Jesus I just remembered we scored 96 goals in 2023/24 season and only 69 last season. For good measure we had 34 goals against us last season and 29 in 2023/24. We our on course for 69 goals again this season we might be the second best attack force in the league but we pail in comparison to city and even to our past selves.
Question had to be asked what were doing in 2023/2024? That we aren’t doing now
With White and Mosquera both out, I wonder who's the next in line to back Timber at RB over the next month. The Dutch has clocked a lot of minutes already and the week off at the moment is more than welcome. But with us playing 8 games over the next month, and with two of them being a League Cup game against Palace and in the FA Cup against Portsmouth (both at home), he's ought to get a break in some of the games. The 4 PL games in 12 or 13 days between Dec 27 to Jan 8 will be so testing.
Let’s have full rotation in both cups. I’ve had enough of “respecting the competition” and then having injured and fatigued players for our main goals.
I’m not saying I don’t want to win, but I am saying I’d rather lose with the 2nd/3rd squad than win with the 1st squad. We have to make mature prioritization decisions, and sometimes those are painful.
I have been very harsh on gyo and I don’t think he is the top quality striker we need but rather could be good enough to be a second striker he is more welbeck than Ian wright. HOWEVER, we don’t play to his strengths remember the balls odegaard used to deliver to aubameyang aka through balls/ balls over the top and balls into space this is gyo bread and butter for some reason instead of delivering passes we pass backwards and sideways. That’s on the manager not on gyo and not on odegaard who looks like that’s been coached out of his game.
Now the manager came out in the conference after the game saying we don’t play enough passes to gyo but i get the feeling that’s not the players fault but how they been coached in training so they have these negative no risk bad habits ingrained.
Arteta has to bring more sauce and let the players train more adventure plays in training so they can translate that to the match.
Martin Zubimendi was not in Arsenal open training this morning, but it's said he was doing work elsewhere. Not the first time his training load has been managed this season.
Still no Havertz or Gabriel. Today is Arsenal's first day back training post-Wolves after two days off.
_________________________________
HandofArsenal & AFCAMDEN
Kai Havertz is targeting the remaining December fixtures as a possible return. The German international’s reintegration will be managed carefully but he is pushing hard to make an appearance before the year closes out. Cautious optimism but one to watch.
Gabriel Magalhães will miss Everton but he is pushing just like Havertz. He is very close to making a return.
it will be very interesting to see what happens to villa
I know many on here don’t believe in xG and its vailidity. but if you look at the numbers you can suggest that villa will be falling very deeply. they should be nowhere near the top, they overplay their xG by 6, xGA by 6 and xP by 15 points. statistically they are just lucky as hell, winning when they should draw and drawing when they should lose. I wonder what’s gonna happen with don unai, the underlying stats tell us a different story to their league position
I absolutely don’t care how they perform or how many points they have as long as they don’t come in our way. whatever net spend or wages - I don’t care either.
what I wnated to point out is that it look like they are gonna drop and if they do it shows that xG isn’t as unreliable as many here argue especially with bigger sample sizes like a whole season
I don't care about Villa other than when we play them. I respect them for trying to punch above their weight. You're correct they should have qualified for the CL last season.
Chance Volume for Arsenal: Havertz's xG/90 (approx 0.45) and his high total of 21 Big Chances Received show that, while not reaching Haaland's absolute peak volume, he was the primary target man for Arsenal last season. His volume is very similar to what Gyökeres is producing this year, suggesting this is the maximum a striker will receive in the current Arsenal system.
Aerial Strength: His excellent 3.1 Aerial Duels Won per 90 indicates he was a focal point for long balls and set pieces, even more so than the other pure strikers top of the table.
Finishing: His near-zero G - xG (\approx -0.02) suggests his finishing was statistically average for a top striker, which is generally considered a good level. The high number of BCM (12) confirms he was not as clinical as Haaland or the efficient Merino
Rap, right now you're just arguing for the sake of it. No one is happy about Gyokeres' performance and we are trying to understand why. Up to now all you have said about the guy is he's slow, fat and has a poor touch.
What about his finishing? Can you say he's a poor finisher? If yes - why?
Someone pulled together a ~9 minute clip , apparently going viral on X, showing a myriad of runs Gyokeres has made this season and yet somehow ignored by his teammates without even an attempt to pass or make a through ball...
Only saw 2 instances involving Odegaard and Martinelli... ummm , put it this way, both should be reprimanded whoever the runner was! Potential points vaporised!
If this were the norm in Arteta's 2025/26 version of "the system", Gyokeres might as well pack up now ... 'cos the system, whatever it is, doesn't want a striker lol
Gyokeres absolutely needs to step up in the PL, even Haaland had to upon joining City, and evolve; however, it's meant to be 2 way street, no?
