Tag Archives: Premier League

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal 3 – 1 Liverpool

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Arsenal (1) 3 Liverpool (1) 1
Premier League
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Sunday, 4th February 2024. Kick-off time: 4.30pm

(4-3-3) David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Ødegaard (c), (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli.
Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, Cédric Soares, Leandro Trossard, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny, Reuell Walters

Scorers: Bukayo Saka (14 mins), Gabriel Marinelli (66 mins), Leandro Trossard (90+2 mins)
Yellow Cards: Ben White, Gabriel, William Saliba, Jakob Kiwior, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 43%
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn
Fourth Official: Craig Pawson
VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR David Coote; AVAR Tim Wood

Attendance: 60,374

Unfortunately, Thomas Partey has suffered a setback in his bid to return from a thigh injury, and Takehiro Tomiyasu remains on international duty with Japan, but although Gabriel Jesus appears to be fit after a minor knee issue, he does not feature in today’s line-up. However, this afternoon’s match against our old rivals Liverpool, like so many others recently, is a “must win” situation, difficult as it will be.

The Premiership leaders will not come to North London to make up the numbers, they are coming here to win, aggressively and decisively if need be; it is up to our boys to stem the tide of their advance and gain a distinct advantage here today, to send our intentions to the rest of the Premiership that we are not merely contenders, but worthy winners of this illustrious trophy in May.

A very speedy start to the match, as expected, and within a minute Diego Jota chanced a run on our goal, but thankfully, David Raya was on hand to collect the ball fairly easily. Bukayo Saka cut in from the right, and as he bore down on the Liverpool goal, Joe Gomez robbed him of the opportunity to open the scoring.

The atmosphere here was absolutely electric today, and both sets of players were feeding off the excitement of the supporters. The first ten minutes of the game was played in the visitors’ half, and after a Liverpool attack, quick thinking by David Raya saw him throw the ball out to Gabriel Martinelli, who ran the whole length of the Emirates pitch, and although he was being furiously chased by Cody Gakpo, he crossed the ball for Bukayo Saka, who headed wide of the goal from close range.

A couple of minutes later, we opened the scoring when Kai Havertz ran through the Liverpool defence and found himself on a one-to-one with Alisson, with whom he shot straight at him; the rebound landed to Bukayo Saka, who easily scored from about ten yards from the goal. The goal certainly changed the overall dynamic of the match, with more determination from our boys and Liverpool trying to figure out a way to stop us from scoring even more goals.

Martin Ødegaard had a shot blocked from close range as we hunted actively for a second goal, and as our players were causing endless problems for the Liverpool defenders, their frustration was there for everyone to see. Joe Gomez earned himself the first yellow card of the day when he pulled back Kai Havertz as he ran through the middle of the pitch, and although the resulting free kick went nowhere, the confidence in our players was impressive, to say the least.

Gabriel managed to fend off Cody Gakpo, whose weak shot went into the welcome arms of David Raya, and although the visitors had a corner awarded to them shortly afterwards, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner kick was easily neutralised by Gabriel, who was playing excellently this afternoon.

Ben White was shown a yellow card for taking too long over a free-kick; let us hope that he does not get a second one awarded to him in this game, otherwise we could be in trouble at the back. After a short break in play whilst referee Anthony Taylor had his smart watch fixed, and shortly afterwards, Gabriel whacked the ball downfield to Gabriel Martinelli, who quickly passed to Kai Havertz but sadly no Arsenal striker was anywhere near the six-yard box when he crossed the ball. With seven minutes of the first half remaining, Gabriel Martinelli sped by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cody Gakpo too easily, so Ibrahima Konaté cynically brought him down.

The resulting free-kick saw a great attempt by Gabriel to score, but Alisson managed to save it somehow. After yet more pressure on the Liverpool goal, Declan Rice had a shot blocked, the ball looped into the air and Kai Havertz (who knew he was offside) had a weak shot saved by Alisson before the linesman’s flag was raised. William Saliba did well in clearing the ball from a Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross, and during the injury time period, the visitors unjustly scored the equaliser when after a complete mess up, the ball got bounced around like a pinball and accidentally came off Gabriel’s feet for the Liverpool goal. Such a shame, as went into the break with a draw on the scoreboard when by rights, we should have been in the lead. Such is life.

For the second half, Jakub Kiwior replaced Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back, and straight from the restart, Luis Diaz had a shot blocked before Alexis Mac Allister fired wide of our goal from thirty yards, and then after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross was headed away, Gabriel Martinelli tried to launch a counter-attack but Ibrahima Konaté beat him to the ball, sadly. Our captain had a superb shot on goal which was deflected by Ibrahima Konate for a corner, which was cleared by the Liverpool defence.

