After Tottenham won at C115/130y in the lunchtime kick off, the pressure – if there is such a thing on Match Day 2 – was on Arsenal to capitalise on Abu Dhabi’s loss and give Dirty Leeds a good metaphorical kicking.
A proper kicking would have been nice payback for bygone days but you can’t have everything.
The team news was in. Ben White’s problem had not been overcome, and Madueke had earned a start in place of Gabriel Martinelli. With the strength of squad we now have, it’s time to regard all players as possible starters and not assume that someone is dropped because they have been rotated for a game or two. This way of working is essential if we are to compete on four fronts and maintain a hopefully successful campaign to the end of the season.
At any rate we lined up as: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Zubimendi, Rice, Ødegaard; Saka, Gyökeres, Madueke; Subs: Kepa, MLS, Mosquera, Kiwior, Merino, Nwaneri, Dowman, Martinelli, Trossard – with Eberechi Eze announced as our new No 10 before kick off at 5.00pm!
And hats off to all at Hale End. Bukayo Saka now one of the first names on the team sheet; Miles Lewis-Skelly established in the team; Ethan Nwaneri in the squad with a new 5 year contract; and 15 year old Max Dowman in his first Premier League squad, and he doesn’t even take his GCSEs for another year.
Quite ridiculously at this point, there are still plenty of journalists, pundits and the more hard of thinking Arsenal fans who want Mikel Arteta replaced if we don’t win either the Premier League or Champions League this season. I haven’t heard a single suggestion of who would do better but that, of course, is never the concern of the armchair expert. Fortunately, the manager, the owners and the current squad appear to be in complete accord over the direction of the club and the team.
Just look at the quality of those players listed above and compare with the squad that Arteta inherited six years ago which included the likes of Cédric, Willian, Mustafi, Sokratis, Luiz etc. That transformation has been achieved with committed, skilful, hard work. It would be absolute madness to tear the heart out of it when we are so close.
And RIP former director Richard Carr who was remembered before kick off after his recent passing on 12th August. He was a businessman and director of Arsenal Holdings PLC and a director and board member of Arsenal Football Club. He held a 4.6% share of Arsenal until May 2008, when he sold that to Stan Kroenke.
First half.
Arsenal started with good energy and dominated the early play with Ødegaard firing our first real effort on goal just wide after 7 minutes. A minute later Bogle earned a first yellow card for Dirty Leeds with a foul on Madueke. Leeds were getting themselves in a mess trying to play out from the back and presented Gyökeres with a chance right in front of goal on 15 minutes. The Swede span and hurriedly scuffed wide not realising how much time he had.
Tactically our midfield three were interchanging regularly and bossing possession but not really creating clear cut chances or getting the best out of Gyökeres. To do that we have to move the ball more quickly. Martin Ødegaard can be a bit of a culprit there as, for all his cleverness and skill, he tends to want to run with the ball too often, rather than play the early pass. Calafiori was getting forward regularly on the left hand side to support Madueke although they will improve as they understand each other’s movements better.
By the half way point of the first half we had survived a goal attempt from a Leeds corner, with a fine save by David Raya, but had dropped our pace and passing tempo and reverted to our slow sideways approach, compressing the play and closing down the space Gyökeres needs to run into. Gyökeres should not be our only tactic but that particular aspect will need work – not surprisingly after a game and a half!
Sadly, on 26 minutes, Martin Ødegaard went down with a shoulder problem incurred when he was bundled over earlier in a Dirty Leeds sandwich.
The game changed on 33 minutes when Timber turned a great header into the net from a brilliantly delivered Declan Rice corner.
Arsenal 1-0 Dirty Leeds
Zubimendi then cleared Club Level with a shot after 37 minutes and Ødegaard left the field to be replaced by Ethan Nwaneri. Just before half time, Saka ran onto a lovely weighted pass from Timber and advanced to fire a curling shot past Perri in the Leeds goal and into the top far corner.
Half time: Arsenal 2-0 Dirty Leeds
There were no half time changes to either side. Just 2 minutes into the half Gyökeres finally got an early ball, this time from Calafiori, into space just left of centre. He sprinted into the box, cut in past two defenders and span to shoot inside the near post – what we have come to expect as his trademark finish. Account opened – 3-0!
