Suburban Gooners – Arsenal Blog
Big Vik seals it as Arsenal go nine clear with Sunderland win
I thought that was a hard-earned victory yesterday against Sunderland. They're a good team. A physical team. A team who know their strengths and is good at reducing its deficiencies. The data nerds may well raise an occasional eyebrow at how well they've done this season, but having watched them frustrate us and stifle us [...]
Tough one, low block, but Arsenal need to do the business against Sunderland
Feeling a bit, well, weirdly nervous about this one today. Yesterday I touched on it, but it's one of those games in which everything - and everyone - is calling this a routine home win. The stats back it up, again, as I mentioned yesterday. Sundewrland aren't amazing away from home. And yet....AND YET...there's that [...]
The seven-point itch: Can Arsenal finally pull away from the chasing pack?
We find out team news from Mikel Arteta today, so we'll know what we're dealing with when it comes to tomorrow's opposition, Sunderland, but I wonder what Mikel is thinking from a tactical perspective? From a fitness point of view, the news we have all unofficially heard is that Saka is out until probably the [...]
Closer together, scoring more: The tactical shift Benefiting Viktor Gyökeres
So it looks like it's City in the final of the League Cup for us in March then. The current top two are battling it out for the first trophy of the season, after Newcastle went out with a bit of a whimper against Pep's 115 Charges FC, of which Pep isn't happy that Marc [...]
Havertz haunts Chelsea once again – Wembley here we come
I really don't like Chelsea. I'd go as far as to say I hate them. I hate what they represent. I hate the way they started the spiral of financial doping that is now so prevalent in the game. I hate their game model of stockpiling players and then farming them out on loan. I hate [...]
Noni’s revenge? Could Madueke and creative eights silence Chelsea?
It's match day, it's the league Cup Semi final, it's Chelsea at the Emirates. It is not exactly a 'must win', but certainly you want this Arsenal team to go out there tonight and deliver the kind of performance that sends messages to the rest of the world that we are ready to take the [...]
Merino’s absence will make us all grow fonder of him
Well now. Wasn't yesterday's football a nice little bonus on a weekend in which we were comprehensive in our job, whilst others were anything but, eh? I watched the first part of the Villa v Brentford game before heading off for some dinner, so I didn't see Villa stumble in the second half, then when [...]
Cry me a river: Set-pieces, own goals, and a smiting of Leeds
Being on a bit of a tour of Sri Lanka this week has definitely had its benefits and drawbacks when it comes to The Arsenal. I was able to use the convenient excuse of having to get up for various sightseeing exercises, so I didn’t have to deal with the aftermath of the United game [...]
Unlocking the block: Control or creativity against United?
Match day folks! And it's time to put everything to one side - the worry of a resurgent United, the fear of a blip after City's win against Wolves, the concern over two goalless draws in the Premier League previously - and get the job done this afternoon. Arsenal go into this one with a [...]
Arsenal must rediscover domestic ruthlessness against united tomorrow
Howdy folks, from an overcast Sri Lanka in which I’m operating on about two hours sleep, so please bear with me if my usual Arsenal-related rambling is a little more incoherent than usual. We heard from Mikel Arteta yesterday and I guess the first thing to be happy about is that Hincapie and Calafiori are [...]