I feel like a child of absent parents this morning. Daddy has tumbled down the stairs, barged into the living room slightly hungover, and handed me an IOU for a Mars bar. This is Josh ‘Daddy’ K.
“To see where Sean has taken us [the Rams] in a short amount of time gives us a lot of confidence.
“The only thing on a par with the Super Bowl is Arsenal making the Champions League final.
“It is something we are very focused on.
“I have been telling my friends all week the Super Bowl is the biggest spectacle that we have here and the Champions League is something in Europe that we strive for and we look forward to being a part of in the future.”
It was all going so well, then he kind of let slip that he was thinking about the other kid who is more handsome than I, and he kind of got his wires crossed.
“I think he [Emery] and Sean are very comparable in the way they approach their craft on a daily basis,”
“There is a lot of data they break down. They are very active on the practice pitch. Their styles are similar even though they are half a world apart.
“Unai’s energy is contagious and his dedication is immense. They love what they do and they are leaders. The players want to run through a wall for them.”
Daddy has not been paying attention, has he? Styles the same? Really, Josh?
The whole interview is mildly amusing. These billionaires are so out of the loop in life that it took a Super Bowl final to acknowledge it’d be cool for Arsenal to make a Champions League final one day.
No message as to how we hit those heights, just a confident nod to Unai Emery that he’s got this, and he should spend that £40m he has in the summer really well.
JOKERS.
Denis Suarez has LANDED. Get excited people. This is him giving his new manager mad props.
“The main thing is that he dedicates a great deal of time to his work. He spends many hours and days watching videos of other teams and his own side.
“His training sessions are really demanding and he ensures that the team is completely prepared. But as I say, the biggest thing is the time he dedicates to his work. As we’d say in Spanish, he’s ‘un enfermo del fútbol’ – football mad.”
Emery is bloody football mad, isn’t he? Good times.
Really hope Denis is the real deal. He has a lot to prove. He’s a little lost in his career, he’s had spats of excellent play, but he’s never really found a place he can call home. He’s playing for a career with Emery, let’s hope he can deliver.
LOAN WITH A VIEW TO PERM, FAM.
Manchester City tomorrow is a huge game. Pep G and his team are recovering from a Newcastle United inflicted bloody nose. They need to find that winning gear against us to keep their title hopes alive this season.
Arsenal had a bit of a shocker against relegation fodder in midweek, but the eventual win turned out to be a dream ticket to TOP FOUR. We need to tighten up, because I have to tell you, City have a lot more to offer than Cardiff.
Emery needs to stop talking the talk about video analysis and show us the output of this meticulous planning we hear so much about.
But I tell you… if I see a high line with the defence we have on offer, I’m gonna bloody lose my mind. I will absolutely slam my fist on the table. Don’t doubt my commitment to aggression.
The downside to the win is that we could hand Liverpool the title. Can you imagine that? The internet memes? The southern Scousers burning their City shirts in the street? The endless coverage in the papers. Oh my, won’t it be awful… At least no one cares about City and their 23,000 fans.
Speaking of which, isn’t it amusing to see how empty the Spurs ground has been lately? I really, really hope they struggle to fill that toilet bowl of theirs. I also hope it’s quiet and too expensive for the average Spurs fan. No way they’re shifting £14 salt beef bagels there. Levels people, levels.
Right, that’s me done! Check out my solo pod. I say nice things about the comments section. Sorry to A&N who I missed but value dearly. xx
SPOTIFY | STITCHER | ITUNES | GOOGLE | POCKET CASTS
M gooner…
Why not eh…
Dissenter
“We play Ozil today, we lose. We don’t play Ozil, maybe we stand a weak chance of pulling a draw.”
Strange how this season the results tell a different story
When ozil plays , we don’t lose(usually win) and when he doesn’t play , we regularly lose.
Whether he plays today or not is irrelevant , it will depend how Emery sets up the side …..
City are not unbeatable, it has been proven this season in games v palace,Leicester and Newcastle that if you frustrate them and can get your noses in front then they are fallible.
