Xhaka out, who would you replace him with?

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It’s always amusing when an Arsenal enigma player falls out with the club. The super fans that revel in the vaguery of the talent; leaning on disconnected stats to prove a point, desperately hope a Barca or a Madrid will come to the rescue are always disappointed.

Granit Xhaka? Try Big Steve Bruce’s Toon Army. I love that. Granit and Jonjo Shelvey keeping them up. What a pairing. I absolutely need to see this.

Quite incredible that in the space of a month, we’ve gone from Captain Xhaka to a pretty nailed on exit from the club. I liked the comments he made in his dethroning interview where he’d basically been hanging out with his over-woke Stoke Newington friends who’ve been telling him that it’s ok for men to show their feelings… anyone that can reflect on the Palace incident with the fans and be happy with the response needs their matcha tea confiscated.

… but look, that’s what coffee culture can do to you in London. One minute you’re one of the lads, crashing back Stella’s in the park, jumpers for goal posts on a Sunday, the next thing you know, you’ve met Oatmilk Sally, you’re wearing washed-out khaki three quarter lengths, you have your velcro wallet secured to your belt with a carabiner, and you’re in a group therapy for dogs with social anxiety.

I think it’d be quite interesting to see if Ivan Gazidis and AC Milan come to his rescue. I love that Ivan is having an absolute disaster over there again. I was a little worried he might learn from the mistakes he made at Arsenal and double down on repairing his reputation in Europe. It’s a disaster over there, 14th in the league, internal politics galore, hopefully, we can add to the mess by handing him a player that’d be well off the pace in any league. Would love Xhaka to feel the wrath of Italian fans after he’s gifted a third goal to Inter Milan in the derby.

I jumped on a podcast with Matt Scott yesterday, one of the points he raised was the lack of a powerful defensive midfielder at Arsenal. Our Ndidi has been Xhaka. No power, mobility or discipline. With his impending departure, that leaves the club a space free in the squad. It would be absolutely ideal to replace him with someone a little more suited to the league. I don’t think LT is a cultural fit and I think he lacks presence to survive the league. I’m a little stumped as to where we go with a destroyer in the middle of the park?

Maybe that’s the game we play in the comments today. Who would you hire?

Only way you can play is to listen to the podcast.

… and give it a 5* rating.

Maybe a nice comment too.

Can you give me some money as well?

Ok, 5*will be fine. x

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Gentlebris

‘Arsenal lost its identity when the Kroenks took over They had no attachment to the club To them it’s just a business Supporters are customers The match is a show Arsenal are now just a brand like McDonnalds’ Hillwood, In all fairness, I don’t know if we can still blame the Kroenkes today. In the last 3 years they have spent around £350m while playing Europa in almost all of that three years. Then despite the huge friendship they had/have with Wenger, they fired him; not because they believed Wenger was the problem but because they knew the fans believed… Read more »

HellooNasty!

Denis Zakaria
Thomas Partey
Wilfred Ndidi
Sander Berge
Marc Roca
Ibrahim Sangaré

If we want a better version of Xhaka then go for Fabian Ruiz.

Bojangles

Cesc, yeah there do seem to be a lot of transfer chat at the moment, both incoming and outgoing.

Valentin

You can’t put everything on the Kroenke, because as an owner you put somebody in charge and you let him get on with things. You have to trust the man in charge. Sometimes even good football people don’t get it right. Wrong time, wrong fit. Where they are lacking is the oversight. Sometimes things are not working and a quick changes is necessary. That applies at all levrl of hierarchy. Letting the situation fester to the point of no return with Emery is where Raul failed. But that is also where the Kroenke failed. Vinay and Raul got the job… Read more »

Un na naai

Gentle

Yes but they also held on far too long to wenger and hired a safe/top 4 option. Yes they’ve spent some of OUR MONEY but so what? It’s not theirs? It’s the club’s money. Since when is it high praise to not hoard every damn penny the club brings in.

This still points to owners whose ambition stretches as far as top four and not much else.
Yes there’s been an improvement but we won’t be winning a title until stand and josh are gone

China1

We don’t need to keep wenger all identity. What we do need to do is build something sustainable and lasting that is both efficient and effective. We’re not doing that. It’s like when you block the damned toilet and after a flush attempt the shitty water comes right up near the rim and you’re left with a dilemma. You can flush again (back the manager) in blind faith that someone the shit unblocked itself and pray it doesn’t go badly. You can just stare at it without doing anything out of fear of making things worse and flooding the place… Read more »

China1

I really get warm fuzzy feelings in my heart every time I hear about gazidis struggling in Italy.

