March 19 is Bellerin's birthday, happy 27th birthday!
In fact, Bellerin is only 27, it is reasonable to say that he has not even reached the peak age, I don't know if he can play for the giants in the future... But in any case, Bellerin is currently regaining his form and confidence in Betis, and Fuan Jianyang has proved that he is a suitable substitute when he is healthy, so I hope that Bellerin can get back some of the funds in the summer!
The other 19th is also Colo-Toure's birthday, happy 41st birthday!
Let's take a look at the match news.
Saka's goal was Arsenal's 2,000th goal in the Premier League! Arsenal also became the third Club club in the Premier League to unlock this achievement, preceded by Manchester United and Liverpool.
Congratulations to Saka! In fact, Saka's shot was not a golden opportunity, and the ball speed and angle did not feel particularly good, but it just hit the long stretch of Martinez (it felt that the goalkeeper's center of gravity was shaken first), the ball was too important!
My personal guess before the game was that Arsenal would take advantage of the opening physical problems to grab the start, try to recover the results after the lead, this game is almost this idea, so Saka's goal is very critical, because if the 0-0 score into the second half, then the game is more difficult, once it becomes a tug-of-war, Arsenal's physical fitness is very bad.
To summarize the competition:
In the case of a dense schedule, Arsenal have performed very well in this away win over Villa, with great tenacity, especially in defence, and the improvement in defence is indeed great! However, it is not without loopholes, Watkins' goalpost and Ince's header are still quite scary, and the last few minutes in front of the goal are also very loud, or can not be careless.
On the whole, the rhythm of the second half is a bit scattered, the scene is also very passive, but the game is not wonderful, it does not matter, there is nothing more important than three points in such a game, it is very good to bite your teeth and win!
Thomas is really strong now, whether it is physical state, mental will or confidence are maintained quite well, his improvement is really all-round compared to last year; the connection between Odegaard and Saka on the right side is now more and more mature, the cooperation and state of these two people is actually equivalent to the barometer of Arsenal's attack, relatively speaking, Lowe in addition to plugging in the shot, or to improve the participation in the game, of course, after all, he has played too little recently, he has to slowly find the rhythm. Lacazette is good except for not scoring, but Arsenal still have to buy a center who can score in the summer.
It may also be that Arsenal limit the good, this feeling that Villa in addition to the foot fierce, the rhythm is actually more general, there is no strong impact and acceleration, even if behind did not speed up the rhythm, honestly the whole game did not have too many absolute chances to break the goal, in the second half Arsenal This passive situation is also part of the initiative to let out, anyway, a goal lead, coupled with physical problems, can only play counter-attack with peace of mind.
It feels like this referee is more threatening than the Villa players...
In addition, Leno proved that his level is still very high, of course, the foot technology is indeed much worse than Ramsdale, but The goal line technology Isleño is very stable, but his characteristics do not meet the requirements of Arteta, so I hope he will find a good owner next season! In the end, Leno's save was too crucial.
This win is actually easier than expected, even the consumption is not very large, I hope that the next two weeks of international competition days can rest well, to meet the final sprint, the top four are still in sight!
Squawka counted Edgar's first half of the game: 25 passes in place, 13 passes to attack zone 3 (the most in the game), 2 to create chances (1 more than everyone else on the field combined).
In fact, Erdegaard's performance in the last two games feels a slight decline, but it is still good, especially Erdegaard's continuous cooperation with Saka on the right side is getting more and more pure, the passing tacit understanding between the two of them has improved significantly, Arsenal's current attack is mainly tilted to this side, and even Cedric can create a threat.
Odegaard has been too tired lately, he and Saka would better rest in the next two weeks, I hope Norway and England don't let these two play for too long, especially in friendly matches...
Arsenal have four players selected for England, more than any other team.
From no one in the England team to becoming the Premier League team with the most local internationals, it has been more than a year...
Saka, Lowey, Sundae and White are all young, and there are good years ahead, which is really exciting.
However, Ramsdale did not play due to injury, and according to media reports, he may miss the next game in England.
Arsenal official website said Ramsdale and Martinelli missed the game due to hip problems and illness respectively.
It should not be a big problem, and it is estimated that the international competition can be made a comeback after the day.
TA has a report, let's take a brief look.
Gunnerblog said in a post at The Athletic that Ramsdale missed the match against Villa due to a hip injury, in fact, the goalkeeper was injured in the first half of the game against Liverpool, and now he is likely to miss the next friendly of England.
It was also reported that although he did not play in the game, Rumsdale still wanted to go away with the team and he would watch the game live (this has proven to be true, And Ramsdale did watch the game from the sidelines).
At present, it is certain that Ramsdale's hip injury, but the injury is not clear, but just to see if he can follow the team to the away game, it is estimated that the problem is not big.
In addition, the goalkeeper position is arguably arsenal's most powerful reserve, even if Ramsdale can not return in the short term, Leno can replace it, although his foot out of the ball is indeed not good, but more than enough.
I hope Ramsdale and Martinelli recover soon.
