A Lot’s Happened Since My Last Post
Yeah, a lot’s happened since I last wrote just enough for the weather to catch up with the Anaijagunner team, slowing us down but not stopping us. The Gunners played out a stalemate at Stamford Bridge, the FIFA World Cup draws were held (without Nigeria), Arsenal beat Brentford in a midweek tie, and Chelsea stumbled at Elland Road, losing 3-1 to Leeds. City almost had Pep’s heart collapsing with a 9-goal thriller at Craven Cottage, though it’s a shame Chukwueze couldn’t complete the comeback. Anyway, the weather can't stop us. We’re back, and we start at Stamford Bridge.
Stalemate at Stamford Bridge: Arsenal vs Chelsea
1-1 at the final whistle, and it’s even stevens. The much-hyped Super Sunday clash between London’s biggest clubs ends in a draw. In my preview, I said that if we didn’t follow up our brilliant wins against Bayern and Spurs with a win here, it would be for nought. Watching the game, especially with Chelsea down to 10 men after Caicedo’s red card for a nasty tackle on Mikel Merino, you’d expect a win, but football doesn’t always go as planned. Let’s be honest: it was a tough game. Chelsea’s been in fine form recently, and we were missing our first-choice center-backs after Saliba’s injury just 24 hours before the match. Credit to Chelsea; they fought us until the last drop, and they might drop points in their next game because of the energy they spent trying to stifle us despite being down a man.
Reece James ake a bow. That was a Yeo-man’s midfield performance. Stood head and shoulders above everyone else in midfield. I still wouldn’t swap him for Timber, though, based on consistency and availability. But I see why Chelsea fans think so highly of him. As for Arsenal, we didn’t play to our usual standard, which has both positives and negatives. The good part is knowing we have another gear to shift up to, which should have been enough to beat Chelsea 11v11. The bad part is maybe we thought we could coast without actually giving our all, NOT GOOD!.
Perspective: Hell’s week ends with 7 points out of 9 against Spurs, Bayern, and Chelsea not bad at all. We’ve played away at some tough venues: Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, Anfield, St. James’ Park, Stadium of Light, Craven Cottage, and Turf Moor. Out of those, we’ve earned 4 wins, 2 draws, and just 1 loss. Not too shabby. Our home form is solid too, with 6 wins and 1 draw, which is why we’re sitting at the top of the table. It's a shame we couldn’t keep the momentum going with another win at Villa, though.
World Cup Draws & Mo Salah Drama
Quickly, let’s segue to the World Cup and the drama surrounding Mo Salah at Liverpool.
The World Cup next year, hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, is going to be an interesting one. Despite Nigeria not making it (unfortunately), the draws have already set up some mouthwatering matchups: Scotland vs Brazil, England vs Croatia, and Spain vs Uruguay. There’s plenty to look forward to. The big question is: who will win it? Historically, when a European nation hosts the World Cup, a European nation wins it, and the same applies to South America. Could we see a repeat of 1994 when the U.S. hosted and Brazil lifted the trophy? So much to ponder, we’ll have to wait until next year.
Now, back to Mo Salah. The Liverpool legend has been talking a lot recently, and it’s not been pretty. His comments after being dropped in 3 consecutive games have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, including Liverpool fans and ex-players like Jamie Carragher. From a neutral football lover’s perspective, it’s a bit sad. Salah deserves more respect than being blamed for Liverpool’s slump. There’s blame to go around: Van Dijk, Konate, Mac Allister, Kerkez, and even Salah. But suggesting you are entitled to an automatic starting spot? Nah, Mo. Even legends like you know no player is bigger than the club, especially not Liverpool. It’s a tough one, but Salah should know better than to say certain things, no matter how justified he might feel. As for Jamie Carragher, I’ll keep my thoughts brief. Calling Mo a Chelsea flop and hitting him below the belt about his lack of international trophies with Egypt? Not necessary, Jamie. But hey, it’s football, and everyone has their opinion, even those who are quick to point fingers while forgetting they have more finger-pointing back at themselves. I ain't a Liverpool football club fan so nuff said!
