A very subjective look into AWFC

by Demian Arriaga

PODCAST

  • Vegas Baby

    I’m packing like a mad person to take a long drive to Las Vegas for a couple of gigs this weekend. Going there is always terrible in a way and cool in another. Terrible because of the amount of things I dislike all around me, all the time, and cool because there are things I like, I’m going with a great band, close friends and I’m grateful to have work and be alive and healthy.

    Vegas is synonymous with betting so I am going to use that as a prompt for things I would bet will happen at Arsenal and I’m gonna check back periodically to see how comically wrong I was with some. These are random thoughts based on nothing but quick fire thoughts:

    • Beth will be our top scorer next season + POTY
    • We sign Keira Walsh.
    • We get a new manager before the December 12th.
    • Leah Williamson scores 3 goals this season.
    • No Conti, but we win the FA Cup thanks to the new manager bounce
    • We make it to the CL Quarters
    • Amanda returns and makes 10 appearances

    That’s all I got. Wish I could sprinkle in some color with some crazy stories from Vegas but there are none to be totally honest with you. Last time I was there was during covid times for a tour I was getting ready to do and it was so insane and definitely not worth wasting your time with that.

    Predictions not so much, these were just bets, which are similar but not the same!!

    d ❤

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  • DIckie Bow Thursday

    I haven’t mentioned Kevin Campbell the past few days and since it’s Thursday, a day which will always be synonymous with Super Kev, I just had to send him my love, and send that same love to his family, friends and everyone he touched.

    To a large degree, us content creators need allies, we need help and sometimes we need validation. Kevin was a super person who was the ally to an infinite amount of bloggers and podcasters, appearing on shows of all statures. He made us all feel relevant and validated as most of all he made us feel closer to the club we all love.

    So aside from honoring him by being grateful we all have to honor him by being like him. By helping others whenever we can, by helping them with things that we know will help them beyond we could ever imagine and it might be as simple as a phone call, as introducing them to someone, as liking a post, and everything in between.

    When we have people like that in the podcasting universe, someone who lights up every room and every program, it makes you wonder what we are all doing when we get hateful, when we get negative, when we get critical. It’s just such a stupid waste of time and I lift my hand and admit I haven’t as positive as I would like and I struggle to do so due a few things I’ve mentioned before, and this post is certainly not about them.

    But what I need to do is ask myself: What would Kevin say? Not just in that situation, but what would he say about what I said? What would he say about how I said it?

    I’m eternally grateful for that and I also know he wouldn’t want me to live myself tied to that questions I posed and that I need to be myself.

    I know all this might not make too much sense for anyone reading but I appreciate you.

    We can always be better and I intend on doing so, not sure if I will but I will certainly try.

    d ❤

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  • Our work is not done

    The growth of the game has been massive and we have all seen the exponential enormity of it all, especially in the last few years and to be more specific, when the lionesses won the Euros the game was just undeniably gigantic.

    You would think more things around the game would match said growth, said progress and said merit but very often we are reminded that the women’s sport seems to be in prehistoric stages because of prehistoric men will do whatever they can to keep that as a constant.

    The news about the clown show that is going down at ManUtd is sad and infuriating but let me remind you that there are hundreds of things happening behind the scenes at many if not all clubs that are messed up, that are terrible and that will take generations to eliminate and this seemingly eternal fight is why we as fans need to do whatever we can to help the players, to check the clubs and to express how much more we know the players.

    It breaks my heart reading former players, pundits, journalists and women in any/all positions in football and in life really, express their disappointment in what is happening, I hate it, and I hate it with a passion.

    What more do ManUtd women have to do? They just the FA Cup for fuck’s sake.

    There is a sense of urgency that we cannot overlook and I also can appreciate how overwhelming it is and how we all can feel like there’s nothing we can do. I certainly don’t know what things can be done specially for us fans that live away from our club’s city but I’m always open to hear and to see various kinds of initiatives.

