What are you watching today? PSG? Mbappe, Neymar, and Messi? Ok, me too.
There’s only one club in the world that does things the way fans think they should… and that’s PSG. What they did this summer was grotesque. It shouldn’t happen. It’s basically Harlem Globetrotters. But here we are, in the Champions League, watching a fat rich person spewing gold onto a pitch.
It’ll be very interesting to see how that all works over the course of a year. My suspicion is it might not win them the Champions League, but we’ll see.
The hot story doing the rounds is that Arteta, according to Bild, has promised Leno his shirt back after two games.
Errrrr?
Seems a bit odd and quite un-Arteta like. It also seems weird that Leno would agree to be dropped for two games. What sort of elite athlete asks for a breather 3 games into a season? Especially if the person taking your place is someone other than Runarsson.
My suspicion. This story is nonsense. Ramsdale has the shirt until he fucks up. That’s how it should go. We’ve watched 2 years of meh keeping, now is the chance for someone else to give it a go. Leno is also down to two years on his deal. The club was always going to make this season rough for him so he’d leave to chase the Germany #1 spot.
Did I tell you Tomiyasu said he was buzzing? I love that. Do Japanese people call each other ‘slags’ when they greet each other?
Back to it…
There are HAAAAWT rumours that Charlie Patino, god of Hale-End Twitter, is going to make an appearance next week in the league cup. The story goes that he’s impressing the Arsenal first-team players. That video of him dropping Phil Jones, then chipping Dean Henderson was very reminiscent of Jack Wilshere having that moment against West Ham reserves when he curled a pearler into the top corner. Some kids have a swagger that just screams ‘I WILL GET A GO’… that’s what I’m seeing here.
Arteta really does have a fine balancing act in the League Cup. He needs build familiarity with this new squad of players, but at the same time, make sure the talent coming through doesn’t suffer. Balancing longterm goals while catering to gangrenous short term needs is a might fine line to tread. I fully expect the backline to mostly remain in tact. I think the major change out will likely be Tavares in for Tierney. Midfield, let’s be real, no one needs to see Big Mo clumping around, let’s get Patino in there. Up top, you don’t want to risk your stars, so there could be some flex there. Folarin Balogun will surely start, then maybe Reiss (who is on loan, so no) or one of the other U23 kids.
I’m pumped for that game. Maybe the team will depend on whether we do some damage against Burnley at the weekend.
Finally, seems there’s a lot of debate about fandom on the internet that has been set off by that video of the fan arranging his friend to shoot him going to the Emirates for the first time while he himself also videos the moment.
That video was weird. Let’s be honest. Organising a production like that is not ‘in the moment’ and it’s not a young people thing. It’s a people thing. Everyone wants to film everything and it’s a scourge on modern entertainment. No one ever goes back and watches the videos either.
Fandom is a weird thing and there are levels for it. Even in England, when you are sussing out someone in a bar that tells you they like football, the hierarchy sussing goes like this.
Who do you support?
Do you go and see them?
Season ticket holder?
Do you go to away games?
Do you go to Europe?
Fans that do it all are peak Arsenal fans, you can’t deny it, the commitment is outrageous and you have to accept it.
I’m an overseas fan. I write a blog. Podcast. Tweet like a madman. I’m obsessed. I’m still a fan, just a different type. That doesn’t mean I’m lesser, but I can’t claim to be the same level of hardcore as an away day season ticket holder (RIP).
Arsenal is global. Global fans make the community special. They are valuable and should never be demeaned. Jockeying for position is boring, but it mostly only happens when someone tells another fan they aren’t worthy. All fans are worthy and no one should diminish a person’s fandom unless they wear half and half shirts.
Still, there is a hierarchy of fandom, you might not like that people do it on the internet, but it might make you feel better that local fans do it in bars when assessing someone.
Short one today. See you ALL in the comments. x
Top four no longer even talked about these days
More like let’s see how the players adapt
Or, let’s hope they all stay fit
C’mon, nobody?
1st?
No, 5th
That’s just sad
This is a reflection where the club is at these days.
No fight for trophies.
Art8ta
Tr8phy if Arteta gets lucky
I should have checked in earlier!
Nice work on the Tr4phy, Tom.
Fraud10ta Trophy
Omen is we come 13 maybe, the way am missing
Until
BULLSEYE
Didn’t know that we put a clause in Reiss’s loan deal that allows him to play League Cup matches before going to back to Feyenord. We really are working the deals! 😉
Stands.
