Premiership 3th/4th April 2021

Well it has been a while since I blogged! however that does not mean I haven't been following the football world. Let me start with Arsenal awful match against Liverpool! this was probably their worst match in a long time! I personally blame the coach Arteta, as soon as a I saw the line up he had put up against Liverpool I knew that it would be a super challenging match!

Arsenal's problem for the last 13 years has been the back 4 pairing! Wenger consistently made the same mistakes and he never seemed to learn from the losses. It seems Arteta has also developed this terrible trait! I went back and reviewed all the back 4 line ups since January 2021 and never once has Arteta played Chambers and Holding together in the back four. 

These two are inexperienced  and are no way ready for this level of football both seemed unsure of their role. Gabriel who has been consistently fantastic had an awful day and was primarily responsible for goal 3. Kieran Tierney who has been consistently excellent for the last three months, went off injured and once Tierney went off the floodgates opened. 

Arsenal midfield and strikeforce had a very poor day and barely had a strike on target, what was especially annoying was that this match was played at the home ground of Arsenal but without any fans. Which quite frankly would probably have made little difference!

Elsewhere Chelsea got hammered 5 2 by West Bromwich which was truly shocking! Chelsea have had a awful season which has really surprised me. A bit like Arsenal they are also in transitional season. This I think has impacted on their season. 

Manchester City  beat Leicester city 2 0 which was another straight forward win for them and this win took them a step closer to winning the premiership title. Manchester City have been very consistent this season and their consistency has paid off.

Manchester United beat   Brighton 2  this was an excellent win for Man U again Marcus Rashford was front and centre of their attacks and without him I really believe they would struggle. This not a very strong team but they have still managed to get the wins when they needed it. 

Tottenham  and Newcastle drew 2 2 this has been a difficult season for Spurs and they are also struggling with consistency and they should be winning games that they are losing or drawing which is also quite surprising. 

Premiership 13th/14th February

 Another weekend of the premiership and this time Arsenal got back to winning ways! Beating Leeds United  by 4 2 and Arsenal really needed this win, we are still stuck in 10th place but it  has also stopped a run of bad results. 

Arsenal where hungry for the win and Saka was my man of the match he played so well and kept the tempo of the game. Towards end of  the game Arsenal started loose concentration and that encouraged Leeds to score two goals but then Arsenal refocused and held on for this vital win.

Elsewhere it has been bad weekend for Liverpool and Tottenham who where on the end of a hammering! Manchester City beat Tottenham 3 goals to win. This was a bit a shock to me as Tottenham started the season well. But like Arsenal they have had a few losses recently and at some point they where even top of the league.

Liverpool also had a shocking loss to Leicester and as Liverpool won the title last year and dominated in the early past of the season their loss of form has been a little surprising. 

Manchester United had a surprising one all draw to West Brom which also was not expected and Man U have been dropping points recently, however as they where real title challengers, their recent loss of form in the premiership might really impact on their chances to win the league as they are now ten points behind Manchester City.  

Chelsea are also back to winning ways and they beat Newcastle by two goals to nil and after a loss of form and a new manager they seems like they too have gone back to their winning ways. 

I think the Covid 19 restrictions is probably having a some impact on teams like Arsenal and Liverpool who fans might motivate them to victory.  Now we are past the half way point of the season and Arsenal some how have to find a way to finish at top five to help them qualify for the European Cup..

Australian Open - so far

 Well I didn’t manage to do my daily blog like I had planned, but what a tournament it has been!it has started of really positive and I was super happy as my personal favourites Venus and Serena Williams and Heather Watson all did really well to reach round two. 

Then both Heather Watson and Venus Williams went out in the first round and that was very disappointing to say the least, however I was still enjoying have Serena Williams and Rafa Nadal in the tournament.

Serena had been doing really well and seemed super fit and was serving well and chasing down incredible balls. Then yesterday she had a semi final match with Naomi Osaka and she started of reasonably well. 

Then all of a sudden her serve started to fail to her and then she started making all these unforced errors. It was all rather painful to watch and across the court their stood Naomi Osaka the younger and fitter version of Serena. 

In my heart in knew it would be a big stretch for Serena to win this tournament. As really and truly age is not on her side at 39, she fitness level is different and as I have watched her for over 20 years I know she cannot be at the top forever I don’t want to stop believing that shed can still win Grand Slams. 

Rafael Nadal was two sets up and ended up losing it in five sets! That too was a super shock but I am also confident that Rafa will come back and do better next time.

So  Naomi Osaka will take on American Jennifer Brady in the final and I wish her well. Naomi is working hard and showing all the traits of a champion.

Australian Open 2021 day 1

 So tennis is back! Serena Williams  played her first match in about 4 months and was  energetic and fit! But as we know with Serena it is all about the mind!

 Yes she got first round out of the way very easily but as we know with Serena the further into the slam she goes  for some reason mentally it becomes a problem.

