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The Man at the Centre of the Goonerverse

Oct 10th, 2024 by

One night last winter, I was helping to transport a very eminent lady from central London deep into rural Kent. We were discussing the state of financial services, the issues of eldercare and the likely outcome of the then forthcoming election.  As we drove, she suddenly exclaimed, “I know the other bloke who is as nutty about Arsenal as you are!” and there began my introduction to Dave Seager.

I had read Dave’s book about the great Geordie Armstrong many years ago and knew he was a great friend of our founding father Dave Faber so I determined to get to know him. I’m delighted that, through my friend’s good offices, I have tracked Dave down and am delighted to reveal his latest, very current project and the story, a tragic story in parts, behind one of the leading authors about our special club.

I met up with Dave online this week to find out more about his life and work.

Dave, It is always exciting to talk to major Arsenal authors, especially when they have a new book coming out. We will talk about your new book shortly but for the benefit of our readers can you give us a bit of biographical detail about your Arsenal supporting life.

Major would be generous, but I will take it. I moved from the Midlands to SE London in 1971, aged 5. My first memory of watching football would be 1974, by which time my elder sister’s boyfriend had got me into The Arsenal. He took me to my first match in 1976. It was a bleak period for the team after the break-up of the Double winning team, but three certain young Irishmen were breaking through and exciting times were ahead.

I began travelling up on my own as soon as my parents would allow, and I was old enough to have a part-time job. This was 1981.

Do you have any specific highlights in your Arsenal supporting career? What were the best moments?

My first Wembley final was special in 1987, when we beat Liverpool, thanks to Charlie. I was a very young parent with not much money in the early part of George Graham’s tenure so whilst I was at a few matches in 88/89 I watched Anfield on TV, as most of the nation did. Hard to beat that night!

By the 90s, I was able to attend more as a Registration scheme (Silver) member and by the Wenger era was getting to about half of the matches a season. I had added a second membership by then so I could bring one of my kids or go with a mate.

I am sure the highs and lows after that are similar. The last match versus Everton in 98, the FA Cup Final in 2002, the Invincible campaign etc. The amazing 2 weeks being at the last match at Highbury with my son Liam, and in Paris.

Oddly, given the 9-year trophy drought, I would rank the Hull comeback in 2014 and of course being among the 9000 away fans that Monday night at Old Trafford in 2015. What a night that was!!

I think you were a great friend of the inimitable Dave Faber who started the Goonerholic website. Can you tell us about your relationship with Dave? 

Yes, Dave and I became good mates, initially meeting at the Tolly when I first started blogging. We sat a block apart so would either meet for a beer or 2 pre-match or perhaps at half-time. He was waiting for me in the pub, with arms wide open for a hug at my first game back in the February after my son has been killed the previous month. I was with him before his last 2 matches before he became too ill in the autumn of 2020. It was a hammer blow to lose him and the Arsenal blogging and podcasting fraternity, and the wider Arsenal community is the poorer for his loss.

You established the Gunnerstown.com website . Can you tell us a bit about how and why you established it ?  

I bought the site, as Welcome the Gunners Town and with my partner, Paul Hepker @invinciblog revamped it to the site it is now. It is quiet now, and the Arsenal blogosphere, as you will know is saturated but in 2014 it was a force.

Essentially, we wanted it to be an uncensored platform, for anyone who wanted to write about our team, but lacked a platform or outlet. In truth, it has been a stepping stone for many who have gone on to journalistic or broadcasting careers, such as Kaya Kaynak at Football London, Matt Cotton at Times Online, Daniel Cowan at BBC South etc. I even persuaded someone called Clive Palmer whose tweets had impressed me to try his hand at writing. God Knows what happened to him!!

Can you tell us why you began writing books about Arsenal ? How did you start the process and what areas have you covered ? 

In 2013 on the back of consistent writing for my own site IND2OU, Jill Armstrong approached me to write her father’s story. I thought it was a wind up, but somehow, I got a publisher and made a success of it. Once I had the publisher who has been hugely supportive, as he has of many Arsenal writers (Legends Publishing) I was able to explore a variety of original Arsenal related ideas.

Have you met many major Arsenal figures while researching your books? 

Through the Geordie Armstrong book I met a multitude of Arsenal players. Those who played with him and many whom he coached. I have stayed in touch with some and consider a few friends, such as Eddie Kelly and David Hillier. David Dein has also been highly supportive since then.

