Last night…and more Arsenal stuff

Here’s a few comments on some various Arsenal topics, including last night’s win over Vitoria…

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wasn’t on the squad so Nicolas Pepe was designated as the man of the hour to bring heroics to the Emirates Stadium last night in north London.

The Ivory Coast star wasted no time after arriving on the pitch to score a free kick equalizer at the the 8oth minute, and then followed up with a game winning free kick in stoppage time. The final: Arsenal 3 – Vitoria 2.

It was a great night for Pepe who has had his struggles adjusting to football in north London. Hopefully, last night’s performance will give him the confidence he needs to move forward and produce many more goals for the Arsenal side.

Overall, Arsenal looked lackluster and unorganized, and repeatedly gave the ball away with sloppy passing. Guendouzi and Ceballos coming into the game, and of course with Pepe’s contributions the 3 points were secured. Tierney and Bellerin played well, and so did Holding in the center of the defense. It wasn’t a great performance for the team, but it was an Europa League win against a scrappy Portuguese side. Plus, we can’t forget the continuing Mesut Ozil saga. Once again (5 games in a row) he was left off the team sheet. When asked about Ozil’s absence in his post-game press conference, Emery said “no comment today.”

So what’s are we so concerned about following a win? Well, we won the game, but it was sloppy and again it took last minute heroics to get us over the line. As we look ahead, things only get tougher before the next international break. We will face Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Wolves, Vitoria again, and Leicester City.

While the Unai Emery debate continued, there was also an odd sighting at the Emirates last night. Jose Mourinho was seen in the director’s box with Arsenal’s Head of Football, Raul Sanllehi. Now, I’m not one to start rumors, but this was an unusual sight to see. Later, it was reported Jose is a Vitoria supporter. Okay, but to show up in London at a Europa League group stage game seems a little odd, doesn’t it? With that said, Mourinho wouldn’t be in my top 5 list of Emery replacements. Yes, he wins trophies, but he has also brought chaos and distractions wherever he has been. Hopefully, he enjoyed the game, shook hands with Sanllehi and went home.

Now to follow-up on a post from yesterday, “Is Emery our man, or not?” I received some terrific comments about the post, and also some criticism. One of my English readers noted that Americans are more forgiving about coaches and managers because we don’t have a promotion/relegation system, and we don’t play in international club competitions that require qualification. Point well taken. I totally agree with his point of view. I wish we had a promotion/relegation system in some of our professional sports. MLS, MLB and the NHL are perfectly set-up for this because they have a system of minor league teams. The NFL doesn’t have any lower leagues currently, and the NBA would never consider allowing small TV markets into their stratosphere. How fun would it be at the end of a season to watch the Red Sox or Rangers or Dodgers fighting to stay up in the majors for the next season. Also, as the reader noted, it is true poor teams seem to play for top draft picks instead of playing for victories as their bad seasons wind down.

Has anyone noticed the World Cup break the Premier League will be taking in November/December 2022? Holy cow, the break will be from November 13 to December 26th. Now, I love the World Cup but to take this long break during a season is ludicrous. This is just to accommodate the extreme summer temperatures in Qatar. Why was this tournament ever slated for this location anyway, and in the winter? This break will have a big impact on most Europeans teams, and how will the schedule play-out for Arsenal’s 2022-2023 season? Will the season start earlier, or run later? What about the European, FA and league cup competitions? In my opinion, this is a disaster waiting to happen. I hope FIFA never allows this to happen again.

One last comment. It looks like the Arsenal front office is negotiating with Real Madrid to make Dani Ceballos a permanent member of the Gunners. This is good news since he has displayed some terrific talent so far this season. He has had a few clunkers too, however, with the right coaching and a lot of playing time he will develop into a first-class playmaker.

If you have any comments please click on the date at the top off the post, or email me at yankeegooner1953@yahoo.com.

Cheers. Gunner1953