As It Happened – Gunners Hold Fourth
Feb 27th, 2019 by 'holic
Unai Emery made six changes from the team that beat Southampton, explaining that he needed players with “more energy” tonight. It took Mesut Ozil just over three minutes to open our account when put clear in the inside-left channel by Sead Kolasinac. Just the start needed to lift a far from full house.
The Arsenal 1-0 Bournemouth
Eddie Howe reacted early on by strengthening his midfield. That enabled them to get a little more of the ball and King headed Mepham’s cross just over the bar. Then Fraser burst clear to be denied by the sprawling Bernd Leno. Laurent Koscielny superbly blocked the rebound effort from Gosling. Bournemouth were giving due warning that the balance of this game was changing.
Just past twenty-six minutes Smith surrendered possession with a needless crossfield pass, Henrikh Mkhitaryan played a one-two with Ozil, and slammed home the second.
The Arsenal 2-0 Bournemouth
The Arsenal almost immediately repaid the favour. Matteo Guendouzi was mugged in the box and Mousset slotted home Gosling’s pass. Some poor defending on show at both ends.
The Arsenal 2-1 Bournemouth
At the other end Guendouzi attempted to make amends, the ball fell to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and his goal-bound strike was blocked. Bournemouth countered, King went down in the box, and saw yellow for the dive.
Sokratis clattered into Fraser and was rightly penalised with the second yellow card of the night. The referee, Chris Kavanagh, was enjoying a good opening half, unlike a number of the players around him. I’ll bet you didn’t expect me to write that! Despite ramping up the pressure for the remainder of the half the Gunners advantage remained as slender as it gets.
It didn’t take long for us to extend that advantage in the second-half. Ozil sent Mkhitaryan scampering clear on the right and from his cross Koscielny’s deflected effort restored our two goal advantage.
The Arsenal 3-1 Bournemouth
Ozil almost made it four, hitting the frame of the goal with a superb effort from the right. After Gosling hit the Gunners crossbar Kolasinac was withdrawn early and Alex Iwobi was added to our armoury. Within moments we had four. Mkhitaryan, running the show with Ozil tonight, supplied the assist for Aubameyang to pull within one goal of Salah and Aguero in the hunt for the golden boot. The ‘holic pound died at the same time.
The Arsenal 4-1 Bournemouth
Mkhitaryan was withdrawn to a standing ovation and on came Alexandre Lacazette. With around half an hour to go that could not have been worse viewing for the visiting Cherries.
Unsurprisingly Lacazette had the next chance and Boruc was somewhat grateful to Ake for distracting the striker and enabling him to save the attempt. As Bournemouth attempted to break Lucas Torreira took a yellow for the team for bringing down Smith. Smith was immediately substituted, tactically not enforced, by Rico.
Aubameyang departed the contest with twenty minutes remaining to give Denis Suarez another chance to acclimatise to the Premier League. At this point it became all about not losing anybody important for Saturday’s visit to Middlesex. That didn’t stop us working our socks off. A mention at this juncture for Carl Jenkinson. I see a lot of Pat Rice in him. Not the most technically gifted of players, but gives 100% every time he appears. A great squad player.
A free-kick awarded for a chop on Torreira enabled Lacazette to produce a sumptuous finish from 23 yards out. Boruc got a hand to it but had no chance of affecting the outcome.
The Arsenal 5-1 Bournemouth
A quick glance at the scoreline at the bus stop in Fulham at this point made for daydreams. Can we get within a point of Middlesex on Saturday? Stop it, lad. Mesut teed up Lacazette for an extravagant volley that disappeared into the North Bank.
Then, horror of horrors, King’s studs reduced Koscielny to a screaming mess. Gary O’Driscoll could be seen mouthing “he’s alright” after treatment. Much relief all round. Already booked, King could consider himself fortunate.
Yes, we would be expected to beat Southampton and Bournemouth, but we haven’t always. Full marks to the boys for their first-half performance on Sunday, and their second-half performance tonight. Back at the Grove we ripped Tottenham a new one with a very special performance. Dare we dream of another on Saturday?