My second book, Supporting Arsenal is a Funny Old Game, allowed me to meet lots of Comedy Gooners and a few of them are now friends too. I met Matt Lucas, Dara, Romesh, Hugh Dennis, Alan Davies, Milton Jones and many more. Now that was fun!

Your new book is very unusual as far as football books are concerned . Can you tell us a bit about what prompted you to write it and the areas it covers ? 

Welcome to the Goonerverse is an anthology of Arsenal inspired poetry. Something it would be fair to say, one might not associate with Football fans. Therefore, it is a gamble, and I truly have no idea how may will buy it, but I am extremely proud of it. I have written many poems myself, but the rich variety comes from over 30 different Gooners contributing.

It was born out of me writing poetry about grief, loss and my relationship with my son Liam, whom we lost in 2019. Some of those were about his football and our mutual love of Arsenal, and 2 of those are in the book. In short, I came to believe that good poetry will only flow if the author is passionate about the subject, and who are more passionate than football fans?

How can we obtain a copy of the book? It sounds fascinating and a number of Holics will be interested in reading it. In fact, we will be giving away a copy to the winner of a competition on the website.

You can preorder now HERE and it will be delivered in early December. £1.50 from each purchase will go to the Arsenal Foundation.

In December, there will be launch events, probably with poetry readings in and around the Arsenal. The club have backed and stocked all my recent books so watch this space and my socials for news.

Dave, have you made plans for your next title? May we wish you very good luck with this publication and all your writing and thank you for sharing the history of your writing career with us. 

Honestly, I have no current plans but if this unique concept flies perhaps Goonerverse 2!

Dave, many thanks for your time and good luck with the latest book!

Goonerholics are cultured individuals and a poetry anthology sounds a very fitting part of the literary heritage of our club. I’ve had a sneak preview of the book and I think all Holics will enjoy it and find many special memories stirred by Dave’s words and those of his fellow poets. Please feel free to pre-order and solve that Christmas present dilemma for that hard to please auntie in Devon. Surely all Holics will have plenty of mates who would love a copy?

Posted in Fan Experience, Guest Blogs | 37 Drinks »

Another day at the office

Oct 6th, 2024 by

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I’m just back home in rural Oxfordshire 12 hours after leaving for That London and my first live view of The Arsenal this season. This will be another somewhat impressionistic account of the match as I’m very far from qualified to provide any kind of in-depth analysis of what happened and events demonstrate that I am unable to remember precise details of what happened and I failed to take any notes at the time.

I’m also writing this before watching Match of the Day or reading any reports and relying solely on my sadly fallible memory.

First half

The first half resembled a training ground game of attack versus defence. Southampton had the ball in the Arsenal half and around our penalty box for the first couple of minutes without doing anything much. When their possession eventually broke down, the Arsenal took the ball up the other end and seemed to keep it there for the next forty-odd minutes without, to be honest, ever threatening to do much. I caught sight of the first half statistics on the Big Screen at half time; as far as I remember they were Arsenal – Shots: 10, On Target 3, Southampton – Shots: 2, On Target 0. I couldn’t remember any Southampton shots but on the other hand I didn’t remember Arsenal having had 10, either. At some point I remember wondering whether it might take a Southampton goal to wake up the home side, but my next thought was certainly “Settle down PanG, that way lies madness”.

I had done quite a bit of reading during the week in preparation for writing this report (honest), and watched at least one video about all the problems that Arsenal are causing to opponents at set pieces. It seems that the Southampton staff had also seen this as the sight of seven defenders forming a cordon around Ramsdale at corners was a familiar feature of the first 45 minutes.

Half time – The Arsenal 0 – 0 Southampton

The second half started much the same way as the first, with Southampton taking the ball up the field in the first few minutes. Sadly, ten minutes in, my foolish first-half musing came to fruition as Southampton scored. It’s not the kind of event that I like to dwell upon; as far as I recall, the goal came from a ball through the inside right channel and things developed slowly enough for me to see that something had gone amiss and we might be in trouble here.

The Arsenal 0 – 1 Southampton (Archer 55 min)

The atmosphere around block 113 was subdued; disappointment rather than anger and certainly not panic. The team on the pitch seemed to think similarly as they continued to play in much the same way as before; maybe bolstered by the thought that Mikel Arteta knows what he’s doing and his training and tactics are probably valid. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later the equaliser came, courtesy of £60 million flop, Kai Havertz.

