Arsenal are probably not going to extend our Dani Ceballos past his current loan deal, which makes you wonder if we’re going to use him in any sort of capacity over the next batch of games. Would it be wise to play him when you could give Joe Willock some games?
That’s the major talking point for me. Does Arteta think about next season, or does he get the job done with the best of what he has?
I suspect he’s going to go all out at 1) Finishing in the top 4 2) Winning a trophy
The thing that excites me a little is knowing that every player is going to want to fight. If you’re leaving, you want to show risk-averse clubs you are worth the cash. If you are staying, you’ll want to ingratiate yourself to the manager and make yourself a first-teamer in a squad of players that haven’t found a pattern with the new system.
I am genuinely thrilled about where this squad could go. I think there are big futures for the kids we have at the club at the moment. The hopes are high for ESR, they think he really could be something special. Martinelli, Saka and Saliba are all pretty big names already considering they are teenagers. We might get to see a run with Tierney, who has a dreamy delivery. Then there are the maybe crowd. Willock, Eddie, AMN (who found his way back into contention), and Matteo all have it in them to be big players. Then you have a whole batch of kids that are buried in the reserves that might have something special. Balogun, Greenwood, Medley and Smith
This is a good time to be an Arsenal fan. We have an exciting young coach, we have young kids that are ready to break, and the world is going to look very different for football… hopefully, we can find some stardust to add to the talent. This could shape our summer nicely, if young talent speak to Arteta, they’ll be sold… but if they see the actions of a club that gives youth the chance at a major club, they’ll be more likely to join.
If we get it right, we could be challenging for the title in 2-3 seasons. Get it wrong and it’s going to be miserable. Hopefully, the club is going to refocus on landing more of the Martinelli’s, versus some of the other bums we let in the backdoor because of special relationships.
Right, short post, see you in the comments! x
“Chelsea would have it done months ago.”
Didn’t they give hudson-odoi 200kpw?
120 grand a week was the reported wage for Odoi.
We should offer Saka that amount at the very least .
To lose him so early on in his career would be criminal.
Terraloon, Yes, the PR guys did a great job as did Ivan when they convinced so many supporters that financial results were just as important as winning titles. Quite frankly it was bizarre. Yet now Kroenke us perceived as being ‘tight’ even though the reality is that the club have invested significantly in the transfer market and on player wages. All of which highlights just how poorly we have run the football side of the business as ES already mentioned. At the risk of harking on and on about the same topic for me it comes down to too little… Read more »
Santan
“Chelsea would have it done months ago.”
Roman will see Corona as an opportunity to make Chelsea even bigger and better,
Stan will see Corona as opportunity to shrink the wage bill , make scouts redundant and brainwash the the likes of ES- we are on the right track and they are not.
andy 1886 There need to be changes made in the Boardroom, but I do think that there is growing evidence that the club is making an effort to improve the management and coaching departments at the club. Last summer there was serious work done to offload a significant number of players. 11 First team squad players left and were replaced by a similar number of transfers and promotions from U23. I suspect that this process will be ongoing this summer albeit probably on a slightly reduced scale. There is also some evidence that the club’s wage bill is being reduced… Read more »
“120 grand a week was the reported wage for Odoi.”
Fair enough
100kpw for 5 years is only around 25m in total. If we were to buy saka right now it would cost at the very least 60m+.
ES
“”””The club is in transition. It will take time to turn the ship around.”””””
As we currently have no:
Chairman
Owners in the UK
Captain
Manager ( we have a trendy head coach)
and no money.
and soon no hope.
Looks like we will be in permanent transition.
CG You are really rather immature. Yes the board needs replacements and most probably a Non Executive Chair. However, the suggestion that we need MORE changes to our Management and Coaching Departments is ridiculous. We have made major changes in the last two years. Stop keep on rabbiting with your concern about lack of an experienced Manager. The club has appointed 3 people in senior Management Team who are Managing Director, Football Director and Technical Director. Arteta is at 38 more than qualified to be Head Coach despite your constant assertions that he is not. There are plenty of people… Read more »
Rishi Sunak was aged 39 when appointed Chancellor of Exchequer. So the idea
that Arteta is at 38 too young to be Head Coach at Arsenal is absurd.
ES
I would ignore CG – his views are worthless and negative and really don’t know why he is on here. Some people just enjoy drowning in misery
Don’t engage with CG. He’s an absolute moron and a miserable git with nothing positive to say unless it’s about Wenger.
Snap.
Whether Chelsea are financing their current expenditure through funds they’ve generated or whether it’s Abramovich putting money in again (he certainly backed off from doing this) they are gambling their position at a time when 99% of clubs are or will be taking a cautious route.
