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
Monday, 16 April 2018
Yet another away defeat for Arsenal
Arsenal's latest 2-1 defeat at Newcastle is yet another example of the Gunners' struggles on their travels in the league this season.
Sixth and only two points ahead of seventh-placed Burnley already shows how poor our season has been, but the fact we have no away points in league in 2018 is even more shocking.
Defeats at Bournemouth, Swansea, Tottenham, Brighton and now Newcastle since the turn of the year are simply not good enough, especially when added to the away losses against champions Manchester City, Watford, Liverpool and Stoke from earlier in the season.
At the Emirates we have performed far better with our only two home league defeats coming against the two Manchester clubs, but the away form really has been appalling.
Although a handball decision didn't go our way against Newcastle, I'm not sure how much difference it would have made because in the second half especially we didn't really create too many chances. Yes, it would have seen us take a two-goal lead, but judging by our overall performance we didn't do enough to have got the points anyway.
Without being disrespectful to Newcastle the performance and the result were not good enough and that is a game we really should have been looking at winning.
There was already some concern before kick-off, with Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Mesut Ozil all left out of the squad. Ramsey had a wound and couldn't get into any contact, while the others were suffering from little knocks. Should they have played? Well, it's hard to gauge the exact extent of the injuries, and maybe it would have been unwise to risk them getting worse, but they are big players to leave out. If they were only "little knocks" I'd rather have seen Wilshere and Ozil start or at the very least be on the bench.
We can't blame team selection for the defeat though as the squad out there was still capable enough of doing the job, but we didn't perform well enough and Arsene Wenger got his tactics wrong. We played fairly positively in attack, but there just wasn't enough end product and the defending again at times left a lot to be desired.
Arsenal started quite brightly with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang producing some fine early trickery to set up Alexandre Lacazette, but the French striker dragged his shot wide.
Lacazette made no mistake after 14 minutes though when he scored the game's opening goal. Shkodran Mustafi played a great long ball over the top, which Aubameyang controlled with a fine touch before curling a pass for Lacazette to volley into the roof of the net.
Provider very nearly turned scorer as Aubameyang's shot deflected over the crossbar, but replays show the ball appeared to hit the hands of Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles. Without the replay I don't think I'd have noticed it, so it would be harsh to blame the referee for doing so.
Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka denied Alex Iwobi as Arsenal continued to show promise, but the game was then turned on its head as the hosts scored out of nowhere after 29 minutes. Jonjo Shelvey's ball over the top found DeAndre Yedlin, whose curling ball into the box was steered home by Ayoze Perez.
Both sides wasted chances before the break with Arsenal defender Calum Chambers guilty of missing two. A great pass by Granit Xhaka picked out Nacho Monreal, who headed the ball back across goal, but the sliding Chambers sent his effort of target. The defender then headed over the crossbar from a Xhaka corner soon after.
At the other end, Matt Ritchie found space in the area, but his shot was well held by Petr Cech under pressure from Dwight Gayle.
Arsenal really should have gone in at half-time in front, but somehow youngster Joe Willock, who was making his Premier League debut, skewed a shot wide after a great counter attack.
Ritchie sent a dipping volley over the crossbar in the second half, while Iwobi's fizzing drive sailed just wide.
Poor defending from a throw-in led to the game's decisive goal as Arsenal failed to properly clear the danger and Ritchie found himself in space in the box to calmly slot home 22 minutes from time.
It nearly got worse for Arsenal soon after, but Kenedy's deflected effort hit the crossbar before Perez's shot went into the side netting soon after.
Arsenal tried to push for a late equaliser, but Mohamed Elneny sent a long-range effort over the crossbar. Lacazette was presented with a chance after Dubravka failed to deal with a cross, but the France international shot into the side netting as Newcastle held on for victory.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Newcastle fan David Charlesworth believes the Gunners met his side at the worst possible time with confidence at his highest.
"Six weeks ago we were only two points above the bottom three and it seemed a desperate battle for survival loomed," said Charlesworth. "In truth though, our revival can be traced back to the start of the year: in 2018 we’ve only lost at the Etihad and Anfield, nothing disgraceful in that.
"Three wins in a row left our confidence at unusual sky-high levels and not even falling behind was going to do too much to dent that. Put simply, I think Arsenal ran into us at the wrong time.
"Our squad should not be pushing for a top-half finish, but the fact that we are owes much, possibly everything, to our manager.
"It’s not difficult to see why in the immediate aftermath of the defeat, there were some corners of social media linking our beloved boss with the Emirates hot seat.
"After all, if he can wring the best out of Mo Diame, what can he accomplish with a far superior set of individuals and money to spend?"
Fellow Magpies supporter Alex Earle added: "I think Arsenal bossed the game, which was a negative for them. They invited us on the counter and we struck (the only feeling I had was that we could win).
"First half Arsenal were much better. Second half we were the better side because we managed the game better. Slimani was excellent."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We host West Ham in our next league match before the first leg of our Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.
We are at home in both games and are capable of getting a result in both, although admittedly I won't be surprised if the game goes against us either.
Whatever happens in those two games we absolutely must do better in our next away game. Trips to Old Trafford to face Manchester United have often proved difficult for us, but I don't care who the opponents are, we have no excuse not to do better.
Yes, we'll be up against one of the best goalkeepers in the world in David De Gea, who more or less decided the destination of the points by himself in the reverse fixture, but we need to do far better away from home and we need to use that match to try and prove a point.
If I'm being honest I don't feel at all confident ahead of that next away match and fear the worst, so please Arsenal and Wenger prove me wrong.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sixth and only two points ahead of seventh-placed Burnley already shows how poor our season has been, but the fact we have no away points in league in 2018 is even more shocking.
Defeats at Bournemouth, Swansea, Tottenham, Brighton and now Newcastle since the turn of the year are simply not good enough, especially when added to the away losses against champions Manchester City, Watford, Liverpool and Stoke from earlier in the season.
At the Emirates we have performed far better with our only two home league defeats coming against the two Manchester clubs, but the away form really has been appalling.
Although a handball decision didn't go our way against Newcastle, I'm not sure how much difference it would have made because in the second half especially we didn't really create too many chances. Yes, it would have seen us take a two-goal lead, but judging by our overall performance we didn't do enough to have got the points anyway.
Without being disrespectful to Newcastle the performance and the result were not good enough and that is a game we really should have been looking at winning.
There was already some concern before kick-off, with Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Mesut Ozil all left out of the squad. Ramsey had a wound and couldn't get into any contact, while the others were suffering from little knocks. Should they have played? Well, it's hard to gauge the exact extent of the injuries, and maybe it would have been unwise to risk them getting worse, but they are big players to leave out. If they were only "little knocks" I'd rather have seen Wilshere and Ozil start or at the very least be on the bench.
We can't blame team selection for the defeat though as the squad out there was still capable enough of doing the job, but we didn't perform well enough and Arsene Wenger got his tactics wrong. We played fairly positively in attack, but there just wasn't enough end product and the defending again at times left a lot to be desired.
Arsenal started quite brightly with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang producing some fine early trickery to set up Alexandre Lacazette, but the French striker dragged his shot wide.
Lacazette made no mistake after 14 minutes though when he scored the game's opening goal. Shkodran Mustafi played a great long ball over the top, which Aubameyang controlled with a fine touch before curling a pass for Lacazette to volley into the roof of the net.
Provider very nearly turned scorer as Aubameyang's shot deflected over the crossbar, but replays show the ball appeared to hit the hands of Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles. Without the replay I don't think I'd have noticed it, so it would be harsh to blame the referee for doing so.
Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka denied Alex Iwobi as Arsenal continued to show promise, but the game was then turned on its head as the hosts scored out of nowhere after 29 minutes. Jonjo Shelvey's ball over the top found DeAndre Yedlin, whose curling ball into the box was steered home by Ayoze Perez.
Both sides wasted chances before the break with Arsenal defender Calum Chambers guilty of missing two. A great pass by Granit Xhaka picked out Nacho Monreal, who headed the ball back across goal, but the sliding Chambers sent his effort of target. The defender then headed over the crossbar from a Xhaka corner soon after.
At the other end, Matt Ritchie found space in the area, but his shot was well held by Petr Cech under pressure from Dwight Gayle.
Arsenal really should have gone in at half-time in front, but somehow youngster Joe Willock, who was making his Premier League debut, skewed a shot wide after a great counter attack.
Ritchie sent a dipping volley over the crossbar in the second half, while Iwobi's fizzing drive sailed just wide.
Poor defending from a throw-in led to the game's decisive goal as Arsenal failed to properly clear the danger and Ritchie found himself in space in the box to calmly slot home 22 minutes from time.
It nearly got worse for Arsenal soon after, but Kenedy's deflected effort hit the crossbar before Perez's shot went into the side netting soon after.
Arsenal tried to push for a late equaliser, but Mohamed Elneny sent a long-range effort over the crossbar. Lacazette was presented with a chance after Dubravka failed to deal with a cross, but the France international shot into the side netting as Newcastle held on for victory.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Newcastle fan David Charlesworth believes the Gunners met his side at the worst possible time with confidence at his highest.
