Arsenal and the waterpark (Positives Needs & Hopes) [ARS 1 (2)-(1) 0 ATL]

‘Arsenal and the waterpark’

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective

Now don’t be jealous. I live near two of the world’s best water parks. In fact, if I was American, I would probably say I live near seven of the best. Over in the US, they don’t think that four hours away is really that far.

The two that are close to where I live are actually an hour away, which you probably think is cheating. Over here that is ‘just around the corner..’

The Smoky Mountains are beautiful and they host Dollywood Splash Country and Soaky Mountain waterpark. They are quite epic. The kids on my team see them as the prime part-time job to have. They have shuttle buses that pick you up from where you live as long as it is within 60 miles and pay you more than any other part-time job.

I was awake last night for a good while because of the beautiful adrenaline that was running through my veins. It was most certainly red and white yesterday. I was thinking of how to frame what I had just seen. I decided to frame it as a big middle finger to those people that have got Arsenal so wrong.

I was prompted by multiple tweets of highly respected players and managers, who once again would disagree with the media narrative. Personally, I pay more attention to a coach’s opinion than any ex player. Current players are more interesting because they’ve actually played in this modern football era, whereas somebody like Gary Neville sees everything through the lens of 2003.

These fancy water parks here in the USA are pretty spectacular because of the variety of different slides and ways to enjoy the water.

The rainbow funnel that you see in the picture is the Soaky Mountain waterpark where you are spat out into the funnel and much like the penny game at the shopping centre that you put a penny in and it goes around and around and disappears, you eventually plummet down the hole of the funnel.

This reminds me of the fan accounts who might have the most views, but their opinion is always extreme. If it wasn’t and it was based in reality, then they would have a similar amount of views as somebody like I do who tries to see a football team’s achievements as what they are, rather than what I need for them to be.

If you have ever experienced a funnel slide like this, then you will agree that for 60 seconds of your life you completely lose your mind as it has you constantly thrown in different directions and so you switch your brain off, much like fanning for followers.

Then there are football fans who go seven steps further and pretend to know something that they don’t. Pretend that their opinion is a fact when that’s not possible. They are the fans that go to the waterpark and refuse to go anywhere else but the most dangerous and fastest slide in the park.

They also have a lazy river. A really quite enjoyable laid-back experience on a pool float. Much like the more reasoned football fans who are smart enough to read, observe and not post ridiculous stuff in October like “Gyokeres needs to go back to Sporting.”

Dollywood Splash Country has a wave pool. A place where you are completely at the mercy of nature as you get tossed around by the waves. These are fans who don’t turn on their brain from August to May. They just repeat the narrative like sheep and are now frantically on their phones deleting tweets from October.

Then you have a small group of fans who see the enjoyment in all of the different activities at the waterpark, but just chill in the hot tub. The best place. They are people who always see the big picture when everybody else is looking at today’s headline.

The big picture at Arsenal Football Club is that the reign of Mikel Arteta has seen Arsenal turn from a laughing stock into arguably the most respected team in Europe, and certainly one of the best.

The story isn’t over, but whether it is this season or the next one or two, I only see one direction for Arsenal Football Club. The owners were very clever and ignored those at the top of the dangerous slide and those swirling in the funnel. They just chilled in the hot tub and knew that the direction of travel was north, even if it was too slow for some people.

Modern day players have responded to the continuous and steady growth of Arsenal Football Club by either wanting to join, or in the case of somebody like Zubimendi, rejected other more unstable projects for a club on a one-way road to the north.

For as scary as PSG and Bayern might be, there are different ways of winning football matches and there always will be. Arsenal are significantly better organized and reliable defensively, and now that the attack has found some level of groove then maybe that will be enough. The final doesn’t have to be a memorable high scoring match that amuses Gary Neville and his mates. It needs to be won. That’s all. If I was a bookmaker, I would have Arsenal as at least 50/50 to win the Champions League final because no team in world football – no matter the amount of attacking talent they have showed up with, has dominated Arsenal Football Club in many years. They find it very difficult. Very frustrating. They also know that they might have a really nice house, but the back door is far more accessible than ours and the trophy isn’t in the attic, it is in the kitchen.

