The day has finally come and it is the end of an era! Arsene Wenger's 828th Premier League game in charge of Arsenal ended in a 1-0 victory at plucky Huddersfield.
The Gunners went into the game having lost seven consecutive top-flight away matches, but the first points of 2018 came Arsenal's way thanks to a goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
I was glad to see us end the season with a more positive result, so Wenger could end his reign with a win. Many fans including myself will be feeling the emotion now that the time for departure is here.
We've had some good times and we've had some bad times, but now the era is over I'm looking forward to seeing what could happen in the new post-Wenger era.
There is no denying he has done some great things for us, an unbeaten season, three league titles, seven FA Cups, two doubles and signing world class players over the years including the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires.
The second half of his reign has been filled with more frustration than glory, but overall when I look back on his 22 years at the club I'll remember it with a smile and think of the good times.
I just want to take a moment to comment on Huddersfield, who did superbly well to avoid relegation in their first season in the Premier League. They took a point off both champions Manchester City and Chelsea to secure their safety and David Wagner seems to be doing a great job.
Wenger was given a guard of honour by both sets of players as the longest serving manager in the Premier League prepared for his final game.
Huddersfield battled hard throughout and took the game to us early on with David Ospina comfortably saving Steve Mounie's header inside the opening few minutes.
Aaron Ramsey, who captained Arsenal in Wenger's last game in charge, tried his luck from long-range soon after, but his effort was saved by Jonas Lössl in the Huddersfield goal.
Huddersfield began to pile more pressure on Arsenal with only good defensive blocks keeping Christopher Schindler out.
Hector Bellerin and Granit Xhaka tracked back well before Tom Ince fired a shot over the crossbar and the same player sent another shot off target soon after.
At the other end Henrikh Mkhitaryan's free-kick hit the wall and went out for a corner after 18 minutes before Ramsey sent a shot off target.
There was a classy gesture after 22 minutes as both sets of fans gave Wenger a standing ovation to mark his 22 years in charge of the club.
Arsenal came close to opening the scoring after 26 minutes when Sead Kolasinac pounced on a corner, but his effort went just wide before Mkhitaryan's strike deflected off target soon after.
The Gunners finally broke the deadlock seven minutes before the break as Mkhitaryan and Alexandre Lacazette combined with some great football to set up Ramsey down the left, who crossed for Aubameyang to fire home.
Huddersfield were not going to give up without a fight and only good work by Alex Iwobi prevented Florent Hadergjonaj's shot from troubling Ospina.
Jonathan Hogg then curled a shot over the crossbar for the Terriers before Ospina produced a fine save to tip Ince's low drilled effort wide.
Huddersfield continue to press Arsenal and a quick break released Mounie to race in on goal, but fortunately for Arsenal Xhaka recovered well to deny him with a great tackle as more resolute defending kept the hosts out.
Wenger made the final substitution of his reign 18 minutes from time as Ainsley Maitland-Niles came on to replace Iwobi.
Huddersfield continued in their pursuit to find an equaliser as Laurent Depoitre headed wide from Chris Loewe's cross after 78 minutes.
Arsenal then wasted chances to put the result beyond doubt as Lacazette raced into the box one-on-one with Lössl, but the striker tried to chip it and it was an easy catch for the goalkeeper.
The Danish shot-stopper was called into action again soon after as substitute Danny Welbeck ran past two tackles and raced into the box, but Lössl reacted quickly to come off his line and block the shot.
Xhaka sent a long-range effort just wide as Arsenal tried to find a decisive second goal and that miss could have proved costly had Huddersfield converted one of their late efforts.
Huddersfield midfielder Dean Whitehead, who has been at the club since 2015, came on with four minutes remaining for his final appearance before retiring and moving onto the Terriers' coaching staff.
The hosts finished the game with a flurry and very nearly equalised two minutes from time, but Aaron Mooy's shot from a tight angle hit the top of the crossbar and bounced over.
Huddersfield substitute Philip Billing then tried his luck, but his effort on the half-volley went over the crossbar.
The Terriers had one final chance deep into injury time as Depoitre got on the end of a free-kick, but his header was smartly saved on the line by Ospina before the Colombian goalkeeper reclaimed the ball at the second attempt. There were some shouts that it had crossed the line, but it looked like a decent save to me.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Huddersfield fan Andy Dixon wasn't surprised by the result, but believes his side could have a bright future if the right additions are made.
"It wasn't an unexpected defeat given the effort that had gone into the previous two games this week to secure survival," said Dixon. "It's sad to lose another home game and these are the fixtures we need to get points from next season.
"We have a strong base to build from and if we keep our manager and add to the key players we have, we could easily do a Leicester City next season. That's after England win the World Cup of course."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Whoever takes over will have my full backing and it will truly be the start of a new era. It isn't just a new manager coming in, whoever it is will be replacing someone who spent over 20 years of his life at our beloved club and that will never be forgotten.
I'd personally like to see someone like Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri get the job, but there is plenty speculation of other names flying around so it will be interesting to see what final decision is made.
Wenger's reign was far from perfect, but I will look back on it fondly and, whether you are Wenger in or out, there is no denying that when the good times did happen, albeit a long time ago, they were amazing. It's time for him to move on, but let's always remember the good times.
I'd like to give a big thanks to Rob Beezley and Russ Morgan for their input this season as well as all the opposition fans for their comments, to my wife Linda, and of course to you the reader. I'm unsure what is happening with the blog next season due to my upcoming journey into fatherhood, but even if it isn't as regular there will still be something so don't worry.
22 years, 1,235 games, 716 wins, 2,298 goals, thanks for the memories! Merci Arsene!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 13 May 2018
Wednesday, 9 May 2018
And then there was one
Kelechi Iheanacho was a constant thorn in Arsenal's side in yet another away defeat, this time 3-1 at Leicester, in what was Arsene Wenger's penultimate match in charge.
Although there was little riding on this game, I went into it initially with some hope we could help Wenger's last few matches end victorious, especially after our impressive 5-0 home win over Burnley last time out.
I was a bit concerned when I saw the line-up and that Rob Holding and Dino Mavropanos were starting in the centre of defence. Holding could have a bright future and Mavropanos looked decent on his debut recently, but to have an inexperienced centre-back pairing was definitely worrying.
It was Mavropanos' red card that ultimately proved decisive as it seemed to totally knock the stuffing out of us and put Leicester firmly on the front foot for large spells of the match.
Before that though Arsenal had a great chance to open the scoring after just seven minutes. Good build-up play between Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi set up the latter, who created a bit of space before curling a shot towards goal which Eldin Jakupovic did excellently to palm away for a corner.
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech also performed well at the other end as without him the score could have been a lot worse. Cech was on hand to parry Jamie Vardy's shot wide for a corner after 12 minutes.
Cech could do nothing about the opening goal of the game two minutes later though. Arsenal failed to clear their lines from a corner before an excellent headed assist by Fousseni Diabate set up the lively Iheanacho to fire home from close range.
A big talking point arrived soon after as Mavropanos tangled with Iheanacho and hauled him down before he was given a straight red card. There is no denying it was a needless and careless foul by the Greek defender, but the question is was he really the last man and could it maybe have been a yellow card instead?
It did look to me as though there was another player, Rob Holding, and the covering defender had a chance of getting back across to stop the Leicester man. We'll never know for sure either way what would have happened, but it didn't change the fact that it was still a silly foul from Mavropanos.
Leicester grew in confidence and dominated the rest of the first half, with only a fine performance from Cech keeping the score down to 1-0 going in at the break. Harry Maguire got on the end of a free-kick, but Cech produced a fine reaction save to keep him out before parrying an effort from Iheanacho soon after.
Arsenal addressed the red card by bringing Shkodran Mustafi off the bench to replace Welbeck after 18 minutes, but in truth the Gunners rarely threatened in the first half.
The score could have been worse had Adrien Silva not sent a shot harmlessly off target shortly before the half hour mark as Leicester continued to dominate.
Arsenal's best chance of the first half fell to Henrikh Mkhitaryan after 34 minutes. Iwobi cut back into the box before setting up the Armenian attacking midfielder, whose shot was superbly parried away for a corner by Leicester's league debutant Jakupovic. From the resulting corner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tried his luck with a poked shot, but it brushed just past the far post.
At the other end, Cech did well to push away Silva's free-kick before producing another fine save to deny Iheanacho.
Iheanacho was nearly in again shortly before half-time, but he was denied by an excellent last-ditch block from Holding before sending a speculative effort from halfway over the crossbar soon after.
Arsenal started the second half brightly and very nearly found an equaliser within two minutes of the restart, but Sead Kolasinac's effort hit the foot of a post.
Back came Leicester with Diabate shooting under Cech before Mustafi came to the rescue to clear his effort off the line.
Arsenal finally got back into the game with a well-taken equaliser after 53 minutes. Ainsley Maitland-Niles ran down the right and into the box before cutting a cross back for Aubameyang, who forced a fine save from Jakupovic from point-blank range and rifled home the rebound into the roof of the net.
