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Not At The Races After Yet Another Interlull

Oct 20th, 2024 by

Finally, after another seemingly interminable international break to play games the point of which nobody gets, proper football returned yesterday with Arsenal rolling into Bournemouth. We have the aforementioned games to thank for the fact that Ødegaard and Saka were unavailable and Martinelli on the bench. Pre-match talk was that it was better for both Saka and Martinelli to be saved for Liverpool next week if there were any doubts. Subsequent events were to make that game even more important. Merino was to make his full debut and Arteta, who apparently doesn’t do enough to give opportunities to the Academy, named 3 kids on the bench in Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri and Kabia.

Things started slowly with both sides looking rusty and the game being played at a curiously slow pace. Unfortunately for Arsenal this malaise was set to continue for pretty much the whole match. Rice was seemingly in double pivot with Partey with Merino playing a bit further forward. 

Five minutes in, a soft free kick for Bournemouth was given by the referee in line with 18 yards line on left when the home player, realising that he was entirely without support while taking the ball forward, flopped over on the slightest contact from White. This was played to the back post and required an excellent defensive header by Calafiori to see off the danger. Good pressure was being applied by Bournemouthin the opening 10 minutes and they seemed first to second balls on every occasion. 

The pressure was temporarily alleviated when Arsenal made an excellent fast break from a Bournemouth corner resulting in Sterling putting in Trossard to win a corner.

With neither side particularly willing to press the goalkeeper, there were some slow periods, but Raya was the first to crack with a terrible pass out which went straight to a home player, I couldn’t even say it was intercepted, so little did he have to do to receive the ball, resulting fortunately in a shot just wide.   

Then on 27 minutes, the match was seemingly decided when a shockingly poor pass from Trossard from the Bournemouth half, under no great duress, left Saliba isolated and the wrong side of Evanilson. Saliba made contact with the home player and he flopped over, just yards inside the Arsenal half. The referee decided it was a yellow, perhaps thinking that a foot race over 40 yards between this second rate Richarlison tribute act and one of the quickest defenders in Europe might not be a wholly foregone conclusion, with Ben White also in a position to potentially close down the attacker. 

However VAR decided to intervene, which must mean that it was a clear and obvious mistake by the referee, mustn’t it? Strange, because the interweb was full of examples after the game of reds not being given for fouls which had occurred 10-20 yards closer to goal. Howard Webb, overseer of the shady PGMOL was shown tapping away on his phone while clearly listening to the VAR audio feed. Which apparently can’t be broadcast in real time to us mere mortals just like it is in sports which seek to include the paying public as opposed to treating them like mindless cattle ready to be milked. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, VAR invited the referee to review the incident, which as you know means to change his decision, which he duly did and Saliba was off. I have no argument with the decision. On the proviso that all decisions are treated the same. Somehow I can’t see Walker or Dias being sent off for the same offence, can you?

At this point, I still believed that Arsenal could win, given that we hadn’t lost on the 2 other occasions this season when VAR/referees have curiously intervened to give us red cards.

On 34 minutes, Merino had a shot which was deflected narrowly wide with no resulting corner. A couple of minutes later, Sterling, who had been less than impressive again, was subbed for Kiwior in an attempt to ensure defensive stability. More on which later. Arsenal then worked hard to ensure we reached half time level. In truth we had been consistently sloppy and off the pace for much of the 45 minutes and only a good save from Raya had kept the score level.

Half time – Bournemouth 0 Arsenal 0

Straight away in the second half it became clear that the sluggish start was not to be shaken off, with an unmarked Semenyo blazing over from 8 yards after several half-hearted challenges from Arsenal players had eventually resulted in yards being gained by Bournemouth and a cross pumped into the Arsenal box.

The pressure continued to build with Arsenal unable to maintain possession and keep Bournemouth out of our half, with Havertz manfully attempting to operate on his own and largely unaided up top. 

