Is it a warm up game or is it a trophy, you decide….
Coventry next Friday is the priority for me but giving a beating to a club which has caused us quite a lot of pain in recent years from Wenger and Emery through to Arteta, has a certain attraction to it and a psychological edge when we meet again.
Raya and Madueke were the only starters from the England/Spain group returning from World Cup duty and it was notable that Martinelli and Nwaneri were absent but otherwise the starting XI picked itself and made perfect sense.
City don’t play the low-block they press and dominate possession whilst also leaving space in behind and Arsenal made the most of the space afforded them with Havertz playing a key role.
It took Arsenal just 24 seconds to benefit from the space as Myles, who was superb throughout, threaded a pinpoint pass into the path of Calafiori who calmly blasted the ball past a flailing Donnarumma. It was a stunning start to such a high-profile game and it left City bemused and their new manager having to re-think on the fly.
Arsenal’s confidence surged and never faded for the rest of the game, whilst City misplaced passes and failed to take advantage of their opportunities with some of their biggest names actually looking quite underwhelming. But City are City and by the 10th minute mark they had recovered some composure and were pushing the Gunners back, whilst at the same time Arsenal looked quite lethal on the break with Odegaard showing signs of rediscovering the kind of form we enjoyed from him prior to all the injuries. Bruno quietly went about his business as he gradually grew into his new role happy to let Lewis Skelly catch the eye with some exceptional control and passing. Arsenal had two successive corners which showed the kind of work Jovier had been working on and it looked very positive.
20 minutes saw Raya parry a Foden drive and during the next few minutes City tried to stretch the game with long balls to Haaland but his touch was, it seemed, still on the beach. Gabriel and Mosquera ably assisted by the impressive Ben White, dealt with any threat and then we struck again. Madueke got free on the right on 28 minutes and played in Odegaard who measured an accurate cross over to Tzolis who headed back to Havertz who in turn headed down past the fumbling Donnarumma, his form for PSG a distant memory. 2-0 was a nice score line and the Gunners thoroughly deserved it.
Eventually City came back as we knew they would, there is still enough Guardiola DNA left in that squad and around 39 minutes they created two great chances. Myles blocked the first and following a Raya save, Benny White blocked another attempt, this team in red weren’t messing about! Arsenal’s defending was showing all its best indefatigable qualities, they shall not pass, which almost led to a 3rd goal. Noni and Ben combining well to switch the ball across to where Calafiori was waiting but his volley flew narrowly over the bar, then just on half-time Odegaard was so close to adding that third, but we had to be satisfied with the two. H/T 2-0
Maresca put Jack Grealish on at half- time and Mikel replaced Bruno for Rice – sensible substitution.
More midfield magic and control by Myles on 48 minutes put Tzolis into the City box, Calafiori charged past him on the left taking attention away as he switched the ball inside to Odegaard who danced through City’s static defence where he sold Donnarumma a dummy and sat him down on his rather large Latin backside before stroking the ball home for our third and killer goal. They weren’t coming back from 3 goals, well certainly not this iteration of the Manchester Sky Blues.
Arsenal were in total control, on the hour Maresca had made 5 substitutions with minimal effect, Arteta put on Saka for Madueke and Hincapie for Calafiori. By then the Arsenal fans had given us a rendition of Ole, Ole, Ole, as the lads knocked it about on the edge of our box leaving City chasing shadows. On 63 Odegaard continued to show his full repertoire of body swerves as he left his opponent marking fresh air and drove into the City half setting up Bakayo who shrugged off his marked and narrowly shot wide. Another scintillating Arsenal move opened up City but a linesman flag against Kai stopped our progress.
It took until the 73rd minute for City to have an effort on goal, their first of the second half, Cherki had a powerful shot but Raya was just unbeatable. A couple of minutes later and Arteta sent on Gyokeres and Zubimendi for Havertz and Myles. On 80 Hincapie drove down the left with Tzolis tucking inside just like Leo used to do and his driven cross was met by Saka who probably should have scored, 4 would have been nice, but he just overcooked his connection and it cleared the bar with Donnarumma no where.
City were looking well beaten, then out of nowhere Semenyo fired in a low shot that looked destined for the net but as the ball flew through a forest of legs there was Raya getting down to parry it wide one-handed.
