Good morning Positives,
After two defeats in games in which we faced difficult opponents yesterday was a game I certainly had marked down as three points to the Arsenal and so it eventually worked out. The eventually being relevant as right up to the time-added-on+ the ‘Ammers were still in the game and could have snatched the equaliser. I was surprised at the 61% v 39% possession in our favour, it looked more even to me. If we were a bit unlucky not to earn a point at the Bridge so our claret and blue visitors will feel aggrieved that all their efforts were for nought.
Of the game itself the content of the post game comments on here was accurate. I also thought it was our worst display of the three games. Defensively we were shaky and better finishing from Arnautovic could/should have embarrassed us further. The right hand side of our football team in the first half worked well going forward. If the move broke down however, with Hector upfield, there was no cover behind him and the ‘Ammers raced in on our goal. Mustafi and Sokratis were confronted with 3-4 charging opponents and the tackles and clearances looked desperate. On the other side of the pitch Nacho did not suffer the same problems. In the final third during the first half our passing was also poor, with good ball wasted. It was difficult to pick put anyone who was better or worse than anyone else, it was just below average.
If the first half was unsatisfactory the second was better. Laca’s introduction gave a definite target for the ball being passed forward and he and PEA combined far better. We seemed to get a better measure of Anderson and Antoine and, slowly, a solid grip on midfield. Our new Uruguayan’s entry on 56 minutes I thought was important in winning that midfield battle. He is very tidy. As it was the first time I had seen Torreira live I was impressed. But he is sooooo short – He really is Alan Ball/Billy Bremner size !! When our second goal came, while it was as ugly as sin, it was deserved.
After that WH scrambled to get back into it, with pressure but no real killer punch in their attacks. The introduction of Chicarito, with his blue rinse, made the work of or back two that little bit easier. The Arsenal defence did enough to fend them off. The third goal was a little cherry on Danny’s cake, the reward for effort.
Of the Ammers I thought Antoine did well, and despite some wayward finishing Arnautovic’s goal was a peach of a shot. Jack was anonymous. If I had not been looking for him I would not have noticed him. A hard Autumn beckons for Manuel Pelligrini.
So three much needed points in the bag and AFC are on the road for two interesting games in Cardiff and on Tyneside.
Fear not for the future, weep not for the past – and enjoy your Sunday…
Positively Arsenal 
live on arsenal player
Arsenal FCVerified account @Arsenal
25m25 minutes ago
#AFCU23 to play Tottenham: Martinez, Olowu, Ballard, Pleguezuelo, Bola, Gilmour, Willock, Amaechi, Olayinka, Smith Rowe, John-Jules
Subs: Okonkwo, Sheaf, Burton, Saka, Balogun
GOAL! @Joewillock wasting no time 👏
The midfielder sends a powerful strike into the top right corner 💥
🔴 1-0 🔵 (3)
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https://www.thesouthafrican.com/capetonian-adetiba-lands-arsenal-contract/
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Arsenal have had 9 young players called up by England for youths teams, from U18 up to U21, and this could affect Nketiah, Willock and Smith-Rowe chances of playing for our U23’s in the Checktrade Trophy game away to Coventry on September 12th as the second of their international games are on the 10th.
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Just watched last nights action again as well the breakdown form the hammers game. Firstly the talent on the ARSENAL youth production line keeps rolling and with proper intergration and loan spells we have a fantasic future and secondly (as I know has already been pointed out on here and on twitter) isn’t it amazing how the black cloud movement view of Xhaka and Bellerin rank so different from Adrian Clarke’s factual analasis strange really.
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Ha ha “Black Cloud Movement”……………….. I’m having that.
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There is an argument (albeit not one much heard in Alabama) that says that Bellerin, Xhaka and Ozil are the sides most important players. How strange that they are the three most criticised by media and black cloudists. Mind you, should Ramsey put pen to paper it won’t be long before he is restored to his rightful place as PE No1.
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Well I feel a right ninny today, having convinced myself that we would be on at 3pm today only to find we are on the telly tomorrow lunchtime.
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Great news with the Nelson move.
The best possible outcome for player and club both – I do believe that young players need that fine balance between playing and being allowed to complete their physical development – safe to sayi can’t imagine that the hoffenheim manager will chuck Nelson on when he has a medium serious niggle. As happened with mavididi when the Charlton manager owned up to over-exposing/using the young player.
A not so cunning Cumulonimbus may argue that the squad is missing a player like Nelson but he simply needs to play and have a few runs (clusters of starts) in a team to see how he gets on. It’s a sport, innit?
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< Iwobi filling out now, stronger, I expect him to kick on a little bit this season. Sweet FA to do with the change in manager. To quote his uncle mentor and coach the famous and much admired Jay Jay:
"Alex is developing well at Arsenal".
