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Feels like the summer
Los Angeles is too damn hot today… I know most of you are reading this from the UK and Europe where it’s most likely cold and rainy but if I were to walk outside my house I would be greeted by a toasty 84°F which is basically 29°C… and even though we can get above 100°F here in the summer, today feel like one of those days.
But that’s not what I mean when I say that it feels like the summer. I saw this because it is absolute torture being mid season and there being no club matches until March 15th as far I can tell. That feels like it’s very far away even if it’s just basically 2 weeks away but damn, I miss those anxiety inducing match-days.
I wish this lack of AWFC activity was actually because they all had a break, such as an extended winter break which I would be 100% behind, yet as we know, the lack of club matches is due to the international break. Still, I welcome the other anxiety inducing INTERNATIONAL match days as there’s never a dull day in the life of an oranjeleeuwinnen fan.
I will write more about The Netherlands tomorrow or the day after but if I had to mention the one thing (not oranje related) that I’m mostly excited about in this window would be the fact that our Leah Williamson has been called up and will most likely play next week against Ukraine. To be fair, after the euros I haven’t really kept up with the lionesses and I don’t really know who Sarina’s CB preferred partnership but I would like to see Leah and Maya play together or give Leah a break and have Maya with Alex, I have no idea really, just saying random things at this point.
One thing I’ll chat about another about too is regarding how Sam Coffey mentioned during a presser how AWFC were interested in signing her but that Man City were much more professional. That is very worrisome if what she says is true.
I can understand and excuse different levels of “interest” and how that can manifest… it’s very complex but when it comes to professionalism we simply cannot have that be low. No matter what, the club has to be professional. Again, this is a she said situation so we don’t know the rest but I have no reason to doubt her and I have plenty of reasons to doubt the board.
Yes, I said that.
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Some Projects
I’m going to keep this short today and go straight to the point and admit that this post today has nothing to do with Arsenal or Viv or the Matildas. I am here today to shamelessly post about 2 projects I’m currently working on and I would love your opinion about what I’m about to share.
One of those projects I mentioned before which is another blog focused exclusively on music and more accurately advice for musicians. This is all essentially suggestions and recommendations for those who are thinking about becoming professional musicians and also for those already working in this insane industry but need some perspective and much more. It’s called Unsolicited Music Advice and you can check it out below and it will direct you to a substack page and if you could PLEASE SUBSCRIBE! IT’S FREEEEEEE
http://www.unsolicitedmusiadvice.com
The other project I’m very excited about is my own music lessons portal! I started http://www.lessonswithdemian.com with the goal of demystifying rhythm and percussion instruments and you can take all sorts of courses there. The tambourine course is FREE and anyone can take it, at any level, and all you need is a tambourine. Since it’s free you could also check it out and give me your opinion.
http://www.lessonwithdemian.com
Thanks!
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WTF is Block by block?
I don’t mean that in a dismissive way nor am I trying to disrespect whatever initiative this is (or isn’t) but it just feels like suddenly my algorithm is filled with people reacting to whatever that is and I’m so confused.
Admittedly I do not consume all Arsenal Women content. I only follow a handful of players (Beth, Steph, Katie and Leah) and don’t have any notifications etc. I miss a lot of info and I’m sure lots of clothing lines go by and I don’t even know about them wink wink. To be honest I haven’t even watched the documentary about the Champions League yet but that’s because I think I’ll get way too emotional and I don’t know if I have the minerals to deal with that right now.
Anywaaaaaaaaaay, from what I gathered many people are saying it’s a fan’s initiative, organic and spontaneous and others say it is something more artificial and planned by the club. Either way I don’t really have an opinion about where it comes from…
Whatever needs to happen for the girls to have as loud and voluminous support at home or away is something that I support. I don’t really care how it starts as long as they are happy and they feel like its something special that sets our club apart from any other one and at the same time it empowers the players to do their jobs better and make every away match feel like a home one. For that reason I’m super proud of our fan base.
I do have to say that I have some apprehension surrounding these type of planned things such as North London Forever, and if you’ve read this blog before you’ll know how much I dislike that song in many ways and how good I think is in others.
I did watch this video that I think helped me understand some stuff but I don’t really know how accurate this is and if any of you would like to share your thoughts and opinions please do so
thoughts?
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Cup Half Full?
Optimism is one of the things that I like to see as part of my non negotiable personal philosophies. I do my very best to focus on the positive things in life and Arsenal Women is a huge part of that. It, by and large, gives essentially only positive things and reasons to be optimistic and even when it was truly dark for me aka the previous manager’s tenure, the squad always made me feel like there was hope.
