ARSENAL HEAD TO BILBAO FOR AWAY OPENER IN SPAIN
Athletic Club welcoming Arsenal to San Mames. Arsenal away boys and girls are sacking in Cottage Chicken and Guinness for little plates of tapas with Coca Cola mixed with red wine. I swear, man, no place in the world has a “you make nice things so we’ll let it slide” quite like Bilbao… because not even the deepest darkest booze haunts would dare mix red wine with Coca Cola and pass it off as a delicacy.
But maybe that’s where Arsenal fans are at the moment? These last few years have changed us. We’ve got a more sophisticated palate these days. Out went the bucks fizz (Mustafi & Lucas Torreira) and in came the fine dining of Mosquera and Zubimendi. We’re tactically one of the best teams in the world, not many can get near us physically, and maybe… just maybe, Arsenal are fun to watch again.
The first game in the Super League is monstrous. You want to start fast. Get 3 points on the board. Not have to worry about the chasing pack because you’re leading things. Arteta won’t be doing any sort of heavy rotation this evening, he’ll be going all out. But we’re now in such good shape squad wise, it’s hard to know what the best team is.
It’s probably best to look at the absentees through the lens of the weekend as well.
Declan Rice is probably being preserved energy wise for the massive physical test of a Man City midfield at the weekend. Mikel Merino, heading back to Spain in great form, might get the nod for this one before retreating to the bench at the weekend.
Bukayo Saka is probably the least ready of the returning players, but he’s also the one you’d love to have ready for the weekend. But again, do we really need to be risking someone who has had two injuries in the last 9 months when Madueke and Dowman can allow him a slow return?
Martin Odegaard is apparently out, which is frustrating for him, but I’m not going to be against seeing Ethan Nwaneri getting more minutes. Especially against a Bilbao side that’ll give him more space. Confidence gives momentum, this guy needs some of that, and tonight presents a great chance under the lights in a famous stadium. Also worth noting that although Arsenal fans loved the performance at the weekend, Arteta was giving him a lot of hand signals from the sidelines about marking space and losing the ball in certain areas.
William Saliba is far more important for a big City game. He only had an ankle roll, and it would seem he was ready for the game at the weekend but just asked for a few more days. I think if anyone is getting time from the injured set here, it’s Big Bill. As much as I trust Mosquera, there’s a pecking order for a reason, and Saliba is the best in the biz.
Last time out, we easily beat Valverde’s side. Gyokeres got off the mark early and Saka and Kai also scored good goals. It was a fairly easy run out, but that was preseason, and Champions League teams just show up with a different mindset. This is the peak of players’ careers, they’re in front of a home crowd this time, and they’ve got the exact same record as Arsenal in their first 4 games in La Liga from a points perspective, though they did lose their one game to Alaves this weekend.
Their big names are Unai Simon, the keeper that was keeping Raya out of their side, Nico Williams, who was on our radar, and Oihan Sancet in midfield. This is a well-oiled machine, but they aren’t on the level of Arsenal unless we allow them to be this evening. We spanked them in preseason, I don’t think it’ll be the same game, but I do have expectations of this being an easier game than the Bayern or Atletico outings later in the competition.
This evening, I’ll be going LIVE On The Whistle with Johnny. So sign up for a membership if you want Champions League content this season because we don’t put it anywhere else! On the podcast front, if you want to get your teeth into a new show we’re calling Aftermath, get it below! This one is replacing Monday debriefs. Members get to share SPICY hot takes and ask questions. Let me tell you, there were some RED HOT takes from folks and the questions were provocative. x
Podcast## THE AFTERMATH | EPISODE ONE (MEMBERS)
Pedro
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2:40 AM
THE AFTERMATH | EPISODE ONE (MEMBERS)
Welcome to The Aftermath, a brand-new strand of The Arsenal Opinion Podcast. Pedro and Matt Kandela go deep into your hottest takes and sharpest questions after another wild Arsenal weekend.
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