We play Sevilla tomorrow in an Emirates Cup special. This is the test run. The game we need everything to click. It’s where we all get down on our knees and pray to each and every god out there that no one gets injured.
Palace is next Friday.
I cannot wait.
That’s the hardest game of August. They’ll be fired up, the atmosphere will be electric, and they’ll know they smashed Arsenal a few months earlier.
This time, we’ll have Thomas Partey in the midfield, not hungover from Ghana.
We’ll have Zinchenko at left-back and Ben White at right back. A much better pair of options than Cedric and Tavares.
Our forward line will also boast a striker that can occupy defenders, run, create from nothing, and score goals.
Things should be different. All the news I hear from training is positive. The players are enjoying each other, the culture is strong, the intensity is really high in each session, and there’s a buzz that something special could happen this season.
We’re going to look at the season in phases like we did last year. We do this because it allows you to break off chunks of the season and give a little more context to each. Some phases will have more away games, some will have more games against big 6 sides, so you do this to keep track of where you are.
Phase 1:
- Palace (A)
- Leicester (H)
- Bournemouth (A)
- Fulham (H)
- Villa (H)
- United (A)
- Everton (H)
- Brentford (A)
The first 5 games are very favourable. Arsenal really need to be collecting 11 points. I’d take a draw at Palace. You’d also hope we can collect 7 points from the following three games. The biggest is United. Win that and we’ll start believing.
If we take 18 points from 24, we’ll be in the top 4 for sure. If we collect more than that, then you’re heading into the first international break absolutely fired up, from there, who knows where the confidence will take Arsenal.
The squad, as is, has moved forward.
Everyone is built for the system. The character of the players has moved up a level. They’re all highly intelligent players. At the very least this season, we are going to be a nightmare for most teams, because there aren’t a lot of weaknesses when everyone is fit. We are City light now.
- Everyone knows how to press
- Everyone is comfortable on the ball
- We can go long, so a high-line is a bad idea
- We can play through a press at speed, so you have to double-take going for us
- We can unlock deep-blocks because we have pocket-pickers
Do we have fear factor like City or Liverpool? Not yet. We haven’t been good enough in the final third for that. But we are certainly not an enjoyable side to roll up against. We’re relentless, well organised, fit, and the technical level is very high.
Adding some killer to our side is going to be really beneficial for us next season. If we can find a goalscoring winger that has some of that special sauce, we really could be a bag of unpredictability.
I’m super happy where we are as a team. We’re not winning the league, but we’re going to ask questions of the Premier League Order this season and hopefully lay the foundations for a big push the season after.
I’m genuinely excited about where this club is going. I hope you are too. 2 more players and this window will go down as one of the greatest.
Right, check out our latest Patreon from Johnny and Matt Kandela. I’ll be doing a football and tech podcast next week with someone very interesting. We’ll be On The Whistle for Sevilla if we can!
Good morning.. nothing like a 6 am kickoff to get you ready for the season.. hahah Xhaka already missed 2 shots in forward position then lets his man score. Just don’t see the point of him, that far forward really don’t, and I have tried believe me.
Anyhow.. fun game to watch so far.. pretty well end to end. We are an exciting team to watch thats for sure.
You can tell when a team is playing with belief
Hope we carry this crazy form into the regular season
Reyes was a top quality player Marko, agreed RIP.
Scored x2 goals to win Real Madrid La Liga on the final day in 2007. Those two goals on his debut vs the Chavs in the Cup, boy was a baller.
First name I ever got on a football shirt off a relative was Reyes 9 on the dark blue away kit in 2004-05 as a 10 year old.
We look hungry, like Oliver Twist..,we want more
Best time to play Palace away, they always start the season slow.
Come off it Dissenter.
These are dreadful goals to concede.
Jesus just scored his second and Arsenal’s third with no Sevilla defender nowhere near him.
This lad Jesus i tell you.
4/0 lol
Lol. 4 nil Already
4 / 0
Reyes is the reason why I can’t stand Paul Scholes
Never seen a more obvious case of player being kicked out of a game
I’m not a religious man but how can you not love Jesus?
Jesus christ.
