Part 1
When Arsenal began their league season in August it was against an intolerant media backdrop amazingly supplemented by a cohort of Arsenal fans who suggested Arteta was ‘drinking in the last chance saloon’. The prevailing wisdom of this remarkable group provoked by ex-pros and tabloid journalists was that if Arteta couldn’t get Arsenal over the line this season, he never would. The majority of sensible folk however, rejoiced in the gradual, incremental improvement of the squad which had been carefully assembled with our new technical director Andrea Berta who had acquired 8 new players in that summer’s window. Gabriel Jesus was hors de combat, as was Ben White, and they were soon joined by Kai Havertz who was sidelined for several months in the first match of the season.
Our campaign began at Old Trafford where United’s squad had been revitalised by three shiny new attacking signings and indeed United played promisingly going forward, but failed to deal with an Arsenal corner midway through the first half. The goalkeeper flapped and Calafiori nodded in at the far post. United protests were in vain. A template was set for the season – an obdurate Arsenal defence behind which Raya was in prime form and ruthless efficiency from a set piece saw us to a rather fortuitous 1-0 win.
Our first home game was against newly-promoted Leeds. The game was preceded by the unveiling of a beaming Eberechi Eze and we steamrollered the Yorkshiremen. Timber headed in from a set piece and Saka slotted home before the interval. Then, in the second half, we saw Gyökeres collect his first Arsenal goal latching on to a long pass, barging aside the opposition and slotting home. A promising beginning! Timber scored again and a Gyökeres penalty earned by 15 year old Max Dowman completed the scoring. A very satisfactory start to the home league season!
Our next trip was to Anfield. It seemed like THE big one, given their huge expenditure in the close season on top of last year’s canter to the title. We decided to make it an attritional contest and were doing so very well when with ten minutes left, Szoboslai curled an incredible free kick past Raya at the Kop end. We switched tactics, but too late to rescue the game, and the Kop rejoiced, having possibly seen off their biggest rival.
Nottingham Forest were next up at the Emirates and we saw confirmation of the quality of Martin Zubimendi who scored a stunning volley and followed it up with a second half header. Gyökeres had earlier turned in a delicious Eze cutback and the 3-0 victory was the straw that broke Ange Postecoglou’s back at the City Ground after a lightning quick and conspicuously unsuccessful spell in the hot seat.
Manchester City came to town for another summit meeting, smarting from a 5-1 defeat a few months earlier. They set up as cautiously as any Guardiola side ever seen, ceding possession to Arsenal but pouncing on defensive slackness to take the lead through our humble Nemesis, Haaland. I was unable to make the game and watched it on my iPad as time ticked down. Just as I had given up hope, a blessed message ticked up on my screen that Martinelli had equalised – the delay was about thirty seconds and there was Eze playing a delightful ball through to Gabigol who brilliantly lobbed Donnarumma. That goal arguably won us the title although, at that stage, Liverpool were several points clear and C130y were not thought to be contenders.
Several faithful Holics made what turned out to be a charming and enjoyable trip to the Potteries to see us take on Port Vale in the Carabao Cup. Eberechi Eze scored a neat early goal but the home side gave a good account of themselves and the only other score was a late Trossard goal.
Newcastle had been very difficult opponents at St.James Park in recent years and when a stonewall Gyökeres penalty claim was overturned by VAR because his leg hadn’t been smashed in several pieces, and then Woltemade scored, it looked as if we might come up short again. A late flurry saw a beautifully executed Merino back-header and a thumping Gabriel header seal three well deserved points for us. This was the first sign this season of a resurgent Arsenal taking control of a potentially tough fixture and ringing out a result.
West Ham were another team who had troubled us in recent seasons but we took care of them easily at home in our next match with Rice notching the first goal and a Saka penalty clinching victory. There was a feeling of momentum building as we took over at the top of the table and continued to deprive opponents of even a shot on target throughout ninety minutes.
Regrettably price hikes and new seating arrangements deprived a number of us from a chilly autumn evening beside the Thames at Craven Cottage. Calafiori had a goal of the season contender ruled out (as ‘left backs’ do!) but a close range Trossard finish in the second half gave us a precious 1-0 victory. A talented Fulham side failed to get a shot on target.
