The Arsenal Sentinel
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Declan Rice was immovable
28 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A one-man rearguard from David Raya
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match21 Aug 2027
Nobody wants to play Arsenal right now
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Hannibal gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Hannibal has just signed for Arsenal, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Arsenal
William Saliba 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.
Match21 Aug 2027
Arsenal make home a hard place to visit
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A defender's afternoon for Gabriel
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Riccardo Calafiori signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Riccardo Calafiori and Arsenal agree another 5 years.
Boardroom23 Aug 2027
Graduation day at Arsenal
6 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
In brief
- Market Eyes on Cristhian Mosquera again
- Match Gabriel Martinelli sends Arsenal past Sunderland
- Market One of our own: Stephen Harris joins the Arsenal first team