Oh my, it’s close. I have butterflies in my stomach this morning. Apparently, that light adrenaline loosens the bowels, so be careful if you have a long train journey into work… carry a plastic bag just in case.
This is most consequential week in North London history (I mean, I’m trying to hype over here). There is so much riding on it. Arsenal hasn’t won a European trophy since the CWC in 1994. We’ve lost three since. Zaragoza, Gala and Barcelona. It’s Unai Emery’s chance to make history in his first season.
The added complication of the week is that the scum down the road also has a big game against Liverpool. How will our WIN affect them? Will it ramp up the pressure on them to deliver? Could a win actually work in our favour? I mean, don’t be stupid, a win will ALWAYS work in our favour.
The team looks to be practising hard. Shout out to the Arsenal.com for this nerve calming beauty.
The squad looks fit, they look summer tanned, and the manager looks calm. He owns this trophy, Wednesday night HAS to be his.
Chelsea appear to be up to ‘mind games’ because Kante has travelled with the squad. I mean, if this were a Conte 11, I’d be bothered, but a more advanced Kante doesn’t quite add the same punch to a game of football as he used to sitting deeper.
I’m more concerned about Hazardaryan
It would appear my elite organic marketing campaign to raise awareness of his TRUE heritage did impact culture like I’d hoped. I feel like Yaxley Lennon right now. I deserve a milkshake thrown at my advertising credentials. Did the liberal elite of Chelsea shadow ban my social adverts? Or were my adverts just shit? Who knows, but I’m deeply suspicious about how my work could have failed.
… and really, he is the difference maker out there on Wednesday. The one truly world-class player. The big question is whether he’s up for it. Can a Chelsea squad that’s already seen their CL bonus paycheck muster the energy for one last roll of the dice in Baku for a midnight kickoff?
Oh, I also don’t like the idea that Hudson-Odoi could do something. The Englishman has a great story, would hate for him to turn it on.
Who knows. Part of me suspects the ultimate fuck you prize for Sarri would be to win the cup and fuck off the Juventus, so I wouldn’t rule out a big game.
Interesting to note that Chelsea has players in their squad that have won the trophy before, so the Europa magic doesn’t sit solely with our manager. David Luiz, Azpi and John Terry sure to be thrilled to be part of the game again.
The important issue of the day for us is our defence. Which will show up, the shit one, or, the shit one? It’s likely we won’t keep a clean sheet, having only managed that twice away from home all season… the second most important click moment has to be Auba and Lacazette. They are going to have to take their chances when they arrive.
I know that ‘feelings’ don’t matter when it comes to football… but I feel weirdly confident. Everything is rolling out way, I’m not sure Chelsea are a reliable team these days and I think we have ample firepower to cause damage if our big names show up on the day.
We’ll have to see, I’ll be back with a BANGER of a preview tomorrow.
BIG LOVE x
WengerEagle
Yes, I think we will sign 2 CBs
My point is, we wont be signing 2 CBs that are 20 or under.
IMO, if we sign Saliba, we will be signing a 24-27 year old CB as well.
Of course the Saliba talk could be nonsense anyway.
When are the Madrid fans going to turn their ire on Florentino Perez.
His poor decision making is costing that club so much.
gambon
You’ve also got the fact that Adidas have just given us a huge new shirt deal. You might think they’d expect us to put a couple of new players in them to help increase sales.
“When are the Madrid fans going to turn their ire on Florentino Perez.
His poor decision making is costing that club so much.“
Costing them what precisely?
Seem to recall them sort of owning Europe for 3 years..
