Arsenal Women: exciting times as the Champions League starts in August.

By Tony Attwood These are exciting moments for Arsenal’s Women’s team as just one win in two games is needed to secure a place in Europe next season.  Here’s the league table – with the top three qualifying   # Team P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Chelsea 20 16 3 1 …

What has happened to two of last season’s goalscorers?

By Tony Attwood It was interesting that after we published our little piece at noon yesterday Emery v Arteta; how they compare several drainpipes (sorry, “outlets”) picked up on the fact that ahead of the game Messrs Emery and Arteta, had managed virtually the same number of games at Arsenal Stranger still these “outlets” even …

Villareal v Arsenal; Emery v Arteta. How do they compare. Plus the teams

By Bulldog Drummond The videos of the highlights of all four previous matches between Arsenal and Villareal are now available on the Arsenal History Society website. Arsenal against Villarreal. Videos from all the past matches Meanwhile as we approach the match against our previous manager we can ask, how do our managers compare? The way …

Villareal v Arsenal. Astonishing team news and the referee’s preference

By Bulldog Drummond Of course Arsenal are going to play a game of football today, so it is time for the media to wheel out all the negativity they can find.  Including of course “Arsenal board ‘unhappy with Mikel Arteta’ and put Paulo Fonseca on replacement shortlist” from the ever wild and whacky Express.  Fonseca …

Villareal v Arsenal. Europa League semi-final. How the teams compare

By Bulldog Drummond Arsenal have played Villareal – now of course managed by Unai Emery – four times and we remain unbeaten.   All four matches were during Mr Wenger’s tenure and within the Champions League. Date Match Result Score Competition 19 Apr 2006 Arsenal v Villarreal W 1-0 Champions League 25 Apr 2006 Villarreal v …

How Arsenal, the club of revolutions, became the club of “be like everyone else”

By Tony Attwood It is (for me at least even if no one else) fascinating to see how the argument against the Kroenke ownership of Arsenal has been conducted through the notion that Arsenal is the club of tradition – the club upholding the great values of football against the incomers who don’t understand what …

Why it is going to be an incredibly tough summer for Arsenal.

By Sir Hardly Anyone Two stories are circulating.   One is that Arsenal are going to have a major turnaround of players in the summer transfer window.  Indeed this is one of the lead stories of the moment.  The other is that the battle over SuperLeague is not over and that Uefa will be challenged in …

Results from crowdless games are different from those with crowds. Why?

By Tony Attwood I have often explored the argument that this season the balance of home and away wins has changed in the Premier League. And because my favourite question is always “why?” I have indeed tried to ask that. It is a question that is all the more interesting not just because the stats …

Who starts the transfer rumours and why are they inventing more and more?

By Tony Attwood A major police investigation has uncovered evidence that suggests legal disputes in football and other sports may have been corrupted by the submission of misleading documents. The Times – 21 January 2021 ————————- I have often commented on how journalists talk up fantasy transfer rumours.   But where do these stories start – …

“Reportedly expected to be a transfer target”. Great Arsenal excitement

By Sir Hardly Anyone There is a lovely, one might even say a beautiful phrase that has turned up on the a website in the last 48 hours  It is the one in the headline above “reportedly expected to be a transfer target” I won’t push the point and report who actually published that, but …

Football: the huge problem that simply will not go away

By Tony Attwood I am regularly taken to task for going on and on about the same subject over and over.  At the moment it is the impact of the media on the debate about the arrival of Super League that is occupying my thoughts.  In the past the same objections have arisen in terms …

Football does not have to be torn up and replaced (as the media suggests)

By Tony Attwood “The media as extremists and revolutionaries” – that hardly seems likely.  After all most of the media is owned by extremely rich right wing capitalists – rather like football clubs.   So why on earth would they be revolutionaries? I think what has happened is they have slipped into the role, each pundit, …

The problem beyond Superleague is the secrecy of the Premier League

By Tony Attwood As you may have heard if you follow such things there is already a case going through the courts in which Manchester City are appealing a decision by the Premier League.  Quite what decision this is no one is sure, although we know it is nothing to do with the Super League …

