Morning all.
Last night’s result at Burnley yet again proves that this League is unpredictable. The result, a 1-0 victory for the home team over Totts, did us a favour though. Antonio Conte was in fine form during his post match interview. Bless him, he’s not used to losing. He said something about different coaches, same players but nothing changes. I’d be really disappointed if an Arsenal manager said some of the things he said after their 4th loss in 5 matches, still, the bigger the problems they have, the better it is for Arsenal fans.
Arsenal v Wolves tonight, and it’s live…..on Amazon Prime.
Mikel Arteta held his press conference yesterday during which all sorts of topics were discussed. His contract, Jack Wilshere, the remainder of the season, Wolves and how they’re doing along with his thoughts on the job their manager is doing. Emile Smith Rowe and his numbers too.
Having Jack Wilshere back at the club has been good for him, the squad and especially the younger players. He’d be welcomed back as a coach with open arms.
One hundred per cent,” Mikel Arteta said. “I think everyone at the club would be willing to open the doors for him and try to find a role for him that would work for everybody. I think that will happen naturally in the future.
Honestly, I wish Arsenal had been the club to offer him playing time, even if it was on a pay as you play contract, because a player of his quality is always good to have around. A great option to have on the bench. Still, it wasn’t to be.
Emile Smith Rowe is our top scorer so far this season and Arteta isn’t surprised because “he’s practising every day, working hard every day and he has willingness to do it because he knows he has the qualities and the capacity to do it.” – Mikel Arteta.
He certainly does have the quality, exceptionally so in my opinion, Bukayo Saka too and I’m just so glad that they’re Arsenal players. Gabriel Martinelli is another and once he adds goals to his game, he’s going to be an even more special player than he is already.
As for Wolves, well they’re doing really well, as is their manager.
First of all the recruitment policy and the players they’ve brought in with the qualities, the characters and the specificity to play the way they play. Obviously their defensive performance has been superb, the amount of goals they have conceded, the creativity they have and the goals they have, that combination is always going to be a positive outcome.
Not tonight for Wolves I hope. In fact Mikel Arteta made it quite clear that every player at the club knows the importance of every match left to play. He expects the top four battle to go down to the wire and it’s crucial that the team make the home advantage count.
We know the fans at The Emirates will be right behind the team, just as they have been all season so the players need to feed off the atmosphere and play well. Just seven home fixtures are left in the season, we simply have to make them count.
This is a quick turnaround for both Arsenal and Wolves to be playing each other again. Having beaten them away from home, I’m sure Wolves will be looking for revenge.
Against the Totts just a week ago, Wolves 2-0 away victory came after Totts made mistakes and lots of them. Lloris made a hash of playing out from the back and then instead of catching the ball, he decided punching it was better. After two attempts, his last presented Wolves with their second goal. But, Wolves haven’t lost away from home this year, beating both Man Utd and Brentford.
They will be tough both on and off the ball and with Martin Atkinson holding the whistle, I imagine they’ll be permitted to push their challenges to the limits. Arsenal players however, need to be smart and as I’ve said before, don’t give him or VAR a decision to make. It says something doesn’t it when we the fans are more concerned about the set of officials in charge of an Arsenal game than the opposition and that’s how it feels right now. For me anyway. That’s not suggesting Wolves are an easy team to beat, on the contrary, they’re are really good side and Arsenal will need to be at their best if they’re to win the game but for once, it’d be nice to be left talking about the actual game rather than the officials.
See you in the comments.
New post up now
Just as an aside Auba scored again tonight
Did something different and hey presto. Stretched them , got behind them , turned them and two goals. 3 points, cue celebrations . How upset Atkinson must be.
