From Freepik.
Morning all.
Renée Slegers side did well last night in the Champions League. 1-0 down at home against Real Madrid before an Alessia Russo double secured all three points. Just what the women needed after last weeks surrender of a 2-0 lead against Bayern. Being super critical, we were a bit wasteful in front of goal.
So far this week, we’ve heard nothing from the horses mouth about Gabriel and whether or not he’s set for a period of time on the sidelines. Speculation has been rife of course with the worst suggestion being that he’s out until 2026 which of course, we all hope is not true. Because of this speculation though, Sky Sports have compiled a “with and without Gabriel” by the numbers.
From Sky Sports
Whilst every Arsenal fan would in all likelihood prefer Gabriel in our starting lineup, the above stats are historical and in my opinion, irrelevant. We’ve never had two centre backs like Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera as backups. I say backups but both are excellent defenders in their own right. In fact I’d go as far to say that in my time of supporting Arsenal, we never been as strong or as well equipped in central defence as we are now. It’s situations like this, if Gabriel is ruled out, Arsenal prepared for back in the summer. It’s why the club bought Ebe Eze, Noni Madueke, Kepa and Christian Norgaard too. Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres were a necessity.
Yes we are going into a north London derby potentially without one of our best players but what a great opportunity it might present for either Mosquera or Hincapie to come into the side and be a hero in their first NLD. They will be well aware of what this game means to the club and its fans, teammates too who have already learned about the clubs history and rivalry with the neighbours.
There are derbies in football all over the world, certainly in England and Britain. Celtic v Rangers in Scotland stands out, the two Manchester clubs as well as the Merseyside clubs. This season brings together Sunderland v Newcastle Utd, the Tyne-Wear derby again. Divisions often keep local clubs apart but when they don’t, there is usually something spicy added to the tie.
Whether it’s just because I’m an Arsenal fan or not I don’t know but I believe the NLD feels bigger than the rest, certainly in the Premier League. I think this fixture has had everything over the years, the good, the bad and even the ugly.
I noticed that a lot of red cards which were shown in the above clip came about because of two bookable offences yet nowadays, I’m pretty sure a number of them would be a straight red card offence. Especially with VAR reviews.
I had to smile when I saw Grimandi in the above clips because whenever I see him, I think back to the Dennis Bergkamp testimonial match… Hilarious…
Catch up in the comments.