Morning! Later than normal blog today as I had an early meeting in North London!
It is only Tuesday so it feels a little early to be looking forward to this Saturday’s game, but there is little else to talk about.
We have had an excellent start to the season.
Whilst the naysayers keep going with their “Arteta has been found out this season”, we actually only sit 1 point behind where we were at the same stage last season.
Those same moaners have been in huge praise of Eddie Howe and Newcastle’s start to the season. “Eddie showing he is the real deal whilst Arteta is all PR” is one Tweet I saw. Newcastle are in 8th.
We have already faced Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham in our opening 3 games, getting 7 points out of 9.
Yes, it is frustrating that it was not 9 from 9, and with the Fulham draw as well an argument could be made we should have had a 100% start to the season. But that argument is probably made play people who are new to football, or trying to fit a narrative to their agenda.
Chelsea this weekend will be a huge test for us.
The 3 games against other former-big-6 teams have been at home. This will be the first visit of the season to a tricky away ground.
Whilst Chelsea are not the team they once were, they are on their best run for some time having won 2 Premier League games in a row – away to Burnley and Fulham; throw in the Brighton League Cup win and it is 3 wins from their last 3 games.
The Fulham game was a little fortuitus – Fulham dominated the play and had some good chances – but the victory away to Burnley was decisive.
Last season we beat Chelsea by a goal to nothing and it felt like a bit of a statement win having only beaten other big 6 sides at home up to that point.
Gone are those bad old days under Jose Mourinho et al where Chelsea seemed to take 3 points off us twice a season. They have beaten us just once in 8 games, with The Arsenal winning 6 of them. That victory was against a patched up, Covid hit team.
Our good form against Chelsea extend a long time prior to Covid as well.
In the last 23 games, our head to head against Chelsea reads: P 23 W 12 L 6 D 5. A run that goes back to April 2015.
Compare that to the previous 23 games: P 23 W 4 L 14 D 5, a run back to the 2005 Community Shield, and you can perhaps see why fans like myself are fairly confident about Saturday.
Saying that, having a good record against Chelsea means nothing if you do not win trophies, and I would much prefer having their record over the last 9 years against us and winning the trophies they have won!
So we have England tonight. Hopefully any of our players involved (basically Declan Rice) gets through unscathed. Then it is just prayers overnight with the two Gabi’s and Thomas Partey representing their countries I the early hours of tomorrow morning.
Have a great day!
Keenos
Over the weekend we created a collection for Arsenal's Declan Rice…
Beach towel, shin pads, bottle opener and a mug! Artwork by the brilliant @CarlBourkeArt
As usual in the middle of an international break, there really is not much news out there. So quiet it is, media outlets are going the extra mile with clickbait headlines to earn that advertising revenue.
Gunners were bled dry by flop who cost £2.4m every yellow card was my favourite one of the season. It was one outlight highlighting Lucas Torreira as our biggest flop of recent times, and used “cost per yellow card” to highlight this. What an odd metric.
Are they suggesting that had Torreira received more yellow cards, they would have written a story about how great a signing he was due to having a low cost per yellow card ratio?
I was absolutely buzzing when we signed Torreira. He looked to give us that bite and energy in midfield that we were missing at the time and would have complimented Granit Xhaka perfectly. But it did not work out for him.
He never settled and clearly suffered from some mental health problems that have carriered on throughout his career. He flopped on loan at Atletico Madrid, was not particularly great back in Italy for Fiorentina and his career has drifted resulting in him now playing in Turkey.
I actually feel for him because something clearly happened during his time at Arsenal that changed him, and he has never regained the confidence that made him one of the most exciting young midfielders in Europe.
In another fun headline, it is reported that Edu is in Brazil to ward off an attempt by Liverpool to hijack our move for a Brazilian wonderkid.
The player in question is highly-rated Fluminense midfielder Andre Trindade. He is 22-years-old.
Now I have not played Football Manager for some years, but surely a wonderkid stops becoming a wonderkid by the time he gets out of this teens? I guess “Edu in Brazil to ward off attempt by Liverpool to hijack move for a Brazilian 22-year-old will not get the hits”.
The new “international football weekend festival” that FIFA, UEFA et al have come up with to spread international games across 7 days has resulted in Ghana playing USA in America in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
That means that Thomas Partey will not be back into London until early evening Wednesday, with just 2 days of rest and recuperation before the Chelsea fixture.
Brazil also play during the early hours of Wednesday so Gabriel’s Magalhaes and Jesus will probably not be back in the UK until the late hours of Wednesday night.
It really does baffle me why the authorities try and put club and country in direct conflict. Would it not have made more sense for Ghana to play Thursday and Sunday rather than Sunday and Wednesday?
Anyway, I have working up a little bitter and grumpy this morning. I blame it on the bitter air. It is blood cold out there!
A week ago I was in Athens. 27°C. Whilst out there it was 24°C in London. This morning it was 27°C. Winter is well and truly here!
Wrap up and stay warm. Do not be afraid to put that central heating on. Or invest in a good fleece blanket!
In the middle of another international week, I thought I would have a little look at how Arsenal loanees are doing whilst enjoying my cup of coffee in the Suffolk sunshine!
Kieran Tierney
The Scotsman has got himself a handful of starts (although yet to play 90 minutes) on loan for Real Sociedad. Then he injured his hamstring which rules him out for at least a month.
