By Bulldog Drummond
Now here is a thought and three quarters. We are rubbish right? We know that. We need to kill off the defence because no one will buy them and send Mikel Arteta to a remote Spanish island for ten years. (Editor’s note: are there any remote Spanish Islands?)
Bulldog: La Gomera. I know it sounds like a disease but it is an island.
But we could actually equal our longest Premier League winning streak of the season: three games from December-January. Now of course that doesn’t say much because it has been a dull season in the style of the later 1970s, but still.
And actually there is a better one than this. Arsenal could keep three consecutive league away clean sheets for the first time since April to May 2013. And here to prove it is the data…
- 20 April 2013: Fulham 0 Arsenal 1
- 4 May 2013: Queens Park Rangers 0 Arsenal 1
- 19 May 2013: Newcastle Untidy 0 Arsenal 1
On the other hand we already have 13 defeats which is our all time record for a 38 match season, set in 2017-18.
The problem is that at that time we still crept into the top six…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 38 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 106 | 27 | 79 | 100 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 38 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 68 | 28 | 40 | 81 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 74 | 36 | 38 | 77 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 84 | 38 | 46 | 75 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 62 | 38 | 24 | 70 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 74 | 51 | 23 | 63 |
The problem is, whatever way we try to spin it, it has not been a season as we would have liked. But on the other hand all runs come to an end sometime, and it may be that now we can start to turn things around.
One thing is sure, sacking the defence, as the pundits want us to do is not a good idea.
And so to the team.
Sports Mole are as always out in front telling us that we will have
Leno;
Chambers, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney
Partey, Elneny
Pepe, Odegaard, Aubameyang
Lacazette
90 min however would prefer us to go with
Leno;
Chambers, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney
Partey, Elneny,
Saka, Odegaard, Aubameyang
Lacazette.
which by and large has a certain similarity as I am sure you will agree.
The Standard screeches out that it has “Chelsea XI vs Arsenal: Confirmed team news and lineup” and doesn’t have anything about Arsenal at all. What pesky blighters these journo type fellas are.
Football Critic however does sally forth and has…
Leno;
Chambers, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney
Partey, Elneny,
Pepe, Odegaard, Aubameyang
Lacazette.
We really are starting to see a range of agreements here.
And I am rather glad about that because that is just about all I can find, writing this as I must (and for reasons that will not become clear at this time) on the evening before the event.
But there is one variation, because the always fun WhoScored has got Smith Rowe playing – the only site I’ve seen to give him a game.
Leno;
Chambers, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney;
Elneny, Partey,
Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe
Aubameyang
Of course the issue for Chelsea is that they cannot win the League but they might fancy their chances at a Champions League and FA Cup double, so could put out a lesser team, which might give us a bit of a bigger chance.
WhoScored give the victory to Chelsea, which is pretty much implied by everyone else whether they openly say it or not. And they say, almost gloatingly that “Chelsea have scored at least 2 goals in 11 of their last 13 home matches against Arsenal in all competitions.” And that’s before they get to the bit about them scoring three or more goals in their last five matches against us.
But they are not scoring that many at home; in the last seven games at the crumbling bridge it is 0 1 or 2 goals.
However we normally knock in a couple against Chelsea, and there is still that point that we are undefeated in the last five away from home.
I think I’ll leave it there. Have fun.
Gaslighting: how refereeing in the Premier League is manipulated, and why the media never speak about it.
- 1: Are the referees and the media really out to get Arsenal, or am I just imagining it?
- 2: How discussions about refereeing are deliberately stifled by the media
- 3: Referees: the odd statistics that are simply never revealed or discussed
- 4: How we have been utterly misled about football: part 4
- 5: Hiding the problem of refereeing is destroying the credibility of the Premier League
- 6: Revealed: PL referees are not 98% accurate but actually just 75% accurate
i prefer stricking with lacazete pepe and saka in today’s match.
With Arteta deciding tonight to take a gamble to experiment with a new Arsenal match starting XI and 9 Gunners man substitutes to play Chelsea in the PL at the Bridge will work.
For, I certainly envisioned by seeing the Gunners spank the Blues to 0-2 defeat in the match at the final blast of the whistle by the match centre referee ending the match encounter contest.
When Kevin Friend in the VAR studio does not see the injury to Aubamayang in the middle of the park, and allows the game to get to a point of Chelseas advantage, it beggars belief that we have not got a fair playing field.
The handball by Chelseas players seems to be allowable as a foul but no card appears. There are many areas of officiating that need correction including the booking of the goalkeeper for handling a backpass that lead to the goal.
Several fouls are allowed including blocks and pulls like it was normal.
What are the chances of Smith or the commentator having a good word or something positive to say about Arsenal in the second half. Very slim I guess if the first half is anything to go by.
Marriner is blind to fouls on Arsenal players but that makes us improve.
