Arsenal v Burnley Preview

Arsenal may not have been overly impressive in their 1-0 win at Newcastle last week, but the got the job done and that was of utmost importance. They were rarely bothered in defence and that can’t be a bad thing for a team who only kept one clean sheet in their 19 League games away from home last season. Newcastle didn’t have an awful lot to offer in attack, but that didn’t stop Arsenal conceding to every team in the league except for Watford on their travels last season.

Unai Emery went with quite a few youngsters and fringe players on the day as lack of match fitness among other things deprived him of much of his strongest 11. Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac missed out for security reasons, but thankfully it seems they are clear to play tomorrow and hopefully their “situation” has come to an end. Both Alexandre Lacazette and Lucas Torreira sat the game out while both Nicolas Pepe and Dani Ceballos came off the bench late on. 

Those six players could all reasonably expect to be among the first names on the team sheet and we’re still awaiting the returns of Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding from long term injuries. Both of them would be among the first names on the team sheet too when they return so it looks like the manager will be spoiled for choice with a fully fit squad. I still haven’t mentioned David Luiz and he will be hoping to start tomorrow, but it won’t be easy to shift either Sokratis Papastathopoulos or Callum Chambers considering how comfortable they looked last week.

I have no doubt Burnley will offer more of a challenge to our defence and they certainly like to “put it up ‘em” given the opportunity. Ashley Barnes is a well known wind-up merchant and we can’t allow him to get under our collective skin. They had a very good 3-0 win at home to Southampton last week and Barnes grabbed himself a couple of goals in that game.

If memory serves me correctly Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is fond of a goal against Burnley and scored twice against them in both of our encounters last season. Whoever the manager brings in I hope he keeps playing Aubameyang through the middle as he’s proven to be a top class goalscorer in any team he has played in. We have a host of players capable of making chances for him and he has the ability to become the top scorer in the Premier League this season.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ozil and Kolasinac return while I think a home game is probably the best place to give Pepe his full debut. Either Ceballos or Torreira could come into midfield and the decision on who to leave out could be made easier if Granit Xhaka isn’t passed fit to play. With those changes it won’t really leave room for either Reiss Nelson or Joe Willock in the starting 11 which is harsh on Willock in particular after his performance last week, but I have no doubt we will see plenty of them over the coming season.

I’m not sure if Henrikh Mkhitaryan will keep his place either and he can be a very frustrating player at times. He played a few very good passes last week and we could or maybe should have scored from at least one of them. He had to be the most wayward player on the pitch when it came to passing at times too and it can be tough to see so many passes go astray or the ball lost so often. I’m not sure whether the output or input we get from him matches up with his game time or his incredibly high wages either.

I think, once we work up a head of steam, we will make plenty of chances against a Burnley team who conceded a lot of goals last season. I’m still not too sure exactly what our style is, but with the players available we are more than capable of playing free flowing attractive football while still being able to protect our defence. It’s that defence that’s still the real worry and they need to work on the best understanding they can ahead of two very tough games in the next two weeks.

Hopefully we can put in a performance to build plenty of confidence ahead of a trip to Liverpool and a home game against Spurs. If we can win tomorrow and come through those two games with two points or more I think it will be a pretty good start to the season. 

David Luiz

Henrikh Mkhitaryan 

Aubameyang against Burnley 

Chance to temporarily go top

2 tough games coming up 

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Chelsea: Europa League Final Preview

It’s been a fairly eventful first season as Arsenal manager for Unai Emery and the real judgement on that first season will come in Baku tonight. We finished one place higher in the league with a few points more, but our inability to finish fourth due to an awful run at the end of the season means we didn’t qualify for the Champions League. We do have another route to the Champions League though and that route comes to a culmination tonight.

It’s hard not to think the players left an awful lot of what they had left towards the end of the season for those Europa League quarter and semifinals and ultimately that’s what cost us in the league. If that’s the case they need to make sure they have done enough in the last two weeks since the end of the domestic season to make sure they take the trophy and the Champions League place that goes with it tonight. Any other result will surely see Emery’s first season in charge judged as less than a success.

The absence of Henrikh Mkhitaryan has already been gone into at length and it was the player’s choice to stay at home despite assurances of his safety. When you see Arsenal fans in the streets of Baku been stopped by the local police for wearing a Mkhitaryan shirt it’s easy to see why he felt those assurances weren’t enough. If Arsenal are to fail tonight the Mkhitaryan excuse will be offered by some and UEFA will certainly be partly to blame.

However we still have some very good players who have shown already this season that they can beat Chelsea. We won 2-0 at home to them in the league in January thanks to goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny and we lost 3-2 away to them in the league in August. If we can create as many clear cut chances as we did in that August defeat tonight I think we will lift the trophy.

The rumours of unrest at Chelsea are rife with Maurizio Sarri apparently off to manage Juventus at the end of the season while star player Eden Hazard is entering the final year of his contract and should really be sold to get some money to reinvest in the team. They have a transfer embargo though thanks to their dodgy dealing in the past and they cannot afford to sell a player of his ability if they’re unable to buy a replacement. Hopefully all the supposed unrest can have an effect on the way they play, but really it’s up to Arsenal to go out and win the game.

I assume the manager will stick with Petr Cech as his cup goalkeeper despite him being off to Chelsea as a coach when he retires after this game. I can’t see that making a blind bit of difference to a keeper with a career like Cech’s behind him and I have no doubt he will give his best if selected as expected. However if it came to a penalty shoot out I think I would prefer to see Bernd Leno in goal given Cech’s abysmal record at saving penalties.

I think we’ll probably see three central defenders deployed as playing two worked better when we had Aaron Ramsey as one of the midfield trio, but sadly we’ll never see him in an Arsenal shirt again as he’s injured for tonight and on his way to Juventus shortly. He might have been just the player we needed tonight given his form when he has played this season and his penchant for cup final goals. Certainly missing him as well as Mkhitaryan tonight will decrease our creative abilities from the midfield as well as taking two players who know how to find the back of the net out of the reckoning.

In midfield I expect an axis of Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira with Mesut Ozil playing behind Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The front two have been crucial for us this season and surely we will be depending on them again tonight. I know he misses his fair share of chances, but Aubameyang might just be the difference between the teams tonight.

At the other end if we can keep the ball from Hazard and stop him when he has it Chelsea will struggle. He is by far their biggest threat and we have to be fully aware of his ability to go down very easily in our box. I’d hate to lose this final to a dodgy penalty, but there are few players more capable of fooling a referee than Hazard.

It’s been 13 years since our last European final and that didn’t end well despite us leading for so long with 10 men. We only have two European trophies to our name and it would be so sweet to add to that tally considering we have lost four European finals too. Two of those finals went against us on penalties and I really hope this game doesn’t go to penalties too as I don’t have the greatest confidence in our ability from 12 yards.

There’s an awful lot at stake for us tonight when you consider how big this game and it’s rewards are. Playing in the Champions League and the money that goes with it is so important as well as making it easier to attract new players it would also mean we can afford to spend more on them too and maybe get a better class of player. There’s also a big shiny trophy to be won and after all surely that’s what football is all about.

COME ON THE ARSENAL !!!

Formation 

5 at back

4 with Ramsey 

Arsenal Look To Win The Europa League Without Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Arsenal play their first European final in 13 years tomorrow night when they take on Chelsea in the distant and unwelcoming venue of Baku. I’m sure there will be a welcome for the Arsenal fans who have somehow managed to make the almost 3,000 mile journey, but as a country Azerbaijan can hardly be called welcoming to our club or fans. We will have to do without Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the game because he didn’t feel safe travelling to a country that’s still technically at war with his homeland despite assurances from UEFA that it was safe for him to travel.

When you read up on the recent history between the two countries I have no doubt Mkhitaryan made the right decision and I’m sure it was helped by the veiled threat to him from the Azerbaijani ambassador to the UK. It has also been reported that Arsenal fans of Armenian lineage were refused visas and unable to enter the country for the game. There is only one reason UEFA chose Baku for the final, but their official line is the fans in Baku deserve to have the game played there and other countries have problems too. 

Of course we all know it’s got nothing to do with all the lovely oil money that makes Azerbaijan such an acceptable host for the final. Even besides the political climate there’s the problems fans of both sides have had trying to make their way to a city that just isn’t ready to cope with a large influx of fans. Arsenal had to return a third of their allocation of tickets while Chelsea returned two thirds of theirs despite both teams only getting 6,000 tickets each for the game. 

It’s an absolute disgrace that UEFA have decided to play the final in Baku, but at this stage that’s not going to change. The only protest open to Arsenal was to refuse to play, but I don’t think UEFA would have backed down and Chelsea would have been handed the trophy. It’s not a road the club were ever going to go down, but a part of me wishes they had the guts to stand up to UEFA and take the consequences.

