Hello and how are you?
Wednesday the 1st of January 2025 sees the Mighty Cannon in action over at the Brentford Community Stadium against Brentford FC at 5.30pm western European time.
At some point this season I was going to face a wall in writing an article, and here it is. I haven’t clue about this game, I’ve spent days thinking about it and keep coming up with a blank. What should I tie in? Auden’s New Year Letter? U2’s song ‘New Years day’? Discuss the Viennese New Year concert, I wonder if the Danube still looks blue to those in love as mentioned in the film ‘goodbye Mr Chips’? I suppose our Mr Chips was Liam Brady?
“shut up Mills!”
I’ve only met one Brentford fan in my life and that was nearly forty years ago. I didn’t like him too much and insisted that we show him respect because he was an adult and call him Mr, rather than his first name, which I had done. Mr.Twat. But I’m not daft enough to have met one fan of a team who was a bit of a tool and condemn all the others as being the same way.
I have no beef with Brentford and when we lost in the opening game of 2021 I didn’t begrudge it, I did feel it was set up a bit, everyone hoping nasty Arsenal would lose to plucky,courageous, low-league Brentford to give them the match/headlines they wanted. And they got what they wanted, but haven’t since. Ha! Ha!
Out first game against the Bees was back in 1902 in the FAC, 1-1, then we thrashed them 5-1 in the replay. Head to head its: won 9, drawn 5, and lost 6. But except for the loss in 2021, the loss before that was back in 1938. In fact most of the losses were notched up in the 1930s.
I haven’t seen Brentford play at all this season, nor know how they set up or what can be expected (what can be expected in a PL match?). Obviously I’ve seen the results, and sometimes they have pulled off some decent wins, do you guys have any insights?
Brentford lie in 12th place though, sandwiched between the Spuds( whom they share the same points with) and West Ham who they don’t. Interestingly (really?) West Ham have minus 13 on gd and the Spuds plus 13, and Brentford have 0 goal difference which might indicate something? Or not.
I thought the Ipswich game to be an odd one, and that on another day we might have hit five, but I wished we could notch up a few more goals secure the games earlier and then practise football. But life and football matches don’t go how we want them, and although if we could have won where we’ve drawn, Liverpool would be chasing us, but we are still in the mix.
Brentford have been given by Stat HQ a 14.9% chance of winning and apparently the Arsenal have a 65.6%
Well that’s it. A poor start to the 2025 year for me, but hopefully a good one for the Mighty Cannon. I wish you all a very happy and healthy new year. COYG!
Here’s to a great game for us and lucky horses!
COYG and keep on keepin’ on!
Mills
Positively Arsenal 
well my only memories of Brentford FC is when back in the George Graham days at Arsenal when I went over for Arsenal games I stayed with relatives in Brentford and Isleworth, and I walked past Brentford’s ground at the time, Griffin Park, if I remember correctly we when on one of our walks do a full 360 of the ground so that we could see the famous four pubs, one at each corner of the ground. It was no surprise that they had to build a new ground cos Griffin Park was small and totally surrounded so could not expand.
On a side note I used to pass QPR’s Loftus Road each time I travelled from Brentford to games at Highbury. Also on Brentford the area, I’d say I seen more Saudi’s than any Arabian Knight ever seen anytime I went down Brentford High Street
as for players who played for both clubs, well recently Josh DaSilva, played a game or two for Arsenal and I think he is still at Brentford, and both Wojciech Szczesny had loan spells with them before becoming stars with Arsenal
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that should be both Szczesny and Paul Merson had loan spells at Brentford from Arsenal
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Ah the famous four pubs
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they were all shut the day i was there, ha ha ha
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And for those of a certain age, most famous for Brentford Nylons which blazed brightly for a while before their fitted sheets got left behind with the coming of the poly cotton duvet era.
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Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Partey, Merino, Odegaard; Nwaneri, Jesus, Martinelli
Subs: Neto, Kiwior, Tierney, Zinchenko, Lewis-Skelly, Jorginho, Rice, Kabia, Trossard
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Trossard the only recognised attacking player on the bench. Looks like Kai is ill so the squad is looking thin.