WE In terms of conceding 51 goals, I think its a lot more than just not having great CBs. I would say the issues are: – Our Full Backs are absolutely terrible – Constant formation changes – Our lack of ability to hold onto the ball across the defence – Too slow in midfield – Terrible wide players allows our opponents to push up more than they should But yes, we clearly need to revamp at CB. I think you will see Koscielny stay one more season to help the transition. Especially because Holding is coming back from injury. In… Read more »
That’s what funny about all of this talk about being financially handicapped with Stan penny-pinching, absolutely true in past years but since 2014 it just hasn’t been the case. We’ve just been incredibly poor at spending significant sums of money. Alexis Sanchez, Xhaka, Mustafi, Lacazette, Aubameyang, Ozil all cost over 30 million. And our team of the last two seasons has been significantly worse than any of our previous sides that we spent breadcrumbs on. Shut down pretty quickly the myth that Wenger could have done great things if he had have had substantial funds available to him over the… Read more »
WE
It’s actually amazing the more Wenger spent the worse we got.
“You’re so wrong that I don’t know where to begin.” Dissenter: You are entitled to your opinion. However I must point out that the evidene of Stan’s ownership is little different to a hedge fund. For example, he has taken very little money out of the club, despite being the controlling shareholder for years and now 100% owner. Why spend £700m or so (it might be more) buying an asset which pays no return ? It would be like keeping your savings under the bed. Please don’t tell me Kroenke bought Arsneal because he loves the Holloway Road or that… Read more »
“Why spend £700m or so (it might be more) buying an asset which pays no return ?”
Why buy a house?
You get no return from it.
Michael,
Except that Kroenke is, and sees himself, as a sports franchise holder, presumably adding value (not quite sure how in the case of Arsenal, in the absence of investment and detailed oversight) to his franchises.
And he doesn’t have investors to account to.
“Shut down pretty quickly the myth that Wenger could have done great things if he had have had substantial funds available to him over the years.”
I can list a few posters who disagree with this
gambon Do you like Umtiti then along with Saliba? Yep I agree, look at how Matip went from looking hopeless in a Liverpool backline before the arrival of VVD and better CM players not to mention the maturation of TAA and Robertson to looking every bit as good a CB partner as you’ll find in the PL. My concern is that we won’t be assertive enough in our transfer pursuits once again this summer, we can’t afford to be passive which was our MO under AW, reactive and last-minute which always set such a negative tone for the start of… Read more »
Gazidis midas touch moving on two Milan legends.
Kroenke pulled a blinder with Arsenal.
Literally sit back and watch it appreciate, like buying a Brownstone in Notting hill circa 92.
Receding,
Wenger is gone.
Let them disagree if it comforts them.
Do you not see us signing more than 1 centre half?
I personally think it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that you could see more than two. Mustafi will be sold Chambers will be sold and it’s possible both Koscielny and Monreal will be off and then you factor in Holding is still injured. As to who they’ll target I’m leaning towards Konate, Saliba and Hermoso than the likes of Manolas and maybe Umtiti
We actually need two wide starters pretty badly, we’re far too narrow and overly reliant on getting any kind of width from Kola, AMN and Bellerin, none of whom offer much in the creative department beyond occasionally barreling past their marker on the outside and whipping in hopeful crosses/cut-backs.
Michael
You’re entitled to your opinion too. I’m happy to disagree with you.
A Hedge fund aggregates money from thousands or people, mainly pension funds from large public unions and country investment funds. The contributors don’t have the time for all the football drama.
That’s why the AC Milan owners hired Gazidis; consolidate, Stabilize and Sell…for a big commission on the final sale.
Kroenke declined to sell for a profit to Usmanov and is in it for the long term.
Pedro,
Gazidis is a velvet-gloved, silver-tongued assassin, executing the orders of his hedge fund masters.
The trouble is, when he was at Arsenal, Kroenke told him not to pull the trigger.
WE
Im not sure about Umtiti.
I know one of the physios at Colney, so if it happens im gonna ask him how reliable medicals are these days.
I actually think we will go out and get our business done properly this summer.
Raul doesnt seem the type to dither and wait. Regardless of whether you liked our business last summer, we were fast and effective in getting it done.
Marc
A pretty damning correlation isn’t it?
As I have said before, he genuinely lost his eye for talent which was his biggest strength back in the day about a decade ago. Barring Koscielny who certainly had his teething issues, Samir Nasri was the last signing that caught the majority of us off-guard and turned out to be a gem.
