As we await the new season I think back to the last moments of the old one. Martin Ødegaard snatching a late winner at Southampton and it was over. And I’m going to confess I was relieved. I wasn’t ‘footballed out’, but I was glad of the break from putting my hopes and fears on the line in supporting Arsenal. When people on the blog cursed the interlulls last season I embraced them as a break from the pressure.
Now if my wife was reading this article she would be saying to herself, as she says to me continually, “It’s only a game for goodness sake, don’t let it dictate your life”. Of course she doesn’t understand that it’s not only a game, supporting Arsenal is part of my identity – a big part – and it has provided some of the most memorable moments of what has been a memorable life. Arsenal is ingrained in my soul like it was in my father’s soul and his Dad’s before him. When my Dad was cremated we draped his coffin in red and white because that would have been what he would have chosen. But we didn’t burn his Arsenal scarf.
“My!” you might say, this is a downbeat beginning to a preview of Arsenal’s 2025/6 season but the point I am making is that I seem to invest more and more into my supporting as the time I have left to support inevitably dwindles. I must confess that I am conflicted between the visceral support, much in evidence on this blog, that supports the club through thick and thin and the attempt to employ honest recognition of where the club is and what we can achieve. I desperately want us to win the Champions League and the Premier League but at the same time I recognise three successive second places as a huge improvement on where we were five seasons ago – which while it wasn’t nowhere, was a pretty mundane and unexciting place.
Most of our readers will have supported Arsenal in some very good times, after all it doesn’t come much better than the Invincible season, but younger readers will have a real frustration of the sort that I had through the 1960’s as far as Arsenal was concerned. Our recent history hasn’t been turbulent in other club’s terms. Even after Arsene Wenger’s performance started to decline we still won FA Cups and qualified for Europe and although at the end of Unai Emery’s tenure the club was a pig’s breakfast, he had taken us to a European final the season before. You may have expunged that game from your memory because our performance was execrable. So were all the performances of Emery’s side just before his departure.
But that’s history, history we all know and this is a preview of the season so why mention the past? A fair question but one I would answer with the one word – context. The club was in a mess when Mikel Arteta took over and five years later we are one of the strongest sides in Europe. Those second places have only been second places because twice a club owned by a nation state and one that is accused of gross irregularities ( they deny the charges) accumulated more points. On one occasion that side was undoubtedly the best in Europe and on another we took them to the last minutes of the last game of the season before their title was confirmed. They might still be stripped of both those titles.
Last season we came up against a club who were both superbly consistent and able to field the same team consistently. Our second place was earned despite a catalogue of serious injury to most of our best players at different times and what seemed like a refereeing approach that persecuted Arsenal in a way no other top, or for that matter bottom clubs seemed to suffer. As a handy adjunct we finished third in the new league stage of the Champions League, reached the semi finals of the competition, outplayed the holders home and away and won our first knockout game 7-1 away from home. The reaction to this result was for many to complain that Arsenal did not reduce prices for the return leg! That spoke to me of an element of our fanbase who feel outrageously entitled. Who might have wrought that change in attitude?
In the last five years we have seen a wonderful connection (Arteta’s word) build between the majority of our fans and the team. C100’s wonderful reports behind enemy lines illustrate how loyal and passionate that following is. But Arteta apparently begins this season under pressure but I don’t personally know an Arsenal fan who wants him removed as coach (and I know a lot of Arsenal fans). Yet pressure builds on wretched social media sites, in some of what Keenos calls ‘bottom tier’ blogs and in some of the more sensationalist papers. It creates noise but little in the way of informed debate. If there is a coach in world football, working with Arteta’s resources who could have guaranteed at least one league title in the last few years I’d be anxious to know his name. It might be Guardiola, Klopp, Luis Enrique, Slot or Ancelotti but the list would end about there and I would challenge some of those names. So if we lose Arteta with whom would we replace him that can immediately do better? If progress is not almost immediate you lose the momentum built up in the last few years. Shock Jock sports broadcasters are good at slinging mud but less gifted at credible suggestions for improvement.
All this has been a long, but I would contend necessary preamble into a look at the upcoming season. One that I would like to defer for several weeks! Arsenal face the season as second favourites to win the title in the majority of peoples’ eyes and are probably in most peoples’ top six for the Champions League. That’s not a bad starting point but after so many near misses we crave serious silverware.
