NFL
By: Ty Reeves
What can I say? I’m shocked. If you would’ve told me that Arsenal would go unbeaten in 11 straight games after our worst start to a Premier League season in club history. I would’ve told you that you were completely mad. But here we are. 5th place in the league. Sitting above Tottenham and “title contenders” Manchester United. What can be better than this? Well, after today it has gotten even better for Arsenal fans.
Recently Emile Smith-Rowe was called up to the England national team by manager Gareth Southgate, finally. He joined teammates Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale as the third gunner to be selected to the world cup qualifying squad. In my opinion, Southgate should’ve picked Ben White over the walking fridge Harry Maguire.
That’s beside the point as all three players were named in the starting lineup for England’s match against San Marino yesterday. And lo and behold in his England debut Smith-Rowe scored. Who would’ve thought the player that has scored in three straight EPL games, who was controversially left out of the squad, would score in their international debut. That’s right, I did.
🔴1⃣3⃣ games
⚽️0⃣5⃣ goals
🎯0⃣2⃣ assists
❤️0⃣1⃣ Emile Smith RoweKeeping smashing it, @EmileSmithRowe 👊 pic.twitter.com/qP78lFDH5m
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 17, 2021
Not to mention Saka also got on the score sheet while Ramsdale kept a clean sheet. But that’s expected. The real focus for the Gunners is the next match against Liverpool. The Reds are coming off their first loss of the season after they fell against West Ham away from home. This is the perfect opportunity for Arsenal as the Reds are dealing with injuries ahead of Saturday’s clash.
No Partey No Party?
Arsenal is set to be missing a huge part of the team for the clash against Liverpool. Midfielder Thomas Partey picked up a groin injury that kept him in London during the international break. This is unfortunate for the team especially that manager Mikel Arteta refers to Partey as the mechanism that makes the clock tick.
But now the Spaniard is left with a crucial decision to make. With Partey being unfit and Granit Xhaka being out with an injury, does the gaffer choose to go young or with experience? For me, you don’t have a choice but to start Sambi Lokonga. Since his arrival to Arsenal this summer he has shown he is the man for the job in the middle of the pitch.
The real conversation is do you start Ainsley Maitland-Niles, the fast and lively Hales End product. Or do you start the real Egyptian King in Muhamad Elneny, who brings experience to the squad? For many, this may be a very difficult decision to make, but for me, it’s as clear as day. You don’t win ten straight games without having some consistency. And for Arsenal that is youth. The youngsters have been the reason for the team’s success this year, so why would you change that.
Maitland-Niles deserves to start for two reasons. One, you have to start him after his performance against Watford, which was nothing less than a master class. Two, he deserves the trust of the manager after what the club put him through at the beginning of the season. Exiling him from the first team, and blocking his move away from the club. We kept him for a reason. Let him prove why he deserves to be in the squad.
Regardless of the personnel and who’s available. This could be a make-or-break game for the season. If the Gunners win, it shows we mean business and that we deserve to be in that top four conversations. But if we lose, it could be a gigantic step in the wrong direction.
What to expect in January
As the weather gets colder and the year comes to a close, we are now getting closer to the January transfer window. As I said before, the Gunners currently sit in 5th as we approach the halfway point of the season. With a young squad, this is a pleasant surprise for the fans. But if the Gunners hope to push for European football, then strengthening the squad is going to be crucial.
Now you may think, we don’t need to strengthen the defense, our midfield is solid, and Aubameyang for the most part has been back to normal. Why go out and try to change something that isn’t broken?
Arsenal’s defensive record this season has been impressive, only conceding four goals in it’s last eight EPL games. However, the Gunners have only been able to score 13 goals in 11 total EPL matches. Not to say this is a drought, but if we hope to stay in the hunt, we need to score more.
The Gunners can’t only score once in a match and rely on the defense to hold out for the entire 90 minutes. Arsenal needs to be able to score goals to compete against Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City.
January Rumors
A lot of names have been talked about for the Gunners. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is one of the names that has been linked with a move to Everton. However, with Arsenal’s improved form as well as Maitland-Niles play on the pitch. It’s unlikely that he will move away from the club in January. Defender Calum Chambers has now appeared to be a fall-back option for Everton if their pursuit of Maitland-Niles falls through.
Mohamad Elneny has also been linked with a move away from the club over the recent months, Since Mikel Arteta took over the club, Elneny was linked to move away from the club. But Arteta decided to keep the Egyptian and he has played a decent amount during this period. Unfortunately for Elneny, it doesn’t appear Arsenal plans to offer him a new contract.
Arsenal has been linked with players like Renato Sanchez, and even an Aaron Ramsey return. Sanchez is unlikely as Arsenal rarely makes permanent moves in the January window. However, Ramsey is a delicate situation. Aaron Ramsey will one day go down as an Arsenal legend. The fan-favorite left London for Turin in 2019. After a brief period in Turin, Ramsey has become unsettled and has fallen down Massimiliano Allegri’s pecking order.
With Arsenal’s young midfield lacking experience and Ramsey’s familiarity with the Gunners, could a loan move be in-store to bring Aaron Ramsey back home? We will just have to wait and find out.
Arsenal vs. Liverpool
The Gunners face off against Liverpool this Saturday away from home at Anfield. Liverpool has received an injury boost with Thiago and Sadio Mane fit for action. However, it does appear the side will be without Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita, and Joe Gomez being out with Jordan Henderson being questionable.
The Gunners are hopeful for Partey’s fitness this weekend while Kieran Tierney is fit and ready to go. Arsenal also confirmed that captain Pierre Emmerick-Aubameyang is fit and available for selection against the Reds.
Liverpool currently sits two points in front of Arsenal as they are the sole owners of fourth place. For the Reds, three points would push them into second place in the table, depending on other results. For Arsenal, three points would put them level with Manchester City and West Ham with 23 points as the table stands. To say this is a battle of the heavyweights is an understatement. Two clubs with so much history have so much to lose Saturday as we head into the meat of the season.
