Morning all.
Arsenal have confirmed they’re off to the USA this summer. We’ll play Orlando City on Wednesday, July 20th at Exploria Stadium – the home of the MLS side and then three days later we’ll take on Chelsea at Camping World Stadium on Saturday, July 23rd. I suspect more pre season fixtures will be announced but with next season kicking off in the first week of August, I hope they are much closer to home.
Technical Director Edu:
The FC Series, together with our Orlando training camp, will provide Mikel and the squad with an excellent level of preparation as we focus on next season. We look forward to confirming further plans for our pre-season very soon.
There’s a message in that statement and it’s loud and clear.
Yes, that really is Takehiro Tomiyasu taking part in full training. Alex Lacazette was involved too.
Chelsea tonight at Stamford Bridge, the stadium in which Brentford tore the home team apart just a few days ago. Apparently, the 1-4 scoreline was flattering as Chelsea could have lost by a greater margin. The moral of that story is that Chelsea are beatable. Talking of beatable, Man Utd were thrashed last night which means we’ve jumped up a place in the league to 5th.
On paper, tonight’s fixture is another defeat for Mikel Arteta’s team but as has been said many times, nothing in football is decided on paper. Chelsea have the bigger and better squad, the better, or at least more experienced manager too so Arsenal, like Brentford, have nothing to lose. After all, I doubt anyone expects us to win.
But we can, if all the stars are aligned. I’m sure we’ll create chances to score goals, we’ve just got to take them. Arsenal would have won the last two games had someone, anyone had been more ruthless in front of goal. Perhaps as Kev said the other day, we just need a lucky break. Lacazette to scuff one past Mendy, Saka to miss hit one or get a huge deflection or perhaps a set-piece in which either of the Gabriel’s get their head too. Or shoulder, who cares as long as it leaves Mendy picking the ball out of the net a few times.
Injuries:
Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic is ruled out after injuring his ankle against Crystal Palace at the weekend and both Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell remain absent too.
For Arsenal it’s just Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney although I don’t think we’ll see Tomiyasu return to the starting eleven tonight. I fully expect to see Lacazette back though.
Around this time last season we beat Chelsea in west London thanks to ESR who scored the only goal of the game. That night Lady Luck was on our side the woodwork prevented Chelsea from scoring on more than one occasion. We had just 32% of the possession and two shots on target yet we came away with all three points. We’ll see a very different a very different starting eleven line up tonight to the one that night though. Holding, Leno, Mari, Aubameyang and Elneny helped secure that win but they’re either gone, going or not starters anymore. Soares and Martinelli were on the bench, as was Pepe and Lacazette. Mikel Arteta played three at the back that night too, or five if one includes Saka and Tierney. Either way, it wasn’t the traditional four.
Football is a funny old game really which every now and again springs a surprise and there’s no better club for springing them than Arsenal. More often than not though that’s been losing games which we’d probably be expected to win as has been the case recently. Brighton and Southampton really should have been six points won, but yes, that’s Arsenal past and present really.
I don’t expect Mikel Arteta’s team to get anything from tonight’s fixture but the way things have gone since the international break, perhaps tonight will be our night. The night when the woodwork moves an inch so Xhaka’s left footed strike bends into the top corner, or Mendy trips just as he’s about save a shot from Nketiah or Lacazette, or when Saka is hacked over in the box for the umpteenth time this year, the referee points to the spot and sends the offending player off.
Wishful thinking perhaps but stranger things have happened in football. Certainly when Arsenal are involved.
See you in the comments.
Morning Rico. If there was a single lesson to learn from this last year’s pre-season it’s ‘do not play Chelsea’. Loftus-Cheek went out of his way to injure Partey (twice) and it was a general kick fest. It hurt us. Partey was successfully injured.
Do not play Chelsea in pre-season. It makes no sense.
Morning Adam. I’d rather Arsenal steered clear of all PL sides in pre season. It’s crazy really for the reasons you cite.
Playing potential rivals in pre season is dangerous
.As Rico stated regarding the 6 points against Brighton and Southampton had we got them , as it can be argued we should have . Then Chelsea would have been direct rivals for 3rd place and setting off to expose our squad not only to injury but tactics is strange to say the least.
