I want to write a positive blog!

I want to describe some beautiful football!

I want to be enthusiastic about Arsenal!

I want to enjoy our football!

Sadly, I’m unable to do any of these things.

That was 95 minutes of tripe. We won the game courtesy of a well executed headed goal from David Luiz and also courtesy of them defending the corner  badly.

Two shots on target ,at home, against Bournemouth?  That can’t be acceptable, no matter how healthy our league position is.

We have played 8 PL games and not played well in any of them. In fact I would go as far as to say we have played poorly in them all. That we are where we are in the league, is testament to how good our players are despite how they are being forced to play.

We can be very happy at the 3 points gained, content with our league position, but I defy anyone to say we should be happy with the excruciatingly poor football being churned out week after week.

People will say “judge it in May”, well I did, I judged the crap we were served up last May, and if anything it’s gotten worse. If you dare look beyond the points total, what looks back is a football team that lacks the ability to play entertaining attacking football. There are those that don’t want to look beyond, those that would rather not see, to them I say “You‘re a better man than I am, Gunga Din.”

Good day one and all.

Arsenal are back at the Emirates for their second Europa League group fixture; hosting Belgian side Standard Liège.

We kicked our campaign off with a win away in Germany a fortnight ago, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0. With Unai Emery methods currently taking tense and, well, fair criticism, the Gunners almost inconspicuously put together an unbeaten run of six-matches (all competitions), that includes three wins in our last four. With just one defeat in nine matches all season, you would be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about.

Now, I don’t know anything about our opponents, however, a quick trawl of their recent results infer they might not be pushovers. They sit one point behind Belgian First Division leaders Club Brugge, and come into this match on the back of three wins in their last four games (D1) – all competitions. A decent run that include 10 goals for and only two against. So could there be a suggestion they have a “press” Emery might think we need to negate? Yikes!

It’s a short turnaround following Monday night’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United, so we’ll likely see a Gunners side with quite a few changes. Making this another opportunity for the youngsters and fringe players to impress, after proper performances against Frankfurt (EL) and Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup. 18 years-old Gabriel Martinelli did better than expected making his first Arsenal start vs Forest, scoring two goals, so one can imagine he must be excited at the possibility of getting his first European start. Hector Bellerín and Kieran Tierney must also be itching getting another run as they continue their rehabilitation from long-term injuries.

Whether Mesut Özil, who was “rested” against Frankfurt, get a start, is anybody’s guess at this point. Because just as it seems that him and Emery are getting past their domestic issues… it seems not.

One player that could certainly benefit having a crack at the visitors is our record signing Nicolas Pepe. He has struggled to find his feet so far in the league, so starting in a match away from the PGMOL game management variant shouldn’t be the worst idea.

Many argue that Arsenal doesn’t play like a side that has developed much from last season, but optimism levels are a little higher in the Cup competitions and playing in front of the Emirates faithful always gives the boys a bit extra. Standard have started their European run with a win, so while their priorities may be with their domestic league back in Belgium, a win tonight will leave them in a good position to advance to the knockout stages.

This is only the third meeting between these two sides, with the Gunners winning both the previous two back in 2009.

With group F top place up for grabs this got the makings of a spicy encounter. However, I’m predicting a cagey start to the match with the Emirates crowd cheering the homeboys over the line.

Labo @LaboGoon

Right , let’s look at the good stuff first. We got a point away at United, despite being a goal behind at halftime, not many manage that. Young Saka had a good game, an assist and but for a lucky deflection, he would have had a winning goal. The lad played the full 90 and didn’t look at all out of place. I also thought Luiz had a good game and looked our most creative player (is that a positive?).

As for the game itself? It was poor. Some would say awful.

Once again we saw a midfield that could simply not dominate of create. Torreira, a DM by trade,looked to be playing as a 10. Matteo hurried and scurried all game and this seems tt impress many, but his distribution is average and he gets the ball taken from him regularly. Because of this imbalance in MF, Xhaka is being asked to do stuff that he is unsuited to, and so he can’t do the job he is very suited to. It’s a mess.

Dani comes on and it’s clear he is no Mesut Ozil, who didn’t even make the trip. Tragic.

The goal we did get basically came courtesy of United gifting us the ball on the edge of their own area, well taken, but a gift anyway.

20 odd minutes in we had 28% possession against a team with a MF that is shocking.

I want to be enthusiastic, but honestly, if Arsenal hadn’t been involve, I would have turned over and watched a rerun of Dad’s Army. It was a dire game. With the player available to Emery, good football shouldn’t be too much to ask. But we are not seeing any, and there appears to be no prospect of it coming.

Good day one all.

With three wins on the spin, in as many competitions, Arsenal go up against Manchester United at Old Trafford with renewed optimism and exciting young players making their return to the side following long injury spells.

Look, we can all agree that there are underlying issues with how the Gunners play but things aren’t exactly scorched earth. We are still going at top-four pace, thanks to flaws elsewhere in the Premier League. So let’s forget about the mind-numbing Vicarage Road trip and even the first hour vs Aston Villa. The last 20 or so minutes of that game our boys had a real bite in them and showed a lot of heart as they dug real for that win. A few unlikely heroes led the charge and that is the sort of character we can all get behind despite our differences in opinion of coach Unai Emery.

