Arsenal Season Review

That was the season that was for Arsenal and it ended up with us failing to qualify for European football for the first time in 25 years. When judging Mikel Arteta’s progress as the Arsenal manager it’s hard to ignore that statistic and the season can surely only be judged as a failure. Of course there were highs and lows throughout the season, but his inexperience and pure stubbornness at times were key factors in our second successive eighth finish in the Premier League for me.

The results prior to Christmas put us in real trouble in the Premier League and we were as low as 15th before results eventually improved. Those results and performances picked up with a 3-1 win at home to Chelsea and we went on a great run which almost put us back in the reckoning for a top four finish. As we progressed in the Europa League our Premier League results and performances suffered though and ultimately for me it was during that period that we lost out on our European ambitions.

When we eventually went out of the Europa League to Villarreal in the semifinals our league form improved and we won our last five games to leave us only six points off the Champions League places. We did better against the rest of the “big six” than we have done in a long time and we more or less bossed the games against the bottom six, but the points we took against the teams who finished around us in the league just weren’t good enough. Aston Villa, Wolves and Everton all beat us at home and away and that’s where our European ambitions died.

For me the jury on Arteta has to be out as he made some very strange decisions at times and his inability to admit his mistakes and rectify them is a real negative for him. Those strange decisions included the decision to loan William Saliba out after spending so much on him and it appears he’s still not sure he wants him at the club next season. Surely Saliba has to be one of the players who we attempt to build our future on and I only hope Arteta can find a way to include him.

The signing of Willian was apparently down to Arteta too and it was probably the worst decision of last season. Not only was he paid an absolute fortune because we got him for free, but he kept Pepe out of the team for the first few months of the season no matter how badly he played. When Pepe came into his own in the new year he showed exactly what we wanted him to show and his performances consigned Willian to the bench.

I don’t think there’s any point in going into what happened with Mesut Ozil because I don’t think any of us know what really happened or why it happened. Suffice it to say he plys his trade elsewhere and it was for the best in the end because he had very little to offer the team towards the end of his time at Arsenal. Ozil came on to the scene at a young age and I think that has taken it’s toll and his best years are well behind him now.

The fear of losing seemed to play too big a role in Arteta’s thinking for too long, but when he eventually loosened the reins we actually played some good football. However the changes were almost forced on Arteta due to injuries and it was only when players like Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe took the chances that came their way that the team improved. They have both become crucial parts of our future now and the sooner Gabriel Martinelli joins them in the starting lineup the better for me.

One of the most curious decisions Arteta made was to play with a false nine in our Europa League semifinal first leg against Villarreal. We somehow got away with a 2-1 defeat and only had to win the home leg without conceding a goal to progress to the final, but our lack of ambition in the second leg was almost unforgivable. His claim afterwards that we were the better team over the two legs was just wrong, but I thought we should have been the better team if he had got his selections and tactics right. 

Villarreal went on to beat United on penalties in the final and we missed a great chance to pick up a trophy and qualify for European football too. I think Arteta put too many eggs in the European basket and we paid the price when Villarreal knocked us out. There are those who think it’s a good thing we have no European football next season, but I’m not so sure.

For a start it’s difficult to attract players to the club with no European football to tempt them and there’s also the loss of revenue from TV money, prize money and gate receipts (when the fans return). We played seven home games in the Europa League last season and that’s an awful lot of money lost to the club to give those games up next season. The biggest miss could be the inability to give youngsters and fringe players their chances in European group games and those games were where the likes of Saka, Smith-Rowe and Martinelli cut their teeth.

We have a huge summer ahead of us with the possibility of quite a few players leaving the club and the need to sign some new players too. Despite doing so badly for so long we ended up only six points off the top four and we have the makings of most of a very good team in my opinion. We need to add the right players to improve that team and Arteta needs to allow the players to play with a little more freedom too, but there’s no reason why we shouldn’t at least put in a real challenge for a top four place next season.

If I had to sum up last season I would say it was desperately disappointing in the main with some glimpses of real promise and possibilities for the future. Arteta has been given a chance to redeem our second eighth place finish in a row, but failure to improve next season will surely signal the end for him. I want things to work out for him, but I can’t say I’m overly convinced they will.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

More Missed Opportunities For Arsenal

As the Premier League season gets closer to it’s end it’s becoming abundantly obvious Arsenal’s only path to European football next season is through the Europa League. For the second game in a row they went 3-0 down, but they at least started to play against West Ham when that happened two weeks ago. They rescued a point from a game they had to win against West Ham in that game, but there was no turnaround against Liverpool on Saturday night when they lost 3-0 at home.

As performances go it was one of the worst ones I’ve seen from Arsenal this season and that’s a lot to say in a season where we have underperformed more often than not. Since Christmas things have definitely improved, but most of the first half against West Ham and all of Saturday night were a return to our very worst. The players were outplayed and outfought on both occasions and while everyone can have an off day there is no excuse for lack of commitment.

