Listen, I’m all for being a moaner, but the times have changed. Arsenal has put their name in the hat and now want to be taken seriously as a sporting entity. All the things we’ve campaigned for over the last 10 years are nearly happening.
The manager has been defanged
We have an elite head of recruitment
We have an elite DOF
We’re making quick decisions on players
We’re bringing in amazing talent
We’re selling the utter dross we’ve grown to love
The club is moving forward.
Yesterday was spectacular. Not because we beat Everton, but because from now on, Arsenal are trying to be serious.
Aubameyang didn’t need 6 weeks to adapt, he was straight in the starting 11. Mikki started. Ramsey started. Ozil started. All of them wanted to play. What a difference it made.
Arsenal were an absolute joy to watch. The rain didn’t make a difference, the boys were there to put on a show and what a show they put on. We beasted Fat Sam’s side so badly he called his team’s performance ‘pathetic.’ Music to my ears.
It’s difficult for me not to go totally overboard because I’m genuinely feeling better about Arsenal than I have done in 10 years.
Aaron Ramsey was clearly gifted Alexis Sanchez’s shooting boots when the Chilean bombed out of the club to make sweet piano music at Old Trafford. The Welshman was exceptional, capitalizing on a team that couldn’t deal with his runs, smashing home a hattrick in the process. Word on the street was he hated Alexis, I’m not sure how that ties into the Welshman scoring, but whatever, I’m sure gonna try and link yesterday to some sort of spurious emotional release.
Mikki – a player most United fans conceded was unlucky – with most Arsenal fans concluding he’s the second round of WELBZ, dropped a magnificent display. He gave 3 assists – the first time an Arsenal player has dropped more than 2 assists in a game since Santi Cazorla managed 4. Not just that, he made 9 tackles, winning the ball back 4 times. WORKER.
Arsenal fans who doubted this guy need to remember we’re bringing him in from a manager who sold Lukaku, KDB and Salah. An ‘elite’ coach who is currently destroying Paul Pogba. Mikki is going to be great. Couldn’t be happier about having a two-footed creative instigator back in the side.
Auba? Wow, just wow. I’m going too far with the praise, but fuck it, it’s not often Le Grove is happy. How can I not be when one of my favourite strikers is wearing the red and white of Arsenal? He was part of the move for Ramsey’s first, playing Iwobi’s pass into Mikki who assisted Rambo at the front post. He was nearly on the second, lurking at the back post before Kos nodded in from one yard. He finished exceptionally for the third, his first for the club, chipping over Pickford with sexy breeziness.
What we have here is a striker built for the league. Crazy pace, perfect height, with smart movement and aggressive instincts to be in the right place. He’s going to be fantastic for us.
Two other players deserving of praise are two super unfashionable shouts. Granit Xhaka had a busy game keeping play ticking over, he was efficient, he didn’t make any mistakes and he was committed. The unsung hero was Iwobi. You can slate him, saying he offers nothing, but if you watched that game and felt that way, you weren’t paying attention.
He started the move for the first goal. He started the move for the third goal and gave the assist. He also started the move for the 4th. I’m game for bashing players when they deserve it, but he was great yesterday. Did his bit at the back, offered a lot going forward, and stated moves for goals. He’s developing. Has a long way to go, but he was a problem for Everton today.
So what did we learn today?
Ramsey is a bag of talent when his roaming runs are punctuated with great balls. I’m still not quite on board with hipster love fest for him, he’s too often exposed as inconsistent, and his lack of discipline is frustrating. However, when he’s on it, like today, it’s a joy to watch. Rumours are he’s off this summer. I’d not be against it, because we could spend £60m better elsewhere. Great game, regardless.
Second learning, when the club does the right things… the fans will back them.
There was a protest before the game and about 13 people turned up. Why? Because when the fans can see the club is matching their effort, they’ll bring their A-support-game.
We just dropped a legendary transfer window. We sold the shite. We bought exceptionally well. Who wouldn’t get behind that?
The only thing left to do is move the manager on (and some of his terrible backroom team), but regardless of whether that happens this summer on next, we can taste that it’s coming. The club are building the talent pool in a smart way so when the new guy comes in, it’ll be a smooth transition.
What else did we learn?
We knew all along that one of our biggest issues was the lack of pace. Auba offered that in abundance, and we looked a different team. I don’t know what we’re going to do with Lacazette, but the brutal benching tells you all you need to know about Wenger’s thoughts on the Frenchman.
It was so f*cking obvious he wasn’t suited to the league.
‘Imagine Ozil feeding this guy’ was the uncultured view over the summer.
You can bitch on about service issues, but you’re lying to yourself if you think that’s been the issue. Ozil creates more chances than God himself. That wasn’t the problem. If it was, Sanchez wouldn’t have been the hottest striker in the world this month. The issue was the team couldn’t support chances for a player that was small, slow and weak.
I’d be VERY surprised if Wenger deviates too far from what he did today setup wise. Especially as he keeps on whining on about defensive stability.
It was also great to see Theo Walcott fail. I don’t care for the sentiment, I find it all a touch embarrassing. Theo, Coquelin and Giroud are all totally average and not worthy of Arsenal. Watching a player who’d been with us for 12 years break free on goal and botch his finish was next level perfection.
Don’t feel love for sub-standard players, it’s embarrassing. This is sport. Save you tears for people that deserve them. Then offer them £60 a week to support them. Don’t cry over a shite footballer that earns more in a week than you do in two years. That’s pathetic.
So in conclusion.
This team is exciting. It won’t make top 4, but it’ll make a glorious attempt at making that position from here. It might win the League Cup. It might win the Europa League. Whatever happens, just be thankful we’re finally watching a serious outfit, and if it goes badly enough, we might see an exciting manager hired.
https://le-grove.co.uk/2018/02/04/arsenal-gives-me-life-finally/
