WE WON A GAME YES

by .

Congratulations Liverpool. I hate it, but you can’t be angry at Jurgen Klopp. What a manager, what a job, what a season. Well done.

Onto Arsenal.

The bloodletting has officially stopped for a few days.

We won a fucking game. Lovely.

It wasn’t always pretty; there were some heart-in-mouth moments, and there was some luck… but we won.

Arteta switched things up with 3 at the back and we looked pretty solid. He’s still prioritising defensive structure over attacking flair, but the formation allowed us to get in behind Southampton and force Hassenhutl into changing his approach.

Our two goals were pretty lucky, the first came from Eddie’s relentless pressure from the front, he chased down their keeper, forced an error and picked up an easy tap-in for our first.

The second, LATE in the second half, came off the back of some serious Saints pressure. Again, it was another error. Auba was professionally fouled in the build-up forcing the ref into a red card for Jack Stephens. The resulting freekick on the edge of the area from Lacazette was parried poorly, giving Joe Willock the chance to sweep home for the winner. It was great to see two of Arteta’s subs give us the edge after some horrible in-game ‘accidents’ during his short tenure.

So what to make of it?

Well, a few things. We’ve quite often been a bit shit against Southampton over the past 5 years, so it was nice to pick up an away win there (Arteta’s first in the league at Arsenal). Additionally, we have been a car crash off the pitch and even worse on it in the last two matches. Actually, when you layer in context, not as bad as everyone has made out, but let’s just say it’s been a miserable start, so anything that stopped the rot was happiness.

Sure, we weren’t great in the second half, but the fear kicked in. We’re dreadful away from home and the team was clearly nervous. It showed character for the boys to see out the win and stick to the plan.

Additionally, it’s clear that Arteta has a plan he’s activating against. He’s making it clear that a new dawn is ahead of us and there is a clearout that is certainly happening this summer. Mesut Ozil, Alex Lacazette and Saed Kolasinac all sat in the stands as the kids kicked on. That was a long overdue statement that I thought was pretty bold. A lot of people thought Arteta would bottle it and roll out the Ozil apology. He didn’t. That’s good leadership.

The coach also left out Matteo Guendouzi. This has drawn some anger amongst the fans because there’s a chart going around showing that the Frenchman is a standout talent on the stats front. I totally understand that, he’s exciting, he’s only 20, and the world is his lobster. However, we have to live in reality. If you work for an organisation and you are a precocious talent but can’t behave, you are a problem. This is elite level sport, we are looking to activate a high-performance culture, if you can’t play the game, you don’t have a right to be a part of the club. Being a massive whopper is not a key attribute worth having around if you don’t live up to the non-negotiables.

I have told you for a long while that he’s a problem. The staff find him difficult and even the players think he’s problematic and unfocused. More interested in Instagram babes is something I’ve heard, very unArsenal is something I’ve heard from other quarters. You can’t afford that in a team that is at the bottom. I’d draw parallels to Dennis Rodman who won a championship with the Pistons but was a wild child. The only reason the Bulls pursued him in is that they had two alpha males at the club they knew could control him. Matteo hasn’t won a championship, he’s just acting out like peak Mario B without the substance. Put him with Diego Simeone, maybe that’ll help him, but let’s not make out it’s an Arsenal problem if they can’t control a player who has fucked over 3 managers in a row. It’s a Matteo problem.

Still, the one positive with Arteta is he always leaves a door open for forgiveness.

Some additional positives from yesterday. I really thought Martinez looked good. He has a great frame for a keeper and the Premier League, he’s a good shot-stopper and he is shockingly good with his feet. I thought he was a calming figure in the defence yesterday.

Rob Holding, who was a little bit on the outside also had a good game yesterday. He’s regaining confidence, he looks stronger and a clean sheet will do him the world of good.

