- How the biggest effect on Arsenal’s performance is which ref they get
- Want to be a football journalist? Lesson 1: Learn to rant
It’s not been a surprise to see that most commentators are taking the view that as Vavel website says, “The outlook is bleak, with Arsenal sat in a modest lowly place in the Premier League, needing to close down a nine-point gap to the league leaders Liverpool – if their season is to end in success domestically.”
I suppose that’s because they reckon negativity gets more readers than positivity. After all, as I’ve been trying to say of late, there is a lot of positivity around at the moment, as Arsenal have recently played a whole series of games (often away) against other top teams – matches that normally are spread out through the season.
In fact, far from being bleak the outlook (if one considers the opposition to come as opposed to the opposition already faced) is rather positive. One could ask of course how come Arsenal have had such a tough run of fixtures, but one would never get a straight answer to this from the likes of those who organise the fixtures, so probably it is not worth thinking along those lines. If you want to delve into this further and missed the previous piece it was at Lower points than last season? In fact Arsenal are actually doing just as well
There was more good news when it revealed that Martin Ødegaard isn’t going to get further injuries by playing in pointless internationals (it’s what the newspapers call “international duty”.) After this “international interruption” (a phrase that is much more related to what happens I think, than the traditional “international break” which makes it sound like a holiday) players like Odegaard and can now really get his recovery sorted.
I don’t know if Ødegaard simply told Norway of his decision, or the Norwegian FA showed a lot more sense and decency than most associations, but either way he is not playing in this interruption. What he is quoted as saying is, “I’ve been through a long training period and when you haven’t practised football in the last nine weeks, it’s natural not to be 100% yet. I need to listen to my body, complete this rehab process and get my foot back in good shape.”
Even the Norway team doctor, Ola Sand, appeared to be utterly reasonable, noting that the injury was a “complicated ankle injury,” which I guess we gathered. Indeed there seems to be an outbreak of sense and realism going on in international football of a type we don’t normally associate with organisations better known for the “he got injured playing for his country – be sure to have him ready for the next time we need him” approach to football.
So with Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice among eight withdrawals from the England squad things are looking up for Arsenal and we might have nearly a full team of fit players once the internationals are done and football proper returns.
Meanwhile in the Independent there is a review of Arsenal’s last game which says within it, “It still ended up as one of those matches where it is difficult to say anything definitively, which also feels the case with a strange Premier League table at the moment.”
But of course that is only because they refuse to take into account the fact that Arsenal have played a disproportionately high number of games against other top teams in the opening 11 games of the season – as we revealed in our last piece.
It would be good to have a table of how many games each of the top clubs have played against other such clubs away from home (which is what Arsenal have been subjected to this season) but seemingly because it says positive things about Arsenal, none of the media want to publish such data.
You might however remember my chart on Arsenal from the last review on this site – it showed that five games out of 11 played this season (which by my calculation is almost half) have been against teams that we might consider the bigger outfits in the league…
| Date | Match | Res | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Aug 2024 | Aston Villa v Arsenal | W | 0-2 |
| 15 Sep 2024 | Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal | W | 0-1 |
| 22 Sep 2024 | Manchester City v Arsenal | D | 2-2 |
| 02 Nov 2024 | Newcastle United v Arsenal | L | 1-0 |
| 10 Nov 2024 | Chelsea v Arsenal | D | 1-1 |
Now here is the comparison chart for Liverpool
| Date | Match | Res | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Sep 2024 | Manchester United v Liverpool | W | 0-3 |
| 27 Oct 2024 | Arsenal v Liverpool | D | 2-2 |
It’s odd that the league fixtures have worked out this way. But perhaps the only odder thing is that very few media sites or outlets of other kinds or indeed newspapers (which most certainly can be called “another kind”) seem to want to mention this.
Why is that?
Arsenal have also played a disproportionally high number of games against at least 12 opponents, with only 10 men themselves on 3 occasions.
That is certainly true John, but the problem is if one puts that point forward to anyone who thinks Arsenal are being fairly treated, they’d say that wsa Arsenal’s fault!
I am sorry but I will have to bluntly honest here.
Arteta and Edu have grossly grossly failed in the transfer market by buying a disproportionate number of defensive minded players. At my last count it was 20 of 26.
