Arteta and Gabriel set future tone (and it’s sexy)

by .

via my whatsapp group

Seeing where Areta wanted to take Arsenal from an artistic point of view has been clear since the first game, we understand the patterns, the organisation, and the vision. What we didn’t know is whether classroom theory could be implemented with the sort of leadership that takes teams to the top… that changed last night against Chelsea, arguably, the most impressive moment of our fresh-faced Spaniard’s 7 game career.

You could critique the selection of Mustafi in a horrendously under-gunned defence, but the simple reality was 1) he’s all we had 2) he played very well at the weekend. Outside that, the team was all-out action, no conservatism, we went to Stamford Bridge to win. My Chelsea pal even text me to say he was scared.

We were largely bossed for the opening 25 minutes, Chelsea took advantage of our captain who was fresh into the squad after a year out, and a left-back that’s actually winger, we really struggled in wide areas. We didn’t deal well with the press, but it kind of felt like the Leeds game… until #MustafiTime. The German World Cup winner fluffed a simple pass to Leno, Abrahams picked up the mess, David Luiz slid in and crunched him to the floor — penalty and red card.

Jorginho finished. This was the first game rehashed. It was despair for me, more wretched luck for Arteta, there was no way this team was recovering.

What a pathetic waste of a man I was to believe in that notion. If I were a handshake, I’d be damp and limp.

Arsenal recalibrated without making a single sub. Granit Xhaka dropped into central defence, calmed the troops and played like peak Baresi. We changed the dynamic of the game, Chelsea’s levels dropped and we took over the tempo. We actually ended the first half with more possession than Chelsea.

The second half saw Arsenal come out with more aggression, you felt something in the air, we weren’t going down without a fight. Our passing in the final third was absolutely atrocious, that might have been because we didn’t really have an outlet, but it could also have been a continuation of our drab attacking form this season.

The final ball didn’t matter, Mustafi released Gabriel on the counter, the Brazilian broke free of everyone from inside his own half, he carried the ball into Chelsea’s area and slotted home like AN ABSOLUTE HERO WHAT A GOAL FUCK YES I LOVE YOU GABRIEL!

We had some great moments after, we looked far more dangerous despite ceding possession stats to the blues… but we let it slip, we fell asleep from a freekick and let Frank Lampard’s team in on 84 when Azpilicueta nipped in front of Mustafi and slotted in at the near post. 

Tragedy, I began to wish I had the guts to slit my wrists with the bic biro I had in my hands…

Arsenal saved me from my attention-seeking ploy, a year after Bellerin picked up an ACL injury he took control of the ball on the edge of Chelsea’s area, he made a yard and placed a perfect left-footed strike into the bottom corner… OMEGYBOJKN CASDK . KNKOVFENLK VE VEIRN TYESESSSSSS I LOIVE YOUR VEGAN LOINS!@

The game closed out 2-2, QUITE POSSIBLY THE GREATEST 1 POINT OF MY DAMN LIFE.

So, to ground things.

What we learnt tonight is the Mikel Arteta is the real deal. He’s more than classroom theory, he’s a leader that players go to war for. That Arsenal team was not built to deal with a red card to David Luiz. It was not supposed to come back from a goal down twice with Granit Xhaka in defence. This was supposed to be a loss. Arteta showed that he is a captain, and he made the case that with better players, he can take us forward to the promised land.

Man of the match for me was Granit Xhaka. I have done a total 180 on him and I’m not even ashamed. I wanted him out, I’d have taken a stale kipper and a pair of your ma’s soiled panties in exchange for him. What the fuck do I know? Arteta has turned him around. He was brilliant. He played well under pressure, he led like a demon, and he showed true balls under extreme pressure. Unreal performance.

Hector Bellerin came back into the mix as captain in a game I suspect came too early for him. He looked off the pace in the first half, but he grew into a captains performance as the game went on. He never gave up, he constantly bombed forward, and he turned up with a superb goal at the end. I am so happy to have him back in the side playing under a proper coach.

