Good morning Positives,
What a good result! A 5-1 aggregate score and two legs in which we comfortably ended the games in control is a rarity in European competitions at this stage where the ‘better’ clubs are coming face to face.
Of the game itself I thought we started a bit jittery and out of sorts, not helped by Kosc’s injury. The Frenchman immediately looked uncomfortable after going up for a corner, and not able to run so I was surprise it took 4-5 minutes to take him off.
With Laurent gone the teams traded possession for the next 30 minutes with neither side showing really testing the keeper or creating a clear goalscoring opening. Milan’s final ball was poor, as it had been to the San Siro, and our attacks ran went to the edge of the visitors’ box before running out of ideas.
The goal from Calhanoglu on 36 minutes was entirely unexpected, for me as much as Ospina. Good goal, 30 yards, corner of the net. Could the Colombian have been more alert and at least got a hand to it? Could Bellerin and/or Mustafi have shut the striker down quicker as their shouting match after the goal went in hinted at ? We shall never know.
There was a bit of a groan around me I admit but the goal was exactly what the tie needed and we responded immediately. We surged forward and within a minute it seemed Danny went down in a heap. Even from the other end it looked soft as the referee and the 5th official eyed each other up coyly. The Swedish referee nevertheless pointed spot-ward and Milan players went beserk, as I suspect any group of players would do in similar circumstances. Nessun sente da che parte preme la scarpa, se non chi se la calza. For all the fuss Danny stepped up and despatched the generous gift left and Donnarumma dived right. A collective sigh of relief was heard as far away as Hampstead Heath as we knew it was not going to be one of ‘those’ nights. Referee Eriksson compounded his guilt a few moments later by denying Milan a penalty when Callum Chambers arm was up but that would have been harsh.
The rest of the game I admit is a bit of a blur although as I did not get home until 2 this morning is a bit fuzzy anyway. The main recollection however is of Arsenal largely controlling the game. The pivot of that control last night being our Swiss midfielder, though whom it seemed most ball was channeled from back to front, and against Granit wall the RossoNeri battered to little effect as he covered ground and space, nicked the ball away and put a sly foot in as required. A really professional performance and capped by the killer second goal as far as Milan were concerned, a shocking cock up by a keeper who up until then in the tie had been excellent. Man of the match Xhaka. Enjoy your moment, you have worked hard for it. Merit points for Aaron, Jack, Mustafi, Callum and Danny.
Of the atmosphere 90% of Milan fans in the ground and singing an hour before kick off ! By Kick off + 5 I could see only a few empty seats in the upper tiers in the East and West Stands at the sides but it looked full to me. Plenty of noise throughout and lots of fans stayed after the final whistle to applaud all the players on both teams off the pitch. Arsenal fan next to me left immediately Donnarumma fumbled the second goal into his net – he’d seen enough.
At midday UK time we shall discover who the next opponents are in the Europa League and the hoopla will start again.
Enjoy Friday and the international break.
Positively Arsenal 
Watching five minutes of Fulham vs QPR,
Lots of patient passing, good enough techniques (is Alli watching?), some would say not enough passes into space ahead of attackers (they’re not The Arsenal, or City, playing against an line of eleven, or twelve, at the back), it is very interesting to see the changes from twenty years ago, the old trickle down affect.
I blame the likes of Vengarghhhh and Guardiola for ruining English football.
Don’t look now but I thank the football gods for our salvation in the safe hands of Phil Neville.
Well played the Arsenal ladies for their trophy last week. No small achievement. Great days for that squad.
I wonder if people go around blaming Vengarrrgh for the changes in that league after The United Petrocorps decided to unite and buy up some football clubs.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Eddy – please feel free to put something together and I’d be delighted to bang it up as a blog.
For my part I could not give a fuck what John Cross says or does not say, whether it is favourable or unfavourable to AFC. As I said on Twitter he’d put his Grandma out on the streets on Christmas Day to get a few more clicks. It would be dishonest of me to claim otherwise.
LikeLiked by 3 people
per’s problems pre game, dealing with pressure.
https://www.balls.ie/football/per-mertesacker-interview-385323
LikeLike
Goal to Arsenal, 3-1. The Gunners extend their advantage as Nelson finds the back of the net with a free-kick whipped in with pace from the left.
LikeLiked by 1 person
don’t know if anyone seen it, but Charlie Nicholas claimed earlier in the week that Wenger would announce either yesterday(Friday) or over this weekend that he was stepping down at the end of the season.