Both sides wasted chances to take the lead as Iheanacho and Christian Fuchs sent shots off target for the hosts, while Mkhitaryan took a touch before sending his effort over the crossbar.
Demarai Gray had only been on the field for a short while when he helped Leicester gain a match-winning penalty 14 minutes from time. The 21-year-old was fouled in the box by Mkhitaryan and, although there didn't appear to be too much contact, a penalty was given and Vardy sent Cech the wrong way to score from the spot.
Arsenal had chances to score their second equaliser of the game, but Granit Xhaka saw his shot deflect wide for a corner before Kolasinac's header was saved by Jakupovic.
Aubameyang has a decent goalscoring record for the Gunners and he could've grabbed his second goal had his shot not deflected straight into the reach of Jakupovic.
Leicester sealed their first Premier League victory over Arsenal since 1994 when Mahrez faked a shot before turning the defender and expertly slotting a shot beyond Cech.
What a miserable evening for Wenger and the Gunners! We still have no away points in the league in 2018, which is a truly awful statistic.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Leicester fan Tom Earl believes some of their players put in their best performances for the club against the Gunners.
"I thought it was a cracking game and we played with pace and power" said Earl. "I'm not sure if it was a red or not, I was at the opposite end of the ground. I'd say it was a red, last man from my view.
"It was nice to see Vardy score against Arsenal again and it was the best game I've seen for Silva at Leicester along with Kelechi.
"Wenger got a good standing ovation as well which was nice to see. He is a brilliant manager overall and deserves loads of respect."
"Leicester's season was okay and I would have taken top 10 at the start of the season."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Leicester was never going to be an easy match, but I also thought the score would be a lot closer than that.
Jakupovic and Cech both produced some fine saves to keep the scores down otherwise who knows what this game could have ended up.
No matter how the performance is analysed, the fact remains it is yet another league defeat on the road.
Without being disrespectful to our next opponents Huddersfield, how they have managed to get two points from back-to-back away games against champions Manchester City and Chelsea, yet we have no away points in 2018, shows just how poor we have been.
Huddersfield's latest draw at Chelsea secured their Premier League safety with a game to spare and they will want to end their first season in England's top division on a high.
We may not have anything to play for, but it would be nice if Wenger can at least sign of his reign with a victory and all three points.
With Arsenal though you just never know what's going to happen next, but I'll be watching and cheering the team on.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Although there was little riding on this game, I went into it initially with some hope we could help Wenger's last few matches end victorious, especially after our impressive 5-0 home win over Burnley last time out.
I was a bit concerned when I saw the line-up and that Rob Holding and Dino Mavropanos were starting in the centre of defence. Holding could have a bright future and Mavropanos looked decent on his debut recently, but to have an inexperienced centre-back pairing was definitely worrying.
It was Mavropanos' red card that ultimately proved decisive as it seemed to totally knock the stuffing out of us and put Leicester firmly on the front foot for large spells of the match.
Before that though Arsenal had a great chance to open the scoring after just seven minutes. Good build-up play between Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi set up the latter, who created a bit of space before curling a shot towards goal which Eldin Jakupovic did excellently to palm away for a corner.
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech also performed well at the other end as without him the score could have been a lot worse. Cech was on hand to parry Jamie Vardy's shot wide for a corner after 12 minutes.
Cech could do nothing about the opening goal of the game two minutes later though. Arsenal failed to clear their lines from a corner before an excellent headed assist by Fousseni Diabate set up the lively Iheanacho to fire home from close range.
A big talking point arrived soon after as Mavropanos tangled with Iheanacho and hauled him down before he was given a straight red card. There is no denying it was a needless and careless foul by the Greek defender, but the question is was he really the last man and could it maybe have been a yellow card instead?
It did look to me as though there was another player, Rob Holding, and the covering defender had a chance of getting back across to stop the Leicester man. We'll never know for sure either way what would have happened, but it didn't change the fact that it was still a silly foul from Mavropanos.
Leicester grew in confidence and dominated the rest of the first half, with only a fine performance from Cech keeping the score down to 1-0 going in at the break. Harry Maguire got on the end of a free-kick, but Cech produced a fine reaction save to keep him out before parrying an effort from Iheanacho soon after.
Arsenal addressed the red card by bringing Shkodran Mustafi off the bench to replace Welbeck after 18 minutes, but in truth the Gunners rarely threatened in the first half.
The score could have been worse had Adrien Silva not sent a shot harmlessly off target shortly before the half hour mark as Leicester continued to dominate.
Arsenal's best chance of the first half fell to Henrikh Mkhitaryan after 34 minutes. Iwobi cut back into the box before setting up the Armenian attacking midfielder, whose shot was superbly parried away for a corner by Leicester's league debutant Jakupovic. From the resulting corner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tried his luck with a poked shot, but it brushed just past the far post.
At the other end, Cech did well to push away Silva's free-kick before producing another fine save to deny Iheanacho.
Iheanacho was nearly in again shortly before half-time, but he was denied by an excellent last-ditch block from Holding before sending a speculative effort from halfway over the crossbar soon after.
Arsenal started the second half brightly and very nearly found an equaliser within two minutes of the restart, but Sead Kolasinac's effort hit the foot of a post.
Back came Leicester with Diabate shooting under Cech before Mustafi came to the rescue to clear his effort off the line.
Arsenal finally got back into the game with a well-taken equaliser after 53 minutes. Ainsley Maitland-Niles ran down the right and into the box before cutting a cross back for Aubameyang, who forced a fine save from Jakupovic from point-blank range and rifled home the rebound into the roof of the net.
Both sides wasted chances to take the lead as Iheanacho and Christian Fuchs sent shots off target for the hosts, while Mkhitaryan took a touch before sending his effort over the crossbar.
Demarai Gray had only been on the field for a short while when he helped Leicester gain a match-winning penalty 14 minutes from time. The 21-year-old was fouled in the box by Mkhitaryan and, although there didn't appear to be too much contact, a penalty was given and Vardy sent Cech the wrong way to score from the spot.
Arsenal had chances to score their second equaliser of the game, but Granit Xhaka saw his shot deflect wide for a corner before Kolasinac's header was saved by Jakupovic.
Aubameyang has a decent goalscoring record for the Gunners and he could've grabbed his second goal had his shot not deflected straight into the reach of Jakupovic.
Leicester sealed their first Premier League victory over Arsenal since 1994 when Mahrez faked a shot before turning the defender and expertly slotting a shot beyond Cech.
What a miserable evening for Wenger and the Gunners! We still have no away points in the league in 2018, which is a truly awful statistic.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Leicester fan Tom Earl believes some of their players put in their best performances for the club against the Gunners.
"I thought it was a cracking game and we played with pace and power" said Earl. "I'm not sure if it was a red or not, I was at the opposite end of the ground. I'd say it was a red, last man from my view.
"It was nice to see Vardy score against Arsenal again and it was the best game I've seen for Silva at Leicester along with Kelechi.
"Wenger got a good standing ovation as well which was nice to see. He is a brilliant manager overall and deserves loads of respect."
"Leicester's season was okay and I would have taken top 10 at the start of the season."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Leicester was never going to be an easy match, but I also thought the score would be a lot closer than that.
Jakupovic and Cech both produced some fine saves to keep the scores down otherwise who knows what this game could have ended up.
No matter how the performance is analysed, the fact remains it is yet another league defeat on the road.
Without being disrespectful to our next opponents Huddersfield, how they have managed to get two points from back-to-back away games against champions Manchester City and Chelsea, yet we have no away points in 2018, shows just how poor we have been.
Huddersfield's latest draw at Chelsea secured their Premier League safety with a game to spare and they will want to end their first season in England's top division on a high.
We may not have anything to play for, but it would be nice if Wenger can at least sign of his reign with a victory and all three points.
With Arsenal though you just never know what's going to happen next, but I'll be watching and cheering the team on.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 6 May 2018
Five star Emirates send off for Wenger
End of an era! Emotional scenes at the end as a great five-star attacking display saw Arsenal beat Burnley 5-0 in Arsene Wenger's final game in charge at the Emirates.
The performance raised questions as to where on earth this has been all season and why we couldn't play like this more often and earlier in the campaign?
Wenger is set to step down after 22 years at the helm, with only trips to Leicester and Huddersfield remaining before the end of a roller coaster of an era with the Gunners.
Maybe it was tiredness from other events, but I didn't feel the same emotion as I was expecting to during the match. This could also be because, although it was his last at home, it isn't his last game so the era isn't over just yet. When his speech started after the game though the emotions definitely emerged! Bob Wilson did a speech, the players lined up for him and Pat Rice presented the Arsenal boss with a special gold trophy, which commemorated the Invincibles season.
Wenger divided sections of the fan base in the latter half of his reign, but there was no denying that on this one day the stadium was united, with chants of 'There's Only One Arsene Wenger' coming from all over the ground. The players of both sides gave him a guard of honour as he walked out onto the pitch before the match.
There are still two away games to go, but Wenger's reign is nearly over. He is Arsenal's greatest ever manager in my lifetime and our fans will be forever grateful for what he did, such as the Invincibles, doubles and multiple FA Cups and some top class players (and some bad ones ha!).