I would love Serena to win her 24tth slam but time is really not on her side.. COVID-19 has really been a disaster for people and sports men and women. Hopefully will be  tournament that Serena wins her 24 title and the pressure will be off. 

Elsewhere Venus got a really excellent win! I honestly think it’s amazing that Venus has the motivation and stamina to keep going at 40! 

I have wanted Venus to retire for years because I didn’t want her to tarnish her legacy however she keeps proving sceptics like me wrong. 

Naomi Osaka got a very good first round win, I am beginning to like her style of play more.I suppose the day Venus and Serena retire she will be on of  minority players carry on the good work of Venus and  Serena. 

Premership 6th and 7th February

 Another weekend of premiership football and two consecutive losses for Arsenal it looks like the wheels have come of again!

 These losses are making no sense now Arteta is playing the same team consistently and some how we can’t seem to win a game.

Arsenal are definitely set for mid team mediocrity unless something really changes in next few weeks. I am relieved we are no longer hovering around the relegation zone but annoyed that we are not taking our chances.

Elsewhere Manchester United had a weird draw with Everton.. considering they beat Southampton 9 nil to then have 3 all draw to Everton is a little strange.

Wheels also seem to be coming off for Liverpool, last season they won the title and barely lost a match but this season they have been losing a few more matches.

Manchester City seems to be the team this season with a bit more consistency now leading the premiership and five points ahead of Manchester rivals. 

I think this season the title could probably with anyone in the top four unless Manchester City start to pull away. 

Now that we are 23games into the season this what you call the business end of the season and these next few weeks are where titles are won and lost.

Premiership weekend 30/31st January 2021

 This weekend was a big weekend for Arsenal as we played against Manchester United. Now considering our position in the league, I was just hoping that we would not loose badly.

I have to say I was very surprised about how well we played! There where a few scary moments and a fantastic defensive header by Martinelli when Marcus Rashford was poised to score.

We even had a few clear scoring chances which we did not take. But the positives that came out of it was that Arsenal held strong. 

Elsewhere Manchester City had a good win against Sheffield United, Liverpool got a good win against West Ham which keep both Manchester City and Liverpool in the top three.

The shock of the weekend was Tottenham losing by a goal to nil to Brighton. I think wheels as well and truly come of Tottenham title challenge. I could be wrong but they seems to be slipping down the table and they will be joining Arsenal in the mid table table. 

After sacking Frank Lampard, Chelsea have remembered how to score goals but I honestlyI an not impressed with their team this year.. It does seem a little like cobbled together team. 

So the this is the weeks review don’t forget to subscribe to my blog. 

FA Cup

 So last weekend was FA Cup weekend and to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t particularly bothered whether Arsenal won or lost. However when they did lose by an own goal to Southampton, I was fuming!

 I finally thought the team had turned a corner and put behind them  these silly losses. So it was a bit of shock see to us giving away silly goals. 

Chelsea had a good solid win against Luton then promptly sacked Frank Lampard which seemed a little insane to me. Arsenal have had a poor start to the season yet Arteta doesn’t seem like he is anywhere close to being sacked.

Man U beat Liverpool and as per usual Marcus Rashford was front and centre of everything.. The wheels seems to coming of a bit for  Liverpool considering how dominant they where last season. They might be struggling the weight of expectation to do well. 

Now Arsenal are out of  the FA Cup I will do my best to still blog about the FA Cup.

Premier league

 Okay we are at the halfway stage of the Premier league and as a Arsenal fan. This season has been truly a wake up call! As a fan for over 30 years I can never remember us being so close to relegation... we are still not totally out of woods!

Obviously Mikel Arteta went for a very young team and I think it has been a very steep learning curve of them. We now conceding less goals but still not particularly prolific up front. 

However saying that I really hope we have turned a corner and we hopefully end up with at least a top ten finish!

Elsewhere Manchester United seems have got their act together now they are top of the league after their draw with Liverpool today.

Which brings to good old Marcus Rashford.. now I literally have no time for Manchester United but I can’t help but be inspired and impressed by Marcus and activism of the pitch. 

I think it’s great especially when tabloid newspapers have enjoyed making footballers look entitled and out of touch so his championing of free school meals has transcended the sport. 

Chelsea and Tottenham look they are also in a for a difficult season. I think especially Chelsea look like they are going to struggle this season.. their serious lack of world class players is something I haven’t seen in a Chelsea team for like 20 years.

Liverpool have become very consistent and I would not be surprised if they won the league again. They clearly have the world class players and excellent team unit and a fantastic manager. 

It is very painful that the Arsenal are probably about 5 years behind Liverpool. Arsenal haven’t  won premier league title in nearly twenty years and realistically without being negative I can’t see another premier title for at least another three to five years. 

But yes this 2020/2021 has finally got my attention and I look forward to blogging more regularly now😁