However the prize of qualifying for next season’s Champions League was far too much for the club to turn their backs on. I have no doubt UEFA would have come up with further punishment than the €500,000 fine for not playing and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were chucked out of European football for a few seasons too if we had shown some backbone. I can’t say I’m glad we backed down, but I don’t see what real choice we had.

It means we’ll have to do without our joint third highest scorer this season and Mkhitaryan has also played more Europa League minutes than any other Arsenal player this season. While he hasn’t exactly set the world alight he also has the ability to have made a difference for us in the game. We’ll never know what that influence might have been though and we’ll just have to do without him.

Hopefully his absence can galvanise the rest of the players and they can go out and give that little bit extra that might be needed on the night. It’s a game which could go either way and any edge we can gain will be very welcome. 

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Newcastle United Preview

It wasn’t a great weekend in terms of results for Arsenal with both United and Chelsea scraping narrow victories, but crucially Spurs lost to a last minute goal at Liverpool on Sunday. That defeat for Spurs means that a point at home to Newcastle tonight will move Arsenal up into third place on goal difference while a win will move them two points clear of Spurs and United with Chelsea a further point back and seven games to play for all four teams. It’s staggering to think Spurs saw themselves as title contenders only five games ago and now they’re really struggling to finish in the top four.

It looks like it’s going to be an extremely tight end to the Premier League campaign at the top of the table as well as in the fight for the top four and the Champions League places that go with it. All of the teams involved in those battles have the added distractions of European quarter finals to contend with and it’s certainly going to be interesting for all involved. Arsenal have the chance not only of securing a crucial top four place, but maybe even putting a European trophy in the cabinet too.

Those aims are still a bit off though and they quite literally have to take it one game at a time. After tonight’s game five of our last seven league games are away from home and our away record is nothing to write home about so far this season. We’re going to have to turn that away form around if we’re going to achieve anything, but at least the signs were very encouraging in our last away game at Spurs. 

We play a Newcastle team tonight who have only won two of their 15 away games, but no other team has drawn more games away from home and they have a fairly impressive defensive record on their travels too with only the top two and Wolves conceding less away goals. Of course Arsenal are in pretty good form at home themselves with nine home wins in a row and 25 goals scored in those games. Only the top two have taken more points and scored more goals at home and they haven’t lost at home since the opening day defeat to City. 

As much as we have to be wary of this Newcastle team our home form suggests they have an awful lot more to be wary of. I know we haven’t always been at our best in those nine victories, but we found a way to win each and every one of them when it was required. If that spirit is called upon tonight I think the players have shown they have it in abundance at home at least.

Unai Emery has a few decisions to make ahead of the game and his biggest problems could be in midfield with Lucas Torreira still suspended and both Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey carrying knocks from the international break. Those issues should see Matteo Guendouzi in from the start with one of Ramsey or Xhaka probably playing with him which might just mean the manager opts for three central defenders. I suppose it depends on how many attacking players he wants to get into the team and whether he opts to play both Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan from the start.

He certainly has plenty of attacking options, but the inclusion of both Ozil and Mkhitaryan would probably mean either Alexandre Lacazette or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missing out from the start. He still has Alex Iwobi, who has been in very good form recently, to consider while Denis Suarez continues to wait for his chance since joining on loan over two months ago. I have a feeling Lacazette might be the man to get the nod despite Aubameyang being our top scorer as Lacazette didn’t have the distractions of international duty over the last couple of weeks.

In defence we should at least get to see Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis Papastathopoulos continue to grow their partnership with either Shkodran Mustafi or Nacho Monreal playing with them if the manager opts for the three central defenders. Whatever formation he opts for it’s the two wide defenders who seem to add so much to our attacking and for that reason I think Sead Kolasinac will play with the improving Ainsley Maitland-Niles on the other side.

I hope Ozil is in the team as he brings the guile which is needed to open things up and the returning Mkhitaryan was in great form before his injury. We might have to be patient as we wait for the goals that are needed tonight and those two players can be the ones to make the difference when it matters most.

To be honest while a point would put us third on goals scored ahead of Spurs and goal difference ahead of United anything short of a win would be a real blow. We travel to Everton at the weekend with United not playing (although they do travel to Wolves in midweek) while Spurs open their new stadium with a tough home game against a Palace team who can be very dangerous away from home on Wednesday night. Chelsea play at home to both Brighton and West Ham in that space of time and we will only stay ahead of them if we win tonight as I expect them to win both of those games.

We have a maximum of 13 games to play this season starting tonight and the rewards of doing well in those games are pretty high. Let’s hope a win tonight will get that run off to a good start and we can continue it from there with no pesky international breaks to worry about until the season is over. I can’t say I’m certain we will finish in the top four or win the Europa League, but I hold out a lot more hope now than I did only a few games ago.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

We’re The Famous Arsenal And We’re Going To Wembley

Arsenal are all of a sudden on a nice little run in the league with five wins in their last six games even if four of those wins did come at home. They managed a 2-1 win away to Huddersfield in that run too with the only blemish coming in a 3-1 defeat away to the reigning champions. That run has seen them climb above United and Chelsea into fourth place and even close the gap to third placed Spurs to four points before they play each other tomorrow.

Only a week ago Spurs were being tipped by some “experts” to mount a genuine title challenge on both Liverpool and City, but two defeats in a row have left them looking over their shoulders and trying to avoid falling back into what looks like a dogfight for a top four finish. The supposed wisdom was they had gotten through the period of Harry Kane’s injury without losing ground on the top two and his return would signal the start of their title challenge. Only a week later after defeats to Burnley and Chelsea their hopes are in ruins and Kane was lucky to avoid a three game ban for violent conduct while Mauricio Pochettino is awaiting the outcome of his FA charge for confronting the referee after the defeat at Burnley.

It’s difficult to believe how these so called experts could have actually believed serial bottlers Spurs had finally changed their spots. They have proved time and again when the going gets tough they head in the opposite direction. If they’re going to keep a safe distance between themselves and the three teams directly below them they have to beat Arsenal tomorrow.

The game will be played at Wembley as Spurs new stadium still isn’t ready six months after it’s due date. They have lost four of their 13 league games at Wembley so far this season and they have actually taken more points away from home than at their temporary home. Their fans would like nothing more than a comprehensive win over Arsenal, but Wembley is a ground with a lot of very fond memories for Arsenal.

They have won the FA Cup there three times in the last five years and it’s an awful lot more than Spurs have won in more years than I care to remember. Unfortunately Arsenal’s away form has been pretty awful for the past few months and even the win at Huddersfield was far from convincing despite their lowly position. If Arsenal are going to close the gap on Spurs to one point they are going to have to put in by far their best away performance of the season so far.

We have a pretty awful record away to the rest of the top six for a fair few seasons now and surely it’s something that must change at some time. We didn’t play too badly in losing 3-2 away to Chelsea or drawing 2-2 at United, but the 5-1 defeat at Liverpool was very poor and the 3-1 defeat at City was nothing to write home about. It’s going to take a better performance than we saw in any of those games to take the three points tomorrow. We have scored in 12 of our 13 away games though so far, but we have also conceded in all 13 of those games so the chances of a scoreless draw seem fairly remote. 

We have a very hectic schedule at the moment and Unai Emery has to manage his resources as best as he can to get the most he can from those games. The wins against Southampton and Bournemouth in the last week were badly needed, but the quality of the opposition takes a step up from here on. After Spurs we travel to Rennes in midweek before a game at home to United next week and then the return leg with Rennes. It’s a daunting schedule over 12 days and the game with Spurs might just be the most important of them.

I expect the manager to play his strongest team possible which leaves him with quite a few decisions to make. His decision on the deployment or not of Mesut Ozil will certainly give us a pointer to how he rates a player who divides opinion for many, but surely has to be included if we’re going to make the chances we need to win. Ozil played very well against Bournemouth on Wednesday night, but Spurs are not Bournemouth.

One player who will surely play is Alexandre Lacazette as he’s suspended for the two games against Rennes and he has a very good goalscoring record against the rest of the top six. I think he has to play Pierre-Emireck Aubameyang up front with him although he might hold him back to introduce his pace from the bench as well keeping him fresh for the trip to France. Both Lacazette and Aubameyang have scored plenty of goals for us this season once we have the players behind them to make chances.

With that in mind Henrikh Mkhitaryan must surely start too as he has shown the form that made him such a hot property before he joined United in recent games. I think Mkhitaryan and Ozil compliment each other’s games and we have a real chance of beating Spurs with both of them in the team. Of course I could be completely wrong and the line up isn’t overly important as long as we get the right result.

While I have little faith in our defence it is at least good to see Laurent Koscielny back in the team and his recent displays have shown how much we missed have him during his prolonged injury absence. He’s going to have to be at his very best to keep Kane quiet and he poses a threat at the other end from set pieces too. I think Sokratis Papastathopoulos is the best central defensive partner for him from those fit and available at the moment and maybe in time they can build a strong partnership.

