by Bulldog Drummond
Since lockdown ended its been a funny ol’ set of results
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 17 June | Manchester City v Arsenal | L | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 20 June | Brighton and Hove Albion v Arsenal | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 25 June | Southampton v Arsenal | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 28 June | Sheffield United v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | FA Cup |
| 1 July | Arsenal v Norwich City | W | 4-0 | Premier League |
| 4 July | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 7 July | Arsenal v Leicester City | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 12 July | Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 15 July | Arsenal v Liverpool | W | 2-1 | Premier League |
Five wins, one draw, three defeats. Not too bad, that defeat to the Tiny Totts did get in the way of an even better run which would have boosted confidence still further.
Manchester City results go…
| 17 June | Manchester City v Arsenal | W | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 22 June | Manchester City v Burnley | W | 5-0 | Premier League |
| 25 June | Chelsea v Manchester City | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 28 June | Newcastle United v Manchester City | W | 0-2 | FA Cup |
| 2 July | Manchester City v Liverpool | W | 4-0 | Premier League |
| 5 July | Southampton v Manchester City | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 8 July | Manchester City v Newcastle United | W | 5-0 | Premier League |
| 11 July | Brighton and Hove v Manchester City | W | 0-5 | Premier League |
| 15 July | Manchester City v AFC Bournemouth | W | 2-1 | Premier League |
Seven wins, two defeats, no draws. And a lot of goals – 12 in the last three games alone, 27 all told against 15 for us. That is going to be the real problem.
The list of recent matches between the two sides is interesting however. First, the overall range of results throughout history show us winning 96 to their 57. On the other hand recent results tell a different story
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 23 April 2017 | Arsenal v Manchester City | W | 2-1 | FA Cup |
| 5 November 2017 | Manchester City v Arsenal | L | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 25 February 2018 | Arsenal v Manchester City | L | 0-3 | League Cup |
| 1 March 2018 | Arsenal v Manchester City | L | 0-3 | Premier League |
| 12 August 2018 | Arsenal v Manchester City | L | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 3 February 2019 | Manchester City v Arsenal | L | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 15 December 2019 | Arsenal v Manchester City | L | 0-3 | Premier League |
| 17 June 2020 | Manchester City v Arsenal | L | 3-0 | Premier League |
That’s a poor run by any standard, but the one thing we can say is that all poor runs come to an end sometime.
Between January 1978 and February 2008 for example the clubs played each other 49 times and Manchester City won just four of those games. Four out of 49. Just 8%. The bookies stopped taking money on that game it was so sure what would happen.
Of course during that time the clubs were living on the income from normal activities at normal prices – it just shows what can be achieved when the old rules are set aside and Uefa becomes incompetent and CAS continues its regular rather eccentric activities, all held in private. But it is what it is, and until the clubs of Europe get together to form a new association, or a new open appeals court is set up (rather than one which holds all its deliberations in private) we won’t know what’s going on.
This game is only on BT Sprout in England, and the Sprout in their almighty wisdom don’t let people buy a one day pass to view the match. What a neolithic bunch of turnips.
In team news Eddie Nketiah is suspended and Cedric Soares is cup-tied having played for Southampton.
As for the team the Standard go with
Martinez;
Mustafi, Luiz, Tierney;
Bellerin, Ceballos, Xhaka, Saka;
Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang
while the Mirror (who also run the bonkers Football.London run with
Martinez,
Tierney, Luiz, Holding, Mustafi, Bellerin,
Xhaka, Willock,
Nelson, Aubameyang, Pepe.
The Independent offers exactly the same line up as the Standard.
The Telegraph is being rather coy telling us (at midday) that the team news will follow but nonetheless telling us that the result will be Arsenal 1 Manchester City 2 (after extra time).
The Sun says
Martinez,
Mustafi, Luiz, Holding,
Bellerin Celballos Xhaka Tierney
Saka Lacazette Aubameyang
So I shall toddle off to the local to find out a) if they are open and b) if they are showing the game and c) if there is a place to be had inside. Still at least we are not playing Manchester United – there’s a lot of Man U fans in the East Midlands and the pub gets packed when they are on.
Have you all seen this?
