Following a nervy win over Vitoria S.C., we were hoping for a convincing win over Crystal Palace to ease the tension around Emery. The Eagles’ star player, Wilfried Zaha, was heavily linked to us in the summer but we instead bought his national team mate, Nicolas Pepe. Here are a few fun facts about this game. Crystal Palace have only ever beaten us five times in all competitions whereas we have won twenty-eight! Kieran Tierney was making his League debut, and this game made him the two-hundredth Scottish player to make an appearance in the Premier League. My favourite stat, though, is that we haven’t lost a home game in October for seventeen years!

Nine minutes into the game, Nicolas Pepe crossed the ball into the box. Former Chelsea captain, Gary Cahill attempted to clear it but it went right to Xhaka. He headed it to Sokratis who volleyed the ball into the ground and then the goal! We were 1-0 up after only seven minutes. Sokratis is a centre back, but judging by that finish, he could probably be a striker!

One hundred and six seconds after the first goal, we were awarded another corner which Pepe took. He crossed it to the far post where Luiz was waiting to blast the ball into the top corner to make it 2-0. At this point, the win was almost certainly ours and if we were to lose or draw that would be very disappointing. This was Luiz’s second goal for the club in only ten appearances which is very good for a centre back.

In the thirty-second minute, Wilfried Zaha made a great run into the box before being tripped by Chambers. Martin Atkinson consulted VAR and they confirmed that it was a penalty. Luka Milivojevic stepped up and cooly knocked the ball past Leno to make the score 2-1. That penalty was his twenty-first in the Premier League, which makes him the sixth highest penalty-scorer ever (two behind Wayne Rooney).

Seven minutes after half time, James McArthur made a great run down the wing. He crossed the ball to the far post where Jordan Ayew was waiting to head it past Leno to equalise the game. He had netted four goals in his last eight Premier League games, which is as many as he had managed in his previous thirty-four.

In the sixty-first minute, Xhaka was replaced by Saka. Due to the recent poor form of the Switzerland international, he was jeered off the pitch. Instead of quickly leaving the pitch, he ripped off his shirt, mouthed vulgarities at the fans, and then stormed past Emery and straight down the tunnel. I doubt that Xhaka will play for Arsenal again after this display of behaviour. I do feel bad for him, though, because he was receiving lots of threats and insults online. Fourteen minutes later, Kolasinac replaced Tierney.

In the eighty-third minute, Pepe swung a corner into the box. After bouncing around in the box for a few seconds, the ball came to Sokratis who slammed it into the goal to put us into the lead again! After consulting VAR, though, they ruled that Chambers had committed a foul in the build up so the goal was disallowed. I think that it was a really light foul by Chambers so our goal should have stood.

The game ended 2-2 which is really disappointing because we were two goals up at one point and of course dropping two points is never a nice feeling. Our next game is against reigning Champions League winners, Liverpool, in the EFL Cup. Hopefully we will be able to pull off a shock win and progress to the next round.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Sokratis Papastathopoulos

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Bernd Leno: 6

Callum Chambers: 6

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 7½

David Luiz: 6½

Kieran Tierney: 7

Nicolas Pepe: 6

Matteo Guendouzi: 6

Granit Xhaka: 4

Dani Ceballos: 6

Alexandre Lacazette: 6½

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 5

On the twenty fifth of October, we played Portuguese side Vitoria S.C. in the Europa League. If history suggests anything this should be an easy win because we are unbeaten in our last five home games against Portuguese opponents, scoring 17 goals and conceding none! Lacazette was making his first start since coming back from injury.

Eight minutes into the game, a Vitoria player made a great run down the right flank. Tierney desperately tried to stop him but he managed to pass the ball to Marcus Edwards. He took a touch then blasted the ball past Martinez to make it 1-0 to Vitoria. That goal was the earliest Arsenal have conceded in a European competition since Edinson Cavani netted after 42 seconds for PSG in 2016. This was Edward’s first return to London since joining Vitoria from Sp*rs.

In the thirty-second minute, Tierney whipped a brilliant ball into the box. Martinelli leapt into the air before heading the ball past Miguel Silva to equalise the game! He has been directly involved in six goals in three starts for Arsenal in all competitions which is really impressive for an eighteen-year-old.

