I’m starting to get a little bit excited about a very big weekend of football.

The FA Cup is the first chance to find out the true extent of our injury list. One would imagine, to reduce pressure on the players, that many will not be present for the Southampton game. I can’t imagine we’ll see Declan or Saka. Not sure we need to see either of our left backs after their knocks. Not sure we’ll be risking Kai after his games this week.

The move will probably be to roll with a pretty decent starting 11 that is more impactors than full-on starting 11. The Sporting game is of the utmost importance. Escape Lisbon with a draw or better and we’re in very good shape for the home game.

Two players I’d like to see get minutes are Max Dowman, who is surely worthy of a start considering the issues with our right wing… and Marli Salmon, who could get a go at right back after Ben White spent 14 days with England and Jurrien Timber is struggling with a groin issue.

The big, big news of that game will be the suspected return of Martin Odegaard. He’s playing to be at the World Cup. Norway destroyed their World Cup group. They could go to a quarter final for sure. He will be a leading light and the main man feeding the beast of Haaland. The captain has a job to do on the fan base. We’ve forgotten him. He seems a distant memory. Even when we have seen him it’s been very limp.

I need more. We all need more. Time to deliver.

The ideal for the game is it’s done and dusted by 60 minutes and you can roll hard with the rotations. FA Cup quarters away from home against Championship teams are rarely that simple, so I’m preparing for a gritty 2-1 kind of afternoon.

Still, the reward of Wembley is pretty delicious. I’m just very worried that if we do get through, it’ll be Man City AGAIN in a season where seeing less of them is better than seeing more.

How about a little hit of something good?

“I’m completely in awe of Arsenal and what they are doing and what Mikel has built there. The team they have, the personality they have in the group, the way they play this year, I think they’ve been fantastic.”

Thank you, England Assistant, Anthony Barry. What a gentleman.

How about that? Bukayo Saka, working in a factory, pushing his spicy sauce around the world. When I come back to London next month, let it be known Nando’s, that I’ll be stealing one of those bottles from your establishment. I shall not reveal the location, just to keep you guessing.

Arsenal are interested in Christian Kofane. The Bayer Leverkusen striker who did a very good job occupying Saliba and Gabriel in the Champions League. At 19, he’d certainly be a 3rd choice kind of name. His linkage certainly seems to fit the pattern of big strikers, good in and around the box, with immense strength and power. I like those ingredients, though some reports of the fee being £100m are crazy.

Ok, short one today, see you in the comments. Check out the latest podcasts. The early bird members Southampton preview is IN.

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🔥 Hottest of Takes — Johnny makes a passionate case for two players the fanbase seems to have forgotte…

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Here’s what’s inside:

🔥 Hottest of Takes — a small but potentially significant Martin Odegaard story catches Jacob’s eye and raises a big question about Arsenal’s direction next season

⚽ Victor Joelinton’s Hat-Trick — Should We Care? — four goals, four shots. The Jockstraps are back. But Pete and Jacob ask the question that nobody wants to sit with: why does he get so few shots in the first place?

😂 De Zerbe to Spurs — the most combustible manager in European football, a five-year contract, eight games to save a relegation, and players who have already mentally booked their flights out of N17. Pete and Jacob absolutely relish every last second of it

💸 The Summer Transfer Links — a Brazilian winger from Zenit Arsenal have apparently been linked to, and Goretzka at 31. The lads are not excited

🎨 Bootleg Football Advertising — a surprisingly joyful tangent about the greatest football ads ever made, from Joga Bonito to Ian Wright in the Parklife advert.

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Here’s what’s inside:

🔥 Hottest of Takes — one that will have every Arsenal fan dreaming about the next two months, and one about the summer that paints the picture of…

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Well good evening, especially if you are Bosnian. What a night for your country. Taking down the mighty Italy in front of a rabid home crowd to deliver yourselves to the 2026 World Cup. Quite incredible.

Commiserations to Ricky, who played the whole 120 minutes, he won’t be going to a World Cup which is upsetting for his career, but probably good for his body after a beastly season so far.

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Oh no…

… Arsenal are acting like a big club (add Kai and Zubi to that list).

