Kevin Whitcher's Arsenal Blog

Arsenal 2 Wolves 1   Premier League   Thursday 24th February 2022 7.45pm     Subsequent events will determine the significance of the win against a belligerent Wolves on Thursday evening, but when the final whistle went, due to the nature of the game, it felt huge. Although no individual game is a ‘must win’ until the business end of the season, Arsenal certainly need to start racking up points, especially at home, to allow themselves some slack when they face the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea before the season is out. More to the point, a win here for Wolves would have put them right into contention for the prized fourth place, and its attendant financial windfall. How ironic, fans used to scoff at the notion of a top four place as representing some kind of a trophy, but the reality is that it is now more important than a domestic cup win for the benefits a club accrues from Champions League participation. It shouldn’t be this way, but it is. In a sense, it is a st...

  Arsenal 2 Brentford 1   Premier League   Saturday 19th February 2022 3pm     Although the postponed Liverpool home game has been dropped into Arsenal’s schedule in just under a month’s time between the Leicester and Villa fixtures, this was the first of a series of matches where, potentially, Mikel Arteta’s team could make the end of the season far less stressful by putting another run together like that was saw in December. West Ham had dropped two precious points at home to Newcastle in the day, and compromised their own hopes of a top four place that looks like a shootout between five teams.   Tomiyasu was fit enough to take a place on the bench, although Cedric retained his spot. He didn’t play badly, but with Martinelli suspended, the right back was charged with taking the corners from the left side and made a hash of most of them. Emile Smith Rowe came in for the absent Brazilian. It was such a different side from that which had lost on that Fr...

Wolves 0 Arsenal 1   Premier League   Thursday 10th February 2022 7.45pm     There was no debate that this was a huge match for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, even before it kicked off. Perhaps what followed in the game itself might prove highly significant for the remainder of the season – and that can be looked at in two ways. Firstly, in terms of spirit, resilience and defensive qualities, it was a highly encouraging result. On the other hand, if Arsenal’s wide forwards are nullified, it’s difficult to see them picking up enough wins. Thursday evening saw two shots on target for the visitors, with a full complement of players for three quarters of the game. If the Gunners somehow seize fourth place in May, they will have done so without a goalscoring centre forward. In fairness to Lacazette and Nketiah, neither are exactly goal machines.   Now don’t get me wrong. I was highly delighted with the victory, but I do try to write objectively. Whilst there is a lot to tak...