Goonerholics Forever

Giuseppe Garibaldi landed in Southampton on April 3, 1864. His sojourn of twenty-five days drew out the magnificent contradictions that characterize, I am tempted to say, English society but if I were to be clear-eyed and steely minded I must admit all cultures in degrees large and small. 

He landed at Southampton and then moved to London receiving a hero’s welcome from both the working class and the aristocrats, the political establishments as well as the radicals. He was hosted by the Duke of Sutherland, met with various leaders of the parliaments, visited factories and fishmongers’ halls, and generated reams of celebratory prose in the media. On the other hand, the public enthusiasm drew the ire of luminaries representing both ends of the societal spectrum – Karl Marx, a guest himself, derided the Garibaldi-mania as a miserable spectacle of imbecility while Queen Victoria naturally disapproved the public chaos caused by the celebrations. And the British government, naturally wary of the consequences of such a radicalizing figure mingling freely with hoi-polloi, severely restricted his movements and likely encouraged him to leave for Italy sooner than he might have had in mind.    

While the precise political motives for his visit remain a bit of a historical puzzle, the cultural impact of the visit left its own memorabilia. Specifically, biscuits and football jerseys. 

But even before the great Italian patriot arrived in England in person, he was already an inspirational figure in popular imagination. A Garibaldi music band appeared in Nottingham in 1860, and when a unit of Rifle Volunteers (called Robin Hood Rifles, naturally) were formed in Nottingham, they adopted as their uniform the red Garibaldi shirt. And at the time of his visit, Nottingham factory workers gathered in a local council house to decide on the text of an address which, later, their representative presented to the Italian in London. The address contained praises like “undoing the chains of oppressed nationalities, and helping to sweep away the wrong, and establish freedom”. Words that the mutineering soldiers and farmers fighting against the East India Company on the other side of the globe just a few years earlier would have found deeply encouraging had these Nottingham workers had a chance to meet them. 

In 1865 when the Nottingham Forest football club was formed by a group of amateur players, they adopted the popular Garibaldi red worn by the Robin Hood Rifles and a few other local outfits. Our own red-and-white might have been partially inspired by the red kit of the Nottingham club, as are apparently that of Sparta Prague and Ajax kits. AC Milan co-founder Herbert Kilpin was a Nottingham native and in his early youth had formed a local amateur club called the Nottingham Garibaldi. 

One of the oldest, and likely with the most novelistic of historical ups-and-downs among England’s premier clubs, Forest had experienced dizzying success in domestic and European football in those famous Brian Clough and Peter Taylor years in the mid 70s to early 80s. Since then, barring the occasional runs in the cup competitions they have been mostly a mid-to-lower table first division/premier league team or equally often a playing in the second tier fighting for promotion back to the top. Since their last promotion in 2022, they have ended the PL seasons in positions 16, 17, 7 and 16; they currently sit at 13th – winning one, drawing two and losing three of their six matches. The much respected Austrian Olivier Glasner – after a very successful stint at Crystal Palace, bringing them an FA Cup and a Conference League – has taken over the managerial role from the Portuguese Vitor Pereira at the beginning of the season, and evidently is still finding his way through a squad that has not been built with the greatest of football acumen. They do have a few high quality players like Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangaré, and the highly talented Swiss forward Dan Ndoye who enjoyed a successful world-cup with goals and eye-catching performances. At their own historical home ground, and naturally inspired to be at their best by the visiting league champions, I would expect them to be as difficult an opposition as any. 

Well, so much for the Nottingham reds. How about the greatest red-and-whites (who will likely play in their away blue kits)? 

Arsenal comes into the match with a near flawless record in this young season, looking to defend their Premier League title and more than hoping to win the elusive Champions League trophy, going one step better than our penalty shoot-out loss in last year’s final. This season we have won both our Champions League group phase matches, scoring four and conceding none, and five of our six Premier League matches, scoring 10 and conceding a somewhat uncharacteristic five. 

Three of those five conceded goals came in the away match against a spirited Brighton side who had outplayed us comprehensively on that day. While their performance on that day was exemplary in its intensity and quality, ours demonstrated that rarity of a collective collapse which is something this current Arsenal squad have learnt to stay clear of. Defense that day had cried out for the recovering William Saliba, but then – if you forgive the tautology – we always miss those who are not playing.  

