Good morning all.
I don’t know about you, but I loved that game of football. We can’t yearn for the Champaign football of Arsene and then moan about how we made hard work of winning yesterday. For me it was the best we have played, at least on an aesthetic level, in more than 6 years.
We had an xG of almost 5 to their about 0.2, that’s 25 times as much. We battered them. We had the most shots by any team in one match across Europe’s top 5 leagues this season, the most shots by any PL team since 2017 and forced the most saves in the PL seen since 2017. By the way, the team with more in 2017 was Arsene’s Arsenal, against Man U., a game we lost 3-1 at home, the biggest injustice I have seen since game 50 in 2004. But I digress. I think we had about 75% possession despite varying our game by going long regularly. When a team scores 2 goals from an xG of 0.2, you can reasonably call yourselves unlucky. A lucky deflection and a once in a lifetime miracle goal doesn’t point to sloppy defending, carelessness or arrogance, as some fans and pundits would have you believe.
It was glorious football and had we won 8 or 9 nil, it wouldn’t have been an unfair reflection of the game. I have been quick enough to be critical when the football is boring, so I’m sure not going to miss the chance of praising this masterclass in entertaining football. Well done lads and VERY well done Mikel.
Some are suggesting Calafiori was lucky not to get a second yellow, but if he might have been, it would have ben wrong because the first yellow wasn’t even a foul, let alone a booking. I understand pundits need talking points and content, but come on, being dismissed for one possible yellow would have been an injustice.
I felt all the players, including the subs, had good games but a special mention has to go to Trossard, who was magnificent. I think he should be in our starting eleven somehow, anyhow, somewhere.
Ok, that’s enough of my drivel ,but as you may have guessed I’m one very happy old Positively Arsenal fan, I’ll just finish by saying that if we continue to play like that we will be PL champions come May and these lads , with Mikel, will become Arsenal legends almost to a man.
Pedantic George.
Positively Arsenal 
an exciting win in a game that should have been well settled by half time.
I felt we allowed them to get their defence settled by being too slow to progress attacks. I also felt Saka was trying tooooo hard.
loving Cali and looking forward to seeing Merino replace Partey. Timber is massive upgrade at fb.
The free kick leading to their first was irritating. Vardy deliberately runs across Saliba and Saliba is blamed. Jeeez refs are dumb
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an exciting win in a game that should have been well settled by half time.
I felt we allowed them to get their defence settled by being too slow to progress attacks. I also felt Saka was trying tooooo hard.
loving Cali and looking forward to seeing Merino replace Partey.
Timber is massive upgrade at fb.
The free kick leading to their first was irritating. Vardy deliberately runs across Saliba and Saliba is blamed. Jeeez refs are dumb
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444, their keeper did miracles.
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Great fun wasn’t it George? I chose a stream with German commentators so nothing irritated me at all.
How anyone can complain about the way we played when we created so many chances, had so many shots, is beyond me
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Absolutely correct on Calafiori George Several pundits concentrating on the second and saying ARSENAL were lucky without looking at the first and once again how the ref was referring the game. They don’t perspective these pundits it shortens their time in front of the camera and would mean their channel would have to show more football and that would be a disgrace
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Thanks George. Its going to be interesting versus PSG. The FFF gave them an extra day off. But I read that they have quite a few players kaput at the moment.
COYG!
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always laughable that so many pundits, and even opposing managers will say a player on a yellow was very lucky to not get a second yellow just cos they committed one more foul while on a yellow. yet we see game after game where players can commit four five six even seven fouls and not get a yellow, so why has this notion that once on a yellow any more fouls should mean a sending off. Not all fouls are card worthy, be that player on a yellow or not, it shouldn’t make one iota of a difference.
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Calafiori left the ground yesterday wearing a knee brace
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For context of consistency on second yellows maybe pundits should watch the Villa match the fella there was trying to get sent off but enjoyed a full afternoon. Unai said he wasn’t bothered a didn’t blame the incidents on the draw. What a nice man he is.
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I really don’t like stats when it comes to football because of how out of context they can be. Jesus’s shot on target in injury time counted as a shot on target yet actually is was nothing more than a pass back to the keeper.
Did Justin’s second goal count as a full goal on XG or was he expected to miss.
At the start of the second half it was clear Leicester had changed something and were creating chances. Something needed to change either with shape or personnel. As usual Mikel was slow to react, while it is true the first goal was lucky and the second brilliant and in that time we had chances as well, if you want to win the league control in a game is paramount.
Even at 2-2 it was end to end stuff and the subs came very late. After crapping ourselves for thirty minutes the relief and excitement of a goal is fantastic but when the dust settles we have to ask why are we so often in these positions against smaller teams.
I think we are slightly wide of the mark comparing Saturday to Arsene’s wonderful football but it is nice to dream
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New post is up
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I completely agree! The team played some of the most entertaining football we’ve seen in years, and the stats back it up. Sometimes luck doesn’t go your way, but the quality was undeniable. Mikel and the lads deserve credit for that performance, and I think the first yellow on Calafiori was harsh too!
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