It has been brought to my attention that certain words in my preview of yesterday’s home game against Chelsea could be construed to have been critical of Granit Xhaka.

That was certainly not my intention. When I wrote: “One thing that will sink my spirits instantly will be if the team sheet includes the names ‘Willian’ and ‘Xhaka,'” what I really meant was: “Granit Xhaka is a crucial member of our squad and is vital to our chances of success today.”

Likewise when I referred to his contributions this season as being “truly awful” I meant by his own high standards and that he is a vital cog in our armoury.

I would like to apologise for any misunderstanding arising from my poor choice of words. And now to the game itself:

Woo-hoo! That was something, wasn’t it? Who expected that result? (Well, apart from Total Arsenal, who predicted a 4-1 win to the boys in red and white, which was close enough).

A 3-1 victory over Chelsea was exactly the late Christmas present we all needed. We’re not out of the woods by any means, but we can now glimpse a bit of daylight through the tree trunks in the distance.

There were encouraging signs even before kick-off when we saw what looked to be a genuinely exciting line-up. A front three of Martinelli, Lacazette and Smith-Rowe exuded potential, particularly with Saka and Tierney also in the starting eleven. Mari was brought in at centre back alongside Holding.

It would be nice to think Mikel Arteta chose this selection of players for pure footballing reasons, but it seems likely that his hand was forced, at least partly. Aubameyang, although on the bench, was returning from injury, while Gabriel was ruled out for Covid reasons.

Right from the off the presence of Martinelli and ESR made a big difference to the intensity of our play. Those two young men showed more commitment and determination in the first half than many of our senior players have shown all season.

In that half we terrorised the Chavs down our left flank, with Tierney linking up really well with Martinelli and ESR. Elneny was playing the role of holding midfielder, allowing the aforementioned Xhaka to move into a more central mid position. And lo and behold, in this role our lump of Swiss marmite discovered a whole new concept: the forward pass.

It was one of Xhaka’s forward passes that led to our opening goal. Picking up the ball in the middle of the Chelsea half he looked up and saw Tierney advancing down the left wing. His pass was perfectly placed and beautifully weighted for our young Scot to race on to, skin the Chelsea defender Reece James and get into the box. James made an ill-advised lunge for the ball and brought down Tierney. The TV pundits tried to say that Tierney had “bought” the penalty by looking for contact and going down too easily, but close watching of the replay shows that James clips the back of his left foot, causing him to fall. One hundred per cent a penalty. Lacazette stepped up, sent Mendy the wrong way and passed it into the net. One nil to the Arsenal.

Ten minutes later Xhaka went from provider to scorer, banging home a superb free kick from outside the Chelsea penalty area.

We supporters were pinching ourselves. Could we really have scored not one but two goals? Against a strongly fancied side sitting fifth in the league?

We carried on with the pressure in the second half and got our just reward in the 56th minute when an attack down our right (for a change) saw Bellerin lay the ball off to Smith-Rowe who cut it inside for Saka. What followed next was either a brilliant piece of improvisation by the young Londoner or a very fortunate sliced cross that ended up in the net. For me there’s no doubt he meant it.

We had chances to put the match completely beyond Chelsea’s reach (an Elneny shot crashed off the underside of the crossbar, Martinelli was unlucky with an overhead kick and Lacazette forced a good save from Mendy in a one-on-one which really should have been buried).

But we didn’t, substitutions were made, we lost our rhythm and Chelsea finished strongly. Abraham chested a goal in in the 85th minute and a few minutes later Chelsea earned a penalty of their own when Mari (who had been having a decent game) brought down Mason Mount.

I can’t have been alone in fearing that, if it went to 3-2 with five minutes of added time still to come, we would have struggled psychologically to hang on. And God only knows what throwing away a three goal lead would have done to our confidence for the rest of the season. But cometh the hour, cometh the big German. Bernd Leno dived to his left to save brilliantly from Jorginho and calm our nerves.

Chelsea’s heads went down and we saw out the final minutes without incident.

