Worth also mentioning Saka’s goal and assist both off his weaker foot. So many players, and very good players, would have taken the extra touch once they’d gone round the gk as they simply wouldn’t have trusted their weak foot to control that finish. Similarly for the cross, Saka is so good on the right because he is not scared of putting it in first time with his weak foot, there was only one way lacazette scored that goal and it is a first time cross in that exact place, with that exact pace, away from the gk and bisecting the two defenders.

Both goal and assist are made to look very simple but they really weren’t

Which adds credence to his claim that he meant that one against Chelsea!

I'm convinced anyway.

Or perhaps Messi is also trying to cross half the time he knocks it into the net? Similarly, perhaps Ronaldo is often just trying knock it into row Z to waste time and fails to get under it and it flies into the top corner? Some of their goals look pretty improbable.

Me too, regarding that goal against Chelsea. The nearest teammate to the far post where Saka put it in with his right foot was, in my view, too far away for claims that he simply mishit a cross to him to be credible. Especially, as he showed with his goal today, he’s competent with his right foot despite being left footed.

And yet you start a moan about moans

I think that by going out of the FA Cup we get a full weeks rest between the two midweek europa league games against Benfica.

I was more nervous about not having Tierney than Aubameyang last night. It seemed that Tierney gave us that Nat ur al left sided balance as well as his very good performances. I need not have worried for two reasons, Cédric was fantastic and Pépé gave us that natural left footed balance with Cédric on the underlap, the opposite to how Tierney and Aubameyang work.
If we played Saka and Pépé as wingers earlier in the season it might have been Pépé on the right.

The commentator said we have not won 3 consecutive league games since --------- and I couldn't hear what he said. Must have been a few years I assume.

I suspected that once we started playing well as a team Pépé and Willian's performances would get better. We haven't turned the corner completely despite the results. But we are heading there. Let's see how consistently good we are, especially against the better sides at the top of the table.

We may want to convert Pépé to Lacazette's role if Lacazette goes. He can play through the middle and his dribbling seems to throw central defenders off, turns them wrong side of the player.

If Willian starts get going, we'll have a decent attack. We'll look more solid at the back with Gabriel back as well as Tierney. Cédric is making a name for himself as well. The player who I feel will be transformative is Martinelli. Not to the degree Aubameyang is but if he stays fit and gets a run of games I think he'll be huge.

Great result, excellent performance.

Saka must be on the radar of every big club in the world now. Thankfully Barca have money issues and I think Real have their sights set on Mbappe or Haaland.

PSG or Bayern might be a problem though.

Barca have cracked the code with transfers; you can make as many expensive signings as you want, as long as you never pay the selling club. Brilliant stuff.

Saka is under contract till 2024 and I think Covid has turned the transfer market on its head. I think unless he himself gets pissed off at Arsenal there’s Not much risk.

Any clues on PEA's problems?

I was wondering that. Family issues, isn’t it? Wonder what family issues it is?

Hopefully nothing serious. Possibly a bereavement

Dare I say I thought we looked more balanced without him in the Side?

I’m not advocating dropping him he’s a great player but I thought our front 3 all had a great game and seemed to know their roles yesterday.if you play Aubameyang on the left if you aren’t playing the right type of passes behind the defence he’s wasted there and that wasn’t the case with Pépé who is a handful

Nice goal by Jack in the FA Cup last night. Pleased for him. Hope that this is the new start that he needs and deserves.

I was thinking about that. As Rich suggested before the game, the Pépé, Lacazette, Saka frontline looks good, especially Pépé on the left. All look natural in their positions. One wouldn't want to drop any of them. It's a nice 'problem' to have options when we've got so many games coming up! Our over-reliance on Aubameyang for goals was badly exposed during our poor run, so it is great that the other forwards are finding their shooting boots. Martinelli will hopefully get gametime too.

If it’s a bereavement it’s pretty damn serious for the deceased. Health of a close relative maybe? A divorce?

The great EU is no match for Great Britain

Brexit LIVE: Make them pay! EU faces £200m punishment bill as UK business turns on bloc
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics ... ms-fishing

It's not quite going the right way is it?
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics


And wee Twankie bites the dust as well
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/13893 ... ndence-spt

Sorry Bernard you read that wrong I wasn’t suggesting that death is minor issue just I hoped it wasn’t something serious it I could be.

