- Arsenal have so many injuries it’s impossible to say what the team will be
- The one gigantic benefit that Arsenal have that everyone has forgotten
By Tony Attwood
Well, forgive me if I start with a league table, because a) it looks wonderful and b) I can’t think of many or indeed any of the pundits who make money from writing about football, predicting this. Even in the most bonkers of bonkers worlds, it is hard not to see Arsenal going through automatically to the main knockout phase, and bypassing the extra round – a privilege that is given to the top eight clubs. In the worst, worst, worst scenario, something odd could happen to send Arsenal into that extra home and away round, but with Arteta already complaining about the number of games the players have to play, that is not what we want, and I am sure not what we will get.
And no, we are not top scorers in the competition, as PSG have scored two more, but my goodness, just look at the level of goals conceded. No club, but absolutely no club will want to be drawn against Arsenal once the play-off games for the not-quite-so-good teams, are over.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | +16 | 18 |
| 2 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 7 | +11 | 15 |
| 3 | Paris Saint-Germain | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 13 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 13 |
| 5 | Atalanta | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 13 |
| 6 | Inter Milan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 12 |
| 7 | Real Madrid | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 12 |
| 8 | Atlético Madrid | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 12 | +3 | 12 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 12 |
| 10 | Borussia Dortmund | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 11 |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 11 |
| 12 | Newcastle United | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 10 |
| 13 | Chelsea | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 10 |
Last season Arsenal won six, drew one and lost one in this stage of the competition, and the goals tally was 16-3 by the end of this eight-match introductory round, so that makes this season quite an improvement. More goals already, and quite possibly by the end a better defence. Of one thing we can be absolutely sure – whoever we are drawn against in the next round, they are going to be wishing it was someone else.
And all this before we get to Gabriel Martinelli – but well, you already know about his amazing record. But I will repeat because I have always enjoyed watching the player: the first Arsenal man who has scored in five successive Champions League matches. And I also wonder what those who protested about the signing of Noni Madueke think now. Probably not much. The press remember however, the Telegraph leading with the headline “Noni Madueke makes a mockery of embarrassing petition to put Arsenal frustrations behind him”
And that is part of the problem – those people who signed the petition against singing the player will probably be denying it now, or at least not mentioning it, but it is still there being repeated in the media, and a warning to other players to think twice before coming to Arsenal. “Yoyu never know,” the message is “what sort of thing some of their fans will get up to.”
Of course, winning six Champs League games in a row is not a unique achievement, but I suspect that goal difference of 17 for and one against in these opening games has not been often achieved – if at all. One more point from the last two games takes us into the final 16 for sure, but in effect the goals have already done that.
And it is wonderful, I think, to see the extraordinary defensive achievements in the Premier League replicated in the Champions League as well. Our nearest defensive rivals are Inter, having conceded four.
And, and, and let us not forget that Gabriel Jesus came on – how about that! I really thought we would probably not see him again.
But overall, what Arsenal now have are players who can work as a team and players who can then come forward and do the most extraordinary things, as with the goals scored. Madueke and Martinelli…. what more can I say?
Welll, perhaps I might add that I was concerned before the game to hear that Declanj Rice was ill and had stayed at home and that Justin Timber was still injured, but it didn’t seem to matter. So Arsenal have now, apparently, used seven different central defensive partnerships this season, and we are top of the Premier League and top of the Champions League. Maybe we should rotate even when we don’t need to!
And we have to remember that this was against a team that Arsenal were playing a team which, although having upheavals with the manager, drew with Barcelona earlier in the competition. Indeed even the Independent which ran a very negative piece recently junder the headline “Mikel Arteta denies overtraining Arsenal players after latest injury setback” (which was very reminiscent of the approach of the medida during the Wenger days”) backed off at bit, although they have reminded us that “The Gunners have suffered 28 injuries this season, which is among the highest in the Premier League”
So maybe injuries are the price of this level of success, as we have suggested before. The talk in the opposition dressing rooms is “you’re probably not going to beeat them for speed and accuracy, so kick them instead.” And without referee protection, I fear it will continue. Which is also why we often find it hard to predict which team will play, as it is so often a case of who can be patched up in time.
