Today we take on West Ham at the Emirates after a week and a half of ups and downs.

On the down side we crashed out of the Europa League with a home defeat to Olympiacos and our Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Torreira suffered a fractured ankle in the FA Cup tie at Portsmouth.

On the up side, we qualified from that FA Cup tie and now face Sheffield United away for a place in the semi finals; our Invincibles’ record remained intact when Liverpool were thrashed by the mighty Watford and both ‘Pool and the Spuds got dumped out of the FA Cup.

The Hammers are in desperate need of points in the Premier League. They’re out of the bottom three only on goal difference and potential relegation beckons.

However, they did win their last league game (home versus Southampton) so their confidence may have risen a little. Prior to that they had a tough run of games which saw defeats to Liverpool (twice), Manchester City and Leicester, with a 3-3 draw with Brighton in the middle.

They have conceded more goals in the EPL (49) than anyone except the bottom two clubs, Villa and Norwich, so you would hope our attacking players can make hay with that leaky defence.

When it comes to goal scoring however they are only four behind us (they have 35, we have 39 having played one game less). The main threat in this regard is the French striker Sebastien Haller who has seven, but they can pose a goal threat from midfield with Noble, Snodgrass and Fornals.

I’m never sure what I think about the ‘Appy ‘Ammers. They’re certainly not in the Spuds/Chavs class of despicable London clubs who deserve to be beaten and humiliated at every opportunity. But they can be annoying and, frankly, have an overly high opinion of themselves because they used to have a few good players in the days of black-and-white television.

My next-door neighbour is a Hammer and has a dog called Bobby, after former England captain and West Ham legend Bobby Moore. When Bobby met my dog, Dennis (named after you-know-who) Bobby was sent packing. Some things are just immutably written in the laws of nature.

We’ll probably face one former Gunner in Lukas Fabianski, but we won’t be seeing another one-time N5 star whose career never achieved the heady heights we once imagined for him. Apparently the Hammers are trying to buy out Jack Wilshere from his £100k a week contract because he is hardly ever fit to play.

I feel sorry for Jack. He was the subject of some appalling tackles early in his career and was never given adequate protection by the officials. Mind you, there was something about his style of play which invited opponents to dive in on him. Usually he could hop out of the way just in time, leaving the opponent on their arse or otherwise out of the game. But when he got it wrong, he suffered.

Here’s the team I expect Mikel Arteta to choose today:

Leno

Bellerin – Mustafi – Luiz – Saka

Xhaka – Ceballos

Ozil

Pepe – Nketieh – Aubameyang

The only arguable “surprise” there is that I expect El Patron to persist with Eddie given his wonderfully taken goal on Monday night and given Lacazette’s continuing woes.

Bellerin was truly awful against Olympiacos and really needs to pick up. I back him to do so. I know many people have doubts about Pepe but he has been improving and I expect that upward track to continue. After Nelson’s performance against Portsmouth we have a ready-made replacement if Pepe needs to be hooked.

Ozil was another who had an indifferent game against the Greeks but who I expect to bounce back today. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re writing him up as Man of the Match after this one.

We have more than enough about us to take all three points and that’s what I expect us to do.

Come on you Gunners.

RockyLives

Many of the greatest footballers ever to have graced the turf have preferred to go by a single moniker.

Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zico, Perrygroves to mention but a few. Well, now we can add a new hero to that list: Sokratis.

I had always assumed that our tough Greek defender chose to go by his forename because of the obvious difficulties associated with his surname, which contains 17 consonants and 23 vowels. If his surname were printed on his Arsenal shirt it would start on his back, wrap round his chest and trickle down his leg.

But today we know better. Today Sokratis joins the pantheon of mononymous greats on merit alone. His goal just before half time in last night’s F.A. Cup fifth round tie at Portsmouth was perfectly timed and perfectly taken.

When Mikel Arteta’s line-up was announced for the game and Sokratis was in at right back, I commented that “he’s not a bad player, but he’s no right back.” Ahem… what I meant was that really he’s a Number 9. Honest.

The line-up had nine changes from the team that lost so dispiritingly to Olympiacos last Thursday, with El Patron deciding to give youth a chance.

