By Bulldog Drummond
The media will always present games against Chelsea as a foregone conclusion: a Chelsea win – even though Arsenal have won the tie more often than Chelsea.
“Ah,” they say (for they like saying “ah”) “that’s because of the 1930s. If you take recent results you will see Chelsea are way ahead.”
But no, in reality, not.
Look at the last seven and you will soon see that it is three wins each and one draw. Or look at last season and we beat Chelsea twice and they beat us once, Arsenal scoring six to Chelsea’s four.
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
| 26 Apr 2015 | Arsenal v Chelsea | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 02 Aug 2015 | Arsenal v Chelsea* | W | 1-0 | FA Community Shield |
| 19 Sep 2015 | Chelsea v Arsenal | L | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 24 Jan 2016 | Arsenal v Chelsea | L | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 24 Sep 2016 | Arsenal v Chelsea | W | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 04 Feb 2017 | Chelsea v Arsenal | L | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 27 May 2017 | Arsenal v Chelsea* | W | 2-1 | FA Cup |
*Arsenal score shown first but played on neutral ground.
The early news is just what the media ordered: huge numbers of players are hardly able to get off the toilet because of food poisoning. The list is said to include
Sead Kolasinac, Theo Walcott, Per Mertesacker, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud. But these things can change and we might know a little more tomorrow.
Meanwhile we are told Mesut Ozil is “reportedly” suggesting that £350,000-a-week is about right for him, and that Arsenal people with calculators are ordering up bigger machines because when they multiply that by 52, and then by 4 (for a four year contract) it comes up with an error message.
However Mesut, and those around him who don’t have food poisoning (I sent a note over telling them not to eat the oysters) all appear in a jolly mood, and everyone suggests that a simple move of a decimal point out to sort the deal out.
In May this year Ozil created the most chances in a single game in the entire history of single games with 12 against Sunderland. Some say that Ozil doesn’t turn up for big games – like the World Cup final. Hey ho.
Anyway Alexis is interested and has suggested that for a mere £50k a week more he would sign as well. Arsenal have said he’s not going anywhere so he might as well sign up instead of having all that horrible task of sorting out another new contract and another new house with his dogs.
Meanwhile Craig Shakespeare confirms Leicester have rejected Roma’s “low offer” for Riyad Mahrez, which leaves another door possibly open.
Anyway I can’t give you a team line up now because of the food issue (someone must have bought some oysters) but maybe there will be some new tomorrow. And at least we can all watch the game properly since it is on both Arsenal.com and on ITV. Exactly what they should have had for the Bayern Munich game.
Oh yes and there is a game against Boreham Stiff at Meadow Park on Thursday, July 27 with kick-off at 7.30pm. Half price if you show your season ticket membership card.
God’s willing and if public light availability permit me, I’ll watch this match live on SuperSports 3 NG. Due to my Dstv program guide not coming up on my decoder at the Dstv end, I decided to call their customers care last Wednesday to know why they did not show the ICC match between Arsenal and Bayern live when it was playing. But the man who answered my call could only tell me they don’t have any information regarding that at that moment. But on my asking him if the Arsenal vs Chelsea match on Saturday will be shown live, and at what time will it come up, he told me yes, it will be shown live and will come up as from 12:30pm GMT.
After beating them in the FA Cup final match last season @Wembley, and as a prelude to the Charity Shield match that’s coming up between these top duo club sides @Wembley on the 6th of August, 2017, Arsenal will beat Chelsea again on Saturday at the Bird’s nest Stadium, Beijing? in China in a preseason ICC match. Therefore, there should be no cause for any anxiety or alarm by any Gooner who in his or her anxiety could be anxious to know if the outcome of this match will be to the favour of Arsenal. Yes, it will be, I can assure all the Gooners. Therefore, let every Gooner calm down and remain calmed down as Le Prof’s Gunners will tomorrow, teach Antonio Conte’s Blues a hard soccer lesson which they won’t forget in their lifetime despite the fact that this match is only a friendly.