The Arsenal 1-1 Southampton (Hazertz 57 min)

Shortly after the equaliser went in, Arteta made three substitutions, wit Sterling, Jesus and Jorghino going off to be replaced by Trossard, Martinelli and Merino. This seemed to galvanise the Arsenal team who upped their pace and continued to turn the screw. Eight minutes later the ball was played in to Martinelli, cutting in from the left who put the ball past Ramsdale and the Arsenal into the lead.

(It’s quite possible that my memory has let me down and that it was the first goal, that found Havertz cutting in from the left. I can only remember one of the two goals and I’m pretty sure it was the one that Martinelli scored.)

The Arsenal 2-1 Southampton (Martinelli 68 min)

The atmosphere now considerably brighter, the Arsenal continued to press and Southampton continued not to have much answer. After 20 minutes of pressure, with the clock running down, the third goal came.

I haven’t forgotten what happened in the build up to this goal, I genuinely didn’t see it at the time. Reconstructing what I did see, an Arsenal attack broke down and the Southampton defence was calmly passing it from their right to their left. I had a look upfield to see what passing options they had on when there was an almighty roar and I looked up to see the ball in the Southampton goal. I have seen a replay, on the big screen in the stadium from which I learned that it was Saka who had scored, but am left none the wiser as to where he had come from, how the ball had found its way to the back of the net, or indeed how the Southampton defence came to have the ball in the first place.

The Arsenal 3-1 Southampton (Saka 88 min)

With the team now well on top, it came as a pleasant surprise when nine minutes of extra time were signaled, but they were unable to find a fourth goal.

Full time: The Arsenal 3-1 Southampton.

A few final impressions – I was looking forward to seeing some of the new signings (or close approach) since last season, and they didn’t disappoint. A couple of tackles from Calafiori where he took the ball off a Southampton player and ended up on one knee with the opponent behind him and time t oget up and pass to a teammate will live long in the memory. Merino looked the business when he came on on the hour mark. Sadly, I missed out on a view of Timber after last season’s dramatic failure to make it to the Forest game. Saliba (I think) also made a couple of breathtaking tackles, taking the ball cleanly to put a complete full stop to dangerous Southampton attacks.

It was all a little bit flat, to be honest. A first half in which we seemed to do all the right things but got no reward was followed by a second in which we conceded a goal but kept our heads to score three without further concession. It just seemed to be another day at the office – not a bad one (we won) – but not a good one (we went one down). On the other hand, after a few weeks where we were scoring regularly from corners we got three from open play this afternoon.

I continue to be extraordinarily impressed by the ball-playing abilities of the Arsenal defenders and the hard work put in by the attackers. This is a really good team; there’s a good chance that it will prove to be a great one. I reckon that a trophy can’t be far away.

Props to Aaron Ramsdale who applauded the Arsenal fans as he made his way from the goal he’d been defending in the second half to acknowledge to Southampton fans at the other end. Props too to the Arsenal fans who applauded right back. Finally, props to Arteta who came over and gave him a big hug.

Embed from Getty Images

Postscript

I went with SIL as usual, and as has become our habit we stopped for a post-match meal at an Italian eaterie on the Holloway Road (thanks for the recommendation a year or two back, Countryman 100). We fell into conversation with three guys at the next table who had also been to the game (one an American, another from Ireland). As they left, they said something which might have been that they had paid for our meal and drinks. When we came to settle up a bit later, the restaurant staff confirmed that I hadn’t misheard! Thank you very much fellers – I heard you say that you’d be coming to the Liverpool game together later in the season. I hope you have a good time then as well.

Posted in Match Report | 105 Drinks »

I like football but not Southampton

Oct 4th, 2024 by

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Without doubt, the worst day of my Arsenal supporting life was the 3-3 draw at home to Southampton at the back end of the 2022/23 season. That does make it sound like I’ve led a charmed life as an Arsenal supporter and you would have to say, like any Arsenal fan under the age of 25, I probably have. 

