On to the Semis: Sheffield United 1 - 2 Arsenal

It was an ugly game, with injuries, niggling fouls, haphazard officiating, and other assorted annoyances.  But in the end, a tough opponent was seen off and we're going to Wembley again.  The bad news is that we'll face City, who thrashed us at the Etihad not long ago.  Maybe they'll be overconfident, or de Bruyne will miss the team bus.

Credit Mikel for realizing he had to use three center backs to counter the aerial threat.  It wasn't hugely convincing, but it was just good enough.  (Mustafi, Kolasinac, and Luiz may not have been the three I trust most, but they managed not to concede a PK.)  I'm getting very peeved at the way opponents foul to stop our counterattacks but the refs don't always pull out a card.  These days, the counter is our best shot at scoring.  Our passing is ponderous and frequently mistimed or off-target, so buildups generally go nowhere.  That's worrisome, because we have some real talent out there and we ought to be able to find more space for Pepe's shots or Saka's runs.  

I still believe in Arteta's ideas, and eagerly await his molding of our young midfielders into slicker passers and better defenders.  We're not winning the league any time soon unless Stan has a dramatic change of heart in Arsenal's favor, but better days are coming if we keep the faith.

Southampton 0 - 2 Arsenal

I didn't get a chance to see this one, but it was great to beat the Saints and get back to winning ways.  Willock needed that goal, and hats off to Eddie for working hard to pressure their keeper into a dreadful error. 

Unmitigated Disaster: Brighton 2 - 1 Arsenal

It takes just a few minutes of good offensive play to beat Arsenal these days, and that's all the Seagulls needed today.  After Pepe's goal, I was screaming for Arteta to replace Lacazette with a midfielder, but he didn't and we paid the price.  I have no idea what those substitutions were supposed to accomplish.

Leno's looked like season ending injury.  Another nail in our coffin.

A Day to Forget: MC 3 - 0 ARS and JUV 0 - 0 NAP* (2-4)

Don't blame it all on David Luiz.  We were second best all game.  Tierney kept allowing their forward to get open inside him in the penalty area.  All of our center halfs were shaky.  Only Bernd Leno can be proud of his performance; had he not been in top form, it could have been 6-0.  I liked the way our youngsters kept at it.  Eddie was a real handful.  Joe Willock was fairly anonymous, but Saka and Guendouzi were lively.  Xhaka, Mari, and Mustafi going down injured was a blow; for City, Garcia's horrific injury will be a downer despite the scoreline.  Dreadful stuff all around; even the weather was filthy.

Arteta will have a lot to discuss with his men and little time to do it.  I don't know who's left at CB; Rob, Calum, and Sokratis?  Do we even have Mavropanos healthy?  We could still have a very successful run-in.  Arteta will not let anyone give up.  And if Luiz gets another minute, I'll be surprised.

A poor game was followed by the usual PK nonsense in the Copa Italia final in Rome.  The only bright spot was that this game played 80% concurrently with Arsenal's, so I saw a lot less than half of it, and I allowed myself to be distracted from the mess in the Etihad for a while by the mess in the Stadio Olimpico.  I would have hated to waste another hour + on these flaming bags of poo.