morning.
Let’s start with last night’s Champions League match. Arsenal Women defeated Juventus 4-0 at home. Goals came from Frida Maanum, Stina Blackstenius, Mariona Caldentey and Caitlin Foord. It was another win for interim manager Rene Sledgers, and Arsenal have gone on a five-match unbeaten run since taking charge following the departure of Jonas Eidewal.
You can see the objectives of the report here and Renee Slegers’ response to Tim’s question here. Next up for the women is the North London derby at home on Saturday, where we will hope for another good result.
Meanwhile, Martin Odegaard traveled to Norway to speak with the national team and decided it would be best for him to continue his recovery in London rather than play against Slovenia and Kazakhstan. The Norwegian team doctor said:
This was a complicated ankle injury. There has been very little training with the team over the last nine weeks so it is understandable that he is not 100% fit at this stage. In consultation with him we agreed that it would be better for him to return to London to continue his rehabilitation.
Odegaard says you should listen to your body, and for me this is the most sensible approach. Did he really need to go that far for them to come to this conclusion? It’s hard to understand how this decision can’t be made over the phone, but it is what it is. Most importantly, he continues to recover on base and can speak.
That doesn’t mean it’s a risk-free environment, but it’s a lot less risky than playing competitive gaming. There are a few other players hoping to bounce back after Interlull. Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu are set to return, and it remains to be seen what happens to Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice, who have withdrawn from the England squad.
As for the rest, we keep everything that happens while conducting international business hassle-free. Players to watch include William Saliba (France), Kai Havertz (Germany), Leandro Trossard (Belgium), Urien Timber (Netherlands), Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli (Brazil), and Jakub Kiwir (Poland). , Mikel Merino, David Raya (Spain), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Ukraine).
Going back to Odegaard for a moment, it was interesting to see how much of the discourse in his absence revolved around Ethan Nwaneri. I think we can all understand why. He’s a brilliant talent with enormous potential, and there’s something fundamentally romantic about the idea of ​​a kid from the Academy stepping up to fill that gap. Did you want to see more of that person? Of course. But if a 17-year-old is the only option in the absence of a captain, I think focusing on him obscures the questions that need to be asked about squad building.
Arsenal have let go of both Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira this summer, and while there may be good reasons for both of their departures, we have been taking it lightly. Perhaps Odegaard’s absence would not have been felt so keenly if Mikel Merino’s debut had not been delayed by injury. And his pre-season has basically consisted of his first few games at the club. It’s not ideal, but I thought there were encouraging signs from Sunday’s game against Chelsea, but he’s clearly a very different kind of player to Odegaard.
I think it’s clear that Mikel Arteta and his recruitment team are keeping a close eye on defenders. Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu all take on the role, even though the latter is sadly injured. It is further up front where I think we need to see the next wave of positive arrivals. Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard are on good contracts and have a few more years left on them, so I think the former could be a very successful purchase.
But Gabriel Jesus hasn’t worked out the way we wanted, and after five years here, Arteta has yet to buy an out-and-out centre-forward. He inherited Saka and Martinelli (not a criticism, just an observation), and at the moment, Punk is overlooking how many goals we scored last season. But is there room for improvement in terms of both creativity and efficiency in the face of goals? 100%, and that’s what I’m looking for as we head into the next transfer window.
I may be getting ahead of myself, I know, but it’s Interlull, and if we can’t let our minds wander now, when? okay. I’ll leave it there this morning. Have a nice time.