At the conclusion of that game, we were top of the league, albeit having played two more games than City with about five games to go. But it was probably the context of the events that occurred in the weeks leading up to that game that made it even more traumatic. We all recall that Saliba season-ending back injury in March which ultimately derailed our title charge that season. A draw at Anfield wasn’t a bad result despite being 2-0 up in half an hour. It was still in our hands. Then the same thing happened at West Ham the following weekend and Arsenal fans began to accept our fate was slipping out of our hands. But if we won all our remaining games (a tall order) we would still be in with a strong chance. Rock bottom Southampton at home on a Friday night? That’s what you want after letting a 2-0 lead slip in consecutive weeks. What could possibly go wrong? 

Well, everything. Following a poor Ramsdale back pass, we were a goal down after 15 seconds. Well, this is a disastrous start. But we do have 89 minutes and 45 seconds to turn this around right guys? 1-0 became 2-0 inside 15 minutes and The Emirates was in a state of complete shock and disbelief. Going into injury time we found ourselves 3-1 down and miraculously clawed it back to 3-3 and very nearly won it when at the death as Trossard clipped the bar from a long-range effort, but the damage was too great to reverse. Not just that night but the last couple of weeks. In the end, it was all just a step too far for our young team. I’ve always reflected on that game as the final nail in the coffin. Going into that game we still had the faintest glimmer of hope that anything can happen. But Southampton extinguished whatever little bit of faith we had and for that reason I strongly dislike them. 

Truthfully, Southampton have been a bogey team for us for some time now. We also drew at St Mary’s earlier that season but despite the four points The Saints took from us, they still finished bottom and were relegated shortly after that match much to my grim pleasure. I hope those meaningless draws made you very happy, lads. I had hoped they would fade away into obscurity like so many others but to my disgust, Southampton made an immediate return to the Premier League via the playoffs. Whilst many were celebrating the demise of Leeds, I was sympathising with them. Despite their insufferable fanbase, Leeds are a proper football club with a proper stadium with a strong following. Southampton play in a soulless bowl which they often don’t fill and have rubbish fans. I realise I’m being quite disrespectful to Southampton here, but they should’ve thought about that before they decided to be a tinpot yo-yo club. 

Southampton’s resumption of life in the Premier League has so far been an unhappy one as they remain winless in their first six games with just a solitary point to show for their efforts. Manager Russell Martin was particularly unhappy with his side’s capitulation away at Bournemouth on Monday night as the Saints went down 3-1 to their South Coast rivals. Saturday will see the return of a familiar face in Aaron Ramsdale who departed us only a few weeks ago for a fee in the region of £18mil with various potential add-ons which could score us some extra cash in the future. Whilst The Saints have been shipping goals left, right and centre in recent weeks you can hardly blame Ramsdale for that as their back line is particularly shocking. 

In terms of team news, Arteta has not yet given his press conference at the time of writing, but it should be noted that neither Timber nor White were pictured in training yesterday. It could mean nothing but who knows. If both are absent it leaves Arteta with a bit of a headache because it seems as though we are still sweating on Tomiyasu’s fitness so if none of the trio can play Arteta may need to find an unorthodox solution. Kiwior at right back perhaps? All will be revealed in due course. 

The good news is Merino is now fit so we do at least have plenty of options to call on in central midfield. There were rumours circulating yesterday that Odegaard is very close to fitness. I would be shocked if he makes the squad for Southampton, but it does at least sound like he is very much on course for a return after the international break which would be very welcome indeed. 

You would expect Trossard to continue deputising in the absence of Odegaard and assuming Timber makes it in time I think we will see an unchanged backline from the win over PSG. Merino is probably not yet ready for a start so I think Partey will play with the former getting another 20–25-minute cameo from the bench and the same for Ethan Nwaneri scoreline permitting.

Southampton are without Jack Stephens through suspension, but they appear to have a clean bill of health otherwise with the likes of Ben Brereton Diaz and exciting youngster Tyler Dibling expected to start on the wings. Southampton generally play in a 4-3-3 formation with a view to play on the front foot, a gameplan they will certainly have to significantly compromise for their visit to N5. 

We really ought to win this one comfortably although we said that about Leicester and that was certainly no cake walk despite our dominance. We will have to be more alert on Saturday. I’m going for a handsome 4-0 win as we look to continue our title push whilst contributing to Southampton’s likely relegation in May. 

What could possibly go wrong?

