Looking back, and looking ahead

Even though the Gunners extended their steak without a loss to 7 games in the Premier League, there were still a few things missing yesterday – Bukayo Saka, Kieren Tierney, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and a winning goal!

Mikel Arteta told Arsenal.com after the match, “I thought it was a great game between two big teams that wanted to win. I think it’s a fair result at the end, because they had some moments in the first half and we had some big moments in the second half where we should’ve scored at least one goal. We didn’t and because of that it’s impossible to win the game. So at least we took the draw.”

That pretty much sums it up, however, overall the team played pretty well, though they had trouble keeping possession. There were just too many sloppy passes that were easily picked-off by Man United. Thomas Partey was probably the most guilty in this department. The midfielder struggled most of the match, leaving his A-game in the changing room.

The best efforts of the day go to Bernd Leno, David Luiz and Rob Holding. Defensively, they were pretty solid throughout the match, however, Man U did have a couple of wide open chances that (fortunately) didn’t find the back of the Gunners net. Even with the occasional lapse, I can tell our defense has gotten a lot better this season because I don’t have a panic attack every time the opponent gets the ball inside our penalty box.

Three points would have been great, but 1 point will have to do. And, the streak continues.

Prior to Tuesday’s class v Wolves, the transfer window closes also tomorrow.

Here are my predictions for Arsenal on the final day…
Willock, AMN and Nelson will leave on loan for the rest of this season.
Mustafi will leave on a transfer to Liverpool.
The Gunners will acquire fullback Patrick van Aanholt from Crystal Palace.
Maybe, a swap could still happen that would that would see Matteo Guendouzi go to PSG for Julian Draxler. It’s a long shot, but still a possibility.

Now back to Wolves. Here’s my predicted starting XI for Tuesday in Wolverhampton…

[4-2-3-1]
Lacazette
Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe
Xhaka, Partey
Cedric, Gabriel, Holding, Bellerin
Leno

Predicted final score…
Wolves 1 – ARSENAL 3

COYG!

Cheers.
Gunner1953