments.
Morning Rico and all.
We have to win today, not only to cut the point difference between us and Liverpool, but as you mentioned Rico, Forest is only 6 points behind us and we cant afford to let them think they get closer to us or even over take with a couple of wins.
Good morning Rico, just back from a swim the water was almost a warm bath temperature, lovely.
With M L S banned the full backs are a lottery, pick any two from four, but keep the changes to as few as possible. Calafiori or Tierney on the left, Timber or White on the right.
I think Declan Rice might get a rest tonight, he’s been carrying an injury and his early substitution on Saturday was ominous.
Fingers crossed!
Morning Geoff, Cicero.
We have puddles so big here I could swim in them… lol
Good point re Rice..
I would guess Arteta will go back to our best full backs,Timber left back,White right back.
Merino starting as Striker didn’t work out,maybe he’s more effective from the bench. For that reason maybe Sterling will start.
Whatever the line up we are really up against it,Forest will be a tough test.
It feels horribly familiar to this fixture a couple of seasons back,when Saliba was out.
We still have at least 14 games left,
COYG
Hopefully, the fact that Forest will be a tough game, it might focus the minds..
Come on Arsenal!
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Trossard, Merino.
Subs: Neto, Kiwior, White, Zinchenko, Tierney, Partey, Sterling, Kabia, Butler-Oyedeji.
California booked and living dangerous then great turn and shot against the post, so unlucky.
Tierney on!
Disappointing result but at least we played a bit better..
No strikers, no punch, no goals …… again. Hardly unexpected, what did Board/Arteta think was going to happpen?
Exactly Andrew, the balance of the team/squad is all wrong. With or without injuries.
Arsenal in the last 4 games demonstrated what was feared. He didn’t score goals (except at the end against Leicester) because he had a short squad with no options. What was predicted from the beginning of the season is happening. Of course there is a feeling of frustration at the elimination of the Cups and the loss of the Championship.
There are injuries, declines in form, suspensions, wear and tear of many players, etc., but others have them too. But wasn’t the probability of what is happening high?
65% possession.
Shots 13
On target 1
Pathetic !
The Gunners? The Gummers more like, absolutely toothless!
Not much but say, but not the result we needed, but better than a loss.
It was high Jm, I think the majority of thought we were a few players light at the end of last summer and injuries, although it’s easy to say now, but we’re always likely after last season. I won’t go on about a striker or two because it’s pointless now.
Arsenal/Arteta only have themselves to blame for our lack of goals imo.
Ha ha Cicero.
Got to find a goal from somewhere and currently we don’t look like we have one in us. Eleven nil nils and we finish midtable and start next season with a new manager.
I keep on hearing about the lack of goals from our attack – what attack?
That said there is no excuse for the paucity of goals from Odegaard, Rice, Trossard and our rather large defenders. I mean when did Saliba last get his big head on a corner, what’s the chance of Timber scoring a flipping goal or Partey or Jeirginho and so on, I mean Tierney almost scored and he never plays.
It’s a team game and there’s enough talent in that team without the forwards, some shooting practice might be in order amongst other things….
Only two highlights in the game, Calafiori’s shot that hit the post and a fantastic goal saving tackle by Saliba. The rest? Meh!
Morning Kev, Cicero and all.
I liked Calafiori turning his defender prior to taking his shot. Really unlucky not to score. Saliba’s challenge was excellent.
Otherwise, I’ve run out of things to say/write about Arsenal right now, it’s just the same old stuff, different day. We were better than against West Ham imo, but we just have very little up top without Saka, Havertz and Martinelli. I lost count of how many times we were in possession around the halfway line and whoever had possession looked for a forward pass but there was no one available.
I think the rest of the season is purely about getting enough points to secure a top four spot.
Don’t know about anyone else but I find this disconcerting
Arteta On Ethan Nwaneri coming off:
“He was cramping from minute 45, so we stretched him as much as we possibly could but we cannot lose the player and he was really fatigued.”
Good morning Rico, I don’t envy you when it comes to writing a post match report on yet another goalless fiasco. 😕
I’m not going to Cicero. 😂
I was catching up around the Arsenal blog world and it seems the support for Arteta is dwindling..
That’s inevitable Rico, even I am beginning to have doubts but looking around the football world, who would replace him and do better with our current crop of players? A total reshaping of the squad, such as United tried, would be prohibitively expensive and would take more than a few transfer windows to achieve.
I guess we will stick with Arteta unless he decides, of his own volition, to fall on his sword.
I think it’s the style of football Cicero. I know I find it hard to watch..
I wonder if Arnie Slot would be running away with the league if he had his 4 main forwards out injured, so let’s not be distracted by the mischief makers.
Let’s not forget that Edu was almost certainly negotiating with Forest during the summer unbeknown to Arsenal, how did those shenanigans affect our transfer business?
