Morning, well that’s it for internationals, and not a moment too soon if you ask me. Bring on the real football madness.

Yesterday, Granit Xhaka played 90 minutes for Switzerland as they beat the Czech Republic 2-1; while Martin Odegaard also played the full game for Norway, beaten 2-0 by Serbia. Hopefully that means the captain isn’t feeling the effects of the injury which kept him out of the win over Brentford, and he’ll be 100% for the derby on Saturday.

It’s now about assessing the players when they come back, with some question marks over one or two. I’ve already written this week about Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu, so let’s see what kind of updates we get on them as the week progresses. Fingers crossed on both counts, because all the focus now is on the weekend, and then the punishing schedule which follows.

Elsewhere, Flo Balogun scored for England U21s who beat Germany 3-1 – watch the video here. Those are some lovely quick feet to take a touch, then spin his body to get the shot away with his weak foot. Clearly the loan spell in France is working well for him, with 5 goals and 2 assists in 8 games for Reims so far. And let’s not overlook the fact this is a team currently sitting 17th in the table – so it’s not as if he’s hoovering up a multitude of chances in a side which is steamrollering the opposition.

He spoke last week about the decision to send him out on loan this season, and said:

Before I moved, Mikel (Arteta) just wanted me to develop as a man. It was kind of like an open answer and it was for me to interpret what he meant by ‘develop as a man’.

By moving abroad, I’m starting to learn what he meant by that. It doesn’t just mean on the pitch but also off the pitch. I think by the time I go back I’ll be in a better place to compete than I was before I left.

It is an interesting one, because you could probably have made a pretty decent case for him to stay around. In a season where the schedule is packed and condensed, the more depth you have the better, and with only Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as recognised centre-forwards, having a third one around would be no bad thing. Especially when you remember that Eddie began last season as third choice, and – for reasons we don’t need to go over again – ended up as the starter for the last 10 games or so. I don’t think those same scenarios would have played out again to Balogun’s benefit, but as a kind of insurance policy, it would have been understandable if Arsenal had kept him around.

But ultimately the best thing for the player, and Arsenal in the longer term, was for him to go and play. For all the talent and potential, which had people worried he might leave without signing a new contract, he departed this summer at 21 years of age with just 31 senior appearances under his belt for a total of 1278 minutes, many of them short cameos as a sub. That’s just a little bit over 14 full 90s. In comparison, Bukayo Saka, a couple of months younger, has played 139 times for Arsenal, with 20 full internationals for England under his belt too.

How is any player supposed to develop properly without regular football? It just doesn’t happen, so the best decision for Balogun this season was to ensure he played plenty of football, even if the benefit to us – whether it’s on the pitch or financial in the transfer market – wouldn’t be seen until a later date.

Even William Saliba touched on this recently, telling Canal+:

From a personal point of view, it was better for me to go on loan to play, make mistakes, learn. I came back stronger and with new ambitions. These experiences proved to me that football is complicated, but that you should never give up and believe in yourself.

So far that seems to be working out well. I’d be very surprised if Balogun came back and had the same kind of impact as Saliba next season, but if he returns a better player for all his on-pitch experience, and more mature as a person after a different life experience which has taken him out of his ‘comfort zone’, then hopefully we’ll that reflected on what he does on the pitch all the same.

Right. That’s your lot for this morning. Have a good one.

The post Go with the Flo … appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Morning all.

I didn’t watch England play Germany last night, but my Twitter timeline was awash with Bukayo Saka chat, after he came on and helped England overturn a 2-0 deficit – although ultimately the game finished 3-3. It always helps when you play him in the position in which he’s most effective – although I can understand why, to some extent at least, he’s used elsewhere.

It’s because he is exceptionally good, and we have seen him play well as a wing-back, as a left-sided attacker, and I still wonder if, at some point, he might play more centrally. He’s definitely got the quality to do it in my opinion, but that might be a decision which depends on what it does to the balance of the team. I had a slight suspicion that the pursuit of Raphinha this summer was the precursor to that happening – but ultimately that didn’t happen and we need Saka on the right.

I’ve seen plenty of discussion about Saka’s form this season, and while I cannot agree with any kind of assertion that he’s been poor, I wouldn’t argue against one that says we’ve seen better from him. All the same, he has a goal and four assists in seven games so far, and I think he could have had more in each section too. Perhaps a little more conviction with one or two chances, better finishing from one or two passes, and we’d be looking at VERY healthy numbers instead of just quite decent ones.

The interesting thing about Saka now is the level of expectation, coupled with that importance he has on the right. He has become both fundamental to the side and very productive – especially when you consider he only turned 21 at the start of September. He was our leading goalscorer last season, but I think that was as much down to our lack of firepower at centre-forward for most of the campaign. This time around, I suspect Gabriel Jesus will outscore him, but people still look at the numbers he did last time around and use them as a kind of benchmark.

In total he had 19 goal involvements: 11 goals and 7 assists in the Premier League, plus 1 EFL Cup goal. Regardless of how many of each he gets this time around, we’re going to need similar numbers again if we want to continue our progress, and unfortunately there’s a bit more of a burden on him right now because we’re missing what Emile Smith Rowe brought last season too. Gabriel Martinelli is doing very well on the left, but October is going to test this squad to its physical limits and one of those positions is a bit of a problem.

On the right, Marquinhos might well be an option we didn’t really think we were going to have, but we’re basing that on one, admittedly very good, performance. What was striking about the team selection against FC Zurich, was the fact that Martinelli started on the left and played the full 90 minutes. We can’t play him for 9 games in 30 days, so it’s important Arteta finds some kind of solution.

Hopefully, Smith Rowe can regain some fitness quickly, because that’s the most obvious answer to this particular problem. Beyond that, I’m looking at the squad and thinking we’re going to have to put more minutes into players we’d much prefer to be resting. Using Eddie Nketiah in the middle and playing Gabriel Jesus out wide is far from ideal, but there’s not much else unless the manager puts some genuine faith in an Academy talent. It might be a case that the best solution is using the 5 subs rule as best we can to manage the minutes we put into the players during this hectic period – while keeping fingers crossed we don’t pick up any more injuries. Let’s see!

Finally for today, the Raul Sanllehi interview in The Athletic came up for more in-depth discussion on the latest Arsecast Extra, so you can check that out below for more. Just to say briefly though, it was amusing – to say the least – that he was critical of the current set-up which is now working, albeit after going through some turbulent times, while maintaining his was preferable.

The confirmation of what I’d long suspected, that Sanllehi was the man who drove the Unai Emery appointment, was the most interesting part, and with all due respect to the former head coach, he was absolutely the wrong man at the wrong club at the wrong time, and there are still lots of questions about the involvement of certain agents in that decision. Not to mention his reluctance to make a change when it became so obvious that needed to happen.

Sanllehi’s Arsenal was a Frankenstein’s monster, a club going nowhere with no plan or no direction. We’ve come quite a long way since, through some difficult periods no question, but there’s no doubt in my mind if Raul was still here, we’d be floundering and much, much further away from where we need to be. Criticism of Arteta as ‘manager’ only stands up if what you were doing was beneficial, and for Arsenal football club at least, it was anything but.

Listen to the pod below, as we also discuss Thomas Partey, the Interlull, the dodgy graphics in FIFA 23, and much more. Till tomorrow.

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The post Saka, wing-depth, and October … appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Welcome to another Arsecast Extra, the Arsenal podcast, with myself and James from @gunnerblog.

In this Interlull episode, we chat about the record breaking day for Arsenal Women as they beat Sp*rs 4-0, injury concerns over some of our players as we head into October, not least Thomas Partey who withdrew from the Ghana squad with a knee injury. We discuss his ongoing issues, and how Arsenal need to give it very careful consideration, as well as Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu. Then we answer listener questions about that October schedule, Raul Sanllehi’s interview with The Athletic, debut goalscorers, and lots more – including some very suspect FIFA 23 graphics as we rate the entire squad based on a video.