Arsenal continued the ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ sequence at home to Palace. Every Palace fan I knew (and I know a number) anticipated Eze would prove the match winner and they were not wrong as he scored an acrobatic volley following a corner in the first half. By this stage, a head of anguished steam was building up about the efficiency of Arsenal’s set pieces and the number that were impacting results in Arsenal’s favour. Any stick to beat Arsenal is firmly seized by the anti-Arteta brigade that, unfortunately, includes a large number of Arsenal fans, and a campaign expressing disgust at Arsenal’s anti-football because of the quality and creativity of their corners and free kicks began to build up. Meanwhile the rest of the league feverishly tried to improve their productivity from set pieces!
Our League Cup tie at home to Brighton allowed us to welcome the much loved Fabian Hurzeler back to THOF. A heavily rotated Arsenal side gradually gelled and Nwaneri gave us the lead after an excellent move midway through the second half. Saka, a late substitute, confirmed victory with a goal just before the end. We waved a tearful farewell to Fabian but knew he would be back soon.
We then travelled to Burnley in prime form and in a mood to squeeze the life out of the opposition. Two first half headers by Gyökeres and Rice gave us total control of the match which we won comfortably.
Talk of an Arsenal title challenge had rumbled all summer but now had even more credence as our magnificent defence attracted a mixture of admiration, fear and contempt but our next game at the Stadium of Light was a real contest. Dan Ballard, once of this parish, scored an early goal on a rampage forward, and we trailed at halftime. Saka equalised early in the second half and a Trossard ‘worldie’ appeared certain to give us the points until a concerted Sunderland attack induced that most rare of things – uncertainty in the Arsenal defence – and a rather rash advance by Raya saw Mr. Brobbey claim a late equaliser. But a point at Sunderland at that stage of the season proved no disgrace.
The first North London Derby was held at Ashburton Grove and saw table-topping Arsenal play mid-table Tottenham. (The sound of the term ‘mid-table’ in connection with Tottenham evokes better times at the Armitage Shanks. How they must wish that to have continued!) It was Thomas Frank’s first (and possibly only) NLD. At the start of the season, a hilarious piece of film found its way into circulation from Tottenham TV. There they were, the poor loves, relishing the moment when Eberechi Eze would hold up his Tottenham shirt and the Goonerverse would go into meltdown. I don’t know if there has been a bigger example of dodging a football bullet than Eze’s experience but a serious injury to Kai Havertz prompted Ebs to phone Arteta to check if we were still interested in signing him and he got an affirmative answer. Eze decided to celebrate in his first NLD. He notched a hat-trick as a very disorganised and negative Spud team were totally outclassed in a 4-1 victory for Arsenal. Not that we cared, but that accelerated the idea of moving on from Frank for the Tottenham fanbase.
Our next game was an away derby with Chelsea and it was the only game we didn’t win of the four we played against them this season. Despite Caicedo being sent off in the first half, Chelsea were decent value for the lead given them by Chalobah (from a corner!) just after the interval. Merino equalised midway through the half with a header from a Saka cross but we could not press home our advantage and the game ended 1-1.
Brentford’s visit a few days later underlined the extra pressure that faces London title contenders with seven London clubs in the Premier League as well as the build up of fixtures that reaches a crescendo in December and January, the least enjoyable months climatically to watch English football. Arteta rotated again but saw the reliable Merino score an early goal. We retained control without too many problems and Saka clinched victory at the end after coming on as a substitute.
Aston Villa had emerged as one of our most credible title challengers and our match at Villa Park underlined why. Neither Gabriel nor Saliba made this game and we trailed to a Cash goal at the break. Trossard soon equalised and a see-saw struggle ensued which we lost unluckily to a Buendia goal with virtually the last kick of the match. Cue rejoicing around the West Midlands, the rest of the league, and in several media outlets.
Our next league game was against Wolves at home – surely a gimme? – but it was a real struggle. After taking the lead with a late own-goal we conceded an equaliser in injury time. Gabriel Jesùs who had just returned to the team forced a second own-goal just before the end but it was a less than impressive victory .
We travelled to the Hill Dickinson for the first time on a cold December Saturday night close to Christmas. It was a predictably tough battle but we were given a helping hand, literally, when O’Brien inexplicably handled a corner. After that, our brilliant defence helped us to secure the three points.
Palace were drawn to meet us in the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup at our place just as they were last season. Again it took an own-goal (by Lacroix) to put us ahead, but in the dying seconds of injury time Guehi equalised for Palace. The game went to a penalty shootout. It was held at the North Bank. We have had three shootouts in official fixtures at the Emirates and the two taking place at the North Bank proved victorious whereas we lost the one at the Clock End. We scored all our penalties, as did Palace, until Kepa saved from the unfortunate Lacroix who probably ran his cat over when arriving home.
