81 days on from the anguish of missing out on the title on the final day, The Arsenal were back in N5. Bayer Leverkusen were in town for the first of two friendly matches on the carpet, with The Gunners facing Lyon on Sunday.
Arteta named a strong team to take on the Bundesliga champions, although, disappointingly, Timber and Calafiori were nowhere to be seen. Saka and Rice were on the bench hoping for their first involvements of pre-season following their exploits with England at the Euros. Havertz began in midfield and Vieira was given a go on the right.
Arsenal started strongly and we took an early lead on eight minutes through Zinchenko. The Ukrainian played a line-breaking through ball to Havertz down the left, who picked out Zinchenko, who had found more space following Trossard’s clever dummy, and our new number 17 drilled it hard and low into the ‘keeper’s bottom left.
Almost immediately, we doubled our lead. Trossard stole the ball off the returning Xhaka’s toes, and a few incisive passes later the Belgian sat down the defender and goalkeeper in one fell swoop as he passed home.
We found a third shortly before half time and it was another sensational effort this time from Jesùs. The Brazilian seized possession well inside his own half from a terrible Leverkusen throw in, drove forwards with no Bayer defenders anywhere near him before driving the ball into the ‘keeper’s bottom right corner. Leverkusen were getting carved apart.
Arteta made a couple of changes at the break as the likes of Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly were given the opportunity to get some minutes into their legs. Whilst Leverkusen sharpened up a notch or two, Arsenal were still comfortable and added to their lead halfway through the second period through Havertz. Nwaneri drove forward from midfield, fed Saka on the right who darted into the box and saw his cross diverted towards Havertz who had the simple task of prodding home for his second goal of pre-season.
The German outfit found a consolation 15 minutes from time through Adam Hlozek but the Gunners sailed through to full time with a very comfortable win over Xabi Alonso’s “Invincibles”.
All in all, it was an enjoyable evening back at the Emirates after three months away. You do really miss the whole vibe after such a long break. And these friendlies are always a great opportunity for those who don’t often get a chance to go to games to watch their heroes in the flesh and sample the atmosphere. Whilst I do believe those participating in a Mexican wave and chanting, “Stand up if you hate Tottenham” ought to be banished to Siberia for all of eternity, those of us who do go regularly sometimes take for granted how lucky we are.
Our annual pre-season trips to the States or to South East Asia as it often was under Wenger, hits home just how global AFC really is and demonstrates how we attract support from all corners of the globe. I only stayed up to watch one of the three stateside friendlies and it makes you realise how big a commitment it is for so many fans to regularly get up in the very early hours to watch Arsenal games, often before going into work or school. If I ever find myself living on a different continent, would I set my alarm for half three in the morning two or three times a week to watch all our games? I’m not sure but for the many that do exactly that, we salute you.
It was certainly a very exciting performance and one which only fuels the excitement ahead of next weekend’s big kick off. Our pre-season performances up to this point haven’t been bad but they lacked the zip on show yesterday evening. But that’s to be expected when you’re this close to the start of a new campaign. Leverkusen were a week behind in their preparations as the Bundesliga starts a week later and that does make a big difference in pre- season. Having said that many of their stars from last season featured at the Emirates. Ligue 1 starts at the same time as the Premier League so we may see a more physically demanding game on Sunday afternoon. But this was a good run out, nonetheless.
Onto Sunday!
Nice report, 21CG. I agree that we had clearly improved in terms of crispness in the space in the week since we last played. Can’t wait for Sunday to see some further improvement.
A few points. I thought it interesting to see Rice playing at times in a very advanced position. No idea whether that will be a feature this season or whether this was simply showcasing his flexibility against certain opposition.
I thought Vieira was pretty tidy but a little underwhelming, given he has had all summer off. I can’t help but think that Nelson is the better bet.
Finally, I thought that all of the youngsters who came in impressed. Of all of them though, and notwithstanding his positional error for the goal, I thought Myles Lewis-Skelly was the most impressive. An assured touch and far from panicking when pressed, he remained calm and found a way to keep possession. This was epitomised when he was played a hospital pass by a teammate, requiring him to jump and chest the ball to control it, giving time for an opponent to close him aggressively, but he recovered his balance and passed away neatly. I like the look of him.
