The concept of the modern marathon was inspired by a Greek football fan that legged it from the site of Marathon to Athens to deliver a scoreline, the distance was 25 or so miles. The message was about an important game in which a Greek football team defeated a Persian one (they had good football back then). The messenger died, so to commemorate this heroic football nut, they have marathons around the world.
The point of my story is this… if Emery doesn’t achieve anything in his Arsenal career, but manages to shift on Elneny and Mustafi, I’ll name a special day after him. I’ll petition the club to give him a stand. I’ll get on the blower to the Pope and ask how you go about Sainthoods.
This is what Saint Unai said of the pair yesterday.
“They are very big players but for one circumstance or another they are going to have fewer chances to show their capacity or to be happy with us and the minutes they play in matches,” Emery said. “But they know the situation and really I am wishing the best for them. I think now the best for them is to be protagonists in another team and to get another challenge for themselves.”
“Last year with Mustafi and Mo, when they didn’t play they weren’t happy and I spoke with them a lot of times last year and this pre-season,”
“I think it is positive for them to leave and sign for another team where they can be protagonists and be happy and continue their careers.”
I firm up when I read vicious quotes like that. When did Wenger EVER talk that aggressively about his babies? Never.
I am also warmed to hear that the players like to play. Those two are too young to ride out a fat contract. By sitting on deals, they take themselves out of the shop window, their games get rusty and clubs around Europe frame them as a pair of Winston Bogarde’s. If you’re young, you should want to play football, even if that’s at a cost of a few grand a week.
To ride out a deal takes a special sort of person. Someone with a character big enough not to be impacted by the humiliation of being benched.
Both players have value. Mustafi has a lot of good going in his game. He’s played all around the world. He’s made of strong stuff. He just needs a really good defensive coach to beast him into not being so dim. Elneny is just at the wrong level of club. He needs to go to Italy or a middling club in Spain.
Both need to move off that wage bill.
In loan news, it was great to see Eddddddiiiiiieeeeeeee score his second goal at Leeds. I really think he could be a blistering talent if he’s given the chance. I love that he’s at Leeds learning under Bielsa. He’s going to learn to be more decisive, he’ll build confidence from the goals, he’ll get tougher under the brutal conditions of the Championship. It should be a very good year for him.
Hector Bellerin went OFF on the mighty Ceballos.
“I think Dani’s one of the best players I’ve seen in my career. I’ve played with him since we were like 18 or 19 years old. We’ve played in the under-21s, we get on really well off the pitch”
“He’s up for it & he’s a player who will go through thick & thin to do the best for his team. He’s got a great heart & he plays for everyone around him. I think he’s a great addition”
LOVE TO READ IT.
David Ornstein continues to drop beads of gold onto the newsfeed. Again, clarifying the authoritarian regime that Arsene Wenger ran.
Power really is a corrupting force. When you’re succeeding, the last thing you should do is build a team of yes men around you. That’s what Wenger did, then when things started to fail, he had no answers. He wanted to wear every hat. You do wonder what he could have achieved if he’d ripped out his back team and installed up and coming coaches. What would our trophy cabinet have looked like if he’d had a more powerful CEO next to him that insisted on owning the infrastructure?
Wenger could still be a player if he’d allowed other people to develop his ideas… but he didn’t, and now he’s watering the flowers in a very green garden in North London.
“The meetings used to be just between Kroenke and Wenger”@bbcsport_david on how changes in personnel at the top have made #Arsenal ‘more proactive in the transfer market’.
📲⚽️https://t.co/0kUniWPgQm pic.twitter.com/hYbAsfqO5M
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) August 20, 2019
Right, that’s me done. Listen to this podcast before the Liverpool game tomorrow.
People like to harp on about Wengers trashings, but are we even better? This is firmly Emery’s team!!!
Why did he bring back xhara …
When bel fit bye bye amn…for good.
Xhaka is and always has been shit
Everyone can see our weaknesses and yet again a capitulation.
If you’re gonna set your team up defensively least play players that can fucking defend!
Adrian now looks like a world-class goalkeeper thanks to emery
Team is just so sloppy none moreso than AMN.
It’s really painful watching us trying to play the bball out from the back. Too slow.
150 million spent polishing an already potent attack.
Useless.
Another season we’ll limp to sixth place.
Another lesson…..we are so far of the pace…..
The team needs to build a winning mentality and for that we need a manager who can give us an identity. We are far too timid and clueless in the midfield.
It’s fair to say that Arsenal’s only threat is Pepe which is damning indictment on Emery. I really feel sorry for Pepe.