Our last game of the year brought Fabian and his popular Brighton lads back to the Emirates. We struck first through a rare Ødegaard goal and guess what, Havertz forced an own-goal early in the second half. Brighton surprisingly got back in the game immediately with a goal very much against the run of the play, and then we had one of the moments of the season – a quite incredible diving save by Raya to tip over a vicious swerving shot from Minteh. That save delivered our 2-1 victory and Fabian left the ground bemoaning time-wasting, Brexit and all manner of other civil rights injustices. We wished him a very happy New Year and sent him on his way.
The first half of the 25/26 season had generally been good to Arsenal. We had only lost twice in the league, both to late goals against good teams, our defence was imperious and although we had seen serious injuries to the likes of Havertz, Saka, White, Ødegaard and regular absences by Calafiori our results had been very consistent. Of the new signings, Zubimendi had been excellent as had Hincapié and the extremely promising Mosquera. Eze gave us a creativity we had lacked before and Gyökeres, although suffering one significant injury, was improving even if he wasn’t blessed with the first touch of an angel. But a long, intensive second half of the season lay ahead. Could we go one better than last season and finally become champions?
A bit late for the last drinks – thanks TTG.
On reflection:
Premier league – still happy, 38 games, great achievement.
Champion’s league – QSG could have played all night and still not scored from open play. We did not deserve to lose.
Penalties – a lottery and no blame attached but Eze needs a new technique and Gabriel needs to come way down the order.
Cannot wait for next season.
World Cup – meh.
UTA
Thanks TTG for that excellent and encouraging report on the first half of the season when I note that we vanquished quite a few difficult opponents. I wonder if that could bode well for our championship aspirations down the final stretch?? 😎
COYG
Bt8
I can’t wait to find out !
Unlike Victor, TTG, you have the touch of an angel.
Clarification : When you write. Not when I sit at your feet. 🙂
Thanks TTG, it was a good first half of the season, we made up for getting only one point out the six available from the Cheaty / mugsmasher games by taking out most of the rest fairly efficiently. I hadn’t worried too much about losing at Liverpool as that away games was a free hit I thought at the time, but in fact their gradual implosion from stone-cold title certainties (in the media and their ever-modest supporters eyes) to scraping into the the Top 5 was one of the seasons more enjoyable side stories. Talking of which, I remember Maresca touting Chavski as credible title contenders too after their draw at home to us, what a genius.
Jason Ayto has left Brighton already, not been a good year for our ex sporting directors.
Many thanks for that crisp and evocative recap of the first half of the season, TTG. Looking forward to part two and the sharp end of the season.
OM@5: Boehly finally found the right manager in Maresca at the nth time of trying for the type of players he (Boehly) has been buying wholesale, and then fire him (Maresca) when he tried to turn them into a team that might well have been credible title contenders rather than a shop window with a regularly rotating display of available stock. I fully expect Alonso to become another casualty of Boehly’s vision for revolutionising how football clubs should operate.
What odds are the monks offering, Ned on Alonso being the first to tin tack his way out of the League?
Thanks for a great overview of the first half of last season, TTG. It’s so nicely distilled that reading it brings back vividly those key moments of entertainment, excitement and disappointment which suggested early on that we had a real chance of finally winning the title after all those years. We got off to a good start, despite a difficult schedule, suffered a reverse at Anfield but would still have to overcome some stiff competitors and to do so, we would have to be the best we could be. Can’t wait for the second half.
Many thanks TTG for an excellent summary of the first half of the league season – you have managed to convey an excellent overview of how it progressed with the ups and just occasional downs. There was an underlying feeling of confidence, the process was progressing following the deepening of the squad but the ultimate goal would require much fortitude as the hard slog of the winter months ensued.
Looking forward to reading the next part of your review.
BtM@8: The monks await the wisdom of the crowd. When we have all the rest of the entries in for next season, we can see who the crowd, in this fine and wise establishment at least, thinks will get the first PL P45. Perhaps Alonso will have come to his senses before then, and self-tin-tacked.
btw, I say ‘all the rest of the entries’ because one has already been submitted!
@7 I think we probably agree that Alonso is not the right fit for Boehly’s Buffoons and is just another flavour of the month Hail Mary, proof will be in pudding I suppose but I’d be surprised if he lasts the season.