The second half of his reign has been tough to watch at times and he maybe should have left sooner, which is a shame he didn't as it tarnished the opinion of some fans.
Regardless of what different fans think and how frustrating recent seasons have been, there is no denying what he has done for our club and I'm glad we could give him a positive Emirates farewell.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbed two of the goals, with Alexandre Lacazette, Sead Kolasinac and Alex Iwobi also getting their names on the scoresheet.
Per Mertesacker came off the bench with 13 minutes remaining and took the captain's armband on what was also his Emirates farewell.
Arsenal started brightly with Iwobi showing a burst of pace in the opening minutes and picking out Lacazette who was eventually crowded out in the box.
Iwobi failed to trouble Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope with a shot soon after, but the Gunners continued to look lively and deservedly opened the scoring after 14 minutes. Lacazette and Bellerin exchanged passes before Iwobi touched it back to the French striker, who arrowed a shot across goal and Aubameyang slid in to add the decisive finish.
There was a delay after 19 minutes as Granit Xhaka and Ashley Barnes clashed in mid-air, with the latter needing to be substituted.
Arsenal were a constant threat in attack with Henrikh Mkhitaryan sending a volley just over the crossbar, before Lacazette's effort was blocked by Burnley defender Matthew Lowton.
There was another stoppage five minutes before half-time as Dino Mavropanos and Sam Vokes collided in mid-air, but fortunately both players were able to continue.
Mkhitaryan's deflected strike forced a decent reaction save from Nick Pope soon after, but the Gunners were not to be denied a second goal as they doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time. Iwobi set up Bellerin who burst down the wing to meet the ball and cross for Lacazette to score on the volley.
Arsenal nearly made it three within a minute of the restart as Aubameyang set up Jack Wilshere, but the midfielder's first-time strike went over the crossbar.
One of Burnley's best chances fell to Vokes, but his header was comfortably saved by Arsenal's captain for the day Petr Cech.
The Gunners grabbed a third after 54 minutes when Wilshere made a great driving run through the midfield before setting up Kolasinac, who took a touch and slotted a shot beyond Pope and into the far corner.
Mkhitaryan sent a curling shot just wide as Arsenal continued to attack and play with more confidence than had been on show for the majority of this season.
At the other end Jeff Hendrick tried his luck for Burnley, but his shot deflected off target.
At times this season Arsenal have struggled to score with as much fluency as has been seen in previous seasons, but against Burnley the attack was on fire with the fourth goal arriving after 63 minutes. Iwobi picked up the ball on the halfway line and ran at the Burnley midfield before putting it out wide to Aubameyang. The Gabon striker then raced into the box and passed it back to his team-mate to rifle an unstoppable shot beyond Pope and into the roof of the net.
Arsenal completed the scoring 15 minutes from time when a good passing move released Bellerin to cross for Aubameyang, who doubled his tally by stabbing the ball home from close range.
Mertesacker came on for his final home performance for the club two minutes later and he took the captain's armband from Cech for the remainder of the game.
Bellerin shot over before Danny Welbeck nearly scored an absolute screamer, only to see his effort hit a post, but it didn't stop it from being a great performance to ensure Wenger's last home game ended on a high.
The result also means that Burnley cannot now catch Arsenal, who will finish no higher or lower than sixth regardless of the results of their last two games.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Burnley fan Oliver Gilford believes it was a very "un-Burnley" type of performance from his side at the Emirates.
"Despite not expecting anything from this game, especially with it being Arsene’s last at the Emirates it’s always disappointing to lose by so many and so very un-Burnley," said Gilford. "Some of the defending was very static and passive, which again is unusual.
"To put it into context though, Europa League football was confirmed before kick-off, which maybe influenced motivation against Arsenal, but we were also up against a team who have single players that cost more than our whole squad.
"I don’t see this type of performance happening often so let’s just move on and take three points at home to Bournemouth next weekend."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
As good as the performance was against Burnley I'm not going to get carried away. It was one game and I am very aware how quickly things can change, but it is great that we were able to give Wenger a fitting Emirates send off.
There isn't anything other than pride to play for in the remaining games, but let's at least try and ensure Wenger's reign ends with two more victories.
As for what will happen after that, I'll back whoever takes over!
Merci Arsene! We love you, but now it's time for a new era!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
The performance raised questions as to where on earth this has been all season and why we couldn't play like this more often and earlier in the campaign?
Wenger is set to step down after 22 years at the helm, with only trips to Leicester and Huddersfield remaining before the end of a roller coaster of an era with the Gunners.
Maybe it was tiredness from other events, but I didn't feel the same emotion as I was expecting to during the match. This could also be because, although it was his last at home, it isn't his last game so the era isn't over just yet. When his speech started after the game though the emotions definitely emerged! Bob Wilson did a speech, the players lined up for him and Pat Rice presented the Arsenal boss with a special gold trophy, which commemorated the Invincibles season.
Wenger divided sections of the fan base in the latter half of his reign, but there was no denying that on this one day the stadium was united, with chants of 'There's Only One Arsene Wenger' coming from all over the ground. The players of both sides gave him a guard of honour as he walked out onto the pitch before the match.
There are still two away games to go, but Wenger's reign is nearly over. He is Arsenal's greatest ever manager in my lifetime and our fans will be forever grateful for what he did, such as the Invincibles, doubles and multiple FA Cups and some top class players (and some bad ones ha!).
The second half of his reign has been tough to watch at times and he maybe should have left sooner, which is a shame he didn't as it tarnished the opinion of some fans.
Regardless of what different fans think and how frustrating recent seasons have been, there is no denying what he has done for our club and I'm glad we could give him a positive Emirates farewell.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbed two of the goals, with Alexandre Lacazette, Sead Kolasinac and Alex Iwobi also getting their names on the scoresheet.
Per Mertesacker came off the bench with 13 minutes remaining and took the captain's armband on what was also his Emirates farewell.
Arsenal started brightly with Iwobi showing a burst of pace in the opening minutes and picking out Lacazette who was eventually crowded out in the box.
Iwobi failed to trouble Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope with a shot soon after, but the Gunners continued to look lively and deservedly opened the scoring after 14 minutes. Lacazette and Bellerin exchanged passes before Iwobi touched it back to the French striker, who arrowed a shot across goal and Aubameyang slid in to add the decisive finish.
There was a delay after 19 minutes as Granit Xhaka and Ashley Barnes clashed in mid-air, with the latter needing to be substituted.
Arsenal were a constant threat in attack with Henrikh Mkhitaryan sending a volley just over the crossbar, before Lacazette's effort was blocked by Burnley defender Matthew Lowton.
There was another stoppage five minutes before half-time as Dino Mavropanos and Sam Vokes collided in mid-air, but fortunately both players were able to continue.
Mkhitaryan's deflected strike forced a decent reaction save from Nick Pope soon after, but the Gunners were not to be denied a second goal as they doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time. Iwobi set up Bellerin who burst down the wing to meet the ball and cross for Lacazette to score on the volley.
Arsenal nearly made it three within a minute of the restart as Aubameyang set up Jack Wilshere, but the midfielder's first-time strike went over the crossbar.
One of Burnley's best chances fell to Vokes, but his header was comfortably saved by Arsenal's captain for the day Petr Cech.
The Gunners grabbed a third after 54 minutes when Wilshere made a great driving run through the midfield before setting up Kolasinac, who took a touch and slotted a shot beyond Pope and into the far corner.
Mkhitaryan sent a curling shot just wide as Arsenal continued to attack and play with more confidence than had been on show for the majority of this season.
At the other end Jeff Hendrick tried his luck for Burnley, but his shot deflected off target.
At times this season Arsenal have struggled to score with as much fluency as has been seen in previous seasons, but against Burnley the attack was on fire with the fourth goal arriving after 63 minutes. Iwobi picked up the ball on the halfway line and ran at the Burnley midfield before putting it out wide to Aubameyang. The Gabon striker then raced into the box and passed it back to his team-mate to rifle an unstoppable shot beyond Pope and into the roof of the net.
Arsenal completed the scoring 15 minutes from time when a good passing move released Bellerin to cross for Aubameyang, who doubled his tally by stabbing the ball home from close range.
Mertesacker came on for his final home performance for the club two minutes later and he took the captain's armband from Cech for the remainder of the game.
Bellerin shot over before Danny Welbeck nearly scored an absolute screamer, only to see his effort hit a post, but it didn't stop it from being a great performance to ensure Wenger's last home game ended on a high.
The result also means that Burnley cannot now catch Arsenal, who will finish no higher or lower than sixth regardless of the results of their last two games.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Burnley fan Oliver Gilford believes it was a very "un-Burnley" type of performance from his side at the Emirates.
"Despite not expecting anything from this game, especially with it being Arsene’s last at the Emirates it’s always disappointing to lose by so many and so very un-Burnley," said Gilford. "Some of the defending was very static and passive, which again is unusual.
"To put it into context though, Europa League football was confirmed before kick-off, which maybe influenced motivation against Arsenal, but we were also up against a team who have single players that cost more than our whole squad.
