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
🔴⚪GIVEAWAY TIME⚪🔴
What a chance to win our brand new George Graham Mug?
At the time, Pep Guardiola’s assistant was Arteta.
A couple of years ago, when Granit Xhaka was on the brink of leaving, Jorginho was top of Arteta’s list. In the end Xhaka stayed.
In a recent interview, Arteta spoke about any player coming to Arsenal this late in the window needed to be “ready to go straight away”.
They had to be Premier League ready, fit, and ready to start at Everton if needed. And the first choice for that was Moises Caicedo. We ended up with Jorginho.
Whilst he is the wrong profile in terms of age and dynamism, he does fit what Arteta needs now – someone who will not need to settle in.
Over 200 games in England, he will need no time to settle down. He will probably not move from his current abode. And I would imagine he already knows Arsenal’s Brazilian contingent on a social basis.
He is an Arteta type of player.
Fantastic on the ball, he thrives in a posession based system. He is also a leader and a winner.
It was only 15 months ago that he was named the 3rd best player in the world, finishing behind Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski in the Ballon d’Or.
The same year he was also named UEFA Player of the Year and was in both the UEFA Euro 2020 Team of the Tournament and UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season. He was also named in the FIFA FIFPro World11.
In 2021, he was key as Chelsea won the Champions League and Italy won the European Championships. That same year he was also part of the team that won the European Super Cup and World Club Cup.
When you look at his credentials, he could just be the winner to take Arsenal over the line.
It left a lot of fans mystified. But there is some solid theory behind it. And it is mainly Europe.
Midfield is where we lack depth.
Xhaka and Thomas Partey’s are fantastic. But there is not much behind them.
Mohamed Elneny is a solid professional but likely out for the season. Albert Sambi Lokonga has flattered to deceive. At the time of writing he is being linked with a loan move out of the club.
We have a maximum of 26 games left in the league and Europe. I expect us to continue the rotation policy in Europe.
But with no adequate cover for Xhaka and Partey, the squad situation meant they would both likely have to play in Europe.
Jorginho’s recruitment means that we can keep protecting Partey for the league. And then the choice is still there to play Lokonga (if he stays) instead of Xhaka.
When you realise Jorginho has been bought primarily for Europe, to allow us to rest Partey mid-week, then you understand his recruitment.
Yes, we all would have preferred Caicedo, Declan Rice or Martin Zubimendi. But those deals could not be done. I am sure we will go again for them in the summer.
The choice ended up being “no one or Jorginho”. And at £12m on a 1.5 year deal, the Italian-Brazilian does not take too much out of the pot for the summer.
Every game Jorginho plays is one less Partey has to. And protecting Partey is what wins us the League.
Before going to bed in early April 2022, I noticed I had an email in my inbox from The Arsenal team, which took me by complete surprise!
I have devoured the pleasure of being a lifelong Arsenal fan and being related to one of the all-time greats of not just Arsenal but of the game of football itself.
My Great Grandfather is and will forever be striker Ted Drake who on the 14th of December 1935, whilst injured with the World’s biggest bandage attached to his leg, scored the most goals (7) in a top-flight game of English football.
During that same year, he scored the most goals in a season for Arsenal, with 44 goals to his name. Neither of his two records has been broken and probably won’t be.
In 2009, the Legend reemerged on Arsenal’s horizon during the Emirates Stadium 32 glorious Legends together display uncovering. After 13 years of weathering, Arsenal decided that the display needed to be redesigned and replaced, a process which I and my Granddad (son of Ted Drake) were a part of and were informed about after reading the email on that late April night.
In that exact email, I and my Granddad were asked to meet up on the evening of the 19th of April at the Tollington Arms alongside several Arsenal fans and the families of the legends whose backs had graced the Emirates Stadium.
The Tollington is situated just up the road from the Emirates Stadium and after I walked in, the exceptionally warm and welcoming vibe from those who worked for the club and were there like me attending completely took me aback.
Before the event began, we were all given two free drink tickets which I gladly used for two delicious Kopparbergs whilst socially getting myself involved with the other fans there too.
At the start of the event, the artists who would lay the ground for the new design, including Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, ReubenDangoor and graphic designer David Rudnick, gave a speech about what they were planning to do to revolutionize the Emirates Stadium.
Another important person who gave a speech was Arsenal Ceo Vinai Venkkatesham, who also talked about why we were there and what our purpose was in the construction process, as well as what the club was aiming to do.
