Stateside Gooners: An Arsenal FC Show

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. 

In this fargin episode of Stateside Gooners, we're obligated to talk about how our club, once again, lost to Aston Villa and our gosh darn former manager, Sir Good Ebening.

Aston Villa is quietly (?) becoming our newest bogie team (along with Newcastle). We have to find a way to make that stop. Well, we can't do a thing about it, but Mikel Arteta needs to do something about it.

Dag Gummit!

Up next is Club Brugge, which you're welcome to pronounciate any way you like, we just want to see a win. After we hear it 100 times during the game, we'll all know that it's pronounced 'Brugge.' Got it?

Check out Matt's Top Ten List.

Like and share as often as possible. Thanks.

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

When do you know that your team is good?

I say it's when your 'second team,' your backups, are good enough to start on most of the teams in the Premier League. Outside our strikers (Gyökeres, Havertz, Jesus)(Merino?) most of our players would fit into 'just about' any team in the league.

That said, as is said about most team sports, you have to beat the team in front of you with the players you have available. In this game, we had a set of changes to the starting lineup that included new partnerships all over the pitch.

I think that we may have played the most fluid game of the season, and we're in agreement on that as we say in this episode.

Aston Villa started out slowly but picked up speed quickly and have maintained that most of the season. They're currently in 3rd and just 6 points behind us.

We've faced a series of challengers that were placed well in the table when we played them: Chelsea (3rd), Bayern (1st UCL), Sunderland (4th).

It'll be interesting to see how this game plays out. Villa are 12-2-2 since the September International Break and have won the most home games in the calendar year in the top 4 leagues in England.

Check out out Substack to read Matt's Top Ten List for the 2-0 win over Brentford.

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

I have a sticker on my coffee cup that says:

"Surely EVERYBODY wasn't kung-fu fighting."

If you are an audiofile, you'll know what song I'm talking about. If you aren't, it's about Caicedo's ankle stomp on Mikel "Wooly" Merino. Not everyone was doing that, ok?

Both Matt and Eric feel that Arsenal should have taken all three points from this match, especially with 52 minutes to play with an extra outfield player.

Chelsea brought their impertinence, but they also brought stout defending and a tough mindset that said to their opponents, "Come get it ... if you can."

Up next is Igor Thiago, Brentford, and their squad that scores from everywhere, a lot like us. They're 21 goals in 13 games nearly matches our 25 goals. But our league best defense, 7 GA, far ourstrips the 20 goals they've conceded.

Matt and Eric start their rotisserie fantasy this week. Who'd they pick to win? Listen in to the end.

Matt's Top Ten List for Chelsea vs Arsenal is here.

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

Happy Thanksgiving, Gooners!

Arsenal haven't beaten Bayern Munich since 2015. They've booted us out the last 8 and more often the last 16 too often. The bets weren't against Arsenal, at home, and like Bayern still undefeated in the Champions League.

But the demons were lurking and the media, too. Matt and Eric discuss a game that wasn't like the women's game, a game of two halves. It did have some of that flavor though, since Arsenal's second half was far superior as far as the eye test. Bayern still dominated possession, but Arsenal were a lot more dangerous.

Up next is Chelsea, the opponent in our second first place versus second place game in 5 days. This time we're away from home at Stamford Bridge, where Arsenal haven't won since August of 2018. The odds are on Arsenal to break that streak.

Don't forget to read Matt's Arsenal Top Ten List for all Premier League games at our Substack.

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