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Match Report: Everton 1 – 0 Arsenal

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Everton (1) 1 Arsenal (0) 0
Premier League
Goodison Park, Goodison Road, Liverpool L4 4EL
Sunday, 7th April 2019. Kick-off time: 2.05pm

(4-2-3-1) Leno; Mustafi, Sokratis, Monreal, Maitland-Niles; Elneny, Guendouzi; Kolašinac, Özil, Mkhitaryan; Lacazette.
Substitutes: Čech, Ramsey, Lichtsteiner, Aubameyang, Iwobi, Suárez, Jenkinson.
Yellow Cards: Sokratis, Guendouzi, Mustafi, Monreal
Referee: Kevin Friend
Attendance: 39,400

In The Big Lebowski, when the Dude meets the narrator, the latter says to the Dude that “a wiser fella once said, sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes, well, the bear eats you”. In other words, win some, lose some. Today, at Goodson Park, the bear most definitely had a meal out on us from start to finish. Right from the moment Phil Jagielka’s goal settled the match as early as the tenth minute, we played as if our whole team were reinvented with two left feet.
Has there ever been a first half that we have played this season that has been so devoid of both inspiration and creativity? Highly unlikely. We just didn’t click, the midfield were nothing short of pathetic at times; God only knows why Mr. Emery didn’t play Aaron Ramsey from the start is a mystery. And where is Denis Suárez? The home team completely dominated the match in the first half, and to be fair, it looked as if we were lucky to go into the break only being 0-1 down.
The second half saw us wake up and smell the coffee, albeit rather briefly, which coincided with Aaron Ramsey replacing a tepid Mohamed Elneny and Sead Kolašinac being substituted for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (along with a change in formation) to try and zip proceedings up a bit, which looked okay for about a quarter of an hour or so. Somehow, we were unable to continue the momentum, and despite the speed of our strikers, we simply allowed Everton to regroup and dominate the match yet again.

We did have our chances in the second half; Aaron Ramsey should have scored after Jordan Pickford’s disastrous save that never was, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s effort would have been easier to score than it was to miss, and with the shot going inches wide, our chances to equalise seemed to disappear with it. Frustration crept in like a winter snowstorm and again the home side appeared to take control with Gylfi Sigurdsson being denied by either excellent goalkeeping by Bernd Leno or poor shooting on his part with at least three efforts being blasted over the bar. Emotions spilled over with the two managers having words on the touchline that incredibly managed to involve players in their spat, with Mesut Özil petulantly throwing his jacket at the Everton manager after being substituted for Alex Iwobi with just fifteen minutes left of the match. Somehow we managed to keep the home team from scoring a second goal late in the game, and when Kevin Friend blew the whistle, it couldn’t be a moment too soon for Arsenal.

This was truly one of those matches that is best forgotten. We showed little character, poor defending and no decent midfield movement to mention in despatches, let alone efforts on the Toffees’ goal to be remembered. Arsenal may well have had 57% possession, but what use is that if we don’t convert this into goals? Points make prizes, not the proportional representation theory of a possession-based game. We can of course, still finish in the fabled top four at the end of the season, but it could be a close-run thing now, and we may have to be the servant of other team’s results, not the masters of our own. Arsenal have only recorded one away victory in the Premiership since November, and out of the remaining half dozen matches that remain, only two are in North London, which it has to be said, on our record is a sobering thought. Chelsea play West Ham on Monday evening, and if they are victorious, the West Londoners will propel themselves into third place, leapfrogging both ourselves and Tottenham Hotspur, which means that we will definitely have to win all of our games, nothing less will do. It seems that we need to sort ourselves out, and very quickly indeed; Napoli await in the Europa Cup on Thursday evening, and if they are watching this performance today (which they more than likely are) then they will surely fancy their chances at The Emirates. Let us hope that today was indeed a bad day at the office that won’t be repeated; like the man in the movie said all those years ago, today the bear eats you. Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as these early days are going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. 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.

Arsenal in the Community partner Islington Foodbank

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Arsenal are set to announce that they are helping Islington Foodbank in an attempt to combat poverty and hunger in the Borough.

At the next home fixture against Crystal Palace there will be two donation collection points – one at podium level outside the Arsenal Museum and the other outside the Community Hub.

We are encouraging everyone to get involved and donate to the local community, whether that be by dropping off some food on game day, or making a small donation to the cause.

Islington Foodbank urgently require:

  • TINNED TOMATOES
  • LONG LIFE FRUIT JUICE
  • CEREAL
  • TINNED FRUIT
  • TINNED RICE PUDDING
  • CHOCOLATE BARS
  • LONG LIFE MILK
  • INSTANT COFFEE
  • SPONGE PUDDINGS
  • PASTA SAUCE
  • TINNED MEAT
  • TINNED FISH
  • LONG GRAIN RICE
  • TINNED SOUP

if you are not going to the game, or unable to bring a donation, you can make a cash donation via the website.