Brentford are the division’s best team at home so having players out and having to rotate in this one is not ideal and quite dangerous.
I would imagine we will go back to the old safe compact low risk style that has served us well in hard away games in the last few seasons.
This is a game I’m certainly nervous about but they have the most amount of injuries in the division as well so we will obviously still start as favourites.
A win is a win and the 19th game of the season is now really important. Liverpool may be flying now but we have made up ten points in our last ten games before so here’s hoping if we hang in there we may make a go of it later in the season after all.
Am I asking too much for Kabia, Lewis Skelly and Nwaneri all to score today anyway COYG.
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Havertz out with a virus, and both Rice and Trossard not feeling well either.
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Timber and Jesus both need to avoid a booking in todays game or they will be suspended for our next game
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Gabriel had to receive treatment on his hamstring before the game.
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Brentford have the lead, not good for us as we seldom do comeback wins
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Timber booked so he misses our next game
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jesussssssss makes it 1-1
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HT: Brentford 1-1 Arsenal
been the better team but struggling a bit
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I would imagine if it stays like this Lewis Skelly will come on for Calafiori or Gabriel, Rice will come on for Merino and Trossard for Martinelli. If we go ahead then Kiwior, Jorginho and Zinchenko likely replacements.
We must be the slowest team in the league on the counter. We have to learn to play faster, play the ball straighter for players to run on to and get numbers forward quicker. At the moment we let teams get numbers back with slow sideways passes COYG.
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Merinoooooooooooooo makes it 2-1 to the Arsenal
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ian everything you said in that post is 100% correct except the part about us having to learn to attack at speed, the players know how to, they are not allowed to, everything we see tactically is set, its how Arteta sees the game, its how we are sent out to play. Its only a couple of weeks ago Arteta explained that he does not want the team attacking at speed, or with numbers, cos it means we are more likely to lose the ball and get counter attacked
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Martinelliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii makes it 3-1 to the Arsenal
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Rice, Lewis-Skelly and Trossard on
Merino, Calafiori, Nwaneri off
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FT: Brentford 1-3 Arsenal
Jesus, Merino and Martinelli with our goals, that see us 2nd in the table
we dominated for the most part, and we got a comeback win that is a rare feat for us.
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Really professional and important win and especially good second half.
Jesus got MOTM but the player I’ve probably criticised the most, Thomas Partey, was certainly MOTM he broke up everything Brentford put together and even carried and passed the ball forward.
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Raya reminding us that they are just human young men, seemingly very nervous on his return to the GTech. Surprisingly calm and easy by the end, and well done Eduardo for getting a bit of the shock and awe hustle and bustle going. Feel pretty sure that I’ve seen all three of our goals chalked off in the past for marginal pushes etc, so it was nice to see them all stand.
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Ian, I too thought Partey was clear MOTM. Never thought I would say that.
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a transfer rumor that was doing the rounds pre christmas here in Ireland that has now been picked up in the UK is Evan Ferguson to Arsenal, loan with option/obligation to buy in summer, would see either a new keeper signed and Neto sent back to AFCB or Neto signed permanent, which for me would be the more likely, although Arsenal are being linked with an £8M move for a Royal Antwerp’s Senne Lammans 22 year old goalie. Arteta wanted Ferguson last year but Brighton talked silly money, £100M. He has been very underwhelming for a year now, lots of injury problems, off form, out of the Brighton starting 11 and they are now open to letting him go.
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well george seeing as you seen Partey as man of the match yesterday, what is your view on him getting a new contract, it seems AFC have yet to offer him, or at least agree a new deal with him and he is now allowed sign a pre contract with a foreign club. Many are critical of the club for not having him signed up, but he is 32, has an awful injury record and then there is the other rumors too, is rumors the right word, I’d probably use a much stronger word also starting with an r if he played for someone else
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Yes Ed, too much baggage .
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New post is up
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