Well good morning to you all. Today, I’m starting the blog with bold type. No reason for it. Just a stylistic choice to keep you on your toes.
Here they are.
Wednesday June 17
Man City vs Arsenal
Kick-Off: 8.15pm; Live on Sky Sports
Saturday June 20
Brighton v Arsenal
Kick-Off: 3pm Live on BT
Thursday June 25
Southampton vs Arsenal
Kick-Off: 6pm; Live on Sky Sports
Wednesday 1 July
Arsenal v Norwich
Kick-Off: 6pm Live on BT
So all of our openers are on paid-for channels, which is a shame, but hey, I’m sure you’ll find ways to access them.
The real shame is that you can’t enjoy the games with a pint in hand at a local bar in the summer. Maybe they’ll open some beer gardens and get a socially distant big screen for you?
Either way, it’s starting to feel very real. Football is coming back. So are the Le Grove readers, I lost 75% of my traffic over the last few months. Now you’re creeping back here begging for me to give you the good content.
Well fuck you. Loyalists only. The people who came here to read about my concerns around Billy Bear Ham sandwiches, they’ll be getting the free stuff, the rest of you? Hit me with a Patreon donation.
Chelsea are making moves already, there are strong rumours that Timo Werner is going to join Lampard’s revolution at The Bridge (might actually be confirmed). I’ve got to say, I am very jealous of that move. They’ve already nabbed Ziyech. They are going to be pretty deadly moving forward next season. Also, they landed him for £53m… that’s £20m cheaper than Pepe. We won’t be crying about that if the Ivorian delivers on that talent he has, but at the moment, it’s looking worrying.
The other worry is that Liverpool are still looking for a sharpshooter. Auba has a great relationship with Klopp and you could easily see them coming in for him. You’d imagine they could land his signature for less than £50m. Worth noting that Lampard was sniffing around him as well, Petr DIRTY Cech had been telling everyone what a model pro the Gabonese was when he was at Arsenal.
Spurs announced they are taking a £175m loan from The Bank Of England. The club reckon they have lost £200m in revenue to date. Never, in the history of football, has there been a worse time to move to a brand new stadium. They must be pig sick. Getting more than 30% capacity in their ground is a pipedream for at least 2 years… but the creditors don’t stop getting their cash. Poor Jose, I wonder what his transfer fund is looking like right now?
A lot of Arsenal fans are bemoaning the lack of ambition of our owners. Chelsea are out picking up bargains, United have drawn down on a £140m credit line to engage in predatory behavior, and Madrid are sniffing around… what will Arsenal do? Nothing I suspect. Though the Thomas Partey rumours will NOT die. The player wants in at Arsenal and so do his people… same old story though.
‘The deal could happen if the money is there’
Kind of an amusing way to finish an 800 word story, right? However, the money should be there. If Stan K had big brass balls, he’d hoover up elite young talent that will be 50% cheaper right now, ride out the bad times, then he could sell them in three years and make a killing… and also have a decent football club.
I think the only way big deals happen for us is if we can convince people of swaps or loans. Lacazette or Matteo Guendouzi look like the only type of players Simeone might be interested in. Maybe we could convince him that AMN could be a goer? Outside that, I struggle to see how we find the money to make the deal happen.
Alex Lacazettes agent has a piece in one of the french papers where he basically says swap deals are a thing this summer. He reckons it’s usually a nightmare to deal, but unprecedented times call for unprecedented moves. Fingers crossed he’s going to find his client a new place to play and the return players will be more suitable to the Arsenal system.
Ok, that’s me done, see you in the comments x
North
Im sure any young players we sign are heavily scouted and watched by the club before we sign them.
What Im saying is some people are already placing too many expectations on Kokcu .And we are still a long from actually signing him.
I do believe that our club’s youth scouting is very good and if we spend 20m or so on him in sure he’ll definitely be worth it.
