It is always nice to start a season with a trophy. The Community Shield is not the most glamorous or important trophy for a Club but it is better to win it 🙂
So what did we learn from yesterday’s game?
- Man City will be heavy favourites for this season, yet again and despite losing players like Gundogan and Mahrez…They control the ball and the game very well and will be hard to beat in any competition.
- The new rules are strict, gave us yellow cards but also plenty of time to score the equalizer
- How Saliba is key to our team and defensive stability. Let us hope he stays fit and focused
- How Tierney is now down the pecking order, even at LB…Timber playing LB was interesting…
- Rice had an OK game but more worryingly, Partey played much better without Rice…This partnership needs to grow and quickly! Worthy note that the goal conceded came right after Rice and Timber were replaced though
- Havertz is a hard worker but he needs to work on his finishing. Once he finds his German League scoring boots again, he will be a massive asset for us. Until then, he is a useful player to have…
- Saka, Ode, Martinelli still need to absorb the pre-season but they showed glimpses of their brilliant selves
- Ramsey and White were reliable and industrious already.
- Trossard still being a great impact player for us and it was nice to see ESR full of running and desire yesterday
- Vieira scored the winning PK but does he have a future in our team this season…Nketiah, was also a good addition
- Arteta will have plenty of yellow cards, it s so nice to see his passion on the touch line
Ramsdale – 7
White – 7
Saliba – 8
Gabriel – 6
Timber – 6
Rice – 6
Partey – 6
Ode – 6
Saka – 6
Kai – 5
Gabi – 6
Tierney – 5
Trossard – 7
ESR – 6
Fabio – 6
Eddie – 6
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Second Cup won.
Timber and Saliba actual MenOM, rather than Lee Dixon’s selection. Is Ramsey back playing for us again.
Wishing all positive AAers a happy season. COYG.
I chuckle when he mentioned Ramsey, he would really work well in the xhaka roll though
Don’t need him Fred. Got Havertz, Emile S-R
Have a great season, young man.
Super cup win. Winning at Wembley against ManSh#tty is respectable vs a Tiger Cup win😂
Excited for the new season…
Looks like Turner is leaving so can only assume that the Raya deal is a foregone conclusion. Don’t think the £40m price being thrown about will be accurate though as he only has 1 year left on his contract at Brentford. I suppose if we end up getting £10m for Turner and spend £30m on Raya, then in real terms it’s a £20m signing for a very promising goalkeeper who will be a big upgrade on Turner and who has the potential to push Ramsdale for that starting spot.
I can’t say I’ve seen many sides with 2 top class goalkeepers though, so it’ll be interesting to see how that dynamic will work. I can’t imagine Raya has come in to be a number 2/cup goalkeeper, but then again, if it means he gets champions league football then maybe that was enough to convince him.
Yea I to wonder how the raya dynamics will work
One concerns is that Brentford defense was always tight so raya was a great shot stopper but we play a much open brand
Turner going to Forest, but they might also be in for Henderson, which would put Turner back on the bench.
Spend $7 mill on a back up like good teams do, sell Balo for $35 mil+, and some of our other 10 needing to go, and go get a striker in place of Jesus, who is out 2 months and will come back needing a lot of time to get up to speed!
Sounds like the plan is to have 2 quality players in each position fighting for the starting spot. In theory this is what every team wants, but you have to have a very strong manager to implement it and you have to have the right characters in the squad. As long as games are being won and the team is performing well then there will be no issues.
Ramsdale/Raya
White/Tomiyasu/Timber
Zinchenko/Tierney/Timber
Saliba/White/Holding
Gabriel/Kiwior
Partey/Jorginho/Elneny/Zinchenko
Rice/Vieira/Havertz
Odegaard/Havertz/ESR/Trossard
Saka/Trossard/Martinelli/Havertz
Martinelli/ESR/Trossard/Havertz
Jesus/Nketiah/Havertz
FGG,
Agreed!
Many personalities to oversee-going to be difficult.
Like the combinations, think Kiwior can go up on your chart too.
Can Eddie lead the line for 5-10 games? That is the big question….
Unless of course Arteta starts Tross the boss and we get goals from him and everyone.
Also very concerned about Tomi’s and El Neny’s ability to recover from the knee injuries, but they are buried on the depth chart, however they might be needed during cups or rotationally.
I like Kiwior. Wouldn’t surprise me if he managed to squeeze past Gabriel this season for that CB spot. I also think the Havertz signing is a good one in terms of not being so reliant on Nketiah should Jesus miss spells throughout the season. Nketiah can definitely cover for 3-4 games at a time but asking him to be our main striker for 10 in a row is too much, so having Havertz is a great option.
