It was Thanksgiving here, in America, and I was thankful for only one thing: Arsenal.
What a season we are having right now. Top of two leagues, a number of players coming back from injury, and the team feels like it’s where it needs to be… regardless of who’s playing.
Vincent Kompany was pragmatic after the match, but there was one sentence that attracted some attention.
“I don’t think any of us want to be the best team in November. We are trying… to build on last season to be there in the important moments. For us, we can show how we react now and how this season will improve us.”
This kind of comment could be seen as bitter, but he contextualized it around a conversation he had with Mikel. He’s partly right: you want to finish strong, versus start strong. But if you look back over the last four years, where teams have been at this stage of the season, it’s mostly tied to where they finish in a few positions. Liverpool topped the table this time last season with 8 points and finished the season 10 clear. The season before, Arsenal were top by 1 point and lost the season by 1. Arsenal were 5 clear the season before, finishing in 2nd place and losing by 5.
Being great now is a good thing… but we’re all convinced that beating PSG in the group stage didn’t push us over the line into the semi-finals. Arsenal should be grounded, nothing will be won in December and many things can and do go wrong for Arteta teams.
But… I think we all just naturally feel like there’s something different about the team this season. I said on the podcast that Declan has gone from a golden retriever to a beastly doberman. Saka is the same. Those two were nice guys last year, now they have a little anger in their game that we haven’t seen before.
It seems we have answers for everyone too and we don’t care what the response is. This was Kimmic.
“I think PSG was our strongest opponent, especially the way they play football. Arsenal are completely different. They rely on set pieces. They like to play the long balls. It was about game management.”
This is the kind of commentary I want to hear. One of the best midfielders in the world trying to pass off what happened to him as some kind of rudimentary pagan freak show… without accepting the reality:
At best, Bayern was made to look Bundesliga 2 level
They couldn’t handle our tactical superiority
We destroyed their defense
We contained the supposedly best striker in the world without giving him a shot on goal or creating a single chance
Trying to position PSG as a better side after Bayern beat them is grapes of the sharpest sourness.
I don’t want Arsenal to be revered because they play a very specific style of football that is achievable. I want Arsenal to be a nightmare. Have tools for every occasion. I want to feed on the screams of the elite as they are put down in ways they deem beneath polite society.
The only problem of the match against Bayern was the loss of Leo Trossard. He is currently our best attacking player and we will be happy to see him back soon. But the good news seems to be that Arsenal played Watford yesterday (I told you Man U was a strange suggestion) and there should be some positive moves on the fitness front for some very important players. Our bench against Chelsea will start to show a certain fear factor, provided all goes well. That is huge for us.
The weekend competition provides the opportunity to cap off a week that has been brilliant so far. That said, it’s also the start of a big 10 days. Brentford at home in midweek, followed by Villa away on Saturday. Two very tough matches after a grueling week in which no one rested or substituted. The only positive thing about that game against Villa is that they play away to Brighton on Wednesday, which could mean they don’t go back to Birmingham. Either way, Villa won’t get a free week to plan against us.
Chelsea? This is a monster game. I don’t really see how Arteta can do anything other than play his best players for this. The only changes I see happening are Hincapie returning to the team alongside Calafiori. Who plays left? Difficult decision, Martinelli scored and so did Madueke. You’d have to imagine that Arteta would feel like channeling some of the pent-up anger that Madueke has against a club that has written him off for two seasons in a row… but who really knows. As long as someone comes into that position who wants to be the man in the coming weeks.
Okay, not much more to talk about today… press will be out later and we’ve got some new podcasts for you. Be sure to check out Jacob’s newest Dugout. Sam Dean is back and the episode is OUTSTANDING. X
#SOUR #GRAPES