CG “No top 4 nows- those days AFC fans took for granted and fans slaughtered him for it.” I’ve tried my best to educate the “entitled ones” , the Graham’s and Tony’s of this world ( and many others on here) are too entrenched in their Wenger obsession to see the error of their ways . As I predicted 2 years ago , their wenger obsession would become an Ozil obsession.. The sad thing is , many of them brainwashed their kids into believing that Arsenal under Wenger were rubbish. I always brought up my kids to understand quality on… Read more »
“I always brought up my kids to understand quality on a football pitch and to appreciate the Wenger style of football that they will probably never see again in their lifetime.”
Jesus Christ.
CG Both you and for that matter Pedro need to be very careful about the allegations that you are both making about Raul. Let’s consider the transfer business that has been negotiated in last summer’s transfer window. 1. PEPE. A highly rated player last season and much in demand. Arsenal negotiated a deal to buy him for £72 million in 5 instalments costing us £14 million pa. Contrast that with the transfer fee and terms being demanded for Zaha a player who is 5 years older. There were not many posters arguing about that decision at the time. 2. TIERNEY… Read more »
“”””””I do believe that our club’s youth scouting is very good and if we spend 20m or so on him in sure he’ll definitely be worth it.”””””” So do I Wasi. Just a shame your tubby pal Raul does not. He has laid them all off and asked them to re-apply for their job in a couple of months. ( it will save the club £800 per month for each one) After the way they have been treated- do you think if they are on the verge of unearthing a few golden nuggets they will recommend them our way? Or… Read more »
Chelsea sign zimayeck (fuck knows how it’s spelt) and Werner.
ARSENAL sign a Norwegian Sunday league player.
Long live king kroenke and his cronies like Raul. Kroenke promises to take the club places, I didn’t expect him to take us to the championship.
Emirates
“If the allegations about Raul turn out to be true and substantiated then I will
be the first in the queue to say “mea culpa”, but until there is proof I suggest
that we stop this speculation.”
Actually you’ll be second because I’m more than happy to voice criticism when needed.
Frightening to think of the amount Chelsea has paid in agents’ fees having just signed Werner and Ziyech. Add VAT on top of that, and yikes..
They’ll never recover financially from this. – Joe Exotic.
I seem to remember this place being full of posters last summer moaning and bitching on how we hadn’t signed any players after the transfer window had been open for about 15 seconds. We then went on to sign some good players and had the best summer transfer window in recent history.
Almost a year later with the season not even finished and the window not open and here comes the moaning and bitching again.
ES “”””CG Both you and for that matter Pedro need to be very careful about the allegations that you are both making about Raul.””” And so do you sunshine And so do you. Ill ask Amy Lawrence to be my star witness. Lets go through the Pepe paperwork too and Cebollas and Suaraz and Lich and Luiz Lets gets it all in the open. I Never have implied he took a personal penny- just that he deliberately favoured whats best for his interests and spent the clubs money incompetently and not in the clubs interests in comparison to the Wenger… Read more »
Kocku is very talented but he is not ready for the premier league. A couple of seasons and he might actually be. His stats arent there yet but you can see his team mates also letting him down and he could improve in a better team. Two footed and has a killer pass in him too. I could be wrong and he might turn out to be like Eriksen. But I think 23 mil is a steep price to gamble on him. If we are signing him as understudy to Ozil he might be good but that would mean no… Read more »
He has laid them all off and asked them to re-apply for their job in a couple of months. ( it will save the club £800 per month for each one)
They were out of contrat..
And what exactly were they supposed to scout over the next 2 months. Grass roots football is still in limbo.
ES The reason that going back into the AW era that Arsenals accounts have shown up in such a good light revolved around two things. Both have now changed.. First there was the question of CL qualification. When the sustainable operating model was being lauded and cash reserves at their height there was a sum ring fenced just in case CL was not achieved . Alas not qualifying eventually happened .Hidden in the narrative accompanying the accounts following non qualification the powers that be said that missing out on CL was going to cost £25 million. I haven’t seen an… Read more »
Un
We all like getting a shiny new player but why would you spend the summer ranting and raving about something when it hasn’t happened yet.
https://arseblog.news/2020/06/arsenal-face-charlton-in-friendly-today/
Looks like we’re playing today. Doubt there will be any footage whatsoever but hopefully some reports on who’s playing and how they fare.
