All season long, pundits have talked about Arsenal’s precarious position atop the Prem and how it would only be a matter of time before the best, deepest, most-expensive, and most-experienced squad in the history of manking would inevitably overtake them and resume their own rightful place. Now that this is on the verge of happening, Arsenal are somehow guilty of bottling it. Those pundits can’t really have it both ways, but when has that stopped them?
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In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a whole industry dedicated to exploiting, manipulating, and—above all—cashing in on fans’ fears. Our latest installment in How To Pretend To Be A Real News Source comes courtesy of the usual suspects such as The Mirror, The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Metro, and the countless fly-by-night websites that spread like the Cordyceps that spreads across the screen in the pre-credits to The Last of Us. Yes, Saliba is injured. No, he’s not on his deathbed. Relax.
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International breaks are always fraught with danger. Many players, especially those who play for smaller ctountries, frequently find themselves as the biggest and best player in the squad, exposing them to larger responsiibilties and roles, not to mention greater risks. It’s one thing to be among the best in your club’s squad; you can still count on having teammates of a similar quality. That drop-off at the country level, though, puts a player like Thomas Partey in dicey territory. For as much as we depend on him, Ghana may depend on him ten times as much, if not more. It was therefore a terrifying moment when we learned that Partey was not in the starting lineup against Angola this weekend. As it turns out, though, it all sounds like another chapter of the age-old story of making a mountain out of a molehill.
Continue readingSpain and Man City defensive midfielder Rodri did his level best on Saturday to join the likes of Ryan Shawcross, Dan Smith, and Martin Taylor during Spain’s match against Norway in Euro qualifiers, going in with a reckless, studs-first tackle on Norway and Arsenal midfielder Martin Ødegaard. It was, to be honest—and regular readers will know that I’m averse to hyperbole—disgusting. Ødegaard had planted his right foot and had taken the shot with his left. Rodri, late to close down, slid in from Ødegaard’s right (from his planted foot) and scythed the Norwegian down in a move that reverberated down through the years.
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After all, we squared off against a similarly hobbled Scouser squad and had to settle for a draw. A
draw this time just won’t due, not with the infirmary that is Man U these days. Here’s a quick rundown of the wounded, in approximate order of significance:
Those are our marching-orders, then. We have to show up as if we’re facing a fully-fit, first-choice XI. Kick ’em while they’re down. Stick a fork in ’em. What could be more satisfying than bouncing back from Tuesday’s defeat?