Kudos to the Arsenal Whiz Kids!

The FA Cup game on Monday was fun to watch, especially the first half.

Mikel Arteta’s young lads showed their stuff draining two first half goals to lead 0-2 at the break. Bukayo Saka hit a screamer into the top of the net at the 5 minute mark, followed by newly returning Eddie Nkeitiah’s chip in 25 minutes into the match.
Both of these young men played beautifully, as did 18-year-old wonderkid Gabriel Martinelli. The future of our club looks bright with the likes of these three, plus Willock, Rowe-Smith, Guendouzi, Saliba, Torreira, and Nelson rounding out a top notch group of youngsters.

The second half was not quite as impressive, however, the team hung on to win an important 4th round tie v Bournemouth in Vitality Stadium.
The Gunners have now drawn League One side Portsmouth in the 5th Round of the FA Cup.

The one dark spot on Monday was the injury to Skkrodan Mustafi’s ankle. The German went down hard, was stretchered of, and looks to have sustained a bad injury. Even though I’m not a huge fan of #20 on the pitch, I really wish him a quick and complete recovery from his injury.

As for the rest of our the senior men, let’s look ahead to the weekend. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be back off suspension, David Luiz remains on suspension, Sokratis seems healthy, Bellerin is fit again, Holding should start, and Dani Ceballos could get a run out as well. Now, the only concerns would be if Aubameyang transfers to Barcelona, and Ceballos returns to Real Madrid. The transfer market is winding down, and a lot of rumors and speculation is flying around about these two current Arsenal players.

The Gunners game on Sunday v Burnley will be their last game until the two week winter break comes to an end. This will be a good chance to get out of cold and rain of London, soak in some sun and training in Dubai, get some guys healthy, and then return to the UK fit and ready to go for the February 16th match v Newcastle United at the Emirates.

Who knows, we might have a new player or two to unveil then as well. Only time will tell!

Cheers. Gunner1953