⚽️ First Serious Test for Arsenal 🦹🏻‍♂️

The Arsenal-Villa game on Saturday should be a belter and Mason makes his mark in France.

The Premier League got off to a predictable start over the weekend as all of the big clubs secured wins. Manchester City cruised to a 2-nil win over a disappointing Chelsea, whilst new boy Joshua Zirkzee had a dream debut scoring the winner for a wasteful Manchester United. Liverpool looked good too, but their squad is definitely light.

We also turn our attention to Germany as Bayer Leverkusen get the 2024/25 Bundesliga season underway on Friday evening. Meanwhile there’s a early South Wales derby in the Championship between the swans and blue birds on Sunday.

This week, we’ve also got the latest on Mason Greenwood’s career as he get’s off to a very good start in the farmer’s league Ligue 1, plus this week’s shocker is a cringe one featuring CuCuCucurella and Erling Haaland. As usual, we’ve got the latest transfer news, including an incoming Saudi bid for Ivan Toney.

Today's game plan:

• Don’t Miss This Game 🎯

• This Week’s Shocker 🤬

• Around The World 🌍

• Games to Keep an Eye On 👀

• Goat Trivia 🐐

Aston Villa vs Arsenal | Saturday | 17:30 BST

An interesting game in the Premier League as Aston Villa host Arsenal on Saturday. Both teams got off to a winning start on Matchweek 1 —Villa beat West Ham 2-1 and Arsenal beat Wolves 2-nil. Football fans will be watching this one, with many of us wondering is Villa can keep last season’s momentum going and if Arsenal will actually go all the way and win the league after pushing Man City close in both of the last two seasons.

Keep in mind that Aston Villa did the double over Arsenal last season, winning 2-nil at the Emirates and 1-nil at Villa Park thanks to a smart finish from super John McGinn.

Form & Team News

Aston Villa had a fantastic 2023/24 season under manager Unai Emery, finishing 4th in the Premier League and securing qualification for the Champions League. Qualification ended Villa fans’ 41-year wait for a return to Europe’s top club competition, but the challenge for Villa now is whether they can maintain their form and keep mixing it towards the top of the Premier League. We’ve seen plenty of clubs qualify for European football and then fall away as the constant travel and match schedule proves too demanding for relatively inexperienced players. Some pundits have also pointed to the fact that Villa haven’t signed an adequate replacement for midfielder Douglas Luiz who has signed for Juventus, but there’s still time to go before the transfer window closes on August 30th.

Villa’s first game of the season was a tough away day at West Ham, but Emery’s men secured a hard-fought 2-1 win. Villa took the lead through new signing Amadou Onana who scored a commanding header from a corner, before West Ham equalised towards the end of the first half. But, having dominated the majority of the game, Villa showed their class and stayed patient, eventually finding the winner in the 79th minute through Jhon Durán.

At the time of writing Villa are entering this match with Arsenal with no new injuries. However, they are still without long-term absentees Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings. There's also the possibility of no.2 goalkeeper Robin Olsen returning to the squad after recovering from the head injury he suffered during preseason.

GR Aston Villa predicted lineup | Martínez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Bailey, Tielemans, Onana, Rogers, Watkins, McGinn

Mikel Arteta has been pushing his Arsenal players hard over the past couple of seasons. Over the last four seasons, Arsenal have improved their points tally in each successive season —no team in Premier league history has improved their points tally five seasons in a row. But if Arsenal are to finally end Manchester City’s dominance, they might have to do just that. It’s a tough ask but Arteta seems to have the elite mindset that is necessary to take down Pep Guardiola.

In Matchweek 1, Arsenal secured a comfortable 2-nil home win over Wolves, with Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka on the score sheet. Saka assisted Havertz’s goal too, which is an indication of the relationship these two have been building over the last season.

Arsenal scored 91 goals last season, but the key strength of this team is their defensive strength. Unfortunately for the Gunners they’ll be without backups Takehiro Tomiyasu due to a knee issue and Kieran Tierney. The good news is that Jurrien Timber is getting up to match fitness, having missed the entirety of last season with due to an ACL injury. There's also possibility of Fabio Vieira returning to the squad.

GR Arsenal predicted lineup | Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

This Week’s Shocker…

After singing a song about himself with a line about Erling Haaland, Marc Cucurella got absolutely done by the Norwegian in Man City’s win over Chelsea.

