Partly cloudy, 13°C, light showers, expected around kick off time. That is the extent of the useful factual information I can impart – and so to the pre match review.
Formidable hoopla in the media and Twitterworld this morning preceding our trip to Goodison. Barely a mention of the return of Ramsey. Ah well – you know how it is.
An important game certainly, and a game that both clubs will be looked forward to with a keen appetite.
A “season defining”, prove “a corner has been turned”, or “it will decide 4th place” kind of game ? I am assured by those much wiser than me, and who get up earlier on a grey Sunday morning to commit themselves digitally, it is in that rank. I think not.
Three points for us will provide a more comfortable margin for a CL place and keep us in touching distance of a higher PL finish than fourth. Three points for the home side and they will be right up on our shoulder, with their own bit of glory achievable and a chance to put right the shambles of 2005 when they crashed out in the qualifiers.
But this is just one game in six in the final phase of the season. Win five of the six and I would be very surprised if we were not in the CL draw in August irrespective of the outcome today. Win today but drop points in one or more of the other contests and we shall be in the soup.
Beyond a hoped for run out for Ramsey I have always reckoned Goodison a ground where Tommy V has enjoyed his football. Scored a couple on his debut and never had a poor game. I can see Tommy as an important player again today at both front and back. Bizarrely Sunderland the only club to win at Goodison this season so I predict a goal from an unexpected source.
Everton have enjoyed a good season, and some of that success has relied upon their borrowed players Lukaku, Barry and Deulofeu. To be fair to Everton their stand out player when I have watched them this season has been Barkley. What intrigues me is how Distin, 36 years old still manages to turn in decent performances week after week. Does the player not realise at that age he is past it ?
It will be for Everton to come out and take the win from us and I do not think my crystal ball will be required to predict a vigorous opening and test of our midfield and defensive credentials. In the two previous meetings this season they have not managed to overcome us despite creditable performances. The storms we have weathered and I have no doubt shall sail through today with no hint of panic.
Off to breakfast now and enjoy the game.
So at 3.25 today join with me;
“Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
Fled is that music:— do I wake or sleep?”
Today’s post is brought to you by @anicoll5
Positively Arsenal 
Oh come on people its a good article. get chatting will you?
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Is it something I said ………………….?
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yeah so said it wouldn’t be up for a while so everyone’s running around doing housework to please the mrs so they’ll keep out of the way from one till four, or of course on their way to the game and haven’t checked their phones for the new post.
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anyway George is right is it a good post. Having knocked the toffees out of the F.A Cup and the youth cup, beat them today and they will be sick of the sight of us. Although games between everton and ARSENAL are usually tight I think we enjoy a good record at goodison ever since Perry Groves scoring in the away leg of the littlewoods cup all those years ago.
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It is very difficult at this time in the season to A, look at only one game at a time and B, look at the games objectively. The lads should be confident and if we perform to the standard we know we can we should be alright. If this was game 3 instead of 33 would we be nervous and would we except a point? At this time of year every win is the best in the world and every defeat is a disaster obviously on here we know the middle ground is nearer the truth
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Come on The Arsenal!
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Shotta
The Groaners I mentioned were the self-declared spokesmen etc. But now that you mention it, those cultured attacks on Pat Rice were, I suppose, symptomatic of the enlightenment that came with the courage to “ask questions”.
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One thing we know, as in really do know, is that Arsene does not send out the team to park any buses or to set the goal of making off with a point. We shall be set up to win and that is the proper target for every game.
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Hopefully Chamberlain will be niggle free for this game. Özil hypnotised most of the Everton players and people watching in the recent cup game but I think Chambo played well. If he’s ready to go I think he’ll be important today.
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I think since returning from injury the ox has looked a touch off the pace when playing in the middle. This has resulted in him losing the ball frequently in bad areas, something he has avoided when playing out wide. He has however slowly, game by game been improving and will soon be his old very imposing self and able to dominate possession again.
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good line up, don’t like nacho having to start having just come back from injury and I think Gibbs is better going forward and injects pace on the edge of the box at critical times however that is our lot at the moment. We do have good options from the bench although we do look a little threadbare and obviously we need players to come back quickly more for numbers than anything else. To get CL qualification and a domestic trophy with the injuries we’ve had this season will be a brilliant achievement and so……………COYG
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Excellent, anicoll5
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Must win today. I hate these bastards for all the cavities and dental work they have put me through over the years.
