Keep Calm an Curry On Gooners

TotalArsenal

Our greatest foes, and whom we must chiefly combat, are within.

Miguel de Cervantes

A few days after the Pool game and the transfer window closed, we can all relax again. The big picture is that Arteta has a great squad to work with now: brilliant signings in all areas and many at good value for money. Happy days.

The unfortunate and untimely loss v the champions will hurt for a while. This game simply came too early in the season, and I think that Pool were lucky to play home first. It made a huge difference.

Arsenal controlled large parts of the game and kept the Anfield crowd pretty quiet. This is a major achievement. It wasn’t a game for the purist, and for some reason the lazy, shallow media blamed Arsenal/Arteta for it – if Arsenal had scored that free-kick instead of Liverpool they would all have focused on them rather than Arsenal…

The truth is that our attack did struggle to break the Pool defence down, and apparently it’s all Arteta’s fault for his lack of adventure/desire to control everything. The fact that Pool’s equally expensive and talented attack hardly sparkled and was ineffective, doesn’t seem to be mentioned anywhere. The victors always seem to get a let off, just because the won.

We lost to a sublime free-kick late on. It’s as simple as that. Arne Slot, who impresses more and more as a decent guy, summarised it simply and effectively: “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.”

An attack of Merino (with a defensive remit), Madueke (just arrived), Martinelli (out of form) and Gyokeres (just arrived) is unlikely to click and be awesome in the third game of the season, at Anfield. It was always going to be an encounter in which Arsenal had to control the game and hope to score one or two goals, most likely through a set-piece and/or a moment of class. If we could have started with a more established and fully fit set of Odegaard/Merino, Saka, Madueke, Havertz/Gyokeres in a game of this importance, I believe our attack would have been much more effective. To expect the same of those four who started on Sunday is simply naive.

Let’s take this one on the chin, celebrate the progress Arteta has made and the huge quality of the squad, and accept that the moment of magic/and a bit of luck just went the other way. C’est la vie.

THIS TEAM IS GOING PLACES.

It’s going to be truly awesome.

Oh, and Marquinhos, welcome to the Arsenal proper. That was an amazing performance.

By TotalArsenal

72 thoughts on “Keep Calm an Curry On Gooners”

  • I am not at all disappointed or discouraged, despite the loss. As Arne Slot truthfully said, it could have gone either way and had Saka, Havertz and company been available, it would likely have. Eze, Goyères and Madueke, as well as others, are still learning the ropes. What I really love is the bench strength of Arsenal and Slot referred to it when he said that having Eze, Goyères etc. available as substitutes is an incredible and we now have Hincapie, the captain of Ecuador simply tightens our defensive structure while adding another midfield warrior….who can complain?
    We’ll see some of them against Forest and based on what I saw at Anfield, Liverpool will drop points this season against the likes of Chelsea, City and maybe Newcastle. Arteta is the master sculpter who will mold a fantastic and unified team this season so hang on to your hats as the fireworks are just about to begin.

  • If Arsenal had won we would have been accused of a smash n grab raid, but it’s been forever thus Total. You just know that the producers at Sky tell Roy Keane to be angry and criticise everything, Neville needs no encouragement to be a snide and Carragher is simply biased.

    Anyone who watches the Overlap deserves all they get, I don’t watch Sky at all, I cannot stand them, I actually despise them, but I understand that many have no alternative.

    Far from feeling disappointed I’m more optimistic now than I was before the game, we took on Liverpool minus 6 players, many of them key players, lost another key play 5 minutes into the game and still dominated them, I doubt that Liverpool could have done that to us if the roles were reversed, in fact I’m looking forward to the time when we play Liverpool and we have all our key players available, then we will see?

    As for who has won the transfer window (another anodyne narrative by those geniuses at Sky) who cares, I know that Berta and co have covered all the bases, that Arsenal have completed the most thorough window, no weaknesses unlike, say, Liverpool whose defence is vulnerable to an injury or two. Fingers crossed…

  • I am with you all the Kev. Sky bores my bum off. Boring, regurgitated shite. Give me Ally McCoist any day. I have also been disappointed with the Guardian, this week. Let them focus on their own lot, the red and blue Mancs.

  • If you get a chance Total, go on YouTube and search for thd Adrian Clarke podcast. Sensible, intelligent analysis from our ex-winger, he leaves the lines of Neville, Scholes, Keane and Carragher flailing in his wake. None of that crowd analyse anything, they don’t try to educate the viewer because they can’t it’s all about old club bigotry. But that’s obviously what Sky want and why I don’t watch them.

