ARS 1-1 CRY (8-7 pen): Through to the Semis, Barely

No one could have complained had Palace edged us in penalties.  We were very wasteful, and Palace worked hard.  The Eagles have serious injury issues and they have top players at AFCON, so our heavily rotated squad should have been enough to win it in normal time.  Instead, the Gunners tested the Palace GK several times but couldn't beat him.  His own defender did put one past him, however.  Then Palace produced a good free kick routine to draw level in the 95th minute.  We'll have to play a lot better than this against Chelsea in the semis.

Jesus looked dangerous.  Martinelli was most effective and could have had a couple of assists.  Eze was not very effective.  Madueke couldn't produce the finish when he had chances.  The PKs were all top class from both sides until Kepa guessed right on a penalty by the defender who got the own goal.  He won't be feeling good for a while.  We scored zero non-penalty goals in our lest three, compiling an xG or over 6.  We won all three games via three own goals and PKs.  It's not sustainable.

 And yes, we beat Everton 1-0 at their new place via a PK.  Not a great performance, again, but much better than against Wolves.

Leeds 4 CP 1

 An embarrassment.  No one played well.  The score does not indicate how one sided the match was.  For maybe five minutes they showed some signs of life.  The rest of the time it was hard to watch without wincing.  

January Transfers?

 The blog I read daily, Arseblog, is talking about a need for transfer help in January.  We've had a lot of injuries to defenders and we are putting in a patchwork back line.  But these are all quality players, and we're going to get Gabriel back in January. Mosquera some time after that.  Ben White may be out for December but probably he'll be playing some minutes in January.  Norgaard can fill in at central defense as well.  I might even try a back three.  I bet Martinelli would make a good wingback.  Anyway, I'd stick to this squad.  If Havertz ever plays, he should get into goal scoring shape soon, and we'd be at full strength up front.  The midfield is great, and healthy.  I think we'll be healthy enough at the back to stop allowing so many goals.  Two in that Villa game--scandalous.

ARS 2-1 WOL: Weird Game

 Wolves players scored all three goals but we took the three points at the end of a frustrating football match.  The Gunners failed to register a shot on target in the first half.  Wolves showed a defensive dedication that surprised me--and our players.  Our attack was labored.  The best chances of the half fell to the visitors, and only last-ditch defending and Raya's saves kept them out.  It was more of the same in the second half, though Arsenal started shooting.  There were quite a few chances but the first goal came off a corner.  In the 70th minute, Saka curled what was destined to be a goal olympico into the top left corner, but their GK tipped it enough for it to hit the upright instead--and the back of his own head for a save and an own-goal in maybe 250 milliseconds.

So, Arsenal strangles Wolves and closes out the game, right?  Wrong.  Wolves had way too much of the ball in the closing stages.  We couldn't get hold of the ball.  In the 90th, a shot got a headed redirection from Arokadare past Raya, who was behind the shot's direction.  1-1 and the crowd was restless.  So, we had six minutes added time to get the winner.  Saka again put in a fine cross which Jesus nearly met in flight, but he could not quite get his head to it due to the presence of Y Mosquera on his back, but Mosquera had the misfortune to have the ball carom off his head and into the goal.  We did manage to see out the last few minutes.  

We played poorly.  The attack needs retooling.  Ben White had to be replaced; it looked like a hamstring injury.  Eze was once again ineffective.  Only Saka looked dangerous.  Even the free kicks were below standard.  On the plus side, Saliba was back, Jesus was back, and most of all, the three points.  This is a good time to have a week off.

BRU 0-3 ARS: Heavily Rotated Squad Was Good Enough to Win

 Brugge is a club in crisis.  They changed managers days ago and are beset by injuries.  So it was not really a gamble to put a back line out there that had never played together, with a CB (Norgaard) playing in a position he has not played for several years.  It was a disjointed defensive effort, with Raya being called upon 7 times to make good saves.  The xG numbers I saw were 3-1 in favor of the Gunners, so maybe the Belgians were unlucky not to score.  Anyway, all three of ours were great goals, for different reasons.  The first was the best, with Madueke muscling/turning past a defender 50 yards out, arrowing towards goal, beating two defenders and unleashing an unstoppable top corner blast from 25 yards out.

The 18 points Arsenal has now virtually guarantees a top eight finish, avoiding the first knockout round.  Not bad.  It will be interesting to see the team that plays in Milan against Inter.  Kairat Almaty at home should be another opportunity to give little-used players a break and still win.

You can see the best action here:

Wolves this weekend.  They're desperate, so we can't take anything for granted, but they aren't very good, so if we are decent, we should get the three points.

AVL 2-1 ARS: No Complaints

 I thought Villa looked the more dangerous team today in both halves.  Had it ended 1-1, I'd have felt as though we stole a point.  But Villa got the reward for their excellent work with the last kick of the game.  The absence of Gabriel and Saliba was key, but we have quality substitutes (one of which, Mosquera, is also out injured) and it's part of the game.  The Villans did a good job of neutralizing our attack.  Raya was the busier keeper.  So, fair result, though the last gasp winner from Buendia was a gut punch.

It's apparent now that Arsenal's success to date was built on defensive solidity, and without our two center backs we don't have that anymore.  We need more ideas on offense and more production from the attacking players.  Maybe Jesus will add that X factor.  

ARS 2-0 BRE: Nervy Win

 

Brentford has been on a roll, so despite Brentford's lack of a victory at Arsenal since WWII, no one was taking them lightly.  The Gunners started strongly, and after ten minutes took the lead at the end of a 14 pass move in which all ten outfield players touched the ball.  Ben White, back in the side to give Timber a rest and round him into form, was sent to the endline by Madueke with a clever flick, and crossed it for Merino, who headed down past Kelleher (see photo).  I agonized for the next 80+ minutes until the first minute of added time, when Merino found Saka steaming through the middle to put the game to bed with a powerful strike that Kelleher could not keep out.  Raya made a spectacular reflex save on a bullet header in the first half to maintain our slender lead.

The good news on the injury front is that Odegaard played the whole game and looked good.  Madueke was dangerous.  Gyokeres came in late.  Jesus was on the bench.  White was the MOTM.  The bad news is that Mosquera and Rice had to come off with injuries, severity unknown.  Gabriel will be out for a while yet; Saliba could be back in a week or so.  Havertz is still out until probably January.

We travel to Villa Saturday and to Brugge next Wednesday.  Maybe we can rotate heavily for that ECL match.  Nwaneri has to get more minutes.