Straight in the bin Sue, that Orbinho is rubbish…. 😉
As Wenger would have said, Pepe, like a new signing😂😂
A great 3 points didn’t see that win coming
Instead of a point behind Wolves, we five ahead. Funny old game😀
Scrap that stat hey, Kev?! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Regardless of the youth revolution (where Saka, White Gabriel and Ramsdale played all uncharacteristically poor), tonight it was the ‘old contingent’: Xhaka, Cedric and Lacazette that kept the team in the game. Plus Pepe with a goal and an assist.
Both Pepe and Nketiah had a lot to prove to the fans, and I think did it with a vengeance.
Lacazette was really great keeping the fighting spirit high, and showed Neves and co how to celebrate. 🙂
How did we manage that? I just can’t believe it.
Huge turn indeed.
Wild celebrations at the end? Just for Wolves 🤣
Fantastic result all things considered.
Great subs Mikel..
BOOM!!!!!
😂😂
Lacazette
Jimenez should be booked again!
Super Nick
Phew
Good defending Laca tonight
What a turn!
Pepe 🤩
Stunning from Pepe. What a goal.
Here he comes, Super Eddie 😐
What a crap pass by Lacazette to Saka there ffs
Thank Sue, was that just a Premier League?
Thomas Partey = Old Shovel Foot
Saka is having a stinker, why not change him?
17 attempts, 2 on target.
I thought the same Kev.
Orbinho on twitter, Kev..
Cody would get a yellow from me just for that awful accent!
Blimey Sue, I didn’t realise it was that bad, where did you get that stat?
Interesting isn’t it, Connor Coady gives Atkinson a mouthful of abuse and he just ignores it, I wonder what he’d do if Xhaka told him to push off?
Me neither Cicero. No one looks like they might score.
As I said go 1 down and it’s uphill all the way. We have to do something different they are holding us easily at the moment. We need a spark from somewhere.
Arsenal haven’t won a Premier League game under Mikel Arteta where they were trailing at half time. (W0 D4 L15)
🙈
Frankly I can’t see us getting even a point tonight.
Bringing on Nketiah is, to be frank, a complete waste of time
Not impressed!!! 😒
Peter, I’d be tempted to play Saka in the middle in place of Lacazette and give Hutchinson a run on the right wing
Gifted a goal and ended a drought – that wasn’t in the script!
Atkinson couldn’t wait to get that card out!
Let’s hope we trouble Sa in the 2nd half.. come on Laca, sort it out. Øde has played well…
Why did Saka try to beat three at the end there and then just lamely give the ball away?
Play the easy pass
Kev, Hutchinson might come on to replace Odegaard, Pepe could replace Martinelli or Saka, but only Nketiah can replace Lacazette.
Disappointing first half, got forward a lot but never really looked like scoring. It’s all a bit predictable in the final third.
I’d rathe4 see Hutchinson come on instead of Nketiah because at least he’s an unknown quantity to the Wolves players and he might do something unpredictable
Our bench looks a bit sparse
Poor old Emile, hope it’s not Covid.
ESR is ill…
Cicero.. No problem, thought I’d ask as it’s in King’s Lynn
–––––––––Lacazette–––––––––
Martinelli––Odegaard––––Saka–
–––––––Xhaka–––Partey––––––
Tierney–Gabriel––White––Soares
–––––––––Ramsdale–––––––––
Subs: Leno, Holding, Tavares, Swanson, Elneny, Lokonga, Hutchinson, Pepe, Nketiah
ESR out of tonighhts game
Or heard of it 😕
Sue to be honest I’ve never heard of the place, sorry.
No. ESR in the bench
Hi Cicero.. A quick question – have you ever visited Watatunga Wildlife Reserve? I’ve just seen it on C4 and it looks right up my street!
No, from anywhere.
Not necessarily from wide though.
I too think if Lacazette could get a few scrappy goals, more could follow. But he needs to be in the box and on the end of the balls going into the box.
In fact thinking about it , that style might well suit Nketiah as well .
Morning Geoff.
ESR as the striker Jm?
Thanks you made my point .
