There’s an oft-spoken pleasure about supporting a football team that delights people from all parts of the globe. It’s not the wins and losses, it’s not the great goals or the heartbreaking injuries that cement the bond between the supporter and the team. It’s the connections made around those things that the team does, with fellow supporters, no matter where we call home, that we carry with us when we are inbetween those things. We remember the connections and the social joy along with, and often before and more thoroughly than, anything that happens on the pitch.
And so it was that Arsenal came to California on the third stop of their North American tour, to play Barcelona in a “friendly” on Wednesday last at the magnificent SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. A near-capacity crowd of 70,233 supporters came out to cheer on their teams; we would have been at capacity (70,240) but for the breakdown of a Lyft XL some miles from the stadium, stranding 7 Barcelona supporters without hope of getting to the stadium before the game was over.
In advance, I thank you for spending some of your time here reading the following about the two days I spent from midday Tuesday to midday Thursday striving to grasp the evanescence of joyous experience and convert it to the feeling of buoyancy that comes from connection and sustained pleasure. Consider it a play on the light, on the sounds and smells, of memory and desire…
You Can go Home Again
I was raised in Los Angeles, in a different suburb North of SoFi about ten miles, so when it was announced that the game was to be played in our Silent Stan’s $5 billion home for his LA Rams, I knew I must go, for it was going home. Seeing Arsenal against Bayern at the LA Galaxy stadium (another ten mile drive, but South from SoFi) in 2019 brought me close, and enabled me to stay with my uncle, but it may as well be back of beyond from where I grew up.
This time I got to stay a block away from the Sorrento Italian market, my go-to alimentari for sandwiches when my friend Frank and I would go to baseball or football games, or just to have a terrific meal back in the 80s. Albert’s parents opened it in 1963; when I told him I’d not been there in more than 20 years, but essentially chose my hotel because it was so close to their shop he was chuffed. Try the mortadella, it’s out of this world (I brought a quarter kilo home for Mrs. Scruz; the look on the TSA agent’s face when I tore back the wrapping so I could prove it wasn’t anything nefarious was priceless!).
I also got to fold in visits with my sister and an old friend, my writing mentor (who would not be pleased with this less-than-glittering prose, sorry Susan), and a walk of a mile or so down one of my neighborhood streets where I spent much time in my teens and early 20s…also in the 80s, but don’t worry about a theme developing here. And plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose; while the old neighborhood was missing some things, others remain. The YMCA has been torn down and Ketchie’s Stand is now an office block, but the Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery is still there, and they are still using Nora Sterry grade school’s youth center for children’s programs: it was batik and tie-dying back in the dusty days of my youth. Louis Dunford’s “The Angel” kept springing to mind. These streets are indeed my own, and my blood will run forever through their stone.
Strangers on a Plane, Friends in a Lyft
With the game on Wednesday, and an event brought to LA by IslingtonFM on Tuesday, I made a half-day of it at work that day and drove to my friend Sumit’s house. A word about Sumit. He is the head of our Silicon Valley Gooners (SVG) tribe, and lets me park at his place to Lyft to the San Jose airport. He is a vibrantly devoted Gooner, with a warm heart and a great sense of humor, who seems to know everyone. And he’s generous, to a fault. This time we went together, as we were on the same flight down to Los Angeles. On the way to the airport, and on the way from the airport to our hotels, he was telling me about the crew of Arsenal supporters he’s gotten to know that travel the world and have missed very few of any Arsenal games, preseason or otherwise, for the last twenty years. I would get to know them later.
And on the plane I met Hamsa, a Barca supporter on his way to SoFi, who was generous in his praise about Arsenal, and staunch in his support of his Blaugrana. It was much more fun chatting and teasing with him than it would have been if he were a Tottenham or Chelsea supporter; he had a heart, and a good soul, you see. He was on our return flight as well, and was sincerely congratulatory on our win, praising the quality of our play while still showing much love for Barça. It was a pleasure to meet him.