Arsenal 3-0 Dirty Leeds
A sweeping attack which ended with a shot from Calafiori unfortunately found Bukayo Saka stranded on the deck having pulled up, grabbing his left hamstring. He had run a long way at great pace in that attack and he was now forced to walk very slowly and carefully off the pitch to be replaced by Leandro Trossard. It is not the hamstring that underwent surgery last season but it is still very bad news for Bukayo, the team and us. We have played two games and now have White, Nørgaard, Ødegaard, Havertz and Saka all injured. Please, Injury Gods, just give us a break – or maybe a rest!
A scramble in the Leeds goal mouth following another excellent Rice corner, saw Jurrien Timber prod home at the second attempt for his second goal of the day on 55 minutes.
Arsenal 4-0 Dirty Leeds
In response, Leeds replaced Tanaka and Piroe with Longstaff and Nmecha, and the diminutive James and Gnonto with Okafor and Aaronsen to try and beef up their team a bit. Arsenal took off Timber, Calafiori and Madueke and sent on Cristhian Mosquera, old man Lewis-Skelly and Max Dowman who at 15 years and 234 days had to get a parental pass to stay up for the evening.
Trossard found Dowman with a terrific cross field ball and the extremely young man cut in and fired well over for his first attempt on goal. He then drew a yellow card from Gudmundsson before hammering a left footed shot closer to goal.
The game had become a walking football training session, with Leeds refusing to come out and leave themselves exposed, and Arsenal eschewing the opportunity to incur any more unnecessary injuries. That was until Nwaneri broke to feed Dowman in the 92nd minute, who promptly won a penalty as a Dirty Leeds defender brought him down in the box. Gyökeres duly blasted the spot kick into the bottom left hand corner to complete his brace.
Full time: Arsenal 5-0 Dirty Leeds
With Liverpool next weekend it’s fingers crossed for our injured players. We have great squad depth now but we don’t want to find room in the team for our new players by filling up the treatment room.
Hopefully a 5-0 win will quieten the impatient, less bright section of the fan base down. There were clear improvements to be made on today’s performance but we won 5-0 ! Gyökeres said post match that he is still not properly fit ! And, we are top of the league, say ………
And finally, a word for today’s referee. It did not bode well when Liverpool fan Jarred Gillett, one of last season’s villains of the piece, was announced for our game before a trip to Anfield. He actually had a very fair game. I can’t remember a single contentious decision. More of that, please.
Come on you Reds !
Pole in the box (matron!) and effortlessly up and over the bar.
We saw the same game. We were better than we were last week, and there’s better yet to come. Onwards.
Nice one, Trev.
We were still not firing on all cylinders yet managed to win 5-0. This bodes well for when we really get it together.
Thanks Trev, that was the game I saw too. Leeds barely posed a threat
but still the thrashing needed to be delivered and was.
For me, I liked that we could bring the kids on but still have solid experience
right through the spine of the team. Also it was only a brief stint on
the right but I thought Madueke looked more comfortable there.
On we go for the first real challenge next week
Thanks Trev for a fine read that seems pretty spot on, from all accounts we never really hit top gear but didn’t need it but victory has come with a potentially high price tag.
Thanks also to North Bank Ned & TTG for the welcome back.
Not going to lie about being nervous and watching very carefully what I write.
Nice report Trev on what was a great day. Started with a very nice lunch with TTG, continued through the Eze presentation and then continued through Viktor first in front of us in the North Bank, a brace from the excellent Timber and finally the cameo from Max Dowman who gave the Leeds left back a twisted bowel before winning the penalty which VG smashed in. A nuisance about the injuries but the excellent work in the window has given us a very strong squad.
I took this pic before the game. Below a beaming Eze, note the ‘holic banner. Up in Gooner heaven I bet Dave enjoyed that one.
Nice one Trev. It’s very satisfying to give a proper thrashing to a persistently unpleasant mob such as Dirty Leeds. I didn’t expect us to win so well.
However the flies in the ointment are the injuries to Ødegaard and Saka. I haven’t seen any info from the club but it looked to me, as Ødegaard walked around persistently rubbing his shoulder and shaking his arm then splinting the arm against his body before going off, that he has probably cracked his collar bone. Radiology and time will tell. A teammate did exactly that when I was still playing.