Albert Sambi Lokonga
The Belgium midfielder followed up last years spell at Crystal Palace with a season loan loan at Luton Town. It was hoped that this would put him in the shop window for a move to a mid-lower Premier League side next summer.
Two games in and he picked up a hamstring injury which will rule him out until the New Year.
After falling out of favour at Palace as their form took an up-turn, you have to wonder where Lokonga’s career is going to go if he does not return to fitness and play consistently for Luton in the 2nd half of the season.
Nuno Tavares
At the time, I felt the move to Nottingham Forest was an odd one.
They still have a large squad (30 listed) and have another 11 first team players out on loan. It just felt like a move that was never going to end up with him playing much, or Nottingham Forest signing him permanently next summer.
He was forced off at half-time against Manchester City “injured” having put in a nightmare performance and has not been seen again…
Marquinhos
Often the forgotten man when it comes to discussions on Bukayo Saka’s understudy, the Brazilian has not really had a kick whilst on loan at Nantes, staring just a single game in Ligue 1 and playing a grand total of 88 minutes.
He will not be playing much more football for them anytime soon having decided to accept a call-up for Brazil’s U22 team at the forthcoming Pan American games.
The “Americas Commonwealth Games” runs from 20 October to 5 November 2023 in Chile and Marquinhos has already missed 1 game for Nantes due to his call-up.
With 1 assist and 0 goals, you have to wonder how his decision will affect Nantes willingness to play him on his return.
Football moves forward very quickly, and with Arsenal having an abundance of young wingers, Marquinhos will have to begin impressing sooner rather than later.
Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson
Does anyone really care how the Icelandic keeper is doing? It is not like him putting in good performances will see a return to Arsenal as 2nd or 3rd choice, nor will we ever likely raise enough to buy a second hand car with his transfer fee.
He has played just once out of 9 games for Cardiff City, conceeding 3 in the game. He has been on the bench for the other 8 games.
Arthur Okonkwko
The decision was made that Karl Hein would remain as Mikel Arteta’s 3rd choice keeper whilst Arthur Okonkwo. The 22-year-old is probably now playing to show where in the football pyramid his permanent move away will be next summer.
On-loan at League Two Wrexham, he has kept 2 clean sheets in his 3 starts.
Will probably end up having a career like former Arsenal prospect James Shea.
Charlie Patino
The “will he go won’t he go” was put to bed last sumemr when Arsenal activated a clause in his contract extending it until 2025. That gave the club, a player, a further year to assess where he fits in.
Patino was apparently keen to make a permanent move last summer to play regular top tier football (in England or Germany), but an offer never materialised. In the end, the contract extension was probably best for both parties.
Still only 19, Patino has seen national compatriots and former team mates Jude Bellingham,Jamal Musiala and Yunus Musah make a move abroad and excel.
He is currently playing regularly for mid-table Championship team Swansea City, regaining the form that made him a fan favourite early on in his Blackpool spell.
That loan at Blackpool deteriorated as they hurtled towards relegation, and Patino’s form dropped as a consequence. The hope will be Swansea remain stable and he can push on.
Next summer, Arsenal will likely lose Mohamed Elneny and Jorginho on free transfers. If he plays well, he could provide Arteta a free replacement – providing 3rd choice cover to Decland Rice and Thomas Partey whilst also being an option further forward.
Brooke Norton-Cuffy
Now on his 4th loan deal, the 19-year-old is a victim of Arteta’s tactical change.
18-months ago, he was considered one of the brightest young prospects in the academy. A traditional attacking full-back with pace and power, he looked to have a bright future. Then Arteta switched to inverted full-backs and the feeling is Brooke Norton-Cuffy is now behind Reull Walters.
He is following up his good 6 months in the Championship at Coventry City with more solid performances in the Championship with Millwall.
The Championship is probably his level right now if he wants to play regular football, but you can certainly see him getting a Premier League move if he continues to grow.
Mika Biereth
Arsenal poached London-born Danish youth international Mika Biereth from Fulham after he topped top scored in the Under-18 Premier League South, with 21 goals and 13 assists. His career has gone no-where since.
Now on-loan at Motherwell (she is,thanks), a knee injury has limited him to just 1 substitute appearance in 8 games. He did get a goal and assist in that 35 minute cameo though!
Tyreece John-Jules
Forgot he was still at the club. Turns 23 in February. On-loan at Derby. Not been seen for 6 weeks due to a thigh injury.
Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand – Just 8 minutes for Groningen. Nathan Butler-Oyedeji – Found his level in League One for Cheltenham Town. Catalin Cirjan – Rebuilding his career back in Romania following injury issues. Omar Rekik – One of Wigan’s worst players. And they are awful. Kido Taylor-Hart – Barely getting a sniff for Bromley Mauro Bandeira – A few substitute appearances for Colchester United
In summary, Lokonga and Tavares stock has dropped further, whilst Tierney’s injury problems will be a worry for any buying club. Marquinhos needs to start playing regularly.
As for the younger ones, no one is really ripping it up on loan or showing that Arteta should have given them a chance in the first team squad.
Norton-Cuffy is clearly a good player who might have just found his level. Patino needs to start dominanting games if he wants the regular Premier League football he demands.
Enjoy your Sunday….
Keenos
Over the weekend we created a collection for Arsenal's Declan Rice…
Beach towel, shin pads, bottle opener and a mug! Artwork by the brilliant @CarlBourkeArt
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 