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Afternoon guys.
There are footballers to be admired regardless of which club they play but there are more who I personally find easier to dislike. Detest even and Bernardo Silva is definitely one of them. Not because of his challenge on Martin Odegaard a couple of nights ago although that in itself is a good enough reason not to like him but he’s just a bit of a git. A sneaky one at that. January 1st 2022, what a cheat he was that day eh…
Oh the irony though when one considers how his 9 years at Man City are part of the 115 cheating charges of which 114 are reported to have been proven. So for all his ridiculing of Arsenal a year or two ago for winning nothing, he too might end up with zero Premier League titles which I think would be hilarious.
Martin Odegaard, who himself said he’s likely to be fine in a day or two, said that the kind of after the ball incident during Portugal’s match against Norway on Sunday “does not belong in the game”. Silva dismissed his claim by saying: “It’s football my friend” – but it’s not is it, not really… It’s just nasty, but that’s Silva. Nasty and sly.
I guess he’s still trying to help City cheat even as a Real Madrid player.
Anyway, we still have ten days to go until Premier League football returns, for Arsenal that is a home fixture against Leeds Utd on Saturday lunchtime.
Kai Havertz is likely to be ruled out for the match after picking up an injury if Germany’s first fixture so the door should swing open for Viktor Gyokeres. Our Swedish striker has scored in both of Sweden’s matches so it’s quite clear that he’s not lost his ability to find the back of the net, not that I ever thought he had. The players around him at Arsenal just need to find him. He’s not a fancy footballer, he’s a goal scorer which is what many of us called for Arsenal to sign last summer. Haaland isn’t a fancy footballer either but he scores goals. Does he track back and defend? I don’t think so, he just waits for the ball to be delivered and the rest is down to him.
Other Arsenal players in the goals during this break is Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis, the latter was in the team which shocked Germany with a 1-0 defeat. Tzolis’ goal though came against Serbia while Bruno’s helped Brazil beat Australia in a friendly. Thankfully, Thomas Tuchel has not been overplaying our players so far. All have played but unless my eyesight has deceived me, none have played the full 90 minutes in both matches.
The Nations League fixtures have a day off today with the second set of matches kicking off from tomorrow. Here they all are, at least those who are likely to involve our players. Yes, I’ve nicked the below from Arsenal.com.
Thursday, October 1
Malta v Gibraltar (Scanlon) | 5pm | Nations League | Ta’ Qali
Greece (Tzolis) v Netherlands (Timber) | 7.45pm | Nations League | Thessaloniki
Wales v Norway (Odegaard) | 7.45pm | Nations League | Cardiff
Friday, October 2
France v Italy (Calafiori) | 7.45pm | Nations League | Paris
Ukraine v Northern Ireland (O’Neill) | 7.45pm | Nations League | Trnava (Slovakia)
Bosnia & Herzegovina v Sweden (Gyokeres) | 7.45pm | Nations League | Zenica
Saturday, October 3
India v Brazil (Guimaraes, Gabriel) | 3pm | Friendly | Kolkata
Croatia v England (Lewis-Skelly, Saka, Eze, Konsa) | 5pm | Nations League | Rijeka
Spain (Merino, Raya, Zubimendi) v Czech Republic | 7.45pm | Nations League | Oviedo
Sunday, October 4
Greece (Tzolis) v Germany | 7.45pm | Nations League | Thessaloniki
Netherlands (Timber) v Serbia | 7.45pm | Nations League | Eindhoven
Portugal v Norway (Odegaard) | 7.45pm | Nations League | Porto
Monday, October 5
Liechtenstein v Gibraltar (Scanlon) | 7.45pm | Friendly | Vaduz
Italy (Calafiori) v Turkey| 7.45pm | Nations League | Bologna
Northern Ireland (O’Neill) v Georgia | 7.45pm | Nations League | Belfast
Romania v Sweden (Gyokeres) | 7.45pm | Nations League | Bucharest
Tuesday, October 6
England (Konsa, Saka, Eze, Lewis-Skelly) v Czech Republic | 7.45pm | Nations League | Wembley
Croatia v Spain (Zubimendi, Raya, Merino) | 7.45pm | Nations League | Split
As always, my fingers and toes will be crossed that no more of our players suffer injury.
Lastly, good luck to the Arsenal women who tonight take on Paris FC in the Champions League. It’s a 5-45pm kick off for anyone interested in watching. Disney+ is showing the game live.
Catch up in the comments.