It’s easy to say that we would have been right back in the fight for the Champions League places if we had won both of those games, but it’s absolutely true. Full points in both of those games would have left us in eighth place and only four points behind fourth placed Chelsea, but it seems the players (and probably the manager too) have decided all of our eggs lie in the Europa League basket.

Our route to the final looks like it’s reasonably attainable, but all it will take is one performance like either of our last two games and we can kiss European football goodbye for next season. As bad as missing out on the Champions League for the last four seasons has been, it will be infinitely worse with absolutely no European football at all next season. The ability to attract new players to the club lessens without European football and we need to add to what we have if we’re going to improve next season.

I’ve heard plenty of people saying we need to give Mikel Arteta more time as we are improving and he’s building for the future. I really hope he can get things right and rekindle our glory days, but at the moment it looks like we’re sacrificing the present for an unknown future. When we improved after Christmas it was as a result of changing our attacking formation, but he reversed that formation against Liverpool.

Injuries and sheer desperation made Arteta switch to three attacking midfielders and one striker against Chelsea with the young players he so rarely showed faith in (in the Premier League at least) coming into the team. Performances and results improved immediately and despite some setbacks we climbed the table. We showed ambition and looked far more capable of scoring goals and winning games, but Saturday night was the opposite yet again as he switched back to one attacking midfielder and three forwards.

My biggest problem is his lack of faith in Gabriel Martinelli whose opportunities are few and far between and when he gets them they tend to be last minute cameos. As others who are far more experienced and with impressive careers strolled around against Liverpool he left Martinelli on the bench until the last 13 minutes of the game. I honestly think Arteta either doesn’t rate him or doesn’t trust him and it must be even more frustrating for Martinelli than it is for us fans.

We play Slavia Prague on Thursday night in a game that now becomes our most important one of the season as every Europa League game will be from here on in. After that it’s a trip to Sheffield United on Sunday night and since that time slot was introduced into a Covid infected football world we have lost every single game we have played in it. Sheffield United are on the verge of relegation and despite the numerous experts telling us they rarely lose by more than a goal it’s a game in which nothing other than a win is acceptable.

It’s been a very tough season to be an Arsenal fan and the upturn since Christmas was at least making it bearable, but any more performances like Saturday night and I think questions have to be asked of the manager. He’s sending his players out to play with his tactics and instructions and he has to be accountable when it goes so badly wrong. He managed to change things against West Ham, but he couldn’t find any solutions in terms of personnel or tactics to make any difference at all against Liverpool.

As I’ve said on numerous occasions before I really want him to succeed and I hope he does, but I’m far from confident that he will. The recent signs from some of the players would seem to suggest some of them might not be so sure either and he has to weed out the players who just aren’t giving enough and replace them with players who want to play for him and the club.

That’s it for today.

See you next time.

49, 49 Undefeated

It was a very good weekend for Arsenal considering they didn’t play and they went out in the last 32 of the Europa League on Thursday night. Firstly only one of the teams ahead of us in the fight for fifth (or maybe even fourth) place managed to win and we have to consider ourselves in with a shout if we can put a decent run together. Secondly what seemed inevitable for Liverpool this season suddenly ended as they fell short of matching the “Invincibles” unbeaten Premier League season.

Liverpool might have the league as good as won already and the pressure was mounting on them to beat all sorts of records on the way to lifting the title. Three of those records went by the wayside when they lost 3-0 away to the team in second last place in the league on Saturday evening. Not only did they fail to match our unbeaten season of 2003/4, but they failed to better our record of 49 unbeaten games and 55 continuous games in which we scored.

The detractors will say there is nothing special about going a season unbeaten and Liverpool have already won as many games as Arsenal won that season. Their points haul so far is certainly incredibly impressive, but the level of consistency we showed to go unbeaten for the whole season was an incredible feat too and Liverpool learned how you cannot let your standards slip for even one game if you want to match it. I have no doubt they will go on to win the league, but you can’t deny their form has dipped since their two week mid season break.

There have been a few times since that incredible 2004 season when I thought others were in with a chance of matching Arsenal as Chelsea and Manchester City in particular seemed almost certain to do so. Each of them failed in their attempts just like Liverpool did and our incredible achievement remains ours alone with the exception of a 19th century team doing so well over 100 years before us. In a season full of disappointments so far that has to be one that we can at least celebrate.

It’s FA Cup action for Arsenal tonight when a place in the last eight is up for grabs at Portsmouth. They’re two leagues below us and on the face of it we couldn’t have asked for a better draw unless it was at home, but Fratton Park is never an easy place to get a result. The result from Thursday night will still be fresh in the memories of the players and they have to show a reaction to that result by advancing in the FA Cup tonight.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mikel Arteta make wholesale changes to the team, but he has to be sure he has enough strength and quality in the starting 11 to get the job done. If he does make a lot of changes I hope he has a very strong bench to call on in case it is needed to get us over the line or back into the game. The FA Cup might not be the most glamorous trophy any more, but it’s still a route to the Europa League and we’re struggling on that front at the moment.

