16 Conclusions as title contenders Aston Villa beat Arsenal
Aston Villa v Arsenal has prompted 16 Conclusions from a Villa fan and calls for perspective from those of an Arsenal persuasion.
We also have mails on Crystal Palace and the World Cup, while all your Liverpool and Salah is here. Send your views to theeditor@football365.com
Aston Villa v Arsenal: 16 Conclusions
1) Before I get into the main conclusions, it is weird to me that at the time of writing, the top 11 articles on these (once) hallowed pages are all Liverpool related (even Crystal Palace jumping into the top 4 is about them). There are 20 clubs in the league. Twenty. I get that those delicious clicks are all important, but if you provided a place for fans of all teams to get their fix on the ins and outs of their clubs, you might just find you get even more clicks! Amazing eh? Everton are in the top 6. Palace are 4th. Brighton with their football regen model are up there too. Not everyone wants to read about the latest catastrof*** at Liverpool/Man U/Spurs etc…
2) On to Villa Park, and that was an excellent game between what are clearly two very good teams. 1st vs 3rd, both having tremendous seasons, and the game reflected their current standings. People saying the league is weak this year are ignoring the fact that across the European comps, English teams (in the main) are doing really well. That shows where the standard currently is.
3) I’ve seen a few Arsenal fans saying “Arsenal are Villas/Unai’s cup final”, ignoring the fact that we do this to a fair few teams at home (except for you Crystal Palace. Please leave us alone). We are just tremendously strong at Villa Park, having beat City at home but a few weeks ago. Credit where it’s due to those Arsenal fans who were magnanimous in defeat.
4) The ebbs and flows to the game were not good on the old ticker. Despite some saying Arsenal didn’t play well, a lot of that was about our set up. Kamara continues to be grossly underrated by everyone except those with a B6 affiliation, Onana is becoming a midfielder worthy of his £50m price tag and Tielemans oozes class, either in the 8 or the 10 role. The work done by all three actually stifled the usually dominant Arsenal midfield, and got them turned frequently.
5) Eze looked lost out there on the left, which while great for us on the day, got me thinking about where he plays in the England set up. The 10 spot has been debated continuously, with both Bellingham and Rogers (more on him later) the current two fighting for that space, but Foden’s excellent form and Palmer’s return to action make that an insanely congested place. It will be interesting to see where Eze continues to play for Arsenal this season, especially as Odegaard was MoTM (🤣)
6) My god Keown was bad on comms. Fouls were good tackles. Good tackles were fouls. You know it’s going wrong when the main commentators starts to pull you up on it.
7) Speaking of, the standard of refereeing this season has been awful. And this isn’t just about Villa. I watch a lot of football, and the consistency of both the refs and VAR is none existent. It would be great to have the same fouls and infringements have the same outcome from game to game. (Or even IN the same match quite often). When its glaring that a ref has had a good game, as its an outlier, something is very wrong. (5 mins on the Forest offside the other night was actually hilariously inept. A single glance was all that was needed ffs)
8) After a listless start to the season, it is genuinely amazing that we are now 3 points off the top. 27 points from 30 is ridiculous form for anyone not named Man City, yet here we are. After the early season cracked badge nonsense and “this is the end of the Unai era”, some people need to apologise on timeline. Emery is a genius and is taking players to levels I (and they themselves, probably) didn’t think possible.
9) Rogers is a joy to watch. Aligning great technical skill, with freakish strength, he has started to impose himself on games regardless of where he is deployed. LW, RW or as a 10, he works his nads off and contributes effectively almost every game. I hope he stays for a long time, but can already imagine the media selling him on our behalf over next summer.
10) Saka going off was the point where I thought we could win. The 15 minute spell after HT, everything went through him and he looked dangerous. People may question why he was booed and I think the answer is simple. We wanted to put him off his game as everyone knows he is the danger.
