A very subjective look into AWFC

by Demian Arriaga

PODCAST

  • Been a minute…

    Hi.

    First and foremost, I have to start this post the way I start almost every single one of my journal entries, and that is through an apology. I apologize for not being around. My heart just hasn’t been in it and believe it or not, I rather not write negative stuff, because even though things seem ok at the club, they are surely not in my opinion.

    We got the news that Yeah, Amanda and Lina have left the club. Like you, I’d like to wish them all the best. They all must feel very frustrated and have their own personal situation going on but as a fan I can only hope that they look back at their time at AWFC fondly.

    I can’t believe the girls are in the CL final. I honestly had zero hope against Lyon in the second leg specially because I felt that a double 6 situation with Kim and Mariona just wasn’t good enough as I thought they needed to be 8s. Boy was I wrong.

    But I will say that the reason we won was also because DVD (the real one, not Daphne) didn’t start, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever but it sure as hell was a relief.

    I still have mixed feelings about Renee and I strongly disagree with her on many things and with most fan base to be honest. I just saw how people kept going on and on about Foord being our player of the season. What.

    There is no universe in which I see us beating Barcelona without Lia Walti and Beth Mead playing. There is absolutely nothing you can tell me to convince me. I don’t care who we’ve beaten without them. In my mind, we cannot. If their 3 in midfield start, we need Lia. Simple as.

    I know what you might think… that I support players and not the club but that is not correct, I just happen to have infinite more faith and hope when Beth plays over Foord, etc etc etc.

    Arsenal is a very weird club, almost bipolar. So many highs and lows. I just love it.

    Back to the CL final….

    ANYTHING can happen and of course I think we have a chance, even without key players. There’s always a chance and if football has proven anything to me infinite time over the years is that I have no idea what I’m talking about.

    But you know what I’m gonna say…. if we had Viv we would crush them.

    d ❤

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  • Things are weird

    I honestly can’t quite put my finger on it but I have a feeling that something is going on at the club. Furthermore, I think overall this WSL season has been a bit strange. It just feels like a little dark, if that makes any sense. I have no idea what’s happening but I’m confused.

    One of the things that you’ve heard me talk about before here has to do with toxic masculinity and how it relates directly to money and ambition. The bigger the game gets, the more money it brings, the more likely ambitious men will be a part of it, and ambition doesn’t really always been good intentions, does it?

    The rise of abuse to players online and at stadiums is absolutely disgusting, abhorrent and most of all, it was predictable. It was only a matter of time.

    As women’s football fans, and anyone that has just a little knowledge of history and empathy, we can appreciate how often we/the players/the culture go through the proverbial “one step forward, two steps back” situation. And it has happened a million times and I will sadly continue to happen, ideally less and less.

    We cannot think it’s ok , acceptable or just normal that several players, huge names at that, have gotten abuse multiple times… Bunny Shaw, Millie Bright and sooooo many others. They don’t deserve it.

    We cannot think it’s ok , acceptable or just normal that the Conti Cup final was played on one of the worst pitches I have ever seen in my life, on TV or in person. It enraged me and made me feel so sad. Like we’re talking about household names here, both clubs owned by people with endless pits of money, yet the players are treated like something. The players deserve the best conditions possible, just like men do, and of course I know you feel the same way.

    Although Chelsea have been great, they don’t really look like world beaters to me, what do you think? I think City are by far the better team at least from my very biased perspective as Jill and Viv are two of my favorite players ever. Sad that Greenwood and Hemp haven’t been playing, otherwise, I think they would beat Chelsea and Arsenal every single match. I think they’re THAT good, and specially with a new manager.

    As it relates to Arsenal I really don’t know what to think. It seems like the end of a cycle in a way but I don’t mean that the “older” players should leave. The opposite actually… I think some of the younger players aren’t as good as the OGs and the club is in fact NOT in good hands. The standards have fallen so short and whoever is responsible at the board should be held accountable.

    Absolutely insane that we haven’t won a single WSL title. Only 2 Conti Cups, with this squad? AND I’m NOT minimizing the Conti trophies! I fucking loved both of those wins so much. With all my heart. But how can the club have stood behind a terrible manager for so long and trusted his vision for all those years?

    Also, I’m gonna go ahead and say it but the worst mistake we ever made was to let Van de Donk leave. And equally as bad is let Viv leave.