I don’t think we will see too much more of Elneny in an Arsenal shirt, and the same goes for Tomiyasu. I like both, but the club is moving forward so quickly at the moment and a major injury can leave a fringe player right at the back of the pack. You only have to look at Tierney to see how a player can drop down the order. He was a key player when he arrived, but our game has progressed so much in the last 2 years that he’s struggling to be second choice, nevermind a starter.
On that note, I really hope ESR has a big season and works his way back into the mix, otherwise he could be another dropping down the list.
rc78 see my boy AMN has gone Lyon hope guys treat him nice
Fred,
Yes, I too liked AMN very much, too bad he would not just play at rb or lb for us or anyone!
He still has mid field on his mind…..
Yea never knew why he wanted to play midfield when he was a good FB
Sorry RC78 backing Lyon to win this year with both Lacazette and AMN bringing it home
DAZN have picked up the Saudi TV rights and will stream it in 6 countries. Cost them $500k for 1 season.
Fred – PSG is a circus at the moment so anything can happen, even Lyon winning the league…
PSG recruited:
GK: Tenas
DF: Skriniar, Hernandez
DM/CM: Ugarte, Ndour
AM: Lee
FW: Asensio, G. Ramos
and we are about to land also O. Dembele…
With Dembele on the left, G. Ramos in the center and Mbappe on the right, Luis Enrique would be more than happy…
The thing is…Mbappy may leave, Neymar and Verratti too…so in the end L. Enrique may not be very happy…
Donna – Hakimi, Skriniar, Marquinhos, N. Mendes – Ugarte, Verratti – Neymar – Dembele, G. Ramos, Mbappe
Navas – Mukiele, Kimpembe, Diallo, L.Hernandez – D. Pereira, F. Ruiz, N. Dour – Emery – Asensio, Ekitike
My line up would be if Verratti, Neymar and Mbappe stayed:
Navas – Skriniar, Marquinhos, L. Hernandez – Hakimi, Verratti, Ugarte, Mendes – Neymar – G. Ramos, Mbappe
So Raya will be a £3m loan with option to buy for £27m. He’s extended his contract by a year at Brentford to protect his value as he only had 12 months left. Interesting that we’ve done the deal this way.
I understand having 2 top GK’s, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it work long term. One always ends up disgruntled and wants to leave for more playing time. Ultimately, I think this signing is Arteta saying that Ramsdale isn’t quite good enough with the ball at his feet. He wants a different type of goalkeeper to perfect his vision. The way I see it is either Ramsdale dramatically improves that side of his game and proves to Arteta he can be the guy, or Raya will become our long term number 1.
Arteta has worked with Ederson whilst at City, so he fully understands the benefits of having a goalkeeper who’s very comfortable on the ball. I think he wants perfection and if he can get a few extra percent improvement from our goalkeeper distribution then he’ll do it.
When the Raya news first broke most Arsenal fans’ view was that Ramsdale was about to be usurped by the goalkeeping coaches favourite and that might still be the case, but the way the deal is structured possibly points more towards Arteta bringing in quality cover for Aaron and maybe just that?
I guess it’s up to Raya to convince the club to complete the transfer in 12 months or Ramsdale to play so well that we look elsewhere in a year?
It’s good to see R.C. Lens in Ligue Un, a proper football club in a proper football region supported by proper local fans, good luck to them…
You do have to laugh at how much is being made of the Raya deal. If we paid £30m for another LB and sold Tierney, nobody would say “what a waste of money. You can only have 1 LB playing at a time”, but apparently with goalkeepers it’s totally different!
In the world of 5 subs, it’s not even that unfathomable that teams might start giving the sub GK 30 minutes here or there if it’s a comfortable score line or the starter is having a shocker. I honestly believe it might become a thing in the next few years where GK’s are subbed along with outfield players.
Is it just me who doesn’t see City winning the league this year???
They put so much into the treble last year, and have lost Mahrez and Gundogan without really replacing them (Kovacic doesn’t impact games like Gundogan did). Gvardiol will be a great signing, and no doubt Pep will have some youngsters coming through, but other teams have improved massively whereas City have (at best) stood still.
The Caicedo signing will put Liverpool right in the mix, as HM was the one position they looked desperately thin, and Arsenal have improved the depth of their squad, which is what let them down last season. There are also a lot of teams now who are more than capable of taking points from City and the other big teams. Newcastle, Villa, Brighton, Spurs, Chelsea and United are all very tough games.
It’s going to be a brilliant season, that’s for sure.
Superb summary RC bang on all the way through, really enjoyed the read.
Your on fire Slim please keep them coming, I love reading your comments.
