Premier League Prediction Thread 2023/2024

[harapan]

Manchester United team is 10th in the points table. The team is not performing very well. It is important for Manchester United to stay inside the 5th place in the points table so that the team can create a chance to achieve something good.

It really looks unrealistic to see Manchester United to stay at 5th position when they currently only have mediocre players and it's still long to go the transfer window will reopen. Manchester United just need to make sure they will not follow Chelsea's path, I think they're still on a way to become Chelsea 2.0 where they lose against mediocre clubs.

Their next match against Sheffield United, will they lose again?

I am not sure what is wrong with them but they need someone to step up. Last season it was Rashford but this season everyone is off the mark. It's the same team like last season but it seems to be that they have lost their confidence and that is why they are beginning to lose their form. Ten Haag again has lot to do like when he joined the team and brought down the changes.

Blades doesn't seems like a tough opponent but the form United are in right now makes it doubtful for United also. However United are definitely the favourites.

Ten Hag is the leader here same as he was last season but there are things needed to be done for United to get back in the right sense.
The coach has been slow to get that missing formula  for Man United.
They are also been affected by injuries and injured players have a long time to recover.  The plans of the coach failed due to some of all these
They will get a win to Sheffield United. Even in the dark eyes binded United will teach them foootball.

[indah rezqi]

Manchester United team is 10th in the points table. The team is not performing very well. It is important for Manchester United to stay inside the 5th place in the points table so that the team can create a chance to achieve something good.

It really looks unrealistic to see Manchester United to stay at 5th position when they currently only have mediocre players and it's still long to go the transfer window will reopen. Manchester United just need to make sure they will not follow Chelsea's path, I think they're still on a way to become Chelsea 2.0 where they lose against mediocre clubs.

Their next match against Sheffield United, will they lose again?

I think Man United has good squad depth in all areas at the moment, this is clearly visible from their transfer movements last summer. But overall United have not had better luck, so they are almost consistent with uncertainty in every game. Ten Hag should be able to bring United into the UCL zone if you look at the value of player transfers, but various problems have not yet been resolved within The Red Devils, perhaps that is why their performance is not completely stable.

I think in terms of inconsistency United and Chelsea are almost the same, even though currently United is one level better than Pochettino squad. The next match against Sheffield United will take place after the international break, I think United will get full points, this will also mark a moment of revival in their performance. Meanwhile, Chelsea will face Arsenal and it is very likely that the Blues will again fail to get points, even though they are acting as hosts.

[laurenB7742]

Manchester United team is 10th in the points table. The team is not performing very well. It is important for Manchester United to stay inside the 5th place in the points table so that the team can create a chance to achieve something good.

It really looks unrealistic to see Manchester United to stay at 5th position when they currently only have mediocre players and it's still long to go the transfer window will reopen. Manchester United just need to make sure they will not follow Chelsea's path, I think they're still on a way to become Chelsea 2.0 where they lose against mediocre clubs.

Their next match against Sheffield United, will they lose again?

I am not sure what is wrong with them but they need someone to step up. Last season it was Rashford but this season everyone is off the mark. It's the same team like last season but it seems to be that they have lost their confidence and that is why they are beginning to lose their form. Ten Haag again has lot to do like when he joined the team and brought down the changes.

Blades doesn't seems like a tough opponent but the form United are in right now makes it doubtful for United also. However United are definitely the favourites.

Ten Hag is the leader here same as he was last season but there are things needed to be done for United to get back in the right sense.
The coach has been slow to get that missing formula  for Man United.
They are also been affected by injuries and injured players have a long time to recover.  The plans of the coach failed due to some of all these
They will get a win to Sheffield United. Even in the dark eyes binded United will teach them foootball.

I have no confidence in Ten Hag. Manchester United have won just two of their last seven matches. They won against Burnley and Brentford. And lost in the remaining 5 matches. The team lost against Munich and Galatasaray in the Champions League.

Had Ten Hag been an experienced coach, United's performance would not have been so bad. I know several players in United's squad are out with injuries. If Ten Hag was an experienced coach, the team would not have lost 5 out of 7 matches. They would have been able to draw a few matches. Sheffield United is not a strong team. However, I don't think Manchester United can get 3 points in this match.

