Month: August 2022

We are top of the league. We are top of the league. I know. I said that last week. But I want to enjoy while it’s lasts. Because it won’t. And it nearly didn’t today. But we had a little luck, and we showed some resilience. And we deserved it. Arguably, we scored all three goals – if not created all three that’s for sure.

It’s funny how our center-backs have each given goals away and then made up for it and the other end by scoring. Gabriel though can’t be put in the same league as our Big Willy (I know, but I enjoyed the reference last week so I thought I’d double down on it – so to speak).

So, somehow, we remain undefeated with maximum points from 4 games. That’s unheard of. I believe the last time we achieved this was back in 1856 when we beat Collective United National Trade Society 5-0 with three goals from Fred Oracle the 3^rd. But I digress.

Now I’m just saying, you know, if a meteorite just happened to crash into the earth and destroy all football stadiums and all available football pitches and then the season would have to be cancelled then not only would we qualify for the Champions League for next year but we’d also win the Premier League for the first time in this modern era. Please note no people were injured during the making of this stupid hypothetical; it was a very specific alien engineered meteorite. Anyway, the point remains. We are top of the league.

This was all part of the grand plan when we acquired Ramsdale. Put Leno in goal at the other end and then pepper him with corners. He managed to save a few of our shots but it was inevitable that he’d go all Fabianski on a corner. Karma when you only pay us £10m for him.

It was good to see though that Zinny was not too injured so that he was able to participate in the Gabriel celebrations. When he scored that is – not when he set them up for their goal and their celebrations. We missed Zinny today. And Partey. Our Elneny worked reasonably hard but he’s a Mini compared to the Partey Range Rover. You could see the lack of creativity down our left. Tesco Tierney defends better but tends to pass sideways and lacks to the imagination of our Ukrainian hero.

Thankfully though we still have Jesus and Odegaard. Jesus is like an electric eel whereas Odegaard was majestic today. Making Ozil-like passes but with a real workrate. Some of his passes today were out of this world. He was the link up player today. Without that Zinny creativity we were entirely dependent on our Captain.  He teed up Jesus a few times who, on another day, will score. Instead it was left to Odegaard to open our scoring. Quite a nice habit he’s developing. Eventually teams will kick him off the pitch or just have someone follow him right out of the dressing room.

Saliba was outstanding yet again. He is like a Rolls Royce at the back. His distribution is everything that Gabriels isn’t. He was able to feed White and Odegaard whereas Gabriel was still too slow and rarely got the ball out to Tierney. As a consequence Zhaka was more isolated and had to come back a little further to get involved. As for Gabriel, I suppose the only good news was that he did not foul their Serb and get a red card. I hope he learned from that but towards the end of the game he nearly got caught again. Saka should never have played that pass to him. It was careless and very high risk. But Saka could not know that Gabriel would go full-on Mustafa. But, unfortunately, Gabriel has that in his locker.

Saka still has not found his groove yet. I would have thought ESR would have come on for him at some point. Saka had a few chances but still needs to sharpen his finishing. He has plenty of time to get back his mojo.

Arteta deserves credit for his changes once we went one down. Though we lost a little when Jesus was moved to create space for Eddie to zip around we made up for it in the increased intensity. Eddie should have scored. But this was not like last season at Everton. Eddie has developed and is more threatening now. But he should have scored at least once. But Arteta made the right moves. And this team showed some backbone today. Last season I don’t think we’d have won this game – we might have done enough to get a point. But to come back from one down against such a dour team as Fulham should give us confidence.

But we saw today what happens when we lose Partey. In addition to the cover for the defense we lose someone who can pick up the ball from the defense and propel us forward. So, with the transfer window still open that’s where the focus should be. Sure another attacking player – like the high priced Neto – would be good but there’s no way we’ll get 30+ games out of Partey.

There were times today where I was convinced it was one of those games where we’d have all the chances in the world but luck would conspire against us to score. We certainly deserved to win it was just not clear that we’d get the breaks necessary. That we’d actually take one or two of the chances we’d gotten. Because we had so many and seem in capable of shooting or scoring. So I’m relived that we got the goals and points we deserved. And that we back at the pinnacle of the league. Enjoy it while it lasts. The more distance we can put between us and the other teams that will be competing for 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th so much the better.