Our target for this season is to qualify for next season’s Champions League and these four games are very important. Defeats to Spurs and United would certainly dent our top four hopes, but with eight games against mid-table teams to finish our league campaign it wouldn’t finish them. If we come through these four games in the last eight of the Europa League and still challenging for a top four place it will surely have gone very well. Let’s just hope we can get those games off to the perfect start tomorrow against a Spurs team who’s confidence can’t be high after back to back defeats.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Bournemouth Preview

While the first half in Sunday's 2-0 win over Southampton was fairly convincing Arsenal went into their shell in the second half and barely had a shot on goal. It didn't make too much difference to the result, but I would have liked a more authoritative performance at home to a team in the bottom three of the Premier League. However, the three points were enough to move them above United into the top four and a top four finish is their goal this season.

There’s still 11 league games to go, but they can move one step closer to that goal tonight with a home game against Bournemouth. While United have a tricky game away to Palace and Chelsea have to play at home to Spurs we have the opportunity to give ourselves a little breathing space ahead of two very tough games coming up. The trip to Wembley to play Spurs on Saturday is a massive game for us as is the home game with United a week later. Three points at home to Bournemouth tonight could give us a little bit of leeway in those games which we might just need considering we face Rennes twice either side of the United game too. 

The chances of us catching Spurs to finish third are extremely remote, but I can’t help playing out the scenario in my head where we win tonight and away to them on Saturday while they lose to Chelsea tonight and suddenly we’re a point behind them with nine games to play. I know it’s a far fetched scenario and Arsenal are most likely to disappointment me, but I can’t help get my hopes up nonetheless. If it does come to pass I think the credit should go my way, but there should be no blame if it all goes horribly wrong. After all where would us football fans be if it wasn’t for hope. 

Anyway back to the matter in hand and a game against a Bournemouth team who play good football and have proved difficult for us to beat in the past. They’re a different proposition away from home at the moment though and we’re up against a team who have lost their last eight away games and conceded 23 goals in the process. It surely has to be an opportunity for us to put a few goals on the board and continue to stay ahead of United and Chelsea.

Bournemouth are missing both Callum Wilson and David Brooks for this game and they have probably been their best players this season along with Ryan Fraser. While they will pose us some problems in defence they are there to be beaten and we need to make sure the three points are ours tonight. I mentioned how we have switched to a first half side in my preview of the Southampton game and so it proved to be, but I’d still like a few more 90 minute performances.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on the bench on Sunday so we can safely assume he will play from the start with Alexandre Lacazette probably starting too as he banned from the Europa League games. Henrikh Mkhitaryan seems to be in favour with the manager at the moment which means we should see him play too unless he is rested for Saturday with Mesut Ozil or Aaron Ramsey coming in instead. In midfield I wouldn't be surprised if Matteo Guendouzi came in with either Granit Xhaka or Lucas Torreira missing out.

With our defensive options still limited because of injuries I expect to see a back for with Nacho Monreal possibly switching with Sead Kolasinac while Stephan Lichsteiner will play on the other side once he's fit to play and Carl Jenkinson probably filling in if he isn't. It looks like we might actually have three fit central defenders to choose from and if so my preferred two would be Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis Papastathapoulos with Shkodran Mustafi for back up for the inevitable injury coming our way.

To be honest with the players we have available tonight should be a run of the mill three points without too many mishaps, but it has rarely been like that so far this season. It would be nice to tie the game up early on so a few players can get a bit of rest ahead ofa  huge game on Saturday and a very busy schedule to follow it. I'll take three points whatever way they come though so we can move on to the next challenge.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal’s Trip To Huddersfield Previewed

Arsenal’s defeat to City last Sunday saw them give up their brief hold on fourth place as Chelsea and United both moved above them. There’s a long way to go in the fight for that all important top four place though and Arsenal are still in with a fighting chance of making it their own. If they’re going to make it they’re going to have to improve their away form starting from tomorrow’s trip to Huddersfield.

As away games go in the Premier League this season a trip to Huddersfield is as easy as they come and nothing other than three points will suffice. Huddersfield have taken less points and scored less goals at home than any other team and they have lost their last six home games. If we’re going to have any chance of keeping pace with Chelsea and United we quite simply cannot drop any points against Huddersfield.

Unfortunately I can’t say I’m overly confident of winning the game though because we have been nothing short of a disaster away from home for the last couple of months. We haven’t won in our last six games on the road and we’re the only team in the Premier League without a clean sheet away from home. The second half against City last week was so bad that we never even managed a single shot at their goal.

Unai Emery came in to replace Arsene Wenger last summer and it was probably a change which was well overdue. I hoped he would instill his style on the team and we could see some genuine hope of progress, but it’s actually getting progressively worse at the moment. I’m not for one moment suggesting we should part ways with him, but I think he needs to stand by his convictions and build for the future rather than trying to stumble from week to week seemingly without a clue as to where we are going.

He can’t seem to settle on a syestem or get the best out of some of his players such as Mesut Ozil. He may have his detractors, but surely a team lacking creativity cannot continue to overlook their most creative player for almost every game. Nobody knows for sure what the manager’s problem is with Ozil, but it’s pretty obvious at this stage that he would prefer to play without him.

Of course our chances aren’t being helped by our current spate of injuries and we are really struggling to find a defence that fits the name. Rob Holding was just looking like he was ready to fulfill his potential when his season ended abruptly away to United while Hector Bellerin’s season finished prematurely only a few weeks ago. Bellerin was our main attacking outlet on the right side and we’re really struggling to find a half adequate replacement at the moment while Holding was the only central defender who looked up to the task this season.

We have to make do with the players we have though and the best way to overcome our defensive issues is to make sure we click in attack. In the last few games we just aren’t making enough chances away from home in particular while we’re still letting in far too many. We need to find a way to put more emphasis on our attacking away from home and there can be no better opportunity than the game against Huddersfield.

I think we have become too easy for others teams to play against away from home and we have to find the confidence to change that. When we attack we’re far too vulnerable on the break and when we try to defend we keep making individual errors time after time. When the opposition sit deep we really struggle to open them up and we really struggle when teams close us down. 

All of these are issues that have to be ironed out on the training ground and that’s where the frustration is with the manager. We thought we were getting a tactically astute manager who could shape the players in the way Wenger seemed unable to do, but instead it’s almost impossible to see any real change from last season. I know he has to deal with a squad that’s mostly not of his own making, but surely he can depart some sort of wisdom to them.

As bad as we have been away from home I still think we will take the three points and if we can win by a few goals we will probably get a lot closer to Chelsea as they travel to City on Sunday. I expect United to win their game and the way their season has turned since the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer we could really struggle to keep up with them. They do have some tough games coming up and we will need to beat them when they come to the Emirates in a few weeks.

The manager will probably have Henrikh Mkhitaryan available for selection tomorrow as he has recovered from the injury he picked up against Spurs and I think he might well be given the role behind Pierre-Emireck Aubameyang and/or Alexandre Lacazette. With Ozil out of favour and Aaron Ramsey on his merry way in the summer I think Mkhitaryan and new boy Denis Suarez could be his first options to try to add some creativity to the team. Whoever he picks we have to approach the game in a far more positive manner than we have done in recent away games.

We have tried to sit on a lead when we have had it and utterly failed against Brighton and Palace while we tried to keep pace with Liverpool and were taken apart. We just didn’t show up at West Ham which is what happened in the second half at City last week where we seemed content to keep the score as low as possible. Surely the manager can get the players confidence to a level where they can go out and dominate a team who are almost just waiting for relegation to be finalised.

I’m not trying to be disrespectful to Huddersfield, but the change of manager didn’t bring the kick it usually does for struggling teams and I can’t see how they can avoid relegation at this stage. They try to play attractive football though and they are to be admired for it, but they are toothless in attack which is why they have only taken one point from their last 12 games. If we approach this game in the right way then that should be one point from 13 games and we should get our fifth away win of the season.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal’s Trip To Brighton Previewed

The 3-1 win at home to Burnley on Saturday was very welcome for Arsenal and I was a lot happier with it after the results of the other games later that day. City lost at home to Palace and Chelsea lost at home to Leicester which left Arsenal level on points with Chelsea, but behind them on goal difference. With the season almost halfway over it leaves us in a good position to push on and challenge for a top four spot and the Champions League football that comes with it.

With so many games coming so quickly at this time of year it can be a strain on any squad and the injuries are building up for Arsenal. With Hector Bellerin, Danny Welbeck, Rob Holding, Dinos Mavropanos and Emile Smith-Rowe already ruled out we have learned that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be our for six weeks with an injury he picked up in the Carabao Cup defeat to Spurs and Nacho Monreal will probably miss the Brighton game with the knock he picked up on Saturday. Hopefully Shkodran Mustafi will be fit to play in that game as our defensive options are severely limited at the moment.