Maybe the hosts in America wanted a good old London derby to up the interest in ticket sales and gambling receipts. It would be interesting to get Chelsea supporter’s take on it.
Thgis competition is to start 3 weeks after the transfer window opens so for it to be of any use early trading will have to be done to bed players in before they travel.
Doesn’t the transfer window open 1st of June this summer Potter?
Early business is key though as you say but it’s Arsenal…
Not international I believe , maybe domestic.
The Premier League has confirmed that the summer transfer window will be open from as early as 10 June, less than three weeks after the final day of the 2021/22 season on 22 May – and only 13 days after the Champions League final.
The international transfer window for Premier League clubs, according to FIFA’s registration period calendar, will begin as normal on 1 July 2022 – one day after the official end of 2021/22 on 30 June.
Personally I think practice matches over seas are a waste of time and money, I would rather have practice matches between our senior / under 23 teams and maybe even mix them up and give the players more time off to heal, rest and enjoy more time with their family.
Morning Rico, we play Chelsea on July 23rd, the domestic season begins the first week of August, perfect for Loftus Cheek to ‘do’ a couple of our key players before the season kicks off.
Well I got that totally wrong then Potter. 😂
Don’t forget the money, fans and selling shirts Geoff.
Morning Kev, perhaps we could turn the tables for once, but yes, it’s crazy. We’ll probably get drawn against Chelsea for the first fixture of the new campaign too. Then Liverpool…
Don’t forget City , United and Totts.
Good day Rico and all.
We may be in luck tonight as Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be in alignment and visible in the UK in the early hours. They may not be stars, but from a distance it’s hard to tell the difference. 😉
Chelsea have no chance of finishing higher than third and there is little likelihood of them being pushed into fourth. so it’s possible that they may not be at their completive best and Tuchel could be tempted to rest some of his best players with CL games in the offing.
We can only hope.
Even so I’ll be watching from behind the sofa.
Surely the PL won’t give us all of them to kick the season off? Then again…
Afternoon Cicero. Didn’t Teal knock them out of the CL? Just the FA Cup left I think.
Good Afternoon Rico and all
Personally I wouldnt mind getting any of Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Man Utd in the first middle or last games. They have to be played no? For me the earlier they are out the better.
The only problem is how will Arsenal turn up against the other, imo, ‘beatable’ teams. Games which we should be winning handsomely. The problem this year was not losing to Liverpool and City twice plus Man Utd. The only problem I saw this year was losing points against Palace (5), Brighton (5), Southampton (3), Brentford (3), Man UTd (3)……Teams which with better concentration and maybe a bit more luck as well we should have beaten comfortably…….that is 19 massive points. That would put us just a point behind City in the standings. Now I am not saying we should have won them all, however, those teams were beatable had we showed up on the day, not suffered covid related issues and not having fluffed our chances in front of goal. In the last three games we had 63 attempts at goal and only scored twice. 2/63 is criminal. We might have blamed the midfield or defence for going AWOL during certain moments or a lapse in concentration, but imo its scoring which let us down.
any game is easy or difficult in however much you make it easy or difficult. Once United under SAF lost twice to Arsenal, twice to Chelsea and lost 5 points to the dippers……yet they won the rest and finished ahead of Arsenal. SAF knew that against the above mentioned teams he stood no chance because of the quality they had…..so he rotated players for the above games but kept the best ones for teams they should beat comfortably……and he won the EPL.
I stand to correct myself…..I put United with City and Liverpool when I stated…. The problem this year was not losing to Liverpool and City twice plus Man Utd.
I dont know how I put United there….because this year we could have beaten them easily if we turned up.
I don’t particularly mind the Chelsea game. Let’s hope the RLC incident was just a chance and does not become a pattern.
Regarding tonight’s game I have a perverted feeling that it’s a win-win situation (unless it ends 0:0).
If we beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge there is a good chance that we have bounced back from our month-long misery and the confidence allows the boys to perform similarly high against West Ham, Tottenham and Newcastle.
If we lose – which has a significantly higher likelihood – thus we manage to reach 4 consecutive defeats (for the first time since 1995) the chance is increased that Arteta will finally be fired.