I suppose Maresca is ok but happily I don’t really believe any manager is the right choice
in the current shitshow. Anyone with the required strength of character to control that dressing room is not going to be able to tolerate the group of absolute duffers that actually seem to be making decisions.
I am sure C130y will be brought to book this summer Rumours abound that FIFA want the sentence to be announced after the World Cup which suggests there ay be much pain and controversy to come- but the fixtures for next season will be out by then
Cheers TTG and all for another season of GHF!
Les montagnes russes emotionally, a bit like my Predictathon performance, but thankfully with a very different outcome!
The first half of the season was generally a lot more enjoyable. It planted the necessary seeds to emerge out of the rather more tense second half victorious!
Victoria Concordia Crescit.
Noosa @1.
We could have played on all night and not scored either. We didn’t deserve to lose, we didn’t deserve to win. Neither did they. We are just now using the lines Stokes fans and similar used against us.
I’m glad I didn’t care (much) about the CL final in the end, mostly because I had mentally prepared myself not to care, the League win had taken all my emotional content, and Sunday erased everything else (also because I watched it at home without a drop of alcohol).
It’s bad enough being in Paris (I felt 2006 a lot lot lot worse).
Hopefully next win we’ll win the CL, and have a few technical speedsters so that we can create something if we even have to defend as much (but hopefully as well if so) as this year in the final. Also, a fully fit Timber. Thought that might be the difference, and it kind of proved, despite Mosquera doing fairly well before the pen.
For very practical and logistical and selfish reasons, I just hope we don’t play QSG in the final.
Was running in a downpour Tuesday, some cunt deliberately drive-splashed me. Suspect he was a QSG fan (as I was wearing an Arsenal shirt).
But, back to the first half of the season, expectations, anticipations, excitation buildilng up!
Cheers TTG. Your post season reports have become a fine GHF tradition. What an excellent and evocative summary of a fine first half of the season!
Ollie@15 To be fair, we had ALREADY scored. And no-one lauds us for our attacking brilliance. It’s not unreasonable to point out that best defensive side in the world, with a one goal lead for an hour, made the much vaunted best attacking side in the world look pretty toothless. The response in the French media to our gameplan was essentially pearl-clutching indignation that we played to our strengths instead of letting QSQ batter us like Inter did last year. Pretty much no-one had the courage to point out that they only got so annoyed and frustrated because they’ve bought the idea that QSG can put multiple goals past anyone. When they came up against a side who could nullify them, of course their response was to act like it was some sort of crime against football.
Rather than say no-one deserved to win, I’d say either side did. That was an incredibly high-level match where two different styles cancelled each other out. But against almost any other team, either one of the two that made the final would have won comfortably.
I was trawling through some PL stats, as one does, or at least as we do here at Castle Ned, and was surprised to see that, when it comes to the percentages of his duels, tackles and aerial duels won in the league this season just concluded, William Saliba ranked 59th, 53rd and 45th, respectively, out of 61 PL centre-backs. Anything but impressive numbers on the face of it for one of the best, if not the best, defenders in Europe, and probably the world, right now.
Yet his positioning stats were off the charts compared with any centre-back in Europe’s top five leagues, let alone the PL. He also had top-quartile ball control and top-quintile passing numbers. On the rare occasions he has to do the dirty work of defending, it is a last resort. He is truly a Rolls-Royce of a defender. The sleekness belies the quality.
If we’d had our two first choice fullbacks and they had their second choice left back and third choice right back then I don’t think they’d have won. Those players make a huge difference to both teams.
I heard Calafiori got injured in the warm up again. I don’t know if that’s true, and Hincapie was excellent, but not having Calfiori did our attacking potential no favours. I thought we did very well with the team we had available, and now it is up to us to improve our attack for next year. Fair enough. The level to win the CL when you’ve gotta get past this QSG side is very, very high.
If Saliba is a Roller, what car would Gabriel be?
A monster truck!
GSD@18: I think Timber’s absence was the critical one. The same set of stats I was looking at for Saliba underline not only how elite Timber is as a defender, especially one-on-one, but also how key he is to our build-up play and his ability to create chances in open play (he ranked 7th among PL full-backs for that). Mosquera is a quality defender who should only get better, but he isn’t the attacking threat that Timber is.
