Yesterday, Arsenal kicked off at 0400 local time. I tried to get up, but didn’t make it until 0430, I started the match from the beginning, then I fell asleep some time before Lacazette’s first goal. I drifted in and out of sleep for the next several hours.
When I woke up enough to make coffee it was 0930. A much more reasonable time to watch a football match.
I already knew what the outcome was more or less, so in a funny way, I got to enjoy the game. Knowing that we were going to score at least 3 (the score I saw was 1-3, I didn’t know we would eventually score five!) I was able to watch our error-strewn first half in relative comfort. That’s not to say that I didn’t think Xh*ka was a mess (as usual) but I was just way less annoyed with him.
I think that match may be, in a way, the story of the 18/19 season. Every team feels like they can pressure Arsenal and they are giving it a go in the first 15-20 minutes. If Arsenal can score a goal it helps alleviate the pressure but we are still a team and a defense that has goals in it.
That defensive laxity is often blamed on Mustafi, but it was Monreal who gave away the error for the goal yesterday to Fulham. Fulham also failed to really attack down the Mustafi side. Which was odd since once again Arsenal left Bellerin alone and focused most of the attack down the left.
If I remove both fullbacks from the heatmap, you can see how much Arsenal still favor the left:
But for whatever reason, Fulham didn’t attack the Bellerin side, they attacked Arsenal’s strong side:
The result was an easier defensive match for Arsenal than it probably should have been and played right into the hands of players like Xh*ka and Iwobi who are very left-dominant.
That starting lineup is nearly the one I would choose almost every week. Iwobi has proven himself to be an asset for this club and I think he needs to start. He was great at taking on opponents and it’s clear to me that his job is to be the pre-assister. He runs at defenses, their legs get weak and they backpedal, he picks out a runner, they cross, we score.
I think we can say that move is as close to a signature Emery attack as we are going to get this year. It’s a great finishing move because it makes scoring a lot easier: any touch (even if the defender gets to it) on the ball is dangerous. In this 9-match win streak, we have seen this move for a goal (or dangerous shot) in every single match.
In this match, we had three (or four) of these chances. In the 22nd minute, Iwobi went wide, Welbs underlapped him, Iwobi played him in, Welbs crossed and Fulham got a clearance. Then there was Lacazette’s goal, which was pre-assisted by Iwobi passing to Monreal who overlapped him and crossed to Lacazette. And there was the Ramsey goal. Which was.. well.
The other big change with Emery ball is that Arsenal are taking more shots from outside the box. Once again an Arsenal striker scored a goal from outside the 18, shots of this nature were almost forbidden under Wenger who felt that their low conversion rate (2-3%) meant that they were a poor shot selection.
There was a rumor this morning that Arsene Wenger turned down the chance to sign Mo Salah because Arsene said that he was a wasteful player. Last season’s break out aside, Wenger was right about Salah. And instead of Salah, Wenger got not one but two strikers whose finishing is impeccable and who have been finishing at a high rate (20%) for many years. I’m thankful for both of these players, Lacazette and Aubameyang, both of whom scored two goals yesterday, because they make the team so much stronger with their finishing. I know Aubameyang can’t be happy with a reserve role but it’s what’s best for the team and he will get goals this season, in sub appearances and in some starts.
That’s another funny thing. In a weird way, this team is constructed to be a counter attacking side. That is what Aubameyang is best at and the sight of him running at defenders in the 70th minute must be terrifying. It’s fantastic that we have him as an option coming on late. Though neither of his goals were really counter attacking goals. The fourth was a carbon copy of the Lacazette 1st and the 5th was a killer through-ball from Ramsey. Still, I can’t help think he will play a pivotal role with his pace as the season goes on.
After Arsenal scored 5 goals but only had an xG of 1.4 or so there is a lot of anti-stats chatter this morning saying that xG needs to be fixed or that it’s missing something from the model because Arsenal are overperforming xG. First, xG isn’t broken. It’s not intended to map directly to the goals that are scored. You almost never see a team with an xG of 5 because you will almost never see a team get 10 big chances!