We also need to give a shout to some of our counter-attacking play. It was much better yesterday. We created 4 big chances yesterday. I thought Saka found a good stride yesterday and we were unlucky not to score more goals. Granit Xhaka, love or loathe, made a difference with his passing. We missed him, suck it up, it hurts to say it, but he was good. He made one sublime line-breaking pass in the first half that was very, very sexy.

The two worries were Spanish. Hector Bellerin still doesn’t look comfortable at right-back. He’s lost a bit of pace and he looks broken. His decision making isn’t quite there and you can see the nervousness in his game. I’m not sure if that’s just him moving forward, but he’s a shadow of his former self at the moment.

Dani Ceballos just ain’t it. We’re looking at a player that isn’t suited to Arsenal as an 8. Bake in that he doesn’t give a fuck about Arsenal, and, well, you have a hot pie with a nasty filling. We need a proper number 8 that has power, pace, great passing and a presence on the pitch. That has to be top of the list this summer, hopefully Kia has a good idea of what we can do there, because our midfield isn’t right. Does he know Dominik Szoboszlai by chance?

Big shout out to Eddie, he earned his bread yesterday. He’s a hard worker and he patrols that frontline with more and more urgency. I think he’s a good bet for the future, he needs a few more goals, but if you get his confidence in the right place there’s no telling how far he can go. Also, I am thankful for Auba when he plays in such a selfless way. He was unlucky not to get his 50th goal, hitting the bar early on, but overall, he had a great game.

Just before I tap out of the game commentary, just a reminder, last time we beat Southampton in November, we conceded 21 shots and lost on xG 2.71-1.91. Today, our xG was 0.76-2.53.

Final word for the coach. It was a solid performance. He was tactically correct, he lifted the players, and his in-game management was better. As I will continue to say, he is the least of Arsenal’s worries. The guy has it all, leadership, passion, tactical vision, communication, and positive vibes. Limited experience, but that’s what vision is about, taking a chance on potential. Arteta just needs a bit of luck and a very good squad overhaul this summer.

Onto the next game, an FA Cup quarter-final against Sheffield United. xxx

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Northbanker

I’m happy with moving Guen on – he seems to have everything and yet delivers nothing. A real oddity of a player. Disappointing considering how much he seeks the ball, has huge amounts of energy and never shirks. But comments here are right – he has poor recovery defensively, he has the tendency to be suicidal with passes, most of them square balls and rarely finds any defence splitting pass. His tackling, which ought to be the best part of his game, just isn’t all that We willl get a good price for him so lets sell and buy ourselves… Read more »

Emiratesstroller

Marc

The weakness of Arsenal’s midfield this season has been blindingly obvious in
virtually every game we play including yesterday’s match with Southampton.

We have on our books three players in Ceballos, Guendouzi and Ozil who are
defensively poor and have produced creatively almost nothing this season.

I have made the case all season that we need to recruit in midfield at least two
new players. I would offload both Guendouzi and Maitland-Niles to generate
funds for one of the recruits and then part exchange Lacazette for Partey.

CG

wasi

“””””And btw Tierney is already availability for full training.
Again Pierre this comment is not for you. Its for those labelling him a crock.””””

so even when he is NOT injured – he cant last 90 minutes?

and he was rested against Brighton.

Lucky to get 15 games x 90 minutes out of him a season.

Freddie Ljungberg

“If anything the signing of Mari,Soares and Luiz tells you exactly the ambitions the club has”

Depends if you’re buying Pedro’s narrative that we’re paying through the nose for agents or not, which the official accounts disprove.

I see it as a low cost way to get some back ups in and allowing us to kick out Mustafi and Sok +1, freeing up some wages and generating some extra funds. Specifically to fix the midfield.

Marc

Emirates

I could live with that. I wonder if the Soares deal is about a cheap short term replacement for Bellerin to add more funds to the kitty and give Osei-Tutu a season as well.

CG

ES

“”””I am fascinated by those who consider that Guendouzi is rated a talented footballer.””””

So Am I,

If this show pony thinks he is bigger than The Arsenal- let him go today,

And lets see who takes him?
I hazard a guess- no one!