Now that was truly dreadful from Sevilla.
4-0 lol
Gonna be a hella year..
Might as well be playing against a pub team here
This is farcical from Sevilla.
Let’s beat them 12-0.
Jesus is our Suarez
Ishola
I saw some of Sevilla’s other preseason games
They are okay defensively
‘What you’re seeing right now is a first 11 of a team that is operating at a very high level
Jesus has given this team belief and they’ve all had a good preseason.
Reyes is the reason why I can’t stand Paul Scholes
You mean Gary Neville
This is down to Arteta’s speeches again.
That’s why the kick off was delayed.
The Sevilla players heard Arteta’s newest speech in the next door dressing room and it has absolutely spooked them.
Tets is MLK reincarnated confirmed.
Dissenter
“I saw some of Sevilla’s other preseason games
They are okay defensively”
Well obviously not in this match.
They have been farcical defensively in this match.
Paul Scholes played in that FA cup semi final at villa park in 2004
He made one of the most horrible tackles ever on Reyes
The media called us out for being weak for being hacked down
Saliba looking fantastic
They only lost 4 la liga games last season.
But it seems that when it rains it does pour.
The game is actually being played at a very sedate pace.
God knows what we could do to Sevilla in this certain match if we actually put the burners on.
Just replace Xhaka with Youri and we will improve 10/15%: instead of looking better in this team he’s looking worse.
Hmmm apolgies to Xhaka earlier.. terrible stream I have.. hahaha was showing something else.. Oh well.. If the whole season goes as well as preseason… can’t complain.
Tbf to Sevilla their defense has lost their two best starting CB’s from last season in Kounde and Diego Carlos so there’s that. And we seem like a team who’s gearing up for our opening game in less than a week
Wish we could just sign a revolving contract with amazon prime
All they have to cover will be Arteta’s speeches
Read they paid us about £11 million for that documentary series last season
If we got rid of Xhaka that is actually a serious team with Tomi back at RB too.
Marko agreed kounde and Carlos are a massive loss to them
Where did Diego Carlos go?
Quality CB.
Mid
Try the Twitter feed
It’s crystal clear, even when you minimize the screen
The energy we have been showing is really impressive, restarting play as soon as we can to keep the ball moving.
Stupid tackle for the first but will see that plenty of times in the season. Good 2nd and 3rd goals with good pressure for the 4th although that one was a bit of a gift.
We look like we are going to be ready for Palace
Gabriel is on fire
Villa WE
Thanks Diss.. much better.. sheesh.. that other one was bad..
Not many people banging on about Perisic and spurs recently I’ve noticed
There’s nothing more to gain here really regarding the important Arsenal players on the pitch in this match.
Arteta may as well make a whole host of changes at half time if that is allowed in the Emirates Cup.
The game is finished dead as far as a competitive match.
What a goal that would’ve been from Juses.
The 4 against Chelsea wasn’t a fluke after all.
Man this starting team is going to be something to behold if we can keep them all healthy. Saliba has to be a starter.
We’re playing very well offensively and are totally in control, excellent half from the lads.
Should have been 5-0 there just before half time.
Martinelli not showing the killer instinct although in this scenario where the game is dead maybe a bit more understandable.
Un
‘ Not many people banging on about Perisic and spurs recently I’ve noticed’
..so that the usuals can call them spurs supporters?
Some aspects of lively debate have been extinguished on le-grove.
So I think we can more or less agree that’s going to be our first choice CM options right Granit and partey? Yeah that’s threadbare as fuck if you ask me. Questions marks over Thomas not to mention his fitness and concerns over Xhaka’s quality means that’s still a problem area for sure
Sevilla is not a poor team – it’s Arsenal that’s just too good for them.
Yea, they have to sign a top central defender this week, not wait until the window is almost over
Not buying a central midfielder is footballing malpractice, for too many reasons.
Holy moly wtf was that…just did not want that half to end…Odegaard is something else!
Also looks pretty easy to tell that Saka Jesus and Odegaard are gonna be key this season
Guys
Don’t take too much from these games.
We may be in good shape and this will show against Palace but I called out the Sevilla defence as a complete shambles after we scored our second goal and then we duly went on and scored two more on them within a few minutes.