On 62 minutes Iraiola made a triple substitution bringing on Sinisterra, Kluivert and Christie for Tavernier, Ouattara and Scott. The latter two subs would ultimately decide the game. This was answered by Arteta bringing on Martinelli for Trossard. And Martinelli very nearly added the directness and pace which Arsenal had so sorely lacked when after only 6 minutes on the pitch he was put through inside the box by Merino after the keeper passed the ball directly to him, Sadly Martinelli could only draw a save from the keeper, when he ought to have done better.  It might have changed the game as in truth up until this point, Bournemouth hadn’t done a lot to test the Arsenal goal.

Unfortunately, this miss only sp*rred Bournemouth into action and from a corner a minute later they broke the deadlock from an excellently worked, and clearly pre-planned corner, with substitute Christie hammering home. The biter well and truly bitten. 

On 76 minutes the game was wrapped up. A place kick from Raya was delivered well into the Bournemouth half but yet again we were well second in terms of dealing with it and the loose ball was pumped forward over our high defensive line for the evanescent Evanilson to chase. Kiwior was first to the ball, but his limp back pass was well short enabling the Brazilian to push the ball past the oncoming Raya and seeing Gabriel might cut off the ball run into the keeper. There was minimal contact and I would be surprised to get a penalty for Arsenal for the same but we know the rules. The substitute Kluivert stroked home and the game was over.

Full Time Bournemouth 2 Arsenal 0

We have now had three sendings off this season which can only be described as contentious. Not one for a bad foul. We have taken the physical approach out of our game almost completely and make very few actual tackles and yet we still attract to my mind a disproportionate number of cards, particularly red. I invite readers to engage on why this should be and what, if anything we can do about it. 

Posted in Match Report | 21 Drinks »

Beat The Cherries To Go Top of The Tree

Oct 18th, 2024 by

So after a mere 7 league games which have been punctuated by no less than 4 weeks of pointless international breaks, real football is back again. This latest break included, I believe, one friendly and one game in the unfathomable Nations League – a sort of qualifying tournament for the qualifying tournament to get to the European Championships in 2028!

The interim England manager Lee Carsley decided that, like his predecessor Gareth Southgate, he just didn’t know enough about England’s best player, Bukayo Saka, and decided to play him in an entirely experimental team and formation against Greece. What Mr Carsley discovered was that if you play a young man who despite being fabulously paid for his talents still inhabits a human body, in every possible minute of every game, that body will eventually break down through fatigue and overuse. From what I saw, Saka appeared to strain a hamstring when attempting to twist and drive a cross into the Greek penalty area. From that point he was clearly uncomfortable trying to walk or jog until he was withdrawn some minutes later. Bukayo returned to Arsenal for assessment and treatment and we now cross our fingers for a hopeful prognosis as there is a fearsome schedule ahead before – you’ve guessed it – another international break from 10th November. Ugh.

And so on Saturday we go away to AFC Bournemouth.

Formed in 1899 as Boscombe, the club adopted their current name, AFC Bournemouth in 1972. They have played their home games at Dean Court since 1910 and it was around that time that the club gained the nickname ‘The Cherries’, and for two main reasons. Firstly, the cherry red striped shirts the team wore and secondly, Dean Court was built next to the Cooper-Dean estate which included many cherry orchards.

Boscombe is home to AFC Bournemouth and many older fans still refer to AFC Bournemouth as Boscombe, a reference to the original names of Boscombe St John’s and Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic FC. The word Boscombe was dropped in 1972.

The History
I’ve always had a passing interest in Bournemouth as my godparents moved there when I was a young child and several family holidays were spent there with them until my early teens. I remember working in my back garden with the old transistor radio on on what the statistics remind me was Saturday 7th January 1984, when Bournemouth knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup by a 2-0 score line. They also held United to a FA Cup 5th Round draw, 1-1 at Dean Court in February 1989 before losing the replay by the only goal at Old Trafford. Two very impressive performances for such a small and, at that time, lowly club.

Their Football League history began with election to the Third Division South in 1923 where they remained for 35 years before being placed in the newly reorganised Third Division in 1958. They then became a bit of a yo-yo club, bouncing up and down in the bottom two divisions. They entered administration in 1997 and ended up back in the fourth tier in 2002 before immediately winning promotion via the play-offs in 2003. They were back in administration in 2008 and were relegated to League 2. It was at the end of that season that they appointed Eddie Howe as manager.

