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<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAll the chatter before the Bayer Leverkusen was very focused on Max Dowman \u2014 understandable, what he did at the weekend was quite outrageous, historic, and extremely memorable.<\/p>\n
But you did get the sense that Arteta and Calafiori were getting a little frustrated that the media folk were putting too much pressure on the boy, and a level of patience should be given.<\/p>\n
Max Dowman can\u2019t put the truth back in the box. Once you\u2019ve seen it, you can\u2019t escape the fact that what you\u2019ve witnessed was something you only see once every 15 to 20 years. But, as Arsenal fans, we should do our best to remember he is a boy, we can\u2019t put expectations of men on his head, and we\u2026 under no circumstances, can get angry if he can\u2019t deliver in a game.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why talk of England should be buried right away. Let him develop, learn to be a star in the Premier League, and get integrated into first team opportunities without the absurdity of an England World Cup. We all saw what happened to Theo Walcott when he was called up. It was by far the most stupid selection decision of our lifetimes, and it stunted the growth of the player in the Premier League when it didn\u2019t really work out.<\/p>\n
Still, you can play this as coy as you like, it\u2019s clear that Dowman, in the right game state, could play a role as a super sub in the remaining matches. He\u2019s unencumbered mentally in our attacking groups. Just look at the problems Madueke was having in the second half. Go back and count the times he was in one vs one situations and he wouldn\u2019t take on his man. He was scared, he had the baggage of a grown man, and it affected him when it mattered.<\/p>\n
Max entered the pitch and just didn\u2019t care. He looked like the kid at 5-a-side who is better than everyone. Light on his feet, fast with his thinking, and consequential with every shoulder drop. It was silk on the eyes. A bottle of Lucozade after a heavy night out. He was electricity on a night that was lacking voltage.<\/p>\n
Leverkusen is going to be a different evening, but it\u2019ll need a spark at some point. They clogged Arsenal up in the first leg, frustrated the boys, and limited our superpowers up and down the pitch. Can they do that with the momentum the dressing room will have at the weekend? Yes, they can. They absolutely can.<\/p>\n
The hope is that the Everton result can lift some of the creative block we\u2019ve seen of late. Maybe that moment can inspire others in the team to take on some of that hero mindset. I\u2019m praying Mikel Arteta has the attention of the players and the players react with a beastly performance, under the lights, on the carpet.<\/p>\n
One suspects there will be some changes made given there\u2019s a cup final coming up at the weekend that carries hardware connotations. But the most important game is the one we have this evening.<\/p>\n
Timber and Odegaard won\u2019t make the starting 11. The big decision will be on who can play at right back. I wasn\u2019t overly convinced by Mosquera at the weekend, and I do think at home, Ben White getting the chance to show what he\u2019s made of playing with Saka and Kai could be an interesting experiment as we search for an attacking unlock.<\/p>\n
Trossard is back in the mixer, and I suspect he\u2019ll take preference over Noni, who did not have his best game against Everton. I admired the tap-in for Gyokeres, but we\u2019ve seen enough of him as a 9 this season, and it\u2019s clear Kai gives far more to our play with his unpredictability, and talent for having more than one dimension to his game. Gyokeres\u2019 superpower is rattling tired defences late on and being the Gyok in the Box Ars\u00e8ne Wenger was looking for all those years ago.<\/p>\n
A lot has been made of Arteta taking his jacket off late in the game and getting into the atmosphere and riding the game out like a manic conductor.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, I felt it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt that the team needed something else. I was desperate to do anything that it could take to win the game and to help the boys to deliver that moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I wanted to be there present, supporting them, playing every ball with them, make them feel that I\u2019m there, that we are all there, because it\u2019s not (just) me, it\u2019s all the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It was very fun watching it from the sideline, he was all of us around the TV, pushing the players to new limits.<\/p>\n
I have seen some commentary doing the rounds that atmospheres have changed in the Premier League. That things aren\u2019t what they used to be. That \u2018tourist fans\u2019 have ruined the league. That the \u2018Americanisation of pre-game\u2019 has changed the league for the worst. That the \u2018working class\u2019 fan has been pushed out of the game.<\/p>\n
While I empathise with people being pushed out of the game, this romantic view that change in the Premier League is all about tourists and American tropes is so f*cking boring at this point. Local fans should take responsibility for how they behave at grounds instead of constantly finger-pointing and romanticising about Steve Bull, \u00a31 rat burgers, and print programs, when we were having the exact same conversations 10 years ago about how \u2018family friendly\u2019 killed the match day vibes.<\/p>\n
