Oh here you are, Monday morning, in the office, wearing your Arsenal cufflinks, maybe even the bruised banana away jersey under your shirt… a big old grass-eating grin as you walk into the canteen for a cup of fresh Nescafe. I feel you friends, I feel you, it’s a glorious week to be an Arsenal fan.
Was the weekend exactly what we wanted? Yes. A win for Arsenal. We are in control of our destiny at this point and the only way to maintain this vice grip on our results is to continue winning comfortably.
Did I watch the Liverpool and City games? Yes, but not on purpose, because I’m so focused on Arsenal.
Unai Emery came to Anfield on Arsenal’s longest hater tour in history and his big move was to do the exact opposite of what every team that has beaten Arne Slot has done. Unai heard “I hate long balls” and decided that a short passing play at the back was the key to victory. Quite bizarre for a manager who obsessively watches football every hour of the day. Emi Martinez also had a shocker, giving Salah his first ball with a sloppy pass straight to his feet. Villa had a few moments, but they were largely a non-entity. I still think Liverpool just don’t look good. Wirtz is way off the pace, the full-back situation is laughable and the VVD no longer looks like the man he once was. The only ray of sunshine in that team is Ekitike, who looks absolutely musty every time I see him play.
The City game wasn’t much better for the cause. Erling Haaland is simply unplayable at the moment. He is in the Cristiano zone. How he manages to look like a freak in a Premier League full of freak athletes is beyond me, but he is simply ridiculous and he won the game for City again. That said, City still have weaknesses. Donnarumma may have a great brand name, but he watched from the corner that led to their goal on Sunday, and his play at the back is very unimaginative. Bournemouth also fell behind on a number of occasions. City just don’t look as formidable as they once were. They are Arsenal’s main challengers this season.
The biggest story that no one is talking about is that Arsenal are at the top of the league, conveniently, without our attackers being properly available for much of the competition so far. Odegaard has been part-time, Saka only recently returned, Kai has been out for most of the season, Madueke retired early and Martinelli is now out of the team, with Gyokeres following in his footsteps.
We don’t have the right attacking flow yet, we don’t have any new players, this is an Arsenal team that has had a terrible season with injuries, but we are still playing so well.
The Andrea Berta strategy of going wide with depth versus deep with extreme talent appears to have been the right move. There is literally no way that that wouldn’t have been the move. The only extreme option we had up front was Alex Isak, and he looks meek in attack and is already injured. Not every signing was perfect, but when was it? The biggest win for Berta is that there isn’t a single dud in the mixer. Everyone does their part, even Norgaard.
I also stand by my comments at the start of the season: we are placing a lot of players, and we won’t see the best of them until January, when they really start to fit into the system and what is asked of them. I mainly look at Eze. His start for Arsenal reminds me a bit of Declan’s… good, but not quite where we know it is. Part of that is arriving late, being asked to play many different roles and adapting to a demanding coach who doesn’t ask for simplicity from his players. He is usually better in the second half of the season. Having managed just two goals and two assists at the end of December last year, he went on a mad blast in the EPL, dropping seven goals and six assists to end the season. I expect more from that.
I also expect Kai, Jesus and Odegaard to come back to the squad absolutely on fire, hoping to prove a huge point to the rest of the squad. These guys are statistical problems and they need to show that they can deliver big trophies to Arsenal in the prime of their careers.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how the system evolves when we have a full range of attacking options to choose from. I think it will be a different Arsenal and I’m sure Arteta will continue his rotation kick which seems to have served him quite well so far this season.
We have no news about Zubimendi or Gyokeres. I’m really praying that Lady Luck can throw us a bone here, but even if she doesn’t, we just have to navigate Prague and Sunderland before taking a two-week break. The most important thing is that those two are in the squad for the big games after the break, where we will face Spurs, Chelsea, Brentford, Villa and Bayern Munich. It will be quite worrying if we have to play against teams with stars looking to build up their match fitness, but unfortunately that is often the case at Arsenal. I have to pray that the submarines took the precaution of avoiding injury.
Turkey has just announced that it has discovered a referee bomb.
“A five-year investigation found that 371 out of 571 match officials had gambling accounts, of which 152 were actively gambling.”
“While some had only bet once, 42 had bet on more than 1,000 football matches, with one official placing 18,227 bets.”
One of the biggest gambling scandals in sports history has unfolded in America, involving coaches and players in some deeply dark mafia-related allegations.
I know, I know, the British always think they’re above this crap, and that could never happen in the Premier League. But it does make you think, especially considering the multitude of horrors that have surrounded the only Premier League referee to actually be sacked in recent times.
I hope someone thinks about these things and asks tough questions. Once these scandals reach a fever pitch, trust quickly erodes, and it can absolutely undermine the product. Just look at how Italian football suffered after Calciopoli. Sponsors fled, Serie A’s foreign audience declined and the league was blighted by the scandal for years.
Scott Parker called Declan Rice a bit of a star in the current Arsenal line-up.
“If you don’t have those players you probably won’t score as much as Arsenal,” said the former England midfielder.
“It’s not just those two [Gabs and Big Bill]. You have a delivery person [Dekkers] and every time you ask for it to be put back, it goes back in the post.”
Matt said on the podcast that the player he wanted to compare Declan to was… David Beckham. Never heard before. The two players were very far apart physically in their prime, but perhaps not from a delivery perspective. Outside of direct free kicks, which Declan doesn’t always take, the comparison is uncanny. What weaknesses does Declan have compared to Beckham? Both exceptional for deadball deliveries, both brilliant on long balls up the field in games, both loved a diagonal ball and both have exceptional hair.
I like the comparison. I like it very much.
Declan’s big move in the coming months is clear to me. He needs to score more goals. He has the strength and pace to get into the penalty area, he has the ball and should score fifteen goals a season with his excellent abilities. You have to believe you can do that to make it happen, and I’m not sure I see enough selfishness in games to let him deliver on that now, versus someone like Ethan, who just comes from anywhere. Yet we should not forget that he arrived at Arsenal as a number 6. At West Ham he appeared as a central defender. Give him some time to adjust to the nosebleed part of the field.
Okay, big week ahead. Two big away games. Prague, away from home, never easy. Followed by the surprise package of the season… Sunderland. By the time they face us next weekend, they could finish second. How often do you play a promoted team in October and it’s a 6-pointer because they’ve put together a team to challenge for the title? Not often. I’m really excited about that game. My grandfather grew up in Sunderland… is my blood part Mackem DNA? Could be. Maybe this is why I’m enjoying Eddie Howe’s crash and burn this season after taking over as the top dog there and spending that Isak money like someone who has a family member helping him. Sensational to see them lose to West Ham yesterday… and my word, what a gentleman Nuno is. That guy is truly a class act.
Okay, I’m done. See you in the comments. X
PS Listen to Johnny’s ratings after the weekend.
Podcast
BURNLEY (A) | REVIEWS
Beast mode continues. Arsenal roll into Turf Moor and leave with another brutal, dominant three points. Johnny takes a deep dive into what’s starting to look like a defense for the ages, a midfield led by Big Deck Energy at full strength, and a forward finally finding its swagger.
#DECLAN #COMPARED #BECKHAM