Morning all.
Kai Havertz made his scoring debut yesterday evening. Yes, I know he scored from the spot a few weeks ago but this was from open play, a header and Arsenal’s winner. Take that Brentford fans, the constant jeering and mickey taking of Aaron Ramsdale came back to bite them on the backside.
Talking of our English keeper, he made a couple of bloopers, one of which Declan Rice rescued.. I think Ramsdale is a confidence player who is at his best when he’s playing each week. Dipping in and out of matches does a keeper little good in my opinion and the sad thing is, Ramsdale is quite likely to be back on the bench in midweek for our Champions League fixture. Yet in his place will be a keeper who also makes mistakes. How this pans out long term I’ve no idea but as fans, all we can do is live in the moment and hope that whoever plays in this Arsenal team does really well.
The lunchtime fixture between Manchester City and Liverpool ended in a draw which was the best result for the other clubs in and around the top four, including Arsenal. Newcastle Utd battered Chelsea in the afternoon whereas Mikel Arteta’s men found it hard to break down an organised Brentford defence. Just before half-time though, Leandro Trossard had the ball in the net. A cross from Bukayo Saka, a header from Gabriel Jesus header which Mark Flekken could only palm into the air and as the ball dropped, Trossard headed home. Celebrations were cut short as VAR ruled the Belgian offside in the buildup.
Brentford came very close to taking the lead half way through the second half. Neal Maupay’s header was on target and before Ramsdale could even think about saving it, Zinchenko cleared. Brilliant defending. Then came the Arsenal winner with 89 minutes on the clock. Again it was Saka with the cross and as it floated towards the back post, almost past the back post, Havertz beat everyone to the ball to head home the winner. A really good goal, the perfect time to score it and a great way to silence the home fans. What’s funny though is Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke said before the game that high crosses into the box would be easy for Brentford to deal with yet it’s exactly that which was their undoing.
Were Arsenal at their best? I don’t think so but when up against a tough and organised defensive, it’s hard to break them down. But for a toenail, the win would have been slightly more comfortable perhaps because Brentford would have searched harder for an equaliser, potentially leaving them more open at the back. We’ll never know of course and it doesn’t really matter now because three points are in the bag.
I watched match of the day this morning and lost count of the number of free kicks awarded for a push or a shove. Some of them were even considered worthy of a yellow card yet still people wonder why Mikel Arteta was so angry after the Newcastle game. He should find out this week what his punishment is for his truths spoken after that game. A fine, a touch line ban, maybe both but I think we can assume it’ll be the hardest punishment possible because it’s Arteta and because it’s Arsenal. I’m sure Albert Stuivenberg will do just fine if he’s needed. He’ll be less animated than his manager that’s for sure…
Champions League up next and a chance to cement our place in the next round.
Catch up in the comments.
RIP Terry Venables… 🥲
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Although he played for two of our rivals , you could not help but like him as a person . His midfield play at the time was ahead of his time . He was a deep thinker and influenced a number of players that played with him and later that he managed . He was a writer , the detective stories of Hazell were a must watch at the time.
A friend of George Graham he was reputed to have nearly joined Arsenal in the 70’s .
A great character , a sad day but a lot of good memories.
RIP EL Tel.
He certainly was a character. I bet you heard some tales about his time at Barcelona Potter. I heard a few. I believe a few bars saw an increase in profits. 😂
Patience is a virtue. Kai Havertz has too much ability, skills and size not be an asset in this team… that is loaded with talent players. Give him time, he will become good. That run he made on the goal was there all game and no one was doing it.
And by the way, what a job Unai Emery has done since replacing Gerrard, Villa top 3.
A great character, he’ll be soberly missed. R I P.
Another good win for the Arsenal Women 3 – 0 at home to West Ham and two goals for Beth Mead. 🔔🔔
Chelsea next isn’t it Cicero?
Agree re Emery Obi.
What a goal from Garnacho, only three minutes into the game an over head bicycle kick from the edge of the area into the top far corner, brilliant Man U 1 – 0 Everton. Just for once c’mon United. Everton, their nickname used to be The Toffees, it’s now The Financial Cheats.
If it is Rico, it’ll be a biggy.
I’m sure it is Cicero, potentially a title decider.
Having Beth Mead back and scoring goals will be a big boost for the team Rico and the game is being played at The Emirates so there will be tremendous atmosphere too. Fingers crossed.
So the Ramsdale / Arteta situation continues and rumbles on . Apparently reporters had to drag a comment on the keeper from him and on the third attempt he said something mildly positive. Ramsdale has said that he loves the club but I don’t think that it is publicly being reciprocated .