"Six weeks ago we were only two points above the bottom three and it seemed a desperate battle for survival loomed," said Charlesworth. "In truth though, our revival can be traced back to the start of the year: in 2018 we’ve only lost at the Etihad and Anfield, nothing disgraceful in that.
"Three wins in a row left our confidence at unusual sky-high levels and not even falling behind was going to do too much to dent that. Put simply, I think Arsenal ran into us at the wrong time.
"Our squad should not be pushing for a top-half finish, but the fact that we are owes much, possibly everything, to our manager.
"It’s not difficult to see why in the immediate aftermath of the defeat, there were some corners of social media linking our beloved boss with the Emirates hot seat.
"After all, if he can wring the best out of Mo Diame, what can he accomplish with a far superior set of individuals and money to spend?"
Fellow Magpies supporter Alex Earle added: "I think Arsenal bossed the game, which was a negative for them. They invited us on the counter and we struck (the only feeling I had was that we could win).
"First half Arsenal were much better. Second half we were the better side because we managed the game better. Slimani was excellent."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We host West Ham in our next league match before the first leg of our Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.
We are at home in both games and are capable of getting a result in both, although admittedly I won't be surprised if the game goes against us either.
Whatever happens in those two games we absolutely must do better in our next away game. Trips to Old Trafford to face Manchester United have often proved difficult for us, but I don't care who the opponents are, we have no excuse not to do better.
Yes, we'll be up against one of the best goalkeepers in the world in David De Gea, who more or less decided the destination of the points by himself in the reverse fixture, but we need to do far better away from home and we need to use that match to try and prove a point.
If I'm being honest I don't feel at all confident ahead of that next away match and fear the worst, so please Arsenal and Wenger prove me wrong.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Thursday, 12 April 2018
Gunners survive Moscow scare to reach Europa semis
Arsenal survived a second leg scare coming from behind to claim a 2-2 draw at CSKA Moscow to secure their progress into the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Roma produced an amazing comeback to overturn a three-goal deficit to knock out Barcelona in the Champions League. Juventus also came back from three down against Real Madrid, before losing to a late controversial penalty, but the drama of those European nights alone meant Arsenal knew their 4-1 first leg lead wasn't 100% safe.
Although I was still fairly confident we would progress, even after CSKA Moscow took a 2-0 lead, we didn't half make hard work of it.
Apart from a few half chances neither side really created much in the first half an hour of the game. CSKA Moscow midfielder Kristijan Bistrovic sent a long-range shot wide, while at the other end Alexandre Lacazette's strike was excellent blocked behind for a corner by Aleksei Berezutski.
A decent move down the right very nearly led to an opening for Arsenal, but Danny Welbeck's low cross was just inches away from finding Aaron Ramsey at the back post.
CSKA Moscow broke the deadlock six minutes before the break when Petr Cech got down well to superbly parry Kirill Nababkin's towering header, but the goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent Fedor Chalov from reacting first to tap in from the rebound.
The hosts tried to increase their lead just before half-time, but Bistrovic's first-time effort sailed just off target.
Ramsey went off for treatment as Arsenal played with 10 men for a few minutes and the Welsh midfielder was then involved in a penalty appeal for the hosts. Aleksandr Golovin, who scored in the first leg, saw his cross hit Ramsey, but it came off his arm not his hand and there wasn't much he could have done about it either.
CSKA Moscow doubled their advantage and moved to within one goal of completing the turnaround after 50 minutes. Golovin's shot from distance was parried by Cech, who should've done better with it, and Nababkin pounced at the far post to bury the rebound.
Although I felt fairly confident we could score a goal, I knew it was now very much game on and I was very aware how leaky our defence could be and the tie was far from over.
Golovin nearly added a third for the hosts, but his free-kick was parried behind for a corner by Cech.
Arsenal tried to hit back, but Mohamed Elneny saw his header ruled out for offside before Mesut Ozil's shot was blocked.
Those misses could have proved more costly had Sergei Ignashevich not sent a powerful shot just wide.
The nerves were eased when Welbeck reduced the deficit and put the Gunners back in more firm control of the tie 15 minutes from time. A good passing move set up Welbeck to expertly turn his man and run towards the box. The forward then exchanged passes with Elneny before clipping a composed finish beyond goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.
Arsenal really should have levelled the score on the night two minutes from time, but substitute Alex Iwobi dragged his shot wide when it looked easier to score.
Ozil and Ramsey combined to set up Welbeck soon after, but the England striker was denied by an excellent parry from Akinfeev.
Arsenal managed to find an equaliser in stoppage time to secure their passage into the final four - Elneny raced forward from near his own box before releasing Ramsey with a through ball, and the Welshman calmly finished a one-on-one with Akinfeev.
THE SEMI-FINALS
There is no denying we made hard work of the second leg, but we did what mattered and still qualified into the semi-final.
Whoever we face in the final four, sandwiched either side of a trip to Manchester United, is going to be tough, but we are now just two games away from the final so are still in with a chance.
Unlike most Arsenal fans I would rather draw Atletico Madrid in the semi-final rather than avoid them. Yes, they are favourites for the competition and would be a very tough opposition to face, but I think I'd rather play them sooner than in the final.
It would be hard whichever round we played them in, but I think in the final would be that extra bit more difficult, so let's get them out the way sooner and give it our best shot.
Our opponents will be one of Atletico Madrid, Marseille or Red Bull Salzburg and the latter deserve a big mention for their incredible quarter-final comeback. If you thought Roma's comeback was great, look what the Austrian side did. Okay, it wasn't against the might of Barcelona, but after losing the first leg at Lazio 4-2 they certainly had an uphill task. They also conceded the first goal of the second leg, but after an almost instant equaliser it was game on. Three goals in four minutes ultimately secured the win for Salzburg and what a superb comeback it was.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We've done our part, albeit we made hard work of it, to reach the semi-final and we'll have to see who we end up with in the draw and make sure we produce two great performances against them.
Winning the Europa League is our best chance of getting Champions League football back so whoever we face in the semi-finals it is a massively important tie.
Once Friday's draw is out of the way we must forget about the Europa League for a while and focus our attentions on the trip to Newcastle.
If we can win at Newcastle and beat West Ham at home then we'll be heading into the first leg of the semi-final in good form, but I am certainly taking nothing for granted as anything could happen.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Roma produced an amazing comeback to overturn a three-goal deficit to knock out Barcelona in the Champions League. Juventus also came back from three down against Real Madrid, before losing to a late controversial penalty, but the drama of those European nights alone meant Arsenal knew their 4-1 first leg lead wasn't 100% safe.
Although I was still fairly confident we would progress, even after CSKA Moscow took a 2-0 lead, we didn't half make hard work of it.
Apart from a few half chances neither side really created much in the first half an hour of the game. CSKA Moscow midfielder Kristijan Bistrovic sent a long-range shot wide, while at the other end Alexandre Lacazette's strike was excellent blocked behind for a corner by Aleksei Berezutski.
A decent move down the right very nearly led to an opening for Arsenal, but Danny Welbeck's low cross was just inches away from finding Aaron Ramsey at the back post.
CSKA Moscow broke the deadlock six minutes before the break when Petr Cech got down well to superbly parry Kirill Nababkin's towering header, but the goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent Fedor Chalov from reacting first to tap in from the rebound.
The hosts tried to increase their lead just before half-time, but Bistrovic's first-time effort sailed just off target.
Ramsey went off for treatment as Arsenal played with 10 men for a few minutes and the Welsh midfielder was then involved in a penalty appeal for the hosts. Aleksandr Golovin, who scored in the first leg, saw his cross hit Ramsey, but it came off his arm not his hand and there wasn't much he could have done about it either.
CSKA Moscow doubled their advantage and moved to within one goal of completing the turnaround after 50 minutes. Golovin's shot from distance was parried by Cech, who should've done better with it, and Nababkin pounced at the far post to bury the rebound.
Although I felt fairly confident we could score a goal, I knew it was now very much game on and I was very aware how leaky our defence could be and the tie was far from over.
Golovin nearly added a third for the hosts, but his free-kick was parried behind for a corner by Cech.
Arsenal tried to hit back, but Mohamed Elneny saw his header ruled out for offside before Mesut Ozil's shot was blocked.
Those misses could have proved more costly had Sergei Ignashevich not sent a powerful shot just wide.
The nerves were eased when Welbeck reduced the deficit and put the Gunners back in more firm control of the tie 15 minutes from time. A good passing move set up Welbeck to expertly turn his man and run towards the box. The forward then exchanged passes with Elneny before clipping a composed finish beyond goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.
Arsenal really should have levelled the score on the night two minutes from time, but substitute Alex Iwobi dragged his shot wide when it looked easier to score.
Ozil and Ramsey combined to set up Welbeck soon after, but the England striker was denied by an excellent parry from Akinfeev.
Arsenal managed to find an equaliser in stoppage time to secure their passage into the final four - Elneny raced forward from near his own box before releasing Ramsey with a through ball, and the Welshman calmly finished a one-on-one with Akinfeev.
THE SEMI-FINALS
There is no denying we made hard work of the second leg, but we did what mattered and still qualified into the semi-final.
Whoever we face in the final four, sandwiched either side of a trip to Manchester United, is going to be tough, but we are now just two games away from the final so are still in with a chance.