Maybe not immediately, so some disappointment is inevitable, but I still have some faith in the board…
PBarany……Artets will not be fired. If we had a very good attack and a good midfield then yes you are right. But since we have what we have in both areas then the board will not sack him.
If we buy two forwards, a winger and two defensive midfielders in summer then yes he has to produce.
But now that is out of the question at the present
Depends which Chelsea team turns up today, we may have a chance of pinching the 3 points. I am not holding my breath but I do have my fingers crossed.
Knocked out by a duck Rico? Oh I see it was Real. 😉.
Just goes to show they are vulnerable.
Rico’s post puts the idea of Arteta’s sacking into touch when she recorded :-
“”The FC Series, together with our Orlando training camp, will provide Mikel and the squad with an excellent level of preparation as we focus on next season. We look forward to confirming further plans for our pre-season very soon.””
His sacking is not in their thoughts . They are already looking at next season with him in place .
IF Arteta and co are looking forward to next season does that mean they have already given up on this season.
Pretty much , I reckon so , but if they have then lets see a few of the kids an d see how they fare.
Eighteen year old Kahyon Edwards has scored 17 goals and made 6 assists in 22 appearances for our academy, Brighton and Chelsea are both sniffing around him, time to try him in the first team?
Oops Cicero, didn’t see that gaff. Lol
Afternoon Devil, we don’t know for certain re Arteta. Imagine if we lose every single game left, I think fans wouldn’t be as supportive then.
All the time the Emirates faithful are behind the team, I think Arteta is safe. Turn and he’s history imo.
Yes Rico, I reckon that the computer that decides the fixtures is probably programmed by Mike Riley and the PGMOL North West Referees Association.
Cicero you should do yourself a favour and take in the odd Teal Madrid game, variety is the spice of life you know…
I reckon so too Kev. Or simply handpicked.
DG, I understand that it is your interpretation of the board’s stance and not your view necessary, but I beg to differ.
I think Arsenal has a capable midfield (as demonstrated by the ball possession statistics, but anyway Partey, Xhaka and Lokonga are quality midfield players), and our attack was well beyond ‘decent’. We have Odegaard (Norway’s captain), Martinelli (Brazilian international), Saka (England’s favorite and Arsenal’s sweetheart), Smith-Rowe (academy graduate, capable of scoring with both-feet, our current PL topscorer despite having played less than the others). OK, many find Pepe below that level, but I doubt if many clubs have backup wingers with his skills. Regarding center forwards we had Aubameyang with several topscorer medals, we have Nketiah, breaking every youth records, and Lacazette, a hard working striker with superior ball-holding and distributing skills.
So I seriously challenge if Arteta has to work with a poor bunch there. He is just unable to improve them and/or bringing the most out of the squad.
Cicero, Edwards is indeed a clinical striker, but he is well behind Biereth, and even Mika cannot get a sniff at the first team. So there is a good chance we will lose Khayon in the summer, but that will not be on Arteta. I mean it will be his fault in the sense that he doesn’t give many chances to academy players, but this blackmailing scheme from young players is really uncool, and I don’t think the managers should give in…
By the way, it’s:
–––––––––––Nketiah––––––––––
Smith-Rowe–Odegaard––Saka––
––––––Xhaka–––––Elneny–––––
Tavares–Gabriel––White––Holding
––––––––––Ramsdale–––––––––
Subs: Leno, Soares, Swanson, Lokonga, Azeez, Hutchinson, Pepe, Martinelli, Lacazette
Elneny and Holding are surprise inclusions, and I’m not fan of playing ESR and Ode in the same team either, but who cares?
COYG!
Well, that’s certainly a different team selection.
I’m with you Pbarany. Yes we have injuries but I wonder what someone like Klopp would do with our squad, or even Graham Potter.
I reckon that with this squad GG would have at least 10 more points.
2-2 are we believing what we’re seeing? Superb stuff…with our two shots on target.
Sloppy defending though.
We had 6 goal attempts and scored 2…. different than scoring 2/63 attempts. Maybe it’s clicking back. Yes sloppy defending but am still liking what I am seeing
A bit frenetic at times but it’s nice to see some energy out there.