But we’ll need Partey for Old Trafford that’s for sure. Tierney’s defense will help there but we’ll want Zinny on Wednesday. And let’s hope another returning goalie can help us out as well. Hopefully the ego that is Martinez can also emulate Fabianski. It’s nice that we’ve populated some many teams goalkeepers; maybe they will be our secret weapon this year.

So, enjoy another few days at the top and pray for the good health of Zinny and Partey because they were missed today. But get used to it. And remember, this team was not built for this year but for next.

-LB7

We are top of the league. We are top of the league. Ok, the opposition has not been overwhelming. It’s felt more like pre-season at times. And we’d wrapped this up after 15 minutes. Maybe even in the warm-ups. Or maybe on the A3. Either way, this was easy peasy lemony squeezy.

Three games in and it’s a different world to last year. This team is different. As is the opposition. And it all starts with Jesus. I’ll admit I was skeptical that this was the forward we needed. I loved the idea of getting Zinny – so I was 50% right. But Jesus continues to be at the center of everything good. And he’s ignited Martinelli. That first goal had Jesus weaving his way through four of their defenders – all scared to bring him down. Then, again, he set up Martinelli but Odegaard was there to sweep up the re-bound. We continued to dominate. Bournemouth were surprisingly passive. They had no press, energy or physicality. Apart that its for their lumbering giant at center-forward. Insipid is how I’d describe them. But again, you can only beat what’s in front of you. And this lot were dead as a doe-doe. The second arrived care of Saka and, again, Jesus. Thereafter we seemed to drift into game management.

Partey hardly had to break into a sweat. Zinny was buzzing all around the pitch. From left-back, to left-wing and right midfield. He has a license to thrill. It’s a pleasure to see someone with such a high football IQ. He reads the game so well. Shame he’s not that great at defending. In front – or to the side of him – we saw Xhaka spend more time in their box than ours. He was a tad sloppy with some of his passing but overall he looks so much more at ease and comfortable with Zinny near him. And then in front you him you have the effervescent Martinelli. He should have scored today but brings an incessant energy level to this team.

Odegaard, even if we set aside his brace, was dominant today. Controlling the pace of the game, strolling around and opening up their defense. One of these days a thug i.e. Hjojberg etc, will just crunch him out of a game. But given space and freedom, Odegaard is a master at pulling the strings. There is a growing maturity in his performances. But, I suppose you have to consider the opposition.

Ramsdale has yet to climb back to the heights of last year. His defense warranted the clean sheet. But Aaron made a few mistakes, again, today both with his distribution and his physicality during corners. We know though he will come good. I want him to the England goalie for the WC; he has to displace that ugly Pickle at Everton – who should be relegated by then anyway.

Gabriel was solid as a Brazillian rock today. He was there to intercept the few crosses and raids they had in our penalty area. And he kept his distribution relatively simple as well. And alongside him we had the other star of the game; Our Willy is really quite impressive. I know. I could not resist. Sorry. But really, in addition to snuffing out any hope they had of an attack he then produced a majestic goal. Not only did it put the final nail in their coffin. It also cemented his burgeoning hero status. But what a delightful, skillful finish. And with his left foot. Between him and Gabriel, White had better continue working on being a dominant right back because those two have the center of the defense locked up. If you include his goal from last week he’s now one of our top scorers. He’s got more goals than Saka and ESR.

I remain unconvinced by White at right back. His distribution was bit dodgy again today. Too many errant passes but he did set up that second goal. It’s hard for him though to adapt to this position. And we still have Toomy waiting on the sidelines. There are so many games ahead of us that they’ll both get plenty of playing time. But it’s nice to see the exact same team selected for three straight games. And I’m sure it will be that way for the Fulham game as well.

It’s so strange watching this team this year. The ease with which they managed this game and were barely under any pressure. There’s no tension, fear or screaming – from me that is. It’s so unusual. No angst. It was a stroll in the park today. But it allows this team to knit itself together; to continue to figure out ways in which operate as a team.

The bench looks half decent as well. Being able to bring on two actual full-backs in Tierney and Tommy along with ESR, Eddie and our new Vieira. I have to remind myself how different this squad is from the one MA inherited. The progress is pretty astounding. I think it’s just Saka who’s left now. And Holding. Soon, I pray, Pepe will be gone. Nice to have him in Nice. Anywhere but North London. Removing him and OhNo elevates this team. We need a genuine replacement for Partey though. There is no way he gets through the season without his regular thigh/hamstring injury. As much as I admire our Elneny, we can’t be a serious contender without an equivalent level of ability in the backup.