I’m not gonna pretend all is well because the lack of defensive organization is glaring. There’s also a fear that we may become as reliant on Bernd Leno and we are on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. I just think if the coach would focus on taking games to the opposition instead of being “scared” there’s lots to be excited about. I can admit I had doubts but after seeing those returning players… Both Rob Holding and Calum Chambers don’t seem afflicted by a susceptibility for liability. Together with Kieran Tierney, who had an encouraging first game, and flaming Hector Bellerín they could provide a secure base for our attackers to perform. This Gunners side is not short of talent and if Emery find a workable formula and just take the handbrake off already… watch this space.

These of course are grim times for Manutd. With just two wins in their last 11 league games Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is feeling the heat. His bosses have spent the most on transfers in the PL this summer so one can imagine he’s under pressure to turnaround their fortunes.

In many ways these teams are like two sides of the same coin. The Red Devils look strong defensively, before the shock defeat to West Ham last weekend they conceded just four goals in five league outings, but are underwhelming going forward, scoring four in that last five. While the Gunners got goals in them but also have an embarrassing reputation of conceding rather silly.

Manutd’s attacking woes are further compounded with both Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial currently struggling with injuries and Paul Pogba a doubt. Meaning OGS could put his hopes on youngsters Daniel James and Mason Greenwood to trouble our defense.

These teams met three times last season. Our Old Trafford trip  ended in a 2-2 draw as the hosts came back twice from a goal down. They beat us 3-1 in the FA Cup during the ‘Solskjaer renaissance’. We, of course, got our revenge with a 2-0 win at the Emirates late in the season.

In recent years this old rivalry is far from the top-of-the-table encounters of yore, however, it’s never short of drama and consequence as this already got that a feel of being pivotal to both’s top-four ambitions. A win will move Arsenal within two points of free scoring Mancity (second on the table) and leave Manutd in the bottom half of the table – and Ole losing grip on the wheel.

The Gunners haven’t won a league game at Old Trafford since autumn of 2006 though and whatever Manutd’s form, or lack thereof, their players are at their best on the most intense occasions. Whilst they’re currently looking all out of sorts and not the most relentless attacking side, our organization and focus at the back still has to be on point if we want to have any joy.

This is such a difficult game to call for various reason, but if ever Arsenal want to break their Old Trafford hoodoo as well as getting a first away win against top-six opposition under Unai Emery, there’s  no better time than the present.

May we make this one count. COYG!

Labo

Well now then, what an enjoyable watch that was.

It’s a pleasant change to see us dominant in every area of the pitch.

A much changed team was streets ahead of the 2nd tier opposition, who were, to be fair, poor on the night.

I felt Torreira was off with his passing, but scurried well. Other than that there can be no complaints.

Ozil orchestrated the game and it was a joy to watch. I don’t think he lost the ball even once in the first 45.

Chambers did well yet again, Mustafi and Holding both had no problems  and Tierney made a mightily impressive start to his Arsenal career.

In fact, they were all impressive. I loved every minute of it,and Hector came on and immediately contributed with an assist.

More of this please.

Well this is a difficult write. The absolute joy of winning ,with ten men, after being twice a goal behind, has to be tempered by how awful we were for almost 70 minutes.

Until AMN was sent off it had been an even game, with both sides being equally poor. We appeared to have the edge in attack, but Villa looked to be more in control of the midfield. Once again we left spaces between our defenders and the midfield and didn’t keep the ball well enough when in possession.

Xhaka was playing some great balls into the final 3rd, but blotted his copy book with a stupid booking , he also looked to be the one midfielder to be dashing back to cover the defence, but being captain, perhaps he should have been better positioned and demanded that Dani and Matteo were also keeping a better shape. I thought both of the young lads were having stinkers,especially Dani who slowed down play as a matter of course. Until Joe and Lucas  came on ,our midfield unit just didn’t work. There is of course an argument that when they did come on, Villa sat back and allowed us time and space in the midfield, that made us look better. Who knows, but look better we did. Especially Guendouzi who transformed into a real driving force in the latter stages.

The players deserve full credit for the result, it was achieved became of their spirit and skill. But it somewhat masks the clear problems we had. Why, one must ask, do they need to perform a miracle to get a win at home against Villa?

Aubameyang is simply wonderful, in that he gave the penalty to Pepe, who looked in dire need of a goal. That is true team spirit. We owe him a lot this season, and it’s only game 6.

So I’m very happy that we won, but once again there are more questions than answers.

Ozil just has to play, not playing his is an act of self harm.

Also, there was some real cheating going on today, trying to get players sent off, Papa, I’m looking at you. I hate that sort of nonsense when it’s done to us, and I hate to see us do it.

Right, goodnight and COYG.

A fantastic result away in Germany against a team that had not previously lost at home to an English team. Saka was excellent, 2 assists and a goal. Wonderful stuff. Martinez looked most assure, distributed the ball well and made some outstanding saves, he has a shout for MOTM too. Xhaka played a great game and led the team with commanding authority.

We looked terrific on the break and not one player had a bad game. Everything is rosey in the Arsenal garden, or is it?

The truth is they had 24 attempts to our 16, At times they strolled through our midfield as if it wasn’t there. In fact very often it actually wasn’t there. There was no control in midfield and the space between it and our defence was huge at times. We were 1 goal up against the run of play,and it was a lucky deflection. That said, we had missed a couple of golden opportunities prior to scoring. But so had they. We got two late goals ,when they went down to 10 men, that gives the score no semblance of reality.

Anyway, it’s great to win and that is our most difficult fixture out of the way. We should be very happy with the result, and very aware of how it could have been completely different.