Having gone 65 days without seeing Arsenal in action, I cannot wait to see us take on Bournemouth on Wednesday night.
The feeling of excitement and anticipation that only sports fans know is usually reserved for the opening day of the Premier League season, but personally, it has arrived early. Forget Wolves on August 17 - this is right here, right now and after a long summer, the Gunners are back.
Sure, it might only be an exhibition match, but there is still much to look forward to. Seeing us play in unfamiliar surroundings. The new 2024/25 away kit in action. The potential for Reiss Nelson to hammer home a 97th-minute winner, and give our Stateside supporters similar sensations to that incredible game between the teams last year.
Plus we may see the chance afforded to some youngsters to step up and taste life in our first team, and try and stake their claim to stay around it. I chatted to Eddie Nketiah yesterday, someone who did exactly that, and he summed up the situation perfectly.
"It's a platform," he suggested. "Even for us now, to make our mark and start playing games regularly and get fit. I think there are a lot of examples of players who did well in pre-season and gone on to play and have minutes in the first team, so it's a really good chance."
And that's another reason why I'm excited to see who takes to the field at Dignity Health Sports Park tomorrow. Could it be the night one of our Hale End graduates creates a moment for themselves by putting in a performance or getting on the scoresheet? Time will tell if this game goes down in the Arsenal annals as one where a star shone for the first time.
Youth or experience, rookie or veteran - whoever plays against Bournemouth, you can be sure that they also won't care that to outsiders, there's seemingly nothing on the line. Those fortunate to see the work being undertaken on the training pitches cannot miss the intensity displayed in those sessions.
The hunger is evident, and everyone is already at it. One session on day one, two on day two. Day three won't bring three points, but a victory all the same is the target.
This team that Mikel Arteta has built is one you just want to watch over and over again. The creativity, the togetherness, the intricate build-up, the switches in tempo, the goals, the clean sheets, the victories. It's all been missed - but the wait is nearly over. Bring it on.
Tour teaser In yesterday's blog, we asked you to name the four English scorers from our previous encounters at Dignity Health Sports Park - and they were Rob Holding, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Chuba Akpom in a 3-1 win against Guadalajara in 2016, as well as Nketiah three years later in a 2-1 win against Bayern Munich, who also netted an own goal.
Today, can you name the four American internationals to play for us during our games in their homeland? Answer in the next blog!
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