Arsenal v Leeds Review: Set-Piece Monster scores again, Gyokeres’ Brace and that Heavenly Eberechi Smile

TotalArsenal

A 5-0 drumming of the Peacocks, or Whites, if you prefer that nickname, was just what the shrink ordered. We all loved the 1-0 at Old Bog, a result we will always take when playing red or blue Manchester. But we also knew that our attacking football was underwhelming, and that Arteta and the boys had work to do. To then play our first home game this season v newly promoted Leeds offered a great opportunity to put in a marker, and that’s exactly what Arsenal did yesterday.

Leeds started well enough. They were well drilled to soak up pressure with a low block and then pounce on the counter (ideally targeting the space and personnel on our left). Farke wanted his team not to sit back all the time but also come out and play. But, as he also later admitted, Arsenal were simply to dominate and strong, especially in midfield.

It looks to me that with Calafiori pushing up on the left our attack is more balanced. Madueke, chosen over Martinelli and Trossard on our left, offered a presence and energy Arsenal have not had for a while. With both wings offering a threat, there appeared to be more space through the middle for the likes Odegaard, Rice and Zubimendi. Gyokeres was also dynamic and produced the sort of runs and movements that made the central defence of Leeds constantly unsettled. Yet, poor final and penultimate balls kept us from creating gild-edged chances. The boys were trying hard and the Whites held strong and something special, or in Arsenal’s case typical, had to happen.

1-0 to the Arsenal

Set-piece again Ole Ole. What a weapon and monster this is: 33 in 78 games now (since August 2023); that’s 0.42 per game! And it was a beauty of a set-piece. The fear factor for these is enormous, and that in itself is a reason for Arsenal’s success with these. What are the Gunners going to do this time? Who to mark? Why are they all standing at the back post? at the edge of the box? all in an offsite position? etc etc. It is just pure pandemonium.

2-0 to the Arsenal

The second goal was a team beauty and school example of how to beat a low block. Raise the tempo, push hard, make lots of movement in and around the box and defenders lose their whereabouts and control: organised chaos. Nwaneri was a big factor in this. He lost the ball but Rice regained it, the always quick thinking and acting Timber, on a high after his fine opening goal, played in Saka with a finely weighted ball into the box. Bukayo had plenty of time to look and plan his action. Gyokeres was ready to pounce and this created space and doubt in the defence; the young Englishmen sharpened his ‘weaker’ right foot and rifled the ball into the top far corner. Glorious.

3-0 to the Arsenal

The third goal is of course a very important one. It settled the game for us but, more importantly, it was Gyokeres’ first PL goal of his Arsenal career. And one from open play: after Calafiori launched him into space, Viktor had a lot to do but he had been waiting for such a ball all game long. It was a brilliant individual goal and scored with the sort of confidence and ease that we have been missing sorely from a central attacking in recent years. Welcome to the Arsenal, Viktor.

4-0 to the Arsenal

Set-piece again Ole Ole. Enough said.

5-0 to the Arsenal

Max Dowman on the ball, with or without space, is a joy to watch. He takes you back to playing football with jumpers for goal posts: caress the ball and move forward, take on opponents, and take them on again, until the ball is past the line. He gets fouled so often and has already gained two penalties for us in a handful of games on the pitch. Arsenal only got two PL penalties all season in 2024-25, and Max is the sort of player who will get them for us time and again. Gyokeres took the penalty the Neeskens way. No nonsense with tricking the goalkeeper, just filthy power. Boooooooooom.

I don’t think I have been happier this years, except for the drumming of the other Whites from Madrid at the home of football. Yes we lost a few players to injury but this is happening to all clubs at the moment. A five nil win is always wonderful, but it is that heavenly Eberechi Eze smile when he entered the ground that was especially sweet and will stay with me forever. Welcome home, son.

“The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” T.S. Eliot

By TotalArsenal

102 thoughts on “Arsenal v Leeds Review: Set-Piece Monster scores again, Gyokeres’ Brace and that Heavenly Eberechi Smile”

  • Just a segue from the main post to you LG. Maybe signing Jaquet and loaning him back to his present club is the way to go? It would mirror the development phase of Big Bill and allow a ‘pathway’ (ugh) for any young defender at the academy to progress?