Eight minutes before half-time, Maitland-Niles lost the ball 30 yards away from goal. Davidson da Luz Pereira took a shot which bounced of the post. Unfortunately, though, Bruno Duarte was standing in the box waiting to pounce on the loose ball. Duarte smashed the ball into the top corner to make the score 2-1 to Vitoria.

We made three substitutions in the second half. In the forty-sixth minute, Guendouzi replaced Maitland-Niles, and Willock was replaced by Ceballos. In the seventy fifth minute, Pepe replaced Lacazette.

Five minutes after Pepe came on, we were awarded a free kick. Pepe smashed the ball over the wall and into the bottom corner to equalise the game for a second time! It was an exquisite goal and hopefully this is the start of some good form because he hasn’t justified his  £72m price tag yet.

In the final minute of regular time, we were awarded another free kick from a similar position as the one Pepe scored earlier. Pepe stepped up yet again and blasted the ball right into the top corner to put us into the lead for the first time in the game! This goal made him the first player to score two direct free-kicks in a Europa League game since Luis Suárez for Liverpool vs Zenit St. Petersburg in 2013.

The game ended 3-2 thanks to a great performance by Pepe. Our next game is a very tough fixture against Crystal Palace in the Premier League and hopefully we will excel in that game.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Gabriel Martinelli

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Emiliano Martinez: 6

Hector Bellerin: 7

Rob Holding: 6

Shkodran Mustafi: 5

Kieran Tierney: 6

Lucas Torreira: 7

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 7

Joe Willock: 7

Emile Smith Rowe: 6

Gabriel Martinelli: 8

Alexandre Lacazette: 6

I’m very sorry for posting this review so late, but I have had a lot of school work to do. Today, though, I will be writing about our game against Sheffield United. This was a massive game for us because a win would put us into third place in the Premier League table! Sheffield United (who had just been promoted from the EFL Championship) have been playing really well so far this season. Sheffield United goalkeeper, Dean Henderson, was recently nominated for EA SPORTS Player of the Month. He is the only goalkeeper to have been nominated this month!

Thirty-one minutes into the game, Sheffield United whipped the ball towards the far post. It was headed back across the face of the goal where Lys Mousset was waiting to tap it past Leno to make it 1-0. The goal was way too easy and we should have cleared the danger sooner. We had now conceded 22 goals from set pieces in the Premier League since the start of last season. Only Watford and Everton had conceded more.

The second half was pretty boring and the only things of any importance were the substitutions that we made. Ceballos replaced Willock in the forty-sixth minute. Xhaka was replaced by Lacazette, and Pepe went off to be replaced by Martinelli.

The game ended 1-0 to Sheffield United which is really disappointing. We had now lost four of our seven Premier League away games against newly promoted teams. Our next game is against Vitoria in the Europa League and hopefully we will be able to win that.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Nicolas Pepe

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Bernd Leno: 5

Callum Chambers: 5

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 5

David Luiz: 4

Sead Kolasinac: 5

Granit Xhaka: 4

Matteo Guendouzi: 5

Joe Willock: 5

Nicolas Pepe: 6

Bukayo Saka: 4

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 5

I’m sorry for posting this so late but today I will be writing about our game against Bournemouth on Sunday. We’ve played the Cherries eight times in the Premier League, winning six, drawing one and losing one. This is a big game because all of our rivals in the race for top four (except Chelsea and Liverpool) lost this week. Manchester City lost 2-0 to Wolves, Sp*rs lost 3-0 to Brighton, and Manchester United lost 1-0 to Newcastle. Bournemouth have been playing really well so far, losing only two out of seven Premier League games. They have a very talented squad which includes Callum Wilson, Nathan Ake, and Joshua King.

Nine minutes into the game, we were awarded a corner. Pepe swung the ball into the box where Luiz was waiting to head the ball to the ground and into the goal! This was Luiz’s first goal for the club, it was also his twelfth in the Premier League. We were 1-0 ahead!

The rest of the game didn’t contain any goals, but it did have lots of great opportunities. In the nineteenth minute, Saka played the ball to Pepe. He pulled the ball back then attempted to curl the ball into the top corner. Unfortunately the ball went over the bar so the game stayed at 1-0. In the twenty-third minute, Pepe made a great run into the box before being fouled by Diego Rico. I thought that it was a clear penalty but after consulting Martin Atkinson and the video assistant referee the penalty shout was waved away. I think that VAR has been a good addition to the game but this was a clear foul. In the fiftieth minute, Callum Wilson dribbled through our defence and around Leno. For some reason he attempted to pass the ball instead of shooting and Callum Chambers easily cleared the danger.