Red
‘Cazorla was too.inconsistent and injury prone to be regarded a key player..’
He was easily our best player by some distance in all the 3 years he played for us. I was against us letting him go despite his injury concerns.
For me a defensive player is one who breaks up play and sets up counter attacks.
No.point in playing a defensive minded player if he can’t do these things.
Bamford
Kroenke is a useless sack of shit in terms of british club owners. I couldn’t care less of his nationality as it makes no difference with regards to the England national side. All he’s done is impede the growth of the club at a time when our rivals received serious investment and at a time when we had actual billionaire fans wanting to buy the club.
Fuck him and his lizardy appearance
He was easily our best player by some distance in all the 3 years he played for us. I was against us letting him go despite his injury concerns.
Tr7
What did that make Sanchez?
RH,
Tbh, considering CG’s penchant for national stereotyping, especially negatively towards Emery, I’m surprised CG hasn’t suggested we tie a fishing rod to Ozil’s back and have him chasing a dangling Bratwurst kebab around the pitch – that should get him pumped up!
Cazorla was no game changer just a best of a bad bunch player.
Un
Bamford and dissenter will back kronke to the bitter end as they believe he is not culpable for our slow decline since he arrived at the club.
Un nai
For me the 2nd best player 🙂
Sanchez scored goals , a few great ones but for me Cazorla was heartbeat of the side.
DB10
You, sir, are a gentleman. Here’s to Arsenal being great again. If Kroenke proves to be an impediment to this, I will be the first to call for his head — and I will do so in my best English. 😉
Cheers.
TR7
Cazorla alongside Coquelin was by far our best midfield pairing over the last 7/8 years of so since Cesc left.
Ozil hasn’t been as prolific in assists since cazorls ‘s injury problems ..very intelligent footballer who made the team tick and would create space for his team mates with his superb first touch and vision .
The cup final v Villa was the perfect performance by Arsenal on the big stage with Cazorla pulling the strings.
Pierre,
How exactly is Kronke responsible for our slow decline since he took over? It was Wenger running the show, Wenger identifying and paying over the odds for the trash we’re left with, it was Wenger and Gazidas letting players’ contracts run down, selling players under the market rate, sanctioning the ludicrous Ozil contract. None of that is on Kronke.
The demise and present situation of Arsenal is all on Wenger and Gazidas and has nothing to do with Kronke.
Wenger was ultimately responsible for our decline while the owner facilitated the sham
Kroenke’s responsibility comes down to allowing Wenger to continue for as long as he did. That aside he allowed the club to spend what it made – third net highest spend 2014 – up to the summer of 2018.
The real judgement will be what he does no he has complete ownership if he starts to pull money out of the club when we are desperate for funds then he’s not only a poor owner but a short sighted one as well.
Marc
It is likely he ends up elsewhere, probably a lot depends on whether we get UCL football as well. But it would be a great move, would offset losing Ramsey for free as well.
With Torreira, Rabiot and Guendouzi you would have the core of a midfield for years.
We could focus on spending money on the defence and landing a winger then.
Aston Villa were very weak opposition in the Cup Final and were relegated the following season.
I said at the time it was grossly irresponsible for the board to.hand vast sums of transfer money to a busted flush manager.
Pierre
‘The cup final v Villa was the perfect performance by Arsenal on the big stage with Cazorla pulling the strings.’
3-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Emirates was a classic performance as well. One of the rare instances when all the 3 class players -Cazorla, Alexis and Ozil -were on song. Coquelin was amazing too.
Rashford should have scored then. If utd win we go into the city match in 6th place, which considering our squad is the 6th best squad in the league we be at our level.
1 nil there it is. Rashford is brilliant and a great ball by Pogba who’s head and shoulders above anything we have In midfield.
Let’s hope the playerz don’t bring Wenger’s inferiority complex to the game.
Rashford finishes easily 8 minutes in. Told you Solksjaer has them humming.
