In England, we have a tendency to lionise captaincy. Most cultures are informed by the mythology that surrounds them, literal myths, in the storied sense, have an enormous impact on native cultures. In England, our sporting culture is very much reared on tales of individualism. Figures like Bobby Moore, Tony Adams, David Beckham and Steven Gerrard are very appealing in the way that stories in English football have been told. In 2015, Scott Murray wrote an essay in the Blizzard touching on this entitled ‘How Roy Race Ruined English Football’ (audio version of that essay is available here and h ..read more

Morning. First up, what a huge win for Arsenal Women last night in the Champions League, turning around a 1-0 first leg defeat with a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich (Guardian match report). The first goal from Frida Maanum is absolutely outstanding, the finish is obviously spectacular but the build-up is lovely too with a gorgeous flick from Leah Williamson. Watch here. Stina Blackstenius scored the second from a Katie McCabe cross (watch here), and victory means the Gunners will face the winner of the Wolfsburg / Paris Saint-Germain tie which takes place later today. Afterwards, boss Jonas Eidev ..read more

Morning all. That’s it. Goodbye Interlull. You can get lost now until next season when I will remember how much I dislike you. Until then, pah. You are nothing to me. From what I can gather, Martin Odegaard came through Norway’s 1-1 draw with Georgia unscathed. He played the full 90 away from home though, so let’s get him back, rubbed down and into the sweet embrace of our post-Interlull masseuses to get those legs shiny and ready for Leeds on Saturday. I’ve seen various reports regarding Kieran Tierney. First off, a storming run down the left helped create Scotland’s second goal in a 2-0 win ..read more

The final games of the Interlull take place today. Arsenal eyes will be on Georgia, where Martin Odegaard’s Norway travel for a Euro 2024 qualifier. Kieran Tierney will be in action for Scotland against Spain, while Granit Xhaka’s Switzerland take on Israel. That’s it for the competitive action, but Belgium have a friendly against Germany so Leandro Trossard could feature, while Matt Turner was in goal for the US as they beat El Salvador 1-0. Meanwhile, Thomas Partey was left on the bench as Ghana drew 1-1 with Angola. Afterwards, their head coach Chris Hughton said, “Thomas has some small in ..read more

Welcome to another Arsecast Extra, the Arsenal podcast, with myself and James from @gunnerblog. It might be an Interlull but there’s still plenty to chat about. We start with Antonio Conte’s sacking and whether Arsenal’s good season so far has contributed, before we take a look at the players on international duty, not least Bukayo Saka who was the star for England as they beat Ukraine. There’s also some Zinchenko, Odegaard and Smith Rowe, before we go into part 2 with some Arsenal related dreams, and questions about Mikel Arteta, the pathway for young players as the team improves and it beco ..read more

Good morning, and happy Monday to you all. I didn’t watch England play, but from what I can gather, Bukayo Saka was the main man. The Guardian match report called him ‘sensational’. He scored a fantastic goal – watch here – and provided an excellent assist. The fact he’s absolutely brilliant is, of course, no surprise to Arsenal fans who have been watching him closely for a long time now. This man delivers with a consistency that is frightening for a 21 year old. I ought to clarify that: it’s frightening for opposition defenders, not for me. If you’re an Arsenal fan, there’s no fear. It’s exc ..read more

Good morning to everyone. Everyone except Rodri. I do not wish him a good morning. I wish him a virulent dose of the green apple splatters and a Trainspotting toilet to experience them in after this challenge on Martin Odegaard last night. Norway were in Spain, and somehow the Arsenal captain didn’t get a penalty for it. I’ve watched the video about 34 times now, and I am convinced – or have convinced myself – that there’s a moment when the Man City midfielder realises who it is. He is no longer wearing the red of Spain, but the light blue of Man City, and he makes a tackle with April 26th in ..read more

Morning all. It remains extremely quiet on the Arsenal front. I went to see John Wick 4 last night in the cinema, and it’s basically 3 hours of John Wick beating the ever-loving shit out of/killing the bollix off people, and somehow not being shot despite a proliferation of automatic weapons in the hands of every enemy he encounters. It struck me that if he were to turn his hand to football, John Wick would have been a great option for goalkeeper in the Arsenal team Unai Emery managed. Wave after wave of attack, you stop one then another one comes, then another, and another, and there is only ..read more

During Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal reign, I, like many other Arsenal fans, have found myself referring to Liverpool as a kind of template for the rebuild the squad has been undergoing. The Liverpool comparison was an attractive one primarily because it was successful. Not only was it successful but it was executed on a similar budget to the one that Arsenal are operating with. Liverpool’s rebuild was complete by the time Arsenal’s started in earnest, which gave a full frame of reference. Chelsea and Manchester United fans are probably looking towards N5 and Arteta now as they contemplate their own ..read more

It’s very quiet this morning, but there are internationals later on which will feature some of our players. All eyes will be on Italy v England later when Bukayo Saka will probably start, and if Gareth Southgate was any good so too would Aaron Ramsdale but chances are he won’t. Jorginho is in the Italy squad too. Ghana and Thomas Partey are also in action when they face Angola. Everything crossed for our lads. For this morning, it might be an idea to catch up on some of our loan players, and predict what the future might hold for them. Starting with: Folarin Balogun – Reims To say he is knock ..read more