    Just a thought…

  • Total, that TSE quote I painted over my eldest sons bed, just below his library shelves when he was but two years old. It was the first thing he saw when he awoke each morning. It took him a couple of decades to realize its power, beauty and prophetic nostalgia.

    It’s a good thought, Kev. Such a plan honours the club who helped raise him.

  • Thanks for sharing that interview, Total. Nice read too. You can tell Eze is a man of faith with strong Christian values. Trust his Nigerian Mom to instil that in him. That’s what they do. 😁

  • I watched the Fulham v Manure game yesterday with Mozart and Schubert in the background and no boring Sky commentary in the background.

    The away team started strong but lacked a bit of luck to open the scoring. They certainly have a lot of power and craft in attack now, and I fear for Burnley the coming weekend. Fulham got into the game gradually and, despite two controversial decisions in the box that of course went the Mancs way, they dug out a draw thanks a goal made by ex-Gunners Iwobi and ESR. Alex played well throughout the game, the sort of player Manure really are missing. Emile scored a great goal and the smile on his face was a joy to behold.

  • Morning TA and associates…

    I saw Leeds play last week and anticipated a rough n tough encounter, but it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined, both the injuries to Odegaard and Saka had an element of misfortune about them.

    I actually thought that the Scouse supporting referee had a decent game, very surprising given the opponent’s next weekend.

  • There is still some change in approach needed during build up with several years of safety first passing instilled into our players to modify. You don’t throw the baby out with the bath water as that would be moronic but you adapt and you evolve and as the game progressed I could see more urgency in turnovers and more risk taking to break the mid block. There will be tougher days against more resourceful opponents but the changes are there and they’re developing.

  • Timber scored with a delightfully directed header, heading is not exactly a lost art but many players lack competence when heading the ball. Timber for his height has a George Grahamesque quality in timing his jumps so that he gives the impression of hanging in the air and strong neck muscles that he uses for power and direction, it’s a skill you develop by practice and Dutch players love to practice. I’d love to sign his brother!

  • Sounds perfect to me, Kev – a whole Ligue 1 season under the kid’s belt would sure speed up his “be-PL-ready” process; and to tell the truth, one more season of “Kiwior-the Gonner” I have absolutely nothing against.
    Wonderful Wrighty-Eze conversation on .com, lads!!

  • Not having to rely on just Gabriel careering past opponents trying to block him is a very handy weapon to have. Timber, Calafiori and Gyokeres have all shown an aptitude in actually putting the ball in the net with their heads or from set pieces, the Stoke barbs are borne out of jealousy, ignorance and fear, because we look really good.

    Rice and Zubimendi are developing a nice understanding but we need to be patient as we won’t see the best of them until mid Autumn, but it’s looking very positive. I also enjoyed Madueke’s impact and look forward to him scoring his first goal for us.

    I thoroughly enjoyed the substitutions, they must have so irritated the MA haters no end, all those young players coming on, who would have thought it, not the haters!

  • Keeping Kiwior makes perfect sense to me LG but unfortunately I suspect that we need to sell for PSR reasons and he seems to want to go, which is a shame.

    I expect to see Berta being very busy this week, it should be interesting.

  • The Stoke comparisons become even keener when that “good man” Calafiore operates those lengthy levers of his and tosses the ball right into the six yard box. Another set piece weapon to add to the arsenal.

  • Great comments Kev. Yes that was an excellent header by Timber. I also loved his poke. He has that ability to be hyper energetic when it matters most.

  • Half of that will be taken up by the Interlull but 4 weeks for Saka is quite long all the same – maybe not taking any chances but I reckon he’ll be back in 3 Total.

    Another new defender?

    Well we have let a few go this summer and if Zinchenko and Kiwior leave then that maybe leaves us a little light given that Calafiori, White and Timber have all had injury issues and given how stressful it is to play full-back these days. Maybe the position should be re-named quarter-back?

    Overall it looks as if KSE are going all-out this season and that the next couple or three windows will be a lot more sedate, with one in one out scenario’s?