It was Wenger who oversaw our decline — and who made every key decision throughout. Kroenke’s only mistake was placing full faith in Wenger.
Lol Bamford his ‘only’ mistake was gross negligence and a total lack of understanding of what it takes to run the club then. Agreed?
Trouble is this man utd squad has always been better than its league position would have you believe; Mourinho greatly stifled them with his negative management and footballing philosophy, contantly chopping and changing the lineup and leaving their best players out. Ole G has had a very easy job.
TR7
“3-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Emirates was a classic performance as well. One of the rare instances when all the 3 class players -Cazorla, Alexis and Ozil -were on song. Coquelin was amazing too.”
We also beat Leicester away 5-2 around that time and who was our striker in all of those games …….Theo Walcott.
Wenger then changed to giroud up top …always thought that was a strange /wrong decision…
Bamford, only mistake! Surely the one responsibility of an absentee owner is to ensure that your management team is competent and doing the necessary.
His ‘only mistake’ was therefore a whopper!
Bamford kroenke oversaw our decline. He renewed wenger a contracts again and again giving him all the power and money he could dream of whilst paying no attention whatsoever
What are the responsibilities of the owner of a football club in your opinion? You set the bar so painfully low when your only requirement for a job well done is not leaching loads of money from us.
Besides not being a leach he has done almost everything wrong. There is no ‘only’ when talking of the failures of the kronkes
China,
Tbf , it’s not gross negligence to trust in a man that 99% of the home support are blindly and deludedly singing ” there’s only one Arsene Wenger ” is there? Kronke trusted Wenger because he trusted the home support who enabled Wenger’s ineptitude by refusing to condemn him, but perversely, belligerently supported him instead.
Not Kronke’s fault.
He has since seen the light though, so let’s see how it goes from here.
Bennydevito
Of course Wenger was partly(a big part) to blame for our decline , but our decline did start from the peak ( invincibles) so a decline was to be expected and kronke could and should have pulled the plug on him at anytime in the last 5 years.
How do you get Ozil pumped up?
The same way OGS( 8/9 ) has got Pogba on side.
If any manager can’t get his players pumped up…. I would change the manager….
It’s 90% of his job description after all.!
Management is about taking tough decisions Benny. And it wasn’t 99% of fans singing one arsenal wenger. Even if you let it go for the earlier years which is more understandable, he actively intervened to give him a new contract and a pay rise after the same season when arsenal fans were protesting inside and outside the stadium – and even paid for a fucking plane with a wenger out banner to fly over the stadium There are no excuses. Do you think Stan wasn’t listening to his fans when he moved the rams to LA? He had an ambitious… Read more »
Pierre, Agreed. But like I said; when all Kronke sees is a stadium singing one Arsene Wenger with stupid untold banners saying football should be an art, he probably felt he’d be hounded out of England with flames and pitchforks at the hands of the frothing of the mouths Wenger supporters who he probably thought were the whole Arsenal support, had he sacked Wenger 5 years ago. If however we do only have £40m to spend this summer and it is proven, not speculated, that Kronke is taking money out to service the purchase of Usmanov’s shares, then the Kronke… Read more »
It’s not a company owner’s responsibility to be populist. It’s their responsibility to recognize the potential of the business and make sure you have the right people in place with the right incentives to realize that potential. Nothing less
And as tony said, by all means he can be absent. He doesn’t need to even check the scores. But he needs to be certain that the people he’s leaving in charge are maximizing the power of the business in his absence. He didn’t come close to doing that.
Gross negligence.
Chelsea 6 Arsenal 0 and Liverpool 5 Arsenal 1 were thrashings with Cazorla.playing in the heart of midfield.
China,
I somewhat agree but at that point it wasn’t costing Kronke any money, from hereon in it might be different.
It’s not gross negligence though China because as a business Arsenal weren’t losing Kronke any money.
Not gross negligence.
Invincible was not the peak, you muppet, it garnered one trophy no more….
