Good Monday morning, TSFers! The Arsenal men won’t be the focus of the Premier League narrative when play resumes this weekend. Instead, all eyes will be on Anfield, where Liverpool host Manchester City. It seems somehow fitting that the side most directly affected by City over the investigated period (‘09-’18) are the first to get a crack at the now-confirmed cheaters. I have no doubt that the Liverpool home support will let City know exactly what they think. I look forward to it.
I’ll pause for
a second to emphasize that “investigated period” bit. The Manchester City charges and conviction (appeal pending) only cover through 2018. Their financial records and practices from 2018 through today have yet to be scrutinized. It has not been explicitly confirmed that they will be investigated for potential additional infractions, but how could they not be? Are we to believe that the systemic, industrial-scale cheating regime suddenly decided that they’d built up enough of an unfair advantage over their competition and suddenly went straight? And even if that were the case (I feel quite confident saying it isn’t), there is no way to separate their subsequent success from the ill-gotten foundation that it was built upon. It’s a mess. The tendrils extend everywhere and touch everything.
The lads return to action on Saturday morning against Leeds. They have nine matches over the twenty-nine days before the November international break — five Premier League (Leeds, @Forest, Everton, @Liverpool, and Hull City), three Champions League (Lille, @Bayern, and @Slavia Prague), and the League Cup (@Fleetwood Town). That stretch strikes me as close to average in terms of difficulty, complicated by the whole playing nearly every three days bit, which Mikel Arteta will have to navigate with the usual rash of international break injuries.
The Arsenal women are on international break from today (October 5th) through October 13th. They also have nine matches before the next international break, although that doesn’t come until late November. They’ve got six Super League matches and three Champions League contests. They’re currently in 10th — an unprecedented and unacceptable spot for the club. I’m not sure Renee Slegers will be the manager for much longer.
