Tag Archives: Arsenal

Do Arsenal finally have their Luis Suarez?

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I am usually reluctant to jump on the bandwagon of a young player after a handful of good games.

Often you will end up disappointed, as the player becomes overhyped without really having performed consistently.

Take Kostantinos Mavropanos as an example. After 1 OK game against Manchester United, people were putting him in their first team. He has barely been seen since and is now on loan in Germany somewhere.

Over time you get to recognise players that might just be a flash in a pan. But then someone comes along who performs consistently to a high level, and you know you have a player on your hands.

Cesc Fabregas was such a player. At 16-years-old it was clear and obvious he was going to be a superstar. Dominating midfields week in, week out as a teenager. Jack Wilshere was similar, but sadly injury got the better of him.

In similar eras we had Fran Merida and Henri Lansbury. Both were hyped up, neither made it at Arsenal. You could tell when they were playing that they did not quite have what it took. Something was missing.

In Gabriel Martinelli Arsenal have something special.

Just 18-years-old, Martinelli is in double figures for the season. 10 goals in 21 games. He has impressed everyone with both his ability and attitude.

He is now putting in the performances where you can nudge your mate next to you and say “we have someone here”. This is not overhyping a player based on a handful of performances. This is a teenager now putting in solid performances every time he plays.

He reminds me a lot of a young Luis Suarez.

When Suarez burst on the scene firstly with Ajax and then with Liverpool you could see that he was a level above other strikers in world football.

Suarez had remarkable technical ability, capable of scoring all sorts of goals. Was a threat when both running at players and in the 6-yard box. He could be your number 9, your second striker or play out wide. His work rate was also impressive and something that elevated him above other goal scorers.

Martinelli is showing similar abilities at Arsenal. He has multiple dimensions to his game.

We have already seen him play upfront and out wide. He has proved himself as a goal scorer. But he has also shown he is equally as comfortable on the wing – the skill and vision he showed against Crystal Palace nearly set up Nicolas Pepe to go close to a late winner.

When it comes to the goals he scores, he has variety to his game.

We have seen him act as a goal poacher – appearing in the 6 yard box for a tap in. We have seen him bend one into the top corner from outside of the box. We have seen him beat a couple of man and slot one in. We have seen him score with his head and both feet.

On top of his ability, he also has a fantastic work ethic. Whether that is closing down centre backs when down the middle or tracking back full backs when on the wing. It is rare you get a player with his ability who also works hard for the team.

With the modern game being about pressing from the front, you need a striker who is more than a goal scorer. You need someone who will work hard for the team, run the channels, put pressure on the defenders.

Seven years ago Arsenal tried and failed to sign Luis Suarez. In Martinelli we have a player on our hands with very similar attributes.

If Martinelli continues to work hard and develop his game, we could have a complete forward on our hands. Someone who could lead the line for the next 10-years.

Keenos

Acquiescence of Liverpool’s impending success

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Acquiescence. The reluctant acceptance of something without protest.

For some time now we have all come to the understanding that Liverpool are going to win the league for the first time in 30 years.

Many fans of a certain age have been dreading this day.

Having grown up in the 70s and 80s, Liverpool to them are what Manchester United are to someone who grew up in the 90s and 00s.

Liverpool were the all conquering side of the pre-pass back era. Owned and financed by the Moores family who were once one of the richest families in England. They were the Manchester City of their time.

With their success, glory hunters followed. They were probably the first club to begin tapping into a fan base from beyond their catchment area.

Children (often Asian) in London grew up as Liverpool fans. Like Manchester United’s Surrey contingent, they were the worst. Boastful. Giving it the big ‘un. Despite having never been to Anfield. Despite probably still having never been to Anfield.

They attracted the type of fans who has no interest in football, but declared they supported Liverpool. You would only hear from them when things were going well.

They quickly became the most hated fans across England. I guess success and hatred go hand in hand.

