Well lovely Arsenal people, football is back. Let us set the expectations straight. Winning the league title or the Champions League is the only thing I would consider success this season. Everything else would be a failure. I do not want to hear excuses come May. We have spent big, signed a striker, opted not to buy a creative midfielder, and spent questionable money on Noni Madueke. It has to work, period.
With those standards in mind, we stole three points at Old Trafford. To put it into perspective, Arsenal have only ever won six games there in the Premier League era, all with the same 1-0 scoreline. It has never been a happy place for us, so the result was excellent. That is the perspective part done. The performance, however, was far from it.
Raya The Standout, But Midfield Struggled
David Raya’s saves made him Player of the Match by some distance, but even he had faults, with his distribution often poor. There was no rhythm to Arsenal’s game at any stage. Once again, set pieces came to the rescue. William Saliba distracted the keeper, he fluffed his lines, and Riccardo Calafiori pounced to score the winner.
Beyond that, positives were hard to find. The midfield was overrun, if not bypassed entirely. One ball over the top to Bryan Mbeumo caused problems all match. Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes dominated against Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard. Questions have to be asked, particularly of Rice, who was non-existent. Zubimendi made a few tackles and Ødegaard looked the best of a poor bunch, but overall the lack of creativity was concerning.
Attacking Woes Continue
Up front Viktor Gyökeres endured a nightmare debut. There were a few good runs, but on the one occasion he received the ball in a promising area, his cross was wildly overhit. His non-existent pre-season at Sporting has left him out of form, and while taking Thierry Henry’s number is symbolic, it must be matched with performances on the pitch.
Service to him was limited, but Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were both below par. Madueke replaced Martinelli in the second half and was equally poor in attack, while even worse defensively. The ease with which Amad Diallo went past him was alarming. Choosing Madueke over Leandro Trossard, a proven option off the bench, suggests the club may be looking to move Trossard on. A new left winger would be welcome, but without sales it seems unlikely.
This season, nobody should get a free pass, whether it is the manager, new signings or senior players. It is year six of the process and it is trophies or bust. If there is one positive, substitutions came earlier than usual, with all five made before the 70th minute. Last year, overuse of players led to injuries. Seeing Jurrien Timber and Ben White rotate was encouraging. There are now options in midfield, up front, and across the squad. It is time to deliver.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Konstantin Mitov
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First game of the season, an away game at Old Trafford, the three points was the most important, not the whining bias media and fans criticising Gyokeres and other players, first game is always tricky, January will be the month I feel which will be crucial for us. Liverpool away in two weeks. Man City at home Newcastle away will be further tests, this team is starting to find it’s feet, it won’t happen overnight. Gyokeres hardly had any preseason games, so he is a little rusty, but I believe he will come good.
Piss poor performance but three points and we will improve. Best outfield player for us was Timber with Calafiori close behind.
We knew Madueke was rubbish so the only surprise there is that we bought him in the first place but I hoped against reason that Gyokeres might be better than a player who couldn’t get a game at Brighton. However he looked every bit a Championship player and totally out of his depth. He’ll have to improve drastically to justify that price tag or else Berta will have some explaining to do.
His fate is sealed, if Mikel did not want him and Berta did, then he will be a pedestrian in an AFC jersey, trust me. Nobody dare challenge the boss without dire consequences. Did anyone notice how Ode bypassed him? Mikel has to prove a point that he knows best even if it is detrimental to the team’s prospects. Rice is not a CAM and never will be. Nevertheless , a good 3 points on the board with a clean sheet.
I didn’t see the game, but if as you say Ødegaard “bypassed” Gyokeres then he’s very much to blame. It’s his job to provide Gyo, not ignore him.
Do you ever reason beyond your h
dislike for Arteta?🙄
It’s a massive three points in the scheme of things.
For one it is always good to off on a winning start and when that win is against a sleeping giant deep on hostile territory, then that victory becomes even more rewarding.
This is the first game of what is looking to be a long and grueling campaign , they are quite a few things that we may need to revisit, one of the main issues I found with the game in Manchester is our slow style of play.
But I have no doubt this is an área that will be address immediately, as both our two top signing thrive in quick inter playing style.
While the performance was nothing to write home about, the three points were an excellent start.
Now the first games out the way, no more excuses about rustiness, pre-season should have knocked that out of us. Performance levels now need to improve in my opinion.
It was a massive 3 points because we didn’t deserve it. We got lucky. Take it and run. But unless we improve drastically, performing like that will get us knowhere at all, in the long run. Utd are not great but their set up and tactics were better than ours. And they shouldn’t be as obvious as they were.
We’ll see on your comment, regarding United, as the season unfold
To be honest, I don’t think utd are that great. Did you see their bench? But I am more interested in us and our deficiency.
And in any case, what has our poor disjointed performance got to do with the future of utd?
It could be that they’re a better team now….. hence, we struggled against them 😕
Whilst there are some useful points in the article I take issue with this “trophy or bust” position. Certainly Arsenal have strengthened and so should be able to challenge on multiple fronts. Expectations, however, need to consider what Arsenal are up against not just what has been done to put them in contention.
