Tag Archives: She Wore

Tottenham, Manchester United and the FA Cup

I am still coming down from yesterday.

Having taken yesterday off work, I strolled in today do 100 questions from colleagues as to how was the game and Arsenal were brilliant.

This time of year the games come thick and fast, and this week we have a mid-week games. Tomorrow it is another huge test with Manchester United away.

Arsene Wenger’s demise was defined by a lack of victories on the road to top teams. Unai Emery has a good chance to chalk up his first 3 points against United.

Jose Mourinho’s team are in total disarray. They are in 7th place, 16 points off top – last season they finished 19 points off Manchester City.

Whilst I am confident about tomorrow, I am also aware that Manchester United – and Jose Mourinho – often raise their game against Arsenal.

Our player of the season this season has been Lucas Torreira. Mourinho will employ the very basic tactic of sticking Marouane Fellaini as a number 10 and hitting him with high balls. Torreira will have no chance and United will then battle for the knock downs.

It is a basic tactic, but one which could work. Especially as we are without Granit Xhaka who misses his first Premier League game since the 2016/17 season.

The big news yesterday was the draw for the Emirates FA Cup third round. Arsenal will travel to either Solihull Moors or Blackpool.

We will find out our opposition for the match on December 11, when Solihull travel to Bloomfield Road for a second-round replay, after the sides drew 0-0 at the weekend.

Solihull Moors, managed by former England goal keeper Tim Flowers, play at Damson Park on the outskirts of Birmingham. With a capacity of just over 3,000, it is likely the fixture will get moved. Gander Green Lane (the home of Sutton United) held over 5,000 when we played them a few years back.

If the fixture is not moved, Arsenal will receive about 450 tickets. It will mean a ballot of the away scheme.

We played Blackpool at home earlier this season when we beat them 2-1 in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Halloween.

An away trip to them would be a good old day, as long as it is not ruined by TV. The last train back to London is at 19:32 via Preston. Easily Makeable if we are Saturday 3pm. But if it is moved to the 17:30 kick off time, it will be impossible to make it home.

On the Sunday we have planned engineering works. That means bus replacement services and 5+ hour journey times.

Friday and Monday would be a day off work and not getting back until the next day.

A night out in Blackpool would not be too bad, if it was not just a couple of weeks after Christmas and New Year.

Hopefully the TV companies take into account the travelling fans. They often point out that the FA Cup is dying, but football without fans is nothing. The TV companies are part of the problem.

So it is a case of cracking through today at work, before settling in to enjoy the game against Manchester United tomorrow.

Keenos

Arsenal show class is permanent

What a win. What a game. What a weekend.

I got home from the Islington Sports Bar and Grill late last night and re-watched the game. I was buzzing throughout, kebab in hand and content in the knowledge that I had booked this morning off work.

Tottenham fans, as Tottenham fans do, got ideas above their station in the week leading up to the game.

They forgot that they are not a big club, that they had gone a decade without a trophy and had failed to win at the Emirates in the Premier League since February 2010.

Spurs fans believed that two years of finishing above Arsenal made them the superior team. Whilst this temporary rise in form did lead them to qualify for the Champions League at Arsenal’s expense twice, Arsenal always held the upper ground. Always had the class.

A few weeks ago we sang about having our Arsenal back. A few in the media derided this. But yesterday showed exactly what fans were singing about.

The Emirates was rocking. The ground and fans often singled out as being quiet, when the reality is it is no worse than White Hart Lane (or Wembley), Anfield, West Ham or Old Trafford. Yesterday the Arsenal fans were the 12th man.

And on the pitch the players gave as much as the fans did.

When Spurs equalised, Eric Dier ran towards the Arsenal fans shushing them. Stephan Lichtsteiner stuck one on the half dozen Spurs players celebrating. One man standing toe to toe with them.

Then all of a sudden we saw something that had been missing for years at The Arsenal. Passion and togetherness of the players.

The usually quiet Aaron Ramsey got himself involved, looking to swing it out with Dier. Then all of a sudden, from nowhere, youngsters Matteo Guendouzi and Ainsley Maitland-Niles came out of no where to back up their mates.

They were not wearing bibs, they were not warming up. They were sitting on the bench and legged it down the touchline. Guendouzi sticking one on Dele Alli will only further increase his place as a fans favourite.

From 1-nil up Arsenal very quickly went 2-1 behind. At half time, no one was that worried.

Arsenal had dominated the game, unlucky to not have scored 2 or 3. It was only a Son dive that separated the teams.

Son showed Tottenham lacked class throughout the game. He was throwing himself to the floor at every opportunity. Like there were banana skins on the pitch and he kept slipping on them.

Banana skins. Another example of Spurs lack of class. The fan should be banned for life. Sacked from work. I actually hope the black lads who support Spurs stick one on him, make it clear he is not welcome anymore.

Back to Son.

The response to his dive has been odd. There was no contact, yet people still say it was a penalty. He threw himself to the ground. He was not taking evading action. He cheated and should be banned.

In the second half, Unai Emery made changes. Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette came on.

It highlights where Arsenal are these days that we had players of the quality of Lacazette and Ramsey on the bench.

