Saturday’s odds and ends

Things are heating up, both on and off the pitch!

Here are a few odds and ends to chew on this Saturday morning.

First, the Champions League…
After watching RB Leipzig defeat Atletico Madrid, 2-1, on Thursday, I believe the Red Bull Leipzig club is amazing to watch. They move the ball with such speed and accuracy, and their defending is remarkable. And speaking of defending, Dayot Upamecano is the exact type of player Arsenal needs on our back line. This man is pure energy and skill. Not only does he possess terrific defensive and tackling skills, he can also provide an accurate long ball, and he’s not afraid to move the ball down field and run point on the offense. Unfortunately, he has signed a new deal at Leipzig, however, this is a player Edu and Arteta need to keep an eye on going forward. FYI, he has a release clause in his new contract effective next summer. For me, he was 10/10 on Thursday!

Either Bayern Munich is that good, or Barcelona has become that bad. Friday’s quarterfinal match was like watching boys v men. Bayern could do anything they wanted, and basically they scored at will. The score could have easily been 10, 11, or even 12-2. What has happened to the great Barcelona? They looked beaten and lethargic from the get go. Messi probably needs to consider leaving, and the likes of Pique and Suarez need to retire. This club needs to rebuild from the ground up. The 5-time European champions looked “pathetic and embarrassing” according to many football pundits. Could this be the end of Lionel Messi’s career at Barca? It sounds like clubs such as Inter Milan might make a run this summer for one of the games greatest players.

So, the UCL semifinals are beginning to shape up. RB Leipzig will play PSG, while the winner of today’s match, Man City v Lyon, will play Bayern in the next round to determine this season’s final two. I predict a RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich final on August 23rd.

Come on CBS, are you kidding me? The Champions League quarterfinals and semifinals can only be watched in English in the US via the CBS All Access streaming service. (Univision broadcasts the games in Spanish in America.) Why do we have to wait until the final to watch a match on the CBS Sports Network?

Second, the Europa League…
At this point, no one really cares in Gonner Nation, however, here are the semifinals match-ups:
Sevilla v Manchester United
Inter Milan v Shakhtar
Also, just to remind everyone. Tottenham Hotspur will have to play (and win) 3 matches just to reach the Europa League group stages. That’s three more matches to pack into an already busy fixture list for the Spurs. Ouch.

And finally, as things continue to change at the Emirates, we need remain focussed on the coming season. The Willian move is a good one. Partey and Magalhaes would be outstanding ones. Coutinho and Aouar would be icing on the Arteta cake.

It’s obvious the club is looking for cutbacks and cash wherever they can. I think today’s departure of Sanllehi is just an example of exactly that.

Let’s hope some of these savings are put to good use, and spent on the type of quality players just mentioned.

There are only 14 days left until the season officially opens for the Gunners. A lot will happen in those two weeks, and you can take that to the bank!

Cheers, stay healthy and safe!

Gunner1953