All in all an excellent display from the starters given how low we have been on form and confidence, with encouraging performances from many players. If Smith-Rowe and Martinelli have not booked their places in the starting eleven for Brighton on Tuesday night then there’s no justice. Indeed we looked quite a bit shakier when Pepe and Willock came on for Martinelli and Smith-Rowe.

Player Ratings

Leno – 8

Had very little to do but boy did we need that penalty save. If we had let slip a three goal lead it would be hard to see us recovering psychologically.

Bellerin – 7

Captain on the night. Led by example, was very solid and drove forward well at times.

Holding – 7.5

Big Rob has become very reliable and is now very much a first choice defender alongside Gabriel.

Mari – 6.5

Giving up the penalty will hopefully be a learning experience, but overall a good outing from the tall Brazilian.

Tierney – 8.5 (MoTM)

Brilliant outing from Tesco, both defending and attacking, where he will have given Reece James nightmares and won the penalty for our first goal.

Elneny – 6

Mo did OK but had a few dicey moments, losing possession in dangerous areas.

Xhaka – 8

Made one, scored one, passed forwards and even won a trademark free kick with his classic baby fall. A really good answer to his critics. He appeared to enjoy playing in a slightly more advanced position.

Saka – 8

A great talent. Always intelligent with his running and passing and scored a stunner.

Martinelli – 8

You could tell he was frustrated not to get on the scoresheet but whenever he got the ball you could see the looks of fear in the eyes of the Chelsea defenders.

Smith-Rowe – 8

His touch and control are already better than most of the rest of the squad and we really benefitted as a team from having someone playing a proper Number 10 role. He felt like the oil in our machine last night.

Lacazette – 8

Outstanding effort from Lacazette, who ran all game long closing down the Chelsea defenders, linked up well with his team mates and took the penalty with aplomb. He really thrived with having Smith-Rowe behind him instead of being asked to be the main hold-up player. Scored the pen and should have had another when he went one-on-one with Mendy.

RockyLives

Ex BBC journalist David Ornstein, whose reports are usually on the money, says that our promising young striker Folarin Balogun may leave on a free transfer, with Liverpool a likely destination.

My thought on hearing the news was: “Well, why wouldn’t he go to Liverpool?” It’s a sad indictment of the relative standing of the two clubs at the moment.

Meanwhile there are reports that Arsenal are thinking about sacking Arteta and bringing in Thomas Tuchel, the German coach who recently left Paris St Germain. Tuchel did a great job at Borussia Dortmund and got PSG to a Champions League final.

Both of these stories point to a club (our club) that is currently being very badly managed and is slipping deeper into crisis.

The Tuchel story may just be ‘paper talk’, but the Balogun one seems genuine and is particularly embarrassing. Our inability to secure an up-and-coming youth talent speaks volumes about how things are being done (or not done) behind the scenes.

It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that we need an overhaul at the highest levels of management (by which I do not mean Arteta, but the team above him).

Today’s game brings an even sharper focus on our problems. We entertain Chelsea, who are currently fifth in the table and 11 points ahead of us.

Not many Arsenal fans will expect us to win, but you never know. I start every match day feeling optimistic and this one is no different, even though that may seem delusional.

One thing that will sink my spirits instantly will be if the team sheet includes the names “Willian” and “Xhaka.” Unfortunately I expect it will. Arteta seems to want to persist with certain players despite all the evidence that their contributions to our campaign have been truly awful so far.

Their continued presence is, I am sure, partly to do with the absence of fans in the stadium. If supporters were present I think Willian would either be well away from the first team or would have significantly upped his game. As it is he can coast through matches doing absolutely nothing and still get picked for the next game. He is starting to look like one of the worst signings ever made at Arsenal (although there is stiff competition for that title).

Injury news is that Aubameyang will have a late fitness test for a calf strain; Partey is not back yet but Martinelli may be available after suffering bruising to his shin when he was clobbered by the Man City ‘keeper on Tuesday.

Here’s the line-up I expect from El Patron:

Leno

Bellerin – Holding – Gabriel – Tierney

Ceballos – Xhaka – Elneny

Pepe – Lacazette – Aubameyang/Martinelli

If we lose, you can expect those Thomas Tuchel stories to heat up.

