A late injury to Andy Nic brings me into the fray.

I have to be honest, it was a disappointing game. Disappointing that we didn’t win and disappointing performance quality wise. But it was far from a disappointing effort put in and 20 games unbeaten is enough to keep us all happy.

I thought Iwobi and Guendouzi were poor in the opening period, although Guendouzi came into it better in the second period.

I felt when Mustafi scored we had gotten, all be it slightly, the upper hand. Sadly, within about 3 minutes we were pegged back. I saw some people blaming Leno, but I thought he did well pushing it out to the touchline, however some real lack of effort from some of our lads led to be ball being allowed to get into the middle of the box for Martial to have an easy finish.

By half time we had lost Holding and Ramsey to injury, but I don’t think we suffered much as their replacements did ok.

I thought Emery once again showed his bravery by bringing Lacazette on fairly early, given we had then used all 3 substitutes. I also thought we immediately looked better. Following a bad mistake by United he and Mkhitaryan linked up to put us in the lead. Then 13 seconds of playing time latter a catalogue of errors allowed them to level the score for the second time.

In the last half hour or so I thought we had our best period. Both Amamayang and Mkhitarayan really really should have scored.

I predicted the team would struggle without the glue that is Xhaka and the guile that Ozil brings, and it proved to be the case. United were poor and we were only marginally better. But, WE DIDN’T LOSE.

We have a run of 4 very winnable PL games now and we are on the coattails of Chelsea and Spurs. We could easily be sitting in 3rd place come Christmas.

Onward and upwards.

Good Morning Positives,

We anticipated a keenly fought contest yesterday between two teams determined to secure a Champions League place, if not better, this season and the almost 100 minutes of action did not deviate from the script. Both sets of players left the field drained of energy and great credit to them all. Last game against Bournemouth  I noted we had 20 shots  and warned we would get far fewer chanced against the pride of Middlesex in the NLD. I see we had 22 shots yesterday. Experts eh – what ARE they like ?

Of the match itself we set about the visitors from the first whistle and battered their defence. Our best opening phase of the season  and, almost,  inevitably the Totties cracked with Verthongen flailing at the ball amid a jumble of heads. A tidy despatch by PEA and the mood in the crowd around me became more confident. We ‘should’ have added to the opener but a combination of indecisive finishing and desperate defence kept the score at 1-0. And ever so slowly the opposition got off the floor, get over the half way line and  put two passes together.

And then calamity, or double calamity as it turned out! A needless free kick given away by Sokratis, a ball whipped in by Eriksen, a glance of Dier’s turnip-shaped head and in off Leno. A real kick to the guts, though followed by some commendable scuffling as the Tottie player foolishly provoked the home crowd in the corner. Our concentration wavered, it was a setback.

As for the second string of misfortune within a minute a needless challenge from Holding on the dishonest Son, Deano points again to the spot and again the net bulges. Consternation, big, big consternation. At the game it looked a sure penalty, as it did to everyone around me. Son was already being shepherded away from the goal. There was no need to slide in. Watching it again last night I don’t know. According to the Sky Jamie ‘contactscope’ multiple slo-mo review showed a positive reading hence although Son clearly chucked himself to the ground a penalty was the correct decision. Bollocks. It was the wrong decision, although the result of calculated cheating on the Korean’s part. There will be no come-back on it for Son, and no doubt Pochettino will give him a pat on the back for his alleged cleverness, but he will find it harder to get away with next  season. Bastard. He and his Milton Keynes mate took abuse when they were subbed on 80 minutes, people up on their seats and over the back of the Spurs bench.

Our collective balloon was a bit deflated going into half time and a fan one up from me stormed out at HT, never to return. I was happy to get in at 1-2 to be honest. Going into half time a goal down though ? It is the Arsenal way.