[borovichok]

Ten Hag is the leader here same as he was last season but there are things needed to be done for United to get back in the right sense.
The coach has been slow to get that missing formula  for Man United.
They are also been affected by injuries and injured players have a long time to recover.  The plans of the coach failed due to some of all these
They will get a win to Sheffield United. Even in the dark eyes binded United will teach them foootball.

Manchester United problem is general and everyone knows their weaknesses in league games. Poor defendlines and inaccurate passes from midfielders to frontlines are whole lot for the manager to handle alone, he would share blames because not all the challenges they faced is his fault. Erik Ten Hag on the verge of losing his position as headcoach because there's alot to handle in Old Trafford, the game strategy he proposed for the Red Devils is not working, but he would keep pushing to get an excellent results.
Manchester United have struggled to win matches this season, I'm just hoping for a rebounded shape for them in due time.

[skarais]

~~~

Having an incomplete squad is not an excuse for losing against Arsenal cause City is a team that got good substitutions that could make the starting 11 of some EPL teams moreover Arsenal were also without there star player Saka and didn't even start Martinelli who helped them secure the victory, if they had done better with their performance like they did in the first 1st and even try to create better chances for their star player Haaland I believe they would had been leading in the 1st half.
 
 If you compare both teams you'll notice that City got more quality players that played the game than Arsenal, if only Pep Guardiola didn't sale Cole Palmer to Chelsea maybe he would had helped to create chance and help them get a draw or even win the game, however there still hope for them to defend their title cause the gap between them and Tottenham is not very wide.

I think there was a strategy and planning error made by Pep Guardiola in that match, I mean Pep Guardiola kept Jack Grealish and preferred Foden to play as a left winger. If Grealish plays, then I think Pep Guardiola could put Foden in midfield, but that never happens. Pep Guadiola gave full confidence to Rico Lewis to play from the first half, but he was replaced in the second half.

Tactical errors are what I thought about Manchester City's defeat to Arsenal, but that's just my observation of the game. But I don't know, Pep Guardiola certainly knows better what to do for his team than those of us who watch the game from afar.

[JeffBrad12]

The mistake at MU has shifted from midfielder Harry Maguire to goalkeeper Andre Onana this season.

You have a point because one of the major issues with Manchester United is there midfielder and goalkeeper, although in times Manchester United goal goalkeeper, De Gea was just the goalkeeper that really understand the actual pattern of Manchester United I don't no why they decided to sold him when there problem was not from the goalkeeper but I believe they now understand how important De Gea was to the club.

Casemiro has been performing more than enough for manchester united and i can't agree if you say that if the main problem was on the midfielder and defenders. I think that we shall put focus into the defenders rather than goalkeeper.
Manchester united needs to put its focus into the defenders instead of midfielders. So many times manchester united conceded so many goals due to the inconsistentcy from the defenders.
I think that manchester united needs to identify the major problem first.

and even there current goalkeeper Onana is not helping Manchester United at all, but considering his performance on AC Milan I was even thinking his performance on Manchester United will be same as when he was at AC Milan but it was quite the opposite, but however if Manchester United should work on there midfielder there could be more chances of getting back to there former performance.

I think that you are wrong here. Onana would be able to perform better if manchester united defenders were also able doing the same. It will be a disaster for the club if the defenders are still playing so badly.
Manchester united will be facing very hard fixtures and MU needs to prepare itself.

[Strongkored]

if only Pep Guardiola didn't sale Cole Palmer to Chelsea maybe he would had helped to create chance and help them get a draw or even win the game.

This is not a completely correct conclusion, because without Cole Palmer Manchester City is still a strong team but that doesn't mean they can't be beaten and it is proven that Arsenal can only win with a very narrow score meaning this is a very even match but one chance is enough to make Arsenal win, and the goal is scored in the final minutes of the match so that a team no matter how strong will face difficulty in scoring a goal to get a draw with very little time remaining.
I am quite sure that Manchester City has accepted this defeat and will recover in the next match because they are one of the teams that recover quickly enough, and the two consecutive defeats that City in an English Premier League match will not immediately turn them into a weak team, and actually their next opponents have to be quite careful because Pep Guardiola will probably change the strategy that will make City even stronger and more productive.

[bayu7adi]

