- The ball, the shots on target, the fouls and the referee’s bias. Arsenal v Man U
- Arsenal v Man U: The mysterious yellows that only seem to come Arsenal’s way
- Arsenal v Manu. Why aren’t the northern team doing very well?
So a quick reminder of where things stand. The media tell us Arsenal are falling to bits, so we thought we had better check over the last six games in the Premier League…
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nottingham Forest | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 18 |
| 2 | Newcastle | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 5 | +12 | 15 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 11 | +10 | 12 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 12 |
| 17 | Tottenham | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 4 |
| 18 | Man Utd | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 4 |
| 19 | Leicester | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 16 | -12 | 1 |
| 20 | Southampton | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 14 | -13 | 1 |
And yes there we are fourth in terms of the last six games and just in case you were worried in terms of the actual league across the whole season…
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 19 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 47 | 19 | 28 | 46 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 20 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 39 | 18 | 21 | 40 |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 19 | 10 | 40 |
| 12 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 42 | 30 | 12 | 24 |
| 13 | Manchester United | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 28 | -5 | 23 |
Well yes there we are. The media is talking nonsense. Arsenal is not falling apart. It is lunacy of the first order. And yes of course I would like it to be Arsenal at the top of each of these tables, but there is still time.
So why are they doing this? Well it is simple. They were promoting Tottenham as the team to break through, and just can’t bear the notion that the Totts are 12th. And yes I know they have scored three more goals in the league than Arsenal but their defence is really dubious.
And that is quite amazing really given the number of injuries the club is carrying…. although actually…. Saka is out for a long time as we know, Ben White is a few weeks away, Ethan Nwaneri is a few weeks away and Tomiyasu is making progress but has been out for a very long time so they are taking it slowly.
I really don’t know what else can be said about all this, apart from the fact that if you are getting bored the story of 100 years since Chapman came to Arsenal is progressing on the Arsenal History site. You can see the index and catch up on the latest post www.blog.woowicharsenal.co.uk
According to the Independent
Arsenal will wear their all-white kit, which supports the club’s campaign against knife crime and youth violence, in their FA Cup clash against Manchester United this weekend.
The Gunners take on United at the Emirates Stadium in the third round of the oldest cup competition in the world on Sunday afternoon and will be sporting an all-white kit for a fourth year in a row.
Arsenal’s normal home red-and-white kit will be “drained of red” as part of their ‘No More Red’ campaign that helps fight knife crime and youth violence on the streets of London.
So what of the team? Sports Mole offer
Raya;
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori;
Odegaard, Rice, Merino;
Jesus, Havertz, Martinelli
Whoscored have the same offering. And indeed so does the Standard and so our normal rule applies – if the first three sites we look at all come up with the same story, then that’s the team we are likely to see.
