Back to the football as Arsenal set for a tough trip to Everton

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The signing of Jorginho saw the usual clowns come out from under their rocks.

Most have been eradicated from the club since the Covid break, but some still remain. They are the usual suspects who have been silent for the majority of the season will jump on anything to try and spread their negativity.

These fans are still bitter, angry individuals who hate the club. Have not got over the last few years of Arsene Wenger. And carry their bitterness as a badge of honour.

Pretending to speak for all fans, they say rubbish like “this potential transfer could ruin the great relationship the club has built with the fans”.

No it won’t.

Fans like me, and the majority, will be going into today looking forward to getting another 3 points. Backing the XI on the pitch regardless of who they are. Backing the manager.

The breakdown in your relationship with club has nothing to do with the signing of Jorginho and everything to do with yourself. Unhappy individuals who have not had a relationship with Arsenal for years. Probably still moan avbout moving from Highbury nearly 20 years ago.

Whilst they are stuck in the past, the majority of us move on. And today that is Everton away.

A struggling team are always at their most threatening with a new manager in charge. And under Sean Dyche, Everton away will not be an easy game.

Dyche is pragmatic manager and in the short term, he wwill be concentrating on one thing – making Everton hard to beat.

Even during his best days at Burnley, Dyche’s philosphy was “defence first”. With Everton in a relegation battle, he will make them even more resolute.

With Patterson, Godfrey, Keane, Doucoure and Garner injured, his options are limited.

I would not be surprised if he starts off with 5 at the back: Holgate Mina Coady Tarkowski Mykolenko.

Ahead of them in the middle will be Onana and Gueye, flanked by Iwobi and McNeil, who he knows from his Burnley days. And then upfront Neal Maupay.

They will look long to Maupay and hope that Iwobi and McNeil can get up to them.

I do not expect them to be much of a threat going forward under Dyche – although with a big team we will have to be careful at set pieces.

Expect today to be a tough day. May well just be the single goal in it. And I feel whoever comes off the bench between Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard could be the match winner

Then tomorrow we can sit and watch Tottenham v Man City.

Could be a big weekend in the title race with both teams away! We just need to focus on the football and get the 3 points.

UTA

Keenos

Should we be envious of Chelsea’s £600m transfer spree?

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I asked a very simple question to the She Wore WhatsApp group.

Would you have wanted Arsenal to sign any of the players Chelsea bought at the same price?

Wesley Fofana – At the time it felt like a lot of money for a talented young central defender who had spent a year injured. As it turned out, his injury issues continued. Would not have him ahead of William Saliba or Gabriel. We are not Manchester City and can not afford to spend £71m on a back up defender.

Marc Cucurella – Cost nearly twice what we paid for Oleksandr Zinchenko, half the player.

Raheem Sterling – Not the profile of player we are signing. He has peaked and is now on the decline.

Kalidou Koulibaly – Always felt he was massively overhyped. There was a reason he had been linked to Premier League sides for half a decade (or more) but never made the move. Like Sterling, best days are behind him.

Benoît Badiashile – Would have provided good cover and competition for Gabriel. Plenty of experience for someone only 21. £34million looks a good price. Kiwior a similar profile at half the price.

Carney Chukwuemeka – Very talented player. A btec Jude Bellingham. That is not a bad thing, Jude will become one of the best in the world. £16million could look a steal if he develops. We have Charlie Patino.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – He was done as a top player when we got rid. Not sure why Chelsea fans celebrated signing him so much. They already want to sell!

David Datro Fofana – Never seen him play. Signed from Norwegian team Molde. Any new Arsenal striker needs to be better than Eddie Nketiah. Do not think he is.

Andrey Santos – 18-year-old central midfielder. Charlie Patino, Catalin Cirjan, Marcelo Flores, Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand, Ethan Nwaneri. We have plenty of young midfielders. Unless he is better than all of them, it would be a waste of £11million.

Joao Felix – We were right to not sign him whilst we pursued Mykhailo Mudryk. Would have made no sense signing both. Chelsea have got both, we got neither. Think if he was stil on the market we’d have moved for him following the Mudryk deal breaking down. Would not be surprised if he joined us in the summer.

Gabriel Slonina – We have Karl Hein as the “young, 3rd choice keeper” option. Hein is also home grown. Also Arthur Okonkwo out on loan.