Unlike most Arsenal fans I would rather draw Atletico Madrid in the semi-final rather than avoid them. Yes, they are favourites for the competition and would be a very tough opposition to face, but I think I'd rather play them sooner than in the final.
It would be hard whichever round we played them in, but I think in the final would be that extra bit more difficult, so let's get them out the way sooner and give it our best shot.
Our opponents will be one of Atletico Madrid, Marseille or Red Bull Salzburg and the latter deserve a big mention for their incredible quarter-final comeback. If you thought Roma's comeback was great, look what the Austrian side did. Okay, it wasn't against the might of Barcelona, but after losing the first leg at Lazio 4-2 they certainly had an uphill task. They also conceded the first goal of the second leg, but after an almost instant equaliser it was game on. Three goals in four minutes ultimately secured the win for Salzburg and what a superb comeback it was.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We've done our part, albeit we made hard work of it, to reach the semi-final and we'll have to see who we end up with in the draw and make sure we produce two great performances against them.
Winning the Europa League is our best chance of getting Champions League football back so whoever we face in the semi-finals it is a massively important tie.
Once Friday's draw is out of the way we must forget about the Europa League for a while and focus our attentions on the trip to Newcastle.
If we can win at Newcastle and beat West Ham at home then we'll be heading into the first leg of the semi-final in good form, but I am certainly taking nothing for granted as anything could happen.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 8 April 2018
Danny at the double as Gunners beat Saints
Danny Welbeck struck twice as Arsenal edged past relegation-threatened Southampton 3-2 and both sides saw a player sent off in the final moments of the match.
Getting the three points is what matters most and we scored some well-taken goals, but once again there was some questionable defending on show and that remains a cause for concern.
Mesut Ozil was on the bench and Aaron Ramsey didn't make the squad as it seemed manager Arsene Wenger had one eye on the upcoming Europa League clash with CSKA Moscow.
In some ways rotation is understandable and it is good to see players given a chance such as youngster Reiss Nelson, who made his first Premier League start.
However, as we were already 4-1 up from the first leg against CSKA Moscow I'd like to have seen the likes of Ozil and Ramsey start, unless there were any injury doubts over them.
Southampton started fairly well and fashioned a decent chance after just eight minutes. Dusan Tadic latched onto Jack Stephens' long ball forward before squaring it to James Ward-Prowse, but his effort was cleared off the line by Hector Bellerin. Tadic tried his luck soon after, but his shot was blocked by Calum Chambers.
The visitors were not to be denied after 17 minutes though as Cedric Soares crossed for Shane Long, who nipped in front of Shkodran Mustafi to flick the ball beyond Petr Cech from a tight angle.
Arsenal levelled the score shortly before the half hour mark when Alex Iwobi set up Danny Welbeck, whose deft flick was prodded beyond Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It was the Gabon striker's sixth goal in eight games as he continues to look a decent attacking threat following his January move to North London.
The Gunners completed the turn around seven minutes before the break when Welbeck raced onto Iwobi's through ball before cutting inside, holding off two challenges, and firing a shot in via a deflection off Maya Yoshida.
Arsenal continued to push forward with Chambers' low shot being blocked behind for a corner as the first half ended 2-1 in the hosts' favour.
Arsenal nearly extended their advantage within two minutes of the restart, but McCarthy beat away Aubameyang's effort before producing an excellent one-handed save to parry Granit Xhaka's shot behind for a corner.
McCarthy was again in the thick of the action after 53 minutes as he produced another equally as impressive one-handed save to parry Iwobi's shot from outside of the box behind for a corner.
At the other end Mohamed Elneny headed Wesley Hoedt's goal-bound effort off the line and Cech parried Long's header behind for a corner. The Southampton striker did have the ball in the net soon after, but his effort was rightly ruled out for offside.
Within a minute of coming on from the bench Charlie Austin found an equaliser for the visitors when he turned in from close range after good build up play from Tadic and Soares.
Arsenal really should have moved back in front soon after as Iwobi clipped the ball in and Jack Wilshere connected with it to set up Welbeck, who somehow spooned it over the crossbar from just a couple of yards out.
Southampton wasted the chance to score again when Austin shot straight at Cech before the Gunners had the final say and re-established their lead nine minutes from time. Iwobi got the better of the defence before crossing for Welbeck to score with a far-post header.
The game wasn't over just yet though and Southampton very nearly got back on level times five minutes from time, but Cech reacted well to palm Tadic's effort over the crossbar.
It became very heated in the final moments of the match as Stephens was sent off after appearing to push Wilshere off the ball after tangling with the Arsenal midfielder, who received a yellow card for his part in the altercation.
The drama wasn't over yet as Arsenal were also reduced to 10 men soon after when Elneny was sent off for a shove on Soares, but the Gunners held on for the win.
The result, coupled with Chelsea's draw against West Ham, sees Arsenal move to within just three points of their fifth-placed London rivals. Southampton on the other hand remain in the relegation zone, although they are only three points away from safety with six games still left to play.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Southampton fan Mavis John was disappointed her side couldn't take advantage of what was an improved display at the Emirates.
"Before the match had kicked off, I accepted that defeat was inevitable on the evidence of the way the team played - or didn't - against West Ham last week," said John. "By the final whistle, I was actually disappointed with the result.
"The team showed spirit (albeit the wrong kind towards the end, Jack Stephens especially) and played particularly well in the second half against a much changed Arsenal side - it's disappointing we couldn't take advantage of that.
"There have been definite signs of improvement under Mark Hughes, but it is clear that the Southampton board (who should take a large chunk of responsibility for the position in which we find ourselves) waited too long before bringing in a new manager.
"He might have got Shane Long scoring at last, but he needs more time to get the whole team performing properly than the six league games currently remaining. There were glimmers of hope from the team's performance against Arsenal, but I fear that nothing short of a miracle will keep us up."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
A mixed performance with some well-taken goals and positive play, but also some frustrating defending, but at least we did what mattered most and got all three points.
I hope Southampton stay up to keep the friends and family I know who support them happy, but it is going to be a difficult ask for them and it is hard to predict what will happen.
Focus must quickly switch back to the Europa League and the second leg of our quarter-final tie away at CSKA Moscow. Although the 4-1 lead from the first leg should be enough I am certainly taken nothing for granted.
Against Southampton we showed some defensive lapses and CSKA Moscow may feel, especially at home, they can score against us, so the players need to make sure they stand up to be counted and preserve our lead.
I don't just want us to preserve the lead though as we shouldn't be going to Russia to defend. We need to go out there to try and win the second leg as a standalone game and add to our aggregate lead. There are some very good teams left in the competition so if we do progress we need to be clinical.
Welbeck getting two goals against Southampton will hopefully put him in the right mindset for the game in Russia, so let's hope we can get another victory before we return to Premier League action away at Newcastle.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Getting the three points is what matters most and we scored some well-taken goals, but once again there was some questionable defending on show and that remains a cause for concern.
Mesut Ozil was on the bench and Aaron Ramsey didn't make the squad as it seemed manager Arsene Wenger had one eye on the upcoming Europa League clash with CSKA Moscow.
In some ways rotation is understandable and it is good to see players given a chance such as youngster Reiss Nelson, who made his first Premier League start.
However, as we were already 4-1 up from the first leg against CSKA Moscow I'd like to have seen the likes of Ozil and Ramsey start, unless there were any injury doubts over them.
Southampton started fairly well and fashioned a decent chance after just eight minutes. Dusan Tadic latched onto Jack Stephens' long ball forward before squaring it to James Ward-Prowse, but his effort was cleared off the line by Hector Bellerin. Tadic tried his luck soon after, but his shot was blocked by Calum Chambers.
The visitors were not to be denied after 17 minutes though as Cedric Soares crossed for Shane Long, who nipped in front of Shkodran Mustafi to flick the ball beyond Petr Cech from a tight angle.
Arsenal levelled the score shortly before the half hour mark when Alex Iwobi set up Danny Welbeck, whose deft flick was prodded beyond Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It was the Gabon striker's sixth goal in eight games as he continues to look a decent attacking threat following his January move to North London.
The Gunners completed the turn around seven minutes before the break when Welbeck raced onto Iwobi's through ball before cutting inside, holding off two challenges, and firing a shot in via a deflection off Maya Yoshida.
Arsenal continued to push forward with Chambers' low shot being blocked behind for a corner as the first half ended 2-1 in the hosts' favour.
Arsenal nearly extended their advantage within two minutes of the restart, but McCarthy beat away Aubameyang's effort before producing an excellent one-handed save to parry Granit Xhaka's shot behind for a corner.
McCarthy was again in the thick of the action after 53 minutes as he produced another equally as impressive one-handed save to parry Iwobi's shot from outside of the box behind for a corner.
At the other end Mohamed Elneny headed Wesley Hoedt's goal-bound effort off the line and Cech parried Long's header behind for a corner. The Southampton striker did have the ball in the net soon after, but his effort was rightly ruled out for offside.
Within a minute of coming on from the bench Charlie Austin found an equaliser for the visitors when he turned in from close range after good build up play from Tadic and Soares.
Arsenal really should have moved back in front soon after as Iwobi clipped the ball in and Jack Wilshere connected with it to set up Welbeck, who somehow spooned it over the crossbar from just a couple of yards out.
