Farewell

After a little over four seasons, I am stepping away from The Short Fuse. In that time I’ve written over 400 articles for the site trying to predict Arsenal’s starting XIs, interviewing the opposition, checking in with the Academy sides, analyzing transfer rumors, and catching up with on-loan players. It’s been quite enjoyable, both the action on the pitch and being a part of this community.

I started at The Short Fuse back in April 2019. It was Arsenal’s first season after the Arsene Wenger era, Unai Emery had come into a near-impossible job, and the Gunners were heading toward a 5th-place finish. Their third straight year of just missing out on the Champions League. In January of that season, I wrote a series called ‘Rebuilding the Arsenal’ for another site, which opened the door for me to join the SB Nation family.

Here’s a look back at my first article for the site - Arsenal schedule update: busy, busy, busy. But my first real contributions were a new spin on the rebuilding project, a series (because if you’ve been a regular reader during these four years you’ll know how much I enjoy a series and format) titled “Building The Arsenal”. Each article was broken down into the current depth chart, each player’s contract situation, objectives for that summer’s upcoming transfer window, and a projected depth chart for the 2019/20 season. If you are curious to look back at where the club was then, here are the links by position:

• Goalkeeper
• Right-back
• Left-back
• Center-back
• Center Midfielder
• Attaching Midfielders
• Forwards

It’s interesting to look back and be reminded how much turnover this squad has witnessed over four years. Who else had already forgotten the Stephan Lichtsteiner period? This was even before the club had begun loaning out a young William Saliba. And finally, a full rundown of where the club stood that summer and action items to focus on.

It’s been amazing to watch the club transform during that period. From Unai Emery (who by the way, did excellent work at Aston Villa this season) to the COVID-impacted season to Mikel Arteta becoming the new face of Arsenal to this young, exciting, entertaining squad that has brought life back into the Emirates.

Thank you to all the readers and commentators over these past four seasons. Thank you to all the SB Nation and non-SB Nation websites, podcasts, & writers who all contributed to the ‘Opposition Q&A’ series. I really enjoyed connecting with so many individuals who support different clubs to get their perspectives. Thank you to Aaron for running the site these past few seasons, the TSF writers group for creating a lively Slack chatroom, and of course the site’s former editor, PDB, for bringing me into the site.

Best of luck to Arsenal next season as they return to the Champions League and challenge for the Premier League title once again. Enjoy the ups and the downs. See you in the comments. COYG!