Well, what a day yesterday was! Our best young player signed a new deal with the club and we beat Norwich 4-0 in our first home game in 8 years.
You can only play what is put in front of you; admittedly Norwich were not really up to much, but I’ll take the positives and there were quite a few.
The main one was lady luck, she’s been pretty absent for Arteta in general since he took over. Injuries, sendings off, bad luck on the pitch, pandemics, literally being the one that shut down the Premier League, you name it, we’ve seen it. So it was nice for a second game in a row to start the ball rolling on the scoring front with a nice dollop of keeping mess. Tim Krul tried to turn an incoming Auba, he messed his timing up, he was tackled, leaving one of the deadliest sharpshooters in the league to sweep home into an empty net. You could call it lucky, or you could salute the fact the manager has been hounding his strikers to shut down keepers because they are shit on the ball. If forcing errors is part of your plan, it’s not really luck.
The second goal was far sexier in its architecture. David Luiz pinged a long ball out wide to Kieran Tierney, he controlled the ball and slipped Auba into the box, then Granit Xhaka stormed through the middle like peak-Freddie to scored the second goal of the game. The Swiss certainly enjoyed that moment, he looked very excited.
The third was another gift, Norwich made a mess of a throw, the attempt to switch the ball out of danger was actually a well-weighted pass into Auba, he took his chance stroking a low shot into the far corner. Super cool, as ever.
The fourth was a fun goal. A right back I’ve been hyping as the future of Arsenal FC for a while made his debut after 150 odd days. Dani Ceballos drilled a bad corner into a Norwich clearance. Soares was the recipient, he controlled the ball, looked up, and cleverly lashed the ball into the bottom corner, ensuring a touch of deflection along the way to fool the keeper.
Soares, I’m sorry man, you’re the best and contacts scouting truly is where the game is heading.
Was the game a full 90 of bliss? No. We came out from the second half looking a bit of a mess again. We allowed Norwich to run at us and play some football. They didn’t really create that much that was truly dangerous, but we gave them time on the ball, and a better team could have punished us. Just to give some data to that observation on danger, the Norwich xG against us was 0.15.
I don’t really know what the problem is with the second half football, but it’s a bit of a theme. What I will say is that at least this time we wrestled control back and really got at Norwich towards the end.
Special shout out to Dani Ceballos, I thought he had an excellent game. He’s always at his best when he’s given time on the ball, he played some lovely dangerous balls and overall he was very sharp with his passing. Though it also has to be noted, his defensive works was great. He’s very quick at intercepting the ball, and he puts it about. The manager seems to like him as a player, I would as well if he could carry that sort of form into games against better clubs.
Martinez continued to impress. He really is quite good. He’s a bit more of a catcher than Leno. His huge frame allows him to command his box and it gives the opposition more to worry about from corners. We’ve gone over his great distribution, but more importantly, his shot-stopping really is a different class.
Finally, Auba. We love him. He’s the fastest striker to 50 at Arsenal. That’s incredible stuff. It was pretty clear watching him in the stands after that he’s a happy man. Arteta seemed very confident we could keep him at the club longterm. That’s really good news.
The issues… and I hate to do this, but Hector still looks below where he should be. It’s hard to tell if he’s lacking pace, confidence, or lacking confidence because he’s not at the races pace wise. Lacazette also stank the place out again, I feel for him, but he’s just not quite there. There’s no sharpness to his game and he looks a little sad on the pitch. Also, Kola just ain’t it, is he?
Finally, let’s pour out a warm Stella for the comrades that couldn’t make it again. Mesut Ozil has a sore back. Must tough carrying all that bad media attention. He’s basically done at the club, Vinnai and Raul need to cut him loose this summer. Matteo G was also missing, the manager basically said he hadn’t changed anything since the last time the press asked. I am glad that we are seeing strong leadership here. If you don’t put in the effort, someone else will. The trick for the fans is to stop getting so triggered when they are not there… and to not fall back on the idea that if we lose against Wolves, the missing ingredient was two players that don’t give a fuck. One of my pals in the Whatsapp said, ‘He’s clearly an arsehole but he doesn’t feel like ‘our’ arsehole’, I thought that was a deeply poetic observation for a group chat.
