A little less than half an hour before kickoff in North London as Arsenal hosts Athletico Madrid for a Champions League Group Stage match. Classic cool temperatures and overcast clouds give London the spooky feel it deserves in the Fall season. A bunny’s breath of a breeze will keep the night on the cool side throughout. You won’t hear a complaint from the hearty North London Gooners. This is premier Champions League football weather. “The Champions!” singing through the TV. This has to be the best intro of any sports league. Just maybe. It’s iconic at a minimum.

Speaking of iconic–please allow this brief side-bar–let me tell you about the Barbican Football Field. It has nothing at all to do with Arsenal.

Barbican Football Field is a Frank Lloyd Wright-esque ground that mixes natures green with the London cityscape. Built under the iconic Barbican Performing Arts Center on Silk Street in London, “it’s a true spectacle of geometry, brutalism, and green elegance in England’s Capital” as John Gillard puts it in his extensive book on Football Stadiums.

Pickup games and low level city leagues use the one-of-a-kind pitch. The brick wall and concrete columns that border parts of the field would not be enjoyable to crash into. Play at your own risk on this rare urban jewel of a soccer field.

Back to the game.

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Kickoff is fifteen minutes away.

ARSENAL XI

• GK Raya
• RB Timber
• CB Saliba
• CB Gabriel
• LB Lewis-Skelly
• CM Rice
• CM Zubimendi
• CM EZE
• RW Saka (c)
• ST Gyokeres
• LW Martinelli
• BENCH:
  • Kepa,
  • Setford
  • Mosquera
  • White
  • Hincape
  • Calafiori
  • Norgaard
  • Trossard
  • Merino
  • Nwaneri

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My days! What a lineup. Strong A+ lineup that I see getting multiple goals in this game. EZE, Martinelli, and Gyokeres should be able to play off of each other with Saka requiring a double team on the right and I like at least 2/3 of them to score.

I’ve got the strategy in my head that would allow one of those three a few chances, but I’ll save it for later just in case we still have nil. I’d rather sit back and watch these full-statured lads get it done on their own terms. Win by at least one and move on.

KICKOFF

Arsenal in the Home red and white, Athletico in their away navy blue. The home side moving left to right on the tv. The fuzzy snoring the afternoon away on the love seat in the drop-down-den. She’s clearly unfazed by the intensity of a Champions League game. She may have the right idea.

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I like the idea of Martinelli getting centralized with EZE and bouncing off of each other with Gyokeres and Saka as options. That’s basically my simple idea without going to each detail pass-by-pass. 5 Minutes in and only a few light moments of action. Lewis-Skelly was lucky not to get a yellow on his challenge during Athletico’s break the other way.

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Good gracious! Gyokeres is a work horse. Speed, power, persistence-built like a thoroughbred. Glad he’s on my side. He’s terrorizing the ticky-tack passes between the center backs deep in their own third. 0-0 11th minute

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The Emirates has that constant buzz that you’d love to see and hear from a home side on a night like this. Minute 22 and every fan in camera view is standing and actively cheering. It is still 0-0 but there have been some real chances so far. The goal is coming soon. Saka looks lively. Athletico is playing him straight up and he will find a way soon if they don’t change the defensive tactic…….

HOLY WHAT! Raya was just out of his freaking mind. Athletico blew the open goal chance. Raya chased the ball to the sideline, and it went out for a throw in. ATH took the throw quickly and then rushed a shot. Raya was 18 yards away…still 0-0, but good grief, let’s not give them one. We’ve got Saliba, Gabriel, and Timber. Let’s let one of them go chase the ball out of bounds. Raya, the one that can use his hands, needs to stay near those goal posts when the ball is in the final third at least.

I mean, I know he secretly wants to be an outfield player, but today he is a goalie. Stay there!

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This is a great game so far. Lively. Action at both ends. The ref is allowing play to flow, and the players are up for it. Someone is scoring soon. It’s not guaranteed to be Arsenal to score first. Athletico is creating as well. 0-0 31st minute.

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Yellow Card 33rd on ATH. Gyokeres was driving from the top right of the box and beat the defender who clattered into the charging Swede as he was trying to get in on goal.–Free Kick to Arsenal.

-Raya away from goal again. This time out near midfield to clear the ball. Nervy.

-Offside goal: Martinelli tapped in Sakas low cross but was just offsides. 35th

-So much action so far. Physical, wide-open game. The ref is setting the standards with a few more whistles.

-Yellow Card Zubimnedi 39th minute. He will miss the next Champions league match due to already earning three yellow cards in the group stage. This requires a one game suspension. 0-0.

-0-0 at the Half.

It’s been a fun game to watch. Lively on all sides. It always makes for a great game when both teams are going for it like this…I don’t think I would change anything at the half. I like the approaches that were made in the attacking third. Saka, Rice, Martinelli, EZE all with shots from all different angles. The chances have been there. Unfortunately, so has the opponent.

