So we just registered the arrival of Polish international Kiwior. A young player who has been used as a Centre-Back and Defensive Midfield, he is known for his ability to play out from the back and pick out a pass. He played in Poland, Slovakia and Italy. He has a good interception record.

The question I am asking myself is why are we recruiting him (also instead of Ndinka)? We have White, Tomyasu, Holding, Saliba, Gabriel and Tierney that can play there…Are we trying to get rid of one them? If so, which one? Cedric is leaving for Fulham so I am thinking that White and Tomyasu are staying…Saliba and Gabriel are safe too imho so that leaves us with Holding but he is a club’s lad so…

Maybe he is coming in to play in midfield in the end…? Maybe as a support player to beef up our defensive mid or as the back up to Xhaka…

Or he could just be recruited to make sure we are covered adequately for each position

Turner – Tomyasu, Holding, Kiwior, Tierney – El Neny, Lokonga – ESR, Vieira, Trossard – Nketiah OR

Ramsdale – White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko – Partey, Xhaka – Saka, Ode, Martinelli – Jesus

Not too bad, not too bad…knowing that Balogun will come back next season…I think that the big question is about Lokonga’s credentials to be a solid enough squad player. If we are going in for Declan Rice in the summer (which I doube), it will also make things interesting for Xhaka…but I believe we may try to lure Ruven Neves, Mikel Merino, McAlliser, Fofana or Tielemans…

Top of the League. 50 points, 19 games…

Two convincing, gritty and well-earned wins against Tottenham and then Man Utd. We can smile at the first half of the season and look at the second half with a bit of optimism. Of course, Man City have a deeper (better?) squad that is used to winning the EPL and they have a freak goal-scorer (Haaland – what a player!) but we are more than giving them a run for their money and now they have to catch us….

So against Utd, the positives:

• Zinchenko, Xhaka, Ode, Saka and Nketiah. What a difference does Zinchenko make to our team? A clever player. Xhaka is like a new player, providing assists, pressing high and not indulging in silly defending…Ode, even when not at his best, is aggressive defensively and decisive offensively. Saka hit another level this season and Nketiah has provided more than adequate cover for G.Jesus;
• The fans and Arteta’s fire.

So against Utd, the less positives:

• Ramsey’s shakiness against Utd was a bit scary;
• White and Tomyasu really struggled against Rashford and Tomyasu also at fault on Utd’s equalizer. We are looking at Fresneda, a young right back…
• Partey – at fault on first goal and then did not reassure throughout the game
• Saliba and Gabriel need to also cover Ramsdale better. A wake up call.
• Martinelli, off day at the office.

Ramsdale – 4.5

White/Tomy – 3.5

Saliba-Gabs – 5.5

Zinchenko – 8

Partey – 5.5

Xhaka – 7.5

Ode – 7.5

Saka – 8.5

Nketiah – 8.5

Martinelli – 6

Was a nice game to start for Trossard. COYG! Keep going strong.

So Chelsea hijacked our deal with Shaktar for Mudryk by paying 88.5 Mln pounds + add ons…crazy…

Apparently, we are turning our attention to Raphina now…potentially Diaby (but he is not worth it to be honest)

BUT they are bigger fish to fry including a savoury NLD against a resurgent Tottenham team that can now count again on Romero, Betancur and Kulusevsky…The 3 players that changed their fortune last year as they edged us in the Top 4 race. Kane is in scintillating form and Son is always dangerous against us so while we may be top of the league and playing well, we are in for a very tough and contested match today…

The key will be to really exploit some of their defensive lapses especially their full-backs and center-backs sometimes miscommunicating. There be room in between the lines so Odegaard may be able to find some space to shoot…If Partey-Xhaka and our back 4 do well today, we should come home with at least a point…

I am gonna go for a 2-1 loss to the Spurs though as I can see us lose our patience and form at some point in the game. Most likely score according to pundits is a 1-1 draw – if it is a draw, I think it will be a 2-2…Now our scorer will be Martinelli and for them, Kane will be on the scoresheet.

COYG! Make sure I get the result wrong today!