As for the manager, well, things are looking up. It’s a slow process, but it’s working. You cannot and will not deny that things are moving in a better direction. These sort of stats below are sexy to me.
Extrapolate that over a season and my guess is that even with this squad, we’d be higher in the league table. Does that mean we have a world class squad? No. It just means that better coaching has better outcomes for squads.
Then look at the numbers above which will only have improved as they were recorded before yesterday.
If your expectation was that we’d be playing like City before the season was out, you only have yourself to blame for the disappointment. If your hope was that we’d be more difficult to play against and we’d be more organised, it’s hard to deny that’s what you are seeing.
Outside that, the tactics, though not always executed to perfection, actually make sense. He has interesting spins on the Emery classics, and whatever he does, you get it as a fan and you can understand why he’s doing it. He has clarity in his ideas and he has not shied away from enforcing his principles. I also think it’s cool that he communicates to the players on the pitch in different languages. Super basic, but it’s good.
There’s still a very long way to go, there’s still some beastly games to tackle with plenty of disappointments to come, but I’m still very confident the club has the coach issues solved. Whether Edu and Raul have it in them to make smart purchases this summer is still very much up for debate, but you’ve read my thoughts on that in great detail this week.
Right, that’s me done. We have Wolves next, with a chance to close the gap on them to 3 points. Then it’s Leicester, Spurs, and Liverpool. Yikes. Fingers crossed Sheff U smash the Spuds tonight. x
Raheem.
How can you even judge a defender based on his attacking prowess. It’s like saying a CF should be judged on his defensive contributions. Like I said Marcelo and Arnold are the same. They need cover as a defender.
Marcelo is losing his place gradually at Real Madrid. The moment liverpool gets a creative midfielder, Arnold would be the 1st of that defense to sit it out
Just checked into Roma v Udinese and I see our old friend Mkhi running at 0.005mph hahaha they can keep him. I’ll contribute to his wages.
This is not an hangover issue, I was screaming this yesterday. Because I’ve watched them severally. Fabinho is always helping him. And Arnold makes every CB that plays next to him look bad. From Matip to Gomez or lovren. Van dijk doesnt worry much because he plays next to Robertson who picks the right time to bomb forward
Sanmi
It’s not even worth debating. Like Sal said Arnold is a quality player that’s all that needs saying.
The level he is playing at at his young age is ridiculous.
Quality footballer, yes. Quality defender? Hell no
My favourite fullback is Alfonso Davies but I’d be willing to swap him for Arnold for the cutting edge Arnold gives in the final third. The goal of football is to score a goal.
CG
“Fergie, Pep, Klopp or Jose – none can do an Invincible season.
Or Bag x 7 ( SEVEN )F A Cups.”
All have won the Champions League compared to Wengers..NONE.
If he plays in this arsenal team, you’d be screaming your head off. Klopp is just a great coach. 4 players in that pool squad wont get anywhere near man utd or man city first 11.
Arnold, wiljnadum, Henderson, firminho. They are average players. But play in a great system
Sanmi
Liverpool have romped the Premier league and you complain of shit defenders….lol muppet lol
Keep up Red Truth.
Sanmi
They’ve lost two games in the league, holders in Europe. Uphill battle labelling pivotal Robertson anything other than a quality defender.
A steal at £8m from Hull.
Sal,
Did you see me complain about Robertson?
Redtruth
Did you see me complain about liverpool’s defense?
I complained about ARNOLD. And their average midfield.
Here is my summation,
You dont need the very best of players to win trophies. You just need the right system that magnifies your strength and minimize your weaknesses.