Denis Zakaria – Would have been a good option for a season long loan to be cover for Thomas Partey.

Mykhailo Mudryk – I wanted him. But a fee rising to £88million is just to rich for my liking. Glad we stepped away. Longer explination in a blog last week.

Christopher Nkunku – We could have signed him a few years back but opted for Nicolas Pepe. Been very good for RB Leipzig the last 18 months. But he plays off a big central striker. We do not play with one. Could he develop into an out and out centre forward and be the cover for Gabriel Jesus? Or maybe return to playing outwide as competition for Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli? A lot of money for a player who I am not sure where he would fit into our team.

Noni Madueke – England you international who has suffered a serious ankle injury this season. £28.5m is big money for an attacker with just 20 goals in 80 games in Holland. Saka, Martinelli, Trossard and Smith Rowe all better. Same level as Reiss Nelson.

Malo Gusto – In Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, we have two brilliant right backs for Arteta’s system. Spending £30m on another right back would make no sense.

Enzo Fernandez – No one had heard of him before the World Cup.

Chelsea have spent over £600m this year and none of their signings scream out “we should have got him at that price”.

Badiashile and Chukwuemeka are the two main men that would have suited us. But with the signing of Kiwior and development on loan of Patino, we have similar options.

Denis Zakaria is a player I have always liked and I think he would have been a good signing to be that Thomas Partey back up.

Mudryk could become a world class player, but they have paid a world class fee for someone who only has potential.

Finally Nkunku is a player I have always liked. In another system he would have been a good signing for us. But we do not play a system that suits him.

Let us know your views…

Keenos

Arsenal’s horrendous January comes to an end

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Before the World Cup, all the pundits, journalists and opposing fans said the same thing: Just wait until January.

Arsenal then became the biggest losers of the World Cup with star striker Gabriel Jesus rules out for many months.

Facing Newcastle, Tottenham and Manchester United in consecutive games, whilst relying on Eddie Nketiah upfront, would see the end of Arsenal’s title race.

Well that is what was supposed to happen. The reality was somewhat different.

We returned from the World Cup with a bang – a comfortable 3-1 win at home to West Ham.

That was followed up by a 4-2 win away to Brighton. A great result considering the South-Coast has not been a happy hunting ground for us in recent years.

Then disaster struck. We drew 0-0 at home to Newcastle United.

If you listened to the media, you would think that result was the worst thing that had happened. Ever.

It had been forgotten that Newcastle had already taken points off Manchester City this season. Also Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea. And it had only been a controversial 98th minute goal that saw them lose to Liverpool.

They were a team set up not to lose, and have doing that very well with just one defeat all season.

A trip to Tottenham was next up. A place we had not won at for close to a decade. Without a win in one game, we were on a poor run of form.

Defeat to Spurs would make it no wins in two. We won 2-0. Never looked in danger.

And then we get to a resurgent Manchester United. Unbeaten since the return of the World Cup. They would put in the final nail of the coffin. 3-2 Arsenal.

January was supposed to be the month our title race ended. It has ended up being the month we have confirmed ourselves as season-long challengers.

Since the World Cup, no team have got more points / only Fulham have got more points.

13 is our lucky number. The same amount of points as Manchester’s City and United. But we have played a game less. And that game in hand is at home to Everton.

Instead of being out of the title race, we are now bookies favourites. Most Arsenal fans I speak to however still have City as favourites.

Accusations of arrogance and smugness are being blown out of the water. It is basically opposing fans saying “Arsenal fans need to be humbled” rather than us getting too big for our boots.

If we do not win the title, a narrative will be writting that “we should not have been so arrogant”. Even though we are not. It is a falicy. Created by those who will use the strawman they created to beat us in the future.

One game at a time is what is needed. And that is what Arsenal fasns are looking at. Everton away next week.

Our detractors however have already moved on to predicting the next run of games that will see our title challenge crash and burn.

From 8 April to 6 May is the dates they have picked.

During that period we face Liverpool (A), West Ham (A), Southampton (H), Manchester City (A), Chelsea (H) and Newcastle (A).

Not an easy run, but a run we will need to get through if we want to lift the trophy.

For now though, the focus needs to be on Everton.

UTA.

Keenos