If we win, well, it might be just the boost we need going into a run of games from which we should be expecting to take points.

Come on You Gunners.

RockyLIves

Merry Christmas to all AA-ers everywhere, past and present.

May 2021 bring all your hopes to glorious fruition, both personal and footballing.

And thank you to all those who have continued to support this blog through some lean footballing times.

In deference to the season, here is a re-working of the brilliant Pogues song “A Fairy Tale of New York,” from an Arsenal perspective.

It was Christmas Evening

In North London

An old man said to me, we won’t win another thing,

And then he sang a song,

“We love you Arsenal,”

I turned my face away

And dreamed about you.

God I’m a lucky one,

Born to support the Gun,

I’ve got a feeling

This year there’s lots to do,

So happy Christmas,

I love you Arsenal,

I can see a better time

When all our dreams come true:

We’ll get far bigger stars

Our dead wood will be sold,

But the league won’t be easy

It’s a place for the bold

When I stood in the Stand

On a cold Christmas Eve

You promised me

Glory was waiting for me.

We had Adams

We had Petit

Lined up beside Paddy

When the team finished playing

We howled out for more,

Ljungberg was winging

All the Gooners were singing

We stood in the corner

And cheered when we scored.

The boys from the Highbury North Bank Stand

Were singing Brady’s name

And the sh*t was piling up

Down Tottenham way:

They are scum

They are junk

They smell worse than a skunk

And it’s been sixty years since they’ve had a parade,

They’re bumfluff, they’re maggots,

They’re cheap lousy braggarts,

Happy Christmas from Arsenal

You’re still in our shade.

The boys from the Highbury Clock End Stand

Still singing Brady’s name

And the cups were coming in

To line our shelves.

I’d never be a Spud,

It’s just not in my blood

I have more pride than that

So I picked Arsenal,

I gave them all my dreams

And put them with your own,

Can’t make it all alone,

Together our dreams will come true.

The boys from the Highbury Upper East Stand

Still singing Brady’s name

Good times are coming back

To Arsenal.

RockyLives, with apologies to Shane MacGowan (who’s an Everton fan)

Move over Gunnersaurus, there’s a new comedy act in town.

He’s there to amuse the kids and provide moments of slapstick fun for all the family.

Yes, it’s Runarssaurus! Laugh, as he flaps his hands in the air while the ball flies off the head of an opposition striker; giggle, as he cleverly guides a tame shot into our net using nothing but his own patent rubber wrists.

Or perhaps, as Bob Monkhouse once said: “When I said I wanted to grow up to be a comedian they laughed. They’re not laughing now.”

We’re not laughing now, are we?

A slick Man City side dumped us out of the Carabao cup last night, winning 4-1 at the Emirates in a game that turned into a horror show for our young reserve goalie, Alex Runarsson.

I feel bad for writing the headline and making fun of the lad, but his signing always seemed a bit odd (he was a reserve ‘keeper in the French Ligue 2 and not particularly rated by his team’s supporters. His stats were bang average or worse).

But apparently our goalkeeping coach had worked with him previously and ‘saw something in him’. Hmmm.

Anyway, the kid didn’t buy himself and nor does he pick himself so if it looks like he’s just not up to it at this level of football it’s not his fault, it’s on the club and the coaches.

And who knows, maybe he has immense strength of character and this will be the making of him, which would be wonderful for him and us… although somehow I doubt it.

The sad thing was that after going behind after two minutes (a headed goal for which Mustafi and Runarsson probably share most responsibility) we had hauled ourselves back into the game with an excellent Lacazette goal following not one but two superb crosses from Martinelli.

At 1-1 we were very much in the game, at least until Martinelli got crocked in a 50-50 with the City ‘keeper. Could or should the ‘keeper have been booked or red carded? I don’t know. If it was the other way round I’d be saying that he was quick off his line and got the ball.

