One-nil to the Arsenal. Again. It may not make for a comfortable watch, but I sure as hell love getting 3 points in the bag.
What made me smile?
Captain Ødegaard. When the score was 0-0 I saw him pushing the players on, having a go at team mates… and I love it. I want strong personalities at this club, so I’m up for a vocal captain. His desire to get to the ball and score the winner is what I love to see.
And look – I haven’t been Noni’s biggest fan since he arrived at the club. So fair play to him for his recent performances. If he adds the end product to match his general energy, I’m all up for that. I wish he put away that scrumptious assist from Merino towards the end. He would have deserved it.
Saka will be absent for a while, I don’t want us to rush him back, so Noni, the stage is yours. Show us what you can do.
Also… a quick one on the Sham City result: HahahahaHAHAAhahahahahHAHA. It’s about time their results started aligning to their status.
What pissed me off?
There’s a pattern to recent games. One-Nil results, wasted chances, and shit refereeing. And here’s another example.
What the fuck were VAR/the referee smoking during the Havertz penalty appeal incident? Here’s my emotional breakdown during that moment:
- Havertz gets his shirt pulled. I thought it should have been a penalty but the fact we didn’t get one seemed consistent to the decision the week prior.
- Havertz looked offside so maybe it wouldn’t have counted anyway. I can’t sit here and pretend I know the ins and outs of the rules. So I felt at peace with it. Game continues.
- VAR calls the referee to the screens. Oooo – maybe there’s something to this? They wouldn’t have gone to all the effort to stop play just to decline it due to a pretty obvious offside. I mean, the PGMOL are stupid at the best of times, but even I give them more credit than…
- Oh. The referee has confirmed the foul but has said it was offside. What a waste of everyone’s time.
- Post-game, there’s analysis suggesting the incident should have resulted in a penalty for us after all. The bastards!
So, to conclude…
… I don’t know.
Look, I’m not going to sit here and whinge about the penalty not being given. Do I look like a scouser to you? But the way the situation was handled was just piss poor.
The real reason I was pissed off? It robbed us of the hilarity of Arsenal being awarded a penalty for a shirt pull just a week after Liverpool were declined one against us. If that penalty resulted in the single goal that won the match I would have loved the reaction from Liverpool fans and the dickheads on TalkSport.
As it turned out, the referees were consistent with last week in their incompetence to award a penalty for a shirt pull. The difference is, Liverpool fans, we didn’t get the penalty, but we also didn’t use it as an excuse and went on to win the game anyway.
What surprised me?
What is going on with our set pieces? We struck fear in teams last season. Now, we go short and lose the ball. What gives? I’m not a fan of these short routines. We had an aura about us last season, and now we’re losing it.
We have players with amazing corner deliveries in Rice, Saka, Odegaard, and even Noni. And we aren’t making the most of it. Come on, Nic, sort it out.
What worries me?
Again, our inefficiency in front of goal is becoming a real worry. This time, I’m looking at you Kai Havertz. That opportunity where he was through on goal and didn’t even get a shot away was massively concerning. What is going on with him?
I love Havertz, and he was such a star in the 23/24 season. Not to mention, he still scores important goals in big games – be it at Anfield or the UCL final. He will find form again. But, I think it’s time we gave Gyokeres a run of games after the interlull. Every player goes through a shit patch of games. It’s ok. Let’s use the depth we have – and Gyokeres is showing a bit of form.
The thing is we are getting into decent positions in the final third, but the end product is just so, so weak. I’m counting on some January business, but will we be able to hold on until then with limited firepower? Or will it finally catch up with us?
What does it mean?
With Sham City dropping points (it doesn’t matter anyway), eyes turn to Brighton. Will they sustain a title challenge? Will Liverpool come back into it? It largely depends on us. I’m not getting ahead of myself, but I will be mightily disappointed if we don’t win the league from here.
The next run of games until Xmas is looking a bit tricky. Come out of it with our points advantage intact and I think I’ll feel much better. Ideally with leads that are easier on my blood pressure.
Song at the whistle
Hero by Enrique Iglesias.
Ok, ok, ok, this is my guilty pleasure song. But our captain sure as hell saved us with his goal today, so how can you not hear this dreamy number when you see him celebrate?
