Arsenal kids are alright and that’s nearly worth a trophy, right?
Arsenal have Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly and what else do fans need to bring them joy? Forget trophies.
Send your thoughts on the Champions League – watch Liverpool first – to theeditor@football365.com
The Arsenal kids are alright
My favourite Arsenal player of all time is Dennis Bergkamp. From the moment I saw him play, I was like, ‘that is what I love about football’ – the technique, the skill, the speed of thought. Arsenal weren’t great when he signed, but he gave me hope. Obviously, Wenger came in and the rest is history, but that is what I love about football. Watching people who are infinitely better than me at the sport, do magical things.
I never thought I would like another player as much. Then came Saka, and something about him, the way he played. Not the same skill as Bergkamp, but a consistency, a clarity of thought and movement and obviously coming through our ranks. He is a Hale End boy, and what is football, if not wanting to see your youth academy players succeed? £100 million signings are fun, but watching a kid who’s come through the ranks make it is a thrill.
Which is a long and roundabout way of me saying to all the joyless prigs who again have chosen to p*ss on Arsenal fans’ chips because we had the temerity to beat an opposition in an away leg 1-7 and celebrate, get bent.
We can’t celebrate a result made all the more special for us because an 18 year old who’s been at the club since he was 8 set up his 17 year old mate who has also been at the club since he was 8? We may not win anything this season. In fact, I’ll go further, we won’t win anything this year, but I don’t care. The emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, has brought me endless joy this season. Maybe my only source of joy, but I’ll take it.
Only 1 club can win the CL and only one club can win the Premier League. We won’t win either of those, so credit to the clubs who do. But we have two exciting breakthrough players who will be part of the club’s future. With hopefully fewer injuries next season, we can make more of an impact in the title and CL, but until then, I’ll enjoy this team as long as they’re together.
John Matrix AFC
Loving Nwaneri and his confidence
Interesting to hear Shearer and Champion discussing whether Nwaneri should be called up to the next England squad, really made it sink in how special a player he could be. That’s eight goals so far this season, plus an assist, so double figures for goal contributions are very likely. That would be more than C Ronaldo (5g/4a) and Messi (just one goal, the fraud).
It’s not just stats, he passes the eye test as well. As an English Arsenal fan, I was going to write a smug, not at all hyperbolic email about him being the best young player in the world right now, but then I remembered Lamine Yamal, who is frankly absurd.
It got me thinking about how so many young players seeming to have such confidence and swagger about them (Bellingham, Arda Guler are two others that spring to mind), and not in the precocious way that say, Rooney had. It’s a maturity that I don’t remember seeing as much in young players back in the noughties, expect Fabregas maybe? Is it a sign of better psychological preparation in the modern game, or ‘system’ tactics that players have grown up with?
Perhaps it’s just a symptom of getting older, I’m 33 now and just starting to find it a bit sickening how young these players are, can other Mailboxers confirm or deny?
Dave, South Wales (Myles Lewis-Skelly is of course the exception)
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Here’s Stewie
First off, credit where it is due. It was predictable there would be wild excitement at Arteta smashing 7 goals past PSV. After the 5-1 cup final win v Citeh, it’s another milestone. So congrats.
A more cynical person (not me Sir!) would ask why there was any consternation at a club with a wage bill of £186m (Arsenal) battering a team with a wage bill of just £25m (PSV).
For a bunch of fans who’ve spent 21 years claiming it’s “impossible to compete” with “financial resources”, weird we ain’t hearing about this aspect? 🤔 There’s no Deep State PGMOL Radical Antifa anti-Arsenal derailment plot in the failing EU Havertz means Havertz Project though tbf, so ignore Arsenal’s rich European heritage (zero CLs, don’t Villa deserve more coverage?)
PSV’s entire summer spend was less than the cost of one Spanish Kevin Nolan – but again, let’s disregard all that. “You can only beat what’s in front of you” (so long as it ain’t West Ham or Forest lol 😂)
In the end though Arsenal fans, the real reveal of Arteta’s managerial capabilities will be on show for the world to see in the quarters, where he will actually square up to someone his own size. Ancelotti (earns less than Arteta and spends less). Or Simeone: manages a team with far fewer financial resources (Atleti £107m wage bill v Arteta’s £185m) but does far better.
