Kevin Whitcher's Arsenal Blog

Manchester City 0 Arsenal 0    Premier League    Sunday 31st March 2024  4.30pm     I don’t think there were too many Gooners who wouldn’t have have taken a point from this game if you’d offered it to them before kick off at the Etihad. This observer felt that a win might be possible if both Saka and Martinelli began the game, but the two were never on the pitch at the same time.    Let’s start by looking at how things are different from last season’s late April visit to the same venue. Arsenal had drawn three in a row and were then stuffed 4-1 by City. The differences in team selection were that Ramsdale, Holding, Zinchenko, Partey, Xhaka and Martinelli started. Yesterday, we saw Raya, Saliba, Kiwior, Jorginho, Rice and Havertz.    It was a very different performance shown by Mikel Arteta’s team, one in which the defensive work, organisation, focus and discipline was off the scale. Play as well as this in E...

Arsenal 1 Porto 0 (AET, Arsenal win 4-2 on penalties)     Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg    Tuesday 11th March 2024  8pm       Cup runs are about survival, just getting through. And ultimately, penalty shoot outs decide even who lifts the trophy itself. Arsenal know this all too well, having lost two European finals in this manner, and won an FA Cup. In the end, this tie went to the lottery of penalties, but it was the Gunners that held their nerve, as David Raya pulled off two saves to send his side through to the last eight of this competition. The Emirates crowd played their part too, and the celebrations when Porto’s fourth penalty was saved to end the contest were off the scale.    Porto tried to eat the clock in this leg as much as the first game, but there was less tolerance from the referee, especially in the second half and extra time. Even at 1-0 down, you felt the visitors would be happy to...

  Arsenal 2 Brentford 1      Premier League  Saturday 9th March 2024  5.30pm     Oh Aaron. Yesterday was a salient reminder why Mikel Arteta decided last summer he wanted a keeper who was more comfortable with the ball at his feet. It was the Southampton match late last season when Ramsdale presented a goal to the opposition in what finished as a 3-3 draw. Back then, he tried to play a pass to a team-mate which was too easily read and intercepted. With hindsight it was probably the final straw for Arteta who wants every player in his starting eleven to be comfortable, confident and competent with the ball at their feet. Against Brentford almost a year on, he had the option of an easy pass to his right, but elected to play a long clearance out instead. It cannoned off Wissa and looped into the goal.    The keeper pulled off a couple of very decent saves to keep the scores level after the interval, but his colleagu...

  Sheffield United 0 Arsenal 6     Premier League  Monday 5th March 2024  8pm     The gulf in the level of quality between the Premier League and the Championship has been confirmed this season by the struggles faced by both Sheffield United and Burnley. Luton are making more of a fist of it having qualified from the play-offs, although they are currently filling the third relegation spot. The point is that pretty much everyone is beating these teams home and away and anything but three points last night would have been unthinkable for Arsenal’s challenge.   Unfortunately for them, Liverpool won their match late on Saturday, as they often do, and Manchester City were almost held in their derby game the following day. One thing is certain, one or both of these sides have to drop points next weekend when they face each other, so Arsenal can certainly take advantage if they beat Brentford at home.   Arteta might have had...