Sabahınız xeyir Positives,

An evening with Unai experimented with the formation and gave our younger and squad  players a good run out. An easy win in  the end. Had our hosts managed to get a goal, particularly to get it back to 1-1 during a first half when they created plenty of half chances, it may have been different. The 60,000 Azeris were desperate to cheer on their side but Sokratis’ very early opener rather punctured their ballon.  The crowd got quieter and quieter. The chances  Qarabag did create, or we provided with some dodgy defending, were wasted. When they hit the target Bernd pulled off 3-4 good saves. Not their night. Can I say however, to any Azeris reading the post today “Congratulations” on the pitch, its green surface put Wembley to shame.

I think for us the experiment with a back three did not show much promise and, understandably, at half time it was abandoned. Given the number of games Monreal has played recently I am not sure that emery intended to carry on for the full 90 on that formation even if it had been a revelation. I can understand why Unai might look at it as we are not particularly secure in defence. He may, in fact, look at it again as 45 minutes in Azerbaijan is hardly proof either way. I very much doubt however we shall see the three centre backs deployed at Craven Cottage, or any time in the next two or three games against domestic league opponents.

In contrast to the back three experiment the performance of the young players drafted in and relied on last night was far more pleasing. Smith Rowe demonstrated what we know is his excellent technique and did not flinch in the charged atmosphere. His goal was the cherry on  the cake for the 18 year old. I heard last night from the commentator that Emile  meant to “nutmeg” the keeper as he put the ball away. Yeah – right. Guendozi I also thought brought all the energy he has to control of midfield and  again the 19 year old finished his evening with a goal. And my man of the match ? Alex Iwobi – did you see his bit of skill  on the two Qarabag defenders. I shall drop in the film below. The young man is in a great rum of form at the moment and improving every week.

Of our other players good to see THE TANK back on the pitch after his injury break. He will need a few games to get his sharpness back but I sense he is player that Emery will want to work with and improve. And finally I was gratified to see that having brought Laca and Ozil 2,500miles to Baku the manager got them off the bench to run about a bit. Never having been  a professional footballer I do not know what it would be like to travel all that way, in midweek, and sit on the bench for 90 minutes, and then go home with your kit all still clean. I imagine however it would be frustrating. If as a player you do get a chance to get on the pitch, kick the ball about even for 15-20 minutes, you can at least feel the trip has been worthwhile.

A day off I see for the players today after the long trip home and tomorrow preparing for the short trip to Putney for Fulham. A very different  set of obstacles on the tight ground beside the Thames.

Enjoy Friday.

Good morning the Positive Arsenal crew,

As the digital clock on the scoreboard reached 10:00 to go I had this morning’s match write-up sketched out in my head. It was along the lines of “an exciting game”….., “plenty of chances at both ends”, …..”some noteworthy performances from players on  both sides”…., “but an inexplicable result of 0-0″…. . I was going to ponder some dubious finishing by strikers at both ends, two generally solid defensive performances, great industry in midfield if not great quality, and pick a few names out on both sides that caught the eye.

I was, in fact, going to highlight what I thought was the key moment of the match, and still do, which was Bernd Leno’s save from Deeney’s volley on the 52nd minute (picture above). A curling free kick from Holebas picked out the Watford striker 10 yards out, a solid but well directed shot from Deeney, an a split second later, a  decisive leap by Leno to his left low down, very little time to react, and he still managed not just to keep the ball out  but push it round the post!! The art of goal keeping at its very best.  If that Watford goal effort had gone in ? ( Sound of sucking teeth) Well the way the match was unbalanced at that time, with Watford on top and driving forward. We were rocking. It would have been a hard road back for us. As with Lacazette’s excellent opening goal against Everton last week on such pivotal moments are games won or lost and, when they are all added up, trophies decided. Last week a world class goal, this week a world class save.

And as often happens when a flash of talent changes the game the side that benefits goes on to win the game. In our case yesterday  it took a almost another half hour but by that stage Watford wee out of energy and, like me perhaps, had settled for the 0-0.  Iwobi and Lacazette combined and the opening goal is scored, or as I saw properly last night an own goal, followed by a second similar move which opens the Orns’ back door again, and a slick finish by Mesut. The One-Two to leave the visitors flat on their back. We all go home happy. Three points, fifth place, touching distance of the top four and all to play for.

