GIR 1-2 ARS: Finishing Well

 We didn't need to win this game, but clubs always play to win, and with a heavily rotated squad we did it.  A series of errors gave Girona the avenue to the game's first goal, but we took the lead before the half via a PK (Jorginho, after a foul in the box on Partey) and an excellent strike from our 17 year old wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri.  Both teams had chances, but we had more, including a second PK (for a clear handball) that Sterling could not get past their keeper.  We finished third in the league stage.  There's prize money for wins and placement, and Arsenal is due about 40M euros already.  This money is what big clubs can use to buy and pay players who can help them stay big.  We'll play one of four teams (two Dutch, two Italian) in the round of 16.

WOL 0-1 ARS: Fuck Michael Oliver

 I try to avoid blaming referees for sneaking their biases into games.  But sometimes it's impossible to avoid suspicion.  Like Mike Dean before him, Michael Oliver seems to have a proclivity to red card Gunners for stuff that no one on any other team gets ejected for.  The sending-off of Myles Lewis-Skelly in the first half was nigh universally looked on with disbelief.  It was a cynical trip, not the "violent conduct" Oliver claimed.  VAR did not send him to the monitor.  But an Arsenal appeal of the three game ban was accepted and the ban removed by an independent review panel.  Fortunately, Arsenal weathered the half hour we were a man down, and after one of their guys was sent off for a second yellow (a foul way more violent that MLS's), we scrambled in a goal courtesy of a fine shot by Riccardo Calafiori.  It means we're still in second, albeit far behind Liverpool.

ARS 3-0 DZG: ECL League Phase Goal Achieved

 Any result against lowly Girona in the last ECL league game guarantees us a top eight spot; even a close loss would be enough.  That means that we'd get a bye in the first knockout games and go directly to the last 16.  With our injury situation, this is key.  We can hope to have Ben White back, and there's a chance Saka could start to ease himself back into fitness in another eight weeks.  Barring a Liverpool collapse (it could happen but they've been superb), our most realistic chance at winning something is Champions' League.  I'd love that.  We have never done it in the ECL format.  Arsenal is third in the ECL table because our defense has been excellent.  We got some luck with the schedule, in that our hardest games were first, before the injuries to Odegaard and Saka.  But the table does not lie:  we've been really good in this competition.

There's the matter of trying to overturn Newcastle's two-goal League Cup semifinal advantage in St James Park, which isn't likely.  But it's not impossible.  I like this team.  They aren't giving up and neither am I.  The defense is very good and the offense is scoring more than a squad without a recognized striker should be.  If we can get Saliba, White, and Calafiore back, it will solidify the former.  We'll need an impact transfer, or a wildly improbable breakout season for Nwaneri, to improve the latter in the absence of Saka.

ARS 2-2 AVL: Collapse

 I was spared the agony of watching this game, because we had lunch guests.  I'd have probably gone mental.  Well, I suppose it could have been worse.  It's no use moaning about officiating or injuries.  We had 11 men out there wearing the shirt, at the Emirates, and they didn't get the job done.

ARS 2-1 TOT: A Must Win Game Won

 Tottenham is a mess right now.  They did very well to beat Liverpool in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi, but they've lost six of their last eight or nine games and are in 13th place.  Their injury problems are as bad as ours.  We still managed to make this a tight game by not putting away a bunch of very good chances.  We'll have to do better against Villa on Saturday.

The talk after the game was about Myles Lewis-Skelly, who at 18 years old put in a fabulous shift, throttling Kulusevski and Johnson.  He's a star in the making.

The goals all had asterisks.  Son's opener was deflected past Raya, who had the shot covered.  The equalizer came off a corner that probably should have been a goal kick, and as it turns out was an own-goal, Gabriel's header caroming in off Solanke's chest.  And Trossard's winner, while a fine shot, bounced a few inches above their keeper's outstretched hand; he really should have made that save.  On the balance of play, though, Arsenal definitely deserved the three points, and this time they got the win.

Palace has gained a bit of security at the expense of Leicester.  They're even on points with Spuds and (for now) a point better than Man U.

Cup Flameouts Mean Silverware Extremely Unlikely

 We got beat 2-0 by Newcastle in the first leg of the League Cup semis and after penalties by Manchester United in the FA Cup.  Our forward players can't score a goal.  Another lost season.  It looks as though we'll need to up our game just to secure a Champions' League slot.

BHA 1-1 ARS: Back Down to Earth

 I think the players out there for us did fine.  But they couldn't outplay a sharp, energetic side who made chances and took advantage of their best chance, which was of course the PK.  Saliba was unlucky to be penalized, but it was a mistimed header and a clear foul.  That equalized Nwaneri's very well taken first half strike.  Both teams had chances to score, but it was just the one apiece.  Very competitive, a good watch for the neutral.

This result pretty much takes the Gunners out of range to catch Liverpool, who in any case look like never dropping points again.  There's plenty to play for in the league, particularly a top four slot.  But any silverware would have to come from cup competitions.

BRE 1-3 ARS: That's More Like It!

 Brentford at home are not pushovers.  Today, however, they got pushed around by an Arsenal squad that snapped into tackles, pressed with intent, and finished their chances.  Mbeumo's goal was very well taken, but that may have been their last real chance.  It took a long time to get our first goal, but they came more easily in the second half.  The Bees never looked particularly dangerous.

We lost Timber for Brighton due to yellow card accumulation, but I don't think there were injuries.  The attack functioned pretty well without our star man, and Havertz was ill today.  It's a case of having to grind out win after win in every competition now with a squad that's quite thin, but that's the case for almost every team at this time of year.  Other big clubs (see Chelsea) have slipped on a couple banana peels in recent weeks.  Only Liverpool cruises serenely on, but no team goes through a season without losing form for a stretch or two.

There was talk of recalling Fabio Vieira from his loan to Porto, but that does not appear to be in the cards.  It's unlikely that we could get a truly useful transfer in the door this month, but I'm sure they've got their targets and will explore all options.  We can't get any more loans from EPL clubs so if we go that route it would have to be from another league.