Ok Gooners, so we’ve had a couple days to digest that match from Friday, the anger levels will have reduced, the red mist cleared enough to reflect a bit more objectively and draw some positives that we can build on. No? Fully understand. It still hurts doesn’t it? A whole weekend ruined. I don’t know […]
The Conductor and his part time Rock Band POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES End of season review This is a tale of the unnecessary. There once was a really good music teacher. He had been given the opportunity to work with a fairly talented but unbalanced rock band called ‘Unexpected.’ The music teacher had taken […]
Whilst it’s been a very poor season for Mikel Arteta as Arsenal manager, he can certainly be encouraged by his side’s form since Christmas and the way his players have finished the league campaign on a high. In this piece, an analysis of Arsenal’s victory against Brighton is discussed. In possession On the final […]
Small happy, bigger frustration POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Perhaps I’m overthinking this as the answer to my frustrations could be so very simple. It’s the last game and the pressures off, right? The players would rather have not played in the Conference league, I’m sure. But…. Why were so many of our season long problems […]
The 4 Minute Rebellion POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES I might be reaching here. Could be wrong. I’m happy to say this as it’s truth. Watching the game yesterday something jumped off the screen at me. We had spent 90 minutes trying to execute Arteta’s passing patterns. We then binned them. Then we won. It’s also […]
Quicker, why quicker? POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Watching that performance yesterday I had two main emotions…….. relaxed and frustrated. It was quite lovely to be able to watch a game with almost zero stress. It looked to me that Newcastle might just be the worst coached team I’ve seen in many a year. Probably the […]
It’s 9am Monday morning and Mikel has spent all weekend psyching himself up for this one phone call. Looking in the mirror, MA starts talking to himself: “He’s just a man, he’s like anyone else. Just pick up the phone and talk to him. Just ‘cos he’s Zizou, just ‘cos he’s won the World Cup, […]
Start at the End POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES How are we going to approach the game? How do we deny them? Defensive structure. Combinations. Passing patterns. Etc… The above is a list of 5 of the most regularly practiced topics at a professional club. All are important. The first three might just be vital. Here’s […]
THE BUILD UP Pacing, Drinking, Clenching, and Harry Kane’s Face in a Potato Urgh. You thought the past week was bad. The day of the game is absolutely unbearable isn’t it? I usually prefer a 4.30pm kick off on a Sunday, but for this particular fixture, I would be happy to kick off at 6am, […]
Arsenal build-up shape The two most commonly deployed build-up structures Arteta favours is the 3-2-5 or the 2-3-5. And in yesterday’s derby, the Spaniard opted for the latter. Xhaka and Partey operated in a double pivot, with Cedric staying deep and at times inverting. Lacazette and Odegaard would both offer themselves between the lines, Tierney […]
