Kevin Whitcher's Arsenal Blog

  Arsenal 3 Liverpool 1     Premier League    Sunday 4th February 2024  4.30pm     I am in bulletpoint mood with my take on yesterday’s dramatic win over Liverpool * Team selection  – Jesus was injured, so other than something completely unexpected like moving Martinelli into the centre, it was a straight choice between Eddie Nketiah and Kai Havertz to lead the line. Arteta had played Havertz up front for the cup game a month ago, and went with the German again. And if you are paying £65m for an attacker – you’d think he can play in front of the goal. In fact, the only changes from the Cup tie were Raya for Ramsdale, Zinchenko for Kiwior (the Ukrainian was injured at the start of the year) and Martinelli for Reiss Nelson. Significantly, that meant Jorginho partnering Declan Rice in midfield, which turned out to be a masterstroke. * Gunners’ first half domination  – Much like the FA Cup tie, Arsenal dominated...

Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2     FA Cup 3rd Round Sunday 7th January 2024  4.30pm     Arsenal completed a sorry hat-trick of defeats – two of them at home – in an admittedly entertaining FA Cup Third Round tie at the Emirates yesterday. However, entertaining as it was, and as delightful as much of the Gunners’ first half dominance proved, they failed to put the ball in the net, despite numerous chances.   Talk of the need for a clinical finisher at centre forward is not new, but it is definitely louder after the matches since Boxing Day. The question is whether or not investing in one of the required quality will put the club in Financial Fair Play hot water. Ultimately, the situation Arsenal now find themselves in is a legacy of not being in the Champions League for six seasons. Year on year, that meant a significantly reduced income, all the time paying wages at a level that required participation in the competition. The Premier League income...

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...

    Liverpool 2 Arsenal 2     Premier League    Sunday 9th April 2023 4.30pm    Oh Granit. Some things never change. Arsenal were so dominant against Liverpool in the first half that the TV pundits were making out that the game was over. How much are these people paid? Not even half time and a home team goal changes everything. Once I heard them say that I knew it was only a matter of time before Mikel Arteta’s side conceded. And the momentum shifted thanks to that familiar phenomenon – a moment of Granit Xhaka hotheadedness. Ok, he didn’t get a foul he might have felt he deserved. He then fouled Trent Alexander Arnold. So far, nothing major. The Liverpool right back (and on occasion in the first half with questionable success inverted midfielder) pushed Xhaka. And Granit decided to go face to face and within millimetres of a headbutt with TTA. The referee booked the pair of them, but more critically it roused Liverpool’s players and cro...

Arsenal 3 Liverpool 2   Premier League   Sunday 9th October 2022 4.30pm     This was a huge win for Arsenal, and on the back of the manner of victory against Spurs the previous weekend, it felt significant, not least because of the difficulty the club have faced in matching Liverpool since Jurgen Klopp took over at Anfield seven years ago.   Are Liverpool a lesser side this season? It does feel like it, although they still have some very dangerous attacking players who can, and did hurt Arsenal. But the Gunners are a better side than 2021-22, for well-established reasons, and for once, the Scousers were not clear favourites going into this fixture. There was a surprise selection in the form of Tomiyasu instead of Tierney at left back, but it proved a good one, as the Japanese full back demonstrated how comfortable he is on his left foot, and dealt with the twin threat of Salah and Alexander-Arnold, largely negating an obvious threat from Liverpool’s right flank....

Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2   Premier League   Wednesday 16th March 2022 8.15pm     Gooners came in hope rather than expectation on a wet Wednesday evening in north London, and witnessed the reality that in the rebuild of the club’s playing squad, their opponents on the night are several seasons ahead. Managerial talents like those now in charge at England’s top two clubs were available at a time when the Arsenal board, rather than looking forward, took an ‘In Arsene We Trust’ policy, not quite having the football knowhow to realize they were overseeing ‘In Arsene We Rust’, with little desire to see anything beyond the balance sheet. The club was no longer contending for the big trophies, but Champions League money was rolling in, regardless of habitual elimination the moment a decent side came up in the draw. Two successive seasons of failure to qualify for the UEFA’s financial pig’s trough finally forced long overdue change, by which time Klopp and Guardiola were settled...

Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2   League Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg   Thursday 20th January 2022 7.45pm     Strange to think now, that Arsenal could have been managed by either of Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola if the club’s board had been more ruthless back in 2013 when it was obvious the Gunners were gradually going off the rails under Arsene Wenger’s stewardship. But short-term profit mattered more than long term ambition, and the rest is history. Arsenal’s board now consists of the Kroenkes, their lawyer and Lord Harris. Just the men to make the big decisions about how to run a successful football club? Last night, Mikel Arteta, an inexperienced number one, was given a tactical footballing lesson by the aforementioned Klopp, a manager that started slowly at Liverpool, although he did get them to a European final in his first season at the club, and made the top four at the end of the second. However, Klopp had already managed two clubs in Germany, starting in 2001. So expe...

Liverpool 0 Arsenal 0   League Cup Semi Final 1st Leg   Thursday 13th January 2022 7.45pm     It didn’t look good from the off. Jurgen Klopp fielded his strongest possible lineup, with only his two African forwards unavailable due to AFCON duty. Arsenal were weakened by more than just the absence of their four African players – although probably only Partey of that quartet would have started. Tomiyasu, Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe were all unavailable.   The selection of Ramsdale in goal indicated how important Mikel Arteta felt this match was, although perhaps that decision was harsh on Bernd Leno given he was the only player who could have held his head up high after the previous weekend’s horrowshow against Nottingham Forest. The previous occasion the Gunners visited Anfield was last month, when the 4-0 pummeling in the league was an ugly, if unsurprising end to a good undefeated run, but both Mane and Salah played then, so last night did feel like it didn't...

Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0   Premier League   Saturday 20th November 2021   5.30pm     Shortly before Arsenal entered the Anfield pitch to take on Liverpool, in the rugby union, England pulled off a notable victory against world champions South Africa at Twickenham. It felt like a surprise given the dominance of the Springboks during the game, but one thing that was not lacking was tenacity and commitment.   Fast forward to full time at Anfield and it was time for a reality check. In terms of tenacity and commitment, Liverpool showed Arsenal how to play the pressing game effectively. It was a salient lesson and a timely reminder that the road back to former glories is going to be a long one. Arsenal had played eight Premier League matches at this stadium since their last win here, losing six of those games – often heavily. This as Liverpool went through a process of sorting their act out, as the Gunners must now, going on to win the Champions League and the dome...