Category Archives: Arsenal

Ange learns Tottenham have “a loser mentality fanbase.”

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“What will be will be”.

When I read that before the game it bought everything into clarity to me.

We were not reliant on a favour from Spurs, nor were Spurs going to help us win the league. This was just another game in a marathon of games to determine who the best team in the Premier League were. And in the end the result was what most of us were expecting.

Uninspiring Spurs

Spurs did not really turn up for the game, but this has nothing to do with them downing tools due to the title race situation

Since Ange won London Manager of the Year, Tottenham have played 12, and won just 5. They went into 2024 in the title race, with many online experts claiming they would run Manchester City all the way. They have collapsed in 2024 and the league table since 1 January has them 8th.

It was not their choice to put in an uninspiring performance against City. They are just an uninspiring team who embarrassingly celebrated beating Sheffield United at home back in September like they had won the league.

Whilst their fans celebrated like the winners they are not, yesterday’s defeat was their 5th in their last 6 games. They have dropped out of the title race, failed to finish top 4, and might drop out of the European places all together.

Ange is quickly learning why Tottenham are such a failure of a team. Their fans have a loser mentality.

Over the last 30-odd years, the biggest success for Tottenham fans is Arsenal not winning a trophy.

Whether that was 95, 99, 00, 06, 2011, 2019 or 2023. Tottenham have had so little success in the last 3 decades that they resort to celebrating our failure like it is their victory. And it was no different last night.

Whilst their fans celebrated losing a game at the final whistle, Ange Postecoglou was seething. There is a clear separation here between their manager who wants to win things, and their fans who are more interested in Arsenal not winning.

Tottenham fans may well have been celebrating into the night. But once again they were celebrating their another teams failure rather than their own success.

Tottenham are an uninspiring team with a loser mentality fanbase.

Magnificent City

Last season the narrative was that Arsenal had bottled it. That we had fallen off. What City had done in the 2nd half of the season went unnoticed – To clinch the title they went on a 12 game winning run, and won 14 from 15. It is form that would win the title in any year. Except this.

With Arsenal chasing them all the way, City have had to up their game to yet another level. They are on an unbeaten 22 game run, winning 18 and drawing 4. Zero losses. You need to praise that sort of form (regardless of the charges).

City are not top of the double because Arsenal bottled it, nor are they top because Spurs rolled over and let their bellies get tickled. City are top because they deserve it.

Brilliant Arsenal

The 18 games City played before they lifted the title in 2022/23, City’s form read: P 18 W 16 D 1 L 1. It is that form that won them the title.

12 months on and our form is eerily similar – P 17 W 15 D 1 L 1. Beat Everton on Saturday and we would have showed the exact same title winning from that City showed last season.

Arsenal’s form in the second half of the season has been exceptional. The only difference being our run started with 18 games to go, City’s with 23 games.

In the last 17 games, we have shown the form that would get us the equivalent of 102 points. Over the last 22 games our average drops to an equivalent of 86 points, whilst City’s maintained at 100.

What we now need to do is put together a full season – the first half of last season and the second half of this. But ev en that will not guarantee a title as Liverpool showed when they got 97 points and still finished second.

I am still very very proud of what they boys, and Mikel Arteta, have done this season. We have pushed City closer than last year, stayed in the title race longer, and all whilst playing Champions League football.

But proud does not win you trophies, and that is the next step for this Arsenal side. We do not want to become Spurs under Mauricio Pochetinno who celebrated just competing and never won anything. We are The Arsenal and we need to win trophies.

And it is not over…

A lot of people will be writing our obituaries today. But the title race is not yet over. It still goes down to that last game of the season.

I do not expect West Ham to get anything from Sunday’s game. They are nearly as bad as Tottenham with just 2 wins from their last 6. They have collapsed in the last dozen games and their European hopes have diminished and manager set to leave in the summer.

But where there is hope there is the potential of glory, and I will still be going Sunday with a little bit of belief. Not much, but a little.

The odds are against us. Not since 1989 has a team starting the last day top failed to win the league. But then we all know what happened that year.

UTA

Keenos

History set to repeat itself – will it be 1998 or 1999 for The Arsenal?