Through all those trials and tribulations, and due to my childhood associations, I wondered how such a small club continued to survive and who, in the days of David Dein and the Hill-Woods at Arsenal, was financing such a small club, especially when they began to really advance under Howe towards the end of the noughties. The answer was Maxim Demin, a Russian businessman who became co-owner of the club with a £850,000, 50% investment in 2011, through his company AFCB Enterprises Ltd, when Bournemouth were in League One. He bought the remainder of the club from minority shareholders and American investment group, Peak6 in 2015. Although Demin was Russian-born he was not affected by later sanctions due to the war on Ukraine as he is a British citizen. However, his ownership came to an end in 2022.

Hollywood actor Michael B. Jordan led a minority ownership group investing in Bournemouth when billionaire Bill Foley, who owns NHL team the Vegas Golden Knights, took over the club through his Black Knight Football Club consortium in December 2022. If you are a film buff, Jordan is best known for his role in Marvel’s Black Panther movies as well as being the lead actor in the Creed films, which are part of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise. Bournemouth’s kits have been supplied by English sportswear manufacturers Umbro since the 2017-18 season, and the two parties agreed a new five-year extension in 2021 so that with Foley’s agreement, Jordan will continue as the team’s kit designer.

Big things are seemingly in the plan for Bournemouth under Foley who is betting heavily on “soccer” being a continuing success. Since acquiring AFC Bournemouth in 2022, he has developed a multi-club model under the Black Knight Football Club holding company, in a remarkably short period. He has expanded his portfolio to include Auckland FC, a professional soccer club based in New Zealand that competes in the Australian A-League. He has also acquired a 40% stake in FC Lorient of the French Ligue and a minority stake in Hibernian Football Club in Scottland. Foley says he’s also close to buying a team in Portugal and is looking into clubs in the Netherlands. The idea “is to have pathways for players to move through the BKFC system, to develop and get playing time.”

He also has plans to develop Dean Court (capacity 11,379) which is currently known as the Vitality Stadium in consideration of major sponsors, Vitality Insurance. In Foley’s own words, “the new stadium is not going to be overwhelming though it could end up with twice as many seats as are currently available. It’s going to be built in such a way that we can add another deck on the south side and add another 3,000-4,000 seats.” Big plans and good news for travelling fans trying to get tickets.

A Bit Of Fun
Bournemouth is now in Dorset although it was in Hampshire a few decades ago, and the Dorset accent is wonderfully rounded, similar to the West Country pronunciation of words generally, something, with all due respect, that might add flavour to some of these letters to the housing department of the local council –

“Their 18 year old son is continuously banging his balls against my fence.”
“I wish to report that tiles are missing from the roof of the outside toilet and I think it was bad wind the other night that blew them off.”
“I am writing on behalf of my sink which is coming away from the wall.”
“I request your permission to remove my drawers in the kitchen.”
“Can you please tell me when the repairs will be done as my wife is about to become an expectant mother.”
“I want to complain about the farmer across the road. Every morning at 6am his cock wakes me up and it’s getting too much.”
“I am a single woman living in a downstairs flat and would be pleased if you could do something about the noise made by the man I have on top of me every night.”
“I have had the Clerk of the Works down on the floor six times, but still have no satisfaction.”

The Teams
For Bournemouth I can only find one injury doubt and that is Tyler Adams who has apparently played very little football for 18-20 months anyway and there are more important things to worry about, namely –

The Arsenal
This is almost a preview in itself as there are quite a number of injury concerns to contend with ahead of the game. Bukayo Saka limped off during the England friendly, as mentioned above but is reportedly recovering well. Personally, I hope he is rested for this game as we have a really intense schedule ahead over the next three weeks or so, when he would ideally be needed at his best.

Gabriel Martinelli picked up an injury after appearing as a late substitute during Brazil’s 2-1 win over Chile last Friday. He was spotted training with tape on his calf over the weekend, and then missed his country’s match against Peru. “He underwent an MRI on Sunday night, which showed a small area of muscle oedema,” a statement read. He flew home from Brazil on Wednesday morning and as yet there’s no definite news on his fitness.

