Welcome Back!!
A very warm welcome back to one and all as this weekend sees The Mighty Arsenal set out once more on that ol’ Oregon Premier League Title trail. It’s a familiar trail that has yielded up the ultimate reward 13 times in our storied past, but seen us fall just short on our last three title tilts. Is No 14 on the way? Well, just for those of a superstitious nature… the last time we were 2nd three seasons running we won the double the very next season. That was of course at the turn of the 21st century under the legend that was, the inimitable Arsene Wenger. Can Mikel Arteta, the legend that will be, and his newly improved merry men emulate that oh so enjoyable season? Yes, we can!
A word from our Leader and a word on our Captain
Or at least that is what I think and more importantly what Mikel thinks. When asked if we have the potential to win he responded:
“Yes, especially the consistency that we’ve shown in the last three years. The margins, we know how small they are, we know the competition as well has increased the level, with recruitment, with another year together and we’re going to have to win”
Exactly MA and what I would expect our leader to say. Talking of leaders, the other interesting thing to come up in the presser, for me, was the confirmation of Martin Ødegaard as captain again for this season. According to Mikel on the Arsenal.com site:
“I asked them to vote for the captain and I got the result yesterday. By a mile, by a big, big 100 marks, everybody’s choosing the same person, which is Martin Ødegaard, which is the most clear sign that you can have, how they feel about who has to be their captain to defend, improve and win the matches that we want to win”
I did wonder why we would even have such a vote but the press were actually useful and asked just that question!Apparently,one driver for having the vote was that a few experienced leaders had moved on and Mikel wanted to see who the team and staff thought of as leaders now. It is certainly encouraging to see Martin held in such regard especially after what was seen as a challenging season for him personally but anyway with vocal players like Big Gabi, Declan, Kai and now I imagine the ex-Brentford captain I think we are well supplied with leadership. Of course, Nørgaard may not be a regular starter with Zubi having begun his career so smoothly to date but I do think his experience will be very useful in the squad and particularly as a closer over the last 10-15 minutes of games we are leading. We have the manager, we have the leadership on the pitch and now we have the squad, I don’t know about you but I like our chances this season.
Our XI
On then to our first game of the season, a once testing away trip to Old Toilet Trafford has become somewhat less daunting of late as a dense and pleasingly persistent miasma of failure has hung heavy over the little Manures. We will certainly be hoping to add to the gloom by taking all three points as they are exactly the sort of mediocre mid-table shower that we should be winning against home and away.
But who will start? I think the who may be easier this week than in weeks to come as the starting XI was largely outlined by Mikel himself last week in the win over Bilbao. Last season the XI that started against Lyon in the Emirates Cup was the same XI that started the first game of the season against Wolves. I see no reason to believe, given the fitness of all concerned, that Mikel will not do the same again this season. That leaves us with the XI as below
Raya
Timber Saliba Gabriel Calafiori
Zubi, Rice
Saka, Øde, Gabi M
Viktor
Thanks to the efforts of Mr Berta and friends, we now have a vastly stronger bench to back them up to a degree that very good players will not even be substitutes. No doubt some players will be moving on in the next few weeks and, once they do, I think we will hopefully have the numbers and balance of youth and experience about right for this season.
What’s new in 25/26?
As TTG and Bath have already covered our new arrivals very well in the last couple of posts I won’t go into any detail except to say, “Welcome to The Arsenal…….now win everything!”
Sunderland, Burnley and Leeds are back. In general, I feel it’s not great to see the newly promoted sides go straight back down but I am willing to make an exception in the case of Leeds. Along with the change of ground for Everton, it will make for several new treks north for our away support but they appear a hardy and cheerful bunch and no doubt they will be well up for it.
There have been the usual handful of rule changes and a new campaign announced by everyone’s favourite panto villain Howard ‘Wicked’ Webb. The new campaign, driven by input from the clubs, is that referees / VAR will look to punish excessive grappling / blatant obstruction at set pieces more this season. ‘Wicked’ assures us this isn’t the usual August / September thing (OH YES IT IS!) and will be implemented across the season and will probably cause an overall increase in the number of penalties by the end of the season. In theory, and given consistent application, this should favour us of course as we have more offensive than defensive set-pieces. Hahahahaha, I must be off now to my Dreamworld home in SweetCandyFloss Lane.