I’m not the greatest fan of Mustafi, but we need to get him back to the centre of our defence so that Granit Xhaka can play in midfield. All the statistics point to Xhaka’s contribution in midfield being crucial to how we play and our attacking output has suffered in recent weeks with him being called upon to fill in for injured players in the defence. We can put out a strong back four or five if Mustafi returns while still leaving Xhaka to fulfill his duties in midfield.  

Mesut Ozil returned on Saturday against Burnley and played a large part in our attacking output in that game without convincing anyone he can or will do the defensive work he needs to do to keep his place. With Mkhitaryan injured there will be an emphasis on Ozil to stay fit and put in the performances we know is capable of putting in. The rumours persist of Unai Emery’s unhappiness with him for various reasons, but he is the player most likely to open the defence of any team we come up against.

Both Pierre-Emireck Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette started against Burnley, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one of them held back with Saturday’s trip to Liverpool in mind. I have no doubt the manager would like to rotate the team more ahead of that game, but needs must and three points at Brighton are urgently required. With Chelsea facing a tricky trip to Watford this weekend it opens up the chance for us to move into the top four if we can beat Brighton.

We lost this fixture 2-1 last season under Arsene Wenger and Brighton have only lost two home games so far this season in the Premier League. Our away results are far superior this season compared to last season and we have a very good chance of bettering that result from last season. With our defence struggling week in and week out we need our attacking players to be at their best to get the drop on Burnley.

I have no doubt Brighton will go for a similar approach to the one Burnley employed on Saturday as they try to pressurise us any way they can. They have three red cards in their last seven games and Burnley certainly had some success in the second half against us on Saturday when they stepped up the physical aspect of their game. The Arsenal players seem more adept at handing that approach since Emery took the reins, but referees seem to have little interest in protecting our players from that “physical “ approach to the game.

If we can take the three points it will leave us on 40 points at the midway point ahead of one of our toughest games of the season on Saturday. We certainly won’t have it all our own way, but we’re more than capable of getting our fifth away win of the season.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Road To Nowhere For Arsenal

With qualification for the last 32 of the Europa League already in the bag Arsenal face the long trek to play FC Vorskla in the Ukraine tomorrow night. Due to the current political climate and the introduction of Martial Law in some parts of the Ukraine the game has been moved from Vorskla to Kiev and even then it’s not certain to go ahead. It’s a crazy situation and who knows what the outcome will be if the game doesn’t go ahead.

With not too much to play for and topping the group a certainty if we win our final game at home to Qarabag Unai Emery has opted to rest most of his first choice players. The only players from Sunday’s starting 11 against Bournemouth who have made the trip are Rob Holding and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and I can only assume they will be in the team. It looks like Holding is the one player who the manager has decided he needs in every single game.

Petr Cech should return to the team with Bernd Leno still at home while Stephan Lichsteiner and Karl Jenkinson should both be in the defence too. In midfield we should see Matteo Guendouzi paired with Mohamed Elneny while I assume Aaron Ramsey will play too. With Danny Welbeck injured it looks like Eddie Nketiah might get the chance to show what he can do from the start.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Emile Smith-Rowe as the final player in the attack which only leaves a central defensive partner for Holding to find. If Ainsley Maitland-Niles can be snuck into the team somewhere that would finalise the lineup and it’s possible he could play in midfield with Elneny dropping back to play in defence. I don’t pretend to know enough about any of the other youngsters in the squad to predict which of them might play, but I’m sure we’ll see one or two at some stage.

Up to now the manager has had a pretty strong bench in our Europa League and Carabao Cup games, but he will have no such luxury in this game. If things are going awry he won’t have any cavalry to call on and he will have to hope the players he has brought can get the job done. With Premier League games against Spurs and United coming up in the next week the manager has to cut his cloth to suit his measure.

We were too strong for Vorskla in the game at the Emirates, but a couple of late goals from them made it look a lot better for them than the final 4-2 scoreline. Vorskla still have a slight chance of qualifying from the group, but only a win will do for them at this stage and even then they would have to win away to Sporting in their final group game. It’s a highly unlikely scenario, but I have no doubt they will give it a go and of course they would like to get one over on Arsenal.

It’s really all about getting this game out of the way for Arsenal and moving on to the important business of Spurs and United. A win would be great, but avoiding defeat would be perfectly acceptable too given the travel and the squad we have brought. The most important thing is that the first choice players will have had plenty of time to prepare for Sunday and hopefully that will pay off.

We are unbeaten in 17 games though and it would be great to continue that run ahead of two huge games for us. All good things must come to an end though and if we have to sacrifice that unbeaten run for the sake of being ready to face United and Spurs then so be it. I have a feeling that run won’t come to an end though and we will get at least a draw from the game.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal’s Premier League Trip To Fulham Previewed

Things couldn’t be going too much better for Arsenal at the moment with eight wins in a row in all competitions. Some might point to the quality of the opposition in those games and also to the defensive performances in particular from the team. While we might not have beaten any high profile teams in the current run it’s infinitely better than some of the results which we had away from home in particular last season.

The real tests will come against the better teams and while I still don’t think we’re up to those tests yet it’s very important we take as many points as possible against everyone else. We’re through to the last 16 of the Carabao Cup and looking very healthy in our Europa League group too. Most importantly we have won five Premier League games in a row after losing our opening two games against City and Chelsea.

After we lost those games I said we needed to get some points on the board quickly with a run of eight winnable games in a row before we face Liverpool. I hoped for 20 points from those games and Unai Emery has already delivered 15 with three games to go. We have the opportunity at Fulham today to make up more ground on some of the teams above us with Liverpool playing City. A win for us would see us close to within one point of whoever loses that game or to within two points of the league leaders if it’s a draw.

Fatigue shouldn’t be a factor after the long trip back from the 3-0 win away to Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday night. Most of that side won’t start tomorrow except for Bernd Leno and Nacho Monreal and the possibility of Rob Holding, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Alex Iwobi. The players who came off the bench should all start too, but their game time on Thursday night should mean they are OK. I said before that game that I think Holding might be doing enough to keep his place and I wouldn’t be surprised if he started today. If Holding does keep his place I would prefer to see Sokratis alongside him with Shkodran Mustafi on the bench.

Iwobi is another player who is really pushing for a regular first team place and seems to be blossoming under the new manager. If he is to keep his place it would mean one of our high profile players missing out with Aaron Ramsey the most likely candidate. Of course if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doesn’t recover from his knock it opens the way for either Iwobi or Henrikh Mkhitaryan to play.

Aubameyang has been pushed out to a wide role because of the form of Alexandre Lacazette and as frustrating as it might be to see our record signing striker played wide it’s hard to argue with the decision. I would still like to see Aubameyang through the middle on occasion and particularly away to teams who will put us on the back foot, but give us opportunities on the break. His explosive pace is something we haven’t got to see too often, but hopefully we will see it in some crucial games.

Fulham haven’t had the greatest start to their return to the Premier League and they need to get a few more points on the board quite quickly. If we think our defensive record is poor then theirs is an awful lot worse and it’s something we can take advantage of today. We have become rather good at taking our chances when the opposition don’t and emerging with wins despite our opponents having just as many good scoring chances as us.

While that statistic won’t hold up forever and the better teams will punish us for poor defending we are profiting from having good finishers in our team. Fulham have a very good finisher at the moment in Aleksandar Mitrovic and we could be in trouble if he is presented with the sort of chances others have missed against us recently. Even if Mitrovic does his job I still think we will create enough at the other end to take the three points and head into the international break in very good nick.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Europa League Trip To Qarabag Previewed

Tonight is Thursday night and we all know what that means. Unfortunately it means Europa League football for Arsenal for the second season in a row as we look to progress from our group and maybe do better than last season when we lost the semi final to Atletico Madrid. It’s a poor imitation of the Champions League, but with the winners qualifying for next season’s Champions League it’s a competition we have to take a real interest in.

It doesn’t help when you have to make the long journey to Azerbaijan and then try to get back in plenty of time to prepare for a Premier League game away to Fulham on Sunday. At least there will be no real travel involved in the game at Fulham, but such a long midweek journey can be energy sapping. I have no doubt Unai Emery will rotate his players as much as he can to try to insure victory in both games.

The injury to Petr Cech last weekend means we should get to see a fair bit of Bernd Leno and get to judge how well we spent all that money on him in the summer. He fits the bill in terms of how the manager wants to play the ball out from the back and it’s a matter of how his other attributes fit. Cech has looked very good in all aspects of his game this season except with the ball at his feet and Leno needs to improve from what we have seen so far if he’s going to keep his place in the team.

