Morning all.
Sorry it’s a bit later than usual this morning, but I had a lie-in. Not on purpose, I think I did that thing where the alarm goes off and you just stick out a hand and somehow, despite the fact you’ve got no recollection of doing it, you hit stop rather than snooze. Quite deliberately too, but I have no idea how. Still catching up on some post-holiday sleep, I reckon.
Down the years, I’ve done a few interviews about how Arseblog came to be, and one of the answers I’ve given is that when deciding on a topic for the blog, I chose Arsenal ‘because there’s always something going on … games, transfers, injuries, rumours …’ etc. Which, for the most part, is quite true.
But not today. If I really wanted to debase myself, I could spend time looking at the horrendous pile of impacted rhino shite that is the Club World Cup, but I’ll be perfectly honest with you: despite my fundamental objections to the tournament itself, and Gianni Infantino who is far, far worse than Sepp Blatter ever was (as a human being and a football administrator), I’m quite enjoying the zero football.
My Football-O-Meter was in the red by the end of last season, and I need to drain the old stuff away before I fill it up again. If that makes sense. That period after Real Madrid where we knew the Premier League was impossible, but there was the opportunity for the big prize in Europe, was really quite odd. The excitement and possibility of the Champions League made the domestic games feel quite mundane.
Draws with Everton, Brentford, Palace and Liverpool, and a defeat to Bournemouth. Just one meagre win in 6 games, and that came against an Ipswich side who had already been relegated and played for most of the game with 10 men. I get it, we were prioritising – deliberately or subconsciously – but in the end that mundanity was exacerbated by not having quite enough to get beyond PSG in the semi-final.
Sure, I enjoyed the win over Newcastle, because they were overdue a beating from us, and I just looked at the scoreline of the Southampton game and it literally took me a couple of minutes to remember how that game went. I’m not saying my brain has done a Men in Black style wiping of my memory, but I think it meant so little there’s just no room for that kind of stuff anymore.
I would never presume to speak for anyone other than myself, but I can’t imagine I’m the only one feeling this way. A little burned out by Arsenal, by football itself, and the never-ending drip-drip of nothing much that has punctuated this off-season so far. I do think so much focus is on the striker thing that we’re viewing everything else as secondary or meaningless, and while I’m realise these things don’t necessarily come close in terms of priorities or simply sheer excitement, there are some positive aspects so far:
The Martin Zubimendi signing is actually a really good deal for an excellent player
The Kepa deal means we’re not scrabbling around looking for a keeper on deadline day (and he’s actually a solid signing too)
Myles Lewis-Skelly is set to sign a new deal
I believe talks with other players most of us want to keep are going very well
But I get it, the big things remain undone. Which is frustrating for some, but I’d be far more worried if I felt the club didn’t know what needs to be done. I don’t think that’s the case, and as I’ve said before, I’m confident we will do what’s necessary. I’m sure Mikel Arteta and his staff know there’s pressure; there’s a big challenge ahead to go from second to first in the Premier League and remain competitive in Europe and in the cups; they’ve seen the fixture list; they’ve seen what some of the other clubs have done up to this point; and I just cannot envisage any situation where we fail to react to all of that in a meaningful way.
That said, sitting here on a Wednesday in June, my appetite for football is still low. Which is fine, by the way, because there’s still the best part of 8 weeks before the new season begins again. Time will play a part, but ultimately our hunger for next season will be – in large part – fired by what the club do in the transfer market. It’s their job to build a team they think can be successful across multiple fronts (although I’d take just one of the big ones, I’m not greedy), and hopefully by August we’re starving. Not for transfers, but for the action, the goals, the three points, and everything else.
A little aperitif of a striker who can score lots of goals, an amuse-bouche of an exciting wide forward, and a tasting menu of … well … I don’t think we need to tear the arse out of that analogy. Anyway, I’m not hungry yet, but a summer diet with the odd day of fasting will do wonders. And we’re getting those fasting days out of the way all in one go. Wait, isn’t that a hunger strike?!
Till tomorrow.