Arsenal’s Sucker Punch at Villa Park
Back to the EPL and the Aston Villa game. Arsenal traveled to Villa Park and were sucker-punched by a late Buendia winner. Villa’s been in fine form under Unai Emery, and now they’re on a 5-game winning streak. Emery’s now beaten Arteta 4 times in 8 matches he’s got Arsenal’s number, doesn’t he?
Arsenal, on the other hand, looked shattered by the late goal. Villa played very well, but we could have won it too. Madueke had a big chance, but it was Villa who got the win. Credit to them. Raya banging his hands in frustration and the players collapsing on the field says it all about how gutted they were. That’s football, though. We need to dust ourselves off, learn from the loss, and keep going.
City winning against Sunderland means they’re now just two points behind us, and Villa is three points off. In a title race, it’s all about having a strong squad, a bit of luck, and, most importantly, mentality. This team has grown a lot this season, and I’m expecting them to show that mentality when City inevitably tries to make a run. We can’t win the league in November, but we can lose it in December. So, being top of the table, despite all our injuries, is commendable. But we need to keep our focus and maintain a professional, results-driven approach.
Champions League: A Chance for Rotation?
Now, Arsenal’s heading to Belgium to face Brugge in our final Champions League group stage match. After the Villa defeat, this game presents a chance for Mikel Arteta to rotate the squad. The general consensus is that this game should be used to give key players like Declan Rice and Zubimendi a much-needed rest after a grueling few weeks. Brugge isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders they’ve sacked their manager Nicky Hayen due to poor form and are struggling in their league. Ivan Lencko has been brought back in to stabilise things at the Belgian club which means, we shouldn’t take them lightly. I expect Arteta to give Rice and Zubimendi a break, especially Rice, who’s looked a bit worn out lately. It’s crucial not to overwork him.
As for other key players, Timber and Saka could also use some rest. Timber’s been playing a lot recently, and with our injury issues, I’d rather we didn’t risk him picking up a knock. Saka is still contributing with goals and assists, even when not at his best, so maybe giving him a breather would be wise. Madueke, on the other hand, could benefit from more minutes. He’s shown flashes of his talent, and I think he deserves more opportunities to build on his goal against Bayern. He’s not yet at Saka’s level, but I’m hopeful he’ll get there.
Finally, let’s talk about Odegaard. He’s been receiving a lot of unfair criticism recently, especially since his return from injury. We saw flashes of his brilliance against Chelsea and Villa, but he needs to find consistency. I’d like to see him back in form—he can still be the player that makes a difference for us this season, even with Eze in the side as he also gives us an option in the 10 role or on the left even if its not exactly where most folks want to see him. I do believe both can play together in the team with Rice sitting at their base but lets not ahead of ourselves yet. Eze hasnt exactly made the 10 role his, too early some would say and maybe they are right but more needs to come from Eze if he is to get dibbs on that 10 role ahead of Odegaard. To sum things up, Arsenal needs to stem the bleeding on our away games, albeit its in the #EPL, Club Brugge is an opportunity to turn things around with a win with all due respect to them. I would expect the wholesale changes to the team as alluded to, although I wouldnt be surprised if Mikel doesnt exactly follow suit cuz he wants to get back to winning ways ASAP. My team sheet would look like this below. Calafiori misses the game against Wolves, due to an accumulated yellow card, so he would get some rest kin-off
There you are, just about enough changes to still maintain a solid enough team to get the job done (hopefully). We need to return back to the basics, build from the back with a solid base first. I want to see Gyokeres get back to scoring, hopefully that gets him even more up to speed. Madueke and Martinelli arent left out, but the would need good outings too. Lets hope the boiz are up to the task especially against the backdrop of Burgge's current poor form. On that not, that wraps it up from us for this preview, do enjoy the game wherever you.....#COYG
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