Hello and how are you?
Tuesday 7th of January sees the Mighty Cannon host Newcastle United in the semi-final first leg of the Carabao Cup, kick off 8.00pm (western European time).
Ok, frustrations, grrrs and wanting more aside, here is something more, it’s the semi-final of the Carabao cup! I know I’m a fool, but after the Tayloyored-slosh around and draw in the south-coast seaweed, I’m looking forward to this one. We can forget the trails and tribulations of the PL for a couple of games, as we head into back to back cup games. This first one against Newcastle and the second versus Manchester United in the FAC and three days after that its the Spuds (in the PL). I think January is something like nine games to play? Perhaps the grinding international ‘breaks’ in the early part of the season if dumped or re-arranged might mean less congestion in this, the sunless, unhealthy part of the season?
To the neutral this must be something of an exciting game? Heck, it seems pretty exciting as an Arsenal supporter! Of course it seems odd as normally this would be the date (or thereabouts) of the FAC 3rd round, which as you already know comes next on the 12th of January and it does seem a bit odd playing the SF of the league cup now. Maybe its the tonic we need at this moment?
This two-leggéd affair has all the signs of being a classic. Arsenal, slightly wavering, drawing too much for anyone’s taste and who really should be ahead of Liverpool, but on their day can hit you for five. Newcastle resurgent and looking hungry, creeping up the table again, with some fine players in their squad. How will this one play out? You could imagine the Geordies going for a draw or giving it the old parked bus and then hope to take us back up to theirs and finish the job?
But this Arsenal side is unpredictable, and much depends as to whose playing where, whose injured/ill and whose not? Looks like Ethan might be out for a couple of weeks, but one never knows, is it a bluff for the United game? We are currently the kind of side that could lose 1-0 at the Emirates but then get hacked off enough to win 3-0 up at St.James’ Park. Of course I realise all the variables are on the table so there’s no need for me to insult your intelligence by going through them all.
Stat HQ AI gives the mighty Cannon a 55% chance of winning and Newcastle 20.9% (as of writing), so like the Brighton game we are still tipped for the win but again under the 60% level.
I kept this piece short, not because its a drag to preview, but because its the opposite and I feel anecdotes or memories have no place in this one as it would take away from the excitement of the game. COYG!
Well that’s it, lots of bits and pieces that I’m sure have made you feel like going off and buying a vivarium and breeding salamanders instead of reading this.
Even so, here’s to a great game for us and lucky horses!
COYG and keep on keepin’ on!
Mills
Positively Arsenal 
Of course it wouldn’t be a preview from me without a mistake: should be ‘trials and tribulations’. Sums it all up! ( banned smiley)
Here’s to a great game for us. COYG!
ps Good title PG!
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On current form this game seems difficult. We don’t seem to have many of the spears of our attack left and they seem to be sparkling with weaponary.
The floodlights of hope in this two legged tie come in the shape of us being at home in the first leg and the possibility of personnel and form changing by the time the away leg comes round in February.
There is even an outside chance ARSENAL’s tricky winger, Charles Charlie Charles, may get a rare appearance following his return from his loan spell.
Atmosphere and attrition could get us through the game tonight, setting us up for the return, COYG.
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ian are you sure our charlie did not play in the CC while out on loan
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some players who played for both Arsenal and Newcastle, well from the current squads Merino with us and Willock with the toon. Issac Hayden did well at newcastle after not quite making the grade at AFC. Debuchy was decent for both clubs. As was Pat Howard. A couple of Arsenal legends that many won’t remember being at Newcastle are Sol Campbell and Kenny Sansom. Andy Cole was a star for Newcastle after only playing I think one game for Arsenal’s first team. Alex Cropley came to Arsenal as the next big thing from Scotland in the 70’s, but he suffered 2 broken legs in his 2 seasons with us, he had a better time of it at Aston Villa before playing a few games for Newcastle. Another player to play for both, who we mentioned only a couple weeks ago after his death was George Eastham
Now my favorite Arsenal and Newcastle player, old bandy legs himself Malcolm McDonald, I still remember his hattrick v Newcastle shortly after joining us. It used to be said Supermac was only happy if he scored, and indeed would be happy even if we lost as long as he had scored. Not many will know that he started out as as left back at Luton.