Gentlemen the goldfish says we end up at 13
Since no one firing the cat
Absolutely right. We should welcome all fans irrespective of where they live, their race, creed or colour, or whether they attend or not. And I believe most attendees do, grateful that they are the (relatively) few who are are able see matches live.
https://www.pinterest.jp/pin/399694535653741306/
Remember this guy? Used to see him at home and away games wearing each season’s version of this strip in all types of weather. Really good egg. I think he was connected to gunflash and the supporters club.
Pedro
You may sneer at half and half shirts (did you mean scarves?) but that guy looked the absolute bees’ knees in my view
Agree with your concept of a fan Pedro, but a lot of posters on here obsessively criticise everything that Arsenal Football Club ever seems to do. Hardly ‘supporting’ is it?
Hey Ladies…. how’things today? Big big slate of games today.. Dortmund kicked things off right earlier today. Will watch some of all the games.. but will be intertested to see if PSG’s fantasy team takes care of business.
And Pool scores… unfortunately.. Was rooting for Milan.
Speaking of fans, I remember some around me complaining even at the best of times, even when Arsenal were winning the first division title. At the time their behaviour was incomprehensible, but now, looking back, I understand them. It was, ‘Again, this will never happen Again, this is that once in a lifetime moment, that will never happen, Again…’
Pool can’t convert the PK. Ha! Ha!
Yep.. Mo Salah telegraphed that one.. PSG score. Herrerra.
City score.. so pretty much all the favorites winning today. Early.
Fans are fans wherever they are from as long as you eat sleep and breath the team you are a fan like everyone on here day after day, some like me are lucky we only live a few miles away and can go to most of the games, it’s expensive and time consuming but man it’s hard to give up, the banter talking to like minded fans and cheering the lads on and going with a group of mates.
Bruge score
Brugge… with the equalizer.. One thing for sure Mbappe, Messi and Neymar sure as hell aren’t gonna get back and defend. Giant holes in the midfield.
Wow.. Ajax Keeper with the Nick Bendtner Top Knot.. horrendous error.
Yes.. there you go Milan.. nice one.
Milan scores 2 goals in 2 mins.
Why rests VVD?????????????
Milan were absolutely awful for 40 mins and go and score 2 goals out of nowhere, lol.
Pool losing now… hahaha quick turn around.
Milan turning around the game. 2-1 up against Liverpool. Trent adventurous run exposing the right side of Liverpool defense.
City gave up a goal too.. underdogs coming back.
Rebic really is ice-cool in front of goal, very natural finisher.
Other then the stupid Keeper error by Ajax.. Ten Hag has his boys rolling.. Would be a fabulous replacement for Teta…. in my opinion. Especially since we decided to resurrect project youth.
We can be fortunate if we get within spitting distance of Europa Conference league, the way managers at competing clubs are having their squads and strategy setup..
Good to watch some decent football on the UCL.
Football is such an unpredictable game. Milan were dreadful yet somehow they are winning!!
Milan, 5 touches in the box, 2 goals. Life is unfair.
Pedro
Nothing unfair where Liverpool’s concerned.
I’d like to see a few more.
This Ajax’s GK got to be one of the worst.
Sal, me too I hope the bin dippers go home miserable.
Yep…… I think it’s pretty fair.. actually.. Mo Salah choked his pk. You can’t make mistakes like that.. you always pay the price later on. Plus I like to see Jamie Carragher crying at halftime.
Pool was lucky not to give up the 3rd goal.
Yep but then they score on the other end. 🙁
Keeper should’ve come out there
Salah’s hand was offside. It is a goal. Ha! Ha!.
Oh no.. I think I Le Grove jinxed Ajax. my bad.
I have to admit that the Pools plays very well.
Sal, true.
Salah be up there for golden boot this season.
Go Leipzig… Go Leipzig.
One of those days where if you have money on any of these games you would be sweating through your tracksuit. City might be out of reach now though.
Oli Geeerooo sighting.
Haller with 4 goals.. Should have put money on that… I d be rich.
Henderson! What a goal!
I blame LG for hexing Milan.
Poch is bottling it with PSG. They are awful, and Poch is a terrible coach.
Didnt even look like he caught it clean… still smashed it by the Keeper.
I don’t know that Henderson can shoot the ball low and hard to the corner. A striker’s goal.
Messi with a yellow .. tackles like Xhaka.
Nkunku with another… scenes.
Nkunku with a hat trick in a loss most likely.
That didn’t take long eh Middy?
Cancelo fire.
Leipzig allergic to defending.
Nkunku smashing in goals city still to much
Some entertaining games on tonight
Soul destroying watching these goal scoring games. We now have an ASOS model in charge who has sucked the life out of our attack.