Pedro
Are you on medication or something?
“Maybe we could convince him(Simeone) that AMN could be a goer”
There’s about as much chance of Simeone going for someone like AMN than there is of Donald Trump uttering the words ‘I’m so sorry, I’ve made a terrible mistake’
Try again.
Freddie
Do we know what time kick off is? It might be on some obscure overseas channel.
“Pedro Are you on medication or something?”
With his recent Sanllehi paranoia I’d suggest he needs to be!
Transfer speculation is all part of the Summer fun you miseries – doesn’t mean I can’t wait for the football to return its just that there is fuck all else going on at the minute
Actually I’d be as excited about ESR taking the CAM understudy role and gradually phasing out Ozil with Matt Smith being his understudy in turn
Terraloon
Excellent as usual.
🍺🍺
Friendly against Charlton today? Anyone has any Idea If it is being shown? Damn I miss watching Arsenal though. Bundesliga has made it easier but It’s no premier league either. Bayern Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich today, Will get to see Havertz against a mean defence. Diaby and Bailey are players to watch too.
The 5 subs rule (anyone know if we are using it?) will be a real boon for clubs like Arsenal intent on using young players. Helps to rotate and prevent burn out and also to speculate in using them in the first place.
Un na – I’m not disagreeing with you and so do i. Realistically though most of them aren’t going to make it and we will need to top up with brilliant youngsters that we can nab. We have done that with Guen (ok still a debate but he was a marked improvement on what we had and has been brilliant at times) and Gabby. Kokcu might be another.
To me this is still more sustainable that plugging gaps with tired has-beens or over hyped over priced players like Luiz and even Coutinho.
Northbanker
We’re in a bit of a strange position – whilst there’s still plenty to play for giving some of the younger players some game time could be really beneficial for next season.
Hopefully we’ll have some games where we have enough margin to give them a run out.
Don If it was all about coaching it wouldn’t be the players that went for 50m it would be the best coaches that went for that much. You can train certain players to death and they’ll still never be good enough if they don’t have the natural talent and ability. Some of what we lack atm in midfield can’t be coached either, power, pace and height isn’t something you gain on the training ground if you’re not naturally inclined to it. Same with tekkers to a certain degree, you got to have the natural talent for it as well as… Read more »
The irony of playing behind closed doors games is that far more people will be watching on eitherTV or online. In theory then, players will actually be performing in front of larger audiences.
The upside to all of this is that the psychological pressure for a youngster bedding into the team, playing in front of 60,000 fans, will not be there. This is a bonus as they will relax far more and probably be less inhibited.
Just a theory.
Terraloon
If you look at what I posted last night regarding accounts, profits and losses I said
exactly what you have just posted.
Arsenal’s losses in last financial year are directly attributable to loss of revenues from attendances and combined with wages, which are unrealistic factoring in the quality of players and lack of Champions League Football.
I think that the Kroenkes, Board and Senior Management are well aware of the problem and that there is no easy solution until contracts of certain players
expire.
Tierney was never on the same level as Robertson
That delusion was shared by the same people who believed a previously anonymous Soares became a good player the moment he signed for Arsenal on a loan.
The hyping of Tierney on legrove has been ludicrous. The few games he played for Arsenal has been as average as ever. He’s also a chronic crock too.
Graham62
Essentially you’re saying that players who do well in training and not in live games will thrive playing behind closed doors.
Surely Yaya Sanogo would wish he were still at Arsenal because he used to dominate training
Emirates
No matter how much you educate them they still gonna come back on the Luiz deal and do all in their power to make Raul look like a leech. IDK why. Also they dont have no proof other than an Amy Lawrence article on the Luiz deal (which we believe was bad too) which was easily rebuffed by the concerned parties.
