Opinion: Arsenal Owe Their Fans Something To Celebrate This Season

The Gunners put away Norwich City in their latest victory on Wednesday night but the fans at the Emirates Stadium wouldn’t be smug if they asked for more from the club.

It’s been three years since Arsenal had anything worthwhile to celebrate with their fans in London and across the world. They have been far away from qualifying for the Champions League since the 10-2 demolition by Bayern Munich in the 2016/2017 season and also last lifted a major trophy, the English FA cup in that season.

Gone are the days of exciting Champions League nights are at the Emirates. The days of stunning solo runs from Theo Walcott and clinical finishing from Robin Van Persie is now a distant memory and not many people remember how Arsenal made the Champions League final in 2006.
More recently, the game against Olympiakos was an all time low and it was difficult to watch Arsenal being sent packing from the Europa League even for neutral fans. Such is how Arsenal has degenerated over the years and it remains to be seen how or when they will return to Europe in the near future. Nothing is settled as of yet as it is still possible for them to make the European places mathematically. The win against Norwich takes them up to seventh on the log but a win for either of Sheffield or their arch rivals, Totenham later today would see them return to eight on the table.

Their weak financial muscles only makes things more complicated for them going into the summer and they will struggle to attract any player in the next transfer window without a trophy to show for or at least a place in Europe’s second division tournament.

Keeping Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang beyond this season also seems like mission impossible as he continues to be linked with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. The Gabonese striker may finally make a move if he ends the season without a meaningful achievement to look back on this season despite being the club captain all season. The former Dortmund striker has become the fastest player to hit 50 goals in an Arsenal shirt, in 83 appearances.

For all that it is worth, the club must try hard to keep their starman to get close to winning anything and Arteta should sure know better than let him leave. Arsenal are still in competition for a place for the Europa League and could still win the FA cup if they manage to get the better of Man City who on the strength of their lofty standards will want to forget this season despite most likely finishing second behind Liverpool and have already won the Carabao cup.

There are too many question marks than answers on what the future portends for the Gunners but they can be certain of a bleaker future if they fail to record any serious achievement come the end of July.

Chelsea Lift Europa League title

*Hazard Brace Blows Arsenal Away; Chelsea Win Europa League

Eden Hazard’s brace helped Maurizio Sarri claim his first major trophy as Chelsea crushed Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final in Baku on Wednesday.

In perhaps his final appearance before a mooted move to Real Madrid, star man Hazard struck two second half goals to confirm Chelsea’s second triumph in six seasons in this competition.

Olivier Giroud sparked the landslide against his former employers in the 49th minute before Pedro put a second past retiring Gunners goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Alex Iwobi pulled one back in between Hazard’s double but Arsenal faded horribly after half-time and, having finished fifth in the Premier League, are now consigned to another season outside the Champions League.

Now we wait for who will lift the Champions League.

Liverpool thrash Arsenal to extend lead on the table

Liverpool roared back from a rare Anfield deficit to move nine points clear at the top of the Premier League as Roberto Firmino’s hat-trick inspired a 5-1 thrashing of Arsenal on Saturday.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were also on target as Liverpool’s front three all scored in the same league game for the first time this season.
Liverpool had trailed at home in the league for the first time in a day short of a year when Ainsley Maitland-Niles turned home Alex Iwobi’s excellent cross 11 minutes in.
However, the lead lasted just three minutes as Firmino profited from some calamitous Arsenal defending to level and then left Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos on the floor to score his second goal in three minutes.
Mane and Salah’s penalty had the game wrapped up by half-time and Firmino completed his hat-trick from the spot as Jurgen Klopp’s men extended their unbeaten league start to 20 games and took another significant step towards a first league title since 1989/1990.
Win again in their next outing at Manchester City on Thursday and only a Liverpool collapse in the final months of the season can prevent an end to nearly three decades of hurt.
Champions City now trail the pacesetters by 10 points and even if they reduce that lead to seven with victory at Southampton on Sunday, they need to end Liverpool’s invincible season so far to get back in the title race at the Etihad.
Tottenham’s title ambitions suffered a huge blow as Wolves scored three times in the final 18 minutes to win 3-1 at Wembley earlier on Saturday to further embolden Anfield with belief before kick-off.
That confidence could have been shaken when after a bright Liverpool start, it was Arsenal who led when Iwobi’s teasing cross perfectly dissected Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk, to leave Maitland-Niles with an open goal.
The signings of Alisson and Van Dijk have been credited for Liverpool’s rock-solid defensive record with that goal just the eighth they have conceded all season in the league.
But that solidity is now being married with a return to the sort of form Salah, Firmino and Mane showed last season in smashing a combined 91 goals last season.
Firmino didn’t even have to look at the ball when he slotted the equaliser into an empty net after Sokratis’s attempted clearance rebounded off Mustafi into his path to quickly level.
However, the Brazilian did all the hard work himself two minutes later by jinking through Arsenal’s hapless central defensive pairing before drilling low past Bernd Leno.
Mane made it 3-1 on 32 minutes when Salah cushioned a cross perfectly into the Senegalese’s path to side-foot high into the net.
Arsenal were handed a let-off moments later by referee Michael Oliver when Granit Xhaka was only given a final warning rather than a second booking in a matter of seconds for kicking the ball away in frustration.
But Oliver gave Liverpool the chance to extend their lead just before half-time when Salah tumbled under pressure from Sokratis in the box.
Leno got a touch to the Egyptian’s spot-kick but couldn’t stop Salah moving level with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Harry Kane as the Premier League’s top scorer on 13.
Liverpool could easily have had more after the break as only a poor touch from Salah allowed Leno to smother and the German ‘keeper also denied Fabinho, while at the other end Aubameyang’s blushes were saved by the offside flag when he fired over with an open goal gaping.
Salah gave up the chance to move clear in the race for the golden boot when Sead Kolasinac pushed Dejan Lovren 25 minutes from time and Firmino gratefully fired home the penalty to round off a five-star performance.

Liverpool go into the new year at the top of the table could this be the turn around year for the Merseyside team

Henrikh Mkhitaryan To miss out on January action

The Armenian was taken off at half-time of the Carabao Cup clash with Tottenham after suffering the injury during the first half
Arsenal have been rocked by the news that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be out of action until February due to a broken metatarsal.

The Armenia international, 29, suffered the injury in the first half of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

Mkhitaryan suffered the fractured foot when attempting a shot from the edge of the penalty area, only for Lucas Moura to make a last-ditch challenge.

The Brazilian won the ball, but also crashed into Mkhitaryan, who remained on the deck in agony.

He was substituted at the break and subsequently missed the 3-1 win over Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.

Mkhitaryan suffered the injury in the loss to Spurs

Arsenal confirmed on Monday that, after weekend tests and a scan, Mkhitaryan has indeed suffered a broken foot and is expected to be out for at least six weeks.

That means he will miss the rest of the festive fixtures as well as the club’s entire January programme.

Mkhitaryan has been a regular under Unai Emery and has contributed four Premier League goals this season.

He will now miss matches against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.

He joined the Gunners as part of the Alexis Sanchez swap deal that took the Chilean to Manchester United.

Mkhitaryan’s injury is another blow to Gunners boss Emery, who already has a long list of players sidelined.

However, Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck remain the club’s only long-term absentees; neither is expected to play again this season.