With it being Wednesday and still a good four days until the game against Liverpool, I’ve still been drinking in some of the Eze stuff, whilst also watching the odd tactical review of the game against Leeds. I said before that game that I thought it was difficult to know what Leeds team would turn up to the Emirates; they weren’t a low block side, but pressing us too aggressively would be suicide. But what we did in that game was so impressive in terms of the way in which we physically imposed ourselves on out opponent, that I find myself wondering whether we can really take anything from the game into the Liverpool game at the weekend. I mean, of course there’s the confidence that a massive victory brings, there’s also the euphoria of adding another quality player to our team in Eze, but can we really take anything else given the opponent was such an unknown quantity?

Then I started to think about Liverpool analysing us for the first two games. Obviously they’ll also look at our pre season too, but in terms of when it all matters, the sample size is quite small; we’ve had a game in which we were poor against United, could have killed the game by hitting them in transitions, made the wrong choices, but got over the line. Then there was this game in which I have no doubt in my mind that the narrative of it and the way it played out renders the analysis for Liverpool’s analysts kind of redundant.

But maybe that’s a good thing, right? I mean, as Arsenal fans we are obsessive over our team and we know everything there is to know about every player. But if we don’t know how we might set up tactically, if we aren’t sure who is going to start, then that perhaps gives us a little bit of a minor advantage ahead of the game?

I think they’ll probably have an idea, like we do, though. But I wonder how they will plan to counter it? And what will they have seen? For example, will they have a plan for the way we are setting up Rice and Zubimendi as a partnership? I saw a fair few interchanges between the two I liked on Saturday evening, particularly with the Saka goal, but as Adrian Clarke also pointed out in his excellent tactical breakdown on YouTube over the last few days, I like the way we are dropping Rice in to collect the ball from Raya. In my head I’d just assumed it would be Zubimendi dropping deep to receive, but Rice moving into space gives us more movement and makes us less predictable. Would Liverpool detail Wirtz to be closing down that position on Sunday, for example? Or Would it be Ekitike/Gakpo? If they don’t and they allow both Zubi and Rice to get on the ball and dictate build up, maybe it has a positive impact on the likes of Calafiori and Odegaard (if fit) finding space in those pockets in Liverpool’s third. In Adrian’s video he shows Rice’s touch and pass map and a lot of it is deeper in our half against Leeds, despite the fact that we pinned them back so much, so to me that tells me Rice and Zubi linking up is enabling the likes of Calafiori get forward, as we create a kind of ‘box’ in the middle of the park. Does that change with Eze the natural number 10 to drift in field? Maybe. Or maybe we just set up and ask him to do something different to what he did at Palace?

See what I mean? I think I know how Arsenal have started the season, but already I don’t know what the set up might be come kick off on Sunday, so that surely gives us even a 1% advantage over them. Of course it doesn’t mean we’ll be able to stop what has been a free-scoring Liverpool side so far, but with our back line and the way in which we are organised (also taking into account the Rice/Zubimendi axis), I am hopeful (not confident, just hopeful) that we will be able to give Liverpool more of a challenge of unlocking a defence than they have had so far.

In terms of other stuff going on, there’s no real news on the transfer outgoings front, although I saw some stuff about Porto awaiting to hear back from Arsenal on the Kiwior stuff. My hope is that Arsenal’s stance remains clear: €26million for a Polish international who was great for us in a Champions League run last season just isn’t enough. So in a summer in which we’re seeing kids leave the other big clubs for between £15 – £20million, we need to be standing firm here I think. I like the look of this Hincapie chappie, but if it doesn’t happen, Kiwior stays and we have a very good deputy for Gabriel that hopefully gets a bit of game time this season to ensure we don’t lose big Gabby like we did towards the end of last season. I get that we probably do need to sell for PSR reasons, but I suspect the focus would be more on the Sambi’s, the Viei and the Nelson’s, than the likes of Kiwior who is more likely to be used.

Tomorrow it’ll be Champions League draw day, so attention will turn to that, to which I’m really hoping that our first game is away because I’m on holiday. It’s going to be just my luck that it will be a home game though; we’ve got Forest at home and then City at home the following week, so it is almost written in the stars that I’m going to end up missing three home games in a row!

Anyway, let’s just see what happens with the draw first, then I can lament my first world problems.

Catch you all tomorrow.