Good morning everyone, a very quick summary of Saturday for you.
I made reference to this earlier in the week, but Kieran Tierney spoke about the decision to play Takehiro Tomiyasu before him in the game against Liverpool last weekend. As expected, he didn’t like it, but he wasn’t going to throw a leash at her either after Arteta pulled him aside and explained his thinking:
“The day before, he called my attention and said, it’s not in your performance, this is just a tactical change I want to make. I was like, I’m devastated. But that’s all it is.
“I’m not going to get mad, I’m not going to not try, I’m gutted because I want to play as many opportunities as I can, especially the big games that you want to play and soak up the atmosphere.
“There’s nothing I can say, we went out and won and Tomiyasu played amazing and the game plan worked. It just shows you, not many coaches would think, we’ll change the right back here. But he did it, and it worked.”
This is the reality of having a bigger team, with the ability to be tactically flexible all over the pitch, and you can’t fault their attitude at all. If Arsenal are going to be successful this season, and we can have the debate about what that word means in Premier League terms at another time, we’re going to need the full depth of our team. It will mean some players will be just as gutted as KT at certain points, but it’s for the good of the collective.
Last week, Tomiyasu, who was a standout in the first half of last season, talked about how he has to work harder and learn from Ben White to get his spot back. That’s the way he’s going to be. I wonder what kind of reaction Tierney might feel if Tomi starts against Leeds at left-back, but this is integral to the challenge.
There’s more talk about how it’s been difficult for him this season, because he’s not playing regularly right now as he’s coming back from knee surgery last April, and the fact that he has to deal with a scenario where he’s not the first choice. obvious for the first time in his career. He’s 25 now, so he should be able to accept that and the demands it will put on him, but at the same time he’s ahead of Zinchenko in terms of minutes played, so it’s not like he’s been warming up. the bank all the time.
The worst place any footballer can be, apart from Stoke, is a comfort zone. Which isn’t to question Tierney’s desire or professionalism for a second, but sometimes you need to be pushed to levels you didn’t know you were capable of, and this is what she’s up against now. Surely he will give 100%, as he does with everything.
You can watch the full interview with Kieran Tierney here, where he talks about his own situation, but is also very positive about what’s going on at Arsenal right now:
Elsewhere, it is reported that when the World Cup season is over, Arsenal will go to Dubai for warm-weather training with players not participating in the tournament. Everyone worries about the physical impact of those who will be playing, but a 6-week mid-season break for well-prepared footballers is unprecedented, and something physiotherapists and fitness have to deal with as well.
There will apparently be friendly matches against Lyon and AC Milan, with former players like Olivier Giroud and Alexandre Lacazette involved for the opposition. Whether we get to see those games or not, I have no idea. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that modern football clubs could use these fixtures to sell some tickets locally and sell some streaming packages to fans looking for a dose of their team while the World Cup takes place, but we will have to wait and see.
Right, that’s all for now. Have a great Saturday, come back tomorrow with a Leeds preview on the blog, and our Patreon preview podcast will be up for you early this morning.
Cheers for now, and yesterday’s Arsecast is below if you haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet.
