Morning all.
West Ham lost 2-1 last night at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, a pretty good result for Arsenal because the tie is far from over. I wouldn’t put it past David Moyes team to get a result in Germany so the Scotsman might just be tempted to give a few of his key players a breather on Sunday afternoon, not that I think Arsenal can’t go to the London Stadium and get a result if he doesn’t. It wasn’t a particularly good night for any of the British clubs as Leicester City could only manage a draw with Roma at the King Power Stadium, meaning Brendan Rogers could also rest players for their game against Totts, and Rangers lost 1-0 to RB Leipzig, but at least they have a home second leg fixture to come.
Man Utd and Chelsea played out a draw at Old Trafford yesterday evening which is good for ourselves and Totts. Arsenal have a five point advantage over Utd with two games in hand and the maximum points Utd can win is nine, meaning we only need to win two more fixtures to ensure a fifth place finish.
But of course, Arsenal are aiming for 4th, 3rd even as that’s still mathematically possible, albeit unlikely. Probably as unlikely as Chelsea winning the FA Cup this year, the only competition they have left to go for, despite the multi millions they’ve invested in the squad over recent years.
Who’d have thought Arsenal would have been in the position they are after the opening three matches? Even just a week or two ago, it looked like we’d blown the opportunity again after losing to Crystal Palace, Southampton and Brighton but this season has been a weird one for all clubs barring the top two. Inconsistency has been the only consistent.
I find it quite amusing that even though Arsenal have their own struggles, the media are focusing on Man Utd and Chelsea for their scathing headlines. Chelsea are in a mess as far as ownership goes and Utd are in a mess full stop. Chelsea won’t be any good until they sign a striker, I read in the Mail this morning which is hilarious considering they paid £100m for one last summer in Lukaku. Yet who’d have thought a player like him would flop in such spectacular fashion as he has? It’s not like he didn’t know what Premier League football would be asking of him because he’s spent plenty of time in English football but I bet he wishes he’d stayed in Italy. Thomas Tuchel is meant to be one of the best managers in the game isn’t he? But it’s always the players fault when things don’t go right which is what Tuchel reportedly said last night of his players. (Mail) Raif Rangnick, the man appointed to steady the Utd ship after the sacking of Ole has managed to do the opposite. He’s gone as far as suggesting the club need to sign ten new players if they’re to improve. Oh how I chuckled. I look forward to watching, no, reading about their continual demise as they try and rebuild without Champions League money in their pocket.
As suggested before, Utd and Arsenal are very similar in some ways. Not as far as the success story goes in terms of trophies but both had clubs had to deal with a long term manager exit. Both cocked it up in a big way. Arsenal seem to be stable now, whereas Utd have gone from bad to worse even though Fergie left Utd a couple of years before Arsenal Wenger left Arsenal. I still maintain that Unai Emery was a good appointment but was failed by those around him. They’ve gone and the board appear to be on the same page as the manager. Utd have simply gone from one manager to another in hope that their luck will change but I think I’m right in suggesting that the back room staff have remained in place. Van Gaal, Moyes, Mourinho, Ole – they even tried Giggs and Carrick at some stage but nothing improved. Rangnick came in a few months ago and the next poor bloke to try a rebuild is Ten Hag. If he isn’t allowed to rip apart the squad and pretty much start again, he’ll soon find himself out the door too.
I like what Arsenal have done and what they’re doing now. The fact that the old duffers, hangers on, whatever you want to call them, have gone. I like seeing the younger academy players in the team and I like the fact that we have the youngest squad in the Premier League because it’s exciting. They can be exciting to watch. Inconsistent yes, but that’s what young players can do. As they mature and become more confident, the inconsistency should lessen. As the squad, six of which are in the first season at Arsenal, grow together, consistency levels should improve. They’ll understand each other’s game more next season and with that should come better anticipation of what each other is going to do or which run they’re going to make. That’ll happen regardless of who the manager is although right now, it’s seems that every single player in the squad is enjoying their footballing life under Mikel Arteta.
When you have Mo Elneny, who despite not being first on the team sheet, wanting to stay at Arsenal even though he could be a first choice player at many other clubs, it speaks volumes. Xhaka too could have sloped off for an easier life in Italy but instead, he now wants to build bridges with the fans he spoke out against. Xhaka might not be perfect but as Kev pointed out yesterday, only when he’s out of the team do we miss him. Or when he’s played at left back. What’s the old saying, “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone”……
It’d be easy to say farewell to Nketiah, Elneny, Xhaka, even Tavares after his first season struggles but there’s no guarantee a new signing will hit the ground running but with three of the above, Arteta knows what he’s getting and with Tavares, he might be raw but he’s showed too much talent to just cast aside already. We have so many younger players fighting to come through but kids don’t learn from kids, they need nurturing during games and only older and wiser players can really do that on the pitch.
Keeping the right experienced players is the important thing as Arsenal keep building.
See you in the comments.
Great post again Rico, the thing that losing to Palace, Brighton and Southampton brought into sharp focus, yet again, was that there isn’t an easy game in the Premier League so I’m not taking anything for granted at the Olympic Stadium, West Ham will be wounded and looking to bounce back before their 2nd leg Europa tie. We need to be on our guard.
Tomiyasu returning is like the cavalry coming to the rescue, we’ll need him big time in our remaining games as the nerves will start to jangle for our young team. Elneny and Xhaka are key figures, they’ll give our youthful team some calmness and experience in the midfield and that’ll allow our young forwards to play their off the cuff attacking.
