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Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler.

Sep 11th, 2026 by

Image courtesy Instagram

Salvete Omnes!

Notting Hill Carnival just wrapped-up a couple weeks ago and Mardis Gras remains five months away, so why the traditional festive wrapping for this current epistle? Well, unlike the dour goings-on in the land of infernal heat (over forty-four days exceeding 39˚ C this summer), infernal drought (fifty-seven consecutive days without measurable rainfall this summer), and infernal wickedness (as this is a football blog, I’ll leave examples to your Google search…but the examples are legion), as the Premier League Champions (Mikel’s “Attacking Champions” no less), surely the football has furnished a much-needed distraction and respite for these forlorn eyes. Maybe?

Fresh off our complete and utter demolition of a tough European opponent away to Napoli (who have never given up 4.0 xG at home…never) and in the midst of one of our brightest Premier League starts, you’d be forgiven for thinking these are halcyon days for the Gooner faithful worldwide. Encouraging statistics and interesting nuggets abound:

  • The Arsenal have scored nine goals in three Premier League matches; all from open play.
  • The Arsenal have conceded one goal over the same period (lowest total xG (0.9) conceded in the Premier League so far).
  • Odegaard, Saka, and Havertz are back amongst the goals, assists, and shots.

With all the good work taking place on the pitch, I’d have expected everything to be all sunshine and unicorns. But, no sir, the grass is green, the ball is round, the Premier League is the toughest league in the world, and certain corners of our support have turned their cannons inward training them on certain members of the squad. Bish bosh to all that rubbish talk. Given the rich vein of form the Champions currently are in (did I mention our patch is golden?), I’m having none of it. Folks who have been good will come good again, and we are walking in fields of gold. 

The Opposition

The Mackems have begun the sophomore season of their most recent return to the top flight in decent form. Although they deserve all the credit for staying-up in style last season, it remains to be seen if they can effectively press onwards, especially with European competition in the offing. From the first three Premier League matches, Sunderland have won one, lost one, and drawn one. Fresh off a 1-nil defeat of Hull City in the League Cup, the Régis Le Bris will have his Black Cats well-up for hosting the Gunners on Saturday night. A special thought by the way for the traveling support who have just about a snowball’s-chance-in-Hell of making it home after the match…the broadcasters and the Premier League could, and should, do better by the fans. Sunderland were a miserly outfit at home, and they strengthened over the summer with seven inbound including Malick Fofana and (giggles) Kevin Danso. We will battle a team in good nick, confident, and leaning-in to the underdog/besieged narrative, and we will need to approach the encounter appropriately. I would expect Le Bris to bring Ballard back in for Danso and set up thusly:

Roefs

Reinildo — Mukiele — Ballard — Meunier

Xhaka — Sadiki

Hume — Le Fee —Angulo

Brobbey

The Arsenal XI

This team currently has an embarrassment of riches in both player form and player availability. Timber is well on his way back; Mosquera is progressing; and I reckon no news is good news as far as Saliba is concerned. The captain is back scoring for fun; Tzolis has four assists since joining the club (his assist to Odegaard was sumptuous); and, if Saka has as many shots against Sunderland as he did against Napoli, well somebody is getting a hiding real soon. Our defense has been imperious (whisper it, but I think the €he£ski defensive record of fifteen goals might just be under threat) – Konsa, what a signing?!?! 

Left back is a bit of a worry. Will Mikel try to squeeze one more start out of Benjamin White so soon after Napoli? I think he will (but I would expect a Timber cameo around the eightieth minute). Will Bruno give Dekkers a breather? Did Zubimendi do enough in Naples (Napels, even! 😊) to ease Myles Lewis-Skelly out of his starting role? All good headaches for the gaffa, but I expect Arteta to keep his personnel selection stable through to the international break. Barring any late fitness hiccups, this line-up would not surprise me:

Raya

White — Konsa — Gabriel — Calafiori

Rice — MLS

Saka — Odegaard —Tzolis

Havertz

Mikel has shown tremendous improvement in his timeliness of tactical substitutions, so I would expect significant freshening up on sixty minutes or so. If we can continue with our fast starts and keep getting six attackers in and around the Sunderland eighteen-yard box, we should be able to take a significant early lead. Let’s make sure we bring our favorite shooting boots (no box-fresh studs for this encounter, please).

