Hi there,
The season is right around the corner which means that this newsletter is about to back to its regularly scheduled release on Mondays. Though, there won’t be one next week because I’ll be stuck in the middle of a cornfield with limited cell service (it’s a long story.)
But, let’s break down how the Arsenal pre-season has gone so far. It started in Washington DC against the MLS All-Stars, I was lucky enough to have been asked to create the poster for the event! I truly don’t understand my life and the absurd opportunities I’ve been fortunate to have haha.
Arsenal cruised to an easy 5-0 win. We looked good against a team that maybe had breakfast together once before the match was played. I find it kind of tedious to dive into matches that are essentially fitness checks, but I will say that Jurrien Timber impressed me in this match. I’m not sure what his position was, I’m not even sure if he knew what his position was, but if I had to classify his position, I think it was "vibes" and it was working.
Onto, New York/New Jersey.
I want to briefly talk about the fan event that took place at Union Square on Friday night. I was there and I almost have whiplash from that event. I met so many people who all had very wonderful things to say. It is always incredibly humbling to hear 1) nice things about how my little doodles have impacted people and 2) the fact someone recognizes me since there are not many photos of me out there on the ethernet. It was lovely meeting you all, sorry I didn’t get to talk longer with everyone or even meet everyone (there were people I couldn’t find that I had planned on meeting!)
Anyway, the United game.
Again, I don’t want to dwell too much on matches that are essentially fitness checks. That being said, I’ve always found Manchester United fans to be obnoxious and there was one Manchester United sat in front of me that confirmed that theory to me.
I’m not sure how this man will celebrate the birth of his first child, but I suspect it will be similar to long howls straight into the air for everything that Manchester United did that I experienced on Saturday.
“WOOOOOOOOO!! YES! LET’S. GO. EPIDURAL!”
-said man at birth of his first child
Anywho, two more preseason matches and then the kind-of-a-preseason-match-if-you-win-but-not-really-a-preseason-match-if-you-lose that is the Community Shield. Here’s an animation of Arseblog and Gunnerblog talking about the importance of the Community Shield.
Arsecast:
I had the honor of being on the Arsecast two weeks ago talking about the creation of Poorly Drawn Arsenal, mental health, and my theory that if there was any Premier League manager that would celebrate a goal by taking their shirt off that it would be Mikel Arteta. You can give that a listen this way.
I Illustrated a Book:
A reminder that I’ve illustrated a book! It is about the invincibles and was written by Dave Seager who was written five Arsenal books. There are 39 drawings in the book, plus if you pre-order now you get a free calendar which is a fun little treat.
Olive and Velma update:
I bought a film camera this summer. Here are the pets in 35mm.
Love the Millionaire animation Jacob. KUTGW
I loved the DC poster. Especially the Eagle jumping off the top rope WWE style! Velma looks so pretty in her photo. I wish I could’ve met you in person! I took my dad to the DC game and we had such a fun day. A special time with the man who inspired my love for the Arsenal.