Yes, it was a pre-season friendly. Yes, it was against Sevilla. And, yes, they have sold their both Centre Backs recently. But that doesn’t take away the brilliant performance of the team at Emirates. We saw some electrifying performance from Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Martinelli. We get to watch another 75 minutes of Thomas Partey’s sublime football and we get to see calmness of a 21year old William Saliba, who was apparently not ready few months back.
It was brilliant!
First quarter of the match was peak football from boys. We pressed and pressed hard, Saka won a penalty and scored. Jesus scored the next one of a rebound from the GK and scored another one from a brilliant cross from Martinelli. That third goal was so good you can watch it on repeat, trust me. Saka scored another one from a misplaced pass from Sevilla GoalKeeper and we were 4-0 up before it was 20 minutes on the clock. Jesus completed his hattrick, in his first home appearance, in 77th minute before being substituted by Nketiah (EN#14). But we were not done, Martinelli had a run with the ball, similar to the one against Chelsea couple years back when he sent Kante to get him a coffee, which he decided selflessly to pass to Eddie for a tap in. I don’t know if I hate him for not scoring for himself after a very good game, or love him for his selflessness.
All in all, it was a performance we would like to see from boys for the whole season. It’s less than a week now before we start our campaign and if we keep the form of yesterday, we would be in a good run.
Key takeaway? Gabriel Jesus is the answer to our goal scoring problem. Eddie Nketiah has bulked up and looks lethal, I am a bit scared by ESR’s treatment last season after good run of games, and hope Eddie gets his game time to keep his form. Thomas Partey is very crucial for our season, and we need a competition for him if (& when) he is injured. A back four of White, Saliba, Gabriel and Zinchenko looks solid, we need to tie up Saliba before his agent decided to have another dinner with OM’s representatives. Saka has this calmness in him which only a few world class players have, and Martinelli is a CHAOS.
I’m excited! Some more of that, please!
Short one today, don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments. Pass the website link to your friends and family, bribe them a beer to read LiR because this is the closest place to a fan’s opinion (patting myself on the back, lol).
If this is to be the beginning of a Brave New World (and I have several doubts it is given the ineptitude and awfulness of our pocket sized manager) then we really need to be doubling the likes of second rung teams like Palace, Villa, BHA etc. like we used to when we were successful. The squad has had a good amount of time together, pre-season has been good and so there can be no excuses.
That documentary… Wow! No BAFTAs I suspect. There is a perceptible lack of winning ambition throughout the club. Style over substance exemplified by Tets and the Kroenke man boy. I thought it was a bit cringeworthy tbh.
Ramsdale mere was OK, but the dad came over as a nouveau riche knob and a self-parody. You can see where junior gets certain aspects of his strange behaviour at times. It struck me how players were happy to crap on about their own experiences (I think a management cliche manual would describe it as a ‘journey’ – yuck) but next to nothing about team cohesion, winning trophies and fighting for each other. A club packed to the gunnels with frauds. The fans provided the raw emotion of course.
That the take on our history was provided by TH was also wide of the mark. For me, TA is our figurehead from the last 30 years. But he’s far less likely to comply with the club’s insistence on turd polishing.
Watched the first 3 episodes and I didn’t expect too much of insight as the audience must also have been considered in the making and editing. We are a different and demanding audience so not much to expect for us.
Also felt there were a few cringe worthy moments but it did shine a different light at Tets and for me it showed he is an excellent salesman and it definitely looks like he sold his process to KSE.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-arteta-smith-rowe-doubts-27664807
By the way the reported injuries , slight knocks, tingling sensations and like generalities to explain Smith Rowe exclusions getting curioser and curioser when we have seen ESR scoring almost every time the Manager’s hand was forced and ESR miraculously got fit to play.
The Amazon Documentary gives an inkling Arteta despises Smith Rowe , or likely gets his thrill humiliating him.
“Not yet fit”was a tool right from Wengerdays, who incidentally was also dominating kind, though not nasty like the current specimen.
Or likely , that ESR was primarily responsible to save Arteta that December is a painfull reminder which Arteta is trying to exorcise by extricating Smith Rowe from the tableau
OK, just for fun. Let’s have everyone’s Arsenal-related predictions.
Position in PL – third (or the little guy gets it).
EL – Losing finalist
FA Cup – Semi Final
Carabao – Semi Final
Top three scorers in order GJ, GM, BS
Star player of the season – TP (with the predictable caveats of course)
Flop of the season other than GX – Ben White
Site of the season – LiR
LiR is tops because besides the content it has AlumiasnoMore posts
Hoopah
Hi mate. Where you watching the game tonight? I’m gonna be sat at home with my kids and their Gooner mates.
It’ll be entirely predictable if Arteta turns on players to cover up his inadequacies. ESR, as the film showed, is as Arsenal as they come. Clearly a good egg and my favourite player, just ahead of Bukayo. I describe the two of them and Martinelli to my kids as the children I wished I’d had! Helps keep them on their toes.
I think we can all agree that this preseason feels more hopeful than the last (although another season with Tets, Bunga Edu and the other idiots in charge gives me a feeling that we’re still not progressing as we ought to be.
Will post my prediction after the 1st competitive game.
Killroy
Hi. All that fence sitting will make your arse ache. 😀Enjoy the game mate.
I can really see how PV4 would want to put on a show because angling for the AFC manager job may be on offer.