Arsenal v Leverkusen: Fresh, Fierce and On Fire.

TotalArsenal

Fresh, fierce and on fire…

It was a joy to be at the Grove yesterday evening. I remember my first visit to the new stadium after years of my love affair with Highbury. I felt underwhelmed and disappointed, (in hindsight it was probably due to grieving the move). But steadily over the years my biannual pilgrimages from New Zealand to North London have seen a shift in me. Yesterday I felt the magic, the stadium felt like a home from home, the atmosphere was, though lacking the delicious angsty tension of a competitive match, warmly loving. It cascaded down the terraces (first time I’d been in the middle tier, what a great view) wrapped itself around our boys (and Granit, too) and they responded with some beautiful flowing football, mostly in the first half, a display of real intent. 

I know Kev is going up on Sunday to watch the Lyon game, he has a real treat in store. As do we all with this coming season. I so look forward to the interaction on this blog before and after every game.

The match itself: Jesus looks up for it, he likely senses he is on notice with all the kerfuffle about Arsenal needing a new striker. He buzzed and pestered the Leverkusen defenders like a blue arsed fly, along with our outstanding Norse skipper, harrying the German champions defence (meanest in last seasons Bundesliga (24 goals conceded)) into mistake after mistake. His goal was a snooker shot, as was Zinchenko’s. In fact, the pitch reminded me of a green baize perfectly manicured in a very pleasing plaid. Kudos to Alan Russell and his team.

Kai (forgive the pun if you know Te Reo Maori) looked tasty. “Stroller” Graham came to mind as he languidly bossed the midfield along with MO8 and Jorginho. Granite sat at the base of the Germans midfield trying his best (he was warmly received, getting two standing ovations, one as he was welcomed back and secondly when he was substituted in the second half), to penetrate the screen, and whenever a ball did get through it was dealt with by the very tight unit of Big Will and Gab. 

Fabio still has a point to prove, tho’ he did produce the pass of the game with a forty metre cross field ball into the path and immaculate touch of Leandro, who himself had some lovely moments wide on the left bamboozling the German fullback.

It was grand to see Bukayu, Declan and the two youngsters get a run out (Myles quickness and determination offered shades of a young Ashley Cole), even if the second half petered out a bit with the plethora of changes. We finished with a defence of three academy boys and Jacob. No sign of Justin or our Italian lad, but there will be reasons for that.

On the way to the stadium I paused beside the ESR mural and gave thanks for that truly lovely lad. I shall miss him in the red and white. What price we sometimes pay for progress.

Managed to catch the late train from Paddington and got to bed at 2am buzzing with expectancy for all that lays before us.

By Stu

45 thoughts on “Arsenal v Leverkusen: Fresh, Fierce and On Fire.”

  • Fine summary of your observations during the game, Stu. Having watched much of the game now, I can say you are spot on. The three Fs apply (and so many good things in life start with an ‘F’). The pressing from set positions was impressive and the passing was incisive. I was especially pleased that we were very dangerous from the left flank. Biggest plus is Jesus being back to his bouncy best.

  • just to let you know, guys: Stu is unable to join the blog due to technical issues. So he is not being rude by not responding to you 🤔 🙄 🙂

  • I enjoyed the mood and atmosphere of the game from your narrative, Stu. (And I also liked LG’s commentaries from the previous thread.) And I share your feelings about ESR, too.

    Maybe I get to the Emirates at some point, or I have to keep hoping for an away game in Central-Europe. 🙂

    My biggest takeaway from the game – besides the great result against an allegedly fierceful opponent – that those 4 players who are constantly challenged for being in the starting line-up and/or in the squad and therefore were often nominated as the week links to finally win some silverware – Zinchenko, Trossard, Havertz and Jesus – all had wonderful games and were among the best players on the pitch. Giving me confidence that even without further transfers we are at least on par with the very best of the league, and probably then some.

    I’m looking forward to the Lyon game and the PL start.

  • “Off the record, on the QT and very hush–hush“

    Stu’s technical issue:

  • Lol, LG. I wonder if Stuart can, at the least, view the blog, so he can use the free time he’s had to post a reaction to LG’s cryptic insinuation of the reason behind his absence. I’m sure it will pure gold. 😅

  • On the article by Stu, that was so well done. I feel it is easy to fall in love with the Emirates; if there were still some doubters who retain a longing for the Highbury days (which I put down to the Trophy-laden learns there), Arteta had done enough to bring back the belief again. Surely, it won’t be very long before we start winning the league again, with some consistency too; and then, there is the holy grail that is the UEFA Champions league, to help bury some ghosts.