Ramsdale – White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko – Partey, Xhaka – Ode – Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli

Lloris – Romero, Dier, Lenglet – Doherty, Betancur, Hojberg, Perisic – Kulusevski, Kane, Son

Our squad is of course thin and has been made thinner with the injury to G.Jesus and is prone to becoming too thin if Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Ode, Martinelli or Nketiah get injured…Their back ups are just not at the same level…so risking an injury to them may be just too risky…YET, the FA Cup is a fantastic competition and we have a good record in it. We have to respect the competition and give it a go – a trophy is a trophy…

We are playing Oxford, not the biggest name in football so we may have a bit of room for rotation but let us not rotate the whole team and keep some first squad elements in it to put the game comfortably behind Oxford’s reach at half-time…This will allow us to bring in some youngsters to the fold…

Ramsdale – Tomy, Saliba, Holding, Tierney – El Neny, Xhaka – Vieira, Ode, ESR – Nketiah

Second half:

Turner – Tomy, Saliba, Holding, Tierney – El Neny, Lokonga – Marquinhos, Vieira, Taylor-Hart – ESR

Let us win this tie and let us keep looking at options to improve our squad’s quality and depth.

The last matchday’s results were quite kind to our beloved club and we are now sitting with a 7 points lead at the top of the EPL…

Yet, we are still a young team that has quite some room for improvements especially in defensive phases or when facing an agressive press. Our defensive set-up sometimes loses its shape and calm when put under pressure.

We have now quite some fixtures coming up:

• Newcastle at home
• Tottenham away
• Man Utd at home
• Everton away
• Brentford at home
• Man City at home
• Villa away

It is all about building a strong series so we really need to win the first 3 games of this series and then we can go in the next 4 with some confidence and less pressure. All 3 games are tough with Newcastle having a wonderful season, Tottenham who will want to play their best against us and a Utd team with a resurgent Rashford who always bothers us…Bag 9 points by hook or by crook and then we can serenely prepare for Everton, Brentford and City…If we come out with 16 points out of these 7 games, we will still be leading the EPL BUT we would still have to play City, Liverpool and Newcastle away and Chelsea at home so the road is long and while hopes and expectations are raising, we need to keep calm and carry on…starting tonight against a strong Newcastle team.

Neutralizing Trippier, Guimares, Joelington, Almiron, Maximin and Wilson. Theryare very good at set pieces with Schar and Botman in the air so that will be a tough battle for Gabs and Saliba. We need to dictate in midfield and also bully Schar and Botman’s lack of pace. Burn is great going forward but Saka can take advantage of his defensive lapses. I think this game is in Party-Xhaka’s hands to be honest – if they control the midfield, we will be ok but if not, I can see us suffer a lot…

COYG!

Happy New Year fellow bloggers!

First thing first…I think England will win against France, unfortunately for me…but England has the better team and we have some outstanding players so…

So Jesus got injured on his only start in the WC…What bad luck! Anyways, we hope he can come back stronger and soon…

Now we need a hard working striker but who?

• J. David or Buchanan from Canada?
• Osimhen from Nigeria?
• Michail Antonio?
• Raphael Borre from Columbia?
• Tammy Abraham from England?
• Lucas Holer from Germany?
• Ben Yedder or Neal Maupay from France?
• Osihmen from Nigeria?

So the search is on but really, we are gonna miss G. Jesus

While many pundits and fans may see us as clear favourites for this game based on both teams’ current form, I would be more cautious for a few reasons:

1. Liverpool is an injured animal and they will want to prove a point;
2. Liverpool’s quality is still there with Alisson, TAA, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Salah, Firmino, Diaz and D. Nunez is a great CF so…
3. We have failed to capitalize on our dominance vs Utd and got punished for it;
4. We still concede quite some big chances
5. We have often played poorly in games that mattered in the league under Arteta…

so there you go, while our form is clearly better than Liverpool’s, we need to put things into perspective and remind ourselves to keep calm, focused, committed and smart throughout this match. Win this game and LFC will have a hard time to catch up with us in the Top 4 race, Lose this game and they are edging closer to us along with other teams that won yesterday like City and Spurs…