"I don’t see this type of performance happening often so let’s just move on and take three points at home to Bournemouth next weekend."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
As good as the performance was against Burnley I'm not going to get carried away. It was one game and I am very aware how quickly things can change, but it is great that we were able to give Wenger a fitting Emirates send off.
There isn't anything other than pride to play for in the remaining games, but let's at least try and ensure Wenger's reign ends with two more victories.
As for what will happen after that, I'll back whoever takes over!
Merci Arsene! We love you, but now it's time for a new era!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Friday, 4 May 2018
Koscielny stretchered off as Gunners eliminated from Europe
There will be no fairy-tale ending to Arsene Wenger's 22-year reign at the club as Arsenal's European adventure ended after a 2-1 aggregate defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-final.
We really should have taken advantage of having an extra man for most of the first leg. We controlled possession for spells well in both legs, but we lacked a killer instinct in front of goal and were ultimately made to pay the price for one or two moments of schoolboy defending.
We didn't play badly by any means, but in a game of such important where margins are so fine, we weren't good enough. We attacked well and put some good moves together, but at the same time we didn't test Jan Oblak nearly enough.
It was always going to be tough against a side with one of the best home defensive records and, although we played okay, it just wasn't enough and our remote chance of having Champions League football next season has now gone.
It was also the end of an era as it was the final European game of Wenger's reign. It is a shame it didn't end better, but we only have ourselves to blame as we wasted chances in the first leg before Madrid equalised.
We always knew it was going to be a hard task going into the second leg, but at 1-1 it still wasn't over just yet.
We took the game to them for parts of the second leg, but ultimately we didn't do enough with our possession and lacked a cutting edge up front that proved a key factor in the 1-0 away defeat.
Arsenal started brightly with Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil combining well early on before Alexandre Lacazette's cross curled just away from Jack Wilshere.
Atletico Madrid were on the attack soon after as Diego Costa beat Nacho Monreal and cut inside before sending a shot into the side netting from an acute angle.
Arsenal were dealt a big blow after eight minutes when captain Laurent Koscielny was stretchered off with a bad Achilles injury. Wenger later said it is too early to see how bad the injury is, but that it doesn't look good.
It definitely puts the rest of his season and his World Cup prospects into serious doubt. Calum Chambers came on, which initially worried me, but to be fair to him he stood up to be counted and put in a fairly decent performance, an improvement on some of his past displays.
Arsenal continued to pose a threat in attack, but couldn't do anything with it as passes from Monreal and Aaron Ramsey just failed to reach a team-mate.
Chambers came to the rescue and put in a superb block to deny Costa after 25 minutes as the game remained in the balance.
Arsenal pushed forward with Lacazette being forced wide by Diego Godin before picking out Ozil, whose shot was blocked by the defence.
Ramsey's through ball very nearly set up a chance soon after, but it was just inches away from Monreal tapping it in.
Although Arsenal were enjoying a decent amount of the ball, Atletico Madrid continued to pose a threat and probably looked the more likely to score. Koke sent a powerful volley just wide before Antoine Griezmann curled a shot off target.
Atletico Madrid moved ahead on aggregate in first-half stoppage time as Griezmann picked up possession and slipped in a sublime ball for Costa, who lifted the ball over the onrushing David Ospina. It was a well-taken goal and Costa was too strong for Hector Bellerin, who really should have done better in holding him off.
Pressure was now on Arsenal even more so to find a goal to force extra-time, but it nearly got worse for the Gunners within two minutes of the restart.
An excellent tackle from Shkodran Mustafi denied Griezmann before Costa got his head to a corner, but fortunately his effort was comfortably saved by Ospina.
Danny Welbeck made a great run at the defence before being stopped by a bad challenge from Madrid's Gabi, who was booked. Who knows where that move could have led had there not been a foul.
Arsenal wasted a great chance soon after when Wilshere's long-range strike sliced towards Ramsey, who brushed off two tackles, but couldn't quite fire his shot towards goal.
Madrid nearly made the Gunners pay as Costa turned past Mustafi, but luckily Chambers was on hand to deny him with a superb block as the Spanish striker was about to shoot.
Griezmann tried his luck shortly before the hour mark, but his free-kick sailed well wide.
Arsenal missed a flurry of chances as the game reached the hour mark. Ozil ran at the defence before sending a ball into box, but Godin cleared well, while the German's low drive narrowly missed the diving header of Lacazette soon after.
The closest the Gunners came to a goal was when Oblak produced a fine save to palm Xhaka's long-range shot around a post.
Chambers once again kept Arsenal's European hopes alive as he dived in to make a pivotal block to deny Griezmann.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan came off the bench with 22 minutes remaining and it didn't take him long to inject some life into the game, but in my opinion he really should have been brought on earlier.
The Armenian latched onto a loose ball before hitting a great shot just over and onto the roof of the net 18 minutes from time.
Time was beginning to run out for Arsenal as another chance went begging. A great ball over the top by Xhaka was headed down by Monreal, but it just missed Welbeck who was waiting to pounce.
Atletico Madrid ended the game on top with only an excellent last-ditch tackle by Xhaka denying Costa.
Arsenal's final chance fell to Ramsey, who latched onto a lofted pass by Xhaka, but before he could cause any real trouble Thomas Partey cleared the danger.
Substitute Fernando Torres nearly extended Madrid's advantage after latching onto Griezmann's pass, but Ospina produced a fine save to keep him out.
Arsenal failed to pose any real threat in the final 10 minutes, meaning Wenger's final European campaign ended in defeat and with the Gunners having no chance of Champions League football next season.
Whoever takes over the manager's hot-seat will have to be content with the Europa League in the 2018/19 campaign, a competition I have found it difficult to be too enthusiastic about until its latter stages.
EUROPA LEAGUE
Arsenal finished four points clear at the top of Group H and, although that only included one defeat, it wasn't exactly the most inspiring campaign.
A great 6-0 victory over BATE Borisov was probably the highlight of an otherwise uneventful group stages, which didn't really capture my imagination.
Without disrespecting our opponents we really should have produced more dominant attacking displays against Red Star Belgrade and Cologne.
In the round of 32 a dominant 3-0 away win at Ostersunds was nearly undone when we fell to a disappointing 2-1 home defeat in the second leg, but we still went through on aggregate.
Our best performance of the campaign was probably the first leg of our round of 16 tie when we won 2-0 at AC Milan. We followed that up with a 3-1 win at the Emirates to cruise through on aggregate.
We thrashed CSKA Moscow in the first leg of our quarter-final with an assured 4-1 victory, but it could have gone horribly wrong after going 2-0 down in the second leg. Fortunately late goals from Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey ensured we still went through.
We then met Atletico Madrid in the semi-final and the rest is history...unfortunately not good history!
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Like all Arsenal fans I'm not particularly happy at us having no Champions League football again next season.
Even with a new manager at the helm, the Europa League doesn't exactly fill me with as good a feeling as being in the Champions League, although I'd be over the moon if we did happen to win it next season.
European football under Wenger is now over and there are only three Premier League games left of his reign, starting with his final game at the Emirates against Burnley.
Let's hope we can end on three victories so Wenger can at least finish with positive results before the new era begins!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
We really should have taken advantage of having an extra man for most of the first leg. We controlled possession for spells well in both legs, but we lacked a killer instinct in front of goal and were ultimately made to pay the price for one or two moments of schoolboy defending.
We didn't play badly by any means, but in a game of such important where margins are so fine, we weren't good enough. We attacked well and put some good moves together, but at the same time we didn't test Jan Oblak nearly enough.
It was always going to be tough against a side with one of the best home defensive records and, although we played okay, it just wasn't enough and our remote chance of having Champions League football next season has now gone.
It was also the end of an era as it was the final European game of Wenger's reign. It is a shame it didn't end better, but we only have ourselves to blame as we wasted chances in the first leg before Madrid equalised.
We always knew it was going to be a hard task going into the second leg, but at 1-1 it still wasn't over just yet.
We took the game to them for parts of the second leg, but ultimately we didn't do enough with our possession and lacked a cutting edge up front that proved a key factor in the 1-0 away defeat.
Arsenal started brightly with Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil combining well early on before Alexandre Lacazette's cross curled just away from Jack Wilshere.
Atletico Madrid were on the attack soon after as Diego Costa beat Nacho Monreal and cut inside before sending a shot into the side netting from an acute angle.
Arsenal were dealt a big blow after eight minutes when captain Laurent Koscielny was stretchered off with a bad Achilles injury. Wenger later said it is too early to see how bad the injury is, but that it doesn't look good.
It definitely puts the rest of his season and his World Cup prospects into serious doubt. Calum Chambers came on, which initially worried me, but to be fair to him he stood up to be counted and put in a fairly decent performance, an improvement on some of his past displays.
Arsenal continued to pose a threat in attack, but couldn't do anything with it as passes from Monreal and Aaron Ramsey just failed to reach a team-mate.
Chambers came to the rescue and put in a superb block to deny Costa after 25 minutes as the game remained in the balance.
