Arsenal overturn 5-point deficit to top the league

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Top of the league

Seven games into the new season and we sit at the top of the league.

When we paused for the last international break, we were all on a bit of a Debbie Downer having lost 1-nil to Anfield. For many, it was not that we had lost to a magical free kick late in the game, but the way we had set up defensively.

I am not sure what some fans expected us to do? Go to Anfield and look to play attacking football and play Liverpool off the park? The stats show that you do not need to go to your title rivals and win – and winning away at the 2nd place team has only been done 9 times in the Premier League era. And something Pep Guardiola has only done once in 10 attempts with Manchester City (P 10, W 1, D 3 L 6).

After just 3 games it felt like some were writing off us. You are not going to win the title playing like that at Anfield and 3 games in, already out of the title race were just a couple of comments around that time.

4 games on, 3 victories and 1 draw, and we go into this latest international break 1 point ahead of Liverpool having overturned a 5 point deficit.

With two defeats in their last two games, they have shown the late goals that saw them win 5-from-5 were covering up poor performances. It was not a case of great teams win whilst playing poorly and more they are not as good as last season.

With Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk on the clear decline, we have a great shot at the title. Although we should not write Liverpool or Manchester City off.

Martin Odegaard injury update

The club announced that Martin Odegaard facing a spell on the sidelines having picked up a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee.

I have looked into the injury (thanks Google), and we should not be overly worried. Google AI tells me that: The average professional footballer’s recovery time from a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury is three weeks. For mild injuries, 1-3 weeks. For a severe injury, it takes 6 to 12 weeks. 

The club have not let us know how severe the injury is. The good news is that 2 of the weeks will be covered by the international week, so I imagine he will only end up missing a handful of games.

And having strengthened the squad massively over the summer, we do not need to rush Odegaard back. Eberi Eze is ready to step up for the Premier League and Champions League, and Ethan Nwaneri will also be an option in the League Cup and to come off the bench. We also have Mikel Merino, who is certainly not a defensive midfielder.

International break

We now have a two-week break from football before we return with a trip to Fulham on October 18. That the begins a run of 3 league away games in 4 games.

Whilst on paper, Fulham, Sunderland and Burnley should be 9 points, games are not won on paper. Fulham will be tricky, and Sunderland have started this season very well. And in between them we also have Champions League and League Cup to contend with.

Throw in Crystal Palace at home and you would like to think the 4 game period before the next international break will prove fruitful. And with Liverpool set to face Man U (H), Brentford (A), Aston Villa (H) and Manchester City (A), we have a chance to open up a little gap on them.

Manchester City’s run is easier, with 3 games at home (Everton, Bournemouth, Liverpool), with only an away trip to Aston Villa.

Without looking too far forward, if we go into that next internal break extending our lead on Liverpool and maintaining the same gap to Man City, we would have done well.

Have a good 2 weeks of no football doing whatever you do at this time of year.

Keenos

Arsenal rise to victory despite refeering inconsistencies

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Well, what an incident-packed game that was!

The right team eventually won. A 96-minute winner from Gabriel as he rose up amongst the crowd to nod in. But it was a game filled with continuous decisions, and Newcastle fans are licking their wounds this morning, playing the victims.

Viktor Gyokeres penalty

In normal time, no one was in doubt – it was a penalty. But then VAR got involved, slowed everything down, zoomed in and re-referred the decision.

The technology showed that the ball nicked Nick Pope’s outstretched foot, and this was deemed enough to cancel the penalty. But was it really?

A case was made that “Pope won the ball”. But he did not. Just because the ball nicks off you, it does not mean you won it. Gyokeres won the ball, knocked it past Pope, with the ball glancing off him, before going over the keeper’s knee.

And just because Pope touched the ball, does not mean it is not a penalty. Do not believe me? Just ask Premier League referees’ chief Howard Webb, speaking after a penalty was given to Brighton last season after William Saliba headed the ball away and then clashed heads with Joao Pedro: “That touch on the ball doesn’t negate the possible award of a penalty”.

And this is the issue fans have. The lack of consistency in the decision making.

Just last week, we saw Robert Sanchez win the ball cleanly before clattering into Bryan Mbeumo. The decision was a red card to the Chelsea keeper. So why did winning the ball mean nothing last weekend, and touching the ball mean everything over the weekend?

Joe Hart (who is becoming a brilliant pundit when looking at goal keepers) tried to explain on BBC the difference between Sanchez and Pope, and it does make some sense:

“There’s definite contact [on the ball].

“But that’s not the most important point. As Pope plants his foot, he’s deemed not to be using a forward motion towards Gyokeres. Therefore, as Gyokeres’ knee clashes into Pope’s knee, it is just seen as a clash of bodies. It’s not Pope taking him out. It’s not a foul. Not a penalty.”

I get Joe Hart’s argument. And for me had the penalty not been given by the onfield ref, it would have been justification to not overturn the decision. But VAR was bought in for clear and obvious decisions. And it would be an opinion that Pope’s forward momentum had stopped – his foot might have been planted by his knee and leg was still moving forward. Therefore, I am not sure it was a clear and obvious error by the referee.

The penalty should have been given to Arsenal.

Nick Woltemade

For Newcastle’s opener, Gabriel went down under contact from goalscorer Nick Woltemade. For me, the Brazilian was being soft. He felt contact and went down instead of staying strong and challenge for the ball.

Note for his goal there was plenty of contact on Gabriel, but he stayed strong and nodded it in. I am not sure why he did not do similar yesterday. And he has done this in the past.