If it works and they win the title they’ll look like geniuses, if it goes pear shaped 99% of those praising their actions will deny that they ever did it.
Things that do not seem the way they look to me
Ozil has been at the club 7 years.
Ronaldo is only 3 years younger than Arteta
We have spent 100m on Ozil alone
Werner is 24 years old
Boateng is 31 (I thought he was 35 or something)
Honestly, I think the saka hype is only from arsenal fans. Ask any other fans and they will tell you he’s a good player who needs to prove that he’s world class, and that can only happen if he features regularly and plays well regularly.
Asked a few of my friends and the only youngster they see with potential at arsenal is Martinelli.
They were not as confident about saka but then again, saka doesn’t play with the same energy as martinelli, and I rate him. But I don’t see how he could be worth 150+ kpw.
Watching a few highlights from earlier in the season. I can conclude that Leno has been saving our bacon time and time again and contrary to popular belief, ozil can dribble and has provided quite a few pre assists, though not enough to warrant 300k per week.
Guen has also done well, sok and David luiz have given away a lot of silly goals. Auba is lethal, bellerin has hardly featured and AMN is very poor at RB.
Pre-assists? I guess if you look at pre-pre-pre-assists then even Xhaka might look good. Seriously though Ozil is a luxury that we can’t afford and the sooner he packs his bags the better.
GONSTEROUS I think that Saka is a very talented footballer and has the potential to become a regular first team player whether in LWB or LW positions. I am sure that the club will offer him a wage commensurate with his level and status. What is also important is the length of contract. Most of contracts signed recently by young players are 5 years. I have watched a lot of games played by Maitland-Niles since he joined first team. He is a utility player and unlikely to get a regular starting place in any position. He is not in my… Read more »
“Just like Gnabry before him who couldn’t get a game for west brom?”
Gnabry’s issues at West Brom wasn’t that of talent but more of attitude.
Not all going players will make it at Arsenal and we need to stop holding onto players for longer than necessary.
Centre midfield is not really a position that you can be loose in possession of the football and wasteful in your passing or switch off , these are the areas that AMN need to sharpen up on. Pierre In my opinion, AMN is at the last chance salon and the only way he stays is if no body offers decent money for him. Cesc, Bellerin, Iwobi, Saka, Holding and even Eddie grabbed their opportunities with both hands. AMN has been around the first team for close to 4 years now and we are still not sure about him. If any… Read more »
azed
Agree – It’s as much attitude with AMN – he needs to look like he wants it more than all the other players.
AMN had all of last season to make the Right back position his own but he did not.
I get he doesn’t like the role but it has been reported that Saka also doesn’t like playing left back but that didn’t stop him from giving it his all.
The problem with AMN is not skill and that’s the problem.
Marc
It’s not about praising Chelsea it’s about dispelling the narrative that is blindly being put out on here that Arsenal are in a better state than most of the PL
Azed
“”””The problem with AMN is not skill and that’s the problem.””””
The problem with AMN is he is too good. So coaches continually play him in every position to fill the gaps.
And that no one can see his true potential and play him in his best position-center midfield
Play him there and you would need this Partey either( Arsenals Pogba)
AMN has talent oozing from every pore. Just a shame very few can see it,
terraloon
“”””It’s not about praising Chelsea it’s about dispelling the narrative that is blindly being put out on here that Arsenal are in a better state than most of the PL”””””
and emphasing the vast class in their executives between the two clubs.
They have the gold standard of executives ( because Roman demands it)
We have the dunces. ( because Stan don’t care and Josh is too dopey)
Maybe negative – but is undoubtedly the truth,
“The problem with AMN is he is too good.”
Yeah, that’s the problem with AMN, he’s just too good.
When no one says any stupid shit for a couple hours, you can always count on CG to swoop in and pick up where he left off. Nice one.
AMN with the right coaching is as good if not better than Wijdnaldum.
Dozi, Willock can get to Henderson, Milner levels respectively but the coach is massaging Xhakalson, Ozil, balloon boy who are not going to get any better.
Im telling you for free!
Andy
Pre-assists? I guess if you look at pre-pre-pre-assists then even Xhaka might look good.
Don’t know why u are taking the piss but a pre assist helps to set up a tap in goal but I do agree that ozil is a luxury we cannot afford, which is a shame because I liked him when he was in bremen. He could dribble, score and assist then.
Now he plays like he’s got nothing to prove.