I’ve focused quite a bit on Arteta because he is the fulcrum of our club, the person who drives everything. Arteta is secured on a long contract and would appear to be obsessively determined to bring success to Arsenal. He might be feeling great pressure if he listens to idiots on Sky or TalkShite or if he scans through the bottom-tier blogs (I love that phrase!) However, it is very clear that he enjoys significant support in the Arsenal boardroom. They have provided him with a war chest of almost £200m net so far this window and with the rate at which we seem to sell players that figure may not be heavily reduced by outgoings.
The big difference this year is a new Sporting Director Andrea Berta who has attained a very big reputation for his efficient purchasing of top players. So far we have signed six and we can all probably recite their names in our sleep. They used to say that Harry Redknapp always wanted one more signing, however many new players he had, and I would love us to make a seventh signing in Eberechi Eze. More about him later but what of those we have signed?
The New Boys
Viktor Gyökeres
Do you remember years ago you had to be either Blur or Oasis? VHS or Betamax, Remainer or Brexiteer ? Earlier in this window Arsenal fans seemed to need to be Sesko or Gyökeres. Frankly, I would have taken either but I was much more convinced by the incredible recent goalscoring record of Gyökeres than the future potential of Sesko. So I was glad we did the deal that we did. Gyökeres is already being written off by morons after 72 minutes of football coming on the back of a fragmented pre- season for the lad. He is a Goal Monster and will be our Goal Monster but, like those two incredible failures Bergkamp and Henry, he will need time and some patience. Adaptation on both sides is necessary but this boy eats defences for breakfast and he is very hungry. If he gets 25 goals this season we will have a very good chance of winning the league. No pressure Viktor!
Martin Zubimendi
I have been quietly warning people in the blog that this was a deal that may very well falter at the last minute as shy Basque lad Martin couldn’t face winters in N5 and the far north. He, of course, did join us and in his interview impressed as a very well balanced personality who was sold on the Arsenal project. That he might be one of the best holding midfielders in the world is not in doubt and great credit should go to Edu/Ayto for tying him up so tightly. He also relieves us of the need to employ Thomas Partey any more. His interaction with Rice, Merino and Ødegaard will be hugely significant next season.
Christian Nørgaard
I didn’t expect this signing but always thought he looked a very decent player for Brentford and as a replacement for Jorginho he fills the bill well and for a reasonable price. His aerial ability will add to our armoury at corners and he has extensive Premier League experience.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
If one was being critical of last season’s transfer activity it would have been in the goalkeeping position. Fortunately, Raya didn’t get injured but prolonged exposure to Neto in goal would have been very bad for our health based on Neto’s one outing in Girona. Accusations that Edu might be transferring his barbecue to the East Midlands were fuelled by the Neto deal. One pre- requisite of a back-up keeper deal is that he can relieve the principal keeper in the cups. Neto had already been cup- tied for the Carabao Cup and was presumably not deemed good enough to replace Raya for our FA Cup tie with ManUre. Kepa for £5million looks a snip. He was solid last season for Bournemouth, is vastly experienced , a good distributor and unlikely to try to make saves with his hands forty yards from goal. If Neto had been a better keeper he would probably have left us with ten men in Girona!
Christhian Mosquera
It will ultimately be revealed that Mosquera’s godfather or the priest at his christening was dyslexic. I suspect he may be a Kiwior replacement. I’ve never seen him play but I trust those who have and he looks a big, strong athlete. I will try not to lisp when disscutthing him on the blog. We must have guaranteed him reasonable game time which may suggest he could ultimately be a potential long-term replacement for Saliba. But let’s not think about that!
Noni Madueke
A few seasons ago I was lucky enough to meet Scruz en route to a Europa League game against PSV. He arrived late in an attempt to minimise the time he had to spend with me. (His wife is delightful and far too nice for him.) At that game which was won by Arsenal with a goal from my favourite player, Granit Xhaka (always loved him :0/). PSV brought on a very lively winger who caused the left side of our defence serious problems. That man was Jan Van Eyck! No seriously, it was Noni Madueke and he went into the famous TTG notebook then and there. I noted he had been a Spud. He arrives as the biggest surprise signing of the summer at the Home of Football but has been assailed pre- signing by bottom-tier criticism by those who suggest a current England winger is a waste of money at £48m, or thereabouts. Can I also make it clear that when I refer to bottom-tier in this respect there is no smear intended of CER, 21CG and C100, who all sit in the bottom tier at Arsenal, but are fine and respected judges with whom I have watched matches. Anyway, I think Madueke may prove to be a conspicuous success, relieving the pressure on Bukayo.
