Tag Archives: Football

Tomiyasu IN, Jesus OUT as Arteta keeps an eye on Munich

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Anyone struggling to focus this morning?

Whilst I am trying hard to only look at the game ahead, it becomes very hard to do when I am also getting my shit together to fly out to Munich on Monday.

A busy day at work scheduled on Monday means I am having to get everything done today. Close up the bar, get the washing done, close the house down for my trip abroad and pack. That means I can not stop thinking about Munich when we still have Aston Villa to play today.

Today will not be easy. Villa are a top 4 team for a reason.

Yes, Manchester City thrashed them, but Unai Emery “threw” the game making wholesale changes. I would be very surprised if he does the same today. He will want to make a statement in North London having been cast aside over 4-years ago.

Today will be all about the midfield battle. It is Villa’s strength.

The midfield quartet of Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara has proved compact and hard working, but still with enough guile to create. They are weakened through Luiz’s suspension and Kamara’s injury, but Nicolo Zaniolo will likely step up as they transition into a 3 man midfield.

Villa are a huge threat on the break. They are probably the best counter attacking team in the league right now with Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby. We will have to ensure that as we look to play in Villa’s half and dominate position, we do not leave the back door open.

The ball over the top does not even need to be that great. Watkins has proved himself to be a willing runner, chasing everything. And Diaby and Bailey have the pace to quickly catch him up.

It is a given that Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel will start. I have a feeling we might see Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back to counteract Villa’s wingers who love driving centrally.

With no Kamara and Luiz, Villa’s midfield will look at little more lightweight in the press. Kamara sitting deep allows McGinn and Luiz to play higher up the pitch and put the pressure on. Tielemans is then given a bit more freedom to roam. For this reason I would look to start Jorginho. He should have time and space on the ball.

Ahead of him, it will be Declan Rice and Martin Odeegard. Again, Villa’s missing men will make it an interesting match up as McGinn and Luiz also tuck in alongside Kamara when things are on top. Zaniolo is classy on the ball, but he does not have the work rate of Luiz or Kamara.

Whilst I have said their midfield has been their strength, we might be able to overwhelm them in the middle of the park if they go for that midfield 3 of McGinn, Tielemand and Zaniolo. McGinn could be in for a tough day.

Up front will be interesting.

Bukayo Saka will start. And I think we might see Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli complete the front 3.

With an eye on Munich, I think Arteta will go with Jesus starting and Havertz on the bench. The German is much more dangerous in those closing moments of a game when we are pushing for a goal and the opposition are camped in the box. For that reason I think Jesus will be given a rest this weekend.

There has been a lot of talk this week about Leandro Trossard’s importance to Arsenal. He has proved to be a superb signing and a fantastic squad player. But I do not like him starting.

I feel the Belgium thrives in chaotic games. When things are a little less organised, a little quick and players have to do a bit more off the cuff. That make shim brilliant for those last 20 minutes when we are chasing a goal. I always thinks he struggles a little when he starts a game and the build up is slower and more accurate.

If my head is not fully in the game today, I am sure the players will be.

Manchester City’s big victory against Luton Town was utterly predictable and I expect Liverpool to beat Crystal Palace by a similar scoreline in the earlier kick off. Big wins for the pair will see them jump ahead of us and close that goal difference. For now we need to not worry about GD and just get the 3 points.

I think we can afford to lose one game between now and the end of the season. We just need to ensure that we can go to Tottenham and Manchester United with that chip still in play.

Get the 3 points, then focus on Munich./

Keenos

Patino decides to leave Arsenal this summer as club focus on next generation

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Happy Friday! Well done for making it through another week.

Is that it for Liverpool? Not long ago I spoke about how it felt they were in a similar position to us last season – just getting through games, looking like they had run out of steam and about to drop off.

Now I am not saying I am right, but last night against Atalanta they were shocking. A 3-nil home defeat coming off the back of the weekend draw at Manchester United.

In their last 5 games in all competitions, they have won just twice against Brighton (2-1) and Sheffield United (3-1). Before this run, they also needed a 95th minute goal to beat Nottingham Forest.

Now I am not saying they will not win the league. They are clearly still in the title race and things can change quickly. But as we saw with us last season, momentum is a huge thing in football.