Arteta isn’t blameless but there’s a lot of people out there who don’t like Arsenal and who would love to see Arteta leave, there’s also Arsenal online pundits who have never liked Arteta and want to be proved right – mainly because it’s about their ego and not the club, so don’t be fooled by the bad actors.
I mean some outlets have rolled out comments made by Keith Edelman, and what a sparkling success we were under his tenure, quoting him as some wise old Arsenal sage, but actually looking for an angle to attack the manager and the club.
We know the problems, it’s obvious, but what we don’t need is the haters piling in.
Time to give NewsNow the elbow until the summer.
What’s NewsNow Kev? 😂
Second place, CL money and then focus on the summer. Hopefully Edu’s replacement will already be working hard even if he’s not in the building yet.
Pilates for me now 😂
Pilate of soft herring roes on toast for me. 😉
😂
Dan Ashworth linked to Arsenal.
An underwhelming appointment if he does replace Edu..
Isn’t Ashworth the guy United poached from Newcastle and sacked a couple of months later. He may have an inside track on Isak and know all about United’s academy players.
If we Trust the Process (whatever that means) after nearly 5 years surely there must be some uncertainty .The Kroenkes never win anything but make billions especially with The Walmart connection (stores in all their stadiums) and if we continue to be top 4 or 5 this season that produces extra revenue and then the really good players will go and be called a Judas ,as in the past ..It’s a very tricky situation and has nothing to do with not supporting the team as some comments I have read elsewhere, suggest and eventually Arteta’s job will be on the line ,and Edu seems to have departed pronto.
Our fans have never been the loudest but against West Ham they were nearly silent and many left early to show their disappointment which has been building for quite awhile.
That’s him Cicero. He was at Brighton too.
After backing the manager financially over the last few years, I’m not sure the Kroenke family should now be dragged back into the conversation.
Good morning all.
There are reports this morning that in order to buy a striker, in the summer, Arsenal will have to sell players..Two candidates mentioned are Trossard and Martinelli. In all likelihood Jesus will also depart while Sterling will go back to Chelsea. Four out and just one in doesn’t make any kind of sense to me.
I guess it all depends on how much we have to actually spend on this elusive striker?
I cannot envisage any kind of a scenario that sees Newcastle selling Alexander Isak – or Arsenal signing him if they do, the finance involved is just too prohibitive and tbh there’s better value across the rest of Europe and South America.
We could be losing a significant chunk of our squad in the summer and will be without Jesus (until November), Havertz (until July) and Tomiyasu (until October) so splashing £120/£150m on Isak is mental when we need to find 6 or 7 players to reinforce the squad.
As it stands, if I’m correct, Sterling, Zinchenko, Tierney, Jorginho and Partey are set to be leaving. Question marks remain over Vieira and Nelson, but it seems likely that Hein, Tavares, Lokonga and possibly Marquinhos are also leaving.
Then the club has to find the finance to re-sign Saliba ( contract until 27), Martinelli (27), Gabriel (27), Tomiyasu? (27), Saka (27), Trossard? (27) and Jesus? (27).
That’s going to cost a pretty penny…
William Saliba is the renewal that worries me the most. He’s really big friends with Kylian Mbappe and he will have seen already how the Mbappe people, along with Real Madrid, arranged his free transfer to Spain.
Now Madrid can just sit and wait 2 years while the clock ticks down and then take Bill for zilch leaving us looking stupid, again. So if Madrid come in with a bid of say £75/£80m this summer, what do we do, especially if Bill doesn’t extend his contract?
I’d imagine that talks are ongoing and the club will already have a feeling of how they’re going to conclude…
Afternoon Cicero, Kev.
I read that about selling before buying but the report I read was from “sources” which isn’t worth bothering about imo.
Isak is newspaper talk imo, we need someone like him as in being athletic and ruthless but he’d cost £100+ million which could in theory get us two top strikers, or one and a half… 😜
Rico, we need to be signing the next Isak, before he becomes the next real thing.
Another thing, didn’t Arteta or someone else at the club suggest there will be more focus on bring through academy players?
Exactly Kev..
I know I sound boring but I still don’t understand the Biereth sale..
Unless we really are skint…
New post up.
Some Arsenal gossip this morning. We are interested in 30 year old Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich on a free transfer in the summer. As well as 27 year old Real Sociedad midfielder Zubimenda, for whom, it is said, a deal is very close.
Two of our aging midfielders are due to leave this summer, Jorginho and Partey, so a couple of experienced replacements makes sense. M L S will, therefore, have a season or so to morph into a very accomplished midfielder.
Two strikers supposedly on the Arsenal wanted list, Juventus Dusan Vlahovic 25 and 21 year old R B Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko could both be a available and, maybe, attainable.