Here’s the Tweet with the question: https://twitter.com/riyanvatcha/status/1574410628605018114

Here is the YouTube video with all the squad faces! While this is allegedly Mikel Arteta.

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Remember, you can send us questions via which we’ll try and get to each week. Send them to either @arseblog or @Gunnerblog (or both) using the hashtag #arsecastextra. Best to send them Monday morning so they get noticed more easily.

You can subscribe to the Arsecast Extra on iTunes by clicking here. Or if you want to subscribe directly to the feed URL you can do so too (this is a much better way to do it as you don’t experience the delays from iTunes).

You can listen without leaving this page by using the player below, download the Acast app for iOS or Android, or download the MP3 directly using the link below.

Also, if you’re a fan of the show, please leave us a rating/review on iTunes, it’d be greatly appreciated.

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This Arsecast Extra was recorded with ipDTL

The post Arsecast Extra Episode 491 – 26.09.2022 appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Morning. Welcome to a brand new week, and the final round of international games take place today and tomorrow. After that, Mikel Arteta will welcome his travelling players home, see who hasn’t been injured, and then make his plans for the derby.

Kieran Tierney won’t play for Scotland against Ukraine tomorrow, this despite the fact Steve Clarke said he was ‘ok’ after a clash of heads at the weekend. Whether that was just a case of a manager giving nothing away, or Tierney being less ok than he thought, I have no idea. Hopefully it’s just a case that common sense has prevailed, and he’ll be fine for the weekend.

Players of note in action over the next couple of days:

Bukayo Saka: He’ll probably be involved as England face Germany this evening, but with pressure on Gareth Southgate after losing to Italy, he may fiddle with his team and play a 9-0-1 formation.

Granit Xhaka: Switzerland take on the Czech Republic on Tuesday evening.

Martin Odegaard: Norway play Serbia, also on Tuesday evening.

Beyond that, we already know Thomas Partey won’t play for Ghana, while Takehiro Tomiyasu was withdrawn from the Japan squad. A statement from the Japan FA (via Google Translate), said:

We would like to inform you that defender TOMIYASU Takehiro (Arsenal) will be withdrawing from the SAMURAI BLUE ahead of the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2022 Ecuador National Team match on September 27th due to club circumstances.

I don’t know what ‘club circumstances’ means, but perhaps there was an agreement that he’d play one game for Japan during this break – although I do feel like that’s unlikely. That said, with the World Cup imminent, there could be more cooperation between national set-ups and club sides, to ensure that key players aren’t missing for the tournament. If Tomiyasu arrived with advice from us that he wasn’t quite ready for 2 x 90 minutes in the space of three or four days, maybe that was taken on board. Japan need him for the World Cup much more than they need him for a relatively meaningless game against Ecuador.

Anyway, we’ll see how it all pans out. Going back to Tierney and Zinchenko, I think it’s great that we have two left-backs with such quality. They are obviously quite different in terms of what they bring to the side: KT is a better all-round defender, Zinchenko is technically better and is more comfortable in those central areas, but as a pair it’s as solid as I can remember for this position in some time.

The discussions are always interesting when a new player comes in and does well. I remember a certain point last season when Nuno Tavares deputised well for Tierney, and we had a litany of questions for the Arsecast Extra about whether the Scotland man’s Arsenal race was run. Those turned out to be somewhat premature in the end, although Nuno is doing well in Marseille as a wing-back, not a full-back.

It’s been similar this season too. Zinchenko is lovely to watch, and was so impressive in the opening weeks of the season. And when he picked up a knock, how nice was it to be able to have such a solid option take his place? We’ve all had some concerns about Tierney’s injury record at Arsenal, and in truth it has been a feature of his career, as the graphic below illustrates:

Those stats are from Transfermarkt, btw, and Zinchenko has quite a history too.

Except, did you notice that this was page 1 of 2? Here’s page 2.

Apart from one knee operation in 2019, there’s nothing serious, but there are lots of little aches/niggles. And when you look at this season so far, it’s quite interesting to note the minutes both of them have played.

Zinchenko

Premier League: 324′ from 4 appearances
Europa League: 21′
Total: 345′

Tierney

Premier League: 263′ from 6 appearances
Europa League: 69′
Total: 332′

I know the sample size is quite small, but if the Arsenal left-back position was essentially a timeshare situation throughout this season I wouldn’t be at all surprised. Which isn’t to say that’s necessarily a negative thing. One of the benefits of having depth is that you have confidence in both players, so rather than playing someone who might be in that red zone or struggling with a knock, you can choose the other guy and thus avoid exacerbating any injury issues they might have.

Another one that will play out over time, and it might be a case that one of them is the clear leader in terms of minutes, but I suspect the benefit of having two players of such quality is that they’ll come out pretty even in the end.

Right, that’s your lot. James and I will be recording the Arsecast Extra late this afternoon. Keep an eye out for the call for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re on Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.

We’ll have the pod for you sometime in the early evening. For now, take it easy.

The post The Arsenal left-back timeshare … appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

A quick Sunday round-up for you.

First up, what a performance and result for Arsenal Women yesterday, thrashing Sp*rs 4-0 at the Emirates in front of a record breaking crowd. The goals came from Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema (2), and a cracking header from Rafaelle. Aside from the obvious fun of beating the old enemy, it’s a good boost ahead of the European clash with Ajax on Wednesday.

As for the support and a record 53,737 ticket sold, Jonas Eidevall said afterwards:

The game is the best advertisement there can be for people coming. That’s what it’s about. For people to come here and feel proud of the team and the players and wanting to support. We really felt that with the supporters here today. We really hope that as many of them come back and they bring a friend and then it’s a sell out.

It’s brilliant to see those levels of support, the buzz the players must have had dispatching the opposition in front of them must have been fantastic, and let’s hope there’s plenty more of this to come.

There’s full coverage and post-game analysis from Tim and the team over on Arseblog News right now.

—

Meanwhile, Ghana have confirmed that Thomas Partey has returned to London after he missed their game against Brazil with a knee problem. It was initially reported it was precautionary and he’d be likely to play their friendly against Nicaragua, but he requires ‘further assessment’ and as I said yesterday, that’s going to be a real worry with the derby next weekend and the October schedule as full as full can be.

Also ‘precautionary’ was the substitution of Kieran Tierney during Scotland’s win over Ireland last night. He came off in the first half after a bang on the head, but manager Steve Clarke said afterwards he was ‘ok’. Whether he plays against Ukraine on Tuesday remains to be seen, Scotland’s third game in 6 days, but like Partey this is another one where you can’t help but be a little concerned. Thankfully this isn’t a repeat of a previous injury or anything, so fingers crossed.

Martin Odegaard played 71 minutes of Norway’s defeat to Slovenia last night, while Granit Xhaka played the full 90 as Switzerland beat Spain 2-1.

Right, I was out late, and I require much more coffee and potentially some bacon between some pieces of bread. Have a good one – and just in terms of podcast stuff, James and I will recording the Arsecast Extra for you tomorrow late afternoon.

Have a good one.

The post Sunday round-up: North London derby victory breaks records appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Morning.

A very quick Saturday round-up for you.

I’m trying to see which Arsenal players have been involved during the Interlull, and Bukayao Saka played for England last night as they were beaten 1-0 by Italy. Matt Turner was in goal for the USA as they were beaten 2-0 by Japan – Takehiro Tomiyasu played 90 minutes at centre-half for his country.

There were some quotes during the week about how he was ‘not satisfied’ at Arsenal, but I don’t think it’s anything like a ‘Get me out of here’ complaint. He talked about working harder to win his place back, and it is something he’s going to have to do due to the good form of Ben White at right back this season. This is one of those good problems for a manager to have. The choice between two excellent players versus the ‘Oh crap I have to use this guy’ when someone’s injured is far preferable, and there’s going to be plenty of football to go around this season. Tomi getting a solid 90 minutes under his belt is a good thing as we head into October.

Thomas Partey was due to play for Ghana against Brazil, but missed the game because he reportedly ‘felt uncomfortable’ around his knee.

