Arsenal regain five point lead atop EPL table with comfortable win

Adamo Marinelli

March 13, 2023

Arsenal comfortably defeated an inform Fulham club, 3-0 away at Craven Cottage yesterday - a tough place to play - to complete their away sweep of London and regain their five-point lead atop the Premier League Table and keep their dreams of winning their first league title in 19 years alive.

Arsenal now has 11 road wins, in nine of those they kept clean sheets. They have a total of 12 clean sheets, tied for most in the league with Newcastle United.

The Gunners also become the only Premier League team to win five consecutive London derbies away from home, keeping a clean sheet in each match. They defeated Fulham 3-0, Brentford 3-0, Crystal Palace 2-0, Chelsea 1-0, and Tottenham 2-0.  

Belgian International, winger Leandro Trossard recorded a hattrick of assists in the first half, becoming the only player to record three assists in a first half of an away match in Premier League history. What a bargain signing for only £27 million. 

Gabriel scored his third goal of the season, and second against Fulham - after scoring a late 85th-minute winner to lift Arsenal to victory at home on August 27 - off a brilliantly placed corner by Trossard in the 21st minute. All three of Gabriel’s goals have come off a corner. 

Gabriel Martinelli scored his 12th goal of the season with a header to double Arsenal’s advantage five minutes later. Trossard received a pass from Granit Xhaka and ran into open space on the left flank, before crossing it into Martinelli who made no mistake with timing his jump to connect with the ball.

Martin Odegaard brilliantly controlled a cross into the box by Trossard before juking around a defender and firing it past Bernd Leno. 

Arsenal was brilliant defensively all game but shut down Fulham in the second half, Fulham’s best chance was hitting the crossbar in the 70th minute.

With the win, Mikel Arteta recorded his 100th win as the Arsenal manager in 168 games. He posted a record of 100-26-44.

Arsenal has a chance to extend their lead atop the table to eight points on Sunday when they host Crystal Palace. Manchester City doesn’t play a league game this weekend as a result of the FA Cup quarter-finals. If Arsenal go eight points clear, the pressure is really on City.

Ottawa Senators bolster blue line, acquire all-star Chychrun from Coyotes

Adamo Marinelli

March 1, 2023

After needing another top-four defenceman for years, the Ottawa Senators finally added a proven NHL talent to bolster their blue line to help them make a playoff push. 

The highly coveted defenseman they acquired, former Arizona Coyotes’ defender Jakob Chychrun, 24, is one of the best, most proven, and most talented young defensemen in the NHL. He is arguably a top 10 defenseman in the league and is one of the biggest names on the NHL trade deadline bait list.

Many teams have been rumored to acquire Chychrun for the last several months. The Senators were able to acquire him for a top-five protected 2023 first-round pick, a conditional second-round pick in 2024, and a second-round pick in 2026.

Arguably, the best part of the deal is that the Senators didn’t have to give up any roster players or any of their young offensive prospects like Shane Pinto or Ridly Greig. This is critical for the Senators’ offensive success this season and in the future seasons because they are lacking depth in their bottom six forwards, particularly at center – where Pinto and Greig both play – so the Senators need all the help they can get to bolster their bottom six. Pinto and Greig both play a vital role in doing so.

“A defenceman we’ve coveted, Jakob is big and plays imposing. He possesses a quality skill set; he defends hard and is highly skilled. He uses his heavy shot with accuracy and is effective at creating offence as a threat at the offensive blue line,” General Manager Dorion, who was extremely thrilled to bring in Chychrun, said in a press conference.

Chychrun is a physical specimen, who isn’t afraid to throw his body around to make a play, forechecks well, creates turnovers, is speedy for his size, and has the passing and shooting ability to get involved offensively, especially on special teams.

Chychrun has been sidelined since February 10 for trade-related reasons and in 36 games this season he has 21 assists and 28 points in 36 games played and can get pucks to the net, recording 114 shots on goal this season.

The Senators acquired Chychrun for quite the bargain. Arizona’s General Manager Bill Armstrong originally wanted two first-round picks and a high-level prospect in return for Chychrun, but because a handful of contenders dropped out of the sweepstakes after acquiring other defenders and the because Senators didn’t require Arizona to retain any salary, the Senators were able to get the deal done.

Chychrun will make an immediate impact on Ottawa’s blue line and help them win games down the stretch to solidify their playoff spot. They’ve won the last three games, including beating Detroit 6-2 and 6-1 in two consecutive games on February 27 and 28, respectively.

Chychrun will likely slot into Ottawa’s first defensive pairing with Jake Sanderson; Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub will form the second line and Eric Branstromm will pair with Travis Hamonic on the third line. 

Chychrun is under contract for the next three years, until the end of the 2024-25 season, at an average annual value of $4.6 million per year, and will be 27 years old if the Senators decide to resign him in 2025. He is a quality player who can make an impact in Ottawa for years to come.

Great move by Pierre Dorion and the Senators’ management. Grade: A+ (A++ if they sign him to a good-value, long-term deal in 2025).