And it finally looks like Hector will be finding his way back home. He deserves to return home. He served us well. He never really recovered his blistering pace after his major injury. But he’s served us loyally and I wish him well. He had a unique style and was way more sophisticated and informed than you’d normally expect from a footballer. He was a pleasure to listen too even is his fashion sense was a little off the rails.

Back to Jesus. He has been transformative for this team. He deserved a goal today. Actually he had one. But it took that monumental cunt of a VAR ref Paul Tierney to rob him of that goal. Why would it take him to long to disallow if, if it wasn’t borderline. In which case the advantage should go to the attacker. It all depends on which frame you pick to draw the line. The sooner they automate this and remove retards like Paul Tierney the better. It’s bad enough he robbed us with a non-existent penalty, a dubious sending off and then numerous missed calls against the Spuds but now he had to take a deserved goal away from Jesus. I dread the thought of this complete cunt refereeing us this season. He is completely clueless. It’s not just our games. I’ve seen him in many other games. It feels like with the retirement of Mike Dean, the FA masters have conspired to foster Tierney on us.

Back to Jesus. We have to wrap him in cotton wool now. He inspires this team. We can’t have him injured. He was instrumental in everything good today – along with Odegaard.

This was fun to watch, relaxing and reminiscent – yet again – of the Fabregas, Carzola and Rosicky days. But with a defensive midfield and a real defense. But the beauty of the game has returned to Arsenal. I know it won’t last. That there are stupid losses ahead of us, games where we will be physically mauled. Without Burnley in the league it will be interesting to see which teams try to kick us off the park.

In the meantime, let’s wallow in the glory of being top of the league. Of being the envy of other fans, by playing entertaining, fluent and beautiful football with the youngest team in the league. And we don’t have to sit through any more of that AON documentary. We don’t have to re-live the end of the season again. Let’s hope all that frustration and disappointment gets channeled. And let’s hope that MA does not have to loose his voice. Because he’s rebuilt something special here. There’s a long way to go. It won’t peak this year. But in the next two years, as this team continues to mature, it will. MA has proved those doubting fans wrong. Those dummy, temperamental, entitled fans – the ones who chased AW out because they did not consider 4^th an achievement – should now hold their hands up and acknowledge they’ve lost their right to express any opinion on Arsenal. Only I have that right. Which is where I’ll leave this for now. Happy, a believer and looking forward to the next game.

-LB7

Top of the league. Nearly. Currently Man City and Man City Reserves have the top two spots. Creativity is running through our veins. We are on fire with Brazilians. As much as Jesus will and should grab the headlines don’t underestimate the Martinelli effect. He flew around like an annoying wasp causing Forfana all sorts of problems. His workrate and enthusiasm is contagious. And he scored the all important fourth goal to finally put the game to rest. He tormented them and then helped destroy them.

We weren’t perfect today. As we weren’t last week. But we did not need to be. We were more than good enough. We have plenty of time to reach perfection. And we might not reach that this year. But this is a team that continues to evolve, develop and progress. The season is young and this team is even younger. We will make mistakes – witness “our” third goal via Saliba. But today after each one rather than wilt in the summer heat we bounced back within 2 minutes after each of their goals. That is a testament to both how weak Leicester are and to how we have developed a smidge of a backbone. We’ve not seen that in the past few years. Though it would be preferable that we did not score an own goal nor that Ramsdale let them score from a narrow angle, it’s how we respond that counts.

It’s noticeable how with Zinny in the team we are much more dominant on our left hand side. Saka has yet to fully find his form. No worries, there’s plenty of time for that. And, lacking Toomy behind him and with a slightly subdued Odegaard contributes a little. The interplay and movement between Martinelli, Xhaka and Zinny was excellent. Often we’d see Zinny come inside to play more like a left midfield player – in the same way Canseco did for City v West Ham – and that allowed Xhaka to play much further up. In addition to his goal Xhaka was way more active in their penalty box. Zinny seems to have liberated Xhaka; he’s given Xhaka the freedom to be more creative and progressive. Not that Xhaka was perfect today. In the first half he was too slow on the ball and caught by Forfana. It was Ramsdale that bailed us out.

