I cannot tell you how bloody good I feel today.
This summer has felt like 1996 all over again. That summer we landed Dennis Bergkamp and David Platt, which I think was pretty close to us onboarding Nike sponsor as a kit?
Back then, you used to have to hang around the bottom shelves like a perve.
‘Excuse me sir, what are you doing’
‘Nothing mate… nothing’
There was an absolute art to reading all the transfer gossip across 5 papers without buying one. I was the master of it. In fact, I would say I took a paper round at 11 years old purely to land a deep velvety fix of transfer gossip every morning. The other boys smoked and stole chocolate, I landed my kicks reading about what Arsenal were up to.
Think about how good this summer has ended up…
All the boring ITKs have had to hibernate. They’re scraping the barrel informing us about medicals they aren’t privy to. Literally no one, bar the UNTRUSTED MSM had the goods this summer, and it’s so fucking great. All these muppets that have a voice on Arsenal because they guessed a transfer correctly in 2014 need to delete their accounts and take up a new hobby.
Anyway, Raul has put on a show this summer after a really poor start.
He absolutely bodied the fans who savaged him at the Q&A, despite knowing what was coming.
He trashed the agenda narrative I was formulating about him being a total chance who couldn’t deliver.
He took us to the Darkside with the big agents.
Think about it… we literally didn’t know ANYTHING about Nicolas Pepe. He has been a Le Grove pin-up all season. He was going to be the… ‘we’re rolling with Perisic, United sign Pepe, I hate football’, and now the Spanish papers are perving over our attacking lineup.
Big question for you, is Raul bigger than David Ornstein? He could be, he could be.
We haven’t even spoken about Dani Ceballos. He’s somehow managed to take a backseat in all of the madness. He’s a superb loan deal for us. He’s highly technical, which couldn’t always be said of Ramsey. He’s grown up in a winning environment. He can pass, shoot, move the ball through midfield at pace, and hopefully offer us lots of creativity. We just need him to hit the ground running, adapting to the pace of the league is going to be tough for him.
The Tierney deal will no doubt go through and I’m sure we’ll see something in the centre back department move as we try desperately to ship out Mustafi and Koscielny.
I think the other important point the fans miss is this: Players LOVE new players at the club. There was often talk in the Wenger days that big names on big money disrupt the dressing room. Not true. Big players want to play with big names. Don’t tell me Auba and Laca aren’t over the moon about the two new attacking additions. The new energy is also a threat to Ozil and his name at the club. He’s going to have to perform for his absence to matter this season. The whole summer now feels electrified, which will also work wonders for the fans in the stands.
The most important part of this summer for me isn’t really this year, because I still think we’re going to have a tough time of it… it’s what this summer means for next season, and the season after that, and the one after that.
There seems to be a clear strategy emerging and it’s not Dortmund+, it looks more like Bayern Munich.
We’re picking up elite youth talent (Gnabry > Saliba), we’re hunting down value from major clubs (Thiago > Dani Ceballos (bit of an ish here, but we did try to buy him)) and we’re splashing big on the right young players (Leroy Sane > Nicolas Pepe).
We’re bringing people into the fold that have Arsenal DNA. We are trying to mold the club more in the identity of London/England with select youth players.
So basically, we’re still behaving like a Champions League club and the vision is go big but in a smart way.
In normal business, if you fail to spend your budget, you don’t get it back. Maybe that’s what Raul has been up to?
That’s why this season really is important for Emery. People have made a lot of excuses for him. Statistics don’t lie. Drab football doesn’t lie. The table does lie, but it doesn’t let you off the hook luck wise two seasons running. Emery has to fix the defence, he has to implement a better style of football and he has to win another deal next year… or it’s back to Sevilla for him.
Big year ahead people, I’m very excited.
x
Freddie
Being vague is another one of your aspersions, I’m consistent in my views and they change pending change in circumstance.
Suppose what you refer to as “squirming”, is the ability to call bs, and back it up, on the claims made by your ilk. Shocker
I’ve told you to carry on with your day a couple of times after you decided to wander in and involve yourself in something unrelated to you. Go stick a film on, Toy Story should entertain you for a while.