Marc

I’m here Pedro!

So we buy shit defenders to replace the shit defenders we already have……fucking madness. Most of our defenders wouldn’t make a championship team.

Emiratesstroller

Marc

I think that we need to be patient with Bellerin. He had a very serious injury and as one specialist in this injuries pointed out it takes a long time to recover and regain confidence.

Bellerin is a relatively young man and he has grown up at the club since age of 16. Sometime the club needs to reciprocate loyalty even if the player is currently not play that well.

Marc

TYAG

Next season back 4:

Tierney – good player
Saliba – very highly rated
Mari – a direct demand of Arteta who knows him from City and will fit the style of play he want’s to implement.
RB – depends on what happens.

Backup CB’s Luiz and Holding.

For where we are at the moment that’s a lot better than you make out.

Left testicle

Left testicle is also present.

Marc

Emirates

I just wonder if the club is internally looking at a player who very dependent on his pace and having lost a yard might be worth selling if someone comes in with a decent offer – £25 – £30 million.

If without pace Bellerin becomes a 5/10 player, Soares can match that or better for a season and we use the money to sort out CM for 5 years it’s something we’ve got to look at.

Mari =shit
Tierney= fantastic player….if fit. History shows us he’ll be lucky to play 10 games a season. Was injury prone at Celtic.
Saliba= never watched him do don’t know.
Bellerin, sok,Luiz,kola,Soares, holding,chambers,= championship players. Won’t get you anywhere near top 4

Marc

TYAG

I’m curious if you won’t judge Saliba because you haven’t watched him how many matches have you watched Mari in?

Mari to be honest 2-3 games. But he’s to slow in my opinion and not really an upgrade in the crap we already have at the club.

Marc

TYAG

So if I could come up with 2-3 matches where Adam’s was poor you’d call him shit as well?

CG

Wasi

“”””CGI thought you were behind Arteta. 🤪””””””

I like him as a man.

But the moment he sanctions 4 years deal for the likes of Soares – who will be 29 when next season kicks off and is persisting with the likes of the calamity that is Luiz, – its hardly surprising that I think he is not up to the job and should be removed from it.

I am also genuinely surprised sensible folk like you and others still want him in it.

Trap

Partey signs atlmadrid contract extension 😁

Marc

CG

How old were Dixon and Winterburn when Wenger took over?

Marc

Trap

Where did you hear that?

Left testicle

He didn’t.

Left testicle

Sorry, he/she/they/them didn’t.

Left testicle

My bad. Just assumed Trap was a fella. 🙂

azed

I think Guendozi is talented and the things people slate him for are things that can be learned.
He is passionate and that’s something that cannot be coached into a player.

That being said, if the manager doesn’t want him or a nice offer came in for him, we should still.

@Marc

Done even try to compare them. Adams was different gravy. Mari is a piss poor average defender who had to go back to Brazil to get a game as noone in Europe was interested in him. If he was any good city wouldn’t of let him go.

Left testicle

Azed. Don’t confuse passionate with petulant and ill disciplined.

@Marc

The fact crap defenders are talked up at this club is proof of how poor we’ve become. Every single fan should be furious with these signings, our anger should turn on Josh and his daddy because everything that’s wrong with this club is because of thses 2 window lickers

Dream10

Not been impressed with Tierney so far.
Think he is a decent player but not a difference maker. Not as quick as I thought he would be. Bit of a fitness issue too. If Brendan Rodgers is at still interested him as a potential Chilwell replacement, it is a deal I would do with little hesitation.

We need to ask is this the reason we pay highest ticket prices in UK and Europe for? For Mari , Soares and Luiz? Really. Fucking disgusting the piss takers at this club.

