Hello Positives.
In this podcast Shotta and I look forward to the Irons game and a future without Partey. I’m going for aa comfortable 2-0 win for us.
Pedantic George
35 comments on “Resurgent Gunners Vs Fading Hammers”
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Positively Arsenal 
Great pod again,
The Partey enigma is fascinating, he himself has said he hasn’t played well but in the handful of games he has done well he does look like a player. The trouble is are these odd games his normal game that he can eventually reproduce every week or are they diamonds from a pile from a shit. He also has a tendency to be injury prone which muddles the equation even more. The fact is he is another “potentially good player” but as things stand definitely not anywhere near our most important player actually not even in our top 5.
If Tommy does come back the option is to place Cedric on the left to replace the awful and hapless Tavares.
The Martinelli/ESR question is difficult because there are lots of different variables. Players will appear to do better depending on how the team is playing, set up or even his role on the day.
I think Martinelli is more natural on that side as ESR is essentially a no: 10 but Odegaard is keeping him out of that position.
On our CBs they didn’t even start to look anywhere near stable until Aaron came in and give them confidence and organising them.
Ben White looks like a nice bloke but he is nowhere near a stalwart at the back and as George said he looks better in a three.
Gabriel also has a clanger in him regularly but it’s a team game and when the team perform front to back then all the players play to the high end of their abilities.
I think that both Leicester and West ham have their eye on other things so you would imagine that this will not be a defining week for the top four however our last five games have been totally unpredictable and both us and the spuds are showing no sort of consistency.
So I believe we will win but West ham along with Liverpool have the best record for scoring at home so maybe a victory without a clean sheet will have to survice for us. At this stage of the season it’s all about the three points COYG.
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Is there a possibility of Tommy playing left back tomorrow?
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Hey Ian: Tomi at left back? Isn’t that an act of desperation? He is so right-footed. Plus he’s just back from injury. Leave well enough alone imo.
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In the presser Mikel said he was brought because he could play all along the back four and his ability with his weaker foot. It just seemed a strange time to mention it.
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shotta only yesterday Arteta said tomi can play in any of the 4 defensive spots as he is so good with his weaker foot
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I agree with Ian on the view that Partey, and for me Tierney, can not be deemed our most important players, if for no other reason, than their injury records with us are woeful, and we just can not rely on them being available to play, no matter how good they can be when at their best. By seasons end Partey will have missed more than a quarter of our EPL games in his two seasons with us. Tierney has in his 3 seasons missed more than a third of our EPL games. I said it here a couple of weeks ago, both these guys need replacing in the summer with players of at least equal talent who can stay fit.
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on games missed, up till this season that liability Granit Xhaka, had in five seasons, 180 EPL games, only missed 29 games, and several of them he was fit to play, but had been banished by the club. He has had only one spell out injured in six seasons here, that was early this season.
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Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Holding, Magalhaes, Tavares, Elneny, Xhaka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Saka, Nketiah.
Subs: Leno, Lacazette, Smith Rowe, Cedric, Pepe, Lokonga, Kirk, Salah-Eddine, Swanson.
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Rob Holding makes it 1-0 to the Arsenal, a header from a corner
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West Ham hit the post, Ramsdale might have got a touch on it
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for fucks sake, 1-1, VAR checking for an offside
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Bowen goal stands, its half time, absolute awful to concede right on half time. WHU have been the better side, AFC very sluggish
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Gabriel header puts us 2-1 up
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tomiyasu off injured, another sick note like tierney and partey
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Smith-Rowe on for the injured Saka
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4 minutes of stoppage time to be played
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Sambi Lokonga on for Odegaard
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Sambi shoots like Partey, oh dear
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FT: West Ham 1-2 Arsenal
Holding and Gabriel with our goals, that put us in 4th by 2pts with 4 games to go. A tough hard game against a fired up west ham, its still in our own hands, com on you gooners
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Chelsea in 3rd are only 3pts ahead of Arsenal, but they have 26 better goal difference, so highly unlikely we can finish above them, would mean them needing to drop 7pts and us take all 12pts available
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the lowest Arsenal can finish this season is 6th, if we get two points more or man utd don’t win all their 3 remaining games its 5th, win 3 and draw one and we finish 4th
Leeds (H)
Spurs (A)
Newcastle (A)
Everton (H)
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Weird Arsenal strikes again! Its odd how this team a can turn up or turn off?But then except for the top two everyones had a oddball season? I didnt think we we do it today, and yet again they pulled it off. The gap between us and the top two is vast though. But 4ths better than 8th!
