By Bulldog Drummond
Here are the injury details as usual ahead of the Chelsea game…
| Player | Reason | Further Detail | Potential Return | Status |
| Calum Chambers | Knee Injury | Ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee.” | 29/08/2020 | Ruled Out |
| Kieran Tierney | Shoulder Injury | “Dislocated shoulder at West Ham. Kieran will undergo surgery next week and will rehabilitate for around three months.” | 14/03/2020 | Ruled Out |
| Sead Kolasinac | Thigh Injury | “Hoping to return to full training in the winter break period.” | 16/02/2020 | Ruled Out |
| Reiss Nelson | Thigh Injury | “Hoping to return to full training in the winter break period.” | 16/02/2020 | Ruled Out |
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Suspended | Sending Off – Red Card | 02/02/2020 | Ruled Out |
| Sokratis* | Other | Illness | 21/01/2020 | 75% |
*Sorkatis has a late fitness test we are informed by Physioroom, at which presumably he will be asking all the questions (ho ho, for readers with any semblance of a classical education). Bellerin we note is out of the list and so might actually make a start.
Curiously although we are 10th in the league overall, when we just look at our away form (which has been the cause of our problems in recent years) we are actually 9th.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 28 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 33 | 15 | 18 | 22 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 28 | 12 | 16 | 22 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 22 |
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 17 |
| 6 | Southampton | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 17 |
| 7 | Sheffield United | 12 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 16 |
| 8 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 14 |
| 9 | Arsenal | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 12 |
But although that is ninth in the table, with a game in hand we only have two away wins, which is not exactly exciting and is in keeping with the poor away form of the last few seasons.
We are actually 13th in the league if just home matches are counted so we have now dropped out of this particular chart…
And Chelsea’s form at home…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 9 | 22 | 36 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 12 | 19 | 26 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 23 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 22 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 20 |
| 6 | Everton | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 20 |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 19 |
| 8 | Burnley | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 18 | -2 | 18 |
| 9 | Chelsea | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 17 |
| 10 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 17 |
So Chelsea have got 17 points at home and we’ve got 12 points away. The goal difference is against us too, with +4 to Chelsea and -2 to Arsenal. Everything then points to a one or two goal victory to Chelsea. A draw would be a good, and surprising result, for Arsenal.
The only thing we can cling onto is that they have only scored two more home goals than we have away goals – quite a surprise really.
And now the good news. Arsenal have only lost two of their last ten games…
| Date | Game | Res |
Score | Competition |
| 09 Dec 2019 | West Ham United v Arsenal | W | 1-3 | Premier League |
| 12 Dec 2019 | Standard Liège v Arsenal | D | 2-2 | Europa League |
| 15 Dec 2019 | Arsenal v Manchester City | L | 0-3 | Premier League |
| 21 Dec 2019 | Everton v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 26 Dec 2019 | AFC Bournemouth v Arsenal | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 29 Dec 2019 | Arsenal v Chelsea | L | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 01 Jan 2020 | Arsenal v Manchester United | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 06 Jan 2020 | Arsenal v Leeds United | W | 1-0 | FA Cup |
| 11 Jan 2020 | Crystal Palace v Arsenal | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 18 Jan 2020 | Arsenal v Sheffield United | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
One of those two however was against Chelsea at home – the other at home to Manchester City. Our last away defeat was on 9 November against Leicester . Since then we have played six games away from the Arsenal Stadium, and the results have been, one win, five draws and no defeats.
So let’s look, at least with a little hope, at Chelsea’s home form over the same period
| Date | Game | Res |
Score | Competition |
| 05 Nov 2019 | Chelsea v Ajax | D | 4-4 | Champions League |
| 09 Nov 2019 | Chelsea v Crystal Palace | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 30 Nov 2019 | Chelsea v West Ham United | L | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 04 Dec 2019 | Chelsea v Aston Villa | W | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 10 Dec 2019 | Chelsea v Lille OSC | W | 2-1 | Champions League |
| 14 Dec 2019 | Chelsea v AFC Bournemouth | L | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 26 Dec 2019 | Chelsea v Southampton | L | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 05 Jan 2020 | Chelsea v Nottingham Forest | W | 2-0 | FA Cup |
| 11 Jan 2020 | Chelsea v Burnley | W | 3-0 | Premier League |
Five wins, three defeats, one draw. Whichever way we look at it Chelsea are the stronger team – unless of course Arsenal are now equated to Bournemouth or Southampton or West Ham. The problem is we are not really that bad, are we?
The reality is that we are only as bad as PGMOL makes us. Arsenal are in reality a top for team but the cheating by PGMOL has robbed us of an absolute fortune in monetary terms and position in the EPL. One would expect the owners of Arsenal to persue the deliberate losses that the PGMOL have forced on us. But no! They have sat back quietly and accepted this blatant robbery like meek lambs.
We supporters have to accept the cheating and not riot. How can a player v Chelsea not get sent off for a clear second yellow and end up scoring a winner against us? How can a clear penalty for a foul on Pepe not be given by the cheat Dean and then ignored by VAR manned by another select cheat, while the master of corrupt officiating sits in the stands ant our home ground?
This EPL has become a cheat fest with arrogance.
Want to see how VAR can work ?https://www.facebook.com/ARAG.Nederland/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARBDXhZQvWbk72Cr3Mh2MRX4q9vmwk62j06n4AhtlJrWpLsvz2kQo4LnjJZQYQ0sXYO0x_A6KT-cALaz&hc_ref=ARQc5aOmzH9T459z9me-rQmnRBAKHqSW0FOHxURe_ZotTwdsj2DxbtYDbQKpiho0VIc&fref=nf&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDHzlpzd8P0kj00mqHVhcc0tmEFA5NUMDng3kV20s1yfYSH3bxn7D-I9rghuJe1BU6B2_9D-indf_cRVfM7sf9Te1Ek4R2RKnclxL5ufJWVoevwxufaoehEsUTw_WUavo3XRKrCuAXgFoLk3a-7cLopAXGiKojiBQGMKSUOwwC8-lHzVbamxL5FDkiUlveKmi674rawUDfWhk-kx6_1-CbWmALxLp6BKrKMz0xsP-k2IrCL62rHmIy3CzTV1bfNzPQUCoR93NK9hxh8nt9XpiGYtuRZfMt6Q6AxxNI0zfVtWQ07dJ7T4KXt0w3DiBpjIfBLwMdmqkBMV4L_vpuyY10wx0Zy-kY6l4WxZoAOZtRx0aZ7Jq3Ba802bLLbY7DQ
or this https://www.facebook.com/pg/ARAG.Nederland/videos/?ref=page_internal a direct link to clips released by VAR refereeing sponsors ARAG
All this complete with video and audio….full in the open….
@Walter – Such a wonderful example of sporting excellence and transparency. Would PGMOL be able to follow this example? Would they heck!! The corrupt cheating bastards have no semblance of honesty, integrity or chance of transparency.