It feels good to know, for once, that the people running the club are no longer lying through their teeth. We had that for years with the Fraud & the Bald Fraud, so people could be forgiven for thinking Raul was doing the same thing. But he’s actually doing what he said he would. Fair play to him.
Rumpel Being vague is another one of your aspersions, I’m consistent in my views and they change pending change in circumstance. Suppose what you refer to as “squirming”, is the ability to call bs, and back it up, on the claims made by your ilk. Shocker I’ve told you to carry on with your day a couple of times after you decided to wander in and involve yourself in something unrelated to you. Go stick a film on, Toy Story should entertain you for a while.” There is so much bs contained in this post I can’t even be bothered… Read more »
Our unpredictability last year got us nowhere but instead got the players more confused that we had cases of players asking fellow players what formation are we playing. You wanna talk of unpredictability? You can be unpredictable when you have the resources to be and not when you don’t have the resources and emery should have known better, shouldn’t he? I bet you disagree, your forte. Were Chelsea, man utd, barca, RM and other winning clubs unpredictable over the years they’ve been winning? What of Liverpool last season? You could close your eyes and pick out their first eleven and… Read more »
Eduardo
Gazidis was spoken of earlier, as you say an outright liar and only in it for his salary. He had no clue what he was doing and didn’t care to boot. Him coupled with an ailing latter era Wenger were sending this club backwards and it took the Kroenke’s too long to act on it.
Now things appear to be moving forward finally and as Pedro has noted, Raul and others at the club deserve credit for how the transfer window is progressing. Two more still to come in I think! (Tierney & central defender).
£80m for Maguire, fair play to Leicester. I bet a large chunk of that fee was demanded up front too.
Pierre, absolutely your prerogative to pick that formation, expected you to fit Ozil in of course but no point in discussing formations and players until you’ve been clear on who you’d select. As already mentioned I don’t think we can afford anyone in the #10 role with our dodgy defence plus Xhaka who provides not so much a defensive shield but more of a defensive tissue. I like Willock but in that set-up you’d have a young prospect as our only vaguely defensive player outside our actual (poor) defence. We’d probably outscore them but surely you have to at least… Read more »
“Our unpredictability last year got us nowhere but instead got the players more confused that we had cases of players asking fellow players what formation are we playing” Iwobi asked someone what we are playing, a question he could have asked when nodding to the assistant when receiving instructions prior to coming on…his thickness should not remove the need for variety “You wanna talk of unpredictability? You can be unpredictable when you have the resources to be and not when you don’t have the resources and emery should have known better, shouldn’t he? ” Injuries lad, one day you can… Read more »
Maguire for £80m is bonkers but Utd can afford it, that’s the bottom line. If you were a Utd fan you’d probably be prepared to pay that just to see the back of one of Jones or Smalling. Doesn’t really matter if you close the gap and make top four by either offensive or defensive means, it’s the result that counts. Now if we improve at the back as well we’ll be in a pretty good position to finish ahead of them once again.
Freddie
Further detailing your inability to grasp what’s actually going on. You’re out at sea on a blow up unicorn thinking you’re clued up and prepared for it all – state of it.
Go for a walk you absolute dobber
A team that would probably get relegated if they got promoted? You just enjoying muddling things up just to paint yourself as some perfect fortune teller who’s always right. Since when does the relegation of a team justify a player being shity?? Is bielik the only player at debby? Wasn’t wijnaldium picked from a relegated Newcastle? You never thought maybe bielik went to debby to have a play time? Good lawd…
By the way Vickingz Bielik made 31 appearances for Charlton last year, you don’t need to make an appearance for Arsenal to command a reasonable fee
brahim Diaz moved to Madrid for 15.5m pounds rising to 22m and i bet you cannot remember a game he played for City.
Again Bielik moving to Derby for 7.5m rising to 10m doesn’t tell us much. Is what happens after Derby that should be the pointer. You are gloating way too early
“A team that would probably get relegated if they got promoted? You just enjoying muddling things up just to paint yourself as some perfect fortune teller who’s always right. Since when does the relegation of a team justify a player being shity?? Is bielik the only player at debby?”