Saka meanwhile has clearly pulled his hamstring – hopefully it’s a mild one.
Clearly we will almost certainly not have either at Anfield next Sunday (unless I’m wrong about Ødegaard’s diagnosis) but, in contrast to last season, we have the depth and quality to expect to be able to field a highly competitive team. Now the snipers might just realise why we bought Madueke from Chavski!
Hopefully that’s it from the Injury Gods for the season!
Very good, Trev. Great pleasure to be in the stadium yesterday, sitting at the feet of the legend (TTG). I thought Exe’s debut intro was splendid as much as I thought the air pollution from the fireworks and flames was a bit excessive. Maybe lead the way with laser technology, Arsenal?
Zubi was my MoTM. Great signing. Delighted for Big Vik. I thought the tempo and pace of our game improved when Nwaneri entered the grey. I have no fear for him or Ebi starting at Anfield next week
Chrissie Ronaldo wasn’t close to Magic Max at 15. Just saying.
Great day out. COYG. NLFE
Just one more observation. Jared Gillett, the Aussie, Liverpool supporting referee gets a lot of stick from us, virtually all deserved.
Well I thought he was excellent yesterday. Called every foul correctly, was sparing with his cards, played advantage well and got the call on the penalty right. Evidently Gary Neville called Dowman a diver in live commentary. Gillett, perfectly positioned, took a beat then pointed to the spot. Slow mo replays on match of the day showed that Max’s speed and elusiveness had caused the Leeds defender to step on his foot, bringing him down.
Fair play. Well done ref.
C100 @ 8, well said sir. Exemplary performance from the Aussie. He didn’t fall for Dirty Leeds’ antics.
Thank you, all !
C100 – indeed – I did nake the same remarks about Gillett at the end of the report. Best refereeing display for a loong time.
C100, great pic of the banner. EAT, SLEEP, BREATHE, DRINK, ARSENAL, sums it up a lot of us “fanatics”
What a day yesterday, new signings, home debuts, goals galore, new striker on show and of course it wouldn’t be Arsenal without injuries. Speedy recovery lads!
Last year losing Havertz, Ode and Saka in one week would have spelled disaster. But having Eze, Madueke, Nwaneri and maybe even young Max softens the blow. Still, we seem cursed.
Reports are we have signed a young Shamrock Rovers lad. Harkens back to the days of Brady, O’Leary and Stapleton and why for a certain generation of Irish, The Arsenal are the only team.
I hear we have signed 2 more Irish lads. They are twin brothers who confusingly both have the same name – Toby Shaw, Toby Shaw 😳
@12 They’ll both be Tattie Shane’s brothers then?
It’s coming good! UTA!
Trev @12. 😂😂😂
Good early news on the injury front.
https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/bukayo-saka-injury-significant-as-arsenal-suffer-double-blow-zqgx8vl7b
DG@4:Always good to see you in. Take it at your own pace.
C100@5: Fantastic pic. The Guv’nor would be proud.
-@15: I am not sure the substance of the article is as reassuring as the headline. Sunday’s scans will tell us more.
Trev@12: it’s the way you tell ‘em!
Bruno just put a penalty in the Thames at the Cottage. Party boat going by had a jug of Pimm’s shattered.
Ned @16 seems from this Athletic piece that the information comes from sources with access to the scan results. I’m optimistic.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6572330/2025/08/24/bukayo-saka-martin-odegaard-injuries-news-arsenal/
Smith Rowe gets the equaliser for Fulham!
C100 @17 – 🤣🤣
Yesterday was a very happy start to the season for me in every way . Lunch with the Countrymen was extremely pleasant in a bustling Holloway Road eaterie, I ran into an
old friend pre- match and had the pleasure of Btm’s company during the match
The happiness radiated from Eze as he looked through sparkling eyes at his new kingdom.
Trev describes the game very well . Unfortunately I think Odegaard has become much less effective in a creative sense and goes lateral rather than vertical far too often . Until we scored we were playing slower and slower. Once we scored the game was entirely different but we needed a better second half performance and got one . Our new guys all did well but I thought Zubimendi laid claim to the Gilberto Silva underrated midfielder tag straight away . He is a superbly intelligent player but he and Rice need to work on their alignment .Declan looks subdued .