If we get a new manager that has a clue about attacking play and systems, Gyokeres will thrive. I'm 100% sure of that. Not best in terms of technique but he's sure a good player
Let's sack Arteta and start playing like Man United. For the remote possibility Gyokeres works out. Let's play end to end football and finish 4-4. Manure's goal difference is +4 btw. 30-26.
"I'm 100% sure of that."
100% sure based on scoring goals in the Championship and the Portuguese league. We're talking about a 27 yo player btw in his first season in a top league. He looks shocking. 100% sure based on what? A gut feeling?
Gyokeres scored 21 goals in Championship in 22/23. (his best tally there)
Mitrovic scored 43 goals in Championship in 21/22.
How are you getting the notion he's all that?
Guardiola had Zlatan at Barca and said "No, thank you". But you lot think we should change for Gyokeres. For real.
At this point any serious Arsenal player should seek out their professional trainers to get them into the best shape possible. The replacements for Shad and O’Driscoll are clearly not up to it, and whatever game prep the club is doing isn’t protecting the players.
These aren’t impact injuries, just a plethora of soft tissue strains and tears. If any player is serious about their career they’d better go get their own medical team.
What’s going on at the Emirates clearly isn’t cutting it
"You’re busy slandering a striker for not thriving in anti-football, while handing Arteta a full hall pass for actively sabotaging our league chances. Gyokeres lives on space, channel runs, chaos behind defences. At Sporting? 3-4-3, transitions, oxygen. At Arsenal? Hoof it into a low block and act shocked when it looks like a hostage situation."
The most liked comment compares the way Sporting and Amorim played in Portugal to the PL where in most games 11 players defend deep against us.
First, 90% of the teams in Portugal are shocking.
Second, Amorim's style is doing wonders at Manure, I see.
Third, the amount of times Gyokeres tries to overpower a defender, that trick used to work in Portugal, but falls on his arse here, is off the charts.
Four, how do you find space against teams defending deep?! They don't even attack us sometimes, or at best, commit 2 or 3 players with the rest remaining in their positions.
Teams in the PL don't open up against us cause they know they'll take a spanking.
Teams in the CL play more open, and that's why we destroy our opponents more often. That's why Martinelli still excels in CL but is quite useless in the PL in normal conditions (when there's no space).
What most of you think on the matter is unrealistic. You want us to attack in transition when there are barely any counters available for us.
Gyokeres is fit for a counterattacking team, hence he should have joined Manure who have a history with the long balls of Bruno now and Pogba before or West Ham, or Brentford. Not Arsenal. He's a horrible fit and he'll never work. Blaming Arteta for it is like blaming the cold weather in Iceland.
Gyokeres and the current Arsenal are a mismatch. And I'm sorry, there isn't a single top club Gyokeres would have transferred to if it wasn't for the Berta special. He's not of the required quality.
I'm in pain because Arsenal fans go on a crusade for an average player - against Saka, Ode, Arteta and co. To defend him. When it was perfectly fine criticizing other players before. For Gyokeres of all. You all got wedded to an idea that exists only in your minds.
"If we get a new manager that has a clue about attacking play and systems, Gyokeres will thrive. I'm 100% sure of that."
Just above Mystic is in a way calling for Arteta's head just in the rare event we make that shocking striker work. But I'm the one who needs to grow up. Why is no one calling out opinions such as his?
pup said he was going to rotate for the cup game focusing on the EPL game at the weekend.
Let's see if our General gets it right, if not, $h*ty will most surely pass us in the next 2 weeks.
Jesus I just remembered we scored 96 goals in 2023/24 season and only 69 last season. For good measure we had 34 goals against us last season and 29 in 2023/24. We our on course for 69 goals again this season we might be the second best attack force in the league but we pail in comparison to city and even to our past selves.
Question had to be asked what were doing in 2023/2024? That we aren’t doing now
No Havertz up front.
So Maresca can play his 2nd string in the mickey mouse cup, but Arteta can't?
Szobi out with a hammer injury until February according to reports. Good news. Will miss our game.
Has played a lot this season
What kind of behavior is this?? Celebrating a rival player's injury???? My goodness!!!
Why not? He didn't wish him the injury. He's just happy a vital player for an opponent won't be available.
Crazy how Manchester United scored 4 goals to earn just a point while Arsenal scored none and still walked away with 3 points.
Havertz is coming back just in time to give our raptora a very special Christmas present.
We need all the help we can get right now so lets hope Santa comes good for raptora.
