Kevin Whitcher's Arsenal Blog

Nottingham Forest 1 Arsenal 2     Premier League    Tuesday 31st January 2024  7.30pm     What can be said of the first half? At the conclusion, the burning question for me was… I wonder if Bobby Pires brought his boots? Emile Smith Rowe was given a welcome start but Forest’s tactics frustrated all of Arsenal’s attacking players. It’s one thing to have teams visiting the Emirates shutting up shop and content to play for a point. But away?    So much as Arsenal dominated both territory and possession, a tendency to overplay, and a seeming lack of urgency when Forest were caught out of position on their rare forays forward limited the number of chances. When they came they were generally blocked by a red shirt.    In boxing parlance, Forest might have been on the ropes, but Arsenal weren’t actually landing any punches. A lack of willingness to get a shot in immediately when the opportunity arose did not m...

Arsenal 2 Nottingham Forest 1    Premier League    Saturday 12th August 2023   1pm     Although problems were expected with the new system whereby tickets were on a smartphone rather than a card, nobody could have anticipated the chaos that resulted in a 30 minute delay to the kick-off time. The turnstile readers were not functioning properly leading to huge numbers outside with a real danger of people getting crushed. Eventually, the decision was taken to open the gates and allow people in with just a quick flash of their ticket to a steward. This was a necessary intervention – one imagines on police instruction – with far less danger of a Hillsborough type scenario given people were in allocated seats as opposed to running to the nearest block entrance en masse.  Nonetheless the crush outside, especially on the narrow confines behind the East Stand, was unpleasant and potentially very dangerous. Something went very, very wrong with Ars...

  Nottingham Forest 1 Arsenal 0     Premier League    Saturday 20th May 2023 5.30pm     It’s been a season far better than anyone could have anticipated, but having set such high standards, the way Arsenal have tailed off has been disappointing. Yes, the bigger picture gives reason for optimism, but of course, it’s the hope that kills you. The difference between drawing a game from a winning position and salvaging a point from a losing one. The result is the same, the emotions very different.    So the Gunners’ campaign winds down in a state of whimper, which seems to have become the norm in recent seasons except for those in which they made the FA Cup Final. They recovered wonderfully from the February blip that saw them take one point from three matches, by winning seven in a row. All set for the title run-in. Since then, nine points out of 24. Manchester City have dropped just two out of the last 42 available to them. There was a...

Arsenal 5 Nottingham Forest 0   Premier League   Sunday 30th October 2022 2pm     Another Sunday 2pm kick off after Southampton away the previous weekend, but a far better result for Arsenal, in a game they needed to regain momentum from after a couple of below par performances in the last seven days.   And what a contrast it was. In fairness, remarkable as Forest’s victory at home to Liverpool was in the game before, they failed to win in the nine league matches that preceded it. They were rooted to the bottom of the table before this match, and Arsenal probably couldn’t have asked for better opposition with their need to get back on track and retain top place after Manchester City’s win on Saturday.   They didn’t take long to establish superiority, but the nature of the goal was a surprise, as Martinelli made a run to the near post to head in a cross from Saka. He tends to hang back on the far side of the goal rather than make runs toward the other side, ...

Nottingham Forest 1 Arsenal 0   FA Cup 3rd Round   Sunday 9th January 2022 5.10pm    Mikel Arteta played a mix and match side – as is often the way in the earlier rounds of the domestic cups – and it was such a selection that were beaten 4-2 at the City Ground in January 2018, Arsene Wenger’s final match in this competition. Rob Holding was the sole representative remaining from that line up, and that experience should have ensured that he of all people must have been aware of the danger of fielding weakened sides in the cup, especially away. He was the captain yesterday, but evidently was unable to motivate the troops sufficiently, as performance-wise, it didn't feel all that different to four years ago. All white kits were worn as part of a campaign to prevent the needless deaths of teenagers from knife crime, with cuts closing youth centres and removing safer alternatives for how youngsters spend their spare time, compared to gang culture. A worthy initi...