We spent that whole summer being linked to Hatem Ben Arfa and I remember being gutted when we missed out on him, hadn’t heard nearly as much about Nasri.
Gambon,
During part 2 of the interview with Raoul and Vinai at Arsenal.com, Raoul really came to life when talking about transfers.
I remember him beaming when talking about transfers and saying they were “fun”.
He also said he absolutely hated last minute deals, even if sometimes late completing deals were unavoidable
Are you telling me club legend Arsene Wenger could have left without taking 10 million? No way I won’t hear it.
gambon
Yeah that is true, all our business was done quite early IIRC.
What kind of rough figure can we expect if we win the EL against if Chelsea beat us?
Would anyone take the vice President of cunts United Sergio Ramos on a free transfer?
No idea.
I said, I think we will spend about £70m without CL, maybe £100m with it.
But a lot depends on outgoings.
We have a good sized squad, so will need to know we can shift a player before we buy.
Azed,
A Ramos/Sokratis Central defensive pairing would represent a next level degree of shithousery….
Flo Perez coming out and saying that Ramos asked to leave the club for free to go to China where he had a serious offer on the table.
Hopefully a similarly bizarre offer comes in for Ozil, one can dream. I’ll contribute to the one-way flight to Guangzhou myself.
Ramos was refused a free to China that him and his agent wanted so I highly doubt we’d get him for free. Also no he’s a cunt and declining these days
Medicals can catch pretty much all the structural damage these days, provided they are done with the full player history in mind. These days, it is impossible to hide details of injuries because every player is insured…insurance companies won’t issue policies until they know enough.
The subjectivity comes in when the experts have to prognosticate from the what is obvious. That’s why Liverpool wrongly turned down Nabil Fekir last summer; their experts made the wrong prognosis. Now they have to battle city and Madrid for the same player who will cost them a lot more now.
azed
No chance of any interest on his end, he’s already earning more at Real Madrid than he ever could here.
He’s completed the game multiple times at club and international level, he’s only interested in making fat stacks at this stage. The offer from China must have been obscene, near a million a week wouldn’t shock us.
“A Ramos/Sokratis Central defensive pairing would represent a next level degree of shithousery….”
And will still leak goals
Hello all
Nervous time is right Pedro.
Been thinking of this game with increasing frequency.
My gut is telling me to we win this one late.
My concern is falling behind by 2 goals and not having enough time to make it.
Seems the boys are ready by the photos. Lets hope that Emery has a master plan.
Sarri knows we will tabs on Hazard so look for him to pass and move early to get the return pass near or in the box
This will be a close game for sure
Yeah, realistically from selling a few of the squad off we could raise another 50-70 million giving us a decent sized budget of 120 lower end and 170 million higher end depending on tomorrow.
If spent wisely, adding a smart freebie/loanee or two we could go into the new season with a far stronger side and actually look to have a memorable season.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48433820
Looks like Spurs are spending this summer.
Ramos has lost his pace and all he has left these days is that renowned nastiness.
Madrid need to let him leave…for free.
He’s played his heart out for Madrid in the 14 season’s he’s been there, no one can accuse him of ever holding anything back. He scratched, fouled and dived all the way for them. He even did that to Seville his childhood club several times and the Sevilla fans absolutely hate him there now.
He should have been allowed to leave on a free. He’s earned it.
Dissenter goes crackers over Umtiti lol
Probably a combination of him being a Barcelona player and a past French international.
Apart from injury concerns Umtiti doesn’t have any real standout defensive features about his game.
And what he is noted for is to be good on the ball for a CB. Typical Barca CB. Is this what Arsenal really need at this point?
And no stand out mental attributes either. He doesn’t come across as a player with any great character. He’s just sort of there.
I actually think who we target in the full back position this summer could say alot about Emery and what he’s trying to do.
Marko avert your eyes lad, Lo Celso may be heading to the scum.
Couple of good fouls on Hazard might mess with his head and take him out of the game.