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COYG!
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Spent last night re-watching the FA Cup game. We can beat this lot!
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Oh dear TV why did you let that go?
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What’s up folks!
Have to find a way to dig a result out. We must!
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Did someone remind George that most of us have to get our affairs in order before flopping down in the sofa for two very important games?
Excellent job Andrew. The muse is very much alive, I see, and so is that cheerful, sunny disposition. At this stage of the season talk is cheap, ultimately its the results that count. Lets hope last week’s excellent results vs City have restored the belief necessary belief to go out and win the next 7 games. Apart from Gibbs being out due to injury, I doubt whether Wenger will tinker much. Another hour or so to go, we will soon find out.
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Stating the bleeding obvious but we are under the cosh.
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Shotta, yep, ah it dis mi bredrin!
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The defending has not been up to par at all.
For some reason TV allows the ball to roll by him when well within reach and no one was there to defend lukaku.
Damn!
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Looking a bit toothless in the final third – still in it though and I guess we shall see the Ox on soon for Mathieu.
I would like to see more confidence with the ball at our feet to take them on
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We’re a shambles. We have zero penetration and the two central midfielders are playing for shit thus far. Vermaelen’s poor positioning played a role in both goals.
I’d take Arteta off for the Ox and see if we can nick a draw.
We’re much more better than this and we have to show it.
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Needless to say that first half performance makes me wonder if our lads left their manhood back in fIng London. Ffs this could decide fourth fIng place. And under zero pressure. Everton just waiting for mistake and punishing us when they come..
COYG
SHOW ME SOME F FIGHT.
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The lack of penetration doesn’t bother me as much because that can turn in an instant. We were the best defensive team in the league and now we are exposed very easily on the counter. Not sure if parking the bus is what we need but the reverse is not an option either.
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Yeh, Gains, we are way better than this.
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The lethargy is unbearable. Ring u the changes AW
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Yet we had one excellent chance on goal which is lost in the shuffle.
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Paul, watching the two central midfielders get toyed with and not being able to pass the ball out of the back is grating on my nerves. It took Santi and Rosicky dropping back in order to get the ball bayond the halfway line. That’s just not good enough.
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Blasted annoying it is Gains!
I fully expect a response, we have the ability to turn this this around.
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We are leaving the come back a little late IMO
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Don’t know what to say
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Disappointing that we did not trouble the scorers – very good Everton display
Naismith’s contribution pivotal – very much the journeyman striker cum attacking midfield player but he did well today – hungry, clever, tidy, good finish
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Positives ? The Ox and Rambo did well and Aaron did look sharp
Good performance from Szcz – poor bugger
Err that’s it
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Marginally better in the 2nd half but we didn’t seem like getting anything out of the game. The only redeeming grace is Ramsey’s return. He might give us some energy going forward.
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Left a whole lot to be desired. Disjointed, unorganized, at times no desire. Poor performance. Truly disappointed. This team is a hell of lot better than this. Best get their s together before the semi and final of the fa and work their arses off to retain to four or three in the league. Bloody hell. Woke up at four am for that c.
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Gainsy – The limits of the Flam-Teta partnership is neither can consistently break the pressure on their own. They need help from speedy front players who can pin defenders and midfielders back. Without Walcott we lack that speed and have never had the threat of speed with Poldi on our left.
Playing either as a single midfielder as we know is very risky as without help from other midfielders they are exposed. At least with Ramsey that changes the balance but he is just returning from injury.
PS: Good heavens. Did I hear Robbie Mustoe and Robbie Earle say injuries to our 4 best players has not affected this team?
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Dear dear dear, a display without pace, brain or balls.
However with Aaron back and Oxo having learned a lesson or two we may well drag ourselves across the line in the EPL especially as I don’t think that this Everton side are good enough to win all of their remaining matches.
I think we may have done enough early in the season to get us through and the remaining fixtures are winnable. Maybe.
Next the FA Cup…..and after that I suspect the wind of change will blow through Arsenal Towers.
Arsenal Arsenal Arsenal.
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That was as bad as ever.
Per looked completely spent from minute 5.
Verm “gifted” them their first 2
Santi looked tired, TR tried and tried..
Sagna was the best man on the pitch
Just felt like we’d given up before the game
This was a shambles!
