Notes on Brentford 2-0 Arsenal: Bullied, Bored and Bollocksed

Arsenal lost 2-0 at newly-promoted Brentford. Angry? Well, that's your call. If anything, I'm kind of sad how little anger this shite-show of a performance and result evoked. Then again, you can't get angry about the outcome if you're not at all surprised by the outcome. Arsenal started the season with a defeat. Arsenal started…

Balogun Hype an Indictment of Declining Arsenal

So it looks like Folarin Balogun has made up his mind to stay at Arsenal. Either that or the precocious striker from the Hale End Academy couldn't find anybody else to take him home from the dance. If so, it wasn't for lack of trying. Whatever the reason, Balogun is getting ready to sign a…

Nketiah’s in the Clear

Eddie Nketiah staying put is great news for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta isn't about to sell the Hale End graduate no matter how much West Ham United offer. https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1348570734621302784 Bravo, Mikel. You've made the right call on this one. Nketiah deserves to get more chances, and not just because Folarin Balogun is destined for pastures new.…

Balogun a Loss Arsenal Will Bear

Folarin Balogun looks to be headed away from Arsenal. Next young star No. 1123, we hardly knew ye... News that Balogun may leave Arsenal on a free transfer has left more than a few rattled. The fear of losing a potential breakout talent is strong. https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1347150537905598472 Comparisons to Serge Gnabry offer the obvious cautionary tale.…

Notes on Dundalk 2-4 Arsenal: Nketiah’s Earned His Chance

Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang surely can't afford many more dire performances leading Arsenal's goal-shy attack. Not when academy strikers Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun are, you know, actually putting the ball in the back of the net. Both junior sharpshooters got on the scoresheet during Thursday's 4-2 win away to Dundalk. The result made…

Notes on Molde 0-3 Arsenal: A No. 10 Makes Arteta More Interesting

Mikel Arteta is right back to where he started as Arsenal manager. Trusting a 4-2-3-1 shape featuring a No. 10 pulling the strings. You know what? Fair play to Arteta. He shouldn't view reverting to type as a regression. Arteta restored the shape most familiar to Arsenal fans during the Arsene Wenger years, and the…

Arsenal Youth Movement Renewing Pace

Project Youth is a phrase uttered in only hushed terms by an Arsenal fan these days. Probably with an accompanying shit-eating smirk. The terms was given, not necessarily gifted, to Arsene Wenger's attempt to build a title-winning squad with youngsters after the move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium. Wenger laboured from 2006 to the…