Tottenham are still a major threat who could upset the applecart in the final five games, but its strange that as fans we’ve looked at both clubs’ games against lower opponents and assumed that those are the games both would win when they’ve actually been the banana skins for both clubs.
West Ham are quite dangerous down their right flank so Tavares is going to be a target, he’ll need support, so maybe Arsenal should switch to a back three, keep our opponents thinking?
Tomiyasu could tuck in and Saka could play a more withdrawn role, keep it tight because West Ham will tire later in the game so let’s not give them something to defend early in the game.
Hi Rico.
Elneny is a good back up.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Xhaka. He’s never been the £35m player that Wenger bought. It’s hard to warm to a player that gave us the finger and threw down the captain’s armband.
I agree with Kev the West Ham game is a banana skin. We shouldn’t be complacent as that’s when we slip up.
G’day Rico, Kev, Pete.
Keep both Xhaka and Elneny we need a few wise old heads in our midfield. Partey, when fit, is good Lakonga needs time.
Pete, I was always of the opinion that Wenger bought a good attacking midfielder in Xkaka, but at the time we needed a solid defensive DM and most people seemed to think that’s what Xhaka was supposed to be. I felt he was illtreated by our fans, he didn’t deserve the opprobrium dished out but has weathered the storm and proved his value to the squad.
I think we are in a fine form. The competition between Eddie and Laca – as well as Lokonga and Elneny – really helped the team. Mikel showed Nuno that even though Tierney is out, his place is not granted, thus Tavares put in a more focused shift (apart from the stupid penalty incident). So I’m confident we will defeat West Ham, but – for the record – I was equally confident that we were about to beat Brighton and Southampton… 🙂
Pete, I belong to the minority that is both a huge fan of Xhaka, believe him for captain material, therefore have no difficulties forgiving some of his impulsive and passionate behavior. Kev was also right that we could see how important Granit was when he wasn’t available (MU, Burnley, Nottingham, Liverpool), and we might experience the same with White. That is a valid point, and I’m looking forward to that.
Afternoon Kev, thanks. Pete, Cicero.
It’s certainly unusual for results to have gone the way they have for 3rd place and downwards. A sign that the league has improved or just that a number of clubs are struggling to find some kind of consistency.
Had we beaten Palace, Southampton and Brighton we might not haven’t won the other two so yep, I can see what you mean about refocusing Kev.
Morning Rico and all
nice write up Rico, I Recon Nketiah will leave to get more game time,
Although Xhaka picks up stupid red / yellow cards Arteta will keep him and Elneny to give players like Lokonga more time to adjust and mature.
Pete I agree that Xhaka should not have thrown the captains arm band, but for him giving the bird to the fans, well if the fans can’t take it, then don’t dish it out to the players and further more I have nothing against fans booing and yelling at the players or the Manager or even writing about how bad the player / Manager was / is. But they should never involve the players family and in Xhaka case that’s what some fans did and in a small way made him do what he did.
Afternoon Geoff, thanks.
No idea why but I’ve this feeling that Eddie will end up staying.
I thought Xhaka has played well recently, but by and large I think he’s been a liability since he was signed. The booing at the Palace game was due to him taking an age to get off the pitch when he was substituted. At the time he was acting like a saboteur. The excuses for his reaction was just PR guff.
I’m sure Arteta would love to get rid of him if he had an adequate replacement. Him and Lacazette are the last of the troublesome old guard who got rid of Emery and did their best to shift Arteta when the team downed tools.
In all my time watching games I don’t recall another Arsenal player giving the home crowd a finger. There was an infamous occasion in the early ’80s where Paul Mariner gave it to the North Bank, but I was not at the game as it was before my time.
Kev may recall it?
Pete, if you’re right, why did Arteta support giving Xhaka a new contract? I think Arteta really rates him.
Sammy Nelson dropped his shorts
I’m not convinced Rico. Mik doesn’t give much away.
My guess (and it is a guess) we signed him on to preserve a sell on value.
Have a nice weekend. I’m off to the local.
#rico on 29th April 2022 at 3:50 pm
Pete, if you’re right, why did Arteta support giving Xhaka a new contract? I think Arteta really rates him.#
Have one for me Pete. Enjoy.
Quiz night at the local , spent all day sorting questions. See you tomorrow
You know how to have a good time Potter. 😂
Pete, the one that stands out in my mind was at Upton Park when West Ham we’re playing Tottenham, I used to live locally in Manor Park and I went with a very good West Ham friend to the game.
Anyway Mervyn Day was in goal for West Ham and had recently conceded a few high profile games when opponents had lobbed him, he had this habit of standing on the edge of the penalty area. Anyway he was lobbed by some toss pot in a Spurs shirt and the North Bank began chanting ‘Mervyn, Mervyn on your line’ etc and after a couple of verses he turned around and game his fans a Blanca then V sign. Cue, intake of breath by the West Ham fans who chanted his name but not with as much gusto and after that his form fell away and he left the club, possibly the next season – West Ham then signed Phil Parkes from QPR.
I can’t really recall the Paul Mariner incident Pete even though I must have been there, tbh I never really saw him as a bona fide Arsenal player so it probably never stuck, he was just passing through as was Tony Woodcock etc.
Typos, that’ll teach me to check before sending.
Everyone’s off to the pub it seems…
Not me Kev. 😝
New post up