    She’s literally the player we need the most.

    d ❤

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  • Born Again

    I won’t blame you if you think its silly that I finally come back to this blog and I do so by writing about ME and my career, but there is an Arsenal Women overlap, I swear.

    A few months ago I was asked to record percussion on a song that would feature Lisa, Raye and Doja Cat. As you can imagine this was a big deal. And you can also imagine that I didn’t know who Lisa or Raye were, back then anyway but trust that I know who they are now.

    During the NLD that the men played, Lisa was a guest and I think she did some sort of coin toss ceremony. The best part was seeing her with Leah Williamson pictured afterwards. Of course none of this is about ME but definitely felt like a worlds colliding type of situation because at that point absolutely nothing about the song had been leaked or talked about publicly. I wasn’t allowed to say anything about anything and it’s not like Lisa was on a press tour chatting about the collab with the other two unreal artists.

    But the song is out, and I’m so very proud of it. A lot of work has been behind it and at the moment I’m posting this, the video has 24.6 MILLION views on YouTube. The fact that I’m on a song with such big artists is an honor and a song that has the potential of being a smash hit worldwide which means a lot of people I love and admire will listen to something I’m a part of and that is always super crazy.

    If you are curious and wanna watch the video, please check out these trail blazing women do their thing

    d ❤

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  • Big Wednesday

    Depending on when you read this, the girls will be playing Bayern either today or tomorrow. Either way, regardless of space and time, it’s safe to say that said match is the biggest one of the season to date for many people, and I kinda regret saying I thought so. I’m not really sure if it’s the biggest match honestly. I got carried away.

    I think the match vs city was more important because of any and all reasons, specially those related to Viv. That match had an outcome that I can’t really complain about and also, had we won, we would be in a better position but that is the most obvious and laziest bit of analysis ever. Like wow… if we had won more points we would be better off… thanks Einstein.

    The good thing about tomorrow is that we are still in the running and nothing guarantees that we will automatically lose against a first placed team in the group stages. Anything can happen and if you’re already writing the girls off I’m here to offer some perspective and tell you that with our squad, minus a player or two, we can beat anyone.

    Now, I can’t just say that and not explain what I mean so I’m just gonna go ahead and say it… Caitlin Foord is not the player most people thinks she is. Just because someone gets tons of touches and is very involved in the match doesn’t mean that “she had a good game” FFS look at the lost balls, poor crosses and her unwavering belief that she can run past people and/or through them. If we play Lyon, Bacha will have her for lunch and dinner.

    While I’m at it, a friend sent me a tweet about someone saying that KCC, Pelova and Manuum were the best midfield in the world…. My god… they aren’t even the best trio at Arsenal’s bench. Anyway, this is not to put them down, just chatting about squad depth and it just isn’t there to reach a semi or the final but you know me… I’ll always have hope and I’m more excited about Lyon or Barca than an “easy” team.

    I get that they’re not at The Emirates tomorrow but I think this might be an advantage actually. I say this because it’ll be a packed house and also fans haven’t been there in full in a long time so maybe they want to make up for lost time of sorts.

    I plan on fully enjoying the match regardless of the result because we are qualified to the next round and I didn’t think that would be a thing before Renee took over.

    One last thing… and I get that people love Renee and want to give her the job full time, and I kinda do too, but we have to remember a manager does much more and they have to be one of the faces of the club, with the right charisma, transfer strategy nous, etc etc etc.

    Check out Wenger’s autobiography on audiobook. Unreal insight.

    d ❤

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  • We got our Arsenal Women back

    Things feel right. Everything feels right. To see the girls smiling again is truly priceless and I’m extremely happy for them. These smiles have come with six wins or vice versa… unreal run and may it continue… ALSO it’s just what the players deserve.

    The performances have been fantastic. Solid in defense, lots of goal scorers, reliable midfield etc. Also, specially and maybe exclusively last night, we didn’t get to see Emily Fox, Leah, Steph or Beth. They were all in the squad and were rested and you and I know how important it is for there to be as much rest as possible.

    Good to see Mariona play deeper as well and she did fantastic as we all know she does and can do and will continue to do. KCC was also good, but I can’t help but just wish I could see Kim and Lia back asap and having Mariona deeper will also be a great option alongside them.

