Morning all!

A bright one in London, which is becoming an awesome habit that Mother Nature is getting in to. I could certainly get used to a life like this if it happened every year. I could handle the rain, the grey, the cold and sleet, if it meant we get a few months of unbridled sunshine every year.

And we’re properly into pre season now, because of Arsenal kicking off their usual obligations by heading to Borehamwood to play their annual friendly against the hosts of our reserves and ladies. It’s a great feeling too to see that a strong team went with Unai and that team subsequently dispatched Borehamwood 8-0.

Of course the result is fairly inconsequential but the fact that there were some pretty decent strikes by some of the players is pleasing and although I couldn’t watch the whole game, by all accounts it seems as if the players looked like they were buying in to the Emery way, although of course it’s too early to tell whether or not that works for the first team in about three weeks time.

But the initial signs are positive and we saw plenty of players with the whole team changed at halftime. Having not watched the whole game it’s difficult to assess who really stood out. But what I’m please with is seeing the likes of Nketiah and Nelson on the score sheet and certainly they will be in the managers mind for the cup competitions in the new season.

The excitement for me is also the idea that Lacazette and Aubameyang appear to be playing together and that Emery seems happy to use them so. Lacazette looks like he’s taken a step back from being the main number nine and more of a link player in the front two or three. He can do it and I think will get lots of game time this season coming but whether that is alongside Auba as a two or as a three remains to be seen.

Perhaps Emery will even change during a game and so the idea that players have set ‘positions’ feels a little dated. It’s about impact on the pitch and as long as we have players who have chemistry together on the pitch then their locations and movement in the final third is more important.

Right, short one today, as I have some sun to embrace before we wake up in England one day to find it’s gone again.

Laters people.