Smith Rowe and Nketiah could and probably should have had a pair of goals each but at least we’re competing, I’d take a point from this game if you offered it now.
Makeshift defence Rico, so it’s not surprising that there’s a few errors creeping in at the back.
Fatty Moss and VAR up to its usual standard.
When we got 2 – 1 up we should have taken the sting out of the game . Although it is exciting to see it is too open
As would I Kev. A point would be a good result. 6-6 the way things are going.
I realise Kev lol
If only Eddie had been available from the start of the season…
Evening. Well I expected 5 goals but not three for Arsenal! Good poaching goal. And the 97 million pound man is off.
Arteta’s bottle gone just need to hold the ball going back will cost us
Wow, how nice for Saka!!!
Saka had THE BALLS to take the penalty…..91st minute, pressure on, last penalty taken was missed (for England) …..but he kept his nerve and scored to make it 4-2
Now hold the ball and stand your ground fellas.
What a fantastic result.
So in 3 games we had 63 attempts on goal and we score 2 against teams which we should have beaten handsomely…..today we had 4 shots against a team that everyone expected us to lose against and we score 4.
As Rico pointed out….. When Arsenal are involved one just never knows.
Time for those behind the sofa to crawl out.
I just wish we won the last 3 games and lost today… 9points is better than 3
Good night fellas and Ladies
A pleasant surprise.
The difference was the pace of Nketiah, Lacazette would never have got a goal like Eddie’s first and that put the doubts in the Chelsea defence, they never recovered and Azplicueta panicked and gave away an important penalty.
I’m delighted for the whole squad they fought for every ball and stuck to the task. Arteta got things right with selection and tactics….for once.
I hope tonight’s result provides lift-off for the run in, it should boost the confidence that has been missing recently.
Good night Gooners ……everywhere. 🔔🔔🔔🔔
I hope this is not a one-off for Eddie Nketiah because the potential has always been there, but the application, work-rate and clinical finishing have not, well not for Arsenal at the top level (EPL).
Both his goals were examples of what we’ve been hoping to see from him on a regular basis in the league since he first burst onto the scene a few seasons back vs Norwich in the League Cup with two goals.
Of course there was that extra motivation of doing it against the club that rejected him but he’s had other opportunities and not taken them so it’s in his hands now really, he’s got the rest of this season to finally banish the doubts and to score the goals we need…
Brilliant finish by Smith Rowe, so composed, so elegant and so mature.
Credit to the guys who’ve not played much this season but have come in and given everything.
Whatever anyone might think about the manager the spirit in the camp is amazing.
Makes you wonder why Elneny has not played more. Very composed performance. Even on his own goal-line! One who never publicly moans but I’m sure could have done more of a job for us given the chance.
Also liked the joy from Lacazette when Nketiah scored. Although hugging them just after covid maybe not the best idea!
That made a change. A real tonic and so unexpected.
As I said earlier it depends on which Chelsea team turns up.
Just watched the replay except for a few sloppy passes it was a match to enjoy we looked so much happy and quicker, While not always playing out from the back mixed the game up and didn’t give Chelsea a chance to settle.
Not taking anything away from the nice win, Just as important I recon was Saka taking and scoring from the penalty and getting that weight off his shoulder from missing for England,
Did any see the Chelsea player and a Chelsea fan almost get into a fight after the match.
I know you aren’t particularly interested in statistics, but the expected goals (xG) from Arsenal was still under 2 (1.87) as almost always since Christmas. So our chance creation didn’t improve a bit, only our execution did. It is an important development nevertheless. But what’s more interesting is that despite Chelsea’s 67% ball possession we managed to keep their xG at a shockingly low 0.59. So our defense did really good – but our keeper didn’t.
I don’t want to blame our poor form on Ramsdale at all, but for the record, he had only 2 good games this calendar year’ 14 appearances (against Wolves with 10 men on the road, and against Leicester City at home), but had 8 surprisingly bad performances already. Which is not a terrible thing, because if manages to step up our play could further improve. It just undermines the narrative that Arteta decides the starting line-up taking only the current form and performance into consideration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0rSkx8kdwY
Watch again , a little more relaxed this time .
New post up now.