    We all got our Spotify wrapped and all that good stuff and I also got a bunch of stats about my podcast aka That Arsenal Women Podcast and I am just overwhelmed with gratitude. I appreciate everyone that has listened and still listens even if I barely post.

    Somedays I want to stop and others I want to keep going because I feel my content is different than a lot of what’s out there and wish I could do more and more often but I do see a world where I shift to The Highbury Squad more and more.

    I wonder just how many times I’ve posted about this very thing and it might be one of the signs of the end of an era for me, but I’m not sure yet. For now, I’ll continue writing as much as possible.

    Next week’s match against Bayern is by far the most important match of the season so far and if the girls beat them they will be TOP of the group and avoid some big hitters but maybe staying second would mean not facing Barcelona but either way I still think Lyon are the best team in the world.

    d ❤

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  • Ok, so when???

    No permanent manager news but that might just mean we will give Renee the job permanently and I would be more than happy with that to be honest. Yes, I wanted Casey Stoney and also wouldn’t be mad if we do get her, however, I wasn’t really considering Renee as an option because it was my understanding that she did had no intentions of taking the job full time due to personal and family reasons.

    I was chatting the other day with my friend and she mentioned how in her opinion Sarina Wiegman, Emma Hayes and Sonia Bonpastor are the top 3 female women’s football managers in the world and I totally agree. And I brought up that since they are the top 3 and none of them manage Arsenal Women it means, by default, that we do not have a top 3 coach.

    That is simply not good enough for Arsenal, I get it and I would agree. Yet, Arsene Wenger was also not a top 3 manager in the world and he shaped and changed our club forever, more than any other manager and btw if you haven’t please read his book. It’s incredible and it’s also available via audio book, narrated by him on Spotify, etc.

    I am willing to give Renee time and if it’s the full season then so be it. I like what I see for the most part and there are things that I don’t understand such as never playing Rosa and always playing Caitlin… this just isn’t my vision for the future and certainly not for the present.

    Either way, it would be cool to know WTF is happening haha

    d ❤

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  • I still remember…

    In early 2008 I did my first long tour playing drums for a guitar player I grew up listening to. It was an incredible experience and I got to see close to 20 countries, if not more. It was then when I went to my dream country aka The Netherlands, but even though the trip was an utter success, I was kinda bummed because it hand’t taken me to London. Fast forward close to a year, we were back on the road and this time London was on the route, and so were about 10 different cities in England and Scotland. It was incredible.

    A couple of days ago I was going through my laptop and I found a playlist that I had created for that part of the trip. It included songs by The Clash, The Buzzcocks, David Bowie, Editors (with whom I have a crazy story for another day), Jamiroquai and Bloc Party among many. Bloc Party was on heavy rotation for me at that time and even though Silent Alarm is a great album, I always kinda just listened to “I Still Remember” from the album Weekend in the City.

    The moment I found that playlist my FotMob app went off letting me know that the NWSL final was starting in 15 min. I am not really a fan of the NWSL and the only matches I watched this year were of Bay FC to see if Jen Beattie was playing. But this match was important to me for 2 reasons.

    One of them was hoping that Rafa would get a trophy, after an UNREAL start of the season and specially due to her getting injured and spending so much time on the sidelines. I Still Remember Rafa, all the time, and I hoped she would get a winner’s medal and she did.

    Another reason was to see Marta win a trophy, and again: she did.

    A bonus was watching Jen get her recognition for all the hard work she does and receiving the 2024 Lauren Holiday Impact Award. It’s a big deal and I love that for her because she has sadly not gotten the minutes she deserves and I don’t mean that because of who she “used to be” but because she still has the brain, the legs and the stamina.

    I think some Arsenal fans and AWFC fans have this blind love for the club and think that we are the end all be all of football. We aren’t. Life takes many turns for many people and sometimes the best thing that can happen to some players is leaving Arsenal. And that’s ok and this is something everyone can think about, should they choose to, or not. But what we cannot forget is that no matter how much you love a club, if you don’t love other things about it aka the manager, or whomever, then working in that situation is really bad.

    Going back to the tour I did, when we went to England. I remember how incredible it was to work with that guitar player. The crew was amazing, etc but I didn’t really gel with the bass player and it was actually pretty painful most shows were I think I told myself I was enjoying it out of gratitude more than actually enjoying it truly and authentically at that moment in time. And that weird dynamic made me consider my future.

