Two More Years

I guess we all knew it was coming.  "We will announce our decision at the right time in the right way" and all that fairly screamed that they were going to keep Wenger but didn't want to add fuel to any fires.  I don't think it was a sure thing, though.  Had our collapse extended into the last part of the season, it probably would have been a different story.  But the strong finish and the Cup win made it easy for Kroenke to do what he wanted to do all along.  It certainly would have been awkward to try to find a manager in such a short time frame.

It's a waste of time to try to guess whether AFC would have been better off with a different manager.  We have a very good one, and he's learned a few things recently that could make him better.  For instance, it's obvious now that a team with so many good center backs should have been figuring out a way to get more of them on the field at the same time, but I don't remember a groundswell among the supporters for a back three.  Allardyce is credited with bringing the value of this tactical change home to Arsene after Palace crushed us, and that may be right.  We've got the defensive personnel to rock a back three.  Every one of our backs is comfortable with the ball at his feet, and can zip a pass through the lines.  When you realize that Chambers is out on loan and Bielek is no more than a year away from being able to contribute to the senior team, we're actually overstocked with center backs.  Per is in the last year or two of top-flight football, and Kos is over 30; Monreal is not young either.  I'm not sure if Holding, Bielek, and Chambers want to wait around and be platooned or loaned, but they're all potential future mainstays in defense and I don't want to lose them.  Gabriel improved under Wenger too, and Mustafi (when he recovers) is a very good center back, especially in a three.

Wenger's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness, in my opinion.  That would be his loyalty.  He sticks with players long after most managers would give up on them as too fragile or not talented enough or insufficiently motivated.  I am still amazed at the Diaby situation; no other team in the world would have stood by him so long.  There was never a question about Wenger's faith in Ramsey or Walcott.  I remember a year when I saw Ramsey's name on a team sheet and despaired.  This year he's repaying that faith.  Theo has been more trouble than he's worth, with his difficult contract negotiations and his fussing about where he's played.  He's one of those maddening players who has lots of natural talent, a good attitude, and an appreciation for the finer points of the game, but fails to do the hard work on defense that he knows is required, and is not as productive on offense as he'd have to be to make up for his defensive lapses.  He knows what he needs to do, and wants to do it, but when it's nut-crunching time, for some mysterious reason he doesn't do it.  None of these guys is lazy; it's just something in his head that switches off far too often.  If Theo had the physique or talent to hold up the ball, he may have stuck as a striker.  But he's hopeless as a frontman.  He wants to be the guy who sits on the shoulder of the last defender and waits for Ozil to find him making a run.  Fine, but then he'd have to stay onside more, and do something useful when we don't have the ball, and learn how to put in better crosses.  (Enough about him--I just wish we'd sold him five years ago.)

Can Wenger, who has admitted that the squad is "heavy", cut some players loose?  He will find it hard.  But we shouldn't be carrying salaries for players we're essentially replacing when we get a top class winger or striker.  Iwobi is a fine backup for offensive positions.  I'd hate to lose Lucas, but I think we just might.  There are some really good young players that Wenger may have to make a decision on soon.  (We saw some in the Southampton FA Cup game.)

Alexis and Ozil.  Yes, that's the big question.  I say, find out what they want to do by offering what we think we can afford to pay (not what we want to pay, which is not going to be enough).  If one or both decide to move on, fine--get what we can for them, which in Alexis's case ought to be substantial, and move on from there.  But I think Ozil genuinely likes Wenger and wants to stay.  Alexis is probably going to move on.  We'll miss him, obviously, but we will still score goals.

Keeping Arsene says something about Arsenal that I like:  we want to win, but we want to show some class and flash doing it.  There was absolutely no guarantee that a new manager would have improved anything.  Look around the league:  was Mourinho really the answer for free-spending United?  I've been a Conte fan for a while (I support Juve and Italy), and agree that he's done wonders at Chelsea.  But he's not looking for another team.  Pep has hardly burned up the league at City.  Maybe we should have fired Wenger mid-contract and made a play for Pochettino, but maybe not.  Klopp is not Liverpool's savior after all.  So, resign yourselves to more of Wenger's courtly post-match performances in which he has nothing but praise for his players, whatever the result, and whines about some bad refereeing decisions if we don't win.  Expect to hear the following:  "belief," "confidence," "as well."  And I think you can count on the Arsenal playing well and contending for titles.  Why support any other club?  And if it's Arsenal that you love, support them all the way.  I will.

Arsenal 2 - 1 Chelsea (FA Cup Final)

[I had a post done on the day of the final, but it was messed up somehow, probably by me in my excitement.]

What a glorious day for Arsenal Football Club and its supporters.  You know all about the game; here are the official highlights.  I would not have given our first goal had I been carrying the whistle, but we were good value for the win, creating more chances and generally bossing the game for long stretches even before Moses picked up those two yellows.