Saka recovered well, making the most tackles with 5. The kid is going to be such an incredible player. Left back, left wing… it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t drop, he never stops, and he is a handful going forward. I love him. I am so happy he’s going to get the education he deserves. What a night for him, he never stopped fighting.

Lucas Torreira had a good game. Lacazette, though not the outlet we needed made a lot of recoveries from the front… and say it quietly, but Mustafi hit some numbers making the most clearances (9), blocks (3), and headed clearances (6).

GABRIEL I LOVE YOU. That kid is a superstar. The only bit of doom that came out of that game is the biting reality that this kid is our £150m player of the future every major club in the world is going to want. He’s always excited me like Anelka did when he first joined, he’s electric, a little bit of Robin’s flair, a bit of Anelka’s pace, and the work rate of Adebayor. He’s a gladiator on the pitch. That finish was absolutely outrageous, HE IS A TEENAGER, the composure was disgusting. He’s the first sub-20 player to reach 10 goals for Arsenal since… Anelka. BEAST.

I could go on with the individual performances, but for me, this was all about the TEAM. We have lacked a collective being for over 15 years. We now have a team. The players want to fight, they want to show the fans they are here to play, and they look ELECTRIC. We were more than the sum of our parts last night, quite literally, 10 versus 11.

I wrote this before the game from Phil Knight.

‘No matter the sport— no matter the human endeavour, really— total effort will win people’s hearts’

Did the away fans stop singing at any point during the game? No. They were our 12th man. Why? Because the players left it all on the pitch. Fans react to that, it’s as simple as that. So fuck all the ‘expectations’ merchants, all we wanted was something to believe in, and that’s what Arteta is bringing to the table.

Do we need to start winning some games? Yes. I think it’ll still be a rough end to the season, but I hope that the manager now gets a little bit of slack from the vampires. He’ll need a big summer, he’ll need to be allowed to assess who is right and who is wrong for the future, but at least we know that when the Arteta squad is built, he’ll be able to drive it forward.

Last night felt good, I feel invested in my team again, I felt sick at the sending off, I was up and down all game, I needed a nap by the end of it. That’s what football is all about. I’d forgotten what it feels like to be invested.

I am excited again… and that’s all you want as a fan.

Right, listen to the pod I recorded with Alex and give it a 5* rating (there’s a bit missing that I’ll add tomorrow).

Stitcher | iTunes | Spotify

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Graham62

When it comes to jumping around in adulation for a player who had a 100% pass completion, from what, just 30 passes, you know you’re fudging screwed. Yep, the ongoing excuses made for Ozil are just mind boggling. Can’t even believe there’s posters( a poster) standing up for him. Every Tom, Dick and Norman knows that Ozil is a persistent liability. Our self proclaimed footballing guru, Monsieur Pierre, doesn’t though. He feels that we mere mortals are totally clueless when it comes to passing judgement. Give Ozil the right environment, you know, a comfortable arm chair, a computer console and… Read more »

Chris

I think Wolves beat Liverpool tonight.

You hear it here fir….oh never mind.

Uwot?

Must say like the cut of this Matt Bianco” from Ukraine.a hidden gem.yes please.oh & a big NO to caballos who is overrated ,runs like a duck & plays like a crab.Bin him off .

Uwot?

With you Chris on that one.

Northbanker

Guns
The main issue is CM, CAM, LW as well.

Don’t agree that LW is

We have Auba unless sold, Saka Martinelli and Nelson all able to play that position

Martinelli will prob move central and Saka wil be the one to take the role

One of the bright point s from our current injury woes is that Saka is being forced to learn the discipline of the LB role and get loads of game time doing so

That will really help him to develop as a player and esp as a LW next season

Pierre

Graham “a player who had a 100% pass completion, from what, just 30 passes, you know you’re fudging screwed.” Lampard seemed to think that Ozil’s movement and intelligence caused chelsea problems , and here is why. Education time for you Graham … What do you think it does to the opposition if you keep possession of the ball Answer …it frustrates them. What do you think it does to the opposition if you keep giving the ball to them . Answer ..it makes them confident and gives them the impetus to attack. One of our biggest failings under Emery was… Read more »