Its a shame with Ozil. He has lost passion for the game imo. The talent is there but the game moved on without him and he didn’t really try to catch up and run ahead
AMN has, imo, all the necessary attributes needed to succeed at the top level. Unfortunately though, he lacks one fundamental asset that would not only enable him to fulfil his true potential but also, significantly, give him the opportunity to show Mr Arteta and us as fans, what he is truly capable of. – A burning desire and attitude to really want to succeed and, significantly, as far we are all concerned, clear and visible proof of this. That’s right, it’s his ability to concentrate and give it his all, that is really holding him back. If he displays these… Read more »
I don’t think AMN has the midfield skill set to play in the premier league. He wouldn’t be good enough to play midfield for any other club in the league, why us?
If he insists on being a midfielder, send him away on loan to the championship. The last time he was at Ipswich, even they didn’t play him as a midfield.
Arteta should let AMN have a run at CM. If he does bad there then we should sell if we get the right price. His heart clearly isnt in playing utulity man.
Santan
Are we so shite or bereft of ambition that we will throw AMN in there.
If he’s so bad, why would anyone buy him?
I’ve disliked AMN since the day James Maddison dived to get him sent off and AMN still went to embrace him. There no fire in his bones – he will trudge around in any position he finds himself.
““The problem with AMN is he is too good.””
What complete and utter imbecile said that?
Marc
In fairness, I think CG was trying to stay that AMN is a jack of all trades and a master of none. He clumsily made a point about his versatility.
Dissenter
I should’ve guessed. Having a versatile player in the squad can be a good thing although I don’t think AMN has the mentality for it.
He’ll be gone this summer or next, as soon as we get a decent offer.
He doesn’t think AMN is a master of none, he thinks he’s a master of centre-midfield.
A few days ago he said AMN is ‘probably the best player at the club’.
with our current midfield selection very limited – who would you choose – Xhaka or
AMN?
Santan “Its a shame with Ozil. He has lost passion for the game imo. The talent is there but the game moved on without him and he didn’t really try to catch up and run ahead” I’m more of the opinion that it is a shame that a minority of Arsenal fans cannot recognise quality. They have allowed his contract to dominate their thoughts instead of taking him for what he is ….a highly skilled , highly intelligent footballer who makes the game look too easy with his effortless exquisite first touch and ability to find space on a football… Read more »
AMN is a dosey half arsed dick.
Wanders back when he losses the ball, has that dopey attitude.
Get rid.
Dissenter,
At Ipswich he was their best player. He got injured and was not put back in the team when he recovered as they were concerned about his fitness level and they were trying to make a point to Arsenal as they wanted to buy him.
His mum kicked a fuss (she left an expletive laden voice mail to the head coach, she was also suspected of slashing the tires of some of the coaching staff) and they decided that as Arsenal was not going to sell him to them it was not worth persisting with him.
“sacking that clown Emery and bringing in a manager who(unlike some fans) recognises Ozil’s quality couldn’t have worked out better for me.
Really?
So it wouldn’t have been better if he’d got more than 1 goal and 1 assist?
Marc
AMN’s problem is mainly mental and cognitive.
Like many have said, he’s playing in cruise control or on auto-pilot.
Stroller, You seem unwilling to countenance the possibility that people at Chelsea know what they are doing. They are ruthless in using any tool, loophole at their disposal to improve Chelsea. Their use the loan system as a source of revenue was unprecedented. I found that distateful that they had 70 players on loan, but it worked. Yes RA is funding them, but if you look closely, you’ll find that the management team is quite impressive. They seem to always find a way to generate money and extract the maximum from their resources. Nobody can say the same about Arsenal.… Read more »
“sacking that clown Emery and bringing in a manager who(unlike some fans) recognises Ozil’s quality couldn’t have worked out better for me.”
This is some sad shit. Imagine thinking things are working our well for yourself when a new gaffer comes into the football club you support from your bedroom.
CG and Pierre, the comedy tag team.
out*
Pierre
‘I’m more of the opinion that it is a shame that a minority of Arsenal fans cannot recognize quality.”
You’re willing to throw minority of the fans under the bus for Ozil?
Jeez man, you do love this boy. What will you do when his contract runs out?
Rob a bank to get the funds to resign him?
Marc
As I said he was criticised when he was making record assists.
At this present time he is playing to the manager’s orders and playing for the team.
Evidence , watch and learn.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DQ-Ni8y7ih-k&ved=2ahUKEwic08OvuPfpAhUrRBUIHSW8AeoQwqsBMAB6BAgKEAM&usg=AOvVaw0r_L76LwOIuhMa2DR7jlQO
Dissenter
“AMN’s problem is mainly mental and cognitive.