The ‘Holic Pound

Last year’s trip to the Stadium of Light in November left a very bad taste in our mouths. Brobbey’s last minute equalizer did little to ease our nerves in a season where every away ground serenaded us with “Second again, olé olé!”. Well, the worm has turned, ye bastids. We’re the Champions now, and I agree with Amy Lawrence who urges the traveling support to forego the “We know who we are” chant for “Champions again, Champions again, Champions again olé olé!!” Not for nothing, the Arsenal have been righting many of last season’s wrongs, and I would say the Mackems have what’s coming their way. 0-4 to the Arsenal will do quite nicely. 

Come on you Gunners!

MCMBD/BMBD

Posted in Match Preview | 47 Drinks »

Neapolitans Frozen Out As Cream Rises To The Top

Sep 9th, 2026 by

And so Arsenal rolled into the home of Napoli, the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, named after their most famous player and favoured son in December 2020, although it has been their home since 1959.

Mikel Arteta made four changes from the XI that started against Chelsea, bearing in mind a difficult trip to Sunderland to come on Saturday evening: Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Hincapié; Rice, Ødegaard, Merino; Saka, Gyökeres, Eze.

I was surprised to see Rice and Saka in again but Mikel knows. Come on you Reds became Come on you All Reds as the Gunners were unusually in red shorts teamed with the home shirts and all red socks.

First half
Napoli finished 30th in last season’s Champions League league phase and were on a possible third consecutive loss having been beaten by Cesc Fabregas’ Como and Inter Milan. Napoli had some early possession it it wasn’t long before it gave way to some nice intricate Arsenal moves around the edge of the Napoli box. Our first corner from a deflected Eze shot. Napoli broke from it with their four-on-the-halfway-line tactic but blazed a cross well out of danger.

We Love You Arsenal rang out round the Maradona as Gyökeres and Saka combined acrobatically to get a shot away. Kevin of Brown produced Napoli’s first effort as the game began to open up. He and several of his mates then ran to the referee demanding a yellow card for a foul by Eze. Unlike Tzolis at the weekend they did not get similarly punished for their trouble. A terrific effort from Saka-Eze-Merino ended with a header which was parried over the bar for another corner.

Arsenal were dominating possession but had to beware the pacy Napoli counter attacks. A word for Mikel Merino. Good in possession and at making space, he’s a very smart, versatile player with the ability to arrive late in the box and score goals as well. Hincapié nearly scored one with a curling cross on the half hour mark which was scrambled clear by the Napoli keeper who appeared to injure himself in the process. The players nicked an unscheduled hydration break as he had the magic spray applied to his groin.

Politano, the abbreviated version of the famous ice cream, drove in a shot comfortably saved by Raya before Saka made a great run for the byline, only to pull the ball back for Gyökeres to get himself rooted to the spot and lose the ball. Ødegaard played Saka in with a brilliant pass but he was, like his teammates from several other decent opportunities, unable to hit the target.

As the half drew to a close Arsenal had had the lion’s share of possession but found it hard to convert any of the thirteen chances they had created in a very crowded Napoli area.

Half time: Napoli 0 – 0 Arsenal
I was left to reflect on an Italian friend of mine, Roberto, at half time. He was a pasta chef in Naples but eventually lost his job after he made a fusilli mistakes. Being a pasta chef he always had to pay a fortune for motor insurance because his car constantly ended up all denty. Like most Italian men he always wears a gold chain around his neck so he knows where to stop shaving. He generally has a tough life and to cap it all the poor chap has a prosthetic foot. His mates all call him Rubbertoe.

Second half
Napoli had to change their keeper at half time. There were no changes for the Arsenal.