Southampton wasted the chance to score again when Austin shot straight at Cech before the Gunners had the final say and re-established their lead nine minutes from time. Iwobi got the better of the defence before crossing for Welbeck to score with a far-post header.
The game wasn't over just yet though and Southampton very nearly got back on level times five minutes from time, but Cech reacted well to palm Tadic's effort over the crossbar.
It became very heated in the final moments of the match as Stephens was sent off after appearing to push Wilshere off the ball after tangling with the Arsenal midfielder, who received a yellow card for his part in the altercation.
The drama wasn't over yet as Arsenal were also reduced to 10 men soon after when Elneny was sent off for a shove on Soares, but the Gunners held on for the win.
The result, coupled with Chelsea's draw against West Ham, sees Arsenal move to within just three points of their fifth-placed London rivals. Southampton on the other hand remain in the relegation zone, although they are only three points away from safety with six games still left to play.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Southampton fan Mavis John was disappointed her side couldn't take advantage of what was an improved display at the Emirates.
"Before the match had kicked off, I accepted that defeat was inevitable on the evidence of the way the team played - or didn't - against West Ham last week," said John. "By the final whistle, I was actually disappointed with the result.
"The team showed spirit (albeit the wrong kind towards the end, Jack Stephens especially) and played particularly well in the second half against a much changed Arsenal side - it's disappointing we couldn't take advantage of that.
"There have been definite signs of improvement under Mark Hughes, but it is clear that the Southampton board (who should take a large chunk of responsibility for the position in which we find ourselves) waited too long before bringing in a new manager.
"He might have got Shane Long scoring at last, but he needs more time to get the whole team performing properly than the six league games currently remaining. There were glimmers of hope from the team's performance against Arsenal, but I fear that nothing short of a miracle will keep us up."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
A mixed performance with some well-taken goals and positive play, but also some frustrating defending, but at least we did what mattered most and got all three points.
I hope Southampton stay up to keep the friends and family I know who support them happy, but it is going to be a difficult ask for them and it is hard to predict what will happen.
Focus must quickly switch back to the Europa League and the second leg of our quarter-final tie away at CSKA Moscow. Although the 4-1 lead from the first leg should be enough I am certainly taken nothing for granted.
Against Southampton we showed some defensive lapses and CSKA Moscow may feel, especially at home, they can score against us, so the players need to make sure they stand up to be counted and preserve our lead.
I don't just want us to preserve the lead though as we shouldn't be going to Russia to defend. We need to go out there to try and win the second leg as a standalone game and add to our aggregate lead. There are some very good teams left in the competition so if we do progress we need to be clinical.
Welbeck getting two goals against Southampton will hopefully put him in the right mindset for the game in Russia, so let's hope we can get another victory before we return to Premier League action away at Newcastle.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Thursday, 5 April 2018
Four-some Gunners cruise past CSKA Moscow
A sublime finish from Aaron Ramsey was the pick of the goals as Arsenal confidently brushed aside CSKA Moscow 4-1 in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
The Welsh midfielder opened the scoring after just nine minutes before Aleksandr Golovin levelled matters with a superbly struck free-kick, but from then on Arsenal controlled proceedings.
Ramsey scored a quality flick either side of goals from Alexandre Lacazette before half-time and, although the Gunners failed to add to their lead in the second half they still produced more confident and dominant attacking football.
Arsenal started the game in confident mood and came close to opening the scoring after just four minutes. Mesut Ozil, who put in a superb performance against the Russian outfit, combined with Nacho Monreal before picking out Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but the Armenian's shot went just wide.
Ramsey then saw a close-range effort ruled out for offside, but there was no denying the Welshman after nine minutes. A great team move ended with Hector Bellerin crossing from Ramsey to fire home.
CSKA Moscow were right back in the game six minutes later as Golovin hit a delightful free-kick into the top corner - it was a superbly-taken goal.
Back came Arsenal to restore their lead after 23 minutes when Ozil was tripped in the box by Georgi Schennikov and Lacazette made no mistake from the resulting penalty.
Then came the goal of the game after 28 minutes - the excellent Ozil lofted a ball over the top to Ramsey for the midfielder to flick it with the back of his foot up and over Igor Akinfeev in the visitors' goal.
At the other end Bibras Natkho sent his effort well over the crossbar and that miss proved costly as Arsenal scored their fourth goal 10 minutes before the break. Monreal's cutback was dummied by Jack Wilshere before Lacazette took a touch and rifled in his second goal of the evening.
On-loan Leicester forward Ahmed Musa tried to get CSKA Moscow back into the game by sending in a decent cross, but Alan Dzagoev blazed his effort over the crossbar from close range.
Arsenal continued to push forward, but were unable to add to their lead before half-time as Ozil's first-time strike went just over the crossbar.
The Gunners started the second half brightly, but Mkhitaryan shot just wide from a superb Ozil pass before Ramsey's effort deflected off target. The same two players very nearly combined for a goal soon after when Mkhitaryan's shot was fumbled by Akinfeev, but Ramsey sliced his follow-up over the crossbar.
Mkhitaryan was forced off injured shortly after the hour mark before a correct call from the linesman kept Arsenal's three-goal lead intact. Dzagoev's header beat Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal, but the CSKA Moscow man was pulled back for offside.
Arsene Wenger revealed after the match that Mkhitaryan has a knee problem and will miss the league match against Southampton, although the extent of the injury is unknown. It was also confirmed that goalkeeper David Ospina will be out for two to three weeks with an ankle problem.
Arsenal continued to try and add to their lead, but just couldn't make the most of the chances that came their way as Lacazette narrowly missed before Ozil's shot was palmed away by Akinfeev.
Lacazette didn't look too happy when he was subbed off with 17 minutes remaining and, although it would have been good to see him stay on to get a hat-trick, when he's been out with a long injury recently and the match was virtually won it was better to be safe.
Ramsey came close to grabbing a hat-trick with a shot from the edge of the box, but his right-footed effort hit a post.
Substitute Danny Welbeck tried to add further gloss to the scoreline, but the striker saw his shot saved at point blank range by Akinfeev.
There weren't to be any further goals as Ramsey sent a late effort wide, but it didn't stop the Gunners from running out worthy winners at the Emirates.
SECOND LEG
Surely taking a 4-1 lead into the second leg should be more than enough, but I am certainly not taking anything for granted.
We have a strong foothold into the semi-final, but we are not there yet. We must make sure we produce a solid performance and, most importantly, a decent defensive display to avoid any silly hiccups in this tie.
Playing away in Russia will be a totally different prospect and could be tough, but I think a three-goal lead should be enough for us and our Europa League chances are looking good.
Rather than give ourselves a mountain to climb in the second leg like we have done in other European ties in recent years, we did a decent job in the first match like we did in the last round against AC Milan, so hopefully it will pay off.
I won't get too carried away just yet as anything could happen, but our hopes of Europa League progression are definitely looking good as things stand.
If we do progress there is still a long way to go with a two-legged semi-final standing in the way of a place in the final and, with Atletico Madrid still in the tournament, nothing is going to be easy.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Before we can even begin to think about the second leg and progression into the semi-final, we must focus our attentions back to the Premier League and the visit of Southampton.
We are down in sixth and five points behind fifth-placed Chelsea. A top-four finish looks out of reach, but fifth isn't beyond the realms of possibility as Chelsea have been dropping points. If they lose any more we need to be ready to take advantage.
Southampton are currently in the relegation zone and fighting for their lives and, although I hope they stay up due to having close family and friends that support them, I hope they drop three more points when they face us.
If we can show the same attacking intent as we did against CSKA Moscow, but with extra killer instinct in front goal, then we should hopefully get another win.
I won't take anything for granted though and we'll have to be at our best to get a result, so let's hope that we are!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
The Welsh midfielder opened the scoring after just nine minutes before Aleksandr Golovin levelled matters with a superbly struck free-kick, but from then on Arsenal controlled proceedings.
Ramsey scored a quality flick either side of goals from Alexandre Lacazette before half-time and, although the Gunners failed to add to their lead in the second half they still produced more confident and dominant attacking football.
Arsenal started the game in confident mood and came close to opening the scoring after just four minutes. Mesut Ozil, who put in a superb performance against the Russian outfit, combined with Nacho Monreal before picking out Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but the Armenian's shot went just wide.
Ramsey then saw a close-range effort ruled out for offside, but there was no denying the Welshman after nine minutes. A great team move ended with Hector Bellerin crossing from Ramsey to fire home.
CSKA Moscow were right back in the game six minutes later as Golovin hit a delightful free-kick into the top corner - it was a superbly-taken goal.
Back came Arsenal to restore their lead after 23 minutes when Ozil was tripped in the box by Georgi Schennikov and Lacazette made no mistake from the resulting penalty.
Then came the goal of the game after 28 minutes - the excellent Ozil lofted a ball over the top to Ramsey for the midfielder to flick it with the back of his foot up and over Igor Akinfeev in the visitors' goal.
At the other end Bibras Natkho sent his effort well over the crossbar and that miss proved costly as Arsenal scored their fourth goal 10 minutes before the break. Monreal's cutback was dummied by Jack Wilshere before Lacazette took a touch and rifled in his second goal of the evening.