Media caught between a rock (Arsenal players are bottle-jobs and would be the worst Champions of all time) and a hard place (these bottle-jobs are very much needed by their national teams).

Sir Alex Ferguson was the king of stopping players going away on international duty, Jurgen Klopp was also a beast when it came to these sort of things.

So why would international federations play along with this sort of thing?

I guess there are multiple layers to answering that question.

If you don’t know by now…

There aren’t many Arsenal players who are on the cusp of being part of the international setup. Our players are all stars. At this stage of World Cup preparation, managers are mainly focused on the players who are on the edge of making the squad. Ben White was new to the setup, Tuchel wants to see him up close, so he’ll be there for the duration. Viktor will be with Sweden the whole time because there is jeopardy in their games.

If you need to know whether Kai Havertz is good at this point, you’re not doing you job properly.

Knocks and tweaks…

The most important thing for the big international managers is having a full squad to choose from come the summer. The big players from the big clubs have a lot of games between now and the summer. De-risking breaking players at this stage is in the interest of everyone. But, as I wrote the other day, just because a player is starting for Arsenal, doesn’t mean they are free of issues that could be exacerbated by thug players for South American teams that need to play dangerously to be on a level. Hincapie looked in pain for Ecudador, Zubi has his knee strapped and has been gassed for a while. Kai needs to be treated with kid gloves. Declan has been carrying knocks, so has Bukayo.

Middle ground better than withdrawal…

Arsenal could play really dirty and just withdraw players from the whole two weeks, like plenty of managers have done in the past. It’s far better for international coaches to have good relations with clubs and to be fair to them. It’s better to get 7 days of a player than none at all. I’m sure a lot of the recalls were pre-agreed. It’s good for players to win trophies, and it's respectful to let them be fully prepared for those opportunities.

Ultimately, why do we need to care what people think about this? It’s happened. No going back. We’re bringing our best players back. Some will have knocks. Some will just be fatigued. The hope is we rest heavily for the Southampton game and we’re absolutely on fire heading into the week with Sporting Lisbon away then Bournemouth at home.

Feeling guilty that Arsenal put their players' well-being first, with the collaboration of all the international bodies, is not on my agenda. This is a big team move. We’ve already suffered with a Brazil friendly that took Big Gabby from us for 4 weeks and cost us big points. Not happening this time.

LITTLE BIT OF A LOOK AT SPURS, YOU SAY?

Come on, why not. They’ve just fired Igor Tudor after a dismal turnaround job that was entirely predictable.

44 days in the job.

Spurs have lost 46 games since the start of last season, we’ve lost 13 in that time.

They are in a mess so deep right now, I cannot see how any coach could get them out of it… I’m also struggling to see who would take the job at this point, unless the money is disgusting.

Should I care about this mess as much as I do? Yes. I should. You should too. Why? Because their fans broke a football norm so basic, I’d never thought of it as a norm… they cheered their side losing. They did it in the stadium. It was so humiliating, Big Ange addressed it in the ground while the game was going on. He was horrified ‘Spursy’ was more than just a bit of banter, it was a contagion… no actually, it was more like a rot. Like, a bad one. Not light wood rot, which is annoying, but you can recover and fix it. No, I’m talking gangrene. Dead flesh. Lost arms. That’s where I’m going here.

This wasn’t a game that lacked consequence; they could still have made the Champions League. But their fans did it anyway… and they deserve everything that is happening to them.

There are some fun transfer rumors doing the rounds at the moment. Nicolo Tresoldi is the latest of them, the club being linked with the 21-year-old Italian-German striker who is playing at Club Brugge at the moment. He has 17 goals so far this season.

I have watched a few of his videos and scouted him using a number of extremely detailed analytics tools I’ve compiled into a centralised aggregator system built with self-coded Python. Did I use Claude? No way. Artisanal code all the way.

My conclusion? Who the f*ck knows.

The reason I find him quite interesting as a striker is he has a lot of similar traits to Benjamin Sesko, though 3 inches shorter, and not as fast. The main skill he seems to possess is his ability to be a box ferret. He works well in tight spaces and he’s an absolute monster from crosses in open play and from setpieces. He just seems to be one of those strikers who loves the rough and tumble. Also notable that he’s scored against Barca, Atleti, and Monaco in Champions League.

