Hello peeps, how the hell are you?
The season is off and running with a win in the Old Toilet. Three points and “only the result matters” as the desperate say.
So, let’s start with the positives. Err?!?! we won? Raya made more saves than any keeper in the league this week? We restricted them to only 60% possession? Only let them have twice as many attempts and shots on target? No one got injured or sent off? We seem to have perfected the old “up and under” attack/clearances. Oh yes, plenty of positives.
Now, to our shiny new toy, Victor Gyokeres on his debut, perhaps the least said the better? He looks big, strong and fast. But let’s be fair, with the service he got from our midfield and wingers, even peek Henry would have struggled. I mean we had an extra man in midfield and should have dominated, but we did anything but. Saka and Martinelli were poor and without any excuses.
Look, it was the first game of the season and I’m sure it will get better. It will have too, because that was a painful watch. But all the excuses and wishful thinking in the world, won’t allow me to see any way that we have made considerable steps forward.
Anyway, time will tell and if we have to stink the place out, getting 3 points disguises the stench?
Blackburn George.
Positively Arsenal 
Tricky first game against a tricky opponent at their tricky home ground. We had new players to bed in and the returning injured to bed in and even some more (successful) new corner kick routines to bed in.
Manure will wonder how they lost that, how they failed to even get a draw or to even score and they’ll be many far better results for them at the Old Toilet this term, as you’d expect after £200m flushed down that same toilet.
To play poorly and come away with 3 points is actually surprisingly encouraging when you think about it. And the ultimate return to 1-0 to the Arsenal is well and truly bedded in so I’m happy with that tbh.
Onwards and onwards.
LikeLike
What a horrendous game of football.
When both teams and the officials are poor you know sky’s super soccer Sunday should be done under the trade descriptions act.
Mikel is making Don Howe look exciting.
However first games are always tricky and this fixture is not a good one for us. We need to forget about this game, train hard all week and hopefully be a lot more cohesive next week.
Getting one of our most difficult away games out of the way this early and collecting three points is a massive bonus. We have sent better sides there against worse manure sides and not come away with three points so let’s try and forget the game and totally revell in the win.
LikeLike
already concerned by how we butchered the few 3v3 breakaways we had, that old feeling that the players have been so programmed to be risk averse that they are hindered in their minds when a quick break is on, they are just not used to attacking freedom. A win is a win is a win, but I tell you something, that performance suggests that unless we are going to be very lucky this coming season we are in for another one with 14 draws. The only one touch football we play these days is a hoof up the field. I really hope I’m wrong and that we are going to quickly see fast free flowing attacking football from this team, but we have to find invention and freedom in our attacking play. gyokeres got no service today, he kept making runs only to look up and see the guy in possession had taken several touches, or turned back or sideways and played a risk free pass.
I would also say it was so very odd that defence mad Arteta done nothing tactically today to protect our left side of defence, where utd concentrated their attacks from. Well I say nothing, I mean nothing new, or changed nothing during the game, he had of course had Martinelli defending all the time he was on the pitch, its no wonder Martinelli’s attacking stats have fallen off a cliff in the last couple of seasons. Oddly I think Eze despite being more of a midfielder than a winger would actually suit the wide left berth under arteta down to a tee. But it seems we no longer have any interest in him.
LikeLike
Raya to the rescue. Madueke is not a very good defender. Martinelli not so great going forward but great defending. Saka still needs time to fully recover from his surgery. Zubi will need to cope better defending in this more physical league. Saliba is a great last line of defense. Cunha could dribble past everyone but him. Arteta seems more intent on using/trusting his bench. He doesn’t have a lot of like-for-like players on the bench so he’ll need to figure out this jigsaw puzzle of a roster quickly to get the pieces to fit cohesively.
LikeLike
Il take 3 points at old Trafford all day long, don’t really care how it comes. That’s a ground where myself personally have a lot of bad memories – 6-1 , 8-2, match 50. Old Trafford and Anfield are grounds where I’m always happy to get a result
Ref didnt give us nothing as usual, he let them kick us with impunity. he missed many blatant fouls and yellows that it only encouraged them.
I am not convinced on Gyko outside of the box. he did not hold the ball up often enough nor did he do well when challenging for headers. De-ligcht had him in back pocket. He has to improve on that. Zubimendi is class, seen him play before but never paid close attention. He brings a lot to the table.