I'm proud of everyone who wore the shirt today.  There were no weak links out there.  The biggest difference I saw was the focus and commitment on defense.  I was very worried about not having Kos available (suspension), but Per was majestic and he was ably partnered by Holding and Monreal.  Costa got his goal (he and Cahill were Chelsea's best players on the day), but it was erased seconds after the restart by Ramsey's header off Giroud's exquisite cross.  Bellerin, Ramsey, and especially Ozil spurned opportunities to make the win comfortable, but it did not matter in the end.  The Blues were flat, the Gunners at the top of their game, and the better side won.  I looked at a Chelsea supporter blog and they recognized it too.

I'll comment on the fallout from the board meeting a little later.

Meanwhile, it's Huddersfield Town, a club with some old Arsenal connections, that will be joining Brighton and Newcastle in entering the EPL next season.

Arsenal 3 - 1 Everton; Liverpool Cruise into ECL; Juve Clinches Scudetto

Desperate Crotone was no match for Juventus, who has the double and can't really be considered underdogs against Real Madrid in Cardiff.  The Dybala free kick inside the near post watched by a motionless goalkeeper was the game in a nutshell.

Liverpool took nearly a half to do it, but they asserted their dominance over relegated Middlesbrough to make our game against Everton meaningless...

...and what a crazy game it was.  Arsenal totally dominated the Toffees, scoring a goal (Bellerin's) that looked to be the first of many.  But then Koscielny made an inexplicable decision to challenge far from goal--there was no need--and not only missed the ball, but left his feet and clobbered Enner Valencia to earn a straight red in the 14th minute.  Suddenly things looked very shaky indeed.  But in this game of mistakes, Everton made the next one.  They stopped playing after Welbeck found himself with the ball deep in the six yard box.  Robles had to come out on him, and he simply rolled it into the path of Alexis for an easy finish.  There were chances for Everton, but Cech was up to them.  Then Holding allowed the ball to hit his arm, and Lukaku finished the PK coolly:  2-1.  Arsenal kept looking for another goal, and had their finishing been better, they'd have had a couple.  But Robles did enough to keep the game close until injury time, when Ramsey curled a beauty into the top right corner from yards outside the area.  It finishes 3-1 and the lads looked happy.  The supporters appeared somewhat mollified by the courageous response of the Gunners to going down to ten men.  It was a really good game for neutrals, with all the end-to-end action.

It looks really bad now for the FA Cup final.  I didn't hear the announcers say anything about it, but surely Kos is ineligible now for that game due to his red card.  Gabriel did his knee in.  And Alexis pulled up lame late on.  The return to first team action of Per Mertesacker is not much consolation.  Well, we have some players, and we have enough shirts for them, so they'll give it a go and maybe the ball will bounce the right way and the referees will see the close calls our way.

Juventus 2 - 0 Lazio (Coppa Italia): The Treble is Still On

Gigi watched from the bench as the Bianconeri outclassed a game Biancocelesti in the Coppa final. A fantastic cross found the red hot Dani Alves, who spaked it off the ground and past the helpless Lazio keeper inside the far post from about 15 yds.  Bonucci added a second on a scramble after a corner, and barely a third of the way in it was pretty much over.  Juve wants every season to be special, and that means winning everything in sight.  They will get the chance on May 3 in the ECL final in Cardiff.  Lo Scudetto is a formality now, with a four point lead on Roma.  They look pretty good lately, don't they?

Arsenal 2 - 0 Sunderland

The first half was scoreless, though both teams had chances.  Frustrating, right?  There were a lot of empty seats, the fans getting a jump on protesting the mismatch between ticket prices and results.  The Gunners better pick it up if they are going to put any pressure on Liverpool.  Back after full time...

They did pick it up, and the three points too.  Sunderland reverted to form, and were ineffective, except for their superb young goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, without whom the score would have been at least 4-0 instead of just 2-0.  The goals were nice:  Ozil presented Alexis with a tap-in at about 70 minutes, and Alexis scored a header from very close range when Pickford saved an athletic bid from Giroud.  A few comments:

Cech was excellent.  He made a couple of very good saves, and came far out of the goal to prevent dangerous situations that could have turned out to be breakaways.  He also had to deal with a crazy backpass from my man Monreal that he could only save with his hands, resulting in an indirect free kick just at the intersection of the endline and the six yard line.  The game was scoreless, early in the second half, and it might have been a disaster.

Other than Nacho's error, the back three looked commanding.  Holding carried forward once and was not far from scoring a goal.

Alexis and Xhaka dwell on the ball too long.  Both lost it very avoidably, more than once.  It's OK to have the ball stolen when they're crowded out, or to lose it trying an ambitious pass; but having it taken off your foot by a guy who's overtaken you in space is not OK.  Just pass the damned thing!

Ozil got a yellow for dissent, which was as interested as he seemed to get today.  He played well, but does he ever invest himself fully?  Alexis makes a lot of mistakes, but he's always "all in".  He's one goal behind Lukaku ( and one ahead of Kane) for the golden boot.

Giroud put in a good shift, and was unfortunate to be robbed by Pickford a couple times.  He was wrestled away from a corner once too; it probably should have been a first-half PK.

Subs:  Iwobi came on and looked decent, as did Welbeck.  Walcott got a late chance and was found deep in Sunderland territory, but nothing came of it.  Ramsey came off with an injury; I hope it's not serious.

