Hello and how are you? Sunday the 25^th of January sees the Mighty Cannon play host to Manchester United. KO at the Emirates is at 4.30pm local time. Expected weather is partly cloudy with temps at 7° ( feels like 1°) with 30% chance of rain.

So suddenly United are being ( in some areas) touted as a club with Lazarian qualities, a club that will save the PL from the dreaded Arsenal and bring back the title to the red side of Manchester, which as we know is the only place it really belongs, at least in the media/pundit heart. Well we shall see.

Hincapie and Calafiori were both back in training for the Cannon, but young Gun Dowman is still out of action. So almost a full squad for Arsenal.

Mazraoui  is back from the Africa Cup of nations, however Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee are missing for United.

I walked into Statto HQ and while they argued about the finer points of coding in HTML they gave me the match predictions: Arsenal have a 61.1% chance of victory through harmony, while United have a 16.5%. Next up, another CL clash, this time against Kairat at the Emirates. So COYG!

Mills

A couple of weeks ago this fixture would have been considered a gimme, Not so much now? The old “new manager bounce” is in full cry, I mean this new manager is “unbeaten”. Players that United fans well calling useless are now being touted as world beaters, A spirit that was broken is now said to be back to the real United. Mmm. Ok.

I hope they cone here brim full of confidence and have a right go atus, because if they do, in an open game, we should batter them. Shooting boots on lads , leys have a clasic display, because the media keep suggesting we will get jittery in the run in, this is an opportunity to kick that into touch.

Enjoy the game.

Pedantic George.

Hello and how are you? Tuesday the 20th of January sees the Mighty Cannon take a trip to Bella Italia and to Milano, to take on last year’s finalists, Inter Milan in the CL. KO at the San Siro is 9-00pm local time (8.00pm UK time). Expected weather partly cloudy, temps at 3° feels like 4°, with 0% chance of rain.

Within a single point of the heavy-weight rounds of the last 16, we go into this one top of the CL and with a perfect record. Inter were also Perfetto in their early games but notched up successive defeats to Liverpool (who extinguished an 18-match unbeaten run) and Atlético. Inter haven’t lost three in a row in the CL before, and with their level of pride I’m sure they will do everything they can to avoid it and the gruelling knock-out phase.

However, Inter bounced back and are five wins in eight, with a draw and one loss, with four clean sheets in the last six)leaving Chivu’s lads top of Serie A. So Arsenal are meeting Italy’s Arsenal?

Di Gennaro (hand) and Palacios (thigh), Calhanoglu (calf) and Dumfries (ankle) despite being key players are out for the Nerazzurri, but beware, Bastoni and Thuram will both be back and were rested for this clash at the weekend. We will also meet up with our old friend Mr. Mkhitaryan, whom I’m sure will take no prisoners despite being an ex-Gunner.

Merino, Norgaard and Mr Rice are all a card away from a suspension, so they will tread where angels fear to. Dowman (ankle), Hincapie (thigh) and Calafiori (muscle) are unavailable.

I reached out to Statto HQ who were engaged in an argument about the Riemann Hypothesis, and handed me a scrap of paper with the stats. Inter Milan have been given a 34.2% chance of winning and the Arsenal 37.5%. Next up farmyard frolics with Manure at the Emirates. So COYG!

Mills.

Well I suspect our friends at Statto HQ haven’t taken into account that we should be resting key players. And they need a rest because grafting is our top priority, none of this fancy Dan expansive entertaining football, that’s for the last century, apparently. Still whatever, I hope we win and my eyes stop bleeding.

Pedantic George.

Hello and how are you? Saturday the 17^th of January sees the Mighty Cannon make a trip waist-lands of England and take on Nottingham Forest in our next PL game. KO is a 5.30pm local time. Expected weather is; partly cloudy with temperature at 7° (feels like 6°) and with 1% chance of rain.

So, here we go again into slings and arrows of the misfortunate Forest of Nottingham, a team struggling, but a team that can also pull off sneaky results when they want. Most weeks we’ve agreed that the games are massive, maybe this one doesn’t feel as massive, but lets hope we don’t go into it feeling like Goliath and that they’ve changed their name by Deed poll to David.

Dyche’s men must be feel the mean reds after the FAC defeat at Wrexham, currently they sit in 17^th place, seven points clear of the more sulphurous end of the league, and enjoyed last time out in the PL, a win at struggling West Ham.