Old Faces, Old Friends
It was also a great time to rekindle friendships stifled by Covid and other issues, and to remember the greats of our supporters’ club and our Arsenal. By the time I got to the bar to meet a chunk of SVG folks, it was just in time to hit a Lyft yet again to travel across the cities of Los Angeles to South Central, and The Beehive. Their website would have you believe it’s 18 minutes across from the airport, but you add a drive from Santa Monica and it was more like an hour and 18 minutes! Clearly, driving in Los Angeles is not for those lacking patience. Along the way I met Sumit’s frieds Dave and Dave, two dedicated Gooners. Dave the elder (from here on out I’ll refer to him as Four Cent…let’s just say he knows how to tip) is from Reading, the younger Dave from Brisbane. They are part of that group of travelling Gooners, who were all together again at the Beehive, as we were entertained by IslingtonFM and a number of bars with really expensive beers ($8 Stella cans, what?).
Three Arsenal joys at the Beehive: meeting four of the Invincibles, seeing the Arseblog crew (Andrew, Andrew, and Tim), and getting up close and personal (but not touching!) the Invincible gold trophy presented to the club for our trophy cabinet…there’s only one!
I told Gilberto how sad I’d been when he broke his back in 2005, and he says it doesn’t give him trouble now; he looks fit enough to spell Thomas Partey if we needed him to step back on the pitch. Ray Parlor and I had a couple of brief interactions, keeping it light and full of laughter. Lauren was a complete gentleman, listening to my tipsy requst that he do everything he can to impart his steel and his skill to our current defense; I wanted to tell him to teach them how to be hard bastards, but I feared he might take offense… And Edu, we talked over the fence separating the VIPs from the crowd. I asked him when he was announcing Mbappe, and he came back quick as lightning, “At the game tomorrow night” with a grin and a twinkle in his eye. All four of these men were generous with their time and energy for everyone, again and again snapping selfies, answering inane questions, and managing to stay dry under the gushing adoration of a legion of fans. Top, top class. I also got to meet Frimmy (the previous lines apply to him, too); when I asked him if he’d brought his golf cart to do some target practice with fans aboard he said they wouldn’t let it through customs…his laughter is just fucking excellent.
There was a bit of a stage show, with some American MC bringing up the Arseblog crew and asking them various about the season past, preseason, and the season to come. Tim talked about the women’s team, and Arseblog talked about how he was overwhelmed by the reaction of the supporters on this trip, again and again praising the far-flungs’ ability to rise with the fart of a sparrow (™ ‘Holic) for games and drinks and the cameraderie that comes with. I later spoke with Tim about our four women out with ACLs (Meado, Viv, Leah, and Laura), asking if he knew when they were coming back, how their recovery was going. He said they’d be back pretty much in order, Meado as soon as this Fall, though Viv’s knee was completely blown and was going to be a much longer rehab, so might be back (or not) about when Leah is recovered at the end of the coming season (or into Summer). I was pleased to make his acquaintance, he’s well-spoken and seemed amazed by it all as well.
The trophy was up on a pedestal onstage, gleaming and winking seductively. So naturally I was drawn to it, and sat and put my arm around it, without touching it. It’s shiny and golden and smaller by half than the one raised by the new statue of Arsène Wenger, engraved with our records and the teams to which we did not lose the entire season. It was special to see, and to share with everyone there, grinning and beaming.
New Faces, New Friends
SVG maintains a Whatsapp group to coordinate activities, give and receive shit, and talk about amaro. I’ve met some of the folks at the bar, others I’ve missed meeting due to my own inability to get myself the 45 minutes down the road at 3:45 am. It was with great pleasure that we met at the LA Ale Works before the game on Wednesday, putting faces to names and meeting people I’d seen but hadn’t actually met (we have about 20-80 people at the bar on gameday). We filled two buses from the Ale Works to SoFi, and it seemed all SVG folks were on the Red Bus. Naturally, we chanted “what do you think of the Yellow Bus?” and had a great time doing so. Sumit, Vivek, Robert (and dad), Jason O (and junior Gunner Norman), Jason S, David, Kiran, Prithi, Drew, and Daniel, nice to meet who I hadn’t met, and thanks for a great time! Nirshan, sorry you couldn’t make it, thanks for the ticket help.
