Morning.
A very quick summary of Saturday for you.
I’m trying to see which Arsenal players have been involved during Interlull, and Bukayao Saka played for England last night when they were beaten 1-0 by Italy. Matt Turner was in goal for the US when they were beaten 2-0 by Japan: Takehiro Tomiyasu played 90 minutes at center half for his country.
There were a few 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 get his place back, and it’s something he’ll have to do given Ben White’s good form at right back this season. This is one of those good problems a manager has. The choice between two excellent players versus ‘Oh shit, I have to use this guy’ when someone is injured is preferable, and there will be plenty of football for everyone this season. Tomi having 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 match reportedly because he “felt uncomfortable” around his knee.
Update on ????????Thomas Partey
A member of the Black Stars medical team has confirmed to me that Partey’s exclusion was only a precaution.
Partey felt uncomfortable around his knee and was advised to stand down. He should be ready for Tuesday’s game. #JoySports pic.twitter.com/Aa7w1JOTEi
— George Addo Jr. (@addojunr) September 23, 2022
I wonder what kind of discomfort around the knee makes you unavailable for a game on Friday, but fine for one just a couple of days later. Fair play for the cautionary stuff, but it’s hard not to be worried anyway. His injury record at Arsenal is such that when he’s fit you look at the clock to see how long it will be before he breaks down again, and I think this is one we’ll need to keep a close eye on. .
To be fair, having missed a month due to a thigh problem, these minutes during Interlull could well have come in handy in terms of getting him fit for the match, so it’s not a problem that he’s out. Also, Ghana, fully aware of their 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 expect Edu’s whiteboard in his office that lists the players for each position to have a big red circle around the deep midfield area and a note saying ‘Ask him for money. to Big J’.
Further down the line, Kieran Tierney could be in action when Scotland take on Ireland, Norway play Slovenia, so we’ll have to see if Martin Odegaard is involved, while Granit Xhaka’s Switzerland take on Spain.
Finally, for today, good luck to the women of Arsenal as we play the first of two North London derbies in one week. The match is taking place in the Emirates and over 50,000 tickets have been sold which is absolutely fantastic and hopefully the local fans have a lot to celebrate today.
Tim has his usual preview of the match here, and you can find all the post-game reaction and analysis from him and the team in the dedicated Arsenal Women section on Arseblog News. It’s genuinely the most comprehensive coverage of the team you’ll find anywhere, so be sure to bookmark him if you aren’t already.
Right, that’s your batch for this morning. Have a good Saturday.
