Arsenal’s Starting 11 Performances in just a few words

TotalArsenal

Our Heroes in a few words.

Raya: the man with two swans on his back. Could his night have been any calmer? A doddle.

Miles-Skelly: wisdom has no age. Showed more discipline and calm than an entire convent.

Kiwior: made us forget Big Gab for ninety minutes; there is no bigger compliment for an Arsenal CB.

Saliba: keeper of the castle. Found it so easy that he lost his concentration – just about human after all.

Timber: Vini, Vidi, Vici: Jurrien Timber, you just ate a man.

Rice: omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient. A footballer in full, Emperor.

Odegaard: they’ll lift you up where you belong. They missed YOU in their non-existent midfield last night. Bringer of relief and creativity.

Partey: the Emperor’s most trusted first soldier. Makes it all look effortless.

Martinelli: Became a Man last night. Perfect balance between duty and selfishness. Rewarded with the timeless winner. Well deserved.

Merino: epitome of a team player. Adaptable as an octopus and brilliant at all he is asked to do. Two assists to allow others to shine, says it all. No wonder the fans sing his name all the time.

Saka: he dinks when he wants. Perfect balance between confidence in ability and humility. A wonderful human being and footballer, and he is one of our very own.

By TotalArsenal

107 thoughts on “Arsenal’s Starting 11 Performances in just a few words”

  • Nice sentiments Total.

    Mikel is in the groove, he seems to be leaning even more into his inner George Graham even if he doesn’t realise it.

    I’m minded of Arsenal’s 1994 Cup Winners Cup campaign, when we were underdogs in most of the latter stages, but we beat an impressive Torino, then beat PSG in the S/F before beating Italian team Parma in final minus our star striker whilst they had a team full of superstars – Serie A was the Prem of its day!

  • “more discipline and calm than an entire convent.” 🤣Brilliant, Total. A fine thought to start Good Friday down here in the Celtic fringe.
    A blessed Easter to all at BK. Thank you each for the pleasure you bring to my life. Here, the storm has passed and it’s all good in the ‘hood.

  • I have some serious concerns for the future with AFC:

    1) There are too many players who are normally under the radar BUT after this magnificent performance, I am really worried that the $$$$ clubs will come and poach our best.

    2) How will Mikel make room for the up and coming players like Miles-Skelly, from the reserves and junior teams, so many of whom are really great prospects as well.

    3) We cannot win the league this year, bar a total collapse of Liverpool, but we can advance to the final if we perform against PSG like we did against Madrid. My concern again is that we’ll get more serious injuries in the EPL as teams try and hack us down to show they can beat the best!

    4) Will we be able to improve our team by summer transfers in and out? We already have 5 players who are out on loan and doing quite well. How is Mikel going to handle this embarrassment of choices?

    5) With Mikel, we have a superb manager but once again, will some $$$$$club try and poach him?

    6) This year we seem to be getting more solid officiating but with the PGMOL one never knows. My concern is that they’ll begin to try and play a role in Arsenal’s season.

  • 11 samurais, as many haikus. Great job, T.
    Togetherness is the middle name of them all, btw … We’ve just lost Partey for the first leg. He’s having the best season of his career – “something” plays through him this season, no DM in Europe is his match at the moment – and yet none of us will lose too much sleep about it. “Strangely enough, it’ll all turn out well”, and there won’t be any mystery about it – just what happens in one of these seasons when a team has become so much more than the sum of its parts…
    Great news, Stu – made me think of the first lines of one of my favourite teenage readings, Hugo Pratt’s graphic novel “The Ballad of the Salty Sea”:
    “I’m the Pacific Ocean and I’m the largest of them all. They gave me that name a very long time ago, thinking I was peaceful … but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes I get temperamental and sweep away everybody and everything. Today, for example, I lay down following my latest tantrum. Yesterday I must have thrashed three or four islands and just as many of those nutshells that men call boats …”

  • Few words that were all a story in themselves. Well captured views about those 11 players, Total. I wish you had room for the Manager because Mikel was a 10/10, for me, over both legs of the tie. Mikel has been up for the tie since the draws gave us an indication of our path and has prepared the team for the games, using buzz word phrases like “writing your own history”, “going there to win the match”; in the training sessions before the 2nd leg, score boards all around the pitch held up 0-0 score lines, as if to let the boys know to play the game as a fresh match to be contested. That’s some serious psychological build-up.