Again the point flew right over your head. The point is where did Bielik move to..answer Derby County. How many Derby players can get into the Arsenal squad let alone the starting eleven.
I mean if you want to argue do it smartly oga
You like an argument yet your points are all over the place.
Well, my name ain’t pasted as the one who likes argument on le-grove. You wanna know who? Check the mirror.
Those clubs would kill for having pep, says RH. Lolzzz
“Wasn’t wijnaldium picked from a relegated Newcastle? You never thought maybe bielik went to debby to have a play time? Good lawd…”
Yes picked up by Liverpool, you see the caliber of team he moved to was an indication of his quality. Bielik had to drop down a division for game time after many deemed him good enough for Arsenal. What does that tell you??
Yes Man United, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Barcelona will sack whiever is their present manager for Pep Guardiola …not even an argument
“Well, my name ain’t pasted as the one who likes argument on le-grove. You wanna know who? Check the mirror.”
Stick to the issue at hand and stop looking for backup ….yawns
The point is where did Bielik move to..answer Derby County. How many Derby players can get into the Arsenal squad let alone the starting eleven. I mean if you want to argue do it smartly oga
No point having a conversation with an amorphous being adjusting to whatever shape just to appear all knowing. I stated my opinion, you jumped on it just to have orgasm arguing. You need more orgasm? I think jwl should come up now, ain’t today Friday?
“No point having a conversation with an amorphous being adjusting to whatever shape just to appear all knowing. ”
You sound hurt and defeated. Pele
“I stated my opinion, you jumped on it just to have orgasm arguing. You need more orgasm? I think jwl should come up now, ain’t today Friday?”
On the contrary, you did not state an opinion. You gloated that Bielik moving for 7.5m to the championship somehow shamed the ITK’s who thought he won’t make it here
How anyone can criticise outgoing transfer business at the club at the moment is beyond me. Sanllehi’s in the process of getting £130 million worth of players (and I’m not including Ceballos or a CB in that) with a £45 million budget.
I think he knows what he’s doing, if we only got £10 million for Bielik – I very much doubt there was more out there.
Yes picked up by Liverpool, you see the caliber of team he moved to was an indication of his quality. Bielik had to drop down a division for game time after many deemed him good enough for Arsenal. What does that tell you?? It tells me arsenal ain’t parading her reserve team players, arsenal ain’t giving them game time. I asked you how many games did bielik play for arsenal, you couldn’t answer but I got to know about odoi even before sarri got to Chelsea and I don’t watch Chelsea reserve team games. So, how did I get to… Read more »
“It tells me arsenal ain’t parading her reserve team players, arsenal ain’t giving them game time. I asked you how many games did bielik play for arsenal, you couldn’t answer but I got to know about odoi even before sarri got to Chelsea and I don’t watch Chelsea reserve team games. So, how did I get to know about odoi? Same way others got to know him.” Maybe because these reserve team players are not as good as you believe they are. Some things are really simple, you are making it sound like the academy is littered with world class… Read more »
Ginter is apparently wanted by Spurs and Atl Madrid, Borussia Monchengladbach wants €60m for him,they’re prepared to pay 35.
Remember when he was linked to us before he went to Dortmund, could have picked him up on the cheap and we wouldn’t have the crisis we have now at CB. So many mistakes made.
I mean if we just sold Bielik for 7.5m to Everton i might understand this boring back and forth, he didn’t even move to a premier league team ffs. Or a top flight La Liga or Bundesliga team. He dropped down a division. Just like Sebastian Larson , Craig Eastmond etc before him
Freddie Ljungberg
Ginter is nothing special. We can do better
Dream
He’s no Mustafi either that’s for sure.
I’m not saying we should sign him now, I don’t think he’s worth that much, but back in the day it was less than 10m if I remember correctly when we were linked with him.
Since then we’ve fielded one underwhelming CB after the other, he would definitely have been an improvement on that.
Freddie it’s very easy to say someone would have been better after watching the alternative for 90 minutes on each match day.