Some terrific interplay orchestrated by Ødegaard resulted in Hincapié blasting over the bar from a yard out. I guess that what he usually trains to do. The Napoli crowd whistled as Arsenal continued to weave patterns around their penalty area but still failed to make the breakthrough.
Napoli made two further changes on 57 minutes as they tried to find a way out of their lowest of low blocks. I’m not picking on Gyökeres but this game did not suit him at all. He needs space to run at. There was none, and intricate, short passing patterns are not part of his skill set.
The Arsenal had had 17 goal attempts and 74% possession by the hour mark. On 64 minutes Arteta sent on Tzolis and Guimaraes for Eze and Merino. Personally I would have removed Gyökeres and moved Merino forward.
Havertz and Madueke came on for Gyökeres and Saka on 72 minutes. More intricate passing led to Ødegaard getting sight of the goal and rifling in off the post on 75 minutes. On this form it’s impossible to disagree with Mikel Arteta that Ødegaard is in the most confident form he has ever seen. Tzolis now has four assists in his first five games.

Napoli 0 – 1 Arsenal
Arsenal looked very assured as they continued to contain and mesmerise Napoli with some very slick football. Kevin Brown looked hot, bothered and a bit fed up with it all.

Havertz broke with Madueke and put him clear through against the keeper. Somehow Madueke managed to miss the chance of the night and Tzolis blasted the follow up into a recovering defender.

Kevin Brown crossed to safety with our goal at his mercy – thank goodness, as there would have been a mere one minute of normal time left to recover the lead. Havertz put the ball in the Napoli net on 93 minutes but it was ruled out for offside.

The final whistle blew to confirm another One Nil To The Arsenal – a close result that didn’t reflect our superiority but did reflect our profligacy in front of goal. We played some excellent football against a Napoli side that were, above all, desperate not to lose – which they did.

Final result: Napoli 0 – 1 Arsenal
A successful start to another Champions League campaign. We were, in fact, the only side to win away from home in tonight’s matches. Winning away from home in this competition is really difficult. The trick now will be for the manager to pick a side that is fresh and ready for another very tough challenge – an away game at Sunderland in the Stadium of Light on Saturday evening. That will be the second of four consecutive away games before an international break. Tough times.

Come on you Reds !

Posted in Champions League, Match Report | 23 Drinks »

A Double Blue for the Gunners?

Sep 7th, 2026 by

  1. Chelsea – Customary 3 points banked
  2. Napoli – ? Winning start in the Champions League
Ezri Konsa showing Morgan Rogers what’s what on his home debut. Courtesy of Arsenal.com

Welcome one and all to the GHF two-in-one September Special – today’s double header will cover the Chelsea match report and Napoli preview due to the fortunately ineffable constraints innate to this particular space-time continuum. I hope you will enjoy this one-time special offering as I am sure the football calendar will soon be rearranged to better fit the needs of supporters and player health and safety as promised by FIFA, UEFA and the Tooth Fairy. Once Santa Claus is onboard (and drops his quite ridiculous demand for a second Christmas every June) we should be ready to rock. Enough of that for now and on to a report of the jolly good jingling we gave Chelsea yesterday ho ho ho. 

Part One: The Arsenal vs Chelsea

Our South London neighbours rolled up this Sunday, all freshly painted and newly minted with the fruits of their possibly nefarious doings (I couldn’t possibly say) in the transfer market and Alonso, the next one along in their managerial meat market. Fortunately, as I am sure you know by now, they stuck firmly to recent tradition despite the new old faces and handed over the three points despite our generous gift of a goal start. The Arsenal had lined up pretty much as expected, Konsa making his debut in place of the injured Mosquera was the only change. What happened next? As the late David Coleman used to say so mellifluously. I liked Coleman apropos of nothing whatsoever.

To give what must be a fairly quick run through as we’ve miles to go – the game kicked off, the referee gave Chelsea a generous free-kick after Konsa won the ball, it was floated in, we lost a header at the back post, got it half-away and it dropped nicely for a fairly open Rogers to slot home from the edge of the area. Mikel was less than happy about the goal after the game (or at the time I imagine) but like the rest of us he was very happy with our response. 