Arsenal pushed forward with Lacazette being forced wide by Diego Godin before picking out Ozil, whose shot was blocked by the defence.
Ramsey's through ball very nearly set up a chance soon after, but it was just inches away from Monreal tapping it in.
Although Arsenal were enjoying a decent amount of the ball, Atletico Madrid continued to pose a threat and probably looked the more likely to score. Koke sent a powerful volley just wide before Antoine Griezmann curled a shot off target.
Atletico Madrid moved ahead on aggregate in first-half stoppage time as Griezmann picked up possession and slipped in a sublime ball for Costa, who lifted the ball over the onrushing David Ospina. It was a well-taken goal and Costa was too strong for Hector Bellerin, who really should have done better in holding him off.
Pressure was now on Arsenal even more so to find a goal to force extra-time, but it nearly got worse for the Gunners within two minutes of the restart.
An excellent tackle from Shkodran Mustafi denied Griezmann before Costa got his head to a corner, but fortunately his effort was comfortably saved by Ospina.
Danny Welbeck made a great run at the defence before being stopped by a bad challenge from Madrid's Gabi, who was booked. Who knows where that move could have led had there not been a foul.
Arsenal wasted a great chance soon after when Wilshere's long-range strike sliced towards Ramsey, who brushed off two tackles, but couldn't quite fire his shot towards goal.
Madrid nearly made the Gunners pay as Costa turned past Mustafi, but luckily Chambers was on hand to deny him with a superb block as the Spanish striker was about to shoot.
Griezmann tried his luck shortly before the hour mark, but his free-kick sailed well wide.
Arsenal missed a flurry of chances as the game reached the hour mark. Ozil ran at the defence before sending a ball into box, but Godin cleared well, while the German's low drive narrowly missed the diving header of Lacazette soon after.
The closest the Gunners came to a goal was when Oblak produced a fine save to palm Xhaka's long-range shot around a post.
Chambers once again kept Arsenal's European hopes alive as he dived in to make a pivotal block to deny Griezmann.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan came off the bench with 22 minutes remaining and it didn't take him long to inject some life into the game, but in my opinion he really should have been brought on earlier.
The Armenian latched onto a loose ball before hitting a great shot just over and onto the roof of the net 18 minutes from time.
Time was beginning to run out for Arsenal as another chance went begging. A great ball over the top by Xhaka was headed down by Monreal, but it just missed Welbeck who was waiting to pounce.
Atletico Madrid ended the game on top with only an excellent last-ditch tackle by Xhaka denying Costa.
Arsenal's final chance fell to Ramsey, who latched onto a lofted pass by Xhaka, but before he could cause any real trouble Thomas Partey cleared the danger.
Substitute Fernando Torres nearly extended Madrid's advantage after latching onto Griezmann's pass, but Ospina produced a fine save to keep him out.
Arsenal failed to pose any real threat in the final 10 minutes, meaning Wenger's final European campaign ended in defeat and with the Gunners having no chance of Champions League football next season.
Whoever takes over the manager's hot-seat will have to be content with the Europa League in the 2018/19 campaign, a competition I have found it difficult to be too enthusiastic about until its latter stages.
EUROPA LEAGUE
Arsenal finished four points clear at the top of Group H and, although that only included one defeat, it wasn't exactly the most inspiring campaign.
A great 6-0 victory over BATE Borisov was probably the highlight of an otherwise uneventful group stages, which didn't really capture my imagination.
Without disrespecting our opponents we really should have produced more dominant attacking displays against Red Star Belgrade and Cologne.
In the round of 32 a dominant 3-0 away win at Ostersunds was nearly undone when we fell to a disappointing 2-1 home defeat in the second leg, but we still went through on aggregate.
Our best performance of the campaign was probably the first leg of our round of 16 tie when we won 2-0 at AC Milan. We followed that up with a 3-1 win at the Emirates to cruise through on aggregate.
We thrashed CSKA Moscow in the first leg of our quarter-final with an assured 4-1 victory, but it could have gone horribly wrong after going 2-0 down in the second leg. Fortunately late goals from Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey ensured we still went through.
We then met Atletico Madrid in the semi-final and the rest is history...unfortunately not good history!
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Like all Arsenal fans I'm not particularly happy at us having no Champions League football again next season.
Even with a new manager at the helm, the Europa League doesn't exactly fill me with as good a feeling as being in the Champions League, although I'd be over the moon if we did happen to win it next season.
European football under Wenger is now over and there are only three Premier League games left of his reign, starting with his final game at the Emirates against Burnley.
Let's hope we can end on three victories so Wenger can at least finish with positive results before the new era begins!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 29 April 2018
Wenger fails to win final Mourinho battle
Arsene Wenger ended on the wrong side of his final battle with Jose Mourinho with an all too familiar late goal in a frustrating 2-1 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Old Trafford has always proved a tough ground for us and our team selection, although partly forced by injury, was somewhat surprising. For some reason I'd convinced myself that Greek defender Dinos Mavropanos was out on loan, so to see him suddenly handed his debut was alarming. To his credit though, Mavropanos put in an impressive display and looked more solid than our so-called regulars have this season.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles was probably our stand-out performer and our usual shaky defence didn't actually look too bad at Old Trafford. The worry was more at the other end as we didn't create enough chances, with just three shots on target in the whole match.
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is among the best in the world and it was always going to be tough to get one past him. We did in fact manage that through former United player Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but De Gea barely had a save to make all game which isn't good enough. We put together some decent moves in attack, but without much of an end product, and that was the most worrying thing for me in this match.
I was frustrated to see Mkhitaryan subbed off with 15 minutes remaining as he was causing United problems, but it was later revealed that the Armenian had taken a knock to his knee.
Before the game Sir Alex Ferguson gave Wenger a silver vase in a pre-match presentation in tribute to the Frenchman who is leaving Arsenal at the end of the season after 22 years with the club.
Back to the match and it was Manchester United who had the better of the early chances, with Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba scuffing efforts off target. Calum Chambers had to be alert to deny Jesse Lingard with an excellent last-ditch tackle soon after.
Arsenal tested De Gea after 15 minutes via Reiss Nelson's shot from distance, but the youngster's effort was comfortably saved by the Spanish goalkeeper.
That wasted opportunity proved costly as United took the lead after 16 minutes. Pogba passed to Romelu Lukaku, who lofted the ball over the defence before former Gunner Alexis Sanchez saw his header superbly deflected onto a post by Hector Bellerin. Unfortunately for Arsenal, Pogba was on hand to side-foot home the rebound into the roof of the net.
Arsenal came agonisingly close to levelling the scores soon after when Maitland-Niles' back-heel set up Mkhitaryan, but the Armenian's effort went just wide.
The Gunners continued to attack with the lively Alex Iwobi releasing Bellerin in space before the right-back crossed for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose header was saved by De Gea.
Ashley Young came close to giving Manchester United a fortuitous second goal four minutes before the break when his cross hit a post.
The final chance of the first half fell to Arsenal with Maitland-Niles again in the thick of the action. The 20-year-old set up Aubameyang, who crossed for Nelson, but the youngster's header sailed wide.
Arsenal were back on level terms within six minutes of the restart when Granit Xhaka won the ball in midfield and set up Mkhitaryan, who took time before calmly slotting a shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards.
The goal seemed to galvanise Arsenal with Mkhitaryan coming close to doubling his tally soon after, but his curling effort went wide.
Danny Welbeck worked tirelessly at both ends of the field when he came off the bench to replace Nelson after 64 minutes. He did excellently well to steal possession back for the Gunners soon after, but his long-range shot was comfortably saved by De Gea.
Manchester United continued to pose a threat at the other end, with only a brilliant headed clearance by Mavropanos stopping an attack to put the ball behind for a corner.
Substitute Joe Willock tried to run at the United defence in the closing minutes as he sprinted clear from his own box and fended off a challenge before releasing Welbeck. Fortunately for the hosts, Chris Smalling was on hand to slide in and clear the danger.
It looked as if Arsenal would at least get a point for their troubles when Fellaini's header hit the post and went in off Marcus Rashford and was rightly ruled out for offside in the final minute of normal time.
Wenger's last Premier League trip to Manchester, however, ended in failure as substitute Marouane Fellaini nipped in front of the defence to head home Young's cross in stoppage time.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Manchester United fan Aran Scarrott was pleased with the result, although he acknowledge it was a rather "unconvincing win" over the Gunners.
"In the end, I guess it was another unconvincing win in a fairly unconvincing season," said Scarrott. "Having said that, we are starting to dig out results when not playing too well and scoring some Fergie time goals again, so some positive signs.
"Arsenal are clearly going for Europa glory, like we were this time last season."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We actually played fairly well for spells, especially the performances of Mavropanos and Maitland-Niles, but ultimately we came away with nothing.
Although there are some positives to take from the game, they are outweighed more by the fact that we are still yet to register a point on our travels in the league in 2018 and this is simply unacceptable.
I never thought we were going to be getting a top-four finish the way the last few months have been, but after this latest defeat it is now mathematically impossible.