May the fourth (if not third) be with us.
62 Responses to “As It Happened – Gunners Hold Fourth”
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Spuds doing their best to ‘spurs it up’ hhahahahaahah
Trippier and Lloris combine on a classic Spurs-it-up OG.
Cheers H. Excellent report.
I had money on Ozil to score first in a 5-2 win. I was nearly a very rich man tonight.
Miki is starting to show what a good player he actually is- I hope his form keeps up. It looks like we are on the up but the next two games are just so big. It’s all to play for.
Blimey GSD that was a bold bet.
Were you there?
I’d have been tempted to run on
and lash one into our net with
the tail.
Crackingly quick as ever with the
report, thanks Guvnor.
Another very comprehensive report Holic. I enjoyed a very relaxed Turkish meal in Highbury Park before the game and found the game much more enjoyable than I had expected. It was nice to see Mkhitaryan play so well and he and Ozil were way too good for Bournemouth who were hopelessly naive at the back. Hopefully Guendouzi will learn from his mistake and let us hope Koscielny is indeed alright. He and Sokratis are by some distance our best central defenders .
Let’s hope we can make March a month of real progress and optimism .
Nice one, Guv’nor. As TTG says, an enjoyable game. Not a bad performance anywhere — as is often the case when you win 5-1!.
Good to see the Corporal getting a runout. I thought he was more effective as a wing back than the full back he became when we switched from three at the back to four in the second half. But you always get an honest performance from him.
I also thought Guendouzi was not just mugged but mugged with malice aforethought in the build-up to their goal. We should have had a free-kick. Otherwise, he was outstanding. If we can keep him and Torriera, we have the basis of a rock-solid midfield platform for years to come.
I also like the Kos-Sokratis pairing in the middle of the defence. Our defending looks a lot calmer when they are both there. He should have come off after he got clattered. With a 5-1 lead, we could have seen out the final three or four minutes with ten men.
Ozil’s name seemed to be being sung a lot, deservedly.
GSD should hang his tail in shame .
At half-time Cherry Bear overcame him in a penalty shootout. It took the gloss off the victory for me ?
Mkhi’s best game for us? i think so and he was the player of the match for me ahead of Mesut who was brilliant. Jenkinson also played really well and most likely his best after the bayern away game in 2013.
Sokratis and Kos is our best CB pairing till Rob comes back and Kolasinac suits the wing back role perfect as long as we have Monreal behind him. Overall a very satisfying performance and yes saturday will be good if we can start well.
Ned@6 – I agree with you about Guendouzi being fouled in their goal. Maybe only us in the North Bank had a proper view of it?
But a delicious game to watch on a mild evening. All the goals were enjoyable, but my personal favourite was Auba finally released on goal, swerving the goalie at full speed and tucking it away a la TH10. Haven’t seen the goals back (didn’t get Home until midnight thanks to all the roads I wanted to use being dug up) but I thought Laca’s free kick also superb. Am I right that four Arsenal players lined up together in the wall then all ducked to leave a soft spot?
The crowd seemed very together and happy ( and numerous ‘holic, but it took 15 minutes to fill up).
Radio full of Spurs fans bemoaning them becoming Spursy – which was nice ?.
Is it too melodramatic to say our season depends on our next four games? Four points in the league and get through against Rennes.
Just watched MOTD. Still think it was a foul on Guendouzi .
Fine report Guvna.
I must confess that we were amongst the late arrivals due to a very fine Italian meal involving an incautious second bottle of red. The roar for the first goal as we approached the stadium was both frustrating and welcome. In truth I’d happily start every game 1-0 up, 5 minutes in.
Excellent performances all round. Jobs well done. Nice ‘Xhaka-inspired’ second goal. Clear foul on Gwen before their goal. Good to see the Mkhi – BamBam axis firing again. Excellent FK goal by Laca. Hope Kos is OK. Looked bad. I agree he shouldn’t have been made to hobble around for 5 minutes at the end.