Athletico have been courageous on the defensive side with their timely tackles and last-ditch clearances. Credit to the Away side. They came to fight on this cool North London night.

About 5 hours North of North London is Newcastle, and they are hosting Benfica right now and currently up 1-0 at the break. Hearty, hearty folks in North England are being awarded a phenomenal midweek matchup. Newcastle is a stadium I’d love to visit. Good for the Magpies. Anthony Gordon with the goal.

-63 degrees, calm, and sunny currently out the back window. I don’t think a more perfect day could be imagined than the one outside right now. Yet here I am watching a Soccer match inside. I’ve got conflicting energies. One pulls me to the mountains for a hike, and the other doesn’t want to miss a minute of this game.

It’ll be snowy winter soon. Perfect days like this should not be squandered. I think it’s possible to do both. 45 more minutes…Here we go!

2nd HALF:

Arsenal now right to left on the tv screen. Martinelli on the left bursting on the bottom of the screen like a flash. It was an unproductive burst but noticeable. Straight out of the gate, he went for it…Timber with some moves! Driving up the right and earns a corner. Arsenal still with possession after the corner kick was headed clear. The pressure is on from the Gunners. COYG!

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-ATH MISS! 47th minute off the post by Alvarez. That was nearly a special goal that would have hurt to have scored against us but would have been worth celebrating. This game is wide open. 0-0

-Gyokeres with a near tap in from a pass from Rice. 52nd minute. Good positioning and reflexes from the Athletico goalie. 0-0

This referee has been consistent and refrained from blowing the whistle on “soft” fouls. This is hurting Arsenal as we seem to want those calls made. The referee has waved them off consistently.

-Free kick Arsenal 56th.

-GOAL!! From the free kick 40 yards out or so. Gabriel nodded home the cross from Declan Rice into the bottom corner. Just like that it’s 1-0! Not the goal scorer I was expecting but a goal is a goal.

-Athletico are threatening. Playing with a bit more zest after the goal. Lewis-Skelly looks vulnerable defensively. 58th minute 1-0.

Personally, I like how the referee has officiated the game. I would rather see the Arsenal players play a bit tougher and not fall over so easily. Show a bit of “graft” as Sir Alex would’ve said. “You gotta have graft.” Let’s get tougher lads. Stand up and be more physical.

-62nd minute. I want Calafiori for Skelly. I’d feel better with his physicality closing out this game. That said–as I’m typing this Skelly burst forward through the middle all the way from the Left back position into the the Athletico box and laid the ball off to a darting Martinelli who slotted the ball off the right post and in for a GOAL!

The goal happened mid-sentence. It’s 2-0! COYG! The Emirates is ALIVE.

-Arteta already refocused. This game is far from over. 65th minute.

-GOAL! That’s three! 66th minute it’s Gyokeres he figures out his feet and pokes the ball in from about five yards on a ball that ping ponged off EZE on Martinelli’s rifled cross in from the left. The ball rested in front of Viktor who confidently sorted the situation and finished the goal. WHAT a GAME!

This is what this team is capable of doing each and every game. Like I said in this morning’s post, this is the best team I’ve seen since becoming a fan.

-GOAL! 4-0. It’s Viktor Gyokeres again. This time from a corner kick that Martinelli helped along into the center of the box. The Swede was never going to miss that one! WHAT. A. GAME.

-73rd minute SUBS: Gabriel, Zubimendi, EZE off. Mosquera, Norgaard, Nwaneri on.

It seems as though the rapid pace of the game has gotten to Athletico. Arsenal in complete control and the away side struggling to challenge. Put the clamps on these final ten minutes.

-SUBS 82ns Min Gykoeres and Timber off, White and Merino on. Let’s keep the clean sheet.

Possession is 56/44 in favor of the Gunners which shows the relative evenness of this game. A simple way to put it would be–when the moments were in front of them, the Gunners cashed and the visitors didn’t. They certainly could’ve had at least two. The open goal with Raya hanging out with the linesman that they missed and Alvarez hitting the bar. When it came time to score, we did and they didn’t. 87th minute. Gunners in control.

Proud of this performance and effort by the team. With it being an overall fast-paced, clean, entertaining game, it’s nice to be the one that comes out on top. The better team almost always wins when the game is allowed to flow, and it remains clean. Meaning, no malicious or out of order challenges. It’s nice to see once in a while. Let’s make it a trend. 90th minute. 3 minutes of stoppage time to go.

The Goals came from Gabriel, Martinelli, and a brace from Gyokeres in a dominant second half performance. That burst from Lewis-Skelly through the middle was something special. It truly was. As I was typing about his defensive liability, he exploded into the offense and earned the assist. He’s incredibly mature for his young age. Only up Miles.

The game is waning. This has been fun. It’s off to the mountain for me. I hope you enjoyed the live read, and I’ll do it again soon. COYG!

FINAL ARS 4- ATH 0

The End

Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’

Whit W.