@arseblog.com @gunnerblog.bsky.social Andrew I’m sure you’re dying to know this. But the reason Eze picked the spinaroonie is because one of Booker T’s catchphrases was “5 times!!!! 5 times!!!! 5 times!!!”

In the 18 games before 1 January (ignoring Old Trafford in the opening game), Arsenal averaged 8.8 shots per game more than they conceded. In the 8 games since 1 January, Arsenal only average 4.6 shots per game more than they concede.

NEW: Thoughts after the debacle of Wolves. On the players losing their heads, Arteta's struggles to keep them on track, poor team selection, the lack of calm in possession, and the fact there's still time to correct course. likeanewsletter.substack.com/p/keep-the-b...

I have a job interview today

Saka in midfield: yes, good, fun That front three with Martinelli backed up by Hincapié: why?

Okay, this is quite outstanding from Bedford Council.

You wouldn't think it from the reactions tonight but Man City and Arsenal have both taken 13 points from their respective last eight Premier League matches. The players have to put this behind them and go and win on Sunday. We're five points clear, the title is still in our own hands.

The narrative of Arsenal as title bottlers didn’t really stand up to much examination before this season. But it doesn’t matter what I think. And this Arsenal team are playing like one that believes all the critiques and jibes of them.

The Arsenal ‘bottlers’ narrative has not been accurate at all in the last three seasons and has been a symptom of a media landscape that has allowed 17 year old twitter trolls to infect what should be superior analysis. But there’s no hiding place from it this season, that’s for sure.

I agree we are playing too conservative but then it’s completely crazy that we Keele starting a front 3 who can’t keep the ball or who all need space to run into. What’s the point of it? It’s two extremes crashing into each other

Some of this is mental. But the main issue is a lack of balance and cohesion. When you have to work harder as an individual and don’t feel comfortable the nerves will get to you. The best way to stop that is to set up in a way that feels liberating

Go back to basics on Sunday. Odegaard, saka, Trossard. Calaflori. Or if he can’t play 90. White at RB

I think you can tell that Arteta is struggling by the fact we have played 4 different options as out number 10/left 8 and no of them saw us play well for 90 minutes in a PL game

Yesterday, I published a 9,000-word critique of the Arsenal attack, with thoughts on how to improve the selections and the groupings. Here's how it ended:

Have to delete the other app after results like that. Thank fuck I have no football pals at work anymore

League titles do not fall into laps, they have to be won, they have to be claimed. And this group of players doesn't look like it believes it can do those things. Still plenty of time but they have got to snap out of it immediately, they've thrown away the cushion they'd given themselves.

10 shots against a team Forest took 35 against a week ago

Also why has he stopped the 60/30 full back rule?

To play Saka in a 10 with that front 3 is so stupid. What the hell can he do with it? He can’t okay quick passes. They won’t make movements to create space for him

It’s punishment to the max but it’s due to the manager ignoring relationships and balance.

This is genuinely fucking mental

I don’t know what timber has to do to be subbed? In the last two games he has been awful on the ball but also not good off it. He isn’t winning his one on ones

Selection issues compound. You're unable to push the advantage in the first half, then you have the wrong profiles available in the second half. Players look "off" when they are not put in situations to succeed. I love Arteta. But he is not seeing many of his players clearly.

That’s being kind. We are playing like early Arteta. This is similar to the lockdown season but with a much better squad

Think so much of this season can be seen through the prism of an attack which is missing its three best players in Saka, Odegaard and Havertz. They’ve not been fit or at their best at all this season. The summer should have lessened the reliance upon them, it didn’t.

Arsenal before/after Bueno's goal: Possession - 61.4% / 50.8% Pass completion - 85% / 77% Final 1/3 passes (for-against) - 98-31 / 32-19 This team is not good enough at taking the sting out of games with possession.

Tonight. If you want to try Saka at 10 fine. But you have to start either Jesus or Trossard. You can’t play that front 3 as there is no real creator in the side

Yeah their first goal is a good strike. But why is no one closing him down? What happened to the team who didn’t let in shots on target? Let alone goals

The whole bottlers shite is overdone. We haven’t been that the last 3 seasons. But we have been this calendar year

We have a big squad yet everyone is knackered. We refuse to sub off fullbacks who can’t run. We end the game with no Saka, Odegaard on the pitch. It’s just terrible management

Obviously that’s really poor from Raya. But we just shouldn’t be in this position. At 2-1 with wolves pushing and turning the ball over for fun there were so many opportunities to create and we did fuck all

Don't even have the words for what I've just seen. One of those results where you want to ignore your phone, close your laptop and bin this sport forever. Not a single brain cell between anyone in red that second half.

A proper team is 12 points ahead. We will now be 2 going into a derby

This is the first time since August I don’t think we win the league. And it’s at the point where I don’t see us winning anything. Something has to change. And it needs to be drastic

That's disastrous. Heads have been gone for a month, maybe more, and it's increasingly difficult to see it getting corrected.

Play at least one full back who can progress the ball. Stop playing all the runners or all the people who come to the ball in the front 3. Play Rice as a 6 against fodder with two creative 8s

The last 6 weeks is on the manager. He has become so risk adverse in our set up and style that we are back to 2020/21 style football. And that doesn’t win you leagues.

Arsenal are going to win the league and it’s going to be a miserable experience whether you love us or hate us.

Well worth the police locking up thousands for holding up signs

If we are to win the league. We need our key players to stay fit. You can’t win the league without you best creators and striker being injured for large chunks of the season. No matter how large a squad you have

In a game where a clean sheet meant victory, Arsenal didn't concede an open play shot from inside the box from the 7th minute until the 97th minute.

@arseblog.com @philcosta.bsky.social can the 30 include AFCON this week?

We should’ve won that game. The finishing in the first half was pathetic. We had so many shots coming from within the width of the goal

Spot the difference. Me and Robbie at the same age

Haven’t been on here since Tuesday. I’m so proud of my boy and my nation

Happy Kieran Tierney, Happy me. Happy Scotland ! 🥹❤️

Kenny McLean sums it up. What an international break. Scotland are off to the World Cup! 📸 Russell Cheyne

Kenny McLean sends Scotland to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1998. I love sports. This is what it’s all about.

Beyond Man City, other clubs which profit directly from emirati patronage should ask themselves some inconvenient questions; and if they do not of their own accord, we fans should be pressuring them into doing so. These other clubs very much include Arsenal FC. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Sunderland bound