Wasi

CG Tierney suffered a mild cramp. It happens . He is Scottish and not used to the heat which was on display yesterday. I thought you’d like him given he defends like an old school defender. Re – Arteta Young intelligent mind is the way to go for us. We cant attract managers who can give us guaranteed success. Pep , Klopp. Ancelotti at Napoli showed he is past his prime. He couldn’t handle that dressing room. And honestly we have more bad apples than Napoli. Dont know how he would deal with them. Of all the managers that were… Read more »

Wasi

So imo Spanish spiv* made a very good choice.

salparadisenyc

Nice write up Pedro, i’m reeling about Liverpool but they’ve been SO decisive its hard to wallow too much. Some great vid’s making the rounds of Scouse celebratory carnage that do bring a smile.

Arteta has inherited one of those situations that seems it could set the tone for future if handed correctly or potentially spurn on the end of ones tenure in Ozil.

Dudes become such a divisive character amongst supporters/pundits and surely many within club it has to be dealt with and dealt with this summer. Worst case buy out his final year and start a new.

Marc

TYAG

“We need to ask is this the reason we pay highest ticket prices in UK and Europe for? ”

Other than because “Talkshite Radio” said so can you back that up please?

Trap

Lolz guys slow your roll, my bad must’ve been an old Post from atlmadrid account on Twitter,but the Danilo Links are now building up too.

On the team I believe it’s too early to criticize the saucy one, let’s wait till he has a full preseason and transfer window to work before we get the daggers out.

It’s Friday , whose got jokes ?

andy1886

Wasi, Pierre is the authority on what makes a footballer great or not, you should know that. He ‘sees’ things that others just don’t….

@Marc

Oh I apologise, spurs are more expensive. So that’s ok then, let’s give kroenke and his cunts an excuse to foist the club with more shit players. 3 fucking defenders that would struggle to make a Sunday league pub team….yay for Arsenal. We’re going places.

Marc

TYAG It’s actually more complicated than that. Liverpool fans can select from a range of packages – PL, Europe and Cup matches, ManU were initially charging for the 19 PL matches but then automatically billed the CC used for European and Cup matches. The Spud’s have binned off the 2 cup credits they used to give fans since moving in to the Toilet Seat. I’ve never seen anyone do a proper like for like analysis. Also just for an idea of how much the media like to shit stir – remember a few years ago when City became an A… Read more »

azed

Pedro

I believe Poch wants the United job.

DigitalBob

Solid win yesterday, some good performances from Holding, Martinez, Xhaka(fair play) and our wonderkid Saka. We needed to stop the rot and we did despite a few “moments” in the second half. Very telling seeing those senior players watching on from the stands, I found myself just adding up how much we could get for all of them this summer………………..it wasn’t much tbh. If Dozi is a bad egg as Pedro says, he’s gotta go. He doesn’t do anything particularly well even if there is a potential midfield general in there somewhere. If it also means we get Partey or… Read more »

It’s like Guendozi , done fuck all last year apart from a couple of good games…..I know let’s bump his wages up for no reason. How many fucking times did we go down this road with Wenger over paying on average players yet we are still doing it. We never seem to learn, keep bringing up Arsenal class as an excuse for the mediocrity we’ve seen at the club since kroenke took over.

Valentin

Guendouzi contract is up in summer 2022. So anyway Arsenal should be starting negotiation to extend. He has made clear that he does not believe that he has the trust of Arteta, so he wants to leave.
Negotiation should therefore be very short. If anybody (PSG being the most likely candidate) wants to buy him at a decent price, let’s sell and buy Danilo Pereira for less.

If Arteta is supposed to be intelligent, then how come he hasn’t realised players we’ve just signed are not good enough for top 10 let alone top 4. If he has the balls then show it. Let the board and media know you’re unhappy and that the owners are not taking their responsibilities seriously. Fine they might get rid of him, but if he’s as good as you reckon he’ll find another job. Plus the fans would adore him for speaking the truth. To many it would show he’s serious about changing Arsenal. But by burying his head up his… Read more »

salparadisenyc

What we reckon Guendouzi would fetch this summer if sold?