  • Yes Kev, it looks like Arsenal are investing now for stability in the future. Then we can sell one or two every summer for excellent money and replace them with quality.

  • It wouldn’t surprise me Total if Odegaard is actually fit for Anfield.

    Do we start with Eze at Anfield or do we have him on the bench, that’s going to be one hell of a decision?

    I’ve got a feeling Total that we may need to go with a slightly more, hard running, defensive minded and industrious starting XI – and then bring on the magicians when Luckypool run out of steam.

  • I’d bet quite a few bucks on:
    Madueke-Merino-Martinelli
    Gyö
    upfront – experience, commitment, strength … and quality, in order to help our back-6 bring down the level of pressure you always get in the first fifteen minutes at Anfield.
    … I don’t think a diminished Øde will get the nod to start (I hope not, actually – otherwise, what’s the point of having such a squad?).
    Ebz (and Ethan, as well) coming on from the bench if needed will disturb Slot’s plans more than if he’s given sixty minutes to guess where he’ll play exactly, and give adapted advice to his boys, imo …

  • OK Legall, interesting call. I wouldn’t be surprised if Martinelli is gone by then, given that he wasn’t used on Saturday.

    But I have nothing against that line up.

  • If we got the right offer then possibly Martinelli could be sold, but I’m not sure that Arteta wants to sell anyone following the experience of last season and it’s litany of injuries Total.

    Remember Arteta started Martinelli at Old Toilet, he values the defensive work that GM brings to the left flank and if he uses Calafiori at Luckypool then he’s gonna need some insurance on that flank.

    Bringing on Eze against a tiring Luckypool feeling the strains of St James might just be the ticket. I also agree with LG with Merino, the Darlings of the Media have a big, physical midfield and it’s going to be a war zone there for at least an hour, now if we can stay with them and maybe have a lead after an hour then we can send on the Orchestrater of Chaos to kill them on the hour, just as the muscles start to ache…

  • Continued good points about Martinelli, Kev. He didn’t feature v Leeds, though, and we have probably too many wingers now. Bu5 yes price has to b3 right.

    Would be quite surprised if Eze doesn’t start on Sunday.

  • Interesting snippet on Arseblog, the rumour is Arsenal are trying to negotiate with Leverkusen, for accounting reasons, taking Hincapie on loan with an obligation. Makes sense both in terms of PSR and UEFA FFP. If anyone can do it, Berta can…

  • 🚨 BREAKING: Arsenal still have £134m available to spend this summer before hitting their £302m FFP cap, per Squawka.

    🔴 The Gunners have invested £168m upfront on 7 new signings, with a further £75m in installments.

    💰 This spending power comes from:

    3 straight 2nd-place Premier League finishes

    Consistent Champions League QF & SF runs

    Growth in club assets & revenue

    Arsenal remain in a strong financial position heading into the final stretch of the transfer window.

  • Up to Burslem for the League Cup, boys. Not a bad draw. Things looking grim for Man U…

  • Arsenal will play: Bayern Munich (home), Inter Milan (away), Atletico Madrid (home), Club Brugge (away), Olympiacos (home), Slavia Prague (away), Kairat Almaty (home) and Athletic Bilbao (away).

    A nice set of games with luckily the Kairat (someone who is going to do Kai?) game at home.

  • Bayern (H) – Inter (A) – Atletico (H) – Brugge (A) – Olympiacos (H) – Slavia (A) – Kairat (H) – Bilbao (A)
    We’ll make it, eventually, but this might be a bit of a bumpy ride …
    Bayern … well in the Champions’ League, they’ve been such stuff our nightmares were made of, haven’t they?
    Inter away … they have roughly the same team which annihilated us last season – in what was probably our poorest 24-25 CL game
    Atletico … they’ve been off to a terrible start so far. I’m used to watching them because I’ve been a Griezmann fan for years, and Simeone really looks like he’s at the very end of his tether; but you never know what to expect from such a defense-minded bunch, they can always pull a “smash-and-grab” performance
    Brugge … their season is officially a success since the moment they knocked out Rangers; they’ll play with absolute peace of mind, and contrary to Atleti, it’s their attack-minded tactics we should be wary of
    Olympiacos … the last time we came across them in the EL is a painful memory, their U19s won the Youth League 2 seasons ago, which is the sure sign of how seriously they work – I don’t know how many kids have been promoted though (if any)
    Slavia … I’ve always been an admirer of Bohemian football – a wonderful trip for the away fans it’ll be
    Kairat … ??????????
    Bilbao … probably the unluckiest pick from the 4th pot – all the more so since we’ll have to play them in San Mames (another great experience for the away fans …)

