BOU 0 - 4 ARS: A Good Weekend

 The only blemish for me was Notts County's going down 4-5 to Colchester.  I will have to see the highlights of that one.

The Gunners dominated the Cherries after the opening minutes, in which the home side was lively.  Arsenal cut through the Bournemouth defense time and again.  We got two PKs for just the eighth time since the Premier League started, both obvious.  Bournemouth never looked like scoring.  Saka, the default penalty taker, handed the ball to Odegaard for the first and then to Kai Havertz for the second.  Arteta had no input, but was delighted with the team-building effect of this unselfish gesture.  It meant a lot to Kai, who was mobbed by his mates after he put the ball in the net.

Man City lost, and nine man Liverpool was defeated by the Spuds, meaning Arsenal trails City by a point, level on points with Tottenham with 'Pool one point behind.  City comes to the Emirates next weekend.  Early days.  But time may be running out already for Chelsea, who desperately need to win some games.  Man U is also massively underperforming.

Injuries can always derail a season, but so far Arsenal is coping with the loss of important players like Martinelli and Jesus for several games.  Arteta has the squad he wants now.  It's deep, versatile, and playing well together.  Smith-Rowe is easing back, Tomiyasu looks like his old self (i.e. very good), and Jesus is nearing 100%.  Saka took a knock and should sit out Lens on Tuesday.

I wonder about the goalkeeper situation.  I thought Ramsdale would start today.  Raya's distribution hasn't been much better than Ramsdale's.  Well, it's all working out so far.

CP 1 MU 0

 A bad day for both Manchesters, City also having lost.  CP defended well the whole game, and held on, despite several close calls.  The first winning result against the big six in a couple of years.  Maybe we can even dream of  a top six finish. If we can avoid any more last minute collapses. MU crushed us 3-0 just three days earlier in the week, in the EFCL, so I was hoping for just a draw.     

BRE 0 - 1 ARS (League Cup): Heartening Defensive Performance

 Tomiyasu shone in a sterling defensive effort against the lively Bees.  Reiss Nelson tucked away a great chance off a terrible backpass purloined by Eddie Nketieh in the 8th minute.  I did not see the game--it was not televised even in Britain--but from all accounts it had a lot of action.  The Gunners dominated the first half but Brentford pushed us to the limit in the second half.  It was one of those games that could have been 3-3 if the keepers and defenders hadn't made some spectacular plays.

The best part was that we won without so many important players.  Rice, Saka, Saliba, and Martinelli weren't on the team, and Zinchenko, Jesus and Odegaard came on for just a few minutes near the end.  Charles Sagoe Jr, a 19 year old making his first appearance in a senior game, played in Saka's position.  Emile Smith Rowe finally got a start and looked quite good.  Reiss Nelson, the game winner, was valuable at both ends.  Jakub Kiwior was solid in the back.  Ramsdale was superb, making an astonishing save that Raya would not (IMO) have touched, and distributing well.  He should get the start this weekend, but we shall see.

On to the fourth round.  Arsenal has not won this competition for 30 years.  Wenger had no respect for it.  I hope Arteta targets this bit of silverware.  It's a great start.

ARS 2 - 2 TOT: A Fair Result

 It was a messy game with all the goals coming from mistakes.  The Gunners did not have the cutting edge they displayed against PSV, and Spuds curtailed their swashbuckling ways out of pragmatism.  Several players were replaced due to injuries, I hope minor, and that may be the big story in the end.  Man City was the winner of this game, as two of their closest rivals remained unbeaten but dropped points.  Liverpool is still on their tail.

I should note that Notts County is in first place again in League 2, with Wrexham (the other team promoted from the National League) just a couple points back in fifth.  

ARS 4 - 0 PSV: One Happy Return

 From all accounts (I saw only the highlights, having been on the road), Eindhoven was naive and tried to play the Gunners straight up.  The result was a thorough whomping, starting early and continuing throughout the game.  Individual brilliance was on full display, as all four finishes were excellent.  Team play?  Check.  Solid defense?  You know it.  I'll be surprised if PSV tries this at home.  All three of our forwards scored, as well as MOTM Martin Odegaard.  Jesus was in full flow, and looks fit for the Spuds game.  Trossard slotted in for Martinelli and we didn't lose anything by it.  Smith Rowe got some minutes, and a huge ovation from the supporters when he came in.  I suspect we will need him to step up multiple times as the season progresses.  Reiss Nelson was very lively after replacing Trossard.  Tomiyasu played 35 minutes.  It was all good.