China Negligence? Maybe. I agree with that to an extent. However, given that tens of thousands of Arsenal supporters — including a couple of regular posters here — continued to believe in Wenger as well, how negligent was Kroenke, really? Sure, you and I saw that Wenger was the problem —- this was obvious years and years ago — but if tens of thousands of people who have been watching Arsenal for 30-40 years still believed in the man, how is it that Kroenke was negligent to do so? Yes, I think he was negligent; I think anyone who was… Read more »
If Stan took tough decisions and booted wenger at a time when his popularity was high, the fans would’ve been pissed off, yes. But if he hired in really well, spent money well and we were competing properly for the league a year or two later the fans would’ve been totally on song
You mistake kroenke’s job with being to simplify pacify a large number of dumb fans. That isn’t his responsibility. Those same fans will be singing his praises if he makes tough decisions which pay off well for the club
He hasn’t done that
Stan isn’t in it for titles and trophies. I thought we all understood it when he said it himself . Problem was Wenger wasn’t in it for titles either. Just to keep his job by any means possible.
Is Arsenal really in crises, from a business standpoint? For all the silly anti-kroenke talks, we have £230 million cash in the bank so what’s all the pretentious BS about? The manager has been promised a significant transfer pours, he’s alluded to this publicly. The club needed to be restructured after the last regime, which is what is being done If I were Kroenke, I wouldn’t out one penny in. We can’t spend because of wage restrictions and FFP rules, no money from a sugar Dady will change that acutely. If Kroenke puts in 100 million right now, all it… Read more »
Wenger’s only mistake was placing blind faith in his squad.
Rest all is on the players.
Well said Dissenter.
People are saying £40m – where has this story come from apart from a dead hyperlink in the above post?
Dissenter how is it not a crisis when we were not able to buy a single player in January due to financial mismanagement? That may be the difference between 4th and 6th this season. The difference between winning the EL and not. At a time when the squad is desperately poor, we were literally unable to spend any money at a key time in the season. If we narrowly come 5th this May have cost us 30+m in CL revenue, further prestige in the ability to attract high end players and so on. The kitchen was on fire this January… Read more »
Leicester need to get Maguire’s enormous bonce on the end of a corner
Pricks giving Emery a hard time after letting Wenger off the hook for what seemed like a lifetime
Yeah Ramsey exactly the same init
Bamford you can’t blame wenger for not doing his job then let Stan off for exactly the same shit
This I think is Kroenkes POV.
If you own a business like Arsenal and dont spend a penny and it makes 100m a year profit. and you are told you need to spend 100m each year to possibly increase the profit to 200m. You would be asking WTF?!!!
Apart from the early goal, Leicester have been pretty good so far. Maguire, Chillwell and Barnes are all quality players we could do with in our squad that’s for sure.
China1, You’re just being emotional with your wild allegations that Kroenke has been negligent. He’s a businessman who clearly bought the club for profit, that’s indisputable. He’s bought into the self-sustaining philosophy of the club that predates him. He’s sad as much. He’s also said his goals aren’t glory/trophy seeking, mind-bogging for any true fan but for a business goal- his were different from the beginning. From a business standpoint the club has grown in value and has increased revenue since he’s been majority share holder/owner. He hasn’t been negligent in meeting his goals. You can bash him for not… Read more »
Bamford, he didn’t listen to the St Louis fans when he took the Rams back to LA. It’s faintly ridiculous the idea that a man with his resources and contacts would rely on the fans to dictate policy. We were qualifying for the CL which in his terms was like making the playoffs. His investment was doing well and he left it at that. If there was any transparency in the man, I’m sure he would acknowledge his negligence which has left us with a squad that is too weak, due to his trusting in a fading star who wasted… Read more »
It wssn’t just the fans but media outlets and ex players were backing Wenger until the bitter end.
Well said Dissenter Chelsea and Man City and clubs of that ilk- buy their trophies. ( via nefarious funds?!) Arsenal should always try and achieve their trophy goals,organically and through good and innovative husbandry/management. We have always been like that. Hopefully we always will be The Kroenkes , are more than acceptable owners of our club.( there is no evidence that they are extracting money from the club to pay off alleged debts, etc) They ,delightfully paid the most HMRC tax than any other club last tax year. Thought that be would be ‘music to the ears ‘ of all… Read more »
Wenger’s only mistake was placing blind faith in his squad.