Pep Guardiola thinks that Arsène Wenger has bought his way into the league when he arrived at Arsenal and became successfull. What a liar !!!
How can he have it so wrong? Disgusting to spread these unfactual ideas. I would be so happy with Arsenal beating this man and the team that bought its way into the league. Come on you gunners! Our values will never let us down and will bring us to the top for another run.
AFC in the semi-final of the FA Cup! I love this competition. Arsenal.com have highlights of the 2017 semi-final v Man City. City had a world class player at just about every position yet the Arsenal prevailed in the extra period. To those who were saying that AW ‘didn’t coach’ in his last few seasons I suggest you have a look. It’s on the AFC home page.
I believe Mikel Arteta’s Gunners team who are coming from the background of the match winning victory euphoria that they had in mid-week for their beating a Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team for the 1st time ever in the Premier League that was played at the Emirates Stadium will I think also tonight bask in another euphoria of match winning success over Pep Guardiola’s Citizens team in the FA Cup semi-final match today’s night at Wembley Stadium I so submit.
For, the Gunners who Mikel Arteta will select to take on his football coaching mentor’s team to be successful to beat the Citizens in the Cup match to reach the final match, the Gunners should first and foremost approach the match in confidence mood and play throughout it confidently to the very end of the match. While at the same time I implore them to play very carefully during the match to avoid picking up any bookable offences that could cost them a man Gunner down in the match and play carefully too to escape picking up any serious injuries. And be very smart in front of Man City goal to bury the chances they will create and also capitalize on any goals scoring opportunities that come to them on a platter and bury them effectively. The Gunners general defending in the match MUST be agile to hold their fort tightly unbreachable by the Citizens however hard they try to do that. And finally the Gunners should eschew profigacy in front of Man City goal mouth but score the goals that fell to them. Aubameyang should be careful to not miss any of the chances he’ll have in the match tonight to score but bury them appropriately. And he should use his height to defend for Arsenal against aerial ball coming into the Arsenal box.
The Gunners MUST deny operating spaces on the field of play to Debryne, Sterling(danger), the young enterprising Foden, Marehz, overlapping Benjamin Mendy, Walker and other Citizens to curtail their excesses using space and power to shoot especially by Debryne and Sterling’s dazzling pace across the field and from the wings into the box to score or cross the ball to the far post for his team mate to score. The Gunners should have the eagle eye to see every move that the Citizens make and foil it at source. And also concentrate fully on the proceedings of the match to not suffer any loss of concentration momentarily.. The lack of concentration they exhibited at Spurs in the PL some few days back should serve as a lesson to them which they MUST forsake repeating same in today’s match.
Fat cheat Jon Moss is so blatant with his selective vision.
The Riley bum boy is enjoying his freedom in this corvid period.
Our boys need to play despite being fouled!!
Nice goal by Auba! Great cross by Pepe (?) My heart was still beating fast after Mustafi’s give away.
Our defence cannot wait till the opponent is in touching distance because the foul will not be called. Thats what happened to Mustafi.
Jesus is on their side getting away with murder!!
Reading some of Chris Suttons comments on the BBC website at the start of the game you would have thought we were 3 0 down.
He’s up there with the worst of the pundits.
Absolutely hates arsenal and even when the goal goes in his comment reads.
“What an odd start to the match”
Odd for a team to soak uo pressure and then score.
COYG
The pundits are so disappointed when City screw up. The Arsenal boys playing well but VAR and Moss trying to give City more money!!!
Whole different agenda when we are playing. Can we not employ Ray Donovan to sort some of these people out
City need some refreshments from Pep or is it pep from refreshments!!
AubaaaaaaaaBang oh no it was a cute nutmeg!!
2 -0 to the invincibles!!
PAY THE MAN!!!!
He don’t want money. He wants love.
Well done you Gunners 9 out of 10 for all of you except for Martinez who gets 11 out of 10!!
Best performance since…..Wednesday!! On to the final!!!! COYG!!!!
Get in there.
Absolutely brilliant performance from back to front.
A ‘Bye’ was it savage? Absolute moron.
MOTM for me was Luiz…fantastic on the back line…How many times did he clear the ball?
