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!
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