11) Trossard always scores against us and with him coming on, it felt inevitable. Allied to the fact Arsenal never lose when he scores, it felt like the omens were against us. Cracking player, and I was delighted to see him go back off.
12) Arsenal absolutely missed their titan centre backs and fate was in our favour that they weren’t available. That solid defence is crucial to how Arsenal play, and its testament to the team Arteta has built that they gave us a harder game than City, despite missing crucial players.
13) Matty Cash is one of the players that has risen to another level this season. In an alternative universe, we signed a competent right winger and he remained a more defensive RB and Villa fans continue to call him the weak link of the team. Because PSR/SCR/VCR/DVD meant we were limited this summer, he has been given license to get forward to compensate for the lack of threat on that side and boy has he revelled in it.
14) It was crazy to me that Unai went for the win. Throwing on Sancho, Malen and Buendia with the game in the balance could easily have backfired, but thats why Unai is the best manager we have had and I am not even great at FM (not 26, thats crap). Sancho gets a bad rap from a lot of Villa fans, but I have noticed he is very much a team player, constantly looking to feed the strikers (he was desperate for Ollie to score against Young Boys and turned down numerous chances to shoot, instead trying to feed the ball). Its worth noting that Unai continues to opt for him to change the game.
15) I can’t think of another ending to a game like that at VP in my lifetime (let’s just say late 80s onward). I actually roared as Buendia slotted the ball home, and I couldn’t be happier for the player himself. 2 seasons ago, he looked to be a crucial player coming into the season, then suffered an horrendous ACL injury. It looked like he was done at the club as recently as September, but he stayed and the rest, they say, is history.
16) Lastly, the question has now become more prominent: Are Villa title contenders? If Chelsea and their young inexperienced team, under an inexperienced coach were (last week! It really is a long time in football) then to say we aren’t is going against whatever logic was applied to them.. Do I think we will win the title? Absolutely not, top 4 would be a tremendous result. But given how the league is currently shaping up, its kind of hard to dismiss it outright. (I can dream right?)
Nik UTV (if you want something doing, do it yourself)
…Okay, so decided to watch the Villa v Arsenal game. With an Aussie Villa fan from Perth as it turns out. Maybe watching the games is better after all? What an incredible few months for Villa, but let’s be honest, how do we lose to Liverpool? That’s a little joke, for those easily agitated.
Gary AVFC, currently Bali not Oxford (looking forward to the 3-2 Ashes win)
Not having Villa as title contenders
At this point can we just stop shoehorning clubs – this week it’s Aston Villa – in and out of the title race? Either City will catch us or Arsenal will win the league. Let’s please stop pretending we wouldn’t be absolutely shocked by any other outcome.
MAW, LA Gooner (Oh…wait – the clicks. Right. Carry on.)
Some perspective on Arsenal defeat
In amidst the usual pitchforks, tribal mud-slinging and (possibly fabricated) trolls I’d like to add a more rational response to the Villa defeat.
Despite the newfound depth in our squad, our players are quite depleted with an effective injury crisis which has forced us to play makeshift centre-backs like Timber. We’ve added substantial depth to the team for rotation with Mosquera and Hincapié to try to account for injury problems but even these squad players are getting hammered with injuries.
We’re running a third string defense and still at first place in spite of all the other injury setbacks we’ve had up front. I suppose the naysayers would’ve preferred that Arteta and the recruitment team were seers with supernatural powers of prophecy to predict all of this and add an extra two centre-backs which would’ve made us look silly in the summer?
With these things in mind, it isn’t a disaster that we’ve lost this latest game against a team in superb form. Credit to Villa, they played a great game which I really enjoyed even though we sank at the final kick. With a solid rotation of players against Brugge in the Champions League and with Saliba returning soon we should hopefully get back on track with some consistent wins.
I really wish F365 would select emails with quality insights rather than repetitive tedious nonsense to bait people into engagement. Please stop this editorial collapse.
