Skunk meat tastes ok to a starving man.

It’s early. 70 degrees, calm and clear. The fuzzy snoozes at my feet after our morning stroll in the dark. Her idea not mine. Like a Swiss made watch, she’s always on time. Her time that is. Stars and planets littered the eastern sky. Venus and Jupiter were the focal points stacked like a sight on a compound bow splitting Big Cottonwood Canyon and shining brighter than the others.

The slow crawl towards the Fall sports season is coming to an end. High School Football kicks off two nights from now, the Aer Lingus Classic is two Saturdays from now, and the Arsenal play in four days. Until then, let’s take a look back. Specifically, let’s look back at where Arsenal was this past February.

The following was written February 3, 2025.

It’s not our year. We just have to accept that. Maybe one day it will be our year, but this one might not be the one. I’m writing this in response to the Premier League transfer window shutting minutes ago and Arsenal not signing one single player.

Now, even before Saka and Gabby Jesus went down injured, I thought we were one elite player away from being able to really challenge for the league. The position Arsenal finds themselves in is this–win at least 13 of the next 14 games to try to catch the absolutely on fire Liverpool who are on an relentless tear through the Premier League, and compete in Champions League where they will face the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Athletico, or really anyone in Europe for that matter. There are some strong teams across Europe, and I feel we are one or two players away from truly contending. Well, really just one good goal scorer away. Just one guy that thinks about goals all the time would put this team where it needs to be to contend.

But, the window just shut and Arsenal signed no people. So, that’s ok. If one is to support a sports team, sometimes its just not your year. Now, in Arsenal’s case, that has been the case for a long time, and that’s why there are some Arsenal fans that are getting a bit ancy. Truth be told, Arsenal hasn’t won anything since I’ve been a fan going back to 2010. I’m working on fifteen years of fandom at this point and they might’ve won a FA Cup, but always falling short of the major trophies.

Not that the Carling Cup is a major trophy or anything, but I remember blowing the Carling Cup Final to Birmingham in 2011. Again, not a major trophy, but a trophy nonetheless, and one that was easily in our grasp that slipped away. Arsenal have also blown a Europa league Final in recent memory, so it’s not like I’ve ever seen them win anything. I know there are plenty of fans who remember the early 2000’s and the glory years, but I wasn’t there to experience such glory. Well, I was alive, but still a dumb high schooler who made fun of soccer at the time.

At the end of the day, I picked a random team back in 2010, fell in love with the coach, the style of play, a few of the players, and the overall tradition and culture of the club. I still feel that Arsenal has maintained the style of play and culture, but perhaps the in-game environment has lost it’s collective voice compared to years past. At least from a TV viewer perspective.

But regardless of the empty trophy case, I still think there is a lot to be proud of as Arsenal fans despite the fact that the sport has been globalized so much. It used to be such a small group of people that liked soccer so winning didn’t matter as much. Now there are fans of Arsenal and many other soccer teams in nearly every country, and now you can watch and gamble on nearly every game and player. This adds to the stakes. There’s just more pressure with the internet and all of the people that love to rib, needle, and poke fun at others.

To be honest, there is a lot to ‘poke fun’ at Arsenal. The lack of a trophy for so many years is a common thing that trolls or fans of other teams love to exploit. I’ve listened to my fair share of Sports talk shows across the UK and the term “bottle jobs” gets thrown Arsenal’s way quite often.

“Arsenal really bottled that one.” “Yeah, that lot is nothing but a bunch of bottle jobs.”

Personally, I think these are just ‘windup’ statements meant to elicit over the top reactions from passionate fans, and Arsenal fans need to stop falling for them. Just don’t feed into that sort of negative energy, and remember the things that are positive and root for them. Especially this season.

So, what are these positives? For me, it’s the players. Let’s take a look at them now.

