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.
Klopp looks like he drives around in a van with a mattress in the back.
Suicide tactics. All wrong straight off the bat. Stupid.
Emery’s philosophy in play
Guns of H
There was a time when premier league managers had to dress formally to games.
Pep and Klopp have turned those rules over with their hipster dumpster dressing.
CC
State of that crowd, you can smell the jobseekers off them
this jibe made me laugh.
A few “Scouser” supporters here that fit the bill alright
Pepe is the out ball here, need to get it to his feet and let him give us a foothold
Jeeezzz
Pepe up for this.
That pass from Guen to Pepe.. It’s a fallacy he doesn’t contribute in forward play
Stop the game already
Pepe roasted VVD then, fuck you ya tree
We aren’t accounting or their full backs yet.
Roberston and Alexander-Arnold are too free. You can’t ask Monreal and AMN to do everything.
The shape is not right. Emery needs to make a quick adjustment.
1v1 is a dream for any good winger. Pepe should take his chances vs VvD. He looks way too respected of him.
Both Guen and Willock doesn’t cover their FB well.
Everything is still wrong with us in da game so far. Hope these guys stamp their foot on the ground shortly. Wrong selection, so so wrong
Just soak it up
Dissenter
That’s the diamond in full effect, clog the middle but race the out-ball wide. It’s a scary tactic against this lot tbh
raptora
“1v1 is a dream for any good winger. Pepe should take his chances vs VvD. He looks way too respected of him.”
He took him on…just forgot the ball.
Guen is championship player at best,
Monreal looking out for the ball. Fortunately winalden blew it away
OMFG
CC
It’s suicidal the way we are playing it.
‘The diamond or not, you expect Auba and Pepe to do some pressing and defending from the front.
Aubaaaaaaa, the scoring god, what a miss
Is this the closeest we’ve played to a 4-4-2 in recent memory?! Weird it’s not Auba and Laca the two up front.
Ohhhh so close..
A shame Auba could not lob that in.
Cunt
Miss empty net!!!!
Soak the first 25 minutes up boyz
Fortunately we have Adrian. Bad luck Auba lob went a bit wide
Diss
Idea is for us to soak them, their fullbacks push up and we are left 2v2 at the back.
It’s not a fun watch though, arse is making buttons
Wilock not had a touch yet…
Pool pressing hard
Dissenter
Totally agree. Managers should wear suits IMO. And a sheepskin coat. That’s not sheepskin.
FFS amn
Promising stuff
Ok with playing with 4 midfielders but not with this diamond formation. Two of the 4 mids should play a bit wide to cover for our FBs and help us play some football. We can’t go.on defending like this for 90 mins.
Pepe does have that bit of buzz about him but he needs to score a goal pretty soon before the tabloid vultures start piling up the pressure on him.
Nice long ball there.. Luiz does have that in his bag of tricks.
We have played well up until now.
Guen very good so far
What a player we’ve bought. Omg phenomenal skill! So good!
Pepe has some stand-up about him, that’s huge in this league. Auba lacks that ability to hold his ground. Go on lad
Van Dyke don’t want Pepe heat!
I got the gut feeling we might have bought the future best offensive player in the league.
CC
You do have a point
If Pepe works on his strength because he has the physical attributes, he can add a bit of Drogba to his game.
I mean the back-to-goal/stabd up the ball skills.
VVD not fancying them pink boots of Pepe
Seems like the plan is draw them in and then knock it long to Pepe… might work. Dangerous though.
Go on Joe Willy..
I don’t want to start shite but can anyone see Ozil playing in this type of game where covering every blade of grass is important?
Dani !
Fuck sake Pepe Guen was in!
Nice stuff Arsenal, need to get Ceballos in the game more and let him break a line
Joe Willock and Xhaka good so far
Ceballos out of the game. Not comfortable wide
Survived 20 minutes……
Ceba ooooooo, he plays better than cazorla
Lol Ceballos!
I really like Pepe. You can see his hunger. Got this selfish trait thst you want to find in a striker. All he needs to do is to score one which hopefully will come sooner rather than later.
Nice save by Leno!
Ceballos WTF
Stop this playlist when there intensely pressing
A “senior” player needs to have a word with Ceballos
This passing out of the back at Anfield is suicidal.
Could have resulted in a goal but must applaud Emery for sticking with playing from the back style even against Pool.
Knock it long up the sideline… when your backed up in your own corner… he panicked. This game is making me more nervous.. lol living dangerously.
Same here. Like Pépé. As he gets fitter, he’ll be more of a threat. Provides more thrust away from home than any other player we have.
Firmino is some player man.
Absolute clanger from Ceballos. He has to realise that the other players he’s tapping the ball around with at the back don’t have the ability to play the ball out in close quarters.
It can’t continue like this, its just too much pressure. Credit to the team for holding its shape so far but Pool will score eventually if it continues like this.
If it was a boxing match it would’ve been stopped
We have to set up so that it will take a goal-of-the-season quality strike to beat us.
Can’t be giving away gifts like Ceballos did there.
Had that been Xhaka, people will be spitting out their dentures.
We’re not getting a sniff of the 50-50’s
We are playing too timid.
Lawd have mercy, 2 more minutes boyzzzz. Guenz and ceba ain’t helping their cult already
Adding a #9 that can hold up the ball next year is necessary. Someone like a Haller or Llorente would allow Pépé and Aubameyang to exploit more space
They get to every loose ball before we do.
I don’t want to look at the possession stats for the opening 25 mins.
I am firmly a Joe Willock believer now, he’s raw but we’ve got a player here once he’s learnt the game, already seems more intelligent than Superjack.
With our first choice full backs we’d be much more of a threat.
Auba looks tired. Pepe is fast.
Ok someone needs a word with Ceballos.
Auba that was weak af.
VVD looks like he’s terrified of Pepe.
Defenders size up strikers very quickly. He’s not talking those extra special touches he’s capable of.
Pepe has made it harder fir the Liverpool CBs to join the attack.
Guen played well this half so far.
Our passing is bad last third
These guys are gash, amn will never improve as a rb
No clear cut chances for pool yet.
We’re doing OK.
I don’t like the high line against ‘Pool.
Emery…cmon man.
Willock is a baller.
Nice stretch of play there, showing for it and finding feet. Luiz is unflappable at the back, he can be overconfident, but he’s scared of nobody which beats Mustafi absolutely shitting himself time after time and going to ground
So close … again
Good counter. Very close.
Pool playing a super high line.. just need to break it one time. But my lord we don’t make it easy on ourselves .. come on Pepe… ohhhhh so close.
They are scared of Pepe.
Making it too easy for Pool – Emery needs to change something
Our mids keep backing off ceding more and more space to Pool players. That said we still have managed a couple of good chances to score.
Liverpool is a bit better than Real. Limitation of Ceballos at this level is apparent.
Guess that settles the debate of Cazorla vs Ceballos
Pick your poison, Pepe is Colman’s
Get guen out of this game, we are already a man down with him
Exactly what we bought him for
Their two FBs have so much time to cross the ball.
What the hell is going on?
A potential red card being reviewed apparently
Luiz Salah
VAR shouldn’t be over-officiating
WTF are the doing with VAR?
Fuck off VAR
Go Pepe… …ohhh just need one of these to go in..
Should have scored, precipitation ffs !