Kai Havertz missed the international matches due to knee problems. He scored his fourth goal in as many games in the 3-1 win over Southampton and fortunately is expected to be available for Saturday.

Martin Ødegaard has been absent with the ankle injury sustained during Norway’s 2-1 Nations League win over Austria last month. Fears he had suffered an injury setback recently appear to be wide of the mark, with the midfielder seen training on an anti-gravity treadmill last week. There is no firm timeline on his return but mid-November seems to be likeliest at the moment.

Takehiro Tomiyasu made his first appearance of the season before the international break, featuring for six minutes off the bench. He suffered another injury during that brief cameo, and could face a month out with a knee problem. Thomas Partey missed the international matches due to illness but is expected to be fit.

Ben White hasn’t featured since replacing Bukayo Saka at half-time during the 2-2 draw with Manchester City last month. Well, apart from sitting in the stands in a number of very flash looking coats and hoodies. Ben is quoted in one of the red tops as saying he is not Mikel Arteta’s idea of an ideal professional (red top trouble making) as he won’t go in an ice bath, doesn’t stretch, isn’t very fast or powerful – but he just doesn’t get injured. Well you are now buddy – get well soon! Please! You have to love this guy, one way or another. He has a potential return date for Bournemouth.

Jurrien Timber was forced off at half-time during the 2-0 Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain with a “muscle injury” and did not go away with the Netherlands for their Nations League games against Hungary and Germany. He missed the Southampton game but is likely to be available.

Oleksandr Zinchenko has only played twice so far this season and hasn’t featured since coming on as a late substitute during the 1-1 draw with Brighton at the end of August. He’s been dealing with a calf injury but Arteta expects him back imminently.

Brazilian goalkeeper Neto is ineligible to face his parent club. First-choice goalkeeper David Raya is back fit but Arteta will have to choose between No 3 Tommy Setford or 16-year-old Jack Porter to be on the bench at the Vitality Stadium.

Bearing all that in mind, I would go with this lineup (trying to leave injury doubts a few extra days to improve) –

Raya
White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori
Partey, Rice, Merino
Jesus or Sterling, Havertz, Trossard

The Holic Pound
Typical odds for an Arsenal win are 7/10 on, with the draw at 3/1 and a Bournemouth win at 4/1. Batter offerings are for first goal scorer with Saka at 6/1 and Trossard, Havertz and Jesus all at 7/1.

The Officials
This week’s purveyor of logic and consistency from PGMOL will be Rob Jones. Making sure Mikel Arteta doesn’t over celebrate, get too annoyed or inch over the line of his technical area will be fourth official, Tim Robinson. Should we manage to delay a restart without punishment or threaten Liverpool’s lead at the top of the table with an avalanche of goals, Aussie scouser Jarred Gillett will be scrutinising the screens at Stockley Park.

Kick off is at 17.30 UK time with TV coverage on Sky.

Enjoy, Holics !

Posted in Match Preview | 32 Drinks »

The Man at the Centre of the Goonerverse

Oct 10th, 2024 by

One night last winter, I was helping to transport a very eminent lady from central London deep into rural Kent. We were discussing the state of financial services, the issues of eldercare and the likely outcome of the then forthcoming election.  As we drove, she suddenly exclaimed, “I know the other bloke who is as nutty about Arsenal as you are!” and there began my introduction to Dave Seager.

I had read Dave’s book about the great Geordie Armstrong many years ago and knew he was a great friend of our founding father Dave Faber so I determined to get to know him. I’m delighted that, through my friend’s good offices, I have tracked Dave down and am delighted to reveal his latest, very current project and the story, a tragic story in parts, behind one of the leading authors about our special club.

I met up with Dave online this week to find out more about his life and work.

Dave, It is always exciting to talk to major Arsenal authors, especially when they have a new book coming out. We will talk about your new book shortly but for the benefit of our readers can you give us a bit of biographical detail about your Arsenal supporting life.