Good going, 21CG. A nice preseason runout to get some minutes in your pen for once the match reports get serious.
CER@1: Nelson’s problem seems to be that his decision-making is slow or poor. Vieira’s decision-making seems fine and his technical level is high, but what he decides to do doesn’t seem to have much impact.
Many thanks for your fine report, 21cg. Mid-season form in pre-season, quite impressive of you. Let’s hope Lacazette’s pseudo-testimonial goes a bit smoother for the player than Xhaka’s did, which was none too smooth indeed, but another of the same level of performance from the Arsenal would be quite pleasing to see, or to read about in my case, especially if we can get Calafiori and Timber involved. But I like hearing about the exploits of Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly and other breathers of fresh air so I will keep watching this space. COYG
Very good report 21CG.
The point you make about the dedication of our overseas fans was well worth making . I have risen at sparrow fart in other parts of the world to watch us but a lot of our overseas fans are more dedicated than many of us on this board who often take our opportunity to watch games for granted .
I enjoy watching Arsenal always especially when they play with the swagger we did yesterday but I do struggle with the half and half scarf brigade and don’t get me started on the Mexican wave ! But it is an opportunity for youngsters to see a game, I took my youngest grandson to watch his first game at the Emirates Cup ( indeed I reported on it here ) .
Very impressed with MLS and Nwaneri .Liked the triangles played by Trossard , Havertz and Jesus and I love the energy and creativity of Odegaard . Very unimpressed with Vieira who really strikes me as an ineffectual player . Did we really play £34 million for him?Couldn’t we have kept ESR and sold him to Fulham? I did enjoy watching Saliba and Gabriel in tandem .It contrasted hugely with Kiwior ( another who underwhelms me ) and young Heaven who will benefit from a loan to a Championship side . I look forward to seeing our many new signings in due course
Thanks 21CG for a fine report, haven’t seen the game yet but will find some highlights now that I’ve read your report.
Good luck to France manager TH14 and his assistant Gael Clichy, as they try and mastermind a Gold medal for their country, in the Olympic final tonight against Spain.
From our where-are-they-now dept: Jordi Osei-Tutu, once of this parish where he was regarded as a promising youngster, has joined Bolton from VfL Bochum.
TTG@4: The Trossard-Havertz-Jesus triangles seem to be an effort to balance the Saka-White-Ødegaard triangles and make our attacking less right-side dominant.
According to Ornstein, Chelsea have bought Pedro Neto from Wolves for €63m. Seems a lot for someone with his injury record.
Re : TTG, “Very unimpressed with Vieira who really strikes me as an ineffectual player . Did we really play £34 million for him?Couldn’t we have kept ESR and sold him to Fulham?”
I certainly hope you are wrong, while strongly expecting on the other hand that you are indeed correct about Vieira. Still, there is history to be seen in the turnaround in the performances of Xhaka (and others no doubt) shortly after some of us had definitively given up on them. Of such stuff is magic made, if indeed it can be conjured by the player. Not saying it’s gonna happen, but Mikel appears not to have given up hope so I’m still holding on to a few straws.
Bt8
Arteta is a MUCH better judge than me so there is hope!
Ned,
Your point re the switch to a left-sided threat in attack was one that struck me while I watched on Wednesday. As we arrived and given our seats which were level with the eighteen yard box I joked with my friend that we would see all the build up on our side . Nothing could be further from the truth . We scarcely built anything on the right ( hence my comments re Vieira ) but we were very progressive down the left . I would estimate we build about 55/45 right / left across a season ( there may be stats) . Possibly Wednesday presaged a change…or maybe the team didn’t look to pass to Vieira. Certainly Benny Bianco was nowhere near as active in an overlapping role as he is when Saka is there
TTG@10: There are certainly heat maps that show it.
There is also this somewhat ponderous article from The Athletic:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5676185/2024/08/07/arsenal-right-side-combinations-premier-league/
I hope you like pictures of Saka, Ødegaard and Benny Blanco. It has tons of them.
Also a reminder to all ‘holics: the new season starts next Friday, and thus so does the 2024-25 GHF Predictathon.
Make sure to download your entry blank and start filling it in, even if you intend to run right up to the deadline before submitting it.
https://www.goonerholicsforever.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/predictathon24-25_entry_blank.xlsx
For any prospective new players, the rules can be found under the GHF Contests tabs.