Until I see data that says 50% of the stadium is tourists, I\u2019m not having it that the handful in the stadium is killing the atmosphere. Until someone can explain why pre-game tifos lift the roof off stadiums in some of the craziest atmospheres in the world in Argentina, Brazil, and Germany , then I\u2019m not having that they are a problem. And until you can sit me down and tell me how middle-class N5, after years of having the WORST atmosphere in football, now has one of the best\u2026 then I\u2019m not hearing the whining.<\/p>\n
Truth is, you get to a certain age, and you start complaining about the good old days. It\u2019s just part of the human cycle. The biggest issue facing Premier League atmospheres is that it has been very hard to age down the fan base. Even when they do manage it, with Ultra Sections, the older fans complain they don\u2019t like it. Noise is for the youth because they bring the energy and the focus. That\u2019s why gigs are more fun to go to when it\u2019s Fontaines DC vs Bloc Party or Paul Weller. That\u2019s why the Ashburton Army pregame pics go so hard\u2026 because it\u2019s great to see, it\u2019s awesome to be around, and it makes the game more fun.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not discounting older fans at all, I count as one nowadays, but misdiagnosing the problem at certain clubs as a tourist issue just stinks to me. It\u2019s the chance to have a pop at Americans, who are the biggest Premier League market outside the UK, and some of the most passionate lunatics you\u2019ll ever meet. These folk sit at bars at 7am, beer in hand, making up their own chants, and they\u2019ve been doing it for long enough to not have to listen to local fans pop off because their club has to sell tourist tickets at their NFL bowl to make up the deficit. Go to any Arsenal fan bar in the US and tell me they wouldn\u2019t sing if they had a ticket. They know all the songs, get tattoos on their face, and destroy their weekends in 4 am boozing 38 times a season.<\/p>\n
This is Szoboszlai on Liverpool.<\/p>\n
\n“I don\u2019t think it helps us that after 80mins people start to go home. Everyone is noticing that and when we concede a goal still people are leaving the stadium. I understand the frustration but we need them. I think it should be normal that in hard times we stick together even more. <\/p>\n
“We want to make them happy, it\u2019s not that we do it on purpose. They can be angry but stick with us because we are a family, we need you guys.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
You think it\u2019s tourists walking out of games? You think everyone in that Liverpool stadium is upper-middle-class investment bankers? Same story at Spurs where we\u2019ve seen fans exiting on 39 minutes. You think that\u2019s Koreans doing that? Remember when Arsenal were clearing stadiums, do you think it was the tourists clearing Sheffield United and Burnley? No, because they don\u2019t have them at those grounds.<\/p>\n
One other element we should all consider is how the internet makes us feel. Arsenal fans have, without doubt, been stressed by what pro pundits think about the team, and the negative atmosphere around the club has infiltrated the stands late in tight games. My belief is the base has largely corrected that, but negative hot takes, in my view, warp how we feel about the teams we love.<\/p>\n
The Palace coach was spitting feathers in the pre-game presser when he was challenged on his limited attacking players. He was told his football was boring and the players he had in attack weren\u2019t mavericks. His response was, \u2018before I arrived here, with those same attacking players, Palace were fighting relegation with 35 goals, now I am here, we are scoring 57 goals and breaking records and not in danger.\u2019 What about West Ham fans, crying over Moyesball, now facing Premier League relegation because they thought they deserved trophies AND stunning football.<\/p>\n
Where else have you heard things like that? In our own group chats. I am hearing from Arsenal season ticket holders telling me they don\u2019t enjoy going to games right now and I am expected to feel sorry for them? Arsenal have scored over 100 goals this season, we\u2019re in every competition, we are one of the best teams in the world on our good days, and our off days\u2026 and people are complaining the football is hard to watch with a 77% win rate? I think that\u2019s influenced by hearing professionals sh*t on the club relentlessly. It\u2019s not just Arsenal, we see it across the league. The Brighton CEO having to write to a fan concerned about the future of a club with only 8 years in the top flight. Arne Slot having to defend the shift in style of football this year after winning the Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur getting pilloried for bringing the wrong sort of goal-laden entertaining football. It\u2019s outrageous. I love watching Spurs.<\/p>\n
But, you catch my drift. If you\u2019re in the stadium, noise is on you. Owning a classic football shirt, a faded club crest tattoo, and being able to recite the 2007 backroom team doesn\u2019t give you special rights to sit there with your arms crossed and poke holes at new fans that want to see a game.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t have that problem at Arsenal. The atmosphere was a push from the fans and manager. It isn\u2019t the way it is because the football is good. It was a choice to support the manager and it has stuck. Players love playing at The Emirates. If we can do it, any fan base can, it\u2019s a choice, and that choice isn\u2019t on the tourists.<\/p>\n
Ok, BIG night. Let\u2019s hope everyone is in great form this evening! HUUUUGE GAME. x<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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