Posted in Match Preview | 34 Drinks »

Winning Ain’t Hard

Oct 1st, 2024 by

I have seen this match so many times before. Arsenal are playing against one of the top sides in Europe; one side has technical quality, passes the ball around well and creates a few decent chances, but ultimately succumbs to the knowhow and ruthlessness of the side that knows how to win football matches.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoy that we have graduated from being the former side into the latter.

There were so many games in the late Wenger years when we were done by teams in exactly the same way that we did PSG tonight, and this evening it was a pleasure to see on full display how far we’ve come.

We lined up the same as at the weekend, the continuing absence of our captain necessitating that we cut our cloth accordingly – we just don’t keep the ball half as well without  him, so we don’t bother half as much. Instead, we let PSG have the ball for large parts of the match, confident they would not be able to hurt us and happy to damage them from turnovers or from our own buildup when we did put our foot on the ball.

After a committed start from us where PSG did well to keep the ball away from our press, it was just before the twenty-minute mark when the magnificent Havertz got in down the side of the box and rolled the ball across the six-yard line only to see a static Rice recognise too late the run he should have made for a tap in.

No matter, as two minutes later we were ahead. Trossard held the ball well and found an excellent cross for our German striker, who had drifted into the perfect spot to get in front of Donnarumma and win a brave header which looped into the side netting. It was fully deserved for both the player and the team. Havertz was superb tonight. He won so many duels, held the ball well, never stopped running and made life horrible for PSG. My man of the match.

PSG looked like their best chance of finding some joy might be to get quick balls in behind as they have some pace out wide. Hakimi beat Calafiori for pace but Raya saved from a tight angle. The Spaniard was as assured as we are coming to expect, whilst Calafiori reminds me somewhat of a young labrador – he is just so damn enthusiastic, full of energy and wants to be in the middle of everything. As he adjusts and absorbs more and more of Arteta’s tactical demands his positioning will improve and he will fit in even better. A good performance but plenty more still to come from the young Italian.

Minutes later, Mendes burst past Saka and hit a long- range curler which clipped the post, but it was bending away from goal and Raya did not look troubled.

Donnarumma certainly did when we scored again from a whipped free kick into the box by Saka. Martinelli, Gabriel and Partey all threw legs at the ball but no-one made contact and it went through the crowd and the keeper to double our lead. Lovely stuff!

Trossard had a chance from a Saka cross that he could easily have scored, whilst PSG moved the ball around smoothly but without much threat.

Half-time came and, when the teams emerged again, we replaced the injured Timber with Kiwior. I can only hope he is not injured too badly (felt something muscular according to Arteta and replaced as a precaution) as he is one hell of a player. However, Kiwior is an excellent replacement to be able to call on and he was fine in the second half. Good for him to get some minutes and keep his eye in.

The lively Martinelli did not manage to build on his goal at the weekend despite a few decent chances, including an effort he volleyed straight at Donnarumma, after a delightful Havertz flick, when either side would have been a goal, but he was still racing around deep into the match in a way that made me tired just watching him.

Shortly after the hour we got to see Mikel Merino for the first time when he replaced Partey, who had cut a cultured and assured figure, spraying the ball about nicely without getting caught out of position as he has too often recently. The Spaniard did well enough, and it was good to see him get his first taste of life in front of the appreciative Emirates crowd, who gave their team plenty of support in a second half where PSG had spells of mild pressure that we seemed happy enough to weather, perhaps confident that PSG’s shower was unlikely to turn into a downpour.

They hit the bar from a corner that we let their man get to first, and a swerving long-range shot got Raya out of shape before he recovered to beat it away, but our defence has given us much reason not to be too concerned by this sort of thing, and once again they kept the clean sheet we know they prize so highly.

Personally, I rate Barcola, but he got very little out of us all night. Even though I don’t know the current PSG players as well as some of the former ones, they are clearly all good players whom we nullified to a large extent, at times keeping our shape and protecting our area, at others pressing and harrying them into mistakes.

A quick word for the ref, as he was excellent and conspicuous to anyone used to watching the Premier League by the quiet competence of his performance. He gave Ruiz and Calafiori both a yellow for a bit of nothing but overall he was excellent – impartial, consistent, in control of proceedings and making his business to enforce the laws of the game. He gave short thrift to play acting, or desperate shouts for a penalty when a ball rebounded onto Calafiori’s arm, and he kept his cards in his pocket when both sides made the minor delaying restart actions that the PL has started its pointless war against (well, at least when we are the ones doing them).

