Scouting Report: Where we are, where we should buy

by .

Today, I’m handing over the keys to Mike McDonald. He’s going to keep you up to speed with the top talents from around Europe. Jump in and let me know your thoughts in the comments!

——————–

Where do Arsenal need an upgrade?

Are the upgrades already at the club?

Is it just the coach that needs upgrading?

Surely we need to sign someone in January and next summer, right?

We most likely do and of course we will in the summer as some will leave. Have a look at our options though and I’m thinking that perhaps for the first time in 15+ years we are ‘talent rich.’

Take a look at this…

GK: Leno | Martinez

Best collection of two keepers we’ve had in many years. One will get dissatisfied so a purchase will no doubt happen this summer.

RB: Bellerin | Maitlind-Niles | Chambers | Osei-Tutu

No obvious need to upgrade. Interestingly, many at the club see Osei-Tutu as having the highest ceiling.

LB: Tierney | Kolasinac | Medley

Have a feeling Tierney is gonna rock it. Is it fair to suggest that Kolasinac is about as good as you’ll get as a willing backup?

Medley must be the most athletic looking player in England. Needs a loan and may establish himself as a LB or CB. I’ve got a sneaky feeling he could be a fine CM.

CB: Holding | Saliba | Luiz | Chambers | Sokratis | Mavropanos | Mustafi | Medley

This is the debate…. there’s an argument that if Saliba hits the ground running and Holding is what we think he could be, then these two are a great pair. Supplemented by Luiz, Sokratis and Chambers then our options are rather good.

Totally depends on whether our first choice are ‘good enough,’ I’d say.

DM: Xhaka | Torreira | Guendouzi | Chambers | Luiz | Ceballos

Not all of these are true DM’s, right? True, but if you want your DM to be a playmaker rather than a destroyer then Guendouzi and Ceballos become options. I would’ve loved to see Chambers and/or Luiz used in the cup as DM’s to see if they can be options.

We all see Xhaka and most pine for Torreira.

CM: Guendouzi | Willock | Ceballos | Xhaka | Torreira | Maitland-Niles

Continuity players, creators, accelerators, destroyers and possession specialists. A good blend.

AM:  Ceballos | Ozil | Willock | Nelson | Smith-Rowe

If we were to play 4-2-3-1 then there is plenty of talent as you see

LW/RW: Pepe | Saka | Nelson | Aubameyang | Martinelli | Smith-Rowe

Big stench of talent here too.

CF: Lacazette | Aubameyang | Martinelli | Nketiah | John-Jules | Balogun

Goals for the present and an exciting group offering goals for the future.

I look at this squad and I feel good.

Hope for the present and hope for the future.

I believe it rests on one word though….’if’.

If Holding continues on the trajectory he was on. If Saliba can play PL at 19 and ifhe’s as good as we hope. If we find/select the athleticism in midfield to destroy and play the athleticism to accelerate the play too.

If Saka, Martinelli, ESR and Nelson work out we don’t need a ‘Zaha’ too.

If Nketiah and/or Balogun continue the way they are then we may have saved ourselves £100M+

Pete has kindly given me the opportunity to write periodically about possible signings. So, my eyes go first to the centre of the park as I feel that the other areas might well become ‘wants’ and not ‘needs’ IF all the ‘ifs’ come to fruition.

I see a good balance of youth and experience EXCEPT in one area: midfield, specifically a DM.

We have almost all the pieces needed except two. Experience and height. I’ve thought for a while that these are the two reasons that Xhaka plays. The others are all young and/or inexperienced and don’t offer aerial help at set plays.

Below are some potential DM targets to consider

The perfect choice… Thomas Partey 26 (Atletico Madrid)

There aren’t many DM’s in world football that can destroy, create and accelerate the play. Partey can. Mid 20’s, CL experience but due to recent upsurge in form his club are trying to up his release clause.

