Evening all.
I hope you all had the best Christmas you could have. Mine was quiet, as quiet as it could be with a four month old puppy in the house who is still biting everything, including me. Still, her baby teeth are starting to drop out so the spiteful days should be coming to an end..
It’s certainly been a good Christmas period for on loan Sambi Lokonga as he and his fellow Luton teammates earned maximum points from the two festive fixtures. The first, a 1-0 defeat of Newcastle and the second was a 3-2 win over Sheffield Utd after trailing 2-1. Whether he still has a future in north London remains to be seen but he’s under contract until 2026 so there’s a fee to be had should his days be numbered. Better still would be a much improved player returning to the club in the summer who’s ready to perform well for Arsenal.
There aren’t many occasions when a Manchester United win is a good thing but yesterday was one of those rarities. Trailing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa at half-time, a second half fightback saw them win 3-2. Nottingham Forest went to St James Park with a new manager and new belief before going home with a massive three points which is great for Arsenal as both Villa and Newcastle are hovering around the top four so any points they drop is a bonus. Hopefully that’s Villa’s bubble burst and they fade away. Liverpool won at Burnley which was to be expected really.
Tonight, Chelsea host Crystal Palace and Everton face Man City. Tomorrow night, Arsenal take on West Ham and Totts go to Brighton.
Just two fixtures are left of this calendar year for Mikel Arteta’s team and both are London derbies. West Ham tomorrow night at The Emirates and then Fulham at Craven Cottage on New Year’s Eve.
First of all, thank-you for everything that you’ve done throughout the year and the way you’ve supported and inspired the team. For tomorrow, please go to the stadium and get it rocking. Get behind the team, inspire them again and the team is going to try to do everything that we can. It’s going to be the last game of the year in front of you, so it’s a special moment, so let’s make it beautiful.
Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira remain out and Kai Havertz is suspended after notching up five bookings. His absence opens the door for either Leandro Trossard or Emile Smith Rowe.
West Ham knocked us out of the League Cup not that long ago, but that defeat was at their place and Mikel Arteta rested a number of ‘first team’ players. Even so, I expect West Ham to make it difficult for Arsenal tomorrow night.
Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme:
Moyes uses a 4-2-3-1 as his primary shape, but without the ball West Ham United’s formation tends to resemble a solid 4-5-1. Averaging just a 41 per cent share of the ball they are still very much built to defend with organisation, before springing fast, incisive counter-attacks. The Hammers are naturally cautious, but they can flick the switch and take a more offensive approach when required. Creating transitions by stealing the ball back inside the middle or defensive thirds through aggression is their stock tactic, and they love to use the pace of Bowen or Kudus to hurt opponents when quickly turning defence into attack.
No Premier League side has scored more goals from fast breaks (6) than West Ham, and netting multiple times in five of eight away from home, they are dangerous opponents. From an expected goals tally of 16.35 in open play, Moyes’ side have scored 22 goals outside of penalties and set pieces. On the flip side, conceding 30 goals already (22 from open play), the east Londoners have managed just a pair of clean sheets, which is unusual for a team managed by Moyes. Only Sheffield United and Luton Town have faced more shots than West Ham, who have the fourth-highest expected goals-against tally.
As Adrian Clarke says and we saw in the Cup game, West Ham are quick on a counter attack. They have players with pace and can cause an upset against any opposition on their day. Arsenal will need to be at their best I think but then I write that every match day. Probably because no game in this league is easy any more. Just as I often suggest that Arsenal will probably have the higher possession stats but what the team does with that possession is what’ll count. Goals win games, it’s as simple as that.
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: Stuart Burt, Dan Cook
Fourth official: Rob Jones
VAR: Craig Pawson
Assistant VAR: Ian Hussin
Catch up in the comments.
Arteta on transfers:
on having plans in place for January:
We have certain targets and ideas if things happen. We don’t know how the squad is going to be and you have to be prepared for that. It’s a very tricky market that shifts very quickly and it’s quite unpredictable as well. We will be prepared and try to make the right calls.
on if he wishes for us to be active in the window:
If there is something that we can improve the squad and needs something that we can’t fulfil with players here then we are always going to be open to doing that because we want to be stronger.