Three West Coast Leeds fans jumped onto my tube at Arsenal . Humorous and generous in praise of our performance they absolutely raved about Dowman . He did extremely well for a first match
It was a great day
Just a couple more points . When I referred to West Coast Leeds fans they were American West Ciast ( near Seattle) . One lad had studied in Germany during the 2006 World Cup and seen Messi . His ( possibly hyperbolic ) comment was that he was amazed by a very young Messi and had never seen the like….until last night . I think he was being honest but one must be slightly wary of a man who travels from Seattle to watch Dirty Leeds.
And lovely to see you in again DG . You’ve nothing to fear commenting on our excellent team . We are delighted to hear what you think
C100@18: Thanks for the Athletic link. That is more reassuring as it seems better sourced (or even sourced, which the Times article was not), and post-scan.
~@19. ESR scores with an Iwobi assist. A good day for the alumni.
TTG@21: 100% agree on Zubimendi being the new Gilberto. Somehow you never quite saw what Gilberto did, until he wasn’t there doing it.
I read a piece somewhere this week, can’t remember where, arguing that the optimal team from this squad, if it contains Eze, means there is no place for one of Ødegaard or Rice.
Cheers Trev! Excellent report to go with a top result. I am chuffed to bits that we’ve signed Eze. He’s a proper Arsenal number 10. I can’t wait to see him get going.
Lots of good performances against Leeds, and still a lot to work on. The squad looks better than it has for twenty years. So much good stuff, and a huge match next week is already looming into view. Anyway, 6 points from 6 so far. Great start!
Ned
That may be true but Arteta referenced Eze’s ability to play wide left and Arsenal cannot leave out Rice . But Odegaard is struggling for his place when everyone is fit
True
Fat fingers. This is true.
Thanks Trev for a spot on match review. Initially we still looked a bit undercooked but once the 2cnd goal went in we got into a much better rhythm and the scoreline was fully justified. Lots of pluses from the game as match fitness improved and the subs were in no way sub-standard – we now have a proper squad all of the high level needed to sustain a challenge for silverware on all fronts this season.
The injury gods have given a reminder they are still working on us – let’s hope they have been sated and will try some of the other challengers for a change.
Like other we are surprised that the referee gave a first rate performance – will that be it for the season – let’s hope not.
@27 😂😂
Do we really have an optimal team any more? Perhaps we can all disagree on an optimal XI when the Interlull rolls round 😃
Thanks Trev,
Happy Gooner and not much to disagree with here except …
I don’t believe that was ever a penalty – a tangle of legs and a blatant trailing leg from MD suggested to me that he was actually lucky to avoid a yellow card for simulation. Each to their own of course, but I’d have been pissed if it was given against us.
UTA.
Up to four weeks out for Saka, according to the BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c0r7y2x4vlvo
So will miss Liverpool, England games against Andorra and Serbia, and probably Forest. Could have been far worse.
Yes, that is not so bad for Saka I think, Ode looks short term too. I must admit I am a bit worried it is taking so long to confirm the situation with Kai.
Be nice if the barcodes could take points off Liverpool today but having seen them and Villa look shite last week I am not hopeful.
Ornstein says we are looking to hijack a deal for the left sided centreback and left back Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen, presumably so Zinchenko and Kiwior can leave. Oh the team we’re hijacking? Spurs 🤪🤪
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6573642/2025/08/25/arsenal-hincapie-transfer-news/
Matt @29 – that was my point in the report preamble / waffle. We finally have a squad where players can be genuinely rested / rotated without a big drop in quality. We have a “team” that can be selected for fitness or tactical reasons without indicating that someone has been dropped. No-one can play every game as we have already discovered to out enormous cost. Now there is no need for that to happen.
Noosa@30 – agree, slo-mo showed he left his foot in. Real time he’s a problem for defenders; the kid is awesome!
Unquestionably it was a clear pen. Props to the Aussie ref for spotting it in real time. Slow mo showed the Leeds MFer stamped on Dowman’s toe as he was driving into the box. Every single athlete would have been brought to the ground in those circumstances. Shame on all the pundits who called out Max for diving and who have failed to issue an apology after the slo mo has been shared.
