Kevin Whitcher's Arsenal Blog

Arsenal 2 Fulham 1   Premier League   Saturday 27th August 2022 5.30pm     Psychologically, this felt like a huge win, in what proved to be Arsenal’s toughest match of the season so far. Not only were Fulham very organized defensively, they were gifted a goal which made the Gunners’ task that much harder. That they engineered a win from the position they put themselves in is something that they have too often failed to do in recent seasons, and will hopefully prove that things have changed in the mentality of the squad.   Arsenal were weakened by injuries to Partey and Zinchenko – and both were missed, Partey moreso. Elneny came in for him, whilst Kiaran Tierney replaced the Ukrainian. The Scotsman did a fair impression of his fellow full-back, at times slipping into the midfield to allow Granit Xhaka to roam forward as he has been doing in the matches so far this season, and the number 34 had a decent chance to score in the first half. Saka had a better one, bu...

Bournemouth 0 Arsenal 3   Premier League   Saturday 20th August 2022 5.30pm     Mikel Arteta fielded an unchanged starting eleven for the third game in a row, in spite of a suspicion that Tomiyasu might come in for Ben White at right back. Still, why change a winning team? That decision looked fully justified when a blistering start that saw two goals scored in the opening 11 minutes – both from captain Odegaard.   The first was all about Gabriel Jesus – beating three men before slipping through his compatriot Martinelli whose shot was parried out to the Arsenal skipper to slot home. Not long after, the build up came on the other side, with Saka and Ben White combining well before a ball across the box saw it teed up for a shot by Jesus before allowing Odegaard to beat him to the finishing touch. His strike was clean and unstoppable. The Norwegian has not contributed as many goals as could reasonably expected from a player in his position – and he’s certainly fo...

Arsenal 4 Leicester City 2   Premier League   Saturday 13th August 2022 3pm     It was a boiling day for the first home league match of Arsenal’s season, and there looked far less empty season ticket seats than are normally seen for the opening home fixture. And this in spite of the problems with certain train services running a severely reduced (if any) service. Did this reflect less people being away on their hols due to the problems of getting anywhere these days, a greater interest in seeing the team, or simply more use of the club’s ticket exchange and ticket transfer options. There were certainly a good number of tourists – many of whom had bought one of the new shirts. How the club must love them. What they were treated to was a rather untypical Arsenal performance, given the memories of how much of a challenge it has been for the Gunners to open up visiting sides in recent seasons. And the difference does seem to be the contribution of Gabriel Jesus...

Crystal Palace 0 Arsenal 2   Premier League   Friday 5 th August 2022 8pm     What a contrast to the opening match last season. Another Friday evening away trip for a London derby, but unlike at Brentford, Arsenal were not decimated by absences for various reasons, with only Tomiyasu, Smith Rowe and new signing Vieira unavailable. And only the Japanese defender would have been a likely starter from that trio. So a stronger, more settled Arsenal – aided by a pre-season far less disjointed than that afforded to Patrick Vieira’s Palace squad – performed significantly better than their previous trip to Selhurst Park in April and secured a very welcome away win. It was a deserved three points – but that’s not to say Palace could not have enjoyed more than they got, and two missed opportunities that saw Ramsdale get his side out of trouble with good saves reminded us that this is still a work very much in progress, and Arteta’s delaying of his subs is something I will get...