No slip up today and a win is required but it will not be easy…not at all. Let us play 11 vs 11, a red card would doom us

Ramsdale – White, Saliba, Gabs, Zinchenko – Partey, Xhaka – Saka, Ode, Martinelli – Jesus

Players to watch: Robertson, Firmino, Diaz, Salah, TAA, Van Dijk

Players to target: TAA, Upamecano or Matip, Henderson

It will be important for Partey to closely monitor Firmino’s movement. Also Saka and Martinelli will need to watch LFC’s full-backs and White will not have it easy with Diaz and same for Zinchenko with Salah. Win the midfield battle and we will be ok. Big game for Partey, Xhaka, Ode today.

Predicted score: 2-2 with goals from Saka and Jesus for us and Firmino and Diaz for them

Wanted score: 2-1

COYG!

Another win in the Europa League yesterday. A comfortable 3-0 win in front of our crowd and barring the first 15 mins of the second half, we controlled and dominated the game. Tierney, Xhaka, Vieira, Martinelli and Nketiah were particularly brilliant and Holding did not do himself any harm either. Another start and another goal for both Eddie and Vieira. They are proving to be decisive in the final third and this is what we asked them to be primarily so…the question is whether they can also have similar impact in the EPL as subs and starters?

Eddie has already demonstrated that he can hold his own in the EPL and Fabio is clearly a talented player so there is a positive mood around both these players but what do you think?

COYG! Get ready to beat Liverpool!

Here is my take on it. England has a wealth of talent at its disposal, yet again…but for some reason, they have lost their shape and defensive stability after the Euro. 2 reasons for that: Philips has been missing due to injuries and Maguire is bottling all his games…So who goes to Qatar?

3 GK: Pickford, Ramsdale, Pope…not much for debate here except that Dean Henderson can feel frustrated by the way Man U treated him last season

2 RB: Reece James, K. Trippier

4 CB: K. Walker, J. Stones, Dier, B.White or C. Coady or T. Mings

2 LB: B. Chilwell, Luke Shaw

3 DM: D. Rice, K. Philips (if fit), J. Ward Prowse

3 CM: Bellingham, Henderson, Foden

3 AM: Mount, Maddisson, Grealish

3 FW: Saka, Rashford, Sterling

2 CF: Kane, Toney

1 spot left for TAA or Sancho or Wilson or Watkins or Abraham…I would take TAA because he can unlock games with a shot or a clever pass but I think Sancho will be in the plane

Best first XI:

Ramsdale – Trippier, Walker, Stones, Chilwell – Rice, Philipps – Saka, Mount, Foden – Kane

in Gary’s 3-4-3:

Ramsdale – Walker, Stones, Dier – Reece James, Rice, Philipps, Chilwell – Sterling, Kane, Foden

In any case, Gary has to take Ramdale and Saka for sure and I think there is a case for B. White too

A controlled game for the most part, some intricate plays at times and some players really having a good season so far…A great result and happy faces – NL is ours!

Ramsdale – did not have to do much

White – I would say it was his best performance for us as right back

Saliba – Continues to impress and started to look like our defensive leader

Gabriel – Mostly good except for that PK given. Needs to also close the opposition better at times.

Zinchenko – Bringing the X-factor to our game. Steady and tidy.

Partey – We needed the best of him and we got it! Now let s hope he keeps fit because when he is fit, he forms a good partnership with Xhaka. What a well taken goal too!

Xhaka – Another great performance by Granit! What a form he is in! We need him and focus and we can then chant his song all season long! MOTM

Saka – A timid start and then was roaring! Shame he did not score but he did create plenty of problems for the Spuds

Odegaard – Not his best game but industrious enough to help control the midfield.

Martinelli – What a young player we have in him! Constantly badgering defenders. A delight!

G. Jesus – Defending, scoring, creating spaces. An excellent recruit so far!

Arteta – Found his system and best XI and also keeping the team focus and grounded. Nothing has been won so far.

COYG!