Between the sixty-third minute and eighty-third minute, we made three substitutions. Martinelli replaced Pepe, Ceballos was replaced by Willock, and Torreira was replaced by Saka.

The game ended 1-0 which is a pretty good result for us. The actual performance wasn’t good but a clean sheet and another three points is all that matters. We are now only one point behind last season’s Premier League winners Manchester City. During the international break, which is coming up, Leno, Martinez, Torreira, Aubameyang, Ceballos, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Pepe, Kolasinac, Willock and Reiss Nelson will all be involved with their countries. I love a high scoring game and this week there have been tons of those. I will end the blog with five of the highest scoring ones and the player ratings for the Bournemouth game. Thanks for reading!

MAN OF THE MATCH

Callum Chambers

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Bernd Leno: 7

Callum Chambers: 9

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 7

David Luiz: 8

Sead Kolasinac: 7

Granit Xhaka: 7

Matteo Guendouzi: 7

Joe Willock: 7

Nicolas Pepe: 7½

Bukayo Saka: 7

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 7½

Today we were playing Belgian side Standard Liege in the Europa League group stage. We have previously played them four times, and we won all of the games. Bellerin and Tierney (who have just come back from injury) started this game. There has been a lot of talk recently about who our new captain is going to be and apparently the players even took a vote. The results came back and Xhaka has been confirmed as the club captain but I disagree with the decision. I think that either Aubameyang or Bellerin should be our captain because they are both great players who have good leadership skills. I think it is pretty easy to see but for some reason the captain’s armband has been given to Xhaka.

Thirteen minutes into the game, Tierney made a great run down the left. He crossed the ball into the near post where Martinelli was waiting to head it past Vanja Milinkovic-Savic! It was 1-0 within only thirteen minutes. He is only eighteen and he has managed to score three goals in two games!

One hundred and thirty-one seconds later, Nelson did really well to evade a defender then crossed the ball into the box. Martinelli pounced on the cross, took a touch, pulled it onto his right foot then curled it into the far corner. He had scored again! This was his second brace in two games which would be impressive for a player at the peak of their career much less an eighteen year old. This goal makes him the youngest player to score two or more goals in a European game for us.

Six minutes after Martinelli’s goal, Nelson had a shot. It deflected off Zinho Vanheusden’s shoulder and into the path of Willock who coolly slotted the ball into the goal to make it 3-0! We had managed to score three goals in a bit over twenty-one minutes.

In the fifty-seventh minute, Maitland-Niles slipped the ball through the defence. Martinelli collected the ball and then chipped it into the box. Ceballos sent a thunderous volley into the back of the net to make it 4-0! Martinelli now has four goals and one assist in two appearances.

Between the sixty-sixth and seventy-ninth minute, we made two substitutions. Maitland-Niles went off to be replaced by Pepe, Guendouzi replaced Willock, and Nelson was replaced by Aubameyang.

Six minutes before full time, Mergim Vojvoda fouled Martinelli. The Standard Liege player thought that he dived so he shouted in the young Brazilian’s face. Tierney, Guendouzi and Bellerin furiously ran up the pitch and confronted the Kosovan defender. It is great to see these young players defending Martinelli so passionately.

The game ended 4-0 which is a very good result for us. We managed to score an impressive four goals and kept a clean sheet! This puts us into first place in Group F. Our next game is against Bournemouth in the Premier League and I think that we should win that game. I am really glad to see Bellerin and Tierney back on the pitch after some time on the sideline injured. I think that both of them are going to be vital for the rest of the season.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Gabriel Martinelli