Vish (AFC), Melbourne
(Can’t help being confused by this e-mail about e-mail selection that arrived before we published any post-Villa Arsenal mails in the Mailbox. Do you have a crystal ball? – Ed)
Fixture list not fair on Arsenal
As an Arsenal fan, I’d like to discuss the myth of the fixture list and squad depth. You’ll often hear it said that it doesn’t matter who plays when, everyone plays each other twice a season etc etc.
Yet looking at Arsenal this week, they’ve faced two away games against Chelsea and Villa, plus a home game against a resurgent Brentford, all without their first-choice defence. Meanwhile Man City have played two promoted teams at home and Fulham away. (The fact that City nearly contrived to make a complete bollocks of two of these games is neither here nor there). And Liverpool are clearly far off the pace, but their schedule has been West Ham, plus the same two promoted sides as City – Sunderland and Leeds.
There’s no real point to this email, as I don’t think anything should change, but I don’t think we should pretend that all fixture lists are created equal and that all teams are able to use the full depth of their squad equally. We’ve seen how badly it’s gone for City and Chelsea when they’ve rotated against so-called “lesser” teams in recent weeks. I’m not calling conspiracy, just pointing out a quirk in the fixture list.
Ben, AFC (I am convinced Unai Emery was sent from another dimension to ruin my life)
Why Arsenal should buy Salah
Recall the famous 40 million and 1 dollar Suarez play by the Gunners?
Arsenal should make a move for Salah in January with a cheeky 40 million pound bid or loan fee.
He will take the perennial specialist in failures and impotent Arsenal attack the next level.
Arsenal isn’t a serious club if we are using Merino and aiming for Watkins. We should sell any one for Salah. He will have an axe to grind, a point to prove.
As a lifetime gooner I would sacrifice Saka for Salah and a title. We lack a truly world class forward. Salah will light up the Emirates. Meanwhile for the 5th year running we are going to be bridesmaids.
M
(Fourth – Ed)
Eighth wonder is Arsenal not winning title
During my 48 years on this little blue dot, I have:
Smiled at the Mona Lisa and stood awestruck before the grandeur of Michelangelo’s David. Partied with models on Las Vegas rooftops and made life-altering decisions beneath the astonishing Sistine Chapel. Completed ten marathons, hit a hole-in-one, watched the sun rise over Central Park on Christmas morning, and witnessed a blazing sunset melt into the Mekong Delta.
But perhaps the most unbelievable sight of all would be this: Arsenal not winning the league this year.
We have been told, relentlessly, by their fans, by the press, and by the Lego Sith Lord himself, that for the last three years they have been the best team in England, Europe, and indeed the known universe. Yet after five full years in charge and close to a billion pounds spent, their trophy cabinet boasts the “We Beat Real Madrid Cup” and a certificate reading “PSG Said We Were Brilliant”.
So, despite scuba diving off the coast of Bali with the cast of Finding Nemo and spending a very memorable evening with an Italian teacher, not seeing this team win a major trophy may have to be added to my Wonder List.
Ian H
Palace innit
What Glasner has done for Crystal Palace over the last couple of seasons is nothing short of amazing. All the so called big clubs (us included) have such expensive squads and all the baubles that go with it – but on pure performance enhancement and results – Glasner has to be the best coach in the League right now bar none!
He puts Arteta, Guardiola and all of the other so called ‘BIG NAMES’ at big clubs to shame with the disparity in resources but the obviously top level (world class maybe – why only players get that handle i don’t know) coaching he provides his players – truly astounding success.
Must be great fun being a Palace fan at the moment – one question though – is it Rory Delap who is the real genius and the head coach benefits (we have probably all had that happen in the past – the boss gets the credit, maybe that’s why they are the boss cos they ‘take’ the credit and don’t wait for it to be given…). We see it regularly – seems when a coach who has had some success moves on and the #2 gets the job and does not go with the boss man – he does really well with no drop off – maybe even improves results – what do you reckon – are number 2’s better than number 1’s?