Fans who grew up in this area have dreaded the day Liverpool win the league again. They look at that lad in the office. Barely speaks about football. He has no real interest. But as Liverpool have improved, he has started speaking about football again.

Able to turn off when the bad times hit, celebrate and boast when success is close. They will never be a proper fan. Yet are more than happy lauding it over others in the office.

For a few months now, we have had to accept Liverpool will win the league. And with it all those rats who have been hiding under a rock will pop up once more. The only positive is that with Liverpool running away with the league, we have all been able to reluctantly accept and get used to the matter of fact that they will be champions once more.

The press will go OTT over it. They have always loved Liverpool. Probably fearful that any criticism will lead to boycotts. But at least all the celebrating will be over before the season has ended. It will never be an Anfield 89 situation.

But what we are all going to have to reluctantly being accepting is that Liverpool could firstly beat Arsenal’s 49 game unbeaten run, and could potentially match Arsenal by going the season unbeaten.

Back in 2004 Arsenal did something that had not been done in over a century. Gone unbeaten. Many predicted that it would take another century before it happened again.

Chelsea and Manchester City both got close. Both failed. Both showed money does not buy you history. But now Liverpool are on the horizon.

There 50th game will be away to Manchester City. Between now and then they do not have any major hurdles.

It is getting to the point where it would actually be more surprising if Liverpool failed to at least match Arsenal’s 49 game unbeaten run.

Once you accept that records are there to be broken, and that Liverpool are positioning themselves to break Arsenal’s record, you can then appreciate what Jurgen Klopp is doing.

Last season Liverpool won the last 9 games on the bounce as they finished 2nd in the league with 97 points. They lost just once.

They have continued that run this season with 21 wins in 22 games. No team has ever dominated English football the way Liverpool are.

There 39 game unbeaten run has seen them win 34 games, drawing 5.

Unlike Manchester City and Chelsea before them, they have also done it the right way.

A sensible transfer policy of buying low, selling high. Top coaching from Klopp. Togetherness.

This is not a rich Arab or Russian throwing money at the club. Bankrolling success. This is a side that has been built organically. The right way.

And it is perhaps that reason why I am not bitter over what Liverpool are doing.

Had Chelsea or Manchester City broken our unbeaten record, it would have felt like we had been cheated out of our record due to financial doping.

Teams that have spent billions of pounds in an attempt to re-write the record books. It would have been the equivalent of Ben Johnson breaking the 100m world record. You might have ran the fastest 100m of all time, but everyone would know you doped to get there.

Liverpool is something different. There is no financial doping. What they are achieving has to be respected. Like what Arsenal did in 2004 has to be respected.

And the quicker you accept what Liverpool is doing is incredible. The quicker you come to terms that they might go past Arsenal 49 game record, the easier it will be when they do it.

So do not be bitter. Accept what Liverpool are doing is incredible, and understand records are there to be broken.

Instead of getting twisted up over what they are doing, realise that they have done it the right way. Take inspiration from them. That if they can do it, why can’t Arsenal?

Liverpool’s success against the oil barrens and Russian Oligarchs should give all football fans hope once more.

This is not a one off like Leicester. This is a club that is here to stay. A club that has been run well for nearly a decade. All pulling as one to win the league. A club that has shown you do not need to be a rich mans play thing to win the league.

Liverpool will win the league this season. They will probably break Arsenal’s 49 game unbeaten run. They could go the entire season unbeaten. And that should give us all hope.

16 years and counting. There is hope.