Ishola
Regarding Umtiti;
“And no stand out mental attributes either. He doesn’t come across as a player with any great character. He’s just sort of there.”
Yes
He’s just sort of there…all the way to Barca as starter…all the way to the world cup as starter….—–He’s just sort of there”
He’s an excellent all round central defender.
The real question should be, what doesn’t he do well enough?
I’m with you Ishola.
Varane was the leader of the back four in the WC and the real anchor, I like Umtiti but he doesn’t strike us as a leader of men and has wilted under pressure for Barca in the past. Also isn’t amazingly physically gifted or intelligent.
Spuds spending the Ericksen money already.
Good for them.
I hate Ramos. Dirty player, cheater
Lo Celso will cost a pretty penny though, Betis want closer to 88m pounds which is the release clause.
Mental that they just bought him for 20m, set to make an incredible profit there.
I thought Andre Gomes to Spurs was done.
There tabloids don’t remember what the wrote yesterday.
I’m not sure I believe that Spurs would spend 60 million euros on Lo Celso. I think they’re either trying to drum up some interest or his price. They’re 400+ million over on a stadium. A champions league final doesn’t wipe that away
These tabloids
Was it you getting all hot and bothered by Andre Gomes Dissenter?
Think Marko is fond of him too.
Well West Ham as it stands are the only side interested in him, bid a measly 18m for him.
WE I’m gutted that WE didn’t loan him last summer with an option to buy. He’s brilliant. I suppose diamond eye wasn’t in tune to such a deal
anyone want to take a gander on the outcome tomorrow?
Arsenal 2-1
Marko
“I’m not sure I believe that Spurs would spend 60 million euros on Lo Celso. I think they’re either trying to drum up some interest or his price. They’re 400+ million over on a stadium. A champions league final doesn’t wipe that away”
A final appearance in the CL is worth about 90-100 million
The didn’t spend last season and have significant money coming from outward players transfers.
Don’t forget that Poch is publicly whinnying so they have no choice.
Dont really like Andre Gomes
Dont see anything that he’s good at.
He does a bit of everything, but I think at the top level you need to do a few things brilliantly.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/11726812/unai-emerys-first-year-in-charge-of-arsenal-assessed-ahead-of-europa-league-final-against-chelsea
Worth a glance, Sky Sports piece on Emery’s first season
Think Marko is fond of him too.
Not particularly I just thought that him and Umtiti for Lacazette would have been a deal worth considering given they’d both start for us
Marko
Lo Celso and Guedes both.
Still scratching my head as to why PSG didn’t include buy-back clauses on them.
Guns of SF –
Us only conceding 1 goal would be nothing short of miraculous. I’m going for 4-3 to the Arse! Expecting both sides to attack, and not defend particularly well. I’ll take a win any which way though. Substance over style at this point.
have significant money coming from outward players transfers.
Ah yes the 100 million for Erikson. I just don’t see it. I’m not expecting an austerity period like ours but I just don’t see Spurs buying 60 million CM’s just yet
Wenger Eagle
I like Gomes, especially his aggression, tackling and forward driving runs. He would have filled that Ramsey role easily.
Don’t underestimate the Westham backroom, they bested us last summer with a few astute signings. They signed Balbuena for 5 million and Issa Diop for 22 million.
Jamie
that would be awesome…. a real old fashioned shoot out!
I get this funny feeling Ozil might get on the score sheet somehow
I would have felt really good about tomorrow’s game had Ramsey been fit to play.
A lot hinges on Ozil because now he has to play since Mykhi decided to do a good ole’ boycott.
Think its interesting to see where Rabiot goes.
Hes a twat, but he is an elite CM. Im really surprised he doesnt yet have a destination.
Drastic improvement is required. Arsenal have systemic problems in defence and they are plagued by individual mistakes, too. According to Opta, they rank top both for errors leading to shots (28) and errors leading to goals (12) this season – joint with relegated Fulham in both departments.
