Morning all.
If Arsenal’s performance against Sevilla yesterday was a taster for what’s to come this season then buckle up and enjoy the ride. Gabriel Jesus looks like a guy who’s been playing for Arsenal for years, Oleksandr Zinchenko too and as for William Saliba, well, what a player. Marquinhos and Fabio Vieira are yet to come, Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emile Smith-Rowe are yet to return to full fitness. Sambi Lokonga, Mo Elneny, Cedric Soares, AMN, Lucas Torreira, Hector Bellerín, Nicolas Pepe and Flo Balogun are at this moment, still in reserve although not all are likely to stay. Then Mikel Arteta has the players from the under 23 squad to call upon should he opt to play them in the domestic cups and the early rounds of the Europa League.
The game ended with a hat-trick from our new number 9, the day started with memories of an old one – Jose Antonio Reyes. Arsenal opened the scoring during the ninth minute of the match, the time when both fans applauded in memory of the man who’d played for both clubs. Newly crowned captain Martin Odegaard played a ball into the box for Bukayo Saka and just as it looked like the ball was getting away from him, a Sevilla player gave him a hefty shove in the back to send him flying. The referee pointed to the spot and Saka calmly slotted the kick home. It wasn’t long before 1-0 became 2-0. Xhaka was the provider for this one with a cross into the box which Sevilla couldn’t clear and Jesus poked the loose ball home. Next up was Martinelli with a cross from the left into the path of our number 9 in the box. This one wasn’t easy by any means but with a stretch of the leg, he guided the ball past the Sevilla keeper. Twenty minutes on the clock, give or take a few seconds and Bono totally cocked up his pass out from the back. Saka said thank you very much, scored his second and our 4th.
The second half was boring….. Just kidding of course as there was only two goals. Jesus secured his hat-trick and then right at the end, Eddie Nketiah scored our final goal of the game after Xhaka had played a ball through to Martinelli who unselfishly put it on a plate for our striker.
A packed Emirates Stadium was treated to some excellent football and lots of goals. Even so, the aim of the club is to sign more players before the end of the transfer window. Understandably too.
Thinking about last season, our top four chase went off the rails after Partey, Tierney and the already injured Tomiyasu were missing. Personally, I don’t think Mikel Arteta can expect any one of the three to go an entire season without injury. Right-back is covered with Cedric, Saliba and White in the squad, Zinchenko is our left-back solution to Tierney if and when needed but Partey is the big one in my opinion. We have a glut of midfielders but no one anywhere near him when he’s at his best. We have an abundance of creativity, two strikers, three including Balogun and Saliba makes the defence stronger but the hub, the heartbeat of any great side is the midfield. Zinchenko plays in midfield I hear you say and he does but what if he’s already at left-back because Tierney is injured?
We all heard or read what Edu said about the Arsenal plan/process so we know this is the season when a top four finish is the minimum. Like a Jenga tower, Arsenal can be great when all the blocks are all in place, but take out one of the vital pieces of wood and it can start to wobble.
That’s it though as far as pre-season fixtures go. The next fixture is for real and it’s on Friday evening against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
There’s a big fixture taking place today too but this one is at Wembley as England Women take on Germany in the Euro Final. I wish Sarina Wiegman and her players the very best and hope they can achieve something very special. I also hope Arsenal’s Beth Mead walks away from Wembley with a golden boot in her hand. 🏴🏴
See you in the comments.
Good morning Rico.
It’s amazing, there is water, literally, falling from the sky.
No doubt the forecasters will shortly be issuing flood warnings and the nanny state will be advising us not to go outside and get wet, to check on the aged and vulnerable to make sure they haven’t drowned in their beds. Officials from the rail unions are calling on the government to supply free umbrellas to their members picketing railway stations during their interminable strikes.
A very good result in the Emirates Cup yesterday, but let’s not get carried away yet.
I watched only the second half of the Community Shield game. Two things stood out, Harland looks like a Scandinavian version of Andy Carroll and the behaviour of the Liverpool players reached a new low in the way they mobbed the referee claiming a penalty.
Fingers crossed for our girls this afternoon. 🤞
Morning Cicero.
Lucky you, we’ve had about ten drops before it stopped.
Didn’t watch the game at Wembley but will certainly be watching this afternoon’s game.
Morning Rico. Dare we dream of good things when we have been so up and down for years? The omens look good and Saliba looks rather too good to be true.
I have agree with Cicero about Liverpool. Horrible team now and the pathetic booing through the National Anthem is tasteless but the sort of stuff we’ve come to expect from them. Perhaps, when they look at their benefit payments they might reflect? No, of course they won’t. They’ll put on their victim tracksuits and carry on being a national embarrassment.
1 centimetre here in a bucket , not a lot but a few things perked up.
Partey is the problem area now , hopefully we don’t lose him to injury or something else and that we can reshuffle things should he need resting.
Other than that we appear to as sorted as we are going to be.
Roll on Friday.
Morning Adam. Inevitable really that we expect the good stuff we’re seeing not to last, as you say, we’ve seen it all before but I can’t recall the last time I got this optimistic about the squad. Edu and Mikel have done so well this summer and last. The owners too.
I read about the Liverpool fans booing the national anthem. What a ghastly lot they are. I so hope we give them a going over this season.
From what I’ve read this morning, if we want to buy Tielemans there is no doubt we could get him but Arteta is not that keen. I think he is waiting to see if we can get another target for the defensive midfield position. The longer we wait the lower Tielemans’ price will be.
I read it was down to his work rate off the ball Cicero.
Non stop cloudbursts every half hour since this morning I now have 3 cms in the bucket , I wonder how much will get pumped into the Thurne and sent to Breydon and out to sea. Once upon a time it would have been a bonus for the farming community , fields would have drained into dykes and water would have been saved in the water table . Now with the rash of housebuilding infesting Norfolk it goes into drains and gets pumped out to sea .There are not enough reservoirs to keep it , they cost too much to run and if Anglian Water , figures reveal 85% of which is owned by overseas investment companies, were to invest in them they could not pay the £92 million dividends to their Australian , Canadian and Abu Dhabi owners.
However on to football . I am not sure about Tielemans or Paqueta for that matter . One we know as really a direct replacement for Xhaka and the reports on the other suggest that he is of a similar vein. We need to be looking at what happens if something befalls Partey a long term departure could unsettle the whole process and that would seem shortsighted .
As I type another cloudburst is upon us Jealous ? Check your emails Rico
And then just like a London bus along comes this one :- Sergej Milikinvoic-Savic
Sergej Milikinvoic-Savic. Six foot three and a capable holding midfielder, could be what we want but at 27 he’s on the upper age limit of our preferred range. Circa €150,000 per week wages. Lazio are believed to want £68 million for him. That may well be too rich for Arsenals blood, add in his age and I think it’s a no no.
I’ve just checked Potter and I’m extremely envious. We’ve had nothing bar the occasional spot.
Savic is linked to Utd too I think.
Ruiz 😂
Brilliant, just fookin brilliant.
Well done England women….
Brilliant, just brilliant!
Plus the bonus Golden Boot for Beth Mead.
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Aside from Zinchenko, Ben White is capable of playing midfield, He did it at Brighton and I think Southampton. There are enough CB Saliba and Gabriel as the starters. Holding and Mari (who’s very underrated) are capable backups. It’s very disappointing that Vieira has been injured. He is a player, not quite the finished product, but Santi Cazola like.
Replacement for an injured Partey should be a physical. As good as Tielemans is in transition, defense to offense, his physicality in the middle is questionable. Savic on the other hand is much more physical.
congratulations England Ladies
New post up now
Morning all