Arsenal's 2-0 win over Luton Town ended their opponents' record of 18 consecutive Premier League games.
Against Manchester City, Arsenal ended a streak of 57 consecutive matches for opponents to score at the Etihad Stadium. This broke Luton Town's record for consecutive goals, which shows how good Arsenal's defense is now.
In fact, if you think about it, the games against Manchester City and Luton Town were almost impossible for the opponents to have decent shots on goal, and the overall defensive awareness and discipline of the team now is really breathtaking.
Raya has kept 11 clean sheets in the Premier League this season, at least three more than any other goalkeeper.
It is worth noting that Raya was not a starting goalkeeper in four games at the start of the season and also avoided two games against Brentford.
You could say it's thanks to the overall defensive quality of Arsenal right now (which is also true), but Raya's level is really high and it's fair to say that he did prove himself at Arsenal.
Of course, Raya has his shortcomings, and with his current style of play, he is rarely tested as often as Ramsdale before him, but Raya is indeed a goalkeeper for Arteta, and he has made a difference and achieved his tactical goals, and that is enough. What's more, Raya's performance is indeed very stable.
Arsenal's record in the Premier League since the winter break:
10 games, 9 wins, 1 draw, only the scenic area is on 2 points,
Scored 35 goals in 10 games, conceded four goals and kept six clean sheets.
Quite a terrible record, and such a result, such a performance, can not occupy the top of the league, I have to say that the Premier League is really too competitive.
It's not that we don't work hard and aren't strong, it's mainly that our opponents are too rolled...... Now I kind of understand the pain of Liverpool's inability to win the championship with nearly 100 points, what kind of opponent is this......
To be honest, this season has reached the goal no matter what, but the fans and players need a championship too much to satisfy their psychological hunger, even so, we have to look at it rationally, with the change of Liverpool coach and the change of Manchester City's squad, I believe that the moment of belonging to Arsenal will come, it is very close!
After Arsenal's win over Luton Town, Arteta praised Ronaldo, the man of the match and said it was a pleasure to watch the midfielder play.
Speaking at a press conference, Arteta said: 'I love Ronaldo and it's a pleasure to watch him play. He can help the team with his skills, it's fun to watch Ronaldo play and he helped the team win a lot today. ”
Ronaldo is not only a good performance, the key is his attitude, compared to many players who are mentally unstable, Ronaldo is the kind of player who will not reveal even if he is not in good shape, he will always run hard and always find a way to put pressure on the backline. There is no coach who doesn't like this kind of player, if it weren't for the injury, Ronaldo should not have fallen out of the starting lineup, and his achievements may not be lower than the current Saka (Saka is really naïve).
Looking at Arteta's statement, he doesn't intend to give up on Ronaldo, which is good news, Ronaldo also needs to get this opportunity before the summer and show this kind of performance, if the summer sells him, it will be a real pity.
Personally, Ronaldo is more worthy of a chance than Favi, but Arsenal has bought Havertz, so Ronaldo's future is still uncertain, because it is really difficult for him to get into the starting lineup in the future......
Ben White has been nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Month for March.
Mikel Arteta has been nominated for the Premier League's Manager of the Month for March, his sixth nomination this season!
Brother Tazi is about to break the nomination record, a season is a total of several months...... This is the sixth time they have been nominated, and Arsenal have been really good this season!
White was also consistent and excellent last month, but it can be a bit difficult to get the best in the Premier League......
Speaking to Football in London, Thomas said he wanted to continue playing for Arsenal.
"It's where I choose and I'm really happy every time I play," Thomas said. I know there's a lot of rumours at the moment, but for me it's nice to play for Arsenal and continue to play for this club. ”
I'm sure Thomas is telling the truth, because with his age, it's impossible to find a European team willing to pay him a higher salary unless he goes to places like the Middle East, and Arsenal is a team on the rise, so why not stay and win the title?
In fact, I personally think that as long as Thomas can recover his previous eight successes, it will be difficult for Arsenal to buy a better replacement in the market, or it will definitely be expensive. So let's see, if Thomas can stay injury-free by the end of the season, and there is no suitable offer for the summer, then it doesn't hurt to stay for another year, Thomas still has a level.
But if we say the ideal situation, then buying Zubimendi (or a player of similar level) and cleaning Thomas may be the best, because he is getting older and the contract extension is not suitable, this year may be the last chance to cash out, and if he stays, then there is a high probability that next year will be a free transfer.
Here's a look at the pre-match press conference.
Mikel Arteta was in attendance at his pre-match press conference and we take a look at what the Arsenal boss has discussed.
What is the situation with Saka?
We'll find out in a moment and we'll have a training session in a few hours and we'll know how he's doing.
What about the others?
Everyone else looks OK.
Do you think 4 away games will be the key to the title race?
Yes, but the home games are just as important, and we have the Champions League as well. Every game in the Premier League is very difficult, look at what happened last night, every team gave a lot to win. We will face a tricky opponent next up, Brighton and we have to prepare well, try to be better than them and then win.
Liverpool vs Sheffield United, did you watch it in a Sheffield United shirt?
No no.
Thomas said in a recent interview that his mind is on Arsenal and he wants to stay, so how are you going to use him for the rest of the season?
He'd better be here because we're fighting for big honours! We need Thomas, he's a top player, he's important to us and you can see the impact he has on the pitch.
So is there any news on Thomas' contract?
He's our player and he has just over a year left on his contract and I'm very happy with Thomas.
This is Kai Havertz's biggest goal scoring season since he arrived in the Premier League, are you happy with him?
Yes, very satisfied. Kai Havertz has an incredible ability to create space in different formats, passing, linking, setting up the game. Not only that, but I think Kai Havertz has a lot to contribute defensively, especially when he presses high and he puts in the team.