If only Oursweater could have had the suss on Elneny earlier? Silently, cautiously going about his biz in a steady way. Xhaka must be pleased…?
But hope the West Ham wankers can give Fwankfurt a game, next week would be nice to see if they could get to the final, but the Fwanks will be well up for it and they make a lot of strange noise, as Barca know.
COYWA!
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Just to remind everyone the CL qualifying critiria is different this season. If teams finish on the same points then it’s head to head not GD that decides it.
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It was an awful game between 2 awful teams.
It seems that Arteta’s luck has returned.
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Arsenal U23’s finished their season 3rd in the EPL2 Table
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not spectacular , but a gutsy performance by an injury hit team, up against a team who fielded a stronger line up than some expected.
I can only salute a team , likely to finish 5th at worst. Few , very few thought they would end up higher than 6th, at best, i remember some predicting 10th or even bottom half. Yet, this team could possibly end up in next years CL. A team with a terrible start to the season, injuries mounting up, inexperienced players, a striker issue, is currently punching above their weight. They and their manager deserve credit. Resilience is also a quality
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Resilience is a quality and the biggest credit we can give to Mikel is the team spirit. This team doesn’t want to lose, it definitely cares about the result and most of all each other.
This certainly wasn’t the case at the start of the season. How we have got here is still up for debate, should we have got there earlier maybe but as Mandy says the point is we are here now and it is better than I predicted. I thought we would make eighth and that was before our bad start. So we do have to give the manager, the staff and the squad credit.
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Wasn’t quite the easy win that many predicted but West Ham did field a strong team but it was a derby game. I think many supporters have forgotten the beginning of the season since we have been in the top four mix. My aspirational target was 6th and we have achieved that already. Give the team and manager some credit, the constant negativity in some quarters is a real downer. I love the fact that every player seems to care. Previous seasons we have had some far more skilful players on the pitch who clearly didn’t want to be there. COYG
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I also predicted 8th and have mostly been neg about things, but still hoped that it will turn out right. Its all been so unpredictable, and reliant on other team making a mess?
And it sure aint better than the Weng years, and the point Im making here is that the big gobs said that the Weng was all washed up and some other would Jeff Wode character would do better. Our sweater hasnt done better. Still a bit to go yet….one way or another next season will be interesting?
Love from Moriarty
COYG!
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Yep totally agree that you really can’t second guess next season for most teams interesting times.
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Next season could be very interesting. I firmly believe this team are on an upward curve. Liverpool and City are out of reach for now and for a while. Chelsea are anybodys guess, a lot going on there, and a 100 million player surely on his way out. Utd will get rid of a lot of players, and need a 6 year build according to their manager. Spurs, a manager who is openly contemptuous for their position and what he perceives a lack of ambition.
Leicester seem to have fallen somewhat, though I suppose a wild card may emerge, and/ or Newcastle
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Leicester have had lots of injuries this season especially at the back. I see no reason why they wouldn’t be better again next season.
We have had a manager in his third season and Edu has had many windows to help build a squad. We have also had no European football and have been out of the cups since January.
The spuds and manure have changed managers and have had all sorts of problems and we all know about chelskis woes.
Many would argue that we should obtain third under the circumstances given before the season started our wages meant our minimum should have been fifth and transfer layout being more than any other club should have helped us go even higher.
The terrible start to the season and poor performances even when winning meant aspirations went down and that’s what people are now measuring our good position against.
As I said above of course all at the club deserve credit if we do get forth however football fans are rarely realistic and pointing out errors is not being negative but just not living in a fantasy land.
This doesn’t mean I don’t get the right hump and am gutted when we lose or feel like running down the street naked when we score a late winner. It just means in between games my feet are on the ground.
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I really enjoy the team spirit that Arteta has injected into the club and the fact they we are now able to scrap out these sorts of wins – there seems much more team cohesiveness and team solidarity than there was under Emery and certainly during Wenger’s last few seasons.
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New post is up
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