Rest all is on the players.
The same crap squad that he bought himself and neglected to train and prepare adequately……Sure
CG
You do know that Kroenke is 0.000001% Spanish?
From. a footling POV, Kroenke owns mist of the blame because the buck stops on his table. However, Wenger deserves special mention because her had to know deep down he was done and abused the blind faith and man-crush that was placed in him by the owner. Wenger has always said he would have walked had we lost the FA cup to Hull city in 2013 so we know he’s capable of resigning. Why didn’t he do what SAF did for United? United wouldn’t have ever sacked SAF unless there was stark decline. He too could have stayed until he… Read more »
But China – Kronke wasn’t running the business, signing off the contracts or signing the players – Wenger and Gazidas were! How is that Kronke’s fault?
Pierre
I understand where you are coming from but Theo did not have the game to impact games on a regular basis. I remember Wenger giving Theo a run as our frontline striker but he flattered to deceice after a good start. Wenger had no other option to keep switching between him and Giroud.
Bob
Right, but I’m not saying he listened to the fans. I’m saying if all of these supposedly knowledgeable Arsenal fans still thought Wenger was capable of winning titles, why should Kroenke have not thought the same? Why should Kroenke have had a superior understanding of football than tens of thousands of Arsenal supporters who claim to understand football?
That’s the point I’m making.
***”From. a football POV, Kroenke owns most of the blame”
GlobalgunnerFebruary 3, 2019 14:50:41
This I think is Kroenkes POV.
If you own a business like Arsenal and dont spend a penny and it makes 100m a year profit. and you are told you need to spend 100m each year to possibly increase the profit to 200m. You would be asking WTF?!!!
>>>>>>>
Exactly.
Kroenke respected the best traditions of the club he was buying.
He left the all English BoD, a South-African-American Cambridge educated Gazidis and a world revered French manager in charge.
That’s the Arsenal way that Charlie Goerge is advocating for – putting arsenal people in charge.
Should he have intruded himself earlier?
The hideous hat wearing, clueless, environment destroying , animal-cruel American?
Sure, I guess
Problem is you lot have always wanted him to stay away and majority were still backing Wenger until the last season.
CG, regarding your comment on Kronke.
With you 100%.
Christ, I need to go and have a lay down! 🤣
‘For all the silly anti-kroenke talks, we have £230 million cash in the bank so what’s all the pretentious BS about? ‘
No, we had £230 million as on March 31,2018. I doubt we will have more than £100M come March, 2019. As for massive transfer budget prophecies, we have been there before many times.
MarcFebruary 3, 2019 14:55:13
CG
You do know that Kroenke is 0.000001% Spanish?
>>>>>>>>
🤣🤣🤣 I’m dying! 😅😅😅
Fans are paying customers and most were in favour of Wenger deciding his own fate so how the fuck one can blame an American who is ignorant of football is beyond me……
Exactly, Red.
TR7,
I don’t think anyone is suggesting massive transfer budget this summer, but more than £40m I would hope.
If not, serious questions will need to be asked of the board and Kronke as to what’s going on.
“Fans are paying customers and most were in favour of Wenger deciding his own fate so how the fuck one can blame an American who is ignorant of football is beyond me……”
Exactly
Kroenke was deemed ignorant of the game but he respected the values of the club he bought.
The fans chanting for Kroenke to infuse money were happy to see us make bad decisions one after another.
TR7 – I recall didn’t want us to sell Alexis, not even when city were offering £60 million for him.
There are lots of convenient criticisms.
Fans to blame for giving Kroenke the green light to extend Wenger’s contracts.
