Suburban Gooners – Arsenal Blog
More time needed for both Wenger and Arsenal
Wednesday morning, the internal break hasn't even kicked off and I'm already bored of it. It's funny because when we lose I view the internationals as either a painfully slow creepy death in terms of football (i.e. you can't get 'back on the wagon' with a result), or a momentum killer (i.e. what happens if [...]
Is there an upside to all international call ups for Arsenal?
I've kind of gotten used to the fact that a number of our players usually get 'rest' time during the international breaks. We've seen other teams in the league see half of their squads go away, but we've been able to keep plenty of lads back and have them prepare for the next Premier League [...]
Arsenal’s solid foundations help the win over Watford
As I exited the ground yesterday with the three points secured, I asked my Dad to reflect on the game and the performance and he said 'it was a funny old game, wasn't it?'. Indeed it was Pa, indeed it was. Arsenal controlled possession, scored goals, had big chances in the form of a penalty, [...]
Watford to mirror Arsenal’s formation, so we must step up
This'll be a quick one today as I'm off to have a pre match meal with the family in Islington before the old man and I make our way to the game. Watford at home in the old days - like six or seven years ago - would be one in which you'd be wondering [...]
Arteta still learning
I watched the 30 minute video on Mikel Arteta this morning. He talked a lot about 'unity' and his time so far as he approaches 100 games tomorrow and I thought it was a nice piece from Amy Lawrence who interviewed him. I'm losing track about the number of times I've said how strong his [...]
We need Xhaka for January and Tierney for Liverpool next week
Well the good news appears to be that the squad injury update ahead of the game against Watford on Sunday is positive. Only Kieran Tierney and Granit Xhaka remain doubts. For Xhaka the main worry is in the wording from the clubs medical team that he is expected to be in full training in the [...]
Building Arsenal’s nucleus with more time at London Colney
I often wonder how much of a 'football fan' I actually am you know. I mean, I'm a die-hard Arsenal fan and birthdays, special occasions and holidays are often navigated around based on the football calendar, but football fan? Not so much. Take this round of midweek action currently going on. Not watched a single second of it. No [...]
The Arsenal worrier and his ‘worry wall’
Antonio Conte to the Scum, Unai Emery to the new Geordie Oil Whores, what is happening right now? What weird twilight zone have we fallen in to that sees this collective of randomness occur? In fairness Conte has hedged his bets with an 18-month contract and you have to hope that is fails dismally and [...]
Arsenal giving me a touch of the ‘what ifs’ and I like it
Being a football fan is a funny old game and that game goes from highs to lows, from joy to worry, relatively quickly. Take the Scum from the Lane. They may have won f**k all, but the fact that they're about to sign Antonio Conte as their manager has a few Arsenal fans slightly concerned, [...]
Is Lacazette the false nine when we already have a nine on the pitch?
Yesterday morning I went out for my morning run in the pouring rain of Northumberland and I was listening to a post match podcast, which triggered some thoughts in me about Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The thoughts revolved around the fact people are talking about us playing 4-4-2 and also trying to work out [...]