Major would be generous, but I will take it. I moved from the Midlands to SE London in 1971, aged 5. My first memory of watching football would be 1974, by which time my elder sister’s boyfriend had got me into The Arsenal. He took me to my first match in 1976. It was a bleak period for the team after the break-up of the Double winning team, but three certain young Irishmen were breaking through and exciting times were ahead.

I began travelling up on my own as soon as my parents would allow, and I was old enough to have a part-time job. This was 1981.

Do you have any specific highlights in your Arsenal supporting career? What were the best moments?

My first Wembley final was special in 1987, when we beat Liverpool, thanks to Charlie. I was a very young parent with not much money in the early part of George Graham’s tenure so whilst I was at a few matches in 88/89 I watched Anfield on TV, as most of the nation did. Hard to beat that night!

By the 90s, I was able to attend more as a Registration scheme (Silver) member and by the Wenger era was getting to about half of the matches a season. I had added a second membership by then so I could bring one of my kids or go with a mate.

I am sure the highs and lows after that are similar. The last match versus Everton in 98, the FA Cup Final in 2002, the Invincible campaign etc. The amazing 2 weeks being at the last match at Highbury with my son Liam, and in Paris.

Oddly, given the 9-year trophy drought, I would rank the Hull comeback in 2014 and of course being among the 9000 away fans that Monday night at Old Trafford in 2015. What a night that was!!

I think you were a great friend of the inimitable Dave Faber who started the Goonerholic website. Can you tell us about your relationship with Dave? 

Yes, Dave and I became good mates, initially meeting at the Tolly when I first started blogging. We sat a block apart so would either meet for a beer or 2 pre-match or perhaps at half-time. He was waiting for me in the pub, with arms wide open for a hug at my first game back in the February after my son has been killed the previous month. I was with him before his last 2 matches before he became too ill in the autumn of 2020. It was a hammer blow to lose him and the Arsenal blogging and podcasting fraternity, and the wider Arsenal community is the poorer for his loss.

You established the Gunnerstown.com website . Can you tell us a bit about how and why you established it ?  

I bought the site, as Welcome the Gunners Town and with my partner, Paul Hepker @invinciblog revamped it to the site it is now. It is quiet now, and the Arsenal blogosphere, as you will know is saturated but in 2014 it was a force.

Essentially, we wanted it to be an uncensored platform, for anyone who wanted to write about our team, but lacked a platform or outlet. In truth, it has been a stepping stone for many who have gone on to journalistic or broadcasting careers, such as Kaya Kaynak at Football London, Matt Cotton at Times Online, Daniel Cowan at BBC South etc. I even persuaded someone called Clive Palmer whose tweets had impressed me to try his hand at writing. God Knows what happened to him!!

Can you tell us why you began writing books about Arsenal ? How did you start the process and what areas have you covered ? 

In 2013 on the back of consistent writing for my own site IND2OU, Jill Armstrong approached me to write her father’s story. I thought it was a wind up, but somehow, I got a publisher and made a success of it. Once I had the publisher who has been hugely supportive, as he has of many Arsenal writers (Legends Publishing) I was able to explore a variety of original Arsenal related ideas.

Have you met many major Arsenal figures while researching your books? 

Through the Geordie Armstrong book I met a multitude of Arsenal players. Those who played with him and many whom he coached. I have stayed in touch with some and consider a few friends, such as Eddie Kelly and David Hillier. David Dein has also been highly supportive since then.

My second book, Supporting Arsenal is a Funny Old Game, allowed me to meet lots of Comedy Gooners and a few of them are now friends too. I met Matt Lucas, Dara, Romesh, Hugh Dennis, Alan Davies, Milton Jones and many more. Now that was fun!

Your new book is very unusual as far as football books are concerned . Can you tell us a bit about what prompted you to write it and the areas it covers ? 

Welcome to the Goonerverse is an anthology of Arsenal inspired poetry. Something it would be fair to say, one might not associate with Football fans. Therefore, it is a gamble, and I truly have no idea how may will buy it, but I am extremely proud of it. I have written many poems myself, but the rich variety comes from over 30 different Gooners contributing.

