I can't believe we won that game against the Hammers. Pre-Arteta, we would not have. I can't explain why we were so flat. Well, three points.
The kids were more than all right at the King Power, and we earned the right to go to Anfield a few days after we play them there in the league and try to beat them to progress. I like the way Arteta won't write off any competition. He understands that winning is a habit, and so is losing.
I'm not going to get carried away. This was Fulham, the club that bettors think most likely to be relegated. The Cottagers were flat and lacked a cutting edge; their defense was not well organized. But it was a comfortable win. Laca, Auba, and new boy Gabriel scored. Willian got two assists. Everyone played well. Elneny and Holding got a run-out and performed. Leno was called upon to save a goal early. And most important, we got three points.
Everyone knew we'd desperately want six points from the first two games, and would have expected us to get them. There's a run of tough games after that. Let's see where we are mid-October.
Martinez looks to be leaving. 20M pounds is fair, and he'll be making a lot more playing for Villa. Good luck to him.
Once again, I did not watch this realtime. Maybe the Shield is considered by some as a meaningless tune-up for the season, but Arsenal hasn't taken it that way and I don't either. It's minor silverware but it's silverware.
Yes, this one could have gone either way in normal time, but we got the PKs and they were all excellent (even the miss was close and unstoppable had it been a foot lower). I love how the young guys stepped up and buried their kicks.
I'm very hopeful that this season sees us climbing the table, and maybe we can win a cup or two as well. Our transfer business is fine: Sokratis out, Magalhaes in. Torreira looks as though he will get a chance to start for Fiorentina, and we'll have Ceballos back for another year. Don't ask me what the problem is with Auba. Maybe he's insisting Stan rehire the staff he canned last month. I really hope we keep Hector and AMN. Who could we buy who'd help us more this season and in future seasons? Lacazette deserves a chance to star somewhere; he's not going to be the main man in London anymore. I honestly think Eddie or Martinelli would score as many goals in that position. I do love Alexandre; he works hard and frequently outmuscles larger defenders. But he's not scoring at center forward.