The rest of the season gives me that sentiment for a whole plethora of reasons BUUUUUUUUUT there are two things that worry me and both are interrelated and they have to do directly with Australia’s involvement in the 20 day long Asian Cup. Those two reasons are Steph Catley and KCC.
First and foremost I will say that I absolutely respect and value their and any player’s involvement for their home country. I have spoken at length about my admiration for Steph and I feel as much pride for her when I see her play for the Matildas as I do for Viv for the Dutch, Katie for Ireland and Beth for the Lionesses. I am specially moved when Catley is the captain too. I love it.
What worries me about this is the overload for her, coupled with the absence of Leah Williamson. If Australia win, they will be done on the 21st of March, with AWFC facing Chelsea 3 days later. It would be criminal to have her do that travel AND play… it’s almost 24 hours. That’s how injuries happen. We cannot do that to her or to us… And you also don’t need me to tell you my feelings about the CB situation at our club. Essentially, for me to have any true confidence in beating Chelsea we need our best partnership aka Leah and Steph. That’s it.
As far as KCC I think that being away for a lot of days is going to do her a world of good. We all know how terrible her personal situation is and we’re always sending her and her family love and health. I have confidence in her and hope she gets more time on the pitch for us. She’s the only player we have with that profile.
By the same token though, I think that the board/Renee etc were extremely negligent for not buying another 6 while she is taking time off. Yes ideally we get Georgia in the summer but we need more bodies there.
The Asian Cup has my glass half full, mostly because all I want in glory for Steph and co. and I’m optimistic they will win and empower themselves with even more confidence and bring that to the Arsenal. Imagine those 3 winning the CL and then the Asian Cup? It’s magical and they deserve that.
Hasegawa deserves it too though!!!!!
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The Hatred Must Stop
At one point WOSO was just about the most welcoming and beautiful environment. Precisely because of this is why I embraced it, why invested in it literally and figuratively, and why I kept creating content. By and large most fans are incredible, kind, supportive but as with many things, the louder ones are usually the most vitriolic and that is antithetical to what women’s football, women’s sport and women in general should be. There is no room for hatred and abuse in this space but sadly it has become the norm.
You have seen it in person when footballers get yelled at or insulted for not giving someone their shirt… we’ve seen the disgusting rise in racist incidents and body shaming is not far behind. Nothing of the sort is ever warranted, never ever. There has never been or will ever be a missed penalty, a bad performance, an offside, a handball, etc nothing will warrant abuse or hatred.
Unless you’re a child or a very immature person, you can appreciate there’s a difference between criticism and hatred. Professional players can take criticism and some of them live for it, not because they wanna hear what they did wrong but essentially because it means their sport is getting the attention necessary for that criticism to exist. And because we all know what criticism is like, we can identify when hatred is just that… hatred. We gotta call it out. We gotta get it out of the game.
Now, it’s not lost in me that I am a man and as such I am partially responsible for toxic masculinity, if nothing else because of being man. I have said time and time again than men are going to be the end of women’s football in that for the sport to grow we need money, most money means business aka men in business aka no scrupels aka dark money aka toxic masculinity aka misogyny etc etc etc.
However, what I have seen lately on social media, not just about Ruesha but essentially any and all players its fucking horrific. How did this ever happen? How did these fans get so toxic and hateful? Who hurt them? Where are the parents?
One thing I’ll say is if you’re one of those fans that insults players and spews hate, is that Taylor Swift would absolutely be ashamed of you. All the people you love and admire would be absolutely sick to their stomach and feel extremely sorry for you and your behavior. And so would any and all of the artists you love. It’s just pathetic behavior.
There is something very interesting that happens in societies and it mostly applies to politics or at least that’s how it manifests itself a lot, and that is the paradox of tolerance… and this is basically what it means: if we tolerate abuse, abuse grows; and when abuse grows unchecked, genuine freedom and diversity shrink. Applied to women’s football, this means that allowing sexist, homophobic, or dehumanizing comments to go unchallenged in the name of “free speech” doesn’t protect the game… it poisons it. To preserve an open, inclusive fan culture, we have to draw a firm line against harassment and refuse to normalize it.
I really don’t know what should be done or how. And don’t get me wrong, I’ve criticized players before, a lot actually. I raise my hand and admit I could be seen as being harsh towards LWM and Pelova, but abusive? Absolutely not. I would fight a pack of wolves for them knowing I would die.
I have for sure criticized other podcasters and bloggers a fair bit and even though I think they absolutely deserve criticism, myself included!!!! I’m not perfect but I can assure you I sleep at night knowing I have done what I can to build women up, as much as I can on this space.