Update on Thomas Partey

A member of the Black Stars medical team has confirmed to me Partey's exclusion was only precautionary.

Partey felt uncomfortable around his knee and was advised to pull out .He should be ready for Tuesday's game.#JoySports pic.twitter.com/Aa7w1JOTEi

— George Addo Jnr (@addojunr) September 23, 2022

I do wonder what kind of discomfort around the knee makes you unavailable for a game on Friday but ok for one just a couple of days later. Fair play for the precautionary stuff, but it’s hard not to be worried all the same. His injury record at Arsenal is such that when he’s fit, you’re watching the clock to see how long it’s going to be before he breaks down again, and I think this is one we’re going to have to keep a close eye on.

To be fair, having missed a month due to a thigh problem, these minutes during the Interlull could well have been useful in terms of getting him fully match fit, so it’s not an issue of him being away. Also, Ghana – fully aware of his unreliability in recent seasons – could be playing it safe with the World Cup on the horizon, so let’s wait and see. However, as Arsenal plan for the January window, I hope that Edu’s white board in his office which lists the players for each position has a big red circle around the deep lying midfield area and note which says ‘Ask Big J for some money’.

Later on, Kieran Tierney could be in action as Scotland face Ireland, Norway play Slovenia so we’ll have to see if Martin Odegaard is involved, while Granit Xhaka’s Switzerland face Spain.

Finally for today, good luck to the Arsenal Women as we play the first of two North London derbies in a week. The game takes place at the Emirates, and over 50,000 tickets have been sold, which is absolutely fantastic – and hopefully the home fans have plenty to cheer about today.

Tim has his usual match preview here, and you can find all the post-game reaction and analysis from him and the team over on the dedicated Arsenal Women section on Arseblog News. Genuinely, it’s the most comprehensive coverage of the team you’ll find anywhere, so make sure it’s bookmarked if it’s not already.

Right, that’s your lot for this morning. Have a good Saturday.

The post Saturday round-up: Tomi and Turner play, Partey doesn’t appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Morning all. A very quick Friday round-up for you.

…

And there we go. Thanks for reading. Have a great day.

It’s a bit mad to think we’re suffering the Interlull tedium and missing football when this time next month we’ll probably be wishing we had some kind of break because of the relentlessness of the schedule.

All football, ALL the time.

I suppose this one feels a bit worse because of the all the postponements. We should have had more football last month, but in a little over 6 weeks we’re going to have to steel ourselves for the Mother of all Interlulls when the season breaks for the world cup. What on earth are we going to do?

Yes, there will be football when the World Cup itself starts, but there will be no Arsenal. And as the tournament progresses, the amount of football dwindles. From three games a day to one game every three or four days, and then what are we supposed to do to pass the time?

Count how many montages of glistening skyscrapers and David Beckham we get via the TV coverage? Here’s David Beckham on a motorcycle, showing off the many beautiful streets of Doha. Here’s David Beckham at the beach wearing aviator sunglasses, his tattoos digitally removed to ensure we see his oiled-up abs.

Suddenly, the sound of Playing with the boys by Kenny Loggins blasts from our TV speakers, Becks is joined by three other high profile ex-pros for a completely and utterly and most definitely heterosexual game of volleyball.

“Let’s go!”, squeaks Beckham and the fun begins.

Back in studio, Roy Keane bemoans such activity as a frippery of the modern world, insisting that back in his day they’d never have played volleyball and instead would have engaged in some completely and utterly and most definitely heterosexual Grecian wrestling.

“Wrestlin’! Wrestlin’!’, mimicks Ian Wright in an Irish accent. At first Keane looks like he’s going to give him a dig in the side of the head, but he can’t help but laugh.

“Fecks sake, Wrighty!”,  he says. Nevertheless, he makes a mental note to send a ‘Thanks but no thanks’ to Beckham’s invitation to a Manchester United reunion BBQ happening at a private beach later that week.

On the BBC, Gareth Southgate defends his decision to take 19 defenders to the World Cup, and even then there’s no place for in-form Ben White, overlooked to facilitate a surprise recall for Des Walker.

“I have to make decisions as a football manager,” he explains, “because I am a football manager and football managers have to make decisions. Some of them are easy decisions, some of them are difficult decisions, and some of the decisions are neither easy nor difficult but they still have to be made. In this instance, you could say that some of the players I picked fell into each category but I think it would be unfair for me to say which ones are which.”

That’s left to Henry Winter in The Times who elicits the information from a confidential source in the England camp who goes on record to say, “As a confidential source I have to leak information. Some of that information is easy to leak, some of it is not so easy to leak, and some of the information is neither easy or difficult to leak.”

“SOUTHGATE THE DRIP“, screams the headline in The Sun when they put two and two together some weeks later.

It’s all ahead of us folks.

Right, I’m gonna leave it there for this morning. There is a brand new Arsecast for you, chatting to Matt Spiro about William Saliba, as well as Flo Balogun and Nuno Tavares who are on loan in France this season. We also have some Interlull Arse-waffle with Andrew Allen.

All the links you need to subscribe and listen are below. Have a great Friday.

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The post Friday nonsense appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Welcome to another episode of the Arsecast – the Arsenal podcast.

In this episode joined by Andrew Allen for some Interlull Arsenal chat, including Fabio Vieira, Martin Odegaard, Takehiro Tomiyasu and other players away with their countries this month, as well as some of the media reaction to the debut of 15 year old Ethan Nwaneri.

After that, there are no surprises for Matt Spiro as to how well William Saliba has done this season, and we talk about the French defender, before Matt gives us some insight into the loan spells of Flo Balogun and Nuno Tavares who are both playing in Ligue 1 this season.

Follow Andrew @AAllenSport : Follow Matt @mattspiro

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The post Episode 696 – No surprises appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Granit Xhaka’s role has evolved over the last 18 months or so. The different deployment of Xhaka has been a really interesting development in Arteta’s Arsenal team. What is arguably even more interesting is how well he has taken to this new role.

On Sunday, Xhaka wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Martin Odegaard. Even a year ago, the thought of the Swiss officially captaining the team again felt like too much of a hot political potato to entertain. Even if, unofficially, or in the eyes of his teammates, Xhaka’s senior leadership role within the group never really diminished.

Indeed, the Arsenal Twitter admin felt comfortable enough about the current temperature around the player to post a photo of his shirt and captain’s armband. As the second half wore on in West London and Xhaka was playing in the area of the pitch close to the away support, he was serenaded consistently by fans who have seen an obvious uptick in his performances.

Captain Xhaka pic.twitter.com/6k8aDl0ck4

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 18, 2022

Everybody loves a redemption arc and Xhaka’s has Arsenal fans feeling warm and fuzzy. I have never doubted that Xhaka is a player more easily appreciated by coaches and teammates than he is supporters; but Arsenal fans are not experiencing a collective hallucination. He is receiving plaudits because he is playing better than he has at any point during his six years at the club.

Once again, the relationship between the player and the supporters which, not long ago, was at Cold War levels of tension, is totally mended. To the point that the Arsenal account could post a tweet asking fans to show their love for the player without fear of reprisal. Xhaka posted a humble video thanking the fans for their outpouring of love.

"What happened today… singing the song for me, it's a very, very special day. Thank you!"

We this, Granit pic.twitter.com/QnwUnSLyCa

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 18, 2022

So what has driven this improvement in his performances? I think there are a few factors. The presence of Thomas Partey at the base of the midfield is an undoubtedly huge factor. Prior to Arteta switching Xhaka from the six to the left eight role, the Swiss was the spoke in the midfield wheel, receiving the ball from his centre-halves and distributing.

The problem was that Xhaka was often susceptible to being pressed. Playing at the base of the midfield also meant that he was responsible for a very large space defensively which, to my mind, did not match his athletic profile. Now Xhaka is responsible for a slither of the pitch rather than a huge circle.

He now operates in the left corridor, blending with the left-back and left-winger in different phases of play. Crucially, it means that when he does have to run backwards to win the ball back, he is dealing with a smaller space and is not the last line of defence. We have often seen him exposed and make rash decisions out of possession as a result.