CG
‘Anyway -Ill eat the little the tubby alive.’
For all that negative energy I find your humour very funny man 😂
Anyone should rightfully be careful about making unsubstantiated allegations (unless if course you are Donald Trump in which case it seems you have free reign to spout all sorts of nonsense with impunity). However there is plenty already in the public domain and enough that has already been subject to legal or regulatory examination to question the suitability of a certain executive for his role at the club.
That’s without considering if we need someone with a real background in football itself, rather than the football business which is something else entirely.
Dissenter
Tierney has the 2nd most chances created from open play per 90 this season.
Yes his ratings are better than Saka’s who’s been an absolute monster.
Add to the fact that , his injuries have not allowed him to get a good run of games together and despite that his chance creation numbers are 2nd at Arsenal.
Freddie – agreed but was has been impressive about MA so far is the extent to which he has achieved quite decent marginal gains from players like Mustafi and Xhaka. Hi he can do this with mediocre players then his impact on high quality young players should be a huge plus point.
Would love to see him work some of that magic on Holding – probably one of the only shining lights from the Emery era
andy 1886
That is an entirely different point.
No-one has expressed enthusiasm or suitability concerning Raul.
However, that does not mean that he is guilty of what is being alleged.
CG
Btw I think the report said only the part time scouts were let go and will probably be back in September.
Dissenter – wrong again!
Clearly never watched Tierney extensively. He has suffered rotten luck so far in his Arsenal career. I don’t recall anybody hyping him as the next Roberto Carlos but he has the potential to be outstanding for us and there is nothing wrong with being excited about that.
Chris
If Tierney can get his fitness issues sorted we’ve got a real player there.
If we thought for a second that he couldn’t get fit we’d bite anyone’s hand off to recoup the money we paid for him.
Far too many on here always see the bad side for Arsenal and only the upside for other clubs.
Tierney has a great final ball , has the knack ( similar to Saka) of picking out a team mate in the box ..
Remains to be seen if he is physically strong enough to have an injury free season.
Dissenter
I am one who doesn’t like hyping up players but Tierney is a special player. He is very good going forward and he is dependable at defending. He has a great engine. The only thing that’s missing so far is staying fit and There have been freak injuries to him too. He hasn’t been average so far. He has been very good. You should give him a chance before labeling him average
Agreed Marc – sometimes it as if a player can’t be that great if he has been signed by Raul, the devil incarnate.
Fuck me, the shite you read on here at times. Kokcu and Partey a better duo than Timo Werner and Ziyech? Werner’s the 3rd top scorer in all 5 Euro leagues after only Lewandowski and Immobile who are both in their prime at 34 and 31 and he’s 24. He’s put up 20 goal seasons for three years previously and has easily cracked 30 already this season with goals in the CL too. Ziyech has absolutely wrecked a league that Kokcu plays in for the past half decade and he’s also performed really well in the CL for two years… Read more »
Un
“I can’t stand transfer window fans
All experts
They get a hard on for the transfers more than the game itself”
Agreed, very strange.
Meant to say 30 [Immobile] and Lewandowski [31].
Wasi
“Tierney has the 2nd most chances created from open play per 90 this season.
Yes his ratings are better than Saka’s who’s been an absolute monster.”
Out of interest , who’s 1st .
Dissenter
Tierney made more than a subtle difference in our Europe League matches, our entire attack was funneled through him down the left for large spells of our only impressive performances under Emery this season. His left peg is dynamite for final ball delivery.
He has much to improve on as any young player does but if you can’t see the potential there you must be sleeping at the wheel. Far from ‘average’.
More worried about his durability than any question mark over talent.
“Out of interest , who’s 1st .”
Xhaka – although unfortunately nearly all of them are for the opposition.
Tierney is a ‘special player’
Lol
That’s exactly the point I’m making.
Let’s grab our popcorn and are a front seat. The only similarity is he shares with Robertson is that they play for the same national team.
