We are back from the FIFA break, within the cusps of winter and starting the long-haul towards New Years Day.
Good day all. It’s a battle between two under-fire coaches at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal takes on Southampton.
12 Premier League games in, a cursory glance at the table and seeing the Gunners 6th-placed would have some thinking, “well, that’s not calamitous”. However, Liverpool are off in the distance, we are eight points off 4th-placed Man City, have won just two of our last 10 matches and none of our last four. With performances epitomising that Unai Emery have us nowhere near the required level to get back in the Champions League spots.
Be that is it may, he does have the backing of one Raul Sanllehi, who no doubt bank on a turnaround in fortunes in an auspicious run (on paper at least) versus So’ton, Norwich, Brighton and West Ham, in hopes of getting fans back onside as well as gather steam ahead of the more trickier festive fixtures versus Man City, Everton, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Man United.
On the face of it, such thinking is practical because for that would have been the idea had a new man replaced Emery. However, there lack confidence from many that Emery has it in him to make the necessary adjustments to get our top-four challenge back on track. Because, if rumours are true that he has been given a month to save his job, our run of poor results continue the fall-out would be significant as any new man would be taking over as we are about to navigate our way through a run of tricky fixtures.
Either way, if you look to restore lost confidence the teams you would probably want to play next are those 19th and 20th on the table. What could go wrong?
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints side got so many issues; winless in their last seven (D1, L6), the PL’s worst defense and barely a third of the season gone already appear to be involved in a relegation scrap. He will be well aware if he doesn’t turn it around soon, he would be out of a job by Christmas.
Three points would lift them out the relegation zone though, so we can expect them making their presence felt. They played well in a 2-1 defeat away at Mancity in recent weeks and took them quite deep, so no doubt they will be looking for a similar approach as well as adding a bit of spice. Hasenhuttl did say in his pre-match presser his boys “must go back to being a nasty team” if they want to salvage their season. So if we fail to keep them on the backfoot, they could see that as an invitation to make this game more open than we would like.
Team News
Dani Ceballos is out injured till end of December, while Sead Kolasinac and Nicolas Pépé faces late assessments for minor issues. Everyone else, including Granit Xhaka whose “mindset has improved” per Emery, are available for selection.
Prediction
Usually when Arsenal goes up against 19th-placed one would think “banker”, but with so much on the line and both sides desperate for points, it’s hard to ignore the eeriness of this being “must win”.
Given our patchy form all season, Emery will be under pressure to give the Emirates faithful a commanding performance to ease some of the ill-feeling towards him. And with the Saints all out of sorts and without an away win against us in over three decades… this is one I suspect the Gunners to get all three points from, albeit not without an element of concern.
— @LaboGoon
Positively Arsenal 
Emery………….absolutely clueless.
God help us all.
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Certainly feel a win coming along tomorrow, perhaps quite an impressive win
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so now Emery has told Torreira that as a defensive midfielder he has to bring more to the offensive side of the team.
add this to his comments today about Xhaka being back in the fold now even if its only for the short term, and we get to see the caliber of the man, Jose lite once more.
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Emery on Torreira,:“He can play that role [of a defensive midfielder] – but we need a defensive midfielder to be offensive.”
we also need our strikers to be defenders, our defenders to be midfielders and our goalie to be a striker.
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OT
I saw a report from Mike Riley of the PIGMOB that Var overturned four correct decisions (including the Socratis goal for Arsenal vs Palace) from the onfield referees.Now that can only happen in the Epl…isn’t it supposed to be the other way round.The more i see how Var is used in the Epl the more am convinced that football in this league is definitely FIXED!!!!!
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Can’t get out of my funk at minute. Longest spell I can recall feeling like this. Flat, basically, and without the normal consolation/dreaming or whatever that normally keeps me ticking over or gets me going again.
Typically I get a lift from youth prospects when they’re developing well, or from thinking if we sign this or that player or type things might click, we could find formula, etc, but there’s been none of that for weeks now.
Oh well. Hope it changes before too long, as I’m missing that better, livelier stuff. Might even take a bit of anger just to stir me up, but no sign of that either.
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Da funk certainly extends to pgmol stuff. No enthusiasm for it, but I suppose it’s something that we’ve had second hand- no direct quotes I don’t think- confirmation : pgmol accept Sokratis disallowed goal was incorrect.
Riley’s been talking, not sure open thing or just selected people, during break, and came out with this gem : ‘The worst outcome is when the referee on the field makes right decision and the VAR intervenes to make wrong decision,’ said Riley.
Oh, if only there was a way to avoid that…
Arf. Maybe you could credit him with meaning , ‘it’s worst outcome in our [non- monitor] system, but our [non-monitor] system still best’ or suchlike.