The match isn’t really being played with intensity as a whole.
You will see the difference in intensity in the Crystal Palace away match.
Fastest 45 min ever…hope the same team plays at least for 20 min more..cant get enough of this..wish this carries on in competitive matches too
Yep we kicked their ass pretty much.. excellent half from the boys and a terrible half from my first video streamer… hahaha oh well.. let’s just get the season started already so I can watch it on a legit tv channel.
Ishola
I think you’re struggling to accept how good Arsenal’s first 11 has become
Besides what we do on the ball, the enthusiasm to commit, close spaces and do al the intangible nasties.
Loving our three new starters, all look class. Saliba, admittedly under little pressure, was perfect in that first half. Hearing a happy spoiler alert when we hear the roar of the goals 10 seconds before my feed.
Think it should be all about Friday now, who we give time to and for how long. CBs should stay the same, Eddie should come on
Forget the 4 goals the main takes for me with that half is the sharpness on and off the ball.
Zinchenko and Martinelli look like they have played together for a lot longer than a game and a half.
Have to get Saliba to sign that extension pretty quick
The more he plays for us, the harder it will become…vultures will start circling.
Dissenter you are talking shite.
We may show good against Palace but this game is not an indicator.
Sevilla have been poor and the game has not been played with real intensity from both sides and even Arsenal have not truly put on the burners really.
As said before you will see the difference in our first EPL. The difference in pace, intensity.
Smart teams don’t put the burners on at 4-0 up, particularly in a pre-season friendly
They kill the game with needless possession, tire their opponents out and demoralise them further by managing the game sensibly.
Seville are no mugs, but I expect we’ll do to most teams at home this season when we’ve got something resembling our first choice 11.
Plenty of goals spread through this squad now.
Palace will be a different game altogether. They are physical and athletic and play with high intensity.
The only one takeaway from pre season games is that our new signings except Viera have been well integrated in to our team. Jesus and Zinchenko look like they have been playing for us for a while.
Anyone who watched the way we attacked+ defended in this half, and against Chelsea, and still see no issue with Mari + Holding stepping in for a few games, is desperately naive
When the whole team presses this high, we can’t have any weak links in our backline, both in terms of physicality or technical security.
I mean preseason is preseason it’s not really a good indicator for the season especially in our case it’s more about just getting fit and ready.
Also has to be said you see the benefit of getting in signings good and early so they’re ready for the start of the season but in saying that I wish we got in some midfielders as well
Yeah there are really encouraging signs from Jesus but it’s a whole different ball game once we kick off at Palace.
Ishola If it’s not an indicator, why are you wasting your time watching and commenting on it. Unless, there are major injuries in the next six days, this confidence and application isn’t just going to disappear. No one is suggesting that it automatically translates to winning the league but if you were Arteta, you would be happy with what you have. Forget the 4 goals, don’t you see them working super hard on pressing and winning the ball back or just really enjoying what they are doing? Problem is you’re talking so much to minimize the good Arsenal part of… Read more »
Odegaard looking good today…very progressive in his passing , maybe the pennny’s dropped .
The team look like they are enjoying their football , the question is , can we take this free flowing football into the palace game…why not.
The fear factor in football is major , if we can blow away teams with free flowing football, other teams will be very wary about over commiting against us.
Jesus and Zinchenko have definitely given us a new dimension in our play.
So much to like about this 1st Eleven. When you think who else we have coming back too, it’s really quite a side. Mad if we add two more quality players too.
Really looking forward to see what we do against Palace. For the first time in a long time, we’re ready…..
there a working stream in English that doesn’t involve clicking on pages of porn sites anywhere?
This link is working well so far
https://m-sports-live.blogspot.com/2022/07/arsenal-vs-sevilla-preview-prediction.html?m=1
Dissenter
I sat down to watch this because I thought it may be quite a competitive match even if it is a frendly. Not on EPL levels of course but a good test.
But this has proved not to be the case.
Can happen.
Vegas.
Search for Arsenal Live on twitter.