Like much of London, Islington has two sides.

Many people think it of a rich, affluent borough. One which contains the likes of Highgate, Cannonbury Square and Clerkenwell. Numerous politicians, actors and musicians call it their home.

But in the Borough you go from houses worth over a million pound on one side of the street to extreme poverty on the other side. Islington is a borough where 1 in 124 people are either homeless or living in temporary accommodation.

You only have to walk around the Kings Cross area at any time during the day to see the homelessness.

Islington Foodbank is run entirely by over 100 volunteers, who do everything from managing stock in the warehouse, preparing bags for our clients, and organising supermarket drives, to meeting our clients to give them their food and talk through the difficulties they’re facing.

It was established by a group of volunteers in 2011 as part of The Trussell Trust network of foodbanks and operates from Highbury Roundhouse on Ronalds Road. It is open twice a week on Mondays and Saturdays from 1pm – 4pm.

The aim is to provide people who find themselves in a crisis with 3 days’ worth of emergency food, so the focus is on collecting donations to meet the demand in Islington.

It is fantastic that Arsenal in the Community have decided to partner Islington Foodbank, continuing their long term pledge to help charities and residents of the local area.

Also at the Crystal Palace, fans of both sides will be walking from Selhurst Park to the Emirates to raise awareness of mental health and male suicide.

SheWore

Emile Smith Rowe to remain at RB Leipzig next season

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At the end of the January transfer window, Arsenal youngster Emile Smith Rowe joined German Bundesliga outfit RP Leipzig on loan for the rest of the season.

It was reported after the loan deal went through that Smith Rowe was suffering from a groin injury and it was unlikely that he would restart full training until March.

At the time I found it odd that Arsenal had sent an injured player out on loan to gain first team experience. He picked up the groin strain whilst training with Arsenal in December.

Smith Rowe’s recovery has been slower than expected and it was only this week that he finally returned to full team training.

With just 7 Bundesliga game left to play, it would be surprising if 18-year-old Smith Rowe sees much game time with Champions League chasing RP Leipzig, who currently sit 3rd.

Recently Smith Rowe sat down with Arsenal’s official YouTube channel to discuss his experience so far in Germany.

“The Bundesliga is a really good league,” Smith Rowe told Arsenal’s official YouTube channel. “There are a lot of good players here and big teams as well. It’s like the Premier League really. Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, Hoffenheim, Schalke – all big teams, all Champions League teams really. I think it’s a great opportunity.”

“I can’t wait to play in front of the fans,” he admitted. “I think it will be really good. Obviously the stadium is really big and it’s a great atmosphere. When I first went to one of the games, the fans were just always singing. Obviously that happens at Arsenal as well, but over here it’s just crazy.”

“I think it’s definitely a big step at such a young age, but I think that’s a great experience,” he explained. “Seeing Reiss and other young players take the step, obviously doing well and enjoying themselves, that has really boosted my confidence.

“It really gave me the impression that this was something I wanted to do and I obviously took the risk. I just can’t wait to get fit and play.”

As it stands, it feels like sending Smith Rowe abroad has been a big waste of time. That the only thing he would have gained is an experience of living abroad for 4 months, and that he will return with less than 100 Bundesliga minutes under his belt.

Whilst at Arsenal, he had played 6 games this season across the Europa League and League Cup; scoring 3 goals. He had also been on the bench for a handful of Premier League games. He was progressing well.

It is then very odd that Arsenal would agree sending him out on loan, knowing that he was injured and unlikely to play.

The logical conclusion is that Arsenal plan to leave Smite Rowe at RB Leipzig next season as well.

The club knew he was out injured, and would unlikely feature for Arsenal in the run in – especially following the signing of Denis Suarez. So  a decision was made to send him to Germany early to allow him to acclimatise.

Whilst he has not played for RB Leipzig as of yet, he has spent every day at their training facility, under the eyes of their coaches, living in Germany.

It would mean that were he to go on loan next season to Leipzig, he would not need a couple of months acclimatising. He could do a full pre-season for them, and be ready to joining their 1st team squad for the first game of the season.

A full year playing week in week out in a top league will do wonders for the playmaker, and it makes sense for him to spend next season in Germany.

If he is going to be at Leipzig next season, it then makes sense that he joined in January despite it being unlikely that he will play.

Many at Arsenal see him as a long term replacement for Aaron Ramsey in the squad. Next season will be a year too early for him. But in 2020 he would return to the club with a full Bundesliga season under his belt and having only just turned 20.

 

Keenos