Arseblog
- Fri Oct 20 2:38 PM
‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a football club in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a way in which to fuck things up, ’ to paraphrase one of our greatest novelists, Jane Austen. And so we saw at Vicarage Road this weekend last, as Arsenal’s aeipathy for wrenching com...
Arseblog
- Fri Oct 20 8:15 AM
Match report – Player ratings – Video Having declared the Europa League ‘fun’ this week, I feel I must take full responsibility for last night’s rather dull affair. Mea culpa, and all that. Even though the team was pretty similar to the one that enjoyed such larks in Borisov, it lacked the spark...
Arseblog
- Fri Oct 20 7:25 AM
On this week’s show, recorded just moments after the 1-0 win over Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League, I chat with Tim Stillman about the game, the team selection, the performance, Oliver Giroud’s incredible goal, Jack Wilshere’s stand-out display, which youngsters caught the eye, and also loo...
Arseblog
- Thu Oct 19 8:52 AM
It’s Europa League action tonight as we’re in Belgrade to face Crvena zvezda, better known to us as Red Star Belgrade. Given the fixture schedule it’s a game which demands rotation. Not only will tonight’s selection be informed by the fact we played on Saturday evening, we’ve got to consider Sund...
Arseblog
- Wed Oct 18 6:12 PM
Following the defeat to Watford on Saturday, many a statistic started to circulate about the Gunners’ poor away form. They have taken 1 point and scored only 1 goal in their first 4 matches on the road this season. But the legacy of poor away results predates the 2017-18 campaign. In 2017, Arsena...
Arseblog
- Wed Oct 18 11:25 AM
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I wanted to just give this a bit of a push. I’m going to be in Australia from next week onwards, appearing at the Sports Writers Festival taking place in Melbourne and Sydney. The Melbourne event is on October 28th and I’m in Sydney on November 4th. This … ...
Arseblog
- Wed Oct 18 7:44 AM
Before we face Everton on Sunday in a Premier League game which makes my head hurt thinking about it, we’ve got Europa League action tomorrow night with a game against Crvena zvezda (Red Star Belgrade). I know I’ve said this before, but I’m finding these games the most enjoyable part of this seas...
Arseblog
- Tue Oct 17 7:43 AM
Morning all. Thankfully the storm yesterday was not as damaging in this part of Ireland as it was elsewhere, but three people lost their lives due to the conditions so it was a pretty serious event elsewhere. The roof of our dodgy extension seems to have stayed on too. Anyway, we’re up and about...
Arseblog
- Mon Oct 16 1:15 PM
Welcome to another Arsecast Extra, the Arsenal podcast, with myself and James from @gunnerblog. On this week’s show we look back at the disastrous 2-1 defeat to Watford on Saturday evening. The performance, the team, the tactics, and the all too familiar feeling of Arsenal throwing away a game th...
Arseblog
- Mon Oct 16 7:50 AM
How far into a season do you have be before you can start making conclusions about the season? With 8 games played we’re about 20% into this current one, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to look at where we are and make an assessment. Here’s what we can say: – Arsenal haven’t yet won … The po...
Arseblog
- Sun Oct 15 9:20 AM
Match report – Player ratings – By the numbers – Video Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there were three little pigs and … what …? You’ve heard it? Ok. A long time ago, Cinderella was … huh .. you’ve heard that one too? Right. It was a bright cold day … The post Watford 2-1...
Arseblog
- Sat Oct 14 9:35 AM
All right folks, here we go again and it’s Watford in the Premier League later this evening. Arsene Wenger has decisions to make about his team, related to injury of course. Laurent Koscielny, considered ‘not available’ on Thursday, was due to have a fitness test and his participation in training...
Arseblog
- Fri Oct 13 2:32 PM
As the season started and the transfer window closed, some thought Arsenal were a bit light at centre-back. Admittedly, those people still thought Nacho Monreal was being used as the left-sided player in our back three in a makeshift way. One month on and the Spaniard has been named the club’s pl...
Arseblog
- Fri Oct 13 6:22 AM
Good morning everyone. I’m very excited, my new fridge arrives this morning. Just a little pro-tip for all you DIY men and women out there: when you’re defrosting a freezer don’t try and accelerate the process by hacking away at the ice with a bread knife. Despite the very satisfying chunks that...
Arseblog
- Fri Oct 13 5:18 AM
On this week’s show I chat with Amy Lawrence about the upcoming documentary ’89’ which, unsurprisingly, tells the epic story of Arsenal’s title win in the 88-89 season. Needing to go to Anfield and win by two clear goals, Michael Thomas’s last gasp winner has become an unforgettable piece of Arse...