All speeches were very strong and made me feel quite emotional inside as I realized exactly what Arsenal has and will always be about, as everyone there felt instantly connected to one greater community.
We were all given different A4 cards with questions for us to answer. For example, a couple of the questions were what does Arsenal mean to you? What are Arsenal’s biggest achievements? Before I forget, the Pub handed out free meals for everyone there, which was a much-appreciated delight too.
After the event came to a close me and my Granddad safely made our way home after saying goodbye to 1930s Arsenal captain Eddie Hapgood’s daughter Lyn, who most recently published a book about her father’s life, and talking to her son Jake who’s Grandson of the ex England captain too.
I must admit there was a slight stumble in our tracks home as the pub sits on the corner of a crossroad, and we weren’t too sure for a minute which road we had come up and were meant to go down to get back to Arsenal tube station.
On the 8th of June, I rocked up at Arsenal tube station once again after having switched at Waterloo for the underground after setting off from Basingstoke with not my Granddad but my brother-in-arms George.
Unfortunately, my Granddad could not go as he was busy with my Nan celebrating their 54th wedding anniversary. That was not a problem, though. I had been to watch The Arsenal multiple times with George, who is also an Arsenal fan since birth and whose dad is a season ticket holder at the club.
George was as excited as me to go along to the Arsenal Togetherness event. As we arrived early I said to him, “do you fancy going to look at Highbury Gardens and the Stadium as we haven’t seen it together before?”
My friend accepted the request, and we went and had a walk round the gardens, which was lovely on a sunny summer’s day.
After we’d completed our walk and marveled at the ground, I went inside and asked one man at reception if we could have a tour around the now Highbury flat corridors, leading up from the Marbles hall stairs. While the bust of Herbert Chapman who put Arsenal on the global stage of football stared at me, the man declined my asking, but was in awe when I said who my Great Granddad was.
Once we’d finished at Highbury, we moved on to the Emirates Stadium, where the second meeting would take place in the Diamond club. I’d only ever been there before when I was on a stadium tour dating back to nearly a decade ago when I was 11.
There was food and drink for everyone as me and my friend helped ourselves to a couple of beers and burgers whilst we sat down at one table and spoke to a couple of fans of similar age who help with the club behind the scenes.
When we sat down, we were told not to take pictures of the designs which the artists had created, which were displayed on a large screen in front of us.
During the meeting, they showed us the first designs for the Stadium banners and asked what we thought of them, which I was over the moon with. It was great to see that the banner ideas were simply revolutionary as they differed completely from any other Premier League Stadium ones.
I was glad that the new banners weren’t just going to include the backs of Arsenal greats, as I felt we needed something different for the club and Emirates Stadium to stand out once again. I’d seen that West Hams’s ground has adorned the backs of previous legends too and I thought it was most definitely time for a change that would be revolutionary.
The final meeting occurred on the 13th of October when we saw the final designs in print at the Emirates Stadium Diamond club again. We were awarded free drinks and food again whilst also being able to watch the Arsenal and BodoGlimt Europa League game too before the meeting started.
Whilst I was watching the game, a couple of camera flashes distracted me in the background as people were having their photos taken for one banner, which includes 720 Arsenal fans. I went along to join the fun as I had my picture taken for the banner and my Granddad.
During the meeting, they introduced us to the complete designs for the all-new 8 Emirates Stadium banners.
My favorites were of course the “Remember who you are” banner with ex Legends on it including Ted Drake hanging out of one window of Highbury Stadium, and the “come to see the Arsenal” banner imprinted with “Welcome to North London home of The Arsenal”.
On Wednesday the 11th of January, the unveiling of the Emirates Stadium banner Artwork was launched at CandidsArt Trust.
It would be one of the greatest nights of my life as I finally met the Legends who have graced the club throughout the years which I have read about.
I was completely surprised by seeing the likes of George Graham, Ian Wright, Charlie George, Alan Smith, David Seaman, Jack Wilshire, Bob Wilson, and current captain Martin Odegaard. I just wasn’t expecting it at all, especially within the first few minutes, when I noticed the appearance of Pat Rice. I thought maybe he would be the only one there, but I was wrong-very wrong!
It was an immense joy to be a part of such a special Arsenal Togetherness project, which means the World to me as a man of literally Arsenal blood!
Liam Harding Great Grandson of Ted Drake
Our #Arsenal beer mats are a best seller – so we thought we should create a longer lasting version
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 