I’ve always liked the name, Kai. It is of Welsh origin but has its roots in many languages. In Swahili it means “loveable”, in Te reo Maori it means “food”, in Hawaii and Japan it means “the sea”. In North London it means “we have quite some player on our hands”.
Chelsea FC have a habit of letting go young players who they don’t think can cut it at the Bridge, think Salah and DeBruyne. Just like Liverpool and City have done, I think we are starting to see a reject mature into a genius.
Football history tells us there has only ever been one Kaiser, and that is the great Franz Beckenbauer. What a talent he exhibited, calm, graceful, fabulous movement and positional sense, a prince among footballers, up there with Pele, Cruyff, Eusebio, Best and Charlton in that 60’s -70’s era. I see some of those traits in our Kai. While he has some way to go to be included in the pantheon above, let’s look forward to seeing him as he enters his prime years as a footballer. He’s contracted with us until he is 29.
Sir Alf Ramsey is reported to have said, “I like genius in a player, but it must wear sweat on it brow”. Kai’s talent is soaked in sweat, his work rate is exceptional, (PB might give us the stats) his role as a false 9 seems uninhibited. We see him defending like a centre back, chasing, intercepting, tackling and linking like a midfielder, he gets out wide and is proving a fine centre forward. Perhaps The Arsenal doesn’t need to fork out 100 million for a striker in the summer?
Volz, Mendez, Eisfeld, Malz, Gnabry, Mustafi, Leno, Podolski, Ozil, Mertesacker, Lehmann… We’ve had some good ‘uns (pun incidental) but our Kai may prove to be the Kaiser of them all.
So here we go Gooners. A big game that could decide who will become the hunter or the hunted. A win for us would be a big statement and a boost to our confidence, no doubt, but I don’t think it will be a ‘title decider’.
The lineup is strong, very strong, and the bench is bursting with talent and game changers/stabilisers.
I am hoping the boys will be relaxed enough to play their game and believe in themselves. Anyway, enough said: let the ball do the talking.
A cheeky question to help us while away the time before we resume in earnest at City. It’s always a little unfair to compare teams of different generations but do consider that the Invincible team was ahead of its time.
Size: The Invincibles were big boys who were physically imposing. Our current team have an average height of 6′ 1″, look at our defensive unit: Saliba 6′ 4″ 204 lbs, Gabriel 6′ 3″ 173 lbs, White 6′ 1″ 168 lbs, Kiwior 6′ 2″ 163 lbs, Tomiyasu 6′ 2″ 183 lbs. Add to that Rice at 6′ 1″ 183 lbs, Partey 6′ 1″ 170lbs and Havertz 6′ 4″ 183 lbs and we have some serious tall and powerful players, all of whom know how to use their considerable frames.
Raya is 6 ‘ whereas Lehmann was over 6’ 3″, but Raya has distribution skills better than the German. And Raya isn’t mad. He wouldn’t grab Robbie Keane’s head, and he wouldn’t get sent off in the Stade de France. (Still simmering after all these years).
Arsene Wenger’s early teams from 1996 to the Invincibles were all imposing in terms of size and had a commensurate level of success. His thinking changed as he started to collect talented but smaller players, looking to emulate the Barca model of mobile tiki taka. We saw some magnificent football but were often frustratingly bullied by physically bigger opponents, and our successes were limited to three FA cup wins over the next decade and a half.
Mikel and Edu have 180’ed building a team of warriors which compare well with Arsene’s early teams.
Skill: Look at my composite team below and notice it is all Invincibles down the left and present team down the right. Skill levels, much like physicality seem to improve year by year and have we not been blessed over the years with the likes of Santi, Hleb, Rosicky, Cesc, Wilshere, Ramsey, Eduardo, Robin, Ozil and Sanchez demonstrating astonishing skills, but has anyone approached the level set by Bergkamp as much as our present pass master, Martin O? He’d be the first name on my bench.
So, if you were tasked to pick a composite team, would it look much like mine?
Raya
White Saliba Campbell Cole
Saka Rice Viera Pires
Bergkamp Henry
To answer my own question, with a nod to the 2008/9 team, I think this present iteration is the finest Arsenal team since the Invincibles. What do you think?