So Tottenham were a crap team with a goal scorer, what will they be when he leaves?
The more I look at that Raya deal the more clever it becomes, everyone, but everyone wins.
Thanks LB,
Sounds like the main reason for the Raya loan is FFP. If that’s the case then I guess our dealings for this season are pretty much complete, although if we could get rid of enough players then maybe another CM would be a good idea? We still have Runnarsson, Holding, Cedric, Tavares, Lokonga, Pepe and Balogun cluttering up the place! I can see some last minute loans being done before the window closes.
If Edu was really smart then he’d sell Pepe and Cedric to Saudi Arabian teams for a combined fee of £110m and then go buy Caicedo from Brighton…..but I guess he’s just an idiot.
FGG,
Caicedo going to the chavs…
They are stocked…
Balo to spuds for $50 mill?
Said it before, if De Bruyne stays healthy they will be tough to beat..
As he limped off today with a knee injury.
AFC have a great chance to do it again, finally!
Let’s smash Forest..
De Bruyne out “for a while” with a hamstring issue…..
I think City will definitely go into the market now for an attacking CM player with KDB limping off. There were already rumours of Paqueta enquiries before the injury, so it makes sense they will look to loan or buy someone in that position.
I hate to see it but I think KDB’s body is starting to let him down. He didn’t look right in the second half of last season and I think he’s lost a bit of confidence in what his body will allow him to do. I’d even go as far as saying that Pep is losing confidence in him too. I don’t think he can rely on him to finish games anymore. I’ve absolutely loved watching KDB play for the last 5 years or so and it would be such a shame if his career is cut short because of injury. He’s starting to look a bit like Michael Owen….
Harry Kane has gone….😂😂😂😂😂😂
On the back of City’s successful transition to a 3-2-4-1 last season, I did think that we may follow suit, and it seems to be the case.
Ramsdale
White Saliba Timber
Partey Rice
Saka Odegaard Havertz Martinelli
Nketiah
I’m not sure we will see this every week in terms of the starting personnel, espescially away from home, but it’s good to see Arteta playing an attacking line up.
Shame Tierney can’t make it at LB but think when we playing weaker teams he wants more attacking!
Wow! Saka!
Best right winger in Europe
Think Timber has struggled a little with the pace of the PL so far. A few soft passes not quite getting to their target. I’m hoping that Havertz and Martinelli can build some sort of chemistry like we have with Odegaard and Saka on the right. We will be frightening if we can be dangerous down both sides of the attack.
Shame to see Timber limp off. Hopefully just a pull rather than anything more serious.
We haven’t started this second half yet. Think the injury has thrown us a little bit. We need to up the tempo again
Saliba is huge for us. He reads the game so well
I’d like to see Trossard come on for Nketiah and put Havertz through the middle
We’ve been second best 2nd half and that goals been coming. We need to hang on now cos we look tired
Got lucky there. Very poor second half. Not sure if it was the Timber injury, or the delay before the game that had an effect, but we never came out second half. Just glad to scrape the win in the end.
Both the Chelsea and Liverpool teams look bang average without a Caicedo in the middle. Will make a big difference to whoever gets him
Still very attacking though
Liverpool look more in need of that HM player. Gallagher and Fernandez are capable in that position, but Liverpool have nobody! The Lavia and Caicedo pursuits will certainly hot up after this game. If Liverpool don’t get anyone of note then they will be very fun to watch this season!!!
The signing of Rice, and also the class of Partey and Jorginho, show just how well stocked we are in that HM position. These 2 clubs would love any of those 3 right now. I think Chelsea would even take Jorginho back if the option was there.
I thought Chelsea and Liverpool had a wide open midfield, but this United side is even worse! Casemeiro suddenly looks incapable of running, and he’s getting absolutely no help from Mount or Fernandes. A decent side would be tearing them to pieces.
This new throw in rule is crazy! How can you book someone 20 minutes into a game when he’s obviously waiting for a team mate to become available so he can throw it to him!? Whoever came up with this rule has obviously never seen football if they think that a player is just going to pick the ball up and throw it anywhere! If they are that bothered about time wasting then either stop the clock when the ball goes out, or just add the time on at the end. Players are going to end up getting sent off and missing games based on a stupid rule
Not looking good for Timber. Was hoping it was a calf pull but seems it’s his knee….! 🤦🏼♂️
Really hope Tierney can get some start now or ideally a loan move for cancelo
Zinchenko and Tomiyasu seem to be in front of Tierney, and even Kiwior was playing there pre season and has done before for other club/country. For whatever reason it appears Arteta doesn’t rate him. Maybe he’s just not as comfortable on the ball as the others