Stop Playing With Your Food!

We are coming to the end of what has so far been an extremely satisfying start to the new Premier League season. Arsenal's comfortable win over Coventry set things off, and since then we have watched Manchester United lose in disgraceful fashion at Hull, Tottenham battered (as is traditional; everywhere they go) at Brentford, and Manchester City and Liverpool struggle to a late and narrow win at home to Bournemouth, and a last-minute draw away to Newcastle (courtesy of one of the best penalties I have ever seen!) respectively. At the time of writing, I am looking forward to Fulham doing the business this evening against Chelsea to complete the set, so to speak. With an away trip to an Aston Villa side who look in utter disarray to follow, things are looking good in so many ways for the Champions.

But it doesn't do much good to worry about our so-called rivals. Especially so early in the season. Let's concentrate on Arsenal, and the salient points that can be taken out of Friday night's 3-0 romp over Fat Frank's Coventry City.

With Bruno somewhat inevitably injured, the team was exactly the one that I would have selected. With Rice and Saka not long back, I would have been looking to give them an hour before going to the bench, and it was no surprise to see Havertz preferred to Gyokeres up top. And this is what I took from the game itself:

1.    Arsenal are sooo back. Ready to rumble, and looking sharp and hungry. Although we have to bear the quality of the opposition in mind - Coventry aren't going to be judged on matches like this one, but FF will need to ensure that their confidence hasn't taken too much of a knock from this mauling - but Arsenal were dominant almost from the off (Coventry did look decent, to be fair, for 3-5 minutes), and it was always merely a question of how many Arsenal would score

2.    Rice was his customary majestic self, and alongside him MLS looked an absolute natural; taking the ball on the half-turn, and drawing opponents into fouls (I lost count of how many - 4? 5?) before using the ball economically. Buzzing around them - and indeed everywhere - was Martin Odegaard, who looks to be getting back to the heights he reached three seasons ago before injuries started to affect his performances. And whilst we can expect both Rice and Odegaard to start all of the key matches - fitness permitting - that leaves just one midfield spot into which to fit the currently pretty much undroppable MLS; plus Bruno, Zubimendi, Merino and Ebere Eze. I don't envy Arteta's job in trying to keep them all happy, I can tell you!

3. Further forward, Saka looked sharp and on his way back to his best. Tzolis carried on the good work that he had started in pre-season, and Havertz was his usual elusive self. The interest for me was to see how these three, plus the three behind, were exchanging positions throughout and giving the opponent continual headaches; as they couldn't work out who to track. Rice and MLS alternated as the deepest man. Odegaard occasionally popped up between them before moving back into either number 8 position, Havertz dropped deep, and Tzolis was everywhere. Indeed, the latter popping up in the right-wing position very nearly led to a goal for Saka

4.    To add to the dynamism in the interior, Calafiori had licence to roam, and it was wonderful to see the telepathic understanding between the White/Odegaard/Saka triumvirate restored on the right side. Of course, there was very little danger going the other way - Gabriel and Mosquera dealt easily with the occasional raid - and that led to the home side being able to play with plenty of freedom. There will certainly be harder tests, but this version of Arsenal looks to me as if Arsene Wenger's 'handbrake' has been released by the title win. As Arteta said in his pre-match press conference, he doesn't want Arsenal to merely defend their title, but to attack it!

5.    As for the bench... well, there was little disturbance in the force when first Rice and Saka, then Odegaard and Tzolis came off. Arteta has managed to construct a squad as strong as anything that has ever been seen in Premier League history, with the bench - and with several who can't even get onto the bench - full of players who would be starters in pretty much any other Premier League side. With Saliba, Timber and Bruno injured, there was still the matter of Hincapie, Zubimendi, Merino, Eze, Madueke and Gyokeres on the sidelines; not to mention the likes of Nwaneri and Max Dowman. Plus Ezri Konsa, of course; introduced to us before kick-off

This Arsenal squad must surely terrify opposing managers and players, and - perhaps without the stardust qualities of players of the ilk of Yamal, Mbappe and Kavaratskhelia - this squad is more than a match for anything that England and Europe can offer. I said it in my previous post, but I truly believe that with anything like the normal rub of the green with injuries, and provided that the manager rotates as he can and should throughout the season, that Arsenal can build a dynasty from here. 3-5 years of English and European dominance may await.

Quickly covering the goals: the first came about when Tzolis dispossessed his full back and found Calafiori; whose perfectly threaded and weighted pass was sublimely stroked into the net by Havertz.