The first preseasons game in July are about just fitness and such
When you get to the last preseason game, 6 days before league kickoff, after the manager has a identified the starting 11, it becomes more about ‘just fitness’
You want to see more….and the team has done just that.
Hope we get through without any injuries
bennydevito – many thanks. just got up, didn’t even know there was a game today.
Would love to see a Matheus Nunes or Reuben Neves added to this midfield. Xhaka sticks out like a sore thumb around some of these more energetic and high pressing players
I want to see Marquinhos play for 20 mins or so.
Pierre that’s what we have been trying to tell you.. Odegaard has looked like he worked on his game this whole preseason. . He is better then you think. And yes for me Jesus has woken up the whole squad. Of course it will be different when it’s for real.. but our pressing is on a whole different level really noticable.
Ishola
It’s not competitive because we were too good for them, in a spell of 10 minutes, after a defender gifted us a penalty.
We pressed them and committed them to making mistakes
We did lots of things excellently, sorry we took that “competitive” game from you.
I hope viera recovers quickly, anxious to see him play
I would have actually prefered a much more competitive game today just to get us into that notion of really fighting for a result before the Palace game but it is what it is.
It’s refreshing to have a team that the fan base have a connection with. For too long there has been a disconnect but with this squad there is so much to like.
There are only a couple of players that I don’t expect to get much better
I think Arteta is too tied in with Xhaka at this point. He’s a big part of the managers plans.
They will get a central midfielder who won’t mind spending more time on the bench, sharing minutes with Xhaka
That’s why I doubt we get Tiellesman because he’s too good to not start.
I don’t think White has looked all that impresive on the right.
Ishola, does your disappointment in the competitiveness of the game explain why you have posted over a dozen times since kick off and not one of them has been positive towards arsenal?
We are winning 4 nil and everything you have said has been negative and not complimentary towards anything the team has done.
have we sold Leno?
So much potential in that team.
All this positive sage burning bullshit don’t mean anything unless we are banging Three points against palace come Aug 5th. Fitness all well and good but let’s bang Palace up first before you all started getting hard ons about pre-season.
Crabregas
The way Sevilla defended in the first 15 minutes of this match has seen that any notion of me taking this game semi- seriously ended right there. After 15 minutes.
I now await the Palace match with much anticipation and praise for the Arsenal if they get a result there.
Partey is a terrific midfielder. We need another high calibre CM like him.
Always talked about seeing a discernible pattern of play
It’s preseason..,.yes. but this starting 11 has shown it
The next task is to have anyone subbed in to match the intensity and application, off the ball.
Think we have seen enough… bring on the subs. Don’t need any injuries.
Samesong
Do feel better about facing Palace, next Friday compared with us facing Bournemouth on opening day last season?
Hey there, jolly good baldies
Ishola hates good football.
Now, would/should Pep still have his job if Gabi scores 28 goals and we win the prem?
No emotion allowed Samesong for pre season games? Surely you can see how our first team has improved with three quality starters arriving?
Agree that Xhaka looks even more limited compared to the rest now. Nearly scored a beauty mind you.
This is exciting but chaotic, not sustainable, we need to kill the game, it’s great that we’re pushing up the pitch, squeezing the play, and transitioning at rapid pace
But we also need to learn how to take the pace out of a game, not just inject pace into it.
Ishola,
So there have been no positives from this game at all? Nothing from the 2nd and 3rd goals, the urgency we are playing with and the patterns of play we are developing.
It’s a shame everything has been so negative when nearly everyone else can assess the game but can see the bright sparks. Each to their own though.
Roll on Palace
Cross field pass from Zinchenko top quality.
Tavares did an interview with a pod and said Xhaka runs the dressing room, nobody even close according to him. One thing, this is a bonus to the assigned Captain Ødegaard, who can focus more as on pitch Captain. The other thing is … There is no doubt that for quite a while, there’s been great atmosphere and spirit in the squad, a closeness. Not saying it’s all down to him… But obviously as a guy with huge influence, he must be helping more than a little. We might see a little in the documentary, and maybe that’s why the… Read more »
Rich, ‘ we need to kill the game’. – 4-0 not comfortable enough?
Oh man,… hope Saka is ok.
Take Saka off!