Happy Boxing day to you ALL! How was your Christmas? We had a good one. My brother and dad bullied me back into UK drinking habits and I am feeling the pain. Brits never stop, they don’t forgive fly-tipping,...
Happy Boxing day to you ALL!
How was your Christmas? We had a good one. My brother and dad bullied me back into UK drinking habits and I am feeling the pain. Brits never stop, they don’t forgive fly-tipping, and they move at Martinelli-like speed on the drinks. Tough comeback for me.
Gotta say, personally, going to Boxing Day games has never been my cup of tea. The games feel like a bloated hangover; no one is really in the mood, and you can end up with some unfestive moments. Like Newcastle having trouble with Forest right now (2-1 down after a great finish from Chris Wood).
I’m happy to watch others fall to those moments today. Villa vs United could be very spicy. EtH under huge pressure, Unai Emery on top of the world… it’ll be very interesting to see if there’s has a new ownership bounce. We’ll talk about that Radcliffe deal at another date, seems very interesting, though not particularly game-changing.
Arsenal news is in short supply at the minute. We have some problems to deal with. Kai Havertz is out injured, so there are some decisions to be made against West Ham.
My heart says this would be a great moment to bring Emile Smith Rowe into the mixer. He’s been sitting on our bench for a few games now, he’s perfect for a team that’ll defend hard, and try to constrict space. Emile, at his best, is an output monster, and we’d all love to see if he can do what Granit and Kai have showed us over the last year. I’d love him to be the deputy there.
However, my head says Arteta is finished with him and he’ll go with Trossard there again. Emile is great fodder for FFP numbers because he’s pure profit.
That’s part of my issue. Arteta has to play the best team he has available, but I do wish he’d sometimes consider the transfer value of players he crashes when perfectly acceptable players land on his shitlist. Emile was a £55m player 3 seasons ago. Now we’d be lucky to get £25m for him. A crime when you consider the output Hojland and Antony have between them, but par the course in a league that doesn’t value players that can actually do it at the highest level.
Still, can’t be too harsh. Everyone knows the Emile issues are about availability. He can’t string a month together. So he can’t be part of our squad. I’ll be gutted when he goes, but injury issues don’t get better with age, and he has been plagued with them his whole career.
It’ll also be interesting to see if there are any other rotations in the offing. Rumors keep circling that Thomas Partey is going to be ready, they all tend to come from the same guy who is guessing with authority online (poorly). Partey had barely trained before last week. I’d be surprised to see him put in the team before the break. Quite mad that he will have sat out the first half of the season, but he’ll no doubt play every game of a successful Ghana campaign at AFCON. When will Asia and Africa bring their comps back onto a more global calendar?
Back to Partey. Better bet for Arsenal would be to bring him back after the international competition and make sure he heads there in pristine condition. We’ll wait to see whether that happens. Same with Tomiyasu who could technically rejoin the squad early, but the question is whether it’s worth risking him for games we should win. The long game is Partey and Tomi for the run-in… don’t do anything to jeopardize that would be my vision.
This West Han game will be a feisty one. Arteta vs Moyes is always a good father vs son joust. We also have the Declan vs the club the birthed him a career at the highest level. I’d love him to get a rest, but no chance that happens in a game he’ll want to be part of.
After getting such a great result at Anfield, it’s important not to blow that point by failing against a West Ham team that can be got at. They’ve conceded 30 so far this season, but it is important to note that they’re equal points against Newcastle (as of 60 minutes against Forest). That’s pretty decent.
You also have to look at their team. Bowen has the same goals as Salah this season and looks on fire. They have Kudus and Paqueta in their starting 11. Two absolutely outstanding players that signify the strength of the league. Then you have Moyes, a manager who just gets the job done.
We should have enough in a home game. I’m heading in for this one. I can’t wait for it. It was the friendliest London derby of the lot until the summer when West Ham fans slandered us and pined for their best player in a generation to go to Manchester City.
Arsenal has to deliver retribution for those harsh words online. We have to show them why we’re the biggest show in the Premier League right now. We also have to protect my feelings by staying ahead of Unai Emery who will probably destroy a very, very damaged United side this evening.
Right, short one today. Get on the podcast.