    One thing that irks me however is how some people on my feed are so quick to hate on ManUtd but never said a single negative word about our current manager. They never mention him screaming at players, pushing them, what he did to Viv and Mana, etc. It’s very, very telling and I need to curate my timeline better.

    I’m expecting, like all of you, tons of departures from that team and when they do, there is not way in hell that they will be competitive any time soon.

    We should buy Le Tessier either way.

    d ❤

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  • Australians, Greenwood and Casey

    Today is one of those days where I chat about several things that seem to not be connected but are all relevant to or related to our Arsenal. I am in a bit of a rush so I apologize in advance if my thoughts seem incoherent and scrambled but the intention is to be clear and express my ideas as clearly as possible.

    Rumors are that Arsenal might be in contention to sign Raso, another fantastic Australian. There’s not much more that I know about her other than she plays with a bow on her head to honor her grandmother and that she’s Australian. I know I watched her have a great World Cup with the Matildas but I have zero recollection to where on the pitch she plays.

    My thoughts have always been that I enjoy multiple players from the same nation in a club team. This stance started way back when in the Barcelona Men’s team of the late 90s with close to a dozen dutch players. So, sure, the more the merrier and at the same time, the quota might remain the same Australians wise, if Foord moves on this summer or next.

    Alex Greenwood makes another appearance on this blog but not because I’m gonna talk about her being my dream signing as I do every day, but I wanted to share an article in which she says some very interesting things:

    https://www.90min.com/alex-greenwood-difficult-conversations-needed-improve-womens-football

    Lastly, Casey Stoney is out in San Diego as I know you read, and yes I think she would be a great fit at Arsenal for many reasons. Among them is that she can rock that tan coat way better than our current manager and you know what they say…. fashion is temporary, style is permanent.

    I don’t feel like I need to justify why I think she’s a good fit but I will add that I would like a female manager at Arsenal and wanted one before the current manager was there and I’m gonna want a female manager after him and I would love it if it was Casey.

    d ❤

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  • Daphne in

    You can call them rumors or you can call them leaks, but whatever you choose to call them, the idea of a player like Daphne van Domselaar signing for us this summer is something that makes me very happy, most of all for Manu.

    I personally don’t think that Manu’s place as our main keeper was ever in danger or in doubt. She was considerably better than the other options we had and because we know how big of a personality she is and how big of a competitor she is, having a true rival for that starting spot will do her a world of good and I guarantee that she will look forward to being challenged, tested and everything in between.

    As a oranjeleeuwinnen fan this of course is fantastic for me but I’m not here to just talk about how things affect me, believe it or not, but as her fan, I really would like to see her at a club like ours. However, I am not fully convinced that she will be let go by Villa but I don’t know anything about her contract.

    What I know is that she didn’t have a great season and she obviously got hurt and I also don’t know how healthy she is, how bad her injury was and how it might or might’ve not affected her mentally and physically going forward. So, if not her, who?

    Are we still interested in Mary Earps? Do people think she will retire at Utd? Last season I kept shifting from wanting her and then not and I think I’m still clearly undecided but as a whole I wouldn’t mind Mary at Arsenal either. If I had to pick I might choose youth for once.

    Either way, regardless of who comes in, as with every position, we have to aim for the absolute best player we can and even though Daphne isn’t world class, her ability is incredible and I might be biased but I think she is already better than any of the other keepers we have had in the past few seasons.

    Also, for the love of everything you hold dear. Please don’t refer to her as DvD. There is only ONE DvD, please be serious.

    d ❤

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  • Transfer thoughts

    The transfer window opens on June 24th which is tomorrow and just like you would expect, I’m just ready for it to start and be over in what hopefully will feel like a blink of an eye but we all know every single day is going to feel like a fortnite. Yes, I did that on purpose, yes I’m aware Viv went to The Eras Tour and if you have followed this blog you know I’m a swiftie and have written about going to the show myself, but anyway, this makes me so happy for her and I truly believe anyone that can witness this show is a changed person.