On-loan Leicester forward Ahmed Musa tried to get CSKA Moscow back into the game by sending in a decent cross, but Alan Dzagoev blazed his effort over the crossbar from close range.
Arsenal continued to push forward, but were unable to add to their lead before half-time as Ozil's first-time strike went just over the crossbar.
The Gunners started the second half brightly, but Mkhitaryan shot just wide from a superb Ozil pass before Ramsey's effort deflected off target. The same two players very nearly combined for a goal soon after when Mkhitaryan's shot was fumbled by Akinfeev, but Ramsey sliced his follow-up over the crossbar.
Mkhitaryan was forced off injured shortly after the hour mark before a correct call from the linesman kept Arsenal's three-goal lead intact. Dzagoev's header beat Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal, but the CSKA Moscow man was pulled back for offside.
Arsene Wenger revealed after the match that Mkhitaryan has a knee problem and will miss the league match against Southampton, although the extent of the injury is unknown. It was also confirmed that goalkeeper David Ospina will be out for two to three weeks with an ankle problem.
Arsenal continued to try and add to their lead, but just couldn't make the most of the chances that came their way as Lacazette narrowly missed before Ozil's shot was palmed away by Akinfeev.
Lacazette didn't look too happy when he was subbed off with 17 minutes remaining and, although it would have been good to see him stay on to get a hat-trick, when he's been out with a long injury recently and the match was virtually won it was better to be safe.
Ramsey came close to grabbing a hat-trick with a shot from the edge of the box, but his right-footed effort hit a post.
Substitute Danny Welbeck tried to add further gloss to the scoreline, but the striker saw his shot saved at point blank range by Akinfeev.
There weren't to be any further goals as Ramsey sent a late effort wide, but it didn't stop the Gunners from running out worthy winners at the Emirates.
SECOND LEG
Surely taking a 4-1 lead into the second leg should be more than enough, but I am certainly not taking anything for granted.
We have a strong foothold into the semi-final, but we are not there yet. We must make sure we produce a solid performance and, most importantly, a decent defensive display to avoid any silly hiccups in this tie.
Playing away in Russia will be a totally different prospect and could be tough, but I think a three-goal lead should be enough for us and our Europa League chances are looking good.
Rather than give ourselves a mountain to climb in the second leg like we have done in other European ties in recent years, we did a decent job in the first match like we did in the last round against AC Milan, so hopefully it will pay off.
I won't get too carried away just yet as anything could happen, but our hopes of Europa League progression are definitely looking good as things stand.
If we do progress there is still a long way to go with a two-legged semi-final standing in the way of a place in the final and, with Atletico Madrid still in the tournament, nothing is going to be easy.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Before we can even begin to think about the second leg and progression into the semi-final, we must focus our attentions back to the Premier League and the visit of Southampton.
We are down in sixth and five points behind fifth-placed Chelsea. A top-four finish looks out of reach, but fifth isn't beyond the realms of possibility as Chelsea have been dropping points. If they lose any more we need to be ready to take advantage.
Southampton are currently in the relegation zone and fighting for their lives and, although I hope they stay up due to having close family and friends that support them, I hope they drop three more points when they face us.
If we can show the same attacking intent as we did against CSKA Moscow, but with extra killer instinct in front goal, then we should hopefully get another win.
I won't take anything for granted though and we'll have to be at our best to get a result, so let's hope that we are!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 1 April 2018
Potters pay the penalty as Gunners win
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice and unselfishly gave up the chance of the hat-trick to get team-mate Alexandre Lacazette back among the goals in Arsenal's 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Stoke.
The Gunners didn't really get going in what was a rather tedious first half, but showed more energy and purpose after the restart. Although there was an element of fortune about the controversial penalty which broke the deadlock after 75 minutes, it spurred Arsenal into life to see the game out.
After over two weeks without a match it was great to see us back in action in what was a shuffled line-up, with Premier League ever-presents Petr Cech and Granit Xhaka not in the starting XI. Xhaka was on the bench along with Laurent Koscielny, who was rested due to an Achilles problem.
Stoke started brightly with their main threat Xherdan Shaqiri curling a shot just wide inside the opening five minutes.
Arsenal looked very rusty in the first half and kept cheaply giving the ball away with sloppy passing. Shkodran Mustafi carelessly gave the ball away twice in the opening 15 minutes, although he did slightly redeem himself with two good sliding challenges.
Mame Biram Diouf saw his strike deflected off target for a corner before his Stoke team-mate Shaqiri sent a powerful long-range shot well wide.
Arsenal's first meaningful chance of the match didn't arrive until the 23rd minute when good interplay between Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey set up Hector Bellerin. The full-back's cross was cleared before Ramsey returned it on the volley and the Welsh midfielder's effort clipped the crossbar.
Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny saw shots deflect wide for a corner before Mesut Ozil saw two of his inviting crosses headed off target by Calum Chambers.
Arsenal improved after the break with Danny Welbeck sending a volley just wide before Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland reacted quickly to save Nacho Monreal's low strike soon after.
After being out injured for nearly two months it was great to see Lacazette make his return when he replaced Welbeck after 61 minutes and he put in a decent energetic shift.
Jack Wilshere saw his effort comfortably saved by Butland before Shaqiri tested David Ospina in the Arsenal goal at the other end.
Arsenal survived a heart in mouth moment when Shaqiri's inswinging corner cannoned back off a post with Ospina beaten.
The Gunners were soon back on the attack with Ozil's through ball picking out Aubameyang, but the Gabon striker's chipped effort was saved by Butland.
With 15 minutes remaining Arsenal broke the deadlock in somewhat controversial circumstances when Bruno Martins-Indi brought down Ozil in the box. A penalty was given, although Martins-Indi did appear to get a foot to the ball first before catching Ozil from behind. Referee Craig Pawson didn't have the benefit of a television replay and a penalty was given, with Aubameyang sending Butland the wrong way for his fourth goal in six appearances for the hosts.
Butland produced a great save to keep out Ramsey before Stoke wasted the chance to level the scores seven minutes from time. Substitute Peter Crouch headed the ball down to Badou Ndiaye, but the midfielder curled his effort way off target.
Arsenal put the result beyond doubt three minutes later as Aubameyang clinically fired a first-time shot beyond Butland from Ozil's corner.
Aubameyang could have had a hat-trick when Arsenal were awarded a more clear-cut penalty in the final minute of normal time, but instead he unselfishly let Lacazette take it and the French striker made no mistake to complete the scoring.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Stoke fan Laurie Crouch was downbeat about the performances of both sides after a defeat which left the Potters second bottom in the league and three points away from safety with only six games left.
"It was a crap game between two crap sides," said Crouch. "I thought we might hang on for a point until the terrible penalty decision, but we are not getting any luck - see Shaq's almost-goal from the corner.
"We’re dead and gone and if it wasn’t for Shaqiri we’d be bottom on about 10 points. Nobody at Arsenal looks interested as evidenced by the half-empty stands.
"They could barely even be bothered to boo Shawcross. I didn’t even realise Ozil was playing until the 35th minute. What’s he on, 350k a week?
"Conclusions: there’s still a bit of fight in us but we’re terrible, and down. Arsenal are embarrassingly crap for a team of that stature, and the apathy that’s set in there is reminiscent of what’s happening at Stoke, albeit at a different level.
"Basically football, and particularly the Premier League, is shite. We’ll see whether the Championship offers us anything more to cheer about next year, but I doubt you’ll be requesting any post-match comments from a Stoke fan any time soon! Over and out."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
The 3-0 victory and Tottenham's win at Chelsea means the latter are now only five points ahead of us. I'm not convinced we'll catch them, but you just never know.
Although Chelsea dropping points is good, I'd much rather that one had ended all square as we never like to see a Tottenham win and they are 13 points ahead of us which isn't good enough.
Attention must now quickly turn to the Europa League and the first leg of our Europa League quarter-final at home against CSKA Moscow.
We must make sure we don't underestimate the Russian outfit as by no means is this an easy tie, but it is certainly winnable and one of the preferred teams to have drawn given who else is still left in the competition.
We need to make sure we put in an excellent performance, try to build a decent lead and avoid conceding any away goals as the second leg in Russia will be a completely different kettle of fish.
Between the two legs we face a home Premier League game against Southampton and, although we don't have a lot left to play for, we must finish the season strongly and pick up as many points as we can!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
The Gunners didn't really get going in what was a rather tedious first half, but showed more energy and purpose after the restart. Although there was an element of fortune about the controversial penalty which broke the deadlock after 75 minutes, it spurred Arsenal into life to see the game out.
After over two weeks without a match it was great to see us back in action in what was a shuffled line-up, with Premier League ever-presents Petr Cech and Granit Xhaka not in the starting XI. Xhaka was on the bench along with Laurent Koscielny, who was rested due to an Achilles problem.
Stoke started brightly with their main threat Xherdan Shaqiri curling a shot just wide inside the opening five minutes.
Arsenal looked very rusty in the first half and kept cheaply giving the ball away with sloppy passing. Shkodran Mustafi carelessly gave the ball away twice in the opening 15 minutes, although he did slightly redeem himself with two good sliding challenges.