    With all the mind games the hosts employed, our lads were not affected. Boys showed nerves of steel at the Cauldron called the Bernabeu; especially the left side of defence with Kiwior and 18 year old (he can’t be 18, can he?) Lewis-Skelly marshalling that area.

    It was a great night out in Spain; just as it was out in North London a week before. We need more of those nights with success.

  • Great passage, Duke. My family has a history of love and loss relationship with the sea. My Great great grandfather was washed over board by a freak wave when returning to NZ from Scotland back in the 1870’s. My Dad was lost in the South Pacific while racing his yacht back in ’79.
    We live in the Bay of Islands and I am out on the water often. I find them both out there.
    Of all writers Melville captures the essence of the sea. Its wonders, its moods, its heart aching beauty and its heart breaking insouciance.
    This lovely passage from the psalms has always been a great comfort to me…

    Those who go down to the sea in ships,
    Who do business on great waters,
    They see the works of the Lord,
    And His wonders in the deep.
    For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
    Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
    They mount up to the heavens,
    They go down again to the depths;
    Their soul melts because of trouble.
    They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
    And are at their wits’ end.
    Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,
    And He brings them out of their distresses.
    He calms the storm,
    So that its waves are still.
    Then they are glad because they are quiet;
    So He guides them to their desired haven.
    Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
    And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

  • Yes, Eris. Mikel and his coaching team deserve the perfect Bo Derek.
    And, as much as we all love Martin, do we not see Declan as the teams natural leader?

  • Now that you have gone there, Stu……
    I feel the weight of the arm band may be limiting for Martin. Just as it was when Granit Xhaka was here, the real leader of the team is between Gabriel and Rice. Arteta has to consider this and manage a transition well, so as not to disrupt the present emotional balance.

  • Yes, Eris, Mikel was and is Fantastic. But the boys were on the pitch, so I focused on them. You know that I regularly write about how important Arteta is for Arsenal. I think even PB is coming round to this POV. 🙃

  • As if the sea should part

    As if the Sea should part
    And show a further Sea —
    And that — a further — and the Three
    But a presumption be —

    Of Periods of Seas —
    Unvisited of Shores —
    Themselves the Verge of Seas to be —
    Eternity — is Those —

    Emily Dickinson

  • Amen, Frank. Hope and light, brother.
    And is Emily not another of His gifts. Who else can write eight such lines?

  • Good luck to the Ladies tomorrow. The Lyon ladies are so technically gifted, all round, and are still unbeaten in their league (no surprises seeing as they are brimming with many internationals) . But what our ladies have is grit and desire for success.

    COYG!!!!

  • Poets Corner:

    Never leave without goodbye.

    Never leave without a kiss.

    For if one’s end is sudden nigh,

    the last chance has been missed.

  • The ladies are down by a goal, at home to Lyon. They are seeking the equaliser but risk leaving their flanks exposed as they do so.

    Hopefully, they get a draw and go to France and make it an open game.

  • A bridge too far for the ladies today, I guess. Still, it may be a different game in the second leg.

  • We really need to grind out a win tomorrow at Ipswich, it won’t be easy with a heavily rotated team post Madrid, but the chasing lack is closing in…

  • Califiori might make his return against Palace in midweek if not from the bench at Ipswich 🤞.

    Havertz could be back for the 2nd leg in Paris?

    Don’t shoot the messenger..,

  • Nice, Kev. Toon Hermans. I had to look him up. Never equated the Dutch with poetry. Tulips, art, beer, voyaging, judo, football, bicycles, clogs, canals, windmills, cheese, tall people, and the colour orange. Mind you, Total can wax lyrical on occasion.

  • After Mikel M’s performances of late, would you see a fit Kai usurping his position?

  • … and where/what would we be without Spinoza’s thought?
    Don’t have a clue about today’s XI, don’t know what to say about the game at all, actually, but …
    COYG

  • Having Havertz back then would be bliss, Kev, but I also think Mikel has done superbly in his absence. Is there a position you don’t expect him to do well in? Did we ever have a more versatile player?

  • I am no connoisseur of Dutch poetry but I like Hermans, who is from my former neck of the woods, Stu.

    One of the big JCs in Dutch society is of course the greatest poet:

    It’s like everything in football – and life. You need to look, you need to think, you need to move, you need to find space, you need to help others. It’s very simple in the end.

    Johan Cruyff

    If you look at other countries, you see they have different values: defend more, pass the ball out more, winning is holy. In England, you could say that sport itself is holy. They say, ‘Look, guys, it’s about more than just winning.’