For the next 25 minutes we went at Chelsea hard, it was a full-on, furiously-paced London derby performance, chances came and went, Martinez took a Gabriel boot to the face (accidently it must be said, but Dennis forgive me I may have smiled), tackles were snapped into, and the central truth of the game emerged. As I know you can handle this truth I will share it freely – we are the better side. We equalized, Calafiori quickest in a goalmouth scramble, VAR correctly chalked it off for a Konsa offside, we persisted and played, it must be said, some really great attacking stuff. In time the equaliser arrived, Kai Havertz once again showing Chelsea the error of their selling ways. I believe I know a song about it. Kai had picked up the ball on the right-hand side of the box, cut across the box and reversed his shot into the bottom right corner. Was Martinez slow and lumbering as is his wont these days? Sure, but it was a very well-placed shot through the centre back’s legs and credit to Kai for me. We took a breather for a couple of minutes after the equalizer, let Chelsea get back into our half and even have a shot or two, but dominance was soon resumed and a lead at half-time would not have been unfair on the run of play, though journalistic integrity forces me to mention Neto did hit the post right on the stroke of half-time though Raya had it covered I thought. A lead wasn’t be to be but shortly after the break we did go ahead and with a goal that was easier on the eye than Le Havre in a 19th century morning mist. 

Chelsea had started the second half quite passively and after watching us pass the ball around pleasantly for a while they seemed to be lulled into a false sense of security as Tzolis picked up the ball on the left touchline played a sharp pass into the area, Kai pulled his foot away at the last second to discombobulate Fofana and Odegaard ran onto the nicely weighted ball and smashed it home – very similar to our goal in Community Shield in fact though Ode didn’t bother with the dummy (that was you Fofana) this time. We saw out the game well after that, could have scored again, and I was never particularly concerned about Chelsea equalizing though Raya had to be quick to palm an Estevao shot over the bar late on. Subs were made, the crowd gave Rogers some helpful advice on which club he should have joined, Welbz came on to what sounded like a generous hand, and some huffing and puffing was done and so were Chelsea. 

Quick Thoughts

We were very, very good for the first half-hour, having rewatched the game this morning I hadn’t appreciated at the time quite how good. If any team wants to get something at our place this season it will have to be earned the very hard way. 

And, of course, what we have, we hold hasn’t changed either. Absolutely no discernible sign of any loss in desire to my eyes.

Our bench is just a thing of wonder.

Martin Odegaard is back. Our captain was excellent again this week, however if I had to I think I would give Kai the man of the match plaudits this time. Tzolis was much better than last week, Raya his usual assured self. Everyone was fine, though some understandably tired or still have a little rust to shake off. 

People can have their own opinions of course but I do not believe Chelsea are title contenders despite their European free schedule. To be fair they are not a bad collection of players but I thought as Konsa said after the game we should have had three or four. 

As the game ended the Chelsea contingent were pleasingly sad-faced but if it is any consolation I can say I think they are better than the Spuds. London, however, is red. 

Enough of the glorious past, on now to the next game for our merry crew and it is another test to start a rum run of four away games, Sunderland and Brighton in the league sandwich Ipswich in the Carabao, but first up it is Champions League time!  Our first opponents will be the home of my favourite childhood ice cream, Neapolitan* and also Napoli football club. 

Part Two: Napoli vs The Arsenal 

Yes, the opening salvoes of our Champions League campaign will be fired in the sun-scorched Italian south this Wednesday with a tricky trip to Napoli, last season’s runner-up in that much painted old madam Serie A (eh? Ed). Our record against Napoli in Europe is played four, won three, lost one, bland enough on the surface though that sole defeat was in fact enough on the night for us to scrape through a Champions League Group of Death with Borussia Dortmund, Marseille and Napoli by the barest of margins on goal difference as we saw out an old-fashioned nailbiter with 10 men. The man sent off that night? Our very own captain leading by example, Mikel Arteta! It was only in 2013 and, as I am slightly over 20 years old, I remember it well, actually a ridiculous second yellow just after Higuain (have we signed him yet?) put Napoli ahead. We went to Napoli again in 2019 for the second leg of a Europa League quarter-final, nicked a 1-0 to The Arsenal and a 3-0 aggregate win under Unai Emery. Not a one remains of either side from that night as far as I can see.  I certainly hope several of tonight’s team will still be with us seven years from now, but as I haven’t the time or space etc etc I will get on with trying to predict just who will play tonight. I ‘ve always thought the first game in the CL to be very important in setting the tone, as we did so well in Bilbao last year, and more pertinently I think Mikel may have a similar opinion – for that Bilbao game the Boss picked a team showing just one change from the league game the weekend prior. Will he do that again? I am guessing he will go in the same general direction this time – strong team, couple of changes, slightly defensive, and chosen to dig out a result. 