I remember when Mustafi first joined, i think his first 23 games or so went undefeated. Arsenal fans were celebrating him on twitter. Feels like another lifetime
Reading from fsaf,on the last thread on the Pepe signing, I realised one of the most important issues we’ve been discussing is players with high salary don’t usually go for big transfer fees except in the exceptionally talent ones like Neymar, Messi, Ronaldo.
I wouldn’t critic Utd for paying for Maguire. They are in a desperate situation, so taking desperate measures. Maguire as he comes. End of.
U ain’t getting it do you? What are you obsessed with? Bielik ain’t good, how did you come to this conclusion? How many game of his have you watched? Huh, how many? Maybe our reserves ain’t as good as some of us believe? How’s guen better than willock? If willock had stepped down to play in a lower league, you would be demanding for a medal for proving that our reserves are shity. Play willock the same matches guen played last season, not only would he have scored more, he would have had more decent appearances and yeah, we would… Read more »
Andy
As I stated , we are playing Newcastle , hence we will probably have 70% of the play as they are all over the place ….away to Liverpool , yes fill the midfield.
Horses for courses …it’s a winnable game , why play 3 in midfield against Newcastle..we could rip them to pieces with Pepe,Aubamayang, Lacazette and Ozil ….
Make a statement in the first game of the season….we won’t get an easier game away from home all season.
” I used to think jenko was a shity player till someone posted here today that jenko is a decent RB and relative to what we have now at the club, I think he’s right”
Yes Jenkinson is quality alright, lol
“Look at yourself and ask if bielik truly is shity and by what parameters.” Not being good enough for a top six side does not make anyone a shity player, only one who has used the word shity all day is you. I prefer saying certain players are no good enough for the level Arsenal FC should be aiming for and leave it at that. I wish Bielik the best in his career, my views on him nor yours by the way matters. His talent and application will see him where he belongs, be that at the top or a… Read more »
At least the extra cash from Bielik can push the Tierney deal over the line in the coming days. 7.5(10) mil for a player constantly fighting with injuries and had his best season for a 3rd tier club is not bad. 2 goals in u21 championship does not make him our savior. Maybe we could of got more out of him if we loaned him to a better team this season but its better to sell when the market is high. What if Bielik gets injured again( hopefully he doesnt and has a good career) then we are stuck with… Read more »
Kelechi Nwakali is moving to Huesca..he never made a senior appearance for Arsenal yet we really didn’t need that to know he can’t make the cut. Vickingz you seem to believe academy players should all be given auditions in the first team before they are moved on. That is impractical
Dennis flourished by having quality players around him, we have a lot to do to achieve that with this bunch.
Also Emery is not the guy to handle quality players.
Anyone championing Jenko needs their head examined.
As for Bielik, I guess the same folk who think we should give him a run of games also think we should be signing James Collins or John Marquis to replace Auba.
“Also Emery is not the guy to handle quality players.”
In Spanish Dave’s opinion
The players he has worked with in a career spanning a decade and more might have a different opinion
@ RH, chop knuckle. You don’t know nwakali, do you? I’m stopping here bro.
Lest we forget, ljungberg has done a good job with the kids and appears to have an active role to help transition our best youth into the first team squad
So if he thought bielik was up to it I’m sure he’d have insisted we keep him and the club would *probably* have listened considering he wasn’t expensive to keep
Ima trust ljungberg and the club on this call and say 10m is good money for a player who didn’t make any waves at our club whatsoever and cost us bugger all
All the best to him in his career
I’d love for us to just get the Tierney deal over the line.
Chuck in a couple more million and call it quits so that we can call this summer a good one and spend the rest of it just focusing on an icing on the cake CB and player sales
Bold statement there Pierre, I’m sure that when you were playing at #10 one of the first things your manager would say was “never underestimate the opposition”. During the opening fixtures over this decade we’ve drawn with Liverpool (1-1), drawn with Newcastle (0-0), drawn with Sunderland (0-0), lost to Villa (1-3), beaten Palace in injury time (2-1), lost to WHam (0-2), lost to Liverpool (3-4), beat Leicester (4-3), and lost to ManC (0-2). That’s P9, W2, D3, L4. Suggests we are slow starters so I wouldn’t be complacent and think that we are going to blow them away right from… Read more »
Receding he didn’t do so good with Neymar.