For the second goal, we saw something of why Declan Rice is the player he is. He saw the opportunity to drive with the ball right through the heart of the Coventry midfield, and following an exchange of passes with Odegaard the ball found its way to Tzolis, whose cross was pushed out by the fingertips of Coventry's thoroughly unconvincing goalkeeper Rushworth directly into the path of Saka. Who simply could not miss.

The third goal came just after half time; I assume following instructions from the manager to put the game to bed as soon as possible. This time Rice's clever vertical ball found Odegaard, and a combination between the skipper, Saka and the overlapping White saw Odegaard receive a cut-back from the full back a mere 8 yards out. Odegaard's scuffed right foot shot wrong-footed the unfortunate Rushworth and trickled over the line. 

And that was that... little else to report - and I even remarked to my wife at around 80 minutes that I was quite bored; so easy was it all. As she rightly replied: 'Good. Do you really want all the tension we had last season, or would you prefer to live with this?' A good point; well made. But her most apt remark about the game came late in the first half, as Arsenal were toying with the oppostiion. 'Come on, boys - stop playing with your food!' 

Three points to quickly note, before I get on to our so-called rivals:

Firstly, the new Laws surrounding corners have already seen Arsenal adapt. Whereas yesterday we saw Manchester City and Bournemouth players manhandling each other at set pieces, Arsenal have embraced the new world they find themselves in. A series of short corners in order to find new angles were an obvious change-up. But what was of more interest was that they kept their distance from the opposition when the ball was due to be curled in from the corner flag; making late runs around defenders and keeping physical contact to an absolute minimum. Nothing is left to chance by the coaching staff.

Secondly, Christos Tzolis. Now, some players never gain a nickname or a chant. But our new winger has a chant already - Woop Woop! - and not one but two nicknames; at least in Block 17, anyway. Some are calling him 'Quantum' - think James Bond - but the one that may stick is 'Brian'. Which of these two is Tzolis, and which is former Arsenal winger Brian Marwood? 

Brian Marwood

Christos Tzolis

And finally - the transfer market. First on this, it's impossible to know, and wrong to speculate, whatever conversation Arteta has had with Gabriel Martinelli. But it does appear that the manager is looking to upgrade that position. Now, we all love Martinelli for his commitment and work ethic, but it is equally clear that we can do better there. I'd be sad to see him go - as I would Nwaneri (although the talk is currently - quite rightly in my view - of a loan this season) - but there is little room for sentiment in top class football. If he is to go, I shall thank him for what he contributed to the club, and will continue to follow his career with interest.

Secondly is the question of Julian Alvarez. Do Arsenal really want to take a player who actually really wants to play for Barcelona, and sees any other move as a stepping stone to the Nou Camp? I'm not sure whether a) Arsenal should be taking that risk, especially such an expensive one, or b) whether he's that much of an upgrade on Kai Havertz, or whether - should the player be used as a makeweight in the deal - Arteta should be dispensing with Gyokeres after a single season. The Swede offers an entirely different threat than Havertz, and I would be loath to lose those qualities. Just my thoughts, anyway... also, should Arsenal sign him; how much does he also resemble Brian Marwood facially?

And so to the rest of the Premier League. Brighton beasted Villa to go top on goal difference (whatever that may mean after one round of matches), but of more interest were the struggles of a somewhat disjointed Manchester City at home to Bournemouth, and of a very ordinary-looking Liverpool at Newcastle. As for the other teams of interest; well, Manchester United were pathetic from front to back, and Tottenham started as only Tottenham can. How we laughed!

Right, then. Onwards and upwards. The next date of significance is Thursday 27th - the Champions League draw - and then it's on to Villa Park on Monday night. The bandwagon will hopefully continue to roll on. Meantime, I shall be looking to kick on with my new YouTube channel, which for the moment contains just a single Short - an On The Whistle from the end of the Coventry game. More to come as the season progresses at https://www.youtube.com/@marksyspeaks-yt

COYG!

Start As You Mean To Go On

A thoroughly comprehensive Community Shield performance and win over Manchester City at the weekend sets Arsenal up nicely for the new season. Of course, when you've won that particular game it's all fabulous - and if you've lost it's 'just a friendly'. However, the manner of the victory is what we should be taking out of the game. With added alarm bells for City; which I'll discuss later.

As it happens, there's lots to get through in this post. Especially because due to technical issues - me trying to post whilst using a VPN whilst on holiday - my review of last season essentially failed to post correctly. So a small section on that will make up some of the middle portion of this post.

