Arsenal vs The Spectacles. The teams and other stuff.

By Bulldog Drummond

As you will know perfectly well (so I am not quite sure why I am telling you, but I’ve started so I will finish), we are in a 12 match run without defeat; a run that now has nine wins and three draws.   Here is how it goes…

1 20 Aug Leicester City v Arsenal D 0-0 Premier League
2 27 Aug Watford v Arsenal W 1-3 Premier League
3 10 Sep Arsenal v Southampton W 2-1 Premier League
4 13 Sep Paris St Germain v Arsenal D 1-1 Champions League
5 17 Sep Hull City v Arsenal W 1-4 Premier League
6 20 Sep Nottingham Forest v Arsenal W 0-4 League Cup
7 24 Sep Arsenal v Chelsea W 3-0 Premier League
8 28 Sep Arsenal v FC Basel W 2-0 Champions League
9 02 Oct Burnley v Arsenal W 0-1 Premier League
10 15 Oct Arsenal v Swansea City W 3-2 Premier League
11 19 Oct Arsenal v PFC Ludogorets Razgrad W 6-0 Champions League
12 22 Oct Arsenal v Middlesbrough D 0-0 Premier League

I make that 29 goals for 6 against but since that involves adding up it could be wrong.

As for games against Reading counted up across the whole of time since the Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction the table reads…

Games won by Arsenal 13
Games drawn: 0
Games won by Reading 0

And here are the results of those 13 games

Date Match Result Score Competition
16 Feb 1935 Reading v Arsenal W 0-1 FA Cup
11 Oct 1967 Arsenal v Reading W 1-0 League Cup
05 Feb 1972 Reading v Arsenal W 1-2 FA Cup
10 Jan 1987 Reading v Arsenal W 1-3 FA Cup
29 Nov 2005 Arsenal v Reading W 3-0 League Cup
22 Oct 2006 Reading v Arsenal W 0-4 Premier League
03 Mar 2007 Arsenal v Reading W 2-1 Premier League
12 Nov 2007 Reading v Arsenal W 1-3 Premier League
19 Apr 2008 Arsenal v Reading W 2-0 Premier League
30 Oct 2012 Reading v Arsenal W 5-7 League Cup
17 Dec 2012 Reading v Arsenal W 2-5 Premier League
30 Mar 2013 Arsenal v Reading W 4-1 Premier League
18 Apr 2015 Arsenal v Reading W 2-1 FA Cup
25 Oct 2016 Arsenal v Reading League Cup

The first meeting between the sides, in 1935, is covered in the current series on the Arsenal History Society website in the article: Arsenal in the 30s – February 1935. Despite one slip, Arsenal remain top.

In terms of sheer bizarreness the October 2012 game must rank at the top of the list

The lineup was

Martinez

Jenkinson Koscielny Djourou Miquel

Coquelin Frimpong Gnabry

Arshavin  Chakakh  Walcott

After 37 minutes Arsenal were 4-0 down before Theo got one back just on half time: 4-1.

On the hour Gnabry and Frimpong went off to be replaced by Eisfeld and Giroud.  Giroud scored within a couple of minutes, and it stayed at 4-2 until the 89th minute, when first Koscielny and then Theo got goals in a 90 seconds spell to make it 4-4 and send it to extra time.

Chamakh scored just before the end of the first half of extra time but then Reading equalised.  Finally on 120 minutes Arsenal knocked in two in rapid succession – a second for each of Chamakh and Walcott.

Unused on the bench that day was Hector Bellerin.

So who will it be today?  Perhaps something along these lines…

Martinez,

Jenkinson, Holding, Gabriel, Gibbs,

Coquelin, Elneny,

Oxlade-Chamberlain, Reine-Adelaide, Lucas,

Giroud

Lurking on the beach: Macey, Bielik, Sheaf, Mailtland-Niles, Zelalem, Willock, Ramsey

Here’s Reading’s recent run of form, and their league position

Date Match Res Score Competiton
27 Sep Brentford v Reading L 4-1 Championship
01 Oct Reading v Derby County D 1-1 Championship
04 Oct Portsmouth v Reading W 3-4 Football League Trophy
15 Oct Queens Park Rangers v Reading D 1-1 Championship
18 Oct Reading v Aston Villa L 1-2 Championship
22 Oct Rotherham United v Reading W 0-1 League Championship
25 Oct Arsenal v Reading League Cup

and the league table…

Team P W D L F A GD Pts
Newcastle United 14 10 1 3 30 11 19 31
Brighton and Hove 14 8 4 2 18 9 9 28
Huddersfield Town 14 9 1 4 16 12 4 28
Norwich City 14 8 3 3 26 19 7 27
Sheffield Wednesday 14 7 3 4 16 15 1 24
Bristol City 14 7 2 5 21 15 6 23
Birmingham 14 6 5 3 19 16 3 23
Reading 14 6 4 4 15 18 -3 22
Preston North End 14 6 2 6 18 17 1 20
Leeds United 14 6 2 6 14 15 -1 20
Brentford 14 5 4 5 19 14 5 19
Barnsley 14 6 1 7 25 22 3 19
QPR 14 5 4 5 16 19 -3 19
Fulham 14 4 6 4 16 18 -2 18
Burton Albion 14 4 5 5 18 18 0 17
Aston Villa 14 3 8 3 14 14 0 17
Ipswich Town 14 4 5 5 10 12 -2 17
Wolverhampton 14 4 4 6 16 17 -1 16
Nottingham Forest 14 4 3 7 24 27 -3 15
Cardiff City 14 4 3 7 13 22 -9 15
Derby County 14 3 5 6 7 11 -4 14
Blackburn Rovers 14 3 3 8 14 22 -8 12
Wigan 14 2 5 7 13 16 -3 11
Rotherham United 14 1 3 10 14 33 -19 6

So six wins out of 14 games scored 15, let in 18.   Compared with six out of nine.  Scored 19 let in nine.