Arteta has been a total disgrace when it comes to.buyong attacking players.
William…massive flop
Jesus has been one of the historically worst signings for arsenal. He has failed in every season. He has definitely cost the PL two seasons ago when he returned after 4 month lay off and was thrust back into a winning team by an inept Arteta in favor of Trossard who was on fire and we fell away badly. Yes we can blame Saliba injury but that was also mitagable by not playing Holding and using Kiwior instead or whoever else was available.
Fabio…another.massive flop..featherweight Arteta choice
Havertz who definitely definitely cost the momentum and the league last year. He is not a LCM, and not striker. The money spent for him could gotten us both Kudus and Milinkovic Savic. We would have cantered the league
Then there is the fact Arteta wanted Mudrk , we luckily got Trossard who has been excellent but never more than squad player. Now this season Arteta being weak allows himself to put Trossard as starter. He is not effective this way.
I can go on.
Arteta.has spent 865m.
We.have no striker, no 2nd choice striker, no third choice
Odegaard has no comp (Nameri is.understudy and not trusted) then Odegaard injured
Saka No comp after 4 years of needing it. Now.his hamstrings have Gone
We still have no Xhaka replacement because instead of buying Eze or Barella we get Merino yet another DM
Oh please don’t forget about busted flush Sterling..another.inctedibly cowardly and lazy and weak signing who will do Nothing and leave at years end)
We have 3LW, 2non strikers who couldnt hit a barn door , no 3rd striker, 1 RW, 1AM, no LCM or back up LCM, 4 DM, 5 LB, 2LCB, 1RCB, 3RB
Who spends 865m like this.
This project is a failure after 5 years. We will not won the PL or CL this year amd that is a failure to build on the
last years where in both years Arteta choked.
Edu left because he saw the writing in the wall and wanted out before it turned to shit. He left whilst his stock was still high.
This os failing project and Arteta is the root cause. Je jist cannot get out of his own way. If he plays tje correct team.we thrash other teams. Bit he is absolutely terrible inn tje transfer market. This is a fact proven over 5 years.
For defenders he is good and for DM he is good. Every other positions he cannot be trusted amd his knowledge is weak. A new technical director must buy tue pmayers the squad needs when we need it, prioritize.
Fed up of 20 years.of failure to win PL and never won PL. Massively miss Arsene to honest.
I’ve also done a couple of pieces on how easy Liverpools and indeed Spurs, fixtures have been in comparison to Arsenals.
I know it’s difficult for you to say Tony but honestly I’ve given up caring. We have been cheated. Plain and simple.
Of course, because of the subject nature of so many calls in football, every single card given or not, to every single team/player can be justified one way or the other.
As such we know that EVERY SINGLE CALL that has gone against Arsenal has been justified post match.
It’s very easy to do because they are all a ‘matter of opinion’.
Then we have the following which helps enormously when you want to see a match fixed.
– I like it when the referee keeps his cards in his pocket early on.
– Not enough for me.
-That was his first.
– He didn’t mean it.
– He’s not like that.
– He was looking at the ball.
– By the letter of the law he had no choice. (except when he does)
– He didn’t want to spoil the match.
All terms to justify whatever they want, or don’t want to of happened.
I, like everyone else, has seen incidents of time wasting, kicking the ball away, 2 yellows on the trot (bad foul followed by abuse at the referee) totally ignored by referees, VAR and commentators alike. Not a word.
If the Rice and Trossard incidents had passed without incident very little would of been said. They were so trivial and run of the mill, things we see every weekend, they wouldn’t of warranted a second word, just like what happens when anyone else does it.
But this is Arsenal with their very own rule book. Makes me sick.
OK if we take it that you are right Free, how come Arsenal have scored only three goals fewer this season, despite having, as our recent post showed, game after game away to the top teams of last season. Or if you don’t like that how did Arsenal scored 91 league goals last season, the highest number since 1952/3, when the club actually played four more league games?
Tony
If Mr. Arteta is to be replaced by a more capable manager, perhaps Mr. Free should be appointed, since his standards are so high, meaning that ony finishing first every year is acceptable.
If Arsenal are s…t, how bad must all the others be (except 115FC of course)?
@ Free
Dear oh dear………………………