I am afraid Ten Hag can't drop Onana because the back-up keeper, Altay Bayindir, is completely  unknown. I don’t think this is the time where you’ll want to switch goalkeepers because the pressure on the team is high at the moment and it requires experience to bring this struggling Manchester United out of the mud. They need to show why they’re Manchester United.
Also let’s shift the attention from the Onana to the porous and disjointed defense line for once. Manchester United defense is so terrible at the moment, no defensive security from the midfield and it would make a Goalkeeper look like a flop in every situation. Ten Hag needs to do more before they start calling for his head.

Another interesting fact is that when Maguire is in the starting lineup, the team's performance improves compared to when he is not. The chemistry in Manchester United's defense has truly been a highlight, and Onana has become yet another victim of the team's poor defensive displays.

Ironically, last season, Harry Maguire was often the target of fans' criticism, blamed as the scapegoat for Manchester United's defeats. Maguire's blunders were turned into memes and public discussions. However, when analyzed statistically, it turns out that Maguire can lead Manchester United's defense better.

The latest news is that Ten Hag wants to shop for a new defender. I can't help but have doubts about the decision Ten Hag is making this time. Why not rely on Maguire once again and give other players a chance to play, rather than seeking a new defender?

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/manchester-united-transfer-news-latest-27861600

[Adams0001]

Manchester City's squad was indeed incomplete when they lost to Arsenal, but should that be the main reason why Manchester City lost and failed to score? I don't agree if the absence of Rodri and De Bruyne is the only cause of Manchester City's defeat, in fact they still have many other quality players such as Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Mateo Kovačić, and many others in the main line-up.

Manchester City's main problem in that match was that they failed to create many chances compared to Arsenal. The match statistics are almost the same, but Arsenal has more chances to score than Manchester City.

Having an incomplete squad is not an excuse for losing against Arsenal cause City is a team that got good substitutions that could make the starting 11 of some EPL teams moreover Arsenal were also without there star player Saka and didn't even start Martinelli who helped them secure the victory, if they had done better with their performance like they did in the first 1st and even try to create better chances for their star player Haaland I believe they would had been leading in the 1st half.

I can say that not having a full team is an excuse. Just noticing it since Rodri and De Bruyne are absent they lost some matches the problem is not even De Bruyne if Rodri is on the match against Arsenal I can say he will be very hard for them to defeat Manchester City, when they give Rodri red card all the three matches they play they lose it, they are defeated against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and wolves and Arsenal in the Premier League so I can say is and excuse for losing against Arsenal, I am confident that Manchester City will overcome them in the second leg since their squad is in terrific health, De Bruyne is injured, and Haaland is not doing well because most of his goals last season were assisted by De Bruyne.

Arsenal is performing well this season, but if they are compared to Manchester City, Arsenal has not defeated them in 5 years. They had luck last week because Manchester City was not fully prepared for the match. If Arsenal can defeat Manchester City in the second leg, I will believe that Arsenal is stronger than ever before, let see if they will try and win the league trophy this season, and Liverpool are coming up they are performing well this season.

[marcous]

I can say that not having a full team is an excuse. Just noticing it since Rodri and De Bruyne are absent they lost some matches the problem is not even De Bruyne if Rodri is on the match against Arsenal I can say he will be very hard for them to defeat Manchester City, when they give Rodri red card all the three matches they play they lose it, they are defeated against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and wolves and Arsenal in the Premier League so I can say is and excuse for losing against Arsenal, I am confident that Manchester City will overcome them in the second leg since their squad is in terrific health, De Bruyne is injured, and Haaland is not doing well because most of his goals last season were assisted by De Bruyne.

Arsenal is performing well this season, but if they are compared to Manchester City, Arsenal has not defeated them in 5 years. They had luck last week because Manchester City was not fully prepared for the match. If Arsenal can defeat Manchester City in the second leg, I will believe that Arsenal is stronger than ever before, let see if they will try and win the league trophy this season, and Liverpool are coming up they are performing well this season.

In other words, Rodri's absence for three matches caused Man City to suffer defeat, plus De Bruyne injury completed the factors that caused Pep Guardiola squad to lose points. I think defeat is an inseparable part, if you lose key players then the club will experience a decline in performance. In line with this, this is Chelsea and Man United are currently feeling, they have lost many key players due to injury, so they do not have full strength to carry out their campaign this season.