Morning Rico and all,
I would bring in Trossard, over ESR due to match fitness,
Rico stop picking on that poor little puppy he’s only being friendly 🐕🐶
Good morning Rico, the usual down-beat comments by Arteta concerning January transfer business, I would expect nothing else. It does seem that we will have to sell before buying, but I honestly don’t see any queues forming to snatch up such bargains as Cedric and Nketiah. Perhaps a loan signing or two would get us round the F F P barrier but I doubt if there is a twenty goal + striker waiting in the wings.
Hopefully all our available squad players have recovered from their Christmas festivities and are raring to go in tonight’s London derby against The Hammers.
Just thinking out side the box, and I am not saying I would sell them but what about testing the waters with selling Partey and loaning ESR out for six months to help him get more match fitness.
Morning Geoff, Cicero, all.
Geoff, it’s the other way round, honest…
I can’t see Arsenal making signings next month, not unless we get desperate.
The Ineos United manager’s job is safe for now, until the Ratcliffe buy out is ratified by the Football Association and the Premiership Sir James can have no input into footballing staff sacking or signings.
At half-time in yesterday’s game against Everton, according to the media hacks, Ten Hag”s job was hanging by a thread. Forty-nine minutes later he was being praised to the heavens as his very average team scraped a win and three points. I watched most of the game and was astounded at how the only player to show any desire or in many case any acceptable level of competence, was the young Spaniard Garnacho.
Whether Ten Hag stays or a new manager comes in whoever it is will have long hard road to travel to get the current disparate bunch of players to come anywhere near top six quality.
If Ten Hag goes, who is there to replace him though? I hope he stays and ruins them good and proper.
Arsenal team news
Team to play West Ham:
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Odegaard, Trossard; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
Substitutes:
Ramsdale, Cedric, Kiwior, Jorginho, Elneny, Nwaneri, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Nketiah
Zinchenko must stick to his defensive duties tonight, he can not go marauding up field at the drop of a hat.
We say that every match day..
I hope Arteta can inject some inspiration into the team at halftime..
Was it out of play?
I thought it was.
74% possession, 9 shots, 2 on target, 3000 passes, One nil down. That says it all.
As we are playing with three at the back let’s see something different in the second half, Bring on ESR for Zinchenko.
how many more times are we to be treated to a slow paced shot shy Arsenal . Oh for someone that would put his laces through it
Indeed it does. We looked sluggish at times and a little bit predictable.
I hope we get to see Nelson getting at their defence at some stage. Mavropanos is there to be beaten.
Shooting from distance seems to have flown out of the Arsenal windows.
What does make a pleasant change is listening to Ally McCoist talking a lot common sense instead of suffering the idiots on Sky Sports etc.
I’d just said, I hope number 15 doesn’t head this one…..
just said to james as they lined up for the corner . that makes sense Zinchenko marking mavropanos
Gabriel in the end though wasn’t it?
If I was in the stadium watching this load of old pony I’d already be heading for the station by now. We can carry on playing this way for the next hour and not score.
Where was this urgency 40 mins ago?
I’m sure one of the Arsenal fans caught on camera just now was falling asleep..
Another penalty shout ruled out by Var
Brilliant save by Raya to deny The hammers a third goal from ninety fifth minute penalty.
I can’t bare to say any more.
Good nightall.
got what we desrved
We lost on the result and as always, on yellow cards.
Sunday there is more.
Keep in faith!
game turned on their first goal . maybe in , maybe out but once given they dropped back and swaiiowed our slow pedantic build ups . We have seen this game so many times and until we get someone that injects real pace in the middle we will see it time snd time again .
We are lucky this loss hasn’t done too much damage to the ladder.
The lack of a striker truly shows.
Just seen a photo of play that lead to West ham first goal it is clearly out of play, if the officials claim VAR is not rigged then whoever was in VAR must be suspended or f–k off VAR. This is the second time this season VAR has cheated us and allowed a goal to stand that should not have been allowed.
New post up.