The Trotskyist model fans and journalists desire for running football has failed

By Tony Attwood The last time our position in the league was this bad after 33 games was in 1995 – 26 years ago.  George Graham had been sacked after 29 games on 21 February 1995 with Arsenal 10th the in the league, 25 points off the top with a goal difference of zero. In …

Arsenal v Everton. The predicted team and an interesting view from the northwest

By Bulldog Drummond The video collection series Arsenal v Everton – the historic games on video 241 historic Arsenal videos with more being added each day Support the team   The BBC is telling us that Arsenal have kept just three clean sheets at home this season in the Premier League, but then we don’t …

Arsenal never lose on a Friday! Arsenal v Everton, the stats.

By Bulldog Drummond Arsenal v Everton – the historic games on video Due to the long-term connections of both Arsenal and Everton with the top division, the two clubs have played each other in over 200 league and cup games – 216 times to be precise.    Of these 199 have been in the top …

Arsenal v Everton: the injuries and the tackles / fouls / yellows stats.

By Bulldog Drummond Arsenal currently have five players listed in the Physioroom.com listing for the Premier League.  Above us in terms of injuries are… Liverpool: 8 Crystal Palace: 7 Everton: 7 Sheffield United: 6 Southampton: 6 West Ham United: 6 Here are the details Player Reason Further Detail Potential Return Status Kieran Tierney Knee Injury …

Super League v Premier League: now the real war begins

by Tony Attwood It is being reported that the Premier League has demanded that the senior executives from the English clubs involved in initiative should be removed from Premier League committees, having shown themselves untrustworthy by working behind the back of the committee while continuing to attend committee meetings. In practice this would mean Manchester …

Arsenal v Everton: the statistics point to Arsenal to win 2-0, or maybe 2-1.

By Bulldog Drummond   So off we go again – a game of football. A bit of an odd thing to talk about instead of the structure of the league, but there it is. This week it seemed like that was the last thing on anyone’s mind, but well, I though we might as well, …

After the apologies, what next for naughty six? And how did they get it so wrong?

By Sir Hardly Anyone Full marks to the Guardian for acknowledging that “only Arsenal actually apologised for behaviour that, collectively, has been widely condemned as brazenly self-serving.”  I think Liverpool came up with a statement a little later after that Guardian comment was written but not quite as fulsome an apology. Winner in the shutting …

Apologies from Arsenal, but not everyone is saying sorry.

By Tony Attwood “How can we ever work with these people again? They’ve spent years telling us barefaced lies,” was just one comment in the last day or two.   And yet nothing is new; we have had problems with untruths in football since the start of football. As I have quoted a number of times …

Superleague. The key question the media utterly refused to ask, let alone answer

By Tony Attwood Superleague is dead.  Messrs Kronke, Abramovich, Levy, Mansour, Glazer, Henry have been shown to be total and utter prats of the first order.  Their stock as businessmen will now have reached to somewhere around minus 50 on a scale of 1 to 5.   So now we have a question: what will this …

Breakaway clubs face largest football PR and political disaster of all times

By Tony Attwood The British Prime Minister and senior cabinet ministers are said to be investigating ways of introducing legislation to prevent English clubs entering the European Super League, according to senior cabinet sources.   Meanwhile the backlash against the proposals have now reached such proportions that the credibility of those who instituted the plan is …

Arsenal supporters issue solid rebuttal of club’s plan to join unwanted new league

AISA (The Arsenal Independent Supporters Association) has issued a statement on the proposed “European Super League” which Arsenal FC has suggested that it will be joining. Untold Arsenal is pleased to reproduce this in full. —————- AISA strongly condemns the decision to create a European Super League and is dismayed and disgusted that Arsenal FC …

Who can stop the Midweek Combination, and how can they do it?

By Tony Attwood There are in fact a number of ways in which the new Midweek Combination can be stopped, and although some of these will undoubtedly fail there is a chance one of them will stop the new League. One of the points the media seem to have missed is that this new league …