Further to Bath’s point @38, it is instructive that on the video you can see the Leeds player try to kid the referee that it was outside the area, not that it wasn’t a foul. He knew. It was a step on his toes and it was inside.
Probably best to follow the simple maxim: Whatever Neville says, the truth is the opposite.
Wonderful piece about Santi’s team, Real Oviedo
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/aug/25/la-liga-spain-real-oviedo-emotional-return-top-flight-real-madrid
Can you help out by signing this petition?
https://chng.it/s2Tc6qQjjw
C100@35: Nicking one player from under the nose of the neighbours is cheeky. Two is just taking the mickey.
Ned, Spudz have released a statement claiming that they have never had any interest in that player. No sir, not never ever, no sir.
Meanwhile I hope the despicable medieval regime backed industrial demolition squad from Tyneside destroy the Bindippers.
If we do sign Hincapie presumably he’d be the first Ecuadorean we’ve ever signed ?
I’ve heard of Hincapie by reputation and even saw him play last season in pre- season ( I think ) . I’ve never been fully convinced by Kiwior but he did a fine job for us standing in for Gabriel last season
Interesting to see Simon Hooper gets to ref a very volatile match tonight. He is clearly very high up the PGMOL list . The cupboard is very bare
That Gordon tackle was just what Paul Scholes used to do. Everyone laughed about it then.
Yeah, ridiculous the nonsense people like Scholes got away with. Gordon really is a moron and afterwards Nice Guy Eddie laughably tried to defend him too. I thought the Barcodes tried to kick them right from the start and were lucky to end up with only one red and two yellows.
Thé Bindipper defending or not defending was encouraging but no doubt it will be a tough game again.
I don’t know anything about Hincapie either I must admit but if we are to let Zin and Kiwior go then I could see getting one more in.
Also, doffs cap
Well in for the half-ton, OM.
The GHF Predictathon leaderboard for Matchweek 2 has been posted. You know where to find it…
Thanks Ned, I was 4th last week 😱 I must have got a nose bleed
as mid table mediocrity has now been resumed.
Better than the Fantasy League where I am stone cold last 😂
I can’t post the table but for the cognoscenti I can say the monks
lead from the dinosaurs and the sheep……
Well in for the mezzo-ton, Matt. I had a crack at posting the table but no matter how small I make the image, WordPress transforms it into much too large an image for our format.
Matt @53 – if you’re bottom and you’re the organiser / administrator there seems to be only one place to look …… 😳
Spectacular ! 2nd or 7th in the Predictathon to 17th in one week ! 🤷♂️
Trev@56: Think of it like conceding an early goal — plenty of time to recover. 🙂
Apparently, Hincapie has a €60 million release clause, which is a pretty penny for a 23-year-old defender, even if he has 46 international caps for Ecuador. Berta would need to be fairly certain that he has got Kiwior and Zinchenko moved on to cover even two-thirds of that. Hincapie’s numbers in his scouting report are good, but not as good as one might expect for that money. A match for similar players throws up, of all people, Sead Kolasinac, now at Atalanta, where, to be fair, he won the player of the year award last season.
I want Cambridge United away in round 3 of the league cup. 12 miles from my home!
@55 absolutely Trev, and I do indeed blame the PGMOL for my situation 😡
@58:Ned, the report I read suggested we were negotiating at a price below the
release clause. We do need to move on about 5 or 6 as best we can though.
Funny about Kola, he has done well at other clubs too and certainly does have
strengths. The PL just exposed too many of his weaknesses I guess, and also
the atmosphere at the club wasn’t good at the time.
Matt @53, here goes, another attempt at the Ropey League table of an appropriate size:
Third time lucky!
Thanks Bath, it’s worked a treat this time.
Early days of course but a good start for the monks
and I can only ask them to pray for me. However,
everyone else from 2nd to 10th is covered by a mere 17 points.
Slightly complicated draw for the third round of the Carabao Cup tonight
https://www.arsenal.com/news/who-can-we-play-carabao-cup-third-round
Would luv to nick Kobbie Mainooo, if poss – from the muggy. manky poo philistines. (One for the chin-stroking soccah pseuds … you know who you are – over!) UTA!