Raya

Konsa Mosquera Gabriel Hincapie

Zubimendi Ode Merino

Saka Havertz Tzolis

The Opposition

The Neapolitans, managed this season by Massimiliano Allegri, possibly best known to us for his successful years at Juve, will come into the game (with an extra day’s rest) fresh from throwing away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 against Inter Milan this weekend. It was another disappointment for the Partenopei** to endure after getting rolled over 2-1 at home by Como the week before. Let’s hope disappointment comes in threes. 

They have many players known to us of old. Kevin de Bruyne, Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Benoit Badashile, and Rasmus Hojlund. McTominay, a local hero by all accounts ever since Napoli won the Scudetto in the 24/25 season, is out for minor heart surgery, Hojlund has started well this season with a couple of well-taken goals, but de Bruyne sticking it to us one last time would be my biggest worry I suppose. Napoli have generally started 4-3-3 this season but Allegri is an old Champions League hand and may have a trick or two in store. Regardless of who or how they play we know it will be an intimidating atmosphere and we will need to stand up and be counted to get a result – fortunately that is one thing we do very well indeed!

The Score

I will bring this long read to a quick and merciful end by predicting a 1-0 to The Arsenal. I think we have enough in defence for a clean sheet and an attack well capable of nicking a goal – time for a set-piece goal perhaps…..

Enjoy the game one and all wherever you may be, and let’s look forward to the PL champions continuing their imperious start to the 26/27 season. COYGs!

*sadly, I have to report it isn’t in fact the home of Neapolitan ice-cream, which was first reported in Prussia and then adapted into its current three flavours for the American market according to my investigations. No one knows for certain but it seems our ancestors simply made up the name in the 19th century – shocking stuff but they were fast and loose with The Truth in them days kids!

**for the more historically curious amongst us, it seems Neapolitans are known as Partenopei after the name of original city built on the site by Greek settlers nearly three millenium ago. That city was known as Parthenope, in honour of a shapely Siren who took the waters locally I believe, and then when Naples was constructed nearby a few hundred years later it was known as Neopolis (Napoli these days) or New City. The new city is now about 2,500 years old. 

Posted in Report & Preview Double Feature | 44 Drinks »

Blunting the Blues

Sep 5th, 2026 by

Embed from Getty Images

By North Bank Ned

And so the Stadium of Stone, where we entertain our now second-nearest and only slightly less disliked Premier League neighbours on Sunday afternoon. 

The Clearlake/Bohley consortium’s expensively assembled inventory of footballers arrives with two high-scoring victories to their name, pointing to both the potency of their attack and the vulnerability of their defence. 

We have had extensive discussion in this fine establishment about BlueCo’s business model. Suffice it to say that, whatever the nuances of the various interpretations advanced, there is agreement that Bridgenomics is built on precarious foundations.

Perhaps the wheel has come full circle. The Mears brothers, Gus and Joe — older ‘holics will recognise the family name — had acquired the lease on Stamford Bridge in 1904, intending to stage professional football. 

Fulham turned down the brothers’ offer to move up the road as their tenants. Henry Norris, then Fulham’s chairman and later to be ours, was a property developer who could smell a bad deal a mile off — or, in this case, 1.6 miles off. 

So Gus and Joe splashed the cash to acquire professionals wholesale and create an insta-team, buying their way into the Football League as the only club to join without having played a game of football. 

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Xabi Alonso

Arteta’s old friend Xabi Alonso may prove Bohley’s value acquisition this season, although given the rapid turnover in the Chelsea manager’s chair, what guarantee is there that he will last the season?

Being Basque lends a gloss to any PL manager’s reputation these days, and having played youth football for Antiguoko appears to be de rigueur. Nonetheless, the 44-year-old Alonso is regarded as one of the outstanding managers of his generation, even if that reputation rests on one spectacular season with Bayer Leverkusen.