Two of the rule changes relate to giving the keepers 8 seconds to release the ball once they have it to hand and awarding a corner against them if they tarry too long. Referees will apparently warn the keeper in advance of a 5 second countdown. A keeper who is calm under pressure will be handier than ever. Another change will be bookings for players other than the captain who speak to or more likely rant at the referee in an untoward manner. Though these rules will no doubt provoke much disgruntlement once the PGMoL get their clumsy, inconsistent little hands on them I personally like the reasoning. Keeping the game moving and having respect for officials are no-brainers to me – and I hope that Mikel has ensured our players are well-briefed so we at least have a fighting chance as the hordes of ignorant barbarians pore over the hill tv review screen.
The Opposition
This review is already, I must admit, too long and so I have decided to bullet point a brief message of encouragement and advice to our friends in Surrey Manchester this time as honestly there is little new to say about them…………
- To The Glazers, Edwards the former Sporting Director, and now Sir Tax Dodger – thanks for your enduring failure since Red Nose left. I salute you.
- To the new signings – Sesko, Mbeumo et al. Run, you fools. Run!
- To the manager Ruben Amorim, a kind word – given the poverty of his defence, I seriously considered him for the First Tin Tack nomination but I think he is better than little Scottie Parker.
In other words, rubbish last season, might be slightly less rubbish this season as I do honestly rate Mbeumo and MA clearly rated Sesko, but let’s see.
The Score
At last, we have finally meandered to the nitty gritty of the result. I am looking forward to games in future where we gonzo it out with our new squad and play for example Kai on the left and only Rice or Zubi behind, shred some unfortunates and get 4-0 up in 20 minutes, always good to see the opposition crowd heading out nice and early! However, whilst I would be happy to see us absolutely compost Manure at home, mostly for the confidence it would give us and the punch in the gut it would give them, I think we should be realistic. It is the first game of the season, away from home, and with new players to embed in key positions. Given those circumstances I would be very happy with a calm and authoritative 2-0 win, no fuss and goals for Viktor early and Kai 2nd half. Three points and move on to the bigger games to come seems to be the ticket.
Finally then, I would like to say have a safe and happy trip to those of you lucky enough to be going to the game and to wish the rest of us Happy Viewing wherever we may be and whenever we may be watching
First ! Well someone has to be … don’t they ..? See what I did there, Arsenal ?
Thanks Matt – good fun read with lots of thinly veiled insults heading to the Toilet.
Come on you Reedddssss !
What’s this? A real, lively match preview and. A highly entertaining one at that. Can the predicted result be far behind? 0-2 to the Arsenal mantra to be chanted for the intervening hours leading to the big kickoff. Thanks OM, and COYG new and old faces.
Great stuff Matt! Setting a very high standard for previews that we now all must aspire to. Mikel’s relentless drive for excellence is now spreading out to the Arsenal universe in ever expanding sphere of influence. 🙂
They might have been ridiculously bad lately, but it’s still them, and is always deserving of a serious drubbing that we have been almost on the verge of handing out to them for the last few years. May there be one this time.
But the realistic 2-0 would be fine as well. Like your team selection, and in addition to Gyökeres opening his scoring for us, would love to see Gabi Martinelli starting the season with the incisiveness and end-product that hopefully Calafiori’s presence will help him to rediscover.
Can this be the greatest season in Arsenal’s glorious history?
Why not!
Excellent preview, OM!
I wonder how much the team vote on Captain was necessitated by Mr. Arsenal’s daft comments up in Dublin? It was less than opportune timing for such remarks from Tony. Any way all’s well that ends well…I believe Martin is and has been an excellent captain. Long may it continue, and to that Sky Sports tosser who came to Mikel’s presser with a balloon, I say, do better.
