SOUR GRAPES
It was Thanksgiving here, in America, and I was thankful for only one thing… Arsenal.
What a season we’re having right now. Top of two leagues, a bunch of players coming back from injury, and the team just feels like it’s where it needs to be… regardless of who is playing.
Vincent Kompany was pragmatic after the game, but one line that has caught some attention was this.
“I don’t think any of us want to be the best team in November. We’re trying to... build last season towards being there in the important moments. For us, we get to show how we react now and how this one will make us improve.”
This sort of comment could be perceived as a bitter one, but he did contextualise it around a convo that he’d had with Mikel. He’s partly right, you want to finish strong, vs start strong. But, if you dig back through the last 4 years of where teams have been at this stage of the season… it mostly correlates where they finish with a few positions. Liverpool were top this time last season by 8 points and finished the season 10 clear. The season before, Arsenal were top by 1 point and lost the season by 1. Arsenal were 5 clear the season prior to that, ending it 2nd and losing by 5.
Being great now is a good thing… but we all take the point that beating PSG in the group stages didn’t push us over the line in the semi-finals. Arsenal need to be grounded, nothing is won in December, and lots of things can and usually do go wrong for Arteta teams.
But… I think we all inherently just sense something is a bit different about the team this season. I said on the podcast that Declan has shifted from a golden retriever to a beastly doberman. Saka is the same. Those two were nice boys last year, now they have a little bit of rage in their game we’ve not seen before.
We also seem to have answers for everyone and we don’t care what the reaction is. This was Kimmich.
“I think PSG was our toughest opponent, especially the way they play football. Arsenal is completely different. They rely on set pieces. They love to play the long balls. It was about game management.”
This is the sort of commentary I want to be hearing. One of the best midfielders in the world trying to pass off what happened to him as some sort of rudimentary heathen freak show… without accepting the reality:
Bayern, at their best, were made to look Bundesliga 2 level
They couldn’t handle our tactical superiority
We wrecked their defence
We contained the supposed best striker in the world, not allowing him a shot on goal or the ability to create a single chance
Trying to position PSG as a better side after Bayern beat them is grapes of the sharpest sourness.
I don’t want Arsenal to be revered because they play a very specific style of football that can be got at. I want Arsenal to be a nightmare. Have tools for every occasion. I want to feed off the screams of the elite as they’re bludgeoned in ways they deem beneath polite society.
The only issue from the Bayern game was the loss of Leo Trossard. He’s our best attacking player right now and we’ll be lucky to see him back anytime soon. But the good news appears to be that Arsenal played Watford (told you Man U was an odd suggestion) yesterday and there should be some positive moves on the fitness front of some very key players. Our bench against Chelsea will start to have some fear factor, providing everything went well. That is massive for us.
The game at the weekend presents the opportunity to close out a week that has so far been magnificent. That said, it’s also the starting run for a big 10 days. Brentford midweek at home, followed by Villa away on Saturday. Two really rough games after a grueling week where no one has been rested or rotated. The only positive about that Villa game is they play Brighton away on the Wednesday, which might mean they don’t go back to Birmingham. Either way, Villa aren’t getting a free week to plan against us.
Chelsea? This is a monster game. I don’t really see how Arteta can do anything outside play his best players for this one. The only changes I can see happening are Hincapie returning to the fold alongside Calafiori. Who plays on the left? Tough call, Martinelli scored and so did Madueke. You’d have to imagine Arteta will fancy channeling some of the pent-up anger Madueke has against a club that wrote him off two seasons running… but who really knows. As long as we have someone dropping into that position who wants to be the man over the next few weeks.
Ok, not a lot more to chat about today… pressers will drop later and we’ll have some fresh podcasts for you. Do make sure you check out the latest Dugout from Jacob. Sam Dean has returned and the episode is EXCELLENT. x