Partey has a more suitable athletic profile to deal with that space and it has reduced Xhaka’s stress levels in an off-the-ball sense. Arsenal are a young team but in Partey and his usual back-up, Mohamed Elneny, the team have two contemporaries of a similar age and experience level to Xhaka. In a soft factor sense, I also think Xhaka has a preferable leadership role now too.

With experienced players like David Luiz, Alex Lacazette, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Sokratis, Bellerin, Mustafi, Leno and Özil gone, all of whom were senior players who had issues adapting to Arteta’s demands, Xhaka’s leadership role is clearer now. He is the longest serving member of the starting line-up and he has survived the cull of senior players (even if that seemed very unlikely at one point).

It’s a young team and he is very obviously the most senior figure in it, in terms of his age, experience, tenure at the club and his personality. While I think the decision to make Odegaard captain was the right one (generally, I think young teams should be captained by a younger player- look at the difference between Gallas and Fabregas as natural authority figures circa 2008), it absolutely makes sense that Xhaka is a big part of the leadership group.

It’s a nice reward for the player too, an acknowledgement that he has rehabilitated his reputation at the club and that ought to make him a source of inspiration for other players. In the footballing sense, I think he is better suited to being a more reactive player within the system, a foot soldier rather than a general. He is not charged with setting the tempo tactically but he is asked to help maintain the temperature.

His own improvement has also been helped along by the general improvement of the team, particularly on the left side of the pitch. Oleksandr Zinchenko has, effectively, replaced Nuno Tavares and Gabriel Jesus has replaced Alex Lacazette. Both of those swaps make Arsenal a far better team but that has a particular impact on Xhaka’s area of the field.

Xhaka and Zinchenko have built an early understanding and the presence of the Ukrainian means that Arsenal are more technically secure. Whereas Lacazette was static to the point that his feet were growing roots, Jesus likes to drift around the forward line, especially over to the left wing, which, in turn, allows Martinelli to move in-field.

With this attacking pattern around him, Xhaka has been able to pick up strong positions in the left half-space, with opposing defences far more occupied by Jesus and Martinelli’s interchange. We saw this at Brentford on Sunday, even before his very nice, clipped assist for Jesus, a loss of footing for Martinelli denied Xhaka another good assist from that space.

This move we created in the first minute of the game really set the tone.

Just a shame Martinelli couldn’t keep his balance as he struck the ball. pic.twitter.com/Tmm8RB75UA

— Gilles (@_Grimanditweets) September 18, 2022

Xhaka has always talked up his creative gene, in this interview with the Guardian from November 2017, he describes himself as “a fake 10, a 10 who plays further back.” The framework around him is improved and that drives individual improvement. You could say exactly the same of Martinelli this season who looks a far better player alongside Jesus and Zinchenko / Tierney than he did alongside Lacazette and Tavares.

Now Xhaka is riffing with Zinchenko / Tierney, Jesus and Martinelli and that has guided his improvement. The player deserves immense credit for keeping his head down and quietly improving after what looked like a point of no return when he cussed the Emirates crowd and threw his captain’s armband on the floor back in October 2019.

It was an example of his impulsiveness and, for that reason, I doubted that he could ever accept a reduced tactical role in the team (in 2020-21 he averaged 85.6 touches per 90, last season that dropped to 68.2). He has more responsibility in a cerebral sense in a young team and, in a tactical sense, the team has reduced its dependence on him in terms of volume but, given his current form, he has probably never been more important to Arsenal than he is now.

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This feels like a very Interlull morning. It’s grey and raining outside, and there’s no Arsenal news. It leaves with me with no choice than to go back through the archives and see what was happening on this day in years gone by.

September 22nd 2003

Reporting on an uneventful 0-0 draw at Old Trafford the day before …

Moments later there was a high ball, Ruud van Nistelrooy jumped in the air, kicked Vieira in the chest, landed on Paddy’s back and when he landed the Arsenal captain made a half-kicking motion towards the Dutchman who jumped backwards as if there were rabid dogs trying to bite his bollocks off. Watching on Sky they showed how the referee would have seen it, and from there it looked worse than it was. Vieira never made contact with Ruud, but I presume he got his 2nd yellow for intent. After the game Arsene Wenger was interviewed about van Nistelrooy and basically called him a diver and a cheat.

Fun times! And let’s not forget we face Ruud van Nistelrooy’s PSV side in the Europa League this season. In a team full of players to dislike, with faces like Gary and Phil Neville, the Dutchman was always very close to the top for me. I love how, in latter years, we found out how obsessed he was with Thierry Henry and how many goals he scored.

More than you, pal.

September 22nd 2004

Real Madrid are reportedly after Arsene Wenger.

From the mount spoke the herald to respond to tidings of Castilian cravings for Arsene Wenger. Reverend Peter Hill-Wood said unto the Standard “I am absolutely certain that Arsene will stay at Arsenal. I cannot believe he would go there and Madrid can fornicate with the goat of Zebedee’s third wife.”

Quite.

September 22nd 2007

We hear from new shareholder Alisher Usmanov as Red and White Holdings increase their stake in the club …

Alisher Usmanov revealed yesterday his intention to buy a ‘blocking stake’ in Arsenal. He said:

I want to be in a position that will allow me a blocking stake. I will then wait for it to go up in value.

So, what we’ve got on our hands is, at best, an aggressive speculator, at worst somebody who will make life as difficult as possible for the people who run the club at the moment.

Yesterday on Reuters: Germany raids Russian oligarch’s properties in money-laundering probe

September 22nd 2010

The night before, Arsenal beat Sp*rs 4-1 in the League Cup, Jack Wilshere playing a major part in that with a scintillating performance despite them trying to kick him off the pitch. Sadly, a recurring theme with how teams would try and deal with Jack in the years to come.

The blog ended with this pithy observation:

We saw what football was all about last night, what it is that brings us all together, what it is that makes this game so great – seeing little children with cocks on their shirt crying.

And who can argue with that?

September 22nd 2011

Times are tough, the start to the season has been difficult, and there’s a lot of online scrutiny of Johann Djourou. It wasn’t long before this that he was being lauded as a key part of the Arsenal defence but, like the team, he’s struggling and drawing plenty of ire.

I attempt to find some middle-ground.

I don’t like what’s happening at the club at the moment, the run of form we’re on pains me, as I’m sure it pains you, and the idea that we should ignore that and blindly accept the team’s failings is surely of no benefit to anyone. At the same time though, maybe a little more reason needs to be applied along the way when discussing players and their foibles.

It can’t all be negative, all the time. Otherwise you’ll get an ulcer. And ulcer might burst and the acid will eat through your stomach and burn you another hole. Nobody needs two arses, and I think, muddled as it is, that’s a lesson we could all do with learning.

I suspect, given how some of the subsequent years went, we might have a few fans who are known – in their doctors offices at least – as Johnny Five Arse.

September 22nd 2013

Arsenal are about to play Stoke, who sacked long-time enemy Tony Pulis and now have Mark Hughes in charge. The Aaron Ramsey stuff is front and centre again, and to be fair to Hughes, he speaks well of his fellow Welshman, but the enmity between the two sets of fans continues.

It’s always a spicy affair and even the change of manager plays into that:

Hughes and Wenger have their own history, of course, after Hughes was really, really, really upset that Arsene committed the war-crime-level sin of having not shaken Hughes’ hand once.

I do miss petty nonsense like that. If I recall correctly, the reason Arsene refused to shake his hand is because Hughes and his assistant spent the entire 90 minutes abusing him from their technical area. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to base your actions on that, and not some post-game convention which says that regardless of what happens, a handshake makes it all better.

Of course all the headlines and pundit outrage are about the disrespect of not shaking hands and not the 90 minutes of vitriol, but isn’t that always the way? Sort of like people getting mad at a talented 15 year old playing a few minutes at end of a comprehensive win or something.

Plus ça change, and all that.

That’s it. Have a good one. Back tomorrow with a brand new Arsecast.