POSITIVES:

Mikel Arteta:

I know that many people feel like he is trying to force the energy. Maybe there is some truth to it. I am more inclined to go back into my hot tub and look at it reasonably and see that the truth is that he is simply paying more attention to the soft factors than other clubs. Add that to the organic excitement of a fan base showing up for a game that they don’t always get to play in and you get the fire and lightning that happened at the Emirates last night.

Mikel was proven correct and picked the right team. Even though the focus was mostly on Lewis Skelly, it was Calafiori and his presence in the middle of the field that Atlético Madrid struggled with. Calafiori did not have one of his best games, but the simple fact that he was standing in certain areas moved certain opponents to areas that they didn’t want to be in. Even though the game was somewhat back-and-forth there was enough threat from Arsenal for Atletico to second-guess and have to change the defensive roles of some of their midfielders.

Ben White:

Firstly, picking him was a front footed decision which certainly benefited Saka. He could’ve gone with Mosquera and arguably had a more solid defensive right back, but we were bolder and White responded with a very good performance.

I wish he was more reliable, fitness-wise, because a fit Timber and a fit White are a hard duo to improve upon. With both of them having injury concerns Arsenal really have no choice in the summer but to find a full back who is more reliable. This is why I’m struggling to believe the Livramento rumors because he is more unreliable than they are.

Structure:

Simeone was so glowing in his praise. Consider how furious he was during and after the game and you consider that he must have so much respect for Arteta and Arsenal, if he can say this when his emotions probably want to flick a V sign.

I’m sure he felt that our defensive structure essentially shut down every single one of their high-level attacking players. Alvarez wasn’t fully fit, but was largely nullified once again. Lookman was a non-factor in both games. Griezmann is too good at football to be a non-factor but was martialed into feeding off scraps. I could pick out individual defenders but Arteta will tell you that it is the team’s defensive structure, positioning, and decision-making that shuts down a group of top class players. So that’s good enough for me.

VG:

Declan Rice won man of the match and that’s fine. He had yet another top game. There is every possibility that he wins the Balon d’Or, especially if we win one or both trophies but yet does not win Footballer of the Year in England.

I’d rather praise Viktor because he took a physical beating and hardly ever got favor from the referee. He should’ve been responsible for their centre back being sent off. He has improved exponentially as a holdup player, and this includes his movement down the channels and decision-making in these areas. It is getting to a point where he is as likely to set up a goal scoring opportunity as anybody else on the team, and this wasn’t happening in 2025.

 

Referee:

It doesn’t matter now, but referees have to realize that when a guy as large as Viktor goes to the ground there is a pretty darn good chance that he has been fouled. He doesn’t dive and he seems more determined to stay on his feet and so referees really need to look at him differently. He’s always reminded me of one of the Avengers. I think it’s Captain America. Sometimes it’s like watching the Hulk toss him around the city and the residents simply walking on by as if there is nothing to see here. “Don’t worry, It’s just a guy being thrown into a building which is about to crumble on my head..”

Gabriel, Saliba, Timber and Hincapie:

I remember back when the trend started. It got to the point where we were being fed the narrative that it was more important that your centre backs could pass than defend. I always thought that that was wrong, but I’m keeping that fairly quiet. Arteta is smarter than that. He knows that if you can shut the back door, then you have a foundation under your house and the players ahead of them feel like they can do their job and not have to be worried about the back door.

He found a group of players who could play with their feet and we are now at a point where they almost never give the ball away whilst playing out of the back.

More than that though, he has found these four defenders in particular who enjoy defending as much as I enjoy my wife’s crêpes with bacon, cheese and grilled onions. I have them every Saturday and then if Arsenal are playing, it is the perfect day.

Not only has there been great recruitment and fantastic coaching, but he has made Ben White tougher, Mosquera more reliable, Lewis Skelly an option in a position he had never played before and most impressively turned Calafiori from an excellent ball player but unreliable defender to having the ability to do both at a high-level.

Saka:

Arsenal cannot make a big thing about Saka’s achilles. He gets kicked in that area repeatedly, anyway. If Arsenal make a big thing of it, then defenders will go after that specific area and step on his heel.

I don’t want to over blow this because I don’t know the details and I don’t like heights and danger slides, but the achilles is arguably the worst injury you can get in football. It’s hard to fully repair and so I hope that he isn’t overplayed in the summer because that’s a real concern.