    Looking forward to watching this !
    COYG

  • For me it’s a great draw, beautiful opportunities for some payback against teams that have caused us pain, avoidance of long away games, all of them winnable, if we can keep our boys fit this time we’ll rip them all a new one, bring it on…

  • Those first three rounds will test our credentials, thankfully two are at home. And that we avoid the long trip to Kazakhstan. When I lived in Czech, I attended a Slavia game. They had Karel Poborski playing for them then before he made a name for himself at Euro ’96 with that marvellous chipped goal leading to him signing for Manure. They play in a new stadium now and have a vociferous (and very beery) support. Their first stadium was up on Letna Hill, a place which carries a lot of mostly melancholy history. It was burned by the Germans in 1945 during the Prague uprising. The big metronome (which replaced the Stalin statue) now stands as a memorial to 1991’s Velvet Revolution. The location offers one of the most beautiful views of any European city.

  • Yeh, Kev. Let’s exact some retribution upon the Bavarians and old Moonface for past hurts.

  • Great background on Prague, Stu. I was there in 1992 and 1997. Memories I have are blurred by cheap vodka, half a liter for a pound. We,had a brilliant night at,the opera (Verdi). Just loved the feel of the city, fueled by the great Czech writers, Kafka and Kundera.

  • Ha! That’s a mix, Total; Vodka and Verdi. I was in and out in the ’80’s but those were the years we lived there, ’92 – 97, based down in Southern Moravia. I remember being in Prague in mid winter of ’88, walking across Charles Bridge in the snow so beautifully atmospheric, with only a dozen or so other folk on the bridge all trudging with heads down perhaps caught up in the last failing heartbeats of the communist rule, unmindful of the Great Spring which was just around the corner. Now one almost has to queue to make the crossing, pressed on all sides by artists, musicians, photographers and lovers.
    Never took to Kafka or Kundera, had a soft spot for Hašek tho’, especially his “Good Soldier Švejk” a marvellously funny favourite of the masses. I found them such a gifted people, the Czechs. Hardly anyone had a TV, so they pursued and became proficient in the arts, musicians, ceramicists, painters, poets, writers, and makers of alcoholic beverages from just about anything they could find.
    Velká část mého srdce je stále tam.

  • Great stuff, Stu. My daughter recently befriended a girl from Prague here in Edinburgh. She has been invited to come and visit her. So good that this is all possible now.

  • Interesting to see that Obi Martin wasn’t involved at Grimsby the other evening, maybe he could be injured, either that or someone has dug up his pathway?

    Heaven started the game but was hooked with United 2-0 down and now I hear that Dan Casey is on the point of joining Crystal Palace.

    At least Casey will be moving for football reasons and not just because of the size of the wedge on offer. I can see Casey doing very well at Palace, they know how to develop players and maybe Dan will one day emulate Eze?

  • Mourinho has been sacked once more and apparently scoping up another huge pay off of around €15m. I fear he will be back in the PL soon. There is always a chairman somewhere who believes they can get the best out of the self adoring one.

  • It’s amazing Total isn’t it, it’s like rinse and repeat with Mourinho, he does it every time, gets an inflated contract at a desperate football club and after 18 months two years he’s criticising the club, the owners, the press, the league/FA and eventually gets the sack with a massive payoff and laughs his stupid head off.

    He’s everywhere, TV programs, adverts, he must be one of wealthiest people in football, he is totally money- motivated, you know, like Obi Martin.

    Yeah, he’ll turn up again in the Premier League ready to rinse his next club, West Ham perhaps or Wolves, maybe Sunderland, laughing all the way to the Bank of Lisboa…

  • A lot can happen in 48 hours Total, I reckon that Berta will get all his business done, look at how quick they concluded on Eze…

  • Kev, yes a clever chap our Portuguese translator is. Apparently, he had about €120m in pay offs alone.