    That result and performance was unexpected, seeing as it was against a team that blew away some distinguished opponents last season, nearly going unbeaten until the last. You don’t scoff at that. It is not as if the teams were that far apart in terms of preparations, either. The Bundesliga starts only a week after the EPL.

    Happy to know Granit received his flowers, barely a season after leaving us. He deserves it and I am not buying the sentiments shared by some fans that he took a dig at the club, in speaking about his happiness at winning trophies in his first season with Bayer Leverkusen. I hope they go again this season, if only to deny old spuddie, Moonface the joy of ever lifting a career trophy. 😜

  • I am in transit, Paris CDG, on my way to Toronto. Will be off – grid a lot as I shall be doing a bit of moving about for the first week, at least. Cheers guys.

    PS: I hope Man City stuff the red side Mancs in the Charity shield today.

  • I would imagine, that back in the days of the early 20th century, when many Arsenal fans were still making the trek from South London and Kent to Highbury, that among them there were many who still missed the old Manor Ground at Woolwich.

    With it’s Spion Kop and it’s compact atmosphere not far from the massive munitions works at the Woolwich Arsenal complex where many of the fans worked.

    Woolwich Arsenal as they were then, were a team in the top division, struggling team admitted but a First Division team all the same. At Highbury The Arsenal began life in the Second Division.

    18 years after the move to Highbury, Arsenal won their first ever League Championship and Highbury, under Herbert Chapman developed into the finest football stadium in the world. It took Chapman 6 years to change Arsenal into the trophy monster we see today. Fortunately he had a patient ownership.

  • Does Pedro Neto joining Chelsea throw up the prospect of a possible cheeky bid from Arsenal for Mudryk?

    I’m sure that Fatboy Todd would love to unload the Ukrainian tattoo monster for a decent fee and put that example of ego-driven stupidity behind him?

  • You reckon Arsenal would still be interested in Mudryk, Kev? 🙄That would shock, nay rile the fan base no end.

  • I don’t think we would be interested in yet another LW. Martinelli is great and Trossard played the entire pre-season without dipping in form. Furthermore even if Havertz leads the line, Jesus could better from the left wing. (At least he played there more in an Arsenal shirt, but Pep favored him from the RW if playing with Aguero in the same team.) And vice versa: with Jesus playing up front even with both Trossard and Martinelli theoretically unavailable Havertz can cover the left wing.

    Anyway, Mudryk’s position is not too much in danger – he can compete or rotate with Sterling – however Madueke could be discontent. Firstly, if Nkunku and Palmer are both starting (as they should), then only one can play AM therefore the other (probably Palmer) should play RW. Plus if they sign Neto that would limit Noni’s playing minutes big time. However probably not that big as if he would join Arsenal and play Saka’s understudy; so it’s still an unlikely turn of events, but an intriguing possibility nevertheless.

  • Response sent by email by Sru:

    You caught me out mon ami, but rather than being a Guinness guzzler, Tuatara is my tipple. In Eris’s words, “pure gold”. You’ll all have to come down under to experience it, mates.

  • I’m fairly sure that there’s little or no chance in this world or the next that Chelsea would ever take the risk again in selling one of their underperforming players to Arsenal, just in case the superior coaching he gets transforms him back into the player he was before. It’s also highly unlikely that Edu would entertain doing any business with those dodgy advisors who surround the man with more tattoos than a gang member from El Salvador.

    The thought just amused me, also he can play down either flank or through the middle and if he had gone to a proper club with a proper coach he would most likely be ripping it up in the Prem.

  • Eris if, in some parallel universe Arsenal signed Mudryk then yeah, I reckon many of the fan base would not be too impressed, but I hasten to add maybe not as many as felt disaffected by the signing of Havertz.

    The success that Arsenal have enjoyed with Kai is like a blue running sore for those wankers from Fulham Broadway and the chance of repeating that with the ‘Tattooed One’ would be enough to tip them over the edge.

    It would Eris be hilarious…

  • Muddy Mud had his chance but did not see the light. To me it looks like the PL is too fast for him. Key for me is whether Reiss will push through this season, and whether he, or somebody else, can be proper cover for super Buk on the right.

