Their elder statesmen are like…Sanchez and Cucurella, who are both total assholes on-field. I’m not surprised the whole team is the way they are.
A few thoughts. As the saying goes, goals wins you games, but defense wins you titles. This present incarnation of The Arsenal and our title chase being we are the most likely to win it is the defense. We score two goals we won't lose. Based on us not giving up more than 2 goals for months on end. Gotta be close to 2 years. City can't do that and Liverpool can't. That's going to be the big difference. Both have a better attack in my humble opinion. We are way ahead of Liverpool in goals for, but I still rate their attack better on quality (Salah, Etiteke, Isak, Gakpo, Gravenberch, Chiesa, etc). They are loaded with quality and just misfiring....gladly. City has 5 more goals than we do and are only 4 goals behind us on goal differential. If we win the title its going to be because we will have won games like yesterday. Grinding, at times boring, will not be remembered. We get out scoring up and its game over. Can't wait to see what this team will look like once we get Havertz and Jesus back. For games we need goals we can come off the bench with a lot of quality, while the opposition eihter subbs out their attackers for defenders and even so those already in are run ragged. Liverpool sitting in 8th, I think and it sounds batty now, will turn the corner at some point this season. They won't catch us. 11 points is a bridge too far, but I think they are more than capable of catching everyone who is not named Arsenal or City come May and depending on what happens they might run City close if they put together a run. They are air quotes "only" 6 points behind City and its still only December. Lastly, what will also win us the title are the Palace, Sunderlands, Villas, Chelseas etc of the league. What might be a draw or win for us, will be a draw or loss for City. I don't think we will lose another league game this season knock on wood, unless we get unlucky. Can't say that for City. When they line up before the game I can't see how they will lose and then an hour or so in I am sometimes thinking how are they going to win this? Being 3-0 up at Fulham and winning 5-4 says it all.
While I understand the allure of going to a big 6 club like Chelsea, from a playing perspective its baffling just as Isak to Liverpool was. Doesn't suit their play style, and they signed someone in Pedro not long afterwards because I think they realised how bad a purchase Delap is, although he 22 and they signed him for 40mil so I assume they have an eye to selling him down the line for 60mil when he is mid 20s due to English tax? But it feels like he will be at a mid to low EPL team in about 2 years time when Buying/Selling FC find a new shiny striker that they like.
He seems pretty loyal to Chelsea, could only imagine if not for injuries its either City/Liverpool or he leaves the country. Definitely wouldn't go to one of the other London teams.
This season is nuts. Through round 14 only 5 points separate Chelski in 4th with Bournemouth in 16th. And Yanited just managed to give up an 83' goal to WHU to draw 1-1
I am a BVB fan. I vaguely remember Merino playing couple of games at CB because our old buddy Sokratis was injured. I would not say that he was "good" but I get the point. Mikel is a Swiss army knife. I would not be surprised if he becomes an elite coach after he retires.
I am happy with Gyokeres. He's wearing the shirt and I back him 100 percent. However, in my humble opinion we'd have been better off with Sesko. Speculation of course, we'll never know. There is a reason Mikel was intent on buying him going back to almost a year ago in the January transfer window. My speculation on how we would have used him among the traditional striker roles: 1. corners and set pieces. Imagine him at 1.95cm (not sure is that 6'4", 6"5?) along with Gabriel and Saliba and Merino if he's in the game? Devastating. Just trying to mark him and Gabriel would be a nightmare on corners. 2. Hold up play on those long balls. When Gyokeres came in the game we saw how he wasn't able to be pushed off on those long balls up the pitch. Sesko would have be fouled a lot to get him from not winning those balls. 3. Counters. Those high balls that Martinelli and Saka ran on to, its a bigger nightmare for defeneses having Sesko run on to them. He doesn't have Martinelli's pace but he has enough pace to make it a very difficult proposition to get the ball from him without a foul. 4. We score a lot from crosses in the air into the box. Those Merino goals (and Havertz at times as well) mulitplied had we bought Sesko. He has great leaping ability, possibly higher than Gabriel's. If he doesn't work out with Man Utd after a year or two, it won't happen probably, but I wouldn't be opposed to it. Its not impossible. We buy from rivals all the time (City, Chelsea, etc)
Hard to believe that end of matchday 7 the table had; Pool 2nd, Spurs 3rd, Bournemouth 4th, Sunderland 9th, BHA 12th and Villa 13th. 7 games later and Pool are 9th, Spurs 11th, Bournemouth 14th, Sunderland 6th, BHA 7th and Villa in 3rd. With the exception of us and Wolves no one has really managed to be consistent. In Wolves case its consistently shit, but still very consistent. Especially the swings in form for Bournemouth, BHA and Villa. Be interesting to revisit this in 7 matchdays from now and see what the next form swing is. I worry Palace are running on fumes and are about to have a bad drop off. Their defence is strong but they are about to lose players to AFCON, as are Bournemouth. Wolves are losing quite a few players and I think they are more likely to break Derbys points record than we are likely to break the goals conceded record.