GSD@20: 🙂
Ned@21. I definitely agree about Timber and Mosquera. So unfortunate that Timber got injured. Or even that he didn’t get injured a week earlier and get back in time for a run-out at Palace!
GSD @ 16. Yep, that is a proper analysis I can fully get onboard with, cheers!
Same with your 18, I mentioned Timber but that is true for Calafiori missing (completely, in this case) too. If he could even have come off the bench at a late stage, I am convinced he would have made the difference. Didn’t realise he got properly banjaxed pre-match at the time.
As for Saliba, I really hope France will be cautious with his back and not fuck him up completely (we all remember the end of THAT season). He’s out of tonight’s friendly, but it looks like they are definitely keeping him on board for the tournament.
Him and Gabriel really complement each other and really are the best partnership in the world, i believe. A Rolls and a Monster Truck works. Though not sure about the combination on the aesthetics’ point of view!
Ollie@26. Heh. Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Rolls Royce next to a monster truck!
Deschamps gave an interview in the last couple of days where he seemed to say Saliba is better than we all feared and will be fine. Let us hope so.
Thanks, TTG – another superbly distilled review. Very readable once again and reminded me of many details I’d forgotten, not least of which was how quickly Gyokeres started to find the back of the net after he was fit to start playing. My impression was that it had taken much longer.
Cars ? I have Trossard down as a Hillman Imp. And Madueke as anything made by British Leyland which goes wrong at the very moment you need it to perform. Oh, ask your dads …..
Calafiori would be an early Alfa Romeo. Looks impressive, very sleek and capable of exceptional performance. Unfortunately, rust seems to have taken hold and it’s always off the road undergoing constant repairs to the bodywork.
Haha, keep’em coming, Trev!
Bit harsh on Noni @28 😂
I would reserve the dreaded BL garland for Stewart Robson I think,
you thought you were getting a shiny new toy but it’s just one fault
after another evert time you take it out.
Trev@28. If Noni was a BL car, he’d probably be a Triumph TR6. Fast and charismatic, but reliability concerns diminish the sparkle. That’s tough on Trossard. An MG Midget, at least.
Some hard truths about PSG’s owners, Qatar, from Miguel Delaney:
One of the things that irked me the most was some French media dubbing QSG ‘The Invincibles’. What, because they won the CL twice in a row?
WE were the actually invincible team in that competition this season.
Ned @32, thanks for linking that vlog by Miguel Delaney. It’s an excellent expose of the machinations that have taken Qatar to the pinnacle of European football. They clearly now don’t just own QSG but it seems they now also control UEFA policy and make C115y look like a shop-lifter in comparison.
I like the car comparisons. I agree that Saliba is a Rolls Royce and I see Gabriel as a Humvee. Calafiori as a classy but unreliable Alfa Romeo cracks me up. Gyökeres strikes me as a boxy 70’s Volvo estate while Havertz is a sporty Mercedes Benz. Saka is a red Morgan sports car and Rice a Range Rover Evoque.
Good stuff, bath.
Looking forward to the Arsenal All-star Band performing at…The Garage, Highbury Corner.
Personally I see Declan Rice as a Toyota Pickup – unbreakable, starts every time, gets through a huge amount of heavy work and never even seems to need servicing – Matron !
Is there not already a Toyota Saliba. A Kia Havertz EV, a Fiat Calafiori, Raya Sunbeam, a Zubimendi kit car, a Ford Saka… I give up. Anymore?
Hincapié would be an F-150 pick-up truck: rugged power, versatility and dependability. Raya would be an Infiniti: looks nice enough but nothing remarkable from the outside, but once you start driving it, you realise the immense quality. Ben White would be that Chartreuse microbus from the CW McCall song, Convoy.
bath@34: There is more Saudi money coming over the hills, with reports that the Independent Football Regulator is conducting due diligence on Turki Al-Sheikh, who chairs the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, is big in world boxing and is one of MBS’s inner circle. Al-Sheikh is said to be in talks to buy a stake in Derby Co. If he does succeed in taking over the club, he would surely be the first owner in English football who is an alum of the Saudi Interior Ministry’s King Fahd Security College, from which he holds a degree in security sciences. The Athletic had a less-than-flattering profile of him a couple of years ago. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6298589/2025/04/25/turki-al-sheikh-boxing-saudi-arabia/ But who knows what counts for fit and proper in football these days?
SP@37: I think you were thinking of the Sunbeam Brian Talbot. I’ll get my coat…
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