The EPL match will enter its ninth week, and there are still many big matches left in the future. Even though Arsenal is considered tougher compared to last season, Tottenham and Liverpool are also considered strong enough to challenge for the championship. Looking at their habits, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool often lose points in important matches, in contrast to Man City.

[QueenVera]

I can say that not having a full team is an excuse. Just noticing it since Rodri and De Bruyne are absent they lost some matches the problem is not even De Bruyne if Rodri is on the match against Arsenal I can say he will be very hard for them to defeat Manchester City, when they give Rodri red card all the three matches they play they lose it, they are defeated against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and wolves and Arsenal in the Premier League so I can say is and excuse for losing against Arsenal, I am confident that Manchester City will overcome them in the second leg since their squad is in terrific health, De Bruyne is injured, and Haaland is not doing well because most of his goals last season were assisted by De Bruyne.

Arsenal is performing well this season, but if they are compared to Manchester City, Arsenal has not defeated them in 5 years. They had luck last week because Manchester City was not fully prepared for the match. If Arsenal can defeat Manchester City in the second leg, I will believe that Arsenal is stronger than ever before, let see if they will try and win the league trophy this season, and Liverpool are coming up they are performing well this season.

Well I said that with reasons that Arsenal had a better game plan than them and also performed very well if you saw the build up of Arsenal players before the goal came in you'll noticed their players were  well positioned waiting and ready to create better chances of getting the ball into the net, they didn't allow Mancity players to pressure them much they fought back and created good chances, well City also created good chances in the 1st half and if they had worked harder on the pitch I believe they would had won cause they squad that Pep picked matched Arsenal's squad even without Rodri and Debruyne.

 However this is the 2nd time Arsenal is winning them this season in a different competition, remember they won City with their complete squad that includes Kelvin Debruyne and Rodi so that's no excuse cause Arsenal played without Bukoya Saka.

[hahay]

if only Pep Guardiola didn't sale Cole Palmer to Chelsea maybe he would had helped to create chance and help them get a draw or even win the game.

This is not a completely correct conclusion, because without Cole Palmer Manchester City is still a strong team but that doesn't mean they can't be beaten and it is proven that Arsenal can only win with a very narrow score meaning this is a very even match but one chance is enough to make Arsenal win, and the goal is scored in the final minutes of the match so that a team no matter how strong will face difficulty in scoring a goal to get a draw with very little time remaining.
I am quite sure that Manchester City has accepted this defeat and will recover in the next match because they are one of the teams that recover quickly enough, and the two consecutive defeats that City in an English Premier League match will not immediately turn them into a weak team, and actually their next opponents have to be quite careful because Pep Guardiola will probably change the strategy that will make City even stronger and more productive.

Yes indeed, we cannot only conclude about the players sold and also the key players injured because after all, no matter how good the team will at least certainly get losing results too. So yes, I personally feel this is a process for Pep Guardiola to regain the shape of Manchester City for the better by adjusting to the players available in the squad. Because of course, Pep Guardiola will be able to get form a great team with a slightly different composition of players of course because the rotation of players is happening at this moment.

[uswa56]

Yes indeed, we cannot only conclude about the players sold and also the key players injured because after all, no matter how good the team will at least certainly get losing results too. So yes, I personally feel this is a process for Pep Guardiola to regain the shape of Manchester City for the better by adjusting to the players available in the squad. Because of course, Pep Guardiola will be able to get form a great team with a slightly different composition of players of course because the rotation of players is happening at this moment.

Manchester City has been built by Pep Guardiola for the last few seasons and this team now has a very strong character, so don't overdo it now, in my opinion a decline in performance in a team is a very natural thing and with what the Manchester City team has in Of course, their squad has a very big possibility for them to immediately recover and return to their top performance.

I think that you are wrong here. Onana would be able to perform better if manchester united defenders were also able doing the same. It will be a disaster for the club if the defenders are still playing so badly.
Manchester united will be facing very hard fixtures and MU needs to prepare itself.

I agree with you, we can't put Onanan in a corner right now because he is not entirely responsible for Manchester United's current bad performance, in fact Manchester United's defense is very weak so Onana concedes a lot of goals.
