All posts tagged: Arsenal FC

Arsenal handed dose of own set-piece medicine by Leverkusen before Havertz aids recovery

Arsenal handed dose of own set-piece medicine by Leverkusen before Havertz aids recovery

Published by Sam Flores

Both sides emerge from the tunnel and we are moments away from kick-off. Here is a reminder of how the sides line up tonight: Bayer Leverkusen: Blaswich, Quansah, Andrich, Terrier, Tapsoba, Poku, Grimaldo, Garcia, Palacios, Maza, Kofane. Substitutes: Omlin, Lomb, Fernandez, Hofmann, Tillman, Schick, Oermann, Tape, Culbreath. Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Rice, Zubimendi, Eze, Saka, Martinelli, Gyokeres.Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Ranson, Mosquera, White, Jesus, Norgaard, Madueke, Havertz, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman, Salmon. Source link

Dowman makes history again… and the hype is fully justified

Dowman makes history again… and the hype is fully justified

Published by Sam Flores

Chants of “super Maxy Dowman” from the away end accompanied the midfielder’s every move. With 16-year-old defender Marli Salmon also starting, Arsenal became the first Premier League side to start a competitive game with two players at that age. Arteta said: “When the ball is bouncing all over the place, and people are all over his back, Max is just incredible, especially with the speed he delivers. “I’m very proud of him and Marli, and that says a lot about their personality and the quality they have. They need to continue to work and this is the first step for them to take. I think everyone feels involved. “We have the desire that, game by game, we can get closer to things that we can achieve.” Arsenal’s journey now takes them to Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday in the Champions League, and the prospect of Arteta’s second FA Cup triumph remains in his grasp. They were far from their best here, with Mansfield – 60 places below Arsenal in the football pyramid, and with a squad …

Arsenal stress levels are through the roof and could cost them the title

Arsenal stress levels are through the roof and could cost them the title

Published by Sam Flores

The history of Arsenal vs Chelsea over the last 25 to 30 years tells a curious story of both clubs enjoying long spells of dominance and the balance of power currently lies in north London.  Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal, with the help of the odd Sylvinho screamer here and Nigel Winterburn rocket there, were Chelsea’s bête noire around the turn of the century. Chelsea went 10 years without a league win against Arsenal between 1995 and 2005, but things started to change after Roman Abramovich’s takeover in 2003 and Wayne Bridge’s goal at Highbury in 2004 which knocked Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ out of the Champions League.  Wenger’s only victory against Jose Mourinho came in the 2015 Community Shield, with Arsenal winning just two Premier League games at Stamford Bridge between 2005 and 2020. The nadir for Arsenal came when they lost 6-0 at Chelsea in Wenger’s 1,000th game in charge.  Following Mikel Arteta’s appointment in 2019, and BlueCo taking over at Chelsea in 2022, the tables have turned again. Arteta has lost just twice in 16 meetings …

Our predicted winner for each last-16 match

Our predicted winner for each last-16 match

Published by Sam Flores

Manchester City will face Real Madrid for the 10th and 11th time in just five seasons after being drawn against the Spanish giants in the Champions League round of 16. The clash between City and Real is one of the showpiece ties of the knockout stages, alongside Chelsea’s meeting with Paris St-Germain, the holders. The French side will be looking for revenge against Chelsea after they were thrashed by the Premier League team in last summer’s Club World Cup final. Newcastle United will face Barcelona again, having already lost 2-1 to Hansi Flick’s side in the league phase of the competition, while Tottenham Hotspur have been drawn against Atletico Madrid. Liverpool will meet Galatasaray, who defeated Juventus in the play-off round, for the second time in this season’s Champions League. Liverpool lost 1-0 in Turkey in September. Arsenal, meanwhile, will face German side Bayer Leverkusen, who defeated Olympiacos in the play-off rounds. First-round ties will be held on March 10-11. The return legs will be on March 17-18. Meanwhile in the Europa League, Nottingham Forest …

Eberechi Eze torments Tottenham again as Arsenal bounce back in title race

Eberechi Eze torments Tottenham again as Arsenal bounce back in title race

Published by Sam Flores

Mikel Arteta believes his Arsenal side showed “what we are made of” by hammering Tottenham four days after the draw at Wolves left the Spaniard feeling “ashamed”. Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead at Wolves, which led to concerns they would again throw away their advantage at the top of the table. But the Arsenal manager said he and his team were determined to use the result as a “turning point” and put their faltering Premier League title challenge back on track. Arsenal will believe they achieved that with this convincing 4-1 victory over Tottenham, which re-established their lead over Manchester City at the top of the table to five points, having played a game more. Afterwards, Arteta also offered some insight into how it felt for him, the players and staff following the Wolves game and declared that everyone needed a little “love”. “After what happened against Wolves and the manner that we lost two points in the last kick of the game, it was tough,” he said. “But that’s the beauty of this …

Mikel Arteta will have no excuse if Arsenal bottle this title

Mikel Arteta will have no excuse if Arsenal bottle this title

Published by Sam Flores

Both sides emerge from the tunnel and we are just moments away from kick-off at Molineux. A reminder of the teams tonight: Wolves: Sa, Tchatchoua, Mosquera, S Bueno, Krejci, H Bueno, Andre, A Gomes, Bellegarde, Mane, Armstrong.Substitutes: Johnstone, Lima, R Gomes, Doherty, Wolfe, Rawlings, J Gomes, Edozie, Arokodare. Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Rice, Zubimendi, Madueke, Martinelli, Saka, Gyokeres.Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, White, Jesus, Eze, Norgaard, Trossard, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly. Source link

Eberechi Eze shows Mikel Arteta how Arsenal can unlock his best in Wigan demolition

Eberechi Eze shows Mikel Arteta how Arsenal can unlock his best in Wigan demolition

Published by Sam Flores

It should be stressed that Arsenal and Eze were doing this against highly accommodating opponents. Few teams in world football can cope when Arsenal play with the beautiful ferocity of their opening half hour and it was fathoms above the capabilities of the team 22nd in League One, who have conceded 14 goals in their past five matches. The match felt ripe to be seized by Eze for one of those Gareth Bale vs Inter Milan-type performances. Instead his moments of genius were matched by needless losses of possession, which might have been punished by a better counter-attacking team. His defensive contributions do not lack effort, but he is clearly more effective with time and space on the ball than when out of possession. Certainly he seems unlikely to thrive when his average position is deeper than anyone other than Declan Rice and Arsenal’s two centre-backs among their outfielders, as it was against Brentford. Even as the main man at Palace he could go quiet during games, but would often provide a defining moment from …

Arsenal beat Chelsea to reach League Cup final

Arsenal beat Chelsea to reach League Cup final

Published by Sam Flores

Nobody connected with Arsenal will mention the Q-word in public, but if they are to win the first of four possible trophies then they need to get past a strengthened Chelsea side in this League Cup semi-final. The league leaders kick-off at the Emirates with a 3-2 advantage. Any victory in an away first leg has to be considered a good night’s work, but Arsenal came away frustrated they did not prevail by a bigger margin. Chelsea were without Reece James, Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer at Stamford Bridge, and all three are fit again and expected to start tonight. James, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro all started as substitutes against West Ham, a selection Leroy Rosenior said owed much to Champions League exertions. He may also have had an eye on tonight’s game, with the domestic cups offering Chelsea their best chance of a major trophy this season. Rosenior’s rotated side were abysmal for 45 minutes against West Ham, before his half-time changes helped them course correct and stage a …