It might be that he has to have surgery and miss a chunk of next season, which is very unfortunate, but it could be either that or a career in the balance.

His influence yesterday was obvious. In a game of very few errors from either team he caused a few all by himself. His goal was so encouraging because it wasn’t something he normally does or that any Arsenal player does. You should never be flat footed in the box and watch a ball flying towards a goal. You should always stay in motion so you have a better chance of getting to the rebound.

Trossard:

He is returning to form at just the right time. I would’ve loved for it to have been earlier, but I’ll take it. His technical ability isn’t really talked about. By me either. He’s not really seen as a tricky wing because he’s not particularly quick or fast. He is highly deceptive, as well as being a very effective footballer though. It stands out in our team because we certainly have a tendency to be too predictable and he is absolutely not that. Being two-footed, he can go both ways and he’s intelligent enough to have learnt the art of faking a defender into committing to a challenge and then changing direction. I do wish that our right wing would attack the back post when Trossard is shooting though. So often his shots come really close and would be a tap in for the attacker on the right side.

Subs:

I know that perhaps a substitute shouldn’t be given a round of applause for putting full focus and maximum energy into such an important game, but let’s be honest, it doesn’t always happen and it’s not just Arsenal.

Madueke was more focused, energetic, and a threat, as was all the others that came on.

Recently, Arteta has been excellent at using his bench at the right time, also.

Rice:

What can you say. Perhaps the right thing to say is that the best footballer in your team is the one that performs at the highest level the most consistently. We are blessed at Arsenal because we have a large group that fight for this award.

His move to DM has given him the opportunity to appear occasionally on the right side. This adds a new dimension to our attacks with him on his best foot.

Lewis Skelly:

I don’t want to repeat myself, but it does require mentioning that not only does he look the part but he’s bringing something extra. He is unusually strong for somebody so small.

Got such unreal balance also. It’s not that Zubi doesn’t because he’s also a fine player, but what is currently separating the two of them is risk and ambition.

Almost every pass that Lewis Skelly made was forward. Maybe he’s a smart boy and knows that this is his route to being a starter because the competition isn’t so willing to do this. Maybe it is an instruction or maybe it is instinct. Either way, the fans don’t just love him because he’s an Arsenal boy. They can see a top level player, regardless of their childhood.

I know it will be tempting to sell and make profit on him and Ethan in the summer, but I really hope we don’t. Both of them could turn out to be the solution and right now it looks like Lewis Skelly isn’t just a player with fantastic potential but a different maker at the very highest level as a starting central midfielder.

NEEDS:

No need.

HOPES:

Celebrations:

I almost felt sorry for the players after the game. They really don’t have time and opportunity to fully celebrate. Such a wonderful evening. Celebrating a week later, doesn’t really have the same energy either. Maybe the celebrations in the dressing room will be enough for them and I hope that they stayed in there and made it their personal pub and nightclub and didn’t leave until midnight.

West Ham:

I think it’s really important that Arsenal start fast at the London Stadium. West Ham fans are now energized like ours are but it’s a different kind of energy. They stand on the edge of the cliff and a fast start and an early goal or two could push their fans into a mindset that that club has faced more often than not. Disappointment. That is our job. Create disappointment in the crowd and suck the energy out of the stadium. It’ll be hard to hear our loud away fans anyway because they are a solid country mile away from the pitch at that stadium.

TWEETS and THOUGHTS:

An incredible stat seeing as they have played in the vast majority of these games.

Equally impressive.

We weren’t at the stadium but EllieAnn, Max and I created our own fireworks. There will be many stories like this.

But the media in England spend all their time mocking us. I’m embarrassed for them.

I cannot fully express how much I love reading this.

If I was Arsenal, I would put this on sale now and while fans are in a really good mood, because I don’t think they will sell more than 6 of them next season. There is nothing about this that says Arsenal.

Too beautiful to consider, yet.

But ‘Arsenal are bottlers’ is the story.

Firstly, I have zero interest in any radio/TV show/social media account that talks about over celebrating. What it communicates to me is that you don’t have the modern game knowledge to talk about the game. We just watched a high level football match and these people want us to forget that and focus on the reality show. Society is reflected here. Political correctness didn’t help.

The best of football is nights like this. The pinnacle of a fans experience.