Arsenal 3 - 1 Tottenham (and 3-0 over Wimbledon); DC United 4 - 2 Cincinnati; Notts County No Longer Invincible

 The appetizer for today's feast was the inevitable pummeling of third tier Wimbledon by our second string in the League Cup.  It wasn't hugely impressive, but the outcome was never in doubt.  Martinelli and Nketiah were dangerous, and the latter got the third goal with a delicious backheel that had both placement and power.  Partey was our only regular starter on the field at kickoff, a clear message that we were resting the regulars for the NLD (that's North London Derby to those unfamiliar with English football, in which North London's two Premier League teams--Arsenal and Tottenham--clash).  

The Tottenham game was virtually over at the half, as the Spuds failed to mark our mids and were all over the place when we were on the attack.  There were encouraging signs that the offense is starting to click.  The Gunners beat the press all first half, moved the ball rapidly into dangerous areas, and finished when required.  The second half was not as good.  Spurs did not quit, and Arsenal ceded possession for long stretches.  Kane could have had a couple goals, but missed, and a foul on him just inside our penalty area was not called.  I'm sure that was because the referee had not pointed to the spot a minute or so before after Gabriel was barged to the ground from behind in their area.  He figured he was not going to call them unless they were obvious.  Tottenham's goal was nice too.  The game was a good watch for the most part.

Aubameyang looks to be rounding into form again.  Saka, Smith Rowe, and Odegaard behind him were superb.  Xhaka and Partey bossed the midfield, though Xhaka left the game after being injured (accidentally) on the play where Spurs scored.  The defenders were solid; I really like the new boy Tomiyasu.  Ramsdale in goal was great, and made at least two great saves.  The players were very supportive of each other throughout.  This result means that we're now level with Spurs on points and in tenth place.  Three games ago, they were in first and we were dead last.

I'm looking forward to my co-author's account of the Brighton-Palace derby tomorrow.

DC United is in decent shape to make the playoffs after a demolition of Cincinnati.  They earned a four goal lead and then lost focus, allowing a couple consolation goals.  With six of the last nine games at home, where they have a good record, it's reasonable to hope for a postseason, though probably a short one.

County finally lost, to Altrincham 1-0.  I really thought they'd be more dominant in the National League (England's fifth tier).

Burnley 0 - 1 Arsenal

 It's one-nil to the Arsenal for the second week running.  Burnley did their usual lumping it into the penalty area and seeing what happens.  They got too many corners, all of them dealt with well by our defense.  Burnley outhustled us most of the game, picking up the second balls and most of the 50-50s.  But the Gunners showed the most danger, I thought, and we could have gotten more than the great free kick from Odegaard.  Aubameyang who looked off the pace.  Pepe was impressive, and our mids did well.  But Gabriel may have been the player of the game.

I was outraged by the penalty called on the field by Taylor, but fortunately it was VAR to the rescue.  White's awful backpass was gotten to by Ramsdale just ahead of Tarkovsky, who of course made sure he tripped himself over our keeper.  (I hate that.)  We had a young lineup out there, with Auba playing grandpa at 32.  There were definite signs of the offense coming together, but there were too many poor passes that squandered possession.  All in all, a solid performance that deserved the three points.  The Clarets did not do enough to merit anything.

Notts County also won 1-0, and they're at 15 points (out of a possible 21) and in third or fourth place in the National League/

USA women romped 9-0 over Paraguay in a friendly, with Carli Lloyd enjoying one of her last few games before retirement (she's 39) by scoring five goals.

DC United is hanging on to a playoff spot.  They need more wins to make it official.  Ola Kamara scored all three goals in a 3-0 win over Chicago this week.  Kamara now leads MLS with 14 goals.  He's a Norwegian international (born in Oslo of an immigrant father) who's had about nine clubs in maybe five countries in his 31 years.