Robertson is not in his league.
Dissenter
We are going to hold you to this. You are questioning his talent and I don’t think you have seen his matches with us. Remember this, You called him average.
Wenger Eagle
I certainly consider your recommendation of Tierney as a potentially good player. My point is that people were placing him on the same pedestal as a proven worldie like Roberson.
We did that to Hector Bellerin too, see where that’s gotten us.
‘Robertson is not in his league.’
At Tierney’s age Robertson was playing for Hull City. Are you comparing 23 year old Hull City defender Andy Robertson to Tierney or the 26 year old Champions League/Premier League title winning one? Because it sounds like the latter which is pretty funny.
Poor old Bellerin’s knees are shot and he needs to be put out to pasture now.
Never a great full-back but his other-worldly pace made him a valuable asset to have. Now that we’ve seen that’s clearly diminished he’s being exposed for being an average footballer.
I say cash in now while he still holds a bit of a reputation.
I agree with those views on Tierney – if he can avoid further injury then we have a potentially fantastic player on our hands. The suspension of the season allows us to hopefully use him for the run in.
We had a great transfer window last summer but it was mostly aimed at season 20/21 and not 19/20. Now we might get some of those benefits earlier.
Tierney is a ‘special player’Lol
That’s exactly the point I’m making.“
What is your definition of special then because you called him average twenty minutes ago!
Pierre Marc
Ozil is first if I remember right. Dont really have enough competition in this squad tho at least in chance creation category.
Marc
Sorry I didn’t read your whol comment 😂
Unn
Nice one geezer. Haven’t been on here much but still reading now and again, kudos to you for being one of those keeping up the entertainment in the comments in the lockdown.
You give us any chance to get a result at Citeh? Not like an empty stadium makes a difference for them eh.
Don
Some on here seems to think coaching works like magic. Oy, Pepe isn’t as 2 footed as Cazorla, he needs to be coached for a few months and get it sorted. Yeah, not gonna happen. Either you have the affinity for it or not.
Not saying you can’t improve by coaching but the players natural ability and physicality always sets the upper limit.
Weagle yeah Bellerin still presumably has a bit of value left if we cash in
I’d much rather sell him for 20+m this summer than try and restore his pace (probably not happening) or improve his performances (possible but still)
I think you can get a solid if unspectacular RB relatively cheap. Doesn’t have to be some beast, just a player who can do a job without getting noticed frankly.
Then focus on improving the midfield and we can return to get a top quality RB in a year or two when the higher priority positions are sorted
Pepe’s one footed ness irks me as much as the next guy but if by his mid 20s his that one footed I doubt he’s gonna change much now. He should just focus on how to abuse his superior technique and good pace so that his one footedness doesn’t really matter.
Robben only had one leg and he was still unplayable haha
ES The point I was trying to make was more to do with how they far off the clubs projections as to the negative impact of missing out on CL football were.Or were we told a pile of crap when the reality was too horrendous to contemplate? That alongside the damaging impact of spending in a later financial year monies that had already featured in a previous years P&L. Surely the impact of imposing cost controls on all and its failings would have been evident to a massive mover and shaker in the introduction of FFP? In effect the years… Read more »
Bellerin went downhill as soon as he started following a vegan diet.
Injuries soon followed.
Just saying
Chris
I was referencing Habesha who had called Tierney a ‘special player’. I wasn’t changing my mind about him
You need to find a better place to channel all that needless aggression.