I expect them to win this weekend. Then they have those 3 Premier League away games in a row, followed by Spurs at Anfield. Sandwiched in between is the return journey to Atalanta.

The wheels can come off quickly, and they might find themselves out of the title race in a blink of an eye.

There is not much real Arsenal news floating about. Press conferences are today ahead of this weekend’s football, so we will blog about them tomorrow.

There is talk that Charlie Patino has decided to leave the club this summer. Not a huge surprise.

Patino was supposed to be the next big thing, in a long line of next big things. But like most of those before him, he has shown how hard it is to go from dominant youth team football to having an impact in the man’s game.

As a 15-year-old, Patino was part of the England youth set up alongside Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala. Whilst they have kicked on, he simple has not.

I have watched him on loan at Swansea City and he still looks lightweight. He has not really bulked him since that performance against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup back in 2022 which showed he was not ready for men’s football.

He has had two OK loan spells at Blackpool and Swansea, but has not dominated. The reports are he wants to see more first team football, but his performances over the last 2-years would not be good enough for The Arsenal.

We are at a different stage of our evolution compared to where we were 3-years ago. The level you need to be playing at if you want to be part of our first team squad is much higher; as seen with the reduced game time of Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson.

Smith Rowe is clearly superior to Patino, and if he is not seeing much game time, there is not much hope for the younger man.

Football at a youth level is very fast moving. One day you are the biggest prospect at the club, and within a blink of an eye you are in your 20s and there are other 17-year-olds everyone is talking about.

Ethan Nwaneri & Myles Lewis-Skelly are the pair looking to usurp Patino.

If the club think these lads have a higher ceiling, then they are better off investing time in them rather than Patino. A bit like when we cast aside Henri Lansbury to give Jack Wilshere more opportunity.

One thing you always have to remember is Arsenal’s coaches would have seen a lot more of Patino, and other youngsters, than anyone else. Whilst fans might cry on Twitter about them not getting a chance, they are basing their opinion on very little evidence.

Patino is clearly technically gifted. Someone will take a punt on him and we should get above £5m cash money!

Enjoy your Friday. Grab yourself a beer at 4pm! You deserve it.

Keenos

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal 2 – 2 Bayern Munich

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Arsenal (1) 2 Bayern Munich (2) 2
Champions League Quarter Final First Leg
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Tuesday, 9th April 2024. Kick-off time: 8.00pm

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

Scorers: Bukayo Saka (12 mins), Leandro Trossard (76 mins)
Yellow Cards: Thomas Partey
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 59%

Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
Assistant Referees: Mahbod Beigi (Sweden), Andreas Söderqvist (Sweden)
Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck (Sweden)
UEFA Referee Observer: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)
UEFA VAR Team in Geneva: VAR Pol van Boekel (Netherlands); AVAR Dennis Higler (Netherlands)

Attendance: c.60,000

Tonight, we are hoping to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in fifteen years, and so far the team news is good with no new injuries reported. Bayern Munich are a formidable European opponent, as we have seen to our cost in the past, but this evening’s match here at the Emirates is one of our most important matches for quite a few years now, and nothing else but a victory will do.

An incredible cacophony of sound, a wall of sound if you will, greeted the players as they walked onto the pitch tonight.

The visitors kicked off this quarter-final game and immediately both teams sprung into action. Of course, both Eric Dier and Harry Kane received boos and jeers as soon as they touched the ball, but that was only to be expected.

There was an early touch for former Gunner Serge Gnabry, but we were playing patiently from the back but veteran Bayern goalie Manuel Neuer has had nothing to do so soon in the game.

Bukayo Saka neatly robbed Alphonso Davies and slotted it neatly to our captain. Martin Ødegaard was not able to do much with it when the ball came to him on the edge of the penalty area, so he squared it for Gabriel Martinelli who was in a little more space, from which he whacked a superb effort just wide of Manuel Neuer’s far post.

On the twelfth minute, we took the lead when Ben White passed the ball to Bukayo Saka, whose left-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area flew past Manuel Neuer and ended up in the bottom left-hand corner of the net. A great start!