    The other day I was asked about who I would like to see at Arsenal and I always say ALEX GREENWOOD. With a defender like her I can see our squad grow exponentially in stature, in fear for the opposition and more. At the moment I think that only Leah Williamson and Steph Catley have the ability to instill fear in our rivals on the day. Like I know Emily is tough and so is LWM, but actual fear fear? Just the ones I mentioned. But if we are to get Alex for example, not saying its going to happen, would be incredible.

    If we don’t get Keira, I would love to see Lindsay Horan, as I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about on this blog numerous times. I say her because as a gooner, she might put in that extra shift honestly and if Viv goes to Lyon, that might be the right time, because LH has won everything there is to win, maybe it’s the right time to move on.

    No idea about Lina Hurtig and I don’t see a way in hell that Gio would ever play under Jonas and I’m sure there’s a lot to this situation than we know and I’m also sure we will know more and more as time passes but when she came out and spoke about the club and the manager she got so much hate, for speaking her truth mind you, that I don’t think she’ll want to play for our club again, but I don’t know anything about anything.

    There are tons of other players I’d like to see including Chloe Kelly but there are so many I don’t know about that I’m also excited to be pleasantly surprised not just for AWFC but for the WSL as well.

    Let’s get this started!

    d ❤

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  • Lyon is the right choice, isn’t it?

    No other club makes more sense for Vivianne Miedema than Lyon, and that is of course my humble opinion. The amount of positive things regarding that club and that move are numerous and very hard to ignore and I figured I could chat about a few of those today and how Arsenal can be impacted as well.

    The first thing is how leaving England will be a positive. No, I don’t have anything against England and it’s the total opposite as a matter of fact… I love the country, I love London, etc etc etc but what I mean is that getting asked about Arsenal at every single match she plays and all that drama will get old really quick so that’s a hard pass if I was her.

    Learning a new language would be amazing for someone who already speaks Dutch, German and English so, learning French in case she doesn’t by now is a very cool thing.

    Lyon is stunning and if you don’t believe me just google “Vieux Lyon” and tell me you don’t want to move there and live your best life in one of the most beautiful places you have ever seen in your life.

    Footballing wise there are a few things to keep in mind of course. One of them is linking back up with DvD and Joe as I mentioned yesterday which I could write numerous blogs about, but the constant playing with Damaris will be so beneficial for Viv and for the Dutch national team in more ways that I can even comprehend.

    A midfield trio of Viv, DvD and Damaris, playing togethers, training together as often as possible is only going to make all three players stronger, better, fitter and more intelligent. Their football IQ is through the roof as it is and imagine what it can do collectively for all them all, and of course for Lyon who are already stacked from top to bottom.

    I want to take a small break to say once again that we have no idea what actually happened and we can speculate all we want but there are 3 sides to every story… one side, the other side and then there’s the truth. People will justify x, y and z or say that it was Viv who opted to leave etc… we know she wanted to stay. Don’t get it twisted.

    Anyway, Lyon mean business and a player like Ada is not going to extend her contract unless ambition is more than just words and there has to be a plan in place for a massive signing or multiple to happen, and I expect this to be Vivianne Miedema as a matter of fact. This is based on nothing except my hope for Viv to excel and I have no doubt that Lyon, as is, can beat Barcelona, but add to that Viv and to me they are the outright favorites.

    The virtually automatic trophies at Lyon would give her such a boost of confidence and even though it won’t be easy of course, it will bring her to a place where she belongs which is winning trophies often because she’s a champion and a winner and needs to be at a club that offers that potential, with ambition and with world class players around her.

    Where does this leave Arsenal? Well, doing something similar. Buying world class players for one. We need to be the club that people want to join to win titles, to “automatically” be champions and a club, you guessed it, with a manager who is an actual winner who knows what his best XI is.

    It’s not all doom and gloom and I don’t think we’re not as good as Lyon or that we aren’t a great club. It’s the total opposite as a matter of fact and this is why the decisions made recently don’t align with the club that we truly are.

