Hey folks, I’m still here in Singapore. My flight is quite a bit later than I originally thought so Lewis is off the hook today.
I was at the game last night, a 3-2 win over Newcastle at the National Stadium, so like we did against AC Milan, here are some observations.
Big Vik arrived
From what I gather, Viktor Gyokeres basically got off a flight from London to Singapore, got whisked to the stadium, said a few hellos behind the scenes, then pulled on his number 14 shirt and got announced to the crowd as the club’s latest signing. As you’d imagine, the reception he received was fantastic. He walked onto the pitch, did some waves, walked off again and that was that.
I don’t know you can ask much more from him in the circumstances, but obviously now he’s with the squad for the final leg of the tour. They had to Hong Kong tomorrow, and it’s not impossible that he could make an actual appearance against Sp*rs, but I’m sure he’ll be properly assessed in terms of his fitness and readiness to do that.
Kai Havertz
Everyone’s understandably excited about the new guy, and we all hope he’ll be a huge success, but maybe his arrival puts a bit of pressure on Kai Havertz. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing, and in the first half yesterday he provided the assist for Mikel Merino’s smartly taken equaliser, and it was his cross from the left that led to the own goal to make it 2-1.
Ideally you want both Havertz and Gyokeres to play a big part this season. We’ve learned the hard way asking too much of our players leads to injuries, and I don’t think the German is the kind of guy who will just sulk or let his head drop because there’s another player who is a viable option for his position.
Newcastle are physical
Afterwards, Mikel Arteta said games like this are not friendlies, calling them ‘a test’ instead. Which I get. This game was played at a higher pace than the one against AC Milan, and I think facing Premier League opposition demands more from you for various reasons. However, I will say I questioned the wisdom of playing a team who like to leave a bit in in too many challenges.
You could argue it’s part of our preparation, it won’t be any different when we face them in the Premier League, but when you see Joelinton come on and slap a 15 year old in the face – having just done the same thing to Merino a few seconds earlier – it can get a bit frustrating. Particularly after injuries derailed our last season. Thankfully, none of the challenges dealt any serious damage, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying from one or two of the Newcastle players.
As a small aside Elliot and I walked past their assistant manager Jason Tindall in Singapore yesterday as we went to go for lunch. He looks like a twat up close too.
Ricardo Calafiori
I enjoyed his first 45 minutes, and it’s interesting that Mikel Arteta has started him in both games out here. He obviously wants to give him central defensive minutes as there’s still some doubt as to when exactly Gabriel will be 100% fit. Early in the second half though, he went down with nobody around him, and had to come off. He went straight down the tunnel, not looking too happy.
Afterwards, Arteta described it as a ‘tweak’, but of what we don’t know. Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but perhaps more than anyone else, the Italian really needed an injury-free pre-season to provide some reassurance – for himself and for us as fans. After last season it’s hard not to worry. There’s a very good player there, but concerns about his reliability/availability will continue if he’s sidelined again.
Max Dowman (again)
Just like against AC Milan, he came on and impressed. This was even more striking though, doing it against Premier League opposition rather than a Serie A side who basically ambled their way through the previous game. He had two shots which the keeper did well to save, and the burst and run which won the penalty – desperately pushed down by Joelinton – was sensational. The combination of skill and pace was breathtaking.
Asked about him afterwards, Arteta said:
It is special. Obviously what he’s done today against this team in the time that he had on the pitch is something certainly not common to witness for a 15-year-old.
As you might imagine, Arsenal are keen to keep the hype to a minimum because of his age. But if you’re going to play him in a high profile pre-season friendly and he does what he did last night, people are going to talk. Fans, the press, podcasters, everyone. I get the need to keep a lid on it because of his age, he can’t even sign professional terms until he turns 17 (but that’s not until the end of 2026), but we’re seeing something a bit special here and I think it’s ok to say that out loud.
Singapore
Just some final thoughts on my own stay here, rather than the match last night. A big thank you to everyone I met for their welcome and hospitality. It’s always amazing to connect with fans from all over the world, and there were so many of them here this week. I’ve had such a great time, and I can’t wait to come back here again. On top of everything else, the food is just so good!
Right, I’ll leave it there. Andrew Allen will be on blog duty tomorrow, and hopefully – if we can line things up in terms of timing/tiredness/jet-lag – we’ll have a podcast for you too.
For now, have a good one!