The name is part of the problem. The goals aren’t expected, the number is just an aggregate of shot averages. We’ve been over this here on this blog way too many times so I’ll spare you too much more discussion. I will just say this: every season at least one team overperforms the metric. Last season it was Burnley. What are Burnley doing now? Reverting to the mean. This season it’s Arsenal. If there is a multi-season change to the way that Arsenal overperform xG, yes, I will suggest that something is wrong, but right now Arsenal have 4 goals outside the 18 yard box and just 1 inside the 6 yard box and we are converting 22% of our shots inside the 18 (12/54). Man City have taken the most shots inside the 18 and they are converting 10% (10/98) which is exactly what I would expect! We are simply overperforming the model at this moment. Enjoy it.
And finally, a word for the goal of the season. As I get older, certain goals fade. I’ll always remember Vieira’s against Tottenham or Wiltord’s against Man U, but I admit that I have forgotten some of Arsenal’s best goals over the last decade. That one yesterday, with it’s chipped pass to a flying back-heel return pass, with a header to a throughball to that Emery-ball cross for another backheel for a goal is going to be there for a while. It has to be goal of the season for Arsenal. I can’t see too many more goals topping that.
But in a way it’s actually kind of bittersweet.
Ramsey was dropped for this game, rightly. He and Ozil weren’t really working for Arsenal and Iwobi and Mkhitaryan are. I wonder if he won’t be featuring much more for the Arsenal between now and when he’s (maybe) sold in January. That might be one of his last ever goals for Arsenal and one that I think sums him up as a player – always willing to take chances, always a willing runner, always trying to get into the 18 yard box, and willing to attempt shots that other players wouldn’t dream of. We don’t know why Arsenal revoked their contract offer to Ramsey but he certainly showed us yesterday why we made him an offer in the first place.
Right, that’s it from me until after my birthday. I might publish once or twice in the next 12 days but don’t count on a regular blog. I need a break.
Wonderful Ramsey goal with a bit of everything: a chip, volleyed backheel, headed pass, beautiful ‘through ball’ by Mikhi to set Auba free and the final backheeled flick finish!
And Ramsey both starting and finishing the move, showing his attacking intent from start to finish, whether deep in our half or where the centre forward should be in their penalty area.
His chipped through ball for Auba’s 2nd was also masterful and aggressively positive in a way few others are.
We will miss him when he goes, but hopefully Unai’s rotation policy will see him, like yesterday, striving to prove his worth/Unai wrong when he is called on.
We were dynamite yesterday and there can be few better places to watch Arsenal away than at Craven Cottage, especially on a sunny day with sailing boats visible on the river from the away end.
So many things to like about the performance but Torreira stuck out for me – constantly involved, anticipating their runs and nicking the ball off them, tidy and quick in possession: admittedly it was ‘only’ Fulham, but we looked a lot steadier with him in the centre.
Goal of the season for sure.
Going the length of the pitch in under 15 seconds, 12 touches,5 players involved and every touch/pass absolutely perfect under the circumstances, with the middle part of the move most impressive, where the ball travelled some 60 yards between Ramsey, Laca, Bellerin and back to Ramsey without touching the ground.
Ramsey probably could’ve had another assist except his half volley pass to Aubameyang was to strong and took him too far wide.
That would’ve been one goal and two assists in some 25 minutes of play.
To your point on Fulham attacking down our left side. Do you think it has something to do with Torriera shifting to right to protect Bellerin and hence Fulham choosing Xhaka over Torriera and attacking on our left? Just a thought…
Ramsey with his flaws is still my fav Arsenal player. But selling him is not too bad for the club. Time to bet on some talents and if one or two pays off it puts us in good stead for the future. Personally, I would prefer to let him go on a free in summer and lose some transfer fee if he can contribute this way and give us a real shot at top 4 come January. 15-20M for a top4 spot is something we can recover with our participation in champions league next season.