Potential fee: £75M

Specialist destroyers….. Wilfred Ndidi 22 (Leicester)

When you have some of the best tackling and interception numbers in the PL two seasons in a row you can’t be ignored. If you think he’s not good enough because he plays for Leicester then consider that Idrissa Gueye (formerly of Everton) had similar numbers and is now being considered as the vital cog at PSG.

Potential fee: £45M

Denis Zakaria 23 (Moenchengladbach)

Xhaka’s mobile, powerful and athletic partner in the Swiss midfield. Young and cheaper.

Potential fee: £25M

Destroyer/Playmaker combo: William Carvalho 27 (Real Betis)

Remember the Arsenal rumours?

In his prime now but never played for a big European club. A fridge of a man who specializes in intercepting and adds supreme composure to dictate.

Potential fee: £40M

Danilo Perreira 28 (Porto)

Carvalho’s competition for the best Portuguese team in decades.

Very similar player but taller, added line breaking dribbling and aerial ability.

Potential fee: £40M

Almost perfect except….. Axel Witsel 30 (Dortmund) / Sergio Busquets 31 (Barca) and Javi Martinez 31 (Bayern)

These next three will no doubt be familiar to you but are all 30 plus and do not seem to be interested in leaving their clubs (who are all doing better than Arsenal).

If I was Sanhelli I’d inquire though.

All three can destroy and create. In fact they are next level so it’s fair to say that they can dominate a midfield. For those wondering if they can ‘do it in the PL at their age, I’d suggest that their class would say yes and their age isn’t far from two in a similar position at the European Champions in Henderson (29) and Milner (33).

Frenkie DeJong will soon limit Busquets minutes at Barca and Martinez has spent his entire Bayern career in and out of favour.

Other hope lies in Sanhelli’s ties to Barca and that all three of these guys may want to play in the PL.

Potential fee… never know how much aging brilliance costs. £30M/40/50M??

The trendy, modern, athletic, powerful and young.

Ibrahim Sangare 21 (Toulouse)

A frightening talent. Everything I’ve said on the tin and a 10 year player with huge potential resell value.

Legs that go on forever and a ‘Vieira-like’ ability to carry the ball.

Check out the video and you’ll find him hard to resist. Step back and you’ll wonder if he needs to play for Southampton first to see if he is as good as he looks.

Potential fee: £30M

Boubakary Soumare 20 (Lille)

Could be Sangare’s twin brother playing style-wise. Played at a higher level with Lille.

Potential fee: £30M

Play Torreira at DM and upgrade Xhaka and buy goals and assists….

Bruno Fernandes 25 (Sporting Lisbon)

Got buckets of goals and assists last season and drew close attention from Utd and City.

An all round natural footballer who senses opportunity. Similar potential to Ramsey.

Potential fee: £50M

Young and brilliant, Dominik Szoboszlai 18 (Red Bull Salzburg)

My favourite young player in Europe.

Remember that Dutchman that graced Highbury? He was a natural footballer. Made it look easy.

Szoboszlai is a CM/DM and he’s not Dennis but his ease reminds me of him. Joyful to watch him.

Needs to bulk up but that’s an easy fix.

Alternative plan:

I live in the US. I’ll find Stan and ask him for £200M for N’golo Kante 💪🏼

What would I do?

I’m of the belief that if we simply remove Xhaka we will improve 40% as the other current options are better.

I’d try both Luiz and Chambers at DM in cup games to see if the answer is found in-house and I’d use Torreira as first choice until he proves me otherwise.

I’d sell Xhaka (£35M) and put that towards a bid for Thomas Partey.

If he won’t come then I’d go for Axel Witsel.

I’d also buy Dominik Szoboszlai and loan him out to build his strength.

What would you do?

@mike_mmcdonald (give the lad a follow😉)

372 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Chitom

O couple observations: – Liverpool are a different proposition away and have never played well under Klopp away at OT. People saying United were lucky to walk away with a point must have watched a different game. Two tame shots straight at DeGea by Genie W and Firmino in first half, and two speculative shots off target by Ox in the second half. That’s it. Rojo, who was a late entry into the match because of injury, went missing in action for the Lalana goal, and Lindelof best impersonation of Mustafi’s -“after you, no after you” – Zaha play were… Read more »

Moe

C’mon Bam, this United team is fucking garbage. Some massive rebuilding on their hands. If Emery doesn’t finish the season with a minimum of 10 points ahead of this shit United team, it’ll just reinforce what some of us already think of him.