I also had the pleasure of meeting a number of the guys who travel to all the games all over the world. Besides David and Four Cent, I had a laugh at the Beehive with Keith (aka No. One Gooner), and sat next to Richard (aka Old Street) at the game. I had a long chat with fellow blogger Stubbsy; if you haven’t looked at his blog, it’s excellent. We talked about how he does his posts about his travels around the world following Arsenal. It’s all about the passion and the connection, and not trying to be “a journalist” or even a “real” writer or anything like that. It requires his passion for Arsenal, a job that allows him to be able to travel, and a wallet something along the size of Lars’s wallet as the key ingredients (though, admittedly, we didn’t speak of money). A pleasure to meet you, gents, if you read this post.
At the Beehive I got to know Trevor and Shay, a father and son who drove down from Vancouver Island in Southwestern Canada. They have been watching games together since Shay was old enough to be aware what they were watching, and Trevor is a Gooner from way back, when he lived in London and before. Funny, thoughtful, and definitely enjoying the craic being made of the evening! You can see him dancing here on the Arsenal website, in his beard and Dreamcast shirt. Hope you made it back safely, lads. And Martin and Lauren, from the Pike’s Peak Gooners, traded me scarves and were genuinely nice folk from Colorado Springs, Colorado. They had to put up with me taking the mickey about their travels up and down our row…
Charity Begins…on the Road
Mike Feinberg was at every event, and all over all the time. There must be three clones of him to get as much done as he does for Arsenal America (huge shout out to the organization for putting on many of the tour events!), among his other work. Mike’s a kind and funny guy who you might know from his podcasts, his videos, his charity work with Gooners v. Cancer, the work with Arsenal America, his visits to various cities home and away, before and during the season, etc., etc. It was great to see him again and to chat, however briefly. If you care to donate to GvC, please do.
Speaking of donations, we’re in the final days of putting together the donation schema around the “pick the final standings” and “first coach to get the tin tack” charity campaigns here at Goonerholicsforever. North Bank Ned has been working with others behind the scenes to get it ready for the season. We expect to announce in a future post what needs to be done, the cost, etc. All proceeds are donated straight to Bob and Meg Wilson’s Willow Foundation, which is the sole recipient of Goonerholicsforever charity work (see the link in the sidebar above).
You Know How to Whistle, Don’t you Ref? You Just Put Your Lips Together and…Blow (the game)
After all of this, there was a game. I won’t do a play-by-play, as you can find those elsewhere and this post is well long enough. Barcelona wore a Real Madrid top, all white, and it looked odd. Arsenal were in red and white, and looked stunning on a pitch that was not quite up to standard. With a referee who was definitely not up to standard, either. Obvious fouls were left unwhistled. Fouls were called on Arsenal players that were obvious dives by Barcelona players, and clear hacks of or clatterings into Arsenal players were called as fouls on the Arsenal players. A very poor referee, and still Xavi had the temerity to moan (well, he IS Barça, after all).
Under the lights at the magnificent SoFi stadium (all the travelling Gooners agreed it was the best stadium they’d ever been to, compared with those they’d been to around the world) they drew first blood against the run of play, but Saka soon equalized through their defensive mistake. We had a chance to go ahead but for a missed Saka penalty; they capitalized and soon had a second of their own, deflected past Ramsdale by Ødegaard in the wall on a free kick. But we levelled just before halftime through Havertz after an Ødegaard flicked header.
In the second half we came into our own, and Barça withered a bit. A ball straight down the guts of the pitch from Ramsdale was chested from Jesus to the excellent Trossard. Defended by three he steadied himself on the left side of the box and blew the ball past Ter Stegen’s far post. A wonderful goal. Trossard followed it up with a brilliant first time volley on the jump from a Tierney cross. It was even better than the first. We had time to give up a goal after a slip by Holding on the terrible pitch, but at the death we regained our two goal advantage on a terrific wallop by Vieira from 20 yards out after good work by Jorgo and Martinelli. Arsenal 5 – 3 Barcelona has a nice ring to it!
