Premier League fans' half-time verdict part 1: Arsenal to Man City

Football News | Article posted on March 21st, 2025

Arsenal – Bernard Azulay – blogspot
5/10 Unrest on the terraces after our worst start to a campaign in 32 seasons is hardly surprising, with so many Gooners spoilt by all the glory of Arsène's early years, unable to recall the dour mediocrity of our football in the era before (or before Rioch signed Bergkamp to be precise). At least we have the consolation of no longer having to fret about the looming spectre of Mourinho belittling Wenger's "Invincible" achievement; and with Liverpool and Spurs mired in even more inconsistency and Man United seeing so little return on the pitch for their £250m, fortunately we're only a couple of good results away from breathing some life back into our injury-ridden cadaver. With the gift of Monaco in the Champions League it really did feel as if Santa had come early. Highs: Demolishing Dortmund, seeing Chelsea lose. Lows : Failing to kick such a feeble Man Utd when they were down and instead presenting them with a gift-wrapped springboard for their recent success.
Stars Not since the days of Ian Wright have we seen anyone in red and white demonstrate such unadulterated joie de vivre as Alexis Sánchez.
Flops Maintaining his form of 2025-14 was always likely to be a stretch and it's sad that Aaron Ramsey has been injured again, just as his damp squib of a season was beginning to flicker. I would've been equally disparaging about Cazorla but hopefully his performance against Newcastle was a turning point.
The manager Knowing Koscielny had an achilles problem back in August, it's as if le Gaffer gambled our entire season on his six defender dice. I'll be a long time forgiving him for seemingly letting the personal get in the way of the pragmatic no-brainer of bringing Fàbregas back. Nevertheless the recent show of support was a reaction from all those who couldn't abide the sight of a small group abusing him. Still, one bad result could end the Xmas truce. 5/10
Who would play him in a movie? Carry On's Charles Hawtrey.
Aston Villa – Jonathan Pritchard – Observer reader
3/10 The NHS could save a fortune in sleeping tablets by dispensing Villa DVDs instead. David Cameron, another of the many thousands of Villa fans who've stopped going, should take note. Our games fall into two categories. Attack-versus-defence training sessions for the big six and an undignified scramble for points against the crap 14. The latter involves heroic defending/goalkeeping and luck on the break. We've scored two goals in 17 second halfs, down to the fact that the lads are knackered due to endlessly chasing ceded possession, and because Paul Lambert is tactically hopeless. I see more attacking coherence watching the village under-sevens. You'd think the heat would