Wenker-Wanger

The performance v Chelsea was amazing. The stats of 2 shots 2 goals even more amazing. Sure, from what I saw, we were hardly any threat at all and Chelsea had some glorious chances, but to fight and draw under those circumstances is remarkable. We have injuries and a largely average squad. 10 men against a good attacking side like Chelsea was at 1-0 down an impossible hill to climb. But xhaka and co. Fought like troopers on the front line. I was impressed. Its a great start under arteta, despite the draws….we have that spirit and it cannot be… Read more »

Batistuta

Gone from assists to chances created and now down to passes completed. Brilliant stuff

Davey

Watched Soyuncu last night and what a beast of a centre half, good on the ball quick and aggressive and with a great leap but the powers that be at Arsenal decided our greek colossus was a better option for the same price and about 8 years older well done AFC

Northbanker

Can’t see any logic as to why we would agree a loan deal with Barca for Auba

Just not going to happen

A sale at a massive fee yes very logical but that isn’t what they’re trying to do

Wenker-Wanger

Aubamayang ?
I constantly change my mind over his value to arsenal.
Aside from the goals, his contribution seems minimal mostly.
However his goals have won a lot of matches or avoided defeats.
Would we miss him now we have martinelli stepping up brilliantly?
I would miss the charisma of the goal celebrating auba though…
So I’m still undecided….

Jamie

Clickbait.

Just usual Barca hacks trying to unsettle a player they’re interesting getting on the cheap.

The talk of a loan deal is a joke. At worst, he doesn’t renew before the summer and he leaves then for £30-40m.

Wenker-Wanger

Start to build a team around martinelli. The kid is sensational and we HAVE to keep him.
If arsenal fail to challenge for the prem in 2 or 3 seasons, he will be off…its obvious.
We have a real gem in our hands, I hope we don’t lose him due to under investment in quality players surrounding him. (Basically the RVP end story).

Redtruth

Emery would have been crucified had he been in charge over the last 8 games

Nelson

I trust Raul will not agree a loan deal. Auba has only one year left in his contract. Unless Auba sign an extension or Barca buy him after the loan.

By the way, can we get someone from Barca in return? We have Arteta and Raul, who should have friends in the Barca organization.

Jamie

Un –

I love Auba. Consistent 25-30 goals every season, hasn’t lost a yard of pace. But yeah, I’d sell him if a silly offer (£60m+) was made. He’s better value for a buying club this summer, so my guess is any interested parties will wait until then to make a move for him.

Danny S

Assists
Chances created
Passes completed

What comes after that Pierre? Once Ozil gives up bothering to pass?

The game is passing him by and he’s failing to change and adapt. Which is a shame because there is a ridiculous talent in there. Just a complete lack of personality.

Ivan

I dont get this dissing of Auba. He is top striker and hes fit as a teenager. Yes, his age is a bit of concern but id rather sell Lacca and took loss on Auba in 2 yrs time than have it reverse. I love Martinelli, and he looks like he has tools to be great, but if we put him to situation that he is our main goal threat, we risk we burn him with that much pressure. On another note, Lacca is praised for his ball back to goal play and that is fair, but id like to… Read more »

Guns of Hackney

We simply have to sell Auba for as much as possible. No more debate. The guy is 30. Martinelli and Laca can have the forward positions locked down for a while.

Also, Martinelli has much more to his game than Auba and Laca.

£60m for Auba and we can rebuild the defence and perhaps nab Ndidi.

Nelson

The Sun… A joke…

Ivan

Barca will chepskate on Auba and theres no positive in this.

This 50-60 mil for 30yo striker is only posiible if PSG wanted him.

Ffs we paid for him that much.

Second, Barca lowballed us for each and any player they took from us bar Vermaelen (we did good one on them for a change with that transfer).

Best we could hope for is 20ish mill, and in my book that price is worth having him here for a year or two longer while our kidds progress and learn from him.

