by Tony Attwood
So at the start of the week we got three goals in nine minutes and then on Thursday it was two goals in three minutes. Which rather suggests that for supporters the trick with Arsenal under Freddie it seems is to find the right ten minutes to watch. The trouble is, what with the travelling from the midlands to London for each home game, that’s not really a viable option for me. Watching the whole match seems to be the only way to do it.
But it was an interesting team to watch on Thursday and not necessarily one we will see again. Konstantinos Mavropanos returned after what seems an eternity out with injuries – the last times I can recall seeing him was right at the end of Mr Wenger’s final season, after which he vanished before returning some weeks back playing in the Football League Trophy match in Peterborough.
And apart from Mavropanos, Joseph Willock, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson all started and Martinelli came on as a sub, which shows just how much quality we have coming up through the ranks. This may not be a perfect season to watch, but if we can keep those players at the club, rather than have them hounded out by the media and the Anti-Arsenal Arsenal we could be onto something rather exciting in the next few years.
Saka was the star of course, as he put in the perfect assist for Lacazette’s goal, and then to show that was not a one-off went on and scored the second. His comment was delightful too: “It was beautiful for me because that is what I am judged on. To score one and make one is a good night.”
Freddie called him, “amazing,” adding, “He was a bit upset with me because he had to play wing-back and full-back because he doesn’t like it so much. But he’s a tremendous talent as you could see again. His final ball is always effective and there’s always an end product to his work.”
But beyond Saka of course there were multiple mumblings about the alleged lack of quality on the pitch, but that is now par for the course. Journalists have a collection of anti-Arsenal phrases set up ready to roll on their computers each time they come to write a commentary and out they all come. And obviously these are not the very best of times for Arsenal, but at least we aren’t Newcastle or Burnley, who happen to be playing each other this weekend.
Newcastle have a 38.3% of possession rate this season, which is lower than any other club anywhere not only in the Premier League but also in the top Spanish League, French League, German League and Italian League – and that is really quite an achievement. Burnley are third bottom in the Premier League possession rankings with 42.7%.
So what happens when they meet each other? Since it would clearly be abhorrent for either team to have half of the possession let alone more, presumably the referee will need to play his part with his assistants and make sure that they have the ball for the rest of the game. Certainly passing can’t be on the agenda.
Moving on to different matters, here’s a thought… 16 of the top 100 women in world football play in the English WSL, and five of them are with Arsenal. That is not quite as good as Lyon where six of the top 11 players in the world play for Lyon, but it’s getting there. Here’s the league table for our women’s team, who this week knocked up another massive score, this time in the cup, beating London Bees 9-0.
That makes it 31 goals in the last five league and cup games. Here’s the top of the league table.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 4 | 22 | 24 | |
| 2 | Chelsea | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 22 | |
| 3 | Manchester City | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 16 | 21 | |
| 4 | Manchester Utd | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 15 |
More anon…
Im really waiting for an Arsenal team that will play consistent game of week in week out with a positive result not always bringing in excuses and yet we are right now in league which needs results of winning games every week, The bourd should not wait until the boat overturn.
OT: The Manager Soap Opera
ESPN (the worldwide leader in being ESPN, and nothing else) has a blurb out. Not surprising, they all need to have a blurb out. I glanced at the beginning, and it is just a bunch of Arsenal bashing, so what else is new? Apparently nothing.
0/10
OT: Statistics
TheRegister is reporting on a statistical study of great importance. Does tapping the side of a can of beer after it has been shaken, result in less beer being lost.
TheRegister has concerns that the top of the can should have been tapped instead of the side.
The beer was apparently donated by Carlsberg. A concern of mine is, “Does Carlsberg make beer?”.
Should this experiment be done with a verified non-beer, like Budweiser? Beer in glass bottles, such as Schneider and Sons Aventinus (sp?)? Beer was a gas bladder in the bottom, such as Guinness?
Hmmm. Beer!, it’s okay. But us Gooners attentions are now switched on and focusing on our next match, a home big game match against Man City on Sunday in the PL. But I understand Arsenal could have some injury concerns suffered to six senior team Gunners on their hands to deal with them ahead of their big game home match against Man City on Sunday in the PL. A big game home match that us Gooners want Arsenal to win not minding the level of opposition in game playing that Man City will play in the match against Arsenal but they opposing Arsenal in the game will not count at the end of the match when Arsenal have beaten them as us trusted the Gunners will do unfailingly. Thus, making us proud, elated, feeling very happy and contented.
And since Arsenal are looking to recovering from their downturns in matches to start doing well in all competitions when they beat West Ham at away in the PL and followed it up to play to a draw in a difficult away match in the Europa League in their last two recent matches, the beliefs among us Gooners on Arsenal are the Gunners can and will on Sunday playing at home beat a Pep Guardiola’s managed Man City team for the first time in the PL.
But I must say for the beating of Man City by Arsenal to happen on Sunday at the Ems in the PL, Arsenal will need to raise the level of the quality of their game in the match on Sunday far above the level of the quality of their game in all the games that they’ve played so far this season’s campaign in the PL. More so, play above the particular quality of the game that Man City will offer in the match against Arsenal.
But can Arsenal play above the quality of the game that Man City will play against them in the match? Yes, they can of course. But if the senior first team Gunners and the youth Gunners who are also in the first team in a mixed senior and youth Gunners team that Freddie Ljungberg, the Arsenal interim head coach should for the Arsenal senior players injury concerns select to start the match and play in it will raise the level of the quality of their game playing far above that which Man City will offer against them in the match, and also play to the full capacity strength of their talents and potentials, certainly, Arsenal will beat Man City in the PL on Sunday.
Nevertheless, let me add to say the Gunners who will be selected to play in the match MUST be mentally strong than Man City will be strong in the match as the Gunners take them on in the match but should not be afraid of them because of the immersed quality of players at the disposal of Pep Guardiola who he’ll select to play in the match against Arsenal. That should not be an issue to the Gunners nor a serious concern to them if they view and take Man City as just a PL club side they are playing against in the game to beat. And develop unbroken confidence of beating them from the onset of the match to beat them and beat them. One fact that should not escape the thoughts of the Gunners as they play in the match is the fact that shows Man City have shown they are beatable just as Arsenal are. For, they Man City have lost four times already this season in the PL. Arsenal beating Man City in the PL at the Ems could be a herculean task for the Gunners to overcome. But they can and should overcome the task if they are mentally, physically, technically and tactically astute in the game to not giving in to Man City any kind of lack of full work rate in the match, momentary loss of concentrations, show of ineptitudes in defensive markings work, lacklusterness in match playing such as: inaccurate ball passing resulting in giving the ball away careless to the opposition which could be punished, show of inefficiency in free kicks, corner kicks and throwing-in takings, show of lack of resilient and audacity in game playing to take on the opposition payers and pass them, show of lack of accuracy in shooting to the goal to score, show of wastefulnes in the match in goals scoring attempts resulting in profigacy in front of goal, penalty kicks miss and show of indisciplined actions in the game that can lead to sending off a Gunner in the match.
Therefore, it’s up to Freddie Ljungberg to make the necessary mixed senior team players and youth players Arsenal team that he thinks and believes will beat Man City on Sunday. And it’s also left for the Arsenal team that he’ll put out in the match to do their job successfully by beating the Man City team that they are sent out to beat on Sunday at the Ems in the PL.
OT: Freddie Ljungberg
Apparently Freddie talked to the medja. There must be 10 different opinions as to what he said.
Idjuts.