- Could it really be there is something going wrong with football in England?
- Pre-match predictions often avoid key issues. But why is this?
By Tony Attwood
And well, that was a rather fine surprise. Everton have won one third of their home matches and Manchester City half of their away matches. And even now, that was only the third home win for Everton in the last ten games while Manchester City are unbeaten away in their last ten games.
And yet it was 3-3 with ManC grabbing their draw in the seventh minute of time added on by a referee, who seemed always willing to give ManC every little extra chance. So after days of worrying that Arsenal wobbles would coincide with a ManC charge we are now firmly back in the lead….
|
|
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
|
|
|
35
|
23
|
7
|
5
|
67
|
26
|
41
|
76
|
|
|
|
34
|
21
|
8
|
5
|
69
|
32
|
37
|
71
|
|
|
|
35
|
18
|
10
|
7
|
63
|
48
|
15
|
64
|
|
|
|
35
|
17
|
7
|
11
|
59
|
47
|
12
|
58
|
|
|
|
35
|
17
|
7
|
11
|
48
|
44
|
4
|
58
|
Of course, we can’t get too excited, but there are only three Arsenal games and four ManC games to go, and psychologically that result for Manchester City must have been a real kick up the whatnot, even allowing for the pleasure they derived from getting the ref to give them seven minutes of added-on time. Today, the table looks quite a bit brighter as you can see above.
Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 0-2 away on 2 May in their last game, leaving them firmly in fourth, five points behind Villareal in third and 25 points behind Barcelona at the top. Barcelona incidentally need one more point to pretty much guarantee another league title (given that Raal Madrid in second are 11 points and goals behind in the league table.)
The only negative thing that can be noted in Arsenal’s Champions League results is that in the last five games, Arsenal have scored more than one goal only once. Those games have resulted in two wins and three draws. But a 1-0 will do it tonight.
The East Stand is apparently organising the “biggest tifo in the club’s history” (defined by AI as a “large-scale, choreographed visual display created by sports supporters,” presumably just to get everyone into the stadium early and so buy their beer at Arsenal prices.
Of course there is also the question of who Arsenal could play if they do succeed in the game tonight. The other semi-final is tomorrow night, between Bayern and PSG, and that game ended Bayern 4 PSG 5 in the first leg, so goodness knows what is going to happen.
In the most recent news, Arteta has said that both Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz are fit for the Champions League game tonight, although I suspect that might lead them both to be on the bench.
The website Premier Injuries is still listing four Arsenal men out, including Havertz and Odegaard, who are both listed as “currently being assessed.” Timber and Merino are of course, out of this game.
Sky Sports are currently running the headline that “If Arsenal beat West Ham on Sunday, they win the Premier League title, says Jamie Carragher” but I would imagine that by now the Arsenal squad is experienced enough to know how to cut such chitter chatter from their minds, despite Carragher’s strongest efforts.
According to the Independent newspaper, the Atletico not-so-secret plan is to make “Arsenal to lose their heads”. That means the opposition is putting in some nasty, painful tackles early on, leaving Arsenal players afraid for their safety, thus persuading them to pass the ball more quickly rather than carry it forward.
Unfortunately for Atletico, this sort of approach, sometimes aided somewhat by referees in the Premier League, is something Arsenal are used to and rarely fall for. Additionally, the Spanish press is picking up on the theme that Arsenal are looking tired because of their long season, what with the greater number of league and cup games Arsenal have played in this campaign.
Simeone’s problem is that this is what he says prior to most major games, so Arsenal have been able to predict it and then have a laugh at the Atletico man for coming up with the same tricks as ever.
They have also done the old thing of complaining about the facilities at Arsenal stadium, how the showers don’t work properly and all that. But rather like a five-year-old’s complaints to his parents, after they have been heard once, they have far less impact next time around. And of course, it has been noted that they have used these complaints against other teams too, utilising the facts that lots of journalists will write up anything without checking facts. The length of the grass, the slickness of the grass, and non-rotating sprinklers – the problem is Arsenal and the officials have heard it all before, and Uefa has a policy of not investigating anything managers say, no matter how ludicrous.
The only thing that Atletico can do is not reveal exactly what format their players will line up in, as this often does not become clear even when the team sheets are handed over. But then, with Arsenal suggesting that more players are becoming fit, they can play that game too.
Up next: the team.