Xhaka offers us absolutely nothing. Nothing nothing
Emery is a Waiter in a Piezeria. Don’t expect him to go beyond 6. We seen how he messed up in his pants last season
This game reminding me that I am not a fan of Unai Emery
😂😂
Some of y’all seem to revel in us losing.. I do not find it amusing… funny …entertaining nor vindicating in any way.. Just makes me angry really. Emery got this one wrong second half and didn’t change anything.. which Is usually what he does.. baffling he would do nothing.
Well from what I am reading now looks lije we genuiny really it.
I can tell that this team needs a real motivator as a manager. The problem with delegating a manger talk us not going to help in any way, shape or form.
It is early in the season but Emery does not instill any confidence in me to be proactive about our defence.
Emery showing no reaction. The sub was about keeping the score down. Still no actual cohesion
Yep this is Emery’s last season
Norwich are better than us….
Dale: “This is firmly Emery’s team!”
Yeah, and it’s the 3rd game of the season vs the defending UCL winners. 3rd game and we were without 4 starters.
MarkoAugust 24, 2019 18:55:56
I’d love to know where that overconfidence for AMN comes from. Because it’s unwarranted. And another game that’s passed Xhaka by.
Mongo
I’d love to know where your over confidence in Luiz, Ceballos and emery comes from.
Are you watching maaaaarkoooo
Has to be
Emery is shit….get Maurinho
“Some of y’all seem to revel in us losing..”
This.
Raptora
Climb done stupid
He’s played pool twice at anfield and it’s already 8 goals
Wenger has a better record
Auba is so bad the whole game.
Well from what I am reading now looks lije we genuiny really it.
Well from what I am reading now, it looks like we are genuinely shitting the proverbial bed.
So much space for their attackers to shoot on sight.
Emery poor tactics before the game even started. I called it
“Another Anfield horror show”
Jamie
You backed a loser
Take it on the chin
He’s no better than Wenger at his worst
Not a jot
Better than us all over. Salah running riot
Lacazette must be injured, emery can’t tell me laca is fine and he’s not on the field even now when all seems to be lost already
Midwest
Setting us up in the same way is one thing, but we came out in 2nd gear. Do we ever see a fire lit under the team?
Decent work first half and completely undone in 15 minutes of embarrassing disorganisation. That shit is hard to take
It’s gone horribly wrong today, but I’m still prepared to give this team time to develop.
Got to finish top four though otherwise Emery out and more investment needed.
You don’t see some people posting when we win. We lose and they post every other minute. Gotta love these wankers.
And Aubameyang sucks in big games. I think we can finally admit this. He’s shit when it counts! For all the 20+ goals he scores for us.
Un –
Who did I back? Emery?
Our midfield was non existent today. Oh well.
Willock and Torreira have to be regulars in mf……….the rest have to fight for the lone spot depending on opponent and venue. Emery doesn’t see that, then he’s not good enough.
Xhaka and Auba have been shit.
Pepe has been baptised.
Pepe is the only player who can do damage Should have been our main outlet. But guess nobody listens to Waiter .
If it wasn’t for Leno would nave been horribly humaliated
Luis costs us 2 goals
meh at least most of the new players now have grit and relishing in defending and trying to win the match rather than spreading out their backside getting their shit pushed in
Decent work first half and completely undone in 15 minutes of embarrassing disorganisation. That shit is hard to take
____
Yep CC… seething at the moment.. a few adjustments and it might have been a different story..
Emery talks about “protagonists” a lot but he wasn’t proactive in this game.
He didn’t make the right in-game adjustments needed.
His contract expires this season so no problems.
I can see Spurs beating us comfortably at home. With the power and pace they have in the midfield, Poch must surely be looking to attack and score early.
Defeat against our rivals and we will be almost in a crisis mode within a month of the start !
I mean has anyone watched this playing from the back shit?
Leno kicks wife to the corner flag??????
It’s a fucking joke
Wenger would never have had this
I’m empty reaching every single time
I’ve seen Jose and Benitez try this bollocks and it worked
We got Jose and Benitez lite
Wake me up when we are arsenal again
You don’t see some people posting when we win. We lose and they post every other minute. Gotta love these wankers.
Maybe because they Are FRUSTRATED???? I mean the same happened when Wenger was in charge and things looked insane! No one will complain if we’re actually giving it a good go. Agenda bs. I wanted Emery to prove that Wenger held us back, sadly, he’s not!
our le cut inside man is not Robben level yet but needs to score soon to kickstart his career here
I think we all know really deep down that Emery can’t take us any further. Start the search now for a new manager.
Pepe has no respect for VVD, love to see it.