We almost grabbed a second goal a couple of minutes later when an extremely weak header from Serge Gnabry fell for Kai Havertz who played the ball through to Ben White with only Manuel Neuer to beat, but he shot the ball straight at the goalie, who saved it easily.

The visitors drew level when Serge Gnabry ran onto a ball from Leon Goretzka and he coolly put the ball through David Raya’s legs for the equaliser. Just afterwards, a Declan Rice cross met the head of Jakob Kiwior, whose weak header easily found the open arms of Manuel Neuer.

A Bukayo Saka corner found both Jakob Kiwior and Ben White, but the Bayern goalie pounced dramatically on the ball to claim it. On the half hour, Leroy Sane was brought down by William Saliba in the penalty area; referee Glenn Nyberg gave the penalty and Harry Kane (who else?) scored for the visitors.

A few minutes later, Leroy Sane ran through the middle of the pitch, and just as he was going to pull the trigger, Ben White made a world-class tackle to deny him a goalscoring chance.

With three minutes left of the first half, Martin Ødegaard won a corner, and Bukayo Saka got the ball to the back post this time with a decent delivery which Kai Havertz met first, before referee Glenn Nyberg spotted a push in the back on Harry Kane from Kai Havertz and awarded a free-kick to the visitors.

The half-time whistle was blown a little while later and we went into the break two-one down.

We started the second half well, and with Mikel Arteta replacing Jakob Kiwior with Oleksandr Zinchenko, we could hopefully see more action in the midfield areas now.

A lovely ball from William Saliba found Kai Havertz, who got towards the byline and looked up for Gabriel Martinelli running in at the back post, but Joshua Kimmich was there first, who headed it back neatly to Manuel Neuer.

We were awarded a free-kick in which Declan Rice hit the ball over the crossbar, and as both teams were trying desperately to find a way through these tight defences, Harry Kane received a well deserved yellow card for putting an elbow into Gabriel’s jaw.

The corresponding free-kick was cleared by the Bayern defence, and a couple of minutes later, Bukayo Saka was brutally brought down by Konrad Laimer and unfortunately the following free-kick was chipped into nowhere by our captain.

The visitors were absorbing pressure and were devastating on the break; somehow we have to gain control of this game. Kai Havertz went down in the Bayern penalty area, but our calls for a penalty were denied by the referee, and then Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus replaced Gabriel Martinelli and Jorginho in an effort to grab that all-important goal.

Martin Ødegaard slotted the ball to Gabriel Jesus, who intelligently gave the ball to Declan Rice, whose shot was disappointingly blocked by a Bayern defender.

Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus combined well before feeding Bukayo Saka out on the right wing. He put the ball into the back post for Leandro Trossard, but unfortunately he was beaten in the air by Matthijs de Ligt.

With fourteen minutes of the match remaining, we grabbed the equaliser when Martin Ødegaard flicked the ball round the corner to Bukayo Saka, who played Gabriel Jesus into the penalty area. He held onto it past a few challenges and squared it beautifully for Leandro Trossard to roll it into the far corner. What a goal!

The visitors came back at us, which was to be expected, but we managed to hold them off. After a shot by Bukayo Saka that went inches past the post, Kai Havertz was replaced by Thomas Partey for the last five minutes of this incredible match, who within no time at all received a yellow card for a tough tackle on Jumal Musiala.

We got a real let-off when Kinglsey Coman, who put the ball through David Raya’s legs and smacked it against the base of the post and back into play. During the five minutes injury time, there was controversy when Bukayo Saka ran through on goal and Manuel Neuer came out and they clashed, with the result being that our man hit the ground, and how the referee did not give us a penalty was a crime within itself. But a draw it was, and the second leg next week in Munich should be an absolute cracker!

What a match! So much to talk about, so many incidents, with the main one being the penalty that never was at the end of the match.

How the referee did not give that, was unbelievable, but we need to recover and focus on the second leg next week.

The substitutes utilised by Mikel Arteta were inspirational, and we have every chance of beating them back in Germany in the return leg. Every man played their part, every man did the best that they possibly could and a draw is absolutely no disgrace tonight. All to play for at the Allianz Arena! 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: Aston Villa at the Emirates on Sunday, 14th April at 2.30pm (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