Arsenal Football Club | December 2016 Update
Matchday #14 | London Stadium
Arsenal 1 - 0 West Ham
ARS - Sanchez (pen) 66’
No notes--whoops
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Group Stage - Matchday #6 | Parc des Princes
Arsenal 0 - 2 PSG
PSG - Cavani 82’ (pen), 86’
Shkodran Mustafi picked up a horrific red card in the 82’. Edinson Cavani converted the penalty, and Arsenal’s defense continued to self destruct, allowing Cavani in behind them to complete his brace just 4 minutes later. PSG wins the group as a result, and Arsenal draw Italian giants Juventus in the KO Round.
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Matchday #15 | Emirates Stadium
Arsenal 1 - 1 Stoke City
STO - Bojan 30’
ARS - Walcott 47’
Bojan Krkić stunned the Gunners late in the 1st half to give Stoke the lead at the half--but the HT lashing the boys received kicked them into gear, as Theo Walcott found the equalizer just 2 minutes into the 2nd. Nobody else could find the goal, as Arsenal notched their first draw in the league this year.
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Matchday #16 | Goodison Park
Arsenal 1 - 0 Everton
ARS - Gibbs 82’
A midweek fixture saw Arsenal travel to Goodison to take on Everton on a rainy Wednesday night. The game was deadlocked at 0 until Kieren Gibbs, a recent substitute was able to find the winner--an unlikely hero no doubt. Captain Koscielny’s set piece header rammed off the bar, coming right to Gibbs who finished the goal, and the Toffeees for his first goal of the campaign.
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Matchday #17 | Etihad Stadium
Arsenal 1 - 0 Manchester City
ARS - Bellerin 21’
City dominated possession but a Mesut Ozil cross found a sprinting Bellerin for the game’s only goal early on. Very few opportunities for either side, lots of possession changes. A big 3 points for the Gunners.
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Matchday #18 | Emirates Stadium
West Brom 0 - 1 Arsenal
ARS - Sanchez (pen) 56’
A stingy West Brom defense kept Arsenal from finding many opportunities, but a Berahino handall allowed Sanchez to notch his 15th goal of the season, giving Arsenal 3 more points on Boxing Day.
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Matchday #19 | Emirates Stadium
Crystal Palace 1 - 1 Arsenal
CRY - Benteke 25’
ARS - Iwobi 41’
Shocking result for Arsenal to close 2016 with a draw to a team in the relegation zone. Gunners went down early but were able to equalize with a tremendous effort from Alex Iwobi.
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Premier League Top Scorers
1. Sanchez (ARS) - 16
2. Defoe (SUN) - 8
3. Arnautovic (STO) - 8
4. Coutinho (LIV) - 8
5. Montero (SWA) - 8
***Manager Remarks***
December was a busy month, with the final Champions League group stage fixture that I botched to PSG (0-2), and 6 league games--in which I earned 14 of out a possible 18 points.
I head into January with just 5 matches on the schedule--including a back to back in the FA Cup and League away at Swansea, with home matches against Bournemouth (20th), Burnley (19th), and Watford (13th). Anything less than 9 points from those 3 will be exceptionally disappointing.
The January transfer window is opening, and I am looking at a big name attacking player. I've narrowed it down to Atlético Madrid's
Antoine Griezmann and Juventus'
Paulo Dybala. Griezmann fits the exact profile of what I want, but it's been reported that Atlético want £126M for him. I am considering offering less cash + Santi Cazorla--as he is getting up in age, and would welcome the thought of playing in his native country.