ElmoAugust 2, 2019 16:07:10
Any up-an-coming Namibian talent we should know about that you spotted on the scouting trip to Windhoek?
Windhoek is a beer brand jack wilshire has discovered while recovering sick sock! Sick sock
CG why are you always so miserable ? It’s our best window in a decade and you are still crying
£85 Million for Maguire is absolutely nuts.
I don’t get United’s thinking there…but then I suppose look at their previous transfer business.
^ keeping up the role of Legroves chief antagonist thats all.
United really are Overpay FC
The first one was for you Mr Serge,
If we had signed Zaha and Pepe went elsewhere then CG would have been critical. The remit is to portray utter negativity at everything Arsenal do.
Andy
“Bold statement there Pierre, I’m sure that when you were playing at #10 one of the first things your manager would say was “never underestimate the opposition”.
No, he would never mention anything like that to me , it would be something along the lines of ” don’t bother tracking back, let the water carriers do all the work for you , now you just sit in the hole and I’ll tell the lads to feed you the ball at every opportunity as I know you will do the business for me “
Left side so he does it for effect ?
Pierre, I bet your ‘water carrier’team mates loved you. Thought that you said you were crap? (or not very good at least).
Spanish Dave Neymar scored something like 28 goals in 30 app or so the only season he played under Emery. Mbappe is on record credit Emery for advising him to shoot more. Emery was the coach at the early stages of players like Mata, Silva, negredo etc
You are just running a tired line of criticism after bids for Banega didn’t surface
Water carriers? Lol
So basically Ozil don’t do anything just stand around and wait for the ball. Even Messi and Ronaldo don’t play that way.
Some chatter about Arsenal looking to take Coutinho on loan.
Receding, you stop that right now, you big tease!
Serge
For attention, and he gets the attention he craves so why would he stop?
RH
I saw that too, not sure I believe it though.
RH
“Mbappe is on record credit Emery for advising him to shoot more”
Scraping the barrel there , surely you can find something a bit more positive from a former player than ” he advised me to shoot more”.
That would be a strange one.
Perhaps he plays on the left in away games and maybe more as a CAM in certain home games?
I just can’t see this though.
The rumour is Barcelona would be willing to accept a loan with an option to buy. The agreed price would be huge though.
“So basically Ozil don’t do anything just stand around and wait for the ball. Even Messi and Ronaldo don’t play that way.”
receding hairline is confusing me with Ozil…bless him .
Can someone tell him that I’m just a bloke on the internet who played amateur foot ball , whereas Ozil is a world cup winner and has played ( real madrid) for one of the greatest club sides in the world.
I’m excited …..very excited……….Maguire is overrated…….highly overrated.
Except you were shit Pierre by your own admission so you couldn’t have done any magic with the ball. We all know who you were talking about.
And yes advising a young player to be a bit more selfish in front of goal is good advise hence Mbappe mentioning it himself.
Cesc it would be an unnecessary transfer unless maybe we are losing a few players… Mihki perhaps
RH “Spanish Dave Neymar scored something like 28 goals in 30 app or so the only season he played under Emery” Of course the strikers will score goals under Emery , maybe you should give us some positive stats on how few goals that defenders have conceded whilst playing under Emery ……. If there are any . Fans will be much more impressed with that than a stat saying Mbappe has scored 28 goals in 30 games under Emery ……it’s Mbappe, of course he will score goals , that’s nearly as stupid as saying Ronaldo or Messi have scored X… Read more »
Dennis f*cking Bergkamp, my idol.
And the man who made me fall in love with Arsenal.
Do you notice the difference between the shirt’s fits through the years ??
In 1996 the size was xxxl.
Nowadays it’s l, xl at max. lol
RH I don’t know about unnecessary, if it meant we didn’t get a CB then I would agree. But in terms of a CAM type player we’ve got Dani Ceballos who is new to the EPL and is a CM/CAM type really. I really think he will be good but its a lot of pressure on him given the next point. That being that Mkhitayran really is no good and we know we can’t rely on Ozil for anything. I could see the logic in thinking in away fixtures one of Lacazette or Aubameyang plays and we put our creative… Read more »
I can’t see us going in for Coutinho – it makes no sense.