In his post match interview Haaland summed up Cucurella’s shenanigans: “Well, Cucurella is a funny man. Last season he asked for my shirt… and this summer he sings a song about me.”

Around the world…

🇫🇷 Mason Greenwood puts in impressive Ligue 1 debut

Mason Greenwood made his Ligue 1 debut for Marseille over the weekend and put in an impressive performance. The ex-Manchester United forward scored twice and got an assist in Marseilles 5-1 win over Brest. Keep in mind that United reportedly included a buy-back clause in Greenwood’s Marseille deal.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Raheem Sterling issues statement on Chelsea future

After new manager Enzo Maresca left him of Chelsea’s squad for Sunday’s game against Manchester City, Raheem Sterling has stated he is seeking clarity on his future. Maresca has since stated that it was a technical decision to omit Sterling, indicating that the English winger should probably start assessing his options. Is a move to Saudi on the cards?

🇮🇹 Napoli close to signing Scott McTominay 

Napoli’s manager Antonio Conte has made Scott McTominay one of his main transfer targets before the transfer window closes. Reports suggest Napoli and McTominay have agreed personal terms, but the clubs haven’t reached any agreement on the fee with United holding out for a fee in the region of €30 million.

🇸🇦 Al-Ahli make approach for Brentford’s Ivan Toney 

Toney was left out of Brentford’s opening Premier League game against Crystal Palace leaving fans questioning what was going on. Brentford manager Thomas Frank revealed the striker was subject of transfer interest and that Toney has 1 year left on his contract. Reports are coming out that the interest is from Saudi side Al-Ahli and it looks likely Toney will make the move.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wolves latest club to make offer for Aaron Ramsdale

Wolverhampton Wanderers have approached Arsenal over 2nd-choice keeper Aaron Ramsdale. Wolves are the third club to signal their interest in Ramsdale after Ajax and Newcastle made approaches earlier in the window. Wolves are proposing an initial loan deal with an option to buy.

Games to keep an eye on…

Mönchengladbach vs Bayer Leverkusen | Friday | 19:30 BST

The 2024/25 Bundesliga season gets underway on Friday night as champions Bayer Leverkusen go to Borussia Mönchengladbach. Over the weekend Bayer Leverkusen beat Stuttgart on penalties to win the German Supercup. Are Bayer on track for two Bundesliga titles in a row?

Brighton vs Manchester United | Saturday | 12:30 BST

After winning their opening match against 1-nil at home to Fulham, Eric Ten Hag’s team take a trip to the south coast to play Brighton on Saturday. Brighton are looking good after winning their opening game against Everton 3-nil and will be a major test for United’s unsure defence.

Swansea vs Cardiff | Sunday | 15:00 BST

A derby in the Championship on Sunday as Swansea host Cardiff in the South Wales derby. Both of Wales’ biggest clubs play in the English football league system, but this season neither of them are tipped for promotion to the Premier League.

Real Madrid vs Valladolid | Sunday | 16:00

Reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid host Vallodolid on Sunday. Carlo Ancellotti will be looking for a performance from his players after they drww their opening game of the season 1-1 with Mallorca.

GOAT Trivia…

Say congrats to…

Belated happy birthday to Marco Materazzi [@marcomaterazzi], the World Cup winning Italian turned 51 on Monday 19th August.

Materazzi won plenty of honours with Inter, including 5 Serie A titles in a row between 2006 and 2010, 1 Champions League, 4 Coppa Italia titles, and 4 Supercoppa Italianas. Outside of Italy he’ll always be remembered for getting Zidane sent off in the 2006 World Cup final.

On this day in football…

On 20th August 1998 Dwight Yorke signed for Manchester United. The combination that Yorke formed with Andy Cole was one of the most dynamic striking partnerships the Premier league has ever seen.

Yorke scored 18 top-flight goals in his first season winning the Premier League’s Player of the Season award and helping United secure their historic treble - the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

In total Yorke scored 48 goals in 96 appearances for Manchester United before signing for Blackburn Rovers in July 2002.

Goal of the week…

Our goal of the week is Mason Greenwood’s debut goal for Marseille. It was scored in the 3rd minute making this the fastest debut goal in Marseilles’s history. Interestingly, Mason scored both of his goals (including his penalty) with his right foot —not bad for a player who is naturally left footed.

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