Hail GFOP!

Rog writes: That was some weekend. One which reminded us of football’s greatest life lesson – that it constantly teaches us all, what idiots we are and how little we know. I am old enough to remember when Arsenal were meant to be woefully uncalibrated, Manchester City’s aura was clearly back, United had the greens shoots of change, and Chelsea looked heavy-legged. After overreacting to the scant evidence of one weekend of football, let’s all agree to lose our minds again in the opposite direction this Monday morning, yeh? 

Arsenal Football Club had an almost perfect Saturday, not only obliterating Leeds United, but witnessing their $74 million No. 9 score his first two goals in an Arsenal jersey, and immediately mock those who had derided his propensity to hair flick. Saka’s injury was the one dampener on an otherwise perfect day in which Eberechi Eze’s unveiling was an emotional crescendo. Imagine what feelings must have flowed through his veins: a gent who dreamed of playing for Arsenal as a kid, was cut from the academy aged 13, a moment he has admitted crushed him, destroying his identity and confidence, beginning a journey through three youth academies, then grinding his way, first from the Championship to the Premier League, and now back home to Arsenal for $91 million. Watch this clip and revel at his tenacity, verve and faith. Fewer more soulful guys in the game. Ebs deserves it all.  

ii. TOTTENHAM FANS DESERVE HAPPINESS TOO. Performance of the weekend, shocking Manchester City to remain perfect. I admire Thomas Frank so much. This team’s football on the field is a parallel story to the tabloid narrative off it. Despite the negative spiral of Maddison and Kulu’s injuries, and the humiliating transfer negging of Morgan Gibbs-White and Eze, Frank has Kudus, Richarlison, and Brennan Johnson leading his collective, playing tactically intelligent, flexible, victorious football. Do not live in a post-result world, Spurs fans – your team are magnificent. Ignore the noise. Savor the wins.

iii. I teared up seeing Everton take the field for the first time at their new stadium. The noise of the fans was overwhelming. Watching the Everton fan base celebrate the moment which has been such a painful odyssey to make real was very moving. It turned into a perfect day. So many magical memories made: the Ndiaye first-ever goal, the James Garner nipple tingler, Pickford's penalty save, and Jack Grealish's redemption-tinged assists at the heart of all that was good. Above all, the noise from the fans. It is their passion and commitment that have gotten us here. I feel so happy, so proud, and so relieved in equal measure. I raise a glass to Everton rejuvenation and 133 years of memories made in this new place. #UTFT #COYB

iv. This week I am interviewing MO SALAH. Send me your questions for him!

v. Thanks to GFOP Gil Rutledge, who dropped me this Raven entitled, “On the Duality of Fandom.” Gil is an Arsenal fan!

It was the best of times (We got Eze!)
It was the worst of times (Because Havertz is hurt, as are 7 and 8).
It was the age of wisdom (Berta's a genius!),
It was the age of foolishness (Is Isak worth more than Viktor and Noni?), 
It was the epoch of belief (This is the year! Definitely, for sure)
It was the epoch of incredulity (We never do win, though, not the big one), 
It was the season of light (Gyökeres looked great against Leeds!)
It was the season of darkness (Remember Gyökeres against United?), 
It was the spring of hope (We finally have depth!), 
It was the winter of despair (But we never actually rotate), 
We had everything before us (Nothing to fear but fear itself!), 
We had nothing before us (But fear is so scary!), 
We were all going direct to heaven (Invincibles 2.0 loading), 
We were all going direct the other way (Anfield away without Kai, MØ and Bukayo?).

Such is life as an Arsenal supporter, at least it's not boring. Also, I'm using this as confirmation that Dickens was a Gooner.

vi. Thanks for this tweet from Kurt Sheperd, who is already in the running for Teacher of the Year, and to all of you teachers reading. We are lucky to have you. You are all heroes at Grealish levels.

vii. I have LOVED THE WEEKEND IN OUR DISCORD. You have all made me laugh so much. Where better to ride the highs, lows, and VAR-induced meltdowns than right here with your fellow GFOPs? Because we all know… football is better with friends. JOINING US IS EASY: just click THIS LINK and you’ll be with us instantly if you have an account already and if you don’t, simply create one and you’ll be added once complete.

viii. Two weeks from today, we descend upon Columbus, a city that has written itself into the very fabric of American soccer history. We cannot wait to celebrate that history, with all of you, live on stage at KEMBA Live on Sept. 8 with Clint Dempsey, the great Herc Gomez, Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy, and one of the most energetic players I've ever met, Frankie Hejduk. It will be a night of football, joy, and communion before the U.S. takes on Japan. Come be with us, Columbus. TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE 💛

With wishes for better days ahead. 