That covers our inwards movement at the time of writing and there has not yet been any outwards movement of note but that should alter and needs to. It’s becoming a cliché that we aren’t a good selling club ……probably, because we aren’t a good selling club. I used to blame Edu but it may be a curse that afflicts anyone trying to dispose of playing assets. We must hope to realise at least £60m in sales with a consequent reduction in our wage bill. If Kiwior is sold or we get a very big bid for Martinelli we may realise more in sales and this might enable us to arrange a loan as well as buying the exciting Eberechi Eze from Palace.
Priorities
We have got an extraordinarily strong squad now. It appears that we have targeted players with good fitness records which will almost certainly result in hitherto boisterous and healthy players breaking down in droves. We have cover in all the key positions except possibly our left sided attacking positions (that’s a matter for debate). Last season, one major criticism was that we lacked creativity. We scored 69 goals compared to 91 the year before. If my maths is correct that’s a drop of 31% and that’s very significant. That suggests a lot of low blocks foiled us. The Everton and West Ham games come to mind particularly. We had excuses – the absences through injury at various times of Saka, Jesús, Ødegaard, Havertz and Martinelli. Even Gabriel’s absence for the last few months denuded our attack of its main set- piece threat.
There are those who feel that the early success of our set-pieces which brought specialist coach Nicholas Jover into the limelight led us to be too reliant on them. I wouldn’t agree with that but our play last season appeared formulaic on many occasions, with much more emphasis on the right side of the attack. We certainly appeared less creative and it was impossible not to notice how Ødegaard struggled to be as effective as hitherto he had been. In his defence it seemed to a number of us that his ankle injury sustained early in the season while on international duty with Norway hindered him all season. This was a more credible explanation than the impact of fatherhood on his level of fitness.
It often seemed last season that we were intent on walking the ball into the net. We had few players who shot from distance and we tended to start games very slowly. My feeling is that we need to lift some of the responsibility for the creative burden from Ødegaard and the acquisition of Eze would give us a creative player who could play off the left, someone who is not primarily dextropedal and who is a goal threat from thirty yards from goal. Gyökeres is a frequent shooter from distance and so is Madueke who could play as a non-inverting winger on the left running in behind or could relieve Saka by playing wide on the right.
Our friendlies at the time of writing haven’t been much more than a public runout for the squad with wholesale substitutions but one of those substitutions has been extraordinarily interesting.
Young Stars of the Future
A couple of years ago I began to hear whispers about a prodigiously talented young winger who was creating huge waves at Hale End. I was told he came from very sound Arsenal stock and was amazingly good for his age. Gradually everyone got to hear about Max Dowman. He played outstandingly in the UEFA Youth League becoming the youngest ever scorer in that competition. He showed to huge effect in the Youth Cup, my neighbour at Arsenal texting me from the ground to say that Dowman was incredible. We’ve seen his impact from the bench against first team players on this tour and it was particularly sweet to see Joelinton turned inside out. In his first moments at the Emirates in a first team shirt he looked immediately at home and earned a penalty within minutes of coming on – the second he has earned this pre- season. Arteta’s dilemma is how much to use him in the first team. At his age he needs to play full matches. A season coming off the bench without starting won’t give him the experience he needs but with a boy this good it is hard to imagine how Arteta can resist the clamour to play him especially if our start to the season doesn’t go particularly well.
Dowman will be walking a well-trodden path. Bukayo Saka went straight into the first team, albeit at left back and last season we saw the delightful emergence of MLS and Nwaneri who both contributed enormously and who are both going to be contracted to us for the next four years. Young Marli Salmon, a young centre back, went on tour to Asia despite also being only fifteen and acquitted himself well. Back home Kyran Thompson, a fourteen year old winger, is getting rave reviews. While it is wonderful to have a host of brilliant youngsters coming through their pathway to and through the first team requires careful charting. Last year’s positive experience with MLS and Nwaneri suggests this is an area we will monitor very carefully .
What’s different this season?
