ARS 2-0 EVE: The Agony, More Agony, Yet More Agony, and the Ecstasy

 Okay, I'll give Everton credit for their excellent defense and their very real goal threat.  We could have lost this game despite bossing it most of the time.  But eventually we wore them down, with the sensational Max Dowman announcing himself on the big stage with the game-winning cross and then the icing on the cake goal, making him the Premier League's youngest ever (16years 73 days) scorer.  So, happy times.

But before that 89th minute tap-in for Gyokeres, it sure looked like we were never going to score.  Saka was livelier than he was in Germany, but could not make the key difference.  Madueke started on the left and was ineffective; when Martinelli replaced him he was not much better.  Eze continues to disappoint.  As our #10 (on his shirt and in the formation today) it was incumbent upon him to be the creative force, and he was not that.  Havertz seemed likeliest to make a breakthrough but didn't, though he really should have been awarded a penalty when the defender he blew by stepped on his heel and brought him down.

The Toffees had a couple of great chances but were denied by Calafiori's upraised foot and the woodwork, and Raya made some good saves.  I'll look up the xG later, but those were all good chances.  Unfortunately, Timber had to be replaced in the first half for what looked like a groin pull.

As of this writing, it's all square between West Ham and Man City.  I expect the Citizens to pull it out, but one can hope.  Former Gunner Mavropanos scored the Hammers goal on a corner.

LEV 1-1 ARS: In Second Gear

 It was a poor display from Arsenal for the most part, featuring lots of misplayed passes.  We looked more threatening when we, uh, actually tried to threaten.  Off the ball, the spirit was willing, but the press was weak.  Gyokeres was not bad; Martinelli was subpar; Eze was ineffective; and Saka was not producing danger.  We had better play with more class in the return match at home.  Arteta has to have more ideas for breaking down defenses.

MFT 1-2 ARS: Three Really Good Goals in Hotly Contested Game

 Mansfield Town did what was expected, giving it a real go at home against a much changed Arsenal   Had they finished better, they could have struck first.  They pushed us hard but got back in a timely way when they lost the ball.  We started two 16 year olds (Dowman and Salmon) and they did OK, except for the wayward pass from Salmon that led to Mansfield's equalizer.  Trossard was in midfield and was having a mediocre game, then went down with some sort of injury and was replaced.  Martinelli started and was poor.  Jesus started and was even worse.  Havertz was fine.  Norgaard did well. Mosquera was not great.  Calafiori did well but went down with what looked like a hamstring strain.  We played in an unfamiliar 3-4-2-1 formation with a few players who seldom start for us, so looked quite disjointed.  Two powerful strikes from Madueke and Eze were blasted into the upper right corner, and Mansfield got their own super strike past Kepa (should he have done better?) under pressure and into the lower right corner.  On to the quarters!

BHA 0-1 ARS: How the Hell Did We Win This One?

 Short answer:  defense and a freak goal from Saka.  (The keeper was fooled by a tiny deflection and it went between his legs) 

 For most of the game, Brighton played better, at least until they approached our penalty box, when they looked toothless.  Is Arteta playing five dimensional chess here with sitting back and letting opponents take it to us?  As long as it works, I'm OK with it.  City managed to drop points to Forest while racking up some nice stats.  Here's a comparison of the two games:

#BHAARS: • xG: 0.80 – 0.43 • Big chances: 2 – 0 • Shots (on target): 11 (3) – 7 (2) • Possession: 60% – 40% #MCINFO: • xG: 2.02 – 0.97 • Big chances: 5 – 2 • Shots (on target): 21 (6) – 9 (4) • Possession: 70% – 30%

Brighton and City had twice the xG of their opponents and lots more possession and shots. But we won and Forest drew. I really don't think we can play like this the rest of the season and win anything, so I'm going to hope we improve. Anyway, it's a seven point lead (City has a game in hand) and all we need to do is win seven of the last eight--six if we draw against City--to win the league. Fingers crossed.

FA Cup this weekend against Mansfield Town, Champions' League midweek at Leverkusen, a home league fixture against Everton, hosting Leverkusen, and on 3/22 there's the Carabao Cup final at Wembley. Then the players all go to an international break to prepare for the World Cup.

Happy St Totteringham's Day

 From ESPN:

Arsenal fans can celebrate the earliest 'St Totteringham's Day' in Premier League history after north London rivals Tottenham fell to another defeat on Sunday.

St Totteringham's Day is an unofficial celebration for Arsenal fans that marks the date on which the Gunners are mathematically guaranteed to finish higher in the table than Tottenham.

ARS 2-1 CHE: Vital Three Points, Unconvincing Performance

 Three Arsenal players scored on corner kicks today, though unfortunately one was into our own net.  In Hincapie's defense, Reece's corners were extremely hard to defend.  As were Rice's, and Saka's.  I love the ones Saka hooks a little past the far post and close to the endline.  Our guy can usually beat the defenders to this position, and a really good header (like Gabriel's on this first goal) sent across the box might be met by a Gunner head--in this case Saliba's who powered it off a defender's back and past Sanchez.  Just to get that first part right is amazing skill.

1-1 at the half after Hincapie's own-goal.  The second half saw Chelsea on top for the most part, although Arsenal got some good chances.  We could not hold onto the ball against Chelsea's pressing defense.  We pressed too, but they started theirs somewhat farther from our goal than we did from theirs.  Chelsea's indiscipline again proved fatal.  A foul on Saka allowed a free kick that Sanchez could only punch for a corner, Rice's great kick met Timber's head, and he nodded it down to beat the keeper from close range.  Soon after that, Pedro Neto got a second yellow for taking out Martinelli who'd skipped past him.  For the third time in a few minutes, referee Darren England stopped play for a foul by Chelsea when we were breaking.  The crowd was somewhat mollified when the red came out.  They, like I, must have expected Arsenal to close out the game easily.  But the Blues outplayed us right to the end, with Raya having to reprise his heroics to prevent a Garnacho cross from going in.

It was ill-tempered, high energy, nervy football with plenty of misplaced passes but very few missed markers in open play.  Well, it's Brighton next, followed by Mansfield (FA Cup) and Leverkusen (ECL).  We're having more cup games than league games in the next half-dozen or so.  

TOT 1-4 ARS: Break Over

 There's nothing like a thumping derby win to rekindle interest in football.  Wolves got that today, beating Villa 2-0, and we got it Sunday when sorry Spurs were dismissed in front of their disgruntled supporters.  I was on a plane to Puerto Rico during the game so had to catch up on my phone.  Three points was a necessity, and the +3 goal difference might be important in a close title race.  City dropped five points to Tottenham, so if we do win the league they'll have made a crucial difference.

Eze and Gyokeres got two goals apiece, which is really good news.  If they're going to start firing, we can weather Saka's goal drought and Merino's injury.  There was no midweek game for the first time in months, which is great.  If we get Havertz back, I'll be happier.