Being down in sixth is not good and it could yet get worse. That defeat leaves us only three points ahead of our next league opponents Burnley.
Burnley should not be taken lightly and will be tough opponents, but if Wenger's final league game at the Emirates is to end positively than nothing other than a win will do.
The atmosphere should be electric and I expect an improved performance, but Burnley will be up for it too so there will be no margin for error and we need to be far more clinical in attack.
Before we can even think about that we have an even more important match - the second leg of our Europa League semi-final away at Atletico Madrid.
The tie is evenly balanced in terms of the scoreline at 1-1, but with an away goal to their name and such a good defensive record on their own turf, it is going to take a mammoth effort for a team struggling on their travels to get a result.
If Wenger is to have any chance of ending his reign on a high then Thursday's encounter will be pivotal. It is going to take a big effort to overcome Atletico Madrid, but we must not give up and must get behind the lads.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Old Trafford has always proved a tough ground for us and our team selection, although partly forced by injury, was somewhat surprising. For some reason I'd convinced myself that Greek defender Dinos Mavropanos was out on loan, so to see him suddenly handed his debut was alarming. To his credit though, Mavropanos put in an impressive display and looked more solid than our so-called regulars have this season.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles was probably our stand-out performer and our usual shaky defence didn't actually look too bad at Old Trafford. The worry was more at the other end as we didn't create enough chances, with just three shots on target in the whole match.
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is among the best in the world and it was always going to be tough to get one past him. We did in fact manage that through former United player Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but De Gea barely had a save to make all game which isn't good enough. We put together some decent moves in attack, but without much of an end product, and that was the most worrying thing for me in this match.
I was frustrated to see Mkhitaryan subbed off with 15 minutes remaining as he was causing United problems, but it was later revealed that the Armenian had taken a knock to his knee.
Before the game Sir Alex Ferguson gave Wenger a silver vase in a pre-match presentation in tribute to the Frenchman who is leaving Arsenal at the end of the season after 22 years with the club.
Back to the match and it was Manchester United who had the better of the early chances, with Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba scuffing efforts off target. Calum Chambers had to be alert to deny Jesse Lingard with an excellent last-ditch tackle soon after.
Arsenal tested De Gea after 15 minutes via Reiss Nelson's shot from distance, but the youngster's effort was comfortably saved by the Spanish goalkeeper.
That wasted opportunity proved costly as United took the lead after 16 minutes. Pogba passed to Romelu Lukaku, who lofted the ball over the defence before former Gunner Alexis Sanchez saw his header superbly deflected onto a post by Hector Bellerin. Unfortunately for Arsenal, Pogba was on hand to side-foot home the rebound into the roof of the net.
Arsenal came agonisingly close to levelling the scores soon after when Maitland-Niles' back-heel set up Mkhitaryan, but the Armenian's effort went just wide.
The Gunners continued to attack with the lively Alex Iwobi releasing Bellerin in space before the right-back crossed for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose header was saved by De Gea.
Ashley Young came close to giving Manchester United a fortuitous second goal four minutes before the break when his cross hit a post.
The final chance of the first half fell to Arsenal with Maitland-Niles again in the thick of the action. The 20-year-old set up Aubameyang, who crossed for Nelson, but the youngster's header sailed wide.
Arsenal were back on level terms within six minutes of the restart when Granit Xhaka won the ball in midfield and set up Mkhitaryan, who took time before calmly slotting a shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards.
The goal seemed to galvanise Arsenal with Mkhitaryan coming close to doubling his tally soon after, but his curling effort went wide.
Danny Welbeck worked tirelessly at both ends of the field when he came off the bench to replace Nelson after 64 minutes. He did excellently well to steal possession back for the Gunners soon after, but his long-range shot was comfortably saved by De Gea.
Manchester United continued to pose a threat at the other end, with only a brilliant headed clearance by Mavropanos stopping an attack to put the ball behind for a corner.
Substitute Joe Willock tried to run at the United defence in the closing minutes as he sprinted clear from his own box and fended off a challenge before releasing Welbeck. Fortunately for the hosts, Chris Smalling was on hand to slide in and clear the danger.
It looked as if Arsenal would at least get a point for their troubles when Fellaini's header hit the post and went in off Marcus Rashford and was rightly ruled out for offside in the final minute of normal time.
Wenger's last Premier League trip to Manchester, however, ended in failure as substitute Marouane Fellaini nipped in front of the defence to head home Young's cross in stoppage time.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Manchester United fan Aran Scarrott was pleased with the result, although he acknowledge it was a rather "unconvincing win" over the Gunners.
"In the end, I guess it was another unconvincing win in a fairly unconvincing season," said Scarrott. "Having said that, we are starting to dig out results when not playing too well and scoring some Fergie time goals again, so some positive signs.
"Arsenal are clearly going for Europa glory, like we were this time last season."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We actually played fairly well for spells, especially the performances of Mavropanos and Maitland-Niles, but ultimately we came away with nothing.
Although there are some positives to take from the game, they are outweighed more by the fact that we are still yet to register a point on our travels in the league in 2018 and this is simply unacceptable.
I never thought we were going to be getting a top-four finish the way the last few months have been, but after this latest defeat it is now mathematically impossible.
Being down in sixth is not good and it could yet get worse. That defeat leaves us only three points ahead of our next league opponents Burnley.
Burnley should not be taken lightly and will be tough opponents, but if Wenger's final league game at the Emirates is to end positively than nothing other than a win will do.
The atmosphere should be electric and I expect an improved performance, but Burnley will be up for it too so there will be no margin for error and we need to be far more clinical in attack.
Before we can even think about that we have an even more important match - the second leg of our Europa League semi-final away at Atletico Madrid.
The tie is evenly balanced in terms of the scoreline at 1-1, but with an away goal to their name and such a good defensive record on their own turf, it is going to take a mammoth effort for a team struggling on their travels to get a result.
If Wenger is to have any chance of ending his reign on a high then Thursday's encounter will be pivotal. It is going to take a big effort to overcome Atletico Madrid, but we must not give up and must get behind the lads.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Friday, 27 April 2018
Gunners' European fate hangs in balance after conceding late goal
A lapse in defending proved costly for Arsenal as the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against 10-man Atletico Madrid ended 1-1 at Emirates Stadium.
As a standalone result a draw isn't all that bad, especially against such a top quality side, but in the context of the game, where we had an extra man for the majority of it, we really should have made our chances count more.
For large spells we actually defended well and took the game to our Spanish opponents. The defensive lapse was admittedly only brief, but it was enough to have a significant impact on the tie and one we could be likely to regret.
Sime Vrsaljko's night got off to a bad start when he was booked for a late challenge on Jack Wilshere after just two minutes and it was about to get even worse.
Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette wasted two decent chances - first seeing a volley shave the outside of a post before being denied by an excellent save from visitors' goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who palmed his next effort away from danger.
The game was barely 10 minutes old when Vrsaljko was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence. The Croatian right-back mistimed a tackle on Lacazette and landed on the striker's ankle, leaving Atletico Madrid down to 10 men.
It got worse for the visitors soon after as the referee sent Madrid manager Diego Simeone to the stands.
Arsenal started to dominate and really take the game to their opponents as they tried to make the most of having the extra man, but the chances continued to come and go for the Gunners.
Lacazette headed over the bar from Nacho Monreal's cross before Wilshere's effort was comfortably saved by Oblak soon after.
Arsenal wasted a further three chances to grab a goal in the first half. More great link up play between Wilshere and Danny Welbeck ended with the latter's shot being well saved by the legs of Oblak.
Laurent Koscielny evaded his marker at a corner and very nearly sliced a close range shot in before Monreal saw his volleyed effort sail just wide.
Arsenal were completely outplaying their opponents, but their dominance was very nearly undone after 37 minutes. Thomas Partey ran through the middle before the ball broke for Antoine Griezmann, but David Ospina produced a fine reaction save.
The visitors tried their luck again just before half-time, but Angel Correra's effort went just over the crossbar.
The Gunners started the second half brightly with Aaron Ramsey's through ball setting up Welbeck, whose shot was at too tight an angle to cause much trouble.
The Welsh midfielder then saw a shot saved by Oblak before Arsenal opened the scoring shortly after the hour mark. Monreal did well to wrestle back possession before slipping the ball into Wilshere, who crossed for Lacazette to head home.
The France international wasted the chance to double his tally after 69 minutes as he headed just over the crossbar from Mesut Ozil's corner.
That miss proved costly as the visitors hit back to level eight minutes from time. A long ball over the top put Griezmann one-on-one with Ospina before Koscielny flicked the ball up into his face, which then hit the Madrid striker. Griezmann was then able to gather the ball before seeing a shot blocked by Ospina before he latched onto the rebound, taking it past the goalkeeper and lofting it into the net after Shkodran Mustafi slipped.
Arsenal refused to give up and very nearly snatched victory at the death, but Oblak produced a fine save at full stretch to tip Ramsey's header away as the match ended all square.
SECOND LEG
Given how we dominated large spells of the match and had an extra man the result is rather disappointing, but the tie is still all to play for.
