It’s day 143 of rain. Although barely a month into the new year has passed, it has already been raining in Ireland for almost 17 weeks in 2026. At least that’s how it feels. I can’t remember the last time the sun shone. 50 Shades of Gray is no longer a dirty book, but the reality in which we exist. If this continues, new shades will appear that even a fancy paint store hasn’t come up with yet. Not your Dulux or Crown or whatever, but the ones that call themselves something like ‘Garter and Farthing’ or something like that.
“If the gentleman is looking for a paint for his sitting room to match the sky outside, may I suggest ‘Profound Stone’, ‘Incessant Ash’ or ‘Livid Charcoal’? If you’re feeling really daring, perhaps consider a new range inspired by the Irish winter of 2026, ‘Dublin Lead’, or a new favorite ‘Murderous Obsidian’.”
I’m looking forward to some idiot YouTube channel from some idiot supporting another twat team in finding a way to make this Mikel Arteta’s fault because Arsenal score too many goals from set pieces or something. I accept that there is nothing I can do about the weather other than hang up the sticks and move to another country where it isn’t as bad, but that seems like an awful lot of hassle.
I’ve moved enough in my life and I’ve vowed never to do it again unless I win a billion pounds and can pay someone to do it all for me. Like everything. All I have to do is show up to the new gaff and it will all be done to my exact specifications. Yet the chance of that is as good as Marc Guehi in the Carabao Cup final. So I will put up with the rain and at some point it has to stop. It has to stop, right? Right?!
We’ll hear from Mikel Arteta later today ahead of our match against Sunderland tomorrow. There was no trace of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard or Jurrien Timber yesterday at trainingso we’ll wait for whatever update he wants to give us regarding those three, but suffice to say we have options for all of them if they’re not involved.
I suspect one of the questions he asked today is about Liam Rosenior’s reaction to Arsenal’s warm-up last night. Chelsea’s head coach was ‘caught’ on camera expressing his displeasure at what he perceived as an infringement on their half of the pitch. explained his thinking at a press conference. I mean, this is a complete storm in a teacup (oh god, it’s even raining in the crockery now!), but in the absence of anything other than Arsenal being really good, I’m sure this will come up. Mainly because, if anyone has ever watched a warm-up, they will notice that there isn’t some Berlin Wall checkpoint halfway through, and players/coaches on both sides often operate on both sides without anyone making a big deal out of it.
If you’re perhaps a little prone to cynicism, you might look at the fact that Rosenior knew the cameras were there and that, rather than asking a member of his own staff for a quiet word, or simply ignoring it, he did it in such a way that it would become a very public matter. Am I that kind of person? Maybe it’s the rain that’s pushing me, but he seems like the kind of guy who would hang a giant portrait of himself in his toilet (although not a portrait of his first touch last night), and cite Brendan Rogers as an inspiration. If it does happen, expect Arteta to play it with a very straight bat as always, and we’ll bring you all the current stories Arseblog news later.
For some extra reading this morning, here’s Tim on the ‘fear’ of this season and the title race. I have to say that one of the most interesting aspects of all this is the fact that it wasn’t that long ago that this is exactly what we wanted. If you complain about a lack of quality or a lack of ambition that means your team is not meeting the high standards you expect, then the tensions we are experiencing are a direct result of the weather being good. Isn’t it better to have something to play for than not?
I think it is. You cannot have good without evil. There is no light without darkness. There is no dry without wet. There is no sunshine without rain. That’s a lie. There is no sunshine. There is only rain. Endless, never-ending, non-stop, miserable rain. Rain rain rain rain rain.
Argh.
I’m going to paint my kitchen ‘Demonic slate‘. Join us later for a Sunderland preview podcast at PatreonFor now: have a nice Friday!
#Rain