In defence we should see Stephan Lichsteiner play again and there’s a possibility of the fit again Sead Kolasinac playing at left back. Rob Holding has impressed in the last two games, but I think he will play as it gives him another opportunity to show the manager what he can do. With Sokratis Papastathopoulos recovered from his injury I think it’s 50/50 between him and Shkodran Mustafi as to who plays with Holding.

In midfield there should be outings for Mohamed Elneny and Matteo Guendouzi while I would expect Danny Welbeck to lead the line. I would be very surprised if Alex Iwobi didn’t play and we should see Emile Smith Rowe in the team too with the final spot probably going to Joe Willock. Neither Aaron Ramsey or Henrikh Mkhitaryan have travelled for the game for very different reasons.

Ramsey is staying behind as his wife is due to give birth and I imagine he didn’t want to be thousands of kilometers away if the event was to occur. The chances are he wouldn’t have played although the absence of Mkhitaryan might have meant he had a role to play. The less said about the Mkhitaryan situation the better, but the club have said he has stayed behind with a “cold”.

The comments of the Qarabag manager have hardly helped the situation, but how UEFA can allow teams to play in their competitions when opposition players can’t get a visa to play in their country is beyond me. It’s not as if Mkhitaryan is a Serge Aurier with a criminal record who can’t get his visa. The official line is he’s not well though and we have little choice other than to believe it despite doubting it to the extreme.

The 4-2 win in our first group game has put us in a healthy position in our group and three points against Qarabag would put us in a great position. For me the group stages are all about qualifying for the knockout stages while getting a chance to rest most of the players who will be playing in the league. The teams playing in the Champions League can’t afford to do that and it possibly gives Arsenal a chance to make up some ground in the league.

Qarabag have done reasonably well in European competitions in recent seasons and they certainly won’t be a pushover. The manager will have a strong bench to draw on if needs be and that’s something his predecessor didn’t do in the Europa League group stages. Emery has won this competition three times before and I have no doubt he will have at least one eye on the possibility of winning it again.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Danny Welbeck, but he has done very well with the limited chances he has got so far this season. It would be interesting to see how Welbeck might progress if he could manage a prolonged period without an injury, but he has spent most of his time at the club on the treatment table. A goal from him would make him our leading scorer so far this season and that’s not too shabby for a player who is clearly seen as back up.

As always in Europa League games the priority is getting all the players home fit and safe and raring to go on Sunday. Three points would be an added bonus and it’s something we can certainly do despite resting up to 10 of the players who beat Watford last Saturday.

For those of you looking to have a flutter on the game you can get a boosted price of 10/1 for Arsenal to win when you sign up to Bookee and place a bet. It sounds like a very good price to me and well worth considering.

Positive Signs As Arsenal Beat Brentford

Arsenal kept their winning streak going last night as they won 3-1 at home to Brentford to progress to the last 16 of the Carabao Cup. Unai Emery was able to make nine changes from the team that won 2-0 on Sunday against Everton without seeming to affect the way the team played. The only changes he didn’t make were Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal who had to play with no alternatives to them due to injuries.

Thankfully it looks like the injury situation could be sorting itself out with Sokratis Papastathopoulos available for the game against Watford on Saturday and Sead Kolasinac on the bench last night. We should see both Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Konstantinos Mavropanos back in the fold quite soon too with Laurent Koscielny hopefully following in early November. All of those players returning and the form of some of the players who are getting a game in the Europa League and Carabao Cup should give the manager a few selection headaches, but I can’t see him worrying about it too much.

On the bad news front it is being reported almost everywhere that there is no longer a contract on the table for Aaron Ramsey and he will be a free agent next summer. Hopefully the club intend to do everything they can to keep him, but they might have to consider selling him on the cheap in the January transfer window if he still won’t sign up. It won’t be easy to convince him to leave in January knowing he can go for free in the summer and command a huge signing on fee.

The manager has to decide whether he sticks with a player who looks determined to leave or he goes with those who want to play for the team. Both Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan played well last night and could possibly fill the role Ramsey fills at the moment and Emile Smith-Rowe has to be a consideration for back up in that role too. Ideally I would like Ramsey to stay, but if he is determined to leave then the manager has to contemplate whether his heart is in it or not.

For a change in recent games last night we were very impressive in the first half and fell away after the break. Brentford are a good team and when they pulled a goal back they sensed nervousness in us, but they never really capitalised on it. The late introduction of Alexandre Lacazette, Lucas Torreira and Ramsey helped us to see the game out with Lacazette adding a late goal to the brace Danny Welbeck got in the first half.

We’re through to the last 16 with teams like City, Chelsea and Spurs through too and the draw takes place at the usual time of 9pm on Saturday night. I can only imagine that time is to suit the sponsors of the competition, but I certainly won’t be glued to the TV or radio waiting for our next opponent. As good as it was to win last night it was only in the Carabao Cup and it’s of very little importance in the grand scheme of things.

The game against Watford on Saturday is far more important and keeping that winning streak going is of utmost importance. They have started the season well and they’re a point ahead of us, but we could make up some real ground on the pacesetters with Chelsea and Liverpool playing each other on Saturday evening. Hopefully we can get those three points against Watford and continue our progress.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Some Promising Signs As Arsenal Lose To Chelsea

I suppose we all expected the first two games in charge for Unai Emery to get off to a rough start and that’s exactly what has happened. The fixture list was far from kind to us with a home game against City and a trip to Chelsea to start the season as our new manager looks to change almost everything about the way we play. While the City result seemed almost inevitable the defeat against Chelsea on Saturday really could and probably should have been avoided.

The main response I have seen from Arsenal fans seems to be that we would have lost both of those games under Arsene Wenger too. We actually hadn’t lost our opening two league games since 1992 so Wenger certainly wasn’t around then and he did manage a point away to Chelsea early on last season if I remember correctly. Comparisons miss the point though because it was time for him to go and we have to build for the future under the new manager.

He made a couple of changes from the defeat against City with Nacho Monreal returning from injury to replace the injured Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alex Iwobi coming in for Aaron Ramsey. The formation was the same as last week though and the game started in a similar fashion with Chelsea getting the upper hand and taking the game to us. 

The first fairly good chance fell to us when a cut back from the left was flashed wide by Mesut Ozil and we paid the price very quickly. Within a minute Chelsea were ahead when a simple ball in behind us put Marcus Alonso in and his ball across the goal was finished with ease by Pedro. It was too easy to get behind us because we played a high line without putting pressure on the ball and that is a recipe for disaster.

After that goal Chelsea dominated and we were lucky to be only one goal behind. Despite their domination we still managed to get into good positions to cut the ball back and it was from one of these that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed an absolute sitter. It was the sort of chance you would expect a player of his pedigree to put away, but he missed it and almost immediately we paid the price again.

Another simple ball over the top from a player who wasn’t closed down put Alvaro Morata in a one on one with Shkodran Mustafi and he turned him inside out before finishing with ease. Where Sokratis Papastathopoulos was during this is anyone’s guess, but he certainly wasn’t there to help his central defensive partner. At 2-0 down I feared the worst and Chelsea had already missed a couple of chances of their own at that stage too.

However Arsenal continued to get in behind Chelsea and cut that ball back and it was Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s turn to miss a great chance next from almost the exact same position as Aubameyang’s miss. The first Arsenal goal came from an attempted cut back from Iwobi which was blocked and fell to Mkhitaryan who drilled it home from the edge of the area. The Chelsea keeper probably should have done better, but Arsenal were back in the game and sensed the fear in Chelsea.

Not long after that we were level and it was Iwobi who scored this time from yet another cut back and in almost the exact same spot that Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan had missed from. There was another chance for Iwobi before the break from that exact same move again, but it wasn’t as clear cut as the ball bobbled badly. There was a near post miss from Aubameyang in there somewhere too and we could easily have gone in at the break two or three goals up despite not playing well for so much of the first half.

The manager changed things at the break with Lucas Torreira coming on for Granit Xhaka as Xhaka had struggled badly when Chelsea were on top. When we were on top Xhaka had performed better though and that’s something that has to be considered in games we are expected to dominate. The full backs also dropped a little deeper after the break and we struggled badly to make an attacking impact.

It looked like we might be content with the point we had and maybe hoped to hit Chelsea on the break. We didn’t have the possession in the right places to do that though and Mesut Ozil couldn’t make any real impact on the game. Ramsey came on for Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette replaced Iwobi, but we continued to look toothless in the second half.

Just as it looked like we might get a point we handed Chelsea another goal with Lacazette firstly giving the ball away and then putting in a half hearted attempt to tackle Eden Hazard. His cross was met by Alonso who had given Torreira the slip and he put it through Petr Cech’s legs from close range. We never really recovered from that goal and our only real attempt to pull it back was a long range effort from Ramsey which went just over the bar.

