“He will return back to the starting lineup on….” Arteta already knows when Aaron Ramsdale will makehe w his first team Premier League return

Arteta already knows when Aaron Ramsdale will make his first team Premier League return
Saturday 25 November 2023 at 17:30, Aaron Ramsdale will return between the posts for The Arsenal in the Premier League.

Barring injury, Ramsdale is gauranteed to start this game due to on-loan David Raya not being allowed to play against his parent club.

Now we have got the clickbait out of the way (sorry! I had to do it!), we do actually need to have a discussion around Raya and Ramsdale.

Against Chelsea, “there is only one Aaron Ramsdale” was sung by some of the away fans following Raya passing the ball directly to a Chelsea player. This was swiftly drowned out by the majority of the away section singing their backing of Mikel.

Raya does not yet have his own song, so chanting about Mikel was the way to show the majoirity of the fans backed both the new goalkeeper, and the managers decision to play him.

Some fans had it in for Raya before he even joined. They have not been willing to give him a chance due to Ramsdale being one of their favourite players.

It is not that they thought Ramsdale was a better keeper (although they will try and convince you this was the reason), it is because they liked Ramsdale’s character. And this leads them to be prejudice against Raya.

Some fans are almost sitting there waiting for Raya to make a mistake so that they can jump on it. So that they can scream “get Ramsdale on” or post pictures of the Englishman on social media, commenting “my keeper”.

Their agenda is exposed as they refuse to praise Raya for anything, whilst going out of their way to criticise.

Against Chelsea, Nicolas Jackson went clean through. Raya kept his composure, did not lunge in, and ended up grabbing the ball off the Chelsea forwards toes. “Jackson messed that up” some Arsenal fans claimed, refusing to acknowledge Raya’s good goalkeeping.

Then when it came Mykhailo Mudryk’s scuffed cross, they went out of their way to highlight that Raya was at fault for the goal. He was not.

Much of goalkeeping is predicting what a keeper will do, this allows them to shift their weight and be that split second quicker in reacting. When a winger slices a cross, it will almost always catch the keeper out.

Most of the time, the sliced cross goes into Row Z. But every now and against it goes into the top corner making the keeper look silly. But the goalie did nothing wrong.

Seeing the criticicsm of Raya for conceding the 2nd Chelsea goal made me think about Arsenal legend David Seaman.

Old Safe Hands was a world class keeper, but also one who had an error in him. Nayim in 1995, Ronaldinho in 2002. It is actually quite sad that Seaman is often remembered for his howlers rather than the performances that led him to play over 1,000 times for club and country.

Anyway, the point is back in 1995, if social media was about, there would have been fans calling Seaman a liability and demanding we sign a new goalkeeper that summer – or start Vince Bartram.

Arsenal’s last truly world class keeper was Jens Lehmann. The German was also not immune to the odd error or 6. But he retained the backing of the Arsenal faithful due to being a crowd favourite. Being a character. I wonder if that would have changed had he made those errors in the social media era rather than prior to it.

Now I will not say Raya has had an exceptional start to his Arsenal career. He has looked shakey at times. But lets not pretend that Ramsdale has been in sparkling form.

When Ramsdale lost his place to Raya, he was ranked as the worst keeper in the Premier League based on expected goals prevented.

His shakey start was off the back of a poor finish to 2022/23, where he often conceded from the first shot he faced.

Raya, meanwhile, conceded 6 goals less than he “should” have, with only Bernd Leno and AlissoThe metrics show that last season Ramsdale conceded 1 more goal than he “should” have, which highlights that whilst he was excellent, he also had periods where he would have a drop off in form.n bettering him.

Now Raya’s critics will disregard the stats and tell you that “my eyes tell me something different”, but that is why statistics are much better than an opinion.

Opinions are influenced by your agenda. You often see what you want to see. They are subjective. Stats are objective. They remove individual bias.

Yes, Raya has made errors, but Ramsdale was not infallible.