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Justice for Ruesha
In case you are new here I need to tell you that very often this Arsenal-centric blog takes a bit of a left turn and I try to talk about things that are more woso/football and sometimes sociopolitical. There are moments where I feel I have a bit of a responsibility to add, even if it’s a drop in a massive ocean, something to a bigger conversation. The whole Rubiales thing, Jonas pushing Viv, standing up for Beth and so on and so forth. I do take prime in being outspoken on these things and I enjoy defending people I care about.
Back in my twitter days I got so much criticism and hate from fans from all over the world for being vocal about my dislike for Jonas and for hating how he literally pushed Viv. Very few people said anything about that bar from Suzy Wrack and Shebahn was also very critical, and of course there were lots of fans with common sense that saw what happened on and off the pitch.
Hell, I have gone on and on about how we miss Jill Roord and Danielle Van de Donk so trust me, I have gotten a lot of criticism, mostly NOT positive and I’m ok with that but I gotta tell you, a few months back I posted one simple comment on an instagram account about Ruesha’s suspension and when I tell you I have never gotten so many messages and insults in my whole life I wouldn’t be exaggerating.
To make a very long story short… Rue gets a 5 match ban and I wrote: justice for ruesha. What followed was all kinds of vitriol and assumptions and as usual these super bright and kind fans never stopped to try to understand what I meant and why I wrote that, even when I explained it to them. People often confuse opinions with facts and at the end of the day we cannot forget that most people that interact on social media are children and or people that have very little experience watching football. Not only did they insult me but the shit they were saying about Ruesha and also Shebahn made my blood boil.
Let me be very clear, if there are two people that do not need defending, women who are badass, intelligent, kind, eloquent, outspoken and overall GREAT humans, then they are Ruesha and Shebahn and today I wanna take some time, not defending them, but by trying to put things in perspective, mostly about the former. Also, full disclosure… I am friends with Shebahn and I know first hand how great of a human being she is, what a great mother, wife, sister and also one of the best and most valid voices in women’s football, someone who has been there basically her whole life. She’s a pioneer and one of the architects of it all.
Ruesha Littlejohn is a fantastic footballer. To get to where she got and is is nothing short of admirable. Her trajectory within the game is incredible and has had a wonderful career. She clearly has had some adversity regarding injuries but when she is fit she’s a great player.
We cannot overlook some of the fouls she has committed but to be fair I think people absolutely overreacted and just take advantage of a particular moment to then insult, claim patterns of misconduct and abuse her, thus proving that people are projecting and revealing how ugly they are. You can criticize someone without insulting her.
Was that headlock deserved? maybe not but did you see the foul before that on her? Also, she didn’t slam her down on the ground to break her neck like all these donuts are implying, they fell, she fell, the other player fell and that was that. Now, you can disagree with me and whatever but from that to insulting her, her family, that she should go to jail? what the fuck are you on about? Whoever said that should go to jail for sitting on their couch for so long and not having friends.
Moreover, I need to say that I wish more players were like Ruesha and yes I mean that from a footballing perspective but more than anything because of something that is way more important at the end of the day and that is how she is truly, authentically and unapologetically herself. Ruesha is Ruesha… love her or hate her… she is who she is. She has personality, intelligence and all the experience in the world. She knows what she’s talking about and the way she talks about it all is fresh and interesting.
People (some players for sure and mostly those fans that talk shit) WISH they had her personality… whatever she does I hope it continues to help her set herself apart. She’s the good kind of disruptor unlike a racist piece of shit like Joey Barton or other voices out there that are dangerous. Ruesha is the opposite. She empowers people to be themselves, directly or not and it’s all there for us to see, if you wanna see it.
Also, if current players want a future post retirement, in a world where they are still not making the money they need to live afterwards, they better develop a brand/personality/identity of they will be left behind, much like a musician who doesn’t embrace technology or social media. This is modern football and I wish more players would be as comfortable being themselves like Ruesha is. It inspires and empowers me for sure.
Lastly about Shebahn, what a lot of people forget is that she has been part of this world we love for years. Not just because her twin sister played but as a journalist and radio presenter. She has had a massive love for the game and for our club and knows so much about the sport in every dimension possible. Disrespecting her is disrespecting yourself as a football fan. And I do have to say I agree 100/100 times with everything she has said.
We see people around the club being interviewed for x, y or z, and these men have 1/900th of the football nous that she has. Why do I say this? Because she has been there and seen it all and as a woman she understands things better and deeper than anything I or any man in the woso world could ever.
Basically I’m team Ruesha and Shebahn if I wasn’t extremely clear and if nothing else, their show is incredibly entertaining and it gives such a great insight not just into the sport but also the personalities of players. They both have a unique ability to disarm their guests and that shit is priceless.
