A few days ago a chap calling himself @arseblagger posted this:-
Now I have to say this fine fellow is easily the smartest and most entertaining of tweeters, so it’s no surprise that once again he has been proven right. I recommend that we all stop following everyone but him, he’s pure genius.
Anyway, as he predicted, after Thursday night we could be looking at a sea change in our spirits and prospects for the rest of the season.
The display at the weekend and our home form in general gives us a good chance of going through despite the two goal disadvantage from the first leg.
There was great news on Tuesday when we learned that Lacazette had had is ban reduced to two games and is eligible to play. Also Mkhitaryan could be fit to play, although Papa will miss out following his red card at Rennes.
Predicting who and how Emery will line up is a pointless endeavour, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Torreira is available so whether we will see both, or even one, of Ozil and Ramsey is unsure. Personally I would find a place for both of our best players but I’m not the head coach.
It should be a great night as we will have to go for it. I, for one, am looking forward to the game.
Being an Arsenal fan is a bit like being a surfer, one moment you are riding on the crest of a wave and the next you are flapping about struggling for breath. It’s a weird old season.
Ok, that’s it, I’m off to twitter to read the musings of the wonderful @arseblagger .
Positively Arsenal 
Seville now in the lead v Slavia Prague
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Fantastic, great result, my blood pressure has returned to normal. BUT, I find myself picking holes in this Arsenal team. They could dispatch teams with more ease if they were more combative in midfield. In the absence of a Santiago Cazorla we must be more prosaic and combative in midfield.
How can I be critical of Aubamayang? He scores goals set up for him but cannot tie the shoe laces of Henry. Thierry made as many goals as were set up for him. In the end I suppose that doesn’t matter…
For the last 20 years I became accustomed to Arsenal midfield players with sublime technique….now these are less so. They must make up for it with more determination….
Yes…I’m picking holes, but it’s about entertainment and I’ve been spoilt over the last 20 years…
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Benfica in the lead v Zagreb
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its now Slavia Prague 3 – 3 Sevilla, agg 5-5
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as things stand Frankfurt seem to be the team we would like to draw in next round
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Great win although one of the tightest three nil ive seen. Towards the end Auba again proving the enigma of being world class at movement and reading the game and awful at finishing. I dont think ive ever seen such a disparity in any top striker.and it could prove costly in later rounds. However his overall game was great and he ran his nuts off.
Really pleased for Ainsley and getting the wing backs and CBs scoring will be important in the last two months of the season. I’m going to bed very happy
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slavia prague just knocked out seville with a goal in the 120th minute to win 4-3 tonight and 6-5 on agg
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the teams in the QF are
Arsenal,
Chelsea
Villarreal
Valencia
Napoli
Eintracht Frankfurt
Slavia Prague
Benfica
some look much better than others
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15 goals for, one goal against in last five home matches since 21 Feb.
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afcstuff
@afcstuff
Arsenal have won all five matches that Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Özil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang & Alexandre Lacazette have all started together.
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last tweet, tonight makes it six wins out of six
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from football.london
Emery on the win
We can be proud today. Very difficult week, United on Sunday and Rennes today.
Today we played very consistent, being competitive without the ball and serious defensively. I missed us being a bit more controlled with the ball, but they left a lot of attacking players in the final third which gave us space to attack them.
Our match was competitive, we did well today.
Emery on his substitutions
Iwobi and Mkhi deserved to play. When they supported us for the 30 minutes they helped us a lot.
The 10 minutes after the impact was good with the goal and creating two chances.
Emery on whether Arsenal are now favourites for the Europa League
These two matches have been very difficult.
Today, Sevilla are out, Inter are out. Every team is now important and it’s going to be very difficult.
On English success in both European competitions
The Champions League and Europa League have different moments, sometimes Spanish clubs, English clubs,
A domestic league like here, we have six teams playing for the top four.
I said to the players this competition is exciting not just because it gets in the Champions League, but also it’s a title.
On how big the last two wins have been
For us, today and Sunday we were competitive. I think it’s good confidence for us to feel that.
After, I want to take to take better control with the ball and with possession. Against United and today we lost the ball a bit.
On whether the international break has come at the wrong time
Yes, but it gives us some days off. We are going to continue working next week, we are going to Dubai.
We have good possibilities in the next month to do something important.
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Another famous victory for the boys in red and white. MoTM is a tie for me between Ramsey who was playing like a man who wants to win one last trophy with The Arsenal and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who played the best game I have seen from him, minus any of those occasional lack-a-daisical lapses he is normally prone to. Bring on the next round now that UE has finally discovered his best team!
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a good night all round, the Arsenal Women’s team won to go 2pts behind Man City, with two games in hand, we have 5 games left with the final game v Man City
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Great stuff.
Could pick plenty of positives but think I’ll go with Kos again- every game is a bonus of sorts for me as I was so gloomy about his prospects after that injury; the bonus on the bonus is he’s playing well, too.
Shout out to Ramsey as well. Another good game. Not the merest hint of holding anything back, which many a player, maybe most, surely would in his circumstances. Consummate professional.
Thought I was reconciled to his departure but he’s not making it easy! (and i hope he’ll make it even more difficult in the final months!)
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And if you need a dollop more good news- apparently City joining Chelsea in UEFA’s bad books and in line for 2-window transfer ban.