So in here I'll give some quick views on the World Cup, then rapidly go over last season - and here's a quick and timely reminder, if you needed one, that Arsenal are Prenier League Champions! - and finally my thoughts on pre-season and the Community Shield, and where the club are regarding squad building and our prospects for the seaon. Let's crack on:

World Cup thoughts

On Spain - worthy winners. Rodri - majestic. And the team itself an absolute machine.Cubarsi looks at almost Saliba levels; at the age of 19. Their full backs (much disliked by Arsenal supporters for their Premier League affiliations) were absolute standouts. And they always found a way, despite Yamal being well off his best following injury; thanks, on two occasions, to our very own Mikel Merino.

As for Argentina; well, I've literally nothing positive to say. I don't think that I've ever seen such a large  group of dislikable players assembled together in a single squad. They ought, frankly, to be ashamed of themselves for bringing the beautiful game into such disrepute.

I'm not going to go into too much detail regarding any other side except England. But it was fun to see Germany depart early, a shock to see Brazil do likewise (although they're a pale shadow of previous squads, and I've no idea how Joao Pedro didn't make the 23), and a surprise to see a Saliba-less France shuffle out so meekly in the semi-final.

As for England... well, they ought to have reached the final. Which would have been an immeasurably better game had that occurred. I'd imagine that Thomas Tuchel will continue to have nightmares about the tactics he chose to employ, and the personnel he chose to use - or not - in those final 30 minutes. If England's performance in the 3rd/4th place playoff was anything to go by, then the way forward is clear. There are a number of absolutely outstanding players in the England squad; around whom Tuchel must build. Bellingham, Rice and Saka to name the three most obvious.

Meanwhile, don't get me started on Gianni Infantino!

2025-26 - recap

Mikel Arteta and his squad finally reaped their reward for sustained consistency and excellence over the previous years of near misses. The Premier League trophy, two cup final appearances and a further quarter final make for a pretty decent season in my book. And - as we saw in the scenes all over and around Islington in the aftermath - a beast has been released; and that beast is the Arsenal fan base! 

Before I give out a few flowers for last season, just a few words regarding the pathetic and embarrassing torrent of abuse that accompanied Arsenal's season/success. And also on the level of achievement that our team has reached.

In this age of social media, instant reactions and attempts to shock and wind up others mean that this nonsense is what we have come to expect these days. It happens at school and work, in politics, and in sport fandom; in every aspect of life, in fact. People think that they can say or do what they like whilst hiding behind a keyboard, and it's usually things they won't say to your face. Some of the most obscure and pointless people end up as minor celebrities/shock jocks - and all for spouting complete nonsense; simply for effect. Supporters of clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City have been coming up with some of the most bizarre and absolute jokes of takes on last season... and now the upcoming season too.

Jokers. Clickbait. Remove them from your lives, guys; you don't need to waste your valuable time or energy on them. Sometimes it's difficult not to rise to the bait, but please remember this, Arsenal fans; we are above/better than these people, and have the forces of good on our side. As for these fools... well, they're essentially jealous.

Also, do not lose sight of the fact that in both Manchester City and PSG, Arsenal are and have been up against teams financed by literal nation states. Those clubs appear to be able to act with impunity in everything they do - those 115+ charges are still outstanding for City, and in the case of PSG you may or may not be aware that if you add up the wages they pay their players, you'd need to compare the aggregate of what the next FOUR clubs in Ligue Un pay their players in order to reach equivalent levels. Talk about tilted playing fields! 

So for Arsenal to beat City to the Premier League title (with relative comfort in the end), and to come within a penalty shootout of conquering a PSG side who played considerably fewer matches over the season, and in a vastly less competitive league, is a measure of how well they performed. Sure, Arsenal are hardly paupers when it comes to football finances, but there is no comparison here - especially as Arsenal’s money has been earnt organically - so do not allow anybody to belittle their achievements in the face of such stiff/unfair competition. 

Right then; let's quickly crack on with my Arsenal Awards for 2025/26 - and then we can get on to more important things i.e. the season that's about to start. 

Player of the Season - Declan Rice (with close competiton from David Raya and the imperious William Saliba here)

Most Disappointing Player of the Season - Noni Madueke (or Noni Noendproduct, as I call him)

Goal of the Season (so many from which to chose) - Eze's winner vs Newcastle (home); and here it is: https://www.reddit.com/r/ArsenalFC/comments/1svh6qy/eeze_9_arsenal_10_newcastle/

Moment of the Season - "After Review: West Ham's number 19 commits a foul"... Love it!: https://x.com/Splendor117/status/2066843790636134619/video/1

Worst Moment of the Season - Bournemouth at home. The whole afternoon. A nightmare...