Some fans wouldn't have expected us to even still be in the tie at the halfway stage. Yes, the defensive lapse is annoying and yes, Atletico Madrid are firmly in the driving seat, but we are not out of it yet.
Considering Atletico currently have one of the best defensive records in Europe and rarely concede at home we will have our work cut out, so we will have to make sure we are clinical with the chances we do get.
The fact remains we absolutely have to score so we need to take the game to them right from the off, whilst also keeping things solid at the back.
I can see us nicking a goal, but our defence still worries me and it will have to be on top form for us to stand a chance.
The challenge for us to reach the final has just got harder, but let's not give up hope just yet!
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Before we can even begin to think about the second leg we have the matter of a huge Premier League game - the trip to Old Trafford.
Okay, we don't have much to play for in the league, but this is always a fixture in the calendar we want to win above several others.
Our away form is very poor at the moment and Arsene Wenger doesn't have the best of luck in battles against Jose Mourinho, but this is his last chance to get one over on him in the Premier League.
With arguably one of the world's best goalkeepers between the sticks in David De Gea we could have our work cut out, but we need to make sure we somehow produce the performance of the highest quality.
If anything can fire us up for the second leg more it would be a win at Manchester United, but whether we can do that remains to be seen.
Finally I'd just like to say how great it was to see Santi Cazorla training at the Emirates before our first leg match against Atletico Madrid. It will be great to get him back on the pitch, which is likely to be next season providing we keep him on. I for one can't wait as he has been a player we have most certainly missed this season!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
As a standalone result a draw isn't all that bad, especially against such a top quality side, but in the context of the game, where we had an extra man for the majority of it, we really should have made our chances count more.
For large spells we actually defended well and took the game to our Spanish opponents. The defensive lapse was admittedly only brief, but it was enough to have a significant impact on the tie and one we could be likely to regret.
Sime Vrsaljko's night got off to a bad start when he was booked for a late challenge on Jack Wilshere after just two minutes and it was about to get even worse.
Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette wasted two decent chances - first seeing a volley shave the outside of a post before being denied by an excellent save from visitors' goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who palmed his next effort away from danger.
The game was barely 10 minutes old when Vrsaljko was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence. The Croatian right-back mistimed a tackle on Lacazette and landed on the striker's ankle, leaving Atletico Madrid down to 10 men.
It got worse for the visitors soon after as the referee sent Madrid manager Diego Simeone to the stands.
Arsenal started to dominate and really take the game to their opponents as they tried to make the most of having the extra man, but the chances continued to come and go for the Gunners.
Lacazette headed over the bar from Nacho Monreal's cross before Wilshere's effort was comfortably saved by Oblak soon after.
Arsenal wasted a further three chances to grab a goal in the first half. More great link up play between Wilshere and Danny Welbeck ended with the latter's shot being well saved by the legs of Oblak.
Laurent Koscielny evaded his marker at a corner and very nearly sliced a close range shot in before Monreal saw his volleyed effort sail just wide.
Arsenal were completely outplaying their opponents, but their dominance was very nearly undone after 37 minutes. Thomas Partey ran through the middle before the ball broke for Antoine Griezmann, but David Ospina produced a fine reaction save.
The visitors tried their luck again just before half-time, but Angel Correra's effort went just over the crossbar.
The Gunners started the second half brightly with Aaron Ramsey's through ball setting up Welbeck, whose shot was at too tight an angle to cause much trouble.
The Welsh midfielder then saw a shot saved by Oblak before Arsenal opened the scoring shortly after the hour mark. Monreal did well to wrestle back possession before slipping the ball into Wilshere, who crossed for Lacazette to head home.
The France international wasted the chance to double his tally after 69 minutes as he headed just over the crossbar from Mesut Ozil's corner.
That miss proved costly as the visitors hit back to level eight minutes from time. A long ball over the top put Griezmann one-on-one with Ospina before Koscielny flicked the ball up into his face, which then hit the Madrid striker. Griezmann was then able to gather the ball before seeing a shot blocked by Ospina before he latched onto the rebound, taking it past the goalkeeper and lofting it into the net after Shkodran Mustafi slipped.
Arsenal refused to give up and very nearly snatched victory at the death, but Oblak produced a fine save at full stretch to tip Ramsey's header away as the match ended all square.
SECOND LEG
Given how we dominated large spells of the match and had an extra man the result is rather disappointing, but the tie is still all to play for.
Some fans wouldn't have expected us to even still be in the tie at the halfway stage. Yes, the defensive lapse is annoying and yes, Atletico Madrid are firmly in the driving seat, but we are not out of it yet.
Considering Atletico currently have one of the best defensive records in Europe and rarely concede at home we will have our work cut out, so we will have to make sure we are clinical with the chances we do get.
The fact remains we absolutely have to score so we need to take the game to them right from the off, whilst also keeping things solid at the back.
I can see us nicking a goal, but our defence still worries me and it will have to be on top form for us to stand a chance.
The challenge for us to reach the final has just got harder, but let's not give up hope just yet!
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Before we can even begin to think about the second leg we have the matter of a huge Premier League game - the trip to Old Trafford.
Okay, we don't have much to play for in the league, but this is always a fixture in the calendar we want to win above several others.
Our away form is very poor at the moment and Arsene Wenger doesn't have the best of luck in battles against Jose Mourinho, but this is his last chance to get one over on him in the Premier League.
With arguably one of the world's best goalkeepers between the sticks in David De Gea we could have our work cut out, but we need to make sure we somehow produce the performance of the highest quality.
If anything can fire us up for the second leg more it would be a win at Manchester United, but whether we can do that remains to be seen.
Finally I'd just like to say how great it was to see Santi Cazorla training at the Emirates before our first leg match against Atletico Madrid. It will be great to get him back on the pitch, which is likely to be next season providing we keep him on. I for one can't wait as he has been a player we have most certainly missed this season!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 22 April 2018
Wenger's farewell begins as Gunners thrash plucky Hammers
Arsenal left it late, but three goals in the final eight minutes ensured Arsene Wenger's farewell began in style with a 4-1 win over West Ham in his penultimate home league game.
Wenger recently announced he would be leaving at the end of the season after 22 years at the club and, although it is the right time for change, there is no doubting what he has done for us especially in the early part of his reign.
It is the end of an era and I'm sure I'll look back on his time at the club fondly once he's gone. It's been very tough at times, but I'll never forget the success of the league titles, history-making FA Cup success, not to mention the unbeaten season.
Although I love the FA Cup and any success we've had in it, the latter years of Wenger's reign have brought with it more frustration than joy. Some sections of the fanbase wanted him gone longer ago and, at times, things were feeling a bit toxic, but I thought he would stay one more year.
Instead he is leaving at the end of this season, which I truly believe is the right time for him to go. As for a replacement, I am torn between wanting a young and upcoming manager to be given a chance and hoping we get an experienced head to steady the ship for a few years first.
Either way, the fans need to try help make sure Wenger is given a fond farewell. His future has been decided so hopefully he can go out with a bang.
Bringing in Thierry Henry was a stroke of genius and some of the players we had on our books during his reign - Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira to name a few - were fantastic. Some of the football was sensational, but then how we've got from that to the struggles we've had in recent seasons can't be ignored.
It is time for fresh blood, but I think most Arsenal fans, whichever side of the fence they sit on, will remember the good times and hope we can end on a high.
Some of the frustrating defensive frailties were again on show against West Ham, but at least we showed some clinical finishing in front of goal in the final quarter of the match to seal the points.
We remain in sixth, four points clear of Burnley, who drew 1-1 at Stoke and are the next opponents to visit the Emirates in the Premier League.
The team selection saw a fair few changes, with Petr Cech, Jack Wilshere and Sead Kolasinac all injured and Mesut Ozil ill. Undoubtedly fans will have questioned why on earth Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on the bench. The striker can't play in the Europa League so surely it would have made sense to play him against West Ham, but on the other hand with the semi-final looming trying to play as similar a line-up to that game also makes sense. I'd still rather have seen him start though!
Arsenal had the first big chance of the match as Laurent Koscielny sent a header just wide from Granit Xhaka's corner, but West Ham probably had the best of the opening 45 minutes.
Joao Mario shot straight at David Ospina in the Arsenal goal, before Shkodran Mustafi produced a last-ditch tackle to keep out Marko Arnautovic. Arnautovic was soon in the thick of the action again as he latched onto a ball over the top, but his powerful shot was excellently parried by Ospina.
Chances continued to come and go for the visitors as Cheikhou Kouyaté headed over before Edimilson Fernandes sent a volley off target.
Arsenal also wasted chances with Hector Bellerin shooting harmlessly over before Danny Welbeck twice sent efforts off target.
The Gunners' first shot on target didn't arrive until the 33rd minute when Xhaka's free-kick was excellently beaten away by Hammers' goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Welbeck headed off target from Bellerin's cross before Aaron Ramsey sent a powerful shot wide, while Arsenal lost Mohamed Elneny in the closing stages of the first half. The Egyptian midfielder was stretchered off after going in for a 50-50 challenge with Mark Noble. Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who was born after Wenger took over at the club, came on to replace him.