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When I looked down the fixture list at the start of the season, and saw the last game at home to Everton, a part of me wondered, hoped even, that maybe it would all come down to that familiar scenario again.

It’s not the first time, as long term Arsenal supporters will know, that winning the league has come down to this fixture. As humans we are hardwired to pick out patterns and reasons for the randomness of life, sport is no different, and Arsenal vs Everton in may is one of my favourite such patterns. 

For me it is nostalgic. I remember such a Sunday in May 1998 when with my father, and then best friend, Stuart, travelled the few hours journey from Maidenhead, where we lived, to Highbury. There we sat in the North Bank hoping we would finish the campaign and claim Premiership glory for the first time. I was 9 at the time and so as goal after goal went in as we romped to a 4-0 win, I had no idea really how special those moments were. I will probably never be at the stadium again to see Arsenal lift a trophy.

Everton as that last home game of the season resurfaced 4 seasons later.

I watched this game on sky at home – Stuart was going through his not liking football stage, but Dad was still there. Of course, by this time, everything was done and dusted the game before. The infamous 0-1 at Old Trafford when Sylvan Wiltord tapped in the deflected FeddieLjungberg shot and then, not unlike Sunday, we clung on to claim the league at Old Trafford.

The only drama in this Everton May fixture was if Martin Keown would get on to claim his required number of games for a winners medal. He did, with a few minutes to spare. But once again that home fixture brought us glory – so maybe, just maybe it will this time. 

That’s what we do as football fans don’t we? That’s part of the magic (and to be honest stress) of football. The seeing of patterns significant or superstitious; reading too much into sometimes irrelevant details all building up the drama and passion of the sport that has us hooked. We look for meaning where there is no meaning, and sometimes ignore the inevitable likelihood of stats. 

Of course this pattern searching can work both ways.

We’ve needed a favour from Spurs before, a bigger one if anything. In the 1998/1999 season on the final day where we faced Aston Villa, while ‘they’ played Manchester United. Again I was lucky enough to be at Highbury (back of the west stand this time) and for a glorious period of time it looked like ‘Campbell and co’ were going to do it for us, leading 1-0 before United came back in the second half to claim the league 2-1. Not the pattern we want as we look towards Manchester City vs Spurs on Tuesday night. 

But maybe that is the point; whatever ‘pattern’ there maybe in  the Everton May fixture, whatever link we can make to 1-0 win at Old Trafford two games before the end of the season. Whatever doubts there maybe about Spurs ability to compete with a City mega team; each story in football, each season, each game is unique.

What will happen over the next few days will form it’s own story, as has the 37 games which have gone before.

How it will end, before it is assigned to history, we cannot know – but that’s the point, that’s why we love this beautiful game. That is why come 4pm on Sunday afternoon I, and all gunners fans, will be filled with a irrational tension which can only be explained as football. So, enjoy the ride, give thanks that Arteta has built a team which can now compete, and who knows, maybe just maybe we will taste Premiership glory once more. Come on you Gunners! 

Jon

Jon is a long term Arsenal fan, short term reader of the “she wore” blog. He has enjoyed reading others thoughts at the tail end of this season as we chase Premiership glory.

Match Report: Man U 0 – 1 Arsenal

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Manchester United (0) 0 Arsenal (1) 1
Premier League
Old Trafford, Sir Matt Busby Way, Stretford, Manchester M16 0RA
Sunday, 12th May 2024. Kick-off time: 4.30pm

(4-3-3) David Raya; Gabriel Magalhães, Ben White, William Saliba, Takehiro Tomiyasu; Thomas Partey, Martin Ødegaard (c), Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz.
Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Jesus, Emile Smith-Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Fábio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Scorers: Leandro Trossard (20 mins)
Yellow Cards: Bukayo Saka, David Raya
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 46%

Referee: Paul Tierney
Assistant Referees: Scott Ledger, Mat Wilkes
Fourth Official: Darren Bond
VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR John Brooks; AVAR Constantine Hatzidakis

Attendance: 64,137

Our penultimate match of the season, and it just has to be Old Trafford on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Of course, after yesterday’s results, it is more important than ever to gain maximum points from this afternoon’s game, nothing else will do at this stage of the season. Apparently, there are fitness concerns over Bukayo Saka and Takehiro Tomiyasu; but however, if they are available it would mean that Mikel Arteta will be able to name the same starting eleven for the fourth match in a row!

