Ethan

Joined January 2021

55 stories

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Trying to rediscover my passion for writing, one post at a time!

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Bayern Left Bruised By Arteta's Men
With Tottenham Hotspur dispatched on Sunday, attention turned to the Champions League. Bayern Munich were in town and ready to derail our European campaign. The German giants have had an almost perfect season, having won every single game, except from a draw against Union Berlin at the start of November. While on this enormous stretch of unbeaten games, they've scored 55 goals in the Bundesliga and Champions League combined, while only conceding 11. No opposition will arrive on our doorstep in better form than that. Mikel Arteta and his men had their work cut out, a win would give us maximum points after five games and Arteta knows how important that is in the grand scheme of things.
By Ethan 2 months ago in Cleats
Frank-ly, It Was All to Eze
It felt like we had to wait a lifetime to see our club back in action again. After an agonising away fixture to Sunderland, we had Tottenham Hotspur stood in our way on our path to redemption. Prior to the international break beginning, we were told that all members of our injury brigade would be back. However, Gabriel managed to sustain an injury and we got vague updates on any personnel back for the Spurs match. At one point it seemed like none were coming back, but thankfully we saw Noni Madueke back in the squad, alongside Gabriel Martinelli. That little boost was welcome, but the team that started the match was the same as what we saw against Sunderland, minus our best defender this season. The North London derby, what did Arsenal have in store for us?
By Ethan 2 months ago in Cleats
Caught Sleeping at Sunderland
The final hurrah before the last international break of the year. Our lead at the top of the table was beginning to look quite comfortable, despite a Manchester City resurgence. Arsenal needed to capitalise on the fact that City were up against Liverpool this weekend and that meant, at the minimum, one of these sides were dropping points. If Arsenal secured a win over Sunderland then it would open up a huge gap on one of these teams. However, the fixture at the Stadium of Light meant that Arsenal faced three away games in the space of a week. With an obliterated attack, energy was running low and fatigue will have started to set in.
By Ethan 2 months ago in Cleats
Magic Man Merino in Prague
Arsenal have currently had no problem in the Champions League. It's three wins from three without a goal conceded, leaving us in the top four heading into this tie. Slavia Prague presented an interesting challenge, but one which Mikel Arteta would've felt comfortable overcoming. The Czechoslovakian side are a formidable opponent within the comfort of their domestic league surroundings, but the Champions League has been underwhelming so far. Two draws and a loss have left them scrambling around the bottom end of the table. But, the atmosphere that these European sides can create is very intimidating to those that can crumble under pressure.
By Ethan 2 months ago in Cleats
Two's Enough at Turf Moor
Arsenal well and truly hold the fate of the Premier League in their hands. Every game will feel like a final of some sort, but the emotions can't run that high all the time. After opening up some space on the main rivals, Liverpool and Manchester City, it was all about sustaining that space and keeping the momentum going. Burnley away presented an awkward fixture, the newly promoted side have seen an uptick in form having won their last two games. But, coming up against a side that won every single game in October, without even conceding a goal, was always going to be a daunting prospect. Arsenal needed to avoid complacency, Burnley needed bravery.
By Ethan 2 months ago in Cleats
Premier League Predictions GW9
Premier League football returns once again which will see it run from Friday to Sunday this time around. Leeds United against West Ham will get us kick started on Friday night. They'll kick off at 8PM (GMT). On to Saturday's fixtures and we begin with Chelsea vs Sunderland at 3PM, the only other 3PM kick off will be Newcastle hosting Fulham. We then have Manchester United taking on Brighton at 5:30PM, followed by Liverpool travelling to Brentford for the late kick off at 8PM. On Sunday we have five fixtures with four kicking off at 2PM. That'll start with Bournemouth playing host to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal will take on Crystal Palace, Aston Villa will welcome Manchester City and finally Wolves will play Burnley. To close off this weekend of football we'll see Everton clash against Tottenham Hotspur at 4:30PM.
By Ethan 2 months ago in Cleats
No Dow-ubt About it Against Brighton
Cup competitions are a hard one to navigate for Arsenal. They haven't won enough trophies over the years to not take every single one seriously and the EFL Cup (Carabao Cup) is no different in my eyes. The smallest of the four accolades, but a trophy in every sense of the word. It's also the first one you can win and getting that winning feeling in March could do wonders for the latter stages of our campaign. The lack of trophies is the blotch on Arteta's resume that he'd really like to start removing and that can start with the EFL Cup.
By Ethan 2 months ago in Cleats
Conservative Against Crystal Palace
Arsenal had the opportunity to extend their lead over Liverpool to seven points due to the Merseyside club losing to Brentford on Saturday night. The Gunners, in the past, struggle to capitalise on the downfall of their rivals. However, it's a different Arsenal side this season and a side that are seemingly hell bent on restoring glory to an old giant of the game. Crystal Palace stood in their way and that's a scary sight these days. In recent times the south London side have got the better of us on more than one occasion, in fact only last season we settled for a 2-2 draw at the Emirates. Oliver Glasner has taken them from strength to strength even since that result in April. They've picked up an FA Cup and Community Shield and embarked on a 17 game unbeaten run that only ended a couple of weeks ago. Mikel Arteta has his work cut out and this wasn't helped by concerns amongst the squad that Gabriel and Bukayo Saka might not make the game. Thankfully they did and Arteta could use the strongest starting XI at his disposal.
By Ethan 3 months ago in Cleats
Awesome against Atletico
Arsenal have been in brilliant form as of late. Winning games, keeping clean sheets and scoring goals. But, only enough goals to win the game, not enough to encapsulate the level of domination we inflict on our opponents. The Champions League has seen our form marry up with what we've produced in the Premier League. Athletic Bilbao were kept at arms length as we beat them 2-0 and then our old nemesis Olympiacos were seen off with a 2-0. Atletico Madrid are by far our toughest opponents yet, but they came to an Emirates stadium, that had no hot water, and is a fortress for us. Spanish teams have struggled against us in recent times, so another Spanish scalp was on the agenda.
By Ethan 3 months ago in Cleats
Curse broken at Craven Cottage
What felt like an eternity, Arsenal were finally back in action after the international break. The lads returned without any injury concerns other than the ones we already know about, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard could all be back by time the next international break rolls around. We returned to action against a side that seemed to have our number over the last couple of seasons, especially at Craven Cottage. No win on Fulham's turf since early 2023. Mikel Arteta is leading a title charge and a win against Fulham would reclaim top spot from Manchester City and create a four point gap over Liverpool. A win was nothing short of essential.
By Ethan 3 months ago in Cleats
Premier League Predictions GW8
The second international break has finally come to an end, but loathingly not the final one. With the World Cup edging closer, players throughout the division will be hoping their performances will be up to scratch to make the World Cup squads for their respective nations. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at a weekend full of football.
By Ethan 3 months ago in Cleats
Happy Against the Hammers
A London derby to close off the Premier League for the upcoming international break. Arsenal enter this fixture off the back of a great week of football. Newcastle away, completed. Olympiacos at home, completed. Four goals scored and one conceded. While Arsenal were soaring, Liverpool were faltering and the Gunners needed to capitalise on this moment. West Ham have had a disastorous start the season and languish down in 19th. They even sacked Graham Potter after game five. However, Nuno Espirito Santo would take confidence from the fact that the Hammers have beaten Arsenal at the Emirates for two seasons in a row. So, no matter how good Mikel Arteta's men have been, this is an obstacle that needed overcoming.
By Ethan 3 months ago in Cleats