Of the players who impressed me as described above Leno stepped in after Cech went off and did everything that our first choice keeper could have done, punched, saved and efficiently dealt with Watford’s rough-housing at the dead ball situations. Above all  he kept that hard to acquire  clean sheet. If Petr is out for a few weeks with a hamstring he  may  face  a hard fight to get back in.

I thought Mustafi and Holding did well against an unusual two headed attack of Deeney and Gray. They saw off the muscle and physical aggression in the air of the ugly twosome, and it was not until Isaac Success came on that Les Hornets with his better ground game really got any space and broke through Holding. If you get booked for dissent again Shkordan, arguing over a f****** throw in on the edge of the Watford box, I will fine you a week’s wages. I don’t mind if a player argues with an official, if they feel it does any good or is to do with a game-changing incident, just don’t get booked.

Torreira was a one man bee hive of industry and ensured that the midfield battle was always vigorous. He seems comfortable enough in the PL. The Uruguayan had an eye on winding up Deeney and his spectacular tumble toward the end convinced me that Watford striker should have seen a straight red, never mind a second yellow. Looking at the incident again on the TV last night it was rather less certain which one of them might have picked up a second card, if Taylor had been in the mood.

Among our opponents Doucoure was very good all afternoon in central midfield, and Peyrera is a talented player, intelligent and quick with the ball at his feet.

On we go then with a little more confidence, another battle against difficult opponents – a long trip to Baku for an early game, I think, then the erratic Fulham at Craven Cottage to see whether we can convert 5 PL wins into 6. Interesting times.

Enjoy Sunday.

@LaboGoon opens the Watford programme 

Watford is sitting pretty in top 4 on the Premier League table after six game weeks – ahead of Tottenham, Manutd and Arsenal… who woulda thought that?!

Good day one and all.

The Gunners are six wins on the bounce in all competitions, and are building confidence and progress with each matchday since back-to-back defeats at the start of the season. This afternoon they will look to continue that building process when we host the Hornets at the Emirates Stadium.

Last Sunday vs Everton we had a bid of a shaky start before grabbing all three points; we have to do better though because this Watford side are flying.

There used to be jokes about them being similar to Stoke, however Javi Gracia brought them into the 21st century to make them look tactically disciplined. He didn’t do away completely with the physicallity though,  with the revitalisation of a few of players, he found a way to blend that well with something very energetic.

They are full of confidence and self-belief in their potential and that is something we will need to find a way to cope with, because unlike with the Toffees they are more likely to punish slack defending.

We are showing signs of improvement each week there shouldn’t be reason for apprehension. Our attack is doing as well as we can expect them do and there’s a good spread of goals around the squad. Which should give us an extra edge by not being too reliant on the striking duo of Aubameyang and Lacazette, who are both in pretty good nick at the moment. If we can continue doing that and just find stability and composure in defense… we would be a damn worry for all opponents this season.

I think we are in for an interesting games between the 4th and 6th teams of PL table. They both show a willing to play attacking football which of course brings lots of excitement.

Make no mistake, the Watford attackers will be an obvious test for our defense but the Emirates faithful has always been good to us and will give their all to ensure the momentum keep going against our big talking opponents whom we have beaten in four of the last five PL meetings at home.

Before I go into my suggestion, let me say that is all it is. I’m not saying this is the case, or even that I believe it’s the case, only that its possible. I’ve used some things we know (facts), some things we have been told (hearsay) and some speculation and fully accept the latter two categories can be easily dismissed with other hearsay and speculation. I’m not asking anyone to accept the premise, just don’t dismiss it before you have considered it.

Firstly, there have been studies that prove an 85% correlation between spending and success, across all mayor football leagues Let me repeat that “studies” STUDIES, not my opinion. So if you are looking at it from a business/investment angle, you would conclude to have better than a 15% chance of regularly being in the top 4, you would have to be in the top 4 spenders. Well we are not We can not come near the spending levels of City, United and Chelsea. That leaves one spot, and Liverpool are spending much more than us to secure that spot. In simple terms, to get the 4th spot regularly, we have to outspend Liverpool. But outspending them we are not.

What  then if Arsenal have decided that the cost of chasing this top 4 spot is beyond what they want to spend? What if on a business level they have decided 5th or 6th is the way forward?

