Via @Arsenal
Oh come on, I wasn’t going to NOT mention the great news.
ARSENAL SIGNED SAKA TO A NEW DEAL!
What a moment. The young defender, winger, number 10, put pen to paper and committed to a glorious future with Arsenal. I couldn’t be happier.
The player is simply everything you want in a youngster. He’s extremely intelligent, he’s unbelievably humble (he thanked about 50 people in his Arsenal.com interview), he’s technically excellent, mobile, fast, fit and he is absolutely willing to learn and be the best there is.
He is the benchmark for what Arsenal talent should look like. I love him. Is that wrong? Maybe, I don’t care. Mikel Arteta had some kind words to say.
“Bukayo is a talented and intelligent young player. He has impressed me with his work ethic and attitude to learn and adapt, and it has paid off in his performances. I am excited to continue working with him to develop him further, and for him to help us achieve our goals.”
Edu, the handsome man that always looks like he’s accidentally walked into a photo also offered some words of support.
“This is something everyone involved wanted to happen and we are delighted that Bukayo has signed a new long-term contract. He’s making great progress and is one of a number of young players who have developed through our academy. This is so important for us as we move forward as a club.”
What a great day. Watch the interview on Arsenal.com, it’s brilliant. He clearly sees himself as a Gooner and the way he communicates his love of the club should remind you that we are still a force when it comes to prestige.
“It’s Arsenal, you know. Come on, it’s Arsenal!”
“The stadium is great, the fans are great, the club is great. Everything about this club is great.
“I love playing for Arsenal, you know. I love playing for the coach, the fans, my team-mates, I really believe in the philosophy that the boss is bringing and what he’s building, and I’m just really excited to see where he’s going to take us in the future.
“I felt that it was right in my heart to extend my contract here and I feel like this is going to be best for my development.
I think this signing also says a lot about the new coach he has. If Arteta had failed to convince the player, it would not have reflected well. My hope is this contract sends a message to the rest of Europe’s best young talent, come to Arsenal, and we’ll grow you out and make you better.
I also thought it worth mentioning that 1) He thanked E*ery. That was very kind of him. 2) He also had a HUGE shoutout for David Luiz.
However you package the Brazilian up, it was not a smart bit of business in the grand scheme of world football. It was a deal rooted in cronyism and it was flushing money down the drain for a club that is struggling. However, let’s face it, we are where we are and the man, David Luiz, is a huge name in the game. He’s a legend. He’s a massive personality. He is at that stage in life where he wants to give something back to the future generation coming through and you can see that in his behavior after games, on the pitch when he’s encouraging people, and with the noises that come from inside the club. So, bravo David Luiz.
Also, might as well touch on the tit-for-tat going on with William Saliba. It’s a mad situation where St Etienne called the club out on Twitter for making the finances of the deal difficult. Arsenal responded and said 1) The French club refused to train the player properly 2) They made the financials impossible. From what I’ve seen, they wanted a £2.5m fee from Arsenal to keep OUR player. Madness.
It’s a little sad that they are willing to blow their cup final chances because Arsenal have said they will give them Saliba for nothing, even though they don’t need to. A teenager getting exposure to a cup final would be immense experience, but I guess Arsenal has to look out for their player and their desperately shite finances.
Before I go, Mikhi confirmed that he basically has a deal in place to go to Roma next season for nothing. I salute this deal and hope there are more to come. If a player is too expensive for a fee, and they are a bit rubbish, why keep them for another year if you can terminate their deal? That’s £10m back in the coffers for next season. I suspect we’ll see some more of that. Arsenal, according to lots of reports, really want Upemacano and Thomas Partey. That would move us to a different level of competitiveness, especially if we landed Dominik Szoboszlai. I’m dreaming, but those three would change the face of the club in one sweep, and I CAN DREAM.
Ok, that’s me done. Listen to my podcast and have a very nice day.
P.S. We have a game today, let’s hope it’s more good news. x
1st
Tr4phy
Oops
4th
Top 10?? How nice and I read the post
Pleased as punch Saka signed on!
