PERFECT START CONTINUES
Perusing assorted Social Media Disgrace for some Monday inspiration, Football Daily was struck by the amount of scorn and ridicule heaped upon a large group of men dressed in black, many of them wearing balaclavas to hide their identities. Formed with the intention of creating something resembling a matchday atmosphere in and around the Emirates Stadium, the Ashburton Army is a group of wannabe ultras who would almost certainly retreat at the speed of light if confronted by one of the more hardcore continental firms they style themselves after. While many fellow fans view them with utter disdain for their “try-hard” aesthetic, on the same day a large group of identically attired and significantly older men were marching on Portsmouth to intimidate a boat-load of asylum seekers, the feeling persists that on this occasion, those pouring derision on this gang of overenthusiastic Ruperts might have set their sights elsewhere.
Widely billed as The Basque 44-Year-Olds Who Grew Up Together In The Antiguo Locale of San Sebastián and Remain Close Friends To This Day derby, there was atmos aplenty at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal hosted one of very few teams given a snowball’s chance in hell of challenging them for the title this season. And while Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea took a very early lead courtesy of some uncharacteristically shonky Arsenal defending at a set-piece, the champions ultimately prevailed. Their victory was due in no small part to Martin Ødegaard, who put in the kind of purring performance we simply did not often see from the frequently absent or knack-plagued Norwegian as his teammates ground out victory after victory en route to last season’s title. “I think he is enjoying his football,” whooped Mikel Arteta as he praised his captain after the game. “His personal life is settled. He is available. He is training. He has his routine and if he is intelligent, he can take a lot of benefits from the players around him. I think he was outstanding today.”
Having watched Arsenal play three, win three and score all six of their goals from open play in the Premier League so far, cynics who spent large tracts of last season criticising Arteta’s side’s over-reliance on set-piece goals have had to find new nits to pick. No stranger to controversy last season, on Sunday Gabriel Magalhães prompted a nationwide chorus of grumbles for escaping a red card despite kicking the Chelsea goalkeeper in the head. “Martínez has got the ball in his hands and he boots him in the head,” observed Wayne Rooney with a chuckle on Match of the Day. “I think he’s extremely lucky to stay on the pitch.” And while Football Daily is largely against heads being kicked on the football pitch or elsewhere, the decision not to dismiss Arsenal’s defender was correct because there was no malice aforethought as the Brazilian scrapped for the ball and he did not throw his boot with excessive force. In so many ways this is an Arsenal we are not used to seeing, but one that already looks far better than the one that won the league.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Two months after the events, we note that our questions remain unanswered to date. Given the importance of transparency and clarity for all parties involved, we request the necessary explanations and, at the same time, wish to explore where improvements to the current processes are possible, so that similar cases can be handled in a clear, consistent and efficient manner in the future” – Pascale Van Damme, president of the Royal Belgian Football Association. Belgium are currently a “nah” to supporting Gianni Infantino’s run for another go at being Fifa president after an unsatisfactory conclusion to inquiries about how USA USA USA’s Folarin Balogun was suddenly available for selection to face them at the World Cup despite a red card.
Re: Kieron Dyer and his MJ press conference (Friday’s Football Daily, full email edition). I wish he’d just beat it” – Marc Meldrum.
‘Mike’ Hackett? Let’s start a new trend and give every referee the moniker ‘Mike’, going back as far as 1891. Mike Langenus. Mike Horn. Mike Ellis. Mike Taylor. Mike Partridge. Mike Courtney. Mike Collina. Mike Clattenburg. Heck, even Mike ‘Mike’ Dean. Why not, since they’re all miked up theses days anyway” – Ben van Maaren.
I was wondering if the World Cup had taken some players over that threshold between good and great. Thinking about players who had a brilliant competition and have come back men, not boys. No more nerves or inconsistency. Eg Haaland, post-haircut … maybe Ødegaard? Can you think of anyone else transformed? And, conversely, how would a bad WC affect someone? Or, again, what about Cole Palmer? Four years of hurt or dodged a bullet?” – Russell Richardson.
A promoted team like Hull may be in the top four. Chelsea may sell/loan 40 players and still carry a bench worth half a billion GBP. Manchester United may suddenly look like a team that can play 90 minutes without imploding. Nothing is certain, except Spurs staying in the relegation zone until MD 36. Thank you Spurs, for such stability” – Krishna Moorthy.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Krishna Moorthy, who gets a copy of The Mbappé Project by Philippe Auclair. Copies are available in the Guardian Bookshop if you are not the lucky scribe. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.