Kevin Whitcher's Arsenal Blog

West Ham United 3 Arsenal 3   Premier League Sunday 21st March 2021, 3pm Firstly, it needs stating that Arsenal came into this match less than three complete days after their second leg against Olympicos. West Ham had not played since the previous Sunday. Whether or not that mitigates the Hammers being three goals up after 32 minutes is debatable. Is fatigue a factor in the first half normally? Their impressive comeback suggested that fitness levels were not the issue. There were five changes from the side that lost the match last Thursday, and Calum Chambers starting at right back was the most notable, given how he has struggled in that position in the past. Even commentator Martin Tyler referenced his nightmare against Swansea’s Montero, which seems a long time ago now. Chambers was signed in the summer of 2014 – he is now in his seventh season at the club, although he had spent two seasons out on loan. He has also suffered long term injury. There is a theory he is being given ga...

Arsenal 0 Olympiacos 1   Europa League Round of 16 2nd Leg Thursday 18th March 2021, 5.55pm Although Arsenal seemed to have done the job in the first leg in Athens last week, Mikel Arteta didn’t take too many chances in his selection for last night’s return match at the Emirates against Olympiacos. Granted, there was no Bukayo Saka, whilst Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard were on the bench. Otherwise, it was a fairly strong team, with Pepe, Ceballos and Elneny the players less certain of starting if the manager went with his strongest current eleven (at least in his view – there is always a debate about David Luiz). It was indicative of the importance of qualifying that both Partey and Odegaard came on (for Elneny and Ceballos) in the 57th minute with the visitors a goal to the good.   By that time, the home side should have made the game safe given the quality of two chances enjoyed in the first half. After a slow start, Pepe beat the keeper and you have to question his deci...

Arsenal 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1 Premier League Sunday 14th March 2021, 4.30pm Firstly, it was – given Spurs’ recent rejuvenated form – a pleasant surprise that Arsenal won yesterday’s derby, even if, since 1993, the noisy neighbours have only ever triumphed once in the league at Highbury or the Emirates. Secondly, in terms of possession and chances, the dominance of Mikel Arteta’s side was very encouraging. Jose Mourinho came with a conservative gameplan, in spite of the form and quality of his attackers, and ultimately failed, albeit narrowly.   The pre-kick off story was the demotion to the bench of captain Aubameyang for disciplinary reasons. Apparently he was five minutes late in getting to the stadium. This was Mikel Arteta sending out a message to his squad – you can imagine this kind of thing is a non-negotiable. Margins for errors are playing a big part in Arsenal’s season and in this instance, Auba cut his too fine, perhaps caught out by an excess of traffic in London, for w...

Olympiacos 1 Arsenal 3 Europa League Round of 16 1st Leg Thursday 11th March 2021, 10pm local time A tale of all too familiar defensive and avoidable errors from Arsenal in Athens last night, although on this occasion goals at the other end mitigated the consequences. Martin Odegaard, David Luiz, Benrd Leno and Dani Ceballos all – carrying out their manager’s instructions it has to be said – created chances for the opposition to score. Fortunately they only accepted the invitation once. Arsenal returned to the scene of their comeback triumph against Benfica two weeks ago, this time to face the actual club that use the stadium for their home matches. Two changes from the last Premier League game, as Bellerin and Gabriel came in, although a truer comparison is to the team that did beat Benfica. Ceballos was dropped due to the return to fitness of Thomas Partey, whilst Emile Smith Rowe was only fit enough for a place on the bench and so Willian got the nod.   The nice aggressive start...

Burnley 1 Arsenal 1 Premier League Saturday 6th March 2021, 12.30pm The team selection has some eyebrow raisers - Calum Chambers got a rare start, albeit at right back, with Bellerin on the bench, presumably with the some big games for the club’s season on the immediate horizon in mind. Willian kept his starting spot, although Saka was re-introduced in place of Pepe. Thomas Partey was back in the eleven, with Pablo Mari retained in spite of some poor moments last weekend at Leicester. The visible lack of quality of the Turf Moor pitch told you plenty – Burnley were not about to try and outdo Arsenal using technical superiority. Not quite the ‘they don’t like it up ‘em’ of seasons past, as players do seem to be a lot more protected these days, but nevertheless a nod to days of old.   Arsenal came out of the blocks well and their goal after six minutes was a sign of what can be achieved when you take on the opposition instead of playing safety possession football. Credit to Willian f...

Leicester City 1 Arsenal 3 Premier League Sunday 28th February 2021, 12 noon Both sides played in Europe on Thursday, so there was no advantage in terms of recovery time to either side (albeit Arsenal's 'home' game was played in Greece, so hardly ideal). Nevertheless, Arteta’s ringing the changes suggested that Champions League qualification through winning a European trophy remains his priority. The ten outfield players only saw four retained from the dramatic win against Benfica. And the attack would have drawn groans from the fans, with panto villains Willian and Pepe started either side of Alexandre Lacazette, with Emile Smith Rowe behind.   What can be said of the opening goal in the sixth minute? Who to point the finger at? Xhaka for losing possession initially, Mari for his decision to go with Jamie Vardy and allow Tielemans a free run into the area? David Luiz for not informing Mari he had Vardy covered? Elneny for not getting back fast enough to assist Mari? Bernd ...