And even after our second goal we were saved by, of all things, Mike Dean. The annoying fucker finally retires, heads up into the VAR room (wherever that is) and then proceeds to out VAR Vardy. The cheating git (not his wife) rolls over with the barest touches and get the immediate penalty call. Until Dean comes to the rescue – I can’t believe after all these years I’ve written that sentence. Maybe all those years of denying us points and goals he finally realized he owed us. Sure, it was not a penalty but it’s was not obvious to me it was clear and obvious. Not, that is, by the unreliable standards of a PL referee. But luck shone on us, and the call was reversed. What’s not to love about VAR.  Especially when it penalizes Vardy.

I loved the way the crowd responded to the Saliba own-goal. He is class. But he’s young and will make mistakes. Without wishing to revisit past nightmares, imagine the reaction if that had been Mustafa or David Luiz. But there is awareness that this boy is special and we need some patience. Though it could be argued that Ramsdale did not help with this one. Overall though it was another impressive performance from Saliba. He had Vardy in his pocket. But, this boy is a star make no mistake about it. He will banish our past disasters of the last 5+ years. Alongside him Gabriel was defensively solid. It’s just his passing that causes me  angst. Teams will soon figure out that if they isolate him on the ball it’s much harder for us to create. He has to stop trying to make those long, Toure-like, passes and just keep things simple. In the first half he tried one of those overelaborate cross-field passes that got easily intercepted and allowed them to counter-attack. Against better teams that will burn us.   

Jesus deserved a hattrick today and could have easily had one. The difference from last years center-forwards could not be more dramatic. Cigarette lacked the movement and finishing instinct and Aubameyang could only play on their last line of defense. Gabriel though can play anywhere. He drifted out to the left and right and wherever he went he caused havoc. He’s energized Martinelli – if that was possible. And he’s a goal-scorer. That first goal was sublime. Delicate and intelligent. I’m not sure that we’ve seen many center-forwards at Arsenal who could do that. Maybe the original #14 or the god-like #10. But no-one else. Only to be followed up with a poachers goal at the back post – just as we’d seen in pre-season. He had other breakaways and openings to score a third. But so far, it’s clearly been money well spent. You can see why Edu did not want to waste money on signing anyone this last January. They knew who they wanted and when they would get him. So, for all the bleating of our juvenile, emotionally unstable fans (who are all too prevalent in the AON documentary), this is what happens when you have a plan and stick with it. When you invest in the future – patiently – you end up with a world class forward. This boy has dancing feet. He will tip-toe through defenses. And his speed of thought is infectious. He’s already help take Martinelli to another level. And once Saka adjusts to the new season – and has Tommy behind him – he will also prosper.

Letting in two goals is not great. But it helps amplify that there is ample room for improvement. We were a little sloppy in defense today. They had too many chances. I thought White had another testing day – not as much as last week. But you can see he’s not a natural right-back. With his substitution through a knock, it’s going to be tough for him to retain his position. We finished with our two recognized fullbacks but I think one of them will have to be a little more patient. Zinny has to be our starter. He helps fuel our creativity.

The balance of this team has shifted though. There is no doubt now we can create. None of the stodgy sideways play we’ve seen in the recent past. With Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli and Jesus we have an electric attacking group of players with ESR, Viera and Eddie on the bench. We are gaining depth in the important areas. I’d just like to see some back-up for Partey. He was not at his best today – too many sloppy passes – but he was good enough. But when he’s not available, as much as I like Elneny, we will be exposed defensively. Tielemans did not exactly put himself in the shop window today. It did not help that self-loving Rogers played him on the right hand side where Xhaka completely dominated him.  

It’s good to see fringe players depart – Torreira has finally been deposited offshore and Mari has been dumped in Italy. We have to figure out Bellerin – who has earned the right to leave – and AMN. Both should be gone by the end of the month. Which means one more midfield player and some cover for Saka – assuming we can offload Pepe.

You can only beat what’s in front of you and today we outplayed Leicester and thoroughly deserved to win. Some of our creative play was sparkling. This team has built a foundation on which he can now launch itself. But football is fragile. We’re only one or two injuries from being exposed – as we were at the end of last season. That’s why we need a little more squad depth. But this year will be exciting. The odd disaster will come our way but this is a team you want to watch and root for. This is a real football team. One that will entertain. We just have to make sure it retains a backbone. Because that will be needed against the big boys and the more brutish teams.

