This is a big day for all of us. We were there during the Emery days, we experienced what his football can be like, and the downside was not acceptable, so he was moved.
He has found a home at Aston Villa. A great club, revived by its ability to make the most of a little and absorb the damage dealt to it. The work he does there is, dare I say it sheepishly, without a doubt world class.
Villa were hamstrung by PSR in a similar way to Newcastle. They have not been able to reach their full potential because they are in the strange trap of not having the revenues to rocket to the next level of superstardom in the Premier League, but Emery has not worried about that. He has worked with Monchi and now Roberto Olabe to bring in the right players, and now they are smashing everyone to bits in a very unconventional way.
Emery is an xG threat. He makes players reach heights they struggle to reach when they move, and his kamikaze approach to everything can cause massive upsets on a good day. It’s usually not sustainable to do it over a season, but right now he’s in the mood to be considered a title contender because if you’re in a battle for the top of the table at the end of December, chances are you’re worthy of the title.
Arsenal were unlucky in the last game. The crazy moment at the end was just a whimsical bit of luck. Maybe not a black swan event, but that sounds cool when I read it back. We let Villa take us to the small margins and they won. Arteta turned the match into a basketball match. We had no control, the game was wild and if you let Emery dictate the rules he often has better finishing moves (at least against us).
This game today must be about a sickening level of control, almost perverse, totally unnerving like a gross independent film about a woman who makes her man walk off a bridge to prove that he loves her. This must be physical, technical and psychological. We must break their souls and reassert our dominance as the number one team in the country.
It won’t be easy, but we have some things going our way. It looks very likely that we will see Kai, Gabby and Ben White in the squad for the match (Hand of Arsenal again). That’s incredible news. It would be even sexier if Timber or Ricky manage to make it.
This fight has a little extra about the importance factor. Lose, and Villa draws level with us. But if we can win the game, City’s players will have to capitalize on that for two days before heading to the Stadium of Light for a big match against Sunderland. These are the games that create narrative pressure, and those are usually the games where we don’t perform well.
Arteta had great respect for Villa during the press conference. The main talking point that emerged from this was that Arsenal will be looking at players in the January window.
This next view is not based on intelligence, but moving forward with players in January signals a shift at Arsenal and within our ownership group. We spent massively too much in the summer; the idea that we would go again in January, with the team size we have, seems fanciful. Loans? Maybe. Arsenal botched their Premier League loan moves against Neto and Sterling last year, meaning we couldn’t bring in players like Rashford. This year we can go to the competition. The only comment here is that there aren’t many players who work as upgrades at Arsenal; it is probably very unlikely that we will find a loan deal that could work for us.
We also need to be very wary of the deals that everyone gets pumped into in January before pretending a year later that they never liked the players when they flopped. Yes, I saw you waxing lyrical about Kolo Muani, Mathys Tel and Omar Marmoush. Now look at them, a total waste of time.
Eveeeeeen Ollie Watkins who has 3 goals to his name this season, two of which came against Chelsea three days ago… and to think you were shouting ‘he’s worth it, boy doesn’t have many miles on the clock’… yeah, I remember that.
Arteta has a big squad. I don’t think we need to add any more bodies. We have to try to get the most out of players who haven’t gotten much playing time.
Look at Ethan Nwaneri. Last season he was great on the right, now he’s being passed over and you wouldn’t be shocked if he was loaned out.
We also shouldn’t forget that there are a lot of ‘new signing’ players who haven’t played many minutes yet and could contribute.
Odegaard
Kai
Jesus
Ben White
Flycatcher
Great Gabi
These are all players who will be very fresh as we head into a part of the season that requires it. If Arteta can keep the squad healthy and rotate like a normal manager, we might be able to go into the home leg in good form.
Too much imagination for one blog after that domestic murder plot? I agree. I have to calm down. Let’s see if we can get past this Villa side.
Villa are missing the goalscorer from the last match, Matty Cash (elite hair) and Boubacar Kamara; both have been suspended. Pau Torres is also out due to an injury. That includes Tyrone Mings (standard) and the magnificent Ross Barkley.
I have no idea how we will play tomorrow, but I suspect we will play against a starting XI that is built for a lot of control. I would like to see Jesus take the lead, but it will probably be Big Gyokeres again. I think it’s Trossard and Saka flanking. The midfield will hopefully be the Three star boys from the Society (Merino, Zubi and Odegaard). The defense will be Myles, Big Gabi, Saliba and Declan.
That’s a good setup. It has control, power, aggression and many players associated with Aston Villa pain. I want this to be the revenge tour, I want to see the guts flowing, I want to see Unai on his knees, his face contorted, confused about what’s happening to his herd. This is war.
Okay, that’s all I have for you today. See you in the comments.
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#TOP #WAR