We all know what’s going to happen whoever Arteta faces in Madrid: either Atleti will shut them down and out-shithouse Fake Pulis-ball FC. Or, and God help them, Real Madrid will get 180 minutes to have Vini, Mbappe, Rodrygo and Bellingham go all-out attack, without having to be remotely concerned about any counterattacking Arsenal threat. Even Rudiger can play up front, Spanish Kevin Nolan ain’t gonna outrun the linesman even lol.
So congratulations on the type of Fake Statement CL wins we used to see under Wenger (remember 7-1 Sparta Prague, 6-0 Braga, 5-0 Porto, 5-1 Shaktar etc? FAKE NEW DAWNS!). As ever, this only ends one way – but yet the braggadocio never recedes. Sigh. 🙄. Looking forward to the new excuses post-quarters! 🍿
Stewie Griffin (Villa and Emery have more chance of a CL win than the £750k bottle-jobs)
Thoughts on Aston Rashford Villa
Fair enough, you want some Villa content? A really excellent result away Rashford against a Bruges side that F365 was very sniffy about beforehand. Rashford We looked pretty ropey all Rashford game and we conceded from the Rashford first shot *again*! How many Rashford Rashford times is this going to happen? Luckily if Asensio can play for Rashford half an hour at least, we’re Rashford Rashford guaranteed to score a goal as much Rashford as we are to Rashford concede one.
But once Rashford we had Rashford a proper right Rashford back on the pitch Rashford Rashford and a right footer Rashford on the right wing – not sure why Rashford Disasi is being Rashford Rashford Rashford shunted out at full back, he looks Rashford good in the middle? – we looked Rashford dangerous going Rasford forward.
A real mix of performances Rashford: Mings, Tielemans, Asensio, Cash, Rogers all good while on the Rashford pitch – everyone else a bit average. Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford.
It’s Rashford only Rashford half Rashford time Rashford, but Rashford a Rashford 3-1 Rashford lead Rashford turns Rashford into Rashford 7-1 Rashford at Rashford the Rashford end Rashford doesn’t Rashford it? So Rashford that’s Rashford nice.
Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford.
Have you ever Rashford noticed that Rashford if you see Rashford a word enough Rashford times it Rashford Rashford starts to Rashford lose its Rashford literal bonds in your Rashford mind and just Rashford Rashford Rashford becomes a collection of Rashford letters?
And also, have you noticed that if you’re trying to find some news about your football club, but because the world is now a tabloid, anything which drags your Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford Rashford club into the orbit of Manchester United content Rashford means that what little specific content you had before is now out the window in service to clicks for the Stretford Clown Show? It’s annoying.
Anyway, over and out.
Neil Raines UTRV
…I would have taken a draw at Club Brugge, without a doubt. Those late goals were certainly some delicious ganache on a moist baked sponge though. Felt like a very Emery approach to an away CL game. Aim for measure and control, see if you can nick a goal, get them back to your place. (If you haven’t already beaten them 1-0 there).
The two bonus goals certainly make Villa favourites to go through. There can be no complacency though. Well played, Tyrone. Looked like a potential goal saving clearance to me. Asensio makes me go a bit weak at the knees. Rashford has been good, nothing more, and could use a goal. Tielemans on a free still baffles me, and he’s only 27.
A Champs League QF, an FA Cup SF hopefully (sorry, Preston), and top half finish really wouldn’t be all that bad. How much better could it be though? I’m hoping we’ll get Asensio of that in the coming weeks.
Gary AVFC, Oxford
Oh look it’s another Woke365 mail
Before the right-wing made ‘woke’ their boogeyman buzzword, it had already become something of a pejorative among the left. An adjective for the terminally-online liberal who made sure to say the right things and police others for saying the wrong things but didn’t relate to social progress on a material level (or even in terms of empathy).
Sadly, F365 writers are constantly ‘guilty’ of being woke nowadays. The irony of writing articles about giving women’s football proper respect without ever actually writing about women’s football has been correctly pointed out both by feminists and misogynists in the mailbox.
For me, the issue is more than just what is not said.
When Dele spoke out about the mental health struggles he went through while football fans, pundits, and journalists made fun of his every misstep, Dave Tickner wrote an article about how ‘we’ all have to be better. Something similar is published every time a former ‘flop’ opens up about their mental health. But we continue to see countless articles about which managers deserve to be sacked, which ‘flops’ a team should clear out, and personal antipathy towards people like Frank Lampard. One writer even recently coined the term ‘pre-flop’ to describe a player based solely on his performance in the first half of a game.
All for the sake of banter and, of course, clicks.
That’s woke nonsense. Do better.
Josh (Additional: This Means More) Johannesburg