If I had a choice I would prefer to start slow and finish strong rather than the other way round.
Anyways time will tell.
LikeLiked by 1 person
two weeks of the transfer window left, seems there is a lot of interest in arsenal players but not at the fees arsenal want for them
fulham want nelson, loan with a buy option
aston villa, brentford and others want trossard
palace interested in kiwior but he wants to go abroad, with porto interested
stuttgard want vieira, but are offering way below what AFC want
couple of clubs want zinchenko, with fee less than £10M
several clubs want Hein, some want him on loan with option to buy
lokonga has a few clubs wanting him on loan
LikeLike
Three points from that fixture is excellent no matter how we played.
We actually played better football in the 8-2 game but everything they hit went in and we all know how good the ref was for manure that day.
Sunday’s game was a horrendous game of football with both teams and the officials all playing badly.
It didn’t feel like a win the next day for me because it highlighted all our bad points and give us little optimism for winning the league.
However most teams win the league from Christmas so form at this point shouldn’t be a worry just points.
LikeLike
looks like Eze is off to Spurs, would be very disappointed with that, he is a class player and for me he would be ideal for our wide left spot in the arteta system, where a wide midfielder is better suited to it than an actual winger.
some reports today that kiwior will be leaving on a loan deal with a buy option. Another deal that I would be opposed to, he showed last season that he is up to the standard needed and selling him would weaken the squad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
reports that Trossard has agreed a new contract at Arsenal, well I really should say he has agreed to a pay rise, as his contract duration does not change, its still runs to 2027, he just gets a big pay rise. Seems a very odd thing to do, but it also suggests Arsenal will not be bringing in a new left sided forward which will disappoint a lot of fans.
LikeLike
Arsenal striker Michelle Agyemang will re-join Brighton & Hove Albion on loan for the 2025-26 season, she played for them last season on loan. Probably the right thing to do for her development as a player as she would get it hard to get regular starts at Arsenal this coming season but with Stina’s contract up next summer there could be a place open to Michelle then.
LikeLike
Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey named PFA Women Players’ Player of the Year 2025
new signing Olivia Smith named PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year 2025
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was saying before Gyokeres played his first minutes in preseason, that with all the plethora of strikers coming into the division and moving within, criticism would come quickly to those who didn’t hit the ground running.
After three quarters of a game, criticism has already started. There are a lot of fans forgetting a history of strikers who started slowly in PL Henry being one of them. Even when he was one on one with a keeper you never thought he was going to score.
There are obviously the others who start fantastically and then fade away. Apparently Nunez scored on his Liverpool debut and looks how crap he turned out to be.
LikeLike
I really didn’t want us to sell Kiwior but considering it’s a world cup year you can understand why he wants regular football.
The amounts being put forward by the media however seems ridiculous. £23 million is surely well under value for a player who finished the season so well in a team who came second in the league.
If that figure is correct it is another example of our poor record on sales over the last decade.
LikeLike
Havertz out with a knee injury, it must be bad as Ornstein says Arsenal are looking to go into the market for a replacement, maybe even a loan. Some reports suggest its not an ACL, but that he will be out 3 months or so.
LikeLike
Holy fuck after Ornstein reporting earlier today that spurs were very close to signing Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace for £60m and that despite Arsenal having an interest they had viewed him a £40M level signing, out comes Ornstein this evening with the news that Arsenal have put in an offer of £60M for him and that its likely Eze will join Arsenal as he has always wanted to play for AFC being a lifelong Gooner and having been part of our Hale End Academy in the past. Unfinished business.
would be so funny Arsenal coming in late and signing Eze from under the noses of spurs who thought earlier today that they had agreed a deal. Mind the Gap.
Seems Crystal Palace want Jacob Kiwior in a separate deal.
LikeLike
Seems the fee for Eberechi Eze is £60M plus a possible £7.5M in add ons. Medical is said to be already booked for Friday.
LikeLike
We are going to have a new slant on the blog, please post some feedback, including ideas, on how it could be better.
LikeLike
Maybe you should ban me and Ed,
LikeLike
What?
LikeLike
New post is up.
LikeLike