In the last couple of days we have learned that Stan Kroenke is the 100% owner and all trading on Arsenal shares has stopped. I am told that all his other sports businesses do not spend on the levels to “compete”. So why will Arsenal be different?

We know that we have been out of the top 4 for two years and we are told that it’s unlikely we will be back in it this year (I believe we could by the way), and yet our the club’s value is at record levels and we have moved up in the list of most valuable clubs. Also , despite no top 4, we have negotiated record sponsorship deals.

So does it make business sense to spend at levels that will increase the debt burden (It’s already the 2nd highest in the league behind only MUFC in the hope we might get CL football. ? It might not you know?

We know Ivan Gazidis is leaving. Many people find that hard to understand after all his efforts to bring in a new regime. What if he has been told that we will not be spending at the required levels and doesn’t want to be blamed?

We were told Mikel Arteta was going to be our new head coach we have been told Gazidis favoured him and we have been told that Arteta decided against it because he would not have been given the money, he felt he needed, to compete.All of what were have been told could be bollocks, but what if it’s not?

We have been told that previously a 4 year deal was offered to Aaron Ramsey, which he had accepted,and now we are told that offer has been removed and Arsenal “are not in a position” to proceed. Well what if that is because Arsenal have decided not to pay CL wages because we won’t be in it, and they have accepted not being in it?

If Arsenal have decided not to chase top 4 on business decisions, all of this makes at least some sense?

The problem is we as fans don’t want to think of football as a business. We don’t want to accept that City and Chelsea have bought our place at the top table. We rail against the studies that prove a massive correlation between spend and success, because we don’t want it to be true. We do not want to see the club we love and the game we love become more like Monopoly. But that is how it is now.

I liked this

There you have it then, Its a disturbing thought that I wish I had never had……………..Sorry

Good morning all Positives,

Another largely routine win against Brentford, a team I cannot ever remember playing before in any competition. Checking the record books our lat competitive game was in May 1947, the last time the Bees wee in the top flight,  so for once it was not my recollection that had faded. Having watched Derby County dump out the red Mancs on Tuesday, a team doing well in the Championship promotion battle, we faced a Brentford side with a similar banana-skin potential.

Of the game itself, like a number of other posters  here as I read this morning, I struggled to watch the first half with a stream that went on and off, and even started to go backwards at one point. WTF the cub do not arrange a way for the games to be streamed live via Arsecom Gawd only knows. Do they not understand that worldwide there are tens of thousands of fans watching streams that would happily pay a few additional pennies to watch what they want to watch ?

From the scraps of disjointed action I did see we dominated the game consistently, controlled the ball, slipped in two good goals through Danny, and should have had more. The visitors barely made a serious effort towards our goal, let alone forced Leno to make a save. They were either a bit over-awed during that first 45, or were just not very good.

After half time, and the life of a football fan is subject to the cruel barbs of Fate such as this, my stream was exceptionally good. I had the opportunity to watch a previously defeated swarm of Bees storm forward and give us a damn good game. Our previous domination of the first half was brushed aside, Judge scored a good goal on the hour, and the smooth control of a few minutes earlier had been replaced by hard, sweaty effort, and dour defending. Leno dived left, he dived right, he worked like a keeper should. At times the Championship side really were camped in our half and when we did get the ball over the half way line it never stuck to an Arsenal player and was straight back.

How did that happen ? I appreciate the visitors came out with a bit more vim on the step in the second half but even so … !

During that second half I saw Mustafi and Holding play well, and Lichtsteiner’s subtle skills were always there to slam the door. The defenders dealt with a lot of high balls and while Brentford tried to open us up there was always a boot or a head in the way to frustrate them.  Recognising the slide UE made the changes, though I am surprised he did not beef the midfield up a little earlier with Torreira and Ramsey. The Brentford fire was dampened, and slowly we took back control. A final rally by our opponents  led to a  last minute penalty appeal waved imperiously away by Deano – you can always rely on that man to do the unexpected.

So there we have it, six in a row and with Watford up in short order at 3pm Saturday. More bloody insects. We have to wait until Saturday evening to discover our next Carabao fixture, so try to control yourselves until then.

