Good morning everyone, a summary of Saturday for you.
The last matches of the World Cup group stage took place yesterday, and there were mixed results for two Arsenal midfielders. Thomas Partey’s Ghana are out after losing 2-0 to Uruguay, but so are the South Americans after South Korea beat Portugal 2-1.
His late goal meant Uruguay needed to score, and Luis Suárez on the bench reacted… emotionally to the prospect of being eliminated. I’m not kidding when I say that my Twitter timeline—and by that I mean the posts of people I actively follow—was awash with images of him in various states of anguish, heartbreak, and tears. I understand that he is an emotional guy and this is his last World Cup etc., but I thought as the game was going on it was too much. When did you finally get out? Of course. I get it, and the sheer volume of those images proved that Suárez really isn’t the most popular man in this particular neck of the Twitter soccer forest.
Uruguay did everything possible to try to get a goal. The Ghana keeper made a couple of saves, and his players and the bench were furious when they didn’t get a penalty, but I was really glad they didn’t. It was a classic of the genre ‘Throw your leg at the defender and fall’ by Edinson Cavani. The kind that Harry Kane gets a lot of in the Premier League, the kind that Wayne Rooney used to get a lot of during his time, and I think they are the most infuriating penalty awards of all. I remember one in particular when Rooney charged into a charging Almunia, and all the commentators and pundits were talking about the Arsenal keeper taking Rooney out while every replay showed the exact opposite.
“WHAT’S WRONG WITH THEIR EYES?!” he might have yelled at the TV back then.
Later, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli left for Brazil. I didn’t see much of this one. Brazil were beaten, Jesus was withdrawn around the hour mark, and there are reports this morning that he felt pain in his knee and is due to have some tests today. Like me, I’m sure you have everything crossed that there is nothing serious, because that would be a major problem for us when we return at the end of December. On the surface, Martinelli was very impressive, but that shouldn’t surprise any Arsenal fan.
Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka and Switzerland went through after a 3-2 win over Serbia, in which our man was awarded the Man of the Match award and, unlike some of the other players in this tournament, he looked very happy with it’s.
I think some of the goals in this game were fantastic, and beyond a place in the Round of 16, there was a lot more bubbling below the surface. There was, it is fair to say, some shenanigans. Xhaka made the Serbian bench go crazy with… well… his balls, it was pretty fun, and the last few pushes with their giant goalkeeper, Kratos, was something to behold.
I don’t know if you can say that this is a new Xhaka, because he is who he is, but I think there’s a streak of maturity going through him now, which is good, because it makes this kind of thing more effective. If you make people nervous, but then you get carried away by them too, it sort of defeats the purpose. The best shit stirring is when your own shit remains unturned. Still, I think it’s fair to say that Xhaka will have enjoyed the result first and foremost, but when you beat a team that you have some rivalry or personal history with, it’s even more rewarding.
Today, the knockout rounds begin with the Netherlands v USA, and based on what we’ve seen so far in this tournament, this should be a close game. I worry about the lack of final product on the American side, what they would give for a superior striker to complete his team, but I also think the Dutch are vulnerable. Let’s hope it’s an exciting time. Then we have Argentina v Australia: on paper there is a clear favourite, but this tournament has thrown up some surprises, so let’s see.
Well, that’s all for this morning. James and I will be shooting Arsecast Extra later this afternoon. Keep an eye out for calls for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra, or if you’re a member of Arseblog on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord. server.
We’ll have the capsule for you early in the evening. Until then.