  • We’re so immensely superior that we shouldn’t have scored “only” on set pieces … About them, any team who haven’t done their homework will be punished and Lyon have payed truant, obviously. Afew heavy touches (Marti, BenLeBlanc) have deprived us of at least a team goal, though

    It was back to 4-2-3-1 and I kind of regret it, a lil’. Even though Partey has been (very) good, Kai doesn’t look as comfy today as he did in midfield in the last 2 games.

    Niakhaté is the sparring-partner Bukayo needed before going back to real PL business … Having said that, I find it a bit strange that most of the action takes place on the left-hand side.

    Looking forward to watching our Italain guy inthe red-and-white for the first time; I’ve started wondering whetehr we’re actually told the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth about Timber …

    COYG

  • Wonderful sunny day in North London, but the game itself was slightly disappointing, wasn’t it?

    And all those substitutions … couldn’t we reinvent the good ol’ “curtain-raisers” of yore where the “B” teams would face one another, before the “A” showdown.

    The non-season ticket holders would be treated to 2 games for the price of one, they’d get to see our best academy players for a full 90 minute, instead of those pointless 20 minutes when the players themselves look like like they don’t know what they’re supposed to do with their position on the pitch, before even thinking of interacting with their teammates …

    Anyway … whisper it, but I don’t find these first 5 games that daunting …

    There’s the City game of course, but I actually think this is the best time of the season to take them on. The White Fart Lane game, we’ll be ready, and there’s no way Villa are going to do us in a 3rd time in a row. As for BHA they rode their luck under de Zerbi, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were made to suffer for it this season.

    So … bring on the Wolves to start with

    COYG

    Dick Calafiori looked a bit raw to me; I think his emotions got the better of him …

  • All good points, Legall. Thanks for the summaries. Friendlies are like a chilly con carne without the spices. On Saturday we will get the spices again. CoyrrGs.

  • Maybe being in the stadium is the reason I have a different view to l’homne from Normandy.

    I thought it was the perfect warm up for Wolves, Lyon aren’t no mugs and they put it about when they needed to and played the deep block with elan. Great practice. The team probably got more out of this game than the Leverkusan stroll. It’s what we need at this stage.

    A very family friendly atmosphere at The Grove, loads of kids in red n white and loads of women, but it was a positive crowd who really got behind the players and very different to the social media crowd.

    I thoroughly enjoyed it, our play was slick, inventive and just lacked a bit of sharpness but that’s normal at this stage, everyone is in the same boat post the Euros and Olympics.

    Zinchenko had a good game to me, but to be honest I’m so used to seeing all our players play to such a high standard that it’s easy to become complacent as a fan – I’m not, this is a great squad.

    Ethan and Myles came on and just fitted into the group, as did Califiori who effortlessly switched from left back to centre back when Gabriel went off for a rest, it was roasting in that stadium. Of course I wasn’t expecting Paolo Maldini straight away but he’ll get there. He also seems to have inherited the Santi Cazorla song.

    My only gripe? The overpriced food n drink in the stadium, but that is a small price to pay to enjoy and share in my grandkids first Emirates experience.

    As far as I’m concerned, I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this season.

    Try it, you never know you also might enjoy it.

  • Karl Hein joins Valladolid on loan with a view to hopefully play regularly in La Liga…

  • Hey, TA, would you mind/allow/prefer if I organize a competition in the loving memory of GN5?

    Not a weekly scoring prediction – I wouldn’t take that over – but a simplified one…

  • Just checking that I am back on line…

    PB, you are in the Spirit, mate.

    Good feedback from the game, Kev.

  • Hi PB, sorry for the delayed response. I have driving my daughter’s band NW to the Green Man festival in South-Wales today. I am really happy that you offered to do a competition. Gn5 is being missed by us all and it would be really good to have a new sort of competition this season. I am sure he would also have been delighted with you wanting to do this. Cheers, mate.

  • Thanks Total. I hope the festival is going well.

    I have received from my wife’s cousins husband a copy of the newly published “Liam Brady. Born to be a footballer. My autobiography”. It is signed by Liam himself and is a cracking read, one of the best autobiographies which I have ever read. I am happy to put it up as first prize for our competition this season in honour of GN5. It’s a treasure so I plan to win the comp myself… 🥝😇

  • LG, I have been looking forward to your thoughts on the Olympics. I thought beauty outshone the bizarre, and none shone more brightly than Dupont in the Sevens. What a generational talent.

