FRIDAY DEBRIEF

RASHFORD, FRAMING ARTETA, AND PALACE

Not a huge fan of the late night Saturday games, but this Crystal Palace event, under the lights at Selhurst Park, could be a fun one after the win in the week.

Mikel Arteta spent a chunk of the presser talking about his 5 years at Arsenal.

Things to get out of the way…

We need to win big trophies. Clubs exist for them. No one wants to be a bridesmaid too many times. Arteta isn’t at Arsenal to finish second, it’s pretty clear he is a ruthless competitor and he’s at Arsenal to restore it to its former glory.

That should not detract from the job he has done at Arsenal. It has been nothing short of incredible. There isn’t a serious counterpoint to this. Those that question his 5 years don’t really understand what they are talking about, nor do they grasp how hard the job has been. This Arsenal journey over the last 4 years (because year 1 was spent under the worst footballing director in our history) has been a case study in rebooting a dead club.

I could write 5000 words on this, but I don’t want to do that today, I just want to get to the core of what he’s done.

Brought pride back to the badge

Raised the standards to world class levels

Turned The Emirates into a noise machine

Given fans hope

Created a team that will compete for the biggest trophies year after year

The cherry on top is a trophy, but if you’re putting off enjoying the journey until that happens, I feel for you.