World Cup Plans and more

A grab bag Friday newsletter

Ready or not, the World Cup kicks off Sunday.

It feels very awkward to have such a short turnaround from club matches to a big international tournament but that is the hand we are dealt. So I wanted to solidify how I should cover things here.

I have had mixed feelings about this tournament.

The evidence and reporting suggest that the ability to host this tournament was bought off with bribes and members of the FIFA executive committee lining their pockets. Gross and unfortunately I don’t think that there has been much of a change at FIFA to stop this sort of thing from happening again.

This seems like a massive waste of Qatari money, I probably shouldn’t worry as much about this but this seems like it is going to be billions of dollars worth of investment that will never come close to being used for a long-term useful purpose. Public investment in major sports stadiums is never a good idea, it is even less of a good idea when there isn’t even going to be something to occupy the stadiums that are built after this tournament is over.

The treatment of migrant workers in Qatar is appalling. These giant wastes of money are not only being paid for with public money but also the blood and lives of many people. That makes these white elephants a true tragedy. The ability for employers to control the movement, stop people from moving jobs, or even leaving the country leads to something very close to slavery and is something that should not be acceptable.

A very different level of tolerance for people to be their true selves. Qatar is an autocratic and very conservative country. I understand that this is in line with their views as a majority Muslum country but I still find the use of State punishment and enforcement antithetical to my own views that people should be free to live and let live as long as they do not harm others.

In the end, it is still the World Cup and that is hard to simply ignore. I think highlighting what I find distasteful and wrong is important and that a symbolic boycott would only hurt myself. It is not an easy situation and understand if others make a different choice to simply ignore the World Cup this time around.

My plan is to look at doing a recap of the day’s stats, highlighting any Arsenal-related performances and then maybe the player that had the best day. Time permitting with my work schedule I will post things on @CrabStats on Twitter at the end of matches before posting things with more detail here.

Ronaldo Burns the bridges

I have found the Cristiano Ronaldo saga a bit funny and a bit sad.

I find Ronaldo the person (at least from what has been reported and he comes off in media) to be an egotistical prick. He also has been accused of raping a woman and there is leaked evidence from his lawyers that he admits she did not consent.

On the field, I can appreciate that he is probably the best pure goal scorer of his generation and maybe ever. He revolutionized the position of goal-scoring wing player but now he is just a penalty box player.

Since coming back to Manchester he has still put up good stats.

But his overall impact and attitude have almost certainly made him a net negative to his team.

So what does he do? He decided the best course of action is a televised interview where he talks about being disrespected and how everyone is out to get him. I am sure there are Ronaldo fans that will take his side, but this seems like a very big mistake because I don’t think fans of Manchester United are going to take his side on this one.

This will probably help to get him out of his contract in January but it probably also limits the pool of teams that would consider him, knowing that he would be willing to put himself above the team at the first sign of trouble.

Emile Smith Rowe ready for a January impact

Emile Smith Rowe looks set to come back from his groin injury in January. This is great news for Arsenal because if there are any weaknesses on this Arsenal team it is that the team is light in impact players in the attacking midfield band.

Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard have been very good this season, Fabio Vieira has been okay but as expected he has been a bit inconsistent, Reiss Nelson had a fabulous performance but still has some major questions about him.

That leaves quite a bit of room to have a player like Smith Rowe to make an impact.

Smith Rowe is also a player that has room for improvement. Since breaking into the first team he has been good but there is still room for a larger impact with the talent that he possesses.

I look forward to seeing him back on the field for Arsenal and I think that can help make this team look even stronger.

🤠 Yee Haw. Enjoy your weekend and the start of the World Cup