Kroenke Thanks for the half and half image Pedro’s description of the “Arsenal fans” set me thinking how different the online experience is to meeting with other fans to watch a game I used to watch the Arsenal games in Pasadena, at Lucky Baldwin’s, before I moved the Arsenal fans differed by almost every aspect you can think of, age, race, profession and — in addition to differing how we felt Arsenal should solve its problems — we differed in our opinions on politics, music, you name it But being Arsenal fans seemed to over-ride the many differences — while… Read more »
I think PSG need to spend more money… Team still looks weak. Bust out the checkbook… date it for January 2022,
Rodrigo with the game winner.. RM.
Was hoping Maldini’s boy in on an equaliser for bit of symmetry.
Liverpool deserved win too much juice for Milan.
Pains me.
Hmmmm
We were in for Nkunku werent we?
Why is it that all our would be targets just rub it in our faces all the time?
Will take PSG some time to figure out how to get the best out of that front 3. All very ball dominant players, that’s one advantage that Ronaldo has over Messi for me in that he is much more of a threat off the ball as you can stick him in the box and he’ll score you headers galore.
Camavinga, game winning assist
Ray in LA
I used to live in Pasadena for 6 years. Back then, I would just hit refresh on Eurosport on the weekend mornings. No TV no nothing but the internets….
was around 2001 Ray….
Madrid with an undeserved win there
PSG have been somewhat underwhelming under Poch, not really gone the way most thought since he took over.
RB Leipzig have a way they play football and they don’t care who they play, naive and entertaining.
Atletico are looking a bit haphazard too at the moment with a stalemate tonight at home.
Suarez, Griezmann, Felix, Correa, Cunha, Carrasco and Lemar are a lot of players to be squeezing into a front 3/4.
Honestly found it weird that they opted to get Griezmann back after buying Cunha.
2001 LA it was the Cat n Fiddle off Sunset or bust baby.
And what a scene that place was.
Riddled with expats on gameday’s.
I agree with your concept of fan hierarchy. Lots of cunts on the internet try to act tough. It’s only the fucking internet. Away games are great, while in England, my most fun as an arsenal fan was at them.
I’d like to see Patino get a debut. Lad looks like Fabregas. Excited about this one. Hope Balogun gets game time too, but can’t see it happening this season with the way we’re in the shits. Should’ve gone on loan. Most of our young lads should’ve gone on loan, tbh.
You lived in LA sal?
Receding Hairline
You have to tip your cap to anyone that is ballsy enough to stand in the pocket with City and throw down but yeah, very naive and ultimately not a strategy that will get you a result all that often.
Their XI is made up of players bought for £50m a piece, they are going to beat anyone that allow them pockets of space and counter attack opportunities along with their general lock-picking ability of deep defensive sides.
Excellent UCL games very entertaining unlike what is being dished out at the Emirates.
Simeone
Has enough powder to storm any castle lets see if he can give the attack some direction.
It certainly needs it, haphazard ideal description, escaped the weekend with late winner. Scoreless at home tonight.
Guns
I did, worked there a lot since.
PSG must be regretting sacking Emery.
Eagle I thought we might be that sought of team under Arteta, entertaining and fearless, handing down a beating to smaller teams and standing up to the better ones.
Its been anything but that. Once we dropped the backs to the wall strategy against the better teams it wwa back to the white flag before a ball was kicked. And the football on display most times less said the better.
Lets see how we develop but at the moment we have a lot of catching up to do.
Sal has been everywhere… That’s why he is a Golden God.
‘That’s why he is a Golden God.’
I have met this God, and it is true, he is a God.
City are like Francis Nganou you stand in the pocket with them you get wiped out devastating firepower
Nkunku hat-rick tonight too Middy, would have made a few bob if you stuck money on that eh. He was available on the cheap a few years ago from PSG and was a LG favourite IIRC?
‘That’s why he is a Golden God.’
That a It’s Always Sunny reference? Christ I hope it was intended as such.
Yep .. Eagle.. This why I only gamble in the stockmarket anymore. though. No more stressing out with 2 mins to go and needing a goal to hit the accumulator. Or trying to find a hidden gem to score a brace.
Eagle no.. it;s a reference form almost famous. 😀
Cmmmon you know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYz3E4MckSw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCfFCFkVSss
Hahaha so nice I posted it twice.
Receding Hairline
We hoped once he was announced that we were getting mini Pep, what we weren’t anticipating was that he was really Moysie’s disciple. The pre-West Ham Moyes before he started living a bit dangerously.
Christ keep up Mid.
Pedro NYC misses you baby, don’t get too lost out there in Murica.
Lol Mr Serge, if City are Francis Ngannou then who are we?
Pillow puncher, glass jaw, incredibly boring defensive style, overbearing yapping coach ringside delivering over elaborate instruction which serve to confuse the fighter.