Hey there!
So, it’s Friday morning and I’m just about to zip out to London for the weekend showdown with Brentford. I was mulling over the idea of writing about what clobbering Real Madrid means for us—like what it really says about our team and all that—but Tim beat me to it with his column yesterday. Seriously, if you haven’t caught it yet, go check it out, it’s a good read!
Anyway, not exactly what he said, but in the same realm of “Dude, look how far we’ve come.” This funny little world of football we live in, where everything’s all about the now, like the immediate things, but then out of the blue, gotta throw in some long-term plans or else you’re pretty toast. Game-winning now is cool, but also you need to build that thing that’ll let you do it over and over, and yeah, that takes forever. Or it feels like it.
Take Mikel Arteta, for instance. Given some time, his squad—injuries and all—just stomped Real Madrid 3-0 on an unforgettable night. Seriously. His squad, his players, big spending done, sure, but way beyond just transfer fees. Tim mentioned the culture thing Arteta brought up ages back, and it really sunk in, didn’t it?
It’s funny, yeah? You hear it sometimes, like “This team’s serious,” and right now, I’d throw that at Arsenal. For real. But maybe not so much back then. And don’t get me wrong, it’s not like folks weren’t trying, but let’s just say the whole pulling-in-the-same-direction thing wasn’t quite in full swing. I remember Leno talking about how Arteta started out focusing more on behavior than tactics. Wild, right?
To gel as a team, you need the right people—a serious bunch. And no, not quite where we dream to be just yet. We get it. Still climbing. Before, some of those guys simply weren’t around. Speaking of, remember Granit Xhaka? Yeah, some might chuckle, but that dude really is quite the tale in the whole culture shift theme.
Xhaka’s got this reputation, earned with some fiery moves and a nice collection of yellow cards back in the day. Arsene Wenger’s, like, indecisive vibes switching him around positions didn’t help either. There was Unai Emery’s era, oh, and that infamous Watford game where we just faced a barrage. Xhaka called the team out as ‘scared’ and, well, that did not go down smoothly. He maybe had a point though—things were slipping, big time.
Arteta comes in and when Xhaka finds his spot back, there’s magic. It wasn’t immediate but, I dunno, feels like the best we’ve seen of him was under Arteta. It wasn’t just about his skill set; that determination screamed “This guy’s got what it takes,” making him crucial in the team’s rise.
Arteta saw the flaws, Xhaka in a deep-lying role wasn’t cutting it, so bam, moved him up a bit. Let’s not set folks up for failure, right? And yeah, those last couple seasons, seen some stellar Xhaka moments. Like now, it seems those traits matter so much, just look at who he’s brought in for that role: Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino. There’s a pattern, right?
Xhaka moved on to Bayer Leverkusen and did mighty things in the Bundesliga. Feels like a bit of Arteta rubbed off, yeah? Yet, Xhaka embodied Arteta’s dream team card—serious nature, gritty leaders all over. Arsenal’s got it front to back now, that same vibe. They’re not just plain one-dimensional; there’s room for some flair in all that seriousness, like Declan Rice pulling an unscripted free-kick move, and it works!
This season’s been a bumpy ride, too exhausting at times, and yeah, let’s skip the why (list is long). But watching the Madrid win? Totally, the foundation’s looking rock solid. We’ve got work, totally, not at the dream yet, but definitely in a good place. A true serious outfit.
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Alright, enough rambling. Got a Brentford preview podcast brewin’ over on Patreon, and a little reminder: April’s Patreon earnings—all of it—will go to charity. Check out who we’re supporting below if you’re up for some good karma with extra content for just $6 a month.
— arseblog (@arseblog.com) April 3, 2025, at 3:08 PM