Like many have said, he’s playing in cruise control or on auto-pilot.”
He’s coming up to 23 years old – he shouldn’t need to be told to switch on or focus doing something he’s paid a great deal of money for compared to what the fans watching him earn.
I have no doubt whatsoever- if our vibrant and hungry Wenger Academy boys play in Manchester next week ( AMN/Willock/Eddie/Saka /Bellerin etc) we will score a minimum of 3 goals.
Hopefully – the rebirth of Wengerism under Arteta to commence after lockdown.
Pierre
I don’t need to learn anything off of you. You made a daft statement and I showed it to be so.
Or are you saying if he’d got 3-4 assists plus the goal wouldn’t have been better?
“if our vibrant and hungry Wenger Academy boys play in Manchester next week ( AMN/Willock/Eddie/Saka /Bellerin etc”
Well in Bellerin’s case that’s what happens when you’re a vegan!
Abramovich doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves. The vast money he’s spent aside, one of the first things he did at Chelsea was appoint on one of the brightest minds in sports management to run the club. In appointing Peter Kenyon, they laid out a way to always be ahead of the curve. While we were passively waiting for FFP to level out the playing field, Chelsea were actively creating ways to go around FFP. We were stashing money away in a bank vault waiting while Chelsea were setting up US baseball style farm system with the loaning… Read more »
Yea, it’s obvious Abramovich can’t keep away from Chelsea, UK work visa or not.
He truly loves that club and is definitely directly financing some of this transfer business.
I think he sees an opportunity for a hostile take over of the footballing space again.
Superlative post Dissenter,
100% agreement.
Gonsterous, it really wasn’t a piss take of your comment, more of a view on how over analysed player performance actually is. I’m sure that there is a term somewhere that could be dragged out to claim that just about any player had some special attribute that justified their inclusion. Even ‘assists’ weren’t a ‘thing’ so long back. Now it’s ‘pre-assists’ and ‘playing between the lines’ and all sorts of nonsense. Let’s be honest, the majority of fans know if a player is worth his place from just watching the game without all this over analysis of what are quite… Read more »
Diss
“””””……and as Valentin mentioned they have a lady CEO who has balls of brass. They way she extorted Real for Eden Hazard was amazing…….”
She also extorted £8 million from our Dopes for Luiz.
(She is also extremely attractive too,)
We have Vinny,.
there are still other combinations in the midfield that Arteta haven’t yet try
the dynamism (however little) is there just need to be figured out as each midfielders have their own unique attributes albeit limited
so for the remaining matches I just want fresh look and more play in the midfield that can be the engine to the team
enough loanees next season no more Suarez no more Ceballos just play our own players
at least these kids are not as bad as Denilson
“a highly skilled , highly intelligent footballer who makes the game look too easy with his effortless exquisite first touch and ability to find space on a football pitch and his willingness to bring others into the game with his selfless play.”
1448 minutes played
2 Through balls
176 passes forward
217 passes backward
1 big chance created
compared to guendouzi (a more defensive cm)
1591 minutes played
7 through balls
313 passes forward
151 passes backward
1 big chance created
Make of it what you will
Dissenter
Basically what you’re saying is that while we dithered and stagnated, Chelski moved forward.
Been saying this since 2006.
Can you imagine where we would have been gad we appointed a proper footballing mind as CEO instead of Gazidis-the pretender?
Arsenal is like the military, always trying to win yesterday’s war instead of preparing for tomorrow’s. Like it was said waiting for FFP to level the playing field instead of trying way to circumvent it. ManCity got caught doing things illegal, but Chelsea just exploited loopholes. I have been saying for ages, we should send scouts untapped market. Hungry, talented Teenagers players currently 1) in France Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 because the academy system there is much better. You can buy a decent player with bigger potential and better technique for less. 2) Lower English league where we then… Read more »
Santan
Please tell me these stats are Papasoks?
1448 minutes played
2 Through balls
176 passes forward
217 passes backward
1 big chance created
Surely can’t be the player Pierre just wrote Opus 536 to.
That’s about as piss poor as it gets stats wise for a Cam, I’d be surprised if any other attacking midfielder has worse having played as much as Ozil. Pathetic
The G
(Quite simply )
Arsenal under Stan are a reactive club.
Chelsea under Roman are a proactive club.
Every and I mean every decision AFC make – we stand still at best.
(Look – we cant even sign a talented teenager to a long term contract without it being a saga )
Nearly every decision Chelsea make- it makes them better and bigger.
They are 2 steps ahead of us all the time.
I guarantee their executives must laugh at our lot.
