Hello all. Has the World Cup hype hit you yet? There was a moment last week where there were some shock results. England played in a chaotic game. The first half was a mixed bag in terms of performance. But the second half was a much improved England performance. Rocket up the arse comes to mind.
Not to mention set-pieces are great again… For the very tactical reason that it wasn’t Arsenal. Even though the Arsenal players did pretty well and made an impact. The Southgate shackles had come off. Anyway – at the time I heard people suggest it was the best game of the World Cup so far. I admit it caught my attention even though I only really had the game on in the background.
And then the World Cup kind of fizzled out again.
At least it did for me. Games just feel a bit meaningless. And the head to head rule as a tie-breaker only takes away what could have been a fun last round of games in the group stages. No doubt when the knockout stages come into play there’ll be a bit more excitement. That’s my hope anyway.
In Arsenal-related news, the fixtures were released on Friday. An opening game against Coventry at the Emirates is a pretty decent first game. I like the idea of the opening game of the season being the champions of the Premier League playing the champions of the Championship. I don’t think they’re points in the bag per se, but as first games go, it could have been worse.
But the four games that follow make me a bit nervous. Villa away, Chelsea at home, Sunderland away, and Brighton away. Those are some tricky games there. You’ll come to learn I’m a bit of a a worrier when it comes to Arsenal, so whilst those fixtures won’t bother many – they do make me fear the worst.
Especially when you take into account players like Saka, Rice and Saliba already seem to be struggling physically.
I haven’t really looked at the rest of the fixtures as much. There’s plenty of time to worry about them in the coming weeks. And at some point I’ll write a season preview with predictions that will no doubt be totally wrong.
What needs to happen for sure this summer is upgrading some positions in the squad. I believe one of Martinelli/Trossard will go. I began the break thinking it would be Martinelli but there’s some stuff doing the rounds about Trossard.
One thing that’s clear is that is a position we definitely need upgrading. The links to Morgan Roger’s is tantalising – I think he would be terrific, even if there are shades of Eze to that deal in terms of the position he plays. I think another forward option would be needed and I would personally love Junior Kroupi to join Arsenal. Especially because he won us the league against City!
Yep, those cheating b*stards really bottled that one!
Ooo – how did that image get there?
Anyway, if Arsenal make the Rogers and Kroupi signings with Jesus and one of Martinelli/Trossard leaving, that would be a great piece of business.
I do think we need another midfielder. Not to take away Myles Lewis-Skelly’s place. I see him sharing game time with Zubimendi. But I feel we need someone to take the burden off Rice – especially at the beginning of the season with fatigue continuing to be a factor.
I know these things aren’t so simple, and Myles and Zubimendi can both start together too. But I feel we could do with another midfielder who is more defensively minded. And then it’s just about picking two out of the four depending on the game/game state. It feels like Norgaard isn’t a player Arteta rates so he’ll be one for the exit too.
Defensively I don’t think we need any change unless anyone departs. The most likely outgoings are Kepa and Ben White. Personally I would prefer both to stay – though we do need to consider what to do if White and Timber continue to struggle with their injuries too.
If there’s a surprise exit this season – I reckon there may be something to be said for Odegaard. Don’t get me wrong, I love him, and want him to stay and find his form again. But he hasn’t been on his game the last 2 seasons. Injuries have played a part – and I’m interested to see what a less disruptive season looks like for him (fingers crossed). Yet, if someone came in for him with a large offer I reckon the club will listen. Again – to be clear I am not suggesting we should get rid!
This is all based on zero knowledge of what is and isn’t happening. It’s just my musings. Plus, you know what’s going to happen – we’ll end up signing 3 more left-backs anyway!
