I’ve watched the first three of All or Nothing.
Arteta’s a bit odd, but no where near as odd as i was expecting. He clearly understands the game and has some good ideas. He cant draw for shit, but he didnt pull out any envelopes!
I do like Ramsdale too. Theyve followed him quite closely. Hes a decent lad.
Ha, when that story first came I specifically excluded Xhaka from consideration because there could never be anything mysterious about him getting booked.
Considering it was the 86th minute you’d probably have got better odds for him not being booked before that.
I hadnt thought of it like that. I think you’ve cracked the case.
I thought he was in over his head, but I’d have to say he seemed to find his footing last season. Punted Auba and it worked out. Will be interesting to see if Mikel can keep the momentum going. Bought a couple of Man City alums. Won’t be able to make excuses. Dark horse for Top Four. Let’s see how it opens tonight.
He’s done the really hard work of starting to right several years of dreadful decision making regarding squad development. It put him at serious short term risk of it blowing up in his face, but he’s mostly come out of the other side of it. I’m impressed with the work they did this summer and I think they are set up for a decent run better than they’ve been for years. He deserves credit for having the balls to do all of that, and navigating it without the wheels falling off. But he’s now in a position where his other capabilities as a manager/coach are now going to come to the forefront, and Im not convinced about those.
At worst I think he’s done great work to get Arsenal to a point where they can finally move forward. He just might find he’s done that hard work for the benefit of whomever comes after him.
Arsenal look to be an exciting young side. Saliba looked like a good player too - was that his Prem debut?
Progress this season should really be top four, especially after going so close last time. And therein lies the rub. Presumably the top five will be Liverpool, Man City, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal.
If only two of those London clubs finish top four, if one is to be Arsenal they will need to find some steel.
If things click with the new players I could see an scenario playing out where they’re arguably the third best side in the league on their day. Their squad is still desperately thin though, maybe only as deep as 15 players.
I watched the match defense is still shite will not make the T4
Conor Gallagher was Palace’s best player last season, he made the midfield tick. Huge adjustment without him.
Palce had chances to score and should have been two one up when Arsenal got their second.
I think Arsenal are still a way off being top three/four.
I’ve read we are keeping tabs on him, the closest statistically as Van Dijk across Europe last season and last nights showing you can see why. Not sure if he’s signed a new contract, otherwise it expires *2024
I mentioned after the chelsea preseason game he has an air of Virgil about him - The way he seems able to handle situations without having to break out of a stroll
There’s creativity and then there is just… weird.
Wouldn’t do it.
I drafted him for my fantasy league team purely based on your review of him. Watched him play for the first time yesterday, thought he was excellent. Thanks 
You have one job Mikel 
I was thinking, they are the only rival side that I wouldn’t hate to see win the title. Obviously, they still haven’t learned their lesson but I’m sure they will in time for their meeting with us.
They’ve made huge improvements, but I still wouldnt have their best XI as any better than the 4th best in the league (City, Us, Spurs - I’ve doubts over Spurs defenders, but am confident under Conte they’ll be solid). I think they are either a season or two of more growth from their younger players or a couple more good windows away from having realistically higher targets. For me whether they can finish top 4 will be based on how many games he can get out of his top 13 or so players, because there isnt much reliable quality available to him beyond that.
There are no title contenders apart from Liverpool and Man City. Neither of us have been at our best but we are still a million miles ahead of all the other teams in this league.
I think they have Everton next week. If Everton put the sort of shift in against Arsenal that they did against us, they might cause Arsenal some problems.
Given our own slow start to the season I don’t want to have too much of a go at them. Mind you, they did win the August Cup!