FANCY A LITTLE... HOPIUM?

CORRECTING THE NARRATIVE AND GETTING PUMPED FOR THE NEWCASTLE GAME THIS EVENING

The transfer window is shut now. Mikel Arteta has spoken. It's clear he wanted a player, the player the club wanted was not available, and he is happy with the efforts of the club and believes that discipline over such decisions is key when building a successful team.

We can all be upset we didn't get our targets, but if you are angry over this window, you either believe we didn't sign a player that was available, you think we should have paid massively over the odds for one, or you'd have been happy with something substandard to get us over the line. All fine opinions to have, but all options Arsenal didn't want to engage in.

None of it is relevant now. The job is done (or not done). We have to move on. I know some are finding me deeply annoying on this topic because even my friends and family are starting GC convos with ‘Pete, I love you but…’

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Listen, I get it. I flamed Wenger. I gave Emery 16 hours before I called time on his Arsenal career (was h’actually correct). It seems odd that I’m not going nuts over our last two windows…. but I am insanely confident in the direction of this project. I have been writing near-daily for 17 years. I have never written about Arsenal in a position this good. I have written under heavy fire when we finished 8th twice. I defended 5th when others said that was our best chance. I told everyone that Antonio Conte was not a better bet than Arteta and predicted that he’d crash Spurs as others said he’d win them trophies. I have been close to the truth most of the way on this journey, you can call me a Gaslighter in Chief… but the reality I’ve been selling has happened, so it’s not really psychological manipulation. It’s just the truth I’m sharing is slower to manifest than most people want.

We are extremely close. Fucking it up now with a Chris Samba or Yann Mvilla type just isn’t a narrative for the moment. I want to see game-changers. Ollie Watkins was the wrong age, but a game changer. Morata, who we were apparently in for would have made me really f*cking sad - no ‘elite’ striker in football has ever done so little for me emotionally. He’s the Bounty in a box of celebrations. The plant-based burger at Au Cheval. A cheeky pint that is literally just one pint. He’s the Happy Humpday in a Wednesday email. How did that nearly happen?

I digress.

Let’s have a quick tug on the hopium pipe:

Arsenal are unbeaten in the league in 13 games

We have scored the second-most goals in the league

During this rough period, we have unearthed two superstar teenagers who are already proving they are difference-makers

We are 6 points off the top of the league

We finished 3rd in our Champions League group

We have done this in a season we've lost two of our most important attacking players for large chunks of time

The Premier League is not lost, if you're thinking that way, you are weak. A coward. A yellow-bellied prawn cooked by its own fears.

We are still in three competitions, the boys are in great form, we're about to go away to Dubai, we might make it to Wembley if we do a madness in Newcastle this evening.

Also take hope from this: Our most serious rivals are both in a rebuild or about to head into one.

Manchester City spent £263m on young players this window because they have an aging squad that is about to be savagely broken up. They have likely done it this January in a hedge against the potential punishment associated with the 115 charges. They are going to have to take pain with these young players the same way we did when we built back over the past two years. There are no guarantees of rapid success there. These moves are not Haaland moves and there is no Fernandinho to Rodri-like handovers available for these kids.

Liverpool have three of their greats on the out as it stands. Virgil hasn't put pen to paper, Salah has said he's off (worth 60% of their goal production this season), and we all know Trent is going to Real Madrid.

They can't sell any of those players, so they can't cash out and buy replacements. They also lost £100m last season. I'm struggling to see how they rebuild with no money and an ownership group that has been trying to sell for three years. If Salah signs on, he's taking £400k a week over three years and we've all seen how that goes. It'll be the same for Virgil. The Premier League and genetics will have their wicked way in the end. Either way, their planning has not been good, they don't have heir apparent, Father Time will catch up and it will be like Manchester City. Their cycle has a max of 18 months left. They will never have a season this lucky again. Literally the only top team in the Premier League to avoid an ACL blowout in the last 18 months.

People don't want to hear it - but no team in the Premier League is better positioned than Arsenal to take over. Remember, we could still do something this season, we turned over a bigger deficit in 1998.

No team has more individual scorers this season than Arsenal (14). When we add more firepower this summer, stats like that will really pay hard. We have the best defense in the league and it's just coming into peak. No team has had less errors leading to goals than Arsenal. Our players, on average, are about 2 years off hitting their peak. We have 5-6 years of these guys playing the best football of their lives.

I've heard people say that our best players will leave if they don't get a Premier League this season. Says who? Salah has won two major trophies since he's been at Liverpool and he's never asked to leave. That's the same for all of their stars. Which Arsenal players look unhappy at the moment? Have you seen any leaks in the media? Of course not. Arsenal have something special going on right now, the players know it, the entire world knows it. As long as the team is competitive and KSE keeps giving proper contracts, I suspect we'll be ok for the next three seasons at the very least.

Let's go balls out for a moment - would you fear Real Madrid right now? I wouldn't. Would you fear Liverpool over two legs? Barcelona? PSG? Juve? I wouldn't. Which teams in the Champions League do you think would like to play Arsenal right now? Not many. The word is out. Arsenal sent a severe message on Sunday. These boys are men and they are ready to do damage. We have a pretty beastly attack even without Saka. There's no doubt we have the best defense in the world right now. Our system is hard to break down, it's hard to defend against, and it is competitive at the very highest level. How many more players have to go on podcasts to say it before you'll believe it? I just can't believe we turned around a Wolves game after going down to 10 men, then destroyed Man City, and all we're talking about is the transfer window and MLS having the cheek to mock Haaland. MLS was the villain after he was wrongly sent off, now he's too cocky… that's a lot of hate for an 18 year old and we're too busy complaining about our front office to notice. We need to get back to some of that victim mentality and dig in for the boys. Hopefully we'll get an unjust red card so we can unite again. Hold on… do I have football Munchausen's? Maybe. Maybe I like the red cards because I like the attention when I write about PGMOL reforms.

Back to tonight.

The League Cup now takes on a new look - Arsenal have 10 days off after this game. They have the chance to create history and become the first team EVER in the comp to overturn a 2-0 deficit. That's a tantalizing challenge after watching us drop the footballing equivalent of 'They Not Like Us' on Haaland on Sunday.

We know how Newcastle are going to play. It'll be a mid to low block. Loads of aggression. Not a lot ambition. They'll be all about catching us in transition, trying to get Isak on the ball so he can do Isak things. It'll be a pure survival 90 with the added twist of Eddie Howe being desperate to win a trophy to secure his job for another season under the watchful eye of a Sporting Director that doesn't want him there.

There's no question about the starting 11. It'll be out best players going out there to play a mini cup final. I suspect we might see a starting spot for Ethan after his incredible cameo in the week, but if it was Martinelli and Trossard again, could you blame Arteta? Both were really good.

This game represents momentum for the Dubai Trip. We're sailing up the beach in a good mood, but a little gust of positivity wind wouldn't go amiss. The only thing we absolutely can't see is an injury. When a transfer window shuts, it's always best to put a bet down on Kai Havertz pinging a hammy, Mathys Tel scoring a debut Hattrick, and Ollie Watkins scoring goal of the season. My heart can't take an injury tomorrow. Our season deserves a clean victory.

I'm excited. Feels like a free hit. No one is expecting the win. But if it lands, my word, will that feel sexy.

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