A splendid review by 21CG. We also now have Mike McDonald’s thoughts. Spoiler: he agrees with TTG on Vieira.
C100
Thanks for attaching Mike’s report.
Much to ponder but although neither of us is convinced by Vieira I can’t agree that Vieira has the same ability levels as Odegaard . No chance . But his point re the superior application of Odegaard is well made .
The speed of our transfer activity is suggesting to me that we may have something big planned . If it’s Gyokeres or Osimhen I’d be underwhelmed . If it was Isak I’d be very happy
Going two goals up in the first eight minutes of every game would be a good tactic.
Calling All Managers
The HolicsRopeyLeague is also open for business again. All are welcome and I hope ready to take on the OM management family as it goes for an unprecedented 3rd successive title!
Who can stop the Top Sheep from once again savaging the poor Gooners?
Bob Wilson was delighted that the Predictathon is continuing for another season and extremely grateful that we are supporting Willow again. Charities aren’t finding it easy in the current environment and Willow are immensely grateful for the support of GHF.
If you can augment your subscription for the Predictathon a little this will be hugely appreciated.
Allardyce backs Arsenal to win Premier League title
We are doomed . That’s Redknapp and Allardyce . If Alan Pardew agrees we’ve got the set
I imagine the team that starts today will be fairly close to our starting XI next week.
The left flank and CF are the areas I’m wondering about – plenty of choice available fortunately.
Re: Mike McDonald’s Zinchenko story linked by c100 above @13. Ya gotta love it, and hope it keeps on playing out. Just to be sure that everyone has seen it, here it is again:
“Zinchenko
God’s perfect timing. A story. There was a very talented Ukrainian footballer. Maybe the most technical one that this nation had produced. He wasn’t an expert defender but was asked to play there and his lack of elite athleticism was making fans nervous. He also seemed to check out once or twice a game and think he was playing street ball. The fans were getting close to a breaking point because generally speaking, his teammates didn’t make these kind of unnecessary errors. The first game back on home turf needed to be a good one. It was better than that. He reminded everyone that he can be the difference maker, even from left back. that even though the club had more left back options than squirt bottles, he had a super power that the others didn’t have….. vision and ball striking ability. This footballer was likely to start the season even though the competition was higher in his position than everywhere else. God’s perfect timing.”
What TTG said @17.
The game against Lyon seemed like a second, sunny stroll in the park.
But what was Arteta up to taking off our strike force of Saliba and Big Gabi?
I had arranged some time ago to take my grandsons with their Dad to the Oval to see the Hundred. We’ve done it every season .
I didn’t reckon with the Emirates Cup . It was strange to leave for cricket with Gooners all a4ound me and 5o re4urn home with the train packed with people who had been at the match.
I saw several friends on the train or where I had parked my car and their versions of events varied from – ‘ highly satisfactory’, ‘ exciting’ to ‘ pretty dull but the food was good! ( they had dined at the Diamond Club for a day ) We await the match report
Sad to see another promising youngster leave for a paltry fee without kicking a ball for Arsenal first team . Brooke Norton-Cuffy is off to Genoa for £1.7 m ( presumably there will be a hefty sell-on fee ?)
It’s not going to be easy to sign up good young players . We’ve lost four in the pre-season. Martin Obi was given a hefty contract but BNC, ACD and Reuell Walters never played for our first team . Manchester City are selling youngsters at top dollar but £1.7m isn’t a king’s ransom .
Tottenham clearly getting ready for another hilarious season. This from the Athletic about their kingpin midfielder signed with such fanfare and large wads of cash from Brighton two short years ago: “Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yves Bissouma has apologised after footage emerged of him appearing to inhale nitrous oxide.
The 27-year-old said the social media video he uploaded on Saturday of himself inhaling from a balloon was a “severe lack of judgement” and acknowledged the “health risks involved”.
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Nitrous oxide — also known as laughing gas or nos — is classified as a Class C drug in the United Kingdom and its recreational use has been a criminal offence since 2023, carrying a maximum two-year prison sentence.
“I want to apologise for these videos,” Bissouma said. “This was a severe lack of judgment.
“I understand how serious this is and the health risks involved, and I also take my responsibility as a footballer and role model very seriously.”