Tho what does he care. He’s made more than £20m from football since he first joined arsenal until now. What does it really matter to him if he gets fired?

China1

To think gazidis made more than 15m quid from arsenal for being little more than a glorified tea lady for arsene all those years

It’s enough to make you sick

Valentin

There is a difference between the Wimbledon long kick and the Petit to Anelka pass. One was an aimless kick for the attackers and the defense to chase. Use your physicality to shove defenders off the ball and score from scrap. The other was a long pass into space onto an onrushing attacker that bypass the defense. In the first the kick determines the run where in the second the run determine the pass. If you look at the percentage of ball reaching their target, you ”ll see that one is much more speculative than the other. People says that… Read more »

HillWood

Bris
What I mean is it’s not a club
Many long term fans (customers) have lost their connection with it
Those that had shares were forced to sell them
Sky high season ticket prices
They welcome tourists because they only go once when they visit London and don’t mind spending fortunes
Basically the club(business)has lost its soul and history

bennydevito

CGNovember 16, 2019    14:31:01 bd Are you undergoing gender alignment therapy.? ( if you are it-it now makes sense) You are more absurd, more whimsical than even my second ex wife was. You should team up….. get on like a bloody house on fire! crackers! >>>>>>> CG, What in earth are you on about? Please do elaborate with what you’re referring to here? Thanks. >>> CGNovember 17, 2019    10:18:52 Was it not just heartening to see Tony Adams walkout on to the Wembley pitch the other night with Martin Keown. I am sure – just like me – all my… Read more »

HillWood

And identity

S Asoa

China
Liked the toilet analogy. With Raul inaction or rather complicity we are watching our Spanish turd stink up the place. Good players have been contorted out of place and mojo.
Come on Gooners wield the plunger, do something !

S Asoa

A Recap courtesy @it’sginormous So easy to see when neatly tabulated “ First thing he did, Emery takes too long announcing who will be captain, angering Koscielny who was then club captain Clubs spends £65m on a DM, CB, Goalkeeper, and diamond in the rough B2B MFer Club revokes Ramsey contract offer Unai drops Ramsey (then plays him) Unai picks fight with Ozil Makes Cech “play it out from the back” which was unedifying Goes on a 22-game unbeaten run, many stattos claim it’s a fugazi The Denis Suarez Deal Rushes Koscielny back – player clearly unfit, can’t even jump… Read more »

Graham62

Although TonyAdams is a hero and legend, I don’t think he’s the real deal when it comes to either coaching or management. I would definently put him in an ambassadorial role though as he epitomises everything that Arsenal stand for.

Keown on the other hand could be involved in a coaching capacity to help with our defensive frailties.

Marko

CA wouldn’t worry about these links looking like PR attempt to change the subject with regards to Emery. Doesn’t matter who we get linked with I don’t see him lasting long enough to get to work with these players.

Graham62

S Asoa

Makes me feel even more depressed.

Any good news?

China1

Adams absolutely for an ambassadorial role. He doesn’t know his arse from his elbow in coaching terms but he’s Mr Arsenal and always will be. You need those personalities in and around the club who not only bleed red and white but also link the present to the past.

Adams is a brilliant example of this.

Also keown for defensive coach alllll day

Marko

Keep Adams away from Arsenal. Ambassador role so he just gets to watch Arsenal from the stands in a suit? He’s literally not adding a thing and I wouldn’t put him on the board he comes across as a nuisance and incompetent. Petit, Keown, Dixon and Pires these types I’d consider on the board or maybe even wait a couple years Cazorla said he wants to come back to Arsenal get him a job maybe sound him out as a possible coach or technical director down the line.

Graham62

Marko

Why so bitter?

The guy deserves our respect.

He may be all over the place in his communications sometimes but I reckon he could do a damn sight better job than Emery at present. Don’t you?

Just to clarify, he is not management material.

Marko

Why so bitter? The guy deserves our respect.

*Cough Wenger cough

He may be all over the place in his communications sometimes but I reckon he could do a damn sight better job than Emery at present. Don’t you?