While Wilo slowly recovers from his back issues, first Mosquera and then Ezri Konsa have both filled the gap manfully. If anything, his absence has seemed to impact Gabriel most: he doesn’t quite seem to have found that right balance of aggressive front-footed pressing and calm under pressure. The Gabriel-Saliba partnership is the foundation on which the team is built as not only do they complement each other perfectly giving us an extraordinary defensive solidity, but they are also the platform on which our positionally sophisticated and control-based football is built. 

On a positive note about injuries, both Timber and White are now available, which has rarely been the case over the last couple of seasons, thus offering Mikel the freedom to rotate them and avoid further injury issues stemming from overplaying. Timber’s overall performance and especially the sumptuous flick-and-finish against Lille in the mid-week reminded us all what a wonderful footballer he is, and how much we had missed not only his defensive qualities but his ability on the ball. 

The last (prolonged, and as meaningless as ever) international break has naturally claimed its injury victims. Christos Tzolis – our new Greek winger signed from Club Brugge – has started his Arsenal career with a series of effective performances demonstrating the quality of his decision making and his sharpness on the ball that evidently had impressed Arsenal’s recruiting department, and justified Mikel’s faith in him. He is the kind of “always at least 6.5/10 all throughout the match” type of footballer that Arteta has a natural preference for. While Eze is capable of unforgettable moments and match-winning performances, in comparison he suffers a bit for consistency. I think it is good – actually, essential – to have both of these types of players. Playing as a winger in Arteta’s system requires not just speed and craft, but a lot of nous and footballing intelligence. That’s why Bukayo Saka – even when he may be suffering from relative lull in the creative department – remains indispensable, and maybe sometimes under-appreciated outside the Arsenal faithful, in terms of the balance and structure he offers to the team. His goals this season – all results of clever positioning and striker-like intuition, more than the replay-reel finishes that used to be his hallmark – are a clear sign of his evolution as a player who has accepted the reality of physical injuries and being double-marked by defenders, and finding solutions to impact matches in different ways. 

Along with Konsa and Tzolis, our other newcomer – a favorite villain morphing rapidly into a cult hero – Bruno Guimarães has been the most successful of signings this season, bringing in precisely the qualities that we needed: more verticality from the midfield, ball-winning tenacity combining with ball-playing imagination, and the willingness and ability to finish movements. Rice seems to play with greater freedom alongside him, and Ødegaard seems to feel less burdened by the demands of taking on the role of the main creator. 

If interlull injuries are the tonic motif of our injury woes, pre/post-match routine has lately taken on the dominant note. I don’t think there are any great mysteries behind it – it is simply the consequence of a squad that is highly motivated and maniacally competitive in everything they do. We wanted back the intensity and fierce pride in wearing the Arsenal shirt, we finally have it. It seems Zubimendi – whacked by his good friend and fellow Basque, Merino – should be back soon whereas the Ecuadorian Hincapié is sidelined for a longer period of time. 

With the mid-week trip to Bavaria in mind, my guess (and preference, these two do not always agree with each other) for the starting line up would be:

Raya

White – Konsa – Gabriel – Calafiori

Ødegaard – Rice – Guimarães 

Saka – Havertz – Eze 

Kompany’s Bayern will play front-footed football at Munich, and as such Madueke will be a greater threat behind the defense on the left side. Glasner is not an ultra-defensive coach, and even though they have not started the season particularly well, I suspect Forest will want not simply to stay in their defensive shell, but they would still be much more defensively minded. Against such opposition, I think Eze’s ability to create moments and his improving defensive discipline to facilitate Ricky’s maverick movements will work better than Madueke’s traditional wing-play. 

With MLS, Merino, Madueke, Gyökeres, Timber, Mosquera and Max available from the bench we should have enough quality to either change the course of the match or see out a lead, as needed.  

We will probably start circumspectly, focusing on exerting control and dominating space, and then dialing up the tempo of passing and movements. I love a clean sheet, and this Arsenal team takes a lot of pride in its defensive records. A 2-0 away win will be perfect. 

Come on Arsenal!