Champions League qualification might be our goal for this season, but the FA Cup is our only back up plan if our hopes of making it or the Europa League through our final league position fail. I hope to see the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Rob Holding staking a claim for more game time tonight and given what happened last Thursday they should all believe they have a chance of getting it. I’ll be happy to progress to the next round however we do it and then let the players concentrate on putting some league points on the board over the next few weeks.

That’s it for today.

Lacklustre Arsenal Lose To Olympiakos

Last night was a very disappointing night for Arsenal as they exited the Europa League in the round of 32 after losing 2-1 at home to Olympiakos after extra time. Defeats are never easy to take, but sometimes a decent performance offers some consolation. We most certainly didn’t get that consolation from last night’s game which was most definitely our worst performance in Mikel Arteta’s short time in charge of the club.

He went with almost the exact same team that was so leggy late on against Everton on Sunday and was more than a little fortunate to hold on for the 3-2 win. Right from the start it looked like they still hadn’t managed to reinvigorate themselves and their game lacked appetite. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea not to bring in some fresh legs to a team who obviously needed them.

I think the performance was also influenced by having a lead from the away leg though as the players weren’t exactly sure how to approach the game. They were playing with Arsene Wenger’s famous “handbrake” on and I have to wonder if the manager urged that caution in them. As long as Olympiakos didn’t score we were going through and I think that had far too much influence on how we played the game.

As it was we probably should have gone ahead in the first half, but Alexandre Lacazette missed a very good chance yet again and Granit Xhaka had a goal disallowed for offside. I hoped for better in the second half, but in truth it was worse as Olympiakos became more adventurous in their attempts to get a result. It was obvious the game was going away from us before they scored and the manager really should have done something to counter it.

When their goal came it was another lesson in how not to defend from Arsenal with the tallest player on the pitch given free reign from a corner and he really couldn’t miss. Everton exposed a weakness from set pieces on Sunday and Olympiakos did so again last night. We had a pretty good record defending them before Arteta arrived while City aren’t exactly the best at it so it looks like it’s something he has to put some serious work into very soon.

We still lacked focus after the Olympiakos goal and we were thankful to Bernd Leno for keeping us in the tie with a good save. Eventually we went to three at the back and began to exert some pressure in the last 15 minutes of normal time. We never really looked like getting the decisive goal though and it came as no surprise when the game went to extra time.

Extra time went much like the last 15 minutes with us huffing and puffing, but very little really happening with the exception of Olympiakos missing a reasonable chance on the break. With less than 10 minutes to go a piece of magic from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave us the goal we craved and that really should have been it. Olympiakos tried to push forward, but never really looked like creating anything until Leno was too casual with a back pass and was closed down which resulted in him conceding a corner.

We managed to clear the initial ball into our box, but when the second ball came in we were caught flat footed and their leading scorer stabbed home to surely send us out of the competition. All that was left was more or less the added time for their celebrations and somehow we managed to create a gilt edged chance in that time. If there’s any player you want the ball to fall to six yards out in the last minute to put you through it’s Aubameyang and when he hit it I was certain he would score, but somehow he missed and that was that.

The loss in revenue could be up to €40 million compared to last season when we reached the final when you consider the TV money, prize money and matchday money too. That’s the price of a fairly good addition to a squad that really needs to be strengthened in the summer and it pushes us even further down the list of the top earning clubs. As someone said on Twitter we have gone from a Champions League last 16 team to a Europa League last 32 team very quickly.

We have also lost one of our routes back into the Champions League for next season which only leaves us hoping to finish fourth or fifth if City lose their appeal. To be honest the thought of our current team playing in the Champions League is one that scares me, but going out in the last 32 of the Europa League is bloody embarrassing. On the plus side our players will be nice and fresh for the rest of the season with no nasty Thursday night football to worry about.

Our next game is against Portsmouth in the FA Cup on Monday night and we need to see a reaction from the players and the manager too. As much as things have got better under Arteta last night was horrendous and Unai Emery would have been lashed from pillar to post if he was the man in charge. Arteta has to show he knows what he’s doing and is capable of getting the best out of these players game in and game out.

I thought the lack of rotation last night was a factor in the result and I cannot understand what Gabriel Martinelli was doing on the bench for so long. We were so tired in the second half on Sunday that maybe the manager should have considered players like Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles or Sokratis Papastathopoulos from the start to put some energy in the team.

Hindsight is a great thing though and he paid a price for putting too much faith in some players who have let other managers down in the past and seem willing to let him down too. His inability or unwillingness to change things when we clearly weren’t at the races didn’t help and his tactics or the team’s inability to implement them on the night didn’t help either. I think a lot of it came down to not knowing how to play with a one goal lead from the first leg and then being unable to up the tempo enough after Olympiakos scored.