Clearly, he’d be the sort of player we’d pick up at a low price. He’d be brought in to take up the third 9 role that Gabi Jesus is holding right now. This would be a ‘high ceiling/loads of work to do’ kind of move. But one I’d welcome. Igor Thiago came from Belgium and he’s monstered the league for Brentford this season. So there are examples of good exports from there… but we’ve also been burned. Sambi Lokonga came with a great rep, championed by Vincent Kompany, and he was very underwhelming for Arsenal.

Still, I’ll be very happy if we’re looking for competition for a striker who regularly exits games without having a shot, to the applause of ‘look at the running.’ We need to do better.

We’ve also been linked to Luiz Henrique.

This one feels a bit of a stretch to me. Another winger who looks fun in comps, but has pretty average numbers. Brahim Diaz I can forgive, he’s at Madrid, playing at a really high level. But if you’re 25 years old, playing in Russia, I need to be seeing dirty numbers on the board. 3 goals and 3 assists? Get out of here, I don’t care if you’re in the Brazil squad. I want stat sheet botherers if we’re going to be bringing in a new winger. I’m not sure this guy is the one… he also looks like a cumbersome 9 put out on the wing as a punishment.

He’s a pass for me.

Ok, have we had enough fun? No?

You could post ‘MICK HUCKNALL IN LINE FOR SPURS JOB,’ and I’d retweet it because anything at this point is believable.

Ok, that’s me done. See you in the comments. But also,check out the latest members pod. x

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🔥 Hottest of Takes — one that will have you checking the injury news immediately, and one that asks a ve…

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🏆 Arsenal Are Setting The Global Standard — Ecuador’s national coach is using Arsenal set pieces on his training board. Pete makes the case that Nicolas Jova deserves way more flowers than he’s getting, and that Arsenal are now the team everyone else is trying to copy

⚽ The Ajax Comparison — Johnny gets philosophical about the kind of team Arteta is building, drawing comparisons to the great Ajax sides of the 90s and what it takes to blend technical quality with physical dominance

🎰 The Injury Dice Roll — international breaks are a casino and the lads don’t love the odds right now. With Noni leaving with a brace on his leg, who actually comes back fit?

💸 Brahim Diaz Scouted — a Real Madrid bench warmer is being linked with Arsenal for around £29m. Does he raise the ceiling or just the floor? Pete and Johnny watch the clips live and give their verdict

🧤 David Raya Is The Best In The World — Spain’s number two has said it, Barcelona’s keeper has said it, and Pete is furious that the Spain manager is still not playing him. An open invitation to Luis de la Fuente to come on the pod and explain himself

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Here’s what’s inside:

🔥 Hottest of Takes — Jacob makes the full-throated case for Odegaard’s return, while Pete delivers a take about Saka and the World Cup that’s so spicy he can barely make eye contact saying it

⚽ Big Vik Hat-Trick — the Jockstraps are back. Pete interrogates what it means, what it doesn’t mean, and whether we’re all just riding an international break sugar rush

😬 The Big Earners Problem — an honest look at Arsenal’s bloated wage bill and the players collecting serious money without delivering serious football. Can the club afford to rebuild with these contracts on the books?

🏥 Noni’s Injury & The Saka Mileage Question — Madüeke limped out of the England game in a brace. If it’s serious, the GCSEs are cancelled and Max Dowman boots up. Plus — is Saka’s body simply paying the price for years of overuse?

🤣 Spurs Are Going Down — Pete maps out their remaining fixtures game by game and genuinely cannot find a way out for them. This section will make you very happy

📉 Liverpool’s Collapse & Mo Salah’s Exit — from champions to chaos in 12 months. Pete and Jacob on the fall of a dynasty, and whether Salah belongs in the conversation with Thierry Henry

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Everything I despise about international football mid-season, and maybe even more broadly, was put on display in the England game.

Tuchel put his team out against Uruguay, a notoriously aggro team (great choice, FA). Madueke was clattered with a midriff challenge as he tried to take a shot from distance. He crunched to the floor and had to be taken off. He was seen exiting the stadium in a knee brace.