For the Gun,  Piero Hincapie (thigh), Riccardo Calafiori (muscle), Max Dowman (ankle) and Cristhian Mosquera (ankle) are out and not about, and maybe it’s time to stop saying it every week until they come back? I think we can expect some rotation, what with Inter in three days after this match?

Missing from action for Forest are Chris Wood and keeper John Victor. Arsenal loanee Mr Zinchenko is unavailable as he cannot play against the parent club, however it seems Forest don’t want him anyway. Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly return from the Africa Cup of Nations and rumour has it that Ryan Yates is back in training and will be ready to rumble when Saturday comes.

I turned up at Statto HQ for the facts and figures and found they were arguing about their favourite Ed Wood film,  as they shouted to each other “pull the string!” I was handed a note with this on it: Nottingham Forest have been given a 15.5% chance of winning and the Mighty Cannon, 61.9%. Next up mambo Italiano! with Inter on Wednesday, as the CL is back. So COYG!

Mills

I honestly have no idea what the selection might be for this game. MLS seems to be in the naughty corner so the same back 4 as against Chelsea with Raya? But in front of them it’s anybody’s guess. I had thought that with the certainty of facing a low block, Havertz or Jesus might play, but with Victor playing so well last time out, Mikel might want to keep him at it?

We are going to qualify as a top seed in the CL regardless of what happens midweek, so I hope this game and our next PL fixture take priority, should the poor fragile lads need a break.

Pedantic George.

Hello and how are you? Wednesday the 14th of January sees the Mighty Cannon take a short trip over to Stamford Bridge for the first leg of our clash against Chelsea FC. KO is at 8-00pm local time. Expected weather is with partly cloudy with 41% chance of rain, and temperatures of 9° (feels like 7°).

Here we are again making a bid for the Carabao Cup final, although many pundits have put the Arsenal in the driving seat for this one, my own unreliable (jelly-like) instincts are saying that Chelsea have the slight advantage (and the backing of the media?). However, one thing in our favour is at least three Chelsea old boys might get a start and an opportunity to prove they made the right decision to leave. All I hope is that if we do lose, its not by a score that leaves us without a chance in the second leg. Hopefully you feel more positive than I do!

Moises Caicedo (suspended), Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping suspension), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Levi Colwill (knee) will miss this one for rookie Liam ‘I know Arsenals weaknesses’ Rosenior’s side. Malo Gusto , Cole Palmer, Reece James  are reported to be doubtful ( and didn’t play in the FAC tie) but I reckon that we shall see them all starting…

For the Gun, Max Dowman (ankle), Piero Hincapie (thigh), Riccardo Calafiori (muscle), Cristhian Mosquera (ankle) won’t make the line-ups come KO.  William Saliba, Leandro Trossard seemed doubtful, which I hope is dark arts rather than serious.

I barged in on the boys at Statto HQ and whilst they were debating the Tate-Birch conjecture, looked up from grappling with the problems concerning the ring of integers of a number field and then told me the stats: Arsenal FC have been given a 42.6% chance of victory whilst Chelsea have been given 29.4%.

Next up, a visit to Nottingham as we take on Forest. So until then, COYG!

Mills

Chelsea have a boat load of very good players and it goes without saying that this is their best chance of silverware this season. From what I’ve seen, admittedly under a now gone manager, they can be fluid and expansive from time to time.

It’s a semi final away from home, so it shouldn’t be anything but difficult, I expect it will be just that. I’m of the opinion that we do indeed have bigger fish to fry and we should keep our best ingredients for those dishes. I’ll be happy to come away with a draw and fight another day, in our own backyard.

This could be a good game, enjoy.

Pedantic Gearge.

Hello and how are you. The 11^th of January will see the Mighty Cannon make another trip down to the south coast this time to Hampshire as they take on Portsmouth at Fratton Park in the 3^rd rd. of the FAC. Kick off is at local time, and expected weather is cloudy with temps of °8 ( feels like -6°) and 51% chance of rain.

Well, after the sub-par performance against Liverpool, the FAC gives a chance of a PL breather for Arteta and co. Certainly, we will see a few changes in the changing room. I’m really interested in what George and yourselves have to say about this game, personally I expect us to win, but I felt the same against Liverpool, and at the back of my mind is a little worry that for many years Arsenal just haven’t been that committed to the FAC?

The cup can be an odd one especially at this stage, so league standings might not shed any insight at all, Portsmouth are hovering just above the Championship relegation zone- and on their last outing had a 5-0 mauling.

Last time we lost at Fratton Park in any seriousness was in the early spring of 1958. I’m sure the Positively Arsenal long-beards will recall us playing against Portsmouth on the way to the final in 1971 ( a 1-1 draw at FP and then winning 4-3 at Highbury), while all of us can remember the match back in 2004 when the Arsenal beat them 5-1 with an Henry masterclass. If he plays I wish such a performance on Big Vik who needs something to boost his confidence and some service from the wings…

One thing is, we won’t be wearing the cursed white kit!

Unavailable for the Gunners are Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Max Dowman (ankle) Riccardo Calafiori (muscle), whilst Kai Havertz ( fitness), Piero Hincapie (muscle) are looking doubtful. Mosquera may be back for the 14^th though.

For Pompey,  Mark Kosznovszky (knee), Florian Bianchini (knee), Hayden Matthews (ankle),Callum Lang (hamstring), Josh Knight (back), Thomas Waddingham (thigh) Josh Murphy (hamstring),  Connor Ogilvie (knee),are unable to play while Colby Bishop is doubtful with a ankle injury.

Our chums at Statto HQ looked up from playing D+D and declared that they have given Portsmouth 8.7% chance of victory and Arsenal a 76.2% chance of victory with harmony.

Next up a semi-final clash in the League Cup at Stamford bridge and Chelsea. So COYG!

Mills

Well Mills, I think we will make loads of changes, those that come in will be desperate to impress ,Arteta will be desperate to show us that his teams can be better that watching paint dry and we will batter them.

That’s what I think.

Pedantic George.

Hello and how are you? The 3^rd of January 2026 sees the Mighty Cannon make a visit to the south coast of England to do battle with Bournemouth AFC at the Vitality stadium. KO is at 5.30pm (UK time) and expected weather is partly cloudy with temps of 1° ( feels like -6° ).

So, the Arsenal go south after a rousing defeat of top-of the table challengers, Aston Villa. A victory which gave everybody a glimmer of what could be, come May. However, until then it’s a tough climb up the north face of our Premier League mountain scramble for the summit, and we start at basecamp 1 against Bournemouth. As George pointed out in the last preview, the longer we lead the pack, the more massive each game becomes, and although the Villa game gave us a bit of a swagger its important to concentrate on each game as it comes and not start dreaming of frolics in Maytime?

The Cherries are no wins in ten, although they made an impressive draw with Chelsea last time out, but Ben Gannon-Doak (thigh), Veljko Milosavljevic (knee), Tyler Adams (knee) are all AWOL and the big question mark hangs over Antoine Semenyo (transfer? could be his last game?), Lewis Cook (neck), Ryan Christie (knee).

Declan looks like he will sit this one out too ( but the Villa game underlined the depth and quality of our squad?), also Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera will also be absent, as will Max Dowman. Gabriel Magalhaes (cramp), I’m sure will be back, as really, he was just listening to the Cramps. And who can blame him?

Although still hung-over from their New Years party, the boys at Statto HQ handed over the facts and figures: Bournemouth have been given a 15.9% chance of winning and the Arsenal 63.4 %. Next up, we entertain our old pals Liverpool at Ashburton Grove for the late fixture on the 9^th of January. So COYG!

Mills

Uther than the front 3 I would expect the same starting line up from the Villa game. It would be easy to go with Trossard and Sake again, but I feel they could be on the bench as “finishers”. Jesus and Havertz will need some minutes, so maybe we could see them sharing the 90?. I wouldn’t like to wager much on the reality of my opinion mind. The line up will tell us quite a bit about what rotation we might see from here on in. I “hope” our great squad strength is used for more than just cover for injuries, nut we will see.

Enjoy the game friends.

Pedantic George.

Hello and how are you? Tuesday the 30th of December sees the Mighty Cannon play out its last game for 2025, this time against title- contenders Aston Villa. KO at the Emirates is at 8.15pm. Expected weather is partly cloudy and the temperature is 4°(feels like 1°).

So the Arsenal go into this game having played relatively well against Brighton, but also wasted way too many chances, and I’m sure they will look to rectifiy that and show the third placed Villa what we can do if we put our minds to it, in what promises to be a very exciting game.