For non- Arteta fans this table might be interesting
This is the squad value table and we are comfortably top. Come to Arsenal and become a better player
Mind you it’s hard to realise the value of our assets at our place!
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Jo3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08817f01-f792-45f4-be88-90aabd3d853e_964x1200.jpeg
Sorry it didn’t copy properly
The table is on Le Grove tonight
Well worth looking at
Thai-ming – dat’s thaH secret of gooood pottery …
Grimsby beat Man U
Winner winner chicken dinner!
Sesko took the 10th penalty. Bottle merchant!
Wow! Sesko was the last outfield player to take a penalty. I’ll take Big Vic anytime!
So our third round draw is
Port Vale away
Great opportunity to play a squad XI
TTG @ 66, here you go
Last time we played at Vale Park we won the double.
Just saying.
Thanks for the info C100, a good draw for us
and a nice omen. I’d forgotten that last game
against them but in fact we scraped through on
penalties in a replay at their place.
Man U is taking this no distractions from the league thing to a new level.
Yeah, it’s grim in the Old Toilet today.
I’m starting to wonder about my decision to go with Scott Parker over
Amorim for first tin tack……..,..
We’ve played Port Vale in the FA Cup twice. Both times we’ve needed a reply to go through. Both times we went on to the Final, losing to Cardiff — the Reg Lewis greasy new sweater goal — in 1927 and beating Newcastle in 1998.
And is that the lesser-spotted ton coming over the distant horizon?
Thanks Trev for that enjoyable and humorous match report. Now, onward to the …
Famed
But
Indeed
Lesser
Spotted
Chheetah
Sorry, meant to say Ton(ne)
I’m all in for a run at the ton! But we’ll need some entertainment to get there…
This one is for cba…
This one is also for cba…
Punts the ball up field to…
My trusty left foot that takes it down ezeily, and crosses
it towards the penalty area for…..
a clash of heads, then a break in play for the hapless, hopeless ref
to thank ecg for the sounds. A drop ball follows and……
… a swing and a miss, but fortunately the ball bounces off me arse into the path of…
The onrushing Vic Goalokeres who………
Boom!
Well in CER 😂
Defence didn’t see me on the blind side lurking at the back stick….
Well in CER. I hope the ash didn’t fall off your cigar when you stopped leaning against the back post to tap the ball in. Sterling work from ecg and Matt and bt8 in the build up with a fine tribute to the unforgettable cba. Bravi ragazzi!
Well in for the ton, CER. Back tan, rested and ready. Deft build-up work from OM, bt8 and ecg. The late, lamented cba must be smiling down.
Kai to undergo surgery
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6570266/2025/08/28/arsenal-kai-havertz-injury-update/
CL fixtures. No dates yet.
Inter away it is then, C100. The Italian Gooners were on good form there last year, ci I g from all over Italy. Nice city centre, fabulous food. Police overkill but no trouble, but it took hours to get out of the ground.
C100, you would love the food options available outside the ground. 21CG had an amazing Wild Boar panino. The old burger stand at the top of Avenell Road it wasn’t…
Reckon we should sneak in a cheeky 70 mill bid for Isak – plus zinny, the admiral, kiwior, the bloke wot sorts ou’ corners & teta’s stylist – in to poocastle … reckon they’d consider it coZ they clearly REALLY hate liverpooo right now – UTA!
The Spuds have a much easier CL draw than the other English teams
Our draw isn’t bad I think. Glad we don’t have to go to Almaty.
I want to beat Bayern Munich.
And the news could have been worse on Kai (thanks for the link C100).
Best of luck to him for the surgery.
So nobody has a view to share here on our CL draw?
Please see our Diary of a Nobody @110
George & Weedon 😉
Perhaps only Newcastle has a tougher CL draw among the PL clubs. Chelsea’s looks on a par, ‘Pool’s and City’s marginally easier and the neighbours’ the easiest of all. At least we play Bayern and Atletico Madrid at home and have no trip farther east than Prague.
As some people may know I am on the board of a local prison. I was in there today and in the Maths class met someone who was released by Arsenal at age 13, along with a young man called Eberechi Eze .