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STEPH POTY
On my way back from this short UK tour I did I decided to watch “The Matildas: The World At Our Feet” documentary. I was only able to watch 3 episodes and so far out Steph has not been as featured as players such as Ellie Carpenter, Sam Kerr and Lydia Williams. Thanks to my jetlag, I’m starting this blog at 3:54am and I decided to watch the rest of the documentary as I type this.
The match yesterday was really interesting on many levels. Kim played great, Sophia’s goal was fantastic, Daphne back being solid as usual, Beth putting in a shift, etc. But honestly, we cannot ignore the fact that Steph Catley has been an absolute monster of a player for the past few seasons for us, and honestly since she joined the club.
I have spoken about her an obscene amount of times here on this blog and also when I used to do the podcast and I won’t get into too any details at the moment because there’s really no need… she has to be, without a shadow of a doubt THE player of the year for us, regardless of what and/or what doesn’t happen.
We cannot let her go. We cannot sell her. We cannot.
Beyond her football abilities, she is ridiculously reliable fitness wise. Also, the amount of calm and poise she brings to the team is insane. Do you know how hard it must be??? In this team? In this ecomony? IYKYK. lol
I remember writing about how emotional I got when she captained Australia vs Ireland at the World Cup and I feel the same sense of pride whenever I see her put on any football shirt. She embodies professionalism and if you’ve ever seen her in any interviews or follow her on social media you know she is loved by everyone around her. We’re just so lucky to have her at our club and even though Leah deserves all the attention she gets, we cannot underestimate the value of Steph who has been as good if not better than Rafa was.
We have a game in hand and if we beat Leicester we will go 2nd which I kinda find it hard to believe because it feels like just a week ago we were like 18 points from 2nd, let alone from City.
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McCabe + 10
There are days in which I feel more adequate than others as it relates to expressing my feelings and due to jetlag and other things I’m having a hard time encapsulating how the news about Katie’s potential departure is making me feel, other than me not being ready. This one will sting.
The first thing I’ll say, and I’m sure all of you will agree, is that I am beyond thankful for everything she has done and been for the club. And actually, there’s no way for you to know this, but she is the Arsenal player I’ve seen play the most amount of times. A massive 3 times total.
I’ve seen her play at the FA Cup final in 2021, then with the Irish national team in St Louis and then with Arsenal again vs Villa, where she scored an insane goal, shortly before Beth made her return from the ACL and assisted Alessia. I think, anyway.
If you heard my podcasts in the past and even if you only read this blog, at one point or another you heard me say that Lia Walti was the barometer of the team. Regarding Katie I have always said that she is a “throw forward” player. I also agree that it doesn’t make much sense but hear me out.
Throwback players are somewhat common, all things considered but I have always said that Katie is the evolution of women’s football but in present time. I think she is the benchmark in terms of athleticism, drive, ability, tenacity and leadership. There are very few players in world football that are as versatile as she is and for me it’s always been McCabe +10.
When I have written about how jealous I am of you all that get to go to matches in person, this is the type of experience I’m talking about… to watch her in person time and time again is nothing short of a privilege and you have been witnessing with your own eyes, the future of women’s football.
Now, as far as her future is concerned… as much as I’d like to see her play in person again, I don’t really wish many people to move to the USA at this moment or in the near future to be honest with you, but I think that veteran players like her, Beth, Viv and others still have so much to offer and I’d love to see her in a top, top club like Barca or Lyon.
Though LCL wouldn’t be a bad shout…
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My pilgrimage
I fucking love London very, very much. It’s an absolute magical city filled with so much history and relevance in so many different ways. Personally, this city means a lot to me for various reasons but the biggest one is Arsenal.
My music career has been kind enough to me to allow me to come here a few times and I’ve taken myself there on strictly footballing trips but regardless of the reason, I always make it a point to visit the stadium, and every single time, without fail, I have a very hard time controlling my emotions.
A big emotion I feel is gratitude because I never have to come to London because of something bad that has happened… it’s either on tour or because I come watch the girls play. Always a good thing and that is a privilege.
I also feel humbled because I know there are AWFC fans and AFC fans from all over the world that have never ever come anywhere near London, let alone The Emirates, so I always take a moment to sit with that and hold space for my fellow fans who cannot make it…
Normally, as soon as I walk out of my hotel I have my headphones on and I have a London/England specific playlist or artist… My first time I remember walking to the stadium listening to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie… Other times I’ve put on The Smiths, Bloc Party and of course, The Clash, duh.