Having said all of that we’d be talking about who we got in the next round at this stage if Aubameyang had put that late chance away like we all expected him to do. Olympiakos will play Wolves in the next round and I’m not sure if we could have played another English team so we probably would have drawn someone else. It will be interesting to see how they can do against a Wolves team who still look head and shoulders above us in terms of knowing how they want to play and doing so and who have some good players too.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Have To Beat Newcastle Today

It’s been two long weeks since Arsenal played a game and the lack of anything resembling real football in that time made it drag. Thankfully they return today when they play at home to Newcastle United in what I can only describe as a must win game. It’s the first of three home Premier League games in a row which give us a chance to make up ground on the teams ahead of us in our quest to finish in the top five.

With the news of Manchester City’s two season ban from European football that top five place has become an awful lot more important. Despite Chelsea struggling for quite a while now they still look odds on to finish fourth, but City’s problems should mean the team who finish fifth take their place in the Champions League next season. City will of course appeal the decision and fifth place might fade into insignificance again, but for the moment at least our hopes can be raised.

As it stands we have eight points to make up on Sheffield United who currently hold fifth spot, but we have a game in hand. Our next three fixtures provide us with that opportunity to take nine points and the table will look an awful lot better if we can do just that. Considering our current run of results it’s far from an easy task, but considering the opponents it’s certainly not one that’s beyond us either.

After Newcastle today it’s Everton and West Ham at home in our next two league games and neither of them are much to be afraid of either. Everton have improved under their new manager, but West Ham are in real trouble and could find themselves in the Championship next season. First things first though and the need to beat Newcastle cannot be understated.

We have made plenty of progress since Mikel Arteta took the reins, but too many of our games have ended in draws and it’s time to turn those draws into wins. We have only won four of our 12 home games so far this season and even more worryingly only one of our last eight. There was a time not so long ago when teams feared coming to the Emirates and we beat the majority of Premier League teams without having to even perform at our best.

The defensive improvement under Arteta has been absolutely great, but it has been partly at the expense of our attack. It will take a while for him to find the right balance between them in the team, but from what he has said recently it looks like he’s more than well aware of the situation. I expect him to give the players a little more attacking leeway today and hopefully it will be enough to unlock a very defensive Newcastle team. Despite their defensive set up they have only kept one clean sheet away from home and only Villa have conceded more goals on the road.

Arteta has a few decisions to make in his team selection today and the first of them surely has to be whether to persist with Alexandre Lacazette or not. He hasn’t scored in his last eight league games, but all of his goals have come at home and the manager has stated how he sees him as a vital part of the way he wants the team to play. Like quite a few other fans I would like to see an attacking trio of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with Nicolas Pepe on one side of him and Gabriel Martinelli on the other side.

That trio offers us the pace and goal threat which I think we need so badly, but I’m not so sure we’ll see it. Who supplies the ammunition for them is another thing and as much as I like Mesut Ozil it’s hard to argue with the stats which show he just isn’t the player he used to be. Maybe a home game against Newcastle might be the perfect game for him to perform, but there’s a very real prospect of him warming the bench yet again today.

We have missed Aaron Ramsey’s ability to arrive late in the box and score the goals this team is so badly missing and we didn’t manage to replace him when he went on his merry way last summer. Joe Willock has shown glimpses of a player who might be able to fill that role, but he’s certainly far from the finished article. We don’t have the midfielders to add to our goals tally that we had in previous seasons and it’s really hurting our results.

In our seven league games under Arteta we have only scored eight goals and while we have only conceded seven goals in those games it’s still a pretty poor return. Arteta has addressed the defensive issues to a certain degree and now it’s time to address the attacking issues. With the right team today we can at least start to bring some joy back to a season that has been almost bereft of it since the opening day.

As poor as our results have been we have been no worse than any of the other teams chasing fifth place and an improvement from us could be enough to make fifth place ours. To have drawn more than half of our 25 league games is quite incredible and surely we’re due a few wins starting with Newcastle today and followed by a run of six games where the three points are ours for the taking.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Burnley Preview

The 2-1 FA Cup win at Bournemouth on Monday night was very welcome for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta, but it’s back to the bread and butter of the Premier League with a trip to Burnley this afternoon. While our performances under Arteta have been very encouraging and we’ve only lost one game it’s time to start turning all of our draws into wins. At this stage we’re so far off the top four that our target has to be to finish high enough to qualify for the Europa League.

It might not be the glamour trophy of European football and the rewards are not the same as those from the Champions League, but not qualifying would be an absolute disaster financially. We’re already struggling with the loss of income from three seasons without Champions League football, but at least we got to play seven home games and a final in the Europa League last season and seven games without the final the previous season. Losing the income from those games as well as TV money and prize money would limit our capabilities in the transfer market even further.