Courage,
Rog

Spurs Should Always Play at the Eithad 🤍

By Max Bonem

Manchester City 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Two of the early season’s biggest storylines came to a head on Saturday when Pep’s reimagined City side welcomed Thomas Frank’s Spurs, who’ve looked shambolic off the field as Arsenal hijacked their hopeful signing of Eberechi Eze earlier this week. And yet, on the field, things couldn’t be more different. For the second year in a row, Tottenham arrived at the Etihad and came out firing with two goals in the first half, this time courtesy of Brennan Johnson and just-signed João Palhinha, both of whom finished from inside the box amidst City goalkeeping and defending that could be best described as “quarter-assed.” The rest of the game was down right chill for Spurs, and with a trip to Brighton next weekend, Pep will need to find some balance between the team that crushed Wolves to start the campaign and the one that stayed home against Spurs just a week later.

No Eze (or Gibbs-White)? No Problem.

Just as Tottenham were finally washing away their “Spursy” aftertaste post-Europa League trophy, Eze had to go and pull the metaphorical football away just as the Tottenham faithful were about to kick it, and defect to the Emirates. Coupled with coming eerily close to signing Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White just before he opted to stay in Nottingham under a long-term contract, it's been a tough few weeks for Spurs in terms of recruitment. And yet, they sit top of the table as one of only two teams with two wins in their first two games. After going 0-for-2 on recent big signings, they still have eyes for Savinho, who may cost just a bit extra after Frank and co. embarrassed City in front of a less-than-enthused home crowd on Saturday.

Make Way for Donnaruma 

Much like their crosstown rivals, Manchester City’s biggest positional question mark going into this season was between the sticks, as they bought back their one-time academy grad James Trafford from Burnley to replace their longtime No. 1 Ederson, who looked to be leaving for Türkiye or the Saudi Pro League. Yet, to say that Trafford was out of his element against Spurs would be putting it kindly. Ederson watched from the bench as his 22-year-old replacement gifted Palhinha Spurs’ second goal and came eerily close to a potential handball just outside the box to close out the first half. Early sunday morning, it was reported that former PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has agreed to personal terms with City, meaning that while Ederson looks all but sure to be heading elsewhere, Trafford may officially be pulling Carabao and FA Cup duties for Pep from here on out.

📬 Enjoying The Raven? Check out our other Men in Blazers newsletters:

☀️ The Women’s Game: Everything you need to know about women’s football, sent straight to your inbox each week.

🔍 The Correspondent: Rory Smith’s thoughts on the world of soccer, culture, food, and how they all connect – every Thursday.

🇺🇸 USMNT Only: Your weekly update on the most important topics in the U.S. men’s game, all leading up to next year’s World Cup.

A Good Day to Be a Gunner 🖐

Arsenal 5-0 Leeds

It was a game of firsts at the Emirates on Saturday: the first look at Eze in an Arsenal (and decidedly not Tottenham) shirt as he was officially introduced before the game, the first Premier League appearance for 15-year-old phenom Max Dowman–who drew a big penalty in his debut and somehow looked completely at ease in front of the 60,000-person crowd–and the first two goals for $74 million striker Viktor Gyökeres. While the big Swede’s brace almost felt like extra sprinkles on top of the Gunner’s existing sundae of goals, it was a preview of the difference maker Gyökeres can (and will will need to) be, as Arsenal sustained injuries to both Ødegaard and Saka, who got the third goal of the game, in service of the win. Still, Arteta’s squad head to Liverpool next weekend as one of only two teams in the league with two wins to start the year as they keep pace with Eze’s would-be club just four miles up the road.

More: Arsenal get Saka and Ødegaard injury boost.

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

If there was one game from the weekend that deserved to be breathalyzed, this was it. Two teams that each came out flat to start the year decided to stop resisting and give into chaos. And while it looked close at the beginning with Lucas Paquetá giving the Hammers the early lead with the best goal of the season so far, Graham Potter’s boys wouldn’t keep pace for long, as Chelsea adjusted to a pre-game scratch for Cole Palmer (who’s also currently mired in a copyright battle with a vineyard) by forcing everyone else on the team to score. João Pedro evened things up and after a Niclas Füllkrug finish was waved off, it was all Blues thereafter. Amongst the onslaught, 18-year-old Estêvão became the youngest Chelsea player to ever log an assist in a Premier League game when he drove through the porous West Ham defense and perfectly guided the ball to the feet of Enzo Fernández for an easy finish. Even without their main man, Chelsea looked like the team that spent $258.5 million on their attack this summer, while Potter’s West Ham are now on track to concede 152 goals if they don’t wake up soon.

Fulham 1-1 Manchester United

A week after United walked away with a loss that at times felt like a win, Ruben Amorim’s sometimes electric, sometimes MIA side left Craven Cottage with a draw that felt like a regression towards wherever they were last season. No moment in the game better embodied this than Bruno Fernandes’ first-half penalty miss, which we’re pretty sure still hasn’t re-entered the atmosphere. While United were able to force a Fulham own goal off a corner, they never looked anywhere near as threatening as they did at home last week vs. Arsenal. And once former Gunner Emile Smith-Rowe toed in the equalizer, all from build-up play that featured USMNT’s Antonee Robinson in his first action since the spring, this rather flat affair ended the only way that seemed to make sense.

