Brentford 1 - 1 Arsenal…

Arsenal arrived in west London with the air of a team keen to reassert control. They left with a point and a mild sense of irritation.

With Manchester City doing their bit to apply pressure, this was supposed to be a firm response. Instead we got a first half best described as polite. Brentford were organised, diligent and entirely uninterested in being carved open.

The breakthrough finally came when Noni Madueke nodded Piero Hincapie’s cross back across Caoimhin Kelleher. Order restored, you thought. You would be wrong.

Keane Lewis Potter reacted fastest to a flick on from one of those long throws that seem to have been launched form LHR Terminal 5. Level again. Game on.

Arteta sent for Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Riccardo Calafiori like a man reaching for the good crockery. There were chances. Igor Thiago was denied by Cristhian Mosquera, Martinelli by Kelleher. But no late winner, just late nerves.

A point. Not a disaster. Not a statement either.

Onwards and upwards, my friends.

@Arsenal ♥️⚽️

@Regenersaurus 🦖

#COYG 🔴⚪️

#BREARS 🥅

@gaygooners 🌈

Brentford…

Brentford, we’re coming for you!

@Arsenal ⚽️
@Regenersaurus 🦖
#COYG 🔴⚪️
#BREARS 🥅
@gaygooners 🌈

Three o’clock…

 

American Psycho @ Almeida…

Last Friday night went to see the musical American Psycho at the Almeida in London’s glitzy Islington with Stuart and Darce.

This play slices Bret Easton Ellis’s bloody book via playwright Roberto Aguirre Sacasa with a savage axe-wielding wit. Arty Froushan commands the stage as original songs mix with pop bangers from the 1980s with a grin through the gristly black humour. Slick cruel and funny. Oh and a lot of scantily clad…. men! We loved it. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

@artyfroushan @almeida_theatre #AmericanPsycho #Almeida #Islington #TheatreReview

Middle Temple Library…

Last Friday Andy, Andrew, and I went to see the fabulous Middle Temple Library in the glitzy City of London. 

It was a guided tour that turned dusty law into juicy drama; medieval thefts, wartime bombs, and American legal swagger all delivered by the knowledgable Library team. The library sure has moved. The latest venue is a heady mix of legal know-how and beautiful 1950s design. 

Afterwards we visited Temple Church for a bit of Da Vinci Decoding. 

@Middle_Temple #London #CityOfLondon

Arsenal 3 - 0 Sunderland…

Arsenal spent an hour knocking politely on a Sunderland door then Zubimendi smashed the letterbox. Gyokeres arrived off the bench to score twice and tidy up the score line. All goals from open play. 

A calm win, a bigger gap, and a quiet nod to Love is Love as football remembered it has a heart 🌈

Onwards and upwards, my friends. 

@Arsenal @SunderlandAFC @gaygooners

#COYG #ARSSUN #arsenal #LoveIsLove

Man and Boy @ Dorfman…

Last night went to see Man and Boy at Dorfman in London’s glitzy South Bank with Stuart.

Terence Rattigan’s play lands with a strangely contemporary dry bite. Ben Daniels dominates amid a sparse set and sharp humour as an egotistical father pimping out his son for financial gain. It’s a shocking move. The play didn’t catch fire though. Maybe preview nerves.  

The plot? Rattigan meets now. One inevitably thinks of Robert Maxwell, the Czech-born media mogul who misappropriated the Mirror’s pension fund and who died in mysterious circumstances. And there are echoes of his daughter, Ghislaine, accomplice of the American financier Jeffrey Epstein. 

Cool, clever, unsettling, but a little twee. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

@nationaltheatre @bendanielsactor

#ManAndBoy #Dorfman #SouthBank #TheatreReview #LondonTheatre

Fun…

Bank tube station had this sign recently. Looks like you can join your local leisure centre - and have some… er… fun.

Arsenal 1 - 0 Chelsea (agg 4 - 2)…

Ninety six minutes of @Arsenal edging it followed by @KaiHavertz29 choosing the funniest possible ending with the final kick. Paul & I lost our minds. 

Former clubs are like that. Four to two on aggregate over @ChelseaFC

Onwards and upwards, my friends. 

#COYG #ARSCHE #CarabaoCup #EFL