The exodus of Carlos Cuesta to Parma was a blow as was the loss of Mehmet Ali as the Under 21 coach. Gabriel Heinze has been added to the coaching staff and is apparently creating a strong impression. LJW is rumoured to be returning to coach our U21’s which is a very circuitous way of moving up a level in the hierarchy. Arteta as we know is constantly trying to evolve and innovate and it is fervently to be hoped that we can develop a silkier passing rhythm and much more pace and verticality than we showed last season and in some of our friendlies so far. We must be able to harness the power and directness of Gyökeres as optimally as possible. We also need to re-erect the defensive wall that has served us so well in recent seasons. Gabriel’s return can’t come soon enough.
Our Rivals
The transfer window burst into life early and is showing no signs of slowing down. Liverpool’s investment looks particularly ominous with the captures of Wirtz and Ekitike, two flying full- backs and very possibly Isak giving them a remarkable squad. Whether the tragic death of Diogo Jota will have an effect cannot be predicted but the new arrivals will certainly create a buzz that may electrify the club. Manchester City have recruited strongly but have lost De Bruyne and Walker and don’t carry the aura that they used to particularly since we beat then 5-1 last season. World club champions Chelsea might mount a charge but their squad, though heavy with exciting wide players hasn’t got the defensive depth of Champions. The Saudi Arabian project is falling apart on Tyneside which leaves two other possible contenders. Manure have created a forward line that looks certain to be potent. They were incredibly inconsistent last season though Amorim will have had time to school his team in his favoured three at the back formation. The dear old Spuds are champions of Europe with a much more credible manager, a playmaker out for the season and Kudus added to their forward line as Son leaves. Frank is a much better coach than Big Ange and we might expect them to be a top six contender this season rather than a side struggling just above the relegation zone .
In just a week’s time another season will begin. It will be way too early for me, unless we hit the ground running, in which case I won’t be able to wait to get to the Leeds game. Arsenal fans who care for the club are very much behind Arteta and I hope we can create the momentum we need to drown out the naysayers. A slow start, especially for Gyökeres will see a media frenzy that will be unhelpful and unnecessary but will delight the many enemies that Mikel Arteta seems to have made. But if we win at the Toilet and Gyökeres looks a much better buy than Sesko we will hopefully develop a momentum that will help us cope with a challenging start. By way of comparison, Chelsea who have just returned from the Club World Cup don’t meet a top six side until October. That’s one for the conspiracy theorists who will no doubt be examining our experience with referees in the early games. We mustn’t go in with a victim mentality but it is to be hoped that we are not on the receiving end of the sort of horrendous refereeing decisions we experienced last season. Keep Michael Oliver well away!
Seasons roll round quickly and each one seems to be more intense and controversial than the last. I still find it remarkable that there could be any speculation about Arteta’s position but we don’t live in a rational world and negative noises will start to emanate from more militant fans if we drop behind the leaders too early. The Premier League is a marathon not a sprint but it will do us no harm at all if we can shoot out of the blocks very quickly.
Come on you Gunners!
Two short notices for your attention:
HOLICS ROPEYLEAGUE IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Could I take this opportunity to remind one and all that the prestigious
HolicsRopeyLeague will once again be open to any and all Holics who
would like to join and test your team selection skills.
Who will challenge that Masked Man from, er Kent? Or will it be a two-peat
for the Terror of Tonbridge? Come and join us to find out!!!
Any new players just let us know in the ‘Drinks’ if you’d like to join and I will send you our league code pronto.
Only two rules as ever
– there must be at least one Arsenal player in your squad at all times
– there must be No Spuds in your squad at any time.
JOIN THE 2025-26 PREDICTATHON
A quick reminder that the clock is ticking down on getting your entries in for the 2025-26 Predictathon. Next Friday is the deadline.
Past players should have received an entry blank by email. Check your spam/junk folder if you haven’t seen it.
New players, come and join us. All you have to do is predict the final PL table for the coming season. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. How to enter, entry blanks and details of the scoring system are to be found under the GHF Contests tab above.
As always, your entry fee to the Predictathon will support Bob Wilson’s Willow Foundation.
A discursive read, TTG, that took two cups of coffee to digest, but was none the less enjoyable for that and one that befits a top-tier blog, if I can so anoint us, where the tolerance for reading extends beyond 140 characters.