Half time and Arsenal are up 0-1.
neither emery, nor arteta, ever uttered a single word, not even to praise, but simply to acknowledge, their (and the club’s) debt to arsène wenger
but tonight, 270 minutes from the end of the season, in a game of absolutely no consequence, against a chelsea B-side that obviously couldn’t care less, arteta has decided to park allardyce’s bus in front of our goal – probably to pay homage to first-time-relegated big sam
that’s so sweet – class, really
of course, as an arsenal fan, the more games arsenal play under arteta, the more i dread turning my tv on come kick-off time, since our team looks more and more like a defense-obsessed Ligue 1 side – but as the “super league” debacle has shown, why bother about fans???
The defence is of a lead not for a point. The arrogance of calling a team that cost more than your whole family B-side is rich. Bear in mind that the PGMOL are in line for a cruise on Romans yacht with a bunch of Russian bimbos.
Arsenal are not gung ho but play a careful structured formation to win. It is a process that I admire despite the odd defeat and loss of the semi in the Europa cup.
tell him that:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1N0ZD0XsAc_uVB?format=jpg&name=medium
I recall that both Mr. Emery and Mr. Arteta have paid tribute to the work of their most distinguished predecessor, Mr. Wenger
Auba is recovering from Malaria and you can show as many photos of him upset but inside he is fully satisfied that he was subbed correctly.
Laca ran his butt off to cover the Chelsea attacks and to create some counter attacks.
I am fully behind the Arsenal manager despite the sad views of the many brilliant footballing brains that support Arsenal without having the slightest understanding of management. ARSENAL are my club and their manager has my support.
1-0 to the Arsenal is good enough for me. Jamie the space (enough inbetween his ears for a stadium) is still spouting drivel but thats plundits.
Well said menace listening to so call experts on sky is just a waste of your energy
Not a great attacking performance but a superb defences performance
Get behind the team
The Sky narrative was rather undermined by our team tonight.
Chelsea weren’t trying.
Chelsea were thinking of the Cup Final.
Chelsea were below par.
Chelsea were unlucky.
Tough shit Cole, Lampard, Alan Smith et Al.
Arsenal did what Man City and Real Madrid couldn’t.
Not a bad performance from our crap defence!
Menace and Paul T
Totally agree.
Obviously we have issues going forward which, if we are to progress, need addressing.
But yet again that woeful defence that all the pundits think we should sell put up a sterling performance.
I know we can be frustrating to watch, even infuriating at times, but surely Arteta has to be given more time to make this squad his own.
As I, and others have pointed out, it took Klopp 3 years to turn Liverpool in to winners.
This endless whingeing by some is a tad frustrating to say the least, and not a little counter productive I would of thought.
As you say Paul, surely what we need is for everyone to get behind the team.
Arsenal points this season:-
Until Christmas Day
Pl Pts
14 14
After Christmas Day
Pl Pts
22 41
WOO HOO , HOO ! A great win and 3 most welcome points. And that too against a Chelski side who may end up winning both the CL and Fa Cups.
Up the gunners !
And wishing all who celebrate , A Very Happy Eid Mubark . Stay safe.
As for tbe stupidity of people following blindly the the expert morons in the media, have a read.
Zohnerism
Why we need to Avoid watching too much of breaking news & panel discussions in the press , media and most other TV news channels nowadays!?
Because, they all follow *Zohnerism*!!!
What is this notorious concept of *Zohnerism*?
*Zohnerism* – is all about twisting of simple facts to confuse people!
To know more about it, please read this:
In 1997, 14 year old Nathan Zohner presented his science fair project to his classmates, seeking to ban a highly toxic chemical from its everyday use.
The chemical in question? Dihydrogen monoxide.
Throughout his presentation, Zohner provided his audience scientifically correct evidence as to why this chemical should be banned.
He explained that dihydrogen monoxide:
—–Causes severe burns while it’s in gas form.
—–Corrodes and rusts metal.
—–Kills countless amounts of people annually.
—–Is commonly found in tumors, acid rain etc.
—–Causes excessive urination and bloating if consumed.
—–Zohner also noted that the chemical is able to kill you if you depend on it and then experience an extended withdrawal.
He then asked his classmates if they actually wanted to ban dihydrogen monoxide.
And so, 43 out of the 50 children present voted to ban this clearly toxic chemical.
However… this chemical isn’t typically considered toxic at all.
In fact, dihydrogen monoxide is simply H2O, which is nothing but water.
Nathan Zohner’s experiment wasn’t a legitimate attempt to ban water, but instead an experiment to get a representation of how gullible people can really be.
@ Brickfields
That’s brilliant!
Seismic – thanks for that point. I’ll try and weave it into an article with acknowledgement to you.
Thanks, Tony. I only posted it to reinforce a point you made a few days ago regarding Arsenal’s medium-term results this season. We are surely better than the media muppets are suggesting.
I have a feeling that there could be some late drama in store for Tottenham and Everton this season.