Arsenal5s

  1.        Changes What Changes? At this moment, our slim chance of winning the FA Cup quarter final is probably equally important as our slim chance of getting into Europe via the league. Arsenal made five changes, but it seemed both teams put out strongest teams except perhaps Bellarin and Aubameyang. Maybe they needed a rest. The games are coming thick and fast and rotation is inevitable. Despite the changes in personnel, it was nice to see 3-4-3 for the second game in a row. It might not be perfect, but at least the players get some familiarity and comfort in their position. Given our characteristically jittery defence, having a third centre back should make us more stable defensively.   2.          Right Side Playing Its Part Saka has felt like our best attacking outlet for most of our season. Which isn’t a bad thing, but it is a concern when not much is going on in other areas of the field. In some games, our right flank has felt like a passenger. For whatever reaso

  1.        So It Does Happen to Other Teams! If this was an Arsenal keeper, we’d be absolutely fuming.  It was a gift, but Eddie Nketiah worked for it. Pressuring defences won't always result in direct goals, but it's importance in the modern game is a given. Arteta will be delighted to see Eddie’s hard work rewarded.  There has been suggestions the lack of intensity created by the crowd can cause a lack of concentration from players. Surely this is one example. The Saints fans would have been screaming for their keeper to release the ball quicker. Under pressure from Eddie, their defender plays a back pass. The keeper receives it comfortably but is the miles too casual trying to pass the ball out. The striker intercepts the pass and kicks it into an empty net. 1-0.   2.        Are You Arsenal in Disguise? It doesn’t give me great joy, but it’s nice to write about someone else’s calamitous errors for a change. These kinds of mistakes have been far too frequent in

1. Team Selection Despite how poor Arsenal were versus Manchester City, most people were ready to put it to one side and get on with some more winnable games. Brighton should be one of those said games, but amazingly the gunners haven’t beaten them since 2017 and have lost three of the last five games against the potters. So are we the underdogs again? Arsenal’s second game in three days saw five changes. Two changes were made in the back line after we lost two centre backs on Wednesday night. Is it too many changes? Or acceptable in the circumstances. It’s arguably just the two changes that were not forced by injuries. But it would be nice to see some partnerships have time to form, such as the Martinelli-Saka partnership we got exciting glimpses of earlier in the season.   2. Leno's Injury Leno’s performances has been one of the real positives of this season. Which makes seeing him being stretcher off even more painful for fans. The keeper was injured in a needless challenge fr

  1. 35 minutes Plod by The minutes ticked on, but not much was happening. Understandably, there are a lot of reasons this could be. Both managers will tell you their players are not ready for a competitive game. There have been a few friendly games but nowhere near enough to get a player match fit. The players did training at home, but it was hard to replicate the sharp movements needed in a football game.   Was it the lack of fans? It shouldn’t be. The players will have spent much of their careers playing in less than half empty stadiums, either in lower league, youth or reserve teams. But if every game was like these first 35 minutes, not sure how many fans will be left to return, when they are allowed back in. 2. The Injuries Can we blame this one on injuries? Because there were a lot, and they were very early on.    First, Arsenal lost Xhaka in the 7 th  minute to an ankle-ligament injury. He was replaced by Ceballos, not much of a downgrade if any, but if there was a game plan, i

  1 . Opposition Brentford are a Championship side from greater London. They are 4th in the Championship and hunting promotion via the playoffs with nine games left to play. The 'bees' haven't played a game since  Covid stopped all football in March. Their next competitive game is on the 20th June, slightly after Arsenals. So summarising, they are a worse team them us, it's their first game since the break and they are further away from their first competitive game. All signs point to an Arsenal win, but Brentford didn't play along, so lets not invite them to the Emirates again.   2. Team selection Hard to know the reasons players are picked for these games. Do they get more minutes because they are in the first-team plans or because they are less ready? Which ever it is, surely Arteta is trying to see some partnership forming. It might be difficult to make any assumptions from the centre of midfield because both Xhaka and Torreira were missing, but it looked like

Since the club’s creation in 1886, Arsenal have had some of the very best goal scoring talents. Here’s a look at the top 5 goal machines that have put on the famous red and white jersey.   1.        Thierry Henry. Ranking Goals Games Goals per game ratio 1st 228 377 0.60   In 1999, Arsene Wenger signed the then winger, Thierry Henry, from Juventus. The 22-year-old was converted into a striker, and in October 2005 he became Arsenal’s top goal scorer of all time. The player was known for his blistering speed and trademark cut in from the left and finish with a side-foot curled into the corner which he made look all too easy. Take a look at Thierry's top five goal .     2.        Ian Wright.   Ranking Goals Games Goals per game ratio 2 nd 185 288 0.64   The late bloomer from Crystal Palace joined the club

  1.   The Atmosphere The game was a friendly, but it still gave us an insight into what we might expect when the competitive games finally restart. Awkward, wrist-spudding celebrations, the commands of the coaching staff bellowing over the field and hearing every crack and slap of shots and saves.Would hearing a fake crowd better than having no crowd? Depends. In a Bundesliga game this week, there was a VAR check on a goal, throughout which they played deafening whistling sounds. It was enough to make you want to push a pencil deep into your ear and out the other side. Before that moment, the fake crowd wasn’t too annoying. But if the clubs are in control of it and the players and referee can hear it, how long before they boo every decision that goes against them and cheer all the ones for them. 2. Eddie Nketiah's Hat-Trick Although he wasn’t in the starting line-up, the youngster still collected a poacher’s hat trick. Eddie has always been a star in the eyes of anyone w

Four of these guys played together, three of them were almost inseparable on the field. Coincidence? Well here they are; the top five, the Mr Arsenals, the servants of the club.     1. David O'Leary, (722 starts, 14 substitute appearances). O'Leary started his Arsenal career in 1973 as an apprentice. From there, he rapidly moved through the ranks. By 16, the Irishman was already playing in the reserves and by 17 he staked a claim in the first team. In nine seasons out of the next ten, he played an incredible 40 games or more. A ball playing centre back, O'Leary was known for his elegance with the ball and clever positioning. He won seven trophies at Arsenal and his links to the club remain to this day. He is regularly seen at the Emirates where he holds an ambassador role.   2. Tony Adams, (669 starts, 48 substitute appearances). Search Mr Arsenal in google, and you'll find pictures of Tony Adams. He joined as a schoolboy at 14 and three years later he made his first t