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The chief tactical challenge for coaches in the modern game is setting up a team that is well-drilled and organised, yet flexible and unpredictable. With the ball, ideally, the entire width and depth of the pitch is used to stretch the opposition. Without it, you want pressure on the ball and spaces between your players to be minimal, essentially making the pitch as small as possible.

Arsenal currently look capable of all of the above.

In the opening weeks of the season, the addition of Oleksandr Zinchenko saw the ball gravitate towards the left. A midfielder for Ukraine, Zinchenko wants the ball and wants to dictate the game. He tucked infield, Gabriel Martinelli held the width outside him, and Granit Xhaka vacated the base of the midfield, playing higher up than Arsenal fans have seen him before to give Zinchenko room to operate.

The concern then, because we always need to have one, was that the right wing wasn’t delivering. That our game was maybe too concentrated to the left.

Fast-forward a few weeks and things have balanced out. Zinchenko has, of course, missed a few games in the meantime, and Arsenal have tilted to the right again. But that does not mean the left has become ineffective. Arsenal are considered, each player knowing their role according to where everyone else is. That has never been more obvious than it was against Brentford on Sunday, when the usual plan was adapted a little.

With the opposition playing in a narrow 5-3-2 formation, there was no need for left-back Kieran Tierney to tuck inside and clog up an already congested middle of the park. The space was outside, so that’s where Arsenal played. Tierney may not be the same player as Zinchenko but he has interpreted the position similarly this season. But at Brentford the shift infield came higher up the pitch and primarily as a defensive tactic, guarding against any possible counter-attacks, rather than a method to build attacks. In Arsenal’s own half, Tierney stayed wider than he has in previous games (as did Ben White on the other flank). He had more touches centrally further upfield but he is there to prevent counter-attacks when the ball is on the opposite wing more than he’s there to do anything in possession.

And that was just one cog in a synchronised, whirring machine. With Tierney wider, Gabriel Martinelli drifted infield more than he has previously this season, plugging gaps vacated by Gabriel Jesus as he dropped off of the Brentford backline (happy to either to bring a centre-back with him to create space for a runner, or happy to drift unattended and receive the ball in space) or gaps that were not being filled by Xhaka, who didn’t crash the box as we have become used to seeing. The Swiss had 67 touches, more than his season average, but just one in the box, compared to the four (Leicester, Fulham, Villa) or five (Bournemouth, Man Utd) we have become accustomed to. And that one on Sunday came in the opening two minutes of the game.

As those positions all rotated, gaps opened up on Brentford’s right. With all three centre-backs occupied and Arsenal leaning to the right-hand side, even a compact back five becomes stretched. In the opening two minutes, Granit Xhaka drove into space between the right-wingback (occupied by Tierney) and the right centre-back (attracted to Martinelli) to receive possession and almost lay on the opener.

When that gap appeared 25 minutes later it was quickly followed by a goal, with Brentford careful to fill it with a midfielder and Xhaka using the extra space outside the area to assist Gabriel Jesus.

A long passing move included Fabio Vieira in possession on the touchline, rotating with Bukayo Saka to create space and stretch Brentford before Ben White arrived on the overlap and Vieira found a chance to cut inside and switch play, with Xhaka in space and Tierney pinning the wingback on the flank.

When the ball came over to the left, midfielder Josh Dasilva looked to plug the gap Xhaka had previously exploited, so the Swiss stood off in space, where Tierney found him. Martinelli dropped off to from the box to the left shoulder of Vitaly Janelt (the midfielder preparing to close Xhaka down) forced him to take one small step to the left, giving Xhaka an extra second to pick out Gabriel Jesus.

It seems like too small a thing to make any difference but the angle for Xhaka’s cross doesn’t exist without Martinelli’s positioning dragging Janelt one step across. The ball simply would have hit him.

Haven’t seen it mentioned by many that Jesus’ goal against Brentford had strong Haaland vibes.

An emphatic finish by the Arsenal number 9 seemingly out of nowhere.pic.twitter.com/51pWLciezp

— JustAnArsenalFan (@ArsenalDiaspora) September 19, 2022

The contrast couldn’t be greater that awful autumn of two years ago, when Arsenal were incredibly static. It was always obvious where each player would be and the team was easy to defend. Now the variety of movement and rotations make it hard for opposition players to know who to pick up, or whose job it is to cover a particular player. Arsenal are hard to defend against.

When Gabriel Jesus drops, runners move beyond him. If the left-back moves forward out wide, Xhaka sits deeper. When the left-back tucks in, Xhaka pushes wider or further forward, depending on whether Martinelli is holding the width or has drifted infield. And all that on the right too.

The pitch is being made big in attack but small in defence. Seconds after overlapping Vieira in the build up to the goal, Ben White drifts back inside with the ball on the left flank. A sloppy touch or a blocked cross shouldn’t lead to a dangerous break, with Arsenal completely smothering the two Brentford strikers if and when the ball falls for them. That’s how to sustain pressure and do so without leaving gaps waiting to be punished.

Stretch the opposition in attack, smother them in defence. The Arsenal accordion has us top of the league.

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Fair play to Granit Xhaka.

He is someone who I have had some frustrations with down the years, but credit where it’s due – he is performing at a very high level right now. I don’t think it’s just this season either, his good form goes back some way and I think that needs to be acknowledged too.

The fact that fans are regularly singing his name, for essentially the first time in his Arsenal career, tells you that a relationship that once looked damaged beyond repair has now been healed. Not for everyone, of course. Your mileage may vary on how you view the events of October 2019 during that Crystal Palace game, but without excusing anything, I always felt like that moment was something of a lightning rod for more wide-ranging frustrations – for both fans the player himself. The volcanic eruption had been brewing beneath the surface for some time.

Still, if you’d told me then that a few years later, Xhaka would be wearing the captain’s armband (as he did on Sunday) and have his name sung by the travelling fans, I think I’d have suggested your time machine was a bit faulty. But that’s exactly where we are, and at a time when there’s a lot of positivity around Arsenal, this is another element which I think says a lot about how fans are feeling right now.

The Granit Xhaka Redemption is not a story I’d have invested a lot of time in, and it hasn’t been plain sailing all the way. There have been some red cards, some of which – to be fair – were definitely Granit Xhaka reds and not normal reds, but then rightly or wrongly, if anyone knows the ITWGX Index (If That Was Granit Xhaka) then it’s Granit Xhaka. Last summer there was a serious flirtation with/interest from Roma, and it looked as if he might go, but throughout Mikel Arteta has been a constant.

As other players have departed, often in acrimonious circumstances, he has always wanted Xhaka to stay and deserves some credit for this current form and influence the Swiss international has on the team right now. I suspect the manager sees something of himself in Xhaka. A hard working, super professional midfielder who has talent, a nice eye for a pass, can keep things ticking, and crack in the occasional belter from outside the box; but who exists just below the very top level talent. Which isn’t a criticism, it’s just reality.

On that basis, what Arteta is getting out of Xhaka in this ‘new’ position is really quite something, and certainly more than I expected. I thought Ian Wright’s analysis of him on MOTD2 the other night (which you can find at the top of the video page here), excellently highlighted how well he’s playing this role. Not only does he look more mobile, getting around the pitch and in areas we rarely saw him, he is quicker on the ball – which is where I had most doubts about him. It wasn’t so much of a case I thought he couldn’t do it, but because of where he used to pick up possession, he hadn’t really done it before and certainly played with more touches than he does now.

The early Martinelli chance against Brentford is a good example of how this change of role is effective. As we go down the right, he is in our half, but he makes the forward run, the quick feet from both him and Martinelli fashion the chance, and it was a shame the Brazilian slipped. The assist for Gabriel Jesus was top class, and I do think there’s an element of teams not really expecting Xhaka to be a threat in these areas of the pitch – and it’ll be interesting to see if there’s more defensive focus on him going forward.

I remember when we signed him back in 2016, Arsene Wenger was asked about the role he saw him in, and said:

I personally prefer him as a box to box player, because he has the engine, the power, the long pass, he likes to come deep and distribute the game. I think as well he has the engine to make an impact with his runs.

