Marked for Pablo Achaval
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Apr 2028
The cup run ends for Arsenal
0‑2 against Independiente, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Match22 Apr 2028
No end in sight to Arsenal's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Arsenal has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Dylan Cabral was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The terraces24 Apr 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Dylan Cabral has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad24 Apr 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Arsenal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexis Payes is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
The afternoon belonged to Dylan Cabral
7.60, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Arsenal had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Match22 Apr 2028
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Arsenal
14 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Julián Lobelos decides it from twelve yards
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Match21 Apr 2027
Arsenal through in the cup
A 1‑1 win over Gimnasia La Plata, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market26 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Arsenal can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.47 for the rest of it.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Damián Pérez in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arsenal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match24 Apr 2027
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The terraces26 Apr 2027
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Dec 2026
The fee is $130.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Madryn drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arsenal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market21 Dec 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Arsenal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Mihovilcevich is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
Renzo Sastre breaks a bone — 101 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 101 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market21 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Madryn, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Madryn
Marcelo Meli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market21 Dec 2026
Pablo Achaval has left for Arsenal in a $130.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Madryn training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Barrientos is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alejandro Gutiérrez, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Madryn, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Renzo Sastre breaks a bone — 108 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 108 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market14 Dec 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Marcelo Meli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Madryn this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market14 Dec 2026
Instituto paid $230.0K and Madryn took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Madryn training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Silba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
Renzo Sastre breaks a bone — 115 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 115 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Lucas Pruzzo: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Madryn have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market7 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Madryn, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Madryn
Marcelo Meli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market7 Dec 2026
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Madryn training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Barrientos is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.