Nobody was thrilled with Christos Tzolis as the sum total of the summer's attacking business. Three games in, he's changed how Arsenal move the ball. The Did You Notice piece on The Athletic argues the £34m signing from Club Brugge has unlocked the switch of play — the long diagonal to the far side, a pass this team barely used last season.
That's worth more than it sounds. Last year the criticism was that Arsenal broke teams down by dead ball or not at all. If the answer is a winger who stretches the pitch and a midfield willing to hit him, the set-piece jibe stops working.
I still think the front line is a body light. But the shape of the argument has shifted since the window shut, and it's shifted because of how they're actually playing.
David Raya's line is that the "relief" of finally winning the league is what's behind it, and that this side can beat anybody. Fine. Confidence explains the swagger, not the passing patterns.
Napoli away on Wednesday, first game of the league phase, and the draw doesn't get gentler after it. Real Madrid, Bayern, Dortmund. Three from three in the league is a good place to arrive in Italy.
Angelinou Pedro signed his first professional contract yesterday. Always good to see, and you'd rather the pathway stayed open given Ethan Nwaneri's gone to Dortmund on loan for the season.
Nwaneri and Tommy Setford both started with wins at their new clubs. Setford's at Stevenage in League One, which is exactly the sort of loan a young keeper needs.
The women are back at home on Sunday against Crystal Palace, after Lisa Baum's tenth-minute goal won it at Brighton. One game, one win, one clean sheet for Misa Rodríguez.
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