Nevertheless, we were in the game. Then came City’s second and Runarsson’s humiliation. A Mahrez free kick came straight at him at a perfect height to catch or (if you’re Leno) to punch away. Runarsson did neither, merely deflecting the ball into our goal with the most limp wristed effort I’ve seen since John Inman was free.

It was going to be tough enough eking out a result against the most financially doped team in the Premier League without gifting them a goal. Our heads went down and the last two City goals were just the botulism on the cake.

Can I make a plea to our recruitment team: if we’re going to sign a crap goalie, please can we sign a BIG crap goalie. There aren’t many small, successful ‘keepers at the highest level and poor young Runarsson looked like a player in a schoolboy team last night.

To compound a miserable night, Martinelli looked to be in quite a bit of difficulty after his injury (why the heck he came out for the second half at all is a mystery). He was by far the brightest spark for us in a gloomy evening so let’s hope this is not serious.

If you’d asked me if I’d take a 4-1 defeat in the Carabao Cup and a league win over Chelsea on Boxing Day I’d have bitten your hand off. We’ve done the first part so, hey, we’re sure to win on Saturday. Aren’t we?

RockyLives

In a very seasonal fixture we entertain Manchester City tonight in the quarter final of the Caribou Cup.

Caribou, as you all know, are also called “reindeer” and tend to be kept busy at this time of year pulling Santa’s sleigh.

It would be nice to think we could win and get closer to winning a trophy in this so-far abysmal season. If we manage to beat City we would play the semi final on January 5th, meaning (if we win again) that we could have a Wembley appearance booked by the first week of the new year.

I know it’s only the Reindeer Cup, but that would lift spirits a little bit, wouldn’t it?

Even so, tonight’s game is surely an occasion for El Patron to play several of the younger and more fringe players. After all, our Premier League form is the real crisis area right now and we face Chelsea on Boxing Day.

Given the wealth of talent available to the pale blue Mancs, even a second string side from them will be packed with ability, so this will be a difficult fixture for whichever group of Arsenal lads we send out.

It also makes me think Arteta will opt for a back three/five to give us more defensive security in the hope we can do again to City what we did to them in the FA Cup last season (soak up pressure with the ‘low block’ and catch them on the break).

Here’s my (highly unlikely to be accurate) predicted line-up, bearing in mind that Xhaka is suspended and Partey and Auba are both unavailable through injury:

Runarsson

Soares – Chambers – Mustafi – Mari – Kolasinac

Maitland-Niles – Elneny

Nelson – Balogun – Smith-Rowe

For all our league woes, we have continued to shine in the cup competitions, so I wouldn’t rule out us winning this one, whoever starts.

Come On You Gunners.

RockyLives

I think we all agree with Arteta that we want to see fighters on the pitch and to be honest, while this may have been an issue in the last few years, I feel like we do have some players with fighting spirit and a positive mindset to fight for our club and victories. Name your perceived fighters and perceived victims.

Who would make it in the New Zealand Rugby Squad?

It seems that we are actually going to have to fight very hard for a top 8 finish this season. Who would have thought this would be the case after our Community Shield victory and the signings of Gabriel and Partey?

The point is that we are cruelly lacking…points so far this season. We have not won any games in two months in the EPL and although there has been a bit of misfortune, overall, we have not performed well and we have not managed to be “hard to break down” nor “hard to stop/contain”. I know the players are the ones on the pitch but I also think that the coach has his responsibilities. We just have not been good enough this season (except maybe in the Europa League).

So who should lead Arteta field to steer us back in the top half?

GK: We let Martinez go so we have to rely on Leno as our GK.

RB: Bellerin did have some good games but mostly, he has been ineffective. AMN needs to improve some more defensively but he has been OK while Soares is at best a sub so AMN for me.

CB: Gabriel has been great until he got his red card. Luiz is still among our Top 3 defenders and although Holding is not as consistent as we wanted, who do we play ahead of him? Saliba/Sok are not qualified, Mari/Chambers are recovering and Mustafi remains a liability…

LB: Tierney has been sensational as a LCB and LB and I think he should be played as LB as his crossing is rather good.