We kicked off proceedings at Old Trafford, and immediately we brought the match to the home team by pressurising their defence into conceding an early corner. Bukayo Saka had the first shot of the game, which André Onana comfortably saved.

At the other end, Rasmus Højlund had a chance to score, but fortunately he scuffed his shot, and then Alejandro Garnacho also had a chance to score, but his shot was deflected for a corner. Declan Rice then made a very nervy, but weak back pass to David Raya, but fortunately the ball was cleared.

The home team advanced deep into our half through Diogo Dalot, and as the ball came loose, Declan Rice cleared it for a United corner, which went nowhere.

We then started to get a grip and had a period of good possession, and then on the twentieth minute we opened the scoring when Casemiro could not get out of the United penalty area quick enough and Kai Havertz was onside down the right wing. He simply sauntered into the Manchester United box and slotted the ball across for Leandro Trossard to tap the ball home from close range.

Now that we have scored, we were starting to control the game. Declan Rice advanced towards the United penalty area, but he lost the ball and it fell to Takehiro Tomiyasu who’s strong shot bounced off a United defender, and a couple of minutes later, Ben White was unlucky not to score when he hit the ball over the crossbar from a very tight angle indeed.

On the half hour, the home team got into our penalty area, but the shot from Casemiro was headed clear by Gabriel, which was good defensive play indeed.

A diagonal pass into the our penalty area from Casemiro which was chested down by Ben White back to David Raya, which was a good move, and after Amad Diallo stood on Thomas Partey’s foot, which although the United team appealed for a penalty (which it obviously was not), everyone took the opportunity to have a well-earned drinks break.

A poorly taken corner kick by Diogo Dalot ended up with a United player fouling Kai Havertz, and after the subsequent free kick went seemingly nowhere, the match carried on.

Amad Diallo passed the ball to Garnacho who was pushed down the line by Ben White. He sent a low cross-shot into the penalty area which was beautifully palmed away to safety by David Raya. During the three minutes injury time the home side put our defence under pressure, but we held out very well to end the first half a goal ahead.

Manchester United kicked off the second half, and almost immediately Diogo Dalot ran down the wing, but Thomas Partey slipped as he tried to clear the danger, but fortunately William Saliba was on hand to kick the ball away. Shortly afterwards, Martin Ødegaard started a good move out on on the right wing and found Leandro Trossard on the left wing, but his diagonal cross was far too heavy for Kai Havertz to do something with, and so the ball bounced out of play.

We started to gain a lot of possession, and we almost grabbed a second goal when a shot from Declan Rice was blocked on the edge of the penalty area and after the ball ended up on the left wing with Leandro Trossard, the United defence again closed down the space to stop Bukayo Saka turning the ball into the back of the net. Shortly after the hour mark, space opened up for Martin Ødegaard but his shot went straight at André Onana, and a minute or so later, Gabriel Martinelli replaced Leandro Trossard in order to press for more goals.

With eight minutes of the match remaining, Bukayo Saka slid off the steep slope behind the goal and clattered into the advertising hoardings. Mikel Arteta told him to go down, which he did, and was quickly replaced by Gabriel Jesus.

After yet another Arsenal corner, the heavens opened and torrential rain replaced glorious sunshine in seemingly an instant. A minute before the end of normal time, Alejandro Garnacho ran at our defence again, but was expertly blocked off by William Saliba. In the six minutes injury time, Jakob Kiwior and Jorginho replaced Martin Ødegaard and Thomas Partey to try and shore things up, which worked very well as soon as they came onto the pitch. Shortly after David Raya easily collected a cross, referee Paul Tierney blew his whistle to signify the end of the game.

And so this season’s title race will go down to the last match of the season next Sunday, irrespective of the result between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City on Tuesday. Today’s match was not the prettiest of games, but we got the three points which is what counts at this stage of the season. Everyone did as well as they could today, especially when the downpour happened five minutes from the end of time. All eyes on Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday evening, then. Well done, chaps!

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Everton at the Emirates on Sunday, 19th May at 4.30pm (Premier League). Be there, if you can. 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