Starting team lineups:

Arsenal starting XI: Raya; Partey, White, Gabriel, Timber; Rice, Merino; Martinelli, Trossard, Saka; Havertz.

Liverpool Starting XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones, Mac Allister; Diaz, Nunez, Salah.

Match officials:

Referee: Anthony Taylor . 

Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Sam Barrott. 

VAR: Michael Salisbury. 

Assistant VAR: Darren Cann.

Premier League

Emirates Stadium

27th October 2024

KO: 4:30 (UK)

Today, we face Liverpool in a clash at the top of the table. With quite a few first team players injured, Arteta will have to rotate his side.

Saka and Timber return to the squad however, Saliba is absent due to his red card which he received in our last Premier League fixture against Bournemouth.

Liverpool have had a very strong start to the season under Arne Slot. With only one loss and seven wins Slot will be looking to continue their good form.

As we kicked off, Diaz ran at Partey and was supported by Robertson who was fouled by Saka. The ball was crossed in from the freekick and flicked on by Van Dijk however, Rice was able to clear. 

A few minutes later, Kai Havertz and Van Dijk hd a tussle off the ball as the German had a couple of pushesat the defender.

Van Dijk responded with a little kick out of his own to send the Arsenal man into a heap on the ground. No card was given but a dangerous free kick on the right which came to nothing after a poor cross. Salah then nearly slipped Diaz through however, Ben White was there to intercept. We then broke the deadlock as 

Ben White played a great ball in behind for Saka to chase with Robertson contesting him. Saka got into the area and cut the ball back through Robertson’s legs and fired home past Kelleher. 

Salah then had his own chance as Merino let the ball slip through his foot through to Salah whose effort went wide. Moments later, Liverpool equalised through Van Dijk. A corner was swung in and flicked on by Diaz to Van Dijk who was there to head home. 

Arsenal fans were then furious as Diaz wasn’t booked for kicking the ball away. We then nearly scored as Merino was unmarked and misjudged the ball in forcing him to hit wide as he fell holding his shoulder. Martinelli had his first test against Trent as he beat him and fizzed the ball in to Saka who couldn’t connect. 

Minutes later, we then had a penalty shoot as Konate and Trent appeared to sandwich Martinelli however, Anthony Taylor waved away any claims. Mac Allister was then shown a yellow for bringing down Saka. Some nice play from Timber and Merino then forced the ball out to Martinelli who blazed over. 

We had the majority of the ball limiting Liverpool as Trossard’s cross was cleared. We then won a freekick in Liverpool’s half which was whipped in beautifully by Rice and headed in by Merino. VAR checked for offside however, the goal was given. 4 minutes were then added as Liverpool had the last chance of the half with Mac Allister’s header being saved by Raya.

Half time views:

A very dominant first half with us limiting Liverpool to many chances. Arteta will be pleased with how we’ve dealt with the pace of the Liverpool wingers. 

We still need to find Saka more to create more chances as it seems that every time we stack with Martinelli, he runs into trouble.

Seconds into the second half, someone on the Liverpool bench was shown a yellow after Gabriel went down easily with a challenge from Nunez. Gabriel looked to be hurt however, carried on. A minute later, Gabriel went down again and had to be replaced by Kiwior. 

Salah then turned past Timber and crossed into the box however, Diaz wasn’t there to meet the ball. Liverpool then won a corner after Trent’s cross was blocked. Robertson crossed in but failed to beat the first man. Slot then made a triple change as Tsimikas, Gakpo and Szoboszlai replaced Robertson, Diaz and Mac Allister. 

Raya then picked up a booking for time wasting. Nunez then smashed a great volley over the top for Salah down the right.He flicked in a cross in which Raya got a touch to but only pushed it into the middle of the area. It wouldn’t sit for Jones who had to wait on it coming down before seeing his shot blocked by Partey. Timber then went down holding his toes. 

He managed to get up and continue however, went down again as he was replaced by Lewis-Skelly. Trent then tried a chipped ball towards Salah which went wayward. Moments later, Trent played a sublime ball through to Nunez who squared to Salah who tapped home to equalise. After the goal, Arteta replaced Saka and Martinelli with Jesus and Nwaneri. 

We then had a chance of our own as Havertz dunked the ball to the back post to Jesus whose shot was blocked and out for a corner. The resulting corner came to nothing. We then appeared to have scored however, Anthony Taylor had blown up for a foul by Kiwior as he didn’t let play continue. For me, it wasn’t a foul and he shouldn’t have blown his whistle. 