  • Kai on his way to completing his « Smudge » metamorphosis …
    Sá would deserve an assist on this one, the impossible way he tried to deal with BS7’s cross is what any young GK is warned against doing on his first day at an academy … They could do with Aaron being loaned out to them, these Black Country boys.
    On the other hand, Raya did bail us out big time when he palmed away Larsen’s header. What a save that was, maybe one of the best of the season already.
    Our passing could be more free-flowing imo, it’d be nice to score the second asap, I’d like to see more of Dick Calafiori, and … who knows? maybe Ethan too.

    They look much more like Tangerine Lambs than Wolves to me, these Molineux lads btw, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were on their way to claiming one of the 3 seats in the down elevator this time …

    so 1-0 to the Artsenal is not enough today!!!

    COYG.

  • Well, if « going through he motions » has ever meant anything …
    They should issue a public apology to their fans for the second they conceded. It looked like a whole bunch of saloon-door defenders stood in front of Kai (is that an assist btw?) and Bukayo … unacceptable from any PL team, really. Having said that, Bukayo’s shot was impressive; he has that Mbappé-type near- post shot in his locker now, it’s going to be hell for GKs to anticipate, when he is in that very same position, from now on.
    Job well done anyway, but from the day the schedule came out, it was clear our season was bound to really kick of at Villa Pk, wasn’t it?
    COYG

  • U21s 4 Manure 2

    U18s 3 Hammers 2

    Not a bad week-end to be a Gooner, is it?

    I’ll write about the Olympics soon, lads … but to be thorough, particularly in my answer to F.’s question about the ceremony, I’ll have to drag you into French politics, and I don’t want to make too much a mess of this.

    Also, just so you know why I’m not being consistent about my inputs – and very bizarrely in touch with Pb’s brilliant suggestion about making sure GN’s spirit will live on; my health is not what I would like it to be.

    I’d known something was wrong with me for a long time (guys, if you have to get up at nights every 30 minute to take a leak, something is definitely wrong with you, mark my word) but I was dead set on denying it because I feared any doctor might tell me I got the 🦀

    So much so that not so long ago I ended up in the Rouen hospital emergency unit because my kidneys had stopped functioning altogether; turns out I have a prostate the size of a big, big grapefruit – the doctor who has looked after me ever since has this weird double-edged look about him when he talks to me: he is a young lad and on the one hand you can feel he’s focused on getting me out of this, but on the other hand you can’t help but feel he’d just love to tear this thing right off my insides, right away, so as to display it into a museum.

    Anyway, I’ve had all sorts of checkups lately, and it turns out none of my: kidneys, bladder, prostate itself have been infected so far by any kind of 🦀 (I’ve never been a smoker, and the lad sounds like he’s convinced it’s what’s been keeping me out of harm’s way so far – a warning to those of you who indulge in such poison), so much so that what is called the HoLEP kind of surgery can be performed on me, and it will be – on sep 5th.

    I feel fine, boys, I do, believe me, but I haven’t had a good night sleep in I don’t know how long (and don’t want to know) – hence the lack of consistency, I never know when exhaustion will knock me out, I systematically turn my alarm on so as to be awake for an Arsenal kickoff (which is why games in the colonies don’t make any difference to me). Just know it’s good to keep being in touch with you, which is why you ‘ll get this Olympics report soon, and by he length of it, you’ll feel sorry for asking for it …

    COYG

  • Quick one from me. Still in Wales.

    Legall, sorry to hear you are feeling poorly and thank you for sharing this with us. Restless nights are challenging and I hope the op will sort this out for you.

  • Just saw the highlights and the boys did well. Always tricky when we have a so called easy game as the first game. Rust will be gone now and all to play for against Emery’s Villans.

  • Sorry to hear that you’re ‘tom & dick’ Le Gall, Tamsulosin is a medicine regularity prescribed in the UK for similar conditions, it affects a lot of men of a certain age so many of us will fully understand the regular trips to the water closet.

    I hope your doctors sort you out and double lively because we need your L’Equipe style reporting from the home of Bill the bastard.

    i wonder if there are any referees in La Belle France who would fancy a stint in the Premier League as the one we got from the antipodes isn’t really up to standard.

  • Message from Stu: I’ve red circled that date in my diary, LG and will send up antipodean accented prayers for your op and successful convalescence. Let’s get that grapefruit into the Louvre, mate.

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