His playing career was storied, winning European championships and a World Cup with Spain, as well as titles and cups with Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. On my unscientific theory that all great managers are seeking redemption for an unrealised playing ambition, it is difficult to see what that might be for Alonso.

His coaching career began with Real Madrid’s U-14s. He returned to the Basque Country in 2019 to take over the team where, two decades earlier, he had started his senior playing career, Real Sociedad’s B team. Having secured promotion in his second season, he moved to the Bundesliga midway through the 2022-23 season. In his first full season at Bayer Leverkusen, he achieved an unprecedented undefeated domestic double. His sole loss in 53 games was the Europa League final. 

His team was built around the nous of a thirty-something Granit Xhaka and the attacking flair of a young Florian Wirtz, though let us not forget that our very own Piero Hincapié made 43 appearances. Xhaka and another 30-year-old, Jonas Hofmann, were bought ahead of the season to add experience to a mostly young squad. Rinse and repeat at Chelsea with another of our old boys, Danny Welbeck, and Jordan Henderson.

After two and a half seasons in North Rhine-Westphalia, Alonso decamped to another of his old clubs, Real Madrid, to succeed Carlo Ancelotti. After seven months of failing to get Florentino Pérez’s ego-driven Galácticos to knuckle down to his technical tactics, in which wing-backs and aggressive pressing rather than star forwards and flair were the attacking fulcrum, he was given the old tin tack.

Alonso’s system blends the two dominant tactical philosophies, Pep-like positional structure and the unpredictability of relational play, tied together with an early-De Zerbi-like patient build-up. It uses a 3-2-5 structure that invites pressure to open up space in midfield from which to launch rapid attacks. When defending, the shape shifts into a 5-4-1 mid-block.

Unlike in Madrid, at Leverkusen, Alonso had two exceptional wingbacks, Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong. Good defenders, they also provided the attacking verticality, tempo and width to stretch opposing defences and enable the rotations and overloads on both sides of the pitch that gave his attack its unpredictability. 

At Chelsea, Alonso is pragmatically adapting to the fact that he doesn’t have two comparable wing-backs or 8s, but he does have two elite 10s in Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer. His underlying approach remains the same, but the emphasis has shifted. The rotations and overloads now aim to create space in the inside channels for the two Englishmen to exploit where they can do the most damage.

The oddity is that, unlike his possession-dominant Leverkusen and Real Madrid, Alonso’s Chelsea had only 38% possession against Fulham and 25% against Brighton. 

The opposition

Our old boy, Emi Martinez, newly arrived from Villa, will be between the sticks, with the hapless Robert Sánchez already loaned out to Como. In front of him will likely be an Anglo-French back three of Wesley Fofana, Maxence Lacroix, a €60.7 million summer signing from Palace, and Levi Colwill. 

Reece James and Moises Caicedo would be the first-choice central midfielders, although James is still working his way back to full fitness and Caicedo is an injury doubt. Malo Gusto and Romeo Lavia may again deputise, now that the unlikeable Enzo Fernandez has been sold to Man City. Marc Cucurella would have been tailor-made for Alonso’s system but had already been sold to Real Madrid (have the Chavs no one detestable left?) 

I don’t know whether Alonso has not settled on his best wingback pairing yet, or simply has not been able to field it. 

Marco Palestra, who arrived in the summer from Atalanta for €57 million, and Pedro Neto would probably be first choice, but Palestra missed the first two league games through injury and will likely miss this one, too. Gusto and the young Dutchman Jorrel Hato started there against Fulham, with Pedro Neto, who is probably the weakest defensively, on the bench. Alonso switched to a 4-2-3-1 for the League Cup game against Luton, before reverting to a back three last weekend against Brighton. Pedro Neto came in for Gusto, who moved inside to replace James. 

Alonso also has the 19-year-old Geovany Quenda, a €50 million summer acquisition from Sporting, and the Spaniard Pep Chavarría, a €19 million summer arrival from Rayo Vallecano, as options. Both may figure more prominently as the season progresses.

The front three pick themselves: Palmer, Rogers and Joao Pedro.

