Inhaaaaaaale… breath out… inhaaaaaale… CuuuuuuuKAAAAAAW… CuuuuuuKAAAAAW… channel that inner eagle you powerful beast. 🦅
Quite simply put, if you are not preparing mentally for this game to the sweet shrieks of eagles, can you call yourself elite?
Categorically, no.
Here is a video so you can prep.
Barclays Premier League Day is here. In a few hours, Arsenal will roll out for a season opener against Crystal Palace.
Patrick Vieira is no mug when it comes to coaching. He’s aged down the Palace squad, he’s brought some Wengerball to the Selhurst Park Turf, and he wants to kick on this season after making some shrewd summer signings. Paddy signs street footballers that entertain, he moves on those fancy Youtube comps we all like, Palace are going to be trouble this season.
… that said, word has it their preseason was a bit of a disaster because they went to Aus and loads of their players were anti-vaxxers. They only took TEN senior players there. So who knows, maybe we’ll be more fit, you can hide anti-vaxxers in the US no problem.
Last time we went to Palace, it was after an international break that Partey and Tierney went to, they promptly picked up injuries during the break and during the game and we were beaten quite badly in the first half. I’m not sure we deserved to lose over the 90, but we did, so there we are.
What is different this time?
Well, we’re still missing both our first-team fullbacks, but this time, we have much more capable back-ups. Ben White will slip in for Tomiyasu, he’s been really impressive there so far, but Zaha is a different ball game. At left back, we’ve got ELITE cover in Zinchenko. A player that knows the league, can play the system better than Tierney, and is more than ready to stake a claim.
Midfield will be Xhaka and Partey, same as last time, except one didn’t go out partey-ing after a World Cup qualification. Cut it however you like, those two together have a great connection, and they’ve been very impressive this preseason. They are extremely brave and I do think the more advanced Xhaka is starting to pay dividends. He’s contributing to the assist tally, he won’t be there all season, but he’s less exposed in more advanced positions, and he’s adding a bit of boldness to his passing. I think we all forget that you are never too old to improve at your craft.
Odegaard will captain and drop in as a #10.
The frontline we’re going with tonight will be very different. Saka will occupy the right, Martinelli will take up the left, and Gabriel Jesus will be playing through the middle.
I cannot tell you how different life is going to be this season. Even if we have a bad game tonight, what you won’t see is a freeze in the frontline. Finally, we have the specificity in every position we need.
We have 5 defenders who can play through a press and pick out Hollywood passes. We mostly had that last season, but if you don’t have runners, what’s the point in having longball specialists.
There’s more chaos in our forward line this season. Gabriel Jesus is a nightmare, he comes deep and he’s problematic, he goes wide and he’s a nightmare, he’s standing still and he can create something, in the box he’s ahead of everyone, this guy has changed the game. Last time we played Palace, we had Lacazette who lacked power, speed, and ability in front of goal.
The biggest shift we have tonight is winnertivity. Two players can make a huge difference on nights like tonight. Zinchenko and Jesus have done it consistently at the highest level. They understand patience, they know how to dig deep, and their experience will inspire the young kids around them.
Johnny made a great point on the Before the Whistle. I’d much rather Palace in the heat of August than on December 27th in the freezing rain.
Ideally, we don’t go a goal down this evening, I’d rather not test our abysmal record of clawing back, but I am less worried about that part of our make-up than I was last season.
Last season was the worst start imaginable, COVID and late business nearly killed this project before it started, this August is the chance to put some points on the board and make amends.
11 points from the next 5 games would be very, very good. 7 points from the next 3 would put us top 4 before the international break. That is where we need to be. I believe we can do it.
Before I leave.
I’m very excited about this season, as fans, we’ve been through a lot. Finally, it feels like there’s a bit of structure at Arsenal, a boatload of ambition, and we seem to have the right people driving the vision.
This season, we have to learn a few lessons from what happened last year:
There will be downs and they will feel very painful.