From today’s Guardian (ahem)
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jul/21/fifa-investigating-gianni-infantino-election-expenses
Untold am still trynna figure out who’s idea it was. Well if this worl it would be my first reply here [woooohh]… I’ve been following for 2yrs now which has gone untold. Avid Gunner from Nigeria where most gunners now support chealsea. Hope we beat them tomorrow.
Saying Hi to samuel Akinsola
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jul/21/psg-increasingly-confident-of-signing-neymar-alexis-sanchez-arsenal-barcelona?CMP=share_btn_tw
@Stephan, I’ve earlier this evening read the Alexis transfer to PSG media rumour, for which you’ve posted a link to it. But since Le Prof has vehemently reiterated his stance that Arsenal will not sell Alexis this summer to any club, even at the expense of him to leave on as a free agent when his current deal at Arsenal that has only a season in it to expire, Arsenal will not budge but keep him for next season’s campaign. The mere fact that that PSG Alexis linked media transfer rumour is quoting a transfer fee of €50 as what Alexis transfer to PSG will cost should tell us it is a fake news and a baseless media transfer rumour. How can Arsenal sell Alexis to PSG for €50 even if has only one year left on his current deal at Arsenal? Even with that, Alexis is player that cost nothing less than €90m to sign in transfer fee is in the current transfer market valuation if Arsenal want to sell him this summer. But fortunately for us, Arsenal don’t to sell him.
@Leon I think roughly speaking people on this site agree with Tony’s viewpoints. If there is hyperbole, we are willing to accept that because the message is still, in our opinion, correct. Roughly speaking, you seem to not accept the premise behind Tony’s remarks that the UK press is complicit with its limp wristed reporting on corruption in football in general, and in FIFA, and in EUFA in particular. You win no plaudits from us with your defense of the people with the money.
First of 4 games v Chel$ this season.
And a lot of sickness.
Food poisoning?
Well in the past year, my body has been rebelling and showing me what it does not want me to eat. It rejects the food with violent reactions.
So i’m basicallly living on sunshine, air and water as i go through the remaining food list. 🙁
@Leon,
yep the guardian is one of the few if not the only one who does talk about the subject. And Tony has been saying it for quite a long time.
As well as he’s been critical of some biased storytelling – like the ‘AFC has got only two strikers in double figures’ of 2016 for example.
Credit to them where it is due, when AW reached his annivesary at Arsenal last year, the couple of articles about it were well balanced.
Thanks for the link
This would be worth searching up on that Barca let youth players know they are released via twitter.
https://mobile.twitter.com/albert_roge/status/888311807772897280
GGG & Chris
Tony is very reluctant to acknowledge good journalism by the likes of The Telegraph’s Jeremy Wilson & The Guardian’s David Conn instead continuing with his harassment of a respected female Arsenal fan. I know what’s going on here, and I’m sure both of you do as well.
Leon. I obviously know what’s going on since I write articles here. So why not let us know your version.
Tony
ENVY
Envy of a respected journalist who has Arsenal access that you can only dream of.
Envy of journalists who regularly expose corruption & malpractice in football well before you ever get a sniff of it.
I shan’t bother you or your suck up again
Well Leon, if you are offered a job as a telepath I’d be cautious of taking it. Since I am the only person who knows my motivation I can tell you, you are totally wrong.
The position of my writing over the past nine and a half years has not changed vis a vis journalism. Much of it, as we saw in the general election this year, is horribly biased and does a total disservice to our democracy, but the Guardian is one of the few honourable exceptions. However, sadly, the Guardian’s football writers does not follow the approach of the rest of the reporting team on the paper, and instead often follows the mainstream of treating its readers as a bunch of idiots who can’t tell invention from the truth.
Anyway, you are not going to write again, so farewell.
Is this game v Chavs being broadcast? Where can I see it – prefer not to stream.
Good evidence to utter bad rubish I say !
And about time too.
Good work Tony!
…ridence …
Bloody smart phone .
Bulldog , I think that sometimes oysters get a bad rap for reasons other than themselves ( or should it be itselves ?) .
A bridegroom on his honeymoon was recommended the oysters be the maître de for his dinner so as to ‘enhance’ his performance that night. After consuming 50 oysters he retired for the night .
The next morning he sought out the Maître de , and told him that 2 of the oysters didn’ t ‘work’ !