• Goalkeeper-David Raya
  • I freaking love this man in goal.
• Right Back-Jurrien Timber
  • From the moment we signed him, I knew he was a ‘dog.’ He only played thirty minutes or so last season before tearing his ACL, but I knew this guy was a dog. At the start of this season, I wanted him to be THE right back. Not Ben White–I wanted Timber. Well, either the right or the left, but I wanted him in the lineup. So, I love Timber and the efforts he has put into his game. I do like Ben White, but I just haven’t seen him play in so long due to his injury that it’s difficult to remember him being better than Timber.
• Center Back-William Saliba
  • Obviously Elite
• Center Back-Gabriel
  • Obviously Elite
• Left Back-Miles Lewis-Skelly
  • At eighteen years young, this youngster is looking incredible. To me, he doesn’t even look like a Left Back and it’s difficult for me to compare him to any of the other elite left backs because he is so unique. He’s almost his own thing. I’ve personally never seen a Left Back navigate the middle of the field the way he does. I’m used to seeing a Left Back driving up the left side and either whipping in the cross or cutting into the box. Miles seems to work himself into the left midfield area, plays right behind the ‘8’ (left center mid) and then boom, he’ll hit those gaps and run which is exactly how he scored his most recent goal. He received the pass in full stride and effortlessly turned to face goal where he slotted the ball into the corner netting with his right foot as good as any right-footed player would do. Skelly of course in left foot dominant. Lewis Skelly at Left Back is special. Come on kid. Don’t get injured. Let’s just have some fun.
• Left Back-Riccardo Calafiori
  • One idea would be to play both of these players. Calafiori at Left Back and Skelly at the ‘8’ at times. Not saying you have to, but the opportunity is there. Calafiori is a great option to rotate the Left Back or Left Center Back. I think he is a good to great player that has some amazing moments within him.
• Holding Midfielder- Thomas Partey
  • I like him at the ‘6’ and think he puts in consistent shifts as long as he doesn’t stray too far from his position.
  • (I wasn’t aware of the looming charges coming against him at the time. He is currently navigating the due process. These are nasty charges and if they are proved true will put a nasty mark on his name for the rest of his days.)
• Midfielder-Declan Rice
  • Elite. I’d say more but when you’re that damn amazing just use one word: elite.
• Midfielder Martin Odegaard
  • There is so much more I want to see from him in every game. I want to see more toughness, physicality, and leadership from my Captain. However, he is still a very good player who has brilliance in his touch, passing, and creativity and a knack for unlocking the door and setting up goals. He’s done nothing wrong from where I’m sitting–he simply needs to toughen up a bit. And perhaps a little extra support from the fans.
• Right Wing-Saka
  • We don’t have him. That sucks. He’s one of the best players in the Premier League. He would be the best at his position in the Premier League if it wasn’t for Liverpool’s Mo Salah. No one in the world is better than Salah at this position.
• Right Wing-Ethan Nwaneri
  • So, with Saka injured, Ethan gets his chance. He’s looked explosive and like if he was given a consistent chance to play that he would find his freedom and within that freedom, greatness. We have to get behind him. Nothing else to say. He can be special in Saka’s absence.
• Left Wing-Gabriel Martinelli/ Leandro Trossard
  • Perhaps we will utilize one on the right and one on the left in some scenarios, but one of these two will start on the left. Both do enough good things to make a positive impact on the game. Certainly they deserve support from the fans for their efforts. They’ve done nothing wrong, but they do leave fans desiring more from them at times. Both work so damn hard.
• Striker-Kai Havertz
  • And then there is Kai Havertz up top…that’s the one that as far as starters go leaves the most to be desired. It’s hard to be excited to see him as the starting goal scorer. That said, the German works hard and shows incredible work ethic every second he is on the pitch. But, he doesn’t have a finishing touch around goal. Period. He plays the finisher position, but he does NOT have the finishing touch. I believe there are things he is good at and I believe there is a place for him on this team, but he DOES NOT HAVE a finishers touch and he’s a guy that is supposed to be ‘finishing’ plays and scoring goals because of where he is played. It is not his fault that he is asked to play the Striker roll, but he is and just so happens to be the top paid player on the team (280k/week). He’s playing an incredibly important position and for me it’s poor management from Arteta. My goal isn’t to add to the pile of crap that fans constantly shovel towards both Havertz and Arteta as performing under such harsh scrutiny only builds the pressure to perform well. But, we have to get better at this position. Nothing against Kai Havertz, but it is difficult to get excited to see him playing up top for us every game and missing the same opportunities week in and week out. Maybe in the transfer window, we could’ve fixed that problem.
• Bench
  • Winger-Sterling: Man, what the hell can you be excited about with this once bright shining star in the sport. I wanted him to prove me right. The day we signed him, I let myself get excited: “Maybe he will find some magic, maybe he will find his resurgence, maybe he will find some freedom not having to be the main guy, maybe he comes on in the 65th and provides a super-sub type spark for the team, maybe he can give Saka a breather once in a while and the team not lose too much productivity.” Maybe.–These are some of the things I said back in August, all the while, many voices inside the Arsenal fan base were incredibly negative towards him, and I was confident he would prove my positive speculation correct. WRONG!! Nope. He’s not even fast anymore. At least, he lacks the explosive, quick burst and that has limited his game in a big way as he has always been a ‘burst’ guy. He’s little frame could burst around and past flat footed defenders, but that part of his game is dead. He still tries to put the same moves on defenders, but I haven’t once seen him get behind the defense this season. He also seems to lack a touch, a strong cross, and power behind his shots. Sad to say, but there is nothing to be excited about with him.
  • Midfielder-Mikel Merino: Oh my days, I don’t even know. He’s had some exciting moments, but he reminds of Manager Mikel Arteta in the worst way possible. In fact, I think Arteta recruited him just to have one person in the locker room to make himself look fast. I keep wanting him to be a version of former Striker Olivier Giroud who wasn’t perfect but did some things well. Maybe if we can develop him into a Giroud and put him up top in place of Havertz he would contribute to the team positively. He seems to have a better finishing touch than Havertz for sure, but good night of living, the man reacts slow and has concrete boots on his feet when he ‘runs.’ Seriously, Arteta could beat him in a foot race wearing penny loafers.
  • Midfielder-Jorginho: I’ve always liked this consistent player. He knows the game, leads well, and always puts in a good shift. He understands the game at a high level and puts other players in good positions with his precision passing. Unfortunately, he also is on the slow-footed side of things.
  • Center Back-Jakob Kiwior: The “Polish Kiwi” is a good left footed center back. Showing lots of improvement. I think if he has one role to do he will do it well, but if he makes a mistake, the motor is not there to make up the ground to atone for it.
  • Midfielder-Zinchenko: The only place on the field that I want the Ukranian to occupy is the left 8. He is not a left back. As many times as Arteta tries to put him there, he simply is not a left back. When he plays left back, my TV turns off. It’s a absolute sham to play him there. He can contribute, but not as a defender.
  • Left Back-Kieran Tierney: I’d like to see more of him, but the couple of times he’s played, he’s impressed me.