The visitors were playing with more confidence this half after their messy equaliser at the end of the first, and after Ibrahima Konaté was rightly booked for a foul on Kai Havertz, the resulting free-kick found the head of Gabriel, who headed it narrowly wide of Alisson’s goal. Gabriel received a booking for a silly infringement on Cody Gakpo, and a few minutes later, after Declan Rice ran through the middle of the field, he slotted the ball to Bukayo Saka, whose left-footed shot bounced off a defender for a corner, which was contained by the visitors.

After a long-range shot by Luis Diaz was saved by David Raya, we came forward and then a penalty claim by us when Kai Havertz clashed with Alexis Mac Allister was denied by the match officials with twenty-five minutes of the game remaining. We scored our second goal of the afternoon when we played a long ball down the pitch; Virgil van Dijk left it to bounce but Alisson did not quite get there. Alisson completely missed the ball and Gabriel Martinelli simply rolled it into an empty net from about fifteen yards.

Jakob Kiwior received a yellow card for a silly tackle on Diego Jota and with nineteen minutes of the game remaining, there was still all to play for, despite us being in the driving seat.

With fifteen minutes of the match remaining, Gabriel Martinelli was replaced by Leandro Trossard, by which followed a period of Liverpool putting us under pressure, but we held firm. After receiving treatment for an injury, Bukayo Saka was replaced by Reiss Nelson and with our fresh legs on the pitch now, the visitors were starting to fade and flag a bit to what they were ten minutes previously.

With six minutes left on the clock, Martin Ødegaard clipped a ball into the penalty area and although Jakob Kiwior was unmarked, near the penalty spot, his header went straight into the arms of Alisson.

A real turning point came when Ibrahima Konaté cynically shoved Kai Havertz as he tried to go past him. Of course, he collected his second yellow card of the game and he was sent off for his trouble. Liverpool looked like they lost their heads when, on the ninetieth minute, Darwin Nunez was booked for dissent after being fouled by Gabriel.

During the seven minutes injury time, the visitors were all over the shop, and with just minutes left of the match, Leandro Trossard’s shot from a tight angle somehow went straight through Alisson’s legs to finish the match in our favour.

This victory today puts us in second place, just two points behind Liverpool, which is fantastic. A well-deserved victory, special mention must surely go to the exciting Gabriel Martinelli, a constant threat to Liverpool (as well as a goalscorer), whilst the incredible Declan Rice was absolutely imperious in midfield. We controlled the first forty-five minutes, and although the first period of the second half belonged to the visitors, we stood firm and showed great character to get back into the match, and take the game to Liverpool. The belief was there, the courage to take the game by the scruff of the neck and grab three points was just both breathtaking and superb to see. Looking good. 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: West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday, 11th February at 2.00pm (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

Tottenham “win” the transfer window as Premier League big boys spend nothing

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Big day today! One that I dread every year. I am already nervous about what could happen, keeping my fingers crossed it will be good news. My car is going in for its MOT!

The transfer window slammed shut yesterday. Many of you would have forgotten it was open considering how little business was done.

Premier League clubs spent £715m less than January 2023, with the combined expenditure of the 20 clubs being just £100m. Just 17 permanent deals were made.

The impact of Premier League clubs not spending was seen lower down the leagues as EFL sides spent just £15m – they rely heavily on money coming in from selling players to enable them to buy.

A lot of fans have blamed PSR during the window for the lack of spending, but the truth is most Premier League clubs blew their budget in the summer.

Despite the slow January, the 2023-24 season has seen over £2.5bn spent by Premeir League clubs across both windows – the second-highest total annual transfer spend ever.

The record of nearly £2.8bn was set in 2022/23, driven by Chelsea’s big spending January. Whilst 3rd on the list (2017/18) is around £700m below this years total.

So for those moaning…your club is not spending because they were not allowed due to PSR, they were not spending because they have no money until the summer. And in the case of Everton, your club is not spending because you have lost nearlt half a billion pounds in the last 5-years. If it was not for PSR you would be in administration.

Winners of the transfer window is Tottenham.

I have lost count how many times in the last decades their fans have celebrated “winning” a transfer window. Have not won a trophy in 16-years though.

Spurs signed some unknown Romanian centreback, loaned in a Chelsea reject and reportedly got a £10m deal over the line for some 18-year-old Swedish midfielder that no-one had heard of 4 days ago.

I read an article yesterday that said “Daniel Levy is a genius” and that his “long term planning is coming to fruition”. enic bought Tottenham nearly 24 years ago. they currently sit 4th and have won 1 League Cup in that time. What brilliant long term planning.

Tottenham’s spending in January simply means they will spend less in the summer. Whilst they decided to draw forward some funds, other clubs kept their powder dry to ensure they had the finances to secure their premier targets in 5-months.