As it is we’re playing catch up on the teams who qualify each season and missing out on the Europa League would only worsen our position. I really wish we weren’t playing in it, but at the moment it’s our best source of extra income as we try to keep pace with the rest of the “big six.” There’s even the added bonus of Champions League qualification for the winners and we haven’t been too far off that in the last two seasons.

We have a run of eight league games coming up where on the face of it we could win them all and set ourselves up very nicely for a very difficult run in. That run in is very difficult with four of our last six games against the better teams in the league. We need to rack up as many points as possible before then and see where it leaves us.

We don’t play for two weeks after the Burnley game due to the Premier League’s very strangely operated mini-break which isn’t really a break for half of the clubs. I can only imagine they decided to stagger the break to keep the TV companies happy, but at least we’re one of the teams benefiting from it. All of the teams still involved in European football are the ones to benefit which makes sense

Transfer deadline day saw the arrival of a couple of defenders at the club with Pedro Mari and Cedric Soares both signing on loan. With the defensive issues we’ve had they’re welcome additions to the squad, but I don’t think we’ll see either of them involved today. Soares can play at right or left back although right back is his preferred role while Mari is a central defender.

Both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and David Luiz will return to the squad after serving their respective suspensions and I expect both of them to go straight into the team. The return of Aubameyang means someone else has to miss out and given the choice I would keep Gabriel Martinelli in the team ahead of Alexandre Lacazette, but I’m not sure Arteta will do so. Martinelli is on fire at the moment and surely a player with his momentum must play while Lacazette just can’t get a break in front of goal and he hasn’t scored an away goal in the league in almost a year if I’m not mistaken.

That’s the biggest decision Arteta has to make ahead of the game, but a few others did enough against Bournemouth to be pushing for a place too. I think the centre of the midfield is strongest with a combination of Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka, but Matteo Guendouzi did very well against Bournemouth and it looks like Arteta could be having a very positive influence on him. I still think Xhaka and Torreira will play, but I will feel more comfortable when I see Guendouzi starting or coming off the bench in future.

The other big decision could be whether Mesut Ozil starts or not and it’s difficult to see how that one will go. We all know how often he has been “rested” or “unwell”away from home in difficult games and the performance of Joe Willock against Bournemouth was very impressive. With Dani Ceballos back in the reckoning too there are definitely options for Arteta and it’s not easy to predict which one he will opt for.

A few weeks ago a trip to Burnley looked like it wouldn’t the most difficult of games for us, but their last two results suggest otherwise. They came from behind to win 2-1 at home to high flying Leicester before they went to Old Trafford and beat United 2-0 in their last game. We may have a very good record against Burnley, but those two results certainly suggest it will be far from easy for us. 

I still think we have enough to take the three points, but I have no doubt Burnley will make it difficult for us. A win would put us within three points of fifth place as the teams directly above us continue to be as inconsistent as we are. Let’s just hope the players can continue with their improvements under Arteta and bring us a result to keep us cheerful as we wait for the next game in two weeks time.

That’s it for today.

Arsenal Beat Bournemouth To Reach The FA Cup Fifth Round

Last night went pretty well for Arsenal all things considered as they won 2-1 away to Bournemouth to progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup. Mikel Arteta picked a mixture of youth and experience with Bukayo Saka, Matteo Guendouzi, Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah, Emiliano Martinez and Gabriel Martinelli all getting a chance from the start. He also played the recovering Hector Bellerin who was the captain on the night as well as Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Granit Xhaka and Nicolas Pepe.

The young players approached the game as if they had something to prove as Arsenal went on the front foot from the very first minute. A great 22 pass move involving all 10 outfield players ended up with Saka blasting the ball past the Bournemouth keeper to give us the lead after only five minutes. Rather than sit on their laurels Arsenal continued to dominate despite being away from home and a second goal seemed almost inevitable.

That goal came 20 minutes later when Nketiah had the easy task of stroking the ball home after Arsenal played through the attempted Bournemouth press. It was that man Saka who set it up for him, but yet again it was another great team move from back to front. As the first half progressed Bournemouth gradually came out of their shell, but Martinez wasn’t called upon until shortly before the break and he was up to the task.

Bournemouth took a more agricultural approach after the break as they attempted to “put it up ‘em” and put the frighteners on this young Arsenal team. Enter Guendouzi who was simply having none of it as he got stuck in winning tackles and giving as good as he got. I don’t know if it’s Arteta’s influence which was showing in him last night, but whatever it was he was very impressive.

A word for Joe Willock too who I said yesterday might be the player in our midfield to break into the opposition box given the chance. His ability to carry the ball towards the Bournemouth defence was very impressive too and there is a real case for him to play in that role more often. With so many young players willing to give it their all when they get a chance the future certainly looks promising.

