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.

Perspective?

I'm finding that I don't miss Arsenal, and football, as much as I thought I would.  I hope a few billion humans are coming to the same conclusion.  The economic fallout from this crisis is going to scramble expectations.  The biggest clubs will probably be fine, including Arsenal.  Stadiums may prove not to have been the best investment, though, so Spurs may be regretting their magnificent new edifice and the debt that came with it.  Some clubs weren't far from bankruptcy as it is, and this will push them over the edge.  Players are going to have to take pay cuts.  Our men went first in the EPL, accepting a 12.5% cut, but that is going to be just the start.

Sports in general are a communal experience, both playing and (for most people) spectating.  We've all seen high profile games that were televised before empty stadia.  It's not the same.  There is nothing wrong with a big decline in interest in big time football.  It may even be healthy.  I'll be following Arsenal when things start up again.  I'm even watching recorded games on occasion now.  But I hope I can maintain some more emotional distance.

I got through a messy divorce from the Baltimore Orioles a couple decades ago.  We were happy together from the 1960s through the 1980s, But Peter Angelos came between us, and after a disappointing decade I called it quits and barely even follow them in the paper anymore.  I never watch them try to play.  I'm not saying that Stan Kroenke is as bad as Angelos--yet--but I know there is life after I fall out of love with a club, so I realize I don't actually need Arsenal.  That's liberating.

The Wrong Headline

The Guardian has a story about Arsenal players violating contact guidelines, and several paragraphs down, it says:

Several players have been caught flouting the government guidelines since the UK introduced a lockdown to help curb the spread of coronavirus.
Jack Grealish was found to have attended a house party, Kyle Walker hosted a party of his own with two sex workers and Mason Mount was spotted playing five-a-side with Declan Rice.

Walker was definitely not social distancing.  

Crashing Out of Europe

I thought it was a long shot to hope for winning the Europa League.  There are too many good teams in it.  Arsenal showed it just isn't strong enough to beat them and that's reality.  Arteta has to take some of the blame.  He must have worked on set piece defense, but what he said apparently did not sink in.  Those two goals were really soft.  Olympiakos players cruised in untouched and with no one to beat but the keeper.  Ridiculous.

The only positive I get from this is that Saka might get a few days off now and then.  We're in serious danger of running him into the ground.  Other than that, it's a disaster to be ejected so early from a cup competition.  At least it used to be the Champion's League we'd be dismissed from in the first knockout round.