PieAFC

As much as I do love Auba, he’s crazy prolific. But we have to cash in on him or do some swap deal.

We can’t keep making mistakes holding onto a player too long or not getting enough for them while profitable.

Same goes for Lacazette, he works hard, but always something missing.

Redtruth

A draw is worse than a loss.
We would be 4 points better off had we lost 3 and won 3 in our last 6 games.

Ivan

Un na nai Cavani is older, and his wage would be even bigger than Auba is on now. He never played in PL , and even if hits the ground running he has maybe one good season in him. Certain Shevchenko and Falcao shitted both Chelsea and UTD, they spent fortune on them. If we get 2 good seasons from Auba, and currenty it looks that he ages similar to Ronaldo for me its better to take a loss on him than experiment with the likes of Piatek. Haaland was good bit of business but can you see Arsenal spunking… Read more »

Redtruth

You can’t cash in on a limited player.
Aubameyang , Lacazette and Ozil were all overpriced and overrated.

HighburyLegend

Auba wants to join Barcelona this january.
In Handsome Mikel he trust!! lol

Ivan

For 50/60 mill i would understand that, but just cant see anyone paying that for 30+ striker unless that striker is Ronaldo whos marketing value returned that invesment inspite his age.

We all know how Barca does transfers, especially when Arsenal is in question.

First we get good measure of public tapping up, and then when player gets warm to idea of playing for them, we gerlt lowball offer.

Jamie

Barca want temporary cover for the injured Suarez.

They aren’t paying £60m for Auba who is 31 in June with 18 months left on his £250k a week wages. Next season, they’ll still have Suarez, Messi, Dembele, Griezmann, with Ansu Fati and Perez coming trough.

If they’re spending big money on a forward, it’ll be on Neymar, not Auba, and it won’t be in January.

Obvious clickbait is obvious. Barca hacks working overtime. Auba isn’t going anywhere this window. Could be a different story in the summer though.

PieAFC

How’s Dembele injury record and performances at Barcelona been this season?

Maybe some money and another attempt at luring him away, still only 23.

Ivan

No Un, i hate the guy completly, for me he is part downfall of Wenger, and prime culprit for our decline.

Im down to 60mil, but cant see it happen, even in todays market.

Especially when there is Cavani to be had for free.

For PL team there is obvious advantage to Auba vs Cavani (no prem team is interested in Auba).

For continental teams i cant see anyone dissing that kind of cash for him, only using Cavani as a reason to cut the price down.

Vladdy P

Barca always try and pinch pennies with us. They practically stole Fabregas. Fuck that shitty club. At least Real Madrid always pay the going rate.

Jim Lahey

@Vladdy P –

We don’t exactly have a good track record of demanding top dollar for our players. Think about all the talent we have had and Iwobi is our biggest sale.

Vieira – 13m – Peak
Henry – 16m – Peak
Cesc – 35m – One of the best midfielders in the world at the time
RVP – 20m – Peak RVP
Helb – 16m?? – I think he was 26 when we sold him!

Emiratesstroller

Arsenal have recruited in recent times under Wenger and Emery a number of players on loans and bosmans often on grossly inflated wages. The loanees we have recruited include Kallstrom [arrived with fracture to spine] Suarez [lightweight and injury prone] and most recently Ceballos who is now agitating to leave the club. Similarly we recruited Kolasinac and Lichsteiner on Bosmans also receiving six figure plus wages and rumour has it Kuruzawa will be recruited in summer on similar basis. None of the players listed have made an impact on the club and apart from perhaps Kolasinac have played not much… Read more »

Batistuta

Again, when people say the season is over in January, that would be very dishonest and lowering expectations, we’ve got both cup competitions, one which probably sneaks us into the Champions league and extra funds and also our first European trophy since 94, that should be the target, season shouldn’t have to be over in January, that’s a cop out

Big Dave

You know that despite all the arguments here, there seems to be unanimity here that we are in the right track following Emery getting the boot. There appears to be no rewriting of history now stating that Emery had “over-achieved”. I know we’re not shooting up the table, but the stats are improving and far more importantly, when you look at games we are far, far better. Quicker moving the ball, quicker moving from defence to attack and far more possession, controlled possession. There are no more tantrums in the squad. No more public dramas. Every day we see what… Read more »

Batistuta

Unless it’s a 60 million upwards deal for Auba, no need to sell, Aguero and Vardy are older and still banging them in, the league isn’t exactly a hard one so no reason why his input goals wise should decline. Laca I’d be open to letting go for a good price.