Robben cutting in to shoot on his left was the most predictable thing ever and in a career spanning close to 20 years scarcely a defense in the world managed to reliably stop it. The trick was not that defenders didn’t know what he was going to do, it was that he was masterful at putting them on the back foot, putting a player off balance, timing his cut inside, skinning his man and sure enough the ball would be in the back of the net at the far post 3 seconds later Predictable but unstoppable. That’s what Pepe should… Read more »
Wasi “Ozil is first if I remember right. ” Surely you must be mistaken.. Ozil couldn’t even make the squad for Europa and League cup games (as well as league) for the first 3rd of the season and by all accounts he has been a total waste of space since he came into the side. Yet there he is , our most creative player so far this season . More creative than the ” monster” Saka(who is quality) More creative than the 72 mil Pepe.. More creative that Real Madrid’s Ceballos. He must have been doing something right, despite claims… Read more »
Have to say there’s reasons to be excited if we can have a decent summer window here. Guys like Martinelli, Saliba, Tierney [fitness permitting], Saka all have a huge potential upside and we have solid pieces in Leno, Aubameyang and Toreirra to work with too. Even Luiz and Holding at the back are serviceable for the most part with more protection in front of them. That’s not a bad start for a rebuild. Chuck out the rubbish in Xhaka, Kolasinac, Sokratis, Mustafi and Chambers and raise what you can, let Ozil rot in the kids team/stands or pay him off… Read more »
Dissenter
‘Aggression’? Really?
What a snowflake.
Graham
Bellerin was NEVER that good. All he had was pace and since pace was the order of the day back then…we coronated him.
Gooners have a natural tendency to over-hype our players.
Soares is a key example.
He was anonymous at Soton, I never read anyone even remotely say that’s a good player I’ll like to see at Arsenal.
The moment we signed him though, people started waxing lyrical about his abilities.
China Agreed, he’s only going to marginally improve his right foot at best no matter how much he’s coached at this stage. I’m sure he’ll come good, already shown more than enough for a first season in a new league and tumultuous team environment under 3 different managers. In fact I’m sure 4 of the 5 signings last summer are going to take us up a level compared to the players they replaced, might just take a season until we start seeing. All of that is of course null and void if we don’t replace our whole midfield over the… Read more »
Imo the area Pepe can improve is I want to see him skin his man earlier You can see when he gets within 2m of his man he is watching the opponents leg to see where his balance is so he can abuse it and akin him, but the process takes too long and opposition defenses have time to fall in behind and reorganize I wanna see him sit up his man more aggressively so he can skin him sooner and maintain the advantage. If you put your man on his ass but the process takes 7 seconds then the… Read more »
Robben like Messi was a master at body feints and rapid acceleration/sharp little changes in direction that knocked even world class defenders off balance.
Messi is nearly as predictable as Robben is in his dribbling, very rarely beats defenders outside on his right side if you watch him after losing the explosiveness of his early twenties. Not that it matters, vast majority of the time he beats them cutting in on his left and manages to burrow towards shooting positions where he kills you.
Yeah Freddie I’m quite hopeful about Pepe
He’s miles off what you’d call settled and the situation at the club has been a mess + he’s only started 10 games and made 7 sub appearances.
If regular game time can get an extra 15% out of him by next season we will have a very useful player I hope
Dissenter.
Maybe peolle are not that up in arms about Soares because we didn’t bring him in as first choice but as cover for both fullback positions.
This is basically an extended trial period to see if he fits into the team.
He also cost very little. Sure 2.5m isn’t peanuts but since when did we start baking in the wages with the players fees? Oh yeah, since Raul. Never mind.
Wenger Eagle
I think the special player tag should be reserved for young players like Saka
I hope Tierney proves me wrong. I’ll rather eat that type of humble pie. He’s highly rated by many so maybe there’s something there.
WengerEagle
Messi’s goal against Bayern in the 2015 CL, where he left Boateng on his arse, is one of my favourite non Arsenal goals, perfectly highlights what you said about keeping defenders off balance.
And then that finish past Neuer. Sumptuous.
I wouldn’t be looking to make Ceballos a permanent move. He just hasn’t shown me enough to justify paying the money that Real Madrid will no doubt be looking to fetch for him.
He’s a very good technical footballer but he just doesn’t have the physical attributes to excel over in the PL. And as good as he is technically, we’re not exactly talking about Cesc Fabregas/David Silva levels of it, the former who was much more robust a player and the latter much quicker to boot.
