{"id":14157,"date":"2026-08-15T09:41:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T08:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=14157"},"modified":"2026-08-16T17:53:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T16:53:27","slug":"raise-high-those-curtains-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=14157","title":{"rendered":"Raise High Those Curtains, Arsenal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u2026(Or, a glimpse into the dizzying possibilities)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are theologically inclined to read the language of chance, you may find it mildly disconcerting to note that the previewer of the seasonal curtain-raiser happens to be the same \u201csell your soul to the devil for what goes around as wisdom\u201d chap who wrote that stridently optimistic preview to our last match of the 25-26 season, the Champions League Final. I apologize for invoking the unhappy memories. And I promise you that despite whatever misgivings you might now be feeling (if any at all), our beloved Arsenal will undoubtedly make this season as memorable, if not more, to us as the last one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do I know, you ask? Let us just give the devil its due. \u201cTime is the essence\/Time is the season\/Time ain\u2019t no reason\/Got no time to slow.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am sure Mikel Arteta and his meticulously constructed coaching team of diverse manifold talents \u2013 from the very prosaic (looking at you, Se\u00f1or Heinze, respectfully) to the kabbalistically esoteric (not looking at anyone, my eyes fixed to the ground) \u2013 must also have got no time to slow. The progressively vaporous world of footballing discourses (and meta-discourses: \u201cdid the pundit X actually say blah blah about the comments of the ex-footballer Y who was simply responding to a question from his old club-mate Z who thought he was asked to articulate the viewpoint of their old manager alpha-beta-gamma \u2026) may fixate on the mortal combat of transfer dealings, but the challenges and excitements of the most consequential actions before the start of the football season, namely preparing the team for the gruelling nine months of nonstop competitive actions at the very highest level, are thankfully handled away from the never-ending storm of opinions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of Arsenal\u2019s players have returned to the club, by now, and outward signs of fitness notwithstanding, many of them are expectedly still recovering from their travels and travails through what must have appeared to them a singularly surreal summer. We are fortunate to have a group of players so single-mindedly and passionately connected to the success of their collective that many of them seemed to have even cut short their well-earned rests in their eagerness to return. Fortunate is probably not the right word, for this is not a whim of fate but consequence of a thoughtful, meticulous squad building and subsequently nurturing a culture of excellence and camaraderie. The Premier League season opens in a week, which would likely give us just enough time to get a group of 15-16 first team players to be in close to their peak condition to see us through the first few weeks while the rest of the team continue the fine-tuning, keeping their involvement from the bench yet to a minimum.  Those players (un)fortunate enough to miss out on the summer workouts, and hence the first ones to return to pre-season are the likeliest to be in that group of primary first team players: Mosquera, Calafiori, MLS, Nwaneri, Dowman, Tzolis. Players like Havertz, Hincapi\u00e9, Gy\u00f6keres who returned relatively early enough should also be close enough to full fitness.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought that the minutes of the other players \u2013 returning late after a well-earned break: \u00d8degaard, Martinelli, Guimar\u00e3es et al<\/em>. \u2013 were managed efficiently through the pre-season calendar, and in the final couple of matches to be played before the Community Shield they all looked sharp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I understand that for some followers of English football, the Community Shield doesn\u2019t at all register with any importance, and is treated as an easily dispensable amuse-bouche<\/em>. Given the qualifying criteria to participate in this most traditional of curtain-raisers, it is not at all surprising that for the players and supporters alike for most clubs in English football it is almost always inconsequential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we are, of course, not like most clubs. Arsenal has the second most participation and trophy winning record in the FA Community Shield, renamed from the Charity Shield which is the name still colloquially used, and which had evolved from the old Sheriff of London Charity Shield which was formalized as a Charity Shield in 1908, with the inaugural version being won by the then football league winner, Manchester United, against the Southern League Champions, QPR, – a 4-0 victory in the replay following an 1-1 draw the first time around. That remains the only occasion when a replay was played to decide the winner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manchester United leads the participation and winning statistics: 31 and 21, respectively. We are positioned second in winning and third in appearances: 17 and 24. In terms of outright win (i.e., the shield not shared, as prior to 1993 penalty shoot-outs were not used to determine the winner in the case of a draw) Arsenal with 16, is just one shy of Manchester United\u2019s 17. Our last win came in 2023 when as the PL runners-up of the 22-23 season, we defeated the league and FA cup champions Manchester City – a 4-1 penalty shoot out victory following a 1-1 draw. Before the penalty shoot out, one Leo Trossard came off the bench at the 75th minute to score our equalizer in injury time. While his unique ability to contribute with match-defining goals and assists from the bench will be very much missed, the pre-season performances from Cristos Tzolis have been reassuring and we should expect him to be as influential, if not more, as Leo was.             <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will be Mikel\u2019s third Community Shield as Arsenal manager, before 2023 we won it with him at the helm in 2020, following our FA Cup win in his first year as Arsenal head coach. Another penalty win (5-4) following an 1-1 draw, this time the scorer being the peerless (at Wembley) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. From that 2020 match-day team we have Saka, Reiss Nelson and Saliba still at Arsenal \u2013 though Wilo was subsequently left out of the first team squad for the first half of the season, and then sent back out to France to continue his educational loan spells after the Community Shield. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most players from the 2023 final starting eleven are still in the club, and form the core of the team: White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Rice, Saka, Martinelli, \u00d8degaard, Havertz. Comparing the substitute bench of that day to the players that have been added since that year offers a stark demonstration of how single-mindedly we have continued to raise the level of the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the last couple of times under Mikel Arteta we had started this match as the underdogs, we should be the favorites going in this time around. Our opponents still have a great squad of gifted players (while I won\u2019t repeat my Nasreddin story this time, I choose also not talk about the squad) but they will be under a brand new manager and coaching staff after a decade of record-breaking success under the most decorated manager in the history of European football. But some might say that a jolt of new energy and the inherent unpredictability of newer ideas may actually make them a greater threat in a one-off match.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our record in the Community Shield in this millennia has been rather impressive: wins in 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2023 with 2005 being the only disappointment. While a win in the Community Shield doesn\u2019t really present any clear indication (and cannot be shown to have any statistical correlation with the chance of winning the league that season) of how the season will unfold, a win is a win, a trophy is a trophy, and a celebration remains a celebration. Going into the season with a positive mood, the joyful spirit of last season\u2019s success amplified by the promises of headier days ahead, and looking forward eagerly to Arsenal again (hopefully) dominating in England and Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arteta has used the entirety of his available first team squad and many academy graduates (some with impressively mature performances) for the pre-season matches. While the Community Shield starting eleven is likely not going to be the starting eleven for the season opener against Coventry City next Friday \u2013 for example, I expect Rice and Saka to be much closer to match fitness by then and won\u2019t expect them to start this Sunday, and  \u2013 it will contain first-team contenders. If you see a sixteen year old being included in that list of first-team contenders, it is simply because he is now one.       <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is my best guess for the starting eleven. With some combination of Guimar\u00e3es, Martinelli, Hincapi\u00e9, Nwaneri, Zubimendi, Merino, Rice, Saka, Madueke, Jesus, Salmon and Kepa (though I would prefer to see Meslier) on the bench. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raya<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White \u2013 Mosquera \u2013 Gabriel \u2013 Calafiori<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00d8degaard \u2013 Lewis-Skelly \u2013 Havertz <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dowman \u2013 Gy\u00f6keres \u2013 Tzolis <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am sure you will all empathize with me if I don\u2019t want a penalty shoot out for a trophy. Not just yet. So a controlled, enjoyable 3-1 normal time win will do perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come on Arsenal!  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2026(Or, a glimpse into the dizzying possibilities) If you are theologically inclined to read the language of chance, you may find it mildly disconcerting to note that the previewer of the seasonal curtain-raiser happens to be the same \u201csell your soul to the devil for what goes around as wisdom\u201d chap who wrote that stridently […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14157"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14157"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14161,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14157\/revisions\/14161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}