I haven’t forgotten Martinelli or Nketiah with the former putting in another great shift and the later doing what he does best and putting the ball in the back of the net. When they were backed up by a disciplined Xhaka the team had a great shape although Xhaka still managed a couple of his usual lapses. He’s being asked to play a deeper role than previously and he’s growing into it as well as regaining the respect of the fans after the incident against Palace earlier in the season.

Bournemouth came into the game a lot more after the break, but for all their huffing and puffing they rarely threatened the Arsenal goal. We were a little vulnerable on crosses as Martinez struggled to impose himself and he got away with a couple of poor punches from those crosses. There wasn’t a lot he could do about the Bournemouth goal when it did come, but at least it was late enough to cause us little bother for the rest of the game.

The goal came in the fifth of almost 11 added minutes at the end of the game and the main reason for all that added time was a very unfortunate injury to Mustafi. He was actually having a very good game on the night and I can’t remember him putting a foot wrong at any stage. The traveling fans were so impressed they were even singing his praises at one stage which is surely something we haven’t heard in a long time.

The injury to Mustafi only increases our need to add a central defender with Calum Chambers already out for the rest of the season and Rob Holding still looking like he has a way to go to get back to form after his injury. We have been linked with a couple of players and it looks like a deal might be on the cards before the transfer window closes on Friday night. If it happens I think it will probably be the only deal we do.

The draw for the fifth round was made before the game and we will face another trip to the south coast to play League One side Portsmouth in early March. We’re getting towards the business end of the FA Cup and a win against Portsmouth would put us through to the last eight if we can do it. I won’t quite say I can smell the sweet air of a Wembley final, but who knows where we might end up come May.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arteta’s Arsenal Slowly Improving

Mikel Arteta hasn’t been in charge at Arsenal too long, but the signs are already very encouraging. We might have only won once in his six league games at the helm, but we have only lost one game too. The trick is to start turning some of those draws into wins and that’s when the real progress will be evident.

The draw at Chelsea on Tuesday night had to be a huge boost for Arteta and the players too. To twice come from behind to get a 2-2 after playing for over an hour with 10 men showed real strength of character and commitment from the players. While we can be unhappy with both of the goals we conceded the players defended very well when under a lot of pressure.

The contribution of Gabriel Martinelli in the absence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was a huge boost and Arteta has to now consider him as one of the first names on the team sheet every week. His 67 yard run and finish for our first goal was simply magnificent and it’s been too long since we saw a goal to raise our spirits as much as that goal did. Thanks to Hector Bellerin’s late equaliser that Martinelli goal got some reward on the night and we took a very unlikely point given the circumstances.

There is no doubt we have some real issues in terms of personnel, but we also have some very good players to call on. I’m still longing to see a front three of Martinelli, Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe and the options it will give us in terms of pace and finishing ability. Playing those three players together would leave no room in the team for Alexandre Lacazette, but it has to be something for Arteta to try as he looks for some balance in our attack.

It’s our lack of goals and goalscoring opportunities which is holding us back at the moment and I think those three up front might help to solve that problem. The fact we have virtually no scoring potential in our midfield is a real worry too and it’s not something which can be easily solved with the players we currently possess. Maybe Joe Willock could be the player who can make runs from the centre into the box to offer that threat, but he would have to start ahead of Mesut Ozil to do so given our current formation.

Arteta is going with two more or less holding midfielders which is perfectly understandable as it gives us a platform to build on and some added protection for the defence. The current first choice duo don’t offer too much in terms of scoring intent though except for the very rare screamer from Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira occasionally breaking free of his defensive shackles to pop up in the box. It’s an issue which will probably be best solved in the transfer window and that probably means waiting until the summer.

The Liverpool model has been looked to as one to aspire to with their midfield adding very few goals, but their front three scoring heaps of them. To be honest Aubameyang, Martinelli and Pepe (if they were the trio) would have to add about 50 league goals a season between them to match the output of the Liverpool trio. It’s a big ask for them and they might get there, but it will take time.

For them to do so we need our two fullbacks to contribute as much as their’s do and we’re currently a long way off that. The return of Hector Bellerin is very welcome on that count and getting Kieran Tierney fit again would be an added bonus for that target. Even with those two back they would have to improve their final ball an awful lot to match the assists Liverpool get from their two full backs.

The one place where we’re actually getting a good return is from our set pieces with our central defenders doing their bit in front of the opposition goal. Our corners have been very good in the main and I don’t think any other team has more goals from corners in the league so far this season. If only they were as good at keeping the opposition out at the other end.

Overall I am really hopeful with the direction we’re going in, but the signs are it will be a slow and laborious task to try to get us back among the elite teams of Premier League football. Arteta certainly talks the talk and the signs so far are he might just walk the walk too.

We face a trip to Bournemouth tonight in the fourth round of the FA Cup and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him put out a fairly strong team all things considered. With Aubameyang serving the last game of his suspension I’d be surprised if Martinelli didn’t start and we might see Eddie Nketiah at some stage too. I imagine Matteo Guendouzi will come into the midfield while Emiliano Martinez will play in goal with Willock and Ainsley Maitland-Niles probably getting a look in too.