• LB7

Boom. That’s the way to start a season. Welcome back. And what a contrast to last season. But before we go further, let me welcome back my reader. All one of you. I’m sure you’ve been starved of these insightful, academic, thoughtful and knowledgeable articles. It must have been tough to navigate the off-season without these reviews. But aside from deciding to not review pre-season I’ve been otherwise occupied. The usual stuff, like any of us, curing world hunger, advising world politicians on world peace (they’ve not been listening obviously) and developing various cures for cancer. Oh, and sitting on my couch eating pizza and sushi. You should try that sometime. The pizza and sushi that is.

Anyway, I’m actually excited to be back. This season will be yet another step forward to the promised land. We won’t get there this year. But it’s clear what direction we’ve going in. This off season has been as equally impressive as last year. But more on that later.

Three points well-earned at Palace; thoroughly deserved. I know one game does not make a season – and a long WC interrupted one at that – but contrast this performance with the one here last year. That first 20 to 30 minutes we were dominating. We should have been more than one up. Martinelli scored a poachers goal but also missed an earlier, easier chance care of the energetic, fleet footed and impressive Jesus. I never really got him at Man City. There he seemed peripheral without a clear role; always on the edge of the action but not central. But, for us, he was key. He lead the line, hustled their defense and generated chaos and chances. I will endeavor to refrain from making the obvious religious/god/savior references. But the presence of Jesus completely extinguishes Cigarette and demonstrated what we’ve been lacking for a year or two now.

During that initial period all three new additions shone. Zinchenko showed all the awareness and creativity that we’ve been lacking. He linked up smoothly with Xhaka and also played the ball forward. And he did not give the ball away. Imagine that. Nuno where are you? Let’s hope you were watching. Because, sure as shit, this is truly addition by subtraction. Not having Mr. OhNo on the left hand side – Mr. Utter Chaos – killed us last season. So our headless chicken is now in Marseille. I would guess they will turn him more into a Guendouzi than a Saliba. But god are we so fortunate to be shot of him. Without his crazy runs, lack of defending and general disruption, the defense looked so solid. Granted Zinny is not the best defensive left-back but there was balance there with Xhaka. Zenny, obviously, helped create that first goal.

So we are now Manchester City Reserves. I’ll take that. Could be worse. That would make us the second or third best team in the league. And there will be other similarities. Ben White will morph into John Stones. Being made to play out of position and fight for limited playing time. Because once Tommy comes back White surely will be in the bench. To be fair he won’t come up against someone of Zahas quality every week. But he got roasted so many times I thought he ended up as burned Black by the end. He game today was poor. His distribution was inconsistent, making poor passes and giving away possession too often. Zaha unnerved him today and disrupted his game. Obviously, even with a performance like this he was still a superior option to Cedric. During pre-season, where we started the midget and oh-no as our fullbacks, I was have mid-summer nightmares. So even though White was our worst player today, our weakest link, at least he kept a good defensive line.

Alongside him there was the shockingly mature and impressive Saliba. He was just plain old masterful. I’m trying to think who he compares to. You lot won’t remember David O’Leary in his prime except Saliba has real pace. He covered for White and knitted the entire defense together. Arteta received a lot of undeserved criticism for his handling of Saliba. All unfounded but part of the usual agenda of trying to put pressure on Arteta and Arsenal – both by the media and the juvenile, temperamental, jonny-come-lately Arsenal fans. Today you could see that at 21 Saliba is the real deal. Calm, composed, speedy and reads the game so well. And his distribution was excellent. Adams, Keown and Bould never had Saliba speed. Maybe Ferdinand (Rio not his little brother) would be a better comparison. He makes everyone around him better. Including Gabriel. With the defensive options available we now have a crop of defenders who can defend. Good riddance oh-no and (soon) midget-man. I just can’t figure out who can replace Gabriel if he’s injured. Maybe Tesco Tierney with Zinny at left-back. At least we don’t have to waste Xhaka at left back now.

And how good was Xhaka again today. He looks so much more comfortable in this formation. His positional sense and distribution were fun to watch as he floated around while he still made important defensive interceptions. And between him and the defense was our party man (unfortunate given the things we’re not supposed to comment on). Anyway, Partey was a joy to watch today. I know Saliba shone brightest but watch Partey closely. His one touch, speed of passing was the engine of the team today. Often he was surrounded by 2 payers but still moved the ball quickly without taking unnecessary touches. And he did not get booked.