There were plenty of positives in the game, but our defending was just as bad if not worse than it has been for too long to remember now. At least we had much more threat in attack than we did last week and we created so many chances despite our playmaker not having a good game. A point would have been a fair return I think, but if you defend like we did against a top six side you rarely get anything from the game.

The new manager has pretty much got a free pass for the first two games because of the opposition, but that will end now. We’re one place above the bottom three with no points to our name and six points behind the early pacesetters after only two games. We quite simply have to start winning games and nothing short of three points in our next game will be acceptable.

Thankfully that game is at home to West Ham next Saturday and they lost at home to Bournemouth on Saturday after losing their first game 4-0 at Liverpool. We’ll get to welcome Jack Wilshere back to the Emirates in that game, but there can be no room for sentiment. We need to start clocking up the points in that game and in the seven games that follow before we play any of the top six clubs again.

There will be distractions in the meantime with the Europa League coming up soon and pesky international breaks too, but we have to concentrate on the most important job which is taking league points and trying to keep pace with the top four. It’s going to take a lot of hard work in training to get the team to a point where they can perform the way the manager wants them to perform and there will be a lot less chances to do so in training with all of the other distractions.I think we have to try to target 20 points from the next eight games and if we can get them we will be close to the top four.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Season Review 2017/18

Now that the dust has settled on the football season, from an Arsenal perspective at least, it’s time to look back on how it went.

I suppose last summer is the place to start and to look at how the club fared in the transfer market ahead of the new season. We had won the FA Cup for the third time in four years, but we also missed out on Champions League qualification for the first time under the stewardship of Arsene Wenger. He had also signed a new two year contract despite the misgivings of many of the fan base and he was determined he would and could build a better and stronger team.

Sead Kolasinac arrived fairly early in the summer on a free transfer from Schalke 04 and hopes were high of a bright future for the player voted the best left back in the Bundesliga the previous season. Alexandre Lacazette arrived a month later from Lyon as the club broke their transfer record to sign the striker they so badly needed. There were no other arrivals though which meant the issues with our goalkeepers, our defence and our midfield went unaddressed yet again.

At the same time we sold Wojciech Szczesny to Juventus after his two year loan spell at Roma had ended and to me it felt like we had let our best goalkeeper go and at a very low price too. With Szczesny set to become the first choice at Juventus next season we will know soon enough whether it was a rash decision to sell him. It left us with Petr Cech and David Ospina vying for the keeper’s shirt and neither of them did an awful to inspire me over the season.

We also saw the departure of Kieran Gibbs to West Brom which wasn’t really a surprise after the arrival of Kolasinac. It meant we had no extra options in defence unless we were going to promote some youth players or the likes of Rob Holding and Calum Chambers could make the next step and win a place in the first team. We tried in vain to offload Mathieu Debuchy, but at least we had him as back up to Hector Bellerin for fhe right back role.

The most interesting development was probably the sale of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain  just before the transfer window closed. He wanted a more central role in the team, but he had rarely done much to suggest he could show the consistency and quality needed to play there at the top level. He played against Liverpool in a bizarre team selection only days before we sold him to them and I’m still trying to figure out what the manager was thinking in the team selection as Liverpool thumped us.

The sale of Chamberlain meant we ended up making a profit from the transfer window despite having a squad that desperately needed some investment. We did manage to hold on to both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil though as they both moved into the last season of their contracts. It was hard to believe we were going to challenge for the league, but we had become a cup team in the last few seasons and we had three cups to compete for.

The season started on a high with a come from behind 4-3 win at home to Leicester in our first game, but it didn’t take too long for things to get worse. The defending against Leicester left a lot to be desired and that would be the case week in and week out as the season progressed. Consecutive away defeats at Stoke and Liverpool followed and we failed to score in both of those games too.

Our Europa League group progressed pretty well though despite playing fringe and youth players and those same players kept going in the Carabao Cup too. It was obvious early on that City were going to stroll home in the League and we dropped more points in our first three away games than they dropped away from home throughout the whole season. Nobody else was setting the world alight though and second place seemed within our reach if we could only sort out our away form and stop conceding stupid goals.

By the turn of the year we had progressed to the Carabao Cup semi finals and the last 32 of the Europa League with our FA Cup defence about to start too. A top four finish was still well within our grasp too and there was some hope of player additions in the January transfer window. We still hadn’t sorted the Sanchez and Ozil contracts though and we looked like we would have to offload them if they didn’t agree to extend by the end of January.

As it transpired Ozil signed on the dotted line, but Sanchez was sold to Manchester United with Henrikh Mkhitaryan coming in the opposite direction. Very late in the window we also managed to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Dortmund and that was a move which really excited me. He is one of the best finishers in the game and I looked forward to seeing him banging goals in for Arsenal.

The January transfer window also saw the departures of both Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud who had both been among the top scorers in the club’s history after many years under Wenger. I thought it was time for both of them to go and I wasn’t overly concerned that we sold them to other Premier League teams because the players we brought in were better. Despite being an Arsenal player for so long Walcott never really reached his potential and Giroud was one step below the required level in my opinion due to his lack of pace.

By the time we signed him January hadn’t gone well as we were knocked out of the FA Cup in a humiliating 4-2 defeat at Championship side Nottingham Forest. We did beat Chelsea over two legs to make it to the Carabao Cup Final, but the prospect of playing Manchester City in the final was more than a little worrying. We also started our run of seven consecutive away league defeats in a row in January with a 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth and like so many of our away defeats we took the lead in that game.

We duly lost the Carabao Cup Final to City when we again self imploded and February wasn’t a good month as we lost at Spurs and at home to City in the league. We were almost embarrassed by part timers Ostersunds in the last 32 of the Europa League despite winning the away leg 3-0. We did progress though and the Europa League became our only hope of glory and our only way back into the Champions League as the away defeats kept coming game after game in the league.

It became obvious well before the season ended that the top four was beyond us and we just had to do enough to stay in sixth place and make next season’s Europa League. We kept progressing in the Europa League though as we saw off both AC Milan and CSKA Moscow to set up a semi final with Atletico Madrid. There was still real hope of a trophy and the chance for the manager to win his first European trophy too.

When the sudden news of his impending departure at the end of the season came it was a shock to us all. It’s not that I didn’t think it was time for him to move on, but he had never walked away from a contract and I really didn’t think the club had the bottle to show him the door. It seems it was their decision though and despite his self belief he wasn’t going to get the chance to try to rebuild the team.

I thought the perfect time for him to go was the previous May when he had just become the manager to win the most FA Cups and he could have left on a relative high. It’s impossible to know whether he decided to stay himself or if the club asked him to stay as they pursued a path that would see them able to cope with his exit. His time was up though and we could only hope the players could find it within themselves to let him go out on a high.

The games against Atletico didn’t pan out as hoped though as our dodgy defence saw us concede goals through individual mistakes in both legs and go out 2-1 on aggregate. Atletico went on to comfortably win the final and it really was s case of what might have been. The Arsene Wenger phase at Arsenal ended with a whimper, but he was still the greatest manager we ever had.

The mark of the man was seen by the reaction of almost everyone to the news of his departure. He was treated with the greatest respect by fans, players and managers of other clubs as we played out our last few games. I have to admit it felt a little on the sad side, but I honestly believe it was the best thing for Arsenal going forward.

The players did at least manage to raise their game in his last home game to beat Burnley 5-0 and guarantee we finished above them in sixth place. They even managed to end the run of seven away defeats in a row in the last game of the season with a 1-0 win at Huddersfield. I have rarely been happy to see an Arsenal season come to an end, but it was most definitely a season to forget.

We conceded more league goals than in any other season under Arsene and we only managed four away wins and 16 away points from our 19 away games. We made more defensive mistakes leading to goals conceded than any other team in the league and we rarely managed to reach a level which was genuinely entertaining. Crowds at the Emirates dwindled as the season progressed and it really was a season to forget.

There were some positives though and the arrivals of Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan in January can give us real encouragement for next season. Despite finishing sixth only City took more points and scored more goals at home even if less fans were there to witness those results. I am actually looking forward to next season even if we will again have to get used to week after week of Thursday night European games followed by league games on Sundays.

There’s plenty to discuss going forward and I should probably consider a breakdown of how each of the players fared over the season. I’ll leave that for another day though and at this stage it’s probably best to leave a season with far too many disappointments behind us.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal’s Trip To Atletico Madrid Previewed

Arsenal’s season and Arsene Wenger’s last season in charge of them all comes down to tonight’s game away to Atletico Madrid. That could change with the right result tonight which would see the team win their way through to the Europa League Final. The prize for winning the Europa League is a place in next season’s Champions League and it would also give Wenger his first European trophy.