Cats on the pitch yesterday. Pigeons today…Or in other words The PL has a pussies and birds problem. Only solution…..Hit them with balls
benny
Bearing in mind Adidas are about to start giving us £60 million a year on the new shirt deal you’d of thought they’d want to see more than £2.99 and a bag of jelly babies spent this summer.
Global
I don’t mind the pussies it’s the cunts that piss me off.
TR7
We have spent plenty of money in the past, and we will spend plenty of money this summer. Your claim that we haven’t spent in past windows is simply untrue.
This talk of 40m is nonsense. We spent 70m this past summer, ffs.
I’ll be shocked if we don’t spend £100m or more. And if gambon’s analysis is correct, we should be able to spend £100m without even dipping into our cash reserves.
People need to chill with the baseless negativity and pessimism.
global
Be careful with the avian hating statement.
The other day I almost got lynched for saying “kill two birds with one stone”
I had to bamboozle my way bye sating it was derived from greek mythology.
What’s really strange now and what I really don’t understand is that during peak Wenger years the fans were happy that Kronke was an absent owner and didn’t meddle or take money in or out, and let us spend our own money and let Wenger call all the shots.
Now we have all the same Wenger fans who want to rewrite history and blame Kronke for our supposed demise and absolve Wenger of any blame, and now want Kronke to invest loadsssaaaa monnneyy otherwise he’s grossly negligent??
Fucking bizarre.
Dissenter
Yes, we’re apparently supposed to say “feed two birds with one scone” now.
Hilarious.
Team news
Prediction of scores lads?
Benny I’ve never wanted Stan to invest his own money.
Even now I don’t expect him too. Just to run (or let people who can) run the business properly is enough for me
Leicester pushing hard for an equaliser – cmon Leicester!!
Argggh they’ve just taken Madison off, not a good move.
China,
Agreed. We should know more this summer I hope.
Anyhow, It is what it is, i beseech all right-minded fans to back Emery during this transition period.
London
I feel like we need to know the XI first. But I’m not optimistic. If he plays 3-4-3, I think 2-0 City probably. But I need to see the XI.
Bennydevito
Was kronke the owner or part owner during the peak wenger years….
I thought team news came out 75 mins before kickoff?
Bamford,
Yes, and feed a fed horse!
Didn’t he arrive in 2007 …the start of our decline ….coincidence?
‘And if gambon’s analysis is correct, we should be able to spend £100m without even dipping into our cash reserves. People need to chill with the baseless negativity and pessimism.’ Spend £100 M without dipping in to our cash reserve ? I don’t know what does that even mean. Whatever money we spend,it impacts our cash reserves. As for baseless negativity, I am neither negative nor positive with regard to our transfer budget. I am pretty much immune to transfer talks and budget these days. I rarely talk about transfers. As per my understanding, our cash reserve should be close… Read more »
Pierre
Correlation is not causation. You have to demonstrate causation.
Football changed but Wenger did not change with it. Wenger and Wenger alone is responsible for Arsenal’s decline.
Bam
I would think this would be the game where we need to park the bus, invite pressure and hurt city on the counter. Call it negative I think its pragmatic. Its how united beat city.
Do not think we will though. Instead we will try and match city and play our own game and lose badly.
I still chuckle when I recall the stand-up artistes who said our squad is as good as United’s
United take off Sanchez and bring in Martial . We would haver brought in Iwobi.
Azed
“I thought team news came out 75 mins before kickoff”
You don’t get a lot right do you ..
azed
Team’s are usually announced an hour before kick off.
What’s really strange now and what I really don’t understand is that during peak Wenger years the fans were happy that Kronke was an absent owner and didn’t meddle or take money in or out, and let us spend our own money and let Wenger call all the shots.
Benny
Hahahaha.
Alright then….. I’d have a little flick through wenger’s “peak years” if I were you.
Come on Leicester fuck sake
Team news
Arsenal: Leno, Lichtsteiner, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal, Kolasinac, Guendouzi, Torreira, Iwobi, Lacazette, Aubameyang
Subs: Cech, Mavropanos, Elneny, Ramsey, Ozil, Suarez, Nketiah