Pierre

Andy
“Wasi, Pierre is the authority on what makes a footballer great or not, you should know that. He ‘sees’ things that others just don’t…”

That’s very kind of you to say so …

Goonies

TYAG

Mari is Spanish. He went out of his comfort zone to play in Brazil . Got voted best defender in the South American CL but it’s ok you’ve seen him 15 minutes and think he’s shit.

Decent signing at a decent price.

We’re fortunate to have Arteta at least he knows what’s going on Behind the scenes and at least he knows what sort of a club we are and can stop the rot.

Goonies

Guendouzi £20m tops no English premium.

Even PSG aren’t that desperate to throw us £30m

Can stop the rot by signing a 29 year old flop from Southampton, who’s been injured since we signed him, and an average Spanish player, plus a Brazilian clown Luiz. Decent signing my arse.

Freddie Ljungberg

Tyag We’ve spent around 5-6m up front for 3 back up players, wages about 200k a week for all 3 so we can get 200k off the wage bill in sok and mustafi and raise 10-15m in sales. Maybe the plan for Soares is to have someone PL experienced in place so we can sell Bellerin and bring in a top young prospect in his place and again, raise some money for the midfield. How much would you like us to spend on backups in defence when our midfield is a steaming pile of shit? The window hasn’t even opened… Read more »

Thomas

Tierney was a waste of money. £30m down the drain. Mari, Luiz, Soares new deals. So exciting.

Marc Faber

Arteta is proving he is not yet ready to manage top level players. Drops Ozil because he did what? Miss a conference call or some such nonsense? Drops Guen because he shows fight and character? How would Arteta have managed a 19 year old firebrand called Vieira? Banished him to the reserves because he could not control it on the pitch? Or do what Wenger did and nurture that talent…? His default position seems to be kindergarten stuff… and one explanation is that he is out of his depth, does not know how to do it, so reverts to pseudo-disciplinary… Read more »

englandsbest

Interesting how one’s awareness (as a fan) changes.

Early on it’s all about the players.

Then middle-aged with a family, the focus switches to the manager.

Finally, old and grizzled, the truth finally dawns: the folk who REALLY shape the Club are the owners.

A footbal club is the physical expression of the owner’s persona. Arsenal is a classic example.

Solid and respectable, the Bank of England club had a BoD of English gentlemen.

Somewhat flashy under Fizman, a BoD that sloped off with sacks of gold

Grey and characterless under Stan, no BoD at all.

@Freddie

I guarantee at start of next season the team will virtually be the same as this season. Nothing will change whatsoever.

Freddie Ljungberg

If this is all the business we do when the window opens I’m going to be seriously pissed off and heads should roll.

If we sign Partey and Szoboszlai for example or players of that calibre I’m more than fine in the reshuffling of backups to raise money for that.

Time will tell.

Liverpool needed a defender, they buy van dijk for 75 million. We’ve needed defenders for years, we sign 3 fucking rejects., On top of the rejects from other clubs we’ve bought over last 10 years.
“Hey player, are you passed you’re best, no other team want you? Then don’t worry, Arsenal OAP home for useless over the hill players will snap you up”
Yep the Arsenal are going places with these owners.

Freddie Ljungberg

Tyag

Do you think a defender is the last missing piece of the puzzle we need?

They did that after 3 years of rebuilding, and on a much bigger budget than us because they had sellable assets. They had Coutinho we have Ozil.
We’re not in the position to spend all our money on 1 or 2 players yet.

If you can’t see the difference I can’t help you.

I honestly don’t know how some of you pessimistic cunts get up in the mornings.

Guns of SF

I think we will see Guen and Ozil against Sheffield Laca as well… That is also a must win game if we have any chance of silverware… I do think Guen needs to be sold. We need to keep Willock but thats about it. Guen has benefited quite a bit over the years when Xhaka has been out for whatever reason. He did have a great preseason his rookie year with us, but since then, its hard to really point to what he brings to us. There are a lot of better CM in the world to chose from. MA… Read more »

salparadisenyc

TYAG

Whats up mate.