It’s been almost a week since our last game and the players have plenty of time to recover after this game too so fatigue shouldn’t be a factor in team choice. Bournemouth managed to win their first game in quite a while last week to climb out of the relegation zone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they rested a lot of players tonight with that relegation battle in mind. They’ve struggled to score goals for a long time this season and their defence has become very leaky too.

We should see whether we have improved since we drew 1-1 away to them very early in Arteta’s reign and I hope those results will be positive. We’re still struggling to create chances away from home and every player other than Aubameyang has struggled on the road. A strong display tonight should give us even more optimism after the result at Chelsea last week.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal’s Trip To Chelsea Previewed

Life is still pretty miserable for us Arsenal fans despite the arrival of Mikel Arteta last month. The hoped for change in results still hasn’t appeared, but at least the performances are more promising. As it stands we have only won twice in our last 15 games and despite the promising performances it’s difficult to be optimistic going into any game.

We played Chelsea a few weeks ago and it was definitely one of those promising performances, but ultimately we couldn’t hold on to our lead and two goals in the last 10 minutes saw us beaten. That was the only defeat so far under Arteta, but we have only won once in the league too. The draws against Bournemouth, Palace and Sheffield United were all very costly to us and particularly when you consider that we took the lead in two of those games.

In fact we have dropped seven points from winning positions in the five games under Arteta already and it’s a very worrying trend. We don’t seem to have the legs to last the full 90 minutes which has to be a throwback to our fitness levels before he arrived. I think it has a bit to do with lack of confidence too as we become obviously more nervous as the games progress.

The other reason we’re not winning enough games is our inability to stick the ball in the back of the net. With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang suspended again tonight the onus to get those goals should fall on Alexandre Lacazette, but Gabriel Martinelli is far more likely to do so despite his tender age. When Aubameyang is back I think Arteta has to seriously consider keeping Martinelli in the team because he’s our only other consistent goal scorer.

I expect a fairly similar team tonight to the one which drew with Sheffield United on Saturday as Arteta’s options are limited at the moment due to injuries and that Aubameyang suspension. We have struggled badly to control games and it’s still too easy to play against us under Arteta so far, but we can’t expect miracles overnight. I am much happier with the attitude and commitment of the players under him though and hopefully the results will start to follow soon.

I would imagine Chelsea won’t make too many changes either despite losing 1-0 away to Newcastle on Saturday evening. That was a game they really should have won, but they paid the price for missing too many chances when Newcastle got a last gasp winner. I really don’t think we have a hope of finishing in the top four, but a win tonight would put us only seven points behind Chelsea with 14 games still to go.

While that’s a gap that could of course be bridged we would have to win tonight to have any hope and that’s a huge ask for this team. I had hoped the win against United would bring the confidence needed to improve our game and dictate the play, but it hasn’t happened. Maybe a win away to Chelsea will be the catalyst we need to finally kick start our season and deliver the football the fans crave.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Sheffield United Preview

As the season progresses it’s becoming more and more obvious that the only way back into the Champions League for Arsenal is by winning the Europa League. Any real hopes of a top four finish have disappeared as we have dropped further and further off the pace with each passing game. Incredibly we have only won two of our last 14 Premier League games and have the points haul of a team fighting relegation in that run.

Of course things have changed a lot during that run with the exit of Unai Emery and the short term run of Freddie Ljungberg while we waited for Mikel Arteta to take the reins. The signs are very promising so far under Arteta and I genuinely think he can be the man to lead us into the future, but results haven’t taken the massive upturn they needed so far to correct the damage done. Our only league win so far under Arteta was at home to United and we lost at home to Chelsea after taking the lead.

We are still struggling away from home with draws against Bournemouth and Palace under Arteta too and we had the lead against Palace, but at least we did manage to come from behind against Bournemouth to get that point. As poor as our away form has been it’s our home form which has us lying in 10th place at the moment. In the last few seasons as we struggled desperately away from home it was our ability to continue getting results at home which kept us close to the top four. 

This season has been completely different and the win against United was our first win in seven games at home. We have struggled against teams fighting against relegation and have been nowhere near putting any team to the sword on our own ground. In fact our best home league win so far this season was that 2-0 win against United and it was our best performance too. 

If we’re going to beat Sheffield United tomorrow we’re going to need more of the same as they have proved to be a very effective outfit since getting promoted last season. We’ve already lost 1-0 away to them and they have shown themselves more than capable of giving any team in the Premier League a real run for their money. They won’t try to change the way they play against us and it’s up to us to find a way to break them down at one end while keeping them out at the other.

Make no mistake this is a game we quite simply have to win because the rot that has set in cannot be allowed to continue under Arteta. We saw some of that rot in the first half of the FA Cup game against Leeds and Arteta at least managed to get much more from his players in the second half. That first half showed these players are still more than capable of failing to show up no matter who is in charge and that still worries me.