Individual mistakes and errors can be addressed by replacing the individuals who are mainly responsible for said errors and mistakes. That alone will be a significant help
Barcelona would be my guess.
Anfield showed the world that Busquets and Rakitic are both well over the hill. Vidal is long past it which just leaves Arthur in there.
They have De Jong coming in, Rabiot is needed as well.
“Individual mistakes and errors can be addressed by replacing the individuals who are mainly responsible for said errors and mistakes. ”
What happens if you replace an error-maker, with another error-maker?
Also, I think it was 28 shots from errors, but about 450 shots faced overall.
The errors are just the tip of the iceberg.
There is something fundamentally wrong with this team.
Even teams like Huddersfield seem to get 12 odd shots on goal against us.
Surely Barca will sign a forward (Giezmann?)
if so, I dont see them making more big signings after DeJong, DeLigt and Griezmann. That would be £230m already.
gambon
Look no further than he games we played Mykhi together with Ozil in the middle. Then factor in Kolasinac, Iwobi and all the other players who have no defensive adroitness.
Anyone will get lots of shots against that type of core.
Too many player make individual errors at Arsenal.
The defensive stats from the article are a worrying read, however taking the positives the record and mentality in the big six games has improved (hopefully more to come also) and I am glad that Emery intends to make us tactically flexible. I mean for how many years did we lament the same approach on the pitch no matter what, more often than not crying out for some attention to the opposition. Changing shape each game may be hard work but I believe it can be done with more intelligent players. It may also lack an identity that can be… Read more »
We were talking about Le Celso on here when he was at PSG.
Why no-one talk about Junior Firpo another Betis player?
He’s the deal on the left side.
Main position is LB but can play further up.
He did have injury problems season just gone but overall injuries not a great problem in his career.
Man United apparently sniffing round him for 25-30m euros. Arsenal should be more than interested as well.
Is Rabiot not available on a free?
WengerEagle
No-one is free.
If a player has no transfer fee, he asks for huge wages.
Signing Rabiot will be the same as signing a £40m central midfielder.
I think he will be a Man Utd player next season.
Rennes will demand £44million for their star man Ismaila Sarr this summer, according to reports. ——-Metro
Lol, they can keep him.
What happens if you replace an error-maker, with another error-maker? I mean if that happens then you might as well sack the scouts and who does the signings. I realize that there’s glaring issues still to be addressed throughout the squad but one of the biggest reasons for our poor defensive performances is that we don’t have smart athletic pacy CB’s. We’ve bought poorly in that department for years. Sure having more control and ball retention in midfield and having wingers that scare the opposition on the counter attack would help too but a dumb player is a dumb player… Read more »
Rabiot is asking for Alexis Sanchez money as wages
Even United will balk at paying such a large salary, after all what is “free” is never really free.
gambon
True but Vidal and Rakitic are already on lofty wages, if they get rid of one of them it opens up a berth to pay Rabiot.
He seems pretty elitist in his attitude, reckon he thinks that he’s too good for United.
“Hes a twat, but he is an elite CM. Im really surprised he doesnt yet have a destination.”
I believe Rabiot is asking way more than what he’s worth and the fact that no one has snapped him up makes me believe most clubs think he is not worth the trouble.
Even Juve snapped up Ramsey since January.
Sign Firpo and demote Kola to the bench.
Done and instant improvement on the left hand side.
Free is still free, you still have to pay De Ligt or M’Bappe their mammoth wages even when you spend 100m plus on them.
Why no-one talk about Junior Firpo another Betis player?
We were linked with him too. This is what I’m talking about the full back signings to me will say a lot about what Emery is going to be about next season. Sign up someone like Grimaldo or Firpo or Atal that says something more exciting to me than Meunier or keeping AMN and Kolasinac as the full backs
WengerEagle
Free isnt free when it comes to top players though.
Agents are smart enough to know what their clients are worth.
A £50m player that can command £120k per week will come at a total cost of £80m over 5 years.
When theyre free they just ask for the £80m as wages and signing fee.
