Hello and how are you?
Saturday the 3rd of May, sees the Mighty Cannon back in action, this time against Bournemouth FC. Kick of at the Emirates is a 5.30pm western European time.
As we enter May, the season slowly seems to start winding down and all eyes looking to final fixtures and beyond to their summer holidays, and further on to the excitement of seeing who will win the transfer market. Can’t wait!
Liverpool having been way out in front, deservedly picked up the number one spot, and congrats to them. It’s a shame we didn’t really get close to challenge them though.
Due to our conservative but steady system, I’m still hoping that the Arsenal can still be in the banter-line from Brentford fans, and stay second. But Newcastle and City look hungry? 115 looks as if its going to take a long time to come to the fore, but at least it claimed plenty of time from the lives of the click-baited during the international breaks? City seemed to have weathered that storm, and look like picking up the FAC, despite the rest of the football-interested country who will be rooting for CP. 4-0 City.
I’m worried about Arsenal though, and not other teams ( well maybe the Spuds potentially winning the Europa league, grrr!) as the loss to PSG seems to have created the worst hangover I can recall since we lost the 1980 Cup final. I understand the euphoria around beating RM, but really PSG sat us on our arses, and we deserved it. I still believe we can win, but not by reacting to other teams? When we played RM we basically took them on, often, though not always our more disappointing results this season seem to have come from playing a more adaptive rather than dictating game? Enrique seemed to spy this?
Perhaps Heady’s observation about the CP draw having an affect was true, so one wonders about this fixture? What does Arteta do; call up the academy? Why not? We can drop thee points and still claim 2nd. But the past dictates in some form or other (reaction/ continuation) so I think we will see many of the players expected to play in Paris run out against the Cherries. And we will hold our breath.
Not to great for the already season- shredded nerves eh?
Bournemouth will sniff a chance on this one, it won’t affect things league-wise too much for them, but will boost their self-esteem should they win.
I think we will grab a win though, we need it. Would be great to see some of the youngsters get a run out and a chance to prove themselves?
The Mathematical heads at statto HQ have given the Gunners a 44% chance of wining, and Bournemouth 28.8%, so looks like it will be a draw?
That’s it, see you in Paris for a cup touristic cliché and Croissant’s to discuss Existentialism and Post Structuralism, and hopefully a win for Arsenal.Til then…
Take care of yourselves,
Mills
Positively Arsenal 
COYG
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Raya; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli
Subs:Setford, Tierney, Zinchenko, Clarke, Merino, Gower, Nwaneri, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji
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Arsenal U18’s title hopes disappeared today when they lost to Fulham 4-3, and other results went against them too. This is the second game in a row that they let in 4, having had a 4-4 draw v spurs last week, so went from having their title fate in their own hands to a week later being out of it.
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Rice makes it 1-0 to the Arsenal
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HT: Arsenal 1-0 Bournemouth
Rice with the goal, but a few players a bit off it today so far
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Odegaard with the assist but that’s his only contribution. He’s been crap.
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just after getting the news that a very good friend has passed away with lung cancer. I met him about 11 years ago as we worked on an online radio station, and I’d say in the last 11 years I’ve had more talks with him than anyone in my life, he used to phone me almost daily and often five or six times in a day. He was a big man utd fan, and on a day when Rice has scored for Arsenal I can say he detested Declan Rice, he was a big country music fan, he done a weekly country music show, but the music icon of his life was Elvis. A family man first and foremost, he loved his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, a true loyal friend, I will miss Patsy big time.
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Sorry to read your post Ed. Sounds like you’ve got a lot of great memories to savour despite your sad loss. Hang in there mate.
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Lowest point of this season? What a grin dof a fixture, no-one was interested.
Should have played just the kids, psychologically might have been better?
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what a fucking shit day, on a day a dear friend died, Arsenal go and have one of the most cunty days of all cunty days, the 1st team collapse to defeat from having the lead once again, the U21’s lose in extra time in the PL2 Play offs having had a 2-0 lead, and the U18’s blow their league title chances by conceding 4 goals for the second week running to lose 4-3, this all on the back of the 1st team losing the first leg of CL semi to PSG and the women getting a hammering in the WSL which allowed CFC to win the league again. Tell me again why we support Arsenal.
The results today on top of the news of my mates death brought back the odd memory of the Arsenal result the day of my Dad’s funeral, a 3-2 home defeat to West Brom, an Almunia disaster class as so much of his performances were. Of all the memories I have of that day its a bit weird that its the Arsenal bit that I remember most clearly, maybe I don’t care to remember what really matters, and in a decades time I will remember Arsenal losing 2-1 at home to AFCB as the day that Patsy died and so if ever in doubt of the date I can look up the result and it will be easy found. I need Arsenal to stop joining me in grief.
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Mills its laughable to even suggest Arteta would have considered playing the youths, he once again brought on Nwaneri on 85 minutes, he gave NBO his league debut a few games ago in injury time and not a second since. I have no doubt that Lewis-Skelly would not have got any more minutes than Nwaneri but for the injury crisis we had a left back, we would not have seen him capped for England and have seen him progress. Arteta is a coward, he’d rather play safe and over play senior players than give youth a chance. For god sake look at his League Cup and FA Cup line ups, and then compare them to the senior players who have suffered big injuries this season, they are all in there.
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Not much we can do Ed, Arsenal has woven its way into our lives, and will always highlight or lowlight our other experiences, for good or bad?
