ARS 2 - 2 FUL: Courageous Cottagers Grab a Point from Mistake-Prone Gunners

 I have said it before, but I think this game proves that the Partey at right back idea is a poor one.  And Kiwior starting?  Nketiah on the bench?  Arteta cost Arsenal two points.  He's so damned stubborn.  He insists on starting Havertz, who has done nothing.  This is the third game he's started Partey at right back and Gabriel on the bench.  We could have lined up in a more secure fashion and worn down Fulham, but no, we showed them no respect and dropped two points.

The players contributed to this disaster, of course.  Saka's horrible giveaway, combined with Ramsdale's poor positioning and Partey's vacating his position, led to the first goal; and Zinky's giveaway when we were a goal and a man up led to the corner that wasn't cleared and cost the win.  Credit to Fulham.  They earned it.  But the first three games show that Arteta's not getting the most out of this squad, and if he does not wise up soon, he'll lose the players' and fans' faith.

Notts County won, anyway.

CP 0 - 1 ARS: Official Takes Center Stage

 There was a lot of excellent football on display today at Selhurst Park, but the officiating was dreadful.  Granted, it wasn't an easy game for David Coote (I don't remember that name), but I thought he got a lot wrong.  As with other games this young season, VAR was not much help.  The penalty awarded as the Palace keeper came out and tripped Nketieh was harsh, in my view.  Thomas Partey made Nketiah's run off a free kick an uncontested one by blocking a Palace defender, which would have been fine had he not used his arm to hold him back.  And the foul was one I always hate:  the attacker touches the ball, and in this case it would have gone straight out, knowing that the keeper has committed himself and he need do nothing more than fall down as his feet are taken out from under him.  Then there were the two yellow cards to Tomiyasu, neither of which was warranted.  That transferred the momentum to Palace, and they put the Gunners under immense pressure.  Eze went down after Partey made contact with his calf, and while I thought it would have been harsh to award a penalty for that, it was more of a penalty (IMO) than the one on Nketieh.  All in all, the referee influenced this game as much as the teams did.  But who am I to argue with the officials?  It's a valuable three points from a really tough game.  

Arteta has Partey play "right back" again, with similar results to the Forest game.  I didn't think Partey really added much to the attack but his abandonment of his defensive position gave Palace too much room to work with on counters.  Havertz was not doing the business out there, although he was working hard.  Rice was superb throughout.  CP's Mitchell did a great job keeping Saka quiet.  Nketieh was very good, I thought, and Martinelli dangerous.  It was good to see Zinchenko come in and play well near the end.  Apparently Arteta has found his penalty taker in Odegaard.  That was a fine PK.

I have to say that Palace looked very good.  they played the game they wanted to play and had the officiating been better I don't know what would have happened.  The squad is young, athletic, and talented.  When Olise is fit they'll be even better.

Spain Reign

 Spain deserved their 1-0 victory over England in Sydney.  They looked the more dangerous squad for most of the game.  The goal came from superb play down the Spanish left side after England's right back Lucy Bronze unwisely tried to carry the ball through the midfield and lost it.  The ball was quickly sent into the area Bronze had vacated (she was walking back, a cringeworthy look she won't want to watch videos of) and Olga Carmona raced up from her left back position to overload that part of England's defense, and she lined up and first-timed a marvelous pass into the far bottom corner with enough pace to beat the keeper--any keeper, really.  Before that, England had a shot hit the bar, and they had some good chances later, but Spain had 60% possession and more shots on goal for the game, despite England's efforts for well over an hour to equalize.

The USWNT coach resigned, and he has to take his share of the blame for the Americans' lackluster results.  I haven't really liked any of our coaches after Sundhage.  The job should be a very attractive one and we can surely do better.

Gunners Hit Target, Eagles Fly

 No Zaha, no problem for Crystal Palace as they raid the Blades' house and come away with three points.  Visiting Forest made it interesting late, but Arsenal's two goals in the first half meant Forest's second half goal was mere consolation.  Newcastle is top of the league on goal difference after their 5-1 demolition of Villa.

They're off

 and Manchester City takes off on top of the league with an opening win 3-0 over Burnley.  We will begin to see what has changed soon.  

Gunners De-Americanized, Weird Goalie Setup

 Matt Turner was sold to Nottingham Forest for £10M, a fair price for a 29 year old international starter.  I hope he has a great season for them, after Saturday anyway.  Auston Trusty went for £5M (a small profit) about a week ago.  The only US player left is Folarin Balogun (born in New York to Nigerian parents and raised in England), and as soon as someone comes up with £35M he'll be gone.  That's a lot of shirts we won't be selling, guys.

Arsenal would not have let Turner go had they not secured the services of a top quality #2, and they certainly got one with David Raya, Brentford's #1.  He's joining on a one year loan for £3M with an option to buy for £27M.  The deal is structured that way, presumably, to avoid Financial Fair Play problems, in view of our spending in the last few transfer windows.  Ramsdale says he's cool with this.  After all, he says, he's come in and replaced other starting GKs and he knows it could happen to him.  But he is probably confident he'll be the league starter, and Raya will be the cup keeper.  What with the odd injury to one or the other, it means that we have great depth in a vital position.  Aaron and David are not just good, they are two of the best.  

ARS 1 - 1 MCI (4-1 on PKs) in Community Shield

 A late late Trossard deflected goal got us to PKs, and de Bruyne hit the crossbar and Rodri was saved, meaning Odegaard, Trossard, Saka, and Viera could wrap up the win early from the spot, which they did.  It may not mean a lot in the end, but it was an encouraging outing.  All three of our new signings started and played well.  Timber is a revelation.  He was at left back, inverting as Zinchenko did last season, and did a real job.  Rice played with Partey, as a "left 8," and it was OK.  Havertz was our central striker and did well.

Auston Trusty has been sold to Sheffield United (for a small profit) in a deal that suits all parties admirably.  Inter Milan is getting a little desperate for a striker and they really want Folarin Balogun.  That ought to net us about £35M.  It seems that we'll spend most of that on David Raya to be our cup keeper, leaving Matt Turner surplus to requirements.  We shall see.  I believe the Lokonga situation is unresolved.  We still need to offload at least another half dozen players, either on loan or sold outright.

Arrogance Gets Its Comeuppance as USWNT Crashes Out

 Sweden played good enough defense for 120 minutes to deny the dominant Americans, and in the penalty shootout, three US players managed to waste their PKs.  Rapinoe had a chance to win it and blew it, skying her attempt, and Sophia Smith also had a chance, banging it off the post.  Naeher saved one and scored one, and nearly kept Sweden's winner out--it crept in by a millimeter.

Do you remember the promo ads aired by the networks?  US players were trotted out to tell the world "Good luck" trying to oust them from the tournament.  Well, cue the pratfall and laughter.  I know the players didn't write those lines, but there is no way in the world I would have smirked arrogantly on camera and declared my team unbeatable.  It was fitting that Rapinoe, who has made herself the center of attention for a decade, was the one who choked this one away.  Her wry smile after her awful miss said it all.  She doesn't really care, not the way the others do.  I trust she won't be getting endorsements so much now.

Andonovski has to go.  He's not the only issue, but he has not got the best out of these players.  I don't understand how Alex Morgan always starts up top, for instance.  She was a dud in every game.  

I'll be getting more sleep now.  I suppose I'll root for Australia from here on.