Team P W D L F A GD Pts
Manchester Airport 9 6 2 1 20 9 11 20
Arsenal 9 6 2 1 19 9 10 20
Liverpool! 9 6 2 1 20 11 9 20
Chelsea 9 6 1 2 19 9 10 19
The Tiny Totts 9 5 4 0 13 4 9 19

With a spot of luck, or come to that even without a spot of luck, we ought to be ok.

Recent tales from Untold 

Wenger ponders whether Yaya Sanogo will ever really be good enough for Arsenal. 

All the young dudes – but which one is this year’s breakthrough kid?

The gross incompetence of England’s football authorities exposed, once again

Why the TV audience for football is falling, and what it means for the future of football

How are some of this summer’s big value transfers doing thus far? A case study

With a quarter of the season gone, how much value have clubs got from their summer transfer spending?

Inattentive journalists and pundits totally bemused by the notion of offside

 

32 Replies to “Arsenal vs The Spectacles. The teams and other stuff.”

  1. Thanks for the link Chris: there are a few like this around at the moment. I suspect there is a certain amount of hedging of bets now, given the wholly negative press Arsenal were given pre-season.

  2. In my experience, totalsportek.com provides the best streaming service to watch arsenal or any other team’s match

  3. Good evening Mr Drummond. From the stat you have provided, Arsenal have had 13 consecutives Cups success over Reading that dated back as far as 1935. Wow!

    Let me assure all and sundry in the rank and file of the Gooners that this Cup winning run by Arsenal over Reading will this night at the Ems continue unabated. We can count and depend on Arsenal backup team to whitewash Reading 4-0 @FT.

    I’ve since seen Le Prof’s starts and bench for this match. And the only area where I didn’t accurately get his starts is in the mid front 3 and striker start. Le prof preferred Perez to lead the line to my Olivier Giroud who he has benched. I had Iwobi as my playmaker but Adelaide is preferred for that role while Iwobi retains his mid left role and Oxchambo stays on the right wing where I start him.

    On Le Prof’s bench, i think I got 4 of his bench accurately.

  4. Arsenal is attacking well, Reading keeper with couple of saves. it’s not really a full house at the Emirates but the fans is making great noises

  5. i think Tony theories about some fans getting into the ground quite late is accurate. now the Emirates is full house. Arsenal with a couple of good chances to open the score but just cannot find the breakthrough

  6. My running thoughts during 1st half game:

    Mait Niles needs to be just a little quicker when he gets the ball.

    That foul on Elneny was deliberate, see him walking away after the foul like in a movie, job done.

    Shot first time, once you hesitate you miss.

    OX!!!!!!! Beautiful.

    Love the crowd cheering every good play made by Arsenal and Aww-ing plays that dont work.

    Ohhh! Lucky – Unlucky.( Reading shot that nearly bounced over Martinez head.)

    Ohh!, aww not that close. (M-Niles shot.)

    See how Reading shoot into the crowd in the box? We should do that when we come up against teams like last week.

    Impress with the way they are playing, even though its Reading, but it gives them much needed playing time for when they are needed in 1st team.

  7. The person providing the stream is showing the goal from as many angles as they have all throughout the break.
    An also all the exciting hilites.
    BEIN i think. Good coverage they seem to do.

  8. Now showing the kick about before the start of the game too.

    Someone too far awaw lobbing balls to i think Giroud, and he just scored a volley, hopes he does that in game if he plays.

  9. Thanks Leon it’s good. Was watching the Liverpool spuds game on sky. Nothing too exciting.

  10. The refs been weak but nice to see him correctly giving Moore a yellow card for a foul similar to Xhakas foul the other week which the Idiot ref gave a red for!

  11. The tackle on Giroud that got the Reading guy a yellow card was the same as the one that got Xhaka a red

  12. Yes Leon. This ref learnt from Mr Moss that if you make a dumb mistake like giving a red for a yellow offence then you get demoted for a game or two!

  13. Ox where are you? Ok i’ll forgive you as you scored.

    Jeff, be quicker in passing. I mean release the ball earlier.

    Ox bad luck.

    Lukas, dont hesitate.

    Lads are enjoying themselves.

    Good recover Gibsy.

    Dont delay the shot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Come on, relax, and pass earlier.

    Was ordering some food.

    Giroud in the fray? Yea.

    These contact fouls should always be a warning card, they cause so many injuries.

    Oh,, Ohh i dont believe that. Good save Reading GK.

    There was a foul there too on one of our players.

    We need one more to keep them quiet lads.

    Ohhh, and ohhh again. (Ox shot and not falling for Iwobi)

    Should be a card.

    Yea about time.

    Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa The Ox

    Deflection??

    Cards coming out now.

    Zelalem? Havent seem him in a while.

    Willie Willie!. (Willocks attempted shot)

    Niles is a little slow or unfit today?

    That was a foul.

    Good save man.

    Floater floater.

    Martinez is going to give Chezzy some good pressure.

    Nice easish win lads, well done.

  14. Para, I think the one you refer to as “Lukas, don’t hesitate” was where he faked a shot and was hoping the defender would dive across him, so he could turn inside. Unfortunately the defender didn’t buy it (probably too slow to even understand it…).
    So he ended up hitting it on his 3rd touch.

    First game I’ve been disappointed with AM-N. Not that he was bad but usually he just ‘fits in.

  15. Andy Mack / Leon the yellow was a dark yellow as per the boss. Walter would say straight red as per FIFA directives.

  16. Para, thanks. Sorry I only saw this waiting in moderation (there because it contained two links) after the match, but I have included it for anyone who wants to know in the future.)

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