That’s our best half this season, and the machine purred nicely after Laca’s 2nd, and the arrival of Ramsey and Auba. Laca looks the sharpest striker in the EPL at the moment, but my MOTM was Torreira, who seems to be on a personal mission to cover every blade of grass, offensively and defensively. The little guy gives everything. He’s on his way to becoming a big fan favourite, because we love a fighter. However we need to buy cover for him, because he’s the only pure midfield shield/ball-winner in our squad, and he can’t play at that intensity all season. Elneny has the tackling ability of a panda.
The other positives
— The coach. Has a knack for impactful subbing. Haven’t always been convinced by his starting XI, but he’s a fearless, decisive and effective subber, and his game management on his winning run has been superb.
Auba. 2 goals and an assist in half an hour’s work.
— Ramsey. Made and finished the 3rd, a superb team goal with a touch of Thierry, after winning it initially at right back. He is at his best when he has yardage to run into, and wide right suited him today. He also got his 3rd assist, the most for any Arsenal player so far, despite his limited minutes and his contract distraction. Ozil WR would not have shown the same defensive tenacity to win it, or keep it under pressure going forward.
Miki — Good game. He won several balls today, and is a fighter defensively. Also prefer him WR to Mesut, for the same reason as Ramsey.
— Leno. Good early save. Calmness. Sorry, Cech fans, but good goalkeeper though he is, Petr transmits panic and uncertainty. And with him and Mustafi in the same back 5, it’s hair-on-fire time most of the time. Keep faith with Leno. His all-round play will catch up to Cech’s. Leno keeps it simple. Hit the man who looks least in press-trouble, even if it means lobbing it or hitting it long. He ignored Xhaka several times (he was patrolling the area just in front of the back 4) even when his skipper asked for the ball… I suspect because he did not trust him not to turn it over in those situations. He preferred to go his CB or hit his winger (which he did to deadly effect with the team goal — our second — against Brentford).
— Iwobi. Looks, every time he has the ball, creatively dangerous. Has to keep his place. Conditioning looks an issue, because for several games now, he’s visibly tired after an hour.
— Holding. Looks better with more minutes, and Mustafi played well today.
(Getting to be a bit of a long winded comment, so I’ll post negs separately…)
My favorite bit Claude… “Elneny has the tackling ability of a panda.”
Hey, I’ve seen a clip of a ferocious panda attack in a zoo.
Don’t mess with pandas, man 🙂
(following on…)
Hard to find negs in such a good performance, but they were there…
— Xhaka. Have we been too harsh on him, as was said? Made a point of watching him closely to offer fresh eyes, and you know what? I still feel the same. On 4 minutes, switched off on a bad pass from Bellerin and was slow in tracking Vietto, who brought a good save out of Leno. On 24, passed a clearance straight to Seri, another Fulham chance created. In the space of 90 secs in the 2nd half round min 50, he passed to a Fulham player when wide open and under no pressure; overhit a simple layoff to Iwobi overlapping on the left, kicking it into touch; lost the ball in midfield. A few minutes later, on a Leno outlet pass, Schurrle outhustles and dispossess him. A Fulham player runs within a few feet of him and he trots alongside, rather than harrying, closing, tackling, as Torreira would have done. At min 62, Beckenbauering the ball out of our area, overhits a simple pass to Auba. After goals 3 and 4 he did look more assured. I don’t like dumping on our players, but he is simply too error prone, not defensively aware enough and slow reading danger. So why does he play? Stop gap, is my guess. We’ll be back in the market. We have to. And if he isn’t bringing offense, he’s pretty much being carried by Torreira. Leads the team in one stat, though — yellow cards, with 3.
— Nacho. Assisted the first goal on a gorgeous overlap, but his terrible clearance led to the Fulham goal.