Tony
China1

You can’t use one game to judge a team. This utd team is awful but utd standards. A complete lack of special players. Who in that entire squad stands out as an elite talent? Even 8/10 players are hard to find. An awful lot of average out there As for getting a result against Liverpool, this is a normal thing that the better team on paper doesn’t win every single time. Even the 100 point city team lost games and dropped points and they were favourite a in every match. This arsenal squad is a fair chunk better than Utd’s… Read more »

China1

As for klopp not having a great away record against them, dude just won the champions league so I’m not sure we’re in any position to mock them (top of the table and flying) for dropping points for the first time this season away against their arch rivals

Sid

“What based on today’s game? Tottenham struggled to beat a team that hasn’t won a game this season but you think they are going to beat liverpool at Anfield.”

They had a draw vs man c, they struggled coz Watford is more physical than them but they generally give teams that are less physical than them a had time.
Im telling you this for free!

Gonsterous

Here’s some positive news lads, if we beat Sheffield (which I think we will), we will be 7 points behind the leaders. Title push anyone??

Globalgunner

In reference to the post. Id add Ivan Rakitic to the CM/DM options. Rumours are that Barca might be ready to sell. He can still give us 2 years of service at least and would be the perfect mentor for our young players in that position.

Sid

“we will be 7 points behind the leaders. Title push anyone??”

Yeah, you are damn right!
But no thanks to rakitic coz its a new league at 31 yrs its a risk

Samesong

Liverpool were 1 game shy of beating united win record.

Pierre

Sheffield weather tonight, no wind , no rain , a fully fit squad , most of the squad rested over the last 2 weeks so no excuses. It should all be about picking the correct personnel , formation and tactics for the game. The usual defence of Emery is that he has had Tierney , Bellerin and Holding unavailable for selection , which is fair enough though it is important to point out that generally throughout the team , injury wise , the squad has not suffered . Tierney, Bellerin and Holding were long term injuries so it would have… Read more »

Bob N16

I think it was City’s record Samesung.

Bob N16

Agree with you Pierre. Emery loves to tinker to the detriment of the team’s cohesion. With more or less a fit squad to choose from, Emery needs to prove why he is one of the best paid coaches in the world.

Tiernay, Holding, Torreira in front of the back four. If these changes are made, I would be confident not only for today but for the future. I think Tiernay will probably be the only one of these three starting.

HighburyLegend

Still amazed by Luiz’s comments, the ex-chav is persuaded that we can fight for the title under Emery, even this season….

Dear David, maybe we could start by a win tonight at Sheffield, because any other result would be hugelly problematic.

Nelson

I don’t think Emery will start Holding, Bellerin and Lac. Only Tierney will get a start. As for guaranteed starter, I think Tierney will be one of them. Guen will start unless he needs a rest. A healthy Bellerin should also get a start.

Samesong

Cheers bob.

One thing I agree on Emery loves a tinker and that could effect us big time tonight.

Bamford10

Pierre “No one can predict Emery’s team selection, tactics or formation for tonight.” To the extent this isn’t a truism, it’s nonsense. He has deployed the 4-5-1 in every match for a month or so now, so it’s not like he’s all over the place. As for starters, that’s been pretty consistent as well. “The usual defence of Emery is that he has had Tierney , Bellerin and Holding unavailable for selection, which is fair enough though it is important to point out that generally throughout the team, injury wise, the squad has not suffered.” What does this even mean?… Read more »

Bamford10

Highbury

I think that comment tells you something about how good the spirit and the belief is in the team. And that is a testament, in part, to Unai Emery. He gets very little credit for anything around here, but the spirit and belief and attitude in the camp and in the team is excellent, and he should be commended for this.