It was born out of me writing poetry about grief, loss and my relationship with my son Liam, whom we lost in 2019. Some of those were about his football and our mutual love of Arsenal, and 2 of those are in the book. In short, I came to believe that good poetry will only flow if the author is passionate about the subject, and who are more passionate than football fans?

How can we obtain a copy of the book? It sounds fascinating and a number of Holics will be interested in reading it. In fact, we will be giving away a copy to the winner of a competition on the website.

You can preorder now HERE and it will be delivered in early December. £1.50 from each purchase will go to the Arsenal Foundation.

In December, there will be launch events, probably with poetry readings in and around the Arsenal. The club have backed and stocked all my recent books so watch this space and my socials for news.

Dave, have you made plans for your next title? May we wish you very good luck with this publication and all your writing and thank you for sharing the history of your writing career with us. 

Honestly, I have no current plans but if this unique concept flies perhaps Goonerverse 2!

Dave, many thanks for your time and good luck with the latest book!

Goonerholics are cultured individuals and a poetry anthology sounds a very fitting part of the literary heritage of our club. I’ve had a sneak preview of the book and I think all Holics will enjoy it and find many special memories stirred by Dave’s words and those of his fellow poets. Please feel free to pre-order and solve that Christmas present dilemma for that hard to please auntie in Devon. Surely all Holics will have plenty of mates who would love a copy?

Posted in Fan Experience, Guest Blogs | 72 Drinks »

Another day at the office

Oct 6th, 2024 by

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I’m just back home in rural Oxfordshire 12 hours after leaving for That London and my first live view of The Arsenal this season. This will be another somewhat impressionistic account of the match as I’m very far from qualified to provide any kind of in-depth analysis of what happened and events demonstrate that I am unable to remember precise details of what happened and I failed to take any notes at the time.

I’m also writing this before watching Match of the Day or reading any reports and relying solely on my sadly fallible memory.

First half

The first half resembled a training ground game of attack versus defence. Southampton had the ball in the Arsenal half and around our penalty box for the first couple of minutes without doing anything much. When their possession eventually broke down, the Arsenal took the ball up the other end and seemed to keep it there for the next forty-odd minutes without, to be honest, ever threatening to do much. I caught sight of the first half statistics on the Big Screen at half time; as far as I remember they were Arsenal – Shots: 10, On Target 3, Southampton – Shots: 2, On Target 0. I couldn’t remember any Southampton shots but on the other hand I didn’t remember Arsenal having had 10, either. At some point I remember wondering whether it might take a Southampton goal to wake up the home side, but my next thought was certainly “Settle down PanG, that way lies madness”.

I had done quite a bit of reading during the week in preparation for writing this report (honest), and watched at least one video about all the problems that Arsenal are causing to opponents at set pieces. It seems that the Southampton staff had also seen this as the sight of seven defenders forming a cordon around Ramsdale at corners was a familiar feature of the first 45 minutes.

Half time – The Arsenal 0 – 0 Southampton

The second half started much the same way as the first, with Southampton taking the ball up the field in the first few minutes. Sadly, ten minutes in, my foolish first-half musing came to fruition as Southampton scored. It’s not the kind of event that I like to dwell upon; as far as I recall, the goal came from a ball through the inside right channel and things developed slowly enough for me to see that something had gone amiss and we might be in trouble here.

The Arsenal 0 – 1 Southampton (Archer 55 min)

The atmosphere around block 113 was subdued; disappointment rather than anger and certainly not panic. The team on the pitch seemed to think similarly as they continued to play in much the same way as before; maybe bolstered by the thought that Mikel Arteta knows what he’s doing and his training and tactics are probably valid. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later the equaliser came, courtesy of £60 million flop, Kai Havertz.

The Arsenal 1-1 Southampton (Hazertz 57 min)

Shortly after the equaliser went in, Arteta made three substitutions, wit Sterling, Jesus and Jorghino going off to be replaced by Trossard, Martinelli and Merino. This seemed to galvanise the Arsenal team who upped their pace and continued to turn the screw. Eight minutes later the ball was played in to Martinelli, cutting in from the left who put the ball past Ramsdale and the Arsenal into the lead.