Gerrard said of Arteta before the game: "You should praise the Arsenal people who support Arteta, stand out for Arteta and give him time to make his mark... Defensively they improved a lot, and set-pieces improved a lot. This is thanks to the efforts of the coaches and coaching staff. ”
Every coach is presumably envious of Arsenal's patience with the coach... Gerrard is right, it's true that Arteta is now leading the team a lot, but as we said before, a normal big club could be relieved of its boss after last season ended with all four and eighth (the first time in more than two decades) that they missed out on Europeans, not to mention spending money to continue to support.
From this point of view, the patience of the top if Arteta can succeed is really commendable – whatever their starting point.
The number of Premier League appearances in all competitions this season (as of the time before this round): Liverpool 46, Tottenham 44, West Ham 43, Manchester United 40 and Arsenal 34.
Arsenal are now 35 games, but the above stats are against Villa before.
Why mention this statistic, because Arteta recently complained that the schedule caused some controversy, so let's take advantage of the fact that there are no rumors today, by the way.
Arteta recently lashed out at the Premier League schedule at a press conference, which was rebuffed by Conte and Klopp and attracted the attention of public opinion, in response, Goal reporter CWS posted that although the Arsenal boss's complaints have some truth, it is difficult to expect to be resonated by the outside world, and it is best to hide this negative emotion at this stage.
Arsenal are going to play Villa again in the 48 hours after playing Liverpool, and the april play-offs show that they have to play Chelsea and Manchester United in a row, To which Arteta said in the post-match press conference against Liverpool: "Thank you for doing this in the Premier League, and doing it twice, in April we have to play Chelsea and Manchester United in a row. If they really want to give their opponents these advantages, let's play another game today, so I want to tell the Premier League: Thank you for doing this, help a lot. ”
Arteta's sudden outburst made those present look at each other.
Given the critical stages of the season and the risk of playing consecutive games in the short term, Arteta's irritation is understandable, but while the Spaniard's complaints are justified, they are difficult to resonate with their peers, and Conte and Klopp are critical of it.
Asked about Arteta's complaint, Conte said with a frosty face: "I just want Arteta to remember one thing, and that is that the match between Tottenham and Arsenal was postponed because of Arsenal's request (only one player was positive for the new crown) and that was my answer. I can't forget it, and I don't want to discuss what's fair and unfair. ”
CWS said that 6 days and 3 matches is obviously not ideal, but Arsenal's schedule this season has been much easier than their opponents, Manchester United and Tottenham Have previously had Champions League and UEFA Cup tasks, and West Ham is still playing in the Europa League, all of which have played more games than Arsenal:
So far (ahead of this round), United have played 40 games this season, West Ham 43, Tottenham 44 and Arsenal have only played 34, and the Gunners have not had to deal with cross-border travels and the problems that come with them this season.
Of course, this is not to say that Arsenal should be forced to be arranged consecutively for a short period of time, which the Premier League and its broadcasters could have avoided, but the CWS said that sometimes it is better to hide their emotions.
Arsenal have played a total of seven games and Liverpool have played 13 since the carabao cup semi-final against Liverpool on 20 January, so while Arteta's frustration is justified, other rivals are dealing with a much more difficult schedule. And if Arsenal play in Europe next season, such a situation will become commonplace.
Asked about Arteta's complaints, Klopp said: "I think since the Carabao Cup semi-finals we have played 6 more games than Arsenal, we have 13 games, they have 7, if I remember correctly.
13 games in 2 months is simply crazy, and this will continue. What am I complaining about? We have no complaints, the reality is that.
We keep going on a journey, going here today and going there tomorrow. We wake up in different hotels, someone comes to tell you where the restaurant is, you have to remember your room number, this is our current life. ”
Arteta was a smart man, he knew that his remarks would raise questions about future fixtures, and there was no doubt that his complaints were justified, as there were situations that could have been easily avoided.
But the problem is that this is not the first time this has happened, nor will it be the last, and as people have said in the past few days, the top teams will have a tough schedule, which is exactly what Arteta's Arsenal need to prove now.
These are the views of the CWS article.
Now the little devil's schedule is over, but there is no rumor today, and it is too late to go to the press conference, and it is okay to see.
Should Arteta complain? I think in fact, nothing, from its own point of view, the Arsenal manager to protect the interests of his own club, this is beyond reproach, do not exert some pressure, the FA is afraid that it will not become more intense... From the perspective of other teams, which top team coach has not complained about the schedule? Klopp and Conte may not have been lately, but not without before (and the Carabao Cup semi-final match against Liverpool was postponed due to Liverpool's request, and it was later found that many of Liverpool's players were false positives, which is not yet said... ）。
But Arteta's spearhead this time is directed at the Premier League, and it is cynical, it is indeed a little radical, and it is better to use it in a more ingenious way.
CWS is right that competitors' schedules are much more difficult to match, and arsenal have difficulty matching this season, but objectively speaking, this is not a reason for the Premier League to increase the difficulty of Arsenal's schedule, and it is not that there is no European task to increase the difficulty of the schedule.
But we also said before that as long as it is a make-up match, it will be 100% controversial, and frankly, Conte's complaint is also justified, and Tottenham Hotspur has no reason.
So football is sometimes a resultless theory, the winner is king, play your own game, get good results, then you can block everyone's mouth, there are 10 rounds, continue to work hard!