I agree your prediction. Feels like everything is being ramped up for us to fail:
– first match of season away to ailing but proud and invigorating rivals
– three second place finishes being framed as failure instead of a credit to consistency
– Arteta “has” to win now
– PGMOL emphasis on grappling/blocking on set pieces
We just need an authoritative win on the road. If we smash them, fine, but (as I often quote the Late Al Davis in saying) Just win, baby.
MCMBD
Dr. F knows!
MCMBD
On any given Sunday, in any given season, an away win at the Old T would be seen as a bright beacon, a very positive signal and a harbinger of good things to follow throughout the forthcoming season. In my mind, irrespective of the current calibre and quality of the opposition, tomorrow’s game falls into this ‘any given’ category and, as long as it provides three points and an away win, I’ll be happy to take any given scoreline.
Your 0-2 prediction sounds grand to me, Matt.
Cheers Matt. Winning at OT on TH’s birthday would be nice.
I’ll settle for a nervy 2-1.
Excellent preview, OM, to get the season underway. As Dr F says, you have set the bar high for those who follow. We’ll need our vaulting poles.
Your scoreline would get the new campaign off to a splendid start.
On the captaincy question, MØ8 is MA’s on-field avatar. I can see he would want to bolster/validate the Norwegian’s position, not that I think it was in doubt. Ødegaard strikes me as one of those leaders who are not particularly demonstrative but whose peers listen to when they speak. Also, I have it in my mind that the players have elected the vice-captains in recent years (for many years going back to Wenger?).
Thanks for an excellent opener to GHF’s new season, Matt. I hope that our team achieve a similarly excellent opener. I would start the same team as published above but I have seen many arguments for White and MLS as starting FBs and that, for me, might be the only likely difference in MA8’s starting XI.
I expect that Manure will be less toothless up front and less inept defensively than many expect but their midfield will rely completely upon a rabid Fernandez for pace and creativity and I hope to see him outclassed and bypassed by our elite trio.
I would be delighted by a 2-0 win but, in truth, would actually be delighted by any Viktory, even one resulting from the ball bouncing off a Mank’s fat arse.
COYG
€115y casuals taking the piss at Molineaux.
“You’re going down with Yanited…”😂
MCMBD
Matt,
That is an excellent and enjoyable preview for which many thanks .
As I indicated in the season preview I get more nervous with each passing season . Eze apart we’ve had a superb ( buying ) window but United have transformed their front line and could explode tomorrow ( in both senses )
I’m very excited about what Gyokeres will bring and love the quality of our midfield . As wise men have said earlier the result is everything in the first game especially as rivals have started well . A draw wouldn’t be a disaster but I think we will win 2-1 and Gyokeres will score
Thanks Gents for the kind words, it is just nice to be back.
Bath @9 I wondered about the full backs too as Timber / Cala
both had interrupted pre-seasons.
Ned @8 Yes, agree about Ode. Though I have never been a fan
of the vice-captain thing as it seemed a bit hierarchal
A proper preview, OM.
I like a 2-0 result with Big Vic and Saka finding the back of the net. Sesko is going to get a lesson in Premier League defending when he comes up against Gabriel and Saliba.
Assuming Big Vik, White, MLS and Martinelli start, which I think is a fair bet, then our bench probably looks like:
Kepa, Timber, Calafiori, Norgaard, Merino, Nwaneri, Madueke, Havertz, Trossard
Some real game changing subs. One of our strongest benches for many a year. Ever?
Lucky prematch Highbury mug contains my morning coffee. Off to Manchester in an hour or so. Here we go again.
COYG!
BtM @14, good point. I’ve never seen a bench as strong as that at Arsenal. Hence MA8’s talk of starters and finishers and of ending the tier approach to positions and choosing starters based on the opposition. Truly an embarrassment of riches and a conundrum for the coach. I hope he can keep everyone happy. Mouthwatering for fans though.
Safe travels, C100! Bring back three points.
Cheers Matt!
If Trossard is not quite fit or being protected for a future sale could we see Max D on the bench also?
Safe travels, C100. Looking forward to your first report of the season from behind enemy lines.
C100 – safe travels – take care !
Thanks Matt
3-1 no worries.