Now the first 11 has today hanging around its neck, if he had risked the kids and still lost, everyone would have said “fair enough”. Instead its plain embarrassing?
PSG lost but Enrique didn’t play most of the team. Fk it. Its done, and now someone has to turn this around, its going to take something really special as today was a really tedious experience and dragging a heavy ball and chain like that is a real pain, when we have to now go and try and beat one of the best team sin Europe. Maybe that was part of the problem today?
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Mills if the team turn up and beat PSG by the 2 goals to get us to the CL final today’s result will be excused, but fail to make it through midweek and its a full blown crisis with a complete collapse on the horizon, liverpool and Newcastle are our next two league games, both very losable, especially if we are on a downer after CL exit. Southampton game could very well be win or bust for CL place if things go completely awry in coming games, and despite southampton’s awful relegation season, we have a very poor record at st marys
of course we could win five more games this season, win the CL for the first time and finish 2nd in the league for 3rd year running and everything in the garden will be rosy, its the fucking hope that kills.
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football fandom has always been a real rollercoaster and yes we could have a fantastic or a crap season depending on the next five games and saying that so close to the season end seems ridiculous but that’s football.
Look at manure or the spuds, they have both had one of their worst league seasons for decades and yet they both stand a chance of winning a trophy, qualifying for the CL and declaring the season a great success. Football is perverse especially now the new CL format has made the Europa such a weak competition and almost guarantees a PL winner.
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so any thoughts on why Nwaneri is getting so little game time, he got brought on in 85th minute yesterday, it was injury time in the PSG when he appeared and lets not forget that Arteta brought on Zinchenko and Tierney in stoppage time away to Real Madrid with the game long won instead of giving Nwaneri any experience of the big game atmosphere.
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seen a stat today, that Arsenal have conceded in 23 of our 35 EPL games this season and only won 8 of these games.
We have also lost 21 points from a winning position.
The risk averse football has caught up with us big time this season, but look on the bright side we have only drawn one more game than the invincibles, what
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just a thought on potential striker signings this summer, for me Arsenal should be signing someone like say Viktor Gyökeres who is said to have a gentlemans agreement with his club that he can leave for less than £70M, but also bringing in Ipswich striker Liam DeLap who has a £30M relegation release clause, which would give us real striking options and depth for £100M. Would give us different types of options and both these guys experienced in english football.
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some reports that if Arsenal get through to the CL final that Kai Havertz will be back in the first team squad for the Liverpool game next Sunday but if we don’t he may not be rushed back at all this season. He has been doing individual training in the last week or so and is set to start full training if needed
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For Nwaneri just replace with Eddie, ESR, Nelson and many others. We have seen many others leave because they didn’t think they would get a serious chance.
It will be interesting to see the decisions Max Dowman makes going forward as well.
The “nearly” success that Mikel is having means his position is very secure and so the youth route to the first team will rely more on injuries than any process or promotion policy.
It is not just the youth players who have struggled under the policy of non rotation, the squad has struggled to cover for injuries because of the lack of minutes throughout the squad.
Under Arsene, GG, and indeed all the managers I’ve watched ARSENAL under, going back to Bertie Mee, I have never felt less comfortable when we go a goal behind or get a player sent off than under the current coaching staff.
Indeed, as Ed says, a draw is always accepted and the last twenty minutes of games often just fade into a stale, tapered, tame end rather than the most exciting time in the game as happens in the rest of the league.
Top four and qualifications to the knock out rounds of the CL is undoubtedly success but the reason the English league pyramid is the most successful in the world is not because of clinical success, it’s because fans can invest in the emotion of the club they support.
At a time we could possibly win a trophy the club have never experienced it can still be difficult to invest in a full 90 minutes in some of our games, which seems absolutely ridiculous when I have seen ARSENAL sides struggle to avoid relegation.
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Arsenal have only won 12 points from our last 10 games, that is woeful
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While we obviously need decent options up front to add to the squad, I think taking a chance on Partey may be a money saving option even if we do add one defensive midfielder.
If Myles is added to midfield then we will need yet another left back and don’t think Setford will be trusted as number two keeper and so we will need a new bloke between the sticks as well.
The squad was raped and pillaged so much last summer that this summer will need major investment again, which I don’t believe we will be able to do, or we will have to gamble on players who have proved injury prone in the past.
With city, pool, chelusa and the Saudi barcodes all improving we will have to improve to stand still next season let alone achieve more in the league.
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Hein should probably be our back up keeper next season, but likely won’t, can’t see Myles being moved into midfield as we will be losing Tierney and probably Zinchenko this summer, and with Calafiori so injury prone, as is Tomiyasu, so Arteta will need MLS at left back, but of course we might sign another new first choice left back, a new back up keeper, its what Arteta does every year.
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FT: Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest
a game with over 12 minutes stoppage time at the end and Forest had 7 players booked in total
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So one win away from qualifying for the Champions League next season and two wins away from second place.
Of course win our next two Champions League games this season and we will bring the pot home.
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seems its been confirmed that Jorginho is leaving on a bosman this summer, going to Brazil. Some rumors that he has an outside chance of being in the squad on Wednesday
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a bad weekend for Arsenal continued today with the Womens team putting in a very poor performance in a 4-2 loss at Brighton. So Mens, Womens, U21 and U18’s all lost this weekend
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George, preview sent over. COYG!
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New post is up.
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