( eg. signing Luiz)
I find it difficult to understand why those who post on here deriding the class of the current team and in particular our midfield believe that Maitland-Niles is remotely of the calibre to improve the team CG states that he “oozes” talent. In what respect? He is positionally poor in defence and there is nothing in his repertoire which suggests that he has the creativity or can offer the level of assists and score goals required. There are some who are suddenly asserting that he has class based on his performance against Charlton! This is a team ranked 22nd in… Read more »
Chelsea ceo female? Guy Laurence? Is he a tranny or something?
Fred “That’s about as piss poor as it gets stats wise for a Cam” CAM.= CENTRAL attacking midfielder. Now if you had an understanding of the game you would have noted that Ozil is rarely central as he is playing to the manager’s orders. Personally, I would prefer to see him play as a CENTRAL attacking midfielder as it his best position. However, Arteta prefers Ozil to play a little deeper and wider which results wise has been working. So yes , those stats are as you say “piss poor for a CAM” , but as Ozil hasn’t played as… Read more »
Sure Pierre.
Keep telling yourself that. What ever helps your Ozil wank marathons.
“However, Arteta prefers Ozil to play a little deeper and wider which results wise has been working.”
Pierre
Did you actually type that with a straight face?
I had made the point a number of times before the lockdown that I would prefer Ozil to play more CENTRAL as his lresent position negates his creativity in the final 3rd.
Ozil I’m sure is happy enough to continue to follow the manager’s orders of feeding the wide players as he understands that it’s the team that comes first and not his own personal glory.
Azed
We are the only unbeaten side in Europe this year in their respective league, so yes , results wise one would presume it is working.
Valentin Interesting alas I think that the imminent changes to the numbers of players that a club can loan in our out (8) reducing in a very short while to 6 alongside the inevitable changes to players being allowed to play in English Football post Brexit mean that the focus on players will shift massively toward players being bought into academies at a young age . Arsenal don’t nowadays seem to be able to plan ahead they just seem to react after the event and in an ever changing environment in football Arsenal need to get a whole lot smarter… Read more »
Uwot
Marina Granovskaia is the one running Chelsea, she has a direct line to the billionaire owner and used to be his personal assistant.
Honestly If you gave me the option between Xhaka and AMN, I would choose AMN. If we aren’t signing anyone, Atleast we are going in to the Unknown with him. Xhaka isn’t it. The man United AMN might be. That’s why I would give him a shot. Because Our central midfield can’t get any worse offensively.
Let’s hope that Guendouzi steps up to the plate as fred and Santander seem to think he is a creative force.
Personally, I put my money on Smith Rowe to stake a claim in the side, and if he ultimately produces more than the “piss poor ” Ozil then that will be a positive for Arsenal football club.
Guendouzi needs to aim to be a player like Busquets. He is a deep lying play maker kind of player. He needs to work on his defensive game but I think he can succeed.
Terraloon “”””Arsenal don’t nowadays seem to be able to plan ahead they just seem to react after the event and in an ever changing environment in football Arsenal need to get a whole lot smarter but sadly I just don’t see enough evidence to suggest that those in strategic positions aren’t gifted planners.”””” 100% Accurate. One only has to read Jens Lehmann article about Emery It was a present for him to get the post of Arsenal manager. Apply that to Raul, Edu and Vinny. More bloody presents dished out. They cant believe their luck they hold the positions they… Read more »
CG
Chelsea’s execs ,0wner and an ex Manager and ex player certainly laugh at AFC and in particular our old long standing manager (your idol). Roman played a game with us when we bought Walcott. I expect they still laugh at us now.
We are the only unbeaten side in Europe this year in their respective league
But we did lose to that Greek side at home.
PS: if Emery had done that, you would have gone on a crusade
NEEG
“””Roman played a game with us when we bought Walcott. I expect they still laugh at us now.”””
I doubt it.
Walcott 100 goals. And numerous assits
And a few Cups…
Bought for £12 million
Sold for £20 million
I think him and his scrumptious CEO quite admire that type of dealmaking and typical Wenger ingenuity.
CG
A little while later Bale was sold by Southampton to you know who for how much?
We conceded 3 2nd half goals and lost against Brentford today.
Couldn’t have worked out better for Pierre. Right?
Stuart MacFarlane has one of best jobs in world, hanging out at Arsenal everyday taking photos. It is sweet gig, wonder how he got job.
I have lost track of Arsenal schedule, did not know we had match today. Did we play second team squad, how did we lose 3-2?
Ozil played in the 2nd half, which is why we conceded 3. Pierre is sobbing into his tube sock right now.