As a lot as I hate to be the bearer of unhealthy information, Andrew truly isn’t again till tomorrow, so I’m again within the chair for one final dance at the moment. I’ll simply provide you with a second to roll your eyes and let the frustration sink in.
OK, come to phrases with issues? Good. Let’s crack on.
Not that there’s masses to crack on with, thoughts. With no worldwide event this summer time, no less than none with any Arsenal curiosity, there simply isn’t a lot occurring. As Tim touched on yesterday, this does appear to create a form of angst for some individuals, the place the dearth of reports is interpreted as an absence of motion. So I assumed I’d attempt to put issues into just a little little bit of a perspective by zooming out.
Tomorrow is fixture launch day, with the opening day of the season nonetheless virtually two months away. Two months! Have you ever any concept how lengthy two months is? Two months in the past at the moment, Andrew opened the weblog with this:
Arsenal are into the Champions League semi-finals for the primary time in 16 years, having accomplished a well-known double over Actual Madrid with a 2-1 win on the Bernabeu final night time.
The purpose is, two months is an eternity. Andrea Berta was two weeks into the job at that time. His toes ought to be firmly beneath the desk by now and he’ll be on the telephone continuous, little question ruining the household vacation. The identical goes, I’d think about, for Mikel Arteta.
Personally I don’t see the dearth of reports as an absence of exercise, I simply suppose Arsenal are speaking to varied events and, as issues stand, there are nonetheless varied methods for the summer time to pan out, so it is smart for the membership to be maintaining as many irons within the fireplace as potential. Do the preparation on numerous offers so that you’re not ranging from zero if one thing falls via due to value, competitors, and even harm.
We’ve turn into so used to getting each day updates on each information story on the market, it turns into tougher and tougher to change off through the summer time, however an absence of updates doesn’t imply an absence of labor. The earliest first group summer time signing I can discover lately is Kai Havertz, and that wasn’t till 28 June two summers in the past. Most — Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Sambi Lokonga, Jurrien Timber, Ben White — have been introduced in July and been greater than obtainable for the opening recreation of the season.
Anyway, tomorrow is fixture launch day! All of that might be coated in these pages tomorrow. I feel Andrew’s of the opinion that, mainly, none of it issues. And whereas I feel he’s most likely proper, I nonetheless can’t assist however be enthusiastic about it annually.
It’s not simply the primary landmark that actually signifies one season is over and one other is on the horizon, however I feel you possibly can actually see a season start to take some form of form in your thoughts. Generally you see Newcastle and Chelsea away with a Champions League recreation (which ended up being Inter away) squeezed between them and also you suppose, eesh, that gained’t be enjoyable, and also you’re proper. Generally you see a troublesome begin to the season — journeys to Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester Metropolis — and also you suppose, eesh, that gained’t be enjoyable, and also you’re proper however not as a result of Arsenal truly find yourself shedding any floor.
A season clearly doesn’t take form simply with the schedule there for all to see. Final season it regarded like we had a extremely nasty begin to the season and we got here via it nicely, solely to drop factors in among the ‘simpler’ fixtures that adopted. Liverpool had one of many best begins to the season on paper however misplaced to Nottingham Forest earlier than anybody knew Forest would truly beat quite a lot of groups. After 5 video games there wasn’t a lot of a spot between us and Liverpool. By the point 10 had been performed — and our run had eased, their’s had picked up — the hole was seven.
However when it comes to meaninglessness, I nonetheless suppose it’s fairly satisfying. I’m trying ahead to scouring the 38 dates, making a psychological be aware of when the derbies towards them lot are, when Liverpool might be on the town, who we play on Boxing Day (if we play on Boxing Day — my fingers are crossed), and after we can lastly beat Fulham at house and Newcastle away once more.
By then we’ll have a brand new striker, a brand new midfielder, a brand new backup goalkeeper, three new left-backs, new contracts for half the group, and no purchaser for Oleksandr Zinchenko. Plus ça change.
There was an announcement yesterday that Renee Slegers might be on the BBC’s punditry group for the Ladies’s Euros — one thing Jonas Eidevall additionally did as Arsenal supervisor — and I’m trying ahead to seeing her insights. Typically I feel managers in these conditions can supply a lot extra that former gamers would miss or not likely admire, and that form of number of voice is extremely welcome.
Additionally on the ladies’s aspect of issues, the WSL yesterday introduced a transfer from 12 to 14 groups for the highest flight beginning with the 2026/27 season, which actually does sound to me prefer it’s approach into the long run however, nicely, clearly it’s only a 12 months away. You possibly can learn extra concerning the particulars right here and hopefully it means extra golf equipment throughout the nation make investments increasingly more into their ladies’s groups.
There’s additionally an Arseblog Information round-up on among the newest switch stuff from Andrew Allen if that tickles your fancy.
You (and I) might be again within the most secure of Irish arms tomorrow. I’m positive Andrew will return nicely fed, tanned, and delighted to be again on the keyboard. Till subsequent time!