Martinez was back between the sticks. The only truly experienced heads were at the defensive end of things (Sokratis, Luiz, Mari on his debut and Torreira). Apart from them it was the Arsenal creche all the way: another start up front for Nketieh; Martinelli and Nelson out wide; Doozy and Willock (who sound like a cartoon duo) in midfield and Bukayo Saka at LB/wingback.

I, for one, was very pleased to see such an exciting young line-up, but when the game started it took some time for our lads to get into their stride.

In front of a boisterous and confident Pompey crowd it was no surprise that the home side started with energy and enthusiasm and had the better of the first half, with a couple of half decent chances (including, worryingly, some more or less uncontested headers in our box).

For our part we mostly passed sideways and backwards and sideways again. In comments I described it as “constipated football”. We had one or two good moments (with Saka on the left and Nelson on the right) but were a bit toothless.

To listen to the BT Sport commentary team you’d think we were being humiliated by the League One team, so desperate were they for every sports journalist’s wet dream, the ‘big cup upset.’ 

In fact, lackluster though we were, we dominated possession and neither team really looked like scoring. The most significant moment of the half (until Sok’s late strike) was what looked like a nasty injury to Torreira. He was piled into by the Portsmouth centre back James Bolton who won the ball fairly, but whose follow-through was borderline reckless. The Terrier went off on a stretcher to applause from some of the home fans but abuse from others. Reports today suggest the injury may not be as serious as it looked last night.

And so to the Sokratis goal. Great work down the right from Reiss Nelson (not for the first time) saw a low cross fired in which was volleyed home by Sokratis with all the aplomb of a van Persie or Bergkamp. It was a crucial strike, deflating an “up for it” Pompey just before the break.

We opened the second half with an equally powerful dagger blow. Nelson again dong excellent work on the right wing and putting in a cross which was met by Nketieh’s well-judged run. Even so, the striker had a lot to do to control the ball at high speed and get it past the Pompey ‘keeper. A really high quality goal.

From then on we dominated possession and created more chances. The wind had well and truly gone out of Pompey’s sails and we never looked like relinquishing our lead.

And so we move on the quarter finals of a competition that this club has made its own. Here’s hoping for a good home draw…

RockyLives

Player Ratings

Martinez 6

Looked shaky under high balls once or twice but was tidy with most of what came his way.

Sokratis 7

Got skinned at right back several times in the first 20 minutes, but seemed more solid afterwards. Superb (and important) strike for our opener.

Mari 7

A very tidy debut by the big Spaniard. He’s a physically imposing figure but I was also impressed with his good footwork. A promising start.

Luiz 7

Didn’t do much wrong and brought the ball forward well at times. Doesn’t entirely inspire confidence aerially in our own box.

Saka 7.5

This lad never lets us down. Solid defensive play and always a threat going forward.

Torreira 6

Was doing fine until clobbered.

Guendouzi 7.5

Typically energetic performance from Doozy. He must be such a nuisance to play against. In general he used the ball well as well, although he is undoubtedly hampered by his one-footedness. Got booked for taking the piss out of Mike Dean, whoch earned him an extra half a point.

Willock 5

The one youngster who struggled on the night. He did not seem particularly at the races and looked absolutely knackered from about half way through the second half. Perhaps he’s carrying an injury? Even so, games like this are to be expected from young players.

Nelson 8 MoTM

A coming-of-age game for young Reiss, who has shown flashes of brilliance in earlier games this season but never had as big an impact as he did last night. More of this and he’ll be pushing for starts ahead of Pepe.

Martinelli 7.5

Great all round attitude and effort, with plenty of skill to go along with it.

Nketieh 7.5

Took his goal beautifully (in terms of the run, the control and the finish) and worked hard pressing from the front when Portsmouth had possession. He’s making a strong case for being selected ahead of Lacazette on a regular basis.

Subs

Ceballos 7

On early for the injured Torreira, Dani was tidy and gritty. Sold outing.

Maitland-Niles/Xhaka 

On late too late to get ratings.

Perhaps it was time for a bit of a wake-up call.