Nelson

Sheffield United has a very organized defense. They play 5 3 2, with three CB’s at the back. They almost stopped the Pool at home. Auba may not get much opening. I hope that Pepe can finally score one from outside the box.

Bamford10

Pierre “Until Emery has a settled side, consistent performances will be hard to come by.” Sure, but most of what is “unsettled” about our XI is down to injuries. If he had had Lacazette, Tierney, Bellerin and Holding from the outset, all of these players would have been in the starting XI from the outset. What would that have left to be “unsettled”? Very little. Whether Xhaka should continue to start? Sure, but that’s a question that would’ve bothered many managers. Whether Pepe should continue to start despite underwhelming showings? Sure, but that’s a question that would’ve bothered many managers.… Read more »

WengerEagle

Christ shows you the dearth of midfield quality when a bunch of basic athletes are being touted at 45-75m fees.

Sangare is fairly ordinary once you get past the freakish athleticism.

Bruno Fernandes is a baller, likely out of our price range though.

HighburyLegend

” And that is a testament, in part, to Unai Emery. ”

Thanks for the laughs, Bamford.

raptora

To be frank Liverpool have won only 2 of their last 14 games away to a big six team. City have won 7 and from less games. Even Crystal Palace has 5 wins for the same time period. Wolverhampton has achieved 2 wins in 7 tries. That’s equal to a quite a lot of lost points for Liverpool. They are phenomenal at home though. Their last home defeat was in April 2017 vs Palace. 2 and a half years ago… Mane has never tasted defeat at Anfied and he is currently on an unbeaten run of over 50 home games.… Read more »

Cesc Appeal

Very happy football is finally back!

But not feeling that confident ahead of tonight, I think we’re looking at a hard fought draw.

You can feel what’s coming, slow tempo, ineffectual midfield, Xhaka way too deep, a low block formation, the fans getting behind the underdog home team with each shot.

We could have a discussion on approach but we know Emery’s selection will basically tank optimum efficiency in terms of performance.

Samesong

Cesc

We are expected to beat them but this adds more pressure on the lads in my opinion. We don’t usually fair well against these type of teams.

Emiratesstroller

Some interesting stats concerning average age of squads in EPL. Man City 27.0 [24 players] Liverpool 27.3 [24 players] Spurs 26.5 [25 players] Chelsea 26.2 [25 players] Arsenal 24.9 [25 players] Man Utd 26.1 [25 players] Everton 27.1 [26 players] Leicester C 26.3 [26 players] West Ham 28.5 [24 players] C.Palace 28.9 [24 players] Wolves 25.4 [25 players] Southampton25.8[22 players] Newcastle U 27.6 [28 players] Brighton 27.4 [27 players] Watford 28.2 [29 players] Burnley 28.6 [25 players] Bournemouth 26.1 [27 players] Aston Villa 26.7 [25 players] Sheffield U 28.0 [26 players] Norwich 27.2 [25 players] So Arsenal now have the… Read more »

HighburyLegend

So Xhaka Captain disaster playing tonight ??

He wanted to take some time with his child, but finally he decide that he will feel better on the pitch ?? Make up your fucking mind, Granité!!

HighburyLegend

*would feel
(Swiss cunt)

China1

That is interesting re squad age but there’s something else on this topic which is the average age of the players on the pitch in each given match, for which spurs are apparently the oldest

qna

Emirates. Brilliant post. Couldn’t sort it first 😉

Not only that, our youngsters are bloody exciting for the first time in a long time. This has the feeling of building something very special. Regardless of whether you like or dislike Emery, Ozil, Xhaka etc. Actually that list of divisive people is quite short now. Can see a unified Arsenal in the not too distant future. Happy days.