Well that was the sort of performance in March that a future champion will look back on as vital to the whole campaign. Arsenal had entered the state of almost unbearable lightness of being with huge wins in the last seven games. But what goes up must come down, and Brentford did us a huge favour by giving us a proper game. Heart, sweat and passion drove us to a win, and only with this experience and attitude will we have a good chance of beating the whily Portuguese this Tuesday, an equally important game.
Eight Quick Observations:
Aaron Ramsdale is my man of the match. Yes he made a big mistake, but he responded like a champion. There is no doubt in my mind that his two key saves kept us in the game. Especially denying Toni, from what certainly would have become the goal of the season, with the claw-like stop was vital for our eventual victory.
Not one but two headed goals from open play! It felt like watching football in the eighties. Is it coincidence? No, not much is with Arteta; we have a ‘new’ weapon.
Attacking from the right is our strongest weapon. Saka, Odegaard and gradually also White are almost unstoppable. Opponents try to crowd them out by sheer numbers, but that leaves space on the left and also centrally. Jorginho was the master of finding players in those spaces, and what a joy to watch he was yesterday.
The focus was on Saka and Ode, and that left Ben White in space to cross a couple of beauties. Every time he did so we had giants in the box to head the ball like old school CFs. I didn’t see this coming, did you?!
Kai got the winner and it was totally deserved. The King of Unpredictability was everywhere and showed all his skills yesterday. There is nobody like him, and it’s hard to think of him as not in the team now.
Kiwior is really growing on me. He had it tough defensively against a very strong opponent, but he fought hard. What I liked most are his forward runs and crisp passing.
Iva Toni at Arsenal next season? The boy has presence, is technically gifted and made our CBs work as hard as they have ever done this season. It’s a yes from me. Saliba was a quiet giant again, BTW.
The support was phenomenal again. What a bastion of passion and support Ashburton Grove has become.
Misquoting the great Ray LaMontagne is not something I do lightly, however the anguished longing he conveys in his voice and lyrics captures my mood as I settle into the lull between games. A lengthier lull than is the norm at this stage of a season.
Here’s four things to help the time slip away…
I watched “The greatest night in pop” last night and was struck with the sheer determination and forensic commitment displayed by Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie to make the project happen. That collection of voices may never again be gathered in one room this side of Heaven.
Consider the three transfers in Arsenal history that have most excited you at the time of signing. For me…
1. Alan Ball. 26 years old, at the peak of his powers, a World Cup winner, part of the magnificent Everton midfield triumvirate of Kendal, Ball and Harvey, white booted, red headed, fiery and, latterly a magnificent speech maker. We had just won the double under Bertie Mee and when my six week old copy of Shoot Magazine landed in our Tauranga newsagent announcing his signing for a record 220k quid I pedalled home furiously to call my mates with the news. https://youtu.be/wDHNHJ_gPqs
2. Tomas Rosicky. Having lived in the Czech Republic for three and a half years, I was familiar with the rising reputation of “The little Mozart” first at Sparta then at Dortmund. He loved Arsenal and he made music in our midfield… :https://youtu.be/8vKsXrwoGdo
3. Sol Campbell. Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell, just his name does it for me. But that unveiling, O that unveiling… https://youtu.be/R4CrPsI0rxw
Watch this greatest Football after dinner speech in history. I’ve posted it before but it is so raw, funny and brilliant. https://youtu.be/l-3nGYY9gro
Watch the first half of the Newcastle game on loop until 8pm Monday March 4th rolls about.
Arteta and the team have worked hard to change our attacking play. Rather than buy, the manager has opted for a different approach; and although I would welcome an extra attacker, I love it that Arteta is putting up a big finger to all those so called experts who just keep telling us that: ‘Arteta need a proper forward’.
Of course, after every game in which we don’t score (enough) goals the pundits will tell us all how much we miss a world-class forward, but making the goal scoring a team responsibility goes also a very long way. We become less predictable and dependable on the one player, and in the long run this may still be our big advantage.
What was really different was the movement up-front. Bukayo was seen a lot more in central attack and Jesus ventured more right than I ever saw him do before. Our attacking play was much more fluid and unpredictable and I liked it.
