Good morning, everyone.
So, here we are in the middle of the last Interlull of the season. This campaign has sometimes felt more like something to get through than to enjoy, hasn’t it? Still, in about eight or nine weeks, it’ll all be wrapped up. Time flies when you’re having fun—or at least when fun pops up occasionally without sticking around as much as we’d like.
Football is naturally a mix of highs and lows, but this season the lows have shown up more often than anyone would prefer, and the highs haven’t quite hit their mark. Let’s hope we’ve picked up some lessons along the way and can steer things back on course. In fairness, that’s something Mikel Arteta has proven capable of during his time here, although it seems like this season’s challenges have stretched beyond just the manager.
I wouldn’t say anyone grew complacent, but perhaps we started feeling a bit too comfortable with our progress. This season should remind us that achieving our goals requires high-level performance from every corner of the club. The arrival of a new Sporting Director brings hope for improvement in that regard, and while the Champions League offers a sliver of dream-worthy possibilities, I get why some might hesitate to hope too much given our current hurdles and the strength of upcoming opponents.
The buzz around the Sporting Director position is pretty intriguing. While it’s not yet officially announced, we all know who’s stepping in. Andrea Berta’s plate will be full in the next few months with tasks ranging from recruiting to contracts and sales. I might dive deeper into that topic soon.
I haven’t come across a complete roster yet of all the players heading out for international duty, but after a quick search, it looks like pretty much all of our defenders are packing their bags. Goalkeeper David Raya, alongside defenders Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori, Kieran Tierney, Jakub Kiwior, and Oleksandr Zinchenko are all set to represent their nations. The only one staying put is Ben White, who’s shown renewed interest in playing for England, but these matches come too swiftly for him as he recovers from knee surgery.
I bring this up because as we look towards what’s left of the season, particularly the Real Madrid matches, our defensive lineup is what we’ll be pinning our hopes on. Bukayo Saka might be back post-break, but we need to be realistic about his state after such a spill and gauge how much we can lean on him following a serious injury.
As we saw just the other night when Ben White played his first match in ages against PSV, there’s a significant difference between being fit for training and achieving match fitness. So, fingers crossed that during this Interlull, our key area of strength remains intact once the action resumes. Speaking of Ben, let’s hope the break helps him regain form, easing the load on Timber, who’s been heavily relied upon following his ACL injury.
We discussed it on the Arsecast Extra yesterday. Considering how we tackle some of Real Madrid’s offensive threat, having Ben White sharp for those specific encounters might be key. Could we see him taking charge for games against Fulham and Everton, ensuring Timber is fresh for a face-off with Vinicius Jr.? It seems logical, but we’ll have to wait and see how things unfold.
Alright, I’m wrapping it up for this morning. Don’t forget, Arsenal faces Real Madrid in Champions League action tonight. Tim has a detailed preview of the women’s game over on Arseblog News. Kick-off is at 17:45 in our corner of the globe, and you’ll find watching details in Tim’s post. He’s on the ground in Madrid, and we’ll have all the post-match analysis and reactions lined up for you.
The Arsecast Extra episode is ready for you to check out if you haven’t already, and there’s also a new episode of The 30, our Premier League round-up podcast, up on Patreon. Enjoy your day!