    Johan Cruyff

  • Johan knew his onions.

    Stu, having Kai back would just offer us more options. We still haven’t heard what is really wrong with Jorginho so an early return from him wouldn’t be a tootal shock.

    Agree TA, Arteta is still learning and he’s shown further development in his managerial skills, the way he’s mix n matched his injury hit squad has been impressive.

    Kudos to the U15’s/U16’s who reached the semi-finals of a prestigious youth competition and without some key players who are training with the U21’s and Seniors. Education at such an early stage is what counts and they will have learnt a lot vs some older more experienced youths.

  • Agree again TA, after a slow injury hit start Merino is showing his quality and why Arteta pushed so hard for him, he’s tactically intelligent and technically proficient, he doesn’t charge around mindlessly but instead reads the game and uses his intellect to save his legs. His style tells me that he’s going to be a valuable player well into his mid-30’s where brains triumph’s over brawn.

  • Legall, Spinoza was a great thinker, heavily influenced by you fellow countryman, Rene Descartes. I see him less as a poetic writer, but certainly one of the brightest minds ever to have lived on Dutch soil (strongly influenced by his Portuguese/Spanish background). The most famous wordsmith, and probably greatest scholar born on Dutch soil, is Desiderius Erasmus in my opinion.

    The nearer people approach old age the closer they return to a semblance of childhood, until the time comes for them to depart this life, again like children, neither tired of living nor aware of death.

    Desiderius Erasmus

  • Newcastle getting thrashed at Villa Park was handy as it halts the Geordie charge in its stride, we don’t really want to finish below them!

    Would love to see one of our youngsters getting a debut at Portman Road today but it’ll all be about game state as we need to win to put some distance between us and City who are creeping up on the rails. Ipswich are fighting for their lives and will go for it like a cup tie, Arsenal just have to be smart, stay healthy and leave something in the tank for Palace and PSG.

  • Yes Total, we come into this world dependent and revert to dependency before we depart it.

    Luckily I’m hanging on in there and sounding more and more like Victor Meldrew – it’s delicious… 😀

  • Should Kai be back by the end of the month, and unless our skipper quits plateauing and gears up again, in-form Mikel might actually be a contender for what would be some kind of re-invention of the “playmaker” spot …
    I find a …
    Saka-Merino-Martinelli
    Havertz
    … forward line tantalizing, all the more so since Kai’s and Mikel’s very similar profiles would allow them to switch roles constantly, which would be very likely to drive our opponents’ CBs, DMs, and … managers insane

  • Yes, Erasmus, but if I were to choose a trinity of Netherlanders to sit around a dinner table with, ‘twould be Corrie Ten Boom who taught me forgiveness, Hans Van Duyn who was my judo instructor and Rinus DeRonde who coached me football.

    It will be brilliant to see Kai back on the pitch.

  • Hey, TA, you should know better than to engage me, or it’s gonna be TLDR time. 🙂

    My thought on the CL quarter finals:

    I admire, but absolutely don’t share the flattery that the team’s performance was 10/10.
    And I think that is exactly what’s fantastic about the triumph over Real Madrid – and what makes our further chances look promising – that we didn’t burn at maximum temperature (play at the highest intensity). We made (serious) mistakes, we had our fair share of bad luck and good luck; there is still plenty of reserve in the team, yet we still went through with 2 wins and 5:1 aggregate against the defending champion.
    In fact, if we were playing 10/10 we would have little to no chance of lifting the trophy, as the team cannot keep performing at the highest level.

    Essentially, Rice and Merino played near peak form in both games. Raya, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Partey and Martinelli also did really well, but they can consistently bring this level at any time – at least that can be expected of them. Timber effortlessly made world’s #1 valued player disappear, but we know that he is still capable of doing even more (especially in supporting the attacks).
    Saliba, Saka and Trossard played below their known abilities, and Odegaard was downright weak. If all four (five) of them improve – close the gap between their potential and actual performance – plus Calafiori and White don’t embarrass themselves, then Rice and Merino can afford to play only at a decent level and we will still have time to get in shape for the finals.

    As far as our chances look I would give us 50% against PSG and the same against Barcelona, but only 25% against Inter Milan. So approximately 20% to lift the trophy in June. Which is about 3 times as high as we had after the group stages, but it’s way too early to start celebrating; let’s keep the champagne in the fridge for the time being.