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Lovely stuff Millsy, thanks mate.
Like you I’ve watched with some trepidation as Newcastle’s results and confidence have improved over the weeks. However, in this season of crazy upsets (Man U beating City and drawing with Liverpool – Liverpool actually being any good again! Forest, Chelsea, Man City ignoring expectations) no one can predict any result with any confidence.
One thing is for sure, anyone coming to play us will be just as nervous as we are. Arsenal are not a team to be sniffed at. I have a curious presentiment that a cup may be coming our way this season. I don’t expect to win the league, but then who ever does? A good cup win has sparked greater success in the past, so why not now?
Anyway, it looks like a good match up. Two good teams, little bit of needle between them, now lets watch a referee ruin it.
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its being reported again that Tomas Rosicky is in the running to replace Edu as our sporting director. Seems he would like to take the role in the summer, but could be persuaded to come this month if its the only way he can get the job.
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Sterling arrived with the team, so might be in the squad tonight
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in case you didn’t know, the game is on ITV tonight
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Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Martinelli, Trossard, Havertz.
Subs: Porter, Calafiori, Zinchenko, Tierney, Kiwior, Jorginho, Merino, Sterling, Jesus.
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Newcastle: Dubravka; Livramento, Botman, Burn, Hall; Joelinton, Tonali, Willock; Murphy, Isak, Gordon.
Subs: Odysseas, Trippier, Barnes, Targett, Osula, Almiron, Kelly, Longstaff, Miley.
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Timber heads over from six yards at a corner
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we are panicking in defence
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almost a wonder goal from martinelli, great quick break and he powers a shot against the post
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isak puts newcastle 1-0 up, he has terrified our defence so far
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HT: Arsenal 0-1 Newcastle
Martinelli with our nearest chance, we’ve had a few scrambles at corners, but we are so slow and sterile in open play, we don’t have anything of the ability of Isak and Gordon in our attack, or if we do they are not allowed show it with the paint by numbers football Arteta demands
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trossard looks like he is injured and might be taken off for second half
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how did VAR not see Isak’s push in the back on odegaard just before the goal, ITV says VAR did check it but seen nothing wrong, pgmol are shameless
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well that looks like that, 2-0 to newcastle, gordon finishes it after raya parries an isak shot
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COME ON YOU GUNNERS FFS!
change it up Arteta.
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fucking hell, havertz misses a sitter six yards out, mistimed a header
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jorginho and jesus on for partey and trossard
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saliba puts a free header over the bar, we really are fucking this up for ourselves
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5 minutes of stoppage time to try and give us some hope for the second leg
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lost 2-0, missed a lot of decent chances, mostly scrambles at corners, will take a massive change in our performance to turn this around at st james park.
we have man utd at home on sunday in the FA Cup and then Spurs at home on wednesday in the EPL, the team needs to turn up big time in these two games
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how anyone thinks Odegaard is better than Ozil was I will never know, he is not even in the same ball park.
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just a little aside, 2-0 down in a cup semi final and 3 of our 4 summer signings on the bench, the other cup tied(yeah I know) and we don’t bring any of the 3 on, now tell me how good that summer transfer window was
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When Ozil decided to be bothered I would agree, but all too often he didn’t seem that worried. On a going day he was sublime. It’s a sort of Gower/Gooch scenario comparing them.
