What a month. Seriously, take a breath, Gooners.
Since my last post (where we absolutely demolished Spurs 4-1—still watching the highlights, by the way), the schedule has been relentless. If you thought the North London Derby was the peak, you were wrong. This team is made of steel.
As we are in crucial period of the season, here is the breakdown of our run from November up to last night's win under the lights.
🇪🇺 The European Night: Arsenal 3-1 Bayern Munich
Three days after beating Spurs, we had Bayern at the Carpet. I was worried that there would be some emotional hungover from the Derby, but the team provide me wrong.
The Result: A commanding 3-1 win. Timber, Madueke and Martinelli scored for us.
The Vibe: Electric. Beating Bayern is always a benchmark. We didn't just counter them; we controlled them especially in the 2nd half.
Beating a European giant so convincingly proved that this squad is ready to go deep in the UCL this year.
⚔️ The Stamford Bridge Battle: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal
Then came Sunday. The short trip to West London.
This was a frustrating one. Chelsea going down to 10 men (Moises Caicedo, what were you doing?) should have handed us the win, but we looked leggy. When Chalobah scored that loopy header for them, I feared the worst.
Enter Mikel Merino. The man is becoming a cult hero. He popped up with a massive equaliser to save a point. In the grand scheme of the title race, a point away at Chelsea after playing Spurs and Bayern in the same week? I’ll take it.
🐝 Last Night: Arsenal 2-0 Brentford
That brings us to yesterday. A cold Wednesday night, Saliba out injured (still can't believe that "bizarre" training ground injury), and a stubborn Brentford side.
This was a "professional" performance. It wasn't flashy, but it was dominant.
Merino Again: He is on fire! Another goal plus an assist for the Spaniard. He has truly found his feet in this team, playing that False 9 (or whatever it is) role perfectly.
Clean Sheet: Huge credit to the backline. With Saliba out, watching Mosquera step up (before he limped off—fingers crossed it’s minor) and then Timber filling in was reassuring. Raya made an outstanding save in the 1st half to protect our lead.
🚑 The Injury Ward: Highs & Lows
It’s not all sunshine, though. The fixture congestion is biting.
The Saliba Situation: We need him back ASAP. The defense looks solid, but Saliba is Saliba.
Dec & Mosquera Scares: Seeing Declan Rice limp off late yesterday gave me a heart attack. Arteta seemed to think it was just a knock in the post-match interview, but we need to wrap that man in cotton wool.
The Good News: Ben White played full 90 minutes and produced a MOM performance. Jesus is back on the bench, Gyökeres is getting minutes again, and Odegaard looks back to his sharpest self.
🦁 Up Next: Aston Villa (Away)
We are off to Villa Park on Saturday. Villa are flying high, currently 3rd on the table, so this is arguably tougher than the Chelsea game.
If Rice is fit and Merino keeps this goal-scoring form up, I back us to take all three points. But we will need to be clinical.
COYG!