I think that’ll do as regards awards. It all feels a little bit too late tbh. But I’d like to give extra flowers to Mikel (obviously), to Nicolas Jover, and especially to Gabriel Heinze who - whilst Carlos Cuesta had done an excellent job in his time at the club - appears to have injected a streak of steel and ruthlessness into the players.

It was great to see everyone pulling in the same direction; from Board and Management to the playing staff and also to the fans, who really began to get their act together and started to turn the stadium into a fortress. The scenes prior to the Atletico tie won’t escape anybody’s memories any time soon, and the tifos have really hit the mark. 

So… what’s next? Well, the switch in Chief Medical Officer announced soon after the end of last season would appear to mean that the club have acknowledged certain issues; after all, we’ve seen the likes of Havertz, Odegaard, Saka and Timber out for far longer than may have been expected during the course of the season. But it’s what happens next personnel-wise that’s going to be most interesting, as the club look to kick on further. 

But squad-building is complicated. And to me there feels like there may be a danger of Mikel being unable to see the wood for the trees. There are areas of weakness, but also areas of incredible depth and strength. Let's take a closer look:

Goalkeeper

David Raya is the undisputed number one. But behind him there are definitely issues. Kepa appears finished, and whilst Meslier has looked good on the fleeting occasions we saw him in pre-season, there's got to be a good reason why he fell from first choice to third choice goalkeeper at Leeds United over the course of two seasons. Raya needs to stay fit; and I certainly wouldn't be averse to moving Kepa on and picking up a new number two number one.

Defense

Hmmm... with Saliba out for several months with his back problem, and with Jurrien Timber several weeks away from returning by all accounts, Arsenal do look light on the right hand side of defence with just White and Mosquera available. And we all know what happens if Arteta over-plays Ben White. This is an area of short-term concern, as there has to be a question mark against throwing Marli Salmon in at the deep end at his tender years; for all his undoubted promise. The news coming through as I type that a deal has been agreed for Ezri Konsa feels like a sensible decison; although the size of the log jam once Saliba and Timber are back does make things somewhat complicated. But it's not exactly an easy start - the first few games of the season include a number of difficult hurdles.

On the left, a combination of Gabriel, Hincapie and Calafiori (with MLS in emergency) would seem to be more than adequate. No worries here, I don't think.

Midfield

Here, Arteta has an absolute abundance of riches from which to choose. Frankly - in my opinion - too many; certainly to keep them all sweet. How can he possibly shoehorn the following into three spots in the side? - Rice, Bruno, Zubimendi, MLS, Odegaard, Eze, Merino... I wouldn't know where to start, and those who are left out are probably entitled to feel aggrieved. I know that it's going to be another long season, but nonetheless...

How is he going to set up? How are we going to see the style of play evolve? I guess that we'll have to wait and see - although I do hope and expect to see a more free-flowing style; especially with Odegaard looking back to his dynamic and creative best: 

https://x.com/AFCJaccy/status/2089010323386745204/photo/1

Forwards (and I'll look at this in sections)

On the right, Bukayo Saka is clearly a shoo-in. With Madueke as his understudy, as things stand. However...

Look; I know that we all want to see all of our top youth players make the breakthrough to the first team, but we have exceptional talents in Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman both waiting in the wings; and both are equally as capable of deputising for Starboy at any given time. I sense that both of the teenagers may be eventually earmarked for number 8/10 roles as opposed to being out and out wingers (and - lest we forget - Arteta did actually experiment with Saka in a more interior role on a couple of occasions last season), but that area of the pitch is already ridiculously overcrowded.

So I for one would be very sad to see the extremely talented and promising Nwaneri jettisoned at this stage of his career - for all that he would command £40m+ of 'pure profit' to the club - and especially if, as seems pretty certain, Madueke stays. Let's face it; the whole of England saw enough of the maddening side of Madueke - the side of him that we had to suffer for a lot of last season - to understand what the problems are with him. 

If Arteta is going to keep Noni, then we have no choice but to bow to his judgment. But I'd be looking to send Ethan out on a season-long loan to another Premier League club, see how he develops, and retain his registration  (I typed that on Tuesday, btw, and the BBC are reporting that to be the case today; Wednesday). I'd hope to see Ethan return next season like we saw Saliba waltz into the side a few years ago as the finished product. And with Super Max coming up behind, that's quite some production line!

