Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News
Morning all and welcome to a potentially busy week from an Arsenal perspective.
After Saturday night’s 2-1 win over Manchester United – expertly covered by Lewis – Mikel Arteta and the boys have swapped Los Angeles for Philadelphia ahead of a clash with Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
The West Coast leg of the tour appears to have gone very smoothly. While the manager would have wanted more senior squad members at his disposal, he clearly relished the opportunity to give most of the kids a taste of the big time, especially given recent criticism aimed in his direction following a spate of high-profile departures from the academy. While some of these youngsters will now fade into the background, there are others who might just fancy their chances when the League Cup comes into view in September.
Before the tour, Arteta spoke about the importance of winning matches and setting the right tone for the season ahead. On that front, two(ish) victories from two bodes well.
Of course, we haven’t just flown to the other side of the world for a change of scenery – this isn’t a closed-shop trip like the transformational January jaunt to Dubai – the club is there to win hearts and minds (and to flog some merch).
Ahead of Saturday’s match, Arteta said: “It’s an opportunity for us to connect with our supporters. If they’re Arsenal supporters then great, and if they are football supporters let’s get them to become Arsenal supporters. That would mean that we produced certain joy and excitement in them in the way that we play the game.”
Afterwards, he was buoyed by the support his players received: “Thank you so much again for coming to watch us. Hopefully, they had a good time and we provided good entertainment for them.”
There was a particularly touching moment when four of the Arsenal players took time out to chat with a local man who appears to have fallen on hard times. Here’s hoping the experience serves as a timely boost to his…
Source link : https://arseblog.com/2024/07/hearts-and-minds/
Author : Andrew Allen
Publish date : 2024-07-29 06:00:02
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