The concern in the summer from many was that we didn’t address CM despite losing Rambo and having a pretty green CM to begin with. Ceballos doesn’t add there, he’s icing.
We missed a trick not buying a Doucoure or similar. Maybe Elneny can get a game..
Guess that nails the Ceballos cult….he’s fuckin shit like the rest of our team. Jesus this is a 5 year project we are. That shit.
Pepe crossed to Auba to head. New. Does not know Auba does not head. Nor did Spanish Waiter shout instructions
Geuz was fucked overnight, a submissive partner
European champions v sixth best team in league. Non starter.
Same old weaknesses. Poor defence, midfield overrun and Auba shit. Pepe did well and should have scored. Other than that, we’ve conceded 8 goals in two games against them.
Poor.
Why are we so bloody sloppy??
Luiz is toilet
Chambers next time please
Anyone who thought Luiz was some uber cool hipster footballer had better adjust their radar
Was always a wank defender
Dissenter
We need CL football to increase the spend.
I don’t think we can wait till the end of season.
If Ox tries any shit in the next 20 mins he’s getting put in the Adebayor jar.
Tread carefully Alex
Dale
Spot on
The mandate of the manager is top-4, with Chelsea in transition and united in OGS-fever, it is doable.
This result doesn’t change much imo.
All errors are fixable with better defenders. Hope we sign a pre-contract with Upemacono in the winter. Luiz will probably leave if he’s not guaranteed of playing time.
Milner seems to have got the measure of Pepe. VVD is fixed by Pepe though
Pepe all effort good to see?
“But very naive.”
Stupid change.
The one who should be replaced is Xhaka.
Even arteta wouldn’t be this clueless but emery has won 10 cups, he knows what he’s doing. Get this stupid coach out of arsenal
This is where we are. We will beat a few of the fodder and lose a couple…battered by the best.
Meh.
I hope we don’t play this bad versus Tottenham.
No laca
No arsenal
Simple
We are dead without him
He loves his Guendouzi…….he’s not going to score, his assist isn’t really there, what’s Emery’s tactics really?
Subs should have been on 10 minutes ago?
I hope Pepe doesn’t become predictable in the way he runs and takes his shot. Early days still but I hope he has more tricks in his locker.
proper pressing upfront with Laca on now
Laca for notional reason. And substituting better player on the field Willock. Guess Xhaka will give a bj afterwards
Emery is a bit shit.
Auba flack track.
Luiz lolz.
Pepe’s striking of the ball is really below par, Guendouzi is not a starter either, neither is Maitland Niles or Xhaka. Emery needs to sort it out quick.
I see Anfield as a free hit. You expect to lose. No pressure. So just go there and play your game. Emery shit his pants and thought too much and messed it up.
People shouldn’t forget that Luiz is a stop-gap signing. He just showed why Lampard was ready to ditch a senior player.
We will sign a top defender in the winter/summer [Kroenke Jr’s pro-activism] .
Bump on the road result which doesn’t stop us from getting the minimum goal.
Guen is not a defender.
Xhaka still on the pitch. I feel like vomiting. What will it take to never see him play for us again. We’re shipping out Mustafi why isn’t Xhaka leaving as well??? FFS!!!
Didn’t expect to win this just wanted us to look half descent
Get in you bitch
People like taking cheap shots at Xhaka
Come on!
We got our goal at last.
We get one back
I’m surprised Gary Neville hasn’t criticised our formation set up .
To set up a team v.liverpool with a diamond midfield formation which effectively gives our full backs no protection was not the most sensible thing to do was it.
We could have still played Pepe and Aubameyang up top with 2 banks of 4 .
3-3 draw on the cards
That was a big tuck you emery, go on Torreira lad
Stupid coach, play players to their strengths, they said he’s won 10 cups. Emery out
proper pressing upfront uwith Laca on now
and I’d rather have that kind of aggression than tippy tappy footy anyway
Glad we at least scored
Gazzap is correct. Emery shit himself and so did the players. We should have gone 3 up front and put Liverpool under the cosh. We played it too cautious.
Silly.
Pity we didnt get on of those in the first half
Why is Xhaka getting so much shit ? I don’t like him either but he has been better than most of our players in this game.
Diss
Hopefully we already have one in Saliba
Don’t concede another one now.
Who would have thought. Torreira on the score sheet. Don’t know whether to celebrate our cry. Pure banter imo.
Little Lucas gets us a consolation goal. I was ok with the first half Radio.. but clearly we needed adjustments at half . and nothing..
Emery keeps shitting the bed with his personnel selection in these type of games. Overthinks the selection.
Emery is not shit. He is a proper well formed lubricated turd.