We then move on to Ben White. He exited the Qatar World Cup because he was disrespected on a personal level by a nobody, and he wasn’t going to have it. Tuchel wants him in the squad, because he’s a very excellent defender. White gets brought on, at Wembley, and a section of the fan base booed him. Jordan Henderson, a man who is not a fan of the media, had this to say:

“They listen to what is being said in the media, and a lot of the time what the media says isn’t true.

“Not many people know the ins and outs of what happened in Qatar and it is for us to deal with internally. Ben has been good since he came back in and we will support him as team-mates.

“A few of us have been there, it is difficult when it is you, but you have to try not to take it too personally.

“The media can spin things in certain ways, which isn’t always the truth and then fans can pick up on that and think it is the truth.

“It is really difficult when that happens, so it is important for us to make sure he is OK, which I am sure he is.”

What is wrong with people? The English mentality, when it comes to international sport, is so, so wrong.

Ben White scored a goal, which was nice. Then gave away a penalty, that was harsh. Regardless, booing your own players because you’ve got an ill-informed opinion on something that happened four years ago is League One fan mentality.

I honestly can’t stand the table banging, THREE LIONS OR DIE, mentality that goes with the international game. People falling over themselves to showcase how patriotic they are… to the point they do the most unpatriotic thing by booing one of their own during a game that is 0-0.

I’m also seeing people kicking off online about Djed Spence chewing gum through the national anthem. Is that really what people care about? Unbelievable nonsense. I’m not a fan of Djed, but please, give it a rest.

So… we’re potentially without Madueke for the run-in, and Ethan is in Marseille scoring goals, so that kind of means the back-up right winger for Bukayo is Max Dowman.

I know… so annoying we might have to see more of the most exciting young player ever to grace The Emirates.

There are hot and spicy rumours coming out of Spain that Arsenal are tracking Brahim Díaz this summer. The 26-year-old Spanish/Moroccan is available for £39m, though many believe Arsenal would do a deal at £29m. I have to say, I’m a fan of the ex-Man City player. He’s fun to watch, highly technical, and he’d add depth to our forward line.

Buuuuuut… It is a bit of an odd move considering that 1) we are quite clogged on the right wing, the position he mostly plays, and 2) he’s not very prolific. He made 56 appearances last season, with only 6 goals and 8 assists to his name. Those appearances were mostly as an impactor, he clocked 2,300 minutes. So not really sure what he’s answering for us outside of being a good squad option… or Arteta seeing Madueke moving over to the left to back up KVARA THE KING.

This could also just be his agent cooking up stories to alert Europe that he’s exiting this summer. Though you do have to say, this does feel like the sort of move Berta would make. 26 years old, readymade, loads of experience.

One to watch, especially at the price point.

On the exit front, my big fear this summer is Arsenal are going to sell some players we have heart for. I start every summer pitching to you the idea that the world’s elite will come in for our deadwood at a princely sum.

It never happens. If me and you don’t like a player, guess what, we have great taste, and so do clubs with deep data on players. We’re not getting £30m for Trossard, and dreams of £90m for Martinelli are not happening.

That means players like Calafiori might come onto the market. The player, who I love, is not very robust. He is also very conscious of his body after that massive injury. It would not shock me if he was the target of a big Italian club or one of the mega Spanish teams. Moving to a less intense league reduces the chance of injury, it gives you a good quality of life, and at 23, he really would be very appealing to many teams. He’s a franchise kind of name.

Arsenal might look at the lack of availability and see a sale as the chance to upgrade to a player with a little bit more ruggedness. Just like we have done with Ben White, and really, with Hincapie last summer.

Kai Havertz, another player with a fragile body, has moved hard on rumours he’s out this summer.

“No, to be honest, I have not heard anything about that.

“I have not read anything about it either. I feel right at home at Arsenal. I think everyone there is also very, very happy with me.

“Sure, it was not an easy season for me. However, I definitely see my future at Arsenal and in London.”

Not sure where those rumours came from, I assumed he’ll be at Arsenal moving forward. It feels much more likely the other two forwards would be more on the chopping block than Kai. My main worry is that Kai now lives under the category of injury-prone, and it’s hard to imagine that with that huge frame of his, it’ll get any better.

