BRUTALITY IS THE ORDER OF THE DAY

Welcome to your Friday dose of hot Arsenal thinking.

It’s been a whole week. Manchester City have turned their dark arts to the media, allowing club-friendly journalists to delve through CCTV footage in a bid to highlight the shocking behavior of a teenager who *checks notes* spoke with David Raya. They also crucified our executive team for *checks notes* they refused to shake hands with their crews after another highly controversial round of refereeing decisions.

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I also only have it on good authority An Premier League club have made a complaint about Arsenal and their absolutely disgusting behaviour… and you won’t believe which club it was.

Yes.

But in the aftermath of all the drama – Bernardo’s commentary, the northern mafia closing ranks over Arsenal’s lack of courage, maturity and tone – one thing is absolutely clear:

Arsenal is back, baby.

You can choose to become a victim of the media, or you can embrace the bad press like Floyd Mayweather or Conor McGregor and use it to your advantage. Let it distract everyone. Make Arsenal even more visible. José Mourinho, the king of spin, was absolutely world-class at taking the pressure off his team and channeling negative press into blistering performances. I’m not asking Arteta to prick anyone’s eye for the story, but I do think he can use the dull nature of the attacks to his advantage and galvanize the fans and players behind our title push.

We flew past Bolton mid week. Now we must shape our intention this season by blending Leicester smoother than a £14 Upper Street fruit smoothie.

There are some positives on the injury front: Mikel Merino will be eligible next week, as will Tomiyasu. Even better news? It looks like Raya could be available, as could Ben White.

This gives the club plenty of opportunities for a competition that is ripe for some variety.

Things I’m interested in? Will Raheem Sterling be in the mix? Will Nwaneri get some Premier League minutes? What are we going to do on the left?

Leicester have been a bit of a ‘meh’ team this season: not particularly electric up front and far from robust at the back. It should be a good game for Arsenal to try a few things, and if we can disrupt their game plan early they could be in real trouble.

It’s very arrogant to suggest, but Arsenal need to make a profit in the sunshine of games against smaller teams. We didn’t do that in the first half of the season, when our attack was clumsy and out of shape, but we made up for that with some blistering performances in the latter stages, which increased our goal difference.

I want more of that tomorrow: a fast start without mercy for a team that will probably go straight back down.

Okay, quick message. Watch the latest therapy session with Jacob, Matt and myself. X