Seven minutes were then added as Endo replaced Jones. Minutes later, Nunez was then booked for tripping up Trossard. We then looked to have a corner in the dying embers of the game however, the officials gave a goal kick to Liverpool and then the full time whistle was blown.

Full time views:

A fair result with us being the better team in the first half and Liverpool having the better of the ball in the second.

One of our worries will be the absence of our senior defenders with Gabriel and Timber both coming off injured.

One point to also make is the decision by the officials for not booking Van Dijk and blowing up when Havertz was through on goal. I guess it almost is always inevitable when Anthony Taylor is the referee.

Anyhow onwards and upwards as we look to face Preston away on Wednesday in the EFL cup.

COYG

Hudson

14 days to set the tone for the busy festive spell

Over the next 14 days, Arsenal will face title-challenging Liverpool at Emirates Stadium, and if that wasn’t a stern-enough test, The Gunners also have away trips to Newcastle and Inter Milan before facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Following that, the next international break. It feels like a make-or-break period. To me, it’s more about keeping our head above water rather than being Michael Phelps.

The mood around the club has been high spirited for a good couple of years now. The Emirates has had consistently great atmosphere over this time, but this is one of the rare periods where we need the crowd to be as positive and as excited as they have been for the last couple of seasons.

Liverpool will be tough. Liverpool without multiple key players will be tougher. Liverpool after defeat to Bournemouth will really test the home support. And I hope they stick with them throughout the match. We will lose possession more with Ødegaard. We will be less exciting down the right without Saka. But we are good enough to take a result without them – it just needs a combined effort from both the team and the crowd to do so. To create that buzz. To give the team all the resources needed to bring a result to the table.

Manchester City have consistently worse results without Rodri. Liverpool fell off a cliff without van Dijk a couple of seasons back. Teams losing their best players will make it harder – especially while we’re without two of our biggest ball retainers going forward. And it will prove to be tough for the next couple of games too.

No matter the results, we just need to remain within touching distance. Our early-season fixtures have been hard. After 11 matches in the Premier League season we will have faced Villa away, Spurs away, City away, Liverpool at home, and Newcastle and Chelsea both away too.

Now, it will not be a nice feeling if we lose further ground this weekend or indeed over the next couple of game weeks. But, as eye rolling as it sounds, it is important to not drown completely. After the next international break our remaining fixtures in 2024 are Forest H, West Ham A, United H, Fulham A, Everton H, Palace A, and Ipswich H. A batch of games where we could suddenly get up a head up steam with a nearly-fit squad again.

To add to that, our final FOURTEEN fixtures are Leicester A, West Ham H, Forest A, United A, Chelsea H, Fulham H, Everton A, Brentford H, Ipswich A, Palace H, Bournemouth H, Liverpool A, Newcastle H, Southampton A. There’s real potential that our season rests on a vintage second-half of the season.

In 97/98, we had 10 wins, 8 draws and 4 losses after 23 matches. We were 5th. Then we won 13 of our next 14 and the rest is history. In 01/02we had 13 wins, 9 draws and 3 defeats after 25 matches.

With those two title-winning campaigns mentioned I want to know your favourite match from any title-winning season, or a match that made you think “this might be the season after all”.

End of the day, teams do have down periods, and while the margin for error is smaller in the Man City era, they will drop points too. They’ve not had a convincing result since West Ham away on Matchday 3, and even Liverpool have a Home defeat to Nottingham Forest on their record despite the positive start from Arne Slot.

This season will be a long one yet, and let’s still with the boys all the way.

Nick

Arsenal Starting XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Martinelli, Jesus, Trossard.

Shakhtar Starting XI: Riznyk, Konoplia, Bondar, Matviienko, Henrique, Bondarenko, Zubkov, Kryskiv, Sudakov, Sikan, Eguinaldo.

Match officials:

Referee:Benoit Bastien

Assistants :Hisham Zarkani, Aurelien Berthomieu. 

VAR : Benoit Millot.

Champions league

Emirates Stadium

Tuesday 22nd October 2024

KO: 20:00(UK)

We return tonight in the Champions League as we look to face Shakhtar Donetsk. After a disappointing result on Sunday against Bournemouth Arteta will be looking to bounce back.

Saliba is still eligible to play in tonight’s game however, is still suspended for the next game meaning he’ll miss Liverpool.

We are still missing the likes of Odegaard, Saka and Timber which have put us under the cosh for the game on the weekend but hopefully our squad can get a result tonight and build some confidence.