Match Report: Chelsea 2 – 2 Arsenal

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Chelsea (1) 2 Arsenal (0) 2
Premier League
Stamford Bridge Stadium, Fulham Road, Fulham, London SW6 1HS
Tuesday, 21st January 2020. Kick-off time: 8.15pm

(4-3-1-2) Bernd Leno; Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz, Bukayo Saka; Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Nicolas Pépé; Mesut Özil; Gabriel Martinelli, Alexandre Lacazette.
Substitutes: Dani Ceballos, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Rob Holding, Emiliano Martínez, Joe Willock, Mattéo Guendouzi, Eddie Nketiah.
Scorers: Gabriel Martinelli (63 mins), Hector Bellerin (87 mins)
Red Cards: David Luiz
Yellow Cards: Mattéo Guendouzi
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 41%
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Attendance: 41,577

Less than a month since our previous meeting, we play Chelsea for the final time this season in the Premiership tonight. Judging by both of our results from three days hence, it goes without saying that a win is desperately needed at The Bridge for us. But it is good to see Hector Bellerin back in the first team line-up, and even better for him to return as team captain for this highly-charged London derby.

It was quite a messy start as far as we were concerned, with a corner or two given away, Shkodran Mustafi temporarily incapacitated with a painful injury and the home team coming close to scoring from a corner in the tenth minute. However, we live to fight on, and the midfield area was getting mighty crowded with much of the early action being concentrated in the centre of the pitch. Defensively we looked wooden again, with an inability to gain control of the game quickly when Chelsea attacked. All hell broke loose on the twenty-fifth minute when a poor ball from Shkodran Mustafi let in Tammy Abraham; he lost Bernd Leno easily and David Luiz had no option but to bring him down in the penalty area. The result? David Luiz getting his marching orders from Stuart Attwell, and Chelsea taking the lead from the subsequent penalty via the right foot of Jorginho. Down to ten men, things started to look a trifle dicey for us now in all areas of the pitch. Despite a period of about five minutes before half-time when we started to wake up a bit, the home side recovered and wave after wave of attack on our goal started to take its toll on our defence. With no shots on the Chelsea goal in the first forty-five minutes, the referee’s whistle for half-time came as a relief for us.

The second half started pretty much as the first one finished, with the home side putting pressure on us, which is only to be expected under the circumstances. Mattéo Guendouzi replaced the ineffective Mesut Özil after fifty-four minutes, but despite new legs being introduced, we still looked all at sea with the inability to make our mark on the match. Somehow, literally out of nowhere, from a Chelsea corner that we cleared, Gabriel Martinelli grabbed the ball and ran the whole length of the pitch (sixty-seven yards to you) and coolly slotted it past Arrizabalaga to equalise the scores in the sixty-third minute with our first attempt of the match. So now, finally we have a game on our hands! We certainly played with more purpose now, as Arsenal felt for the first time in the match, that they actually had a chance of winning the game; and with Alexandre Lacazette’s goal chalked off for offside on the seventy-third minute, who knows? Rob Holding replaced Nicolas Pépé with ten minutes to go, and although we were under renewed pressure from Chelsea, we managed to soak up pressure extremely well. With six minutes left on the clock, controversially with Tammy Abrahams returning to the pitch on an offside position, César Azpilicueta scored for the home side from a corner; but it wasn’t over, even then. A minute or so later, the ball came to Hector Bellerin on the right, and cutting inside scored a beautiful goal with his left foot from outside the penalty area with three minutes left of the match. Joe Willock replaced goalscorer Gabriel Martinelli with a minute left of normal time, just to give us something extra for the four minutes of injury time. It made no difference overall, despite one or two close calls from both sides, the match finished as a draw.

Wow. Two shots, two goals, we’ll take that, any day of the week. Despite all of the disasters out there at times tonight, particularly in the defensive area, the one thing that we cannot criticise is our indomitable and unshakable spirit, and with ten men on the pitch as well! Of course we still have extreme defensive issues and questionable leadership problems, but tonight’s spirited performance went a long way to start righting many wrongs. The road is long, but with the right signings in the next few transfer windows, Mikel Arteta’s new broom may just well pay off eventually. 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: AFC Bournemouth at The Vitality Stadium on Monday, 27th January at 8.00pm (FA Cup). 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.