DM/CM: Partey is key, El Neny has played well. Ceballos has been our most dangerous midfielder thanks to his passing. So we do we start? Partey-El Neny for me.

RFW: Saka is really our creative force these days. His runs and timings have been good and he can pbbly cause havoc if played on the right side too. Willian has been abysmal and Pepe not consistent enough. What about Nelson? Hard to say so far.

ST: Martinelli for me. I think he can hold up the ball and not only create for others but also for himself. He is also good at making runs inside the box. Nketiah works hard but not enough end product, same for Laca. As for Balogun, maybe a bit light still although a great prospect.

LFW: It has to be Auba. I think that with Saka on the right and Martinelli in the middle, he will be able to rediscover his shooting boots. With Tierney’s overalaps, he will have the chance to cut inside.

So here it is for me, if we stick to a back 3 system:

Leno – Holding, Luiz, Gabriel – AMN, Partey, El Neny, Tierney – Saka, Martinelli, Auba

Bench: Runnarsson, Saliba, Mari, Bellerin, Xhaka, Willock, Nelson, Willian, ESR, Pepe, Nketiah, Balogun

Offload in January: Soares, Chambers, Mustafi, Sokratis, Kola, Laca

What do you say? Is that starting XI our best when all are fit and available?

230 years ago Fletcher Christian seized control of a ship from Captain Bligh. This has passed into history as ‘The Mutiny on the Bounty’.Watching Arsenal for the past few seasons reminds me of this woeful tale. To me it appears there are a number of players that aren’t giving 100% and more that are pursuing a mutiny for their own ends.

Unai Emery was the fall guy after Arsene Wenger ended his tour of duty. Initially he performed pretty well. We should have got into the Champions League then there was the disaster in Baku against Chelsea. From that point his days were numbered. There were problems on Emery’s ship. He cast aside players then brought them back. This inspired revenge. It was clear players wanted him out. There were stories of players taking the Michael out of Emery’s accent. Childish at best. The end came against Southampton at home, where the players accidentally got a draw, but hardly celebrated. They wanted Emery gone. Freddie came in as a stop gap and again the players could hardly be bothered. He ended up playing a number of the younger players to make clear what he thought of the effort of some of the ‘pros’.

Fast forward to Arteta. It started well with some blips along the way. The FA Cup win was a huge over-achievement, beating Man City & Chelsea on the way to our record 14th trophy. But come the new season and the grumbling started again. Wins turned to draws, draws to losses. The players looked like they were low on confidence, even sabotaging games.

In my opinion there is a Mutiny underway on the Good Ship Arsenal. The only way to stop it is by casting the villains adrift. The culprits:

• Mesut Ozil – The leader of the mutiny. He should have been paid off in the summer. He’s hanging around like a virus infecting the rest of the team. Cast him adrift on Pitcairn Island!
• Granit Xhaka – Only Wenger knows what he saw in Granit. All I can see is a player who isn’t at Premier League level and got sent off on purpose against Burnley to get Christmas off. To the stocks!
• Alex Lacazette – I used to rate this guy. Since his contract negotiations have halted he has been hiding on the pitch. I swear he has missed a few chances on purpose. He has become the Union man that has downed tools for the cause. The guillotine is calling!
• Hector Bellerin – He’s got some nice tattoos, an exciting vegan philosophy, but he can’t defend for toffee. Send for the Spanish Inquisition!
• David Luiz – Plays when he has his ego massaged. When he’s not happy – red card. Banish him to the Amazon jungle!
• Willian – Well he ain’t is he? 4 more years of this cowboy. Private jet to the Sargasso sea! Ably supported by minor crew members Mustafi, Kolasinac & Sokratis. Lock them up on the Rock!
• The only solution to the Mutiny is to dump these muppets from the Good Ship Arsenal. It was never going to be easy for Mik, but these guys are making his job near impossible.
• Yours truly, Pete the Thirst

About three years before finally being shuffled out of the club I implored Arsene Wenger to resign we had just won the FA Cup beating Hull unconvincingly, many took my post as intended a love letter to Arsene asking him to go to stop the noise destroying our club from outside and in, others didn’t see that and attacked me for being mad to ask him to leave after winning the cup final. I expect the same today for those who don’t read to the end.