With you, last summer was the perfect moment to sort defense with option a plenty out there. Looks like some good work was done with Saliba but I wanted it taken a step further with another CB for current season instead of pissing £72m up the Pepe wall. Which may prove to be great business but our defense should of been main focus for me.

Instead we got David Luiz in.

Tom

“I honestly don’t know how some of you pessimistic cunts get up in the mornings.“

Lol.

Chris

Guendouzi has to show a lot more consistency and maturity if he is to fulfil his potential here. He is young but that shouldn’t be en excuse for poor attitude. There are lots of players his age or younger how show exemplary behaviour. The club needs to have a disciplinary process at work for him (and others) not necessarily 3 strikes and you’re out but something along those lines. If he repetitively fails to be what is expected of an Arsenal player then he needs to be sold. Myself I liked what I saw of him initially, ie his energy,… Read more »

Valentin

Last year when I was criticising Guendouzi I got slammed. Now that I have warmed up to him he gets it in the neck. He is emotional but at least he cares which is more than some of his teammates.
I also think that he needs a different style of coaching than Arteta is providing. He needs somebody who focus on improving his flaws incrementally rather than an immediate perfectionist.
For example during the game Southampton, Arteta kept shouting at Nkethia left, right, push, close down. I can see some players getting very irritated by that constant micro managing approach.

salparadisenyc

Martinelli out for remainder of season.

Ishola70

Valentin “Arteta kept shouting at Nkethia left, right, push, close down. I can see some players getting very irritated by that constant micro managing approach.” He would have picked that up at Man City and their own pressing from the front which for me would be a good thing to emulate. Liverpool’s forwards also worked hard when they don’t have the ball. There are some posters here not necessarily you who still live in Wenger Wonderland and have a distaste for this kind of thing. They don’t like the less glamorous side of the game. They dismiss graft as agricultural… Read more »

Ishola70

I don’t think Nketiah has obvious class as a player.

Doesn’t jump out at me.

So if he does lack real class he better make up for that with his work rate for the side.

In that way he can be useful for the side.

Freddie Ljungberg

Pedro

That’s all well and good wage wise but what do you sign them with?

Do we spend that money in defence on backups or do we save the money and spend it where it makes a bigger difference?

I’m all for going with youth but filling up every single position with them isn’t smart. We already have a squad filled with kids and likely there will be 1 or 2 more in the summer.

Wasi

Pedro To get those 4 kids from France , you’ll need 40-60 mil transfer budget too. Maybe less if you get lucky with 1 or 2 free transfers or cheap players due to 1 yr on their contract. And if you want to Strengthen up your midfield first , then the patch up for a season or 2 will work just fine. As a better midfield will provide good cover for the defence. And with all the links and rumours going around , it looks like we will use majority of our money to buy quality CM. Defense is patched… Read more »

Guns of SF

We need ready made starters in Midfield . ready to make an impact asap. We continue to neglect this area and we suffer in all areas. we need a DM, B2B and CAM All ready to go… energetic work horses, skilled and can press and can chip in goals and assists. Good injury records too. God knows what is happening with us, but injuries are decimating us. Our defense seems set but the budget we have… I do hope Edu and Co are going to go hard at midfield. Xhaka Guen and Torreira still have value. We can recoup monies… Read more »

Wasi

Ishola

‘I don’t think Nketiah has obvious class as a player.’

I agree here but Eddie has a great work rate. Works his socks off for the team and is always receptive to learning. The more time he is getting on the pitch he is getting better and maturing very fast.
He might not become a world class striker but I think if he continues his upward trajectory he could easily be relied on to score 15-20 goals a season.