Couple of other things…
Mesut is our most technically gifted player, but I felt that his absence yesterday was a bit of a blessing in disguise. We had defensively tough players wide right and in the middle. And we were more direct, not easing up when 2 or 3 up, as we do when he’s pulling the strings. We kept playing hard and going for it, and the result is that we’ve leapfrogged Spurs on GD, although we both won.
One more thing… Anyone saw that high-intensity athletic fest between the 2 best teams in the league, City and Liverpool? They’d both kill us if we don’t have intensity all over the pitch. I would play our fighters over our artists, when we meet them again.
If you can survive the first 20 minutes of the Klopp high press I think you might have a chance.
I think Ozil’s absence was positive, too. And Ozil is my boy. It seems like with the last 2 games, Emery is becoming the mad scientist. Let’s try 3 at the back. Let’s go with 4-4-2. Then he picks the personnel that should work and gives it a go. And adjusts with subs when he sees how it plays out. Maybe it’s just a run of good luck and crazy finishing, as Tim pointed out. But Emery does seem willing to tinker with the variables of opponent, squad and formation in order to arrive at the best solution for every match.
Happy Birthday! Here’s wishing you as much joy and entertainment as you’ve given us over the years! Have a great time!
Yes, Tim , happy birthday.
I have a question though, what’s the reason for closing the comments section before a new post ?
They close automatically after 2 days. You want them open longer?
I think most people would prefer to be always be able to comment on the newest post when you’re going on a longer break.
We like to chat amongst ourselves whilst you’re away. We’ve nowhere else to go, really… 😉
Sadly true! 🙂
Agree. Sadly!
If you don’t post again, sure
Hey Tim, and this isn’t a knock on Wenger btw, but comparing conversion rates of players like Laca and Aubameyang ( well settled within their respective clubs) , and a Mo Salah , who bounced around five different clubs since he arrived in Europe at 20 years old is a bit unfair to Salah.
You think so? It looks like he’s reverting to his norm and that last season was an aberration.
Goal of the season is the talk about Ramsey’s goal by gooners all over social media. Superb, maybe, but too soon to call.
I also liked Leno (lob) – Lichtsteiner (headed on) – Miki – Iwobi – Nacho – finished by Welbeck, against Brentford in the league cup.
Tim that was as good and insightful a read as our performance yesterday…When you are discovered ..I’m going to say I was reading when you were “just” doing 7amkickoff
Tim – really appreicate the post and hope you enjoy your birthday and time off. I’m interested to get your take on the 4-4-2 when you return, as it was one of the most fascinating aspects of the game, imo.
I am starting to obsess about Emery’s substitution and rotation. Everyone starts at some point. Everyone is a sub at some point, and everyone gets subbed at some point. Especially in the attacking areas. I suppose when you’re winning, it looks like he has a Midas touch with selection/substitution, but I didn’t see anyone angry out there yesterday (with the possible exception of Ramsey). With all of the competitions we play, there are a ton of minutes, and he is doing a great job of getting everyone involved, and everyone rested. Guys are generally hungry to play when they come in as subs, vs. annoyed they didn’t start. They all want a piece of the action. Mkhi was excellent, Welbz, Iwobi, and Ramsey played on fire. Winning solves a lot of problems but it sure seems like the team has fully bought in, and give their all right now.
It’s not really a 442. I saw that the WhoScored suggested that but it’s really more like a 4231
Adrian Clarke called it a 4-4-2 as well in his piece today.
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Haaaaaaapppppppy Birthday to you! Tim.
There are a few clubs I wish yesterday had happened to and Fulham would not be on that list.
Goal of the year for degree of technical difficulty, speed of execution and the almost nonchalant exquisite finishing touch. Beats the Norwich goal from Wilshere where the passes were on the ground in a tight space. Now Wilshere and Giroud are gone and Ramsey to follow?
One theory I’ve read about the Ramsey contract is that his agent thought he could get an Özil type deal out of Gazidis for his boy and then new regime came in and won’t play that game. If Ramsey wants to stay, he will and if he wants the money, he won’t. I guarantee him that no team will give him Özil money in January.