City beat a limp West Brom, so that leaves Liverpool as the only team we might overtake for 4th.  They have to drop points at home to Middlesbrough (let's hope Callum Chambers has a good day) and of course we need to beat Everton at the Emirates.  And regardless of the final standings, we have to avoid serious injuries or red cards to field our strongest team in the FA Cup final.

Crouch's Hand 1 - 4 Arsenal

The Gunners tormented a strangely listless Stoke to come away with three points and an outside chance for a top four finish.  Stoke had some moments, but they were few, and the only one they made count was when Peter Crouch blatantly handed a cross past Cech.  By that time it was 2-0 Arsenal due to some incisive passing and clueless defending.  Coquelin slipped Bellerin behind the defense, and he crossed for an easy Giroud tap-in at around 40 minutes.  Early in the second half, Alexis hit a charging Ozil in stride and two perfect touches later the ball hit the back of the net as a despairing Jack Butland watched from the ground.    After Crouch's "goal" Alexis drove towards goal and uncorked a hard shot into the lower left corner, and Giroud got his second as substitute Ramsey cut back and the Frenchman launched himself at the ball and left-footed it past Butland.

Every Gunner looked good, but much of that was due to Stoke's poor play.  They gave us space to make passes, opting to pack the 18 yard box and try to block shots.  But they didn't get that right either.  Even Coquelin looked like an offensive threat; Monreal could have had two goals in the first 15 minutes.  (He hit the post with a header and fumbled a great opportunity across the endline.)  If today's game with Swansea was any indication, Sunderland won't be strong opposition mid-week.  I hope Everton has already gone on vacation as well by next Sunday, and Liverpool catches the Spursiness that Tottenham seems to have shaken.

Wizards force Game 7 with a game-winning three from John Wall.  Fiorentina beats Lazio 3-2 in a meaningless (for the standings) game.

Southampton 0 - 2 Arsenal, and Juventus 2 - 1 Monaco (4-1 agg)

The Gunners made hard work of it, but they got the three points due to a dominating second half and a sharp Petr Cech in the first half.  The Saints have not been playing well, especially at home, and have little to play for, so few expected anything other than an Arsenal victory.  We were good value for it, showing our class when it counted.

It seems too little too late, however.  City is not going to drop points twice, so our hopes of Champions' League next season rest with Liverpool dropping points in one game while we win against the orcs in Mordor, relegated Sunderland, and Everton.  Oh, and Stoke's in three days, and we host Sunderland three days after that.  The Toffees come to the Emirates five days after that, and we go to Wembley to thrash the Chavs six days after that to hoist the FA Cup for a record 13th time.  Let's hope AOC's hamstring heals quickly.

...

Juve finished the job against Monaco, whose defense was simply not up to the task of keeping Higuain, Alves, etc. from scoring.  Gigi's streak of 690 scoreless minutes in ECL was ended late, but in truth, it took some good fortune (as well as excellent defense and goalkeeping) to keep Monaco out of the net until then.  They created some very good chances.  The Old Lady plays holders Real Madrid in the final in Cardiff.  It should be a very good game.  I give Juve a slight edge, because of Gigi and Allegri.  Dybala is my pick to be man of the match, though Alves has been otherwordly.

...

The Wizards and the Capitals are in tight playoff series.  Fingers crossed.

Arsenal 2 - 0 Manchester United Reserves

I was on the road during the game and saw only the highlights.  I was happy to see Ramsey and Ox and Welbz do so well.  It would have been disheartening to lose this one, or even to draw.  We're still dependent on Liverpool screwing up even if we win our remaining games, so it's a long shot for us to qualify for ECL--and really, do you think we'd go far in that competition next year?  I'm afraid it's Thursday night games in Eastern Europe for the Gunners.

Monaco 0 - 2 Juventus

Supporting multiple teams has advantages.  When the #1 favorite is not doing well, one can take solace in the successes of one's other adopted enthusiasms.  Here is an attempt to list the teams I support, in descending order of affection:

Clubs
Arsenal
Juventus
DC United
Roma
Notts County
Fiorentina
Celtic
UNAM Pumas
Dortmund
(many others, like PSG, Melbourne Victory, 1860 Munich, York City)

Countries
USA
Italy
England
Mexico
New Zealand

There's not a lot of rhyme or reason to any of that list, except for USA and DC United.  Some I've adopted because an acquaintance turned me on to them (e.g. Notts County); but most were born of pure whim and grew into strong passions (like Arsenal) or mild interests (Victory).  My attraction to Roma was strengthened when Szczesny was loaned to them, but I've liked them for a while.

Anyway, Juve has made me happy today by taking a two (away!) goal lead over Monaco in the first leg of the Champions' League semis.  I don't forgive Monaco for being the beneficiary of Arsenal's generosity two years ago in the ECL, so I am hoping the Bianconeri can seal the deal next Tuesday.  Two fantastic finishes by Higuain off superb assists from Dani Alves, one in each half, should be all Juve needs.  but you never know.  Monaco actually was quite dangerous, and should have scored.  Juve actually did a better job throttling Barca.  It's hard to believe that the best clubs in Europe have been unable to score against the Old Lady for six game now.  They looked very sharp today.