The new manager is Unai Emery, age 46, from the Basque Country of Spain, once a mediocre midfielder in Spain, and has managed in his homeland, Russia and France, including winning 3 Europa League titles with Sevilla (Seville, Spain), and 1 Ligue 1 title and 2 Coupes de France with Paris Saint-Germain.
The Wenger Out Brigade, a.k.a. the WOB, led by the ungrateful wretches of Arsenal Fan TV, got what they wanted: A new manager.
The Arsene Knows Best people, including myself, a.k.a. the AKB, were willing to give the new manager a chance.
The 1st 2 games of the season were Manchester City, the defending Premier League Champions, at home; and Chelsea, the West London club perennially in the Champions League and a particular problem for Arsenal since 2004, away.
Right away, we knew Emery would be tested.
I knew he'd failed the test as soon as I heard that he'd named Petr Čech the Team Captain, in the absence of the injured centreback Laurent Koscielny.
Čech, from the Czech Republic, once Chelsea's starting goalkeeper, is starting his 4th season at Arsenal. By all accounts, he's a good guy. But he has been terrible. It was argued that he would be worth 15 points a season to Arsenal, the equivalent to winning 5 games we otherwise would have lost.
Instead, he has let in many, many cheap goals, particularly against teams Arsenal should be beating anyway. Instead of being worth 15 points a season, he may have cost Arsenal the 2016 League title, the 2016 FA Cup, and Champions League berths for 2017-18 and 2018-19.
I have nothing personal against Čech. I hope he has a long and happy life. But I want it to be away from Arsenal.
I saw the team sheet for today's game. Emery started Čech in goal. Against the defending champions, who set League records for most points won and most goals scored in a season.
Man City's 1st goal was cheap. I am 48 years old, with a bad hip on one leg and a bad knee on the other, and I need to lose at least 30 pounds. I could have come closer to stopping that shot.
Man City's 2nd goal was a bit harder. But it might not have happened without the 1st.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, a black Englishman about to turn 21, has played right back, right wing and central midfield for Arsenal. This versatility led Emery to think that, with both the Spaniard Nacho Monreal and the Bosnian Sead Kolašinac unavailable due to injury, AMN could play left back.
At first, this seemed like a good idea. He was doing fairly well, until the 31st minute. A City player purposely injured him. This is how Josep "Pep" Guardiola manages. This is how he managed at Barcelona. This is how he managed at Bayern Munich. This is how he manages at Man City. He likes dirty play. Instead of being the dominant figure in European soccer the last 10 years, if he were to play cleanly -- or if the rules would be enforced against him -- he would be managing in Spain's 2nd division.
AMN tried to play on his injured leg for 5 minutes, but could go no further. Stephan Lichtsteiner, a new acquisition from Switzerland, intended as Spanish star Hector Bellerin's backup at right back, was put in as an emergency left back, and did fine at the position.
After about 55 minutes, Emery took out Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who (in spite of being my favorite player on the team) did not have a good game, and replaced him with French striker Alexandre Lacazette, moving Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out wide. This was unusual: Wenger almost never made a substitution prior to the 70th minute, except when required by injury.
This, too, looked like it might work. Arsenal moved forward better. And, twice, Arsenal put the ball in the back of the net. But, both times, they were judged to be offside. The instant replay confirmed this. It also appeared, a little later on, that Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty by referee Michael Oliver. But he did not award one. The replay confirmed that this was also the right decision.
Indeed, Oliver's only shortcoming was that he did not sufficiently warn the City players about their dirty play. The game ended 2-0 to City, and I refuse to blame this loss on Oliver.
*
Arsenal fans -- some of them -- said they wanted "change." Let's look at the complaints, and see whether they've changed:
* My complaint: Starting Čech in goal. No change at all.
* Their complaint: Signing players they'd never heard of. That's been done, too.
* My complaint: Too much sideways passing, not enough forward charging. No change at all.
* Their complaint: Not enough toughness in midfield. Not much change there, although having Swiss star Granit Xhaka in there made the argument idiotic, and Frenchman Mattéo Guendouzi has been added, but, while he's tough, at age 19, he is far from ready for the Premier League.