To be fair, Pedro, Emery was pretty good about giving young players chances.
Just great news all around. Very pleasing to see a young talent committed and showing a tremendous amount of love for the club and people at the club. I don’t think hes a one season wonder at all. He’s going to go very far!!
The Upamecano and Partey rumours are also great cause for optimism. I paid close attention to Partey and how he coped with the Barca midfield yesterday and he gave a decent account of himself.
(Busquets however much of an whiny arsehole he can be was immense, he’s still great in that role.)
hello hola
Last week I raised my concern that Arsenal needed to make changes to the Board of Directors. That has now started to happen with appointment of Tim Lewis a senior partner of the “Magic Circle” firm of Solicitors Clifford Chance. He is apparently a “lifelong supporter of Arsenal”, which is good news. What may concern some posters is that he acted for Stan Kroenke when he bought the shares of Danny Fiszman and Lady Bracewell-Smith to take control of club. However, recruiting an experienced lawyer to Board may be the start of more hands-on supervision of the club’s affairs from… Read more »
Great he is a Kroenke man.
Good luck with that
Saka makes the game more enjoyable to watch.
Pedro
There would have to be lots of departures if we were to land Dominik Szoboszlai, Partey and Upemecani in one window.
That would be utter madness and one where we should make a title run without the distraction of European competition.
I can only dream
Great news everywhere. I will listen to the pod later and give my feedback.
Thanks you Pedro.
I hope Tim Lewis operates from London. He can then have first hand information about the day to day operation.
St Etienne messed up big time.
How many times do clubs go public like that to attack anther footballing entity. They must be the Trump of French football?
Looks like Stan and Josh are aware of the current mess.
Stan and Josh Kroenke said: “We are pleased to announce Tim’s appointment. He will bring additional experience and skills, starting with our work to come out of the current situation”
Squawka Football
@Squawka
William Saliba did not commit a single foul from an attempted tackle during the 2019/20 Ligue 1 season:
❍ 991 minutes
❍ 24 tackles attempted
❍ 19 tackles made
❍ 5 x dribbled past
❍ 0 fouls from attempted tackles
Arsenal fans, the wait is over.
Wait till premier league referees get their chance
Anyone know if the game is on US TV?
Arsenal
26Martínez
20Mustafi
23David Luiz
31Kolasinac
2Bellerín
8Ceballos
34Xhaka
3Tierney
24Nelson
9Lacazette
14Aubameyang
Substitutes
5Papastathopoulos
15Maitland-Niles
16Holding
17Cédric Soares
19Pépé
28Willock
30Nketiah
33Macey
77Saka
Arsenal XI: Martinez, Bellerin, Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac, Tierney, Xhaka, Ceballos, Aubameyang, Nelson, Lacazette
The day was going so well until I saw Arteta’s first 11. Soon we may need to start asking if this man really do have a clue.
Subs: Macey, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles, Holding, Soares, Pepe, Willock, Nketiah, Saka
No sign of Ozil and Pepe on the bench. Saka gets a rest which makes sense.
Yeah bravo David Luiz.
Like it or not MA needs to rotate heavily as the games are coming thick and fast
Seems 3 at the back with wing backs is the new black …..
Once upon a time it was the solace of the clueless
Bellerin has to start showing he can do something as a wingback today.
Is that a 3-4-3?
Roland Romeyer, the ASSE chairman is well known in France to not mince his word and being very passionate (sometimes too much) of his club. It looks like it is not a fee that Arsenal would have to pay for letting Saliba plays an extra game, but that was a rebate on the loan fee negotiated that stated that if Saliba plays X games then the loan fee is reduced by £2.5 millions. The contract seems to have been hard to negotiate because there is a purchase fee paid by Arsenal, then a loan fee paid by Saint Etienne with… Read more »
Northbanker the rotations are expected.
The problem with that lineup will be the same we have faced since the restart, where does the creativity come from? Not that any lineup can really make up for that considering the personnel. We need the wingbacks to be at their sharpest today.