I expected Emery to make changes at HT and Mkhi was top of everyone’s list. The Spaniard was more decisive than expected though with Alex Iwobi also benched. Rambo and Laca were however experienced, strong and more direct players and that is what we required. The opening five minutes of the second phase was a bit scrappy and a third for TH would have really floored us for good.  Again however we grappled our way back in, and began to control the ball. Hard work in midfield, decisive defending, and everyone playing as part of the team.

With PEA’s sublime finish for the second we never looked back. We seized the game by the throat, with Lucas dominant in midfield, Aubameyang tormenting Hoyth without mercy and Laca twisting the Spurs Belgian centre back inside and out. The killer tackle then through pass from Rambo to Laca sent us ahead again, courtesy of the finest but decisive touch off Dier to take the ball an inch past the diving Lloris (banned smiley).  Lucas topped the contest off on 77 minutes, excellent strike.

They were done for, the points were ours and North London is very, very Red.

No single MotM this week. A team award.

Enjoy Monday.

Good Morning Positive fans,

Very little comment required from me on last night’s performance and a comprehensive victory. Emery chose an Arsenal team that reflected our already strong EL position in the group, as well as the December fixture list. Youth was paired with experience, silky skill with a couple of players with the harder edge, the seen-it-all expressions of Lichtsteiner and Cech alongside fresh faced Euro innocence of Medley, Gilmour and Saka.

And it worked perfectly, especially getting that first goal.  Our confidence rose, Smith Rowe put on a show in midfield, Aaron waved his baton, Mo patrolled the back line like a hungry hyena. Three goals up at half time ? Away from home ! It seems a while since that happened.

After a decent finish at the Emirates in September Poltova must have fancied their chances of making a good game of it, but they barely laid a glove on us. After that opening goal setback I thought our Ukrainian opponents rather lost the plot. Their discipline went.They bickered among themselves, argued incessantly with the officials about trivial calls, and forgot about playing football. I felt sorry for them with what was probably their biggest ever Euro home tie switched to the empty bowl in Kiev.

I shall give Carl the MotM award for the tie, not that he was outstanding on an evening where everyone was good, but as the PA equivalent of a lifetime achievement award.

Friday beckons, as does Sunday.

WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 29/05/2018 – Programme Name: A Very English Scandal – TX: n/a – Episode: n/a (No. 3) – Picture Shows: ***EMBARGOED UNTIL 29th MAY 2018*** Sir Joseph Cantley (PAUL FREEMAN) – (C) Blueprint Television Ltd – Photographer: Robert Viglasky

Yesterday I read that Abu Dhabi FC are considering building a training complex in London. This will be passed off as a genius move by a wonderfully organised football club to give them a marginal advantage when playing in London. They will claim it saves them travelling time and avoids the need to stay in hotels overnight, presumably they will include a residence.

I think it’s far more likely that it’s a move to give them more opportunity to be a player in the economy of the capital and so become more influential and acceptable to the government of our country. Because lets face it, the whole Manchester City project has nothing to do with either football or the local community of Manchester, it’s simply a PR exercise for Abu Dhabi and the UAE. A advert if you will.

Those that say it’s good for the game and the local community have been taken in, exactly as they had hoped. Their greatest achievement isn’t building an outstandingly good football team, with their £2.7 billion drop in an oily ocean spend, it’s been fooling people into thinking it’s good for the game.

Below is an extract of a post from our very own Arsenal Andrew, with sums up my feelings more eloquently than I could.

“I read somewhere (and don’t know if it’s true) that AFC were doing slightly better, points wise at this time last year and yet most fans are either pleased or thrilled at Emery’s start. Personally I feel he has done exceptionally well, exceptionally swiftly; most managers, like most players, take more time to bed in, so well played, Sir.

We’ve certainly scored the best goals in the PL this season, but my question to readers is, how well did we think we were doing by the start of December last year?

We clearly fell away after New Year (if not before) so I guess this is a physical/psychological hurdle Unai has to get over in the weeks ahead.

Again, I ask, what has really changed?

We look a bit more ‘Liverpool’ these days with our energy and physical commitment as well as our potency up front. At the back the need for further improvement is evident to all and Emery at least gives off the impression that he is working hard on all areas of the pitch, not just the attacking third.