Ok, that’s me done. About to drop by some major religious institutions and beg for their prayers for our Arsenal players. Wish me luck. x

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This is a little Thursday members bulletin covering off all the spicy hot stories doing the rounds right now.

Kvara talks are serious…

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The hangover didn’t last that long for me. I was more upset after the Wolves game. When you boil it down, we were beaten by a really good team who were better than us on the day… and that amount of better against a depleted Arsenal was 2 shots on target over the course of 90 minutes.

The Kepa thing was interesting to me. He was more of a problem than just the huge error. City saw him as a fundamental weakness in our starting 11 that could be used to highlight other weaknesses.

They let him sit with the ball, gambling that he’d be too rusty to go over the top of that 4-man block. City were right. No amount of baiting would bring City players in to pressure him. That gave him two options, chip over the fullbacks, or launch to a striker who is incapable of winning duels or holding the ball up.

That led to a mess of hoofing that undid us.

Run that game again in a month and you have players like Odegaard who can drop deep and help build play. You’ll have a keeper that will happily play chips to fullbacks. You’ll have a more technically secure right back in Timber to ghost into midfield. You’ll have Kai Havertz as the target man.

Staying on Kepa, I did the rounds with my Premier League insiders to get the take on why the hell we rolled with Kepa in this game. How can the only position on the pitch that is not impacted by merit be the goalkeeper spot, arguably the role that is most sensitive to a lack of game time.

Well, it’s the unwritten rules of elite level football. You have two choices with your back-up keeper. You gamble on someone very average and hope to god they never have to play (Neto)… or you go for someone who could be a first team keeper in the Premier League, but you can only have them if you guarantee them minutes in the Cup.

We tried Neto last season and it was horrible.

Kepa, with minutes under his belt, is probably the best back-up keeper in the league.

Arteta had no real choice. It wasn’t just the culture he was protecting, he was actually protecting his future ability to attract back-up keepers who will show up as professionals every day and push through the ego-savaging that comes with sitting on the bench.

I’m told Kepa has lived every moment as a top pro this season, he’s animated and involved with the squad, and really enjoying his time.

Arteta likely didn’t imagine that we’d make the final of the League Cup or progress in an FA Cup that hasn’t been kind to us.

This is, unfortunately, the cost of doing business at the highest level.

Do I agree with it? As a fan, no. But as an imaginary professional football manager, it’s hard to argue the thought process here. Give me Kepa over Neto every day of the week.

Injury news is perking up really nicely. Arsenal are finally moving like a big club. Eze, Big Gabi, Saliba, Odegaard, and Timber have all stayed back from international duty to get fixed up.

I think one thing we all need to understand is that just because a player is on the pitch, it doesn’t mean they aren’t playing with problems that are teetering on the edge of serious issues. Most of our players are warriors. Keeping some of them back is massive and will hopefully contribute to a good run and allow them to be fresher for the World Cup.

Eze is out for 4 weeks, according to James from The Athletic, but they are awaiting a scan this week. The hope is that it’s 4 weeks from when it happened, which would put him in contention for the Bournemouth game.

Martin Odegaard should be starting against Southampton — again, absolutely massive, he will be of consequence to the run-in and we’ve missed his technical security. Timber should be back for the Premier League run-in. The only player we’re unlikely to see is Merino, though I have no doubt the club will be doing all they can to get him fit for Spain this summer.

The game I’m most focused on right now is the Bournemouth one that comes after the first Champions League game against Sporting away.

If we can ride the fatigue and walk away with three points, we have the pleasure of watching Chelsea fight for their lives against a City side who will have to close the 12-point gap. That’s a big, high pressure game, against a manager and a set of players who need to get Champions League qualification to ensure their money stays the same next season.

Looking at Spurs, because that bag of mess is amusing to write about… and, wooooah boy. West Ham could beat Wolves and put them in the relegation places. Do you fancy a squad of gutless underperformers to do something against Sunderland away? No chance. Do you really think Brighton are going to let them off the hook? No way. I don’t even fancy Spurs against Wolves away. Then it’s a Leeds 6-pointer, Chelsea, and Villa. Teams who all have something to play for…

This would be some season if we won the league and they were relegated. Just a magnificent dream to carry me through the dark and lonely nights.