Vladdy P

Agreed on selling laca. Need someone who can hold up the ball and link up play better aka a Giroud with a little more speed.

Ivan

ES – id go that route too. Especially as we are short term skint. If we sell some dross this summer our financial situation wont look abysmall as is now, and if Arteta manages this steady improvment of current players till end of season current team worth will go up a bit. If there is outrageus bid for Auba or Lacca then id sell 1 of them, wouldnt sell both for any price couse we must retain one settled senior striker. Kola on free was IMO good bit of business and i cant see los on him. On other hand,… Read more »

Champagne Charlie

Un

We’re behind the 8-ball in the league with so many sides between us a 4th, but the EL is a viable opportunity without question.

HighburyLegend

“highly unlikely we hit top 4 or win EL this year with Aubameyang due to the injury crisis at the back.”

In Lego Hair, Un Dos Tres don’t trust that much ?

Ivan

I didnt thout about EL route to CL much due to our abysmall form under Emery this season.

On other hand, when i think of last year final but with Arteta instead of Emery at the helm, i doubt Chelsea would spank us like they did.

Big Dave

Reject is an emotional word. Some players dont fit into a playing style or, for a multitude of reasons, don’t settle in a particular team, particular league, particular country or at a specific time in their personal lives / professional development / injury etc eg Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira, Petit, Overmars and others. As Un said, I wouldn’t necessarily say no to a player whose move didn’t work out – but I would to someone that hasn’t played much h for more than a year or had an attitude problem.

Dissenter

Solskjaer admitted that the team was ‘out of ideas ‘ after they got smashed at hi e by Burnley.
I’m reading that his job is still secure.
WTF is going on at United?

Dissenter

Maybe Bamford put in a good word for OGS before the United board last night.

HighburyLegend

“You want some attention?”

And you just gave me some.
Thanks.

Micheal

The logic of a wholesale clear-out is baffling. Sure we need to get rid of the weakest players like Mustafi, Xhaka and Ozil. If Auba wants to go we should also cash in. But selling the likes of Lacazette, Nelson, Willock, etc is crazy economics. If we sell 7 or 8 of our first team squad (22 outfield players) we have to replace them. Anyone who understands how markets work will appreciate that the pootential sellers will see us coming from a mile away. Up goes the price, particularly for English players like Madison, Grealish, etc. Selling for the correct… Read more »

Champagne Charlie

Un

Not claiming it easy to win, but our best chance of success this season comes from the EL. The league is a long shot to salvage, the EL less of one.

We’ve made the semi final, then the final the last two, I think we’ll be a tough side to best in knockout football with a continuation of the attitude shown at Chelsea. Then should we make the final I’ve no doubts we’ll be more competitive than we were last year.

I’m excited for the EL still.

Ivan

Micheal Not wholesale, more sustainable policy in transfer market. I put Reiss, Willock and Eddie as examples, wouldnt selle all of them, hell I wouldns sell any but power Arteta, Per and Freddie should have more insight about them and eventually have a say who is to keep and who to sell. My point was that there is no point in stockpiling all of them a la Real Madrid. Sell some fro profit, like we sold Iwobi and buy better like we bought Martinelli. Offcourse primary target is to sell Mustafi, Sok, Mhiki, Elneny and Ozil. Those will have little… Read more »

Redtruth

The current performances are worse than anything dished out by Emery.
Lacazette is going through a goal drought and we’re worse off in the table…

Bob N16

I like your positivity CC. I do feel we are going to get a winning run going. Like an ocean liner, our turning circle has been great but we’re definitely on the right track now. That performance against Chelsea warmed the heart.