LikeLike
anicol I was hoping that someone with a better turn of pharse than I would do it, maybe reverend or labo, its as times like this that we most miss Stewart Black
LikeLiked by 4 people
FULL TIME: Arsenal u23’s 3-1 chelsea u23’s
Nketiah, john-jules and Nelson with our goals after CFC had taken the lead, think that puts AFC 2nd in the table, 1pt behind LCFC with a game in hand.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Arsenal’s remaining Premier League 2 fixtures:
April 6 – Liverpool (away)
April 13 – Swansea (home)
April 20 – West Ham (away)
LikeLike
You have the bit between your teeth eddy – you’ll find the words !
And yep I miss young Stew and his polished, funny and well thought out pieces.
LikeLiked by 5 people
LikeLiked by 1 person
“We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English.” – Winston Churchill
LikeLike
Just about every week I get Emails asking if we will accept advertising on the site.I always either ignore the mail or simply say no, I think it’s impossible not to put out tripe if one of your aims is to generate £ through clicks.
LikeLiked by 8 people
LikeLiked by 2 people
the full Per Mertesacker interview
http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/interview-with-mertesacker-about-exit-from-arsenal-football-a-1198260.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#ref=rss
LikeLiked by 2 people
What an extraordinary interview by Per. I was convinced that he did not want to be playing that FA cup game against Notts Forest. This interview suggests that he r3ally didn’t.
It r3ally is the most fascinating interview of a sportsman I have read…
LikeLiked by 5 people
Yes, saw the Charlie Nicholas comment about Wenger,stepping down this,weekend, doesn’t make a lot of sense, even if he was going,why would he announce it this weekend?
LikeLike
mandy i get the feeling charlie nic thought AC milan would knock AFC out, and so that would have meant AW announcing his departure on friday or over the weekend
LikeLike
Thanks for the Per link GP – a reminder of the cost of being a professional footballer and the public eye. The extreme highs he will never expect again, the severe terror of failing to perform and his guts falling out. And some die. I noted the “journalist as vultures” comment.
We get our money’s worth from these boys – unpopular though that idea is.
LikeLiked by 4 people
our goal scorers today
LikeLiked by 2 people
If that’s the case, Charlie Nic is a man of little faith.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reading that Per Mertsacker interview is a reminder the enormous pressure faced by an Arsenal player. The cannon is very heavy. No wonder so many of our young players tend to flourish elsewhere outside the pressure cooker.
LikeLiked by 2 people
shotta can really think of any youngster who has left us that has flourished elsewhere
LikeLike
The Arsenal shirt has always been a ‘heavy’ shirt .
Mr Wenger has put in place systems that will produce young players that will be better players for Arsenal and or big clubs throughout world football.
We have seen in recent past that a 6 year old Hale End product has been taken by and played for Barcelona. There are at the moment several top clubs in world football circling one of the latest 9 year old Hale End product .
No other team in the Premier League are producing young players, that are being targeted like this .
This a really good sign.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Marseille President Eyraud compares Lyon & PSG: “Everything Jean-Michel Aulas has done is with his own money… He is not a foreign country that chose football as an investment strategy.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
fa cup semi final draw
man u v spurs
chelsea v southampton
so one of man u or spurs certain to be trophyless this season
LikeLiked by 1 person
Obviously trying to do VAR differently.
Used three times in Chelsea game, each time really quick decisions, barely any longer, if at all, than normal stoppage. Nowhere near enough time to even look at variety of angles, which is the cornerstone of video replays in rugby.
No tv replays of 2nd one despite it looking plenty controversial in real time- Vardy seemed to swing arm at Fabregas head. Unclear what sort of connection but thought there was at least some. Since when do you not get a replay for that?
1st time, sneaky elbow from Moses connected flush. A replay, but before VAR had looked at it. None after. Definite yellow, though they can’t give them on VAR, and a possible red.
We’ve had two of three for pushing head into face (Giroud, Sagna), pushing someone in back (Diaby), or flicking up a leg (Gabriel). Was deliberate, and more violent than any of them. One look, no.
As it happened he connected with someone’s head again not long after, drawing blood and, I think, a 1st yellow.
All very odd considering how hungry for controversy they normally are in tv coverage.
Felt like they are learning lessons, but they are primarily about controlling image of game.
For anyone who distrusts Pgmol, it looks worryingly like the improvements will be far smaller than should be. Still the same guys making the calls
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s going to be a while to see the team again, just looking back at a legend
je vous présent Mr No Trick Pony
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/974405279893934080
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mikel Arteta not a legend but one of the most influential players in recent times.
I thought he was a great player and has played a part on how Arsenal DM is defined for Wengerball.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think the ‘plan’ with VAR is for the referees and video assistants to get to the point where major errors are reduced or eliminated from the game Rich. The sort of total cock-up whereby although 10 million TV viewers know the referee is wring he is in the only one on the planet who does not. If they can get that level of VAR working in the next few months I will e highly satisfied.