    Rumour is he may go to Forest. An owner with a huge ego and a manager with the same, seems the way to go.

  • Mourinho at Forest eh, well that’ll be intriguing, Edu and Jose, what a double act…

  • Oh, Arsenal, I’m dreaming of Monday
    Oh, Arsenal, when I see you again
    Oh, Arsenal, I’m dreaming of Monday
    Dreaming of Monday
    Last season Scousers stole our thunder
    Left us second once again
    But we got Zubi and we got Eze
    We got Gyo, Noni and Christian
    Mikel’s army on the march again
    Oh, Arsenal, I’m dreaming of Monday
    Oh, Arsenal, when I see you again
    Oh, Arsenal, I’m dreaming of Monday
    Dreaming of Monday

    Of course it’ll be Sunday over there in slow coach land. COYG.

  • Rice, Zubimendi and Merino in midfield…

    Seems that Arteta is anticipating a very physical approach by Liverpool…

  • Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Merino, Rice, Martinelli, Madueke, Gyokeres.
    Subs: Arrizabalaga, Lewis-Skelly, Mosquera, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Dowman, Eze, Trossard, Harriman-Annous.

  • Good Monday morning, fella’s. Stumbles for Spuds and City have improved my weekend after my ladies lost their semi final yesterday.
    Strong line up. I do hope to see Eze eased into the action at some stage…

  • Keep if tight until the effects of the Newcastle game kicks in then give them Eze…

  • Have they ever been annihilated like that at Anfield? Yes, they have. Once. We’re Grahamesque and … I f…..g love it! Btw, the “PSG kick-off” was some ‘throwing the gauntlet” wasn’t it?
    Coaching will determine the outcome of this now (Ebz, how becoming an Arsenal legend on your very first touch?)
    The duel “Noni vs Pb’s buddy” has been a thing of beauty … I’m in awe ofMosquera – what a baptism of fire, and what a way to be up to it
    COYG

  • You know, there is that old old saying that ‘you make your own luck’ or the alternative ‘the harder you work the luckier you become’ and there is some truth in those sentiments, but Mikel Arteta is not a lucky manager.

    Losing Saliba at kick-off is just another example of that!

    The free-kick, well as soon as Zubimendi made the foul my heart sank, because Liverpool are always likely to pull a rabbit out of the hat, otherwise Raya had an uneventful afternoon. If the guy with the weird name who scored takes free kicks like that all the time then where has he been all this time? It was perfect, right onto the post and he ain’t ‘that’ good and he won’t do that again this season, but it happened to us…

  • Total, come on mate, you’ve gotta be real about these things, Arsenal are not getting a penalty at Anfield, in fact I can’t remember us ever getting one there.

    In fairness I think the referee had a good match and let a lot of physical stuff go by to the benefit of the game. All I will say is if it had been in the Arsenal box and instead of striking the arm of Konate it had hit Gabriel then VAR would have been all over it and the chances of it being given would have been a damn sight higher.

  • Mosquera was a little nervous initially but after a while I forgot that he was playing instead of Saliba.

    I thought that Merino had one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt and I wouldn’t have taken him off for Odegaard who didn’t improve anything imo.

    Martinelli did some great work but it was obvious that Eze would replace him, EE did ok, did a few flicks n tricks but not a lot else. Maybe one run into the box when we were chasing an equaliser but otherwise not a lot.

    Our 15 year old game changer came up against a full-back who wasn’t messing about so any schoolboy threat was snuffed out.

  • All agreed, Kev. We are very close to winning these matches. Today’s game came a bit too early in the season given the injuries and lineup in attack. Really missed Bukayo. Not that Madueke was bad, quite the opposite.