Currently there is a lot of work that Ten Hag has to fix and also the injury problems that have befallen this team make it very difficult for the coach to be able to revive the team's performance, I think things will be very difficult now for Manchester United before their squad recovers from the injuries that occurred some of their players.

[Coyster]

if only Pep Guardiola didn't sale Cole Palmer to Chelsea maybe he would had helped to create chance and help them get a draw or even win the game

How many matches did Cole Palmer play when he was at City? Little to none, and yet City have been winning titles left, right and center, but now just because of some bad results, you feel Cole Palmer would have been the one to make the difference, that is ridiculous. City are missing the creativity of KDB, and for the last three games they have also missed everything that Rodri brings to that team, they are definitely not missing Cole Palmer, they sold him to Chelsea for good money, and that chapter is closed, he may later become a big hit at Chelsea, but at City he definitely wasn't.

[lizarder]

Manchester City's squad was indeed incomplete when they lost to Arsenal, but should that be the main reason why Manchester City lost and failed to score? I don't agree if the absence of Rodri and De Bruyne is the only cause of Manchester City's defeat, in fact they still have many other quality players such as Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Mateo Kovačić, and many others in the main line-up.

Manchester City's main problem in that match was that they failed to create many chances compared to Arsenal. The match statistics are almost the same, but Arsenal has more chances to score than Manchester City.

Man City's strength and level of dominance in the Premier League seems to be decreasing slightly this season, because there are several clubs that have performed quite well so far. The absence of Rodri and De Bruyne could actually affect the intensity of their attacks, in fact I saw that Haaland didn't have a good chance to score at all when they lost to Arsenal. De Bruyne's injury has been felt since several defeats in the league and the absence of a creative midfielder could reduce Haaland's chances of scoring goals.

Especially in the Arsenal vs Man City match, I saw that the match statistics were quite balanced. Arteta's strategy was much better by replacing several players before Man City conceded. Arsenal had several good opportunities to score, but the final finish did not meet the target so no additional goals occurred.

[Salahmu]

Manchester City's main problem in that match was that they failed to create many chances compared to Arsenal.

Yeah that was exactly there problem on that match, Manchester City was unable to create a good chances and even the few they manages to create they were not able to utilize it, but in times of possession they had more possession than Arsenal but the Arsenal  defensive strategy was able to hinder there performance.

What I noticed on Manchester City team is that any match De Bruyne did not play Manchester city always find it difficult on less they were playing with a small club, so however if De Bruyne had been on that match he would have create a lot of scoring chances for Manchester City.

Perhaps there is a possibility for them leading the table very soon because irrespective of there losing against the Arsenal team they are still in there good performance, there place on the table is not that bad.

[Franctoshi]

Manchester United problem is general and everyone knows their weaknesses in league games. Poor defendlines and inaccurate passes from midfielders to frontlines are a whole lot for the manager to handle alone, he would share the blame because not all the challenges they faced are his fault. Erik Ten Hag is on the verge of losing his position as head coach because there's a lot to handle in Old Trafford, the game strategy he proposed for the Red Devils is not working, but he would keep pushing to get excellent results.
Manchester United have struggled to win matches this season, I'm just hoping for a rebounded shape for them in due time.

Despite that, a team at some point experiences some downtime, But the reality has to be faced here, that the major problem for the United lies in the hands of Erik Ten Hag with his choice of men, he is there to watch over the team to Identify errors and as well fix them where the needful needs to done. Using Liverpool's coach for instance, last season Liverpool under Klopp's watch had a terrible season, this season too he is still the manager and you could see that there is an improvement in the team's performance, showing that coaches are to take the blame should a team not do well.

[Smack That Ace]

Pep Guardiola loves KDB and regarded as his favorite player, he grown to good form under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, and reached his peak, he never declined in his performance. Manchester City missed, leading to them having a poor results this season. There's absolutely no Manchester City player that would be able to filled in the shoes of Kelvin De Bruyne because he's an extraordinary player that knows the exact perfect time to make crucial passes and also incredible moments to apply a stunning shots towards his opponents on the pitch. It's quite unfortunate that he's ruled out for months, Pep Guardiola will face reality and scout his potential replacement in January.