The Lions are on eleven straight wins after an amazing come back against Chelsea. Arteta’s boys need to keep their eyes on dangermen Watkins, McGinn and Rogers. Jadon Sancho has also looked good. But then after the match up on the 6th, we don’t really need any reminders, yet the Arsenal are unbeaten in five since that last-second loss.

Great to see Gabriel back (how much we’ve missed both him and Mosquera) but I also hope Saka finds his shooting boots soon and that big Vic can get more in the back of the net, he needs it as much as we do. Who knows who the Gunners might bring in this transfer window?

Ben White (hamstring), Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Kai Havertz (knee), Max Dowman (ankle) will sit this one out for the Cannon, whilst Evann Guessand (Africa cup of nations), Ross Barkley (knee), Tyrone Mings (thigh), Pau Torres (calf), Matty Cash (suspended), Boubacar Kamara (suspended)are all unavailable for the Villains. However, I’m reading that Kai might be back for this one… Mosquera and White should be ready for the Forest game. Timber! might be also return having sat it out against Brighton, after landing awkwardly in the penalty shoot out against Palace.

I hunted down the boys at Statto HQ who were buying fireworks for New Years, and they offered me a cracker statto-wise: The Arsenal are at 63.3% for a win and Villa are on 14.7%. That’s it for 2025, and I wish you all a “Guten Rutsch!” into 2026. Next up an away-day on the south coast against Bournemouth. So COYG!
Mills

One thing about sitting top of the tree with City on our coattails is that every game becomes a massive game. Especially wen that game is against the team sitting in third place with a manager that seems to have a hex on our boss. The good news is that after this evening, we don’t have to play them again. I’m a bit of a coward and to be honest, this game scares the pants off of me.

Every game seems like it takes a pint of blood to get over the winning line, although we control most games, often dominating, the score lie never seems to reflect said domination. I saw a statistic that in recently we hve have an open play xG of almost 10 but only scored one goal. The good news is that this anomaly can’t last, it will even out and we will start scoring more goal if we maintain our chance creation. Let’s hope that tonight is the night that balance is restored, a comfortable will will make a “happy new year” an easier get.

Enjoy the game and I’ll see you all next year.

Pedantic George.

Hello and how are? Having traversed the multiverses of Yuletide gluttony, Saturday the 27th of December sees the Mighty Cannon swing back in Premier League action, this time against Brighton & Hove Albion at Ashburton Grove. KO is at 3.00pm UK time. Expected weather is cloudy with temps at 8° (feels like 1°) and 0% chance of rain.

AWOL for Areta are Ben White (hamstring), Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Gabriel Magalhaes (thigh or hamstring depending on which outlet you read), Kai Havertz (knee), Max Dowman (ankle), whilst Piero Hincapie (shoulder), Gabriel Martinelli (knock) look like the unlikely lads. But I have heard it whispered in the whispering gallery that Kai’s back in training, so hopefully we can see him in action against Villa?

Non-flyers for Herzuler’s heroes are, Stefanos Tzimas (knee), Adam Webster (knee), Solly March (knee), Carlos Baleba (Africa Cup of nations).

The Seagulls are in 9th in the PL: W6 D6 L5 F25 A23. City plays first tomorrow in the lunchtime game against Forest so we could be trailing again going into this one. Which hopefully we can use to our advantage.

Our chums at Statto HQ, despite having lost all their money at the Boxing Day races, handed over a crumple peice of paper with the match stas on. They give The Arsenal a 68.3% chance of winning and Brighton 12.7%.

Next up the Villains, at ours, and time for revenge. So until then, COYG!

Mills

Well Christmas cheer has flooded over our fanbase, well most of them, and the doom of City snapping at our coattails is somehow less daunting, despite it still being only a two point gap. Now I’m qwll aware that Mikel’s risk adverse physiology has many of us wit nagging doubts, especially as City seem to be committed to scoring their way past us, well time will tell. No point us crying too hard as there is zero chance of him changing, and rightly so I believe, because one must have belief in yourself if you want to achieve great things. In the end he will live or die on his decisions.

I’m quietly confident that the returns of Jesus and Havertz will add more flair and goals organically within the constraints of Arteta’s system.

Enjoy the game and the rest of your holiday period.

Pedantic George.