On 84 Eze came on for man of the match Odegaard (6 subs?) and by the 86th minute the Arsenal fans were serenading the City fans with ‘Is there a fire drill’ as the blue end emptied.
The Gunners comfortably played out 3 minutes of added time and then celebrated with the air of a team who feels this is the first of many trophies this season. The Millennium D.J. played some appropriate tunes and it felt just like the Emirates as the team took it all in. Job done, onto the next one…
We March On.
By Kev.
New post up.
Thanks Rico
Cicero, have you got a spare room? 😄
Have you got a photo of said weed Kev? If so, click on it and scroll down and the identify of the weed should show.
Morning Kev, if the stories are correct, Arteta and his coaches worked with MLS for a period of time before his midfield debut. Hence him not playing so much.
Move house Kev? 😉
According to the Met Office, we might have some rain today, more tomorrow and increasing amounts towards the weekend, I hope so because my tomatoes are desperate.
For those of you with lawns, here’s a question, do any of you have this weed, that is a slim black tuber that is nigh impossible to dig out and it has these strands that spread out and take root and if so any ideas you have in getting rid of it would be most welcome?
Morning Rico, safe journey Stu, morning Gunners…
When comparing Myles with Bruno, Zubi and Declan one should not overlook that Myles is still only 19, I wonder what the other three were like when they were 19..?
This is the problem I have with fans who criticise Arteta for not using our academy boys more, young players are learning and young players make mistakes so it’s quite unfair to critise Mikel for not winning honours whilst at the same time critise him for not playing Cozier Duberry or Hutchinson or Balogun etc.
i don’t recall seeing Myles making any big mistakes against PSG
Safe journey home Stuart..
Morning guys.
Bon voyage Stuart.
Thanks for the post, Rico, and the previous one, Kev.
Good points, Merlin and Geoff. MLS will learn from the older players (Declan, Zubi and Bruno have such good positional sense and body shape) and, hopefully will be more confident in terms of not having to prove himself, something which can lead to rashness on the pitch.
A lot coming out about Pep’s state of mind over the past couple of seasons. He seems to have paid a big price for his success.
I’m heading home today. A four hour bus journey, three flights, five or six movies, should set me up nicely for Coventry at 7am Saturday morning and nice and limber for my home teams game on Saturday arvo.
The good thing about this team is that the players ages are mixed and there for we don’t have to panic that we are an ageing team and lose too many good players at once.
really looking forward to MLS and max Dowman take the next and hopefully a few younger players pushing for selection when injuries come later in the season.
MLS was booked a few times last season for those kinds of mistimed tackles. He should calm down and continue training to time his tackles better. He should learn from Zubi how to time those tackles instead of just lunging in. Zubi rarely booked for mistimed tackling and his bookings were mainly for obstruction or dragging down players.
Two aspects that MLS can improved on this season:
#1 – Do not lunge in a panicky fashion as last-ditched defence unless it is to take one for the team to prevent an attacker run clear to goal. Bruno or Rice will always sweep behind MLS.
#2 – Cut down instinct action to drag down players that got past him due to his poor body shape.
An improvement on those two “defects” will boost MLS to become a world-class DCM by this season end or next season. He should be back into Tuchel frame of mind as DCM.
Lewis Skelly won the ball, it was accidental, but I knew what was coming in those articles, we have a target on our back this season.
So he’s not worth £115m then Devil. Mind you, I never thought he was but that’s the market for you.
I can see why Hackett thinks MLS should have been booked, he caught a City players ankle. Never known simulation to get a red card though.. Not unless it’s a new law.
And so it begins , in two separate articles first that ex pgmol ref Hacket says that Lewis Skelly should have been booked for a late tackle and then that Calafiori should have got a red for diving.
Expect the world and his dog to queue up to try and bring us down.
Riding to the rescue? 😉
I know Rico. But I did say he was a 115M flop.
We are delighted to announce that David Horseman has been appointed as head coach of our under-21s team.
David arrived at the club in September 2025 as our Professional Development Phase – Elite Player Development Coach, taking charge of our under-19s in the UEFA Youth League and our under-21s in the EFL Trophy.
Under the guidance of our Head of Academy Coaching, Luke Hobbs and our new Academy Director, Pascal De Maesschalck, David will lead our under-21s in Premier League 2, following the departure of head coach Max Porter, who has taken up a role as assistant manager at Championship side, Stoke City.
