ARSENAL FAV9RED TO REPEAT ... WANNA BET?
Soccer, Soccer and More Soccer ...
...You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who
knows anything about the English Premier League
who thinks Arsenal won’t repeat as champion … as
rare as it would be.
Friday, in the EPL season opener before a capacity
crowd of 60,704-plus at Emirates Stadium, the
Gunners welcomed Coventry City back to the top
tier circuit for the first time in 25 years with an
incredibly-easy 3-0 decision.
KAI HAVERTZ (17th minute) and BUKAYO
SAKA (23d) provided a two-goal lead by halftime.
Captain MARTIN ODEGAARD added another
four minutes into the second half. Coach MIKEL
ARTETAbegan going to his bench with some 20
minutes to go … but you couldn’t tell the reserves
from the starters as most of the game continued to
be played in the visitors’ half of the field.
Coached by FRANK LAMPARD, Chelsea’s all-
time leader in goals scored (211), Coventry City
never tested Arsenal goalkeeper DAVID RAYA,
who was credited with one save on a weak header
in the 85thminute.
“A perfect start,” Odegaard called it.
-- First star ... as far as NBC’s crack studio crew of
REBBECA LOWE, ROBBIE EARLE and
ROBBIE MUSTOE was concerned … was
Arsenal newcomer CHRISTOS TZOLIS, a
midfielder acquired in July for $46 million from
Belgium’s Club Brugge where he had 17 goals and
22 assists in 36 games a year ago.
“Every time he touched the ball he made something
happen,” Earle said.
-- Win was 150th in 249 games with Arsenal for
Arteta. In the EPL onlyPEP GUARDIOLA, JOSE
MOURINHO, JURGEN KLOPP and SIR ALEX
FERGUSON did it in fewer games.
ONCE AGAIN … LET’S HEAR IT for Manchester
United: BOOOOOOO!
Returning to the Premier after a 10-year absence,
Hull City defeated homestanding ManU 2-0
as the once-proud team’s official coach/manager
after serving as interim a year ago.
“I am so disappointed for Man U fans out there …
after a summer they seemed to be improved … the
general feeling is good,” said Mustoe, “ … and to
be that slow out of the box, unwilling to match the
energy of a team being promoted ...”
Hull City won the Championship playoffs to earn
promotion but was 0-8-2 all-time against ManU
and, as recently as 2020-21, was playing in League
One. Pregame, Mustoe said, “They finished sixth
[regular season] last year … lost 15 games. It
doesn’t look like they are going to be super-
competitive this season, does it?”
Oops!
Carrick: “We had opportunities … we just didn’t
have that spark. [But] it’s only one game. We’ll stay
calm … and focus on the next game.”.
BOOOOOO!
-- Biggest pregame question was how Carrick
intended to use forward MARCUS RASHFORD,
one-time next-great-thing who came up through
ManU’s junior system ,,, but never lived up to the
hype. Now he’s back after a two-year absence.
“Is he a big part of your plans going forward?”
Lowe asked Carrick, noting Rashford was not in the
starting lineup yet had been given the number 9
jersey which usually is worn by the player most
likely to score lots of goals.
“He’s a very good player. He’s looked sharp. He
adds an awful lot,” Carrick said, at the same time
insisting wearing ‘9’ doesn’t “suggest anything
more than what the situation is.”
“He’s always in the conversation because of how
good he was coming up, the potential,” Howard
said. “Maybe he’s just a really solid, good, squad
player … and that’s OK … for us to forget what is
was going to be … and what he is, a very good
footballer.”
Yeah but ,,, Carrick could have been more positive about
Rashford, don’t you think?
Mustoe certainly had his doubts. “I see it as more of a
distraction,” he said. “I’m not convinced it was the manager
saying, ‘Yes, we really want him.’ The message would have
been more positive. I don’t think this has been put to bed.”
OPENING WEEKEND pluses (and minuses) …
… starting with The Biggest Plus (Brentford 3-0 over
Tottenham) The Biggest Minus:
NBC’s talking heads certainly liked Brentford, the team, as well
as KEITH ANDREWS, the well-spoken coach who has – as
play-by-play man JON CHAMPION put it, “these nuts-and-
bolts players with soul … Where ever you look there’s a player
who buys into an ethos that’s really visible.”
Dixon took it from there. “As Andrews said, ‘We’re not
carrying anybody. Every one of the players knows what their
[sic] job is … and they go about their work as if it’s the last
game they’re ever going to play, which is a big sign … the
exact opposite of Tottenham today … who looked like it’s the
first game, and they don’t want to play again.
“The way Tottenham played today was … borderline
embarrassing.”
The perfect example, Dixon said, came in the 12th minute
when Brentford scored its first goal. “It was bad that he didn’t
tackle him but [even worse] was his reaction … hands on his
hips, looking down on the floor, and not one of the other 10
players said anything to him.
“If I had made a mistake like that any time in my career … I
would have gotten a telling off from everybody on that team.
That’s a problem Tottenham has got now … the direct opposite
from what Brentford is all about.”
-- Brentford finished ninth a season ago. “It’s remarkable, really
… I mean, it’s a club that maximizes its resources brilliantly
through recruitment, through hires, upgrading coaches to
managers, finding the right guys, and the players they bring in
are all on the same page,” Muscoe said, “… and we saw every
part of that in today’s win.”
Lowe: “Are they an established Premier club now?”
Earle: “I think so, Becs. You can sign MAMADO SANGARE
for $55 million, and it almost looks like he’s been here five
years because of the culture … for, if the coach is right, the
attitude is right and everyone is working hard for each other
then it’s easy to fit in … if you’re a good player.”
-- We found one preseason poll that doesn’t favor Arsenal. The
Gunners are No. 2 (+700) to Manchester City’s No. 1 (+280).
-- Today’s schedule includes Man City vs Bournemouth (9 am,
USA) and Liverpool, with another new coach, second in three
years since Klopp walked away, at Newcastle (11:30 am, USA).
Monday, Fulham entertains Chelsea (2 pm, USA). Both have
new men in charge.
-- Finally, Howard wasn’t about to bury Tottenham … not yet
anyway. “Six new players … and the captain is 20 years old.
And, they’ve got players to come. This is going to get better for
Spurs,” he said.
Until Next Time ...
-- Final words from Howard, former USMNT goalkeeper, on Tottenham: “Six new players plus 20 year old captain.
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