It was always a bit confusing to me that he seemed to be off the mark on this one, because we never really saw Xhaka in that kind of role. Arsene himself even rowed back on that after some time, labelling him a defensive midfielder (among other things), but it looks as if his first instincts were absolutely right.

Anyway, long may this good form last, especially as it’s hard not to be worried about the injury record of our other senior, first choice central midfielder. I also liked his quote, after the Brentford game, where he talked about the perception of Arsenal right now:

The teams are respecting us much more and they are seeing us in a different way. It is good but nothing to be too proud about as there is still a long way to go.

I don’t know if we’ve completely turned the tables, but I do think the idea of Arsenal as a soft-touch is getting smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror. Plenty still do, of course, but there’s a reason why some of the half-arsed pundit class are moaning about giving a 15 year old a debut: it’s because that’s all they can find to be negative about, and even that is straw-clutching of the highest order from miserable nitwits.

Let’s keep it up.

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Morning all. I had a terrible night’s sleep so my thoughts this morning are likely to be a bit scattered.

It happens occasionally, where I just can’t fall asleep, and part of the reason why is I get a snippet of a song playing over and over and over in my head. Relentless earworming, I call it. Last night, it was a song by Harry Styles that I heard on the radio in the kitchen three days ago, but somehow it was being spun by DJ Brain and I am exhausted now, and I never want to hear that song again.

There’s some interesting stuff from Granit Xhaka on weekend debutant Ethan Nwaneri. The 15 year old was given a few minutes at the end of the 3-0 win over Brentford, and the Swiss international knows the young man from time spent with the U16s while doing his coaching badges. He says:

“You can see a big difference with him and the other guys. He is very special. He looks old when I see him. I told a Brentford player that he was 15 and he looked at me and said: ‘F*** me, we are looking old!’

“We have to protect him because he’s very young. If he keeps going like this, with this mentality, he has a big, big future.”

We had some questions for the Arsecast Extra which wondered if Mikel Arteta had given Nwaneri his debut at such a young age as a kind of revenge for Ivan Toney’s Tweet last season. You’ll have seen the manager use it in All Or Nothing, and it was referenced again by Gabriel after the game:

Nice kick about with the boys. @Arsenal

— Gabriel Magalhaes (@biel_m04) September 18, 2022

First, if we know anything about Mikel Arteta he is super-professional, and I just don’t think he’d do something just for the ‘bantz’. He had some very kind pre-game comments about Toney too, and although there were some ghosts to lay to rest at Brentford on Sunday, we did those by way of the outstanding performance and the result itself.

Secondly, it would be entirely wrong to use a 15 year old to do something like that. Managers and clubs have a duty of care to their players, young and not so young, but in particular to those who are just making their way in the game. Let’s not miss the fact that what happened on Sunday was extraordinary in many ways.

A player few had heard of outside seasoned Academy watchers became the youngest player to ever make his debut across the top 5 European leagues. You don’t do that just to make a petty point – not least because it wasn’t as if Brentford did us dirty last season, they just had a great night and deserved to win the game based on the performance. If Arteta was going to snap back, he’d have said something in his post-match interview about missing Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville dancing live on TV.

I think the main reason is we want to include him because, as Xhaka said, “He is very special.”

He is just 15, so there are still contractual issues at play here. He can’t sign professional terms until he turns 17, and you can be sure that there are other clubs aware of his talent and willing to take him on before he gets tied down at Arsenal. By handing him his debut, you hopefully cement his connection to the club. Perhaps I’m cynical, and I know injuries left us short for this game so that gap was there on a 9 man bench, but I wonder if his inclusion was strategic in that regard. If so, it shows a focus on our Academy pathway that’s very important.

The scenes after the final whistle, where both Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Martinelli brought him over to the away fans were great to see, and can you imagine what that must feel like at the age of 15? I’m not sure how I’d process that, and again Xhaka’s point about protecting him is important. From obscurity to worldwide football fame in the space of 24 hours is quite something to deal with.

Nevertheless, it demonstrates again to young players that in the Premier League right now, Arsenal is the place to be. It shows the kids in the Academy that if you’ve got talent and you work hard, you could make the breakthrough. It must be depressing to be a young player at some clubs who just go out and buy, buy, buy before they farm you out on loan after loan, and deep down you know you’re never going to get a chance.

I also think it must be something that talented young players throughout the game are now becoming aware of. If Arsenal come calling in the transfer market, you’d be much more open the idea of going there than another club where perhaps you won’t play as much. We’ve shown we trust in youth, and that opportunities will arrive. If you take your chance when it comes, you could have a bright future.

How much more we see of Ethan Nwaneri this season remains to be seen. Perhaps some Europa League minutes, but he’s already had a taste of the first team, and I’m sure he’ll be desperate for more. October is busy, so he may well become the youngest player to make his European debut too. Let’s see.

Just finally, with regards the Gabriel Tweet above, I saw a lot of po-faced nonsense about how it was out of order. Honestly, I despair at how desperate some people are to make a fuss about any little thing. I guarantee you Ivan Toney saw it and thought ‘Well, it’s fair cop’. If you dish it out, you have to be able to take it, and I bet he doesn’t need the protection of rent-a-gob pundits on Twitter either. He’s a grown man.

There’s a lot about the game you could take issue with these days, but this is definitely not it.

Right. Time for some coffee, hopefully that will help.

The post Ethan Nwaneri debut was not just for fun appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Welcome to another Arsecast Extra, the Arsenal podcast, with myself and James from @gunnerblog.

In this episode we enjoy the 3-0 win over Brentford on Sunday that put us back on top of the Premier League. We discuss the way Arsenal exerted such control and dominance over the opposition; our prowess from set-pieces as we opened the scoring from a corner; Granit Xhaka’s increased creativity and an assist for Gabriel Jesus; squad depth in the shape of Fabio Vieira, who scored his first goal for the Gunners; plus a debut for 15 year old Ethan Nwaneri and what it says about the club right now. Then there are listener questions about injury concerns, Jesus walking a disciplinary tightrope, fans singing for Xhaka, William Saliba (ooooof), head slapping, and lots more.

Get extra bonus content and help support Arseblog by becoming an Arseblog Member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arseblog

Remember, you can send us questions via which we’ll try and get to each week. Send them to either @arseblog or @Gunnerblog (or both) using the hashtag #arsecastextra. Best to send them Monday morning so they get noticed more easily.

You can subscribe to the Arsecast Extra on iTunes by clicking here. Or if you want to subscribe directly to the feed URL you can do so too (this is a much better way to do it as you don’t experience the delays from iTunes).

You can listen without leaving this page by using the player below, download the Acast app for iOS or Android, or download the MP3 directly using the link below.

Also, if you’re a fan of the show, please leave us a rating/review on iTunes, it’d be greatly appreciated.

Download – iTunes – Spotify – Acast – RSS

This Arsecast Extra was recorded with ipDTL

The post Arsecast Extra Episode 490 – 19.09.2022 appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Match report – Player ratings – By the numbers – Video

Arsenal went back on top of the Premier League yesterday, beating Brentford 3-0 in one of the most controlled performances you’re likely to see this season.

After what happened here last time out, not to mention the fact that they demolished Man Utd 4-0 just a few weeks ago, there was some pre-game anxiety, but from the very first whistle Mikel Arteta’s side took control and barely let go for the entire 90 minutes. Brentford had some moments, but that’s all they were. The long throws and the red and white kit made them look like a family friendly Stoke, but beyond that they offered little.

The manager handed a first start to Fabio Vieira, deputising for the injured Martin Odegaard, who joined Oleksandr Zinchenko, Emile Smith Rowe and Mohamed Elneny on the injury list. Thomas Partey returned to the base of the midfield, a little rusty with the ball at times, but providing calm presence in a key position.