  • It will take time for our forward play to get sleeker, and with the number of games to start us off after the international break, we will find that cohesion soon. While Saka is out, we may have to resume deploying Odegaard for corner kick duties from that right corner flag. Rice couldn’t deliver the same quality he’s able to from the left. We should be good for the next few games as we start to welcome some players back from injuries.

    I have always loved watching or listening to Adrian Clarke’s Pre- and Post-analyses of our games. I’d equally hope Arteta gets a backroom staff to pick up some useful tips from Adrian’s views. Nothing to lose doing so.

  • Adrian Clarke features prominently on The Athletic and the podcast ‘Handbrake off’, both of which I have followed and enjoyed for some years. As Kev has noted, Clarkes tactical acumen and his ability to communicate are excellent.

  • One I always liked, “For every moment there is a perfect masala”.

    1. Arsenal
    2. L’pool
    3. Chelski
    4. Spuds (I think City may finally get that well earned points deduction)

  • Zubi and Mikel were terrific. Zubi’s pass for the first goal was rapier like in it’s timing, weight and incision. A thing of beauty. Warms my heart to know we have two of Spain’s starting midfielders in our squad.

  • PL ????
    but … (mark my words) that’s the dumbo-eared silverware we’re bringing home this season, lads.

  • Your boys just got off to a great start in Landsdowne Rd, P. – looks to me like this generation can look any XI in the eye

  • They did, indeed, PB. Some talent in that team. Maybe not the Magical Magyars yet, but perhaps the best we’ve seen since?

    What a goal from young Olivia Smith this morning, the turn, the boldness, the shot…

    Yeh, Total, four Gunners starting for England, with Bukuyu to return. Two starting for Spain. Let the good times roll.

    What do ya’all think of Vinai’s appointment at Tottenham?

  • Stu, Vinai is clearly a career man. He got us Arteta and that was a daring and brilliant move. Let’s hope he has no more of these orts of moves in his Spudsy locker.

  • I did, Stu, I did …
    Truth is the whole Championship gets me on the edge of my seat this season. Aussies and Pumas have improved a lot lately, and your week5 – Week6 games against the Wallabies I certainly won’t miss – not to mention next Saturday’s Wellington showdown of course.
    Sorry, P. “When Paddy angry, he always do that”

    I hit the keyboard too fast, I’ve been feeling like a bird of ill omen since Sallai got sent off.
    I am, T., I am.
    Provided we’re treated to quite a few classics along the way, I could do with yet another “bridesmaid” season tbh – but I do want (at least) one Cup (and the Youth League ‘d be the cherry on my cake)!

  • Incredible to see him do that on a night neither Lamine Yamal nor Williams got a goal. Madueke, Rice and MLS looked like some of England’s brighter players too and Zubimendi been keeping Rodri out, for now. Gabriel and Martinelli starting for Ancelotti’s Brazil….. Bring the good form back with you, boys.

  • PL top 4 at the end of the season will be:

    Arsenal
    Chelsea
    Liverpool
    Tottenham hotspurs*

    * I just feel it is a year for the London clubs and Liverpool the only disruption, because they are just that good.

  • The African Cup of Nations will cause some disruption Eris, but it’ll be good to watch though and Liverpool will lose Salah for a few weeks…

  • I see that Der Englander Koach wants to reintroduce the long-throw back into the National teams tactics, mein Gott, Tony Pulis has returned from the Rhineland. 😁

  • And what goals too … including the Bulgaria game, that’s two left-footed, one right-footed and one header – the twenty-five yard curler being the pick of the bunch of course.
    What a gem we have in store; he’ll play a crucial role in the success this eason will turn out to be.
    As for this Spain team, they really are somethign else, aren’t they?

  • Kev, it is as usual, until the CAF decides to align it’s calendar with FIFA’s.
    Salah, amongst others, will be away for a couple of weeks, at the least. Egypt are always favourites so Salah would spend a reasonable number of weeks. Let’s see how ‘Pool cope when that happens.

  • Thanks for the top four predictions, fellas. Nice and optimistic. 😍

    With Merino in this form this year, how can we use him best? The man is on fire like a spicy paella. Mikel Arteta has a big challenge to get the best out of all the quality midfielders he has. I think this will determine his career at Arsenal.