The inclusion from the start of Trossard made sense. Leandro takes his chances well whereas Martinelli has been wasteful this season, and it was not surprising that it was the Belgian Zombie who scored the first goal in open play. A pass from the right by the busy bumble bee from the right offered a great opportunity to the Tross: rather than shoot straightaway he manoeuvred himself with the ball into the best possible position after which he scored very composed. That’s the way aha aha I like it.
Bukayo is still not firing from all cylinders, but he carries such a threat from the right that opposition teams will leave space on the left, and this time we made much more use of it. The Zinch is a much better player when he does not have to defend in deep positions a lot, and on Saturday he really helped the Ode with spreading the game to both sides, whilst also carrying a threat through the middle. This was one of the better games from the Ukrainian rocket.
The two set-piece goals were beautiful to watch. They were well-planned, positional little chess games and Big Gab looked like a monster of an attacker. He scored two goals, even though for some strange reason he was denied the second one because the keeper was deemed to have scored an own goal. Bizarre!!
I really like it that we did not stop playing after the third goal. Martinelli benefited from this to the max with two finely taken goals which will do his confidence a world of good. Of course, Palace, who started so disciplined, gave us a ridiculous amount of space to play in at the end of the game, and they were punished for it; but it was still good to see our hunger for goals lasting the whole game.
Finally, it was good to get a clean sheet again at home. We have not had many of them and it is important to aim for one each and every game. So, all together a fine game and result, and Arsenal can build on this going foward.
“Behind what hills does happiness hide, to lurk and plot its return?“ (From ‘At the Loch of the Green Corrie’ by Andrew Greig).
I cannot deny that the last 10 days or so have been difficult. Losing six points against West Ham and Fulham was not expected and could hurt our challenge for the title. It sucks.
But there is no reason for despair or doing something crazy on the transfer market this January. Every team has had a slump this season, and Arteta and the team just have to work hard to get out of theirs again. One or two tweaks could make a real difference, and so could a clever loan-deal or the purchase of an unexpectedly available gem of a player. One of the arguments for our recent lack of goals is that Arsenal have become predictable; that they have been studied and found out. Teams sit deeper and deeper and play us on the break and hope for set pieces. But surely this is nothing new: we have been playing like this for a couple of years now and our team, like any other top team, gets studied all the time.
My main argument for being less effective in attack is, which will not come as a surprise to regular readers, the departure of Xhaka AND the injury to Timber. The left side is much less effective this season, and it looks like Timber was the one who would move into midfield from defence to support the attacking game from the left as much as possible. Jurrien started the season with an incredible engine and energy, and neither Zinch or Tomi are as effective. On the right we may be experiencing something similar with the loss to injury of Partey.
But there is also an argument for a lack of a maverick in the team: someone who is unpredictable, can move through the lines with the ball quickly and puts fear into the opposition constantly. I think we all agree that Odegaard does all of this but that we may need another midfielder to do the same. Xhaka was certainly not that type of player, and Havertz is a work in progress. The Ode is a joy to watch and he is working his socks of but he just cannot do it all on his own.
So how can Arsenal improve their unpredictability and effectiveness in attack with the currently available squad?
The above team is what I suggest would make a change. Zinch is a liability in defence but the boy can pass and harass the opposition like no other. His energy and drive are great, and any mistakes he makes are likely to be less costly with Declan mopping up behind him. Tomiyasu is a much better defender and he can push up and play next to Declan better than any other available option for the RFB. Oleksandr and Odegaard high up in midfield would form a stronger footballing duo than the current one of Ode and Havertz.
But Zinchenko is not the maverick we are after. In my humble opinion, the biggest maverick we have is Jesus, and we need to give a bit more space and freedom to him to utilize his strongest skills. As a CF he has freedom to roam but this season he seems to be struggling with creating mayhem in and around the box area, and I think he would be much more effective on the left at the moment. Together with the to him well-known Zinchenko, Jesus can reinvigorate the left flank. And boy do we need this.
I do not think Kai is a maverick but there is something Kanu-like about his play: unpredictable, hard-working, weird fox in the box, and a player a team simply needs to have in its midst. He is also better in the air than Jesus and more likely to score the ugly sort of goals. I don’t see the German as a typical CF, and he does not see himself like this either, but he can play with his back towards goal, link up with other attackers and thus create space for shots and runs into the box for the likes of Jesus, Odegaard and Saka. I think Eddie and Marti – for Kai and Jesus – can be good back-up players in this formation. Of course, a fit ESR can be a great backup, if not first choice, for the ‘new Zinchenko’ position.
