Category Archives: Arsenal

Arsenal look to return to winning ways against Wolves

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After 11 wins on the bounce, Arsenal have spluttered a little bit in recent weeks.

The last 4 games have seen them win just once – a 2-1 victory over Brentford in the League Cup.

An away draw against Crystal Palace in the Premier League was followed up by a home draw against Liverpool. Ending the run was the Thursday 0-0 bore draw against Sporting.

A concern for Arsenal will b just 1 clean sheet in that 4 game run. Coincidently that game (against Sporting) was also the only game that they failed to score in.

Up next today is Wolves at home, and Arsenal will be desperate to get back to winning ways.

A failure to collect 3 points against either Liverpool or Crystal Palace has seen the club slip out of the top 4 – at the time of writing prior to the any of the Saturday games they sit 1 point behind Tottenham in 4th.

The bigger concern will be the 4 points that they have fallen behind Chelsea and Liverpool in the race of second.

With Manchester City topping the league and not yet out of 2nd gear, the others are fighting it out to be “best of the rest”. It is a fight which Arsenal should be in, one which we need to be in. A failure to beat Wolves could see them fall to 6 or 7 points off 2nd place, and see a return to the questioning of the squad that he derailed the team in recent years.

Wolves have been disappointing this season.

Sitting 11th with 15 points – 9 clear of 18th, would be seen as a success for many newly promoted clubs. However Wolves fans would have had much higher expectations for their club this season.

Due to their links with super-agent Jorge Mendes, they compiled a squad in the Championship that was already fit for the Premier League. The likes of Diego Jota and Ruben Neves went from playing Champions League football for Porto to Championship football for Wolves as they romped home with 99 points.

Over the summer they added Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho to their squad. Nearly 200 international caps between them, both had been key members of the European Championship winning squad in 2016.

Add in Leander Dendoncker, Raul Jimenez and Jonny, all of whom are capped for Belgium, Mexico and Spain, and a lot was expected of them.

Some went as far as saying they could be an outside bet for the top 4. Most put them down for finishing 6th, behind the Big 5 and Tottenham.

Instead they find themselves behind the likes of Leicester City, Everton, Wolves and Bournemouth.

No shame behind that, but Wolves fans will be a tad disappointed if they end up marooned in mid-table this season.

Arsenal have not lost at home to a team outside the Big 5 and Tottenham since the beginning of 2017.

With Tottenham (away to Crystal Palace), Liverpool (home to Fulham) and Chelsea (home to Everton) kicking off before Arsenal, the pressure will be on.

victory will take the club into the final international break of the year filled with confidence. With early December games against Tottenham and Manchester United looming, Arsenal need to ensure they keep winning to remain in it.

Finally a shout out to Islington Sports Bar and Grill.

Today is the first game day for the new establishment on Holloway Road. It is where the old Herbert Chapman used to be many years ago.

with so many pubs closing throughout London, and on Holloway Road, it is good to see a boozer reopening. One run by Arsenal fans, catering for Arsenal fans.

Good luck lads.

Keenos

Arsenal challenge for debut season trophy

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For the first time in Arsenal’s history, we are playing in the EFL Trophy (aka the Checkatrade Trophy).

In a controversial decision 3 years ago, the competition was expanded to include 16 Premier League and Championship “B Teams” with Category One academy status as part of a trial. Arsenal rejected the invitation for the first 2 years, but this season decided to enter a youth team into the competition.

Personally I am not a fan of top tier clubs entering the competition – even with youth teams.

The EFL competition was for lower league clubs – League One and below. Not only did it give sides in League One and League Two a realistic shot at a trophy; it also provided their fans with a big day out at Wembley.

Last season Lincoln City and Shrewsbury took a combined 41,261 to Wembley for the final. The year before 74,434 were at Coventry City v Oxford United – the second time in 3 years the attendance was over 70,000.

By playing Premier League “B teams” you devalue the competition, and could end up with a scenario where you have Arsenal “B” playing Manchester City “B”. When only 35,721 turned up for Manchester City v Fulham in the League Cup, how many would the Premier League champions bring down?

The final this year is scheduled on 31st March. That weekend Arsenal play Newcastle at home. If that gets shifted to the Sunday, how many will realistically go to the Checkatrade final over a league tie in the Premier League?

It does not surprise me that lower league fans have boycotted games when they are pitted up against a top tier B team.

Regardless of my personal view, Arsenal do have a chance in the EFL Trophy.

We have qualified out of our group with 2 wins and a loss. A 3-0 opening game victory away to Coventry was followed by a 6-2 defeat at Cheltenham.

The defeat to Cheltenham was not a fair reflection on the ability of our youngsters.

Down to 10-men after 8 minutes, the side was also without many of its key players who were called up to the League Cup squad for the fixture against Blackpool.

Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock and Julio Pleguezuelo were all part of the first team plans that day, meaning Arsenal played a “B team” of the youth team.

The group stages concluded with a 3-1 victory away to Forest Green Rovers; a game in which Joe Willock was impressive in scoring a brace.

That has put Arsenal through to the knock out stages.

The second round of games will take place the week commencing December 3rd. The scheduling of this is key as it is neither a Europa League or League Cup week – we play Manchester United away.

That will mean the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock and Julio Pleguezuelo will all be free to play in the EFL Trophy injury permitting).

As we move into 2019, the clubs chances could depend on who go’s out on loan in January.

Arsenal might be tempted to send all 4 of the above mentioned on loan for the second half of the season. 6 months first team experience before they become full time first team members for 2019/20.

This would result in a weakened team for the EFL Trophy. However if the club decides not to loan them out, then we would have a very strong squad for the later stages of the EFL trophy.

With the FA Youth Cup and Arsenal in the race for both the Premier League 2 & U18 titles, 2018/19 could be a very successful season for Per Mertesacker, Freddie Ljungberg and the rest of the academy set up.

Keenos

Match Report: Arsenal 0 – 0 Sporting

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Arsenal (0) 0 Sporting Club of Portugal (0) 0
UEFA Europa League, Group E, Matchday 4 of 6
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Thursday, 8th November 2018. Kick-off time: 8.00pm

(4-2-3-1) Cech; Lichtsteiner, Holding, Sokratis, Jenkinson; Guendouzi, Ramsey; Smith-Rowe, Mkhitaryan, Iwobi; Welbeck.
Substitutes: Martínez, Mustafi, Kolašinac, Torreira, Nketiah, Maitland-Niles, Aubameyang.
Yellow Cards: Lichtsteiner, Guendouzi
Referee: Gediminas Mazeika

After the success of the first leg, we all sincerely hope that tonight’s match will be a formality, and that Arsenal can march onwards and upwards in this competition with confidence and belief. We hope. The last time we hosted a match against tonight’s visitors was at The Old Place on 26th November 1969, and on that particular occasion, Arsenal ended up winning the game by three goals to none in front of a 35,253 crowd; the writer of this review was one of those present on a dark and cold North London night to witness this victory first hand. Eventually we went on to win the competition of course, and who knows? Perhaps the omens will be good for us this season as well. We hope.

Tonight’s match will be remembered for other things, mainly the horrific injury to Danny Welbeck in the first half, which saw the popular striker carried off with an ankle problem that looked extremely serious, especially after he was seen receiving oxygen by the medical staff whilst on the pitch. In situations such as these, we gauge the problem by the mood of the players and the deathly quiet that pervades the stadium. In and around this incident, Arsenal were gaining control, albeit in fits and starts, but nevertheless, the dominant team on the night; with over 75 per cent accredited possession, it seemed merely bagatelle that they would score, but this task eluded them.

After the match restarted, Arsenal quite understandably took time to find their previous confidence, but not so the quickfire Mattéo Guendouzi, though despite only a young player, certainly left his mark on this game with his intelligent on (and off the) ball play – a joy to watch and a problem for opponents to play against. He was everywhere tonight, on the wing, down the channels, back in defence. Certainly a player with a bright future and an important presence in this embryonic and growing team.

Arsenal certainly had their chances, with Aaron Ramsey, Emile Smith-Rowe and Henrikh Mkhitaryan feeding each other with deft passing and taking turns in taking pot-shots at the Sporting Lisbon goal. As usual, Mr. Emery started the dance of the substitutes on the hour, with a beleaguered Carl Jenkinson being replaced by the battle-hardened Sead Kolašinac, who certainly made his mark within minutes of entering the fray by intelligent positioning and clever ball distribution. Sadly our second injury of the night appeared when Stephan Lichtsteiner pulled up with what seemed to be a hamstring injury, and was replaced by Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who dovetailed nicely into the existing Arsenal system tonight.

With 80 minutes on the clock, Alex Iwobi was unlucky with a chance that saw some clever inter-play between himself and Henrikh Mkhitaryan that was neutralised by the Sporting goalkeeper; just minutes afterwards, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang burst through on goal, and was brought down outside the box for his trouble. The defender was sent off, and the subsequent free-kick was wasted and soared high into the dark of the emptying stadium, which seemed to sum up Arsenal’s night overall.

Arsenal have qualified for the last 32 of the competition, but it came with a heavy price; injuries to two crucial players and another booking for Mattéo Guendouzi. But we are still unbeaten in 15 matches, and tonight was the first game that we have not found the back of the net since the Manchester City clash earier in the season. The next match at the Emirates are the emerging Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon, and with the speed of their attack, our midfield and defence will be tested to the maximum. Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as these early days are going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon.