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 5 Crystal Palace 0     Premier League    Saturday 20th January 2024  12.30pm     After dropping eleven points from their previous five matches, Arsenal simply needed to take three points after their mid-winter break and Crystal Palace at home proved the perfect game to get things back on track. The form of Roy Hodgson’s team had been even worse than their hosts, so an element of confidence was justified.   Arsenal had not played badly in the two of the three league defeats recently (Fulham the exception), but putting the ball in the net had become a problem area. They worked on their set pieces whilst away on their training camp in Dubai and it paid off handsomely. Their corners all proved dangerous and both first half goals came from two of the four they were awarded. It was good to see Declan Rice take a decent corner for the opener, as with Trossard starting in place of Martinelli, we’ve seen a lot o...

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...

  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 wit...

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 tha...

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...

  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...