China1

Xhaka wanted to stay home with the wife and baby but got a phone call from emery begging him to come haha

China1

*granit answers phone*
Emery “Good ebening”
Granit “oh hai unai. What can I do for you?”
Emery “I miss the way you look at me when you needlessly wrestle opponents to the floor without reason on the halfway line. Please come play tonight!
Granit “I don’t know unai. The wife is still struggling with the baby”
Unai “please! It would make my ebening complete it you come”
Granit “ok unai but you have to stop with these daily phone calls. My wife will get suspicious”

Bamford10

Cesc

First, other than selecting Xhaka, where do you think Emery is getting his selections wrong?

Second, imagine he didn’t select Xhaka tonight and instead selected your preferred midfield three: how much more confident would you be about the result tonight?

raptora

I want to see a midfield 3 of Torreira, Guendouzi and Ceballos. I’d play these 3 for a while so I could see if they could build an understanding. The problem that Emery doesn’t somehow see, other than Xhaka’s presence in there, is that we haven’t started with the same mid trio in two consecutive games this season. He’s obviously trying to find the balance, but he won’t be able to get much out of players who are finding themselves in a always changing situation, due to players around them being different every single time. Football is about forming understandings… Read more »

Pierre

Raptora
“Football is about forming understandings with your teammates in different areas of the pitch”

Maybe you should educate Bamford on the importance of relationships on the football pitch .

He doesn’t quite get it …bless him.

Paulinho

“Football is about forming understandings with your teammates in different areas of the pitch so he we’ll keep struggling in midfield until Emery sets his mind on a trio he likes and is willing to start in most games.” I disagree. Good players that compliment each other don’t need to play a lot of games together to form understandings on the pitch. Whenever top players in top teams are asked whether they practiced certain stuff on the training ground they always say no. Thierry Henry said it again recently when asked whether he, Pires, and Cole worked on certain moves… Read more »

Bamford10

Pierre

Yeah, I’m well aware of that. And I’ve been saying for some time now that our football will improve the more settled the XI becomes, the better the players understand their roles and one another. Meanwhile you’ve been making other (less relevant) points, e.g., “we need Ozil”. No idea what you’re on about.

Emiratesstroller

There are now only 4 players in our squad aged 30+ and that includes Ozil
who is rarely playing.

I anticipate that the age of the team could drop further next year assuming that Nketiah and Saliba are included and possibly a couple of the older players are offloaded.

What is significant is that players leaving the club in the future will be of an
age where we can generate a transfer fee. Too many of Arsenal’s older players
in the past reached an age and wage levels rendering them unsaleable.

Cesc Appeal

Bamford Xhaka is a massive error on his part. I also think his placement of Pepe in the early stages as more a ST was bizarre. The midfield diamond was also terrible. If we had the midfield 3 I wanted, Torreira at CDM, Guendouzi and then Dani Ceballos/Willock completing the midfield, Tierney at LB, Holding at CB and then Martinelli playing wide I would be much more confident. I do think though that this team looks like it lacks confidence big time away from home and they will play Sheffield as equals. This stems from Emery I think, he can… Read more »

Bamford10

Paulinho

I think both things are true. Good players can establish an understanding very quickly, but players also build understanding over time by playing with one another. For example, Ceballos, Martinelli and Tierney are players that seemed to understand one another the first time they stepped on the field together. The same can’t be said of Pepe or of this or that other player. Such a player can and should improve his understanding with others over time, though, and even players who understand one another from the get-go improve their understanding of one another over time.

Normski

China1

That was horrendous. Don’t quit your day. Satire isn’t your thing.

Paulinho

Bamford – I would argue that’s more of an individual issue. Pepe’s best game for us was his first game, and he looked to have an understanding then, yet with every game that’s gone by he seems more and more lost, which doesn’t make sense from the time = understanding POV. Obviously time is not a hindrance when it comes to working out where players are going to move, so Pepe will learn more by playing with certain players for longer periods, but ultimately he needs to start striking the ball properly/work on delivery, stop making a mess of quite… Read more »

Bamford10

Cesc “I also think his placement of Pepe in the early stages as more a ST was bizarre. The midfield diamond was also terrible.” Yeah, I agree, but that was two months ago. Seems he has moved on, learned from this, no? “One of my biggest criticisms of him is that he has essentially abandoned his pressing philosophy because the squad is ill suited …” Yeah, I’m sorry, but I just don’t think this is true. We press in many if not most first halves. That is still his preferred approach. Why we’re not continuing to press in second halves… Read more »

Bamford10

Cesc

“But he’s also making a lot of mistakes now and his stubborn refusal to change what is obviously broken is very Wenger like.”

