- Moving the Premier League to the USA. Plans are underway
- Where it costs nothing to go and watch football, and a more savoury approach
By Bulldog Drummond
Since the first leg game between Bayern and Arsenal, the ex-German-champions have played once and had a 2-0 win over Koln. However the German title has already been decided with Leverkusen 16 points ahead and just five league games left. Overall Bayern Munich have lost two of their last six games.
| Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 29 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 19 | 55 | 79 |
| 2 | Bayern Munich | 29 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 82 | 36 | 46 | 63 |
| 3 | Stuttgart | 29 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 67 | 34 | 33 | 63 |
For Arsenal of course matters are different as the top of the Premier League is much tighter. Arsenal’s result since the game as we’ll all recall was a 0-2 home defeat. There was, inevitably, a large amount of criticism from the media and many fans about the team selection and the way Arsenal played, and a significant walk out before the end of the last match, none of which will have helped the players in the slightest.
Beyond that there has been a disagreement with Arteta’s team selection, reinforcing the notion that among many Arsenal fans that the club is only as good as the last match. It is a burden many clubs in Europe do not have to shoulder.
Does any of this motivate Arsenal for the second leg, or does it lead to a view among the players that no matter how good they are (and Arsenal’s previous results were indeed 10 wins and 1 draw in the league suggesting they are very good) the players are always just one defeat away from a mass walk out before the end of the game and wild raging criticism in the media and on the blogs?
Untold has argued since its launch over 12,000 articles ago in 2008, the attitude of the media and some fans is a drag on the club and the team. Arteta has shown himself able to work through this, including overcoming the consecutive finishes of eighth in the league and calls for his departure throughout that period, but this negativity is of a different nature. For it shows that no matter how good the team’s performances are, they are only one match away from the raging anti-Arsenal commentaries returning.
Yet Arsenal are in the positive position of having everyone fit for the game, although it would seem highly unlikely that Jurrien Timber could be included. However Bayern Munich have Alphonso Davies suspended for getting too many yellow cards, while Kingsley Coman is injured along with Serge Gnabry.
Also in the win over Koln Leroy Sane came off part way through the game and there are doubts about him.
And it actually seems a bit worse than that since Tarek Buchmann and Gabriel Marusic who might be expected at least to come into the squad if not play, are also missing through injury, along with Sacha Boey and Bouna Sarr. So for once, the whole Bayern Munich squad looks somewhat depleted.
And there is a broader context as for Munich the loss of the title has been something that has been coming along for a couple of seasons rather than it being just a one off interruption to the normal flow of events. Two years ago they won the league by eight points over Borussia Dortmund while last season the title was only taken on goal difference over the same club. Now it has gone, and they only have Europe to focus on.
Arsenal’s major concern is whether the unexpected defeat to Aston Villa and the extremely negative response that followed preludes a replica of the decline of last season in which after seven consecutive league wins Arsenal began a run of three draws, two victories, and two defeats in the last seven games. Results which meant the title was not taken.
Everyone will remember how that decline happened last season after the club were 8 points clear at the top of the league on 1 April…
| Date | Points clear or behind the leader |
| 1 April 2023 | 8 points clear |
| 21 April 2023 | 5 points clear |
| 26 April 2023 | 2 points clear |
| 7 May 2023 | 1 point behind |
| 20 May 2023 | 4 points behind |
That is the worrying prelude to this match. Could that sort of decline happen again?
Arsenal lose a match (after a brilliant first-half display which might have resulted in 3 goals, but for luck and good AV defenders and keeper) and the media hate gets full expression again : “pundit x, y, z etc tells Arteta where he went wrong ” etc; “Arsenal title chances ended” etc. Plus we should now sell all our players who are not good enough and buy better replacements” – or – All our good players should leave to join clubs with more chance of success. The familiar sh..e, in large measure. (I don’t think that Jurgen Klopp’s plucky and promising young players got the same treatment from the media).
Yes, Bayern away will be a tough test, especially after the denial of the last-minute penalty for the foul on Saka, plus the threat posed by Kane, who would not be playing if he had got the red card which his violent elbow assault merited. Whatever happens tonight and in the rest of the season, Arsenal supporters should be proud of the team for the quality they have shown this season
Well, the team is still in the build-up learning curve. Most have not experienced ECL play-offs. It is all part ofthe build-up process.
Will I be sorry if we don’t win ? Sure. Will I be upset ? Hell no. This season has been good, we’ve seen a positive evolution and we’re seing the growing up of a team at a pace that is staggering.
Just remember 18 months ago : Ramsdale, Zinchenko, Jesus were hailed as excellent players, top of the crop. And they did bring about a turn in the way Arsenal has played. And now, these very good footballers find themselves not automatically on the team sheet because the team quality has evolved so much so quickly.
Mr Arteta is ruthlessly building up a team to win. The quality goes up, and he still ruthlessly decides to make it better with new players.
So, trust the process…. and let the players do their stuff. I don’t believe they are not going to give their best. Will they keep their emotions in check and rise enough to the occasion ? This is going to be the question.
Everybody cool down and support the Gunners ! This is what we all wanted for so long : playing at that level.
The was some of our fans react to a loss is staggering… yes I was dissapointed on Sunday. But as good as they have been so far in 2024, I can’t accept the criticism the players and coach got after one bad half. As that was all it was: one bad half of football in 3,5 months….. If we would have been 2-0 up at half time the match would have been over. We didn’t take our chances for some reason and paid for it. That is football.
3 well thought out and balanced analysis. Analysis that I believe will be applauded by many.
Alas, as we have seen in the media, on the blogs, and with a couple of posters on here, this rabid criticism of anything other than perfection and victory in every match is always bubbling bellow the surface and these kind of results simply will not be tolerated.
As you say, half a game that dropped bellow our usual high standards and apparently a mass walk out is exactly what Arteta and his team deserved. It is simply mind boggling and these people should hang their heads in shame.
Alas our fans have earned themselves a terrible reputation and unforetuneately it is well deserved.
Arteta and the players have worked tirelessly to get the fans back on board, although why they ever had to in the first place I’ll never know, and it seems one poor result has shown it hasn’t actually changed a thing.
Just read what the guy that stinks this place out on a regular basis has to say to get an idea of what they are up against.