A brilliant game to watch live, even though there were apologies to be made for the pitch, the ref, and the heat. The crowd seemed to be in about equal measure supporting either side, and our noise was deafening all game long. That noise did expose the single weakness of the stadium that I could find: the sound system. We could not understand a word that was spoken over the Tannoy, even when it was (relatively) quiet in the crowd.
Exhausted and Replete: Repeat ad Infinitum
Sumit and I flew back to San Jose after a packed 48 hours, joined on the return flight by Vivek (and Hamsa); thanks for all the time spent, Sumit, criss-crossing LA and finding our joys. None of us had slept enough, and all of us had gone on enough of the lash that by the time we landed we were all a bit worse for wear. But we agreed that we’d do it again in a heartbeat, and like a heartbeat do it again and again and again. We represented SVG, and Arsenal, to the last.
If you’ve read this far, I thank you for your patience and for your time. It was one of the highlights of my personal Arsenal journey, certainly the best time I’ve had supporting them in the States. I met with amazing people, did fun, interesting things with them, and spent those 48 hours marvelling at the quality of light and sound and joy and pain that lifted me up and up and up…
Let’s do it again!
Most reading this will actually have met Scruz in his trips to the UK. This post just resonates with atmosphere, colour, the sounds and smells of LA , the traffic (I’ve been there!) and the enthusiasm of a group of Arsenal fanatics .
Those of us lucky enough to go regularly perhaps fail to appreciate the dedication of the far-flung fans who rise at ‘ sparrow fart’ and follow the matches with enthusiasm and huge knowledge. It puts into perspective tye amount of personal investment some of us in the UK show.
Scruz deals with the banter we throw at him (he’s a well-known sex maniac) with great charm.friendliness and understanding. He has a sixth sense of what makes a Gooner and his contribution to this website is immeasurable. In real-life he is as generous and collegiate as any Gooner from Caledonian Road or Highbury Fiekds and I wear the scarf given me by his esteemed group with great pride and affection.
This is a great appetiser for the season as was the game which saw us dispose of the Blaugranes very effectively. They were clearly undercooked . Trossard was particularly impressive . I suspect Timber may take Zinchenko’s place on the left. We really can’t afford a player who has been injured twice in pre-season having ended the season injured, his third notable absence of the season. One sees why he averaged 23 games a season for the Cheats .
Thanks for all you do and all you are Scruz. Thus is a beautiful piece and you are a beautiful fellow ( despite being a well-known sex maniac )
cheers, ttg. from one sex maniac to another, mind…
Thanks scruz, you really made the rounds! Great write-up and photos of what sounds and looks like an amazing 48 hours. Now to check out Stubbsy’s blog.
Great article, Scruz – Northern California’s very own Marcel Proust – you brought the the sights, sounds and smells of the experience to life. Agree with TTG @1 above that Scruz totally gets it. As one of those Highbury Fields/Cally Gooners mentioned by TTG, it never ceases to amaze me that there are so many deeply passionate Gooners out there hailing from so far away and yet with such a feel for and dedication to The Arsenal. Glad you had such a great time before , during and after the game. Here’s to your next visit over the pond and visit to TNHoF.
$8 for a can of Stella, though? Jeez….No wonder we can afford Declan Rice!
Oh boy. Scruz this is so good. Lyrical, nostalgic, almost Proustian in the way your memories of boyhood LA came flooding back. Sounds like Arsenal and Arsenal America did a bang up job of organising events, complete with Invincibles, gold trophies and all. It was great to see you over here last autumn for a memorable day and I concur with all that TTG says. The football is great. But, as the inspiration for this blog used to often say, it’s the camaraderie and company of friends that makes it special. Thank you so much for sharing.
Cheers scruz. Very literary and looks like you had a brilliant time!