Dare I say, we’re becoming difficult to beat. Only three teams have lost fewer games than we have in the PL.

I’m getting excited for next season already. If our performances can improve so significantly with games twice a week, think of the progress we’ll show with a successful TW and a pre season under Arteta.

Bob N16

Red, ok I’ll bite. What are you trying to achieve with your drip, drip of negativity?

Consider upping your medication, it may be the answer.

Guns of SF

Our next month or so, we have very winnable games. 3/1 and its against City, so lets see what happens but if we can get a string of wins going that would really help

Also, what the deal with Dani? He leaves in Jan, then we need a new mid for sure…
I am hoping we can snag someone this window as Midfield is very much an area of weakness right now.

Guen and Willock as subs but we need more than that right now if we want to push on…

fingers crossed

Graham62

Redtruth

What planet are you on?

Maybe some of our players are not upto speed with certain things but, overall, things under Arteta are markedly better.

Redtruth

Bournemouth 1–1 Arsenal
Arsenal 1–2 Chelsea
Arsenal 2–0 Manchester United
Crystal Palace 1–1 Arsenal
Arsenal 1–1 Sheffield United
Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal

7 points put of a possible 18 points is pathetic.

Bob N16

RT drip, drip, drip

Redtruth

If it was merely a problem with the previous manager then we should at least be level on points with Man Utd after six games…

Daniel Altos

Do people here know that saka was pretty much a left back in his youth career before he was moved to the flanks?All I keep hearing is the lad has never played left back

Bob N16

What’s pathetic RT is an Arsenal choosing to ignore positives, performances, organisation, attitude and waste their time on an Arsenal blog littering the posts with abject negativity.

Not biting any more.

Guns of SF

Saka played great last game out, I loved how the youngsters really took it to chelsea.

Without our senior stars mostly… Luiz Auba and Ozil

Something to build on for sure… but need to improve in the midfield area. Need to get goals from mids… hardly any this season

Champagne Charlie

“Dare I say, we’re becoming difficult to beat. Only three teams have lost fewer games than we have in the PL.“ There’s certainly vibes among those lines Bob, which is really encouraging and ideal for knockout football over two legs. Another two months from now maybe we’ll have shown some more attacking patterns and be seeing a further tune from a few players that have been quiet to this point. Un Ok I see you’re talking in regards to Auba leaving now or the summer, I missed that. I’d personally sell him as hot as we can and reinvest, I… Read more »

Redtruth

You normally get a bounce with a new manager but even this is beyond this makeshift manager…

James wood

Surely the pay rise Arsenal are offering Martinelli
30 k a month is derisory if you wish to keep him.?

Cellabos unhappy and wishes to return home.?

Arsenal need to up their game in these negotiations.?

Big Dave

Dissenter: 12.39 Solskjaer admitted that the team was ‘out of ideas ‘ after they got smashed at home by Burnley. Don’t know what’s going on. Emery admitted after he was sacked that he didnt know how to fix the problems at Arsenal. Now OGS admitting Utd out of ideas against Burnley at home!! Surely, that’s sending a message that he’s out of his depth or there is no accountability. Not good for those who worship at the altar of OGS. Dissenter: 12.43 Maybe Bamford put in a good word for OGS before the United board last night. Bamford will always… Read more »

Chris

Remaining ‘dangerous opponents’ in Europa League: Sevilla Man Utd (!) Celtic AJAX INTER Benfica Leverkusen Porto Rangers Roma WOLVES Plus sides that typically give bigger teams problems like LASK, Shaktar etc Still a few dodgy teams in there, and the ones in capitals I think we should be extra wary of, but as the old mantra goes, I am sure all of those teams would rather not play us either, especially in our current ascension towards where we want to be. We should absolutely be giving everything to win this competition, for 2 reasons CL qualification but also the trophy… Read more »

PieAFC

I’d take a another EL run.