The Arsenal

In his pre-match presser, Arteta teased the return of Jurrien Timber. In reality, he will perm two of Benny Blanco, Ezri Konsa and Cristhian Mosquera, if fit, to start on the right side of the defence.

His other selection questions will be in midfield. Key to success will be shackling Rogers and Palmer, cutting off Joao Pedro’s supply, and preventing an early goal, which gave Alonso’s side momentum against Fulham and Brighton. I expect us to lay down a heavy blanket of control from the outset. 

That could mean Eze or Merino starting, and, if fit, Bruno G, at the expense of MLS and Tzolis. Conversely, Arteta may want Saka and Tzolis to peg back Alonzo’s wing-backs to blunt the triangles spearheaded by Palmer and Rogers, or to exploit the Achilles’ heel of 3-4-3, namely the space behind the wing-backs when they push high and wide. My punt:

Raya

White – Konsa – Gabriel – Calafiori

Rice – MLS

Saka – Ødegaard – Eze

Havertz

The Chelsea defence looks porous enough that we can score one or two, especially if Martinez can demonstrate his knack for letting in at least one against us that he should really stop; 2-1 to the team in red and white, extending our undefeated run in the league against Chelsea to ten games and our unbeaten run in London derbies to 16, while providing a firm reminder that champions play the way champions want.

Enjoy the game, ‘holics, near and far.

Posted in Match Preview | 37 Drinks »

Defending the Title

Sep 1st, 2026 by

Our contemporary neuroscientific insights into how we experience reality echo those rare but memorable poets, philosophers, and madmen who in moments of piercing clarity glimpsed that we create our own reality rather than perceive it. The world, as we experience it, is not something that happens to us, but it is the continuous story we narrate to ourselves to make sense of the predictions generated by our mind from just a bucketful of sensory signals drawn from the ocean of events in which we are immersed. 

Had we not won the Premier League last season – after a twenty-two year long circuitous journey through a timescape full of the sublime, the ridiculous and everything in between – I wonder how we would have responded to our stodgy, uninspired and uninspiring performance in only the second match of the season where the team for large parts of the match looked to have forgotten the very skills that they had so masterfully demonstrated in the season opener just ten days ago. Even with the same result – a narrow but deserved victory away at a reasonably good side who for some inexplicable reason under their current manager play with a cup final intensity every time we meet them – I think we would have been much less calm about the forthcoming season. With just one more day remaining in the transfer window, and the reinvigoration of the forward line – especially given the departure of a cult hero and a full-fledged fan favorite – somewhat incomplete, the reactions would most likely have spread across the entire spectrum of anxiety, from the mild worries of the philosophically inclined and/or experientially rich at one end – which is where we ‘Holics tend to find ourselves, thankfully – to the doomsday predictions of the deranged at the other. I am sure there remains that mad streak in our fanbase, as it ever was, but for the most part I think we have learned to move quickly on to the next match, after marking this down as a necessary job done without much fuss.  

I suppose this is what a well-deserved, hard earned, honestly obtained measure of success can do. It makes us more willing to acknowledge the difficulty of that success, the privilege of earning it, and the willingness to suffer to defend it.  

Arsenal started their first away match of the season with the same eleven that had dispatched the newly promoted Coventry with a pleasing fluency in the season opener. The bench looked more or less similar, with Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimarães added in place of Academy graduates Nwaneri and Max Downman. Can Max be called an Academy graduate or is he still technically an Academy student? One hears through the grapevine that Ethan is off to Dortmund on a season long loan. Dortmund and Bundesliga should suit him perfectly to get the minutes and experiences he needs at this stage of his career, if he were not to get either of these in Arsenal for this season. 

Raya

White-Mosquera-Gabriel-Calafiori 

Ødegaard-Rice-MLS

Saka-Havertz-Tzolis 

I do not pay much attention to the transfer ins-and-outs for any club that is not Arsenal – this is simply a matter of priority about how I spend my time – and don’t really keep track of which player is playing where, unless of course someone is playing for us, naturally. The Aston Villa first eleven and squad looked unfamiliar and familiar at the same time; that is, not the players that were playing there over the last few seasons but, at the same time, players that I have seen playing for other clubs. 