Arsenal has always fielded a few far from perfect players that usually would not be on a championship winning side, and this season is no different. It’s not just about Championships, but supporting the club we love with the history and heritage and the badge of Arsenal and holding our heads high and singing “North London Forever” and shouting “North London is Red” after defeating Spuds and representing such historic club that still carries with it a bit of pride.

So this is me, being proud in spite of these things. Perhaps, I’m trying to find my own reasons to remain excited this season. Maybe this team finds some magic, maybe some chemistry clicks, maybe some player steps up that I’m underestimating. Maybe someone can come off the injury list and impact this squad. Maybe someone steps up and does something extraordinary, but without signing a finisher with our goal scoring and assist leader on the injured list, we need to give up on any championship hopes for this season.

Just know that if a trophy comes this season, we should just see it as a bonus. We just need to be proud to be Arsenal fans.

The End

• Back to the present:

Arsenal ended the season trophyless and second place behind Liverpool who had an incredible season and deserved to be champions. Over the summer, the front office has purchased Chelsea Winger Madueke and Sporting Lisbon Striker Viktor Gyokeres to help get this team score goals and hopefully, lift a long awaited major trophy.

The season begins 8/17 at 9:30 on Peacock on the road against Manchester United. It’s another season. Another season to be proud to be an Arsenal fan. COYG!! North London Forever!

Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’

Whit W.