Assume first line of appeal will be rejected so, like Chelsea, it’ll be CAS for them.
Won’t be getting carried away as I’m still expecting they get reprieve (think in past clubs normally get that one window).
Would absolutely love it in City’s case especially though if they were banned for next two windows. Always had this feeling that no matter how much dopers have been spending for however long, and however good their squads are, they need to be constantly pumping money in.
I’d like to test out that theory and see how Pep would react to it.
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So the Wenger boys did the trick again.
Did any one notice that last night the starting 11 was all Wenger signing.
But oh we were told Wenger left us a mess…..
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A touch of 1970- and on we go, nice break for the boys and hopefully back hungry. PG lead us there with his blog….COYG!
Arsenal Surfin’ is the only life
The only way for me
Now surf, surf with me
Bom bom dit di dit dip
Bom bom dit di dit dip
I got up this mornin’ clicked onto PA
I was checkin’ on the Arsenal surfin’ scene
To see if we had won,
And when the PG tells me that the surfin’ is fine
That’s when I know m Arsenal and I will have a good time
We’re going surfin’ (bom bom dip di dit)
Surfin’ (bom bom dip di dit)
Surfin’ (bom bom dip di dit)
Surfin’ (bom bom dip di dit)
Surfin’ (bom bom dip di dit)
Surfin’ (bom bom dip di dit)
Surfin’ (bom bom dip di dit)
Surfin’ (bom bom dip di dit)
Arsenal Surfin’ is the only life the only way for me
Now surf, surf with me
Bom bom dip di dit
Bom bom dip di dit
From the early morning to the middle of the night
Any time the Arsenal surf is up the time is right
And when…
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Good win, could and should have been more, missed a couple of sitters and the ref missed a handball or two from my seat at least. Quite a rocking atmosphere in the stadium as well, which is nice. The players were conspicuously pumped up to the cause , lots of fist pumps, high fives and encouragement all round, good stuff and the team and fans feed off that sort of thing.
Some excellent performances, AMN just for starters. Rennes have their faults, almost Spurs like in their cheating, not great at the back, but are actually quite dangerous in attack so this clean sheet win should not be viewed lightly.
We know this team can still have the longstanding brain farts at bad moments, and also what the most tedious of interlulls can do to momentum, but like the way this team are going, there seems to be a real spirit there. Hopefully some warm weather training will see them back refreshed for the tricky end of season.
Well done to them last night, and this week in general.
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Dan Critchlow
@afcDW
Dan Critchlow Retweeted Dan Critchlow
Reminder: It’s free to attend Arsenal’s Premier League u16 Cup Final against Chelsea tonight, at Meadow Park.
Come and watch young stars like Yunus Musah, Miguel Azeez and Kido Taylor-Hart and show them your support in their big game!
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so today we are linked with moves for Kieran Tierney of Celtic, Sarr of Rennes, and Rabiot of PSG
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Fantastic result, fantastic week, and good to see the foootballing gods smiling on us.
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Spoke to soon about the footballing god’s Napoli that’s a tough one. Also if we progress where do we fit in the wolves game, are we going to have to fit in four games in a week.
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I’ve enjoyed the threads here where people have shared hopes and concerns over the prospects and form for the rest of the season over the last few months.
That the coach went with as similar a line up as feasible from the last game made me very happy, even though I shared my own speculation with you all a few weeks ago that we’d see less rotation over this last week and a half and we’d also see Rambo and Ozil back in the team with the hope we’d even see them together.
Either Unai has been watching Adrian Clarke or he found a recording of the Utd game on his USB stick or he just, as we all speculated, he was prepared to ignore previous “advice” when his own job and season were on the line.
I’m not complaining that he couldn’t find the footballs to play his best footballers earlier on, I just hope he gets the club’s money’s worth from his best players, and that the Arsenal have the best end to the season that they can. Certainly the squad seem a lot happier when compared to a few weeks ago when their best teammates were not playing. Rambo was crucial to the team’s form and goalscoring before he was dropped in October, so if the team are going to meet any of their goals he has to play more often then over the Winter!
This is simple stuff, widely repeated in the stands, yet the Billy Big Blaggers have completely airbrushed this widespread understanding from their Narrative/Sports Communications, and airbrushed their own credibility off the record in the process!
Thanks again George for providing a propa footy forum.
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I don’t know, Napoli could be good? Lately the better the team or the bigger the game, the better we seem to play. Also, Aaron will most definitely want to make a statement in Italy.
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A tough draw , but we will get past Napoli, and look forward to hopefully seeing one or two ex players I have always rated in the semis
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Although I have major concerns about our fixture congestion if we win our next 13 competitive games on the trot we will come third and win a trophy it’s as easy as that.
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Arsenal play Watford away at 8pm on Monday, April 15 with the second leg of the quarter-final against Napoli in Italy on Thursday 18
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arsenal’s home shirt for next season
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A new post is up
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Cannon Insider
@CannonInsider
5h5 hours ago
Our updated schedule for April:
MON – 1 April – Newcastle 🏠
SUN – 7 April – Everton ✈️
THU – 11 April – Napoli 🏠
MON – 15 April – Watford ✈️
THU – 18 April – Napoli ✈️
SAT – 20 April – Crystal Palace 🏠
MON – 29 April – Leicester ✈️
A huge month after a deserved break. #AFC
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Two day break for Palace, what a joke
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