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Emiliano Martinez: 7

Kieran Tierney: 8½

Rob Holding: 7

Shkodran Mustafi: 7

Hector Bellerin: 8

Dani Ceballos: 7

Lucas Torreira: 7

Reiss Nelson: 7½

Joe Willock: 7

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 6

Gabriel Martinelli: 10

Today we were playing our biggest nemesis Manchester United. This was a big game because they are one of the teams who we are battling for third and fourth place. Another reason this game is so big is that it has a long and exciting history. We have played them 230 times in the Premier League. They have won 99 games, we have won 83 games, and we have drawn 48 games. Within those games there have been many brilliant, action-packed games. There have also been many rivalries built. For instance, Martin Keown and Ruud van Nistelrooy. There has also been Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane. I was feeling confident because they haven’t had a great start to the season. They lost to Crystal Palace and West Ham; they also drew with Southampton and Wolves. They had recently been struggling to find form because they sold Romelu Lukaku and former Arsenal player, Alexis Sanchez. This is bad for them because they are now left with Anthony Martial (injured), Mason Greenwood (18 years old) and Marcus Rashford as their only forwards. I was hoping we would be able to exploit this weakness. Saka surprisingly started this game, making him the youngest player to ever start a Premier League game for us against Manchester United. I was really hoping that this gamble would pay off.

After a very exciting first half, in the forty-fifth minute, Manchester United had a counter-attack. After Daniel James’ cross landed just ahead of Marcus Rashford, he passed the ball back to Scott McTominay. He took a touch then blasted the ball into the top corner from outside the box. I hate to admit it, but the goal was absolutely amazing.

In the fifty-fifth minute, Ceballos replaced Torreira in midfield.

Three minutes after the substitution, Saka intercepted the ball after a sloppy Axel
Tuanzebe pass. He played the ball through the defence and to Aubameyang who easily dinked the ball over David de Gea and into the goal! The linesman ruled the goal offside which is outrageous as he was 3.3 metres onside! VAR was checked and the people in the office confirmed it was a goal! We had equalised – through another brilliant Aubameyang goal. In three starts Saka has made three assists and scored one goal which is an amazing record.

Between the seventy-fifth and seventy-ninth minute, we made two substitutions. Nelson went off to be replaced by Pepe and Willock replaced Saka.

After a thrilling second-half which included goals, fights and much more, the game ended 1-1 which is a pretty fair result as we were both very equal in terms of quality. Some players who played particularly well include Saka, Aubameyang and Guendouzi. This result puts us into fourth place in the Premier League table which is not bad at all. I was really hoping for a win but I will accept a draw. Our next game is against Standard Liège in the Europa League and hopefully we will get a win in that game.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Bernd Leno: 7

Calum Chambers: 7

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 6

David Luiz: 6

Sead Kolasinac: 6

Matteo Guendouzi: 8

Granit Xhaka: 7

Lucas Torreira: 7

Nicolas Pepe: 5

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 9

Bukayo Saka: 8

Bonus Rating: Serge Gnabry 10/10

Former Arsenal forward, Serge Gnabry, scored four goals in Bayern Munich’s 7-2 win over Sp*rs. Once a Gunner always a Gunner!

Today we were playing Championship side Nottingham Forest. This was a big game for us because our new signing, Kieran Tierney, was making his first start of his Arsenal career. This was also Bellerin’s first time being in the squad after a really long time out injured. It was also Martinelli’s first competitive start for Arsenal. We have lost none of our last 32 home League Cup matches against teams from a lower division. This gives us some reason to be optimistic.

In the thirty-first minute, Chambers crossed the ball into the box. Martinelli headed the ball brilliantly past Arijanet Muric to make it 1-0! Martinelli had scored on his first start for the club which is quite a great achievement. He is the youngest player to score on their debut for Arsenal since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Shrewsbury in 2011.

Right before halftime, Smith Rowe injured himself and needed to be stretchered off the pitch. Saka replaced him.

In the seventy-first minute, Nelson whipped a corner into the box. Rob Holding (who has just returned from injury) leapt above everyone else and then headed the ball into the net! 2-0 to the Arsenal!

Between the seventy-first minute and the seventy-seventh minute, we made two substitutions. Ozil went off to be replaced by Ceballos, and Bellerin, who is personally one of my favourite players, came on to replace Tierney.

One minute after Bellerin came on, he received the ball in the middle. He played a one-two with Mustafi then slid the ball across the face of the goal, where Willock was waiting to tap it in. This shows how good Bellerin is because he managed to provide an assist with one of his first touches.

In the eighty-fourth minute, Chambers crossed the ball into the box where Nelson was waiting to tap it into the goal! It was 4-0. It certainly doesn’t feel like it, but this is actually Nelson’s first senior goal for the club!