  • Love it, PB. Consistently critical when the rest of Europe sings our praises. You don’t know what the instructions were and so whether some players could have done even better is irrelevant. They were all 11/10 because they won as a team. The idea that Saka and Saliba could have played any better when they were head and shoulders above their closest rivals is ridiculous to me, but you are of course entitled to you views. Never forget to take the circumstances into account. Players are not machines, and Bernabeu they rose above themselves each and everyone of them. There is certainly more to come, but that’s beside the point.

  • Ha Erasmus was a great teacher, Stu. There wasn’t much he didn’t know at the time. But I am glad that other Dutchies have helped you to be who you are today.

  • That’s me Total, I’ve developed this character trait as I’ve moved into my latter years, it’s basically a lack of patience for idiots both online and anywhere else for that matter.

    It’s quite refreshing and almost Flemish I believe… 😀

  • Ipswich: Palmer, Tunazebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis, Morsey, Cajuste, Johnson, Encisco, Clarke, Hirst.
    Subs: Walton, Godfrey, Woolfenden, Burgess, Boniface, Luongo, Taylor, Chaplin, Delap.

    Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Rice, Merino, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Trossard.
    Subs: Neto, Timber, Tierney, Lewis-Skelly, Partey, Henry-Francis, Butler-Oyedeji, Nwaneri, Sterling.

  • I think many people are quite relieved when they get out of my cab Total. 😆

    Not that I talk to many of them anymore. 😁

  • Good to see Butler O get a run out, not sure that he has a future at Arsenal but I’m pleased for the lad.

  • Maybe Arteta had the hump with Partey for getting a yellow card in the Bernabeu Total?

  • Could well be the case, Kev. It could also be a precaution as he might be in the red zone.

    With Thomas out of contract he must avoid serious injury now, so maybe Arteta is helping him a bit.

  • A miracle our starboy’s season didn’t come to an end today … I was under the impression he was limping after the two-bit-punk had brought him down; I don’t quite get why he wasn’t taken off right away.
    Trossard is a genuine fox-in-the-box, isn’t he? His first was right out of our childhood playground textbook, thanks for the stroll down memory lane, Leo …
    Let’s turn the Eagles into doves now, COYG

  • It’s a super photo on the header. Joyous young men in one of the defining moments of their lives.

  • TA, we are in full agreement that there are many beauties in this game, and one of them is that – unlike politics, vaccines, cilmate change or immigration – we don’t have to share each other’s views in order to have a decent conversation. And you are further perfectly right that I didn’t/don’t know the on-field instructions, therefore you are my absolute guest to extend your 10/10 (or 11/10) to our draw against Brentford, as thair is a fair chance that the instructions might have included to misdirect the observers and hence derail their preparation for the second leg. And let’s not forget or disregard, that they drew as a team.

    In fact, if the missed penalty and the catastrophic error leading to Real Madrid’s equalizer are insufficient data to hint that Saka and Saliba could have played any better, then Partey’s needless booking does not contradict the 11/10 rating either; as it could have been intentional, since neither of us were witness to the field instructions.

  • Happy Easter, to you, all!
    Let the bunny bring a massive win against CP even without Jesus.

  • Thanks Petr. I hope you enjoyed some sonka, toltott tojas, kalacs and have been out on a locsolkodás mission. What a wonderful tradition that is, and such fun for young men to chase young women sprinkling them with perfumed water. Did you indulge as a boy?
    Roast lamb is our culinary way of marking the feast. Followed by a large chocolate egg which we ceremoniously break open, finding it empty. Just like the tomb.

  • PSG, I believe, have a League game today and another one on Friday, so hopefully two very physical games with plenty of heavy tackles?

    Crystal Palace play an FACup Semi-Final on Saturday so hopefully they’ll play a heavily rotated team this Wednesday?

  • You are remarkably cultured, Stu!
    My mother made hard-boiled egg stuffed with all kinds of delicacies (but mostly eggplant cream, tuna and ajvar – a spicy roasted bell pepper relish from Serbia), and this year I was in charge of the ham (sonka). I bought the already smoked – but otherwise raw – one and cooked it with celery, garlic, peppercorn and bay leaves, and made a mean bean soup from the cooking water, carrots, potatoes, sausage and some of the ham. However I had to skip the milk-lof (kalács) due to calorie considerations.