But Kai Havertz has a lot more to contribute, he needs to continue to improve on that and I'm sure he'll try to do the same.
So Havertz hasn't reached his peak yet?
At his age, I don't think so. He's only been on the road at Arsenal and he's built that relationship in his first season, we've put Kai Havertz in a lot of positions, he's so good and he could have done better.
Arsenal are the team that scores the most goals and concedes the fewest goals, so what else do they need to do to win the league title?
Win more games. We're still not at the top of the list, so we need to turn that data into wins, wins, wins. This is the only way to have a chance to lift the trophy at the end of the season.
Chaotic games like Chelsea's 4-3 Manchester United rarely happen to Arsenal these days, do they?
We've had a couple of games where we've played the same game, but not recently. As a spectator and a fan, I think it's one hell of a game......
Are you worried that Saka will be exhausted?
No, I'm optimistic about it, I think he's going to take off, and it's going to be very critical.
Because Saka is very strong, he's very excited about what he's up to be up against, he wants to be a part of it and he's getting better and better.
It's normal to be kicked a little bit, it's a little bit of a problem or something, that's how Saka has been in the last 2-3 years, but look at his performance.
It's been a tough few years for Ronaldo, does he still have an important place in your plans?
Yes. I'm watching him, including in recent seasons, but I can't forget what happened three seasons ago. At the macro level, this is the best thing that has happened in Ronaldo's career, and the key is whether he can use that experience correctly.
Don't dwell on the past, say "what if, what if", don't be like this, what happens is what happens, make good use of what happens. Think like this: "It's for the best, I've had good moments and tough moments, and now I know what I want and how to deal with it, and that's what makes me a better player." ”
So, you can see what kind of player we have when Ronaldo is healthy and can play at this level.
The above is the press conference.
It's still the same as before, that is, it doesn't tell you what the specific situation is...... In fact, it may not be true that he told it, but before the game against Luton Town, Arteta also said that Saka was fine...... So in terms of injury news, let's leave it to fate, and we'll know when the starting lineup is announced for the season.
As we said above, it's normal for players to want to stay, it depends on Arsenal's attitude. Judging from Arteta's statement, it seems that the door has not been completely closed for Thomas to stay, and I think he could still stay if Thomas can play well for the rest of the season. The key is whether there is a suitable offer in the summer, and I think it will be difficult for European teams to have ......
I think the comments on Ronaldo best reflect Arteta's wisdom, we Chinese pay attention to the place where misfortune and fortune lie, how to turn bad things into good things, this is a manifestation of a person's life is not transparent. As Arteta said, there is no point in complaining about what has already happened, and how to find the positive in the bad things, absorb the nutrients and make yourself stronger, is what matters.
It's not just about playing football, life is like that.
I hope that Tazige can lead the team to sublimate this season, this team is very strong!
Speaking at his press conference, Tuchel addressed Bayern's injury situation, saying: 'Neuer, Koeman, Leroy Sane, Mazraoui and Pavlovic are all out of the squad for this week's game, they all have their own problems, so there are doubts about their availability against Arsenal. ”
Just doubts, there are still a few days to go until the Champions League game. Anything is possible.
If none of these players are available, it will definitely have an impact on Bayern, but it's about the same, Bayern's problems this season are not caused by the lack of a few main players.
Despite this, Bayern Munich can still burst into a strong fight in the Champions League, and with their experience, Arsenal must be ready to give it their all!
Finally, let's look at two anecdotes.
According to Milan Sport, Arsenal and Manchester United target Zirkze are looking for a move this summer.
According to the report, Zirkze is most interested in joining Milan and has instructed his agent to run the transfer, the Rossoneri are preparing an offer worth £42.9 million, including a player swap, although Bologna are valued at £64 million, while Arsenal and Manchester United are also interested in the 22-year-old striker.
Mi Ti news, let's take a casual look first, in fact, Juventus is also interested in him, Zirkze may not want to join Milan the most......
Personally, I think that no team in Serie A can really afford Bologna's valuation (not counting player exchanges), but it is hard to say whether the Premier League team will really spend a lot of money on him.
Arsenal are genuinely interested in Zirkze, but the team are also interested in other young strikers, and for the time being things are not going deeper.
Fabrizio Romano spoke on his YouTube channel about Arsenal's midfield and forward signings.
Romano said: "From what I've heard, Arteta still admires Zubimendi and believes the Real Sociedad star is a talented midfielder who fits perfectly into any team in the world. So Zubimendi remains one of Arsenal's targets, but not the only midfield target.
In terms of strikers, I've been getting a lot of questions about Osimhen and a lot of European clubs appreciate him like Chelsea, Paris and Arsenal, but Arsenal are focusing on players like Djekereish or Sesko, who is also on Chelsea's shortlist. ”
It's all old acquaintances, so I won't say much.
Since Zubimendi has frequent scandals with Arsenal, and there is no shortage of reliable news, then Arsenal should be quite interested in him, but there are also many uncertainties in this deal, such as the interest of Bayern and other teams and whether he wants to leave is also uncertain, so let's talk about it in the summer.
Midfielder will definitely buy!
In the case of the centre-forward, depending on what Romano means, Arsenal will not spend a lot of money on a star like Osimhen, and the team is more inclined to buy a new star with top potential, this idea is okay.
However, Dzhekerish is not young, and if the price is really speculated to be around 100 million euros, it is not suitable, not to mention the level, which will seriously affect Arsenal's budget to strengthen other positions.
There are a lot of factors that come in this summer, and it's only April, so it's impossible to analyse it. But one thing is certain, with Arsenal's current positioning and squad level, it no longer makes sense to buy ordinary players......
The team has been built, and this is the most joyful.