Great reportage Scruz! Took the liberty of posting the link in Arseblog’s discord server. Lot of American folk in there who I think will appreciate it. Well they fucking should do.
Just brilliant, scruz.
If ever a composition was worthy of effusive praise, then certainly this labor of love published above certainly “fits the bill”. Various punters above have referenced Proust (and they are not wrong), but your ability to weave a tapestry of sights, sounds, and memories, Scruz, calls to mind the American humorist masters of the short story James Therber and (dare I say) Samuel Clemens. I, too, have had the pleasure of Scruz’s company and can confirm he generous and welcoming to a fault. He may be reminiscent of Gooners great and good, but Scruz is sui generis, a product of a country specializing in the creation of such, uniquely American, and we will kindly ask our cousins from across the pond to keep their hands off! 😉
I’ll just add this. I felt like I was there with you, Scruz, and Barcelona’s destruction is not yet complete. Cheers!
MCMBD (BMBD).
Excellent trip, excellent write up, scruz !
The devotion to and knowledge of the club from such a distance amazes me. It’s interesting that such a connection is formed and maintained with a club so far away that doesn’t even play one of the USA’s traditional core sports.
Glad you had such a good time after a couple of years that have been fraught for various reasons.
A wonderfully enjoyable read Scruz! Great that you and other Californian gooners had such a lovely time.
Lauren, Gilberto, Ray Parlour, Edu — all overshadowed a bit in their playing days by their more luminous teammates, but all very high quality players, both technically and physically. Lauren and Gilberto were both so exceptionally good on the ball…
May the good vibes around the club just continue to grow. Unveiling the statue of Arsène close to the statue of Herbert Chapman, and in front of the stadium that he contributed the most towards, should strengthen that feel-good factor… it’s also a rather pleasant bit of coincidence that Monaco, the club where he first made his name, would be the first team to visit Emirates stadium after that.
Cannot wait for the season to begin.
Fantastic piece, thanks scruz!
Glad you had a good time and spread some some joy 😃
thanks, all. it was a hell of a trip. i am glad you enjoyed the write-up. i can’t see it any other way, too much too good went on, and most of it outside the game. i am honored by some of the comparisons and some of the thoughts that dave would enjoy this. i kept thinking of what he wrote about the social side being so important…it certainly is.
and esso (esso!) i am not sure what “arseblog’s discord server” means, but i am chuffed you thought it worth sharing! thank you.
cheers!
Excellent post, Scruz. I second all the praise above.
I just have to add that I couldn’t help but notice and revel in the sheer diversity of the names of the people mentioned/referenced in the post; North London may be the home of The Arsenal but she sure has a family that is worldwide, and cuts across different cultures and orientations.
What a beautiful thing to be a part of.
oh, and lonestar, being compared to thurber makes me verklempt, as he is one of my favorite writers, ever. “the clocks that strike in my dreams are often the clocks of columbus” is not a far cry from dunford’s “my blood will forever run through the stone”.
in all honesty, i spent most of the walk down sawtelle boulevard with tears in my eyes, mildly, and the clouds of reiminiscence jockying with the reality of today, all of which i tried to forget as i sought to feel how it felt, then and now. and it’s not so different, “though the manor might be changing, the people always last…”
i did, finally, writing this, realize why i am overcome everytime i hear that damn dunford song. it’s because it’s not just north london, it’s west los angeles, it’s rathmines, it’s elephant and castle or tooting, any neighborhood where you have roots and energy and blood tied to the place even if they tear everything down and the traffic is horrendous when you used to play ball in the streets. it’s my best friend growing up’s mom who still lives with his sister on the corner down the street, the neighbors whose sons are now old like me, the memories of the shops and people and places that are built into me, and regardless of if they’re still here or gone are part of my heart and soul. arsenal is becoming like that after nearly 25 years, and the people i’ve met, or interacted with, may have come and gone (holic, gooner terry, cba, oskar the dog, and from my svg group lloyd and dana…) but though the manner may have changed, the feeling always lasts…
cent, you are too right. it was as multicultural as a mutt, and just as strong and vibrant and fecund as you’d imagine a mutt to be.
thank you for your praise. it’s good to see you. for some reason, i always want to call you mr. o… 🙂 as with everyone here, whether or not i’ve met them, i am so grateful to have this place as a stronghold for everything arsenal, and connections that will endure.
a glass on the bar for you…
Thanks Scruz – nice piece.