With White and Mosquera both out, I wonder who's the next in line to back Timber at RB over the next month. The Dutch has clocked a lot of minutes already and the week off at the moment is more than welcome. But with us playing 8 games over the next month, and with two of them being a League Cup game against Palace and in the FA Cup against Portsmouth (both at home), he's ought to get a break in some of the games. The 4 PL games in 12 or 13 days between Dec 27 to Jan 8 will be so testing.
Let’s have full rotation in both cups. I’ve had enough of “respecting the competition” and then having injured and fatigued players for our main goals.
I’m not saying I don’t want to win, but I am saying I’d rather lose with the 2nd/3rd squad than win with the 1st squad. We have to make mature prioritization decisions, and sometimes those are painful.
Then don't f'n play Timber in those cup games.
Pompey in FA Cup is Away
Correct!
I have been very harsh on gyo and I don’t think he is the top quality striker we need but rather could be good enough to be a second striker he is more welbeck than Ian wright. HOWEVER, we don’t play to his strengths remember the balls odegaard used to deliver to aubameyang aka through balls/ balls over the top and balls into space this is gyo bread and butter for some reason instead of delivering passes we pass backwards and sideways. That’s on the manager not on gyo and not on odegaard who looks like that’s been coached out of his game.
Now the manager came out in the conference after the game saying we don’t play enough passes to gyo but i get the feeling that’s not the players fault but how they been coached in training so they have these negative no risk bad habits ingrained.
Arteta has to bring more sauce and let the players train more adventure plays in training so they can translate that to the match.
SkySports
Martin Zubimendi was not in Arsenal open training this morning, but it's said he was doing work elsewhere. Not the first time his training load has been managed this season.
Still no Havertz or Gabriel. Today is Arsenal's first day back training post-Wolves after two days off.
_________________________________
HandofArsenal & AFCAMDEN
Kai Havertz is targeting the remaining December fixtures as a possible return. The German international’s reintegration will be managed carefully but he is pushing hard to make an appearance before the year closes out. Cautious optimism but one to watch.
Gabriel Magalhães will miss Everton but he is pushing just like Havertz. He is very close to making a return.
If Zubi misses out on Everton due to injury, it would be the only way he gets rest!
it will be very interesting to see what happens to villa
I know many on here don’t believe in xG and its vailidity. but if you look at the numbers you can suggest that villa will be falling very deeply. they should be nowhere near the top, they overplay their xG by 6, xGA by 6 and xP by 15 points. statistically they are just lucky as hell, winning when they should draw and drawing when they should lose. I wonder what’s gonna happen with don unai, the underlying stats tell us a different story to their league position
Villa - 17th in net spend over last five years ( 1/10 of Arsenal’s) and 7th highest wages.
If they finish top five Villa will have overachieved.
They are NOT title contenders.
They should’ve made CL last season if not for inept ref on the last day and that’s their limits.
Funny how often we complain about other clubs higher wages or transfer spend when it suits us , but avoid the topic like a plague when it doesn’t.
I absolutely don’t care how they perform or how many points they have as long as they don’t come in our way. whatever net spend or wages - I don’t care either.
what I wnated to point out is that it look like they are gonna drop and if they do it shows that xG isn’t as unreliable as many here argue especially with bigger sample sizes like a whole season
I don’t think anyone would argue xG is useless over longer period of time.
Unlike arguing we should’ve won because we edged the xG in one particular game, which could be a complete nonsense.
I don't care about Villa other than when we play them. I respect them for trying to punch above their weight. You're correct they should have qualified for the CL last season.
Last one Rap then I leave you in peace
Kai Hervatz
Chance Volume for Arsenal: Havertz's xG/90 (approx 0.45) and his high total of 21 Big Chances Received show that, while not reaching Haaland's absolute peak volume, he was the primary target man for Arsenal last season. His volume is very similar to what Gyökeres is producing this year, suggesting this is the maximum a striker will receive in the current Arsenal system.
Aerial Strength: His excellent 3.1 Aerial Duels Won per 90 indicates he was a focal point for long balls and set pieces, even more so than the other pure strikers top of the table.
Finishing: His near-zero G - xG (\approx -0.02) suggests his finishing was statistically average for a top striker, which is generally considered a good level. The high number of BCM (12) confirms he was not as clinical as Haaland or the efficient Merino
https://understat.com/player/8260
Haaland for City in the PL (non-penalty stats):
xG 87.5, goals scored 84
https://understat.com/player/5220
Havertz for Arsenal in the PL (non-penalty stats):
xG 24.53, goals scored 21
The numbers are not nearly close, but neither are the minutes played at CF.
9450 mins for Haaland, compared to 2750 mins for Havertz.
There are a plenty of things he gives us in addition to scoring.
Rap, right now you're just arguing for the sake of it. No one is happy about Gyokeres' performance and we are trying to understand why. Up to now all you have said about the guy is he's slow, fat and has a poor touch.