He recounted what a very nice boy he was, very religious and pleasant and respectful . But oddly he said Eze
was nowhere near as impressive a player as he is now! He didn’t expect him to make it as a pro let alone be an elite star as he is now . He appears to have turned himself into a wonderful player since that rejection through hard work and great coaching
C100
You raise an important point. Eight opponents in the Champions League but negligible comment . I am flummoxed by the fact that the Totts have an easy draw
I’m not too dissatisfied with our draw but would prefer an alternative to Bayern Munich .
I’m relieved that we don’t have to travel to Kazakhstan !
Charles Watts raises the point today in his 20 minute podcast that regardless which pot you piss from in the draw you still end up playing two from each pot, hence being seeded in the top pot has no real advantage.
Talking of podcasts does anyone listen to any of the more intelligent ones? I like the Arsenal Vision one with Clive and Tim, although the American guy can be a bit annoying, Adrian Clarke is good, yesterday’s Highbury Squad was good with the chap from Le Grove. Le Grove is good when it’s available for free. Not a big fan of James Benge when he’s on Inside Arsenal with Charles Watts and the Arsecast is okish. Obviously AFTV is pointless if you want to learn anything.
Anyone else listening to good stuff out there?
TTG@116: I wonder if that is in part because the BBC seems to be ignoring the draw. I see a story on Europa and Conference League draws but not the CL’s. Maybe it is filtered out for those of us on this side of the pond in the relentless drive to deliver relevant content to induce us to pay the monthly fee it is imposing for access to its news site. Or did I just miss it?
~@115: It might also say something about how difficult it is to judge how a 13-year-old will develop. And how important it is that no one is irrevocably written off at that age.
SP@117: Alex Moneypenny’s The Different Knock is often worth the listen — 28-year-old man from Bournemouth who loves the Arsenal but not uncritically. He’s got talent agency representation now, so is a growing presence in the Arsenal digital mediaverse. You might want to give him a go while he is still just an emerging YouTube content creator and not the full-blown thing. Then you will be able to look back in the future and say you loved his early work.
Andrea Berta always gets his man! Eight signings in this window . I hope for a flood ( we’ll trickle ) of sales in the last two days
But welcome Piero Hincapié.
SP- I like the Handbrake Off Podcast from the Athletic website . Amy Lawrence is wise, well-connected and steeped in Arsenal tradition
Here’s something from Bloomberg to bring a chuckle on a Friday evening:
Fenerbahce is one of the few listed football clubs, making it possible to see how much value investors place on a renowned manager. Shares increased by as much as 7% following the announcement of [Jose] Mourinho’s exit. This boost added more than $26 million to the club’s market capitalization, pushing it over the $400 million mark. Or to put it another way, Fenerbahce was briefly worth $26 million more as soon as Mourinho literally walked out the door.
@121 😂😂
Thanks for that Ned, it seems just about right 😉
Ned, SP, TTG,
Thanks for the podcast recommendations.
I don’t pay for access to the BBC in Japan Ned. But I also can’t usually access any of the video clips or IPlayer. Can you see them?
Changing the subject, I spent last night at Borehamwood with 21CG, watching the U-21’s vs Brighton. Our team, comprising largely 18 and 19 year olds , did very well against a team of what looked like men and who were incredibly physical. They even took out Setford who had to be replaced in goal and who looked furious when he took his place on the bench. I wonder whether this injury will prevent an imminent loan, that’s how frustrated he seemed. Setford was very impressive, telling young Brayden Clarke at centre back where to be and giving his team very loud, clear instruction, as well as making a couple of excellent saves. In the last 10 minutes our footballing ability finally began to shine through as the team of physical freaks tired and we won it with a goal with 5 minutes to go.
This truly has been a transfer window for the ages for The Arsenal. Revel in it because, bar the odd replacement, this is it for a good few years. Two top players at every position, most in their twenties, world class new blood coming up from the academy. Do not expect going to market again in January (bar injury) or indeed next summer or the summer after. Mikel Arteta has his squad, with the superb assistance of Andreas Berta and Josh Kroenke.
This is The Arsenal’s time.
Agreed, C100. Of course common sense plays no part in the “thought processes” of the keyboard warrior “fans” who seem to own the inter web. It’s really odd, but you never meet these people inside the ground. Funny that….
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