However, Edu lied to you – still no announcement on Mbappe!
UTA.
Superb, Scruz, felt like I was right there with you most of the time. Chance would be a fine thing 🙂
Delightful, Scruz. Just delightful. I have to echo every word everyone else has said above. The thing about LA traffic is that it takes either 40 mins or 1 hr 20 mins to go anywhere, regardless of distance.
Thanks, too, for the shout-out about the 2023-24 prediction game the TTG and I are running on the blog. Details and entry blanks should be going out in the coming week to those who have already expressed an interest in playing. Any and all others are welcome to join. Just flag your interest here in the drinks so we know to contact you. The game is simple: predict the final order of the coming season’s PL and make a modest donation to the Willow Foundation.
NG@17: It looks like the Scoucers are trying to gazump Edu on M’bappe.
Arsenal in for Raya according to the Guardian.
SP@19: That would be expensive competition for Ramsdale.
I must say that Edu sports quite the muscle shirt.
Not to mention the requisite muscles to make it look good.
Is he trying to upstage Super Mik?
Ned. If the story has any legs it just goes to show it’s a cut throat world we live in. I’m sure he has been interested in Raya before. I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see Ramsdale usurped as he isn’t without a few errors.
BBC report: Spain women enduring World Cup boredom.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66346869
Jeez, I woulda thought the small New Zealand town would have shown a bit more hospitality, and opened up a few tapas bars for them. 🧐
I have to think Raya would be a definite upgrade on Turner. And the deal seems to be wanted by the player. This from the Athletic: “The 27-year-old is understood to favour a move to long-term admirers Arsenal, where he would be reunited with former Brentford goalkeeper coach Inaki Cana.”
Also, Raya has the distinct advantage that his surname means Lightning, which presumably is the speed at which he darts across goal to make saves.
Wonderful write up Scruz
I always look forward to Countryman’s away day posts, as they encompass the whole day’s experience from start to finish, and the game itself is rather incidental.
Yours is similar but on a much grander scale given what you accomplished on your 2 day nostalgia filled trip.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the standard of pre and post match posting in the bar by those that have taken up the Banner since Dave sadly left us, has been nothing short of superb.
Long may it continue.
65m or so for a couple of goalies. Seems crazy to me but just the current market. Anyway, I still feel Brentford are over-valuing Raya, even in this market, and wouldn’t pay it myself, however I know some in the bar are less impressed than me by Aaron.
I don’t feel I have seen enough of Turner to come to any conclusion but I guess MA and Cana have so I will wait to see what they decide. If we did do this then Turner would have to join Runarsson at the exit I suppose. Edu is going to be busy as there are a lot of exits to facilitate.
cheers, clive. i am humbled by your comment, and many others on here. thank you.
It seems appropriate to put this link under this piece. It’s from the Athletic so, apologies, it’s behind a paywall.
https://theathletic.com/4722091/2023/07/31/arsenal-us-north-london-culture-saka/
Logically, building squad depth with two starters for every position should apply to goalkeepers, too, although intuitively, it seems the least suitable position for that approach.
c100@29, this paragraph nails it: “ It may have been at a distance, but that fanbase have grown up with Arsenal, its heroes and everything the club stands for. They don’t want to be patronised or have English football culture watered down.”
That certainly applies to you Scruz. You are steeped in the culture of this club.
i’ve had brilliant arsenal mentors, all starting with dave. i am, and will be, forever thankful.
Dave loved his cricket. I was supposed to meet him in the Tolly one time and discovered him in a corner watching the test match on his phone. How he would have enjoyed this Ashes series. Sport at its absolute finest.