I don't know what to make of the goalkeeping situation.  Ramsdale will have to be disappointed to have been usurped by Raya so early in the season as first choice between the sticks, especially after not having done anything wrong.  Arteta has been very forthright about his ideas, saying that he treats every game as different, and will play the keeper who he thinks is best suited to help win it.  Raya's stats show that he is the better long range and short range passer, which Arteta values very highly.  Ramsdale, it seems to me, is clearly the better shot stopper, but Raya has so far been more assured on crosses.  It looks like a changing of the guard, but there is no way Ramsdale will be sitting on the bench all season.  He will get games, and Arteta said there will even be times when he replaces a keeper mid-game for tactical reasons.  We have two top keepers who'd start for most other EPL clubs, so why not?  The competition will make both of them even better.  They're professionals and are not going to start whining about playing time.  As Ramsdale said when Raya was brought on, Ramsdale had come in and replaced good, established keepers, so why would he think it couldn't happen to him too?  I doubt this arrangement would work for more than one season, but if anyone could make it work, it's Arteta.

Anyway, it's a rousing start to our UCL campaign, and a great confidence booster heading into Sunday's derby with the Lilywhites.

EVE 0 - 1 ARS: Finally, a Win at Goodison

 The weekend started poorly.  My blogmate noted the horror Palace experienced.  Man City and Spuds won despite going behind early.  Liverpool won.  Man U lost badly to Brighton at Old Trafford, taking the shine off ten Hag's success last year.  (What is wrong with United?  Antony, Greenwood, Sancho--the culture there is not healthy.)  But all is well, since Mikel Arteta's men managed to break through Everton's low block in the end via a wonderful strike from Trossard.  I'm traveling, so I watched the game later on the club site.  I thought everyone played their part.  Eddie had an off day, but everyone else was good.  Raya started instead of Ramsdale, which I don't think is a problem.  We have Champions' League on Wednesday and the North London Derby Saturday.  Rotation is normal, though Arteta is taking a flexible approach.  Raya was fine, though he had little to do that was at all taxing.  The bad news is that Martinelli pulled a hamstring.  This may open the door for Emile Smith-Rowe; we shall see.  Reiss Nelson is eager to play as well.

Aston Villa 3 CP 1

 Uuugh. A 1-0 lead, late in the game.  In ten minutes CP managed to find a way to lose,  3-1.  

ARS 3 - 1 MUN: Great Game, Right Result

 Both sides played well in a fascinating contest.  Arsenal had the better of the play all in all and deserved the three points.  VAR denied each side a go-ahead goal after 1-1 at the half, and it wasn't until the 94th minute that Rice slammed a shot goalwards and Jonny Evans deflected it past his keeper.  Jesus put in a late breakaway to add some gloss to the scoreline.  Havertz is still not doing as much as he should, and Saka had another poor game.  But the squad got the job done.

Notts County is top of the League 2 table!  Okay, they're only six games in.  But clearly County is comfortable and in little danger of dropping out of the league.

I Miss Rob Holding Already

 My favorite Gunner is actually Rob Holding.  He's not an important player for us anymore, but he's just so nice that you have to love him.  Crystal Palace snapped him up for 1M pounds, with another 2.5M in "add-ons" (whatever they are).  It makes sense for all concerned.  Rob gets to stay in London, Arsenal trims the wage bill, and Palace gets a solid defender who will settle them in back--and a great guy in the dressing room.  Rob was Bolton's player of the year when Arsenal bought him, and he's played about 160 games for us, including a couple FA Cup final wins.  I think he'll be a very good addition for the Eagles.

In other transfer news, we got around 35M pounds for Balogun, and loaned out Tierney and Tavares.  Pepe and Cedric are still on the books, but maybe a Saudi team will come up with a few million quid for Pepe before their window closes in a few weeks.