Arsenal have invested £200 million in the past few weeks to bring in Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber. It is possible that they still do not want to stop. From a famous team that spends sparingly, the "Gunners" suddenly spend money like a tycoon and now become a thorn in the eyes of many opponents. Last season, they "surprisingly" played the role of the Premier League championship race against Man City.
Now, The Gunners have officially become a rival of The Citizens. When in such a mindset, the Emirates team must accept that the other teams have a different attitude towards them, here the reluctance and desire to destroy is more clearly shown.
The match between Arsenal and Man United in the US on July 23 had a total of 37 fouls from both sides (22 from Manchester United). Man United's fouls from minor collisions, dangerous ball possession to the source of a small fight between the two sides. While Arsenal were somewhat out of sync, Bruno Fernandes and his teammates continued to put even stronger pressure, causing the heat to reach its peak. Just a small collision, both sides will rush into each other.
Golden cards in friendly matches are considered an unforced act of the referee. It shows some unnecessary ugliness in friendly matches. After about 30 minutes of the match being somewhat hotter than expected, the referee team was forced to take strong action, especially when Man United players began to collide strongly with higher frequency on the opponent's side.
Some Arsenal players felt uncomfortable and started complaining. When Lisandro Martinez dangerously blocked Bukayo Saka, his anger could not be contained any longer.
Eddie Nketiah retaliated against Bruno Fernandes, Kieran Tierney hit the ball with one foot against Brandon Williams and Gabriel Jesus also had a pretty rough tackle on Omari Forson. The "Gunners" captain Martin Odegaard, famous for being a gentle player, could not keep his cool when receiving a blow from Harry Maguire. Outside the pitch, Arsenal's substitutes seemed to want to rush in to immediately lose to the former "Red Devils" captain.
This is something the Norwegian international has felt before when Arsenal were in a stronger mindset. Odegaard believes that if Arsenal won the championship last season, it will be necessary for the development of the team. However, when they could not beat Man City, they were in a very different position, and could clearly feel the tension in the 2023-2024 season right now.
"They came here to win like us. Handling fouls is the referee's task, they need to prevent less rough plays. The next season will be more difficult and challenging as the level of all teams is improved. We already knew this day would come" - Mikel Arteta shared after the loss to Man United.
With opponents focusing on them, Arsenal know they should not let mistakes like the moment Gabriel lost the ball that caused Jadon Sancho to penetrate Aaron Ramsadale's net. As for Havertz and Rice, they no longer have time to get used to it, have to work hard, and even be somewhat more daring in their playing style if they do not want to continue to be left behind as what happened at Metlife Stadium.
There have been connections between Rice and Gabriel, but Arsenal's new midfield, Rice, Havertz and Odegaard, need to improve their understanding. Arteta believes that more games are needed for the new recruits to get used to and successfully integrate into the system. There is not much time left and if they do not want to become sought after, the "Gunners" must be strong to become sought after.