OK, but other than Xhaka and mistakes he made two months ago, what mistakes are we really talking about here? What is he being “stubborn” about at the moment? Xhaka. Nothing else. I get that that’s frustrating — it’s frustrating to me as well — but I feel like your frustration over this one mistake — granted, it’s a big mistake — is leading you to over-generalize.

Cesc Appeal

Bamford I think you’re cutting Emery way too much slack. Pepe looks totally lost as a player now, I can’t prove that was to do with his handling when he arrived,but he turned up to the EPL and was likely shocked by the intensity and then was asked to play ST where he struggled for Lille in front of an ineffectual midfield diamond. Pretty shoddy. Especially when we were crying out for width. As for the pressing. Sorry you’re wrong on this. Stats show that Arsenal are massively ineffectual with pressing and currently Arsenal under Wenger during his last season… Read more »

HighburyLegend

“That was horrendous. Don’t quit your day. Satire isn’t your thing.”

I found it very good.

Bamford10

Cesc Yeah, sorry, but I disagree with a decent amount of that. On the issue of pressing, I will try to say something more substantial about this later , but I do think you have this wrong. We start many if most games pressing — i.e., he has not “abandoned” this, as you suggested above — and our pressing, when we do it, is pretty good, actually. I don’t agree with the claim that there are massive gaps when we press, that it is ineffective, etc., although I do agree that Xhaka is a problem when we press because of… Read more »

Bamford10

* if not most

Words on a Blog

Cesc/Bamford,

Your exchange is quite telling.

What seems to be happening is that quite a large number of people who cut Emery a lot of slack last season (poor/unbalanced squad, legacy Wenger issues, new to the EPL etc) have lost patience with him. On Le Grive every few days, another erstwhile defender/apologist falls.

I am still on the fence, primarily because of our performances in the cups and the Europa, but if we don’t give a decent performance/get a win tonight I think I might snap.

Spanishdave

Xhaka will get a yellow tonight so he will miss a game or two.
We will lose tonight if he plays as we will not be able to counter attack at speed with him pissing about in midfield.
He will be Emery’s downfall

Words on a Blog

What I think Emery desperately needs is for him to put together, starting tonight, a string of good performances for Arsenal IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE.

Cesc Appeal

Bamford I don’t agree with any of that really. Our pressing is awful, I don’t really care why players might have selected Xhaka as captain as Emery is the manager and should be the one making the tactical decisions. Again, if you listen to the players just as with Emery they say Xhaka trains hard, good attitude, always on time etc which is seriously telling. I actually found Emery’s whole 5 captains thing and allow a captain election as part of my growing issues with him as to his indecision and evading difficult choices. We’re basically at different ends on… Read more »

Words on a Blog

Bamford/Cesc,

On the pressing thing, what seems to be happening, in the PL at least is that we press quite hard in the first half of matches.

If we establish a lead of one or two goals, we revert to a defensive (overly)deep block, invite attacks and hope to score on the counter.

If we don’t establish a lead, or we fall back, we continue to press.

HighburyLegend

1 stupid mistake (at minimum) ?
Yellow card ?
2 yellows ?
1 direct red card ?
A penalty ?
A red card + a penalty ?

When the Granité circus comes to town…

Paulinho

In terms of pressing in the second half, it’s partly as a consequence of being unable to control the game with possession, and that consistent giving away of the ball leads to the team tiring themselves out attempting to get it back, and then not being in position – literally and physically – to rouse themselves to do it again. Again, something proper full backs should help with in lieu of a dysfunctional midfield. Tierney especially is comfortable being brave on and off the ball and will provide an out-ball for midfielders and help sustain any momentum we build up,… Read more »

Chris

Words

I think the Watford and Spurs games were a turning point for a lot of people, myself included.