What about all the stupid narratives doing the rounds post-League Cup? The worst one, fans picking on our young supporters having a good time before the FA Cup. Mostly Spurs fans complaining after their pre-relegation-scrap fan parade blew up in their faces after the 3-0 loss to Forest.

I can’t say this enough times… young people, crafting their own path, by banging drums, doing a supporter march, and raising tifos is, without doubt, really good for the game. If you don’t like it, you’re probably older than 40. There are enough ‘older than 40’ types in the ground. We need fresh blood, we need people to take atmosphere far too seriously; there has to be an ageing down of the Premier League ticketholder because the future lifeblood of the league depends on oxygenated blood. We’ve had our time being the main event, now see what the next generation brings to the table… and if you’re whining about it, go and shout at some clouds, write a strongly worded letter to the council about dog mess, or just give it a rest online. Honestly, I cannot with the negativity around young people making the game more fun to watch.

Ok, is that me done? Yes. Check out the latest Dugout with the EXCELLENT Luke Kempner (check out his new podcast The Thing About Arsenal).

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Here’s what’s inside:

🔥 Hottest of Takes — Luke arrives with a truly unhinged goalkeeper opinion that will divide the room, while Jacob zooms out to ask the bigger question about what Sunday actually means for the run-in

🧤 The Kepa Debate — was the goalkeeper decision the reason we lost, or are we giving it too much oxygen? Luke draws on his musical theatre background for a genuinely brilliant analogy that you won’t hear anywhere else

😬 Saka, Havertz & The Fatigue Question — Thomas Tuchel was reportedly sat next to journalists at Wembley saying our players looked absolutely cooked. Is this an injury story, a confidence story, or something more worrying?

🔵 What Went Wrong Tactically — the selection, the shape, the moments where it felt like Arsenal four years ago with no ideas. A proper forensic look at why Sunday felt so flat

💊 The Odegaard Wildcard — with Zubimendi’s form dipping and the Etihad coming up, could the captain’s return be exactly the missing piece?

🔮 Heart & Head for the Rest of the Season — Luke gives his honest assessment of what he thinks Arsenal can and can’t win from here, and why he’s still — just about — a believer

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I have maintained all season that the League Cup is of little interest to me as a fan, if we’d won it, no doubt I’d gas the moment as consequential, but we didn’t… and outside feeling very depressed, it’s hard for me to find the energy to be too angry about a trophy that returns a prize fund lower than the cost of turning on the lights at The Emirates for an evening.

League Cup is the Community Shield with more games. At best, it’s a confidence boost for a lagging team, at worst for Arsenal, it’ll be a drain on confidence.

My honest view? I think this win will mean more for City than it ever would have for Arsenal, and after spending some time thinking about the state of the game, I’m still not sure I’ve come away thinking City are in good shape at all.

Put the noise to one side.

Kepa gifted Man City their first shot on target when he spilled a cross like a hungover Sunday League player into the path of O’Reilly. For all their possession, with all their best firepower on show, Man City had not hit the target before that horrendous moment of cup-final-horror-keeping gave them an opening in a game that we’d had the best chance in.

Arteta wasn’t fast enough on the second goal, which saw the freshly birthday’d 21-year-old do the same thing to us again when Nunes found him unchallenged in the box. His header went unchallenged by Kepa and we all felt that if it had been Raya, he might have got to it.

Arsenal hit the post via a Calafiori half volley. We hit the bar with a really well crafted Gabi Jesus lofted header. But ultimately, playing our first progressive pass (forward, longer than 10 yards) didn’t happen until the 71st minute and that was too late.

Pep Guardiola got the better of Mikel Arteta tactically and Arsenal just couldn’t react to the incredibly aggressive press that City put on us. We had no answer. Our game plan was to play around the press, we didn’t have the passing range, the bravery, or the players to offer us technical security to get out of our own half. That felt like an Arsène Wenger game of football against Pep from 2017.

When Man City pushes up against you like that, you have to go long over the press, break their confidence, and put them in a state of half-heartedness. Arsenal just hoofed the ball back to their defenders, then had to chase them over and over again. It was draining watching it, can’t imagine what it was like to play.