Firstly we’ve got Ozil standing around doing nothing (just kidding Pierre) and Ceballos who can play the more advanced midfield / no 10 role. Secondly any money we have left will be spent on the defence. Thirdly any loan would likely have a transfer commitment and Barca are going to want most of the money they spent on him – he’s not worth £120 – £130 million even if you’ve got money to blow.
Legend, DB10 is my all time favourite player. Which is why it would be nice if Pedders could get the dates right, he signed in 1995 as did Platt. Not 1996.
Pierre maybe check what’s being discussed before jumping in?
Spanish Dave said Emery ruins quality players… I pointed out he doesn’t which I know you think he does ala Ozil, he said Emery ruined Neymar.
Got it now ?
Cesc, hope it’s not true, I don’t believe we need that type of player (Ozil, Courtinho or whoever). A luxury player who Liverpool didn’t really miss. Would be much happier with a more solid 4-3-3. I haven’t exactly seen clubs beating a path to Barca to bid for him either.
Receding
Pierre would blame Emery for climate change if he had the imagination to think of a reason.
He’d then spend ages trying to think of a way that Wenger and Ozil would save the world.
Marc/Cesc
I will be judging Emery this season based on our away form. If we look hopeless away from home again this season he is gone in my books.
RH
Mbappe scored 13 league goals in 28 games in the 2017/18 season….whilst Emery was the.manager.
2018/19 scored 33 league goals in 29 games .whilst Emery wasn’t the manager.
Quite a remarkable improvement under his new manager I do believe.
Receding
If Emery doesn’t get top 4 / CL football he’ll be gone.
What some on here can’t grasp is not forming a negative opinion on a new manager doesn’t make you a huge fan of him / EKB.
He fucked up the end of last season – he won’t get a third bite of the apple if he doesn’t perform.
Andy You’re likely right. I do think though he would play a left side playmaker role better than anything we’ve currently got and would offer us more. I guess, if it were happening and I’m not at all sure this isn’t just made up, it would depend on the numbers involved. RH I think Emery will only be here another 2 seasons in any event. I think he was a very strategic hire to provide experienced hands on the worst squad in the top 6 while there was also massive restructuring behind the scenes and financial readjustments. That is not… Read more »
Maybe it will be a coutinho/Ozil swap deal …It is quite feasible that Ozil would want to leave the country after the knife attack.
Pierre
As much as every other Gooner in the world would be happy to see that, you are fucking insane if you think Barca are going to value Ozil in the region of £120 million and then pay him anything close to the £350,000 a week he’s on at Arsenal.
I mean they can hire Wenger as well while they’re at it.
Have to laugh at people saying we don’t need him. Have they forgotten Iwobi is fucking terrible, Mikhi the definition of lethargic, and Aubameyang on the left one of the biggest abominations in football?
We definitely need someone with his attributes on the left and our attack would be complete – a blanket of quality in that area at last.
Cesc
“I think he was a very strategic hire to provide experienced hands on the worst squad in the top 6 while there was also massive restructuring behind the scenes and financial readjustments.”
There are only a handful of people in the world who don’t think that – they are exclusively limited to the writer of this blog and a handful of commenter’s on here.
So, pepe has started nutmegging his teammates already. Hahaha, guess who first got served?
Paulinho
Which of our £50 million plus striker are you going to leave out the most?
I’ve got to say it’s a great problem to have for a team who only had a £45 transfer kitty this summer.
Pierre
“Mbappe scored 13 league goals in 28 games in the 2017/18 season….whilst Emery was the.manager.
2018/19 scored 33 league goals in 29 games .whilst Emery wasn’t the manager.
Quite a remarkable improvement under his new manager I do believe.”
Mbappe won 4 trophies in 2017-18 whilst Emery was Manager compared to 2 trophies in 2018-19 whilst Emery wasn’t Manager.