Certainly in Leno at the back and Lucas in the middle we have the beginnings of an absolutely top class spine, yet our front players, despite more than a few flashes of brilliance, are yet to settle into a routine of lethal consistency. And we still DO look vulnerable at the back. And in some ways, I quite LIKE that we haven’t changed TOO much; it suggests to me that, contrary to what some say, Wenger was still not SO far from where he/we needed to be.

So I think there is more, much more to come from new-boy Emery’s new Arsenal and one remains optimistic, up to a point.

The fly in the ointment of the future lies in the total domination of the EPL by Manchester City. Liverpool’s challenge is merely firing City up further and we know they have the limitless funds to quickly replace the injured or formless as required. Pep’s chequebook deployment impresses few beyond those paid observers and the sycophantic, eagerly assembled mob on the press and pundit benches. Pep would have to work hard to screw things up given his resources although Jose shows what is possible and success is obviously not a complete ‘given’.

But how exciting is the PL these days, honestly?

What really is the point of Emery and his predecessor, even our neighbours over in Middlesex toiling away for years to achieve incremental improvement when clubs are allowed to pump eye-watering yet illegal volumes of cash into a club with complete impunity to ‘claim’ the league without really having to try. I mean, what is the point of it all?

3-0 to City has little resonance when that is really the minimum expected from them. To be almost nailed on PL winners by the end of November does nobody any favours and I can’t help but think the empty seats at Wembley, at the Emirates and most other grounds is symptomatic of an ongoing growth of apathy which continues to develop unabated. Tag all that to the ludicrous cost of watching someone elses’s choice of live football on tv and you have a recipe for a long-term decline in fan interest.

Certainly I still look forward to Arsenal games and I can’t wait for the introduction of VAR into the PL next year, no matter how flawed or poorly executed that may be, at least initially.

But while City sit at the top of the table having purchased their seat there rather than truly competed for it, forgive me if my excitement in the game can now be described as ‘not what it was’.

And all the while that Arsenal and others are effectively debarred from the top two positions in the league on account of cash rather than credible, authentic ‘merit’, then this more measured interest in the game is unlikely to change anytime soon.

Still, COYGs, eh?”

I hope this blog doesn’t come across like a Judge handing down a ruling, but really, we, and all the other hopefuls , are goosed.

Good afternoon fellow Positives.

A tricky trip to Bournemouth safely negotiated and the required three points banked. By no means a fluid performance but we worked hard against opponents who are much improved from the callow Cherries who tip-toed into the top flight just two seasons ago. For us it moves us on to Chelsea’s shoulder and a win in the NLD will put us in front of the Totties.

Of our lads I shall pass the man of the match award to Lucas Torreira who did his usual thorough job across the middle of the park until his early, to me unexpected, hooking. The Uruguayan’s withdrawal must have been with an eye to the busy fixture list and he had done more than enough in his 80 minutes of action. Elsewhere a good performance from Leno, Hector I enjoyed too. Auba’s movement troubled Bournemouth all afternoon and his decisive finish was the final difference between 1 and 3 points.

In truth though it was a not a game in which any of out players stood out. It was a real team win with each contributing to a deserved final outcome.

What we need to do a lot better is hit the target. 20 shots at goal, but just 4 on target. And in the strayed 16 some absolutely wild attempts from Mhki and Alex Iwobi. For a long period in the second half we had Bournemouth pinned back and were peppering their goal. Come on lads. You know we won’t get 20 strikes next week or at Trafford Park so let us at least make their keeper save the ball.

The effect of not scoring a third and fourth goal today was that as Pawson pondered his whistle, instead of strolling about and checking the flights to Poltova, we were facing a 95th minute free kick on the edge of our  box and the dire consequences thereof.  Yes Shkodran, I do mean you.

Four minutes added on, then five. A tense final few moments, with the strings tightened just a notch by Emery himself. Bringing on Eddie Nketiah = Good. Bringing on Eddie Nketiah after 93 minutes and 45 seconds = Bad.