Habesha Gooner

I hope these rumors about Guendouzi wanting out are just stories. From all our midfielders I would let go of him last. If he had very good players with him, He has insane potential. I would even let go of torriera before him. He is similar to Busquets and Jorginiho. Get his defensive work up and you will have an elite controller in the middle of the park. We will regret this like many have when they let go of their elite talent. Arteta has been poor on how he rates players to be honest. Martinelli. Saka and Guendouzi are… Read more »

Wasi

Guns

We aint selling Xhaka.
Torreira doesnt have many suitors right now.
Only one who can fetch some money is Guendouzi who I personally would like to hold on to.

Not to say we cant generate any funds. Even if we consider worst case scenarios we can get
mkhi – 10 m
Elneny – 5 m
Sok – 5 m
Mustafi – 10m
Lacazette – 20 – 25 m
Kola – 7-10 mil

Thats about 57 mil from deadwood in the worst case scenario.

Sid

How much did Naby Keita cost liverpool

Jamie

Clean sheet and two goals scored away from home (by two under 23s).

Where’s the beef? Solid result.

Goonies

Habeesha

‘ He is similar to Busquets and Jorginiho’

Worse Guendouzi comparison I’ve ever heard.

They look after the ball, aren’t careless with it, can penetrate with pass and know how to effectively break up play.

Guendouzi does none of that. He’s a liability not an asset.

Sid

On 24 April 2012, Busquets scored a rare goal – only his sixth official one in four years

þorkell einarsson

Emi was great vs s.hamton and his kicking is decisive and fast unlike Leno !
Who was the player who tackled Martinelli in training ?
Auba looked sharp when fed the ball
The Swiss had a solid game
Lets win Sheffield 0-3 on sunday !!

Habesha Gooner

Goonies I said he can be coached to become them. He isn’t the finished article. He doesn’t pass between the lines often enough to be a modern CM. but he can absolutely become a top deep lying midfielder. He has the frame for it, His reading of the game is what needs to improve. And His passing success rate in a dysfunctional arsenal midfield is 88.3 percent which is comparable to 89.5 by Busquets and 88.7 by jorghinho. I would say he is trust worthy in possession. He gets caught some times as both Busquets and Jorghinho do too. If… Read more »

Habesha Gooner

https://www.whoscored.com/Players/44721/Show/Sergio-Busquets
https://www.whoscored.com/Players/106968/Show/Jorginho
https://www.whoscored.com/Players/328983/Show/Matteo-Guendouzi

Here is the season stats between the three players. Guendouzi falls short in tackling and Interceptions but he is playing alongside the likes of Xhaka, Ozil, Willock and torriera while Jorghinho has Kovacic, Kante, Mount, and Barkley. Busquets has beside him Arthur, Dejong, Rakitic. Sure Guendouzi can improve but he hasn’t got support around him yo see his best self.

NJ Gooner

We often hear of discussion of Dortmund as a model. We’d applaud them if they bought a player for £7m and sold him for nearer £40m two seasons or so later. That is what we are looking at with Guendouzi. And how many people would complain if the £40m was used to buy Partey? I’d call that good business. Why the “rejects”? Interesting question. I think Arteta is trying to change the culture and sees these players as central to instilling some values in the younger players. I also wonder if he is lining Luiz up to be a future… Read more »

Anyone seen the comedy on bbc2 ‘The First team’? That is so obvious it’s aimed at Arsenal, they even have a player called Carlos Velez . That’s kroenke’s legacy right their, we’ve become a laughing stock under his stewardship that everyone’s laughing at us.

Wasi

‘I said he can be coached to become them. He isn’t the finished article. He doesn’t pass between the lines often enough to be a modern CM. but he can absolutely become a top deep lying midfielder.’

Habesha Gooners

It doesnt work like that for an unusually high amount of Legrovers. They think that a player’s development stops at 20 or 21 especially if he is not English.

Graham62

TYAG

Regrettably, we became a laughing stock many moons ago.

Some Arsenal fans though fail to acknowledge it.

Marc

Funny how Pedro seem’s determined to repeat the mistakes of history by bringing in “young top talent” but without having any experienced heads to help guide them.