Very painful
5 to go
Can’t play Wigan in this state
We definitely can’t play anyone in this state
CRAP!
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we had the best second half last year and the best first half this year, now we learn to do it at the right time frame 🙂 (some of the elder leaders have been unrecognisable in this latest run of games…..sadly)
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Had to let it all out..
4th won’t be lost though.
ARSENAL!
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So sorry Andy: only just got to see this and just wish I had read it this morning rather than now. What a shame that your good post should elicit such a disappointing performance (as in I am disappointed).
Gutless, unoriginal and totally mean-spirited. Those are the only words I can find to describe the predictable response on Twitter.
The moment Arteta was clattered into from behind and had his ankle stamped on, and no card was given was the moment I knew that we were going to struggle. And so it proved., but oh dear me we did look pedestrian at times until Ramsey and The Ox came on. The way they played (and the immediate effect they had on Santi) has given me enough hope to cope with the next few days.
But I just wish I hadn’t chosen the week to stop sniffing glue.
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I’m well fed-up.
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Indeed Tim a litre of Evostick would take the edge off just now – at 0-2 we could have still forced our way back into the match but we never looked like getting that crucial first goal.
I guess my chances of picking up a ticket for the Baggies game is improved
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The building era is now over. Stadium built. Commercial contracts in place. Youngsters champing at the bit. FFP about to bite. This season was always going to be the bridge and it is time for the old and the stop gaps to move over. The FA Cup would be good and fourth place too but it is time to build a squad around Aaron Ramsey, Oxo etc, a new and exciting time for Arsenal. .
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And just to wind me up the Appy Ammers are putting in a good shift against the top team on Merseyside
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Couldn’t watch the game unfortunately.
Some of you will remember that I’m one who believe that teams struggle without Pace somewhere in the front five in the starting eleven. Özil’s turn of pace was very useful when the speedsters were out (apparently the Experts missed that bit). But reading the above comment from FH it is hard to play when an official has an attack of the Shakoor Ranas (as in is quite obviously taking the piss, for whatever reason).
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Just watched a few minutes of West Ham’s Diame making me yearn for Diabe. Frank is so right: it is time to rebuild a bit around these youngsters, and as life is better looking forward rather than back that is something to be excited about.
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hopefully the idiots on twitter wont start going on about tactics, the first two goals were individual errors and you don’t have to be a genius to defend and then counter when your two nil ahead. The third goal was a foul on bacs but we were slow to recover. Atkinson was shit as usual and let everton kick us with every challenge this encouraged them to do this even more.
If I have a criticism of Arsene it was using the subs too late. Nacho was not back up to match fitness and was having a poor game and needed better protection than Poldolski. With no one supporting Giroud up front and the lack of movement not allowing us to play decisively out from the back we were looking stale and changes needed to made. When they did come ox was again playing centrally and again gave the ball away in areas with no one behind him allowing everton to counter and in the process waste time.
In summary, the team Arsene picked was more than capable of winning that game, the ref had a bad game and that dictated the style of the play, too many players were making poor decisions and were off the pace, the changes came to late to put enough pressure on an everton team that were not particularly good today but took advantage of the gifts that came their way.
I still think we can come fourth but the team need to work harder to regain the form their obvious quality commands and when players are not performing Arsene cannot rely on his genius to get them out of trouble switching systems or a quite word here and there he must use the other personnel he has at his disposal, even with the long injury list, to change the pace and hunger of games.
Martinez will be hailed as a tactical genius by the misguided aob and reactionary media and although he may have guessed that if gibbs didn’t make it that luke would destroy natcho and Atkinson would allow muggins all over the pitch(the three man attack on Sanogo only needed a wooden plank to look like something out of 1960s America) the rest of the game was more about us than them.
In one way it is in our hands because the beatings we have taken this year have been all about our form rather than teams outplaying us when we were at our best, that would be more worrying. We have five league games to go, play well and we will be ok as I believe the toffees will drop points its as simple as that.
Sometimes on this site we are accused of being too nice or being blind when we lose and maybe on occasions this may have some credence however I can guarantee on sites and posts all over the net there will be loonies hanging our manager and our players and jumping out of theoretical windows, this is the real myopia as neither of the fat couple have even stood up to sing yet. This season, unless something miraculous happens, is very much with ARSENAL but we need to play.
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I don’t know where Arsenal have gone? I don’t recognise them….
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