Of our opponents young Brooks looks a fine prospect and was unlucky not to have his name on the scoresheet, and Lerma eh? Goal of the Month contender.

So off we go to the Ukraine.  A point required and the Europa Group won, which would be handy although hardly pivotal. The big focus this week for Emery, for the players, for all Positive fans will however be next Sunday, 2.05, and do not be late.

Enjoy your week.

@LaboGoon emerges from international hibernation, and thank goodness… 

Here we are again… breathing a huge sigh of relief with the last international break of 2018 out the way and equally excited to be at the start of what is going to be a very busy period with the fixture list chuck-full in the run up to New Years Day – when we often rank the contenders from the pretenders from the relegation candidates. Ergo it’s vital to maximize performances to make sure we don’t have too much ground to cover later on.

Good morning one and all.

The Unai Emery evolution faces a stern test this afternoon with a trip to the Vitality Stadium to face a Bournemouth team enjoying their best-ever start in the top flight.

When Eddie Howe started his managerial journey with the Cherries they were in Football League Two and started their season on a 17 points deduction. Ten years on they are excelling well beyond their expectations and look to disrupt the party of the ‘big six’ – a measure of how much the man and his team are steadily growing year on year with modest resources. Take a bow mate!

Just before the inter-break both sides went through a bit of a wobble; the Gunners struggled to turn draws into wins and the Cherries picked up just one win in their last four Premier League games. So the break came at a good time as they are now keen to press the reset button and get back to winning ways.

Arsenal have had a mixed time playing Bournemouth in the six PL fixtures against each others. We beat them quite comfortably at the Emirates but on our travels to the south coast we’ve seen them really cranking it up. In our three visits there we beat them, then we drew and they finally got one over us in the last outing – and this season they are a much better side with a real cutting edge to them.

Howe’s steadfast belief in his ideas has made the Cherries an attractive side with attackers that can be a real handful and their “goals for” are only bettered by the top five teams on the PL table. If we want any joy today we need to find a way to negate that threat.

The habit of starting games slowly cost us in recent times as we lacked the infamous second half performances to offset it. With the hosts a side that gives it their all at the Vitality that and any defensive issues are what they will look to take advantage of. Of course them looking to play on the front foot will suit us as it will bring the trio of Özil, Lacazette and Aubameyang into the game. We know how deadly they can be if they have that extra bit of space to work with.

With both sides expected to have a right go at each others there are goals in this at both ends to make it a very entertaining encounter to look forward to.

Let’s go!

Good morning Positives,

A game nine and a half out of ten of us had marked down for three points but, as it turned out, a game I was happy to escape from with the solitary single point as reward. The unbeaten run goes on, and we remain in the chasing pack for he CL places, but an unexpected and unwelcome slip. Three points from the previous nine PL points on offer, and now three points behind our North London neighbours. Plenty of time and games to improve and return to winning games, but a check to our confidence certainly. That we stagger into yet another international break is, for once, a welcome interlude in which Emery can get to work on the training pitch and iron out the ‘kinks’.

Of the game itself a sluggish first half, even among  Arsenal’s sometimes slow starts with no urgency in our movement, and little accuracy in our passing. Wolves game-plan as superior to ours, when  they advanced over the half way line they looked threatening and we never did. Having rattled us the duly took a deserved lead.

A better second half and a far, far better last 20 minutes when the kitchen sink was duly flung at the obdurate opponents. But for some dreadful marksmanship from Auba the equaliser should have come earlier but, eventually, Mkhi forced in the goal, scruffy, lucky even, but fair recompense from a lot of sweat from our lads. The visitors retained a sharpness that but for Leno would have embarrassed us further but Atwell eventually blew his whistle, thank Gawd.

No contest for the MotM so well done Bernd. If MotM was a podium ceremony you’d probably have been on your own.

We shall rise, we shall be better, we shall smash Tottingham. Know this.

Enjoy your week.