In the middle, with Jesus about to depart this looks like a straight fight between Havertz and Gyokeres. Horses for courses? There has been talk, but I cannot see the Swede being allowed to leave unless something massive drops Arsenal's way in the next fortnight. Would Ohsimen be that massive thing? - difficult to envisage. And I for one am not sold on Julian Alvarez like others are (especially as he would much prefer to go to Barcelona).

On the left, we come to the £34m bargain that Arsenal appear to have obtained in Christos Tzolis. The way he has performed in pre-season makes him a certain starter on Friday. But cover is needed. With Trossard gone, and Martinelli looking to be on his way out (something I'm very much 50/50 on), it would appear that Arsenal need something more there. The dalliance with Vinicius Jnr had us all salivating, I'm sure, but there are other alternatives out there, like Yildiz for example. I expect movement in this area.

To summarise the squad: departed - up to this point just Trossard (and thank you, Leo, for everything you did for the club) and Norgaard. With surely Jesus, Vieira and Nelson to follow. After that, perhaps Martinelli and Nwaneri (you know my thoughts). Perhaps something else needs to 'give' for something major to happen on the incomings front?

As regards arrivals, we have Bruno and Tzolis up to this point; but I'd hope and expect to see reinforcements on the right hand side of defence (looking like Konsa), and also on the left flank. But, frankly, Arsenal already look formidable - although perhaps not at PSG/Barcelona levels.

But - and I say this in all honesty - if you put a gun to my head I couldn't name a clear-cut First XI. Although perhaps, if everyone was fully fit and the Champions League final was tomorrow, I'd suggest: Raya - Timber - Saliba - Gabriel - Calafiori - Rice - Bruno - Odegaard - Saka - Havertz - Tzolis.

What is abundantly clear is that there’s a clear opportunity for Arsenal to eatablish themselvesd as a dynasty, with the opportunity to dominate for 5 years from here. They absolutely dominated City on Sunday, and that looks to be a real statement of intent. Tzolis looks to be areal bargain at this early stage. The hardest thing for Arteta may wll be juggling his troops. As for the contenders:

• How on earth are Manchester City going to bounce back from the loss of all of Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and Rodri in one summer? Remember, it was Bernardo and Rodri who dominated Arsenal in the Carabao Cup Final last season, and made the difference for them; as they did every time they played together. And with those charges still hanging over them?  The task looks impossible; especially if the Community Shield was anything to judge them by. Perhaps this may be the beginning of the end for them. I'm sure that we all hope so
• Manchester United are due a culture shock, as they suddenly need to play more than one game a week. And they surely haven't done anything like enough in the transfer market in order to be able to cope with that
•  Liverpool still require plenty of work; for all that I'd expect Iraola to be a major upgrade on Slot. They will certainly be better than last season, and we are going to see much more of both Wirtz and Isak this season, but they still need reinforcements in defence and midfield
• Aston Villa are in a transition phase. The loss of Rogers, Tielamans and Konsa is going to make life extremely difficult for them
• Chelsea are an absolute looney bin of a football club. It does look like a lot of the financial issues are going to come home to roost sooner rather than later, with rumours of Boehly looking for a way out. following his ill-judged attempts at squad building and suggestions in some quarters that their financial commitments may lead to them going into Administration in two or three years time. And wouldn't we enjoy that?!? And finally, as I am duty-bound to mention them; Tottenham Hotspur
• Tottenham are... well, frankly... still Tottenham no matter what you do with them. They have bought well - if expensively. But they surely have far too much ground to make up

For me, the way is clear. Arsenal should retain the title (for all that is always a difficult task). The other main priority then has to be the Champions League. Anything else... a bonus. But I am worryingly optimistic about this season.

Just to finish off, here’s a bit of fun. Help is needed to put together a Top XI of The Most Punchable Faces in the Premier League. We have lost some big players in this category over the summer - the likes of Romero, Cuccurella, Rodri and Bernardo Silva for starters; and it looks like Emi Martinez may go too. So who have you got to add to this list?

Bruno Fernandes

Richarlison

Alejandro Garnacho

Cole Palmer

Erling Haaland

Arsenal players are disqualified, obviously...

Now, I am going to explore possibly doing an 'On The Whistle' video at the end of every home game. If I can work out how to upload it to YouTube, that is... anyway, watch this space. And I'll be back over the weekend following Friday night's season opener at home to Fat Frank's Coventry City.

COYG!