By Bulldog Drummond
(I know that headline is a bit odd, but just read on to see what nonsense the media is stating today).
As we have seen in the last article on the basis of current form and home and away results in the season, this looks like an 3-1 win to Arsenal.
The game is of course Mr Wenger’s last home match and apparently we are all going to get a t-shirt on the seat. Last time this happened I watched loads of scum bags running around the stadium stealing them before people got to their seats so they could sell them later: I wonder if Arsenal have realised this and will put security guards in place, possibly also checking on who the scumbags are so that they can have their memberships cancelled. We shall see.
One interesting little snippet that has cropped up as the media sow their negativity yet again, should Burnley end up above us in the final league table then our opening match in the Europa qualifiers will be on 26 July – the date advertised for the first of the pre-season friendlies – this one against Atlético Madrid in Singapore. Shock horror, and cue more “Arsenal incompetence” headlines.
But what the article omits is that for Burnley to go above us after this game Burnley would have to win 0-9 – a win would give them equal points with Arsenal and the nine goal victory would give them a goal difference of +12 while ours would come down to +10. 0-8 would not do it since we would both be on +11 but Arsenal would be higher having scored many, many more goals. To overcome that problem of goals scored, the victory would have to be through a scoreline of 0-33. A trifle unlikely.
Even then Arsenal would still have a couple of games left to Burnley’s one, although to be fair to the doom mongers Arsenal’s last two games are away from home. Still, I think it a little premature to say that Burnley will finish above Arsenal.
More likely, Burnley will focus on something different. One more point will put them out of reach of Everton, and so give them the security of a place in the Europa albeit in the preliminary rounds. But even that is a bit academic (although getting that extra point is what some of the papers are writing about. Anything to make a story).
It goes like this… If Everton win their remaining two games and Burnley lose their’s, Everton have to make up 15 goals to overcome Burnley. Everton are -12 and Burnley +3 before today. That would be something like two 4-0 victories for Everton and a 0-4 and a 0-3 for Burnley.
I can see Burnley obliging tomorrow with a solid defeat at Arsenal, but all four matches to go that way? No, I think not. It is Arsenal in sixth, and Burnley in seventh and Arsenal’s pre-season tour is ok.
Of course the media won’t give up on nonsense until the season is over and even then they’ll keep going with fantasy transfer stories. And it is good to see that even Physioroom which we have been using as our source of injuries for as long as I’ve been writing previews, has joined in the nonsense. Because, well, we can never have enough nonsense can we?
You might spot it in the table below…
| # | TEAM | Men down | Last man down | What he got |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester City | 9 | D Amartey | Hamstring Injury |
| 2 | Watford | 7 | A Carrillo | Groin Strain |
| 3 | Burnley | 5 | C Wood | Foot |
| 4 | Everton | 5 | D Calvert-Lewin | Back Injury |
| 5 | West Ham United | 5 | M Antonio | Hamstring Injury |
| 6 | Swansea City | 5 | K Bartley | Knee Injury |
| 7 | Liverpool | 5 | J Gomez | Ankle Injury |
| 8 | Arsenal | 4 | A Sanchez | Knock |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 4 | C Wickham | Groin Strain |
| 10 | Huddersfield Town | 4 | T Ince | Hamstring Injury |
| 11 | Stoke City | 4 | B Martins Indi | Groin Strain |
| 12 | Manchester City | 4 | V Kompany | Muscle Injury |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 3 | N Chadli | Fitness |
| 14 | Bournemouth | 3 | H Arter | Achilles Injury |
| 15 | Chelsea | 3 | D Luiz | Knee Injury |
| 16 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | M Dembele | Ankle Injury |
| 17 | Newcastle United | 3 | C Clark | Knee Injury |
| 18 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 2 | I Brown | ACL Knee Injury |
| 19 | Manchester United | 2 | P Jones | Knock |
| 20 | Southampton | 1 | S Davis | Achilles Injury |
Yes, this really is how it appears on Physioroom, so I might have to think about changes our source of data on injuries for next season. I mean talking up Arsenal’s catastrophic injury list is one thing, but including Alexis as an Arsenal player is pushing it a bit far.
In fact we should be in 14th place with three injuries: Koscielny, Elneny, and Santi. Kos is certainly out for our remaining three games, Elneny might be back for the last match and Santi? Who knows. Let us just keep on wishing him well.
As for Burnley, there is general agreement on injuries to Mee, Arfield, Brady, and Defour, but Physioroom also have Wood out until next month with a foot injury. The Guardian in its match preview have him playing. Interesting to note the number of injuries that Leicester have, since we play them mid-week.
All the latest
And thus it ends at home… to Burnley, the low score speciality team.
How the Arsenal imagined by the media and the anti-Wenger fans compares to the club’s history
Insult of the day, and a consideration of the minds of Keown and Souness
On the Arsenal History Society site today…
Arsenal Sept 1922: the first Hill-Wood arrives, Spurs seriously warned, Arsenal debts reduced
Why today’s Arsenal fans would have demanded Chapman’s dismissal after 3 seasons
Ironically I think we will win our last three games. Whatever happens we should show our class and give Arsene Wenger a really great send off, he deserves it.
My feelings at the moment are a mixture of sadness and anticipation.
There are many like me who will really miss Wenger. I still don’t know how it will feel without him in Arsenal. But then, that is life.
I really wish him the very best, wherever he goes and whatever he chooses to do.
He is going with a little piece of me.
Arsenal players take note for next season. But then again refs aren’t bias according to some.
“I now know what the Premier League is like and what the referees are like,” Morata said to Marca is an exclusive interview. “I’m starting to befriend them now in the final stretch of the season because it’s the only way for them to call more fouls for you.”
https://www.givemesport.com/1307223-chelsea-striker-alvaro-morata-has-made-a-shocking-admission-about-pl-referees