Fortunately in the second-half commentary it was revealed that Elneny had just rolled his ankle and it didn't look serious.
Arsenal improved in the second half with Monreal wasting a chance within two minutes of the restart. Alexandre Lacazette chipped a cross on, which Welbeck chested down for Monreal to fire a shot at goal, but it was straight into the arms of Hart.
The Spanish full-back made no mistake next time as Arsenal broke the deadlock after 51 minutes. Xhaka whipped in a corner and Monreal met it with a crisp first-time volley into the bottom corner.
Ramsey sent a shot wide before West Ham began to grow back into the game, creating some decent chances before their equalising goal. Manuel Lanzini's free-kick was headed over by fellow substitute Javier Hernandez before Arnautovic volleyed over the crossbar soon after.
The Hammers got a deserved equaliser after 64 minutes when Arsenal failed to clear their lines and Lanzini dinked the ball over to Arnautovic, who blasted a shot beyond Ospina into the far corner.
Hart then produced two fantastic saves to keep the scores level. The England international got down low to get his fingertips to Xhaka's long-range shot and push it round a post. The goalkeeper then came up with an even better save to parry Welbeck's curling effort which looked to be heading into the far corner.
Arsenal took the lead in rather fortuitous circumstances eight minutes from time. Ramsey curled in a cross and for some reason West Ham's Declan Rice ducked and the ball bounced over him and past Hart for a simple goal.
The Gunners then opened up the floodgates as Lacazette grabbed a late double. A good move saw the ball worked into the box before the French striker took a touch and fired a shot in off Aaron Cresswell from a tight angle. Lacazette soon had his second when Ramsey picked him out in space to slot home from close range.
It could have been five had Xhaka not fired a shot over the crossbar in injury time, but it was an important victory for Arsenal after the recent defeat against Newcastle.
OPPOSITION VIEW
West Ham fan Adam Brown believes the introduction of Aubameyang proved decisive at the Emirates.
"It was the same old West Ham falling apart and Arsenal being ruthless in the last 10 minutes," said Brown. "Aubameyang changed the game when he came on and picked our defence apart.
"He opened things up for Lacazette, but it was two criminal defensive errors from Rice and Masuaku.
"Arsenal need an overhaul at the back - Southampton and now West Ham both made them look very average.
"If Marko had some proper support it would have been a closer game."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
If we can somehow beat Atletico Madrid over two legs, however unlikely it may seem, then Wenger could end his reign on a high with a trophy,
Either way in six or seven games time his reign will be over and it will be time for a new manager and I'll back whoever is chosen. In between the two legs is a trip to Manchester United and the final Wenger Vs Jose Mourinho battle.
Our final home league game under Wenger sees us host Burnley before back-to-back away games at Leicester and Huddersfield, so let's just hope we can reach the Europa League final so he can get a fitting send off.
I still believe it is the right decision, but the timing seems very sudden with not many games left of the season.
Let's all get behind Wenger and the boys for one final push this season and then get ready for the start of a new era.
Merci Wenger!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Wenger recently announced he would be leaving at the end of the season after 22 years at the club and, although it is the right time for change, there is no doubting what he has done for us especially in the early part of his reign.
It is the end of an era and I'm sure I'll look back on his time at the club fondly once he's gone. It's been very tough at times, but I'll never forget the success of the league titles, history-making FA Cup success, not to mention the unbeaten season.
Although I love the FA Cup and any success we've had in it, the latter years of Wenger's reign have brought with it more frustration than joy. Some sections of the fanbase wanted him gone longer ago and, at times, things were feeling a bit toxic, but I thought he would stay one more year.
Instead he is leaving at the end of this season, which I truly believe is the right time for him to go. As for a replacement, I am torn between wanting a young and upcoming manager to be given a chance and hoping we get an experienced head to steady the ship for a few years first.
Either way, the fans need to try help make sure Wenger is given a fond farewell. His future has been decided so hopefully he can go out with a bang.
Bringing in Thierry Henry was a stroke of genius and some of the players we had on our books during his reign - Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira to name a few - were fantastic. Some of the football was sensational, but then how we've got from that to the struggles we've had in recent seasons can't be ignored.
It is time for fresh blood, but I think most Arsenal fans, whichever side of the fence they sit on, will remember the good times and hope we can end on a high.
Some of the frustrating defensive frailties were again on show against West Ham, but at least we showed some clinical finishing in front of goal in the final quarter of the match to seal the points.
We remain in sixth, four points clear of Burnley, who drew 1-1 at Stoke and are the next opponents to visit the Emirates in the Premier League.
The team selection saw a fair few changes, with Petr Cech, Jack Wilshere and Sead Kolasinac all injured and Mesut Ozil ill. Undoubtedly fans will have questioned why on earth Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on the bench. The striker can't play in the Europa League so surely it would have made sense to play him against West Ham, but on the other hand with the semi-final looming trying to play as similar a line-up to that game also makes sense. I'd still rather have seen him start though!
Arsenal had the first big chance of the match as Laurent Koscielny sent a header just wide from Granit Xhaka's corner, but West Ham probably had the best of the opening 45 minutes.
Joao Mario shot straight at David Ospina in the Arsenal goal, before Shkodran Mustafi produced a last-ditch tackle to keep out Marko Arnautovic. Arnautovic was soon in the thick of the action again as he latched onto a ball over the top, but his powerful shot was excellently parried by Ospina.
Chances continued to come and go for the visitors as Cheikhou Kouyaté headed over before Edimilson Fernandes sent a volley off target.
Arsenal also wasted chances with Hector Bellerin shooting harmlessly over before Danny Welbeck twice sent efforts off target.
The Gunners' first shot on target didn't arrive until the 33rd minute when Xhaka's free-kick was excellently beaten away by Hammers' goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Welbeck headed off target from Bellerin's cross before Aaron Ramsey sent a powerful shot wide, while Arsenal lost Mohamed Elneny in the closing stages of the first half. The Egyptian midfielder was stretchered off after going in for a 50-50 challenge with Mark Noble. Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who was born after Wenger took over at the club, came on to replace him.
Fortunately in the second-half commentary it was revealed that Elneny had just rolled his ankle and it didn't look serious.
Arsenal improved in the second half with Monreal wasting a chance within two minutes of the restart. Alexandre Lacazette chipped a cross on, which Welbeck chested down for Monreal to fire a shot at goal, but it was straight into the arms of Hart.
The Spanish full-back made no mistake next time as Arsenal broke the deadlock after 51 minutes. Xhaka whipped in a corner and Monreal met it with a crisp first-time volley into the bottom corner.
Ramsey sent a shot wide before West Ham began to grow back into the game, creating some decent chances before their equalising goal. Manuel Lanzini's free-kick was headed over by fellow substitute Javier Hernandez before Arnautovic volleyed over the crossbar soon after.
The Hammers got a deserved equaliser after 64 minutes when Arsenal failed to clear their lines and Lanzini dinked the ball over to Arnautovic, who blasted a shot beyond Ospina into the far corner.
Hart then produced two fantastic saves to keep the scores level. The England international got down low to get his fingertips to Xhaka's long-range shot and push it round a post. The goalkeeper then came up with an even better save to parry Welbeck's curling effort which looked to be heading into the far corner.
Arsenal took the lead in rather fortuitous circumstances eight minutes from time. Ramsey curled in a cross and for some reason West Ham's Declan Rice ducked and the ball bounced over him and past Hart for a simple goal.
The Gunners then opened up the floodgates as Lacazette grabbed a late double. A good move saw the ball worked into the box before the French striker took a touch and fired a shot in off Aaron Cresswell from a tight angle. Lacazette soon had his second when Ramsey picked him out in space to slot home from close range.
It could have been five had Xhaka not fired a shot over the crossbar in injury time, but it was an important victory for Arsenal after the recent defeat against Newcastle.
OPPOSITION VIEW
West Ham fan Adam Brown believes the introduction of Aubameyang proved decisive at the Emirates.
"It was the same old West Ham falling apart and Arsenal being ruthless in the last 10 minutes," said Brown. "Aubameyang changed the game when he came on and picked our defence apart.
"He opened things up for Lacazette, but it was two criminal defensive errors from Rice and Masuaku.
"Arsenal need an overhaul at the back - Southampton and now West Ham both made them look very average.
"If Marko had some proper support it would have been a closer game."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
If we can somehow beat Atletico Madrid over two legs, however unlikely it may seem, then Wenger could end his reign on a high with a trophy,
Either way in six or seven games time his reign will be over and it will be time for a new manager and I'll back whoever is chosen. In between the two legs is a trip to Manchester United and the final Wenger Vs Jose Mourinho battle.
Our final home league game under Wenger sees us host Burnley before back-to-back away games at Leicester and Huddersfield, so let's just hope we can reach the Europa League final so he can get a fitting send off.
I still believe it is the right decision, but the timing seems very sudden with not many games left of the season.
Let's all get behind Wenger and the boys for one final push this season and then get ready for the start of a new era.
Merci Wenger!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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