It’s a balance.

Ernest Reed

“If this is all the business we do when the window opens I’m going to be seriously pissed off and heads should roll.”

Freddie, this is all the business that will be done.

Goonies

Habeesha Yes he can pass to high 80s in pass completion but if 95% of the passes are sideways and backwards (not very difficult or brave) who gives a fuck? Yes he may develop but he’s not worth the hassle. I have never really rated him but the turning point for me was at city. He was hiding from the ball when his team mates needed him, every time Tierney had the ball at full back he never showed for it and made sure there was an opposition player between them when he could have easily side stepped to get… Read more »

Marc

Pedro

Filling the team with young raw talent didn’t work out for Wenger – my point is we need a balance.

Your criticism is of Luiz and Soares? Any other players you’d like to add to the list?

Pierre

Graham
” Regrettably, we became a laughing stock many moons ago.Some Arsenal fans though fail to acknowledge it. ”

If they were laughing, they were laughing at our entitled fans who despite winning trophies and qualifying for champions league with a fraction of the money spent by Chelsea, city and united, they slaughtered the manager.

And now, they will still be laughing at those same entitled fans who after supporting that clown Emery , are now showing their true colours again with their criticism of Arteta who is trying his hardest to clear up the mess left by Emery.

Versus

How Klopp turned Liverpool into a billion dollar club
https://youtu.be/Xast5FpOf3E

Lads.. we’re toast! It was fun while it lasted. We’re no way near competing with this kind of machine.

Marc

Pedro

No Pedro I’ve been very clear who we should sell.

1) Xhaka
2)Xhaka
3) Mustafi
4) Xhaka
5) Mustafi
6) Xhaka

Marc

Pedro

You didn’t answer my question – who are the signings you’re complaining about?

Goonies

Marc

Ironically 2 of our best performing players. Are
You trying to be ironic?

Valentin

Ishola, Pressing and being a nuisance has always been a big part of Eddie’s game. Lots of his goals are self made because he press the opposition and get at the end of mistakes or miscontrols. I was not referring to the pressing, I was referring to the constant shouting. I can understand doing it during training and during games when the player is not doing it, but doing it when he is clearly following the instruction is bit much. Nkethia got a goal for that. There was an interview of Roberto Carlos who explained that once he faced a… Read more »

Champagne Charlie

Pedro You seem to be leaning heavily on Cedric as proof of the axis of evil. Did you not post his numbers that showed him a more competent defender than anyone in our current ranks? Point being if he wasn’t repped by Kia would he not be example of Arteta getting in someone of good pedigree, for little outlay, in a position we needed cover for? Idk, to me the recruitment of Luiz, Mari, and Cedric are good pieces of business when looked at in terms of the needs of the squad and the desires of the manager. 1. Experienced… Read more »

Marc

Goonies

“Ironically 2 of our best performing players. ”

Are you slightly stupid or the whole package? I’m sure it has escaped you that their arrivals coincide with us dropping out of the top 4?

Marc

CC

On top of what you’ve said right now it looks as if Luiz will be backup to Saliba and Mari next season anyway.

Pierre

Ernest
“Freddie, this is all the business that will be done.”

I’m not so sure Ernest, there is a little room to manoeuvre, I would expect a deep lying midfielder to come in at least, other than that it may be a case of bringing through a few more of our talented youngsters.

smith rowe is ready to make his mark, plus I can see Nelson given a decent run and of course there are a few more waiting in the wings.

Next season will be a make or break season for players like Willock ,Nketiah, Smith Row and Nelson.

Marc

Valentin

“There was an interview of Roberto Carlos who explained that once he faced a team whose coach was constantly shouting instructions and it annoyed him so much that at end he shouted at the coach to sit down and shut up.”

Yeah but it wasn’t his coach was it, so no reference to whether it was effective. I’d also love to know who the coach was – I’d love to see someone try that with Simeone, Fergie or Souness!