    In other words, we’re better than Lyon 😛

    d ❤

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  • My lineup ATM

    I’m currently in super short vacation mode which means I have zero time to write this and I also wasn’t sure what I would write about today. But, since the transfer window is opening in a few days I was thinking about what lineup I would find interesting.

    This is not what I think our team should look like, this is purely something I would like to see, it’s hypothetical, it’s not real lol.

    Basically this is a way of seeing how central I would play Katie McCabe and Russo might drop a little deeper and have Caldentey and Beth be more of the goal scoring outlet. We don’t always have to play on the wings and be so predictable at times.

    Anyway, would love to see your lineups and how you’d change mine.

    d ❤

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  • Joe, 11 & 5

    You heard about it, I heard about it and I know Viv and Jen heard about it. New squad numbers were announced by the club and we were all an emotional wreck when we saw Vivianne Miedema’s biggest fan on planet earth aka Katie McCabe get #11. We all know she loves Viv and nobody deserves to wear that number more than her and after all, it is a lefty type number anyway.

    I’m also chuffed for Laia Codina getting #5. Not just because it’s a “more serious” number but someone with that squad number you’d expect to be a feature and not a sub and I’m very hopeful that is the case and we see much more or her next season.

    There are a few squad numbers available but I’m not smart enough or organized enough to figure out and let you know but the less weird numbers we have the better for my anxiety. 27? 29? GTFO haha.

    In much more on the pitch style news I am very, very happy that Joe Montemurro is off to Lyon, only because it might be enough of a thing for Viv to maybe make the switch and sign for them. I do worry that he will try using DVD out of place and when I spoke about anxiety before, nothing has ever given me more anxiety in my life when I see my favorite player played out of position.

    Either way, the idea of a potential reunion of viv and dvd, with those two geniuses teaming up again is just about the most exciting things I could ever imagine as a fan of Viv, of DvD and of course of The Netherlands.

    Gotta run but if you can please watch The Highbury Squad’s tribute to Kevin Campbell in a couple of hours which you can watch HERE

    d ❤

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  • what we need is a world class manager

    Five more sleeps… maybe more, maybe less but the transfer window will be open or will have been opened for a few hours a week from today, or is it a week from yesterday? I clearly don’t know but what I do know is that every single year I love and dread this time and I’m beyond a shadow of a doubt ready and terrified.

    What is tricky about this transfer window is that we can’t predict or rationalize the decisions that the current manager will make, so even if we buy player X, I don’t know if he’ll get the best out of them and I don’t even know which position we will try to fill in for.

    Like, everyone is obsessed with LWM and with the idea of Leah playing in midfield. I am neither. If anything I would love to see LWM as a right back or even a LB from time to time and I think she would be an absolute monster in a defensive midfield situation because she has a lot of the attributes.

    With that said I would go for a central defender, in theory, BUT Lotte was fantastic and deserves to play and with Laia and of course Amanda, it will provide us with enough options, first, second and third of which are Leah Williamson.

    What we need are world class players, in every position. We have tons of them actually already, as you well know, but if we’re gonna buy a midfielder it has to be Keira status, if we’re gonna buy a defender it has to be Greenwood status… you get the drift.

    I love Cloe and I would love to see her get more minutes but if the options are her and Caitlin on the left, we certainly need more competition and we need players that can swap wings with Beth like Hemp does and how Chloe Kelly does, unless that player is Caldentey who has no option but to have the biggest season possible given the fact that optically she is “replacing Vivianne Miedema.” and goddamn do I hate the sound of that.

    For the record I am not over and will never be over that manager and the club doing what they did and how they did it to Viv. Never ever and I promise you I won’t let you forget it either because I will talk about it whenever I can.

    But going back to “needing world class players” what we actually need is a world class manager, who would get the absolute best out of all the players on and off the pitch. Someone who the players would die for and play for, not someone with soundbites who pushes players, literally, and is rewarded with a new contract for not winning.

    There’s a ceiling to the player’s ability to express themselves and that can be the downfall of next season which ultimately be his in the end if the club are smart.

    d ❤

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