The blunder against Fulham earlier this season, the mistake against Southampton at the back end of last season. The narrative spun by many seems to indicate that Ramsdale was a giant in goal. A reliable keeper who never made an error. He was far from it.

Some fans are even saying “playing Raya will be Arteta’s downfall” and “Arteta’s decision making will split the fans”. No. It is not Arteta’s decision making that will split the fans. It is those fans who feed off negativity that will try and create the divisions. Those grew from the WOB v AKB debate. They want to make it Raya v Ramsdale, rather than supporting the team, backing the players.

My final thoughts come from Arsenal legends George Graham and Thierry Henry.

In the early 90s, Graham sold fans favourite John Lukic and recruited Seaman. Graham thought that whilst Lukic was one of the best keepers in England, Seaman was the best. Like now, some fans were up in arms at the decision. Graham was proved right.

There was also a great interview from Henry where he discussed that Arteta bought Ramsdale to take us from 8th to top 4, and the manager thinks Raya could be the man to take us from contenders to Champions. Similar to when Pep Guardiola dumped Claudio Bravo after a single season, replacing him with Ederson.

Ramsdale will get a run-out in the League Cup against West Ham. He will also play against Brentford. I will be at both games back the man inbetween the posts. Just like I will be at Sheffield United tomorrow backing Raya who will be the keeper of the day.

Instead of looking to jump on every Raya mistake, why not try backing the player? Stop with your agendas and support the team.

Keenos

Our new Arsenal Bruised Banana dog blanket is now available!

We worked on this design in conjunction with the Bruised Banana King

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October 27, 20234 Replies
Arteta squad gives him tactical options he did not have in 2022/23
Morning!

What a difference a single game makes.

Prior to the game, I spoke about how our group was looking a little too tight for comfort. No team had a 100% record and as a result all 4 were still in the battle for the top 2. After game week 3, that picture has changed.

In a single game, we have gone from looking over our shoulder to being able to possibly qualify in 2-weeks time when we face Sevilla at home.

Winning that game will take us to 9 points. It will be mathematically impossible for Sevilla to overtake us. And then if Lens beat PSV in Eindhoven, the Dutch team will also be unable to finish above us.

Those results will see Arsenal on 9, Lens on 8 and Sevilla and PSV on 2.

Even if PSV beat Lens, you would still be very surprised if we fail to progress – both teams would have to beat The Arsenal in the final two-games to finish above us and win their game against Sevilla.

Last night was by no means a brilliant performance, but I will never moan about us winning away in Europe.

Whilst some commented on Martin Odegaard being subbed again (Arteta’s Bergkamp?) and David Raya looking a little shakey, I would rather focus on the positives.

Takehiro Tomiyasu is back to his brilliant best, which is a huge plus for Arsenal.

The Japanese defender (and I will call him a defender rather than full back because he can play anywhere across the back line) was fantastic for us in his first season. Last year his level dropped as he bounced from one injury to the next.

Still only 24-years-old, I was baffled why some fans were saying “get rid” last summer. He is clearly a quality defender and gives us an option of being a bit more defensive.

For everything Oleksandr Zinchenko adds to us in possession, the Ukrainian can be a bit of a liability in defence; although much of this is due to the way he is asked to play resulting in him often being out of position if the opponents do a quick turnover.

Having Zinchenko and Tomiyasu gives us the option of being either attacking or defensive.

You can certainly see this weekend, against Sheffield United, Zinchenko being a better option. We will look to dominate play so Zinchenko provides us with that additional outlet.

But in those games where we might have to soak up a bit of pressure, or our opponents have a winger that hangs out high and wide regardless, Tomiyasu will become the better option.

Mikel Arteta has also shown that he is comfortable changing them in-game depending on the situation. We have often seen Tomiyasu coming on for Zinchenko in tight games that we are looking to hold on for in.

Considering both men have had their injury issues over the last 12 months, having them “job share” depending on the opponent is not a huge issue when we are facing a 50-game season.

