Expectations rise for Arsenal every week. Unlike Juventus (although they have already won).
In the classico? There was no imminent winner of the Ballon d’Or (?) who shone more.
Here are Makoto Asahara’s three thoughts from this past football weekend.
Expectations are rising for Arsenal
With table placement in mind, this isn’t too much to factor in – but it has to be said anyway.
Now, finishing in the top four and a Champions League ticket is really the absolute minimum requirement for Arsenal.
The London Red and White Club has already managed to withdraw Premier LeagueBest thanks to Manchester City’s loss at Anfield. After ten rounds of the season, they are four points ahead of their competitors.
So far, Mikel Arteta, Edu, the club management and the entire association have been a complete success – don’t talk about it.
Having said that, Sunday’s chaotic efforts against Leeds may not have been something that could be hung on the Christmas tree.
Because in fairness, the home team deserved a lot more than what they got at Elland Road.
But the fact that they didn’t get it says a lot about Arsenal.
Two years ago, Arsenal would lose a match every day of the week just by being Arsenal. Two years ago, Arsenal didn’t have the margins with them and didn’t get Gabriel’s red card (correctly in my opinion) “VAR removed”. Patrick Bamford hasn’t scored a penalty abroad against Arsenal in two years.
Margins are on the right side instead of wrong. The points roll in order rather than missing. Arsenal is in harmony rather than flames. In the league rather than outside Europe.
No, I still see Manchester City as a long-term gold candidate after all. And it would take a lot to change this starting point.
But every week, Arsenal feel more and more like a real contender for the title.
Toni Kroos has a point
Tonight (everything else would in fact have been ruined) Karim Benzema is expected to win the first Ballon d’Or of his career after an unparalleled season with the league title and club crown in Real Madrid’s uniform.
If you were to also award the Ballon d’Or in the opening weeks of the 2022/2023 season, Benzema would be a good distance away from winning it.
His Uruguayan teammate will be closer.
“Fede Valverde is now 3rd in the world”, chirp Midfield star Toni Kroos After a 3-1 victory over opponents Barcelona on Sunday.
Although one could argue with good reason that both a goal-obsessed Norwegian city and a host of Paris Saint-Germain’s superstars outdid everyone else during the season opener, the German has a point.
Because Fede Valverde has been amazing during the fall with his unique style that only he has.
He’s kind of a hybrid between a midfielder and a right winger. Or for that matter immediately if the situation calls for it. He’s great in fencing, lightning fast, reliable in passing, and this season, he’s also dangerous to score like a little. He also lives on his energy and fighting spirit as well as on his artistic quality. A team player as well as an artist.
Saying he’s the best player in the world right now is probably a stretch, but the best player at Real Madrid, here and now, I would actually dare say he is.
It’s time to tear the Allegri patch off
This, in fact uncontroversial, comes with rather bad timing as Juventus actually won the Torino derby over Torino this weekend.
But Juventus are still likely to be knocked out of the Champions League already in the group stage after the unfortunate end of the group stage and a costly loss to Maccabi Haifa itself. It’s Juventus that actually got out of the Scudetto with ten points and seven places, even Napoli, which is the funniest in Europe at the moment.
It’s Juventus, in short, very bad in every respect.
And above all, they have a coach who, at the moment, is clearly not a good fit for them.
Management has made it clear that Massimiliano Allegri is secure in his position despite poor results (both last year and this year). The real reason for this, if the reports are to be believed, is that Juventus simply cannot afford to send him off and find a reasonable replacement.
But just like signing Dusan Vlahovic (who single-handedly scored his first away victory in the derby) just under a year ago, this is the situation in which La Vecchia Signora has to do something drastic.
The Serbian’s extravagant hiring last winter, which severely limited the club’s financial muscle during the subsequent summer window, was essential there and then and vital because Juventus did manage to “save” last year’s season by snatching fourth and first place.
A new bailout is now needed. And that in the form of bringing new leadership on the sidelines. Juventus’ second edition of Allegri is not only struggling to score points but also hard to stay awake (that’s the extent of the imagination). Expectations of what Juventus should demand are slowly but surely declining with each match.
I don’t know if the vacant head coaches like Zinedine Zidane, Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel would be really interested in the job given the situation the club is in. But if Anneli, Nedved and the gang at least haven’t heard of themselves already then it’s almost infringement.
Because there is still a season to save.