I like your point that it is a measure of our progress that replacing Arteta would mean hiring an elite coach. Even an A-list coach from outside the highest levels will no longer suffice.
Your assessments of our incomings are sound, and those of the opposition will give food for thought to Predictathon players preparing their entries ahead of Friday’s deadline.
Another long and enjoyable read – thanks TTG !
Replacing Arteta ? Sheer madness (not you obviously). These are the thoughts of the bottom tier blog feeders (love it!) who consume such nonsense and shoot it back out of their own bottoms at anyone who is daft enough to watch or listen.
Seriously, you have summed up the history of the last six years perfectly. This is NOT a happy clappers forum but anyone who can’t appreciate the progress the entire club has made in that time is simply not paying attention. Central to all of those events is Mikel Arteta.
He’s even improved your spillchucker !
You put me in the mood, TTG. Ooh, er, matron!
There was a time when I really enjoyed the thrill of a rollercoaster. So, in an attempt to recapture the exciting anticipation of being taken close to the edge of survival, I boarded a thing called Intimidator 305, known as an Intamin Giga Coaster, which accelerates down its 300ft first drop to reach a maximum speed of 90 miles per hour then roars violently through 270 degrees turn which is followed by a huge 150ft airtime hill.
The experience was not one I enjoyed and I have no great desire ever to subject this young mind and frame to anything like it ever again. In that regard, your headline leaves me a little wary, TTG. If the season must be a rollercoaster, may it be one of continuous, high paced transitions in red from back to front, interspersed frequently with searing accelerations of delight all eventually cast in silver.
You’ve set things up very nicely. An away win in the first game will get us off to an excellent start.
NLFE and COYG
Brilliant stuff TTG!
Esso@5: Good to see you in. Have you considered joining the Predictathon this season? Entry blank and details under the GHF Contests tab above.
BtM@4: From your description, going on an Intamin Giga Coaster seems as daft as that time Dino jumped out of a perfectly good plane.
@6 It was a whole year ago, Ned – I was younger and less sensible in those days. But yes.
Thank you TTG! Ned has already used the perfect epithet – discursive – to characterize this immensely enjoyable season preview, leaving us with options like “novelistic” or even “Proustian” … and just because a praise sounds cliched doesn’t mean it is not true.
I don’t think I have ever been this impressed by all of our new signings at the start of a season, and by the fact that we brought them in early enough to get them the chance to be acclimatized. While Gyökeres and Zubimendi are two of the most perfectly suited players to complement what we already had, the supporting cast (at least as of now) of Nørgaard, Kepa, Mosquera, and Madueke all will have important roles to play, and every one of them I trust to be thoroughly professional and completely focused.
Gyökeres, in addition to scoring his fair share of goals, will help the team a lot by occupying the central defenders through his constant movement, running the channels, hold-up play, physicality and the willingness to keep doing it all at full throttle for every single minute. Breaking down the low blocks of two rows of defenders was our main problem in the league last season (excluding the unfortunate injuries and the unfair decisions). I suspect that Viktor may have not been originally Mikel’s first choice as his technique isn’t very polished, his first touches are a bit wobbly (the opposite of Jesus or Kai), but he helps to unlock so many tactical possibilities (including playing Havertz and Gyökeres togther) that Mikel must be very pleased with this addition.
And he finally got his fellow Basque Martin Zubimendi, a perfect player for Mikel’s set-up. Zubimendi-Rice-Ødegaard — I don’t think we have have had a midfield like that since the great Arsenal teams of early 2000s.
I hope all Arsenal fans realize that this is not common, that a squad with so much quality and depth and togetherness and different types of players — for example, Calafiori and MLS: two superb left backs in their own ways, different from each other, both very young and are going to get better — and physicality and technical quality is a result of building a squad over the years with painstaking patience, thoughtfulness and yes a lot of money. It is a privilege to be able to witness that evolution and hopefully to see the team achieve great things in the next few years. But even if whatever hope each of us — mine is, unabashedly, winning the CL and PL, but if I were to choose only one I would say CL (no logic, purely my own personal preference) — harbors in our heart doesn’t come to fruition, that would not be for lack of effort or seriousness or planning or thoughtfulness by the club. These are great years for Arsenal, and I am not going to lull myself into a sense of complacency and entitlement that this would always be so. I am sure sometimes again in future we will go through tumultuous years, and that’s all the more reason to enjoy these days of great expectations, and let us hope, even greater achievements.