  • Hard loss to take but it is just game week 3 and only benefit it gives is something to hold on to during the break. I thought Madueke gave as much he got and other than Saka’s nose for a goal, he represented well.
    It was telling how we never had a corner kick from our left side until long into the game (and even that, off a Madueke effort); Martinelli has lost his ability to really trouble full backs, it would seem. The quality we normally expect from Rice was not as effective on the other side so, agreed, we missed Saka’s (and Odegaard’s) deliveries. Liverpool fans celebrated Saka’s injury update and now, we can see why. If we had Madueke on the left side and Saka from the left, it will keep them honest in defence.
    Overall, I am happy to see how much better we can get with everyone fit and how much quality we can muster from the bench. I think Arteta should have gone with Nwaneri instead of Dowman, but I can understand Dowman probably has greater incentive to score than Nwaneri, youngest scorer record and all. Youngsters look better in games where we are cruising with no pressure. Nwaneri is already in the team and should be given his due playing time.
    Being top of the table during the first international break doesn’t guarantee anything, as we can testify. Resilience to go all the way does and I think we have it in loads.

  • A matter of interest is how Arteta keeps everyone happy now we have such a loaded and talented cast. I saw MLS and Nwaneri having an animated chat on the bench at some point and I had a feeling there was some discontent there.

    Arteta has to try to keep them all involved one way or another, or we may lose some in spirit. I also wish he will let Nwaneri get game time regularly, ahead of Dowman, unless it is against lower placed teams. It is a delicate thing for a couple of 18 year olds who held their own and led the charge, as injury ravaged the team, last season to see a 15 year old break into the side and suddenly getting the manager’s trust to come on late with us chasing it at a place like Anfield.

    Maybe, it’s nothing and I am making too much of it but with the number of additions we had this summer, it is important to keep a happy camp on the way to the championship.

  • Eris I think that Arteta put on Dowman in the hope that he could make some runs into the box and get a penalty but Liverpool kept him on a tight leash.

    We’ll be playing 2 games a week once we return from the Interlull so there’ll be plenty of minutes to go around, more than enough actually.

    I’m reading that Isak is joining Liverpool for £125m, therefore I guess a few Gooners will be giving up the fight already, fragile dears that they are, but not me.

    Saka is due back next month, White and Nordgaard will be back and probably Saliba, our luck has to change and so must Liverpool’s…

    Ignore the noise.

  • Sure, Kev. I thought so too; Arteta may have learnt a thing or two from the game yesterday, with regards to his introduction of Dowman and timing of the changes, for impact.

    As the games per week ramp up, potential for injuries increase and it will be down to how well the teams cope with the quality of personnel they can bring on from game to game.

    Always thought Newcastle will give in, in the end. In my head, Isak was already a Liverpool player the moment they were willing to bid over £110m and he started to throw tantrums.

  • I stick to what I said about our extraordinary defensive performance in the first half. I think they didn’t have a single touch in our box in these first 45s. How often has such a thing ever happened to a Liverpool team at Anfield? Moreover, this also means that we achieved this without parking the bus. Actually the “PSG vs Inter” kick-off was meant to push them hard, from the getgo, into their own half. Blaming our team (as Ronay does in the Guardian this morning) for not being able to implement this plan every second of the game against the champions playing at home is beyond ridiculous – and way below Barney, whose articles I usually look forward to reading.
    It is also dishonest – and disgusting – not to take into account our injury list (again!), as though our being deprived of White-Saliba-Saka-Nørgaard-Havertz-Jesus 3 games into the season was just … normal (‘Pool’s one and only unavailable player was … Frimpong). Having said that, it’s impossible not to wonder about this list, and I find it difficult not to read it as a consequence of the obvious Herculean workout hours that have been going on at Colney. Were it not for having their kits on, I’m pretty sure our boys would now all look like models for Greek statues. All of them have got thinner, knottier – the contrast is striking with Gyökeres, who has just turned up at Colney, and whose “roundness“ make him look like a pub player in comparison with his mates.
    Back to our plan, what was missing was of course an edge when in possession. Marti … well I don’t want to pile on him, but how comfortable non-specialist-RB Szoboszlai was in keeping him on a leash was painful to watch. Gyökeres will have to do better imo, and do it quick. Not scoring from the slim pickings he got is not the problem, of course. He’ll score, I have no doubt about that, but he should be much better at holding up the ball against top-level XIs, for our whole team to catch its breath, be given time to regroup and push back our opponents in their own half. I know the boy’s trying hard to find his feet but there’s no time for it, really, look how quickly 23-y-o Ekitike has adapted to the PL pace, to Slot’s specific demands.
    Looks to me we’re stronger than ever at the back and in midfield – which gives me great confidence for the CL in particular – but it’s upfront that MA will have difficult choices to make. We’ll soon have (fingers crossed) 10 players available. As of today I’d give precedence to Saka-Madueke-Havertz-Nwaneri-Eze over Jesus-Gyökeres-Ødegaard-Martinelli-Trossard, and I’m among the ones who were left scratching their heads when 15-y-o Max and not-fully-fit Øde were brought on instead of Ethan. I keep thinking Max, at least for a while, should play full-90-minute U21/U19 games, touch hundreds of balls, create, invent, score, inspire the team(s), build fitness as well as rock-hard confidence … and not risk his health. The brilliant guy he had to take on yesterday didn’t have to, but he was ready to go very hard on him if needed, you could feel it – and this will happen every time from now on, let’s just keep our wonderkid out of harm’s way for the time being, he’ll be our first-team starboy soon enough.