One doesn’t have to be a militant Emery Out but fair enough at this stage to voice concerns with our overall direction.

The performance we produce tonight will be very telling. If we are all at sea like we were against Watford it will be extremely disappointing.

Words on a Blog

Paulinho,

I agree with your point that Arsenal’s inability to press in the second half is largely a consequence of the team being unable to control the game with possession.

Pierre no doubt would say that this is a consequence of the lack of Ozil playing time, which might be partly true, but then again he is just as prone to fade away. But I do wonder why Emery’s Arsenal teams, regardless of personnel and formation, seem to struggle with controlled possession so much.

Words on a Blog

Chris,

If we play like we did in the second half against Watford then even I might become a militant Emery-outer!

Oh God, I’ll have to brush up my vocabulary and start talking about sauce, Football philosophy, and Arteta’s enticing combination of managerial genius and perfect hair…..

Graham62

Chris

The Watford game was pivotal.

Against Spuds, as we’ve all seen, they were for the taking.

Emery’s image was severly dented, so tonight it will be interesting to see what materializes.

Over to you Mr Emery.

HighburyLegend

SAUCE!!
ARTETA!!
WHERE’S PEDRO ?? lol

More seriously, the result tonight will be far more important than the manner.

Paulinho

WOAB – It just destroys morale – as well as the gas tank – when you commit players forward and poor combination play leads to loss of possession, and everyone has to leg it back. Do it that four of five times and the team slips into survival mode mentally, confidence further eroded. I think Emery is waiting for Ceballos to click so he can be the one that will show for the ball either side of the opposition’s central midfield when the temptation is to batten up the hatches and all drop off. Ozil usually needs a oxygen mask… Read more »

Nelson

Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have quite different style of play. Martinelli is a bit like Ronardo. He’ll go and try to score. Saka is more a team player. I like his centering, his short passes to Auba and the way he turned Young to act like Xhaka.

HighburyLegend

“Ozil usually needs a oxygen mask at that stage.”
Same mask as the one he wear when he plays video games.

Big question for tonight, did Granité will wear the armband, or an artificial milk breast prosthesis ??

Words on a Blog

Paulinho,

“Not confident, tbh.”

Sadly, neither am I.

Pinning all my hopes on St. Tierney of Glasgow and praying he helps us to perform a miracle, turning low possession water into controlled possession wine.

Nelson

Tonight is another good test for Ceballos. The opposing managers are aware of him now. Klopp has eliminated him completely. Let’s see how he looks like against an organized defense.

Marc

Words

“Oh God, I’ll have to brush up my vocabulary and start talking about sauce, Football philosophy, and Arteta’s enticing combination of managerial genius and perfect hair…..”

It’s worse than that Pedro will make you stand on the naughty step for disagreeing with him!

HighburyLegend

Pedro still not around….

To be honest, it’s very difficult to run a blog and to be Xhaka’s babysitter at the same time.

Words on a Blog

Marc,

I’m feeling that a spell of exile to the naughty step is pretty imminent.

Not very fair of Pedro though, as after an, ahem, reappraisal, I now firmly believe that Poch is the 3rd manager in the world.

Marc

Words

Yes I agree about the Poch being the 3rd manager in the world – it’s just the 3rd what I’m struggling with!

Words on a Blog

If Xhaka plays tonight and we lose, can propose that Le Grovers organise a Xhaka Extinction Rebellion group?

We could chain ourselves to Emery, or better still, Raul, to stop Xhaka from being selected.

I know it’s prettty extreme tactics, but it’s for the good of the planet. Ok that’s pushing it, but it would be for the good of North London.

Words on a Blog

Marc,

Oops, sorry Pedro, I meant 3rd best manager in the world.

Marc

“I know it’s prettty extreme tactics, but it’s for the good of the planet. Ok that’s pushing it, but it would be for the good of North London.”

I would add that it’d also be for the good of my sanity but it may be too late for that.