Poorly Drawn Month: May 2022 (Patreon)

Exclusively for you guys on Patreon, we do a recap of each month, big stories, key moments, matches, incidents and more – with words from me, and fantastic artwork from Poorly Drawn Arsenal @cantdrawarsenal.

MAY 2022

May begins in decent fashion as Arsenal’s centre-halves head them to a 2-1 win over West Ham.

Rob Holding scores his first ever Premier League goal to put us ahead, and after the Hammers have equalised, Gabriel notches a second half winner.

Mikel Arteta calls it an ‘ugly win’, but isn’t fussy once he’s got the three points on board.

Arsenal Women beat Sp*rs Women 3-0 in the North London derby, and a day later it is confirmed that Mikel Arteta and Jonas Eidevall have signed new contracts with the club.

Technical Director Edu says, “I think the timing will be perfect, I really believe the message will be a big lift to everyone. To the fans, to the club, to the players, to Mikel. I think it will be brilliant and I’m looking forward to it.”

Ahead of the game against Leeds, Arteta pays tribute to the fans, saying, “For me they have been the tsunami of this project”.

The fans are in good voice as Leeds come to the Emirates, and fall behind quickly when Eddie Nketiah robs the goalkeeper to force home the first.

The striker grabs an excellent second goal to the Gunners 2-0 up and after half an hour the visitors are reduced to 10 men when Luke Ayling is sent off for a vicious challenge on Gabriel Martinelli.

Somehow the referee needs the intervention of VAR to see that the fouls is worthy of more than a yellow card.

The game is plain sailing for Mikel Arteta’s side, but without the cushion of an extra goal or two, things get a bit tense when Leeds score from a corner. With the margin so tight, some fans can’t deal with the nervousness …

Ahead of the North London derby, a summer friendly is announced with Arsenal visiting the city of Baltimore to face Everton.

Unfortunately, the derby does not go our way, with Rob Holding seeing red for a series of fouls on Son, before the referee buys the South Korean’s acrobatics to win his side a penalty.

We have no desire to relive any of that again, or indeed the Newcastle game but here are some highlights for your perusal.

It leaves Arsenal requiring a final day miracle from Norwich, the worst team in the league … the worst team in any league anywhere, ever … if they are to qualify for the Champions League at the expense of Sp*rs. As you might expect, the miracle doesn't happen.

Mikel Arteta is asked about the January transfer window and whether has any regrets, and says, “We have done what we can, and with what we were allowed to do, what we could do and the resources we had from the start of the season.”

With the mood low, there’s only one thing that will cheer people up – A KIT LAUNCH – and Arsenal duly oblige, revealing the 2022-23 home kit, and the fact that Gabriel Martinelli will wear number 11 next season.

The launch is accompanied by a feel-good video that turns Arsenal fans tears of sadness into tears of sadness and sentimentality.

The month, despite being painful, ends in upbeat fashion. First, Vivianne Miedema signs a new contract with the club.

And secondly, at an end of season live event at Union Chapel in London, Arseblog and Arsenal Vision are joined by podcast listeners as well as old friends and new to chat about the club we all love and to share a few drinks afterwards.

Perhaps a drink or two too many, but you wouldn’t have it any other way.

https://twitter.com/JMS4NJ/status/1528166815041392640

So that's it for the 2021-22 season. It might have been up and down on and off the pitch, but it was consistently poorly drawn for you right throughout.

We hope you've enjoyed these recaps as much as we have of putting them together (except for PDA when I ask for crowd scenes or complicated kit designs), and we'll be back with more next season as we aim to get better again. 

Thanks from Andrew and Poorly Drawn Arsenal @cantdrawarsenal