The Mali international posted the video after featuring for Tottenham against Bayern Munich in a pre-season friendly earlier on Saturday.
“We are looking into the events,” a Tottenham spokesperson said. “This will be dealt with as an internal matter.”
Bissouma has made 56 appearances for Spurs across two seasons, having joined from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2022.”
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Genius, the part about the Tottenham spokesman saying it would be dealt with as an internal matter. Of course it would be internal, wouldn’t it, because that is where the laughing gas was after he inhaled it. It stopped being an external matter by definition at the moment of inhalation. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Tottenham are dealing with it as an internal matter. The article says the recreational use of nitrous oxide carries a two year jail sentence.
So do Tottenham have their own prison too ? Anythibg other than a trophy room, I guess 🤣
TTG@24: Recruiting young players is going to be a challenge for all elite clubs. The reality is that only generational talents are going to make it through the ranks to first teams at those clubs, where every squad is full of internationals. Take someone like Jamal Baptiste, a 20-year-old CB who City have just let go. He played up the England age group teams to U-19s. Yet look at who was blocking his his way to a first-team place: Stones, Ake, Walker, Gvardiol, Akanji and Rueben Dias. Which of those is Pep going to drop to give him a game? The offer of top academies is going to increasingly have to be the promise of elite development that gives a youngster the best chance of making a professional career somewhere else. The economics of that probably reinforces the multi-club ownership model.
Trev@27: Isn’t signing for the neighbours the modern equivalent of going into external exile? Those who go there never seem to return.
Monday today, Tuesday tomorrow, then Wednesday, then Thursday, then GHF Predictathon 2024-25 deadline day.
https://www.goonerholicsforever.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/predictathon24-25_entry_blank.xlsx
Ned
You make a very sensible point very well .
But there is an alternative .Why build an academy when only about 3% of your players make it into the first team? Why not prey on young players being developed by other clubs at a time when we believe we can offer a pathway to the first team . We don’t normally achieve significant fees on sales . PSR has made trading your homegrown players a profitable source of revenue but what are the costs of a youth set-up ? We’ve lost four young tyros for effectively nothing this summer but we have sold ESR for a good price . But is one ESR ( who we sell on and don’t enjoy ) worth all of the cost of building a youth system .
I speak as someone who often watched the youth team in days when they made their way through to first team football. But that’s less and less likely now.
Of course the counter argument is Saka but we could have let QPR develop him and then bought him .
I’m being a bit of a devils advocate but my next step would be to get the estimable CER to develop a cost benefit analysis on the subject
The academy questions are interesting. I went back and looked at the transfer fees for our former academy players for the past 5 years or so. Obviously I’m relying on sources who may or may not know the actual fees. For ESR, Balogun, Willock, Oyegoke, and Iwobi, plus a few pounds for others, we are probably looking at roughly £135 to 140 million. And obviously that will increase assuming we sell Eddie and Reiss. So averaging £30 million or so year, which I think is fairly good although I don’t know how much the academy costs per year.
I also look around at the former academy players that we released or left for free, and I don’t see many that have had a successful career in top flight football. So in terms of opportunities with the first team to develop, there doesn’t seem to be much development happening when given the chance. For every Saka, there is going to be dozens who are playing in second tier leagues because they simply aren’t good enough. And I think that’s the case with most teams.
Re: Ned @30. Any truth to the rumor that Ange is going to be sacked on Thursday? 😉
And, just because I started the rumor doesn’t mean it’s not gonna happen. Of course, if it does happen there might need to be an emergency meeting of the Predictathon rules committee to determine the identity of Tottenham’s manager for the purposes of the contest…
***Sets a timer for 11:45pm Friday to review Predictathon-related news stories, and to submit my entry form.***
Marseille have pulled out of a deal for Nketiah as they’re not prepared to raise their last bid. They’re signing someone else. Bournemouth (flush with the cash from selling Soulanke to the neighbours) and Everton are already sniffing around. I’ve seen people losing their shit because “Edu should have accepted the Marseille offe just to get him off the books – probably the same people who complain Edu can’t sell well.
Anyway Pedro has written a nice piece to assuage those troubled neurotics:
https://www.le-grove.co.uk/p/desperation-in-the-air-soon
>>>>>>>