Neymar scored 28 goals in 30 games in 2017-18 whilst Emery was Manager compared to 23 goals in 28 games in 2018-19 whilst Emery wasn’t Manager.
Quite a remarkable drop in form whilst Emery wasn’t Manager.
Pierre, I thought Ozil wanted to play in Turkey? Much safer there of course, any trouble and the perps whole family would disappear!
Pedro got one wrong and andy1886 believe men here have a duty to rub it in. Class.
Marc – At the start of last season Emery rotated Laca and Aubameyang quite a bit, and that’s the way to go. Their partnership is incredibly overrated and our team would flow much better if it was just one of them, and we had the likes of Ceballos, Pepe, and a Coutinho behind them.
We could still rotate and have them together from time to time, because it might take Pepe and Ceballos a while to settle in, or they might hit a wall at some point during the season.
Paulinho
Firstly I’ve got to say I don’t rate Coutinho – he’s OK but nothing that special. Barca would want a fortune for him circa £120 million – Christ if you want a left winger at much then at least get one better.
Any money we have left this summer will be spent on the defence.
‘Maybe it will be a coutinho/Ozil swap deal …It is quite feasible that Ozil would want to leave the country after the knife attack.’
Ozil doesn’t seem to me the kind of guy who would run away from £350,000 p/w.
Maybe not on principle, maybe the knife and not the principle decides dudes like Ozil.
But then I consider it beyond belief that Barcelona would be craving for Ozil while itching to let Coutty go.
Marc – I’m not a massive fan either but he’s leagues above what we have. Can cut in from the left and unleash howitzers from that right foot. Also what he lacks – stamina, real running power over 90 mins – is something Pepe has in spades, so it’s a nice compliment.
I’ve always seen him as more of a deeper-lying forward that drops deep into midfield at times than the role Barca played him, which was deeper and as a midfielder.
PSG scored 171 goals in all Competitions in 2017-18 whilst Emery was Manager compared to 149 goals in all Competitions in 2018-19 whilst Emery wasn’t Manager..
Regress regress ……come back Emery all is forgiven.
Marc This is why I never get the over the top criticism. He’s made mistakes absolutely. But he’s got a squad that is literally good for nothing and he’s managing a club that is going through huge off field and financial changes. I don’t think he has ever been regarded by Arsenal as the manager for the future. He’s a manager for restructuring an aligning ourselves toward that future. Once that is all lined up he will either leave and let someone else take over with a much better situation than he walked into or he will be removed. I… Read more »
If Arsenal get Coutinho in Raul can have a statue, that would absolutely shatter the bindippers.
“I do think that by the end of the season that left wing position might be occupied by someone else ”
Yep, next summer we all be saying we need an option for the left, that’s why I would be incredibly impressed with Raul & Co if they went all out to address it now.
The Auba-Laca-Pepe trio only really excites me if we play Pepe in the hole and tell the strikers to stay narrow. 4-3-1-2 system or 3-4-1-2.
Paulinho
You say you’re not a massive fan – how much do you think he’s going to cost? Barca paid a reported £142 million for him. Do you think they’re going to sell him off for a bag of jelly beans.
Fuck me Zaha is cheap comparison.
Torreira, Ceballos and Coutinho would be a dream trio.
Add to that a trident attack of Laca, Auba and Pepe.
Damn! We’re about to hit the stratosphere.
Marc – I’m thinking just get him on loan for a year. Worry about all that next summer.
Thorough
Maybe for home games against lesser opponents.
No physicality in the midfield.
Remains to be seen if Ceballos is physical.
If Sanllehi managed to get Tierney, Coutinho and a CB then we might as well give him his own stand.
We really don’t need Coutinho imo.
We need physical players for those tough away games. That’s where we were terrible last season.
DEFENDERS PLEASE!!
Paulinho
Chances are Barca will want a transfer commitment attached to any loan and at an agreed fee that will be huge.
I think a few little kid’s are getting hypo on all the sugar uncle Sanllehi has brought this summer.
Apparently the loan fee is about £20 Million so I doubt very much that we’re interested.
PSG, possibly? Munich?