Good evening Positives,

For the first 55 minutes of the game against Everton today I admit I was apprehensive. A game against the Toffees for which every tradition and statistic had marked down for a home win, and probably a confident performance from us, had gone awry. Our football during that 55 minutes was wayward, our passing was scrappy, our defensive organisation shuddering.

And the visitors, a team we have beaten regularly and by a significant margin as stated, WERE NOT THAT BAD FOR ONCE.   That Petr Cech  had performed so well throughout those 3,300 seconds of early action meant my mild discomfort was not replaced by the vice-like testicular pain of being 0-1 or 0-2 down. No.

To be fair Arsenal did get over the half way line during that first half from time to time, but we did not rattle EFC. 0-0 at half time was right. And in the opening 10 minutes of the second half we were pinned back in our half. I saw Dave on here earlier pondering the half time talk for Unai Emery. If that first ten minutes of the second half were to be relied on the coach and the players may as well have been doing a jigsaw together. It all began to look a little tricky.

And then I was delivered. A swift interchange of passes on the edge of the Everton Box, a change of position of Auba and Lacazette ( no doubt worked out over the jigsaw) freed our French striker to curl his beauteous opener. The quality of the goal the absolute difference between Everton and Arsenal today. Where our opponents had half chances they fluffed them or Cech managed to get in the way. In sharp contrast Alexander put his half chance away inch perfect. As I saw pointed out later on the TV Laca did not even look toward the goal from receiving the ball, to the net bulging. The Frenchman’s instinct had the goal exactly in his mind’s eye, and his foot did the rest. Goals of that quality win matches, as today, and even win titles and cups (on occasions).

After that decisive moment the game continued but the result had been decided. Marco Silva’s lads were done. Their effort was maintained but their confidence had been popped, and never recovered.

An error by the lino gifted Arsenal a second but even without the official’s largesse I think we had broken them. The game rolled on, they pressed for a consolation marker but even there Cech was resolute. A commanding performance on his 6 yard line as the crosses and free kicks rained in. A deserved clean sheet  in a busy game for our first choice keeper. Man of the Match –  no doubt.

Elsewhere among our lads this afternoon I was pleased with Torreira who was productive. He is still learning but he has a good mixture of steel and creativity. He also appears to be able to take a kick and carry on. Hector dominated the right hand side of the pitch as he launched attacks all afternoon. As I have said before I would like Bellerin to shoooooot more. Xhaka  was his tidy self, and Moss and the Albanian barely exchanged a glance, which was no doubt a surprise to both of them.

So onwards to the Bees on Wednesday – enjoy the remainder of your weekend.

(Top picture from the excellent Stuart MacFarlane – top AFC snapper)  @Stuart_PhotoAFC 

@LaboGoon opens up the wrap this morning
After a slow start to the season Arsenal recovered well to now have four victories on the bounce in all competitions; and it’s off the back of that form that we host Everton at the Emirates this afternoon to cap off another great weekend of Premier League action that saw a few teams around us on the log drop points.

Good day one and all…

No disrespect to any of the last four teams (including Vorskla) we played but they were always going to offer us less of challenge than Man City and Chelsea in the first two fixtures, thus Unai Emery had the opportunity to use these games to iron out some creases as he work toward finding a balanced team.

Scoring twelve goals in that four games gives us reason to be pleased with our attack, failure to register any clean sheet however has been less distinguished. Unai himself highlighted it as an area of “disappointment” and hinted at tightening things up because he’s aware that the current sloppiness could catch up on us soon if we don’t nip in the bud, especially against opposition who are a bit more than just decent. A category I believe our visitors fall under.

The Toffees have their own story to tell as far as being too exposed defensively and their own failure to keep clean sheets. Their record away from Goodison isn’t better reading as they have won just three of their last 29 PL games on their travels.

Whether or not that make them ripe for the harvesting of goals for both Lacazette and Aubameyang will be answered this afternoon. Two players who will be key today in our quest to bag the points on offer. Auba is slowly getting his mojo back and Laca should be well rested as he looked very relaxed as an unused sub Thursday night. Lucas Torreira was impressive in his first start and Alex Iwobi looked like man reborn. Which leave Unai with a few headache selections for today.

Everton will be looking at Richarlison to be their source of inspiration, as he make his return from a three match ban, because they don’t have a particularly good record against us. We have beaten them in seven of our last eight meetings.

