Happy New Year!

As Arsenal Supporters, we wrapped up the year with the type of win we've been waiting for since the week of Tottenham and Bayern.

The detractors, haters, and pundits got to see the Arsenal at our best. We had a Gabby set piece goal, an Ødegaard masterclass, a classic Trossard wonder-strike, and love him or not, we got a 2026 bookend goal from a very grateful Jesus.

Up next is Bournemouth. They're missing a handful of players that are playing in AFCON, but they've still got quality available to play, and to score goals. They're the 7th highest scoring team if my eyes can see right. However, with news about Semenyo suggesting he'll Semengo very soon, we're wondering if he will play on the weekend. If your club were buying him, would you want him playing this month?

Please share the links to whatever pod platform you're listening to our podcast. We're always looking to grow our listeners and your shares mean a lot to help us get there.

Social media accounts are @StatesideGooners. You'll find us mostly posting on Bluesky and Substack. Matt's EPL Top Ten is there, too. Give those a read and share! Do the thing.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

When it rains own goals, it pours own goals.In the open, we reveal some fun facts about OGs this season and how historic this run of 4 in 4 games is for Arsenal. Can they win the league while claiming the record for most own goals benefitted? That would be an interesting discussion in June of 2026.For now, in Episode One Hundred and One (Whaaa?!?) Matt and Eric recap the details that matter in the victory over Brighton, another team that couldn't be mistake-free. Long may this OG run continue. However, there's a lot of chatter between us (*and everyone else*) about why we aren't scoring goals for ourselves.The Villans visit The Emirates on Tuesday, December 30th. In a weird scheduling twist, we play them in both league games within a month. We're playing them twice in the first half of the season (the first 19 games) and not in the second half at all. Instead, we get Bournemouth twice in 2026 during this season. Aston Villa haven't lost in 11 games in all comps, but they've conceded 9 times in the last 6, so there's something to be said for that. Let's hope we can score two or three this time out. Arsenal need a clean sheet. Now that we've got our centerback pairing together again in Willy and Gabby, it might become more normalized again. It's likely we don't have either starting FB available, and Matt and I pick an interesting pair for the Villa game.Ødegaard looks to be back to his best, Saka was highly influential in this game after looking off his best recently, and Raya continues to save us points with ridiculous 'worldie' saves. If we can convert a higher percentage of our shots on goal and convert more of our shots into shots on goal, we'll also score more. That's what we need. Captain Martin had his shooting boots on against Brighton, and he said it's been something he's focused on during training sessions. (Are you listening, Viktor, Jesus, Eze, Martinelli, and Trossard?)It's the 28th of December as I write this. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or weekends, we hope you all had wonderful holiday time with family and friends. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

Scoring goals to win games is highly overrated. Just let your opponents score for you.

More of that please.

Arsenal have won two of the last three games largely because our opponents have gifted us the wins.

Can we say 'Champions always find a way to win' when it's wins like these. I think we can.

Next up? Brighton and Hove. Let's see if we can score goals and win of our own volition.

Matt and I wish everyone a very Merry (& Happy) Christmas!

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

On this Stateside Gooners Arsenal Women’s podcast, Eric and Matt discuss the Arsenal Women’s game against OH Leuven in the Women’s Champions League (UCL) action on the last day of the League Phase. We discuss the drama of Arsenal clinching 5th in the table and the “draw” for the first round of the knockout phase. We discuss the Arsenal women deploying two to lead the press and the other adjustments being made to their out of possession form. We discuss the Crystal Palace match in the Subway League Cup quarterfinal. Win and move on is the point of Cup play and Arsenal move on. Finally, we talk about the women’s winter break and what awaits them in January (it’s a lot).

As always we’d love to hear your comments to the episode, fan origin stories, and questions you may have for us. You can leave your comments via DM to Eric and Matt on the Bluesky app on @StatesideGooners

In Episode 99 of Stateside Gooners Matt and Eric recap the 'Boring Arsenal' game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium (*Hill Dick) where a pen by Viktor Gyökeres was the difference maker.

Everton without their two top scorers were toothless and Jack Grealish wasn't nearly enough without Ndiaye and Dewsbury-Hall to support him. Arsenal hit the woodwork twice, but didn't really threaten either. With 3 shots on goal total this game was kinda sleepy.

