Kevin Whitcher's Arsenal Blog

Arsenal 1 Sporting Lisbon 1 (aet, Sporting win 5-3 on penalties)    Europa League Round of 16 – 2nd Leg    Thursday 16th March 2023 8pm    A blessing in disguise? Time will tell. Arsenal have not won a European trophy for 29 seasons now, and a grand total of two in the club’s history feels like a meagre return. It would have been something to celebrate, but given the choice between being eliminated now or losing in, say a semi-final, I suspect most fans would see the bigger picture and sacrifice ultimately fruitless progress to aid the Premier League campaign. Does the blow of elimination knock that back in any way? Well, the half hour of extra time was something the team could have done without, and with Palace perhaps recruiting a new manager in time for Sunday, that fixture might prove to be far more difficult than the win at Fulham.  We will find out soon enough, but if Mikel Arteta’s team can secure the three points, then the internation...

Sporting Lisbon 2 Arsenal 2    Europa League Round of 16 – 1st Leg    Thursday 9th March 2023 5.45pm (local time)   The six changes Mikel Arteta made for this first leg felt about par for the course. Gabriel is rarely rested but was on the bench to give the new signing from Spezia Kiwior his chance. I have no idea how good the young Pole’s English is, but he will certainly need to do better at corners than he did for the opening Sporting goal. Saka always starts, and you must wonder whether he can keep it going without a rest. You’d imagine Tierney would have started this match but for illness, so Zinchenko retained the nominal left back spot. Tomiyasu could have played there, but the manager gave him some involvement from the bench for half an hour of the second half, and thankfully when he did come on the versatility defender had a decent enough performance after a more disappointing one against Bournemouth last weekend.   Sporting played w...

  Arsenal 1 FC Zurich 0    Europa League Group A - Matchday Six    Thursday 3rd November 2022 8pm     I didn’t have much of an idea that Zurich’s travelling fans had any kind of a reputation before yesterday evening, although walking past the away end shortly before 6pm, although there may not have been many supporters, the police were out in serious numbers. A bit of me wondered what might transpire, and I did hear a loud contingent of them (presumably on the Holloway Road) as I made my way across Highbury Fields to meet friends pre-match in Upper Street.   What I witnessed inside the stadium later was highly impressive. Not only were they extremely vocal in their backing of the team, their pyrotechnic display, even if against UEFA rules, brought back memories of watching highlights of European ties staged in Italy in the 1980s and 90s, when a vast cloud of smoke engulfed the stadium, making it tricky for TV cameras to sometimes actually show wha...

  PSV Eindhoven 2 Arsenal 0   Europa League Group A - Matchday Five   Thursday 27th October 2022 6.45pm (local time)     It’s been a good run, but the signs that Arsenal’s impressive start to the season is winding down have come in recent matches – narrow wins with at times, an element of fortune. The team looked a little leggy in their draw with Southampton.   Granted, as usual in the Europa League, Mikel Arteta did not play his strongest eleven, although there were six starters from the weekend, and the other five that began the game at St Mary’s entered from the bench during the second half. His side needed just a draw to ensure they topped the group, but now they will have to match PSV’s result next week to be sure of that. At least they are at home to the underwhelming FC Zurich, although the manager would have hoped that fixture would prove academic, with the visit to Chelsea the following Sunday. The first half in Eindhoven was a far more entertainin...

  Arsenal 1 PSV Eindhoven 0   Europa League Group A - Matchday Two (Postponed)   Thursday 20th October 2022 6pm     As expected, it was another mix and match midweek side for this early evening kick off at the Emirates, in a game that ensured Arsenal would qualify for the knockout stage, although not yet as group winners to avoid having to play a two legged qualifying tie before the round of 16. Five players who you would consider starters in Mikel Arteta’s first eleven began the game – Tomiyasu, Gabriel, Xhaka, Saka and Jesus. I suppose you could make a case Tomiyasu wouldn’t be if Zinchenko were fit, but he’s been picked ahead of Kieran Tierney, who was included yesterday evening. Turner in goal was no surprise, and the others in the eleven were Holding, Lokonga, Vieira and Nketiah. It does feel like Cedric is no longer trusted in either of the full back roles, but on a long contract, unlikely to go anywhere unless some kind of financial package is agreed to p...

Bodo/Glimt 0 Arsenal 1   Europa League Group A - Matchday Four   Thursday 6th October 2022 6.45pm (Local Time)     Football clubs play so many games these days that, unless there is a significance to them, they are often quickly forgotten, in terms of details. In years to come, there may be a memory that Arsenal got away with a win at Bodo/Glimt (although on the Norwegian side, the recall will be much stronger), but ultimately, this was a case of job done, by hook or by crook, get the plane home and prepare for Sunday. In terms of the quality of chances, Bodo should have won this game, pure and simple. Furthermore, Arsenal’s winner was a bit of a fluke, albeit with credit due to Bukayo Saka for his desire to have a go at working a way through Bodo’s defence. In terms of Arsenal’s ambitions for the season, it felt like a huge result. One more win from their remaining three matches will surely see them top the group, and spare themselves a two legged play-off round in ...

Arsenal 3 Bodo/Glimt 0 Europa League Group A - Matchday Three   Thursday 6th October 2022 8pm     Four weeks on, with the PSV home match having been postponed, Arsenal took the field for their second Europa League group game of the campaign with an identical starting eleven to the one that had won against Zurich. This meant that the three players retained from the weekend’s north London derby line-up were Gabriel, Xhaka and Martinelli. I’m not sure of the significance of all these players being on the left side of the team. What is certain is that the system doesn’t change, the players that come in perform in a similar fashion to the first choicers and that as a consequence, they should in theory be able to slot in when injuries occurs without disrupting the team. Granted, there can be a drop off in quality, and when you play eight of them at once, then the fluidity of the Premier League eleven is not such a given. So Arsenal played in fits and starts, all the while looki...

FC Zurich 1 Arsenal 2   Europa League Group A - Matchday One   Thursday 8th September 2022 6.45pm (local time)     In years to come, if the question of ‘Where were you when you heard the Queen had died?’ is asked of an Arsenal supporter, I suspect many will respond that they were watching an early evening Europa League match on the television, although kudos to the respectable number of Gooners who made the trip to Switzerland at relatively short notice. They were rewarded with a dominant performance, even if the chasm between the two sides was not reflected on the scoresheet, as the Gunners did enough to secure the points, but no more. Mikel Arteta started four of the players from Sunday’s defeat at Old Trafford – Gabriel, Xhaka, Lonkonga and Martinelli. Drafted in for debuts were keeper Matt Turner and young Brazilian winger Marquinhos. Also starting were Tomiyasu, Holding, Tierney, Vieira and Nketiah. Turner had a hair-raising moment when he cued up the opposition...

Arsenal 0 Villarreal 0   Europa League Semi-Final 2nd Leg   Thursday 6th May 2021 8pm   It was a gamble that brought some short-term glory, in the shape of an FA Cup, with attendant Europa League qualification. But as the following season nears conclusion, it must now be seen as a gamble that ultimately failed. Mikel Arteta was hired on his reputation within the game, the fact that he was a less expensive hire than an established manager and presumably a very good interview. However, after steering the club to silverware, what followed has seen further decline at Arsenal, who are now in a worse position than when he joined, with the reality that they will not even take part in European football next season. If he survives the summer, it will tell fans all they need to know about the ambition of Arsenal’s owners – being in gravy train that is the Premier League is enough.   However, season tickets are going to be a tough sell, to say nothing of the more...