Some might say “waiting 5-months could cost the league”, but that makes the assumption that Arsenal or Liverpool’s top targets were available in January. And if they were not, those secondary targets were good enough.

Personally, I would rather wait until the summer to buy a Douglas Luiz or Ivan Toney then sign a Lucas Bergvall or Timo Werner.

Arsenal did see a couple of outgoings in January.

Alex Runar Runarssons time at the club came to an end as we cancelled his contract. He has joined FC Copenhagen for free. What a strange signing he was!

We also cashed in on contract rebel Lino Sousa. The talented teenager’s current deal was due to expire in the summer, sand he was refusing to sign a new one. He has decided to take the step down to Aston Villa, who immediately sent him out on loan to Plymouth. The path to first team football is much clearer at a mid-table than a title challenging side. Good luck to him.

Charles Sagoe Jr, who made an appearance this season in the EFL Cup, has gone to Swansea on loan, whilst Mika Biereth saw his loan deal with Mothwerwell cancelled and is now at Austrian side Sturm Graz.

Tyreece John-Jules has seen his loan deal with Derby County extended until the end of the season. The hope will be that he continues to impress as Derby chase promotion, and they look to recruit him permanently in the summer.

The final deal saw Marquinhos return to after Arsenal pulled the plug on his loan deal to Nantes.

There is talk that Brazilian side Fluminense are in negotiations with Arsenal over a loan deal for Marquinhos that could include a purchase option at the end of the season. The Brazilian window is still open until 11 January.

Marquinhos was always signed as one for the future, and we have seen over history how often these sort of signings do not work out.

For every Gabriel Martinelli poached from obscurity, you get a Marquinhos , Joel Campbell, Carlos Vela, Wellington Silva and others. And this is not just Arsenal, every top team buys a lot of teenage talent from abroad with 95% not making it. You just need to ensure you are not overspending on these “punts” (like Chelsea have done!).

Marquinhos is still only 20 and habours an ambition to play for Brazil at this years Olympics. A good loan deal in Brazil should secure his seat on the plane (if they make it), and a good tournament could see him return to us full of confidence, or add a bit extra onto his price for a sale.

Today the cricket restarts. It has not been a good morning for England.

UTA.

Keenos

RIP Jurgen Klopp

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Morning all. Quick shout out to Gav for reminding me that I had not published a blog this morning! I am currently on a 469-day streak, so would have been devastated had I not made it to day 470!

No football for The Arsenal at the weekend due to us crashing out of the FA Cup, but at least we got to enjoy the cricket!

Sky, ITV and BBC have gone into overdrive with the Jurgen Klopp obituaries. Anyone would think the King had just died with the level of coverage Klopp has got.

I get that Klopp has done a lot for the city of Liverpool, and the media to pander to the Scousers for fear of being boycotted and cancelled, but it has felt at sometimes that we were watching Liverpool TV.

It is easy to forget with everything that is going on that Klopp has only won 4 trophies and a single league title during his 8-and-a-bit years in charge. That is behind modern greats Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola.

Klopp’s single league title has him joint 27th on the list of English football championship-winning managers, behind the likes of Herbert Chapman, Wenger, George Allison, Tom Whittaker and George Graham.

The way the Scousers are grieving, you would think he was Shankly or Paisley. The truth is he is closer to Claudio Ranieri in terms of what he has won in England.

At least the trouble in the WBA v Wolves game meant that we avoided whatever excruciating segment the BBC had planned ahead of Liverpool’s game against Norwich.

On WBA v Wolves, it was funny listening to Sam Matterface describing the scenes as if he was reporting from the front line. I did laugh when they say “we do not like to see scenes like that” when the only reason ITV picked WBA v Wolves was because it had the potential to see “scenes like that”.

Another fraud is Ange Postecoglou.

The greatest thing to come out of Australia since Skippy the Bush Kangaroo got very close to equaling Martin Jol’s “perfect season”.

In 2005/06, with no European football, Jol’s Tottenham was knocked out of the FA Cup 3rd round and League Cup 2nd round, meaning they played just 40 games that season – the minimum a Premier League team can play.

This season, Tottenham will play just 41 games having gone out of the FA Cup on Friday. That means their biggest result this season has been a 1-0 victory at home to Burnley! Expect the DVDs to be out soon!

In 2005/06, Jol took Tottenham to 5th in the table, the same position that Postecoglou brilliant Spurs team occupy. If that is where they remain, then it would be fair to make comparisons between the two sides and managers.

Ange Postecoglou is basically the new Martin Jol.

tomorrow we face Nottingham Forest. I imagine there will be a minute silence before the game for Jurgen Klopp so we can all pay respects to him. Hopefully the fans show him as much respect as Liverpool fans showed to a dead chicken.

Enjoy your Monday.

Keenos