(It’s quite possible that my memory has let me down and that it was the first goal, that found Havertz cutting in from the left. I can only remember one of the two goals and I’m pretty sure it was the one that Martinelli scored.)

The Arsenal 2-1 Southampton (Martinelli 68 min)

The atmosphere now considerably brighter, the Arsenal continued to press and Southampton continued not to have much answer. After 20 minutes of pressure, with the clock running down, the third goal came.

I haven’t forgotten what happened in the build up to this goal, I genuinely didn’t see it at the time. Reconstructing what I did see, an Arsenal attack broke down and the Southampton defence was calmly passing it from their right to their left. I had a look upfield to see what passing options they had on when there was an almighty roar and I looked up to see the ball in the Southampton goal. I have seen a replay, on the big screen in the stadium from which I learned that it was Saka who had scored, but am left none the wiser as to where he had come from, how the ball had found its way to the back of the net, or indeed how the Southampton defence came to have the ball in the first place.

The Arsenal 3-1 Southampton (Saka 88 min)

With the team now well on top, it came as a pleasant surprise when nine minutes of extra time were signaled, but they were unable to find a fourth goal.

Full time: The Arsenal 3-1 Southampton.

A few final impressions – I was looking forward to seeing some of the new signings (or close approach) since last season, and they didn’t disappoint. A couple of tackles from Calafiori where he took the ball off a Southampton player and ended up on one knee with the opponent behind him and time t oget up and pass to a teammate will live long in the memory. Merino looked the business when he came on on the hour mark. Sadly, I missed out on a view of Timber after last season’s dramatic failure to make it to the Forest game. Saliba (I think) also made a couple of breathtaking tackles, taking the ball cleanly to put a complete full stop to dangerous Southampton attacks.

It was all a little bit flat, to be honest. A first half in which we seemed to do all the right things but got no reward was followed by a second in which we conceded a goal but kept our heads to score three without further concession. It just seemed to be another day at the office – not a bad one (we won) – but not a good one (we went one down). On the other hand, after a few weeks where we were scoring regularly from corners we got three from open play this afternoon.

I continue to be extraordinarily impressed by the ball-playing abilities of the Arsenal defenders and the hard work put in by the attackers. This is a really good team; there’s a good chance that it will prove to be a great one. I reckon that a trophy can’t be far away.

Props to Aaron Ramsdale who applauded the Arsenal fans as he made his way from the goal he’d been defending in the second half to acknowledge to Southampton fans at the other end. Props too to the Arsenal fans who applauded right back. Finally, props to Arteta who came over and gave him a big hug.

Embed from Getty Images

Postscript

I went with SIL as usual, and as has become our habit we stopped for a post-match meal at an Italian eaterie on the Holloway Road (thanks for the recommendation a year or two back, Countryman 100). We fell into conversation with three guys at the next table who had also been to the game (one an American, another from Ireland). As they left, they said something which might have been that they had paid for our meal and drinks. When we came to settle up a bit later, the restaurant staff confirmed that I hadn’t misheard! Thank you very much fellers – I heard you say that you’d be coming to the Liverpool game together later in the season. I hope you have a good time then as well.

Posted in Match Report | 105 Drinks »

I like football but not Southampton

Oct 4th, 2024 by

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Without doubt, the worst day of my Arsenal supporting life was the 3-3 draw at home to Southampton at the back end of the 2022/23 season. That does make it sound like I’ve led a charmed life as an Arsenal supporter and you would have to say, like any Arsenal fan under the age of 25, I probably have. 

At the conclusion of that game, we were top of the league, albeit having played two more games than City with about five games to go. But it was probably the context of the events that occurred in the weeks leading up to that game that made it even more traumatic. We all recall that Saliba season-ending back injury in March which ultimately derailed our title charge that season. A draw at Anfield wasn’t a bad result despite being 2-0 up in half an hour. It was still in our hands. Then the same thing happened at West Ham the following weekend and Arsenal fans began to accept our fate was slipping out of our hands. But if we won all our remaining games (a tall order) we would still be in with a strong chance. Rock bottom Southampton at home on a Friday night? That’s what you want after letting a 2-0 lead slip in consecutive weeks. What could possibly go wrong? 