TTG,
Comprehensthive report; glad you haven’t given too much info. for opponents in the GHF
Predicthathon!🤣 You velly funny!
I predict Mosquera and Norgaard will prove to be the bargains of the season.
Take that to the bank, or wherever you hide your money.
Haven’t felt this confident of our success since AW predicted an unbeaten season (and we
only lost one game!)
Thanks TTG, an enjoyable read. Personally I still like
going on rollercoasters though the experience is often
better in the memory than the actual event itself 😃
I agree with the various comments about the strength of
the squad for this season and the need for more goals.
We’ve certainly given it our best shot at addressing the
problem I think……..
An excellent prelude to the season opener TTG. I cannot recall a more strategically focused summer’s transfer activity and we may not have finished. Of course, we all await evidence of successful selling and the silence and apparent inactivity to date in that area may reflect serious negotiations going on rather than the desperate offloading to which we have become accustomed.
Will it guarantee the success that Gooners crave? Of course not, but we will certainly be able to put out a hell of a good XI every week with a group of players who will get us off our seats. Let’s go Gunners!
Excellent and entertaining drinks above, both the roller coaster related ones and the ones going in the opposite direction. I hope nobody involved in this fine blog has to endure going up and down a roller coaster in the reverse direction any time soon, need it be said. Finally, greetings to all the ‘holics from the fine city of Portland, Oregon, where my twenty-something daughter has taken us to the curvaceous slopes of the majestic Mount Hood for a highly enjoyable outing. COYG, and cheers!
Meshing nicely with TTG’s analysis, here’s Mike’s thoughts.
“These eight players will help you win FPL” — featured today on the BBC website — includes an enlarged image of Sp**s striker Dominic Solanke which surely must be a diversionary tactic by the BBC team of writers because no sane FPL contestant, and no rule abiding Ropey League contestant, need it be said, would even for an instant consider naming Solanke or any Sp**s player in their team. The chicanery involved is quite impressive really.
Many thanks TTG for a most comprehensive preview of the season ahead, you have covered all the salient points with aplomb. We have strengthened the squad immensely and have excellent cover in all areas of the pitch – the boss can now rest players when required without fear of putting out a weakened team. We are set up for a massive challenge for the Premiership trophy -let’s hope we get a fair crack of the whip from our “friends” at PGMOL and equally the injury gods look favourably upon us as well.
Thanks as always for the Mike McDonald link C100, another well argued case for an amazing season ahead.
C100@13: Thanks for the Mike McDonald link. An insightful take on the Bilbao game, as to be expected. His point about Ødegaard was well made, in particular, I thought.
Entries for the GHF Predictathon 2025-26 are flooding in, although I still await one from Mrs Trellis of North Wales. A reminder to the procrastinating prognosticators in the bar that you have only until Friday to get your entry in — and you have to be in it to win it, as they say.
Ticketing review
https://www.arsenal.com/news/202425-ticketing-review
Shockingly somnolent stuff from QSG ((r) Ollie). giving the Marshdwellers a charitable donation of a B-list ‘trophy’.
I’m very puzzled by Arteta accepting a senior appointment with Under Armour . I would have thought making Arsenal a team of winners was enough to keep him occupied
And Under Armour used to make the Spud’s kit . I wonder what Adidas think of the news? Frankly it’s astonishing
Ho, ho, ho.
Reliable as ever. They spurzed it up
Never change.
TTG@19: The announcement does raise an eye-brow. Plenty of players become global ambassadors for brands, so why not coaches? It usually involves no more than showing up for a few hours a few days a year for a glorified photo op. Director of Performance sounds like a job, especially as the press release says he will ‘oversee and shape Under Armour’s journey in football’.
Ned
Your last sentence echoes my unease. Arteta doesn’t do things by halves and will presumably have to travel as Director of Performance, possibly in conflict with his duties at Arsenal . If it was an ambassadorial role it wouldn’t really be an issue but being Director of Performance to a brand competing with the kit sponsors of Arsenal looks very odd to me .
Cheers TTG. A comprehensive preview that I shall read on my Bank Holiday tomorrow 🙂
Indeed, baff @ 20, looks like QSG didn’t fancy the donation after all.
