Good morning everyone, a short Friday blog for you.
I didn’t watch Chelsea v Man City last night because I was sure of the result and just didn’t want to see it unfold. I thought it would be more complete for City, so 1-0 is a bit frustrating, especially when they scored the goal they scored.
What the hell is Kepa Arrizabalaga doing here? Kepa Arrizabagrobbelaar, imo. Ask his parents, children.
That means Man City have cut our lead at the top of the table to 5 points, but it shouldn’t really surprise anyone. This is the junk we’re involved in this season, and they’re going to chase and chase with a relentlessness that we’ll just have to get used to between now and the end of the season.
As for Chelsea, it’s just one win in eight games under Graham Potter. In some ways it’s a bit reminiscent of that run we went through with Mikel Arteta in 2020, our winter of discontent, but I guess Arteta had FA Cup goodwill on the bench. Who knows what Chelsea will do. They’ll probably spend a lot more money to add to their squad of Frankenstein’s monsters and I for one hope the bolt falls off their neck and they collapse into an endless black hole of nothingness and existential dread.
Speaking of expenses, Shakhtar director of football Darijo Srna was in London and attended last night’s game while Chelsea maintain their interest in Mykhaylo Mudryk. There were photos of him in the director’s box with a wallet-less Todd Boehly, and I suppose some Arsenal fans will be concerned that we might gawk at the player.
Speaking on NBC last night, David Ornstein said we’re continuing our interest in the 21-year-old and aren’t too concerned about Chelsea:
“At the Emirates there is optimism that with patience they will achieve it, since the player has made it very clear that he would like to join them.
“I don’t think they are too worried at the moment about a possible Chelsea hijacking.”
He also hinted that Arsenal might “pull out” some other business as this one drags on a bit. Once again, there was talk of Joao Félix being loaned out, and I’m sure with Barcelona’s financial situation being so dire, our continued interest in Ferran Torres is something of a safety net. I’ve also been told that we could have sent a sms or two when it comes to the central midfield area. There are no guarantees there, but let’s see what happens as the month progresses.
No Premier League action this weekend, of course. It’s the third round of the FA Cup and we don’t play until Monday night when we take on Oxford United, so there’s time to get things moving before the North London derby.
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On the other hand, it is a sad day for Arsenal Women as Jordan Nobbs has left the club after 12 years to join Aston Villa. She leaves with 270 appearances, 81 goals, plenty of trophies to her credit and a true Arsenal legend.
You can read how much her time at Arsenal meant to her in this lovely article on the official site.
Tim will also have more information in our Arsenal Women section.
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For some more reading this morning, it’s worth reading Tim’s column on how a point guard in futsal is evident in the way Gabriel Martinelli plays. I remember talking about how life in ‘soccer cages’ was part of Robin van Persie’s development, and I think there are some similarities in the way they play (although I hope that’s all he does here).
Ok, I’ll leave it at that for now, but there’s a new Arsecast for you. I spoke to Clive Palmer about the Newcastle game, the way the managers talked about him afterwards, as well as the transfers, Arteta on the sidelines and much more. All the links you need to listen/subscribe are below. Enjoy!