    When I was a boy I did enjoy the tradition of sprinkling – and always preferred a discreet fruit-scented spray over heavy perfume or the sodamaker – but recent years my son (7.5) carries the tradition. For the time being he is primarily interested in the chocolate egg he usually gets in return, but maybe he will start appreciating the company of young girls in the future. 🙂

    I didn’t know that the chocolate egg is empty/hollowed due to the tomb analogy. I always thought it is more efficient having a small mass with a large surface (otherwise the actual chocolate could only fill a tiny ball), or they save the children from eating a huge piece of chocolate – potentially in one sitting – but now the tomb makes perfect sense. 🙂

  • The chocolate egg/tomb analogy is just a family tradition of ours, Petr.
    That relish sounds wonderful. I ate copious amounts of roasted stuffed peppers during my visits to Serbia in the ’80’s. I have a Slavic heritage on my mothers side and always felt a sense of belonging when in former Yugoslavia. I was called “Dallyboy” (from Dalmatia) in school here in NZ . I always regarded it as a term of endearment.

  • PSG tonight against Nantes – they’re strollin’ to a 1-0, meaningless away win:
    Donnarumma
    ZaïreEmery-Marquinhos-Beraldo-Mendes
    Neves
    Lee-Vitinha-Ruiz-Kvaratskehlia
    Dembelé
    … not that different from Enrique will pick next Tuesday
    (Donnarumma
    HAKIMI-Marquinhos-PACHO-Mendes
    Neves
    DOUÉ-Vitinha-Ruiz-Kvaratskhelia
    Dembelé
    … with 99% certainty)
    Two possible XIs for us imo:
    Raya
    White (Timber) – Saliba – Kiwior – Timber ( LewisSkelly)
    Rice – LewisSkelly (Merino)
    Saka – Ødegaard – Martinelli
    Merino (Trossard)
    … I know Leo did very well saturday, but … I ilke the bracketless one better !!

  • Stu, you are such a Cosmopolitan gentlemen; so worldly too. Is there any country’s culture you don’t know a thing or two about? 👏🏽

  • Ha! Eris, it is all down to the company I keep, especially on this much loved blog.

    Benny or Justin? Whoever gets the unenviable task of marking the Georgian lad is in for a challenging evening.

  • He’s definitely switched to basket-ball, T.
    Tuesday 15th he didn’t even watch the Villa return game. Instead he watched Paris BasketBall’s win over … Real (!!), which qualified them for the EuroLeague play-offs.
    It’s not only a Paris fan thing, he told me that Tuomas Iisalo, who coached Paris BB ’til the start of the season, and Tiago Splitter, the Brazilian who took over after the Finnish made it to the NBA, are his main inspirations …
    Actually living the life of a BB assistant coach is becoming a child of Cronus, you spend your time watching videos of opponents’ games, in order to decipher their strategies-plays-formations (“systèmes” in French) for the head coach – indeed, you’re like the “D” in Norm McDonald’s “ID”, you do most of the legwork.
    And at the moment, with a French Cup Final in sight … for all he cares, our semi might as well take place in a parallel universe I think.

  • Sounds like father and son are a great team, Legall. To be so involved is a blessing.

    Basketball is an amazing sport and I bet the tactics are complicated to understand.

  • 1. Herbert Chapman

    2. Winston Churchill

    3. Horatian Nelson

    The first one saved Arsenal.
    The other two saved England.

    Who are your three favourite Dutchmen, or women Total?

  • Have a good rest Total, we all need a break from time to time, although I’m sure that Arteta will be fully motivated for the last three games.

  • Positive fitness news following an open training session with the appearance of Rice, Jorginho, Timber, Trossard and the welcome return of Havertz…

    We owe Newcastle some serious pain after all they’ve put on us this season so this Sunday will hopefully see some payback?

  • Gabriel signing an extension to his contract up to 2029 is fantastic news for the club and the supporters as that pretty much ties The King of Brazil to the Arsenal for the rest of his career, as he’ll be 31 when it expires!

    That commitment by Big Gabby should also influence Big Bill and help to encourage him to extend his own contract, once he extends that’ll be pretty much the end of Real Madrid’s hope of getting BB in the short term or for a sneaky Bosman in two years time!

    It represents the first successful deal by Andrea Berta this summer, but there’s still a lot to do and conclude by our new Director of Football.

  • Myles Lewis Skelly has agreed new terms to extend his contract, so say the ‘knowledgeable ones’ but until it’s clear how long that deal is I suspect that ink has not been applied to paper and so we wait on that one…

    Martin Zubimendi has been widely reported to have been in the UK, having a medical perhaps?