Now, I will always welcome a new purchase, especially a CF, and we certainly could do with a plan-B CF addition, but a tweak or two could also make a real difference. I like it that our goals can come from anywhere and that we have multiple scorers, and I don’t think introducing a beast of a CF will be a step improvement. We just have to get the left flank working properly again.
The really good thing is that Arteta’s unexpectedly fabulous 22-23 season was not a fluke; and how different it is for Eddie Howe and Erik Ten Hag right now! Every teams has ups and downs, and Arsenal are still a work in progress (just look at the age-profile of the players above!), but (future) champions know how to overcome these (mostly) from within. Trust the squad, trust the process, trust the values of the club, trust the manager to get it right.
Merry Christmas to you if you are celebrating this most magical time of the year.
The season is almost at the half-way point and for the second time in a row Arsenal are TOTL at Christmas. Last season we did not quite pull through at the end, but there is hope Arsenal now have what it takes to go all the way. What is different this season, and what needs further attention?
The obvious one/ the biggest joy: Rice has added steel to our defence. Did you notice how the last 15 minutes of key games simply belong to Declan? He is good throughout the game but when everybody is starting to get tired, Rice puts the turbo-boosters on. There is something super-human about him, and he becomes a joy to watch when it really matters. People might go to live games to watch a quality striker, but the purists will watch Declan to witness a true artist at work.
Having said that, we do still miss Granit on the left. What a shame it is that we don’t have the trio of Rice, Xhaka and Ode on the pitch this season. I am convinced we would not have lost a single game until now if that had been the case. Martinelli is missing Granit. Saka is missing the quick switch-overs of the Swiss master’s laser-accurate left foot. The Ode is missing his fellow pass-master too. I love Havertz, though. He is just another type of player compares to Granit, and it is taking time to get him embedded into the team. If this will progress further this season, we will have a really good chance to win the league.
Arsenal are much more measured in their efforts, this season. They are constantly saving energy when possible. We need players fit towards the end, and we just cannot afford to play every game as a must win cup-game. That is what we were doing last season and we paid a high price for it at the end. Arteta should really rotate more and dare to give the likes of Rice, Saka, Ode and the CBs more rest-days, but every game is vital and he rather plays the same players but with less intensity.
Calm control at the back is key, and we are this much more than last season. A lot has been made about the technical qualities of both Raya and Ramsdale; and yes, they perform similarly. But Raya is more of an introvert and makes the CBs feel in control. I love Aaron and I hope he will come good, either at Arsenal or somewhere else, but his style is unlikely to survive under Arteta. Can he change it? I don’t think so, and I don’t think he should try and change his style either. Eventually, they will lift him up where he belongs.
We have a full back issue on the left. Timber looked so promising and what a difference he could have made this season, but it was not to be. The left back pushing into midfield and helping Rice and Ode to stabilise things there seems a clear tactical change from last season. Zinchenko is doing his best to fill the new role but I don’t think he can do this at the required level. Tomiyasu is better in that role but he just cannot stay fit for long, it seems.
In summary of some of the above points raised, Arteta needs to get the left side sorted. I would love to see how many goals we concede and produce from the left side of our team; I am pretty convinced the right side is much stronger. 
Can we keep Jesus fit for the remainder of the season? And will he be able to combine the hard work with more (vital) goals going forward? Eddie always does his best and he adds value to the team, but he is no replacement for the type of attacker Jesus is. Not sorting this situation out in January could cost us the title. I don’t believe we need a killer-CF up-front and like the sort of attacker Jesus is – chaos and movement, space and chances for others, works for me - but we do need cover for the injury-prone Brazilian.
We may also need a plan-B in attack. Eddie again does well in this respect but ideally we have something extra.
That brings me to the point of whether Arteta should introduce one of the youngsters: is anybody good enough to be given the go-ahead, fellow BKers? Somebody who realistically would bring something different to our attack?