We just didn’t have the guts or the specialists needed. Kepa’s kicking was a huge downgrade on Raya. Hincapie seemed to lose all confidence with his passing. Ben White was dreadful, bar booting Cherki for doing keepy-ups during play. Our midfield just looked tired and well off the pace. It was pure European hangover, which felt weird, considering we were the only team on the pitch that had progressed.

How could I criticise our forwards? No one put a ball into feet in a good position. Kai Havertz was a non-entity at 10. Trossard was the wrong winger for a game that required speed. Bukayo Saka was, once again, objectively terrible. We’ve been waiting all season for the moment he comes out of his shell… but he stayed in that bad boy like a homesick hermit crab. Gyokeres just isn’t built for games like that — he’s never going to make a moment for himself. So if you can’t service him, he will fail, and fail he did, another zero attacking contributions kind of game for him, but not really about his limited abilities.

So where can we extract some hope from a game like that?

Well, if you thought City were shite, you’ve only got yourself to blame. They’re the best funded team in the world, with the ability to buy up whoever they want, whenever they want, and they were always going to react to the loss against Madrid. City are world class, they won’t give up any trophy without a fight, and we were reminded of who they were.

That game, however we’d played, was always going to be tight. I keep hearing people say Arsenal are a fine margins team, like there’s a team in the league that isn’t fine margins. We’ve scored the most goals in the Premier League and conceded the least, and we’re 1st in the league. If we’re a fine margins team, guess what, that means everyone else is. At the very highest level of English football, games are ALWAYS going to be tight.

Man City, having one of their best games, against an Arsenal team having one of their worst… managed two shots on target.

‘Man City have better technical players’ appears to be a familiar comment… but it just doesn’t hold up for me. If they had better technicians than Arsenal, their attacking output would have been better and they wouldn’t have needed to rely on a basic bitch keeper fail.

Arsenal created the best chance of the game, we hit the post twice, and we created more chances… and that was the worst performance we’ve seen since Wolves.

Don’t read too much into it.

The only part of the day that has affected me is the ‘you gotta keep the second best keeper in the starting 11.’ Now, I don’t coach, and I’m sure a lot of coaches will have better opinions on this than me. But why do two world class coaches have hard and fast rulings on back-up keepers in moments they can win trophies? Arteta said the decision was based on what he sees in training? Give it a rest, it’s an agreement that back up keepers get the domestic cups. Kepa isn’t doing better than Raya at anything.

Here’s the thing… we all know why Kepa is a number two, it’s because he has brainfart mode wired into his DNA. That mistake wasn’t a shock, we’ve seen it too many times over the past decade. He does things like that. The game might still have ended in a loss, but it’s hard not to come away from that afternoon wondering if ‘you gotta pick him for the culture’ was a corporate purity test that could cost us heavily. Arteta would have played Dowman if we were playing Sheffield Wednesday - why is it only keepers who get a pass for the culture?

Back to the positives. I don’t think that decision is costing us anything, I’m just angry, and the thing with building great culture, is if you sacrifice it for a short term game, that will always be noted by people you’re asking to participate in your mission, and it’ll take you down over the long term.

Man City weren’t good, they will lose more games this season, and I feel very confident Arteta will not allow a repeat of that in the Premier League. We will have an answer. Add Odegaard, Timber, and Martinelli to that starting 11 and it’s going to be a very different game. That’s what we’ll have in a few weeks. Technical security, runners, and rub of the green going our way.

Cup comps are rolls of the dice. The dice didn’t roll our way. But we’re still in three competitions. There’s no doubt we are the best team in England. I’m still proud of the team for getting to a cup final. I just hope they can flush that result out of the system, get some rest over that Southampton game, and be ready to go for a heavy end to the season.

I don’t like losing, but I also didn’t go into this season thinking a League Cup mattered. The only thing that makes this season one of value is a Premier League title or a Champions League win. Everything is just noise. So stay focused, don’t engage with the noise, and if you’re feeling sad just take a look at Spurs. x

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I’m penning this on the eve of our grand day out to Wembley, the weather has turned here, and I’m feeling all sorts of positive about the day ahead.

I’ll go out of my way to read tea leaves in the build to a final, and you’d best believe I was raiding the Chelsea and Liverpool canteen cupboards when I watched them get decapitated by Brighton and Everton on Saturday.