Well, everything. Following a poor Ramsdale back pass, we were a goal down after 15 seconds. Well, this is a disastrous start. But we do have 89 minutes and 45 seconds to turn this around right guys? 1-0 became 2-0 inside 15 minutes and The Emirates was in a state of complete shock and disbelief. Going into injury time we found ourselves 3-1 down and miraculously clawed it back to 3-3 and very nearly won it when at the death as Trossard clipped the bar from a long-range effort, but the damage was too great to reverse. Not just that night but the last couple of weeks. In the end, it was all just a step too far for our young team. I’ve always reflected on that game as the final nail in the coffin. Going into that game we still had the faintest glimmer of hope that anything can happen. But Southampton extinguished whatever little bit of faith we had and for that reason I strongly dislike them. 

Truthfully, Southampton have been a bogey team for us for some time now. We also drew at St Mary’s earlier that season but despite the four points The Saints took from us, they still finished bottom and were relegated shortly after that match much to my grim pleasure. I hope those meaningless draws made you very happy, lads. I had hoped they would fade away into obscurity like so many others but to my disgust, Southampton made an immediate return to the Premier League via the playoffs. Whilst many were celebrating the demise of Leeds, I was sympathising with them. Despite their insufferable fanbase, Leeds are a proper football club with a proper stadium with a strong following. Southampton play in a soulless bowl which they often don’t fill and have rubbish fans. I realise I’m being quite disrespectful to Southampton here, but they should’ve thought about that before they decided to be a tinpot yo-yo club. 

Southampton’s resumption of life in the Premier League has so far been an unhappy one as they remain winless in their first six games with just a solitary point to show for their efforts. Manager Russell Martin was particularly unhappy with his side’s capitulation away at Bournemouth on Monday night as the Saints went down 3-1 to their South Coast rivals. Saturday will see the return of a familiar face in Aaron Ramsdale who departed us only a few weeks ago for a fee in the region of £18mil with various potential add-ons which could score us some extra cash in the future. Whilst The Saints have been shipping goals left, right and centre in recent weeks you can hardly blame Ramsdale for that as their back line is particularly shocking. 

In terms of team news, Arteta has not yet given his press conference at the time of writing, but it should be noted that neither Timber nor White were pictured in training yesterday. It could mean nothing but who knows. If both are absent it leaves Arteta with a bit of a headache because it seems as though we are still sweating on Tomiyasu’s fitness so if none of the trio can play Arteta may need to find an unorthodox solution. Kiwior at right back perhaps? All will be revealed in due course. 

The good news is Merino is now fit so we do at least have plenty of options to call on in central midfield. There were rumours circulating yesterday that Odegaard is very close to fitness. I would be shocked if he makes the squad for Southampton, but it does at least sound like he is very much on course for a return after the international break which would be very welcome indeed. 

You would expect Trossard to continue deputising in the absence of Odegaard and assuming Timber makes it in time I think we will see an unchanged backline from the win over PSG. Merino is probably not yet ready for a start so I think Partey will play with the former getting another 20–25-minute cameo from the bench and the same for Ethan Nwaneri scoreline permitting.

Southampton are without Jack Stephens through suspension, but they appear to have a clean bill of health otherwise with the likes of Ben Brereton Diaz and exciting youngster Tyler Dibling expected to start on the wings. Southampton generally play in a 4-3-3 formation with a view to play on the front foot, a gameplan they will certainly have to significantly compromise for their visit to N5. 

We really ought to win this one comfortably although we said that about Leicester and that was certainly no cake walk despite our dominance. We will have to be more alert on Saturday. I’m going for a handsome 4-0 win as we look to continue our title push whilst contributing to Southampton’s likely relegation in May. 

What could possibly go wrong?

Posted in Match Preview | 34 Drinks »

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