Arsenal are on an excellent run of form, winning their last 8 League games and keeping clean sheets in six of them, but as we all know there are no easy games in this League and the tough opponents will just keep coming.
Up next week we will welcome Brighton to the Emirates, who are one of the three teams to have won their two opening games (along with Arsenal and City), so will be no pushovers, but this should be a run-of-the-mill three points with the Emirates crowd behind us. Or I certainly hope so!
And after that we have two incredibly important matches, against our fiercest rivals Tottenham, and the seemingly invincible Pep Guardiola’s Man City, both away.
We all know how tough it is in every North London derby, especially at their own ground, but we have managed to win there on our last two visits and the fact is that if we can’t beat Tottenham then many fans will start calling for Arteta’s head very quickly!
Man City are our obvious rivals for the title, and since drawing with the Gunners in the title run-in last season, they have won eleven games on the trot, which enabled them to hold off Arsenal’s challenge for the title last season, and are currently at the top of the table on goal difference thanks to Erling Haalabnd scoring yet another hat-trick this weekend. They will be fully aware that the game against Arsenal is a massive six-pointer, with Mikel Arteta knows that we simply cannot let the Citizens grab an early lead at the top of the table. Just as Pep knows he can’t afford to lose and give Arsenal the impetus to carry on winning.
Arsenal managed to hold them to the draw at Etihad last season, but many pundits were saying that we should have won that game easily with our dominance, but accused Arteta of simply playing for a draw instead of going in for the kill.
Hopefully we won’t make the same mistake this season, and a win at a ground that hasn’t witnessed a home defeat since Nov 2022 will definitely see Arsenal as the hot favourites to win the title.
COYG!
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I think Arteta and the Gunners will be going game by game to focus on our next home match against Brighton. And to beat them and beat them. Then, they will switch their focus to the NLD match away to Tottenham Hotspur to beat them. And beat them before the international break interruption forcing a 2 week break in Epl games.
Of course we will try to win the game at the Etihad. The way MA had the team play for the second City game last season was not a mistake imo.
First, I am not a MA can do no wrong commenter. So please don’t pigeonhole me into that mentality but here’s something to consider regarding the second City game last season.
imo, based on each clubs’ previous performances and current runs the assumption was properly made that each club could and probably would win out. In such a case, we would be in control of winning the league.
If we had played differently in an attempt to beat city at the Etihad and it had worked, we would still be in control of our league destiny. However, had we lost, then City would have been in control and it wouldn’t have mattered whether we won out or not.
Because of the Villa game result we didn’t win the league but hindsight here is as usual 20/20. Given the circumstances it was simply the most logical move regardless of any emotional desire to do otherwise.
Now lets kick their City115 butts!
Arsenal vs:
– Brighton at home: A must-win game, because we’ll play at home against a mid-table team
– Spuds at Spuds’ turf: A draw should be the minimum result, because of the hostile atmosphere there
– Man City at the Etihad: A loss would be understandable, because Guardiola/ Man City have been dominating EPL in the last six years and they’re too perfect
Five points should be achieveable for Arteta and the team
@Gai, A win still possible at Emirate and at Spurds though the later would be difficult. But we have not losht at Spurds in 3 season a good motivation. Winning against City would be almost impossible. But Arteta can “pack the bus” to get a draw and that would be massive.
Yeah I hope Jesus will fully recover before the NLD, because his tricks could give us several free kicks and maybe a penalty
I’d love the chance to see Romero look like a schoolboy again, and then give up the penalty, lol.
BHA will be no push over even at home. Their manager is excellent as he took an also run St. Pauli club to the 1st tier of the Bundesliga. He is the young manager with credentials that we wanted at Arsenal.
“The fact is that if we can’t beat Tottenham then many fans will start calling for Arteta’s head very quickly!”
I sincerely hope that we will come away with 3 points at the toilet bowl. If not then yes Arteta out will trend as we all remember after 5 years and spending hundreds of millions we finished 2nd twice and only 1 trophy with the inherited Emery team.
Arsenal will have to improve upon their first two performances.As each of these could have been very different if the opposition were more able to take the chances presented to them.