I watched 3/4 of Villa/Newc last night – shit on a stick. No worries there either.
UTA
I sat through that shit too Noosa and came to the same conclusion.
The first starting XI of the season
Raya
White Saliba Gabriel Cala
Zubimendi Ode Rice
Saka Gyokeres Martinelli
Bath @16,
Clive Palmer (ArsenalVisionPodcast) has been talking about the mental repositioning from “starting 11” to “starters and finishers” for quite some time (even more so after the substitutions were increased to 5). The pace of the game, the number of repeated sprints required in league play, and the increased number of fixtures pretty much guarantees that, if you are going to have fresh assets at the business-end of the season, you have to be able to substitute, share minutes, and change the game (power-up or shut down) from the bench. We now have the tools to do this. This line-up, to me, indicates that Arteta is leaning into more risk to generate goals from the outset.
Courage.
MCMBD
We’re in!
Firstly thanks to Matt for a good opening preview – you’ve set the match up perfectly and almost 100% on team selection.
Yanighted have improved their forwards but overall they are there for the taking.Looking forward to seeing our new stars performing and getting our season off to a winning start. We are due to put in a 5* performance at Old Toilet.
COYRRR
Lonestar @ 24, I think Clive Palmer is by far the best analyst anywhere. It’s only because he is so good that I can put up with the wittering of Elliot Smith. Once again he’s been ahead of the curve.
C100 @ 25, I hope you get out too, delighted with what you’ve seen and with three points in your back pocket.
Uply @ 26, you are absolutely right. We are long overdue a 5* performance at the Old Toilet and a convincing Viktory to boot!
COYG
Let’s do this!
Strong starting lineup and quality finishers on the bench. As Bath says, let’s do this.
The Arsenal are back. Bring it on!
UTA!
Is Norgaard unavailable or just no room on the bench?
Took one minute of the new season for the ref to annoy me!
Zubi takes a whack to the face and nothing
First set piece goal of the season! One-nil
A real scramble and Cala on hand to nod home
though it might have been going in anyway
A ridiculous free kick to Manure but they waste it
Look a bit rusty at times as you’d expect but 1-0 up is handy
Well, I loved the result!
Not a perfect performance but an excellent start to the season
Job done. Not pretty.
The gears were crashing all over the machine and the rust was showing instead of the polish.
That mental block is clearly still there and those cheats always lift their game for us.
BUT…
As the pundits always say (of others), it’s the sign of champions to be able to win games where you don’t play well.
MCMBD
Not quite our best form, but three points is three points and 1-0 to the Arsenal is eternal. As DG says (and good to see him in), an excellent start to the season.
Apparently our last 6 league wins at Old Trafford have been 1-0
– I didn’t know that when I went for 2-0 🙂
And MA has now won 8/12 against them in the league,
a fine record really.
In my headlights, this game hung like a dark spectre with a banana skin hanging over his shoulder just ready to be laid dangerously in front of our team.
In my rear view mirror, there’s a happy fella with a big smile. Oh, it’s me.
Great way to start the season. Three points and a clean sheet despite the presence of a homer ref with an agenda.
And manure can take some comfort from progress. They’ve climbed to 15th is the League.
DG,
Welcome back, it is good to see you here
Not an easy watch. Let’s see what C100 made if it- but a win is a win especially at OT !
i just finished watching the game. when mbuemo got away with that shiv on zubi, i knew we were in for a long day.
good win, variable performance. this team will gel, sooner than later, i hope.
fuck manchester united. simon hooper can do one, too.
onwards!
Yet again the PGMOL man had received his instructions and carried them out pretty much to the letter. Bad luck, Hooper. I’m sure you’ll try again.
Poor performance but excellent result. Looked to me as though Arteta had instructed the team to play with the handbrake on, as is often his way in the first half of the season. Should be enough next week against Leeds but then we need to up our game for the next few.
The beer seemed to go down much faster than the clock yesterday, but I’ll take the win.
Ollie @45, that’s one of those short sentences that sums up a whole episode.
Superb, sir. Cancel the match report!
>>>>>>>