Pastel De Haha!
"Wow!" "Amazing!" "So cool and fun!" - (Your reactions)
The sun is shining even brighter than when I wrote my last post, both literally and metaphorically, because I'm coming to you following a smash and grab 1-0 win away from home at Sporting C.P.
I think the result and the way it came about with a last minute goal of real quality definitely adds a bonus good feeling onto what would have been a still slightly improved feeling about the team had we drawn 0-0 instead, which seemed very likely at 90 minutes played last night.
The line-up was announced and I don't think there were any real surprises. Injuries and form pretty much decided it pre-game and I was very interested to see how we would get on with some of our key players back. It would be a telling sign of how impactful it was to not have the likes of Raya etc in the team for our two cup defeats. Turns out, it made a lot of difference!
Mind you, at the start of the first half, I thought we showed signs of our nerves and dented confidence in how we played, especially when that was coupled with a hyped up Sporting team that was at home, greeted with a proud tifo from their galvanised home crowd, emboldened by the fact that they hadn't lost at home in 23 games. Ben White struggled at times to deal with a very lively Araújo, who smashed the bar after a fantastic ball was played to him by Diomande.
We grew into it as the half went on and had some half chances of our own, looking most dangerous (unsurprisingly) from set-pieces. If we were going to get any joy it was (double-unsurprisingly) going to come down the right hand side. However, it was a very even affair for the majority of the middle third of the game.
Towards the end of the second half, however, Sporting started to open up a bit more as the onus was on them to come and attack us to pick up a win at home. This allowed Arteta's 'finishers' to step up and, following a delightful ball from Martinelli (feels strange even typing that given his recent performances), Kai Havertz took a sensational touch with a cold-as-ice finish to snatch the victory at the end (also not used to saying that this season).
Make no mistake - this was only achievable because of a man-of-the-match performance by the hugely missed David Raya. Some of those saves, especially the one tipping Araújo's shot onto the bar, were absolutely top drawer from him. His level above Kepa and most (if not all 👀) other keepers at the moment is clear to see, with this performance adding to his case for our player of the season.
Let's revisit what I said in the last post ahead of this game, shall we?
"If we can respond strongly against Sporting, helped by the return of more key players (Rice, Trossard, etc.) then I think that could really get us back on track and calm a lot of nerves ahead of the crucial clash against Bournemouth at the weekend."
Well, I think we pretty much managed that! In the end, it was a morale boosting win that really lifts the team and fans' confidence ahead of what is a monumental return to Premier League action at home to Bournemouth this Saturday.
Hopefully we can get some more key players back like Timber, Saka or Eze so that we have more options from the bench that can make a real impact on the game if needed, as well as give the likes of Ben White a rest. I think players like White need a rest if possible, as he's gone from barely playing and struggling with fitness to having to play every game to completion recently. I remember this happening midway through this season and it led to him breaking down again. Let's try and avoid that as we enter the home straight in what could still be a historic season for this club.
Bournemouth, similarly to Southampton and Sporting, are on a bit of an ominous unbeaten run of 11 games. Their last result was a 2-2 draw to a revitalised (hopefully just temporarily) Manchester United and they gave us a tough game when we scraped a 3-2 victory at their place in what was their last defeat. That was on my birthday so I remember it well, it nearly ruined it but the flu I picked up that day decided to instead. I've never been ill on my birthday before so that was an unwanted first, but maybe a good omen for the season... (I will clutch at those straws, thank you).
Win the game and we go 12 points clear before City play Chelsea away. Chelsea need a victory to keep their hopes of Champions League football alive for next season, and given their recent financial results I would imagine they will be quite keen on securing that sweet, sweet revenue. I will cling onto this as I pray that they find a way to take points off City and help us out big time. We need to do our job first, but if we can do that and if City drop points then that Etihad fixture becomes a very juicy one indeed.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, one game at a time, back in front of the home crowd on Saturday and to quote James a.k.a Gunnerblog - Lez Do Dis!!!
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