There were issues with the fans already according to many we were not good enough, signings were average the squad was full of “dead wood” and Arsene just wouldn’t adapt to more defensive tactics or bring in the new Gilberto.

The refrain from the stands was often “we want our Arsenal back”, my question was always what Arsenal, the one of Arsene’s early seasons, the Arsenal of George Graham, or maybe the Arsenal of Terry Neil, I guess it depended how old as a fan you were to what Arsenal you were referring to.

The Arsenal I have always wanted back is the one run by a Board of Directors who had a long history with the club, but that is pure fantasy what top side is owned independently without foreign investment? I have to accept the game has changed in that respect.

In the early days of Emery’s first season we smashed a poor Fulham side who went on to be relegated 5-1 at the Cottage, Arsenal fans rejoiced and the sound of “we’ve got our Arsenal back” reverberated from the away end.

A mere two years later we sit in 15th place with more losses than wins after 12 games, our worst start since 1974, not sure that was the Arsenal any of us wanted back and it was before my time on this small blue dot commenced.

It was an awfully long way back to where we ended the 90’s and started the naughties courtesy of Graham and then Wenger.

Now we look back in hindsight I have to ask, was it that bad with Arsene? Ok we maybe weren’t title contenders but on the flip side the team still managed to give us some hope we were only ever one or two players away. Where are we now? Five, six, seven players away?

Ok it’s wishful thinking Arsene won’t want to interfere. Arsene wouldn’t want a second fiddle job and has moved on to pastures new, but I can’t help thinking Arteta needs help, and who better to give it than Arsene, the man that gave Arsenal players unbelievable belief gave young players opportunities, if you were good enough you were old enough. He was ruthless to players who were usurped, Debuchy signed to replace Sagna, got injured, Hector came in and made the place his own and Debuchy a decent player everyone expected to be first choice right back left the club soon after.

But if there’s one thing I want back from watching my club it’s freedom to play, playing with a smile and making me smile. Yes we didn’t always win but it was at least good to watch.

Come back Arsene all is forgiven make me smile again.

Gooner in Exile

Another loss at the Emirates and another really tasteless and toothless performance except for the first 10 minutes of the second half…Not many positives to take on tonight.

The numbers in the EPL are damning:

• 15th in the EPL, with only 13 points in 12 games and with a -5 goal difference (10 for, 15 against)
• 4th home defeat in a row for 1st time since 1959
• 1st defeat to Burnley in the EPL
• 1st goal conceded on a set piece
• 0 goal score in open play,,,

But tonight was worrying on many levels:

• Xhaka’s red card showed that he was still not learning anything but it also showed frustration
• Few minutes later El Neny could and should have been sent off
• Bellerin also getting carded
• Willian is still not hitting the next gear
• Auba is really looking like a lost puppy on the field;
• Creativity still a major issue, ineffective set-pieces and crosses still a trademark this season
• Laca missing a golden opportunity that could have paved the way for a victory
• Arteta unable to find a solution, which is the worse.

So where do we go from here? Well, if Arteta does not finally accept that he needs to do something different in terms of team set-up and squad selection, then I think we will be going straight to relegation battle because there is no reason why we would improve in this set-up although Martinelli and Partey will make a difference for sure but 2 players can’t solve everything.

If Arteta has some clue, he may at least start to:

• Go back to a system with 3 central defenders
• Rely more on youth and hungry players such as AMN and ESR for example
• Give a rest to Auba.

My problem was that the players really seemed to get frustrated on the pitch and that does not bode well because it shows lack of communication, lack of trust in each other, lack of trust in the manager’s instructions…If some are looking to replace Arteta already, Favre is now available.

Ratings:

Leno – 4

Bellerin – 3; Holding – 4; Gabriel – 4; Tierney – 5

El Neny – 4; Xhaka – 2

Willian – 3; Laca – 4 – Saka – 5

Auba – 3

Arteta – 2