Despite their defensive failings Everton are playing better football under Marco Silva than in recent years though, and with both teams so willing to commit attackers forward this could be a very open and entertaining game with end to end action.

Historically this fixture brings goals… many goals. Last season we scored five against them in both victories. So fingers crossed for more of that.

LET’S GO!!!

Good morning All Positives,

An evening we all expected to be an easy run out developed as planned. The Ukranian side had some ability and were fit and organised but never threatened an upset or even, unfortunately, to give our fringe players who stepped up for the evening a hard work-out. The half empty stadium  was a bit different to the riotous FC Koln riot opener last season.

I don’t think anyone in red had a poor game and because of that my eye was drawn to our younger players for most of the evening. I was pleased to see Torreira have a start and he did not disappoint. The game allowed me to see a bit more of the Uruguayan’s creative and passing side rather than his tackling and shutting down attributes. Even a cheeky free kick to test the side netting which was not expected!  In the few weeks LT  has been with us I see him a little sharper, a little more confident. Guendouzi put in a good 35 minutes as his replacement and his tackling has become cleaner and more decisive in just a few weeks. I  have no qualms about either, or even both,  starting on Sunday against Everton.

Our other young starting debutante Leno never really had enough to do to prove himself. If the German is indeed “good with his feet” we will have to wait and see.  Our keeper was a little unlucky to concede two goals in the closing stages but neither were shots that he was responsible for or could have stopped. Smith-Rowe flashed like greased mercury for 20 minutes. Our oldie new boy Lichsteiner performed wholly as expected, professional to the tips of his highly polished Swiss boots.

Four goals, all well taken, not too much sweat or drama. A solid Europa League foundation before we set off for our next fixture in Baku on the 4th. I can see our qualification for the knockout phase, and this group stage therefore being over before the end of October.

Enjoy your Friday. The weekend beckons.

Today’s lock-picking contributor is @labogoon

Newcastle have endured a grim start to this season, and sit in the bottom three with just one point to show for their efforts; hopefully Arsenal will add to their misery as we visit Tyneside this afternoon.

Good day one and all …

With a better start to the Premier League campaign than our hosts, we found good form in attack to score eight goals in our last three outings. Gunner-in-chief Unai Emery will be hoping that’s not impeded by the international break as we look to build on that momentum to string together a run of three consecutive wins.

Easier said than done though.  For all the Magpies’ uninspiredness they are a very stubborn side that don’t just roll over. Rafael Benitez knows the value of every single point and usually sets his team up to play a deep defensive line, looking to exploit gaps on the counter. And if it don’t open up he won’t go search for it either because he’s more than happy to rather frustrate you and scrap for a draw; and today won’t be any different.

With our attack being the key to victories, Lacazette could again lead the line to make sure Rafa doesn’t get any ideas. He embraced a similar challenge last outing on his first start by producing a match-winning performance and combined well with Auba to open both their goal accounts. Since Auba signed for Arsenal him and Lacazette have shared a mere 471 minutes together on the pitch, in that time they scored 11 and assisted 5 goals between them. So there’s a good argument that we would be better off utilizing this immense firepower week in, week out. They share great chemistry on and off the pitch and given our defensive issues they may well be an ideal antidote.

We still need to get a lock on the back door though before it gets observed as a weakness to be exploited.

Some are of the opinion that Lucas Torreira may be that bolt. He impressed in his cameo appearances by adding a different level of composure to a midfield that got found out to be too open, too often. So to utilise him best one can’t help to think he needs to play more.

This past week there has been a lot of “sweating” going on over his fitness after picking up a knock on duty for Uruguay, but he is available and it will be interesting to see if Unai, who is yet to find his best matchday XI, gives him the nod.

That said, given the concerns about our tendency to make sloppy mistakes at the back, some think Newcastle may sneak a goal and defend it with their lives …

However, if we keep our presence of mind, wisdom will prevail.

There has been plenty of signs of promise and I don’t doubt that once our defence match our attack there is greatness waiting to be unlocked in this team.

It’s Liverpool vs Spurs in the curtain-raiser and we know what that means right?

Arsenal has a good chance to gain ground on some of the early pace setters.

Everything crossed, dear Gooners!