Our season defining period arrives. Go get ’em, Gunners.
Yeah, a foul on Guendouzi or “good
pressure” as the Japanese
commentator idiotically described it.
Still the decision for King’s dive went
our way 2 minutes later so small
mercies and all that.
10-1 overall in our three game home
run with three different defences will
hopefully give the defence a bit of
confidence.
Incautious second bottles of red and idiotic Japanese commentators. As per normal, different people saw the game differently, and I saw it not at all except for the goals on arsenalist. Everybody happy though I would think. Maybe happier still soon? Big question mark but the signs are better than they were previously so I will take it as cup half full if not a little more than that.
Kane will not be banned for head butting Azpilicueta. An Arsenal player doing that would have been roasted by the media and would have been banned for three games at the least. Double standards.
ooooh
5 ?
.
howdy ‘holic
it’s shite bein sick
here’s to a hearty return
have crossed the BORDER today
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/26/hard-brexit-united-ireland-second-referendum-dup
when i do
the wee tablet i use corrects my clock settings back to Greenwich Mean Time
has always done
.
or
does it know something?
Ooooooooooooooh
.
.
Amazon ?
.
.
wouldn’t put it past the cunts
.
.
.
.
.
*ruminates*
.
.
.
sellotape an elderly kindle
to everything crosses the border
.
.
.
hey hey hey
.
now
we’re on to something
.
.
you see
all it takes is for loads of person
to put his head together
.
.
.
.
probably sell that to some
and
give it to others
anyhoo
.
.
.
UP THE ARSENAL
.
.
.
.
.
.
in other news
.
possibly of interest to osaka M
.
been making rice wine
similar i know
but
not the same as saki
.
and
i appreciate that’s like calling me English
.
not that that is bad
although
if pushed
can i be the seen canary james bond era english
I always wondered about the difference, if any, between ruminating and chewing the cud. As a public service and to prevent any of those present from needing to look it up (although you learned soul[s] may not have needed to do so), here is what I found out:
Cud is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant’s stomach to the mouth to be chewed for the second time. More accurately, it is a bolus of semi-degraded food regurgitated from the reticulorumen of a ruminant. Cud is produced during the physical digestive process of rumination.[citation needed] The idiomatic expression chewing one’s cud means meditating or pondering; similar expressions such as “he chewed that over for a bit”, or “chew on that!” likely have the same derivation.
If a citation is needed, does that mean they are not sure of their facts? Another one for ruminating and for chewing the cud over some more …
Just to second you cba,
UP THE ARSENAL and many times more 🙂
what he said
other end
the cattle i daily encounter
fart little
but shite large
.
nother wee nugget fer yer knowledge pouch
thunderous dunging some o them do
.
pick a direction
they’ve it covered
.
.
although
i care not a jot
.
.
it’s the sheep
I hate sheep
i Hate SheeP
.
.
.
£77379 baa baas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHqR1Rql5r8
C100@9: Good to hear your confirmation from a vantage point much closer than mine that Guendouzi was fouled. Having replayed the video several times, I am unchanged in my view that he was. I would also be interested in your opinion of the card for diving given to Josh King. I wonder if the referee was subconsciously compensating for his earlier error.
cba@16: As long as you wee tablet doesn’t reset to the 1970s…
as i’ve said before ned
to use a trite americanism
this isn’t my first rodeo
and
as i’ve said “as i said”
i’ll say , now
the goofballs in westminster
hopefully will have IT spelled out to them
.
anyhoo
no politics
or
Sarnt Maaja Cynic
will wake up and glooooom at everyone
Now would this be you by any chance, cba?
http://www.trianglecastles.co.uk/thumbs.ashx?cs=900&img=rodeo-bull-6.jpg
that it is ned
an that’s ma big sista
on tha doo dad
we’re all about the bull
Ned
I thought the yellow card on King was very harsh. Not a foul, but a “ coming together” and so no yellow card for diving. I probably agree that the ref was trying to even things up. I think the ref was claiming that he deliberately ran into our guy but both live and on replay I thought not.