Shakhtar kicked us off and we managed to carve out our first chance as Martinelli broke away winning a corner. Rice swung in and the keeper managed to half-clear as the ball fell to Trossard who got past the defender with some nice skill however, his cross came to nothing. For the next couple of minutes, we held possession. 

Another chance then came as Havertz won us a corner. This time Trossard took but his cross was cleared for another corner. He put the ball in again as the ball fell to Calafiori who blazed over from close range. The next few minutes were quite cagey as we were not able to create any opportunities. 

Shakhtar then had their first chance as Egunaldo’s strike was blocked by Gabriel as the ball went out from the corner. Shakhtar played the corner short and crossed but we were able to clear. We then got a chance as Rice intercepted Riznyk’s pass and headed to Havertz who knocked over to Trossard however, he fired wide. 

Rice then had a shot from far which rolled past Riznyk’s post.  Another chance came again as Havertz held the ball up and laid it off to Martinelli who took the ball to the byline and crossed into Trossard who poked wide. Another tame effort came as Calafiori struck straight into Riznyk’s arms. 

We then broke the deadlock as Martinelli cut in and fired his effort against the post as it rebounded back off the keeper and in. Martinelli broke away again and tried to squeeze the ball through to Trossard however, his ball was cut out. 

Ben White was then shown a yellow card for pulling back Egunaldo. Shaktar then had a half-chance as Zubkov put the ball straight in Raya’s hands. We nearly got our second of the night as Martinelli swung the ball to the back post towards Jesus who headed back towards Havertz who was just beaten to the ball by Matviienko. 

Jesus was then denied as Havertz played him through as his effort was saved by the feet of Riznyk. Shakhtar then went up the other end as Egunaldo fired wide. Jesus was denied again as he cut back and fired his attempt at a  

Shakhtar body. The referee then blew the half time whistle.

Half time views: 

A very dominant first half, without any opposition threat. Arteta will want his players to be more clinical as we’ve had quite a few chances.

I would like to see Nwaneri come on soon to give us a bit of a spark and more composure in and around the final third.

Going into the second half, Merino replaced White. We nearly got our second goal early in the second half, with Martinelli whipping the ball across the box to Trossard who couldn’t get enough on his header to direct it towards goal. 

We continued to keep pressing as Martinelli forced the Shakhtar goalie to clear out for an Arsenal throw. Martinelli then had an effort saved and out for a corner as Havertz played the ball across the box. Rice put the corner in however, Riznyk claimed easily. 

A minute later, Trossard then advanced through the final third and unleashed an effort from outside the box which went just past the post. Shakhtar then had their own effort in the box as Egunaldo’s shot was blocked by Gabriel and safely into Raya’s gloves. Shaktar then enjoyed a spell of possession for a few minutes before we regained control. 

However, we began to let Shakhtar into the game as we allowed them to have more space and time on the ball before they made their first changes of the night with Kevin replacing Sikan and Pedrinho replacing Zubkov. We then made our second change of the night with Sterling replacing Jesus. Calafiori also went down however, was able to continue. Although, a minute later Calafiori had to come off being replaced by Lewis-Skelly. 

For the majority of the next few minutes we held the ball and were able to win a corner as Martinelli’s cross was cleared. However, VAR had checked for a handball during the clearance and the referee went to the monitor. The referee re entered the pitch and gave a penalty. Trossard stepped up to take and his penalty was saved by the Shakhtar goalkeeper. Shaktar then had their own attempts with their efforts striking the Arsenal defenders. Martinelli was then booked for a flailing arm striking Konoplya. 

A few moments later Trossard was replaced by Jorginho. We then won a corner as the ball was hit to the far post towards Martinelli who couldn’t connect as the ball came back out to him where he crossed in to Rice who was unable to bring the ball down. 

6 minutes were added and Shaktar had another chance as Pedrinho forced Raya into a save. Shakhtar came again as a looping ball into the box was nearly headed in but Raya stood strong and claimed. As the game came to a close Henrique flew in on Havertz receiving a yellow card and a freekick for us near the corner. We took it and then the referee blew the full time whistle.

Full time views: 

A very unconvincing win and strange performance. It seemed as in the latter stages of the game we allowed Shakhtar to get back into the game.

However, a win is a win and that’s 7 points from three Champions League games. Arteta will be disappointed and will want our attackers to be more clinical infront of goal.

Anyhow, onwards and upwards as we look to face Liverpool on Sunday.

COYG

Hudson 

Loads of different personalised Arsenal shin pads available! #AFC #BOUARShttps://t.co/K0MAsBNJ1R pic.twitter.com/1EITAj157h

— Kick Off Merchants (@KOMerchants) October 19, 2024