It’s well within our capabilities on our day to win the competition. Conte inter Milan could be a tricky task at hand.

First European trophy since 94’. I’m sure Arteta would etch that into the players heads as well as his own.

Apart from some baffling selections, ie mustafi and Ozil reverting to type. I’ve been impressed with us so far.

As long as Ozil doesn’t become Arteta mistake in picking him over the detriment of the team. Some games he’s not worth it at all.

Redtruth

The team is permanently stuck in a cycle of mediocrity which no manager especially a rookie will be able to solve.

Big Dave

Bob don’t feed the troll.

Big Dave

RT has turned into Little Sub Bam’s Mini Me.

Redtruth

It was ludicrous suggesting the team had turned a corner after the Chelsea and Man Utd games.
It is unraveling and the team is slowly reverting to type.

Samesong

Surely the pay rise Arsenal are offering Martinelli
30 k a month is derisory if you wish to keep him.?

According to some websites hes on about 21k a week.
Now we have to be careful here. He’s only still a 18 years old. 9k rise is not bad.

Redtruth

The next 4 games will be pivotal in determining whether Arsenal have moved on or regressed even further…

Guns of SF

30K per week for Martinelli is not what we need to show we want him to stay.
50-55 K seems much better now, seeing that his game time will go up and importance in the team.

When he breaks out, he will remember these details and how Arsenal tried to keep him happy..

OTOH, what we do not want to do is a Wenger… and overpay and extended his contract over and over on outrageous wages. That is how you de motivate players to excel.

But yea 50-55k is much better than 30k if the reports are accurate

Nelson

Conte may put higher priority to win the Scudetto. He is building two teams now. We may not be facing their A team. We need to keep our believe. But the board has to gave Arteta some support. We need another ball playing CB and a backup to Torr.

Nelson

I wouldn’t mind to get Santi Cazorla on loan replacing Ceballos. I prefer someone who loves the club.

Guns of SF

Nelson
Id take him back too. Guy was awesome- technical skills all over the place.
Im not sure Villareal would let him go tho. He would be great in the middle – great vision and passing

James wood

Yes similar wages to Cellabos 51k would be more realistic.
Or the Spaniards will step in.?

Batistuta

Un na Having targets in sports is very important especially for the athletes involved and I’m hoping the club are sending that message to the manager.. The Europa league is very much ours for the … Leipzig I’d have been scared of but they’ve sold their two best players Inter are a very good and strong team but as with Napoli last season, if we play the game at a fast pace, they would struggle with it. Wolves are probably the one I’d hate to play but we should ha e enough over two legs if it comes to that.… Read more »

shaun

Think we all know what needs to happen now and that is to apply fan base pressure to the Kronke family to either sell or invest at a minimum 200-300 million in the squad .If he take 450 million to buy the rest of the shares he can now invest some of his money in the team .That is the only way forward now .As far as any of us can see he has not made a substantial investment in Arsenal other than to increase his own personal wealth. It is quite obvious what is needed now and it needs… Read more »

Dissenter

Guns of SF
“30K per week for Martinelli is not what we need to show we want him to stay.
50-55 K seems much better now, seeing that his game time will go up and importance in the team.”
Tripling his salary with an extension is the way to go. He’s only 18 years old.
He can have it doubled next season if he continued to improve.

Dissenter

Realistically, we don’t stand a chance in the EL this season. There are too many teams that are better than us.
If we get a good deal for Auba [unlikely] take it and don’t keep him because of some forlorn dreams of winning the EL.

Dissenter

shaun
Stop being so worried about the wealth of a multi-billionaire who’s married to another multi-billionaire. You’re certainly not in a position to be advising Kroenke about how to get richer.

He’s not a seller. He’s never sold any of his franchises. Unfortunately, you have to live with the realization that Arsenal is part of the Kroenke family heirloom .