There will be long runs that will feel like we’re title contenders.
Key is not to get too carried away with the bad or the good times. We’ll be up there at the end of the season, then it’s a roll of the dice who has enough to kick it over the line.
Also… just remember that every team will have down moments.
It is easy to be there for the good times, but as you’ve seen from that documentary, our fanbase is most important to the players when we’re there for the bad times.
The journey is always better than the destination. Enjoy the feeling of being underdogs. Eat up those predictions tables that have us behind Spurs this season. Take names and numbers of the people that doubted The Arsenal.
Right, that’s me done.
We will be ON THE WHISTLE at 10pm BRITISH time this evening.
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White ends up on his arse a lot, not good enough.
Some Albanian guy rich now after that dive
Come on Xhaka stop being a knob
Fookin Xhaka
Bloody Saboteur.
Horrible footballer
Another season and more of the same with Xhaka. We need that CM brought in to displace him. Can’t be trusted in tight games for 90 mins. We need to transition him out the starting eleven this season.
Our most experienced player gets booked for such a ridicoulus dive. So embarrassing
Gabriel is a worry
Where is he? Why is he not tight? Why does he dive in?
Handled the ball in the box in the first half
Defo a concern
Arsenal need to get in the dressing room and start rubbing their hands together , get YNWA blasting in the background…
We should score again to kill them
Just get to halftime please. … Xhaka did end up saving a goal. ok then… regroup and refresh.
Good first half.
Zinchenko and Jesus very good.
Saliba fucking awesome,
Xhaka as dumb as ever…….
It’s like no player ever went down in anticipation of a challenge
This rabid hatred of Xhaka is pathetic
Not sure White looking hopeless he’s got Zaha absolutely gunning for him. He’s done ok.
Ramsdale pulled off a good save but blinking hell when fully in control caused two issues. I’d pull Xhaka off personally if he’s got the mad look in his eyes… off before he gets sent off
Physically we are doing ok
all our problems self-inflicted…lets sort it out, keep the pressure on
Xhaka is going to get red card!
Øde needs to step up and the creative players need to feed Jesus
Looked like we got tired that last 15 mins… not closing down as well.. a few mental errors. Still.. get that second goal and make me happy. I had Marti and Jesus with goals.. need Jesus to get his.
Didn’t like that last 5 looked like last year. Ok so far.
Palace are very good though
Our bench is weak until the injured trio [ESR, Tomi and Tierney] return
Peps literally shitting the bed in here again ffs
Sometimes feels like some of the posters have never seen a game of football before, let alone Arsenal — get a grip, support your team and stop gimping about
Kind of a typical arsenal performance these days still a struggle to create honest to goodness chances. Gabriel looks rash, Saliba looks composed and Xhaka is still Xhaka.
Same issues with that midfield base WHY OH WHY DON’T WE HURRY UP AND FIX IT ONCE AND FOR ALL. Against physical teams with pace Xhaka is not the answer. WE as fans know this. The club need to put this story to bed. We’ve had enough. We love our team but we can’t keep accommodating a constant spoiler of all the good work.
Glad for the half time whistle as Palace were starting to dominate.
First half has shown Saliba is our best defender so the ultras were right.
Saka has been quiet and his only highlight has to be taking the ball of Zaha in our half.
Also, we seem to be playing a high line and I have nothing against it but Anderson long passes have been on point. We need to press him so he can’t do that anymore.
Xhaka is always a liability if for nothing else than his card magnet abilities.. Hopefully Arteta subs him off early in the second half for Sambi.
Last 15 of the first half were not good.. Let’s hope our boys come out fighting and add a second goal early in the second
Mid
Fatigue in the first team will be a problem for all team s. Most players don’t attain full fitness until games 3-4.
