Short and hard

It’s an Interlull Saturday. There’s not a lot going on. This will be quite a short blog. Will it be short sentences all the way? I can’t say. I don’t see the future. It just happens.

Spain beat Denmark 2-1. David Raya and Mikel Merino both played. Poland lost 5-1 to Portugal. Not a good night for Jakub Kiwior’s team. Ok, I’ve had enough of the short sentences, I need to throw in a decent sized one here to try and find my rhythm. It’s just a shame there isn’t much to write about this morning.

Today Kai Havertz will probably be in action for Germany as they take on Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Netherlands face Hungary which could see Jurrien Timber play; while Ukraine and Oleksandr Zinchenko face Georgia.

One of those ‘team mates’ videos popped up on my YouTube the other day, with Zinchenko being asked the same old questions about which teammate is the best dressed, who is the funniest etc etc. There was a question about who was ‘hardest’, and he picked Timber. I know we’re quite a big side, and I wouldn’t mess around with Gabriel or William Saliba, but the choice of Timber made sense to me. He just has that look about him, and one of the features of his game is the way he gets into close physical contact with his opponent – particularly in duels around the halfway line.

Of course the ‘hard man’ thing is a bit of an anachronism these days. There were players who built their reputation around it, and in many cases it was a way of trying to level things out. They didn’t have the technique or the quality to live with the opposition, so used violence and intimidation as a way to cope. There were some who were very good players as well as being absolute bastards, but in this day and age you can’t get away with what they did in the past.

First and foremost though, Timber is a very, very good play and he’s not overtly ‘hard’, but I can see why Zinchenko picked him. I like a bit of bite in a player, someone who won’t be pushed around, but who can also make their opposite number think for a moment about whether or not they’re going to go into that 50/50. That moment can be all you need to win the ball.

I have become sidetracked. Speaking of hard men and fighting, here’s a great piece on the farcical Mike Tyson fight last night, penned by our friend and Arsenal fan Donald McRae.

Jake Paul, a 27-year-old social media huckster, beat a 58-year-old man with a long history of health problems, both physically and mentally, in a boxing ring late on Friday night.

Read the rest here. I love when you read an article and the very first line sings at you like glorious opera.

Meanwhile, Arsenal Women are in action today, away from home in the North London derby. As ever, Tim has a full preview of the game, including details of how to watch on TV, and there’ll be all the usual post-match coverage on Arseblog News too. Let’s hope it’s a good day for the Arsenal, and a terrible one for the opposition.

Ok, that’s as much as I’ve got for you today. Sentences getting shorter again. That’s it. Bye.

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