FootieTalks

Southampton 3-2 Arsenal  Arsenal's defensive crisis took its toll at St Mary's on Sunday, as the 22 game unbeaten run came to an end. A makeshift back 3 of Stephan Lichsteiner, Granit Xhaka, and returning captain Laurent Koscielny, who played his first Premier League game since April was always going to be a weakness for the Gunners.  A first home league win of the season lifts Southampton out of the bottom three and Hasenhuttl, replacement to Mark Hughes, celebrated wildly on the pitch with his players at full-time. Laurent Koscielny made his first Premier League start for seven months after his injury nightmare suffered against Atletico Madrid as Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette were left on the bench. Danny Ings returned from a hamstring injury in one of two changes for Southampton. Ings had twice put the Saints ahead (20, 44) on his return from injury but they were pegged back by two Henrik Mkhitaryan goals (28, 53). With the game locked at ...

Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield  In a game of precious few chances, Arsenal found it tough to break down the visitors and when The Gunners did have the ball in the net in the first half, Alex Lacazette was flagged for offside, a decision which Arsenal fans believed to be incorrect But after a spell of late pressure, Uruguayan midfielder scored a bicycle kick from close range after good work by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to seal the three points. But once the game got underway, it was clear that the visitors were up for this one as they made life difficult for us, snapping into tackles and closing the space well. Indeed, it took until just before the half-hour mark for the hosts to fashion the first chance of note when a sweeping move started by Matteo Guendouzi resulted in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stabbed the ball wide from close range. Less than a minute later Arsenal had created another big opportunity as the lively Guendouzi found Alex Lacazette unmarked in the area, bu...

21 unbeaten! 3 games in 6 days After a crazy week for Arsenal, who played 3 games in 6 days, we remain unbeaten in 21.  The first came against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 2nd December. Following a 3-0 Europa League victory on the Thursday before, in which Emery made 10 changes to his Arsenal side, the young guns convincingly beat FC Vorskla in Kiev.  Goals from Emile Smith Rowe, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Willock secured top spot in our Europa League group. It wasn't just the 3-0 victory which pleased Gunner's fans. Strong performances from youngsters Emile Smith-Rowe, Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah shows promise for Arsenal future, and debuts for Zech Medley, Charlie Gilmour and Bukayo Saka, all three of whom impressed the Arsenal faithful.  Derby day came around and Arsenal fans went into this one with  confidence.  Arsenal started on the front foot, and after 10 minutes, Jan Vertonghen gifted the home side ...

Arsenal vs Sporting Lisbon Review  Arsenal 0-0 Sporting  A dull game at the Emirates, ended with  Arsenal securing qualification to the knockout stage of the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League  with two games to spare following a goalless draw against Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates on Thursday evening. The night will largely be remembered though because of a serious ankle injury sustained by Danny Welbeck which saw him stretchered from the field during the first half. His replacement, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang struck the crossbar early in the second half but that was as close as the Gunners came to a winner as Sporting, who had Jeremy  Mathieu sent off late on held on for a point.  The draw was enough to see Unai Emery's side, who extended their unbeaten run to 15 matches, through to the last 32 because of Qarabag's 1-0 win at Vorskla but they will have to wait until their next match - a trip to Vorskla on November 29 - for the chance...

Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool Alexandre Lacazette's late equaliser gave Arsenal a 1-1 draw in an entertaining clash with Liverpool at The Emirates on Saturday Liverpool hit the woodwork twice through Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk during a frantic but goalless first half and had a goal from Sadio Mane disallowed for offside, which has prompted criticism from fans and pundits alike, and yet again reinforces calls for VAR in the Premier League. Milner's ball over the top of Arsenal's defence found Firmino, who poked the ball against the post only for the ball to fall into Mane's path. He tapped home, but the flag was up, despite Mane being offside from the first phase of play, but behind the ball for Firmino's effort at goal. Leno then saved well from Van Dijk after the defender took the ball down well in the area and shot, before Lacazette struck just wide from an angle at the other end. The visitors took the lead through James Milner in the 61 st minut...

Arsenal vs Liverpool Preview Liverpool will be without midfielders Naby Keita and Jordan Henderson for their trip to Arsenal on Saturday. Both are only scheduled to return to training over the next couple of days after suffering hamstring injuries but are not likely to be available until next weekend’s round of fixtures. Arsenal come into this one having had their winning streak ended last weekend when they were held at Crystal Palace 2-2, and remained unbeaten in 12 following their mid-week Carabao Cup victory against Blackpool Unai Emery is desperate for Arsenal to turn around their poor form against top-six clubs, starting against Liverpool on Saturday. Having already lost to Manchester City and Chelsea in their first two games of the season, Arsenal will certainly want a turn of fortunes on Saturday.  Last season, the Gunners won just once out of nine games against Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham. STAT ATTACK  Arsena...

Arsenal 1-0 Sporting Lisbon Danny Welbeck gives Arsenal their 11th straight win, after a solid display in a evening afternoon in the Portuguese capital.  Danny Welbeck struck the winner as Arsenal beat Sporting Lisbon 1-0 in Europa League Group E, their 11th straight victory under Unai Emery. In a first half lacking in clear-cut opportunities, Henrikh Mkhitaryan forced a decent save out of Ribeiro from an angled free-kick, while former Manchester United winger Nani struck narrowly over from long range. In the early stages of the 2nd half,  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang force two good saves out of Ruben Ribeiro one-on-one, before Welbeck saw a headed goal ruled out for a push, which was a harsh decision from the referee, in the 67th minute. Danny Welbeck eventually scored which proved to be the only goal of the game in the 78th minute, after former the Liverpool and Sunderland defender Sebastian Coates' mistake. The result means Arsenal sit at the t...