16th March 2022…… Liverpool next, a massive test of where we are……
So the form held against Leicester. A solid, no nonsense performance saw us gain what turned out to be a comfortable enough two nil win.
A superb performance from Odegaard, Saka running himself into the ground, an unbelievable Ramsdale save, a goal for Lacazette (albeit a penalty), a goal for Partey, Xhaka not being silly again, the return of Smith Rowe and the best atmosphere yet at The Emirates, were the highlights for me.
Odegaard totally outshone Maddison and was on top of his game for the whole 90 minutes. He really is developing into a very high calibre player for us.
Thomas Parteys goal was very welcome, and you could see by his celebrations, just how much it meant to the player himself.
Saka could barely walk at the end of the game, he really does give absolutely everything for the cause, and as I’ve said before, I wouldn’t swap him for any other young player in the world.
The whole stadium was bouncing for most of the game, with all areas singing their heads off. I watched from the North Bank with a big smile on my face, when the youngsters in the Clock end were doing their thing. Brilliant brilliant support.
Leading up to the game against Liverpool. I think we can now say we are the best of the rest. If we currently played any side apart from Manchester City, Liverpool or Chelsea, we should rightly be expecting a positive result, on current form. This in itself is a massive improvement on recent seasons.
Liverpool are, as we know, a very good side. If we’re honest with ourselves, they put us in our place in the second leg of the league cup semi final at our place. But we also have to remember our backs to the wall, nil nil draw at their place with ten men
So who knows how it will go against them at The Emirates? We would all love to see a win for The Arsenal, and we are definitely capable of doing just that. As we showed in the match against Manchester City, we have the game and players to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best. Only the 12th man saved City from defeat!
Liverpool are on a great run of form, but then so are we. They will definitely be more respectful of us than they have had to be for a few seasons now, and wouldn’t it be nice to get the win, and wipe that smugness off Jurgens face.
But a draw would also do us nicely, when taking into account the current league table. A defeat would upset us all. Because we’re Arsenal fans, and we want to obviously win every game. But if the worst does happen, please don’t let the levels of support drop, keep being loud and proud. Trying to improve on the atmosphere at the Leicester game will be difficult, but not impossible.
Finally, but importantly, the pundits have suddenly gone from laughing and being negative about The Arsenal, to being full of praise and dare I say it?…. Respectful.
It’s a massive turnaround, and I think most credit for this should go to Mikel Arteta. He has kept his head down, against some most disrespectful comments from so called Arsenal fans, and steadily developed a side we can all admire. We’re not the finished article, we all know that, but we are lot closer than we were.
Get behind our great club against Liverpool, and remember, we are The Arsenal. Regardless of the result, we are on the way back to the very top. Be loud, be proud. Live The Arsenal.
All the best
Hillsy
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