In the past (under Wenger), I’ve looked at our lineups and said to myself, self where do you see the creative drivers to deliver goals for us? Then I’d watch drool affairs of muck and mire. I said the same thing to myself yesterday and boy oh boy was I wrong. You don’t need those goal drivers to be in your mid-field or in the designated #10 spot. The new look Iwobi and Bellerin can drive our goal production. Another way of saying no Özil, no problema.
Leno should be our #1 because he not only looks comfortable on the ball but our defenders are comfortable knowing he’s going to make the right decision with ball (before he’s even received a pass). There is none of that Cech hesitation about Leno trying to be clever to the last minute and getting caught out. Short pass on, boom, play it. Short pass not on , boom, long ball to Lacazette who can hold the ball up well for his stature. Pressure in the box, boom, chip pass out wide. No fuss, no muss. with Leno.
A Torreira heat map resembles a Mark Rothko color field abstract painting.
Please, please, please I beg of you oh British media to continue to ignore Arsenal and let us fly under the radar until the Pool game when we’ll see where we are really at. But let’s never forget before we get carried away with Emery that Klopp and Guardiola took a couple of years to get their teams to become dominant. So relax and enjoy the journey.
And weren’t most of those Wengerball great goals scored at home? First time in a while we’ve notched one of those in an away game.
CTPA, why did you say you wished we hadn’t smashed Fulham in particular? I have a soft spot for them because I grew up in the apartment block literally next to their stadium. We used to watch games from the roof (you could see about half the pitch back then) and when they were in the 2nd division they would open the turnstiles at halftime and anyone could walk in and watch the game.
And a bit of movie trivia, a few iconic scenes from the original The Omen were filmed in the park on the other side of the stadium. Including the one where the priest gets skewered with the falling spire. The park and church are pretty much unchanged, so it’s worth a visit for any football and film buffs visiting London!
I saw a special called Promoted which presented the Fulham story which recounted the clubs history and highlighted some well-known fans, the past, and present owner. The iconic stadium located in the neighborhood of houses. The tale of the Michael Jackson statue. The loyalty of a fan base that shows up whether they win, lose or draw, through thick and thin. How they are everyone’s second favorite English club. I enjoyed watching them back when they had Clint Dempsey and their run in Europe. They were the club for American players (McBride, Keller, Bocanegra) looking to come to Europe back in the day.
Yes of course the Clint Dempsey-US connection. On his good days he looked nearly unplayable, they played good football with him. And I swear Brian McBride was one of the best headers of the ball in the league.
I think previous owner Al Fayed was responsible for the Michael Jackson statue. God knows what he was to football, let alone Fulham, who also have a more worthy Johnny Haynes statue out front. It is indeed a beautiful early twentieth century main building that’s so admired and justifiably National Heritage listed.
Expansion plans were torpedoed by Putney residents on the opposite side of the river (in the ’90’s or early 00’s I think) who objected to having to look at the new proposed stand, as if it made any difference to their miserable lives.
I’ve never actually attended a game there, but did watch them against Arsenal when they relocated to Loftus Road during other construction work and found myself in the Fulham supporters section and they were sooo welcoming to me & my friend. Can’t imagine that from their close neighbours at Stamford Bridge.
Yes, long live Fulham!!!
Emery has been really interesting to watch on the touchlines as goals go in. He doesn’t celebrate every goal we score. Against Fulham he celebrated the hell out of either the 4th or 5th – clenched fist and gritted teeth like he knew the team was developing into the tough, predatory side we have to become to compete with our rivals.
The recent talk about Ozil numbers being down from last season was curious to me. Ozil putting up great numbers is not a prerequisite for Emery’s team to function. As this game showed, that’s a good thing! He just has to keep impacting games decisively like he’s done with his recent goals.
Quick mention for Ramsey’s assist for Auba. Look at how Fulham’s defenders expertly play the offside trap, only for Auba to cleverly bend his run, then the defender gets in a great position to block Ramsey, only for him to sandwedge a throughball over his legs. We’re showing really good game intelligence in key moments.
