While we play Burnley, Everton and Palace in September Arsenal have Forest, Man City and Newcastle.
Going to be fun.
I’m glad we beat them. They had the better of the first half, we were much better second half, and it was a magical free kick, such a good hit.
Another day they might easily have won the points. Well, maybe. I’m not sure on the mentality. In the second half we kicked it up a clear notch and wanted to win the game. They looked like they were playing for a draw.
I couldn’t be happier with the way we go about our business. After the window I expect to see us improve further as we go.
A lot of the discussion is missing that they just didnt create anything. Their best opportunity was a snap shot from 20 yards that Ali saved comfortably. I think their next best opening was one late on where Eze chose to dive to try to win a pen rather than shoot from a not easy situation. We didnt do much creatively until the last 25 mins, but once we got into the position where we were able to move the ball we posed them real problems.
Had we not have won I think the argument I would have told myself was not that it was tight game that could have gone either way, but maybe more that if you leave it until the 30 mins to create anything against a side as good as that you may come up without a goal. But it never felt like a game we were losing.
There is something interesting Arne and Salah are doing this year where they are being incredibly positive about Arsenal to a degree you dont often see. Maybe it is that they are both unusually well spoke and gracious. But it feels like a tactic to hype pressure on them that “even the champions think Arsenal should be favourites this year” hoping…expecting…they wont respond well to it.
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I’ve noticed how gracious Slot has been toward them. It would be hilarious if some psychology is wrapped up in that. Arteta is so tightly wound that maybe Slot is killing him with kindness?
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During the recent PFA awards they were all standing on stage and when Rice said something about feeling positive about making a step forward this year and winning a title, Mo immediately shot Virgil a cheeky glance (Virgil, listen to this fucking guy. Isnt he funnt? We should make a point of telling them we think they are REALLY good and probably should win. They will probably believe it).
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Not as favourable a run of fixtures as it looks for us. Palace a tricky team - though the impact of their departure(s 
) remains to be seen. We all know how the Ev game will be refereed. Plus we’ve got a game against Atletico in between there as well.
City have looked weak as piss so far, Forest managed to capitulate to West Ham, and Newcastle haven’t won a game and won’t play like they did against us.
Still, we should be coming out of that run of fixtures better off. But no sure thing
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Love your enemy/opponent…til they go crazy. 
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Kiwior out, Hincapie in.
9 defenders if you include Zinchenko, big deal. People present it like they have 20 defenders.
Their quality and depth in defence is how it should be really.
Lesson: look at first team squads at the end of transfer windows. We have the example in our own garden.
Fixed
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Salibi has played 76 out of the last 78 according to yesterday’s commentary
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Finished the window with 8 defenders, 2 players per position, average individual worth €52m (no player below €30m), average age 23.9.
Very well assembled.
At first I wouldn’t say they’re so young, but it’s a compliment to them.
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I wonder if they’ll let Eze play with the freedom he had at Palace. That would be a big upgrade for them. He’s got a bit of Coutinho about him
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Problem is they seem stuck to a rigid set up that I very much doubt can win a title but we will see.
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Definite upgrade
Double it. I could see Arteta use him the same way Pep used Grealish.
So basically ruin him.
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Eze is massively inconsistent. For all his undeniable talent.
He’s an improvement as a backup to Saka but Arteta will sap any creativity out of him with his multi billion stoke style of football
Eze is not backup to Saka, Eze will likely start in the left half-space. Madueke is Saka’s backup.
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We’ll see. I know Hincapie has his fans, but Kiwior’s main fault is he wasn’t as good as Saliba or Gabriel. But Hincapie almost certainly isn’t either.
This strikes me as a possible upgrade, but the bigger advantage is they moved on someone who while an effective backup had become stale with an acceptance he was never going to challenge for a starting spot. I think that sort of move can be important for the team dynamic, but in terms of personnel it’s still got to play out to see if he’s actually a better player.
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I seem to recollect that Madueke was more of a LW in his first two matches for Arsenal. He played right wing against us. Probably changes now that Eze is in.