Two Champions League teams, dipping, when they’re in the fight for their lives for UCL qualification. What conclusion can I draw knowing Arsenal AND Man City are Champions League teams? I’m struggling, I gotta say, but the best I could do is imagine that the game is going to be tight, but the second half might be where the action is at. Is there a loser brand of tired that settles in faster? My hope is there is. Man City aren’t a strong second half team, so hopefully they’ll fade, and we will decimate.

With regards to how we line up? Well, ain’t that a mystery. You’ve probably had the forwarded notifications in your WhatsApp groups that there are BIG injury issues. Eze, out for 6-8 weeks. Gyokeres, not available. BIG WILLY DOWNED.

Just feels like Arsenal fans being psychos if I’m honest. It could be Arteta and Berta trying to flood the zone. We know they LOVE staging photographs and don’t you think I didn’t notice Odegaard front and centre in .com pics when the likelihood of him being near that pitch is very low.

I’m not going to worry myself, Arsenal have enough for City whatever the weather.

My view on the line-up is Arteta is going to put his best attacking cogs out on the pitch. This will be the game we see Kai Havertz as a 9 flanked by Saka and Trossard. Midfield will be Eze, Zubi and Declan. Defence will be Calafiori, Saliba, Big Gabi, and Benny Blanco. Keeper will be… Kepa.

Look, the keeper situation is not my favourite. But James Trafford will be playing over Donnarumma. I think the right thing to do is to play the back-up keeper who has sacrificed his ego to make sure there’s a competitive environment for the number 1. Kepa could be starting for most clubs in the Premier League, we are lucky to have him as our second string keeper, and I’m 100% certain he’ll start.

The only counter to all of that softboy sh*t above is I really want to win a trophy and David Raya is the best keeper in the world right now and him rolling deep against City would make my knees a little firmer.

Alas, culture eats feelings for breakfast, or something very American corporate rah rah like that!

I did find some of the narrative build to this week quite interesting. Jamie Carragher wrote a really good article about rival fans not liking the taste of what Arteta is serving and he found it a bit weird. The article likened Arteta’s pragmatic approach to some all-time greats like José and Simeone, but ultimately said stylistically he’s more aligned with Pep G.

Neutral fans not liking Arsenal is for one reason and one reason only: we’re being compared to Man City and no one cares for them. They’re easier to stomach as a Premier League winner because no one gives a shit. If this was an Arsenal vs Man United title run-in, I can tell you, the split would be very different. I don’t know which way, but Man United for a neutral has you feeling a way.

But come on… do we really want to be the neutral fans’ team of choice? If you’re a neutral fan in general, you’re a loser. Is that too blunt? Get a f*cking team and stop being a melt. Have you ever met a person at a party, asked them who they support, and been surprised when they call themselves a ‘neutral’? No way. I could pick a neutral in a room of 20 in about 5 seconds. I have a sense for them, like Spurs fans, and I will avoid that inevitable conversation of:

‘Oooh, to be honest, I do enjoy the Premier Champions Cup, but I tend to follow players. Like Messi, wow, so good, right? Have you ever been to a Matcha Morning Rave by chance? Amazeballs.’

You know the type.

Why would we cater for those people?

I want to be hated. Arsenal getting plaudits for delicate artistic football after another 6-1 loss to Mourinho, whose team of thugs had the ball in possession for 6 minutes, did not fill me with pride. I want the dark arts, now we have the most progressive dark arts coach on the planet. I wanted beastly players who bully. I want pragmatists who can play long ball, tiki-taka, possession, non-possession, and whatever brand of sufferball you fancy. I wanted players that, when given the chance, can rip anyone a new one. Now I follow a team that Man City will play 5 at the back against.

When you are winning, everyone hates you, and if we’re struggling with being hated right now… that’s an us problem.

Drink it in my friends. Accept that if today is another hate watch that ends with an Arsenal trophy, it was all worth it.

Ok, on that note, have a f*cking great day. Then come and join us for an On The Whistle after the game! Get subbed up right now so you are READY! x

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Try and enjoy it, then come say hello to us after the game where we will give you a damn fine show!

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