  • Kev, the long throw is quite something. It is indeed Pulis all over, but in the chessball our beautiful game has become it offers a welcome chaos/element of surprise. I kinda love the trajectory of the ball: it seems to drop unexpectedly and then anything can happen.

  • Odegaard has to bring back that form to the Arsenal. Gyokeres could do with such assists. Noni has been bright so far. Hopefully, Tuchel takes him off once the game is safe. He’s been well used given Bukayo’s absence.

  • Madueke has really laid down a marker to Bakayo not only for England but also for Arsenal, especially if he can replicate that form this Saturday and beyond. I was delighted for him because not only does he seem a nice guy but he is at a stage in his career where some top Arteta coaching can really see him move up to another couple of levels.

    Not sure what happened with Myles and EE, I hope they’re ok?

    Quite relieved to see all of our players escaping unscathed, I think, I hope?

    Yeah Total, bring on the Pulis long throw. Would love to see us perfect it and score a few goals from it, triggering the usual bunch of pundit ignoramus’s to clutch their pearls in mock horror… F them.

  • So, now we could have Bukayo on the right and Madueke on the left; Martinelli, Trossard, Nwaneri and Dowman as potential subs. We would pose so much danger across the front line. Only thing is Arteta being concerned about defensive duties of the wingers.

  • I used that Canal+ “split screen” function to watch both Paris and Belgrade games; England were wunderbar (France were not!) – all the more so since sure starters like Stones-Bellingham-Saka-Palmer etc. were unavailable.
    The time may have come to stop doubting Thomas …

  • Could easily be an understanding the club had with Tuchel and his staff, based on injury red zone assessment.
    Clubs will usually prefer zero (or shorter) game time for their players in the second game of the break.

  • Hey LG I see that there’s some serious disturbances in Paris, hopefully nothing similar in your manor?

  • Hey guys, as i stated many times before Bergkampesque.com doesn’t do politics. Please stick to the beautiful game. ⚽️ 🥅

    I am as worried as you are about what’s going on in the world, but let’s discuss over email/ outside the blog.

  • I appreciate the ongoing kind interest, TA. I am indeed alive, but not exactly kicking.
    I have a new job, I develop a board game; the time and energy invested in (asymmetrically) long Arsenal-related discussions are simply no longer sustainable.

    Which I rue, as I used to enjoy it. And I especially regret not being able to respond in time to Stu’s comments and the adventures of the Kerikeri ladies.

    To be honest it wasn’t always fair to you. I acknowledge and respect the overall positive bias of the blog and the regulars, so I found a more data-driven (Hungarian) Arsenal-loving community, and I’m making their life miserable there, albeit with a fragment of my previous intensity.

    Nevertheless in the hopeful scenario that Arsenal reaches the CL final this season I’ll be very happy to meet and entertain any you who are adventurous enough to watch the game from the stadium.

  • Great to hear from you, PB. Your new job sounds very exciting. What sort of board game is it going to be? One with dice or knowledge questions? Seems quite a change compared to your previous job!

    Data analysis has always been your strong point and much appreciated here. You use it much better than the bores at Sky sports. I am glad you found a good Hungarian Arsenal side. Sounds just the thing for you. Still, let’s hear from you regularly, even if it’s just from your gut rather than your head. Football is also just emotion.

  • It is still in an early stage, but the concept is a 30-min tile placement strategy game with end game bonuses. Maybe you came across to some in the genre, like Kingdomino, Cascadia, Faraway, Castle Combo, Alhambra or Captain Flip. I don’t plan to enter the game design market, so this is entirely for educational purposes to support project management and process improvement trainings. And there is a twist (which might be a novelty to the topic, but would make the game playable only once): it is neither a competitive, nor a cooperative game. The players (training participants) will be informed that they are supposed to gather resources (personnel, assets, methodologies, experts) to execute fictional strategic projects, and the goal is to deliver the project on time in high quality – will not be over-discussed or overexplained not to spoil the learning outcome. I kind of expect that the players with board game experience will assume that they should not only collect and place the tiles best fitting their tactics, but also should take or discard tiles that are critical to their opponents’ plans, just to keep them behind. And I’ll be curious to see if they realize mid-game (or only at the end) that concurrent projects are not ipso facto competitors, thus obstructing them will not serve their own purpose – unlike in the games listed above.
    I’m excited to develop the concept and the framework with a couple of colleagues. But the Arsenal games also excite me, so I will keep at least an eye and a half on the club. I won’t become a stranger, I plan to stay around, just not bore the gents with my signature TL;DR posts and comments.

  • I am intrigued, PB. Are you planning to sell the game to organisations and/or are you thinking of offering consultancy sessions re problem solving, project management etc based around the game?

  • To satisfy your curiosity, PB; our ladies lost their semi final but have rallied in the league. Four games to go, win the lot and we will be champions. Tomorrow we travel to Whangarei without our first choice keeper. She runs a sports shop in town and has been subject to two nasty shop lifting incidents in the past fortnight. Something that is, unfortunately becoming endemic in our country.

    All the best for your game concept. All beyond my ken, but it sounds an interesting pursuit.
    Thanks for the invitation. I’d love to visit Hungary again. It’s been over thirty years since I was last in Budapest. Watching our Arsenal in a CL final and taking in some Töltöttpaprika are two mouth watering prospects, indeed.

  • Oh dear Total, it’s called irony…

    I can see that I have unfortunately come as far as I can with you guys, therefore enjoy the season and have a good life.

  • Messy half, Stu, wasn’t it? Your boy MacKenzie looks under the weather to me. He very seldom is; I think shifting him back to fly-half and Jordan to FB would sort things out, but what do I know? What a tackle that was on Kolbe by Jordie Barrett! Commitment of course but also timing, technique … a thing of beauty if ever a tackle was one.
    P., can’t you just copy and paste what you write for your fellow-magyars?
    And Kev … just come home, will you? I know you miss me already. Just admit it, and everything will be forgiven …
    COYG
    Nothing but a Le Cirque du Soleil performance for me today!!
    I’d bet quite a few bucks on:
    (Raya
    Timber-Mosquera-Gabriel- Calafiori
    Zubi-Rice
    Madueke-?????-Eze
    Gyökeres)
    Øde or Mikel M ? I just can’t make up my mind …

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

    COYG

  • Rice benched is a way to solve the problem I hadn’t seen comin’ …
    I like this XI a lot – I think giving Declan the occasional breather is a very smart way of using our brand-new squad. Now in the absences of both Rice and Saka, I wonder what’ll become of our CKs … We’d better bring inspiration, creativity, speed to our open play.
    You know what? We’re gonna.

  • What a hit for the goal by Martin Zubimendi!! We have had about 6 corner kicks now and fair to say the visitors have defended them well, until that shot from a clearance.

    We need to change up our corner routines to keep opponents guessing.

  • “An electric light struck like an arrow”
    He’s only 26, a legend of the club this boy’s gonna be

  • Half time. With how fast we started and the pressure we put them under, it is credit to the Forest defence that it’s only 1-0. New manager bounce in effect, I guess.

  • Early injury to Odegaard limits what we can bring on to affect the game, where required.
    Rice, Trossard, Dowman, MLS, and Martinelli, all options to bring on. With the CL game in midweek to come, it will help to have a run out for as many as possible.

  • 3-0 is a good score line, all considered. I am buzzing to see how spoilt for choice Arteta will be with everyone fit. I am even starting to wonder how Saliba walks into the side when fit, with the way Mosquera has slipped in seamlessly. If anything, he looks more assured passing into the midfield players and just keeps things ticking over while being a good man marker.
    Instead of feeling down in the dumps now, Trossard and Martinelli need to work harder and take their chance(s) to impress, whenever these come. The season is looking good, so far.

  • Ebs is such an artist, he just wants each and every one of his touches to matter, make a difference … Zubi won’t wait for his song long, what a class act he is – and the smile on his face he plays with is a sight for sore eyes.
    What amazed me more, I think, is the level of cohesion – with 5 starters who were newcomers – at this moment in the season; now MA could pick an almost completely different starting XI tuesday, and no one ‘d think he’s gone bonkers … this summer’s squad-building is already paying off. “The future’s so bright I gotta wear shades”
    COYG

  • Nice comments, Eris and Legall. That was a very mature and attractive performance by our boys. Every single player was good and Zubi was great. So many positives to talk about in the next few days.

  • Cried myself to sleep, LG. That second half was Bokmania, absolutely devastating. Yes, Jordie’s tackle was beyond text book, it was biblical.
    The crying stopped in the early hours as I witnessed our new squad in action. Off now to Whangarei for a must win with our ladies…

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