Freddie Sheath you sword man. I was one of the first osiers here that led the insurrection against the Mislintat hypothesis. I have nothing against Raul…I just don’t want him to have an unchecked or unquestioned reign at the club. You do realize that effectively, we signed Soares for a 3.5 month loan for at least £2.5 million. Even if he had done well, we would have still had to sign him as a FREE TRANSFER in June. Don’t you think £2.5 million is a tad too much for a short trial of a back-up RB, more so when we… Read more »
Agreed on Ceballos
His debut he looked like the second coming but he’s had plenty of chances since and not been close to that level. I don’t think he’s going to be a top level player, more likely a good mid table Spanish team level player imo.
Might be wrong but I wouldn’t gamble paying money for him now based on what we’ve seen
Pierre “”””As I predicted 2 years ago , their Wenger obsession would become an Ozil obsession..”””” I agree. The only vestiges of real class at the club left in our maestros left foot. As for his £18 million salary- off course its obscene and fans are entitled to complain about it. But some forgetting and want to to skirt over the fact- the new regime have just shelled out £20-24 on an ageing Chelsea reject for his 10 months and 25 games. Hypocritical ain’t the half of it! So am I right? Chelsea buy Werner ( 23) fro £50 million… Read more »
Graham, doing your ACL can in no way be attributed to being vegan. Bellerin’s outstanding speed has been affected by the ACL injury and the other issues that come with being out for a long time. Maybe I’m being overly wishful to hope that these three months will have allowed him to get fully fit, as I seem to recall he was carrying a (thigh?) injury. If his pace never returns then sell, if we receive an offer that is too good to turn down then sell but I would hope he gets back to his best form and provides… Read more »
Chris
This is probably my favourite ever Robben goal because oit was the one time that everyone including Alba thought that he was cutting out onto that famous left peg of his to have a crack and he sells him a stepover onto his right to leave him for dead, one of the rare times he’s beaten somebody onto his right foot. In true Robben style, he still finds a way to finish it off with his left though haha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTuW3gOLUJ8
Don I did say some, didn’t say it was you. That’s something I’ve actually read on here, can’t remember if it was about Pepe but someone suggested that all it took was some coaching to be as 2 footed as Cazorla, ridiculous. There’s a reason he’s such a rare specimen. Like I said, I have high hopes about some of the youngsters too, but we’ve all been here before with JET and Quincy Obusu etc (sp? It’s been a while since he was hot) It looks good up front though with several top talents not far from hitting senior football.… Read more »
Now I’m reading the typical tabloid nonsense that Arsenal were interested in Norwich city’s Max Aarons but can’t afford the fee.
https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/sport/norwich-city/gunners-priced-out-of-max-aarons-move-1-6687157
Dissenter
If Tierney is going to be a flop at arsenal, It will be due to injuries. Not due to talent or commitment. That’s why I called him special. Anyway we will see in due time.
And No to ceballos, He hasn’t got that burst of pace to be a top level midfielder. There are lots of other players better than him for the price real are going to demand for him.
WengerEagle
Cheers for the link, also top class ‘professional blocking’ by Muller there I think! The last goal on that video is a perfect illustration of how he was predictable 95% of the time yet still unstoppable.
As others have said, this is where hopefully Pepe develops further, he has the ability to be deadly on his left foot and potential further for being able to keep defenders on their toes and off balance.
Our fullbacks are not the problem again the issues arise from midfield because our midfielders
1. Cant drop wide fast enough to help the fb
2. Cant win or press the ball higher up the field
3. Are poor in possesion
4. Cant make wide runs to attack hence pin the opposition back
Pepe will never be able to use his right foot. BUT we have a whole history of left wingers who couldn’t use their left foot esp Overmars and Pires Pires interview on 4-42: As a right-footed player on the left wing, you have got a ‘broader palette’, as we say in French. When you come infield from that position, you can see the entire game laid out in front of you. As an inverted winger you’re on your stronger foot, so you’re obviously a lot more comfortable as well. When you come infield you can play passes to the players… Read more »
The moving of Pires to LW was an inspired insight by AW, just as moving Petit from LB to CM was, and just as moving Henry from RW to CF was. And moving Lauren from CM to RB was.