Another man to step up constantly recent weeks is Declan Rice. He has been superb.

What he adds that Granit Xhaka did not is that ability to pick up the ball deep in his own half and run with it into space, releasing pressure.

When we are defending deep and opponents are over-committing, Rice can then exploit the space and turn defensive positions into attacking. In those situations last night, Xhaka would have either played the ball to no one in particular up field, or looked for a shorter pass that could have played the team into trouble.

In his time at the club, Rice has shown that he is a vastly superior “6” than he is an “8”. It will be interesting to see once Thomas Partey is fit as to who Arteta picks to play further forward.

Like with Tomiyasu and Zinchenko, Arteta has an attacking and defensive option with the Rice / Havertz / Partey trio.

Those teams we look to dominate against, it will be Rice and Havertz. In those tricky away games, it will be Rice and Partey (or Jorginho if the Ghanian is out).

The good signings over the summer have given Arteta more options through their versatility and quality. We just need to keep taking it one game at the time…

On to Sheffield United at home!

Keenos

In case you missed them earlier, we have added these Leah Williamson shin pads to our collection!#Arsenal #ArsenalFC #AFC #SEVARS https://t.co/LDxreLChad pic.twitter.com/9wH2Y3VUim

— Kick Off Merchants (@KOMerchants) October 24, 2023
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October 26, 20232 Replies
MATCH REPORT: Sevilla 1 – 2 Arsenal
Sevilla (0) 1 Arsenal (1) 2

UEFA Champions League Group B, Matchday 3 of 6

Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, C. Sevilla Fútbol Club, s/n, 41005 Sevilla, Spain

Tuesday, 24th October 2023. Kick-off time: 8.00pm

(4-3-3) David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Takehiro Tomiyasu; Martin Ødegaard (c), (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli.

Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, Cédric Soares, Leandro Trossard, Fábio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny, Kai Havertz, Karl Hein, Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Scorers: Gabriel Martinelli (45+4 mins), Gabriel Jesus (53 mins)

Yellow Cards: Jorginho

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 44%

Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

Assistant Referees: Mahbod Beigi (Sweden), Andreas Söderqvist (Sweden)

Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck (Sweden)

UEFA Referee Observer: Domenico Messina (Italy)

UEFA VAR Team in Geneva: VAR Marco Fritz (Germany); AVAR Nejc Kajtazović (Slovenia)

Attendance: c.42,000

After the disappointing defeat against RC Lens on 3rd October, it is vitally important that we pick up maximum points here this evening in Seville, as there are no margins for error in this cut-throat competition, as we have found out to our cost in previous seasons. We are currently in second position in the table behind RC Lens, and a victory tonight (along with a defeat or a draw against PSV Eindhoven for RC Lens) would mean that we will sit proudly at the top of the Group B table.