No. Emery needs to go but Adams wouldn’t do a better job he’s an appalling manager his track record suggests that

Graham62

Oh ffs you’re comparing Adams to Wenger now!

What is wrong with you Marko?

Hands up on here who thinks Adams could do a better job than Emery, even though he( Adams)is not up to the task?

That’s how poor Emery is.

You’re a bit of a div Marko.

Graham62

Marko

Give me your take on Adams as a human being and then give me your perceptions on Wenger as a human being.

Can you honestly compare the two?

Keep eating those Mushrooms.

HillWood

Graham
Check out Tony Adams management/coaching career
It makes pretty grim reading

Graham62

I know how bad Adams managerial career is.

It just goes to show how poor Emery is at present.

Bob N16

Have to say Graham, I would have absolutely no confidence in Tony Adams’ ability to coach. Even though he was a legendary Arsenal captain, his subsequent attempts to succeed as a coach have failed spectacularly. I have to say I usually cringe when I hear him communicate. I honestly think he would be worse than Adams. Never going to happen obviously.

As far as comparing Wenger and Adams as human beings, I feel unqualified to judge. We all know where you stand on Wenger though.

Bob N16

‘Worse than Emery’

Graham62

Hillwood

Adams is not fit to manage anyone let alone Arsenal but, hypothetically, if he walked through the door tomorrow morning, do you not think he would offer more to our team than Emery at present?

Graham62

hypothetically speaking

HillWood

Graham
In a word
No

Redtruth

CG
“Adams/Keown /O Leary is proper Arsenal.”

None of them spoke out against Wenger until it was too late.
We don’t need more AKB’s rejoining the club.

Marc

There’s no point in getting rid of Emery only to bring in a sub standard replacement.

Pandering to the masses to silence them won’t work – they’ll soon be calling for another head.

If we’re going to do this do it properly.

Chris

I liked the idea of club legends on the board, however they have to be able to offer something in terms of quality ideas, modern processes and forward thinking. Marry that up with the passion for the football club and they are of fantastic value. I am thinking along the lines of Bayern’s upper management structure. However who of our club legends could fit that description? As much as he is Mr Arsenal it is questionable what Adams could bring in such a role. Someone as thoughtful and intelligent as Bergkamp would be great I think, however he still wants… Read more »

Marc

Chris

Agree a board appointment needs more than just “passion” for the club.

Un na naai

Graham

I’m with Marko on Adams. Adored him as a player. Fucking legend. Mr Arsenal. But he’s too stupid and too opinionated to be officially affiliated with the club

It’s and combination.
What’s the point of just having him there? We aren’t talking about charlton or Beckenbaur or Maldini here. Men who can hold a room. Adams is too stupid. It’s almost like he has learning difficulties.
You wouldn’t have Gazza as an ambassador for Newcastle? Or Maradonna as an ambassador for Barcelona? They are too much of a loose canon.

Un na naai

We don’t need more AKB’s rejoining the club.

Rt
Adams wouldn’t shut up about wenger mongo. In fact even keown turned in the end.

jwl

“If we’re going to do this do it properly.” Marc – that is why I think Emery will be our coach for awhile yet unless things go terribly wrong. No obvious candidates to take over and if we hire novice and it doesn’t work than we have to hire third manager in March to save season. Three managers in one season is what happens at mediocre Italian teams, Arsenal have to do better. I’ve convinced myself Arsenal are waiting, both Pochettino and Pellegrini are rumoured to be for the chop soon, perhaps one of those two could take over from… Read more »

Un na naai

Someone as thoughtful and intelligent as Bergkamp would be great I think, however he still wants to coach youth players as far as I am aware. Chris exactly. Also, Platt. The man ha experience in Europe and contacts Strikes me as a clever man who carries himself well. Unfortunately most of our legends are mental, want to coach or really aren’t equipped to carry a prestigious role. In the years to come you’ll have plenty who could go upstairs at Chelsea, or Liverpool or United. Englishmen who loved their respective clubs, won honours and served with distinction. We had Sol… Read more »

jwl

Tony Adams is a legend, he the reason why I first got interested in football, but no way should he be our manager. Someone suggested it above but TA should have ambassador role where he makes gooners happy but he doesnt have any real influence. I’ve long believed clubs should be organized like Bayern, employ former players to give club identity.

bennydevito

Adams was a huge critic of Wenger after he retired. Obviously he credited Wenger for extending his career, but was very vocal in his criticism of how mentally weak and defensively frail they were to the point Wenger wouldn’t have Adam’s back in any coaching role despite Adams’ very public desire to be involved at the time.