Great win for morale…what a lift looking forward, too…no matter what happens in the final…
Thought we were done when Mustafi took out the ball and then Sterling(?)…thought they would give a penalty.
OT…Tierney is showing that he is some footballer, no?
“We was humble. We improve day to day. All the team has to defend. I admit my mistakes and was humble and worked hard every day.” David Luiz.
First Liverpool, then ManC… Great week for Gunners.
Let us all support Arteta and the boys all the time.
Now Guardiola knows what it costs to criticize Arsène Wenger with false affirmations about FFP… And now make place for the final !!!
I put a spirited defence of David Luiz the other day against a tide of ridicule.
We all know he has a mistake in him but as UT showed recently his stats are actually pretty good, and on his day he’s still World Class as he showed tonight.
Proud of him and the way he bounced back from his bad moments, similarly Xhaka, he was immense.
Even I was starting to wonder how we were going to turn this season around; the fans turning on the players, the manager saying he needed loadsofmoney to buy new players just before a big game… and then we beat Liverpool and Man C.
Better still there is not a single Man C fan on here moaning away – none of those clowns who write in under various different names and start agreeing with themselves. None of that.
Yes I fully admit I was getting doubtful, and never believed I would hear this = the commentators telling us how brilliant Xhaka and Mustafi were. They were supposed to be our utter dumbos, the first out the door when the new money arrives.
What a couple of games. Utterly amazing.
Well done everyone at Arsenal, a great day poking two fingers in the eye of City.
Tony
Did you hear RVP, he was great. He had lots of nice things to say, but more importantly none of what he said had those usual little ‘barbs’ and ‘buts’ stuck on the end that they all seem to feel they have to do.
Ferdinand: “They still need to buy some players starting with a centre half. What do you think Robin ?”
RVP: “……..Going by tonight I don’t think they need to change anything, they were brilliant” “They don’t need to buy just for the sake of buying”
He was just so positive, but as I say, without any of the usual caveats. I cant see them asking him back, didn’t follow the script at all.
Thanks Robin, great to hear.
MOTD counted the passes for our first goal – 19 passes.
What is quite amazing is the Laca follow through and putting the ball in the net early doors was a goal. It was flagged offside wrongly but the referee blew!! It is that that robbed Laca of a goal.
Brilliant result – great teamwork – perfect tactics – no need to say more is there?
Hello, dear Untolders. Hopefully pandemic didn’t make your life complicated.
It was a wonderful victory tonight and a cup final in his first season for Mikel Arteta.
I don’t have time to write as much as I used to but I’m glad to make an exception.
Arteta’s Arsenal had to play Wolves, Leicester, Spurs, Liverpool and Man C respectively in the space of two weeks. That’s one big game every three days. We won three, drew one and lost one. We had a lead in each of those five games so you could say we could have won all five games. And there is a chance that, unfortunately, all five teams will finish above us.
But that’s not the point. The point is, Arteta has already transformed Arsenal into a better team than it was. Even if we lose the cup final, my impression remains the same.
Sorry to be a killjoy, but I see we had 21% of the ball today. Only 4 shots, albeit all on target and none off target.
AS far as one-offs go, Wednesday and today are great achievements and to be proud of, but in the larger picture we have no midfield and cannot expect to go through a whole season parking the bus, like so many teams have done against us and move away for mediocrity and mid table.
This may signal a good start to the future, but it cannot be the future.
Let us assume that Arteta is now concentrating only on the defence and has no interest in midfield and is relying on Auba, Laca and one or to others to poach goals on the break.
That is fine the rest of this disjointed and forgettable season.
That cannot be the message for next season.
We need a balanced team that can play against the big boys as equals and not to secede three quarters of the pitch to the opposition, with only the occasional attack.
Let us enjoy the immediate success but consider that this is not an end, but only a beginning.
A couple stunning results this week, certainly surprised me. Great team performance today, especially by a few players who have been on the end of endless abuse grief and criticism
The team should feel very proud , as the Manchester Guardian says about our club, something seems to be stirring
Now if only Leicester could find a win tomorrow and we manage to overcome the mighty villa and watford and then the cup final ? Might not be such a shambles of a season after all. FA cup and St.Totteringhams day anyone?
Viva Arteta!