Yes, I know about that, but how long will Manchester City depend on KDB? Pep Guardiola, as fully responsible for the results achieved by Manchester City, is questionable and as a genius coach, I feel that he also doesn't know what to do at this time. Apart from all that, the figure of KDB is very important for Manchester City and in the Manchester City squad I don't think anyone can replace his role. Pep Guardiola must try to look for other options from now on because they certainly don't want that after the middle of the season ends, Manchester City still can't top the standings and that will definitely add to the burden he is experiencing.

Kevin De Bruyne's injury is a significant setback and a great loss for Manchester City. His absence is clearly affecting the team's performance. De Bruyne possesses unique qualities that are hard to replace. Even though Manchester City has talented players and alternatives, finding a suitable replacement for De Bruyne's role is a challenging task for the manager. I'm now wonder who will take on the responsibility of creating transitions from the midfield with those creative passes and touches. His injury is truly disappointing, and it has left Manchester City's fans eager to see who will step up as their savior.

We can already say that Manchester City is suffering because they do not have Kevin De Bruyne available. Manchester City lost the last two matches. A lot of people might actually say that it has nothing to do with Kevin de Bruyne not being available. But I think it is very much related. He is a great player. The void that he has left in Manchester City midfield is really hard to be filled with anyone else to be honest.

And yes, I agree that it is truly disappointing. At the end of the day, they cannot do anything about it. So they will have to accept this and try to do their best anyway. I believe Manchester City will still be able to win without him.

Regards

Duke

[hahay]

Manchester City's squad was indeed incomplete when they lost to Arsenal, but should that be the main reason why Manchester City lost and failed to score? I don't agree if the absence of Rodri and De Bruyne is the only cause of Manchester City's defeat, in fact they still have many other quality players such as Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Mateo Kovačić, and many others in the main line-up.

Manchester City's main problem in that match was that they failed to create many chances compared to Arsenal. The match statistics are almost the same, but Arsenal has more chances to score than Manchester City.

Man City's strength and level of dominance in the Premier League seems to be decreasing slightly this season, because there are several clubs that have performed quite well so far. The absence of Rodri and De Bruyne could actually affect the intensity of their attacks, in fact I saw that Haaland didn't have a good chance to score at all when they lost to Arsenal. De Bruyne's injury has been felt since several defeats in the league and the absence of a creative midfielder could reduce Haaland's chances of scoring goals.

Especially in the Arsenal vs Man City match, I saw that the match statistics were quite balanced. Arteta's strategy was much better by replacing several players before Man City conceded. Arsenal had several good opportunities to score, but the final finish did not meet the target so no additional goals occurred.

At least, the statistics also prove that Manchester City played very badly against Arsenal. Therefore, Arsenal can maximize bad situation like that to beating Manchester City . So yes, I think at least De Bruyne absence really had a bad impact on Manchester City performance . Because ofcourse, if De Bruyne can still be played it is very possible for Haaland to get a good chance to score . Also, if De Bruyne can still be played, then of course the Manchster City midfield can play better . But indeed, at least Manchester City must also be able to rise even without De Bruyne, because it would be very bad if Manchester City continued to rely on De Bruyne to organize better attack tactics.

[Falconer]

-snip-

Man City's strength and level of dominance in the Premier League seems to be decreasing slightly this season, because there are several clubs that have performed quite well so far. The absence of Rodri and De Bruyne could actually affect the intensity of their attacks, in fact I saw that Haaland didn't have a good chance to score at all when they lost to Arsenal. De Bruyne's injury has been felt since several defeats in the league and the absence of a creative midfielder could reduce Haaland's chances of scoring goals.

Especially in the Arsenal vs Man City match, I saw that the match statistics were quite balanced. Arteta's strategy was much better by replacing several players before Man City conceded. Arsenal had several good opportunities to score, but the final finish did not meet the target so no additional goals occurred.

The absence of Rodri and De Bruyne has certainly reduced Manchester City's attacking intensity, but in the end they must not use that as an excuse for defeat. Arsenal almost wouldn't have scored if Martinelli's shot didn't hit Nathan Ake in the face. For me it was a lucky goal for Arsenal.

Manchester City basically almost took the lead if Ake or Gvardiol could have scored early in the first half, but both failed. Manchester City and Arsenal were both under pressure throughout the match as they couldn't score any goals, but in the end it was a lucky day for Arsenal.