I might have exaggerated my detachment in the previous paragraph, but no exaggeration can do justice to how uninterested I am about all the “subtext” narratives chewed and regurgitated by the inanities masquerading as punditry. I didn’t see or feel any subtexts. I just saw a bunch of players in claret-and-blue playing with a manic intensity, noticeable individual abilities, but little organization or craft. Arsenal circa 2026 may not melt your heart with jogo bonito, but it will melt the opposition’s collective attacking spear, however sharpened it might be, to a puddle of mud. Having started supporting Arsenal in the early days of Arsène Wenger, I never thought I would be so proud of our collective ability to defend: the organization, the structural discipline, the positional awareness, the individual nous, the sheer bloody-minded willingness of players in all positions not to give even the ghost of a chance to the opponents is just marvellous to experience.

While the defending part was very good – hope Mosquera walking off comfortably is an indication that his substitution allowing Konsa to make his Arsenal debut at his previous club was precautionary rather than a full-blown hamstring tear – the attack for the most part didn’t click, and the midfield was functional enough without being effective in unlocking chances. Havertz had one of those inexplicably off days when the very things at which he is exceptional all seem to have deserted him. But he kept working hard, as did the entire team, there were glimpses of chances now and then, and eventually the match-winning goal came in the second half following the introduction of Eze. 

The second half was indeed an improvement from the first, where other than Saka on the right wing and Calafiori on the left side of the field – Ricky is rapidly becoming one of my new favorites in this team – the rest of the team found it difficult not just to move the ball faster but at times even to keep the ball under control. Tzolis had a difficult time with Villa noticeably targeting him physically, and while the winger kept trying to find solutions, the somewhat unfortunate early yellow also limited him. He has been excellent until now, and this won’t be the first time when he will find it difficult in this season, especially at an away ground.

Eze’s introduction at the break livened up the proceedings just a bit. Martin had an okay enough first half being the glue without getting closer to replicating the orchestrating brilliance of the last couple of performances. The Saka-White-Ødegaard connections mostly failed to work, despite the odd moments of creativity. In the second half he tried to raise the tempo, some movements off the ball were excellent on both flanks, and eventually the goal came from a moment of brilliance. 

Gabriel’s cross was headed down by Havertz on the edge of the box, Eze kept control of it under pressure from two defenders, spun around and recycled possession to Gabriel who passed it to Mosquera as the entire team squeezed up near Villa’s penalty box, Mosquera found Eze who spotted Ricky’s darting run to the byline, the weight on Eze’s pass was perfect as was Ricky’s cutback to Saka who slotted in from a close range. 

Aston Villa 0 – Arsenal 1 (Saka 59’)

This was Saka’s second goal in two matches, and Ricky’s second assist in two matches. 

Guimarães’s debut was a positive one, with a couple of signature defense-splitting passes and the even more signature physicality in the midfield. Merino – after replacing the captain – always impresses with the ball at his feet and his ability to spin away from challenges in tight spaces. There was a chance when Suzuki in Villa’s goal spilled a goal-bound shot, exactly the kind of opportunity Merino had scored from in his recent world cup success, but he hesitated for a moment and the chance was gone. 

The match ended with that inevitable bit of fracas where some of the Villa players went a bit mad at the unfairness of it all. I guess they had expected the Arsenal defense to make some mistakes in their favor. 

Going back to reality being a cohesive narrative constructed by our neurones to make sense of their own predictions: will we win the league again this season if we play like this in every match? No. But, more importantly, will we play like this every match? No. 

I guess I could have kept my review limited to just that paragraph. 

Herbert Chapman, relatively young at 56, passed away suddenly from pneumonia in the middle of the 1933-34 season. He had won the league in 1930-31 and 1932-33, but missed out on consecutive title wins. His trusted deputy Joe Shaw guided Arsenal to our third league title in 1933-34 as the caretaker manager. In the next season the journalist-turned-manager George Allison – Arsenal’s second longest serving manager – guided Arsenal to their fourth league title. 

That was the first and the last time we had defended a league title successfully. Neither Tom Whittaker, nor George Graham, nor Arsène Wenger – all legendary and long-serving managers – had managed this feat. 

This has not been a bad start to 2026-27. Let us leave it at that. 

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