August was not a kind month to two of the world’s biggest clubs, Barcelona and Arsenal. There were shock departures, shock non-departures, cringe-worthy losses and unimpressive victories.
Barcelona and Arsenal went their separate ways after the 2005 Champions League final: Barcelona won and has been winning ever since, while Arsenal hasn’t sniffed a league title (let alone a Champions League semifinal) since. But the clubs are still two of the richest, most popular teams, each ranking in the top six in attendance for European clubs.
Who had a worse August? Let’s take a look.
4 Reasons Barcelona Had A Terrible August
#1: Barcelona suffered the largest pilfering in club history when Paris Saint-Germain raided Camp Nou for Neymar.
#2: The Barca board then struggled to bring in any sort of replacement for Neymar (but more on this below).
#3: The Catalans then lost to archrival Real Madrid in the Super Cup, with Cristiano Ronaldo mocking Lionel Messi after scoring a goal.
#4: Things worsened when Luis Suarez picked up an injury.
Luis Suarez thinks about August. Photo: @TimeToSoccer3 | Twitter
Meanwhile, in London, Arsenal said, "hold my beer."
6 Reasons Arsenal Had A Terrible August
#1: The North Londoners lost two of their first three matches.
#2: The Gunners couldn’t score against Stoke.
#3: They then shipped four goals against Liverpool in another embarrassing, lop-sided loss for Arsene Wenger.
#4: To make matters worse, Alex Oxlade-Chamerblain decided he’d rather make less money and play for Liverpool than stick around the Emirates any longer.
#5: With the club set to lose Alexis Sanchez for nothing in nine months, Arsenal turned down a $77.75 million offer from Manchester City for the Chilean because Wenger couldn’t convince Thomas Lemar to leave Monaco for North London.
#6: Adding insult to injury, robbers broke into the Emirates and made off with loads of loot.
It wasn’t all bad for the teams. Lionel Messi didn’t get injured and Barcelona eventually brought in Ousmane Dembélé amidst a perfect start to La Liga. Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka was named Swiss player of the year and the Gunners beat an uninspired Chelsea to win the Community Shield.
Credit Suisse Player of the Year: Granit Xhaka! #SwissFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/IUaItcoNwa
— nationalteams_SFVASF (@SFV_ASF) August 28, 2017
Nevertheless, Barcelona and Arsenal fans are furious over the way their clubs are being managed and neither side currently looks capable of winning their league, let alone the Champions League.
So who had the worst August? After tallying all the pros and cons of both clubs, we’ve decided it was, drum roll...Newcastle United.
Yep, the Magpies win The18’s first-and-only coveted club of the month dishonor. Sure, Newcastle is actually two places ahead of Arsenal in the Premier League standings, but manager Rafa Benitez is looking for a new club out of anger with owner Mike Ashley’s transfer policies, while two of his players are mired in three-match suspensions.
The worst part? They have to live in Newcastle upon Tyne. Doesn’t get much worse than that.
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