I’m in row 9, so quite close to the action. To counter balance that I can’t see a damn thing at the clock end and rely on the replays. Wouldn’t swap my seats for anything though.
Rice wine cba. Do you drink that warm or cold?
ahhhhhh go on then
go on
go on
go on
go on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7wCfttJVnQ
well c100
home brewer
longstanding
the rice wine process is fascinating
which i have no doubt you know
.
i drink it cold
i have two yields
one a drip
one a squeeze
–
yup – two joke set ups
where’s Schnorbitz
aren’t i hilarious
–
first
delicious
straight in the fridge
(I get none)
second
cloudy sweet
straight in the fridge
(I get some)
.
.
.
.
when i can hide it
it clears really well
and looks and tastes
most delicious
comes in about 20%
though
I could be a shade out
it is drunk
as its made
.
.
for them as doesn’t know
it’s a dry process
you start with cooked rice
mix it with
enzymes
they
then do their doins
then wee yeasty fungi ramp it up
then liquid happens
and it’s falldownalicious
or
is that my Chinese/Japanese arse talking
Wee yeasty fungi
Could be fiesty fellas
Lawrenson thinks the derby will be a draw because lunchtime games are usually pretty rubbish. Wonder if he thought to consider if this is a usual game.
Not that a draw wouldn’t be a decent result for Arsenal, which it probably would be, but there is a distinct chance Arsenal might just do better. Hopefully the apogee of our injury crisis is past us and the apogee of Spurs injury crisis is just now approaching. ⚡️
cba, c100
Sadly, I know nothing about making
sake or rice wine. I do know about
knocking it back though.
If cold, dry and clear with some raw
fish is the way to go for me.
But hot sake is usually a bit rougher,
and best drunk outside at a street
bar with a few mates on a cold
winter night. After a few flasks you
don’t feel the winter chill at all 🙂
Although not sure how helpful that
is considering the lack of raw fish
and outdoor drinking establishments
in England.
Some fresh shellfish, not overly
chilled and a back garden with
something burning for a bit of heat
would work though – course you’d
need the willing few mates too.
???
Was just thinking about the team
for the Spuds game and I am honestly
not sure about almost every position.
Great competition for places or lacking
a settled side? I’m not sure about that
either.
Leno and also Xhaka assuming he
was rested midweek.
Goodbye again to Ranieri.
And another loan season at a
relegated club for Calum. Still,
must be nicer than living in
Middlesbrough I suppose.
May as well take the 50 meself then.
Congrats to Viv M for the player of the
season award.
For the sake of sake 44-46 sound like reason enough for a flight around the world. Cheers!
Arsenal aren’t the only club with an unbalanced salary structure. Evidence today’s news item:
“Manchester United risk losing David de Gea unless they make him the club’s highest-paid player alongside Alexis Sanchez in a deal that reflects his status as their outstanding performer over the past five seasons.”
as i said to Pharoahe
i’m
the six million motherfuckin dollar man
with
the six million motherfuckin dollar plan
.
.
.
i’m told he ran with it
.
the thievin motherfuckin so and so
Good news! Kos is fit for tomorrow. Only longterm injured: Welbeck, Holding & Bellerin unavailable for tomorrow.
COYG
That is good news, bath.
Thank you cba. I must admit I was hoping to be feeling better than I do after two weeks. Hopeful of a better weekend as coughing appears to be shifting some of the problems.
Coughing is a wonderful thing, really.
Here’s to your coughing, ‘holic and I hope it dislodges something important. (cough, cough) 🙂
Pneumonia isn’t to be sneezed at. However that productive cough is a definite step forward H. Moving that muck out is a therapeutic milestone in the right direction. You will feel progressively better from now on.
Get well soon, sir. Hope to see you at the Manure debacle.
Lack of Friday pub visit means a sober and early preview. It’s positive!
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