ESPN article on same topic also had bit about academic review about ‘luck’ in prem so far and had us well clear at top as ‘unluckiest’, with 7 points lost by their calculations so far.
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Also worth noting that pgmol have recently begun to address issue of whose decision it is not to use monitors, having been silent on it previously.
They are stressing it is a decision made by variety of stakeholders, emphasising clubs in particular but also mentioning each time that fan input is involved. Think the claim is there was some fan survey.
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A.I.S.A and the ARSENAL history society Put on an event last night celebrating 100 years of ARSENAL being in the top division, First and only club to do it.
They invited 100 people to represent the 100 years and I was lucky enough to be one of them. A donation to the Willow foundation was asked of everyone attending and the foundation was there also taking donations in return for a book about Anna Wilson.
Bob and Megs Wilson were there to sign the books and Bob took a long time signing anything people brought and telling stories about the images on the programmes and books people brought.
Tom Watt then started the formal part of the evening thanking the Mayor of Islington for her hospitality at the town hall and telling her she had a nice gaff here.
The Mayor then started with a speech thanking ARSENAL for there long association with Islington and the work they do in the community which included her two daughters playing football.
Tom then induced Vinai as the clubs representative ( Ken Frier was due to attend but unfortunately his wife was I’ll)
Vinai went on to explain the 6000 kids taking part in ARSENAL’S kicks project is the most of any club in the world. He also went on to tell the room about the clubs projects around the world including a trip he recently returned from Jordan helping refugee children out there.
He finished up apologizing for our current form and saying the the board were just as frustrated as the fans and would work hard everyday in making the right improvements to find success.
Andy Kelly (One of A I.S.A. historians)
told the real story of our election to the league after the first world war telling how Sir Henry Norris friendship with a influential
northern journalist ( 90 % of the clubs at the time were above Birmingham) helped chairman favour ARSENAL and the fact most teams disliked that team from Middlesex because when they were in the southern league they poached northern clubs players by offering more money. Anyway ARSENAL were elected along with Chelsea and the rest is quite literally history.
Next up was Alan Smith telling how Ken Frier got him to sign for ARSENAL and told a few funny stories about the team at the time ( mainly about drink)
Tom then introduced relatives of old ARSENAL players including the stepson of Reg Lewis before introducing Bob Wilson who is a fantastic speaker and again the insight he can give about the club having been associated with it for over 50 years was fascinating.
The evening finished with A.I.S.A. presenting Bob and Megs with a oversized cheque for over two thousand pounds for the Willow foundation and then an auction of ARSENAL memorabilia raised another couple of thousand.
At the end many stayed to finish the food and drink provided and talk about old ARSENAL stories. Bob and Alan stayed to chat and sign stuff for anyone who had missed out earlier.
On a personal note I had the pleasure of spending most of the night with one of ARSENAL’s most famous and loudest fan Maria, who follows all ARSENAL teams around Europe. I also had a long chat with Tony Attwood from Untold and was the founder member of the ARSENAL history society. He is currently working on a book about SIr Henry Norris and is also talking to the club about getting information which will finish the book and could be very important in defining our history.
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Bloody hell, what an interesting evening!
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Glad you were one of the luckies Ian. Many thanks for great report and sharing it with us, must have been a top evening. Should have invited my Aunt, she the last remaining person alive who knew (related by marriage) one of the founders.
Great to see Bob Wilson keeping up the values. Man, that guy loves the Arsenal.
Cheers as always Labo for setting the stage. And heres to the Gunners doing the business today.
COYG!
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Referee: Stuart Attwell
Assistants: Richard West, Neil Davies
Fourth official: Gavin Ward
VAR: Andy Madley
Assistant VAR: Eddie Smart
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rsenal Academy
@ArsenalAcademy
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44m
Here’s how #AFCU23 lineup this afternoon against #SaintsFC in the #PL2
XI: Hein, Swanson, Mavropanos, Clarke (C), Bola, Smith, Olayinka, Cottrell, Tormey, John-Jules, Coyle
Subs: Hillson, Olowu, Omole, Medley, McEneff
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Arsenal U18 v Chelsea (via
@chelseayouth): Arsenal: Graczyk; Oyegoke, Kirk, Ogungbo, Lopez; Patino, Azeez; Alebiosu, Greenwood, Butler-Oyedeji; Matthews.
Subs: Mitchell, Dennis, Plange, Monlouis, Cirjan.
Chelsea currently 2-1 up
our U16’s beat Chelsea 2-0 earlier
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Arsenal Academy
@ArsenalAcademy
·
55s
Goal for #AFCU23.