Whether the system will ever be employed to work out the issue of cards for players getting a bang on the head I don’t know. The problem will be, as with so much in football, plenty of players who feel a ‘contact’ with their head from an opponent fall to the ground clutching their face and screaming. I suppose a few yellow cards for feigning injury might improve mattes but for a ref trying to differentiate between a legitimate injury v a pretend injury, and then decide if the contact was malicious or accidental is a jumble of factors.
On the Per article and not wishing to diminish the honest account our BFG gave I have always enjoyed the comment of Keith Miller the Australian bowler, and former RAF wartime pilot, when asked about the ‘pressure’ of Test cricket.
“Pressure,’ he said. ‘I’ll tell you what pressure is. Pressure is a Messerschmitt up your arse. Playing cricket is not”
LikeLiked by 1 person
anicol
Yeah. Guess the issue is that my mind is pretty much made up on them and, though I try pretty hard to judge each incident on its own merits, my distrust of them wins the day.
Just feel it is so likely that with VAR in place we will continue to see, say, officials rarely turn down a chance to punish us heavily, while treating others differently.
Yesterday, I can’t even be sure what happened, thanks to the bizarre decision not to show a single replay of what looked a highly contentious issue.
Reminded me of the time Rashford seemed to clearly and deliberately stop one on the line against us with his hand at a pivotal moment in a painful defeat. Again, no replays.
Ultimately, even if the exact same team of officials are to send off one of ours at some point for raising their hand same way Vardy did, or for the three solid elbows let go, nothing can be proved. To me, it’ll mean something bad; to you, not, and just one of those things. All comers back to whether you believe they are trustworthy.
Though I will predict that next time we’re Var’ed up for a game and there’s a chance for a pen or red against us, there’ll be none of the ultra quick decision-making of yesterday.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Excellent to be reminded,Andy Nic, of the time Douglas Bader was giving a talk at that posh girls school……
LikeLiked by 2 people
Like so many explayers they forget how heavy the shirt was when they wore it, darling Charlie is a prime example of a player who never realised his full potential in red and white.
LikeLiked by 3 people
23 today
LikeLiked by 2 people
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on Wenger: “I am really happy because I am here because of him. He had an interest in me so I am happy to play for him.”
LikeLiked by 3 people
couple of articles in the media today, one in the times, that state something that most if not all of us on here have been saying for some time, re the staff changes at AFC, its not being done behind Wenger’s back, its actually being done at his behest. AW was the one asking for better personnel (scouting, fitness, data analyst..etc) and where Gazidis deserves credit is that he has succeed in picking the crème de la crème.
the WOB will not like to hear it, but the changes will of course help his successor when AW eventually leaves, but there is a very good chance that these changes will see Wenger’s tenure extended too.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Charlie Nicholas honours with the Arsenal:
Arsenal’s Player of the Year award for 1984.
League Cup Winner 1987 (from the reserve bench, he got the Davies treatment from GG, without Davies impressive record!)
BFG honours with The Arsenal:
FA Challenge Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17
And whilst he was with us, he also picked up the old World Cup trophy (2014), nevermind those bodybpopping Algerian Alchemists
LikeLiked by 1 person
< and hopefully at the end of this season he'll pick up the Olde UEFA cup.
A fitting way for a great club servant to end his career with the club. If the football gods (not Riley, although we do know what he thinks of himself, as it is obvious) had any class we'll see the BFG come on for the last five minutes of the final five minutes, head away a sequence of late corners from Madrid, and then head butt Costa just after the victorious final whistle for good measure. That last bit is just a hilarious joke?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Doh!
< The last five minutes of the UEFA Cup (heh) final
LikeLike
A friend suggested that the Champions Leage and Euro League should just be one tournament.
Given the small frequency of Champions in the Champions League it is hard to argue against such logic (& data! Haha!). But I can’t imagine that various FAs are mad keen on that arrangement. Nope. Not going to happen. But an interesting concept. One not to be discussed on any of the 24/7 Football broadcasters anytime soon as they ave so many other fascinating topics to discuss such as the startling and remarkable contrast between the technical application of VARs in the Football as opposed to it’s sister sport Field Hockey.
The contrast is:
Bizarre.
Why bungle along when you have a proven and tested mechanism and model to adopt?
Asking for a good friend…
LikeLike
Think Per has basically done all footballers a favour. If there are any of them out there struggling silently in a similar way, wondering if those struggles are abnormal or peculiar to them, they’ll now know otherwise.
He’s also at pains to point out he knows the good fortune involved in his life, and that he doesn’t want to come across as whiny.
I wasn’t at all sure at first ,when I heard some of what he said, how that would fit with the new job of inspiring young hopefuls.
On reflection, that should be no problem. In short, he can simply say, ‘if you’re one of those who, should you make it, finds it all relatively easy, great, wonderful; but if you have troubles along the way, that’s alright,too, and here are some ideas to help you with it.’