Joe (Gooner in Oz – BTW I thought the ref in the Villa game was really good)
Trump stake
It’s obvious that Trump told FIFA he would only attend the World Cup draw if they lavished him with praise and adoration and gave him some kind of award. He also probably told them he would have them all arrested if they didn’t. It was a cringe fest of the highest magnitude. The only ones who would have loved it were the MAGAS who yell “woke” at everyone who dislikes the way this narcissistic lunatic behaves.
Dan, London
…I wonder where FIFA is headed … Sports should be kept out of politics & religion. At times, political does play its part when politicians intervene.
But here this man himself has taken the initiative to not just meet the President which is no harm but to announce a Peace Award from FIFA. Has FIFA come to this level, licking politicians for their own personal benefits? How disgusting & I think the entire footballing community must protest, disapprove & hold Giovanni Infantino responsible for stooping so low bringing a great sport to shame & disgrace.
Venkat
The Jude Bellingham of performative outrage
It’s impressive, really. Matt has managed to write an entire screed about how everyone else is being performatively outraged while performing more outrage than a touchline Arteta after a soft penalty. The lad genuinely believes he’s the Jude Bellingham of moral consistency because he didn’t watch Qatar 2022. Congratulations — eight years without a World Cup is admirable discipline, though I’m not sure it earns you the armband of Ethics FC.
The letter collapses under its own contradictions faster than England in a penalty shootout.
First: “boycotts are pointless virtue-signalling”… followed immediately by a victory lap about his own heroic boycott. That’s like shouting that diving is ruining football while simultaneously perfecting your own Tom Daley impression in the box.
Then we come to the Trump Peace Prize defence. Matt admits he doesn’t actually know what conflicts Trump ended (“not sure he’s ended as many wars as he thinks he has”), yet somehow concludes he deserves a peace prize anyway. Imagine awarding the Golden Boot to someone because you reckon they must have scored a couple at some point, somewhere, off camera.
The whataboutery is Champions League level too. According to Matt, unless you personally boycotted Qatar, you’ve no right to comment on FIFA’s latest nonsense. By that logic, nobody can complain about VAR unless they’ve refereed a Champions League final.
And if the peace prize is such a “meaningless bauble,” why write a letter defending it? It’s hard to tell whether Matt wants us to “get over ourselves” or applaud his own moral gymnastics. He ties himself in so many knots that even Darwin Núñez could finish him off cleanly.
But the truly baffling part is the idea that Trump is some kind of low-key dove who “sorted out a few wars.” This is the same administration that:
Sent federal troops into US cities to attack its own citizens,
Destroyed boats and killed people on mere accusations of drug trafficking,
Parked the world’s largest aircraft carrier off Venezuela to rattle sabres,
Allowed the Department of Defence to be named the Department of War (which says a lot),
Threatened to turn Canada into the 51st state (several times), and wants to take over Greenland,
Said Congressmen should be executed for correctly asserting the US military should not engage in unlawful actions,
And just so, so much more.
Your benchmark for a peace prize is a strawman comparison against Qatar (and Russia), literally the worst human-rights hosts, as if clearing that bar proves anything.
In the end, Matt’s letter is less the courageous stand he thinks it is and more a very long way of saying:
“When I care about something, it’s principle. When you care about something, it’s virtue-signalling.”
The real Jude Bellingham doesn’t need that much self-promotion.
But then again… he actually scores.
Paul McDevitt
World Cup sprawl is ludicrous
I just still can’t wrap my head around the World Cup being held across all of North America. It completely loses its meaning. It just has to be in…
1. Mexico – because they actually care about it
2. Canada – because the states had it somewhat recently
3. US – they are not that bad right
4. Mexico/US – I think a World cup in Mexico would be awesome
5. Canada/US – it could work. The funding would be easily there.
That’s it. The current version shouldn’t even be an option.
Zdravko