Every time I’ve come I’ve ended up staying in different parts of town but this time we stayed right in Islington and I hadn’t truly seen so much Arsenal centric stuff unless I was basically in the stadium. To get on a quick tube ride and listen to Haim’s Days Are Gone album aka my favorite album by my favorite band, and to see Beth, Leah and Russo on all sorts of adverts was so surreal. I never get to see anything close to this living in Los Angeles.
I know the sport has grown, I know it in theory, but I just can never not be blown away by the popularity of our girls and to see Beth specially be featured is something that just means a lot to me as a person… The tube’s doors open at the arsenal stop and literally in front of the door I see Katie, Beath, Leah and Alessia. I just don’t know how you guys get used to it!!!!
IT’S INSANE HOW FAR OUR GIRLS HAVE COME!!!!!!
As got out of the station and walked towards the Armory, I had to hold back my tears as the songs I love so much were playing in my headphones. I walked around a desolate Emirates, which is always what happens… it’s as if the universe conspires and for periods of time it’s essentially just me and someone else at the end of the stadium. Those visuals…the magnitude of the place, seeing Steph Catley, Laia Codina, Daphne and Kim’s banners filled me with so much joy.
Someone had to be cutting onions…
On this lovely first day of February at 5:27am I can say that it’s the last show of our tour. We played in Wales last night and we’re very excited about tonight, myself specially because I cannot wait to have fish and chips on this part of England which I haven’t been to since 2010, yikes…
Also tonight our girls play in that FIFA tournament that I know nothing. What I will say is that we should be winning it not because of an arrogance thing but because every trophy we win, symbolic, real, European, domestic, international… they all matter and they all bring more success.
Finally, if you are one of those people that can come to London often or you live here, etc, please take a second to know how lucky you are.
Posted some pics on my insta @demianarriaga
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Insanity, again.
Forgive me in advance… I’m still jet lagged AF plus today was nuts. It’s 1:48am and I will make less sense than I usually do.
Today was supposed to be my first actual day off on this tour. The shows have been going great for us and we hope the crowds have felt the same. I always loved playing club shows outside of the USA and the UK never, ever disappoints. So far we’ve played in Manchester and Glasgow, both of which have had stellar crowds and local crew.
As I woke up today with all the intentions of writing about the Chelsea match and the upcoming FIFA situation, I was then jolted and halted by the lovely sound of drilling in the room next to me. There were massive construction works scheduled basically in the entire hotel and this meant that sleeping was out of the picture and so was trying to concentrate in anything other than my own breath so I didn’t go insane.
Insanity is something that I can associate with football for sure. A lot of people seem to think that the definition of that word is, and I paraphrase, “to do something the same way over and over again and expecting different results.”
News flash! That is not the actual definition. Essentially, being insane implies lacking the ability to think and behave in a rational manner. That is me. I have no idea what rational or irrational thinking is when it comes to football and the sport humbles me and proves to me that I am rarely correct. I will always be correct about Viv, DvD and Jill btw 😉
I was convinced that we wouldn’t win at Chelsea. A point maybe… but when I saw Guro Reiten start I got nervous. I wasn’t too pleased with our lineup either, and it’s not that I don’t believe in the girls, its that I have had my doubts about Renee if I’m being totally honest and I still think that these types of wins, same as with the CL last year, defy logic.
I am always positive and confident but I am also human and sometimes, following matches like the Man Utd one, we feel low and don’t think we have a shot. I think that’s normal. What is irrational? Doubting these women. Not just irrational but insane and stupid.
This is such a different situation as with the men’s team. Our girls will always bounce back and show us their true history and pedigree whereas the boys play like little boys sometimes. They should be calling Beth, Mariona, Steph and Katie every day and asking them how its like to be a winner.
Also…
I see some many experts, analysts and podcasters (the latter not being the same thing as the other two) and hell, even Renee talking about the 10 position … but you know what? You cannot separate the importance of said position from modern era Arsenal aka since Dennis Bergkamp joined the league. He changed our club forever. He was the architect of whatever standard exists now and the fact that our own fan base want a 10, on both men and women’s squads, that holds the ball up well and not provide an insane amount of assists and some goal contributions is absolutely insane. That is actually insane.
This obsession that seems to exist about the fact that because someone CAN play there doesn’t make it a viable or sustainable option. Can Katie play GK? Fuck yes she could… but should she? I would only say no because we need her at LB and not because she wouldn’t be an absolute nutter below the post.
Also Beth Mead is considerably better than Martin Odegaard and I don’t care that she doesn’t play as a 10 but she can and probably should. That’s neither here nor there.
I need to sleep.
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A very subjective look into AWFC 