Elsewhere in the Premier League: Everton 2-0 Brighton, Bournemouth 1-0 Wolves, Burnley 2-0 Sunderland, Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa, Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Some Absolute Weekend Worldies, Presented by New Balance 🚀 🥅

There were a lot of great goals this weekend, but these three get top marks:

On the Continent 🇪🇺

🇪🇸 La Liga: Atlético Madrid drew with Elche and are still winless on the young season, while Barcelona secured another W and stay tied for first after coming back from 2-0 down to win it in the 91st minute courtesy of a dramatic own goal from newly-promoted Levante. Real Madrid kept pace with Barca on Sunday by quieting some of their critics after last week’s shaky win with an 3-0 beatdown at Oviedo, thanks to a Kylian Mbappé brace and a third from Viní Jr.

🇮🇹 Serie A: Italy’s opening weekend saw a disappointing loss for Pulisic’s Milan to newly-promoted Cremonese, a game where Luka Modrić also became the oldest-ever debutant in Serie A just two weeks before his 40th birthday. Elsewhere, last season’s champions Napoli picked up where they left off with a 2-0 win over 10-man Sassuolo that featured goals from two of Manchester’s former finest: Scott McTominay and Kevin De Bruyne. Juventus also won their season opener 2-0 against Parma, including a goal from new signing and Canadian star Jonathan David. Unfortunately, the big story to come out of this one was the racist abuse USMNT’s Weston McKennie experienced during the game.

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: It was also the first weekend of action in the Bundesliga where reigning champs Bayern Munich made a statement by stomping potential contender RB Leipzig 6-0, with all six goals coming from their three former Premier League forwards: two for Olise, a hat trick for Kane, and Luís Diaz’s first goal for the German giants in league play. Elsewhere, Union Berlin unveiled one of the early season’s best tifos and USMNT’s Gio Reyna sealed a move to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Mid-Week Matches Worth Faking a Meeting for 📺

Newcastle vs. Liverpool (Monday, 3 p.m. ET, USA ) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

While we’re not going full “Custody of Alexander Isak Derby” with this one, you can’t deny the firm narrative and extra dose of spice in this fixture. The Swedish striker is stuck in limbo as he and the club he’s currently contracted to continue the great breakup tradition of communicating to each other via passive aggressive oversharing on social media, while Eddie Howe declares in press conferences that he isn’t ready to move on just yet. Isak will probably be nowhere near the stadium tonight unless Arne Slot fancies sneaking him on to Liverpool’s team bus after the match, but the numbers don’t bode well for Newcastle, who haven’t beaten the champions at St James’ Park for a decade. 

More: The undeniably massive Isak affair has created its own sub-reality.

Inter Milan vs. Torino (Monday, 2:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇮🇹

It’s an impossible task for new Nerazzuri coach, Christian Chivu, to replicate what he did as a player at Inter Milan, where he won the treble under José Mourinho in 2010, as well as pretty much everything else the game has to offer. He’s also working in the ominous shadow that hangs over the club, who enjoyed plenty of success under former manager Simone Inzaghi, but also suffered a late Serie A title choke and the global public humiliation of a 5-0 decimation at the hands of PSG last season. “You can’t go back and change the start, but you can start to change the end,” Chivu poetically said of their Club World Cup false dawn this summer, where they impressed at times but were ultimately knocked out in the second round, so tonight is the true test of his new dynasty.

Grimsby Town vs. Man United (Wednesday, 3 p.m., Paramount+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Some Manchester United fans will be asking, “Wait, how did we get here?” which is arguably an existential question about the state of their club as much as it is a practical one about why they’re on the northeast coast of England on a Wednesday night in August. They haven’t played in the second round of the Carabao Cup since 2014, when Louis van Gaal’s side were humbled 4-0 by Dele Alli’s MK Dons, but not playing in Europe this year means they’re back at the bottom facing League Two’s second-place side, Grimsby Town.

Some Non-Football to Start the Week Off 📖

• Come and be enlightened by Rory Smith: The myth and mystery of Indy Kaila.

• Ireland’s Last Leprechaun Whisperer Reaches for a Pot of TV Gold. Still gonna outlast Keith Andrews at Brentford.

• Any excuse to talk about the 2007 masterpiece “Zodiac”: The Implied Horror of David Fincher’s Basements.

• On top of everything else: Government Staffing Cuts Have Fueled an Ant-Smuggling Boom.

• Sign of a life well-lived: The strangest David Lynch facts – ranked!

It’s MiB Trivia Time 🤔

This week’s question: Newcastle have gone 17 Premier League matches without a win against Liverpool! Their last victory against them was a 2-0 win at St James’ Park in 2015 where Martin Škrtel scored an own goal, but who finished Newcastle’s second?

Email us with your answer for a chance to win a much-coveted MiB patch!

Last week’s winner: There were a few entrants, but no one correctly answered last week’s question: which Premier League team has won the most opening-day fixtures in the competition's history?

The correct answer was Manchester United with 22 opening-day victories in 34 seasons.

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