Marko

I feel like people are very much getting ahead of themselves thinking we can win the Europa League. Let’s win some league games first okay or buck the trend of draws. Ajax and inter favourites for me. A couple others that we might struggle with

James wood

Dissenter
Yes about 50-55k about what Guns said 15.07.
And the Mirror are reporting.
Need to seriously not overplay him as someone said
yesterday Michael Owen comes to mind.?

Cesc Appeal

£30 Million for Matviyenko apparently.

Next.

Habesha Gooner

Haha Haha Cesc Appeal I just read that. Hell no to the unknown player. I wasn’t even intrigued at 10 mil. We need a major investment at center back. We should go for Upamecano or Soyuncu in the summer. 50-60 mil ought to do it.

Marko

Sky reporting it with no sources. But yeah if it’s 30 million moon walk away from that deal. That’s 30 million that could go towards Upamecano or get you Gabriel from Lille.

Cesc Appeal

Habesha

They are playing up to the news.

Looks as if the agent has sunk the deal for his player.

Unless of course they agree to the three sweetest words in Arsenal vocabulary…stretched structured payments.

Looks as if this is a player Arteta wanted and suggested to Guardiola at City. Interested to see if Arsenal back him and give him what he wants.

But £30 Million is very, very strong. You’d be about £10-15 Million shy of Upamecano in the summer at that price.

Batistuta

Dissenter

Why don’t we stand a chance in the Europa league? What teams are left that we should be scared of?

Habesha Gooner

Yeah may be but No way should we spend that much on a defender coming from shakhtar. I don’t think we should stock pile defensive players anymore. We need a permanent solution.

Guns of SF

gaby is attracting interest from all over… Big teams are keeping an eye out. His agent, will undoubtedly ask for more money. Maybe not crazy stuff, but more than 30k per week… we run the risk of him not staying with us if we cannot show ambition to keep him happy at the club. Just because he is 18 means nothing. If he is producing like a 27 year old, then it should not matter… of course, we still have a half season left, so pay the kid 50k and lets see what he can do for us in the… Read more »

Chris

Nelson It may be better if we faced Inter in one of the next couple of rounds as they may be inclined to play a strong team anyway should they reach the latter stages. Hopefully a few of the others draw each other also. For example, one of Porto of Leverkusen is going out this round as they were drawn together. To say we have no chance of winning it is absurd. It will be difficult no doubt, but we are in with a great shout if we can be lucky with injuries and continue on our current trajectory (the… Read more »

Batistuta

Someone needs to tell the Arsenal admin to stop with the tweets from the Chelsea game, kinda cringe at the moment considering we didn’t actually win the match

raptora

Martinelli looks and sounds like a kid who is really determined and would move mountains to be successful. He’s always putting his absolute maximum effort. In my opinion he would like it if the club demonstrated that he is a valued asset and that they all cherish him. But I don’t think that he is after the highest salary he could get. A raise in pay would be a nice pat on the shoulder and that’s all I think. Harry Kane was on 35k when he was scoring more than 20 goals per season in the premier league alone. Gabriel… Read more »

Sid

I will repeat this not for the last time, Arsenal will win th EL .

Im telling you this for free.

James wood

It just goes to show how bad Arsenal have negotiated salary’s
Over the years.?
Ridiculous looking at who gets what.?
Holding’s salary was a surprise.?

And whoever done the Ozil never leave deal must have been on
the MUSHROOMS.?

Champagne Charlie

We don’t have a chance in the EL this year?

Someone care to unpack that?

Graham62

Sid

Can’t see it myself.

I’d love to be proven wrong though.

Uwot?

At £30 million Shaktar can go & do one for Matt Bianco.if true.its a piss take.could be sky doing their usual shit stirring to prevent us getting a decent player.please rememember they are part of Manure FC.

G

Being thick or naive not sure what to call it.. Think only a handful of posters cannot see an improvement re Arteta.. Some even stating the scores to prove there point.. And then Stewart Robson who I liked as a player is spouting the same shit..
What I now have is confidence in Arteta to get the transfers right..

Marko

Arsenal are no longer in contention to sign Bruno Guimaraes. Lyon and Atletico Madrid will try to sign him.

Shame.