The first leg didn’t go exactly as planned last week when we could only draw 1-1 at home to an Atletico team who played almost all of the game with 10 men. A 1-0 win wouldn’t have been the worst result, but we really should have taken at least a two or three goal lead into tonight’s second leg. The late goal we conceded has left us teetering on the brink of defeat and we have to go to Madrid and get a result.

As it stands Atletico are on the way to the final with that away goal in the bank and we will be out if we don’t score tonight. We have to avoid defeat as well as scoring to either qualify for the final or at least bring the game into extra time. That’s a hard task for a team with our away record this season, but that record has been in the Premier League and we have actually traveled very well in the Europa League.

We went to AC Milan in the last 16 knowing they hadn’t conceded a goal in a long time, but we ended that run on the night and we have to end a similar run for Atletico tonight. They haven’t conceded a home goal since January and we will need to take a step up to be the first team to score away to them in nearly four months. While it is a huge task I certainly don’t think it’s one that is completely beyond this team.

I expect a very similar team to the first leg with the possible inclusion of Henrikh Mkhitaryan who returned from injury on Sunday as a team of fringe players and youngsters were a little unlucky to lose 2-1 at United. Both Hector Bellerin and Granit Xhaka played in that game, but the rest of the expected team for tonight sat it out with the exception of Nacho Monreal and Danny Welbeck who both came off the bench. David Ospina picked up a knock in that game and it could mean we see Petr Cech get the nod tonight. As I’ve said previously I don’t see too much between them and we really need a new keeper for next season.

If Mkhitaryan comes in (and I really hope he does) it will be for either Welbeck or Jack Wilshere and I suspect it could be the later. Welbeck offers more of a goal threat and we have to score tonight or we are out. Mkhitaryan can take some of the pressure off Mesut Ozil with his ability to commit players and that might just free up Ozil to create chances that others can hopefully take.

We targeted them on crosses last week and that’s where our goal came from. They have conceded a fair proportion of their goals in the Europa League from crosses and I imagine we will try to prod that weakness again tonight. Hopefully we will be a little better at taking the chances that come our way.

I could take a long time listing the statistics that are against us tonight between our away record, their home record and our recent trips to Spain, but there’s no real point in doing so. We need the players to treat this game as a one off or a Cup Final I suppose and go for the result they need as if their lives depended on it. If they’re going to bid farewell to the manager with a trophy they have to get the result required tonight or it’s finished.

No doubt Atletico will target our defensive frailties and we have to stand strong against the likes of Antonio Griezmann and Diego Costa. On the face of it that’s a huge task, but we would have succeeded in that task last week except for one communal slip. If the players concentrate from first to last minute and believe in themselves anything is possible.

We have players who can hurt any team even though it seems like it’s us fans they have become fond of hurting in recent seasons and this season in particular. As a fan you need belief in your team though and I always approach a game genuinely believing we can win it. Tonight is no different, but let’s just hope that belief isn’t shattered.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal’s Trip To CSKA Moscow Previewed

Arsenal are only one game away from their first European semi final in nine years as they travel to Moscow for the second leg of their Europa League quarter final against CSKA. They lead 4-1 going into the game after a fantastic attacking performance last week even if the defending left a lot to be desired. The three goal lead is a huge advantage, but we have to be careful of the away goal scored against us last week.

The events in Rome last night showed how dangerous an away goal can be with Barcelona going out on away goals despite their 4-1 win in their home leg. On the other hand Liverpool showed the advantage of keeping a clean sheet in the home leg when they managed to put City out of the Champions League. CSKA will have to score at least three times to have any chance of going through, but any goals from us will make their task so much harder.

We certainly looked like we had done our homework on them last week when we used the width of the pitch to get in behind a back line that has played for more years than they care to remember. Of course they had done their homework on us too and they caused us a lot of problems at the back and far more than we should be comfortable with. However, I think they have even more to worry about considering how easily we took them apart last week.

Arsene Wenger will pick the strongest team available to him, but he does have a few injury worries to concern him. Firstly Granit Xhaka hasn’t travelled due to illness which is a big blow to the balance in our midfield, but it should see the inclusion of Mohamed Elneny. He has looked good in his recent outings and he probably offers more in the defensive aspect of the game, but Xhaka has been an intrical part of the upturn in our attacking play in our last six games.

I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Elneny in from the start for Jack Wilshere considering the recent form of both players, but Wilshere has a chance to silence the doubters in this game. Aaron Ramsey will come back into the team after being rested at the weekend and he was one of the players who caused CSKA so many problems last week. I don’t think we’ll see him getting forward quite so often in this game, but I won’t be surprised to see him get on the scoresheet either.

With Henrikh Mkhitaryan out for roughly the next month after the knock he took in the game last week there’s a chance for either Alex Iwobi or Danny Welbeck to play from the start. I’ve been very impressed by Mkhitaryan since he joined us in January and I think he plays very well with Mesut Ozil. I wasn’t sure we could accommodate both of them in the same team, but I think opponents find it difficult to keep track of the creativity of both of them at the same time. 

Sometimes Ozil can be curtailed by putting an extra man on him or closing him down quickly, but it’s hard to do that to both of them at the same time. I hope we can get Mkhitaryan back if we progress as far as the final, but I imagine there’s every chance his season is over. His absence puts more pressure on Ozil and he will make the difference if he can play half as well as he did last week.

We should also see Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal come back into the defence and they are our two best and most experienced defenders despite some of the mistakes Koscielny in particular has made in recent games. As a team we are broken defensively and it’s hard to believe we can play well enough in defence to actually win the Europa League, but we can certainly get through tonight. The ages of Koscielny, Monreal and Petr Cech suggest all of them haven’t too long left in their careees and we need to invest heavily in defenders as well as finding a way to coach the team how to defend an awful lot better.

I mentioned earlier about the choice between Welbeck and Iwobi in place of the injured Mkhitaryan. I think it will go the way of Iwobi as he can offer more creativity and I was impressed by his performance against Southampton on Sunday. He’s a player who divides opinion, but I think his ability to make chances and play deeper than Welbeck will see him play. 

I’m not exactly Welbeck’s biggest fan, but he has to be admired for his ability to recover from one injury after another. Despite my misgivings about him he has gradually got better since his most recent return from injury and he has bagged his fair share of goals too. If I’m not mistaken only Alexandre Lacazette has scored more goals than Welbeck so far this season. 

Speaking of Lacazette he looks so much better since his return from injury and you have to believe his game was being affected by the injury before he was ruled out. He’s eventually looking like the striker we signed last summer and hopefully we can find a way to accommodate both him and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the team next season. I also think the change in the way we have played since the departure of Alexis Sanchez has helped our strikers and the goals are flowing for Lacazette, Aubameyang and Welbeck at the moment.

After the departure of Sanchez it looked like our chances in the Europa League would be limited, but at least we had Mkhitaryan even if Aubameyang was ineligible to play. We now have to do it without Mkhitaryan too and Xhaka is a big loss for me, but I still think we will get the better of CSKA at least. 

Hopefully our tie won’t have the drama of the Champions League quarter finals and we can progress with relative ease. Once we progress I’ll be happy though and we can look forward to Friday’s semi final draw if that is the case.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Southampton Preview

After the highs of the 4-1 win against CSKA Moscow on Thursday night it’s back to Premier League action for Arsenal today when they play at home to Southampton. With sixth place looking more and more certain with each passing week it’s not easy to get up For Premier League games, but that’s just what we have to do today. I’ve a very busy day ahead of me so my preview is going to have to be short.

I suppose the big question today is who will and who won’t play with Thursday’s trip to Moscow foremost in our thoughts. The Europa League is the priority from here on in and we just need to amass enough points to keep Burnley at bay. Three points against a struggling Southampton team today would go a long way to tightening our grip on that sixth spot.

Normally I don’t have too much of a problem with Southampton, but the appointment of Mark Hughes as their manager gives the game an extra edge and I would be perfectly happy to see them relegated now. They’re on a bad run at the moment and any sort of a decent team we put out today should be able to put them away.

If we can make chances for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then I think we will get the goals required and hopefully goal shy Southampton won’t cause our leaky defence too many problems. Arsene Wenger has rested Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny and Alexandre Lacazette and rightly so, but I hope a team with Ozil and the injured Henrikh Mkhitaryan can dominate and make the chances to win the game. Any sort of win will do I suppose.

Arsenal v CSKA Moscow: Europa League Quarter Final First Leg

With the rest of the season a write off at this stage Arsenal at least have a chance to make it to a European Final this season. The Europa League might be the second class trophy of European football, but winning it would be a big thing for Arsenal. Besides the nice shiny trophy the winner also qualifies for next season’s Champions League and it’s the only way Arsenal can make it back to the top table for next season.

