Hello and how are? Having traversed the multiverses of Yuletide gluttony, Saturday the 27th of December sees the Mighty Cannon swing back in Premier League action, this time against Brighton & Hove Albion at Ashburton Grove. KO is at 3.00pm UK time. Expected weather is cloudy with temps at 8° (feels like 1°) and 0% chance of rain.
AWOL for Areta are Ben White (hamstring), Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Gabriel Magalhaes (thigh or hamstring depending on which outlet you read), Kai Havertz (knee), Max Dowman (ankle), whilst Piero Hincapie (shoulder), Gabriel Martinelli (knock) look like the unlikely lads. But I have heard it whispered in the whispering gallery that Kai’s back in training, so hopefully we can see him in action against Villa?
Non-flyers for Herzuler’s heroes are, Stefanos Tzimas (knee), Adam Webster (knee), Solly March (knee), Carlos Baleba (Africa Cup of nations).
The Seagulls are in 9th in the PL: W6 D6 L5 F25 A23. City plays first tomorrow in the lunchtime game against Forest so we could be trailing again going into this one. Which hopefully we can use to our advantage.
Our chums at Statto HQ, despite having lost all their money at the Boxing Day races, handed over a crumple peice of paper with the match stas on. They give The Arsenal a 68.3% chance of winning and Brighton 12.7%.
Next up the Villains, at ours, and time for revenge. So until then, COYG!
Mills
Well Christmas cheer has flooded over our fanbase, well most of them, and the doom of City snapping at our coattails is somehow less daunting, despite it still being only a two point gap. Now I’m qwll aware that Mikel’s risk adverse physiology has many of us wit nagging doubts, especially as City seem to be committed to scoring their way past us, well time will tell. No point us crying too hard as there is zero chance of him changing, and rightly so I believe, because one must have belief in yourself if you want to achieve great things. In the end he will live or die on his decisions.
I’m quietly confident that the returns of Jesus and Havertz will add more flair and goals organically within the constraints of Arteta’s system.
Enjoy the game and the rest of your holiday period.
Pedantic George.
Positively Arsenal 
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and are in fine fettle.
The seasulls hate December under their current manager and are still to register a win in ten attempts. They are a team who pass well and normally enjoy lots of possession because of that. They are number one in the division from shots from the high press so again we will have to pass quickly and well out of defence. They have been more compact against bigger sides and enjoyed success without majority possession and so the first goal will be important here.
After every big side goes through a bad patch they normally come outside the other end and batter someone. Although brighton are a good side it is possible they could be caught between two stalls today and if we can score early I think we can help the goal difference and get the three points in the bargain.
Many managers say Boxing day games are awkward but with the extra day and one post Christmas training session this is a game we should be well prepared for. I would imagine Myles will be in today and I think that will help with possession.
Now our numbers in attack are creeping, I like Mills think the goals will start coming again COYG.
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Thanks for a positive post..hope we get that early goal and maybe today will be that day when the goals come.
Brighton are a tricky customer and hope Welbeck won’t come back to haunt us!!!
COYG
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Raya, Saliba, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly, Zubimendi, Rice, Merino, Odegaard, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres
Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Gabriel, Jesus, Eze, Martinelli, Norgaard, Madueke, Nwaneri, Salmon
Calafiori was named in the starting 11 but got injured in the warm up so MLS comes in and Salmon added to the subs
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so MLS gets his first EPL start of the season, and it was an enforced start.
Timber was played midweek v CP in the league cup but is rested today so as to not over play him, Arteta is six years our manager and still hasn’t got a fucking clue how to rotate.
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Odegaardddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd makes it 1-0 to the Arsenal
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the odegaard goal
https://x.com/i/status/2004934728869453888
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we are so wasteful
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HT: Arsenal 1-0 Brighton
Odegaard with the goal, and we really should have had several more.
Their goalie should have been sent off right at the end of the half for taking Gyokeres out of it near the sideline, no real attempt to play the ball.
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2-0 to the Arsenal, an own goal, a Rice corner touched by a brighton defender and into the net.
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for fucks sake Brighton pull a goal back
we have wasted so many chances and should be out of sight and now its edgy again
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Gabriel on MLS
Jesus on for Gyokeres
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Raya brings off a brilliant save to keep us ahead, this is awful stuff from us, we have gone completely into our shells,
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the Raya save
https://x.com/i/status/2004954690484879522
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Trossard off
Martinelli on
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awful miss by Martinelli
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5 minutes of stoppage time to be played
we should have had a penalty just now, Jesus shoved over
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FT: Arsenal 2-1 Brighton
Odegaard and an own goal gives us the win, it was way more difficult that is should have been, we wasted so many chances and good positions.