I switched the telly off at 2-0, went to bed with 10 minutes to spare, went to work this morning thinking my Marseille-supporting colleague would probably be a little too giddy, so when I learnt what actually happened, I couldn’t stop laughing.
It’s even funnier because, whatever anyone said, that lot should have been clear favourites, as QSG had been back training for barely a week, Dembélé had been ill during that week and they hadn’t even played a friendly before this fixture.
P.S: surprised about the UA thing too, wonder how Adidas took it.
(so basically same thoughts as TTG, as my abiding memory of them is also using Spu*s to get a foothold on the football market)
I can’t imagine that MA8 has not sought approval from the Arsenal board and clarified the position of Adidas before accepting the uA position. I suspect it is more of a ‘consultancy’ than a ‘directorship’ whatever the job title. I cannot see him losing focus on his primary objectives: helping Arsenal to win the big trophies .
I suspect you are right, bath, it is the only way it can make sense.
I am sure that Arteta wouldn’t have taken on the Under Armour appointment without the Arsenal hierarchy’s knowledge. I understand that corporate announcements have a high hype quotient, but reading between the lines, it seems that Arteta will be doing more than having a couple of consultancy calls a year and lending his name to the company. This sentence stands out: In his new role as UA’s Director of Performance, a key focus for Arteta will be the development of the next generation of athletes through a leading role in Under Armour’s UA Next program.
Here’s the company’s announcement:
https://about.underarmour.com/en-us/stories/2025/08/mikel-arteta-joins-under-armour-as-a-global-ambassador.html
Sam Dean in the Telegraph suggested that our interest in Eze might drop away if Nwaneri signed as new contract because Arsenal saw Nwaneri and Eze as primarily no 10s and cover for Odegaard . If Arsenal do sign anyone it may be a left- sided attacking player . Personally while Eze is not a winger I think he is a very flexible and talented left sided player and I don’t want to see him at the Swamp
Barely 24 hours left to get your GHF Predictathon entry in, if you haven’t yet. Most of last year’s players are returning, but TTG and I still await a few cagey latecomers (you know who you are!).
If you are new to the bar or didn’t play last year, there is still time to join in. Just predict the final order of the coming season’s PL table. One and done. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Rules of the game, such as they are, and the entry blank are under the GHF Contests tab above.
Yes please sign up to the Predictathon. It’s great fun and we can raise a huge amount for Willow too
Don’t be shy !
TTG@29: We probably need to think in terms of the depth of the wide left-side unit as a whole, rather than that of individual positions. There are several combinations of three you could perm from Martinelli, Madueke, Nwaneri, Trossard (if he is still here), MLS and Calafiori, plus the left 8 (Harvertz, Rice, Merino), suitable for different match circumstances. My two cents is that Arteta will deploy them to that tactical end both within and between games rather than as rotations for rest. Eze would bring an extra dimension to that mix. Frank having both Eze and Kulusevski at his disposal doesn’t bear thinking about.
LAST CALL FOR THE HOLICSROPEYLEAGUE!
There are still seats available for aspiring managers on
the HOLICSROPEYLEAGUE ROLLERCOASTER!!
Eternal glory beckons for the best of the best come seasons end.
🏆🏆🏆🏆
Just let me know on here if you need the code to join and I will
be happy to send
Finally, good to see old friends and rivals already back again this season – best
of luck to us all!!
And for the Predictathon!
7 pm UK time today, Friday, August 15 is the deadline for entries to be received.
That is 2 pm Eastern, 1 pm Central, noon Mountain, 11 am Pacific, 10 am Alaska and 8am Hawaii for those on this side of the pond.
So don’t delay if you haven’t got your entry in yet — and if you have (👏, 👏, 👏), there is still just time wherever you are to get a friend or family to submit an entry.
We are verging on a record field — and donation to Willow — so it would be great to get over the line.
Thanks for the timings Ned, good thought.
However, HolicsRopeyLeaguers – please note the timings are 30 minutes earlier for the
RopeYLeague deadline. You need to have your team selected 90 minutes before the first game kicks off………
02:30 Japan time to add one more time zone 😉
The Predictathon lists are closed. I am happy to report that we have a record field. Thanks to everyone who has signed up and donated to Willow. We’ll have a grand total once the final few donations have been confirmed (you know who you are!).
Great job Ned and TTG!
Pity about Liverpool’s late goals but much as expected,
good attack, iffy defence.
>>>>>>>