  • Yes Eris, I was hoping that the Saudi backers of Newcastle would stand firm but I guess doubling the £63m they paid Sociedad was too good to turn down, selling at the optimal time can be hard for the fans to take but it makes financial sense, now let’s see the injuries return.

  • LG I think Dowman was a last throw of the dice, a hope that he would go on one of his mazy runs and get upended in the box but the Liverpool left-back had his number.

    I would have liked to have seen Madueke have a run at their right-back with the unpronounceable name. I can’t knock the defensive work that Martinelli got through, maybe we should try him at left-back a la PSG?

  • It is Anfield. We can have such hope in Dowman at the Emirates, no problem. No way Liverpool were going to let him do a Rio on them on their turf. In any case, time was too short for the lad. Protect him. Leave him out of the limelight for now.

    I like your thoughts about Martinelli but wonder if he has the intelligence to make the right decisions at full back.

    Who else thought Mosquera fitted in so perfectly for Saliba. For me, one of our best (if not the best) performers vs Liverpool. One to watch, if you ask me. Early days, though.

    So, it’s done: Guehi and Isak are off to Liverpool and that gives them a great advantage in the league this season; but there are no guarantees. They have bullied Newcastle, absolutely and being the “richest club” couldn’t save the barcodes in a regulated sport.

    There’s a lot to come from our team and we’ve just seen an early clash between, potentially, two of the front runners in the EPL and one of the sides had many key players out for that game. Liverpool got away by the skin of their teeth, methinks.

  • Hincapie, ours. He looks a lean, mean machine. Eight signings! A floor to ceiling, stained glassed window for the ages.

    ‘If we play this game 10 times more in the same fashion then I think it’s eight times a draw, we win it one time and Arsenal wins it one time because it was an uneventful game, which is something sometimes positive as well because both teams were really good in rest defence and in defending.‘ (Arne Slot)

  • Might try to catch a few Hamburg games this season out of curiosity.

    Nelson should get a lot of football at Brentford this season, if he can stay fit?

  • Hincapie looks a really interesting signing, he could have looked at our squad and thought ‘I’m not going there, I won’t get a game’ but he’s backed his ability to break into the team and I love that mentality, also being South American means he won’t take any prisoners and I really love that…

  • Nobody saw the Zinchenko move coming, totally out of the blue, we get a loan fee for him so that should mean Forest are picking up the tab for all of his wages.

    Cheers Edu

  • Good outcome for Alex, Arsenal and Forest. We play them next, wonder if he’ll feature.

    Hincapie just looks the business. Could see him in a Sergio Leone Western alongside Clint and Bronson. “A fistful of Centre Backs”…

  • Zinchenko sure was a surprise. I would have thought a player like that would be in high demand in Europe, but that didn’t happen. Seeing as his contract ends 2026, it means he goes for free next season, gets a loyalty bonus and a well negotiated move next.
    Being a loan move, he can’t play against his parent team, no?

    I wish Nelson well. Not sure why he hasn’t got himself a stable home yet. He is a talented player who, but for injuries, should be a mainstay in one lucky club by now.

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