Top of the league with Aston villa up next on Tuesday
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so Calafiori was actually injured in training yesterday but still got selected to start today, then felt it again in the warm up so had to drop out. Myles Lewis-Skelly must find the situation he is in very hard to come to terms with. Today was his first start in the league all season, and it was enforced on Arteta.
Arteta is our manager for six years now and still hasn’t a clue how to rotate and is still very poor with his in game subs.
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Aston Villa with a comeback win at Chelsea this evening to keep them 3 points behind us, and we play them on Tuesday.
Liverpool are up to 4th in the table now.
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Mikel Arteta’s eldest son Gabriel(16) played for Arsenal U17’s in a friendly v Shrewsbury last week. It’s the second time this season he has played for the U17’s.
Dungannon Swifts 15 year old defender Daniel McCarron also played in that game, he played for our u16’s in the Flamengo Cup in Brazil last season.
There is a rumor doing the rounds that the reason why Stephen McPhail resigned from his role as Director of Football with Shamrock Rovers recently is cos he is moving back to England so that his son Joel McPhail, who earlier this season had a trial with Arsenal, can sign/ is signing for an English club as a scholar
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Our patches of good football are getting longer, but we are still very wasteful. We still haven’t learnt to counter and our decision making in the last third can be strange.
All that said, we have a fantastic squad, an excellent team and some brilliant individuals. We are the third best team, on current form, in the top three and our next game is the best form team in the decision.
We cannot afford to have only twenty attempts and only score one or two goals and we cannot sit so deep when defending that we invite pressure. Anytime we head anything away its coming straight back because the midfield and attack are sitting on the defence.
Conceeding late goals has become a habit and you cannot have the best squad in the league and not be able to influence the end of games from the bench.
I think Gabriel coming back will make a difference. Stability at the back should resonate throughout the team and make us more confident going forward.
The next game, marking the halfway stage, is absolutely massive.
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big game v Aston Villa, and for a change we play before man city so get the win and put the pressure on them for a change.
Rumors that all that was wrong with Calafiori was that he had the runs. Bit of dodgy turkey at christmas maybe.
our summer signings have not had outstanding seasons so far, flashes of quality, but lots of in and out of the team, lots of ordinary games, and of course lots of injuries. We really could do with the best of Eze and Gyokeres.
I get the feeling from what Arteta has been saying that as soon as Havertz is fit he will be first choice striker. Gyokeres has only a short time left to get his scoring boots on or he will be a bench warmer.
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George, still locked out but sent a post thats in moderation with new email add, Heres the preview. COYG!
VILLA PT 2!
Hello and how are you? Tuesday the 30th of December sees the Mighty Cannon play out its last game for 2025, this time against title- contenders Aston Villa. KO at the Emirates is at 8.15pm. Expected weather is partly cloudy and the temperature is 4°(feels like 1°).
So the Arsenal go into this game having played relatively well against Brighton, but also wasted way too many chances, and I’m sure they will look to rectifiy that and show the third placed Villa what we can do if we put our minds to it, in what promises to be a very exciting game.
The Lions are on eleven straight wins after an amazing come back against Chelsea. Arteta’s boys need to keep their eyes on dangermen Watkins, McGinn and Rogers. Jadon Sancho has also looked good. But then after the match up on the 6th, we don’t really need any reminders, yet the Arsenal are unbeaten in five since that last-second loss.
Great to see Gabriel back (how much we’ve missed both him and Mosquera)but I also hope Saka finds his shooting boots soon and that big Vic can get more in the back of the net, he needs it as much as we do. Who knows who the Gunners might bring in this transfer window?
Ben White (hamstring), Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Kai Havertz (knee), Max Dowman (ankle) will sit this one out for the Cannon, whilst Evann Guessand (Africa cup of nations), Ross Barkley (knee), Tyrone Mings (thigh), Pau Torres (calf), Matty Cash (suspended), Boubacar Kamara (suspended)are all unavailable for the Villains. However, I’m reading that Kai might be back for this one… Mosquera and White should be ready for the Forest game. Timber! might be also return having sat it out against Brighton, after landing awkwardly in the penalty shoot out against Palace.
I hunted down the boys at Statto HQ who were buying fireworks for New Years, and they offered me a cracker statto-wise: The Arsenal are at 63.3% for a win and Villa are on 14.7%. That’s it for 2025, and I wish you all a “Guten Rutsch!” into 2026. Next up an away-day on the south coast against Bournemouth. So COYG!
Mills
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Mills, I can’t find anything in moderation, my Email is gm374@btinternet.com.
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