The rest of the game is a bit of a blur. Arsenal won 4-2.

There were a couple more flash points. And everytime Spurs tried shithousing, Arsenal players were there, en masse, backing each other. It was a team spirit we had not seen since Martin Keown, Ashley Cole, Lauren and Thierry Henry stuck one on Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The cream eventually rises to the top. And that is what happened yesterday.

Tottenham being better than Arsenal for 2 seasons did not change decades of dominance. Of one club winning trophies regularly and the other winning 2 League Cups in 27 years.

Moving forward, this game could kill Spurs. They are not a very good side, and will end up closer to Manchester United than the top 4.

Arsenal are 19 games unbeaten, making the media and pundits eat their words, and are back.

We really are back.

Keenos

Match Report: Arsenal 4 – 2 Tottenham

Arsenal (1) 4 Tottenham Hotspur (2) 2
Premier League
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Sunday, 2nd December 2018. Kick-off time: 2.05pm
(4-2-3-1) Leno: Bellerín, Mustafi, Holding, Sokratis; Torreira, Xhaka; Mkhitaryan, Kolašinac, Iwobi; Aubameyang.
Substitutes: Čech, Lichtsteiner, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Guendouzi, Ramsey, Lacazette,
Scorers: Aubameyang (2), Lacazette, Torreira
Yellow Cards: Mustafi, Torreira, Xhaka
Referee: Mike Dean
Attendance:59,973
At last we welcome our “friends” from Lower Edmonton for the first of two matches in sixteen days at The Emirates; in reference to the corresponding match last season, two goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sánchez settled the matter in our favour definitively. On a positive note, Arsenal have only lost to our neighbours on one occasion since we have been domiciled at The Emirates, and that was back in 2010 when we lost 2-3, but today will be different; make no mistake about it, we have to win, a draw or a defeat (God forbid) will not do. A victory today will place us in the top four, leapfrogging our opponents this afternoon.
An assertive start that saw us put the visitors under pressure almost immediately when a slick movement saw Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang head the ball over the bar from close range. This certainly set the tone for the match as Arsenal became the leading side in the early stages of the game. After eight minutes, we took a well-deserved lead when Jan Vertonghen blatantly hand-balled in the penalty area, earning him a yellow card and a well-taken penalty for us superbly scored by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang that punished Spurs for their schoolboy error. Arsenal were now dominant, and peppered the Tottenham goal with multiple chances, all of which deserved a goal in their own right. Unbelievably, on the half hour, the visitors took a free-kick that saw Eric Dier score with a header; after which the excitement of the day spilled over with confrontation between the substitutes of both sides on the touchline that the match officials had trouble containing. Four minutes later, it happened. After a ridiculous penalty decision by Mike Dean, Spurs took the lead. Son Heung-min went down very easily from a minor tackle by Rob Holding which was minimal contact at best; subsequently Harry Kane scored from the spot. After that all hell broke loose, with the atmosphere in the stadium changing completely in Spurs’ favour with the players launching into reckless tackles that saw Shkodran Mustafi being booked for his trouble. As the first half waned, we had some good chances from Alex Iwobi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Shkodran Mustafi that could have been goals, but unfortunately were not.
Half-time came and went. Ch-ch-ch-changes with Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette replacing Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and so it all started again. This time Spurs came out of the blocks with purpose and we were indeed fortunate not to concede a third from a free-kick taken outside the penalty area. However, ten minutes into the half, after a period of some confusion in our defence, Hector Bellerín passed to Aaron Ramsey, who quickly slotted the ball to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who immediately hit it into the back of the Spurs net. Now we have a derby day to remember. With Mattéo Guendouzi replacing a weary Shkodran Mustafi, we had a feeling that something special may happen at any moment now. Sure enough, with 15 minutes left, a Juan Foyth error allowed Aaron Ramsey to get the ball quickly to Alexandre Lacazette, who ran, turned the Spurs defenders and score with a sweet shot. It wasn’t over yet! Minutes later, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang placed the ball into space for Lucas Torreira to run onto, who slotted the ball past the outstretched Hugo Lloris to make it 4-2 to Arsenal. We were now rampant, assertive and still hungry for more goals. A nasty tackle from Jan Vertonghen on Alexandre Lacazette earned him a well-deserved red card with five minutes left, and with six minutes injury time being granted, we regrouped, consolidated our position, licked our wounds and awaited the final whistle; and when it came, a sense of relief and elation permeated the stadium. A difficult job well done.
When the story of our season is written, this match will be one of the highlights. Every man played their part, and did more than what was either expected or demanded by Mr. Emery, who must surely be pleased with this performance today. They rose to the occasion, stuck together as a body of men, came back from a 1-2 deficit to not only win the game, but also bully and dominate Spurs. Aside for a brief spell, it was truly our game from start to finish. Their spirit was unbreakable, their desire to win the match unstoppable; if they play like this at Old Trafford on Wednesday, then they will surely came back to the capital with three points. A word of praise should also be said for our fans, who not only created a cacophony of sound to back the lads, but constantly encouraged them to greater things. The man of the match? The Arsenal crowd, who nover stopped believing. 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.

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