Kevin Whitcher's Arsenal Blog

  Fulham 2 Arsenal 1     Premier League     Sunday 31st December 2023 2pm    Performance-wise, it was a new low in the season so far for Arsenal. No issues their start to the game, as Martinelli made the most of the space allowed by Fulham’s right back being stranded when an early attack broke down. His shot was parried to Saka who managed to steer it into the net, and the fear VAR might chalk the goal off at least didn’t last long as a quick decision was made. I’ll admit to these eyes, I thought it would be given offside, although this particular roll of the dice didn’t ultimately benefit the Gunners given the final result.   Arsenal failed to build on their lead, or simply maintain control as they allowed Fulham back into the game before the half hour mark. Saliba and Gabriel were pulled out of the centre to try and deal with a break down the right side of the defence, leaving Havertz and Kiwior in the middle to deal with two players. One of them Jiminez, was found and finished well.

Arsenal 0 West Ham 2     Premier League    Thursday 28th December 2023 8.15pm   David Moyes’ record as a manager against Arsenal at both Highbury and the Emirates isn’t one he will be pleased with, but the law of averages states he had to win eventually and his gameplan last night brought rewards.   Yet he was assisted by an off night for Arsenal’s defenders, who have overall been reliable this season. In contrast to their opponents, they were sloppy for the first goal, and failed to mark the scorer properly for the second. Gabriel made a hash of the clearance for the opener, although for all the world, the ball then went out of play. On the camera angle that VAR had, I could see the line ok, but no trace of the ball. It was a shocker of a decision, but not the first Arsenal have seen in the build-up to a goal this season. Swings and roundabouts? They got away with a handball in the penalty area at Anfield. Yet, the move shouldn’t even have reached that stage. Gabriel had the time and

Liverpool 1 Arsenal 1    Premier League    Saturday 22nd December 2023 5.30pm   My thoughts on the draw against Liverpool that leaves Arsenal in top spot on Christmas Day.   Before the game… I’d have settled for a draw. Arsenal haven’t won at Anfield since 2012, but they didn’t need to yesterday to remain in first place after Villa’s surprise draw at home to Sheffield United. Gooners should enjoy Christmas given the result.   A lack of fear.  Arsenal went for it from the off as they did earlier in 2023 when they took a two-goal lead in the previous match between the two sides at this venue. They had a very impressive opening few minutes, culminating in the opening goal by Gabriel. Kudos to the set piece coach on this one, as well as the accuracy of Odegaard’s delivery. Yes, there was a VAR check for offside, and there were millimetres in it. Fortunately, Jarred Gillett was not allowed to do VAR duties on this one, given his allegiance to the home side. The angle of the lines would hav

  Arsenal 2 Brighton 0    Premier League Sunday 17th December 2023 2pm   My thoughts on aspects of Sunday’s home victory against Brighton…   Let’s start with the ref.  Tim Robinson is a relative newbie in terms of Premier League experience, and his inconsistency certainly stoked up the home support, not least because it seemed to be Arsenal who tended to suffer from his ability to see yellow card offences more easily when committed by a player in a red shirt. Brighton’s cynicism went unpunished for too long, and when finally he did book one of the away team, for good measure he booked Mikel Arteta. The son of a guest at the game had some Pokemon cards he had been bought, and I reflected that carding Arteta seems to have become the PGMOL equivalent. I don’t see it changing anytime soon, and given what other managers seem to go unpunished for, it’s a… er, disgrace.   Havertz now the preferred choice in the Xhaka position.  If Thomas Partey had not been out for such a long time, Arteta wo

  PSV Eindhoven 1 Arsenal 1    Champions League    Tuesday 13th December 2023 6.45pm (local time)    This one will be a fairly brief blog, for two reasons. 1 – The only significance of this match was prize money. Arsenal had already won the group; PSV had qualified in second place due to their head-to-head record against Lens. €2.8million, the pay-out for a win is a handy amount of spare change. 2 – It’s currently quarter to 9 in Amsterdam and as I am staying at a cheap hotel (relatively – this city is a bit costly), checkout is 10am, which just seems wrong, although as this is an EasyJet company place, it’s probably just a way of getting guests to pay more to get a couple more hours in bed.    Anyhow, back to the game and although Martinelli didn’t travel, the squad contained the names to put out a close to first choice eleven. Come the release of the line-ups, many of those that started last weekend at Villa were on the bench. Gabriel and Saliba started, as well as Havertz. The other

Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 0    Premier League Saturday 9th December 2023 5.30pm   I’ll do this blog longform for a change. A bit of perspective is required here, and sometimes, in football, it just isn’t your day. Arsenal didn’t play badly against Aston Villa, and were ultimately done by some marginal decisions, which can be debated, and poor finishing when opportunities arose.    It was a meeting of two Arsenal managers, as Mikel Arteta faced his predecessor once again. Emery established his greater experience of managing matches in the Europa League semi-final between Arsenal and Villarreal in 2021, and to an extent, he also did that yesterday. The organisation of Villa – specifically an offside line as good an anything George Graham ever produced – made a significant contribution to their win. One was left with the feeling that, but for egos, he might have had a longer run at Arsenal and achieved more. He did have a flying start before the team seemed to stop playing for him after half

  Luton 3 Arsenal 4     Premier League    Tuesday 5th December 2023 8.15pm     Musings on a dramatic win at Kenilworth Road…   What is it about this place?  I’ve not checked this, but I am told Arsenal had not previously won a match away to Luton in their last 10 trips, which hardly seems credible. Then again, how many of those were played on plastic, or indeed with no away fans officially allowed in? The bookies heavily favoured an away win last night, but there was certainly a greater sense of realism amongst the traveling support. Yes, Arsenal should win this game, but the feeling was it was not going to be straightforward if they did. How right that proved. At least the game was on grass. PGMOL agenda?  One theory about last night that bears thinking about is that the referee (Samuel Barrot) is a relative newbie, and a more experienced head might have been more suitable for this fixture. I’ll quote a message sent to me: “And as for Arteta’s yellow card last night (and the Gabriel n

Arsenal 2 Wolves 1     Premier League Saturday 2nd December 2023 3pm   Thoughts on yesterday’s home win v Wolves…   Oh to be in England in the wintertime?  Yes, it was bloody cold at the Emirates yesterday. Not as cold as certain games I remember, but certainly the temperatures were flirting with freezing. I had thermals, thick socks, workman boots and more layers than an onion. Gloves too, unlike two players who dispensed with an undershirt – Declan Rice and Jesus Gabriel. The latter decided this wasn’t such a good move at half-time, so it was Rice only that decided he was immune from the cold. What a player, what a man. Still, you run around enough, you keep warm, right? Rice certainly covers plenty of ground and his performances have played a huge part in Arsenal being top of the league.    Trossard in Havertz out.  Trossard started at Brentford last weekend, and the only switch from that game was Raya in goal instead of Ramsdale. Havertz of course, displaced Trossard in midweek v L