Letter from LA: From Islington to Inglewood on a memorable day at So-Fi Stadium as Arsenal beat United
Player Ratings from SoFi Stadium, Stubbsy on the mic, kudos to Arsenal America with loyal Gooners everywhere - not to mention an afternoon drinking Jalapeño Margaritas
Happy Sunday from here in sunny LA!
A memorable day was had by all on Saturday down in Inglewood, Los Angeles, for so many reasons, on so many levels.
First and foremost, Mikel Arteta’s lively Arsenal side beat Manchester United 2-1 at the space-age So-Fi Stadium in front of 62,486 - the majority of who, as far as we could make out, were loyal Gooners, who came from near and far.
Secondly, it was such fun.
While you’d have to be some sort of serious curmudgeon not to enjoy having a beer under LA’s glorious deep blue skies (we’ve been here a week and haven’t seen a cloud), while catching up with old pals, and making new ones, in the shadow of the world’s most futuristic stadium, credit has to be given to everyone concerned with making Arsenal’s US tour such a success.
Each and every person connected with the brilliant Arsenal America deserves a hat tip, for working so hard, to make the fanzone and player events such a hit. Along with the club itself and people like Mark Brindle who do so much unsung work liasing with supporter groups everywhere, including AA on this tour.
And of course, Gooners everywhere, who gathered under palm trees with a beer to chat all things Arsenal with old friends and new pals.
It was such fun. And judging by the fact that Gunners fans far outnumbered United, proves that the long-term effort that Arsenal America put into such Stateside tours, along with supporting the club from afar every week at silly o’clock, ensures the Arsenal gospel spreads further and further every passing year. Which is a very good thing.
Kudos to all concerned.
The space age So-Fi Stadium, Inglewood, CA. CREDIT:
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Arsenal Coverage
I plan to post a daily Substack on all things Arsenal when the season starts in earnest, whether it be from Mikel Arteta’s pre-match pressers at London Colney, as the Morning Star newspaper’s Arsenal correspondent, not to mention my take from every single first team match, and as many Arsenal Women games, as well as Academy matches I can it in.
But for now, forgive me as we’re still on holiday, so here’s a quick Player Ratings penned after one too many Jalapeño Margaritas.
Mikel Arteta's side came back from a goal down to beat Manchester United 2-1 at the state of the art SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday evening here in sunny California.
The Gunners did well to rally following Rasmus Hojlund's early goal to put United 1-0 ahead.
However, the North Londoners kept their cool and grabbed a leveller just 20 minutes later through Gabriel Jesus. The second half saw a raft of changes in front of 62,486 including a certain Justin Bieber, prior to substitute Gabi Martinelli netting a deserved winner for the Gunners late on.
Karl Hein: 6/10 - The 22-year-old Estonian started with an excellent save from Amad, but could perhaps have done more when Hojlund’s fired home through his legs
Ben White: 7/10 - The well-refreshed defender will probably recall this match more for meeting Justin Bieber after the game. Mostly untroubled by United’s nascent forward line
Ayden Heaven: 6.5/10 - Hojlund powered past him for United's goal, but apart from that, gave another solid performance, once again showing courage in playing the ball out from the back despite tight spaces.
Jurrien Timber: 7.5 - The Dutch defender was signed to be a left-back, but it appears the former Ajax star can also perform at centre-back. An exciting season awaits for this talented backline star
Alex Zinchenko: 6.5 - The experienced Ukraine defender returned on the left hand side of defence, having started as a sub against Bournemouth at LA Galaxy on Wednesday and looked more in rhythm with the game at the SoFi
Jorginho: 6.5/10 - Good to see the stylish former Chelsea midfielder get more minutes in his legs after being omitted from the starting XI vs Bournemouth in midweek. Albeit when replacing Heaven
Ethan Nwaneri: 8/10 - Another mature performance from the 17-year-old. Looks increasingly at home on the big platform and was a constant threat to United
Martin Odegaard: 7.5/10 - The Arsenal captain is a class act on and off the ball
Leandro Trossard: 7/10 - Always works hard which is a facet Arteta loves. Still finding his rhythm after a few weeks off following Euro 2024 appearances for Belgium
Reiss Nelson - 5/10: Not as influential as he would have liked, but the more pertitinent question is simply whether the 24-year-old will still be at Arsenal come the season opener vs Wolves on Saturday, August 17
Gabriel Jesus: 7.5/10 - Never let the United backline settle and took his goal well for Arsenal's opener. Benefitted from the summer off after missing out making the Selecao for Brazil's Copa America campaign
SUBS
Jakub Kiwior: 7/10 - Replaced Heaven during the interval to immediately restablish Arsenal's backline security.
Salah: 7/10 - Comfortable
Josh Nichols: 6.5/10 - The small full-back was part of five subs introduced during the second period
Myles Lewis-Skelly: 6.5/10 - Opted to stay when other Arsenal Academy colleagues departed for bigger numbers. Yet, his persistence on and off the field will surely open more doors in North London than anywhere else
Gabriel - 6/10: Big Gabi came on for his first pre-season appearance to try to make Arsenal more defensively secure. It worked.
Fabio Vieira - 6.5/10 - Swapped with Trossard to play mainly on the right hand side. Helped on Martinelli’s winner.