Started like a train but let them back into it with Ramsdale lifting the atmosphere with a couple of errors bur so far so good, Saka not had much of the ball yet been mainly down our left but I guess that is down to Zinchenko being more progressive than White
“Fatigue in the first game will be a problem for all teams
Started off very brightly then evened out somewhat and then Palace came more into the match after about 25 mins partly due to us putting pressure on ourselves self-inflincted.
tbh the pattern of this first half has been like so many others in the past seasons when we are playing a fairly decent but not top side.
Palace have been abundantly average and Vieira is going to have to shake them up at half time and make some changes to see them over perform.
It’s like no player ever went down in anticipation of a challenge
This rabid hatred of Xhaka is pathetic
Literally the definition of a dive
Xhaka could never get away as a criminal mastermind would he.
I can imagine if he was employed within the Albanian mob to do a hit. Rival Albanian monster left still alive. Old granny shot dead by mistake. .
Xhaka then booked by a traffic warden for parking on double yellow leading to arrest and twenty years in nick.
Xhaka is ok. Let’s stop with this unnecessary hate. Players take a dive once in a while FFS….it’s football for crying ou loud😂😂
Fantastic first 20 minutes. But we dropped off after that. We need to go again. The beauty of this coming season is we would have Eddie, ESR, Viera and possibly Marquinos to come on and change the game due to the 5 sub rule.
Very good for 30 minutes, ball watching for 15. Kind of like last season. Difference being we look a threat when we actually play well. Jesus’s movement is something else. Saliba looks really good. Xhaka being Xhaka. We need to find a way to get Bukayo into the game.
The composure and self assurance that Saliba has already is absolutely insane. What a fucking player.
Good opening 25 mins, gradually losing our composure on the ball though .
I can’t believe that Arteta hasn’t put someone on Anderson to stop him hitting those long raking balls to Saha.
Definitely need another goal as palace are going to put their foot in, the refs been good so far but as the game goes on he will be put under constant pressure by the home fans..
Diss- yep… I think Palace conserved a bit of energy early as well so flipped the nomentum there at the end.. Anyhow. still any half we are ahead is a good half. Still love me some Zinchenko.. thought he was the difference that half.
Saliba looks class. He has bailed out White and Gabriel a couple of times. Dude looks like our best defender from preseason to now.
Last 15 was poor…again missing that ruthlessness..it has to be consistent…Odegaard needs to show up…Partey and Zichecnko and Saliba were great
Jesus is so good on the ball in and around the box, can’t wait for him to score his first real hoal for us. Looking a little bit shakey the last 10 minutes or so but it’s the first game of the season, can’t expect everything to be perfect, as long as we get the 3 points nothing else matters. Not surprised with the Xhaka dive, he’s always looking for a freekick when he doesn’t know what to do with the ball, which is quite often. Hate when he shields the ball just so he can fall over it, does… Read more »
Even with the injuries our subs look strong: we can call on Mo, Eddie, Tierney, we can bring on the legend rob holding to close things out for the last 5-10. Very excited to get ESR, Viera, and Tomi back in contention. Feel very strong but if we manage to get in another CM and move on Pepe to bring in another wide player then wow. That would have me feeling too smug for my own good
Look Xhaka is a card magnet. Remove him and we’ll be good. Its not even a ref conspiracy at this point. He always falls for the bait. Can’t help himself. I’m tired of talking about him every passing season. He’s like a cockroach/cat with 9 lives and can survive a nuclear blast.
They are crowding out Odegaard to stop us from playing,,,and it’s working.
Gallagher did that to Partey last season.
Arteta’s answer to that is to have Xhaka in an advanced position but so far it’s not creating enough outlets once Odegaard is cut out from the game.
Partey needs to do more. He’s struggling with the Palace midfield.
Yea. Xhaka is Chris Moltisanti (sopranos reference)
Very hard to believe Saliba is only 21. What a player. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a unit, with speed and composure at 21.
Martinelli is also doing okay apart from the miss.
Izzo
” Against physical teams with pace Xhaka is not the answer”
Is Odegaard?