When we had Cesc , Rosicky and Hleb with Flamini backing them we were playing quick passing running football in and around the central penalty box . With ESR , Saka and Martinelli we could do it again . Agreed that at that time we had Adebayor and Eduardo scoring but we scored 74 league goals . Whilst I don’t think Laca would be as prolific as Ade was I do believe that were he in the middle and once he got his first goal more would follow..
There lies the problem. Our central striker isn’t really a striker..
Morning Rico and all
Should be a good match as long as we come out fighting from the start. I recon we need Laca on the field to keep a calm mature head, My biggest concern is Xhaka pulling someone’s jumper in the goal square.
Martinelli, playing in the center, loses 60% of his characteristics. If I play, I would switch to ESR.
Pedro Neto should play in wolwes (he was injured for a long time but recovered) which makes him a fast team on the counterattack.
Potter, “With Lacazette playing so deep”, there’s little point in putting centres with no one to get on the end of them. That really will provide the heading practice for the opposition/
We depend too much on Lacazette’s work in midfield to leave him out . Were he to go , the ball would be back onto our back four continually. Every clearance would be picked up and sent straight back by passing our midfield and we would end up with ten men in front of our penalty box being pressed back deeper and deeper.
It’s all well and good to keep looking for where we are going to score but we need to keep a clean sheet first and foremost. In 24 games Wolves have let in just 18 goals if they get 1 nil up it’s uphill all the way for us .
With Lacazette playing so deep we should be looking at the tactic of getting the ball on the wings and putting in centres
.Our goals have come from what used to be known as the inside forwards we should concentrate our efforts there Let the three ESR , Saka and Martinelli run at speed as we used to do with Fabregas , Rosicky and Hleb , play at their feet . There’s no point in giving Coady , Saiss and Kilman 90 minutes heading practice.
Morning Cicero, thanks.
Good question. I think that if Martinelli is to start centrally, Lacazette is the logical one to give way but I can’t see that happening. Not now he’s the captain.
Good morning Rico, thanks for a fine post.
Supposing ESR is fit, who will make way for the available again Martinelli?
My personal preference would be to drop Lacazette to the bench, move Martinelli into the centre and play both ESR and Odegaard.
The referee becomes irrelevant if the players don’t give him decisions to make.
Morning Kev, me neither. Certainly not before that Utd game back in 2004. I’m convinced there’s something other than bad luck going on.
Yes Sue, I read this morning that it’s been a while since we beat Wolves in London. But we’re a different team now, so I keep reading anyway. 😜
Morning Rico, its odd isn’t it, I never used to worry about or discuss who the referee was before a game usually finding out on the day, I mean we don’t do it when we’ve got a european match or a cup tie, but Riley has nothing to do with those games, so maybe our suspicions are rooted firmly in him running the PGMOL, well I know they are…
We’re winless in our last 4 PL home games against Wolves – time to put that right, Rico.. He (ESR) sure is and none have come from the penalty spot! 👍
Should be a good game and no, I’m not thinking of Xhaka lunging and Atkinson brandishing a red card.. honestly 🤣
The prem league darts is also on tonight – my man Price had 2 (🤩) 9 darters last week, so Arsenal had better make it worthwhile missing it! COYG
Hi Sue. Mikel Arteta seems to be keeping squad updates close to his chest. I really hope ESR is fit to start. He’s our new striker isn’t he? 😂
Agree re Conte and Lukaku, neither has gone to plan but it’s funny.
That’s a big if Bnsb.
Hi Rico.. Conte has aged so much in such a short space of time [the spud effect!!]. If it carries on this way, which I hope it does, he’ll be bald before we know it! I bet he (& Lukaku) wished they’d stayed at Inter..
I didn’t see ESR in any of the training pictures. Haven’t read owt about an injury, so hopefully he’ll make tonight – we need our top scorer!
Oh and btw, I hope you’re right about the scousers not catching City and especially about us beating them 😉
Wolves have a very good defensive set up. We will win if we are not profligate and take the chances we get to score.