We should have been ahead in the first minute, a slick one-touch move provided a chance for Gabriel Martinelli, but he slipped at the key moment to let Brentford off the hook. That set the tone for what was to come though. We played some really nice stuff, and deservedly went ahead in the 17th minute when, from a corner, William Saliba flicked a header from the near post to the far, the ball went in off the woodwork despite Raya’s desperate attempt to claw it away.

The second goal arrived about ten minutes later. We’d had a little stop when it looked like Big Gabi had a problem and might need to come off, but he continued and so did Arsenal’s dominance. Granit Xhaka’s form this season has been exceptional, but maybe Brentford weren’t expecting the quality of delivery he produced – hence the time he was given. Make no mistake, it was an excellent ball into the box, but Gabriel Jesus still had a bit of work to do – and how well he did it, thumping a header into the top corner to make it 2-0. I enjoyed the way two Brentford defenders just turned away in mournful resignation as much as the dancing celebration and the cleaning of Xhaka’s boot.

When you consider how noisy this stadium was last season, the silence as we played out the first half told its own story. They tried to rouse the crowd at half-time with a bit of ‘Hey Jude’, but they couldn’t come together. I’ve got a feeling they could have done that eight days a week and it wouldn’t have made any difference. David Raya was a nowhere man as Fabio Vieira made it 3-0 early in the second period with a goal of outstanding quality.

It began at the back when it looked like a slightly loose touch from the otherwise imperious Saliba might have turned into trouble, but he span away from the attacker, playing a one-two to get out of it and Arsenal continued the period of possession down the right hand side. Bukayo Saka brought it forward, the keeper thought Vieira was going to go for his right hand side and took a step that way as the Portuguese cracked a shot to his left, and in off the post. What a first goal for the 22 year old. His head got a good slapping from his teammates.

Brentford had a sight of goal via a free kick, but it flew over, and as I said, those moments were fleeting as Arsenal continued to play with confidence and panache. Fantastic build-up play produced chances for Jesus and Saka which drew good saves from Raya; there was a late chance for the Brazilian which the Brentford keeper was equal to again after Ramsdale was called into action once; but the home side made changes which did little to impact the control we had.

In the final 15 minutes, we made a number of changes, but obviously the most notable was in the introduction of Ethan Nwaneri, for many an unfamiliar name until this weekend (I’ve just added him to my browser’s spellcheck). Just 15 years old, he breaks Cesc Fabregas’ record as the youngest ever Arsenal player, and not only is he the youngest player to play in the Premier League, he’s the youngest to ever make his debut in any of the top five European leagues. Quite the occasion for him, and afterwards the manager explained his thinking:

“It was a pure gut feeling. I met him, he’s trained a couple of times with us, yesterday he had to come because we have all the injuries, especially the injury of Martin.

“Then I had a feeling from yesterday that if the opportunity could come, I was going to do it [give him his debut]. I’ve just done it.”

I don’t quite know what it does to the average age stats, but it’s another indication that if you’re a young player, Arsenal is the best place to be right now. A penny for the thoughts of Omari Hutchinson, someone who made the bench last season and might well have had this opportunity had he not made the switch to Chelsea’s U21s this summer. Still, congratulations to Ethan Nwaneri, whose name will go into the history books, but we hope there’s plenty more to be written in the coming years.

I guess what we need to acknowledge is that this opportunity for the young man came because of what we did in this game. At that point Brentford were thoroughly defeated, the scoreline could have been even more emphatic, and the way we played as a team yesterday enabled this chance for Nwaneri. In a tight game, it wouldn’t happen, so credit to the team for the way they played against a side we know well can be difficult – especially at home.

After defeat in our previous fixture, there was a little added pressure because of the habit we had last season of losing in twos and threes, so to address that issue this early in the season was very pleasing. And to do it without some very important players shows that there is some depth in the squad. Sure, you look at the bench, see some kids, and you worry; but the reality is that without Odegaard we had £35m Vieira to fill in (very well too), and without Zinchenko there’s Kieran Tierney. When you consider our left back issues in recent times, that’s very healthy – and the reality is that you can’t have an endless list of top class players. At some point you’ll look a bit thin on the bench when you’ve used what depth you have on the pitch as and when it’s needed.

All in all, a very pleasing performance, the three points were well and truly deserved, and as we go into an Interlull, the fact we’ll sit top until the North London derby is a nice place to be.

Right, that’s it for this morning. James and I will be recording the Arsecast Extra a little later this morning. Keep an eye out for the call for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re on Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.

We’ll have the pod for you around midday. For now, take it easy.

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Join us for live blog coverage of our Premier League clash with Brentford, kick-off 12.00

We’ve got up to the second live text commentary, updates, goal clips, observations and occasionally witty asides. If you want to join the chat, register an Arseblog Live account.

To do that, go to Arseblog Live – click login on the top right, and then choose ‘sign up’ to complete the process with your username/password, or you can use your Twitter, Facebook or Google account to register.

You can also get Twitter updates of key events – goals, cards, substitutions etc – by following @arseblog_live

CLICK TO LAUNCH Brentford v Arsenal – LIVE BLOG

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It’s Brentford away at noon, and the corresponding fixture last season was a damaging one for Arsenal, even if there was some context. With Chelsea and Man City to face, this was the one where points were a real expectation, but a combination of Covid absences, injuries, incomplete transfer business, and a home side determined to mark a special occasion meant we fell to a 2-0 defeat.

It’s not quite the same this time around. Mikel Arteta says things are different:

“Obviously, the context has changed, the environment has changed and we have to maintain it, as it is, for a long time.”

While his opposite number, Thomas Frank, has been impressed with what he’s seen from Arsenal this season:

“It was one thing to beat them a year ago. For me, now, after Manchester City, they are the best performing side in the Premier League.

“I said to the players today that we will need to be able to suffer and defend very well.”

As ever, Mikel Arteta gave little away in terms of fitness issues when he met the press on Friday. There were reports from Ukraine that Olkesandr Zinchenko had picked up a calf strain and would stay in London during the Interlull because of that, but when asked, Arteta said:

Again we have to wait until tomorrow to make that decision, where he was on that moment and what we have decided to do for international week, doesn’t mean that we are going to say the same for the weekend, so it’s something we will address tomorrow.

How much of that is genuinely wait-and-see rather than giving the opposition more information than the manager wants … well, we’ll wait see when the team news drops around 11am. Thomas Partey is back in training, so he could return to the side if he’s deemed fit enough – and if he does I guess it opens the door for him to play in Ghana’s two internationals during the break.

There is no Emile Smith Rowe, as discussed yesterday, so that front four is unlikely to change, and the only other decision the manager has to make is whether or not to change anything at the back. Arteta declared Ben White fit, although I did hear he’s been dealing with some low-key issues which might have influenced Gareth Southgate’s decision to leave him out of the England squad.

Takehiro Tomiyasu is pushing to start and regain his place at right back, more than an able deputy you’d say, and perhaps when you’re facing a side who offer a real threat from set-pieces his presence might well be useful. Whoever he picks though, I’m very comfortable with what we’ve got at the back, although with only two clean sheets from our seven games this season so far, today would be a good day to add another.

Last season, defeats came in clusters, and this is one of the aspects we need to improve on this time around. It’s been a strange time with the postponements, but last time out we lost at Old Trafford, and we need to show that we can respond. With two weeks between our last Premier League game and this one, we should be fresh and ready, full of energy and ready to consign last season’s game here to history.

Results yesterday mean we have to win go back above Man City, and I’m sure that will provide an extra bit of motivation. We had a stumble against Man Utd in terms of the result, but on the day I thought we played some very good football, so fingers crossed we can find that rhythm again today, and match it with some end product. If we do that, we have a good chance of taking all three points.

—

As ever, we’ll provide live blog coverage of the game for you, and have all the post-game stuff on Arseblog News.

Catch you shortly for all that!

The post A different Arsenal need a different result at Brentford appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Good morning. A quick Saturday round-up for you.

I wrote earlier in the week about Emile Smith Rowe and the injury issues he’s been dealing with this season. It’s been frustrating for him, I’m sure, and disappointing for us because he contributed so much last season until the injury issues crept in and restricted his playing time.