Crystal Palace up next tomorrow, Tuesday 12/23/25, in the "Soda Cup" (ahem, Carabao Cup). Glasner has one foot out the door. So does Marc Guehi. I wonder if the constant exodus of their best players frustrates the players as much as the manager. How can it not? Does this cup competition matter? I don't know why not. We should be going for all trophies available. For this game, I hope to see Nichols and Salmon get significant minutes. I'd love Jesus to start and if there are minutes to give Harrimon-Annous, he's always a fun player to watch, too.

Check out Matt's Top Ten List for the Everton game here.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

On this Stateside Gooners Arsenal Women’s podcast, Eric and Matt discuss the Arsenal Women’s game against Everton in the Women’s Super League (WSL) action. We talk about Arsenal’s formations in this match, some loopy volleys, and Olivia Smith doing Olivia Smith things from the left side. We also discuss the best approach to re-introducing Leah Williamson back as the starting right center back.  We provide a rundown the final day of the Women’s Champions League and what other results need to happen (aside from an Arsenal victory and 3 points) for Arsenal to finish in the top 4 of the League phase. Finally, we touch on the details that emerged last week about the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup which takes place in London at the end of January / beginning of February 2026. 

As always we’d love to hear your comments to the episode, fan origin stories, and questions you may have for us. You can leave your comments via DM to Eric and Matt on the Bluesky app on @StatesideGooners 

Eric predicted Arsenal would concede an own goal, making 'Own Goal' the leading scorer for Wolverhampton Wanderers after 16 games. As it turned out, Wolves conceded not one but two own goals, making 'Own Goals' our joint fifth best. (Shakes head).

Up next is Everton. Our record against both the club and the current manager suggest this should be a win and we've both predicted Arsenal to come away with the win by two goals.

Remember to like, follow, and share! Do the thing. Thank you.

Check out Matt's Top Ten each week for the Premier League games on our Substack, here.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

Two title races are on a knife-edge. Bouncing back after an Aston Villa loss, Wolves Preview

Welcome back to Stateside Gooners! This week, we cover Arsenal's bounce-back performance after the weekend's disappointing loss to Aston Villa.

Many felt the on-field player reaction to that single defeat was overblown, but as Gooners know all too well, one loss has tragically derailed title dreams in seasons past. With Manchester City finding their stride, there's no room for a falter now.

In this episode:

• Analyzing the response: We break down the team's 3-0 win that kept the pressure on at the top of the Champions League.
• Tactics & performance: Was the reaction from the fans and media truly unnecessary, or a justified fear based on past campaigns?
• Looking ahead to Wolves: We preview the crucial home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, and what a big win would mean.

Tune in for approachable, concise, and hopefully humorous analysis of all the Arsenal fixtures, news, and tactics from a U.S. perspective.

Have a question or your own Gooner origin story? DM us on Bluesky at @StatesideGooners!

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

On this Stateside Gooners Arsenal Women’s podcast, Eric and Matt discuss the Arsenal Women’s game against FC Twente in the Women’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) action. We talk about Arsenal’s different formation which allowed an aggressive press. We also talk about a second consecutive good performance from Olivia Smith on the left side. We highlight the solid play of Katie McCabe and how versatile Kim Little is as a player and how did Arsenal score only once from 15 shots. 

As always we’d love to hear your comments to the episode, fan origin stories, and questions you may have for us. You can leave your comments via DM to Eric and Matt on the Bluesky app on @StatesideGooners 

On this Stateside Gooners Arsenal Women’s podcast, Eric and Matt discuss the Arsenal Women’s game against Liverpool in the Women’s Super League (WSL) action. We talk about Olivia Smith’s performance, the return of Kim Little and Leah Williamson and why does Stina have to be offsides so much. We touch on the expectations for this December block of 4 matches and our expectations for the women in these matches.

As always we’d love to hear your comments to the episode, fan origin stories, and questions you may have for us. You can leave your comments in your podcast platform of choice (Spotify and Apple are our primary platforms for now) OR DM us on the Bluesky app on @StatesideGooners 

See you next time.