An experienced and qualified coach, David holds a UEFA Pro Licence and has previously held coaching positions at first-team and academy level at Southampton, Watford, Bristol Rovers, Forest Green Rovers and Manchester United.
Agree re playing time, if Arteta rotates more this season, everyone will play their fair share. Plus, we know injuries are never far away.
Devil, my point was that Anderson didn’t look like a £115m player in yesterday’s game.
Couldn’t agree more Dennis.
With all the games that Arsenal will have to play, Premiership, Champions League, cups etc. the whole squad will have ample game time even before International games come into consideration.
On paper, we must have the strongest squad in England and, maybe, Europe.
In certain games what about giving half time each to Odegaard and Eze?? Odegaard offers game control, work rate, clean football, slick horizontal movements and compactness.
With Eze we are more direct, unpredictable, vertical/diagonal forward passes and shooting from outside the box. Eze operates much more in the upper pitch although that means less compactness which Martin offers.
So happy for Myles, he loves the club and the fans love him.
Tuchel should have taken a chance and taken him to the World Cup, ironically Martinelli loves the club also but he’s on massive wages and there seems to be a new policy of cutting wages from some squad members. The club has some serious contract extensions in the pipeline for some of our major players, Rice, Saliba, Havertz, Odegaard, they’ll all want to be close to Saka level wages after our recent success.
Oh well, if Halland says its unimportant and not really a trophy then he must be right. Anyway it was only 3-0 so he shouldn’t get carried away.
Rico, both Myles and Anderson are worth 115M. The former, based on his last two games, vs PSG and City is a 115M excellent midfielder. Anderson, based on yesterday and pre season is a 115M flop. If Anderson is worth that amount than Rice must be over 200M right now.
I really hope that MLS establishes himself this season. However, I really hope that both Arteta and MLS himself remember that he is 19 years so he should be rotated and rested every 4 from 5 games. Yesterday MLS showed that he also has a good footballing brain besides tactical acumen. Ordinary players do not pick out a pass like that. He is a solid unit and possesses the kind of strength that is very rare in his stature and physique at his age. He is way stronger for his age. He did the dirty work but with grace and elegance.
BDW did anyone notice both Havertz and Odegaard laughing even before the latter made Donnarumma sit before he slotted in his goal??
If MLS carries on this trajectory, Rico, he could save us £millions.
Furthermore, he’s got Arsenal running through his veins, I just wish the club issued a hands-off warning, not for sale at any price.
I watched Elliot Anderson at the WC, he was steady, sprayed a few passes, but I wouldn’t swap him for MLS. In fact Anderson should be looking over his shoulder for MLS taking his England place.
https://x.com/afcstuff/status/2089260900070875587?s=20
Rumours are Barcelona want Gyokeres…
I blame some of it on the clubs who decide to cash in on talent for the cash instead of keeping them. I get it when perhaps they are not quite at the required level but when at 18/19/20 years old and proving themselves to be good enough, that’s not the time to sell them imo.
Maresca made it clear he wanted City to win, I guess Haaland didn’t get the memo. He played like a player who wants a new challenge.
I had to laugh at some comments by Haaland saying it was unimportant and not really a trophy. I agree with him a bit but if they had won they would all be celebrating
What a hypocrite.
Loads to like,defensively solid. MLS and Odegaard were outstanding.
Tzolis looked very very good,the movement of Havertz was excellent. As Kev said the way they dominated possession suited us,we probably won’t see that much this season.
Only thing playing Madueke is like playing a man down.
No use banging on about that,I do find it a bit sad if Ethan and Martinelli are sold. We’ve got to bring money in I suppose, I saw somewhere that Martinelli counts as 95% pure profit,Ethan presumably 100% The whole pure profit thing is all wrong in my view. There should be an incentive to keep homegrown players,not the other way round.
Bring on Coventry,we have some tricky fixtures at the start,we lost away to Aston Villa last year and dropped points in several of the others.
I think outgoings are more likely first..
Here’s a question.
Who looked like the £115m midfielder yesterday, Myles or Anderson?
Definitely this one Dennis, performing the way he is at 19 is incredible and he’s only going to get better. He can be ours for the next ten years or more if he carries on this way.
Thank you Kev, an inspiring post that should fill all Arsenal fans with a lot of excitement going into the new season.
What a complete turnaround from Wembley, although we do love a Charity/Community shield when it’s on offer.