At the moment Arsenal.are playing well in periods of time but not consistently. The pace of their attacking play has been largely too slow and pragmatic.Not helped by their lack of real creativity coming down the left side.Martinelli still looks a shadow of the player that he’s been and Trossard’s strength still seems to be as an impact substitute.Arteta really needs to build up Martinelli’s confidence and get him firing again.At the same time Merino’s inclusion should help get the left side working more effectively and broaden Arsenal’s attacking options.
Unless we address our attacking unit this transfer window we are going to have it tough this season.
All the teams that finished in the top six apart from Liverpool who have better attakers than us have added significantly to their squads including champions City while we are just happy with Calafiori.
The injury to G.jesus means we now need atleast two quality additions upfront.An injury to either Saka or Havertz may as well mean our season is over.
But if Edu and Arteta think that Martinelli, Nketiah and Nelson are able to win us anything then so be it.
Yes, I agree with you about a striker and some of us have been saying so on this site for a while now.
There may be a late set back on that front as according to a report in The Athletic, Eddie’s transfer to Forest is off because they couldn’t agree personal terms with the player. Whether Arsenal will bring in anyone without selling Eddie is doubtful I would have thought.
That said, Crystal Palace is also reported as “interested” in him – but so were Olympic Marseilles and Bournemouth before Forest, of course. Wait and see, I guess.
I must admit that the possibility of relying in part upon Eddie and Nelson (players that Arteta and Edu clearly wanted/want to offload) in the club’s most important season for years doesn’t fill me with additional confidence. Anyway, there’s still time, but it’s all been left very late considering the window’s been open since 14 June.
To suggest that the match against Brighton should be a “run of the mill” three points is disrespectful to a Club which is second to none in terms of value for money recruitment and highly talented young forwards.Mark my words, our defenders are in for a very tough time this weekend and Gabriel ,in particular cannot afford to get caught in possession like he did against Villa.As for the matches against Spurs and City, I would happily settle for two draws at this stage in the season.
Arsenal has made a good start but so too have the likes of City (where Haaland has as many goals as Arsenal so far) and Liverpool – both very likely title challengers across the season.
Of the nine points up for grabs in the games against Brighton, Sp*rs and City, like others here I think Arsenal will be doing well to get five, but any more will be a welcome bonus.
The hotter the battles the sweeter the victories
It would be plain silly to believe that Arsenal can virtually waltz through to maximum points in these matches as the opening fixtures obviously have their difficulties and can’t be underestimated
I’m not saying we will win them but I get disappointed at times by how we underestimate our team’s abilities. Does it matter that Raya had to make a wonderful save or that Watkins wasn’t wearing his scoring boots? No – it’s part and parcel that saves and goals scored or missed happen otherwise it wouldn’t be football. I try to have positive thoughts about the team and manager and being negative beforehand makes life miserable
So on that note Arsenal can win them but a couple of draws (don’t know from whom) are likely or one loss but again I can’t second guess which team that is.
Yes Sue difficult games but certainly all winnable. I believe a very positive aspect of having difficult away games early in the season is that if we do lose or only draw against Spurs and/or City then the reverse fixtures will be at home later in the season. The most needed win imo is the one against Brighton at home. 2 down and 36 to go!
Without burying our heads in the sand, we need a number 9 pure. Pretence won’t do us good.
If the majority of fans here believe 5 points from 3 games regardless of the opponants is acceptable, we are lacking in certain areas. I hope we acquire a player who can provide an alternative pattern of play and change this mindset.
Hopefully a goalscoring no 9
Well, I don’t know how we are going to go through our this season without a proper 9. And don’t know why we have not added another winger to help Saka, God forbid if Saka gets injured, who do we have as a replacement. I don’t know why Arteta and Edu have failed to see it and address it. As it stands now, our squad is too lean, for us to be able to challenge on all fronts, we need a real squad dept. I mean players that could come in and maintain the same standard.
You all have said it all.Arsenal need a no 9 that can make the difference especially in difficult matches.I don’t understand why Edu and Arteta can’t see the need in prioritizing a 9 instead of buying/reinforcing a defence(3) that was the best in the league last term.At least Timber could have been deployed there to help out.