    Could be he’s been meeting with his new employers or house hunting perhaps?

    It’s possible he’s been checking out the stadium, the training centre and signing his contract prior to his announcement in July?

    Nothing is simple in the world of transfers….

  • Looks as if Kepa will complete his £5m move from Chelsea this week, a move that makes a lot of sense on the back of Kepa’s impressive season just gone on loan at Bournemouth.

    Should see the wheels of a few transfers put in place that start to turn early next month with pre-season approaching.

    My son is taking me on a Legends Tour of the Emirates this Saturday, a late Father’s Day gift and I’m really looking forward to it. The last time I did one of these was a tour of Highbury the summer after the Invincible’s.

  • Congratulations to Ethan, an U21 European Champion, youngest player in the squad at 18…

  • Same goes to both Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Omari Hutchinson, especially for playing all games.

  • Lovely to read about your son honouring you in that fashion, Kev. Which legend was your tour guide?

  • My hero Charlie George, he’s getting on Stu but he’s still a bit of a rebel, made a lot of unwoke jokes that I loved, that went over the heads of many of the other much younger and probably sensitive tourists but he had some amazing stories.

    Best defender he faced? Colin Todd, who became a firm friend of his at Derby, I thought he’d say Bobby Moore.

    Best footballer he played with? Francis Lee, again who he played with at Derby.

    He doesn’t rate Gyokeres!
    Prefers Sesko!

    He also told me some unfortunate news about Big Raddy and Gorgeous George, apparently they’re not in the best of health, that made me sad.

    The heat knocked us out but the Emirates was well worth the visit.

    In other good news the club has ditched the horrible Camden Ale as its beer partner and gone with a Japanese beer company, whose beer I can say is very drinkable.

  • Looks as if Gabriel Jesus is ahead of schedule in terms of his recovery, so hopefully he’ll be fit enough to join up at some stage with pre-season training and preparations.

    How his recovery and fitness affects Arsenal’s urgency in signing another striker this month will be interesting?

    The fact that Arsenal aren’t behaving in a desperate fashion in its search will hopefully mean we’ll sign someone with a realistic price tag rather than the inflated prices being suggested and notwithstanding the signing-on fees expected by agents and players alike.

    Ekitike being brought into the conversation might be part of the poker game being played by Berta and the online noise?

    Even Chelsea’s failed No.9 Jackson has been mentioned in dispatches, so the net widens.

  • Probably the most disappointing news in some time has to be the end of the Arsenal career of Tomiyasu, he seemed a really nice guy on top of him being a class defender, it’s not going to be easy finding a replacement for him and certainly not at the price we paid at the time or with his talent and versatility.
    Good luck Tommy.

  • The sad news of Diogo Jota occupied most football fans minds for awhile recently and as Arsenal fans it reminds us of our own losses namely David Rocastle and Niccolo Galli. Life is fragile and we all probably take it for granted at different periods of our own.

    But football is effectively an escape mechanism and the arrival of Martin Zubimendi tapped into that just as we needed a lift and what’s more we could see two and possibly three more arrivals over the coming days?

    Don Berta is getting into his stride and I’m hopeful that by the time the season kicks off we’ll have most of the major pieces in place…

  • Nordgaard, the Arsenal fan, becomes the latest signing of Don Berta, the ex-Brentford midfielder will join Arsenal with no expectations apparent from the fans, but he was the captain at his previous club and will bring that strong mentality to North London. Sometimes the least the expectations the more the reward?

  • Just caught up with your posts, Kev. Charlie sounds a treat. He was on duty when my best mate did the tour some years back and was reportedly similarly hilarious. I prefer the Sesko kid, too. I guess we’ll soon find out. Glad to read that news of Gabby J. What a treat to have him back in contention. May The Lord bless George and John. Always loved Raddy, my first Arsenal Centre Forward, strapping, fearless and a fine goal scorer.
    Amen to your best wishes to Tomi.
    Torrential rain has been our diet the past few days down here. My game is cancelled for tomorrow due to our sand based pitch being flooded! All very different to your heat wave.

  • Hi Stu, yes the heat is, if not unbearable, is quite taxing, a few hours driving in London traffic in a hot diesel powered cab can leave you quite worn out. Tomorrow I’m off and Sunday it’s Grandad time so that’ll be fun, and exhausting, but fun indeed.