Happy upcoming Birthday Tim. And happy nationalism break everyone! Oh yeah when Emery was asked if the break was bad for our momentum he said ‘nah it’s all good, gives us more time to prep for Leicester’. The man is relentless, and this winning streak is not an accident.
I’ve seen some mentioned of a critical new approach to European competition that Emery has changed from Wenger’s day and that’s giving the team the day off after returning from away matches so that they were fresh as daisies for Fulham. Something to take notice of going forward.
I would compare Lucas Torreira’s play in the midfield to that of a pack of piranha.
Wow!
It’s been a helluva ride so far and as much as I hate “interlulls”, this one seems to be coming at the right time.
We have won every single match since losing our first two with some ugly football interspersed with enough genuine moments of sparkling individual and team play to celebrate something real during the break: Progress.
We have broken into the Top Four, just two points off the league leaders and top our group in Europe (albeit both on goal difference).
We’ve just had our Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada and as an Arsenal supporter, yup, I am certainly thankful.
And importantly, looking forward with that fanboy combination hope and anticipation that I haven’t felt on what seems like years. I think, if I recall, just maybe…this is what winning feels like.
Ramsey is Arsenal’s all time highest scoring midfielder with 58 goals and another 61 assists. Came back from an career ending injury to win 3 FA cups, scoring the winner in two of them. Whatever happens, he will certainly have my respect. https://t.co/jogt9h0dVR
Are you sure? Isnt he a headless, brainless chicken with the shooting ability of a newly born fawn?
Two winning goals in FA Cups? Pfft.
Player of the Season last year with 21 goals and assists in 35 games? Anyone could have been.
Seriously, though, Im simply going to quote those stats beck by way of rebuttal to some of the lame comments I see written about this player.
That productivity from midfield is not going to be easily replaced.
I would argue that this kind of productivity from midfield won’t be repeated at all under Emery for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the days when certain players were virtually guaranteed starting spots regardless of form , and around 75 minutes regardless of performance on the day before getting hooked are over.
Happy birthday in advance, Tim!
I understand your need of a break, but I noticed that thearsenalreview is missing your usual Behind the Numbers. You won’t post also there during the break?
Happy Birthday Tim.
That certainly looked a lot better going forwards today – I like what Tim, Lewis Ambrose and Adrian Clarke all had to say on that game.
On xG: I would be very interested to know if there are stats for Emery’s previous sides and whether they also over-performed it? We have two very efficient strikers which helps, but I’m also wondering if the chances we are scoring from are being built up in a particular way that increases their likelihood of being finished. I’m thinking that it’s easier to score if the assist comes from a build up where someone made an in-to-out run and pulled a defender with him (a la Iwobi), compared to a chance where the assist comes in from a winger / fullback who just stayed wide. Maybe it’s something Emery does.
I missed the actual day of your birthday, but let me join the others here in wishing you the very best. Birth month is all the rage anyway. Have at it 🙂
This is a unique blog, and it’s created a unique community. Thank you for it.
Did anyone see Paul Neeson’s comments today? About Arsenal sooner or later being on the wrong end of a major beatdown because we are so weak defensively?
C’mon Merse, lighten up, dude…
Sounding exactly like a neurotic, paranoid Goooner incapable not enjoying a winning run. I recognize that because it used to be me.
It’s a safe prediction to make and if or when it happens you can claim credit for being a visionary.
It happened to Liverpool at the hands of City when Mane was sent off ,upon which everyone in the punditry lambasted Klopp for being too open and not able to adapt to situation.
And when Liverpool returned the favor it was Pep who got the stick for being to stubborn and rigid trying to play out the back against high pressing Liverpool.
Funny thing though , the same people claiming Arsenal are over performing on offense conveniently forget to mention the Chelsea game.