Atm Myles Lewis-Skelly is undroppable and at such a young age is showing signs of emerging into a real star. The club would alienate many many fans if he were sold. He must be kept.
As you say, City are City, and on their day, if their opponents are slightly off it, they’ll give them a beating. Great news about Rodri, it looks like Maresca has quite a job on his hands.
There’s nothing like a big win against one of your fiercest rivals to boost confidence and build on the chemistry of the PL title win, which helps massively when integrating new players.
The only slight concern I have, is if Mosquera were to go down for 2-3 weeks, we would look vulnerable at the back. Maybe Ben White covers and Salmon plays at right-back?
Anyway, we’re winners again, and that feeling never grows old.
While the transfer window is open theirs’s always s time to change, he’s mind,
If there’s a trophy Cicero, it’s competitive imo.
I think Potter is spot on re MLS, it’s he who brings something more productive from our midfield. He and Bruno worked well yesterday..
Mosquera should in theory get better week by week the longer he plays. White is looking back to near his best too.
It’ll be interesting to see how we do against the low block because we know it’s coming..
Geoff, I’m certain that the management already know which players to sell, loan or keep.
Morning Devil, Geoff.
Viktor will get going Merlin. I imagine he’ll start on Friday.
Good morning all nice one Kev, are you taking lessons from Rico? 😉
I was delighted to see the way our two new boys fitted into the squad and playing style, obviously Berta and his staff have done their homework and picked out players that fit into the team rather than paying a lot of money for big names.
Goal keepers, defenders and midfielders all look very good and fit together like jig saw pieces. Just need an imposing centre forward now.
There seems no financial need to sell, other than those already in the shop window, A loan for Nwaneri perhaps. But the idea of selling M L S or Zubimendi is just ridiculous.
As I said yesterday, Mosquera is looking comfortable in the back four alongside White, Gabriel and Calafiori. Arteta needs to keep that combo together to build up the mutual understanding that has been the hallmark of Arsenal defences in the past.
As to the idea, from some, that it was “only the Community Shield” I say Cobblers! It was a warning to all and sundry that Arsenal mean business.
Thanks Dev, I’m happy here mate and looking forward to listening to my usual podcasts today whilst navigating the mess Sadiq Khan has made of London’s roads.
Morning Rico and all.
I still look at it as a practice match and Arteta’s last chance to sort out who to keep and let go. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to beat city, but I am not getting ahead of myself as the real season is a totally different game.
Rico 😂
Good morning Rico and all winners not sitting on a cushion.
You’re a good writer Kev. Much better than those who write with an agenda muddling and befuddling their grey matter, if they have any.
I heard that the tabloids are thinking of hiring both of Kev and Rico. Kev for match reports and Rico to notice mistakes and correct them, something which tabloids have a lot of. It will be a neverending task Rico I can promise you that
We won the first major trophy of the season. Pity I couldn’t celebrate with the traditional glass of wine….pain killers have seen to that.
Good morning all.
Excellent signs we are ready to go for 4 trophies this season, and high probability we can do it.
Fingers crossed and 25-man squad remain healthy all season long. Latest rumor said Saliba will be available in 2 to 3 months. But I think more likely he will be available early next year. Timber is training on grass.
And the old saw goes; Saliba and Timber are like a new signing when they return.
It is disappointing that Gyokeres can’t get going and revert to his 2025 self.
Where is that 2026 Gyokeres that terrorized A. Madrid?
The best news is that Arteta has plenty of rotation options amongst Rice, Bruno, Zubi and MLS. And as he said, he would like to avoid situation like Rice playing 69 games, including internationals, last season.
Kudos to Myles Lewis-Skelly for seizing the opportunity given and looks like an “undroppable”.
What a lovely start to this week.
Ha ha Kev.
Morning Kev, all.
I reckon you’re getting the hang of this match report writing 😜
Thoroughly enjoyed reading it, just as I enjoyed the game. I thought Arsenal were very good, the football more energetic and forward thinking. Great to see Odegaard back to his best and Tzolis looks like an absolute bargain.
If Myles Lewis-Skelly is still being considered as saleable, someone at the club needs sacking. There is no way he should be sold imo. If a midfielder needs to go, look at others, not him.
Morning Rico, I see you corrected my deliberate mistakes, well spotted… 😁
Morning Gunners, I wonder if we’ll see some transfer business this week?