@mattgsmith_4
picks out
@tyreecejj9
who fires past Scott first-time
1-0
(44) | #PL2
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xhaka not in the squad once more
Leno
Bellerin Chmabers Sokratis David Luiz Tierney
Guendouzi Torreira
Aubameyang Lacazette Ozil
subs Martinez, Mustafi, Maitland-Niles, Willock, Pepe, Martinelli, Nelson
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five defenders must surely mean we are rock solid today?
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when you look at the team selection and formation you have to think its crazy, its a formation Emery don’t really want to play, he has a CM he does not want to play in Torreira, and he is shoehorning both PEA and Ozil into a 3 man attack, and all because he is too much of a coward to pick Xhaka purely cos he does not want have the boo boys go after himself. Jose lite once more.
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without the passing of Xhaka it means Emery had to go to a back three so that he could free up David Luiz to be the passer. In turn having 3 CB’s means we go with 3 up front, seeing our £72M club record signing Pepe left out of the team, cos he would only be in the way of Bellerin, and then in turn this means PEA and Ozil shoehorned into a 3 man attack.
Its amazing what a coward of a head coach will do to try and avoid having the crowd get on his back.
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spurs currently above us in the table
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Poor old Arsenal. Makes you wonder if Rauls picking the team? I have no clue anymore on what Emery is doing. Personally I dont think he does either.
If we lose today its time for him to depart. I don’t get how Pepé is worth 72mil and is on the bench? Guendouzi always starts.
Why we had to make suicide with Mesut out for so long, Rambo flogged. Xhaka situation is being controlled by aftv (wobs etc)and other sensitives, who can tell everyone else to fuck off but not have it come back to them. Arsenal, the peoples club. The only people who know anything about football who run our club are Edu and the team, nobody else does, not even Emery.
Well, Jose has now taken his team higher than Joselite. The score flatters West Ham a bit really.
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Arsenal Academy@ArsenalAcademy
One-nil to the Arsenal
FULL TIME: #AFCU23 1-0 @SouthamptonFC
@Tyreecejj9’s first half strike secures the points against the Saints, well played lads
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fk off Emery.
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7 minutes in and southampton take the lead. good job we have all those defenders on the pitch to stop them getting easy one on one chances on our goal like that one.
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they have us penned back in our own half
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Lacazetteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 1-1, ozil to tierney his cross to pea who has a shot blocked, lacazette fires home
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back in it for the draw.
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torreira booked
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we got one of the pgmol’s finest today, what a bollocks Attweld is,
sokratis booked now too
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pretty dull. Set up to draw, and its happening.
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HT: Arsenal 1-1 Southampton
Lacazette goal got us level after Southampton had taken an early lead and penned us back for spell. Its a scrappy game and the ref is not helping, he is ever so keen to book Arsenal players, Sokratis, Lacazette and Torreira all booked so far
We are not creating clear cut chances, and I would say Southampton have out shot us that half.
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shots on goal AFC 1
shots on goal SOTON 2
shots AFC 3
shots SOTON 10
Soton 2nd from bottom.
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What’s up folks!
Well, I am no fan of this current Arsenal but that first goal is straight robbery. How can the ref allow that after that. He stopped the game and doesn’t stop it at the same time. Joke business!
Özil is class.
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must say that there is a hell of a lot of empty seats at the Emirates today
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Dave those stats just prove that Emery was right about Southampton being very good, no?
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Letting the 19th-placed team in the league dictate play on our own pitch. Protagonists.
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Emery brings on Pepe for the second half, Chambers off, so back to a back four
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Emery on Torriera is interesting. He picks defensive teams and wants to get the DM to attack?! What about getting someone in the mid who can attack instead of Guendouzi?
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Come on Pepe! Your better than that.
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PEA nearly scored a few minutes ago and now Pepe butchered a great chance, instead of shooting he tried to set up ozil but had his pass blocked, he really should have took on the shot himself
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You’re even
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Ed, Soton have just been hanging around the bottom for a laugh. Emery knows that and is right to set us up to defend against the expected onslaught.
We used to be lucky Arsenal, boring Arsenal now we are masochistic Arsenal. I say get Mesut off and get Mustafi on to bolster up the defence incase we might think about going for the win.
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pepe volley into the ground spins up and hit the bar
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pepe becomes our fourth player booked today
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Where do we go from here as far as attacking players?
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sokratis once again thankful his name is not mustafi, almost handed them the lead, got caught dribbling in his own area, crazy stuff
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at the moment southampton have outshot us 13 to 7
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Silly from the young man.
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penalty to southapton, Tierney booked,
ward-prowse scores, leno saved it but wd got the rebound
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the football focus guys say it was a very soft penalty award
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