Arsenal: A post-preseason ramble
Some meandering thoughts on how The Gunners will fare, and what us fans should do with expectation
Those who know me, and those who may read this blog, will know that I am an Arsenal fan. To varying extents, they know how much the club means to me. It is what I centre my football fandom on. And whilst I do consider myself a fan of all football, I am not an obsessive.
I am not watching Real Betis games to analyse an innovative two-and-a-half-man rest defence. I don’t trawl through FBref.com searching for expected suggestive propositions. And I’m not discussing under-18 prospects using their indecipherable initials.
I guess, in short, I don’t consider myself an expert.
Because of this, whenever I write about football, it usually remains totally focused on the one thing I am an expert in: my own experience as a fan.
However, as predictions are being released, and Community Shields collected, I have become swept up in the mania of early season excitement. It is not something, as an Arsenal fan, I am familiar with.
So, I thought I’d offer my thoughts on this Arsenal team, something I barely feel qualified to do. It might just be enthusiasm getting the better of me. But I honestly believe, as Arsenal fans, we have a lot to look forward to.
At the time of writing, Arsenal have made four major signings, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber, and David Raya.
That is a stellar window so far. Please forgive the nauseatingly specific reference, but those are the signings you make two seasons into a Football Manager save. And, with not even a whiff of insider knowledge, but trusting in Master Edu, I have faith there may even be one more after a few sales.
I think my opinions of the signings align with most sensible, prominent pundits. Rice is the mouth-watering get, the elite-defensive midfielder that seemed so criminally missing in those gorgeous Arsène Wenger teams of the early-2010s. It rings of a classic Sir Alex Ferguson signing, a Champions League club swooping in on the best players from the lower reaches of the Premier League.
Speaking of, we also signed someone from Chelsea. I am a Kai Havertz believer. He is the most questioned transfer of the summer so far, the risky one which could make or break Arsenal’s season. Where will he play? Can he finish? Is he worth all that money?
Well, fuck off, he’s going to be brilliant. Maybe not win-the-league brilliant, maybe not prove the doubters wrong brilliant. But unquestionably lovely to watch. Yes, I’m a sucker for a lanky, technical German. He has that hulking-balletic style which makes Zidane, or Zlatan, so pleasing to the eye. And, Arteta will have a plan for him, that amazingly-groomed Spanish genius.
Timber and Raya are the no-brainers. Timber has that sexy versatility the Arteta-Edu duo adore, and Raya is an elite ball-playing shot-stopper, adding to our existing elite ball-playing shot-stopper. Two is better than one.
As I write, we await news on the injury Timber suffered during Arsenal’s 2-1 opening day win over Nottingham Forrest. Worst fears suggest it might be a season-ender, which would a shame. The Dutchman was unruffled in pre-season, and electric against Manchester City. Silver linings? We might continue to see the tucked-in silhouette of Kieran Tierney looking slightly bewildered as he wanders into midfield - at least until January.
It will be interesting to see how the Folarin Balogun situation resolves, as, having watched one highlight-reel of his loan-spell, he’s evidently better than George Weah. I know he scored on Saturday, but I am not sure if you win a league with Eddie Nketiah as your back-up striker. Sorry Eddie, I love you. Although maybe that’s a next-season problem.
Last season, measured expectations of a top four challenge were joyfully exceeded by Bukayo Saka et al. Then, as the Gunners fell short during the title run-in, a convoluted debate emerged, asking whether fans should be disappointed with a second-place finish.
This season poses a tangential question: what should Arsenal fans expect now?
I have high hopes. I’d love 2nd, like 3rd, understand 4th, and be lightly wounded by 5th. The title? I’d evaporate. I would go missing, presumed dead. I would stockpile the moment, primed for the compilation that flashes before me as I draw my final breaths.
Do Arsenal win the league? Who knows. Could we win it? Sure. I see no reason why not. Predicting a season, beyond the certainty of a PSG collapse, is like staring into a black hole; no light escapes.
Because of this, pre-season is equally about pain management, as it is about anticipation. As football fans, there is an inescapable feeling that everything could implode. New signings, 10-1 wins against second division Austrian teams, flawless kit releases, it doesn’t matter; it could all go wrong.
So, expectations must be dulled. You can currently see it happening amongst Liverpool fans; bemoaning recruitment, gallows humour about Jay Sterling re-signing to play alongside fresh recruit Ravel Morrison. Then, when the Reds lose at Anfield thanks to a Tsimikas own-goal and 19 Darwin Núñez offsides, they can shrug and say, “We didn’t hope for anything else.”
No fan would allow their inner-desires off the leash without at least a collar of caveats. I’m no different. I’ve spent too long excusing the disappointments of this toxic relationship with my football club to think otherwise.
This is the fan’s internal balancing act, the giddy kid and the grizzled veteran. It’s what makes football so compelling. It’s why winning can be so intoxicating; the inner-child is given the keys, the old timer banished.
It’s why I feel sorry for Manchester City fans. They expect to win. It is routine. It’s a by-product of their soulless sportswashing project. Real fandom, to me, constitutes the highs and the lows. Otherwise one becomes meaningless.
Of course when Arsenal lose 2-0 at the Emirates to Gary Monk’s Nottingham Forrest, I will be inconsolable. But, I’m excited for the journey.