Not a lot of pace in that midfield with Ceballos and Xhaka, positional play has to be top notch as they aren’t making up ground on anyone
I hope Soares comes in at some point.
Valentin
Shouldn’t they [st etienne] be paying us a fee for letting his stay past the loan agreement.?
Its a lopsided 4-4-2. Aubameyang plays more inside than on the byline. Pepe after Norwich is tired makes sense they played ET with ManUtd . Wont be able to keep up if we play the first half well.
Norwich have nothing to lose, the players are essentially putting themselves on the shop window at this point. The club is effectively related.
Tim Lewis was the lead partner in Clifford Chance advising on the KSE takeover of Arsenal. He’s an M&A man so not sure why that skill set would be of specific use to Kroenkes but he obviously hit it off with them during the deal. Hopefully he will provide some decent corporate governance but frankly thats all you’re going to get from a NED. Agree it would be great to get a football person but to be honest I’d far sooner get someone from Nike or Adidas or a proven sports business entrepreneur who could add commercial clout. Can’t see… Read more »
On the question of a football person on the board at Arsenal….what about Niall Quinn? Smart fella who doesn’t need the job and could therefore speak his mind. More associated with Sunderland or City than for his time at Arsenal but could possibly be tempted?
Laca, Luiz and Bellerin must be living on borrowed time. surely.
I actually think it’s a 4-4-2
Nice post today. Bit of a buzz with saka and saliva.
Hope we nab Partey and Szobozlai
Northbanker – Raul was with Nike, it’s how he got the job at Barca. Not a great recommendation for me, too many business people and not enough football people running our club.
Ozil is a non story because he’s injured but Guendouzi still out is another message from arteta that he could be on his way out.
The dreaded formation of 3-4-3 is back…….
If Guendouzi and Partey swap doesn’t happen, what about approaching Lyon to see if they would be willing to swap Aouar for Guendouzi? Arguably Lyon’s standout player for the past season — and we could get Lacazette to work on him.
Well done Arsenal for keeping Saka!
Ozil seems to get a lot of ‘injuries’, sniffles, strains and other ailments both physical and psychological these days doesn’t he…
I do think Ozil and Guen will be gone this summer
For me Aouar would be a very good addition to a mf lacking creative juice. With Ozil likely on the outs should bring him in regardless of Partey.
I hope Arty is sending a message to Mr Ozil and his team. No playing time for you… so please go.
Ozil is so past it… if he had any sporting aspirations, he would be actively seeking another club to play for. But no… he loves Arsenal so much…. oopps I mean the $$ so much!
Pepe and Saka rested with wolves in mind, if this line up cant get a result against Norwich, next season we will need more than 3 additions to play EPL, europa, FA
Andy
Yes you’re right but i was thinking of a bit higher up. The trouble with football people is that most of them are not really suitable for Board selection -but your suggestion of Niall Quinn is not bad. He has had previous board experience and a proper mgmt role so he could be a good asset. I still think the DoF should be on the Board – I don’t know what Edu really does but just get the feeling he’s Raul’s No 2 and boot polisher.
Özil is done at Arsenal. We should have learnt our lesson when we had Arshavin but we didn’t… and this is the result. The sad thing is, when he looks back I think Mesut will regret it too not giving 100% to the club. After Mesut quit Germany he should have stepped up and could have become an absolute legend at Arsenal without the distraction of international football but sadly he will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Andrei Arshavin, Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby, Mesut Özil,– it’s a myth to think we’ve had no money under Kronkes… we’ve had… Read more »
Not much to be done with the lineup I suppose if Pepe and Saka are getting rested, the games are coming thick and fast and the rock bottom team at home is probably a good time to do it, when else?
Not a fan of the attack anyway, just play Auba as a striker ffs.
As many others I’m worried about the slowness of our midfield, we’re overmatched there for sure. Sad indictment of the state of our CM.
PEA is one of the most clinical strikers on the planet right now.