More so than Arsenal over performing the metric, Bournemouth are. Currently in 6th place, having played pretty much the same teams as Arsenal. Also, I don’t think Ramsey was actually dropped for the Fulham game, although he has not been playing well. His wife is pregnant with twins.
Not sure when they are due, but that was the reason for him not travelling midweek.
thoroughly enjoyable game on sunday. iwobi is playing out of his mind. i think he megged the entire fulham defense at least once. his defending from the front is top notch. likewise with the way he dribble-penetrates to make space for the overlapping runners. defenses see it coming and can do nothing about it. i love it. claudeivan, i don’t think iwobi is lacking fitness. he just makes so many long sprints. anyone would need a few seconds to recover.
i’ll take the aaron ramsey we saw on sunday every single day of the year. it was his most balanced performance and tactically sound performance i’ve seen in a long time. just imagine, he can give arsenal the balance they need from him and still get a goal and an assist from the bench.
greg, the service from the wide but not too wide areas is absolutely dangerous. the toughest aspect is to get players in the right spot at the right time. i even heard iwobi talking about it in an interview a week or so ago. next is getting the player serving the ball to play the ball to the correct foot. that front foot ball is deadly but we watched both auba and laca finish from balls played to their back foot after executing a nice turn. both of the goals in the watford game came from service from wide areas, including an own goal that was too difficult to deal with. i absolutely love it what i’m seeing arsenal do.
Favorite non Arsenal player in the Premier League anyone?
For me:Sergio Aguero, all day, everyday. The last five or so years. Love to watch him.
Frequent posters here know how I feel about N’Golo Kante (plus he’s got the best football song, in French).
Eden Hazard is pretty special. Penetration AND goalscoring. He can make his own goals out of nothing.
And United aren’t getting the best out of Pogba, but Im a big fan. Guy’s got everything you’d want in a midfielder, except consistency.
So while I was watching Pogba dismantle New Castle U in the second half I was asking myself how much was it Mourinho’s doing that he goes in and out of games and how much his own.
When United had to go for it it was a different Pogba and the United team.
I know it was only against the barcodes but still.
Interesting question. I think it was David Silva for a while but since 2017 it’s been KDB.
David Silva.
Consistent, team player, great vision, great in tight spaces with both feet , (only Santi was better at that), can score goals too and always available for a pass.
👆🏽Yes.
I’m so gutted about Santi. what a wonderful footballer! Son-of-1-Nil, Sameer, coming of age, often complains about The Unfairness of Life, as many of us have at his age.
The Arsenal is a testament to that childhood sensibility, starting with Eduardo and Diaby.
I’ve been very careful to tell Son-Of-Greg that he can choose to support any team he wants (including Spurs as we are closer to WHL than to the Emirates), or none at all, that he doesn’t have to like football, that supporting a team is just an affliction that his father has, and that I would be just has happy to take him to knitting practice as I would be to football practice on a Saturday morning. I don’t want to impose The Unfairness of Life of him through the medium of Arsenal.
Nevertheless, he just started school last month and told me he wants to join the football club and play for Arsenal when he grows up. I don’t know whether to be happy or sad for him.
Anyway, he doesn’t realise that he’s not going to grow up any more, time stops now. Six years went by in the blink of an eye and as a parent I simply won’t allow it.
sorry, greg, but real men don’t just let their sons grow up to be fans of scum. tottenham fans are all bastards that lacked direction when they were children. you, my friend, have an opportunity to make a difference on the most important person in your world. don’t blow it with some hippie tolerance that says it’s okay to be a tottenham fan.
Happy birthday Tim. And while it’s been only 3 years for me, thank you for the years of selfless service. I don’t know of any blog that has such a cultured community. It’s doubky excellent that despite being not just a football blog, but an arsenal blog, the content is equally diverse and educating. It’s a couple of decades away, but when I retire, I plan to go back to the start and relish this blog from the very first post I can find.
Thanks to everyone who takes time to contribute as well.
And yes,I didn’t dare dream it will happen so soon and I tread cautiously but I am excited about Arsenal again.