Arsenal 1 - 0 Norwich

 We got just one scrappy goal from our dominant display, but it was enough to get us off the bottom of the table against fellow cellar-dwellers the Canaries.  The game was not televised here, so I saw only the highlights.  We still lack that cutting edge, but the new boys Tomiyasu, White, Sambi, and Ramsdale were all solid.  Maitland-Niles played in the middle and did fine.  I'm happy we didn't loan or sell him, considering our midfield issues.  

Burnley must be disappointed they won't see Xhaka on our team when we play them (I think he's ruled out for three games for his straight red against City), given that he presented them with beaucoup points last year due to similar dumb decisions.

Honduras 1 - 4 USA

 I had to get up early today, so I turned off the game last night after Honduras scored.  To that point, the US looked pretty bad.  I figured we'd lose by a couple goals and be in a hole in qualifying.  When I got up, I checked the score and was delighted to see that there was a comprehensive comeback and the US is back on schedule with 5 points from their first three games.  They'll need to improve to assure qualification, and I think they can.  It was a young squad Berhalter put out there--the youngest ever for a qualifier--and they should play better together as the octagonal proceeds.  The Canada and El Salvador games, and the first half of this last one, showed the USMNT at their ineffective worst all over the field.  We were lucky not to lose to Canada, actually.  The players at Berhalter's disposal should make the team a juggernaut when almost all of them are healthy.  Let's hope that happens. Here's a pirate video.

Extended highlights.

USA 1 - 1 Canada

 When Greg Berhalter was a defender for the US national team, I dreaded it when he started.  Something bad usually happened, and he was often part of it.  When he was appointed head coach, I groaned.  But up to today, he was doing OK.  That went out the window with this discouraging draw.  Canada had the answers to the US's questions most of the game, and when we finally sliced them open for our goal, we didn't make any effort to keep the lead.  Canada's left winger got behind Yedlin and crossed to the sole Canadian in the box, unmarked by any of the three Americans lounging around in the vicinity.  We were lucky not to lose, actually, as their substitute right winger Buchanan smoked our tired defenders more than once to lay in perfect crosses that no Canadian felt like tapping in.

Yes, tired defenders, partly because Berhalter forgot he could substitute, until about the 82nd minute.  Herdman outcoached him by a wide margin.  Based on what I saw today, it doesn't much matter whether we qualify.  This squad is just not good enough, at least under Berhalter's leadership.  What an awful display.  The Nashville crowd booed lustily at game's end, and they were right to do so.

El Salvador 0 - 0 USA

 This was a fairly entertaining game.  El Salvador looked decent, and were well organized.  The US had the better chances, primarily from a couple of headers from close to goal, and looked more dangerous over the 90 minutes.  But the home side had their moments.  They say that a point on the road is good enough, but this was an opportunity missed.  The US is definitely not guaranteed to win all their home games, so they will need to get three points at a couple of their weaker opponents, and la Azul y Blanco can be classified that way.  We host Canada on Sunday and got to Honduras Wednesday.  Anything less than 5 points after three games would put the USMNT in a hole.

Transfer Moves

 I know nothing about this Tomiyasu guy we paid 16M pounds for today, except that he plays right back and can play center back, and he's 22 years old.  Getting Odegaard was very good.  Ramsdale is a good keeper, and we needed backup for Leno.  Lokonga has already shown himself to be one of our better players, and looks to be a bargain.  We've offloaded (read: paid to go away) Willian, sold Runarsson, and loaned out several other players.  We sold Willock for decent money.  We're keeping Maitland-Niles, which I like.  Bellerin is going to Spain.  I wish we'd called Saliba back from his loan spell, but instead we extended it, which I really don't like.  No one wants Kolasinac and Palace wouldn't pony up money for Nketiah.  Whatever else we fans can say about the Kroenkes, we can't say they didn't spend some money.  Now all Arteta has to do is manage a lot better than he has and win some football games.

The international break comes at a good time.  We can integrate the new boys into the squad and ideally the coaching staff can turn our defenders into players who can avoid giving up easy goals, our midfielders into players who can keep and move the ball, and our attackers into players who can actually score goals.  They're doing none of that now.