In the ninety-third minute, Martinelli started a great run from just inside the Nottingham Forest half. When he arrived outside their box, he curled the ball brilliantly past Muric and into the top corner! Martinelli is the first Brazilian to score two goals for us since Julio Baptista against Spurs in 2007.

The game ended 5-0 which is a brilliant result. I am really happy because some of our youngsters got a chance to shine. Martinelli scored two goals, Holding scored one goal, Willock scored one goal, Nelson scored one goal, Chambers got two assists, and Bellerin got one assist. Our next game in the Carabao Cup should be Liverpool in the next round but there is some talk that they will be expelled due to an administrative problem. They allegedly fielded an ineligible player in their first round win over MK Dons. If Liverpool are expelled that would be great because we would be able to skip a really hard fixture against the reigning Champions League winners. Our next game in the Premier League is against our arch-rivals Manchester United. We really need to win this game because it will be a big game in our fight for the top four.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Gabriel Martinelli

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Emiliano Martinez: 7

Calum Chambers: 8

Shkodran Mustafi: 6

Rob Holding: 7

Kieran Tierney: 7

Lucas Torreira: 7

Joe Willock: 8

Mesut Ozil: 7

Emile Smith Rowe: 5

Reiss Nelson: 8

Gabriel Martinelli: 9

Today we were playing newly promoted team, Aston Villa. They have not adapted well to life in the Premier League so far, having only won one game this season. We were coming off the back of an impressive 3-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt so I was feeling pretty confident. Bukayo Saka, who played amazingly in our last game, reclaimed his place in the first team.

Twenty minutes into the game, Anwar El Ghazi crossed the ball into the box. John McGinn tapped the ball into the goal to make it 1-0. The goal was way too easy and we shouldn’t concede easy goals like that.

Four minutes before half-time, Maitland-Niles fouled El Ghazi. The referee gave him his second yellow card and he was sent off. We were now one goal down and one man down.

At half-time, Saka was replaced by Chambers. This was because we needed a defender on the pitch to replace Maitland-Niles.

Fifty-nine minutes into the game, Guendouzi (who had been playing really well) made a good run into the box. Bjorn Engels tripped him up, conceding a penalty! Pepe stepped up and smashed the ball straight down the middle, beating Tom Heaton! Aubameyang is our regular penalty taker but because Pepe had been struggling to score since joining us, the Gabonese striker gave the ball to Pepe! (This isn’t the first time that he has done this too. In 2018 we were playing Stoke City and we won a penalty. Lacazette had been struggling to find form so Aubameyang gave the penalty to the Frenchman.) The score was 1-1!

In the sixty-first minute, Jack Grealish started running towards our defence. He crossed the ball into the box and Aston Villa’s new signing, Wesley Moraes, tapped the ball past Leno to put Villa ahead again. Like the first goal, our defence was really sloppy and the marking was unacceptable. It took Aston Villa exactly eighty-nine seconds to equalise the game.

In the seventy-first minute, we made two substitutions. Ceballos went off to be replaced by Torreira and Willock replaced Xhaka.

In the eighty-first minute, Chambers had a shot on goal after receiving a cross from Guendouzi. It was blocked by an Aston Villa player and then Tyrone Mings attempted to clear the ball with his head. The header wasn’t forceful enough and landed right in Chambers’ path. He chipped the ball with the outside of his foot into the goal. It was 2-2! The finish seriously looked like something that a world-class striker would do.

With six minutes to go before the end of the game, Engles fouled Aubameyang. We had a free kick in a perfect position, right on the edge of the box. Aubameyang stepped up and slammed the ball into the goal to put us ahead! It was 3-2 thanks to a spectacular goal by Aubameyang.

The dramatic game ended 3-2. I was honestly not expecting us to win after having Maitland-Niles sent off but I am really happy with the performances of some players, such as Guendouzi and Aubameyang. Our next game is in the Carabao Cup against Nottingham Forest and hopefully we will win that.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Matteo Guendouzi

PLAYER RATINGS (STARTING ELEVEN)

Bernd Leno: 5

Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 4

Sokratis Papastathopoulos : 6

David Luiz: 6

Sead Kolasinac: 6

Matteo Guendouzi: 9

Granit Xhaka: 6

Nicolas Pepe: 8

Dani Ceballos: 6

Bukayo Saka: 7

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 8½