Such a shame AW ran out of ideas in the last 10 years.
Dissenter I know you already know this but keep ignoring it. AMN has fallen out of favour so far that Papa “I’m a real boy” Sokratis is preferred ahead of him at RB. Which is kind of a problem when our CB options also are poor and injury prone. Again you’re counting the wages with the fees, smh. 60k is on the lower end of what we’re paying. Even if he was only called upon to play 1 game he would still be better value and more useful than Ozil who’s on 6 times as much. It’s not only a… Read more »
Pierre, you make me laugh…
“Yet there he is , our most creative player so far this season .” (Ozil)
Official PL stats for Ozil this season:
Goals 1
Assists 2 (Lol)
Big Chances Created 1 (Loooool)
Saka:
Goals 0
Assists 3
Big Chances Created 5
Both have 18 appearances.
So on the creative stats is 8-3 to Saka.
With coq in the team Bellerin wasnt exposed
With Carz in the team the opposition would be cautious and it was hard for us to loose the ball and be caught out.
Result is the fullbacks benefit
Andy
Yeah, but he made some nice clay figurines and a nice painting of Wenger. That’s enough for Pierre
Can’t expect any other kind of creativity from Ozil at this stage.
Freddie You are missing the point and refusing to answer the basic question If Soares was such a desirable target, then why not wait until June to get him on a Bosman? We signed him for 3.5 months for at least £2.5 million to provide coverage for a position where we had two players that could provide short term back-up till the end of the season. Even if Soares had impressed we would have still signed him on a Bosman in June What was the need to waste that some of money? AMN would have played it, a man-manager coach… Read more »
Ozil has one year left.
Leave him in peace, let him finish the rest of his working vacation and be off on his merry way.
Pierre “””Un can’t stand transfer window fans.All experts They get a hard on for the transfers more than the game itself”Agreed, very strange””” In a nutshell – its is why there is a lot of anger and disrespect towards our Wenger, The immature fans ( like Walt- who at his age should know better) admire the likes of Raul because he is the complete contrast. Wenger spent the clubs money like it his own. As it should be and with the best intentions. Raul spends clubs money ( Barca and Arsenal) recklessly and not in the best interests of his… Read more »
Dissenter AMN isn’t a RB and doesn’t want to play there, apparently Arteta doesn’t like him either. Papasok is not a RB, not even a little, he offers nothing going forward and can’t keep up with speedy wingers. We also had a problem at LB, Kola always one tackle away from a long term injury, Tierney out and I’m guessing Arteta wanted to play Saka in his favoured position even though he did great as a full back. In the great scheme of things it’s just not a big deal and it made sense even if some can’t see it.… Read more »
If only CG had the wit to read the comments that had started that conversation he’d see that I was slagging off people moaning and bitching and the transfer window already.
Freddie
Okay… keep digging in.
We are so freaking monied that £2.5 million is not a big deal.
Cheers
Dissenter
Just presenting the facts as I see them, nothing else.
If you want to believe it’s all because of the evil overlord and pizza eating contest winner Raul just signed him to get Kia that new Gucci handbag he wanted then that’s up to you, there’s others in that group too so you won’t be alone. I don’t see it as logical is all.
CG Negative energy is overstating Luiz’s toal amount (around 18-20 ) and understating Werners total amount ( 54 mil + 200k a week salary so about 10 mil for a year, lets assume 5 years so 104 mil excluding all the unknow agent fees in the Werner deal which you have also included in the Luiz total) only for the sake of making our club look bad and our direct rival look good. Pierre Idk if that para was for me but im also a big fan of Ozil. His contributions have not been near good enough for his quality… Read more »
Gnabry just missed a sitter and then scored a wonderful volley chipped finish. He really has come a long way. So much confidence even after he missed a sitter.