The mere fact that Özil can’t be motivated to play with him says more about him than any inane press release from his agent about how he loves the club.
Hilarious that Mesut has allowed himself to become a irrelevance with the likes of PEA and Lacazette at club when he showed glimpses of his greatness with Giroud leading the attack!
Definition of irony if there ever was one!
And it’s Arsenal,
Arsenal FC,
We’re by far the greatest team,
The world has ever seen…
Teemu Puki hasn’t scored a goal in open old play since forever, anyone wanna bet he scores today in open play?
Never seen this Ref. before.
Best news yet on Saka.
I know I shouldn’t be but I’m a strange mixture of nervous/anxious about the game. I may just listen on the radio and make my usual animated gestures and twitch like a mermaid being tasered.
Can’t wait for Mesut to be gone to be honest, fantastic player on his day but unfortunately his day was quite a while ago way back when he could be bothered. Wont ever go down as a proper gooner in my book I’m afraid . . .
Passing very conservative and so far no creativity on show.
Bellerin is done. Not taking a shot from there?? Can’t even cut back having made the poorer choice. Not even a corner.
Good run from bellerin but slow decision making in the end.
Good pass from Ceballos
Great fast moves and a shot on target. Keep it going!
Come on The Arsenal!!!
Excellent news re Saka.
Let’s hope that the long term plan is to be signing that type of player and to wean ourselves off has-beens.
Wtf was bellerin doing there lol
Poor commentary.
Tierney hasn’t found his crossing yet.
Where’s the urgency?
Good turn from Ceballos in MF and a great thru ball
Ceballos is our best player up to now.
geez…that was close
Ceballos started really well here
NOR had a30+ yarder hit our post. Lucky get away!!
Wake up and put some urgency in. C’mon.
Ceballos dominating so far.
Lol what a shot
Good shot by them.
At least some positive news with Saka signing! If you compare this line up when we had Sanchez firing up on Ozil’s ball, everything is same except Ozil!
I hope we find a replacement. Sending him out is going to do well for money, not for the football and Arsenal.
We are winning today. #COYG
Nice news about Saka.
‘Em*ry’ lol. That’s a bit pathetic.
Ceballos having a brilliant game..lacazette should have scored there..no excuses
What i really hate with us is how we do so many of these tame shots in most of our games.
I am sure we could do better in ensuring that we give ourselves a better chance at taking these shots.
Great floating ball to Laca but a poor header Not working the goalie at all. Straight at him!!
Ceballos dominating Norwich? 🙂
Spanish fidget spinner is running the show and the strikers and Bellerin are ruining it.
Great to hear Saka signed.
Let’s get a comfortable win for a change yeah? Team look a bit handbrake-ish though.
Yeah. We don’t seem to know how to shoot at times. Lucky Auba somehow still manages to get some goals or we’d be in deep shit. Laca is almost a spectator these days as far as goals are concerned.
Southampton gave us two gifts.
Norwich are a gift.
Ceballlos does love a rolling around. Unlucky yellow I’d say the Nor guy
Fabregallos
Strange formation 3-4-1-2 with Lacazette dropping in to act as link-up and Nelson higher up on the right near the penalty box.
.
Xhara always slows it down..
Fuck people who disagree and say he is great
Shittish mid we have
Luteo
Team look a bit handbrake-ish though.
“Handbrake-ish”, I’ve heard the term before. I wonder where? 🤔
Whats the name of today’s ref?
He clearly is a gooner.
Hey Ladies .. how’s things going so far? Had to make a trip to the hardware store and it took ages.. Plus Pedro is posting so many damn posts, I couldn’t find the current one.. hahaha
Nor has a great shot stopper and we got to do much better in front of goal to win today
Link?
Luiz straight down Kruls throat.
So I tune in and there is Mustafi acting like a winger. What the hell?
Things does look good except goals
No desire in the player to take the game to them .
Only Tierney and Fidget spinner are doing their part.
Take Laca off.
We need a goal before half time.
Auba does it as usual.
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