If slightly out of position, Gabriel does have a tendency to try and win the free kick instead of challenge for the ball. He needs to be reminded that even just challenging for the ball may be enough to put off the striker. By flopping to the floor he gives his opponent a free header.

Goal was rightly given.

Gabriel and Nick Woltemade clash

A lot has been made from Newcastle fans around the clash between Gabriel and Woltemade shortly after his goal, with many claiming the match winner should have been sent off.

Recent history between the two teams has seen similar incidents committed by both Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton. I am not sure how Newcastle fans can call for Gabriel to have been sent off in this incident, whilst backing their players in similar incidents and labelling them as “soft Southern softies don’t like it up them”.

A similar incident also happened later in the game Gyokeres nearly had his face ripped off by Jamaal Lascelles.

Ref correct to take no action.

Gabriel handball non-pentalty

Another incident that the Geordie faithful, and many opposing fans, have jumped on to highlight Arsenal get favourable decisions from the PGMOL.

In the closing stages, Gabriel went to ground in a challenge, the shot ricocheted off his shin and into his arm.

Everyone knows that in the Premier League, if the ball comes off your own body and hits your hand, it is no longer handball, regardless of what position your arm is in. So the referee rightly waved away the Newcastle claims.

What this shows is just how many online football “experts”, with hundreds of thousands of followers, do not actually know the rules. either that or they just have zero opinion on anything themselves and just jump on trends for content. It is likely both.

Newcastle fans do not know the rules. Football social media bods just jump on it for content and to earn a few quid.

Ultimately, the referee got it right.

Gyokeres and Jamaal Lascelles clash

The referee showed his consistency (finally) by judging the Gyokeres and Lascelles incident in the same manner as the Gabriel and Woltemade.

Had the ref punished Gabriel, Lascelles would have recieved the same punishment.

No Arsenal fan is screaming for Lascelles to have been sent off. But also no Newcastle fan is saying he should have been given his marching orders, despite the claim against Gabriel.

No action needed.

William Saliba blocking Pope for Gabriel’s goal

Like Gabriel had to be stronger for Woltemade’s opener, Pope had to be stronger against Saliba.

Joe Hart had it spot on in punditry by saying your 6ft 6in keeper needs to be moving the centre back out of the way. And if he is unable to do so then questions need to be asked.

Conclusion

Ref basically got every decision right. I would however question whether the arsenal penalty decision was enough of an error to be clear and obvious. And that just leads to inconsistency.

My final thought is it is interesting that VAR could not conclusively judge Mo Salah had handled the ball, but could conclusively judge that Pope had touched the ball. More inconsistency.

Keenos

MATCH PREVIEW: Newcastle United v Arsenal

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There have been no tougher away day for Arsenal recently than a trip to St James’ Park. Just a single win in the last 5 games, with 4 defeats for the Gooners makes it an unhappy hunting ground.

Arsenal make the trip to Tyneside knowing full well what’s at stake: not just three points, but the chance to show we can handle hostile environments and grind out results against teams who thrive on intensity. If Arsenal are serious about winning the title, these are the sort of games we simply have to win.

Form Check

For Arsenal, the season so far has been a mixed bag. We’ve seen flashes of brilliance in attack, solid stretches of control in midfield, but also spells where we’ve lacked that killer instinct. Our League Cup win, which saw Eberechi Eze open his Arsenal account, was a nice boost in confidence. But the Premier League is a different animal, and this is where the real test comes.

Newcastle come into the game off the back of a 4-1 win against Bradford City in the League Cup, but that is one of only 2 wins in all competitions this season as the Alexander Isak saga clearly took its toll.

Team News

On the Arsenal side, the injury to Noni Madueke stings. He’s out for weeks with a knee issue. Madueke joins long term absentees Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus as Arsenal are now missing a trio of attacking talen. Thankfully, Bukayo Saka looks to have got through Port Vale unharmed and Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Eze have all been in good form.

For Newcastle, Yoane Wissa is still sidelined, which weakens their attacking depth, but they still have new boy Nick Woltemade up front, and the lively Anthony Gordon returned from suspension midweek.

Key Battles

  • Midfield war: Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi will have to boss the centre. If they can handle Newcastle’s trio of Guimarães, Tonali, and Joelinton, Arsenal may be able to have a spare man in midfield
  • Out wide: Stopping Gordon on one side and Anthony Elanga on the other, whilst letting our wingers get forward h is crucial. Our full-backs will need to be disciplined, but if we can pin their defenders back, it flips the pressure.

What Arsenal Must Do

  1. Start fast. Newcastle can be caught cold early. If we score first, the game opens up for us. The flip side is if Newcastle take the lead, we are exposed to Elanga and Gordon’s pace on the break whilst we push forward.
  2. Be ruthless. We’ve had games this season where we dominate but don’t finish teams off. That cannot happen here. We need to take our chances.
  3. Stay composed. The atmosphere at St James’ Park can rattle opponents. We need calm heads and leaders on the pitch.

Prediction

It won’t be pretty, and it won’t be easy. But if Arsenal want to prove they’re genuine contenders, this is exactly the kind of game to win. My head says it’ll be tight, my heart says we’ll edge it. I’ll go for a gritty 2–1 Arsenal win, with Saka and Eze making the difference.

Final Thoughts

This trip to Newcastle feels like a character check. Titles aren’t won in September, but belief can be. Get a result here, and Arsenal will send a message: we are ready for this title race. We need to roll up our sleeves and take three points in the toughest grounds in the country.

Come on you Gunners.

DJ