Mame Biram Diouf saw his strike deflected off target for a corner before his Stoke team-mate Shaqiri sent a powerful long-range shot well wide.
Arsenal's first meaningful chance of the match didn't arrive until the 23rd minute when good interplay between Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey set up Hector Bellerin. The full-back's cross was cleared before Ramsey returned it on the volley and the Welsh midfielder's effort clipped the crossbar.
Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny saw shots deflect wide for a corner before Mesut Ozil saw two of his inviting crosses headed off target by Calum Chambers.
Arsenal improved after the break with Danny Welbeck sending a volley just wide before Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland reacted quickly to save Nacho Monreal's low strike soon after.
After being out injured for nearly two months it was great to see Lacazette make his return when he replaced Welbeck after 61 minutes and he put in a decent energetic shift.
Jack Wilshere saw his effort comfortably saved by Butland before Shaqiri tested David Ospina in the Arsenal goal at the other end.
Arsenal survived a heart in mouth moment when Shaqiri's inswinging corner cannoned back off a post with Ospina beaten.
The Gunners were soon back on the attack with Ozil's through ball picking out Aubameyang, but the Gabon striker's chipped effort was saved by Butland.
With 15 minutes remaining Arsenal broke the deadlock in somewhat controversial circumstances when Bruno Martins-Indi brought down Ozil in the box. A penalty was given, although Martins-Indi did appear to get a foot to the ball first before catching Ozil from behind. Referee Craig Pawson didn't have the benefit of a television replay and a penalty was given, with Aubameyang sending Butland the wrong way for his fourth goal in six appearances for the hosts.
Butland produced a great save to keep out Ramsey before Stoke wasted the chance to level the scores seven minutes from time. Substitute Peter Crouch headed the ball down to Badou Ndiaye, but the midfielder curled his effort way off target.
Arsenal put the result beyond doubt three minutes later as Aubameyang clinically fired a first-time shot beyond Butland from Ozil's corner.
Aubameyang could have had a hat-trick when Arsenal were awarded a more clear-cut penalty in the final minute of normal time, but instead he unselfishly let Lacazette take it and the French striker made no mistake to complete the scoring.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Stoke fan Laurie Crouch was downbeat about the performances of both sides after a defeat which left the Potters second bottom in the league and three points away from safety with only six games left.
"It was a crap game between two crap sides," said Crouch. "I thought we might hang on for a point until the terrible penalty decision, but we are not getting any luck - see Shaq's almost-goal from the corner.
"We’re dead and gone and if it wasn’t for Shaqiri we’d be bottom on about 10 points. Nobody at Arsenal looks interested as evidenced by the half-empty stands.
"They could barely even be bothered to boo Shawcross. I didn’t even realise Ozil was playing until the 35th minute. What’s he on, 350k a week?
"Conclusions: there’s still a bit of fight in us but we’re terrible, and down. Arsenal are embarrassingly crap for a team of that stature, and the apathy that’s set in there is reminiscent of what’s happening at Stoke, albeit at a different level.
"Basically football, and particularly the Premier League, is shite. We’ll see whether the Championship offers us anything more to cheer about next year, but I doubt you’ll be requesting any post-match comments from a Stoke fan any time soon! Over and out."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
The 3-0 victory and Tottenham's win at Chelsea means the latter are now only five points ahead of us. I'm not convinced we'll catch them, but you just never know.
Although Chelsea dropping points is good, I'd much rather that one had ended all square as we never like to see a Tottenham win and they are 13 points ahead of us which isn't good enough.
Attention must now quickly turn to the Europa League and the first leg of our Europa League quarter-final at home against CSKA Moscow.
We must make sure we don't underestimate the Russian outfit as by no means is this an easy tie, but it is certainly winnable and one of the preferred teams to have drawn given who else is still left in the competition.
We need to make sure we put in an excellent performance, try to build a decent lead and avoid conceding any away goals as the second leg in Russia will be a completely different kettle of fish.
Between the two legs we face a home Premier League game against Southampton and, although we don't have a lot left to play for, we must finish the season strongly and pick up as many points as we can!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Friday, 16 March 2018
Controversial penalty helps Gunners into quarter-final
Danny Welbeck struck twice, including a controversial penalty, as Arsenal beat AC Milan 3-1 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate in their round of 16 Europa League tie.
Arsenal took a 2-0 advantage into the second leg and both sides had good chances in what was an open match at the Emirates.
AC Milan gave the hosts an early scare inside the opening two minutes as Andre Silva flashed a shot into the side netting.
Arsenal's first chance fell to Laurent Koscielny, but the defender's header looped over the bar before he was forced off injured after just 10 minutes. After the match manager Arsene Wenger confirmed the injury does not seem as bad as it looked and, although it isn't serious,the defender cramped up at the time and couldn't continue.
The Gunners came even closer after 25 minutes when Henrikh Mkhitaryan set up Welbeck, but the striker's effort was well saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma in the Milan goal.
Milan turned the tie on its head and moved to within one goal of Arsenal after Hakan Calhanoglu's superb piercing strike from 30 yards after 36 minutes.
Arsenal raced up the other end to level the match via a controversial penalty. Welbeck got the wrong side of Ricardo Rodriguez after being played in by Mkhitaryan before going down under very minimal contact from the defender. It was very soft, but the penalty was given and Welbeck calmly slotted it past Donnarumma.
Milan wasted the chance to move back in front when Calhanoglu sliced a shot wide before Alessio Romagnoli lofted an effort over the crossbar.
The hosts also missed an opportunity to regain their lead on the night late in the first half as Jack Wilshere's effort was well kept out by Donnarumma.
Arsenal went in at the break at 1-1 and crucially 3-1 up on aggregate, meaning there was no chance of extra time and the next 45 minutes would decide the outcome one way or another.
Donnarumma came to Milan's rescue within seven minutes of the restart as Mkhitaryan latched onto a pass from Mesut Ozil before seeing his shot parried away for a corner by the visiting goalkeeper.
Milan refused to give up and were still creating chances with Suso's shot from the edge of the penalty area sailing just wide, before youngster Patrick Cutrone sent his volley off target.
Nikola Kalinic wasted a glorious chance to get Milan back in the tie after 68 minutes when a swerving cross picked him out in a great position, but the substitute could only send his header straight into the arms of David Ospina.
Arsenal moved 2-1 in front on the night and three goals clear on aggregate with a well-taken, yet fortuitous goal, after 71 minutes. Granit Xhaka powered a long-range shot towards goal and, although he hit it well, Donnarumma should have done better than to allow it to squirm into the net.
The hosts added further gloss to the scoreline five minutes from time when Wilshere ran into the box and clipped a cross in, which Donnarumma spilled and Welbeck was able to head in the rebound.
The lively Wilshere nearly grabbed a late goal for himself as his curling effort sailed just wide, but it didn't stop Arsenal from securing their place in this season's Europa League quarter-final.
QUARTER FINALS
When we got drawn against AC Milan I think many people feared the worst, especially with our poor form going into the first leg, but instead we showed grit and determination to deservedly book our place in the final eight.
There are some excellent sides still left in the competition, most notably Atletico Madrid, so whoever we face it won't be easy.
The other seven sides into the quarter final are Atletico Madrid, Marseille, Lazio, Sporting Lisbon, RB Leipzig, Salzburg and CSKA Moscow.
FC Red Bull Salzburg knocked out out Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 so certainly can't be underestimated, but I think they would be my ideal pick to face in the next round.
No tie is going to be easy, but I think if we can at least avoid Atletico Madrid then we stand a good chance.
Roll on Friday's draw so we can find out who we will be playing in the quarter final.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
It is frustrating to think our next game is now not until April's visit of Stoke, so a break of more than two weeks.
We were due to play Leicester next, but that has been delayed due to the Foxes' involvement in the FA Cup. Weirdly the new clash against Leicester at the moment appears to be after the final league weekend of the season is meant to be.
Although the wait for the next game is annoying, at least we got the job done and got through our two-legged tie with Milan!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Arsenal took a 2-0 advantage into the second leg and both sides had good chances in what was an open match at the Emirates.
AC Milan gave the hosts an early scare inside the opening two minutes as Andre Silva flashed a shot into the side netting.
Arsenal's first chance fell to Laurent Koscielny, but the defender's header looped over the bar before he was forced off injured after just 10 minutes. After the match manager Arsene Wenger confirmed the injury does not seem as bad as it looked and, although it isn't serious,the defender cramped up at the time and couldn't continue.
The Gunners came even closer after 25 minutes when Henrikh Mkhitaryan set up Welbeck, but the striker's effort was well saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma in the Milan goal.
Milan turned the tie on its head and moved to within one goal of Arsenal after Hakan Calhanoglu's superb piercing strike from 30 yards after 36 minutes.
Arsenal raced up the other end to level the match via a controversial penalty. Welbeck got the wrong side of Ricardo Rodriguez after being played in by Mkhitaryan before going down under very minimal contact from the defender. It was very soft, but the penalty was given and Welbeck calmly slotted it past Donnarumma.
Milan wasted the chance to move back in front when Calhanoglu sliced a shot wide before Alessio Romagnoli lofted an effort over the crossbar.
The hosts also missed an opportunity to regain their lead on the night late in the first half as Jack Wilshere's effort was well kept out by Donnarumma.