Frankly, by the end, I was a bit sad that this sort of performance is so rare to see for those of us who support English teams. Never mind can we play Spurs every week… can we have this ref every week?

Jesus came on for Trossard, and then took the captain’s armband from the hardworking Saka when he was replaced by Lewis-Skelly for the final three of four minutes injury time. By my reckoning, the ball deflected off his foot once when a PSG lad tried to pass it around him. Still, a few minutes were doubtless good for him as he learns to feel more at home on the big stage.

The match ended and it was all just so routine. We just took the sting out of what was supposed to be a tough game and got the job done with the minimum of fuss. Great result, great performance and a lot to build on and work with as we try to put together a run deep into the competition this year. On tonight’s showing, we are starting to look like a serious outfit at this level. Long may it continue.

Posted in Match Report | 26 Drinks »

Young and hungry, this is not your Mbappé’s PSG

Sep 30th, 2024 by

And so to the Stadium of Stone for the Tuesday evening’s visit of our first Pot 1 opponent in the new format Champions League, French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG is an artifice in that it was created at the start of the 1970s to fill the vacuum in Paris caused by the absence of a Ligue 1 team. Paris FC, a shell club set up by two businessmen, merged with Stade Saint-Germain, a Ligue 2 club based 20 km west of the city centre. 

The well-heeled suburb of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which derives its name from St. Germain, a 6th-century Gallo-Roman bishop of Paris, is redolent with royal history. The badge on PSG’s shirts long featured a cradle and the fleur-de-lys in recognition of the birth of the Sun King, Louis XIV, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1638. If you were paying attention in history class at school, you may remember that James II fled there after the Glorious Revolution. He died there in exile. Still, that was a better way to go than his father, Charles I, who had his head lopped off outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall. Regicide is a dish best-served cold. I digress…

PSG soon decamped the suburbs for the Parc de Princes in Paris’s 16th arrondissement. Its first 40 years saw success, tumult and ownership drama. In 2011, Qatar Sports Investments, a subsidiary of the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, bought it. The cradle got dropped from the crest in 2013 in a redesign that also saw Saint-Germain lose its typographically equal billing with Paris and the quintessential symbol of the city, the Eiffel Tower, bestride the fleur-de-lys.

With gas wealth came galacticos — the likes of Beckham, Ibrahimović, Neymar, Messi, Mbappé —  blue-chip head coaches — Ancelotti, Blanc, Emery, Tuchel and Pochettino — and yet more domestic silverware (last season saw its 12th league title, 15th French cup and ninth league cup), However, the coveted Champions League trophy remained elusive.

The club changed tack for the 2022-23 season, with financial fair play casting an ever-darkening shadow over Doha’s ‘nation branding’ in the City of Lights. Christophe Galtier replaced Poch to rebuild with younger, hungrier and cheaper talent. After a year and a big clear-out, despite winning the league, Galtier was succeeded by former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique.

Enrique’s era

Enrique arrived with a reputation as a top coach who brought on young players and for having no truck with unruly dressing rooms. Like Arteta, he swept away any troublesome last vestiges of l’ancien régime (for which read Mbappé) and imposed a new culture and playing style. As Arteta put it in his pre-match presser, Enrique’s fingerprints are all over PSG.

His first season brought a domestic treble (replicating his first season managing Barcelona), although yet again, no Big Ears, with the team faltering in the semi-final for the third time in five seasons. However, domestic success gave an imprimatur to Enrique’s approach that no one strays from the path he has laid out, as did his willingness to bench Mbappé. In another echo of Arteta, when asked about Mbappé’s departure to Real Madrid, he retorted that the team is the star. 

Enrique’s footballing philosophy is difficult to pigeonhole; he likes his teams to play high-intensity, attacking, vertical football. It would be misleading to characterise it as counterattacking, as Guardiola has done, but it is not possession-obsessed, either. Enrique has been pragmatic with his formations wherever he has managed, although incisive wingers and all-round intensity have been recurring features. The ex-Liverpool, Bayern, Barca and Spain international Tiago described Enrique as a mix of Guardiola’s tactical acumen and Klopp’s aggressiveness.

Enrique typically starts PSG in a 4-3-3, although he sometimes uses a back three as he did with Spain. Last season in the CL, he switched to 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 for the away legs against the Barcodes and Real Sociedad, respectively.