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I really enjoyed watching the game last weekend, especially so as I was lucky enough to do so live and to meet up with three real PAs beforehand. Yes, there were moments where we were a bit exposed, but we were on the front foot pretty much throughout and it always felt like we would win – and it felt as if the players believed that too. We have some fine players on the pitch, on the bench and waiting in the wings – and I reckon we have a pretty good manager too.
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Forgive me if you can but the wisdom of Jay Jay carries a little bit more weight for me when regarding the football from his own family over the opinion of Billy the Big Blagger.
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I’m not sure the masters of Sports Communications* will not be that happy with this clouded term of reference.
*Etymology:
Sports Communications > Public Relations > Propaganda Merchant
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It appears we have no preview, sorry about that, talk among yourselves.
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Oh FFS, I thought we were playing at 12.30 TODAY. Fucking hell, I’m only 63.
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for me the standout player last night in the U23 game was our captain Pleguezuelo, started at left central defender and finished as our right back, and he excelled in both positions, not the tallest for a CB, but reads the game well and looks to have a real burst of speed. He was involved in first team training all week and that must have been a real boost for him, and he certainly did well last night.
Ben Sheaf made his long awaited comeback from injury as a sub last night and he just looked so cool and calm with the ball, again not the tallest for a CB but his reading of the game is great, and as a former CM he has a great passing range.
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Arsenal U18s away to Chelsea: Okonkwo; Daley-Campbell, Spencer-Adams, Ogungbo, Swanson; M. Smith, McEneff; Musah, Coyle, Saka; Balogun.
Subs: Hein, Cottrell, Greenwood, Clarke, Matthews
CFC went 2-0 up, but with 20 minutes to go Balogun has pulled one back.
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Ft. Chelsea 3 Arsenal 1. Arsenal U18s suffer their first loss of the season.
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“Half-way through last season, before the playmaker renewed his contract with Arsenal, Emery personally tried to convince Ozil to sign for his former club Paris Saint-Germain by outlining his exact tactical plans to him in a face-to-face meeting.”
Quote is from the plundit Rafa Honigstein who would happily admit that he is not always been a fan/admirer of Ozil.
There it is.
Who could have predicted that there’d have been a self righteous attack on Mesut Ozil after after the WC by the awful extremists from within our own extremist media (including “AFTV Media” that is unfortunately inclusive, by their words, of most of them!) that agree with the DFB?
Exactly the same kind of awful people that were giving Raheem the same treatment.
I don’t often agree with 7AM thoughts on the football but I can and do appreciate that he has been the only billy blagger to call people out for their undeniable bigotry over the years.
The question an Arsenal lover can ask themselves is why do these people have such palpable hatred for a football club? I can supply a few million Reasons (the scientific method has always been helpful when trying to understand and appreciate the mysteries and wonders of the natural world).
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Very enjoyable 8 minute highlights of the U23 win against Tottingham last night on Arse.com.
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anicol did you not watch it live on Arsenal player
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No eddy – a bit of work got in the way – the highlights looked as though the 2-1 score was a big let off for the visitors. Smith Rowe was cracking.
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They should have been playing with 9 by the end
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today it is ten years since Man city were took over
Nick Harris
Verified account @sportingintel
4h4 hours ago
10 years since the PR wing of an oppressive M East regime embarked on a £1.5bn billion image-laundering spending spree after ousting a master of extra-judicial killings. Yay! Happy anniversary.
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yes marky, the ref bottled the second sending off near the end, sent off one spurs lad for exactly what he didn’t even book the already booked other spurs player for, also there could easily have been a third spurs player sent off in that incident as another one of them shoved a team mate aggressively, which is a red offense.
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its seems our U16’s lost 9-0 to CFC U16s, in front of Per Mertesacker today.
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Florian Balogun of AFC has been called up to the England U18’s, along with fellow Gooners, John-Jules, Saka, Amaechi, Okonkwo and Daley-Campbell, last week Balogun played in two games for USA U17’s, scoring in both games. Nigeria also want him to declare for them.
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Krystian Bielik scored a late winner for Charlton today away at Southend
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A trip to Wales used to fill me with dread but feeling more hopeful against pitiful Cardiff. I can’t see how they’ll stay up with the players they have and Warnock as manager. Think I’m being disrespectful to them and maybe after the first win of the season I’m brimming with confidence but surely we should win this one. Swansea did have some decent players and managers and we were too often jinxed against them, the classic bogey team like Stoke; thankfully they’ve both departed from the top flight. ( Bet we get drawn against one of them in the cups ).
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New post up
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