In this incredible atmosphere, we kicked off tonight’s Champions League match with a strong desire to win. The early exchanges took place in Sevilla’s half, which was a good sign. Both teams are fiercely competitive, and that shows with the challenges that were taking place. We should have scored the opening goal of the night when Gabriel Martinelli ran onto a long ball and with only the goalkeeper to beat, he shot straight at his legs, which was extremely disappointing to say the least. At the other end, Lucas Ocampos nipped in front of Gabriel to flick a Jesus Navas ball into the side netting, which was an escape for us. We showed good discipline on the ball, and as such, our passing was crisp and our possession strong. Gabriel Martinelli was the recipient of some very strong tackling by the Sevilla players, and he needs some protection by the match officials if this continues throughout the game. David Raya managed to quickly recover from a silly mistake which could have proved costly, and a couple of minutes later, a Gabriel Jesus shot which looked like a good chance to score went flying over the bar. As the first half continued, we were moving the ball around, looking for gaps in the home side’s defence, trying to wear Sevilla down, but the Sergio Ramos led defence was holding firm. Bukayo Saka went down heavily after getting an absolute clattering from Lucas Ocampos in midfield and he looked in a bad way as the coaching staff went onto the field to treat him; a few minutes later, he was back on his feet and continuing playing. As the first half started to ebb away, we continued to press the home side relentlessly, but suddenly we were caught on the break, and as the ball came into our six-yard box, Ben White was on hand to clear the problem, thankfully. Both medical teams were called onto the pitch after Gabriel Martinelli and Djibril Sow collided just outside the our penalty area, but after some attention, both players carried on with the game. In the four minutes injury time, a dangerous move by Sevilla pulled our defence out of shape, and we were fortunate when Youssef En-Nesyri fired across the face of goal and although his shot had David Raya beaten, the ball flew just wide of his left hand post. Just before the whistle went for half time, we grabbed the opening goal when a brilliant counter-attack came from us as Dodi Lukebakio’s cross was cleared by our defence and then a direct ball through the middle of the pitch was collected by Gabriel Martinelli whose sheer speed lost the Sevilla defenders, then rounded goalie Orjan Nyland and simply slotted the ball home in a cool and calm manner, which was an exciting end to an erstwhile dull first half.

The home side kicked off the second half, still smarting from the events late in the first, and buoyed by our late goal, we started to press the Sevilla goal, with Ben White firing a twenty-yard shot over the bar; and a couple of minutes later, after a bit of a mix-up in their penalty area, our captain took a quick shot at the open goal, but it flew over the bar. The goal has certainly livened things up, and we look to be the most confident and quicker of the two teams out there tonight. Seven minutes after the restart, Gabriel Jesus cut in from the left, lost the defender, and fired a most beautiful shot into the top left hand corner of the net for our second goal of the evening. On our next attack, Bukayo Saka was bundled to the ground, and despite a penalty appeal, the referee was having none of it. The home side, heavily influenced by their two substitutes came back at us, and they subsequently scored a goal from a corner, courtesy of a header from Nemanja Gudelj. Their goal woke us up somewhat, and we started to press the home side, winning corners and free-kicks in their half. The pace of the game was electric and moving quickly; and then Mariano Diaz hit a volley off the crossbar, but as he had controlled the ball with his arm, it would not have counted, but it is to be remembered that David Raya somehow got his fingertips to it, and it was a superb save regardless. A minute or so later, Declan Rice tried to grab the game by the scruff of the neck with a driving run from midfield, and as he got to their penalty area, he passed the ball to Bukayo Saka, whose shot was blocked. Kai Havertz replaced Martin Ødegaard (who handed the captain’s armband to Gabriel Jesus) with eighteen minutes of the game remaining, and after pressurising the Sevilla goal, Gabriel Jesus (who handed the captain’s armband again on to Jorginho) looked like he picked up an injury, and so Mikel Arteta made a double substitution with Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka being replaced by Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah. The home side are still pressing us, looking for an equaliser, and time and time again they tested our defence, but we held firm. In the six minutes injury time, Gabriel Martinelli was replaced by Jakob Kiwior in order to shore up a tiring defence. Our hearts were in our mouths when David Raya punched a cross that ended up on the roof of the net, and although Sevilla were constantly knocking on the door, it did not open and we held out for the three points and a well deserved return to the top of the Group B table tonifght.

An excellent performance by the boys tonight in Seville. A game of two halves really, with a workmanlike first half that was nicely finished off with a terrific goal from Gabriel Martineli, whilst the end-to-end nature of the second half meant that we truly had to concentrate and impose our will on the game, which we did time and time again. Our second goal, courtesy of Gabriel Jesus, was truly a world class finish and despite one or two dodgy moments, we held out for a memorable victory. Declan Rice was truly immense, as was Gabriel Martinelli, Ben White and William Saliba. With such a performance under our belts, who would want to play us now? Well done, chaps.

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Sheffield United at the Emirates on Saturday, 28th October at 3.00pm (Premier League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.