@David
Of course, Arsenal is up against some tough opponents, when were they not? Even so, I don’t think we can get away from the fact that Arsenal, or more accurately Arteta, is in a “trophy or bust” position now.
Seven different EPL clubs have won trophies, domestically and in Europe, over the past two seasons alone. So, while it’s obviously challenging picking up silverware, it clearly can’t be that difficult. Even Crystal Palace, hardly an “elite” club, managed exactly the same trophy haul last season alone as Arsenal has since 2019-20!
The narrative we’re fed by some seems to be changing though. One minute we’re told that all the considerable effort and huge expenditure over the last five seasons is “preparation” for winning and that we should be patient. Now the argument seems to be moving on to all that preparation is one thing, but now the “problem” is that the opposition is tough.
I really hope Arsenal/Arteta will be successful this season. If not, Arteta will have had a far longer run by the end of 2025-26 than he would have got at any other major club domestically (only Pep has been in post longer in the EPL) or in Europe. I suspect the time will then have come to say enough is enough and look for someone else.
Bertie,
I make you exactly right regards your quote “preparation” for winning and that we should be patient. And your other quote, “problem is the opposition is tough.
The amount of times the goal post’s are being moved, surely the posts must be near the side of the pitch now they’ve been moved that much.😂👍
Your 3rd paragraph is spot on Bertie👍
David,
You say, expectations , however, need to consider what Arsenal are up against not just what has been done to put them in contention.
Well the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool have known what their up against in the seasons gone by. And it didn’t stop them winning the big jugs did it.
Just how long are you willing to wait, before at least saying something slightly negative regarding Arteta and Arsenal. While I get that it’s good to be positive, your constant spinning of narratives is at best laughable.
While it’s not really feasible to win trophy’s season after season, for a variety of different reasons. There comes a time when even the most positive and rose tinted fan has to finally say enough is enough, it’s time to get in another manager to see if he can get us over the line.
The trophy or bust comment is a valid one. 6 years and counting. When is Arteta going to be truly held to account. For me, It’s at the end of this season. 6 years of phases and win the dog is more than enough for me.
But no doubt you’ll put your usual positive spin and try to come up with a narrative that will try to defend Mr Arteta. 🥱
@Derek
Hear, hear.
The big big difference is Liverpool and City have managers that CAN win the premier league. We haven’t. And people find all sorts of excuses to ignore that FACT!!
Derek here is the reality about the Arteta fan club:
You have to understand they just can’t ever, ever admit they might have been even a little bit wrong. It’s not even about loyalty anymore with them. It’s about being trapped.
They went all in, guns blazing, years ago. They called people “fake fans” and “reactionaries” for having doubts. They built their whole thing on being the smartest guys in the room, the ones with all the “perspective.” Now, if they turn around and say, “Yeah, maybe that was a mistake,” their whole house of cards falls down. Their pride can’t take it. Its easier to just make more excuses and move goalposts some more.
It’s always someone else’s fault. The refs, the schedule, the fans who “lack perspective,” the balls, Man city dominance, injuries. The goalposts will ever keep on moving.
I can assure you, nobody needs Arsenal to win something so badly than David and co. It’s not even close. For the rest of us, it’s about glory. For them? It’s about being right. It’s about finally having the receipt to shut everyone up and prove their years of condescending posts were worth it. Their whole relevance is riding on it.
They’re not just fans anymore; they’re shareholders in Arteta, and man, they are sweating those returns.
If Arteta leaves us today he will be remembered for turning us into a competitive club again. That’s the target when he was employed and he’s achieved that.
He has made us a better team and made himself a better manager even without winning the league…
And how do you know that is the target when he was employed? Where did you get that?
Any manager who spends 1 billion and given unlimited time will turn any club competitive.
What the managers of Forest, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have achieved in the last two years are far more impressive than what Arteta has achieved in 6 years.
Slot came and achieved in one season what Arteta hasn’t in 5 years. Maresca has achieved more in one season than Arteta in 5 seasons. Even Man utd might return to glory days before we win anything.
We were honestly lucky not to concede—Cunha and Mbeumo were excellent, and we struggled to handle their pace at times. Imagine facing Liverpool with the same intensity.
There are a few things that consistently frustrate me with Arsenal’s approach:
1. We delay solving key issues – Whether its squad depth or signing a clinical striker, we always seem to wait too long before taking action.
2. We are constantly playing catch-up with top teams – If we had brought in these players last season, we could’ve gone all the way and won the league.
3. We rarely sign players to elevate the squad – Clubs like City and Liverpool buy to strengthen from a position of power. We often buy only when there’s a clear gap.
4. We act late in the transfer window – Waiting until the final days means new signings miss pre-season, which affects fitness and tactical integration. Edu’s improved in this area, but there’s still work to do.
5. Personally, I always prefer Premier League-proven players – They adapt quicker, know the intensity, and reduce the risk of needing a long adjustment period.