Tag: Gabriel

Ødegaard shutting me up (Arsenal – Bournemouth Reaction)

I’m not sure how to react or act to Arsenal right now. After the first three weeks of the season, I usually have countless things to complain about Arsenal by now but I have got nothing. I am what the adults would say, “in the mud”. 3 games and 3 wins from the Gunners to start the season and at the moment we are Premier League Champions. Arteta put out the same squad that has started the season and they did not let him down with a 3-0 thrashing of newly promoted Bournemouth. Easy game, easy win, and easy weekend for everyone supporting this cursed club.

THOUGHTS ON THE GAME:

  1. Gabi Jesus changes everything. Comparing him to Lacazette last season is not fair to the Frenchman. Gabi runs, he passes, he passes then run, he can play with his back towards the goal then runs forward. It’s just a sight to behold. What he did for the first goal to bring the ball down while shrugging off a defender and then to evade several defenders before laying it off to Martinelli is just outstanding. He also picked up an assist on the second goal and had a goal overturned due to a tight offside call. He’s been more than we all could imagine, he’s been absolutely perfect. I love him

2. Ødegaard shutting me the hell up. With Arsenal getting off to a flying start to the season, I felt some players were not quite at it from the start and Ødegaard was one of them for me. I expected more from him and then today happened, and he shut me up quickly and well. Two goals to get this account started this season with an assist as well that was tightly overturned to GJ9. To be fair, Bournemouth displayed optional defending in the first half, which gave Ø so much space to operate. He will obviously have to keep it up against the big boys but couldn’t ask more from him today.

3. Saliba is perfect. There is nothing more I could say about this kid. Anything more and I’d get in trouble with my girlfriend. He’s an absolute rock at the moment at the back. He’s composed, he’s tidy, he’s strong and he’s only 21. And to top it all off, he pulls off an absolutely ridiculous goal with his weaker foot in the top corner. No idea where the hell that came from but I’d see it every week no problem.

4. Bournemouth are not good. They got ran around by City last weekend and after watching today, that makes total sense. They were at home and you’d expect them to come out sort of like Fulham against Liverpool. It was nothing close. They sat back, let Arsenal play around with the ball and just like that, they found themselves 2-0 down quickly and could never recover. They offered no resistance to the Arsenal midfield and defense which let them pick out passes and holes between the lines. Just an abysmal performance and has relegation candidate written all over.

5. Arsenal still needs a proper test. I won’t even utter any words that resemble Arsenal challenging for the title. But….. we do look like Top 4 candidates. You can only win against who you play and after the Leicester defeat today, our strength in schedule looks suspect. But…. Arsenal teams in the past would have gotten 4/9 points after these first 3 games and we all know that. I’ll take the wins when I can but I still got my eyes out for when we play the big boys.

6. Our depth is crazy right now. For us to be able to bring on Tomiyasu, Tierney and ESR from the bench is wild. If things go our way here and there, we do look like we have a proper team that can challenge for the Top 4 and the Europa League. I still hate the Europa League and that we are in it, but I’d rather give our squad players more playing time to keep the morale up as the season goes on.

7. I am still not over with how last season ended. I finished the Arsenal: All or Nothing documentary and I have nobody but myself to blame. I knew it would piss me off to see us choke the season away in a documentary format and it did more than that. To just see the player’s reactions to the games in the locker room and at training just ticked me off. Just lifeless chokers they were man. I won’t question the manager and the team for not caring but after rewatching how flat we were against Spurs and Newcastle, it’s hard to argue otherwise with so much at stake. They just need to win the title this season to make up for it. We have Fulham at home next week, 3 points and nothing else.

Featured image credits: Reuters

Twitter credits: NBC Sports

Arsenal 2022/2023 Preview (Defenders) – Saliba might be the best defender in the world

OUTLOOK: Going into this season, I was somewhat worried about the defenders/injuries that Arsenal was carrying into the season, but a French blessing in the shape of a William Saliba fell into our lap and now I can’t be more excited to see what our back line looks like with him. Despite the injuries to Tomiyasu and Tierney coming into this season, the arrival of Saliba has pushed Ben White out to RB with Tomiyasu out which affords the ability to not have to play Cédric. Saliba-Gabriel have created a formidable duo that looks as good as any in England especially given their age profiles. Zinchenko looks to have the left-back spot now with Tierney struggling to cope with injuries. Through the Sevilla and Chelsea friendlies to go along with the win against Palace, I imagine we keep this back 4 intact til things break down but you have to love the depth and flexibility we have right now when everybody is back, a huge problem we had last year that messed with my sanity.

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TOP OF THE LEAGUE

A year ago, Arsenal opened the Premier League up with a 2-0 loss to Brentford which unquestionably made me want to end everything. Today, the boys opened the Premier League again and showed out. We fought through a tough Crystal Palace team to nab the 2-0 win and help maintain my sanity to start the season. There was a positive aura around the Arsenal squad heading into the season with an undefeated preseason record as well as the smooth transition with all of our signings, none more-so than my Brazilian hero Gabriel Jesus. I wasn’t feeling great going into the match as the last time we went to Selhurst Park, we were emasculated and I haven’t recovered.

PREMATCH: Arteta selected starting XI he selected against Sevilla and Chelsea (Ramsdale – Ben White – Saliba – Gabriel – Zinchenko – Thomas – Xhaka – Ødegaard – Saka – Martinelli – Saka). Tierney made it back into the squad but looks like he is in the outside looking in with the arrival of Zinchenko.

THOUGHTS: Arsenal came off the blocks hot with Martinelli and Gabi Jesus leading the charge. Palace looked a bit rusty and hesitant to start the match and we used that to our advantage. Every time we got the ball in the first 30 minutes, the Xhaka-Zinchenko left-sided partnership was running Palace with Zinchenko pinching into the midfield and Xhaka pushing up. Palace were not able to cope with the left-sided overload. Gabi Jesus also had himself a first-half, almost winning goal of the season by dribbling the Palace team before having his shot blocked and Martinelli scuffing the rebound.

Wins and muscles the ball off Schlupp, megs Doucouré, and sends Andersen back to Denmark all in one play.
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Arsenal-Wolves Reaction

LET’S GOOOOOOO. What a stupid soccer match. This team never fails to raise my blood pressure but somehow pulled off a 1-0 win over Wolves at the Molineux Stadium through a Gabriel goal in the 25th minute. Such a massive 3 points by Arsenal away from home while also keeping a clean sheett.

PRE MATCH/TEAM SELECTION – The team selection was just about what I expected barring Cédric coming in for Tomiyasu. ESR found himself on the bench but only due to Arteta going with the XI that he has preferred for the past couple of months. Wolves came out with their expected with their keeper Jose Sá being their standout player up until this point of the season with their manager doing quite a decent job with the team in his first season in Bruno Lage. Also, every game against Wolves reminds me that Daniel Podence is a footballer and then I always wish he was on our team only for that day as he always shows up against us.

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