C100@34: Indeed he would. This stat says via BBC it all: Before this summer, 25 of the 340 previous Ashes Tests had been won by three wickets or fewer, or 50 runs or fewer. This series has had four such victories.
Interesting comparative stats on Raya and Ramsdale in the PL last season that suggest that Raya as a No 2, were he to come, is by no means a foregone conclusion:
Save percentage: Raya 77.7% v 70.6% Ramsdale
Post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed per 90 mins: Raya +0.13 v -0.05 Ramsdale (higher number is better)
Crosses stopped rate: Raya 8.7% v 5.8% Ramsdale
Goals conceded from corners as % of all goals conceded: Raya 19.6% v 14.0% Ramsdale
Long passes (40 yds+), excluding goal kicks completion rate: Raya 39.3% v 25.4% Ramsdale
All passes, excluding goal kicks completion rate: Raya 39.5% v 33.3% Ramsdale
All passes, short, completion rate: Raya 97.0% v 96.0% Ramsdale
All passes, medium, completion rate: Raya 97.9% v 98.2% Ramsdale
All passes, long, completion rate: Raya 44.7% v 35.8% Ramsdale
i think if we buy raya aaron will be no. 2, after a short period of bedding in. and i hope raya’s presence can focus aaron’s game again, it’s gotten a bit careless and flabby. the number of long kicks he’s put straight into touch this summer is appalling.
congratulations to england for pulling out a draw in the ashes, too. i don’t know diddly squat about the cricket, but it’s interesting to watch while communicating with people who know the game thoroughly. i’ll be happy to watch more of the next test!
Scruz@38: Beyond the stats, there are the intangibles for goalkeepers: presence, command of the area, communication and familiarity with the back line, and in Ramsdale’s case, connection with the fans (home and visiting). Then there is concentration. There were few clubs across the top five European leagues, let alone in the Premier League, who concede as many shots on target as Brentford; Raya faced half as many again as Ramsdale in the PL last season. Keepers at top clubs have to pull off big saves while not being called into action for long periods of games. Raya will face the same questions in this regard as Ramsdale did coming from Sheffield United.
Most elite clubs have a settled defensive unit with a clear first-choice keeper; rotation tends to be in the midfield and attack. If Raya does come, it will be a big call for Arteta on which keeper is his no 1.
Scruz. The next Test match England have is against India, sadly not until next January. The next Test at home for England isn’t until next July, against the West Indies. The shorter and IMHO lesser forms of the game will rule until then.
Raya deal seems to be making strides
https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/david-raya-arsenal-personal-terms-agreed-b1098097.html
Greetings to all the holics from a few steps south of the Canada-Minnesota frontier where our state bird, the mosquito, reigns supreme.
The real state bird, the loon, is also very well represented in these parts. At least I’ve heard them calling from across the lake.
c100 how often is the ashes?
Scruz: every two years, alternately in Oz and England.
(in each’s respective summer, so next one will be down under in our winter)
It varies but normally approximately every years varying between Southern and Northern hemisphere.
The next two are late 25/early 26 in Australia and 2027 in England.
As Ollie said every two years
Good precision, C100, the Australian ones are actually across two calendar years.
And as we’re on the cricket, I’ll just bowl to…….
Whacks for six!
Great knock, baff!
Very Bazzball Bath!
Well in for the half-ton, bath.
The Emirates Cup is ours!
Friday night the season kicks off in the Championship (second division for you and me) with Sheff Wed hosting the Saints. Can the Gunners be far behind?
There’s a glimmer of some honest-to-goodness ethnic diversity in the first round League One matchup between Oxford and Cambridge United with Sunny Singh Gill set to toot his whistles. 🗣️
Jesus out ‘for a few weeks’ for knee surgery. Not a good start to the coming season, unless you are Eddie or Flo.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66389355
One of the greatest of all times. And likely the best goalkeeper yet in this century. Also a great captain.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66378584
It’s always a worry to lose Jesus.
damn it. but we have tross, martinelli, eddie, and balogun. let’s do it.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>