Arsenal went in at the break at 1-1 and crucially 3-1 up on aggregate, meaning there was no chance of extra time and the next 45 minutes would decide the outcome one way or another.
Donnarumma came to Milan's rescue within seven minutes of the restart as Mkhitaryan latched onto a pass from Mesut Ozil before seeing his shot parried away for a corner by the visiting goalkeeper.
Milan refused to give up and were still creating chances with Suso's shot from the edge of the penalty area sailing just wide, before youngster Patrick Cutrone sent his volley off target.
Nikola Kalinic wasted a glorious chance to get Milan back in the tie after 68 minutes when a swerving cross picked him out in a great position, but the substitute could only send his header straight into the arms of David Ospina.
Arsenal moved 2-1 in front on the night and three goals clear on aggregate with a well-taken, yet fortuitous goal, after 71 minutes. Granit Xhaka powered a long-range shot towards goal and, although he hit it well, Donnarumma should have done better than to allow it to squirm into the net.
The hosts added further gloss to the scoreline five minutes from time when Wilshere ran into the box and clipped a cross in, which Donnarumma spilled and Welbeck was able to head in the rebound.
The lively Wilshere nearly grabbed a late goal for himself as his curling effort sailed just wide, but it didn't stop Arsenal from securing their place in this season's Europa League quarter-final.
QUARTER FINALS
When we got drawn against AC Milan I think many people feared the worst, especially with our poor form going into the first leg, but instead we showed grit and determination to deservedly book our place in the final eight.
There are some excellent sides still left in the competition, most notably Atletico Madrid, so whoever we face it won't be easy.
The other seven sides into the quarter final are Atletico Madrid, Marseille, Lazio, Sporting Lisbon, RB Leipzig, Salzburg and CSKA Moscow.
FC Red Bull Salzburg knocked out out Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 so certainly can't be underestimated, but I think they would be my ideal pick to face in the next round.
No tie is going to be easy, but I think if we can at least avoid Atletico Madrid then we stand a good chance.
Roll on Friday's draw so we can find out who we will be playing in the quarter final.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
It is frustrating to think our next game is now not until April's visit of Stoke, so a break of more than two weeks.
We were due to play Leicester next, but that has been delayed due to the Foxes' involvement in the FA Cup. Weirdly the new clash against Leicester at the moment appears to be after the final league weekend of the season is meant to be.
Although the wait for the next game is annoying, at least we got the job done and got through our two-legged tie with Milan!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 11 March 2018
Gunners sting Hornets to halt league slump
Our league campaign has been a mess, but Arsenal at least managed to end a run of three straight Premier League defeats with a 3-0 win over Watford.
It doesn't paper over the cracks of what has gone before, but it was certainly a much-needed win and Arsene Wenger's 700th for the Gunners.
Arsenal started brightly and came close to opening the scoring after just three minutes when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang latched onto Mesut Ozil's through ball, but the striker's effort was turned away by Orestis Karnezis in the Watford goal.
The Gunners made no mistake after eight minutes when Shkodran Mustafi headed in Ozil's free-kick for Arsenal's 1000th home Premier League goal - we are only the second team to reach that landmark.
That goal also saw Ozil become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, which he achieved in just 141 games.
Watford had a great opportunity to level the scores after 12 minutes when Richarlison set up Abdoulaye Doucoure, but his deflected strike was well saved by Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Arsenal continued to create chances with Mohamed Elneny passing through to Sead Kolasinac, but Aubameyang couldn't quite get enough on the full-back's low ball into the box.
Richarlison tried to get Watford back into the game, but his free-kick hit a post before Roberto Pereryra blasted the rebound over the crossbar.
Back came Arsenal and Ozil cleverly worked his way into the box, only for his shot to be kept out by the outstretched leg of Karnezis.
Watford tried, but failed, to find an equaliser before half-time as Richarlison's header was tipped behind for a corner by Cech.
The cushion of a second goal finally came for Arsenal after 59 minutes as Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran at the defence and played a through ball into Aubameyang, who took a touch to take it past Karnezis and score from close range.
The game very nearly turned on its head two minutes later as Watford were awarded a penalty after Ainsley Maitland-Niles was adjudged to have fouled Pereyra in the box.
Troy Deeney, who said Arsenal players must look at themselves and show 'cojones' after Watford's 2-1 win in October's reverse fixture, stepped up to take the penalty. Fortunately for Arsenal Cech was on hand to dive to his right and palm away Deeney's spot-kick - his first Arsenal penalty save.
Mustafi was forced off with a groin problem after 72 minutes and will have to be assessed before the extent of the damage is known.
Arsenal put the result beyond doubt 13 minutes from time when Rob Holding's excellent through ball found Ozil, whose cutback was saved by Karnezis, but fell to Aubameyang and he set up Mkhitaryan to fire home.
Substitute Danny Welbeck tried to add further gloss to the scoreline late on, but his effort was kept out by Karnezis.
Watford were unable to find a consolation goal meaning Cech kept his 200th clean sheet and becomes the first goalkeeper to achieve that feat in Premier League history.
A much-needed win to halt our poor run of league form, but eight points behind fifth-placed Chelsea and 12 off Liverpool in fourth simply isn't good enough.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Watford fan Paul Caygill believes the best team on the day won at the Emirates and is nervous about the club's next league game away at Liverpool.
"It was a strange game," said Caygill. "In the first 10 minutes we gave too much respect, although there was not too much wrong with the first goal, just a great header.
"Gradually we got a foothold in the game and missed a good few chances as well as Arsenal. When Karnezis, who I felt was our best player, denied Ozil on the half hour that was the game changer.
"I did feel the first 15 minutes of the second half was our best spell of the match, but we didn’t test Cech enough. The killer was the second goal, because it knocked us out of stride, until the penalty.
"That goes in, you could see the crowd getting very nervous. Deeney misses, which considering his comments back in October, is probably ironic.
"That killed the game really and a third was inevitable. Overall the best team on the day won, and we should still be safe, but I’m not feeling confident about Anfield on Saturday teatime on this evidence."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
With confidence low and things in a mess the recent wins against AC Milan and Watford are a big morale boost for the Gunners.
Even if this is the start of a good run of form it won't stop it from being a poor league campaign, but at least there has been more positives in the last two games in all competitions.
Focus must now quickly switch to the second leg of our Europa League round of 16 tie against AC Milan.
The job is only half done, but after a surprise 2-0 win in Italy the tie is firmly in our favour. I am taking nothing for granted as anything could happen, but I feel better about our chances than I thought I would have done at this stage after being handed a tough draw.
Our next league match will see us travel to Leicester, which will undoubtedly be a tough game, but we need to make sure we produce a decent performance.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
It doesn't paper over the cracks of what has gone before, but it was certainly a much-needed win and Arsene Wenger's 700th for the Gunners.
Arsenal started brightly and came close to opening the scoring after just three minutes when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang latched onto Mesut Ozil's through ball, but the striker's effort was turned away by Orestis Karnezis in the Watford goal.
The Gunners made no mistake after eight minutes when Shkodran Mustafi headed in Ozil's free-kick for Arsenal's 1000th home Premier League goal - we are only the second team to reach that landmark.
That goal also saw Ozil become the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, which he achieved in just 141 games.
Watford had a great opportunity to level the scores after 12 minutes when Richarlison set up Abdoulaye Doucoure, but his deflected strike was well saved by Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Arsenal continued to create chances with Mohamed Elneny passing through to Sead Kolasinac, but Aubameyang couldn't quite get enough on the full-back's low ball into the box.
Richarlison tried to get Watford back into the game, but his free-kick hit a post before Roberto Pereryra blasted the rebound over the crossbar.
Back came Arsenal and Ozil cleverly worked his way into the box, only for his shot to be kept out by the outstretched leg of Karnezis.
Watford tried, but failed, to find an equaliser before half-time as Richarlison's header was tipped behind for a corner by Cech.
The cushion of a second goal finally came for Arsenal after 59 minutes as Henrikh Mkhitaryan ran at the defence and played a through ball into Aubameyang, who took a touch to take it past Karnezis and score from close range.
The game very nearly turned on its head two minutes later as Watford were awarded a penalty after Ainsley Maitland-Niles was adjudged to have fouled Pereyra in the box.
Troy Deeney, who said Arsenal players must look at themselves and show 'cojones' after Watford's 2-1 win in October's reverse fixture, stepped up to take the penalty. Fortunately for Arsenal Cech was on hand to dive to his right and palm away Deeney's spot-kick - his first Arsenal penalty save.
Mustafi was forced off with a groin problem after 72 minutes and will have to be assessed before the extent of the damage is known.
Arsenal put the result beyond doubt 13 minutes from time when Rob Holding's excellent through ball found Ozil, whose cutback was saved by Karnezis, but fell to Aubameyang and he set up Mkhitaryan to fire home.
Substitute Danny Welbeck tried to add further gloss to the scoreline late on, but his effort was kept out by Karnezis.
Watford were unable to find a consolation goal meaning Cech kept his 200th clean sheet and becomes the first goalkeeper to achieve that feat in Premier League history.