Arteta comes over as single minded and I believe that he has made his mind up and Raya is his man. I fully expect Ramsdale to leave at the end of the season and Hein to be number 2 in the future.
It’s all gone Spursy down the road. Men’s team beaten 2 – 1 at home by Villa, women beaten 7 – 0 away to City. Potoglue, or whatever his name is, coming for a bit of stick in the media. Is the honeymoon over?
Late Great win on Saturday.
It didn’t look like it was coming, but up popped the much maligned German at the back post to nod the winner.
Ramsdale was very shaky. He owes Rice a bottle of his Dad’s Zoom beer for saving his bacon.
Talking of Rice, he was once again outstanding. Captain without the armband and in the running for player of the season already.
I was brought up on 1-0 to The Arsenal style, so I’m comfortable with the style of play, especially away from home, although I would like to see more goals from our forwards.
Forward…
They are claiming that 10 players are out injured , their problem is that the long term ones are all in their main players . Bentacur the latest all we need now is Son to twist an ankle for do his knee as he lands on it and they are truly up Scheisse Strasse
My first reaction on seeing the Ramsdale “cock up ” and the Rice clearance was why was he passed the ball in the first place . Two Brentford players were waiting for the pass and Mbueno was on him very quickly. All he could have done was lump it forward first time as any second pass was covered . So why was it not played forward originally . To play it out from the back there has to be an opening for the first three passes and in this case there wasn’t the full backs were covered and so was any short pass forward .
There are times for it and times against , this was definitely the latter.
I note that Raya is the poster boy for the Arsenal shop’s Cyber Monday event. All on his own.
Coincidence?
Yes RIP Terry Venables,I read that he was Arsenal’s first choice in summer 1986,George Graham wasn’t even 2nd choice,he was 3rd or 4th apparently.El Tel ended up in Barcelona,George came home to Highbury,and the rest is history.
Ramsdale looked like someone devoid of confidence on Saturday,a complete change from last season.I feel sorry for him.
I feel sorry for Ramsdale too. Why has he been dumped so quickly after last season? If it’s because o& post Christmas form, a host of other players could have been replaced too..l
Spot on re the back pass, we didn’t see as many second half I’m sure..
I don’t think Ramsdale stands a chance , Our head goalkeeping coach is Iñaki Caña Pavón, ex Barcelona and Brentford coach , David Raya born Barcelona and ex Brentford not to mention that Mikel Arteta played his formative years at Barcelona . Too many coincidents for my liking.
coincidences that should read .
is this the answer to our lack of goals? Chido Obi-Martin: Arsenal youth player scores 10 goals for U16 side in 14-3 thrashing of Liverpool.
Said the other day that the best thing to do is find a better keeping coach. Someone who might improve our goalkeepers.
If he’s under 21 he’s no chance Cicero..
So, Gallagher says City’s second goal ea# rightly ruled out for a foul on the Liverpool keeper yet the foul on Gabriel at Newcastle was not a foul. The mind boggles…
What do we want? Consistency! When do we want? NOW!!!!
Exactly…
I still think Arteta has ignored Ramsdale because of his father’s comments
He was dropped before then Geoff. Ramsdale’s dad comments came because of the way he was dropped I think.
Here’s bit of new that will give all football fans nightmares, there are proposals before IFAB to add corner kicks and second yellow cards to the list of things that can be referred to the Var.
The game is increasingly becoming disjointed due to the interruptions in play caused by the long winded deliberations of the Var. Adding more such delays will only increase the frustration of the spectators and further drain the atmosphere from the stadium.
There is a further proposal for IFAB to consider and that is the introduction of a ten minute sin bin. My question is will it be a strict ten minutes by the clock, or will time be added on to take account of stoppages in play?
Very sad to hear that Bob Wilson’s wife Megs passed away today.
Let’s hope for no injuries today and a nice win.
Instead of giving VAR more work, how about increasing the lines men from 2 to 4
Too sensible Geoff , but VAR is a vanity project for PGMOL it enhances their power. They are totally unaccountable and as Arteta will prove any dissent against them will be punished.
Sad news for the Wilson family. Very sad.
Var award PSG a last minute penalty against Newcastle to deny them a win. What goes around sometimes comes around.
In the Premiership if the ball hits the player’s body and deflects onto his hand or arm it is not a penalty. But under UEFA rules for the Champions League, which were circulated at the start of this season’s competition, it is a penalty. The former players and the club’s managers, who are expressing their outrage at the penalty award have obviously not read, or do not understand, those rules.
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