In general, because of Partey, our ball movement was infinitely quicker than we’ve seen. With Odegaard making intelligent runs and seeing passing lanes that others can only dream of, we were a creative threat down both side of the pitch. It’s interesting that we play our two best left footed players on the right. The interplay between Odegaard and Saka – and of course, Jesus but he’s not left-footed so that does not fit into this train of thought – tested Palace all game. Saka roasted their full-back and, basically, got that second goal. If he could shot with his right foot as well – and he has more than enough time to improve on that – he would have had another. The combinations of our attacking players now remind me of that time when we had Santi and Rosicky rapidly linking up play. Except this is a group of kids in their early 20s. The future is bright. And the future is ahead of us. Yes, I know, that’s how the futures works. There will be games in this long season when we get torn apart and roasted because we are a young team but in terms of potential there is no-one in the league that can match up. Just remember our youth during those painful matches where we get out bullied and Xhaka is sent off. Notice that it is the engine room of our midfield where we have our only two players who are “old”; both 29 I think. That’s where experience is vital. Again, as with Man City Reserves they are our Fernandinho.

Ramsdale- the grinning Cheshire cat – made two crucial saves today. His distribution was not perfect today and sometimes you fear for his holding onto the ball too long. But he saved us today and gave us a clean sheet. I liked Leno but, aside from the steal price that Fulham paid, Ramsdale is so much better. It’s like comparing Tommy and the midget man.

Palace adapted their shape after the first 25 minutes. But they are so lop-sided. Literally everything came down their left. Always through Zaha. And they were most dangerous when they played long balls from their center-half over the top. White had a lot of trouble, as did Zinny in the latter stages. Which is why it was nice to see Tesco come on. I don’t think though he played more than 30 minutes during all of the pre-season. So we need to wrap him up in cotton wall to protect him.

Palace has always been a very loud, intimidating crowd packed into a small, snug stadium. Yet it was our away fans that we could hear all game. They have something to cheer now. Our signings in the last two years and the cleaning out of the squad have been pretty dramatic. Think back to who started last year at Brentford. Then go back to when the Accountant bored us to death with his team. No Mustafi, Ozil, Kolinsac, Bellerin, Leno, David Luiz, Mikkytarrien, Aubameyang, Lacazette, Torreira, Mari, etc. We just have to get rid of Pepe now. Surely we can offer him along with a bag of crisps and a year long subscription to a football magazine. I mean come on Newcastle, you have all that sports-washed money, why not give us some of it. You’ll love Pepe. He should go to Italy or back to France. He reminds me of Gervinho. Just not as ugly.

A word on Arteta. I’ll be saying the same thing all season long. As I did last season (apart from one occasion). He is the man. Yes, that is more than one word. And I’m not finished. He is clearly crafting a team to play like the Manchester first team. We have our KDB in Odegaard. John Stone, Zinny, Jesus etc. He has a plan and has unquestionably improved this team and club. I’m only two episodes into the Amazon thing but you can see he has a clear vision, understand people and has their respect. That move of having the photographer give the speech before the NLD was class. He will make mistakes, as any first time manager would, but he’s our man. Deserves our support. And needs our patience. We are not the finished article yet. Get Tielemans and cover for Saka. We need a little more steel in the team as well. But Arteta (and to be fair, Edu) has turned this club on its head. It’s brought back passion and heart. And he’s been supported by Silent Stan and his little boy. Lots of money spent. But spent well (if you ignore Pepe). So, a good day for Arteta today. When he gets us to the promised land he will deserve to be spoken of in the same breath as AW. AW never had to do the complete, top to bottom rebuild that MA has. But I’m getting ahead of myself. That’s all for next season.

Two other quick observations. The first – there were no VAR interruptions today. Sure a few reviews for (non) penalties but no delays for offside. What a pleasure. There was a real flow to the game today. It makes a real difference.

And secondly, did you notice that the linesman flagged for offside when it was offside? What a novel concept. A linesman who actually uses his flag to make decisions and raise his flag. How did they come up with that idea? Pretty creative, huh?

All in all a great day, great performance, great result.

Let’s hear it – We are top of the league, we are top of the league. *

-LB7

*OK, not by the time I’ve posted this and you’re reading it.