* Their complaint: Giving players who are not ready a chance too soon. Maitland-Niles and Guendouzi were today's examples, although in AMN's case, it was putting a player who'd already done well elsewhere in a brand-new position, an emergency situation, and he did all right for as long as he could.
* My complaint, and theirs: Waiting too long to make substitutions. Emery did change this, but it didn't make any difference.
* My complaint, and theirs: Not challenging the big clubs. The game ended 2-0 to City. We never looked like we were going to win the game. City didn't need to get out of 1st gear. If they had, or if their best player, midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, still looking to regain full strength after a tough World Cup in which he helped Belgium to reach the Semifinal, had started, this game could have been a massacre.
Now, some people told me (on Twitter) that I shouldn't be so reactionary, that I should have more patience. Well...
* The whole point of wanting Wenger out is that "the fans" (mainly Arsenal Fan TV and their idiot watchers) had shown too much patience, and wanted to win now.
* "Rome wasn't built in a day." No, but ancient Rome did burn many times, and was corrupt to the core even at its peak.
* "This is only the beginning of the revolution." Which revolution? Will it end with DT, the Robespierre of the WOB, metaphorically having his head cut off? Because, between the storming of the Bastille and the end of the French Revolution, there was a lot of innocent blood spilled. Or is it the Bolshevik Revolution? That led to civil war, repression and starvation -- and that was under Lenin, even before Stalin came in.
Those of you who wanted "change": What has changed? Apparently, two things:
1. The identity of the manager making the same old mistakes. And...
2. Arsène Wenger is no longer taking the insidious abuse he took. I suppose, sometimes, you have to accept small victories.
But for Arsenal as a team, I'll take any victory at this point.
But with Čech in goal, I don't know when I'll see victory again.
I want my Arsenal back.
*
Days until Arsenal play again: 6, this coming Saturday, at 12:30 PM New York time, away to Chelsea.
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 6, this coming Saturday, at 7:00 PM, away to the Vancouver Whitecaps. They beat the Chicago Fire 1-0 away last night.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 10, on Wednesday, August 22, against New York City FC, at Yankee Stadium II.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 20, on Saturday, September 1, home to Texas State University. Under 3 weeks.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 26, on Friday, September 7, away to Piscataway. Under 4 weeks.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 26, on Friday, September 7, a "friendly" against Brazil, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 37, on Tuesday night, September 18, at Yankee Stadium II. A little over 5 weeks. Not that it matters.
Days until the New Jersey Devils play another competitive game: 55, on Saturday, October 6, against the Edmonton Oilers, at... Scandinavium, an arena in Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden. Yes, that will be a regular-season game, part of the NHL Global Series. Exactly 2 months. The Mulberry Street Marauders will warm up for it on October 1, with an exhibition game in Switzerland against SC Bern; while the Oilers will visit Kölner Haie in Cologne, Germany on October 3.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 69, on Saturday afternoon, October 20, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The 1st game against the New York Islanders, a.k.a. the Fish Sticks, will be on Saturday night, November 3, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The 1st game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday night, January 31, 2019, at the Prudential Center.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 97, on Saturday, November 17, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game: 102, on Thursday, November 22. A little over 3 months.
Days until the next North London Derby: 112, on Sunday, December 2, at the Emirates Stadium. It had been set for December 1, but was moved due to Arsenal once again being stuck playing Europa League games on Thursday nights. No more "Thursday is Spursday" jokes for us Gooners.
Days until a Democratic Congress can convene, and the impeachment process can begin: 144, on Thursday, January 3, 2019. A little under 5 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 164, on January 23, 2019. A little over 5 months.
Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 299, on June 7, 2019, in France. Under 10 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.
Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 321, on June 29, 2019. A little over 10 months.
Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 493, on December 18, 2019. A little under a year and a half, or a little over 16 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 528, on January 22, 2020. A little under a year and a half, or a little over 17 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 712, on July 24, 2020. Under 2 years, or a little over 23 months.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 814, on November 3, 2020. Under 2 1/2 years, or a little under 27 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 892, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 29 monnths. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 1,272, on February 4, 2022. A little over 3 1/2 years, or a little under 42 months.
Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,562, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 4 1/2 years, or under 52 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.
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