If we can get the better of Sheffield United then we go to Chelsea in midweek knowing a win would close the gap on fourth place, but realistically hoping to close in on at least challenging for fifth. While we have become more difficult to beat away from home we have only scored 12 goals in 11 away games with nine of them coming from the suspended Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. I don’t think there was any malice intended in the challenge which saw him sent off at Palace, but it was very difficult to argue with the colour of the card. The glaring inconsistencies of red card decisions (or not) are another matter altogether.

With Aubameyang suspended for three games the spotlight will definitely switch to Alexandre Lacazette and he currently couldn’t hit a barn door from five yards. His overall play and ability to win the ball back has been very good at times recently, but he seems devoid of confidence in front of goal. I think he just needs one goal to get him back on track and hopefully he can get it against Sheffield United tomorrow.

I hope Gabriel Martinelli is the player to benefit from Aubameyang’s suspension as he is our next highest scorer in all competitions this season after Aubameyang. He still hasn’t seen an awful lot of action in the league, but he might just be the man to net the goals we need in the next three games. If he does play on the left tomorrow it will probably be in front of Bukayo Saka who looks like he will have to fill in as an emergency left back again with Sead Kolasinac and Kieran Tierney both injured.

We certainly have our injury issues at the moment with Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira, Rob Holding and Callum Chambers all unavailable too. For me Torreira is a real big miss for the way Arteta wants to play and Matteo Guendouzi is not a direct replacement. It’s going to be a tough slog in midfield, but Guendouzi and Granit Xhaka need to get a grip on the game whilst also protecting the defence.

I hope Arteta can come up with a solution to the problems Sheffield United will cause with the players at his disposal. If we can come up with someone capable of putting the ball in the net then Sheffield don’t score too many goals and a victory is well within our sights.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Leeds United: FA Cup Preview

With their first win under the stewardship of Mikel Arteta under their belts Arsenal head into FA Cup action tonight when Leeds United come calling. It’s the only competition we have won since 2004 and the three wins in the last six seasons were a welcome boost to our morale and our trophy cabinet. During that time the greatest Spurs team since who knows when failed to win a single trophy of any significance, but I suppose that’s nothing new for them at least.

There’s two trains of thought on the FA Cup this season I suppose with the prospect of one of the major trophies always something to be aspired to, but we also have to be conscious of our requirements on other fronts. Finishing in the top four has to be our number one priority, but it’s going to be very difficult for us considering how the season has gone so far even with the hope Arteta’s arrival has brought. If we can’t finish in the top four the Europa League is the only other way of getting into next season’s Champions League and it has to be prioritised too.

That doesn’t leave much consideration for the FA Cup no matter whether we have won it more times than any other club or not. The thing is though as it stands we won’t even qualify for the Europa League for next season and it might just be a good idea to treat the cup seriously as a back up plan for Europa League qualification. It’s not exactly a nice thought to consider finishing outside the Europa League places in the Premier League, but it’s one that has to be considered at least.

I still think a top four finish is within our grasp as those above us have been almost as inconsistent as we have so far until you reach the top three. It’s going to be a big ask though as we still have to travel to City, Chelsea and Spurs as well as playing at home to Liverpool and Leicester. It’s hard not to be optimistic though after the performance and win against United and even the performances against Chelsea and Bournemouth.

I don’t think we have to go all out with our team selection tonight, but I think we need to make sure we have plenty to offer from the bench in case things aren’t going our way. Leeds have a pretty good away record so far this season with eight wins in their 14 games and they have scored more goals on the road than any other team in the Championship. They’re currently on top of the table and a return to the Premier League has to be their primary concern so they could be tempted into a fair few changes tonight too.

There’s a possibility we’ll see up to four players returning from injury tonight with Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, Dani Ceballos and Gabriel Martinelli all possibly available. Those four will all be pushing for a place in our strongest team so they will add real strength to the squad and some quality to the team tonight if they start. We could also Eddie Nketiah play up front after he was recalled from his loan spell at Leeds and he has a lot to offer too.

Otherwise I expect to see Matteo Guendouzi and Nicolas Pepe both start tonight. Guendouzi is currently seen as being behind both Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka in our strongest 11 and he needs a bit of game time while Pepe has been out of favour so long that he can’t be suffering from the fatigue others might have from the busy festive schedule. I wouldn’t mind seeing Pepe and Martinelli on either side of the attack with Nketiah through the middle and Ceballos behind them.

Whatever team we play we will be expected to win though because we’re at home to a side from the league below us. With Leeds likely to rotate too I think we should be strong enough to win through to the next round and we definitely don’t want a replay. Most of all I hope to see the players continue the progress they have shown under Arteta and for those who get a chance tonight to really try to make an impression as well as winning of course.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.