In summary, we are calmer and better at the back, more balanced in midfield, our left flank needs to click better and our attack could do a little better. A smart move or two in the transfer window and/or by promotion of one or two (ready to rock) youngsters seem needed to put the team in the best possible position to go all the way.
Well, aren’t we lucky? A midweek PL game and a great chance to put ourselves six points above the cocky Blue Mancs, who have already declared themselves champions today. Thanks for the Pep-Talk, mate! Arteta can now use this for each game this season.
I don’t know much about Luton but an away fixture on a cold night with a fanatic crowd hoping for a Brentford-like giant-killing, is not to be underestimated.
Unfortunately, we will not see in action the brilliantly named Marvelous Nakamba, tonight. I had been looking forward to that.
I think the lineup is pretty predictable given that there’s no change in our sickbay, and the team is doing so well at the moment. Maybe it will be Havertz for the Tross and White for Tomiyasu, but other than that it should be the same players who frightened off the Wolves.
The real season started yesterday. The interlul disruptions are over and we can look fwd to uninterrupted club football for four months or so. Bliss.
This now is the business end of the season. Time to push, get in the groove, create momentum and make opportunities count. With Pool and Citeh holding each other to a draw, Arsenal had a golden opportunity to go top. But Brentford away is a tough nut to crack, and playing an away game after an interlul is seldom easy, especially with three Brazilians returning late from a painful loss against arch-rivals Argentina.
So there was a great opportunity, a huge away challenge (Brentford were unbeaten in more than a dozen London derbies) and little time to prepare as a full unit for Mikel:how did Arsenal do?
Eight Observations:
Aaron started with living through his, no doubt, recently regularly returning nightmare. We all felt for him. Ramsdale is all about presence, energy and talent. At the base of this needs to be confidence, and this cannot be magicked. He clearly went through hell in the first half but his team mates helped him out. No shouts, no finger pointing, but hugs and love. Togetherness, kindness and positivety are the answer to everything. Humans can move mountains when they are in that space. VCC. Result: the Ram had a great second half.
Reading the game is what great footballers do differently from mere good ones. Zinchenko’s goal line clearance and especially Rice’s were the result of that precious attribute. Declan had another quietly demanding game. He gets everywhere and makes it looks simple; he rules like a Kutuzov rather than a bombastic, self-adoring Napoleon, and that makes him such a fine human being. He has got his fellow players’ back as a result of this.
Bukayo does not like to be imprisoned. Space and movement is what he loves but opponents study him, try to shackle and disrupt him. But the Buk doesn’t stop there: he keeps trying without wasting energy unnecessarily. He knows he will get a moment or two to make the difference. Nine assists are already in his backpack and last night he produced one of his finest ones to date. He made space for himself and looked up, and his silky left foot delivered one of those passes every forward dreams off. Late in the game with tired legs and heads, Saka delivered and that’s what makes him so fecking special. A very cool, intelligent head on a young, very strong body.
Kai the Killer. Yes, last night Havertz finally found his inner beast and delivered a goal in open play. He met Saka’s peach of a cross with the venom of a striker in top form, nutmeging the impressive Flekken in the process. Oh how sweet and precious that goal was for him and for us all!
Arteta tried to give Martinelli and Jesus some extra support by pushing the Tross into the hole behind the attackers. The Ode had therefore more freedom to aid the attack wherever he felt he could add the most value. They did not crack the Brentford walls as well as hoped for beforehand, but they managed to find a few chinks in the armor nevertheless, and Leandro was very, very unlucky to see his goal chalked off for having a few toes apparently off-site. A work in progress, but playing with these four attackers more often is a very exciting prospect.
Gabriel Jesus still does not look at ease to me. He looks grumpy and irritated, and his touch and passing are off. Rather than creating chaos and despair in the opposition’s box, he seems to be creating it for himself and his team mates at the moment. Now that the international games are over for a while and he is fully fit again, we should start seeing a calmer and more effective, yet ferocious and effective central forward again.
Next to the joy of watching our superb duo of central defenders strutting their stuff, I also enjoyed our full backs yesterday. Tomiyasu is a cult warrior and Zinchenko had a decent game defensively, whilst contributing well in midfield and attack. There is a lot of feeling in his left foot and we need to make more use of it.
The eight observation I will leave up to you; I have nothing left to say. 🙂
Bergkampesque 
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