    The reaction Stu of some ‘self-styled’ Arsenal fans or bad actors to the news of Noni Madueke joining our club is both unedifying and frankly embarrassing, that’s if those involved were actually Gooners.

    It seems the advent of social media has seen so many people lose all sense of self awareness in their desperation to be seen as relevant or informed. I find it increasingly difficult to take any of them seriously.

    I wish Noni every success in this next stage of his career…

  • That looks interesting Stu but TfL would never allow under their Conditions of Fitness.

    Seems as if an agreement with Sporting has finally been concluded, Arsenal played a blinder not getting involved in the agent/president spat.

    End result is we get a striker who’ll bring a completely different set of skills to what we’re used to by our usual forwards.

    I can’t help but see many similarities between Viktor and Ian Wright, he’s going to have some rough edges to smooth out and he’ll miss a few but he could prove to be the perfect antidote to the low/mid block?

  • Still waiting to get some of the three pending deals over the line, I guess the club are busy producing their slick ‘Welcome to Arsenal’ videos meanwhile us fans just want the deals done and announced, never mind the MTV style vids full of flashy camera angles and scampi n chips style interviews.

    Madueke and Mosquera are I imagine done n dusted and we should hear something over the next 48 hours as Arteta will want as many of his 25/26 squad with him in the Far East as he prepares for a monumental campaign.

    Sporting are being as unhelpful as they possibly can be but eventually they’ll need to accede to Arsenal as they’ll need to do business of their own, I hate doing business with Portuguese clubs.

  • Madueke is over the line but he’s now, deservedly, going on holiday, which makes sense as we want him fit and firing next month. But it means we won’t see him on the tour which is a bummer.

    Nwaneri could have also skipped the tour due to the U21’s tournament he was a part of but interestingly he wants to go – and that’s exactly what we and Arteta want to hear, Ethan is on a mission…

    A slight hold up in the medical of Mosquera but nothing major going by the vibes, so it just means he’ll take a later flight out to Singapore.

    Nothing on Eze, Gyokeres ditto…

  • By the way, I was having a chat with with Johnno, a big Madueke fan, in which I suggested to him if Arteta might well see a Dembele type role for Madueke at some point during the season, you know a more central role?

    One to watch perhaps?

  • Interesting, Kevski. There is a lot to unfold about our incoming players and our squad generally this season. My anticipation levels are revving up.

  • Seems that the Spanish lad has completed all the necessary paperwork and media stuff and is on his way to the Far East. Hopefully he’ll get there in time to play some part in the Newcastle game?

    Rumours of the Gyokeres deal finally approaching a positive conclusion. 🤞

    Yes Stu there’s a lot to look forward to…

  • Well as pre-season games go that was a nice stress free walk in the park, Milan were as defensively organised as you’d expect from a team coached by Max Allegri but as an attacking threat they were fairly punchless. Neither Raya or Kepa had a save of any consequence for the entire 90+ minutes. All the same it was good prep for facing the many low and mid blocks that’ll be lined up in front of our Gunners this coming season.

    Nordgaard, Zubimendi, Kepa, Salmon and Dowman, the debutantes, all acquitted themselves well and but for two impressive goalkeeping performances in the Milan goal the win would have been more impressive. So far so good.

  • All the hype will surround Arsenal’s new signings understandably but I can also see Max Dowman making a big and early impact this season from the bench. Saka got MotM in today’s game vs Newcastle but it was Dowman that everyone was talking about.

    Salmon and Nichols made two more untroubled appearances and Harriman Annous had an interesting cameo..

  • He looks good in it, too, Kevski. A prize fighters build, look of steely determination in his eye, and a smile and haircut which should shift a few shirts. Max caught the eye in a quite spectacular fashion, but all those youngsters looked composed and at home, even despite the Geordie thuggery they were up against.

  • Hi Stu, it’s so hard to remember and believe that Max Dowman (according to Jeorge Bird’s blog) is still a ‘schoolboy’ – Salmon is a 1st year, Harriman Annous is a 2nd year whilst Nichols, Copley and Kabila are young professionals.

    I grew up listening to tales of Duncan Edwards from my Dad, a boy in a man’s body and possibly destined to be one of the greatest players to have come out of these islands and the comparisons with Dowman are spooky. Is it possible that given Dowman’s developmental arch that he could one day become the youngest Englishman to represent his country? There is definitely something in the water at Hale End.

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