It seems St Etienne want 26 million and a one year loan deal for Saliba.
So essentially we are signing a defender for the 2020-2021 season.
That has to be another one to walk away from.
What’s wrong with Meunier?
Theo Hernandez is another up and coming LB talent, Lucas’ little bro.
I would be after Kieran Tierney. Think he has a high ceiling, and he cant really stay in Scotland any longer.
Weagle
Not really free mate, his sign on fee will be big and his wages will not be high, they’ll be sky high. Rabiot won’t be on less than 250k a week as far as I’d bet.
It’s why more and more players are dragging contracts, money is simply going to them where it would normally go to the selling club. The transfers themselves aren’t much of a difference ‘cheaper’.
Ziyech is the real deal,just about the only player that can get my knickers in a twist this summer if we can manage a move
Reminds me of Mahrez except he’s more vibrant,aggressive and has a higher ceiling
watched him against spuds and he was quite frankly mesmerizing,think he’s just waiting to fully explode
Hopefully we’re in his ears
gambon
How is that different to a player that actually costs the 50m transfer fee though? Will he also not want the 120k wages or whatever the figure is.
The sign-on fee I get but that’s rarely more than 5-10 million.
Marko
People talk about physicality and pace needed in this team well Firpo is the man to install that in this side. The guy is rapid and strong gets up and down the flank and not only contributes offensivey but is much sounder defensively than Kola.
Only concern with him is these injuries he picked up this year but he came back and played Betis last few matches.
WengerEagle
My point is, if Barca spend £230m on DeLight, DeJong and Griezmann, I wouldnt envisage them buying a £50m CM
Which is why I dont think they’ll sign Rabiot.
There’s an abundance of top class LB options on the market.
Hope to fuck that we sign one that gives us genuine threat down the flank. Haven’t had that since Cole, Monreal to a lesser degree.
Ishola
Buying from Spain is difficult
They have these exorbitant clauses built into the contracts.
good to see spurs bidding £53m on one player while they are paying for their stadium
i expect we wont spend 53m in total this summer
Coutinho, Dembele, Malcom
Which one of them would Barca be letting go especially if they sign Griezmann?
Vic
“Ziyech is the real deal,just about the only player that can get my knickers in a twist this summer if we can manage a move”
Mhiki out, Ziyech in would be great for Arsenal this summer.
CC
Yeah although it’s sneaky, it’s a clever strategy when you think about it with players/agents getting paid and well as far greater freedom for players to assess their future rather than getting bogged down into long-term contracts and essentially being at the club’s mercy unless they have a release clause.
It’s pretty much every man for himself nowadays and I don’t see anything wrong with that, player’s careers are very fleeting. 15 years if they are lucky.
azed
I cannot see them keeping Coutinho
The fans have turned on the lad. They made him cry almost everything he played at home in April. He made the mistake of taunting the too.
Selling Coutinho eases off the pressure.
gambon
Yeah probably right on that one.
Griezmann is a strange one, as good as he is how does he fit in without dislodging Suarez and Messi? Both are still elite.
Dembele is only getting better too, and then you have the 140m headache that is Coutinho.
Dissenter “Buying from Spain is difficult They have these exorbitant clauses built into the contracts.” Well as said seen price quoted of 25-30m euros for Firpo. There is a weakness in him though in that he is not the best crosser of the ball but he has a good eye for the througball and overall passing. He would be a LB that rather run in a straight line and whip balls in from wide would dribble high into the opposition areas and come inside a lot and he has pace to burn this guy. Very physical player. As an overall… Read more »
Weagle
Yea it really is, that’s why clubs have got to take a really disciplined stance against ANY player getting within two years of their contract closing. None of this gentleman’s agreement stuff, or just blows up when China or wherever else puts 300k on the table when you’re a 90-120k player
Look at Welbz, there’s 20 mil walking away. But from his POV he’ll maybe get 2/3 mil plus a wage hike from 100 to maybe 120k a week. What’s he done the past year? Nothing. Nice if you can get it.