Arsenal Review USA

Arsenal paper over the cracks of a turbulent season in a big big way by extending their already impressive FA Cup trophy haul to 14 with an impressive win over Chelsea thanks to two expertly taken Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goals. We'll unpack all the brilliance and (mercifully little) bozo-ness, discuss favorable refereeing and transfer window prospects ahead of Mikel Arteta's first full upcoming season in charge of Arsenal...   ...and lastly, from the bottom of our hearts, when it comes to your Arsenal-supporting futures, goodbye and goodluck: this is our final podcast episode. After almost 11 years of euphoric highs and (seemingly) guttural lows, we're heading on to pastures anew in many respects. One thing we're not leaving behind though is our love for by far the greatest team the world has ever seen, so if an Arsenal match is on, be sure to look for us in a nearby pub, wherever you may be in the US, or better yet, catch us for a game at the Emirates, COVID-permitting.   It's been a joy sharing these moments with you over the internet airwaves for the last 11 years, so until we see you again remember: support the Arsenal.

Arsenal begin training and the Premiership keeps churning out crazy ideas as things begin lurching towards a resumption of footballing action. We'll talk the inherent wisdom of resuming the Premiership in the ways suggested, plus some (minor) Henrikh Mkhitaryan waffle and more COVID-related Arsenal shenanigans...

In a place where the warmth of the sun has no value, and time has no meaning -- so basically, present-day earth -- we turn our attentions to more immediately critical things, like how the world safely resumes footballing activities, whether Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will get so bored he'll decide that just staying and mucking about with Arsenal for a few more years is better than playing 20 season of FIFA in 3 days, and which canned "We're Monitoring the COVID Virus" company email is the absolute worst, all with the help of regular guest Sam Limbert...

As the Coronapocalypse brings all football activity (and just all activity in general) to a halt, the podcast discusses Arteta's recovery and the surreal vacuum absolutely no sport creates on day-to-day life, postulates the ramifications of COVID-19 on professional football in the coming year, plus analyzes recruiting tactical changes and what effect they could have on Arsenal in the years to come.

Arsenal sandwich two wins -- one in the Premiership over Everton and one in the FA Cup against Portsmouth -- either side of a heartbreaking elimination at home in the Europa League to Olympiacos. We'll debate whether or not being out of the Europa League could be a good thing (bear with us), the physical toll of Arteta's preferred style of play, rare financial woes and the bolstered legacy of the Invincibles...

Arsenal put their past myriad draws behind them with a confident second half performance and an even more resounding scoreline as they fell Newcastle at home. We'll talk timely redemptions for Ozil and Lacazette, plus Pepe promise, Champions League hope, Europa League lineup shuffles and the need to get our midfield linkup play up to league standard...

After a win and two (more) draws, Arsenal head off to Dubai with two new defensive loan signings in tow. We'll discuss the pedigree of Cedric and Pablo Mari and look ahead to the new recruits' (and Lacazette's) chances of starting against Newcastle and then Olympiakos in midweek...

Arsenal regress slightly into some Emery-ball against Sheffield United after some decent (read: not disastrous) showings in the Premiership and FA Cup. We'll discuss the lack of offense in midfield, what the defense needs to do to generally keep from freaking out all the time and of course the usual VAR segment...

Arsenal FINALLY turn the corner on their wretched form thanks to an energetic and well-deserved win at home against Manchester United. We'll discuss Arteta's bond with the players and how exactly the Spaniard can keep this positive momentum going with some solid business in the January transfer window...

After more excruciating results against Liege and Man City, Arsenal continue to limp towards reform with a fairly toothless 1-1 draw against Everton at Goodison Park. We'll discuss at exactly what point does your sports ownership hobby just make you look stupid, whether or not new boss Mikel Arteta has the dressing room chops to bend this squad to his will, and most importantly what kind of improvement can we reasonably expect from the Spaniard as Arsenal look set to make a more gradual transition back to success...

Arsenal finally cut ties with failing manager Unai Emery only to reveal they haven't been doing their homework on who exactly should replace him before drawing 2-2 to Norwich at Carrow Road. We'll revisit the highs and (many) lows of Emery's tenure at Arsenal, discuss Freddy's propensity for Wengerball (and whether our defense can actually handle that) plus wade through the club's deep deep "short list" of managers to find one that can actually move Arsenal's current collection of players up the table...

Arsenal set the November bar at an all-time low with a string of woeful results followed by a disastrous impromptu PR campaign as they double-down on supporting Unai Emery's by-now-disastrous tenure at the club. We'll look ahead to upcoming fixtures and debate just how low Arsenal could sink if they refuse to cut bait with the Spaniard plus explain the club's new Player Alienation program in full detail...

Arsenal's post-international break slump plunges to a new nadir with a 2-2 draw to Crystal Palace and no small amount of player controversy. We'll discuss the bizarre Xhaka episode plus Skynet's/VAR's latest casualties, along with the usual guff about whether or not Arsenal actually have the stones to move on past Unai Emery...

We're not exactly sure what a "scrapfest" is in footballing terms, but whatever it is we're sure it accurately describes the spectacle that is two sub-par teams like Arsenal and Manchester United hacking up a football pitch for 90 minutes as they make straightforward tasks like kicking a round ball to a teammate look incredibly difficult. We're of course talking about Arsenal's recent 1-1 draw against their (former) arch-rivals, which unfortunately typified their average performance over a hot-and-cold couple of weeks in the Premiership, the Europa League and the League Cup. We'll discuss when players like Pepe need to finally come good, try to slap some identity into Unai Emery's very dissociative identity disorder-afflicted team, and also take some time to laud Arsenal's younger players...

2019/20 Arsenal starts looking more and more like 2018/19 Arsenal as they blow a two goal lead to rock-bottom Watford thanks to some suicidal, whipping boy defense. We'll talk Unai Emery's lack of identity and the worrying observation that this team simply looks uncoached, plus talk about Arsenal's over-reliance on the speed game and....ya' know, all the usual fun things one muses over after a disappointing Arsenal performance.