By the way death isn’t serious depending on your personal beliefs. I personally believe in reincarnation and am hoping to come back as a bird of prey

Do you? Seriously?

No

That's disappointing, TG. I am actually planning to be reincarnated as a bird of prey, and I was hoping not to be left on my Pat Malone.

Finally a proper no 11 in the squad once more. Can we please never give it to a defensive midfielder again.

Whenever I used to see Grealish play for Aston Villa I was always a bit surprised he was allowed to have his socks nearer his ankles than his knees. It was clear he didn’t wear shin pads on his upper shins. For the sake of protecting players from serious injury I’d have thought there’d be some sort of official or Premier League rule saying shin pads had to be worn. Or Villa would have told him to wear them.

I’ve noticed over the last two or three games that Smith Rowe is now doing the same as Grealish. Seems silly. Shin pads are worn for a reason, not decoration. But Arsenal are presumably taking the same lax attitude on this as Aston Villa and letting him do it.

I don't know a lot about this loaned player other than he's an attacking midfielder. I assume he plays through the middle rather than the wings. Yes?

Yes, I would say he's definitely a central player. Not very quick from what I've seen, but very good technique and a great left foot. My view of him is a pretty classical playmaking number 10.

Never heard of this former academy player.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... dium=email

Ødegaard signs - good news.

I think this has been a very good window for Arsenal. It has been refreshing to see sensible and decisive decisions being made.

In the build up to the window most fans biggest concern was the lack of creativity in the side, then Smith-Rowe broke through and our concerns moved towards over reliance on him and over playing him, so Ødegaard on loan is sensible. We may go back in the summer or we may move for other targets but either way it helps us right now without over committing.

As well as that we came in with concerns if anything happened to Leno, Runarsson had looked a bit out of his depth so bringing Mat Ryan in on loan is another sensible move. He might not start a single game for us but that doesn't matter. Another position we can revisit in the summer but that we've fixed for now.

Then outgoings for Özil, Sokratis, Kolasinac - and possibly Mustafi.

Still a few murmurings we're looking at back up left back options but they may die down after Cédric's performance last night.

In the summer then we will lose Luiz and Ceballos and Mustafi. Decisions will also need to be made on Elneny, Kolasinac, Nketiah, Chambers and Lacazette. Also we need to make decisions on Nelson, Willock with possible loans and on the future of AMN who may become the sacrifice to raise funds. Not forgetting Torreira and Guendouzi currently on loan. That's 10 players with questions marks over them, and the only one of that 10 who is making any sort of case for staying is Lacazette.

As for incoming players as a minimum we need to be looking at a No.2 GK, creative mid, centre mid (to replace the 3 loan players we have) then review the rest of the squad depending on departures.

I hope he works out. Can't wait to see him and how Arteta uses him.

Ceballos helped in sealing the deal apparently.

Can't underestimate how important Leno's penalty save against Chelsea was to our season. If that match had gone to 3-2 with 3/4 stoppage time minutes still to go it would have been panic stations and I'm pretty sure we'd have conceded, given our fragile confidence at the time. To have given up a 3-0 lead could have had dire consequences for the rest of the season, especially with Fat Sam running off his mouth at the time.

Good work Bernd.

His name doesn't ring a bell. Often these headlines are "Ex-Arsenal....." when they've never got anywhere near the first team because it generates a lot more clicks than saying "Ex-Bradford winger......"

I'm sure I remember seeing him play in the FA Youth cup. Anyway, good riddance.

In the interview he mentions he is a fan of Fabregas' style of play. I like this boy! Which presumably tells me where he is playing on the pitch. We really do need someone dynamic in the middle.
Its looking like a decent spine. Leno, Gabriel (with Holding), Partey, this loanee, Aubameyang, Martinelli. Hmm...maybe even a squad that can go a bit far into Europa cup.

He's probably going to get thrown into the deep end is my guess.

PEA does have a brother. Hopefully nothing Covid related or other health issue within his family.

Aubameyang has just posted on social media that it was his mother who was quite ill, he said she is much better now, thanks the doctors and well-wishers and that he is returning (assume to London) tonight.

Good news on that then for his mother. Hopefully Aubameyang will be in Saturday's match.

Yeah Bradford is less worthy of such sensational publicity within the ranks.