By the sounds of it, his intention is to go pretty hard on the reality of how few make it- long term unemployed for 60% of aspiring footballers [don’t know from what age]- and trying to help all deal with that possibility.
Delicate balance between that and encouraging ambition,etc, but I think Per may well excel at it.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Your favorite Arsenal memories? With nothing much to talk about for the next few days, it struck me that many of you will have wonderful memories of Arsenal not necessarily connected to games. Mine for example, pre teen years, were being thanked by a PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER for handing the ball back to him at a reserve game at Highbury. The fact that he was a goalkeeper and a spud at that, Ted Ditchburn, didn’t take away the memory. Nor for that matter did spending a 5 minute journey on a 236 bus, chatting to Bill Dickson, (No Mercedes or Lamborghinies in those days). What a delight chatting to our star Irish half back.
Let’s hear them. Could be good fun.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Goalkeeper Daniel Barden set for Arsenal FA Youth Cup chance against Blackpool with Joao Virginia absent
by jeorge bird
Arsenal face Blackpool away tonight in the first leg of their FA Youth Cup semi-final, but Kwame Ampadu’s side will be without some important members of their squad for the game at Bloomfield Road.
In addition to Reiss Nelson, who is away with England U19s, and the injured Emile Smith Rowe, Arsenal are also deprived of the services of goalkeeper Joao Virginia, who has played every Youth Cup game for the club so far this season but has been called up to the Portugal U21 squad this week.
With Virginia unavailable, Arsenal will turn to first-year scholar Daniel Barden, and the 17-year-old will be determined to seize his opportunity.
Barden is a familiar presence in the U18 squad, having first been named on the bench at that level as a schoolboy two seasons ago.
The prospect signed scholarship terms last summer but struggled with injury in the first half of the campaign and has mainly been backup to Virginia since returning to fitness.
Barden has, however, made two league appearances for the U18s, with the first of those coming in the 5-1 victory away to West Ham United in January, while he kept a clean sheet in the 4-0 thrashing of Norwich City last week.
In addition, Barden received his first call-up to the U23 squad last weekend as he was on the bench for the win over Chelsea.
Arsenal have a host of academy goalkeepers at their disposal at present and Barden will certainly have to be patient if he is to make the cut in the longterm, but tonight represents an excellent opportunity to showcase his credentials.
Schoolboy shot-stopper Arthur Okonkwo, meanwhile, is likely to be on the bench.
Arsenal also have another goalkeeper,Alex Crean, on their books but he hasn’t played all season due to injury.
Possible Arsenal team: Barden; Daley-Campbell, Medley, Ballard, Thompson; Burton, M. Smith; Amaechi, Coyle, John-Jules; Balogun.
Subs: Okonkwo, Olowu, Omole, Swanson, Saka.
International duty: Nelson, Virginia
Injured: Smith Rowe, Crean, Tormey, McGuinness
Other options: Clarke, Spencer-Adams, Beckford, McEneff, Benson, Olayinka
LikeLike
Arsenal FC
Verified account @Arsenal
1h1 hour ago
Our #AFCU18 team to take on @BlackpoolFC: Okonkwo, Daley-Campbell, Ballard, Medley, Omole, Olayinka, Burton, Amaechi, John-Jules, Coyle, Balogun
Subs: Barden, Olowu, Clarke, Saka, Smith
#AFCU18 have taken the lead – John-Jules beats Thordarson on the half-hour mark to put us ahead 💪 🍊 0-1 🔵 (31)
But Sumner’s strike on the stroke of half-time means we go into the break level
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’re back in front – Xavier Amaechi finishes off a fine counter-attack 👏 🍊 1-2 🔵 (63)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Arsenal win a penalty. Thordarson saves. Still 2-1 to Arsenal
LikeLike
Thordarson saves. Still 2-1 to Arsenal
LikeLike
Blackpool 2 Arsenal 2. Ben Jacobsen equalises for Blackpool.
LikeLike
Jeorge Bird
@jeorgebird
1m1 minute ago
Full time. Blackpool 2 Arsenal 2. Arsenal twice surrendered the lead and missed a penalty against a spirited Blackpool team. Much work to do in the second leg next month.
LikeLike
Although it may be a disappointment to draw after going in front, the fact we sent such an inexperienced team all the way up north and we come back with a result it still a huge positive. I sure we will turn it on in the second leg.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Good afternoon all,
Very quiet in football land today with the mainstream and social media struggling to come up with anything new to talk about. The only consistent theme is Jose’s continued thrashing by al and sundry. Long may it continue though I really would not mind his boys disposing of TH in the semi final.
Casting my rod forward I am on my holiday for the Stoke game and the first leg against CSK so some of you may feel the hand of history on your shoulder from the Meerkat.
LikeLiked by 2 people