Mikel Arteta isn’t one to give much away when it comes to the fitness of his players, and he was his usual self yesterday when talking about Smith Rowe’s situation. He said:

It’s been an ongoing issue that he’s had. He’s had some discomfort in the groin area, unfortunately. He hasn’t had any continuity this season and it’s something we are trying to assess and trying to help him as much as possible in any way that we can because we need him fit, we need him available and we need him performing at the best level, because he’s such an important player for us. Unfortunately, for this period and for periods last year, we haven’t had him.

I do wonder what ‘help him as much as possible in any way that we can’ actually means? It’s so vague that it could include physio, rehab, rest, all of that – but it doesn’t preclude other things. It might not speak to this being more serious than we think, but also doesn’t rule it out.

In The Athletic, James reports: “He is experiencing pain in his groin related to growth.

“Although this is not classified as an “injury” per se, Smith Rowe’s situation does require careful management. He will not be rushed. Although there is no time-frame on his return, the club and those around the player do not believe this situation will lead to a long-term absence. Nor do they believe it will affect his bid for a World Cup place.”

Can’t fault the ambition but I’d say his chances of making the World Cup are very slim at this point. To do so he’d have to be back and firing on all cylinders straight after the Interlull as we head into that hectic October schedule. Obviously I hope that happens, but the vagueness around the problem leaves me worried he’ll be available, and then ready to hit that level so quickly.

When thinking about the squad this season, even with Smith Rowe fit I was all on board with the manager’s desire for more firepower before the end of the window. Without him we don’t have the depth on the left hand side I thought we would, with him and Gabriel Martinelli competing and covering each other. Up to now it hasn’t been a massive issue because Martinelli has played so well, but he can’t play every game, and there isn’t a natural alternative in the squad. Not to mention the fact we’re missing a player who scored 10 Premier League goals last season.

No doubt it’s a concern, but time will tell how big. Let’s hope he can get fit for October, because we absolutely need all hands on deck.

His absence might necessitate an opportunity for someone else, and after a sparkling debut in the Europa League, Arteta was asked about summer signing Marquinhos:

It was a big step for him because he hasn’t played enough minutes with us, but we were willing to give him the opportunity. I think he deserved it, I think he took it really well and he’s a player that needs to keep developing and in order to do that we need to give him opportunities.

When our interest in him was announced, Arsenal Twitter was awash with opinion from the various YouTube compilations that people rushed to wash. The consensus, as I remember it, was he had talent but was a bit raw. Perhaps played with his head down a bit too often.

I know it’s only one game, but I didn’t see any of that in his performance against FC Zurich. To me, it looked like the kind of display that had been well and truly ‘coached’ into him. I’m sure they’ve done a lot of work on the training ground with him, and he’ll develop in training anyway, but a goal and an assist – even if you do make some allowance for the calibre of the opposition which is some way below Premier League level – was an excellent return. Not least because of the quality of his run and finish, and the delivery for Eddie’s winner.

As I said, we’re going to need the full depth of our squad next month, and at the very least, Marquinhos will get opportunities in the European games. I’m interested to see what more he can deliver.

Right, that’s your lot for this morning. We have a Premier League preview podcast over on Patreon for you, looking ahead to the Brentford game tomorrow. Have a great Saturday folks.

The post Smith Rowe’s growing pains : Arteta on Marquinhos appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

When the England squad was announced for the upcoming Nations League games, I was surprised not to see Ben White in it.

My first thought that it had something to with an injury we don’t know about it, and he has appeared to have some issues late in games this season, but it does seem as if he’s just not in Gareth Southgate’s plans. Which is a bit odd. Don’t get me wrong, from an Arsenal perspective the fact he’ll be fresh for the October Slogathon ©® is a good thing, but in terms of form this season he’s been one of the best from the bunch that was picked.

Harry Maguire, for example, hasn’t played well for a very long time – not just this season – and is currently not even getting into the United team. Even if Southgate trusts him because he’s had him in his squad consistently down the years, he could use these two games to try an alternative. But then it seems he is very conservative in his thinking. At this point, if you’re going into a major tournament and Harry Maguire is a key part of your plans, you’re likely to get what you deserve.

Speaking of Ben White though, he did an interesting interview with the official site, and spoke about how the spotlight was firmly on him after the Brentford game at the start of last season. He said:

“I played in the Brentford game and didn’t have a good game. I was getting battered by every person in the media and it’s rubbish to hear that.

“I don’t have social media or anything like that, so I don’t actually see any of it but you get told about it and sent it. It’s one of those things; everyone has their opinion. Some you listen to it, and some of you don’t.”

You listen to: Your manager, the coaches.

You don’t listen to: A mouthy ex-player turned Twitter shop-steward who dances with the away fans when he should be providing analysis on live television.

I’ve already written a blog recently about how I think Ben White is good, so I don’t need to do that again, but isn’t that a good illustration of how short-term some of the thinking is in the modern football landscape, and how it can become the prevailing wisdom around a player, or a club etc. It’s been quite funny that the ‘Lisandro Martinez is too small to play centre-half in the Premier League’ stories have died down now that he has shown he can do that. I mean, he’s better than Harry Maguire, but then I guess that’s a low bar. A bit like saying a slap in the face is better than being kicked in the balls by an angry mule.

But I do think the way he was pilloried after that opening game, in which he struggled but didn’t play as badly as many think, has left a kind of indelible mark on him in the eyes of some fans. He was judged on the basis of his price-tag more than the level of his performance, and look, that’s football, people have expectations when you pay big money for anyone, but I don’t think it’s always fair. It’s also worth remembering two of the back four that night basically never played again after those opening three games, we were missing players through Covid etc too, so it was much more a team failure than a Ben White horror show.

He was also interesting about what he learned on loan in the early part of his career, saying:

“Even the League Two teams I’ve played for and in League One, I’ve taken stuff from there. They’re a completely different environment and you’re put in situations that aren’t a Premier League standard. Each coach has different things to offer.”

He spent a season with Newport County, a season with Peterborough United, and then a season with Leeds, helping them gain promotion from the Championship to the Premier League. When you look at some of the players we have out on loan this season, you know there’s likely not much chance of them making the grade, but the Academy gems we’re trying to develop would do well to remember that developmental seasons like that can be  hugely beneficial.

It’s so far, so good for Flo Balogun at Reims in Ligue 1, he’s scored 5 goals and got an assist in 7 games so far. Only Neymar and Mbappe have scored more this season in France. Charlie Patino was getting rave reviews at Blackpool before injury got in the way, but he’s back now and hopefully ready to get plenty of minutes under his belt. The pathway to the first team at Arsenal isn’t always straight from the Academy, sometimes you have to make a few stops along the way.

Right. I’ll leave it there for this morning, and there’s a brand new Arsecast for you to listen to. First up I talk to Tim Stillman about the start of a new season for Arsenal Women, before I chat with former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein on the release of his autobiography called ‘Calling the shots’. Enjoy!

Download – iTunes – Spotify – Acast – RSS

The post Ben White gets the Interlull off appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Welcome to another episode of the Arsecast – the Arsenal podcast.

In this episode I’m by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein on the release of his autobiography, ‘Calling the shots’. We talk about the book itself, the formation of the Premier League, his departure from Arsenal, Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov, his relationship with Arsene Wenger and lots more. We also have three copies of the book to give away in a competition.

The show begins with Tim Stillman to talk about the October fixture pile-up, Marquinhos, and a look ahead to a brand new season for Arsenal Women.

Follow Tim @stillberto

‘Calling the shots’ by David Dein is published by Hachette – details here, or buy it from your local independent bookstore.

Get extra bonus content and help support Arseblog by becoming an Arseblog Member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/arseblog

If you want to become an Arseblog Member on Patreon, you can sign up at patreon.com/arseblog for just €5 per month.

If you are a regular listener via iTunes, if you would be so kind as to leave a review/rating that would be greatly appreciated.

Download – iTunes – Spotify – Acast – RSS

The post Episode 695 – David Dein appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.