    Anyway, I hope you’re all doing well. Miss writing but I also have to tell you that I’ve been more productive than I have been in about 10 months and I made it a point to spend the same time that I assigned to writing this blog to other things and it has been a game changer.

    I still remember this blog, and you remember how corny I am. Much love.

    d ❤

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  • Juve matches

    There are certain European fixtures that mean more to me than others. Anytime Arsenal, women or men, play teams that have meant something to me in the past is something that I appreciate, I value and really enjoy. Juventus is a team that holds a special place in my heart for several reasons, none bigger than being the home to Edgar Davids for so many years.

    These next two matches the girls have vs Juve are obviously crucial mathematically as it relates to their continued participation in the UWCL, but to me it’s much more than that. It’s about the confidence, the mentality and what I assume is something along the lines of them feeling like they can prove to the world that they have what it takes to progress and the only think holding them back was the former manager. And OMG does it feel good to say that. Good riddance…

    Even though I personally would like to see different players in certain positions, I have to say that Rene having what seems to be like “her best XI” is so refreshing. I didn’t think Foord or Frida should start and look what they did!!

    So, whoever plays is somewhat irrelevant for me at the moment because we’re getting the results and we just have to get through the international break and then the real transition will take place but I’m super happy with the way things are.

    Ljungberg doesn’t get ANY credit for being such a important bridge between Emery and Arteta, and I think Rene is saving our season because we’re still within a realistic shot, based on math alone.

    Clearly we don’t have a permanent manager appointed, but there’s one thing I’ll say.. For whatever reason apparently Casey Stoney is not the main target for our club. It’s irrelevant if I agree with it or not but please appoint a WOMAN.

    One of the things that I always go back to is that the same fans that say that she isn’t good enough are the same ones that said, for YEARS, that Jonas was indeed good enough, and look at where this got us.

    Anyway, the match is about to start. Xo

    d ❤

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  • A little patience

    Here’s the latest podcast

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  • A whole new world

    When I tell you I haven’t slept this well in a long time I would be lying to your face. I sleep well all the time. I can sleep anywhere, at any time, almost on command. I can sleep on a plane, on an uber, watching tv, right after a nap, right before a nap. Sleep is not an issue for me. So trust me when I tell you: I know sleep. With that said, the past two nights have allowed me sleep much more peacefully than in previous weeks.

    If you have read any of my blogs you might gotten to the conclusion, rather quickly, that I can be a total douchebag, specially when it had to do with the criticism towards the now (yay) former manager. So in that vein, I will say that I’m not surprised at the outpouring of “sadness” and support of many people, pundits, podcasters and other folk. I get people in the media being very political and diplomatic but my reality, to not qualify it as “the” reality, is that I have zero sadness in my heart nor do I forget the things I felt and what I saw and what I know. Good riddance. This doesn’t negate anything he achieved, doesn’t negate his talent, doesn’t negate that he’s a great person. What I’m saying is I’m not like everyone else, sorry. Buh bye.

    Now, onto the match real quick. Without a doubt the most important thing about it all was Lina Hurtig coming back. We are so in dark about everything that she has been dealing with and that is more than OK with me. Whatever she needs, at whatever time, I’m proud of the club for supporting her, understanding her and ideally providing whatever she needs, and with that said, I will express my respect and gratitude towards the former manager because he FOR SURE had a say in this decision and for that I will always be thankful.

    I’m sure I sound crazy and biased, but the team looked like a new team. Alessia was fantastic, Caldentey was amazing… seeing Kim and Lia in midfield was lovely as ever… everyone just looked great.

    But if I had to pick one thing to point out in which I felt things have changed, it’s that when we let that goal in, I was not worried or stressed for a second. I didn’t doubt the girls at all, not once. I had full and infinite confidence not only that we wouldn’t let another goal in, but that we would score, and we did.

    You know, I was thinking that if you showed both a random recent match under the former manager and this match to someone totally ignorant of the drama, etc, what they would think. I was curious if they saw or felt what I felt but there are so many variables and feelings attached that I couldn’t even start to answer, all I could do is go with my feelings and I felt this was a whole new team and they are entering a whole new world.

    I am so very proud of every single player. All of them. We have turned the page and they are the authors of the next chapter, THEY are. Not some man. A squad full of historic women.

    d ❤

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