A much-needed win to halt our poor run of league form, but eight points behind fifth-placed Chelsea and 12 off Liverpool in fourth simply isn't good enough.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Watford fan Paul Caygill believes the best team on the day won at the Emirates and is nervous about the club's next league game away at Liverpool.
"It was a strange game," said Caygill. "In the first 10 minutes we gave too much respect, although there was not too much wrong with the first goal, just a great header.
"Gradually we got a foothold in the game and missed a good few chances as well as Arsenal. When Karnezis, who I felt was our best player, denied Ozil on the half hour that was the game changer.
"I did feel the first 15 minutes of the second half was our best spell of the match, but we didn’t test Cech enough. The killer was the second goal, because it knocked us out of stride, until the penalty.
"That goes in, you could see the crowd getting very nervous. Deeney misses, which considering his comments back in October, is probably ironic.
"That killed the game really and a third was inevitable. Overall the best team on the day won, and we should still be safe, but I’m not feeling confident about Anfield on Saturday teatime on this evidence."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
With confidence low and things in a mess the recent wins against AC Milan and Watford are a big morale boost for the Gunners.
Even if this is the start of a good run of form it won't stop it from being a poor league campaign, but at least there has been more positives in the last two games in all competitions.
Focus must now quickly switch to the second leg of our Europa League round of 16 tie against AC Milan.
The job is only half done, but after a surprise 2-0 win in Italy the tie is firmly in our favour. I am taking nothing for granted as anything could happen, but I feel better about our chances than I thought I would have done at this stage after being handed a tough draw.
Our next league match will see us travel to Leicester, which will undoubtedly be a tough game, but we need to make sure we produce a decent performance.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Thursday, 8 March 2018
Gunners stun Milan with comfortable away victory
It doesn't paper over the cracks, but what a superb result that was for Arsenal to get a 2-0 victory away at AC Milan in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie.
Given our poor form and shattered confidence, and the fact that AC Milan haven't been conceding many goals of late, I didn't feel too hopeful ahead of the game, but Arsenal surprised me.
We travelled to Italy in a torrid run of form which has seen us lose four straight games for the first time since 2002. We really are in a rut, so this unexpected away victory was a pleasant surprise and felt really sweet.
In recent games we have looked fragile, especially at the back, but in Italy somehow we were playing as a more organised and disciplined team, chasing to win the ball back and showing a will to win.
Both sides wasted early chances as Arsenal's Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Milan's Patrick Cutrone both sent shots into the side netting.
The Gunners then broke the deadlock after 15 minutes as Mkhitaryan scored his first goal for the club since his January move from Manchester United. The Armenian midfielder collected the ball from Mesut Ozil before cutting back inside and unleashing a powerful strike beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma. Our opening goal ended a run of 599 minutes without conceding for AC Milan yet somehow we had managed it.
The game was only in its early stages and already we were showing better movement and pace than we had in the whole 90 minutes of our last few matches.
Arsenal continued to pose a threat as Calum Chambers' cross was nearly met by Danny Welbeck, but Milan defender Davide Calabria did enough to put the ball behind for a corner.
At the other end Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina had to be alert and quick off his line to deny Cutrone.
With just three minutes of normal time remaining Arsenal missed two great chances to extend their advantage. Chambers' powerful strike was excellently palmed away by Donnarumma before the Milan goalkeeper stood his ground to deny Welbeck, who had raced through on goal.
Welbeck then turned provider to pass through to Mkhitaryan, but the midfielder's effort bounced behind off the crossbar.
Suso sent a shot high and wide for the hosts before Arsenal finally got the second goal their performance deserved deep into first-half stoppage time. Aaron Ramsey latched onto a fine pass from Ozil before rounding Donnarumma and tapping the ball into the net.
Where on earth had this come from? To go from being so poor lately to 2-0 up away at a side who have a good defensive record was very impressive, but also frustrating as to why we couldn't have done this more often.
Donnarumma did well to deny Welbeck in the early stages of the second half, but the Gunners weren't made to pay for that miss as Milan wasted all the chances that came their way.
Ricardo Rodriguez sent a volley off target before Ospina produced a great save, rushing from his line to deny Nikola Kalinic.
It is annoying that the defence and goalkeeper haven't shown this level of character more often this season and this result doesn't paper over the cracks, but a 2-0 win in Milan is certainly impressive.
SECOND LEG
Like most Arsenal fans I know the tie is far from over. 2-0 is a great result away from home against a team like AC Milan, but I am certainly taking nothing for granted.
The visit of Watford is before the second leg at the Emirates so we need to turn our attentions swiftly to that, but in terms of our Europa League round of 16 tie I am happy with how it stands so far.
Home advantage should in theory put us in pole position to qualify for the quarter finals, but with Arsenal anything is possible. We have at least given ourselves a great chance though.
AC Milan will be expected to come out for the second leg all guns blazing to try and turn the tie around and with our defensive frailties it can't be ruled out.
Instead of a poor first leg and giving ourselves a mountain to climb we have finally given ourselves a positive foothold going into the second leg.
I won't get too carried away as anything could happen, but the prospect of reaching the quarter-final actually seems even more possible than I had expected, so let's go give it our best shot.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
A great performance, especially in the first half, and result left me feeling good, but the fact remains that we are too inconsistent.
Taking nothing away from the performance in Italy though as we thoroughly deserved the win.
Although our league campaign and any chance of a top-four finish is virtually already over, if we can replicate our performance against Milan for the rest of the season at least it won't be quite so depressing.
I still feel change would be a good thing in the summer, but at least we have a surprisingly positive result to talk about and our Europa League journey remains very much alive.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Given our poor form and shattered confidence, and the fact that AC Milan haven't been conceding many goals of late, I didn't feel too hopeful ahead of the game, but Arsenal surprised me.
We travelled to Italy in a torrid run of form which has seen us lose four straight games for the first time since 2002. We really are in a rut, so this unexpected away victory was a pleasant surprise and felt really sweet.
In recent games we have looked fragile, especially at the back, but in Italy somehow we were playing as a more organised and disciplined team, chasing to win the ball back and showing a will to win.
Both sides wasted early chances as Arsenal's Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Milan's Patrick Cutrone both sent shots into the side netting.
The Gunners then broke the deadlock after 15 minutes as Mkhitaryan scored his first goal for the club since his January move from Manchester United. The Armenian midfielder collected the ball from Mesut Ozil before cutting back inside and unleashing a powerful strike beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma. Our opening goal ended a run of 599 minutes without conceding for AC Milan yet somehow we had managed it.
The game was only in its early stages and already we were showing better movement and pace than we had in the whole 90 minutes of our last few matches.
Arsenal continued to pose a threat as Calum Chambers' cross was nearly met by Danny Welbeck, but Milan defender Davide Calabria did enough to put the ball behind for a corner.
At the other end Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina had to be alert and quick off his line to deny Cutrone.
With just three minutes of normal time remaining Arsenal missed two great chances to extend their advantage. Chambers' powerful strike was excellently palmed away by Donnarumma before the Milan goalkeeper stood his ground to deny Welbeck, who had raced through on goal.
Welbeck then turned provider to pass through to Mkhitaryan, but the midfielder's effort bounced behind off the crossbar.
Suso sent a shot high and wide for the hosts before Arsenal finally got the second goal their performance deserved deep into first-half stoppage time. Aaron Ramsey latched onto a fine pass from Ozil before rounding Donnarumma and tapping the ball into the net.
Where on earth had this come from? To go from being so poor lately to 2-0 up away at a side who have a good defensive record was very impressive, but also frustrating as to why we couldn't have done this more often.
Donnarumma did well to deny Welbeck in the early stages of the second half, but the Gunners weren't made to pay for that miss as Milan wasted all the chances that came their way.
Ricardo Rodriguez sent a volley off target before Ospina produced a great save, rushing from his line to deny Nikola Kalinic.
It is annoying that the defence and goalkeeper haven't shown this level of character more often this season and this result doesn't paper over the cracks, but a 2-0 win in Milan is certainly impressive.
SECOND LEG
Like most Arsenal fans I know the tie is far from over. 2-0 is a great result away from home against a team like AC Milan, but I am certainly taking nothing for granted.
The visit of Watford is before the second leg at the Emirates so we need to turn our attentions swiftly to that, but in terms of our Europa League round of 16 tie I am happy with how it stands so far.
Home advantage should in theory put us in pole position to qualify for the quarter finals, but with Arsenal anything is possible. We have at least given ourselves a great chance though.
AC Milan will be expected to come out for the second leg all guns blazing to try and turn the tie around and with our defensive frailties it can't be ruled out.
Instead of a poor first leg and giving ourselves a mountain to climb we have finally given ourselves a positive foothold going into the second leg.
I won't get too carried away as anything could happen, but the prospect of reaching the quarter-final actually seems even more possible than I had expected, so let's go give it our best shot.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
A great performance, especially in the first half, and result left me feeling good, but the fact remains that we are too inconsistent.
Taking nothing away from the performance in Italy though as we thoroughly deserved the win.
Although our league campaign and any chance of a top-four finish is virtually already over, if we can replicate our performance against Milan for the rest of the season at least it won't be quite so depressing.
I still feel change would be a good thing in the summer, but at least we have a surprisingly positive result to talk about and our Europa League journey remains very much alive.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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