Weekend Wind-up #28: feeling a bit cheeky, so here we are...

So the missus is out for the evening, which means that your loyal correspondent could take more than a wee nip. With the evening free, I thought we'd have a go at our rivals in a bit of a preview of the weekend's action. It's not as if there's been any notable midweeks news to prompt this, after all. As for the title, "Weekly Wind-up", I'll admit that I kind of painted myself into a corner with the whole "Rivals' Roundup" angle, and regular readers, should they exist, will know much of a sucker I am for alliteration (and, I might add, in general. Ask the wallet inspector). Plus, we get to thrown in the idea of winding up our rivals, should any of their fans find their way here somehow. Well, that's more than enough throat-clearing. Let's get on with it.

Rivals' Roundup #27: bit of a mixed bag there...

Ok, so the week brought us some nice news aside from the fact that Leeds had to sack Bielsa. Nice guy. Good coach. However, apparently, losing to the side that lost to Burnley is a bridge too far. Elsewhere, other clubs are running scared, hiding behind the "EFL Cup" or other imaginary reasons, leaving us with a weekend free from dramatic results over other clubs. As such, we'll have to wait until next weekend for a full set of results to regale ourselves. Fortunately, there are a few nifty nuggets to nibble on, so let's dive right in, shall we?

You're so vain, you probably think this post is about you...

Hello, wandering Wolves fans. You probably think this, and our celebrations after defeating twice in a fortnight, are unseemly or unbefitting a club of our size and stature. After we won at Molineux, your Ruben Neves said, "We saw the way they celebrated the win and that shows the level we are," the Portuguese said. "I didn't see Arsenal celebrating like this in the past 10 years - it was like they won the league." Well, after against besting you last night courtesy of a dramatic stoppage-time winner from Lacazette (I don't care that it's officially an own-goal), complete with frenzied celebration, it's incumbent upon me, your humble correspondent, to clarify a few misconceptions—well, one, mainly: it's not about you, sweetheart. Our wild celebrations reflect perhaps as much as 3% joy over besting a spirited opponent. Perhaps. I think I speak for most Gooners when I say we kind of like you lot and wish you well...for the most part. Still, doing the double over you has little if anything to do with you yourselves. This isn't a North London derby, you're not Stoke, and there's no trophy at stake. So why the over-the-top reactions defeating you? Let's get to that.

RIvals' Roundup #26: Apparently, it's all up to us. FFS.

After a few weeks in which it was starting to look like things were finally going Arsenal's way, this weekend happened. Apparently, if we're to finish fourth, we're going to have to—I almost choke on my own vomit as I type these words (well, not those words but the ones to follow)—earn it through our own hard work rather than through the failings of others. If you're as nauseated as I am, let's all reach the polite conclusion of assuming it's down to the situation I describe rather than the ham-handed manner in which I describe it. We have to reach back into hallowed antiquity to find some joy from this weekend. Well, not "joy" so much as schadenfreude. Let's get to it.

Arsenal 2-1 Brentford: Player Rating & MOTM Survey Results

Almost 600 (okay, 561) voters weighed in on our victory over Brentford, anointing Martin Ødegaard our MOTM with 54.5% of the vote. Somehow, Jon Moss managed a 2.85 despite ignoring three or four possible penalties (depending on how much stock you put in conspiracies). VAR fared somewhat worse with a 2.05. It was all in all a pretty comfortable performance despite a few chances that the Bees wasted. It's a shame that we conceded late on; we could have leap-frogged West Ham, if only alphabetically. We do have three games in hand over them and Man U, but they are tough ones. We'll have to keep getting results at every chance we get if we're to rise to fourth. One result at a time, though. Enough throat-clearing, however. Here's the breakdown of the survey: