Well, despite it being an 'interlull' - whoever thought it was a good idea to have footballers jetting off all over the world during a pandemic needs locking up, if you ask me - there's quite a lot to report on from Arsenal Land. So this is another long one...
Travel arrangements made it impossible for me to blog in a timely manner on the Sheffield United game. So I'll start there, and then dwell on the shock results of that weekend.
So, compared to some of the excitment elsewhere, this was a fairly routine win for Arsenal over an obdurate Sheffield United side who, whilst they remain without a point this season, I see in no danger of going down.
Talking points were:
a) David Luiz's pull on Burke's shirt, for which he was fortunate to go unpunished (cue the normal headlines, and it's difficult to put his treatment up against that of 'poor old Harry Maguire') - but weigh that against the thuggish challenge from Berge on Aubameyang which left him writhing in agony and clutching his ankle, and led to his withdrawal from the Gabon squad (small mercies), but which was airbrushed by Sky and the press, and
b) Another promising show from Bukayo Saka, culminating in a well-taken headed goal. And the noticeable difference in the side when Pepe was introduced; let's hope that this game will be a watershed for the latter's Arsenal career. He looked to be combining well with Willian and particularly Bellerin, and took his goal beautifully - making it look easy when, moving at the pace he was, it was anything but
And so three more points bagged, making it 9 out of 12 and the only defeat at Fortress Anfield, home of the Premier League Champions and favourites this season too. But wait... Liverpool's entirely unexpected and crushing 7-2(!) defeat at Villa Park was merely the second of two headline-grabbing results; the other being Manchester United's humiliating 6-1(!) home defeat to Spurs (and that despite the award of a first minute penalty). A quite extraordinary three hours of football, with the result at Old Trafford causing much mirth all over the country (although it's obviously somewhat unfortunate that it was Spurs who did the damage, of course).
On these games; firstly, this embarrassment follows on from a previous home defeat to Crystal Palace, so something is clearly very wrong at Old Trafford. The momentum of the end of last season has come to a thumping halt, and United suddenly look like a very ordinary side. Yet Solskjaer still clings to his job; lest we forget that he took Cardiff City down a few years ago...
On the other hand, Spurs look awesome - going forward at least - with Kane and particularly Son rampant. That's 18 goals in their last three matches! Fortunately a) they don't look quite so hot in defence or central midfield and b) they're Spurs, so..., well, you know.
And as for Liverpool; well, unless Villa have suddenly found the blueprint for playing against them - their uber-high line was exposed again and again - we can probably treat that result as a massive aberration. With Thiago and Mane to return, and hopefully for their sakes Adrian never to be seen in goal again, I reckon they're still as good as we all think they are. The pressing against Arsenal was almost super-human.
And in discussing those two results, Manchester City's two dropped ponts at home to Leeds almost sneak under the radar...
Moving on to Transfer Deadline Day, and the Eleventh Hour signing of Thomas Partey - 'the new Patrick Vieira', we are told - from Athletico Madrid. The manner of it (including the shenanigans with Houssem Aouar) has been well documented, and what I can comment on what went on is that firstly if you're going to impose the strict requirements that Athletico did on the Partey contract and totally refuse to negotiate, then you shouldn't expect to be angered by what Arsenal did - which was, of course, completely legal (if a little underhand). And secondly, it's all the more amusing for being underhand because if you're Diego Simeone, the Master of Anti-Football and now with a forward line consisting of Diego Costa and Luis Suarez, then it must be quite difficult to take the moral high ground and still be able to look at yourself in the mirror in the morning...
So what will Partey bring to Arsenal? Is he the 'missing link' that we've been waiting for since Paddy left? Well, by all accounts he's quite a monster of a player; strong and athletic (and quick with it), capable of playing as a DM or in a box-to-box role, and a decent passer too. How he fits in remains to be seen - especially who Arteta partners him with - but I'm wondering if this will soon mean that the Manager switches to his preferred 4-3-3 formation - the one that personnel shortcomings have meant he has been unable to do since he arrived. That remains to be seen, but I suspect that there'll be no formation change for the next game (Manchester City). Anyway, I'm sure that we're all intrigued.
What's just as important as far as the City game is concerned is whether Kieran Tierney is permitted to play or forced to continue to self-isolate. He is of course Arsenal's best defender.
It is worth reflecting at this point that Arsenal did not do a good job of moving players on in the Window. Martinez sold (to the disappointment of many), and Torreira and Guendouzi out on loan, and that's it. So Arsenal remain 'stuck' with Sokratis, Kolasinac, Mustafi and Chambers, William Saliba is in limbo, and then of course there's Mesut Ozil (what's going on with him one can only speculate, and I'll come back to him later). This is as a result of a poor transfer policy over maybe the past 6-7 years, and it's going to take this regime at least another year to sort out.
Moving on, it was good to see Bukayo Saka get his England debut; and not long after AMN. That's testament to their quality, and to the work that Arteta is doing with them. Saka looked a little lost early on, but grew into the game; it would have been nice if Grealish had passed to him a bit more often, though. Plus in passing; Eddie Nketiah has broken the England under-23 scoring record - he's very much a work-in-progress, however.
And now to Mesut Ozil and - and I never thought I'd have these two in the same paragraph - the saga of Gunnersaurus Rex.
There are at least two aspects to this, and I'm sure it's far more nuanced than we can possibly know, but I believe that the football world are unanimous in being appalled at the treatment of poor old Jerry Quy (the man in the dinosaur suit) - laying him off is another Arsenal Football Club PR disaster. And then to see Mesut Ozil hoving into view as Jerry's saviour?... well, some might say that this was a pretty cynical PR opportunity grab by the Ozil camp.
Whatever is going on with Ozil - and I'm personally very upset by it - cheap point-scoring is not the answer. The club and the player need to reach an amicable agreement, as the current stand-off is an embarrassment for all concerned. From a personal point of view, I am extremely upset that we are unlikely to see Ozil in an Arsenal shirt again. Thinking about the greatest Arsenal players of the modern era, he's up there with Bergkamp and Henry; with Fabregas, van Persie, Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez. In fact, he's one of the most skilful players I have ever seen, and I love to watch him play. An outstanding talent, going to absolute waste - and at £350k a week - plus an £8m 'loyalty bonus' to boot! Madness.
I think I'll cover the two big autobiography stories of the past couple of weeks in my next post. I haven't read Arsene's yet - it only arrived in the post yesterday - and I am yet to order Lord Bendtner's (although by all accounts it's very interesting). However, I want to quickly cover Project Big Picture.
It is clear and obvious that football finances are skewed badly in favour of the Premier League and especially its biggest clubs, and that this needs addressing. That has been known for years; the rich with all the advantages - and getting richer - while the rest suffer. And yes, just a small adjustment in the percentages would make a massive difference to the finances of the pyramid below. However, this ill-thought plan has been seen for what it was - a cynical, opportunistic power grab (led by Liverpool and Manchester United, but make no mistake they're just the fall guys - I'd be certain that the rest of the so-called Big Six are involved). By all means make the gesture, but make it sustainable and above all don't seek to take advantage of others' misfortune. Shame on you!
Right, that's me (finally) done. Easy game coming up... back on Monday.
Stay safe, whatever Tier you're in.
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