THOUGHTS AFTER A VERY GOOD WEEKEND OF ARSENAL
Writing this blog to Japanese Funk because I saw someone cool listening to it at work and so far, so good. Had to tell you all I was doing it otherwise this would be a wasted cultural journey. Tell someone at work that’s what you listen to next time they ask… thank me later.
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Had a little bit of time to digest the weekend.
Man City are going to be a force this season, even if their best 11 on paper doesn’t look as sexy as others.
Liverpool’s DISGUSTING affair with Lady Luck continues without shame. They needed a 95th minute penalty to break the deadlock against Burnley. At some point, the luck is going to run out… you hope. Last minute winners every week isn’t really a sign that things have clicked in my opinion.
Arsenal are very, very good.
The front three of Eze, Martinelli, and Gyokeres has a different type of sauce that gave Forest exactly the sort of headache that was not on offer to us last season when we took the lead.
Press us if you dare… we have power, pace, precision… and a lot more aura packed into our forward play. Madueke has something about his game that even Saka doesn’t and I mean that as a compliment to both. The new England winger is juiced on belief, his one vs one play feels far more street football, and he really is blistering and direct. The output hasn’t been there yet, but he’s only 23, if that pops, we have a vicious winger in wait.
Eze just floats. Last player in an Arsenal shirt I remember gliding like that was Robert Pires. Everything is effortless. He’s not the fastest on the ball, but he is the smartest. It’s hard to mark him because he can burst into space, he can do something mad with one touch, and he can pick out a complex pass and execute with pure simplicity.
Then you have Gyokeres. I can whinge for days about what he doesn’t have, but he does have that one thing that makes any weaknesses deliciously palatable… he’s a goal scorer. A ruthless killer. Arsenal haven’t had someone like that in the team for a very long time. This guy dreams in goals and if you serve him up three chances, you’d best believe he’s exiting with one goal at the very least.
Three players who offer our attack a totally new dimension. I’m sure the combinations of old and new are going to be mixed all season. But damn, I’m excited that the new boys are all delivering impact already. We’re not having to search around in the dank recesses of the dark stats web to figure out what everyone is doing… they’re here to create bang BANG, up the risk, and give Arteta more options in a system that felt a little bit stale last season.
I love it.
Champions League up on Tuesday. Our third crack in three years. Quite the achievement when you look at some of the yoyo-ing we’ve seen from English pretenders. Athletic Club are one of the most interesting in Spain. Their mission is to create a top class team of people only from the Basque region of Spain… and that pool is so damn rich, it’s in the Champions League. Imagine trying to build a team of just Londoners in the Premier League? It’d be very, very hard. Estadio de San Mamés is an excellent stadium, very similar to the feel of The Emirates. Bilbao is an outrageous away day. Pinchos and calaimoxos before the game, then hopefully, a sound win to kick off our campaign.
I’m not really seeing much opportunity or need to rest players for this one. I know I bang the drum for heavy rotation, but I think we’re safe to start our CL campaign very strong and there aren’t many players I’d change after the weekend.
The big questions are more around who will make the squad. Bukayo Saka is close enough to be a temptation for the squad for this game, but I’m not sure we really need to see him… but he could make the bench for City. Christian Norgaard is also close to returning, so maybe we could see him as well.
Declan Rice was on the bench for the Forest game, so maybe he gets a start in the Champions League. For once, we actually have an advantage for the City game. They play on Thursday and have to rally for a Sunday game. It’s two away games for Arsenal, but you’ll take any margin you can get against a City firing after a 3-0 beasting of a very shitty United side.
As for the starting line-up, do what you need to do to get a fast start… we won’t want to be chasing CL qualification. This year, the higher you finish, the more likely you get an easier draw, and this year, your second leg will be at home if you seed higher. So let’s win all six and give ourselves the best chance of WINNING IT ALL.
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Some other tidbits of news… Nico Jover is moonlighting with the Saudi National team? Say what? I mean, if someone is offering you a little top up of cash and the boss is cool with it, why not? Countries like Saudi need all the help they can get, and set pieces really are a great equaliser, all you need is a good cross and a big lad up top.
Martin Odegaard went off for the second time this season with an impact injury. If he’s back for Tuesday, are we getting the impression that he’s leaving the pitch with a little too much ease? Knowing Arteta’s machismo mindset when it comes to pain, will that start to impact his standing? I do wonder. Be interesting to see what Arteta does if he is fit… I’d continue with Ethan.
The Overlap, introducing a Hottest Take section? Yeah, our lawyers are on the case.
Back to Madueke and something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately… you can spend a lot of time online feeling pretty rough about life. It doesn’t matter what you’re interested in, open up your phone, and there’s someone saying something horrendous. I follow a gardener on Substack and he’s been going to war with people who say peat doesn’t impact growth in your garden… yep, even the gardeners have haters. Anyway, my broader point here is Madueke said The Emirates stadium fans have shown him love from day one… and I think that’s an important lesson for life. If the internet is getting you down, go outside, speak to people, and look at what your life looks like every day outside the phone… it’s probably better than the cesspit in your pocket.
Great to see him doing well and awesome to hear him say Arteta has been giving him freedom to express himself and try things.
‘Mikel gives us freedom, so we have the freedom to get the ball and try to be dynamic and try to be positive.’
Runs counter to some of the TRASH I’ve been reading on my cesspit feed.
Ok, are we done? We are. Speak to you soon. x