What about his finishing? Can you say he's a poor finisher? If yes - why?
Someone pulled together a ~9 minute clip , apparently going viral on X, showing a myriad of runs Gyokeres has made this season and yet somehow ignored by his teammates without even an attempt to pass or make a through ball...
Only saw 2 instances involving Odegaard and Martinelli... ummm , put it this way, both should be reprimanded whoever the runner was! Potential points vaporised!
If this were the norm in Arteta's 2025/26 version of "the system", Gyokeres might as well pack up now ... 'cos the system, whatever it is, doesn't want a striker lol
Gyokeres absolutely needs to step up in the PL, even Haaland had to upon joining City, and evolve; however, it's meant to be 2 way street, no?
If we get a new manager that has a clue about attacking play and systems, Gyokeres will thrive. I'm 100% sure of that. Not best in terms of technique but he's sure a good player
Let's sack Arteta and start playing like Man United. For the remote possibility Gyokeres works out. Let's play end to end football and finish 4-4. Manure's goal difference is +4 btw. 30-26.
"I'm 100% sure of that."
100% sure based on scoring goals in the Championship and the Portuguese league. We're talking about a 27 yo player btw in his first season in a top league. He looks shocking. 100% sure based on what? A gut feeling?
Gyokeres scored 21 goals in Championship in 22/23. (his best tally there)
Mitrovic scored 43 goals in Championship in 21/22.
How are you getting the notion he's all that?
Guardiola had Zlatan at Barca and said "No, thank you". But you lot think we should change for Gyokeres. For real.
At this point any serious Arsenal player should seek out their professional trainers to get them into the best shape possible. The replacements for Shad and O’Driscoll are clearly not up to it, and whatever game prep the club is doing isn’t protecting the players.
These aren’t impact injuries, just a plethora of soft tissue strains and tears. If any player is serious about their career they’d better go get their own medical team.
What’s going on at the Emirates clearly isn’t cutting it
100 percent!
Mike beasts players into the ground when its not necessary. Less is more!
"You’re busy slandering a striker for not thriving in anti-football, while handing Arteta a full hall pass for actively sabotaging our league chances. Gyokeres lives on space, channel runs, chaos behind defences. At Sporting? 3-4-3, transitions, oxygen. At Arsenal? Hoof it into a low block and act shocked when it looks like a hostage situation."
The most liked comment compares the way Sporting and Amorim played in Portugal to the PL where in most games 11 players defend deep against us.
First, 90% of the teams in Portugal are shocking.
Second, Amorim's style is doing wonders at Manure, I see.
Third, the amount of times Gyokeres tries to overpower a defender, that trick used to work in Portugal, but falls on his arse here, is off the charts.
Four, how do you find space against teams defending deep?! They don't even attack us sometimes, or at best, commit 2 or 3 players with the rest remaining in their positions.
Teams in the PL don't open up against us cause they know they'll take a spanking.
Teams in the CL play more open, and that's why we destroy our opponents more often. That's why Martinelli still excels in CL but is quite useless in the PL in normal conditions (when there's no space).
What most of you think on the matter is unrealistic. You want us to attack in transition when there are barely any counters available for us.
Gyokeres is fit for a counterattacking team, hence he should have joined Manure who have a history with the long balls of Bruno now and Pogba before or West Ham, or Brentford. Not Arsenal. He's a horrible fit and he'll never work. Blaming Arteta for it is like blaming the cold weather in Iceland.
Gyokeres and the current Arsenal are a mismatch. And I'm sorry, there isn't a single top club Gyokeres would have transferred to if it wasn't for the Berta special. He's not of the required quality.
You're not pained because of what he said but because people liked what he said and ignored yours
Grow up bro
I'm in pain because Arsenal fans go on a crusade for an average player - against Saka, Ode, Arteta and co. To defend him. When it was perfectly fine criticizing other players before. For Gyokeres of all. You all got wedded to an idea that exists only in your minds.
"If we get a new manager that has a clue about attacking play and systems, Gyokeres will thrive. I'm 100% sure of that."
Just above Mystic is in a way calling for Arteta's head just in the rare event we make that shocking striker work. But I'm the one who needs to grow up. Why is no one calling out opinions such as his?
Rap
You're the only one I have seen here talking about people liking others post
This isn't the first time,it obvious you may be looking for validation but I have to tell you all that doesn't matter at all
We are just fans with different opinion on a blog nothing more
No one likes your contributions and you’re struggling to make friends on the internet.
Go cry to your imaginary wife about it.
You're weird with the personal remarks. Your choice.
Get more upset about other people’s opinions being popular while yours aren’t. Weirdo.
If by some chance a GEM pops up, we should consider this. Our season might depend on that one piece.