I can’t believe that Arteta hasn’t put someone on Anderson to stop him hitting those long raking balls to Saha.
Pierre
Same thing I posted earlier. If we are going to play a high line, then we can’t let Anderson hit those balls.
Saliba+Mag doing fine. But Rams+White are not good enough. Long balls from Andersen to Zaha is going to get is into trouble in 2nd half. And Ødegaard has to step up
“They are crowding out Odegaard to stop us from playing””
Dacoure giving him a nightmare.
White has been good, considering he’s defending Zaha
Zaha is a wiry veteran at this point, he’ll expose 95% of the full backs defending against him.
Will Arteta show the balls to sit Xhaka.
He is a poor defender to begin with and now he will be a target for a second yellow.
Sit his useless arse on the bench Mikel
Quite shocked at the stick xakha is taking when he’s been fine outside of a silly dive outside their box
Hasn’t put us under any pressure and has kept the bal moving well.
Ramsdale and Gabriel have been the two concerns
Hope Ramsdale doesn’t dip again
Marko
The problem is that Xhaka is always under the spotlight of refs.. Not really his fault tbh but when things are like that then it is a big negative for the team… I would not have been surprised if he had gotten the ball to his hand not Gabriel it would have ended as pen against us..
Oh yeah Ramsdale sort yourself out you’re a goalie not an outfield player
We still have goals in us.
Lots of goals left in the game. I can’t imagine this stays goalless
Get an early goal this half and I won’t even remember that last 15 mins. Way I look at it
Seriously, some of y’use lot are total pussies — netball might be a better sport for yer, or maybe knitting
The problem is that Xhaka is always under the spotlight of refs..
No the problem is he’s a clumsy neanderthal who’s obvious in his fuck ups
Still cant deal with a 60 yard punt over the top, its piss poor.
Gabriel
Diving in again
Ramsdale saves us there
Great save
Another good save by the Rammer!
Palace well on top here.
Ramsadale = redemption
Hope that gives Ramsdale a lift
Two obvious goals he’s saved now
Palace are pretty good
Saliba is our best defender already lol
That tackle from Saliba is ice cold.
Ramsdale smothered well.
Not sure what White was doing there though.
He initially won the ball well but decided to go on and run and lost possession easily in a dangerous place
S-A-L-I-B-A
People still don’t think we need a RB?
Palace equaliser incoming.
Ben White is not a fullback. He either plays in CB or DM or sits on the bench. Its a mistake to play him RB.
Saliba – top Gooner already!
Look at Saliba, he is a terror
Saliba fucking hacked the shit out of zaha lol
Saka finally got on the ball in space … more of that.
Xhaka has been kicked left, right and center
No YCs
Weve gone off a cliff here.
Ramsdale is keeping us in the game.
Xhakunt is a total liability.
Our midfield is totally being overrun
Marko: I think peps see Arsenal differently to you
Odegaard you dumb silly cunt
What the fuck was that from Ramsdale – he had time on the ball and put it straight out……..
Why Oden looking for the pass?
Odegaard has to hit that
Besides that dive, Xhaka hasn’t done anything wrong so what’s with these bizarre billous commentary
Odegaard is so shit
Ode should have taken a one time shot there
FFS Odegaard shoot!!
White really hasn’t been very good today.
Diss
The only measured poster tonight
That’s was dumb from White . aAgree on that one
I just don’t understand why Odegaard didn’t shoot!!
Hey Im measured… fuck off… lol
Sausage what game u watching? White had Zaha in his pocket the whole first half.
Ben White been a bit flaky tonight
There’s my by Gabriel yet again
3 Mistakes that could easily have been goals in just 60 mins
I’m telling you, the weak link
If the midfield is being overrun, why is Xhaka the only one getting the dirt
Partey is not having a good game imo.
Arteta can’t do midfields , we need to tighten up , otherwise it’s the same old.
Odegard has been tentative
Ode needs to come off, he has been a non factor all game