Thomas Partey - 5/10 - Looked the part in midfield after replacing Zinchenko
Eddie Nketiah: 5/10 - On for Jesus but was sadly anonymous
Gabriel Martinelli - 8.5: - Absolutely impressive after coming on late on to score the winner
Kai Havertz - 6: Here's hoping for another decent season. Not enough purchase on an early header but the extra minutes will benefit the Gunners frontman
SUBS NOT USED:
Tommy Setford,
Lucas Nygaard,
Alexie Rojas,
Omar Rekik,
Michel Rosiak
Jimi Gower
Charles Sagoe Jr
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You Are My Arsenal
I also have to say a massive thank you to my family, including my utterly wonderful partner Faye.
For 11 months a year they put up with my passion also being my career as a sports journalist, they put up with me being on the road on long trips away, most recently nearly a month in Germany covering Euro 2024, as well as all those long away trips up and and the land reporting on Arsenal in the Premier League, and the Champions League, not to mention the Arsenal Women and the Arsenal Academy, and all the long hours I do pulling together the Gooner Fanzine with our brilliant team. (More of that soon…)
So it was only fair that I thanked them by combining work with pleasure and mixing covering part of Arsenal’s US tour, with our summer holiday. It’s been an absolute blast so far.
And Saturday at the SoFi was one of my best days ever, because it had everything. Family, football and fun. I am one lucky bloke so have such a wonderful family around me. As well as The Arsenal, and old pals who will literally travel anywhere on the planet to see the Gunners.
If you throw in the brilliant pre-match catch-up organised by Arsenal America, not to mention finding a dedicated cocktail bar inside the So-Fi that made really strong Jalapeño Margaritas, as well as The Arsenal beating United, surrounded by my family, then I can’t think of anything that would have made me happier.
Love you all.
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So-Fi Stadium So Far From Being So-So
I’d been told by many seasoned observers that the futuristic So-Fi Stadium was the best in the world. After having spent nearly a day there I would have to agree.
A state of the art structure that cost $5bn to build. You can see why.
It’s the sheer size, scale, height and magnitude of the stadium that grabs you.
There’s so much space around that there’s even a man-made lake next to it. The way the architects designed it means that despite sweltering LA weather there is invariably a cooling breeze that flows through the ground that will play host to the first game of the 2026 World Cup.
It’s domed shaped roof that you can see from afar reminded me of the Sapporo Dome on the Japanese northern island of Hokkaido, that I saw England beat Argentina 1-0 back in the 2002 World Cup in Japan. But it’s so much bigger here in California.
Built on the site of a former racetrack in Hollywood Park, the stadium officially holds 70,240 - but can be extended to host more than 100,000 for music concerts. It consists of the stadium itself, a pedestrian plaza and a performance venue. Think Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena on steroids, under blue skies and palm trees. And instead of the miserable North Circular you’ve got eight lane freeways.
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke is a big mover and shaker here in the States, and among his sports stable, he also owns the LA Rams who play here at this majestic venue.
Having been to the MetLife Stadium on Arsenal’s last summer tour of the States in 2023, I have to say that while the New Jersey stadium is hugely impressive and runs So-Fi close, LA’s version is better.
Why? It’s grander. The transport links are better. (We got quoted $100 to take us over a freeway back to our hotel in NJ - which was only a ten minute walk, if you fancied running across eight lane freeways…). The ventilation was better - no mean thing on relentlessly hot days under blue skies and temperatures in the 80s and 90s.
The views were stupendous, no matter where you were in the stadium. And the gigantic surround sound entertainment hanging from the canopy meant that you could watch the game, as well as see what viewers at home were seeing - for the entire 90 minutes.
The stadium bowl itself has open sides and the seats were spacious. There was a cup holder on every seat. There felt like more food and drink concessions. We even found a cocktail bar, which set us off on our Jalapeño Mararita binge…
Above the stadium is a supported translucent canopy which covers everyone below. as well as the adjacent pedestrian plaza, and the performance venue. The million-square-foot canopy is well ventilated.
While the canopy itself has 27,000 embedded LEDs, which can display images and video that can also be seen from airplanes flying into the nearby Los Angeles International Airport.
The only thing missing was the fact that the powers-that-be didn't issue a match programme as far as I know.
The best stadium I’ve ever been to? As someone who’s done the 92, not to mention hundreds of others from non-league to Champions League, as well as International Football around the world, I would have to say a resounding yes.
Stubbsy’s on the mic
If you know your Arsenal, you’ll know Stubbsy. One of the biggest and most loyal Arsenal supporters you’ll ever meet. And a top bloke to boot.
I bumped into him outside the stadium before the game briefly to say hello - but we all got the shock of our lives when he next popped up on the massive jumbo screens that hung above the So-Fi pitch. What was he doing there? Well, as far as we could make out he was singing the Allez, Allez, Allez song. Loudly. It was great to see. And really funny. That’s the thing with these tours, you never know what’s going to happen next. And seeing my pal and yours on the big screens gave us all a belly laugh. Even if our ears are still bleeding now.
The good sport that he is, as he told me after with a smile, “I had to give it a good go and make the most of it.” Fair play mate. Well said. And well sung…
For a bit of video of the legend himself take a look at my Twitter feed
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DAILY LIST
I) Catch up with an old mate from school at Santa Monica pier, who moved to LA many moons ago to carve out a hugely successful career among the stars, and have a big lunch with both our families at an expat English pub at the famous Santa Monica beach
II) Drink more Jalapeño Cocktails