Admittedly there are wake-up calls and wake-up calls. I am usually roused from sleep by the gentle vibrations of a Fitbit watch, thrumming silently on my wrist at the appointed time.

Our Arsenal wake-up call was more like a glass of icy water in the face of a deeply sleeping innocent.

Defeat at home to Olympiacos, an all-round poor performance and out of the Europa League (our best chance of making it into next season’s Champions’ League). Splash.

The comments on Arsenal Arsenal yesterday aptly captured my mood and reaction: the sense that whatever uptick in performances we have seen since Mikel Arteta arrived has merely papered over fundamental cracks; that our squad needs root-and-branch changes; that our club probably needs new owners who care whether we win or lose; that our return to being properly competitive looks as distant as ever.

And yet…

Writing this more than 24 hours after that horrible game I feel I have a bit more of a sense of perspective.

In the early years of this blog there was a wonderful contributor called Dandan, who wrote Posts and commented most days. 

Dandan was not exactly in the first flush of youth, but a long lifetime of supporting Arsenal had taught him many lessons: lessons he gladly shared with us. 

His time with Arsenal had more ups and downs than the Andes. He had seen success and failure; boring mediocrity and ecstatic highs; he had seen our greatest rivals gloating in triumph, and he had seen them ground to dust beneath our boots. All of this gave him a level-headed outlook and a zen-like ability to never get too upset about a bad game or a bad run of games.

Dandan is sadly no longer with us, but if he were, what would he be saying today? I suspect it would be a reflection on what it is to be a football supporter (a commitment that is both a blessing and a curse).

Perhaps he would muse on the attitude of fans of clubs like West Ham or Fulham, supporters who have never come close to experiencing the sort of successes with which we Arsenal fans have been spoiled, yet who still follow their team through thin and thin.

Or how about those who follow teams in the lower leagues? What must it be like to support Stevenage or Macclesfield, down at the bottom of League Two? Yet both these clubs have loyal fans who turn up week in and week out and take their medicine.

The point is not that, as Arsenal fans, we should accept failure without caring. Rather it is that, at a time like this, the Dandan voice whispering in my ear would probably be reminding me about what it is to be a supporter. 

We are not like the many American sports fans I know who shift their allegiance depending on which team is doing well. We stick with our team for life. It’s like a marriage contract, where the crucial line is “for better, for worse.”

As it happens, and with the pain of losing to the Greeks having subsided somewhat, I don’t feel things are as bad as they appear to be.

We had a bad game. Some fans seemed to categorise Olympiacos as a bunch of semi-pros who barely had a right to be on the same pitch as our Arsenal heroes. Yet the Athenians were in the Champions League this year (unlike us) and they are running away with the Greek Super League. They were never going to be a pushover.

And disappointing though our boys were, they are still the same players who, since Arteta arrived, have thrashed Manchester United and Newcastle, outplayed Chelsea for most of a match which ended in an unlucky defeat, outfought a good Everton side barely a week ago and have been generally solid and difficult to beat.

Almost every team has a bad day at the office now and again. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool currently look unbeatable, but in his first couple of seasons on Merseyside the Dippers had some terrible performances and results. Klopp and the club learned from them and continued to improve and build. We can do the same.

Indeed, many of the wise commentators on this blog made that very point when Arteta arrived, saying we must expect ups and downs and that we needed to keep a sense of perspective. Well, we’ve just had one of the downs.

If we despair now, what does that say about our belief in the new coach? Are we really saying that there’s nothing he can do to fix things? Do we really have that little faith in him?

Undoubtedly there are problems. I am not arguing that we could not have better players or that we might be better off with owners who actually invest, but I am also prepared to wait and see how Arteta responds to this challenge. If he is the man and manager we all hope he is, then times like this will be the making of him.

Can I also just add that I am not criticising anyone who commented yesterday. I agreed with pretty much everything I read and I’m certainly not trying to pick fights, just to get a bit of emotional distance, that’s all.

If Dandan were still with us he would have said all this in a much more articulate way than me, but as he watches from the great North Bank in the sky I would like to think he’s nodding in agreement with the general sentiment.

RockyLives