Arsene Wenger has almost a full strength squad to choose from with the exception of the injured Santi Cazorla (remember him) and the ineligible Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Petr Cech is available again after missing Sunday’s win against Stoke with an injury and there’s even a chance he might play despite David Ospina being the “cup goalkeeper”. We should also see Laurent Koscielny and Granit Xhaka come back into the team after both of them were rested against Stoke although Xhaka did come on in the later stages.

I would expect to see a back four (which more or less picks itself from the manager’s perspective at least) as the experiment with three central defenders now seems dead more than a year after it saved our season last season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a midfield trio of Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere with Wilshere in an advanced role. That would leave Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan either side of hopefully Alexandre Lacazette who we have been told has recovered enough from his injury to start.

I’m not so sure Wilshere is the ideal player to play as I can’t say I’ve been impressed with him in the last couple of months, but I would be surprised if he didn’t play. It might not be the worst idea to play Mohamed Elneny alongside Xhaka and let Ramsey play a more attacking role as the chances are he’s going to push forward anyway and he offers a lot more in the attacking third than Wilshere. With both Ozil and Mkhitaryan in the team I’m not sure Wilshere has a place to fill and both of them certainly offer a lot more end product too.

I’m not sure Lacazette will start as he has only had 15 minutes since he returned from his injury and there is every chance Danny Welbeck will get the nod. I’m not a fan of Welbeck and a less than fully match fit Lacazette is a better option in my opinion. Welbeck may well have been the player who managed to see us home in the home game against Milan, but I just cannot see his value to the team.

We are on a pretty good run of results at the moment with four consecutive wins and 11 goals scored in those games and only one conceded. On the face of it that’s quite impressive, but anyone who has watched us knows we have not been exactly impressive in most of those games. I would say the away win against Milan was probably the exception, but I struggle to see how we can win the Europa League playing as we are at the moment.

Don’t get me wrong, I want us to win every game we ever play, but for me the team is broken and it won’t take too much to bring it out again. The arrivals of Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan have certainly improved us in an attacking sense, but nothing has been done to change how badly we defend as a team and as individual players too. If we come up against a team who know how to defend and close their opponents down we will be in trouble and Atletico Madrid are standing in the way of any team who wants to win the Europa League this season.

CSKA will be no pushover either, but we are favourites to progress and rightly so when you look at the players we have. It’s how those players play as a team and how it seems the manager is incapable of inspiring them to excel or coach them to cope against the best sides (or any side away from home this season). I have long ago given up hope of him turning things around and I think the only way forward is for him to leave.

He’s going nowhere though and I still want the team to do the best they can with him in charge. I’d gladly take the glory of a Europa League win even though there’s every possibility it could prolong the manager’s time at the club. That might sound a little strange, but surely it’s not as strange as some fans who seem to want us to lose to hasten his departure.

I think we need to get at least a two goal start from the home leg as a trip to Moscow next week is one that should give us some cause for concern. We have a pretty poor record in European games in Moscow and I wouldn’t like to be going there needing to get a result. I’m not going to dare to predict an outcome, but like always when Arsenal play I honestly think beforehand that they will win despite any or all evidence to the contrary.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Waiting In Vain

Is it just me or does the current international break seem even longer than usual from an Arsenal perspective. I suppose the FA Cup games on the weekend before the break didn’t help with Arsenal’s participation in the competition this season a distant memory of an awful Sunday afternoon in January. At least we’re still in one cup competition though and it should hopefully be all guns blazing towards Europa League glory when the real football returns at least.

For the moment we just have to hope all of our players come through their international games unscathed and come back in tip top condition. It’s not something which we can usually rely on and it hasn’t started too well with Jack Wilshere missing England’s win over the Netherlands thanks to a knee injury. With his injury record any slight knock has to be a real worry and Arsene Wenger seems to have found a way to play him in midfield recently along with both Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka.

Wilshere’s contract is up at the end of the season and there’s every chance he could be on his way once the season is over. It seems he’s not overly happy with the new contract offer from the club and he could probably look to earn more elsewhere. Given his injury history he might find a lot of “pay for play” offers are coming his way and that could prove problematic for a player who has been injured more than he has been available to play or so it seems at least.

When the players return they will get the chance to push Stoke closer to the Championship before they get back to Europa League action and it’s a chance they have to take. Sixth place is still by no means certain with both Burnley and Leicester hoping to catch us and we have to play both of them before the season ends. We probably need five wins in our last eight games to guarantee sixth place, but that would be even less if we beat Burnley and Leicester.

The following Thursday it’s CSKA Moscow at home and the chance to get ahead in the first leg of the Europa League quarter final before heading to Russia the following Thursday. There are some very good teams still left in the Europa League this season and winning it is going to be a huge ask for an Arsenal team which has been far too inconsistent this season. That has to be their target though with Champions League qualification for the winners as well as a lovely shiny trophy.

The additions of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang And Henrikh Mkhitaryan in January seems to be having an effect and Aubameyang should play all of our remaining league games as he’s ineligible to play in the Europa League. At least Alexandre Lacazette is back from injury for those European games even if Danny Welbeck managed to play such an important role in putting Milan out in the last round. Our attacking options are looking pretty good at the moment, but our real problems lie in our inability to defend individually or as a team.

When it comes to playing a team like Atletico Madrid those defensive deficiencies could be cruelly exposed against a team who have defending down to a fine art. Of course they could be knocked out before we get to meet them in a semi final or the final if we even manage to get past CSKA which won’t be an easy task in itself. I’m hopeful of progressing though and I think we will finish sixth, but I still think hopes of lifting that trophy in June are a long way from being fulfilled.

As the international break drags slowly into it’s second week it’s hard to think of much else from an Arsenal perspective though. Despite all of our shortcomings in recent seasons we have been pretty good in cup games, with the exception of Champions League knockout games, and that has to give us some hope. It’s the waiting that’s killing me at the moment though and I just have to hope that wait isn’t in vain.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Wembley Beckons For Arsenal

While fourth place for Arsenal in the Premier League this season might look like a long shot at the moment their chances could take a real turn for the better at their second home later today. Spurs have had to play their home games at Wembley this season as their stadium is redeveloped and it means that’s where we’ll play them in our “away” league game. Wembley hasn’t been quite the fortress for them that White Hart Lane was last season and it has been a home from home for Arsenal.

We have won the FA Cup there three times in the last four seasons and we had to win the semi finals to get to those finals too. Added to that there were Community Shield victories and I’m struggling to remember the last time Arsenal lost a game at Wembley. Quite a lot of our players have very fond memories of Wembley and hopefully those fond memories will continue today.

We haven’t been good away from home this season though with only three wins from our 13 games so far and we’ll have to reverse that form to get anything from the game. On the other hand our home record is second only to table topping City and it’s difficult to believe the sharp contrast between our home and away records. I have to believe that away form is down to belief and confidence or lack thereof and it’s within our playing ability to reverse the trend.

If we’re going to get the result we need so much will depend on our approach to the game and the tactics we deploy on the day. If we can defend in depth and hit them on the break we have every chance of getting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in behind them and that’s probably our best route to victory. The other option is to press them high and force mistakes, but I think that would leave us very open at the back.

We need to be clever and incisive when we have the ball and that’s something we just haven’t done away from home often enough this season. The performance at home to Everton last week was so promising that it’s given us enough hope to believe the players just might be able to do it away from home too. The additions of Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan seem to have had an effect on the team and just maybe the departure of Alexis Sanchez has lifted a weight from the collective shoulders of the players.

The performance of Aaron Ramsey last week was a huge boost too and it’s difficult to believe we didn’t miss him when he was out injured. He’s very fond of a goal at Wembley and he could be the man to win us the game if he can get into some of the positions he got into last week. I think he has to play and the big question could be who accompanies him in midfield with Granit Xhaka probably more likely to get the nod than Jack Wilshere.

The other big question is the formation Arsene Wenger chooses as he has opted for a back four at home recently, but three central defenders might offer us more stability. I think we need Petr Cech to recover from the knock he took last week because David Ospina does not fill me with confidence when he plays. These are questions the manager has to ponder ahead of what’s probably our biggest game of the season so far.

If he can get it right and we can win the game the top four becomes a possibility, but a defeat would surely end those hopes with 11 league games still to go. The defensive performance at Chelsea might offer the template we need today, but that performance was at a price as we sacrificed a lot of our attacking options and the players picked today might not all have the defensive discipline of those who played against Chelsea. I would be very surprised if we kept a clean sheet today and that means we will have to score at least twice if we’re going to win. 

We have a two week gap to our next domestic game after today as we’re out of the FA Cup and our next game is the Carabao Cup Final which is also at Wembley. There’s the small matter of the home and away legs of the last 32 of the Europa League to play before that cup final though and that could end up being our best chance of making next season’s Champions League. Hopefully that won’t be the case though and we can take the three points and bragging rights against Spurs today.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.