La selection

First-choice keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, one of the best, missed PSG’s past few games because of a muscular problem in his right thigh. He trained on Sunday and has travelled to London, but if he does not start, the Russian international Matvey Safonov, who joined from Krasnodar in the summer, will continue to deputise.

The back four will be built around centre backs Marquinhos, the club captain, who has more than 90 caps for Brazil, the first won after he joined PSG 11 years ago, and the young Ecuador international Willian Pacho, who has impressed since arriving in the summer after a €40 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt. The ex-Inter Slovakian international Milan Škriniar provides cover from the bench.

The 22-year-old Portuguese international left-back Nuno Mendes missed Friday’s match because of a virus, so 20-year-old Lucas Beraldo, who arrived from Sao Paolo in January for €20 million, may start. Beraldo can also play centre-back should Enrique prefer a back three. Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi, reputedly a Real Madrid target, will already have been pencilled in at right back.

Vitinha, a Portuguese international who spent a season on loan at Wolves when he was with Porto, will likely return from injury to anchor the midfield, accompanied by Joao Neves, who turned 20 on Friday. He was bought from Benfica in the summer for €60 million to replace Manuel Ugarte, who was considered not good enough on the ball and sold to Man U, where he’d be a better fit. Neves is joint top for assists this season in the top five European leagues with our Starboy and Barca wunderkind Lamine Yamal.

Enrique has talent aplenty to complete his midfield or fine-tune it from the bench: French international Warren Zaïre-Emery, still only18 and a highly rated PSG yoof product who broke into the team last season: 23-year-old Lee Kang-in, a rising South Korea star who in 2019 became the youngest South Korean to appear in the CL; Senny Mayulu, another 18-year-old product of PSG’s academy; and, at 28, the relatively veteran Fabián Ruiz, picked up two seasons ago from Napoli for a bargain €22.50 million.

Up front, Ousmane Dembele brings the experience of more than 50 caps for France, including winning the World Cup, to the right wing. Highly-rated and highly-dangerous left-winger Bradley Barcola, 22, who broke into the French national team this year, is Ligue 1’s leading goalscorer this term with six; he has pace to burn and ball control to match. So, too, does Désiré Doué, a 19-year-old regarded as one of the brightest prospects in French football. Enrique has carefully managed the introduction of PSG’s €50 million summer signing, giving him his first start only ten days ago. He missed Friday’s game against Rennes with injury and is doubtful for Tuesday. 

Kolo Muani, another France international, will likely provide the cutting edge at centre-forward. He is a tall, rangy winger-turned-centre forward physically reminiscent of TH14. In the summer of 2023, PSG paid Eintracht Frankfurt €80 million for him plus €5 million in add-ons. With fellow centre-forwards Gonçalo Ramos and ex-Real Madrid man Marco Asensio recently off games (although Asensio has travelled), Muani’s expensive shoulders carry the burden of replacing Mbappe’s goals (44 of PSG’s 120 in all competitions last season).

Three draws in four

We’ve met PSG twice before, home and away in the semi-final of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1994 on our way to winning it, and in the CL group stage in 2016, which didn’t end happily for either club: in the Round of 16, PSG had a 4-0 home win advantage wiped out by Barcelona, then managed by Enrique, and we won’t dwell on our two games against Bayern Munich. Three of the four games between us and PSG were draws, and the other was a 1-0 to the Arsenal.

We have a more extensive history against the Paris club that PSG has eclipsed, Racing Club de Paris. Herbert Chapman started a tradition in 1930 of taking Arsenal on European tours. Friendlies with Racing would continue, wars permitting, for 30 years, but that is a story for another day.

The Arsenal

PSG leads Ligue 1 with five wins and a draw in six games, scoring 20 and conceding five. In their opening CL fixture, they unconvincingly beat Girona 1-0. We will be the strongest opposition they have faced so far this season. 

They, too, will be formidable opponents. It goes without saying that Arteta will play his strongest available team against the club for which he played his first senior top-flight game. Given the availability doubts over White and Calafiori, I am going to fudge the full-backs:

Raya

Timber/White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber/Calafiori

Partey, Rice, Trossard

Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

After the draw in Bergamo, we need all three points from a home game. Hopefully, we can battle through, but it will be no walk-over: 2-1 to the Arsenal.

Enjoy the game ‘holics, near and far.

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