Arseblog
- Thu Oct 12 6:00 PM
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Arsenal are nearing the end of a cycle with the current squad, with most of their clutch players either exiting their prime years, or departing for pastures new. Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez were the poster boys for this iteration of the Arsenal team and they wi...
Arseblog
- Thu Oct 12 7:55 AM
Arsenal players and contract extensions seem to go together like … erm … toothpaste and orange juice right at this moment in time. A quick look at the list of contract expiry dates should leave nobody in any doubt that there’s a lot of work to do. All the focus is on the big names, … The post O...
Arseblog
- Wed Oct 11 7:58 AM
When Arsenal signed Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona in 2014, it was after a long season at Barcelona and a World Cup summer which saw Chile reach the Round of 16. The following year he went all the way with his country to win the Copa America, and in 2016 there was centenary Copa America that … T...
Arseblog
- Tue Oct 10 1:42 PM
As we continue to work on things behind the scenes – as outlined in this post from the other day – we’ve got comments back on the articles. These are the default WordPress comments, so you leave a name/email and comment on the articles. It won’t be a pop-up like the arses, but it still … The po...
Arseblog
- Tue Oct 10 7:46 AM
Good morning and there’s World Cup happiness for Ireland after
James McClean’s second half goal secured a 1-0 win and a playoff place, but it comes at the expense of Aaron Ramsey and Wales. Will that in some way affect the Arsenal midfielder? It’s been known to happen. When Russia failed to quali...
Arseblog
- Mon Oct 9 9:59 PM
Welcome to another Arsecast Extra, the Arsenal podcast, with myself and James from @gunnerblog. In this Interlull edition of the show we discuss the injury to Shkodran Mustafi, potential problems at centre-half, Alex Iwobi’s big international goal, and the rumours involving a return to London for...
Arseblog
- Mon Oct 9 7:19 AM
One of the reasons we used to fear the Interlull was the possibility of a player picking up an injury. It seemed to happen with monotonous regularity in the past, but in recent times we’ve had pretty good run. Even when Alexis goes away and is pictured with his thighs bandaged to kingdom come, we...
Arseblog
- Sun Oct 8 9:13 AM
Howdy, a very quick Sunday round up for you, and it’s a good morning for Alex Iwobi as his goal sent Nigeria through to the World Cup next summer. The Arsenal man came off the bench to net the winner against Zambia, and it’s clear it’s a goal that meant a lot to him as … The post Iwobi sends...
Arseblog
- Sat Oct 7 1:05 PM
Behold the glory of Mr. Nobby Mandeville. There are some Woolwich players who are luxury buys. Mr Saunders, and Mr. Orwell, more of whom in a moment. They are the tailored suits of football. The luxury sports car. The country pile. Then there are the players who are necessary purchases. The off-t...
Arseblog
- Sat Oct 7 9:08 AM
Hello. Happy Saturday to you. I hope you’re ready for all the Arsenal news I have for you this morning. Such as … erm … and … er … yeah. It’s like that. It’s the Interlull doing its Interlull thing. I sort of watched a bit of Ireland last night but not on purpose. It … The post Will Interlulls...
Arseblog
- Fri Oct 6 8:09 AM
Morning all, and welcome to Interlull Friday. So far none of the following things have happened: 1 – Kroenke has not challenged Usmanov to a duel with old style muskets. Granted, this could be some very entertaining half-time fare, and it’s likely that in the future this is the way that the owner...
Arseblog
- Fri Oct 6 7:13 AM
It may be an Interlull but we’ve still got a podcast for you today, and in the wake of Arsenal’s financial results being released last week, I chat with Kieron O’Connor (@SwissRamble), about a healthy profit, cash in the bank, how we still lag behind the others in terms of commercial revenue, the...
Arseblog
- Thu Oct 5 4:00 PM
Minsk is a city I cannot imagine I would have ever visited were it not for the fact that Arsenal were drawn to play there in the Europa League. That’s the beauty of European competition, the chance to see a bit of the continent, the opportunity to become a tourist. The Europa League makes the … ...
Arseblog
- Thu Oct 5 7:34 AM
Do you know one of those people, perhaps a close friend or a relative or a co-worker, around whom there is always a drama? When one drama finishes, another one begins. It’s like their life cannot exist without some measure of turmoil, even if it’s self-inflicted. There’s always a mountain made ou...
Arseblog
- Wed Oct 4 6:23 AM
Further to our story last week about Stan Kroenke looking to purchase the shareholding of Alisher Usmanov, comes a bit more detail from Amy Lawrence in the Guardian. The offer is reportedly worth £28, 000 per share, some £525m in total, and as I explained in this post it would be a bad thing for...
