ARSENAL, MONSTROUS WHOEVER STARTS
This will be a quick post today, but had to nip in to weigh in on a very fun game at Portman Road.
Arsenal were just really good. The only player who retained his place in the starting 11 was Big Gabi. The rest of the team was a selection of our finest impactors, buttressed by two of the best teenage prospects on the planet right now in Max Dowman and Marli Salmon.
Max was sensational on the final actions front, scoring two really nice goals. His first goal was trademark Max. He ran at the Ipswich defence, deft movements along the way, making sure the defenders were on their toes, he jinked to the right, made some space and rolled the ball across the keeper. His second was another tidy finish with some great footwork in the box, some perfect timing, and a lovely finish under pressure.
He is the man. The player we hoped for. The best prospect in the Premier League.
Madueke also had a good game. He had his rattlebag of tricks, but he did the incredible… he actually finished. And the finish was very good. He rasped an outside-of-the-boot shot into the inside netting across goal. Very spectacular. If he could combine the ‘oh he looks very good on a comp’ schtick with actual output, he’d be incredible.
Bruno capped a good day at the office with an assist for Merino who smashed in a great finish off the post.
The whole performance was fun. It was a little loose at times. But most of the players looked like they wanted to be there. The one-touch football, the directness of our driving runs, and plenty of shots on target. I can’t quite put my finger on what has made Arsenal suddenly decide they want to entertain this season… but we all see it, right? Mikel seems to agree…
I'm really pleased with a lot of things that we've done tonight – the way we attacked the game, how dominant, fluent and aggressive we were right from the beginning to try to influence the results. We scored two very early goals that gave us a great platform for the game, and individually some big performances as well. Some debuts tonight, which is great to see as well. So, we take a lot of positives from the night.
Everything is just less industrial. We’re not a can-making factory now, it feels like the machine is producing Ferrari parts. Everything is more white glove. There’s a love for the craft that wasn’t there for large parts of last season. Is it just a weight lifted? Is it more fit players? Is it tactical?
I don’t know, but it’s joyful and it’s what we all wanted. We just don’t stop winning. Everyone is stepping up. Even the kids. Marli Salmon playing in defence was a little bit of a worry. How would he shape up against a Premier League team who have already banked 6 points.
Quite well. He was actually brilliant. How brilliant? 100% pass completion rate brilliant. He stood up to roughhousing, he didn’t panic, he dropped 9 defensive contributions, won 8 duels… it was not the sort of thing you expect from someone who is 17 years old. I drink bourbon older than him. Just makes you see how high the levels are. When Konsa is ready to say goodbye, he’ll be taking over from him. Someone even made the horrible suggestion that when Saliba goes to Madrid for £100m, he’ll be next in line. Sorry, did I kill the mood?
How about I kill it even more… Viktor Gyokeres, my word, he was dreadful. He did hit the target once, with a very, very poorly struck shot. Outside that, he was terrible. Two touches in the Ipswich box, 69% pass completion rate… there was one pass so bad the whole team seemed to shrug. Below are the shrugs.
He won a single duel out of four - for context, the Ipswich striker was involved in 11 duels. These numbers aren’t a shock, but what still surprises me is how he just lets bigger players subdue him. He can’t shake them off. It’s so bad now that he kind of gives up. He looked so disinterested last night, like he’s done with his lot. He stopped making runs. It’s like he’s had enough. I can’t stand to watch him at the best of times, but in sad boi mode, it’s even more infuriating. Viktor started against Napoli and Ipswich, played 163 minutes, in games Arsenal had 38 shots… and his contribution on that total was… 1 shot. Are we not at the point where we have to be starting Merino as the 9 if we need it?
Just to cleanse the palate, can we just take a spoonful of Mikel Merino sorbet? So refreshing. What a player. What a leader. What a difference maker. He created 4 chances, scored a banger goal. He looks to have shaken off some of those early-season cobwebs. Arteta was effusive!
He’s unbelievable. First of all, he's one of the most intelligent players that I've seen and I've worked with. Then the personality is just full of... I don't know, he just wants to give for everybody. He thinks about everything, he thinks about everybody. And on top of that, he has qualities that are unique in football and in our team, his capacity to arrive in the box, he's capable of occupying different places, to play in different positions, to link play with people. And as a midfielder, the ability that he has to score goals like tonight is a different one that we've seen lately, but another incredible one.
So, 7 wins on the bounce. Quite the start. If we do the business against high-scoring Brighton this weekend, that’ll be some start after a crazy season last year, and a World Cup that blitzed players’ health!
Arsenal are the real deal. This form won’t last. We are going to have bad moments. But my word, enjoy this type of play while you can! This is going to be a very competitive season at the very least. x
P.S. If you want a joyful On The Whistle, get this in your system right now.