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well when did odegaard last bother then, he has been powder puff, he does more geeing up the crowd than actually forcing himself on the game
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well every time I’ve seen him he has put in a massive shift and certainly not lacked effort. But I would also say that he hasn’t been at his best since returning from a fairly major injury, has also just come back from flu, and has a new born babe which could also be (as we don’t know) an issue in his household. I honestly don’t think he is the issue. Yes, it’s clear that goal scoring is an issue for the side, and I thought Walcott’s comments after the game were spot on, and chimed with the point you have been making about losing sight of free-flowing football. And perhaps that has been the reaction to needing to keep changing the line-up due to injuries etc.
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Martin is a very good player and works his socks off, Mesut was at a minimum, 2 levels above him and covered similar distances in every game, he just made covering great distances look easy.[, and so people thought he wasn’t trying.
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George is right, Mesut regularly covered the most distance out of all the team. He was always clinical in front of goal and could score all types of goals. When he needed to be he was very strong and could control a whole match pulling the strings like a puppet master. He proved on every stage he was world class.
Martin has great vision and can be absolutely decisive in games. However he can’t tackle, he doesn’t score enough goals and he cannot take the game by the balls and control it.
The difference is massive.
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Goal mouth scrambles are like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.
Goals change games and we could of had a hatfull. All of chances came from dead ball situations once again. Apart from the headers we missed most of the other chances were swing a boot at it attempts. We certainly missed a little bit of guile in front of goal.
The one open play chance we had was created through quick one touch passing. Considering the magpies were playing such a high line the solitary chance showed the poor quality of our attack.
After a fast start from the opposition we grew into the game and was actually on top when scored from a pretty harmless ball into the box. Their second goal came from just a few quick and efficient passes the sort of which we used to watch every week.
Our next period of control came after their subs not ours but when Howe put that right we through a period of no chances in twenty minutes.
Once they went to a 5/5 we never looked liked scoring and the high balls into the box were meat and drink to the their big defenders.
We did prove we can create chances against them and so 0-2 can be overturned but we need to take our own ball.
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https://x.com/i/status/1876758408344240466
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Theo Walcott: “With Arsenal, at this moment in time, what worries me is they’re getting excited by set-pieces all the time, instead of that free-flowing football — that’s what Arsenal is known for, they’re shying away from it.”
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not sure of the accuracy of the stat but seen it reported that Martinelli put in 11 crosses v newcastle and none were met by an Arsenal player. the question is how much of that was down to poor quality of the cross, how much was down to lack of players to play the cross to, how much was down to arsenal players not battling for the ball or reading where the cross was going. Without looking at the game again I can’t expand on the answers to those questions, and I’m not prepared to watch that game again
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Arsenal will be wearing a whole white kit v man utd on sunday in the fa cup game
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Ed, when we were talking about big Nial, I said when he first came into the team his timing of his jump was terrible once he learnt this he was very dangerous.
Paul parker was very small but could outjump players much taller than him. Unfortunately Kai is a tall player but is not a great header of the ball. Jesus is also not great in the air.
In the last 15 minutes Newcastle went to a 5/5, they posed virtually no threat going forward. Most managers would have thrown Gabriel, Saliba, Rice and all our tallest players in the box and used the smaller players to produce the crosses.
Yes it’s route one, yes there’s no brains behind the tactics but it works time and time again especially when you have a team who like scoring from balls into the box.
When your short game quite clearly hasn’t worked you have to play to whatever left you have in your ARSENAL. The fact we don’t and in many games we seem to get less dangerous the longer the game goes on is a big problem.
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Wow ol’ gravel voice has been sacked by the toffees. I think it was because Potter got the Hammers job and we’re only allowed two English managers in the PL
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reports today claim that Edu decided to leave Arsenal cos Arteta had been given too much power at the club.
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Everton who sacked Sean Dyche as their manager today are currently playing Peterborough in the FA Cup and interestingly Ashley Young is a sub for Everton and his son Tyler Young is a sub for Peterborough
Tyler Young used to be in the Arsenal Academy
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so in today’s press conference Arteta said he sees no problem in the stat that Arsenal have in 13 of 30 games this season scored 1 or less goals.
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New post is up
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