I would take Adams back as a defensive coach along with Keown all day long, and with Bould already there the 3 of them would soon have our defence drilled in the George Graham way and instill a much needed battling mentality too.

Un na naai

Too stupid and opinionated

It’s a bad combination – that was meant to say

bennydevito

And with Pires and Ljungberg there too and bring in Bergkamp, we’d have an excellent blend of coaches who were well schooled in the George Graham and Arsene Wenger ways of football who could rejuvenate the Arsenal identity we’ve all become accustomed to.

Bring in Arteta to knit it all together with some next level Pep football and we’d be absolutely buzzing again I’m sure of it.

Un na naai

Benny Adams has bombed as a coach whether he’s gone. He speaks like someone short of a sandwich for me. Also. If you have himself, Keown and Bould back in a coaching capacity but Keown is the superior coach with superior ideas and ways to communicate them then Adams strikes me as the type to attempt to pull rank. Like back in the old days. I’d be willing to try it. Why not. But Keown seems a better fit with a better reputation. He was credited with the 06 CL defensive coaching before he undermined wenger and got the bullet… Read more »

bennydevito

Un nai,

Adams wasn’t a bad coach; he was a bad head coach/manager. Being utilized in the art of defending only; set pieces both defending and attacking, corners defending and attacking, heading, tackling, the art of offside, he’d be brilliant.

Un na naai

Wherever he’s gone

bennydevito

And if anything he’d be a great role model in trying hard, never giving up and not bottling it.

Un na naai

Benny

Would he though? I’d give him a go. The man certainly should be able to give some great pointers. And if Keown has that effect on fuckingFlamin Eboue, and Senderos then I’d imagine he could mould this current defence into something far superior than the defence that still holds the record for longest time without conceding in the Champions League

Redtruth

Adams was Wenger’s captain when they won the double in 1997-98 and 2001-02, and he wrote on Instagram: “Thanks for everything Arsene. Move over Herbert (Chapman), Arsene Wenger the greatest Arsenal Manager.”

Like I said we don’t want AKB’s rejoining the club

Un na naai

Benny

Like I said. I’d be happy to see Adams given a go in a coaching role but for my money he’s too stupid and too opinionated to go upstairs and if he really had so much to offer in a coaching role I’m sure he’d have proved it somewhere by now.
Keown did more in 6 month at arsenal in 06 than Adams has in 15 years

It strikes me as so odd that a man up there (for me) with the greatest defenders of all time is so incapable of translating that vast knowledge to a new generation.

Un na naai

RedtruthNovember 17, 2019 16:33:06
Adams was Wenger’s captain when they won the double in 1997-98 and 2001-02, and he wrote on Instagram: “Thanks for everything Arsene. Move over Herbert (Chapman), Arsene Wenger the greatest Arsenal Manager.”Like I said we don’t want AKB’s rejoining the club

What’s wrong with that?
Red, did Wenger Park your Mrs up or what?

Redtruth

Un na naai

Tory policy on Immigration: Lie through you teeth to win over and appease brexiteers…

Redtruth

Brexit MEP Ben Habib says Johnson’s deal is worse than remaining in the EU.

Micheal

Johnson is a lying, racist narcissist and a moral vaccuum.

Un na naai

RedtruthNovember 17, 2019 17:06:33
Un na naaiTory policy on Immigration: Lie through you teeth to win over and appease brexiteers…
RedtruthNovember 17, 2019 17:09:58
Brexit MEP Ben Habib says Johnson’s deal is worse than remaining in the EU.
MichealNovember 17, 2019 17:13:07
Johnson is a lying, racist narcissist and a moral vaccuum.

Red
Michael
And Corbyn still can’t get near him. Personally I don’t trust Boris Johnson but hey ho. What are the alternatives? I’ll be voting UKIP or brexit party myself anyway.

bennydevito

Here we go, fuck the politics.

Left, right, makes no difference, two wings of the same bird.

The left have become more fascist than the right, especially that Antifa mob.

British democracy is dead anyway, the left have made sure of that by blocking Brexit for 3 years and counting.

#EmeryOut

bennydevito

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