Leicester and liverpool won the league without being the best teams in the league.
“Arnold, wiljnadum, Henderson, firminho. They are average players. But play in a great system”
Wow.
I’m no fan of Henderson’s but even I would admit he has improved a lot the last few seasons.
As for the others you really shouldn’t be writing that out. You can’t take it back now it’s out there.
Apologies Sanmi… I meant Arnold from Hull.
Thats how dull this debate is.
Or was it Roberton
I forget.
https://twitter.com/MrDtAFC/status/1278674774877667328/photo/1
Here’s one for the Arteta haters on here.
The PL table since Arteta took over. Arsenal currently sitting 3rd in the table behind Liverpool and City.
Show he’s doing the best possible job he can with the limited resources he has.
Raheem
Which of the 4 I stated is not average at their primary job.
Arnold is not a great defender.
Wijnaldum can’t create chances to save his life.
Firminho barely scores more than 10 league goals a season.
You already admitted to averageness of Henderson.
Compare firminho to Aguero and Aubemayang.
Compare wijnaldum to DeBryne or Bruno Fernandez.
Compare Henderson to Pogba.
Compare Arnold defensively to Walker or Wan Bisaka
What they have is a coach that recognizes their weakness and covers for it. Goal load is on mane and Salah, Fabinho covers the inept Arnold, creation of goals is on Robertson, Arnold and Van Dijk. Wijnaldum and Henderson are asked to just sit and chase the ball around aggressively and release to the wide men immediately
Fake table . Arsenal have lost 3 games under Arteta…
Liverpool won the Champions League with all those average players.
If Arteta is supposed to be half as good as made out then he should walk the Premier league next season
wtf just saw spuds result.
our worst ever season/shambles and yet they are below us 🙂
lolzzz
If you look Rith , you will see that the table was for 2020….
What an excellent job Arteta is doing, clearing the mess that Emery left behind.
I come here and decide to just read the last post and i get to read Kay’s post stating that the Spuds have lost.
Lolz.
I was speaking to my cousin earlier and chuckled at the possible prospect of us piping Spuds if they lost their game in hand. He reacted as if this was not possible (he is no spud. He is one of these football neutrals who loves watching football but does not support any particular team.)
Aaaaand…. the Spuds have lost. LOLZ.
So we indeed pip these fucks by a point.
Mind the gap please!!
Sanmi
You need a system to win. Pep had one. Klopp has one. Arteta doesn’t.
This is what bothers me. He gave up his system very early on to accommodate the shit players that we have.
The problem is, is that Arteta does not have the experience, and more importantly the clout to get the players performing.
And that also translates to him being able to ask for the players that we need/ that he needs to win.
I mean, where the fuck is Martilleni? Is he injured? Or is he being frozen out like Ozil?
Pierre
Overmars
“The PL table since Arteta took over. Arsenal currently sitting 3rd in the table behind Liverpool and City.”
According to Overmars it’s from when Arteta took over.
Arteta is doing a great job. If we can get 9 points out of the Wolves, Leicester, Spurs and Liverpool games, that’ll be positive. The big test is Wolves. If we come out of that with a win, that breeds more confidence within the team, as we all know that’s a tough place to go, same as Sheffield Utd.
I’m looking forward to seeing how we end the season, hopefully strong and with a place in the Europa (for financial reasons), and to see what we do in the summer.
Arsenal have won 2 and lost 2 since the resumption of the league.
Spurs have won 1 drawn 1 and lost 1
DB10
“This is what bothers me. He gave up his system very early on to accommodate the shit players that we have.The problem is, is that Arteta does not have the experience, and more importantly the clout to get the players performing.”
We have a better defensive record under Arteta and more points per game than we did under Unai Emery this season. Emery obviously being the more experienced manager. Players like Xhaka, Mustafi and Pepe have improved loads since Arteta took over. Your point is rubbish mate.
I really really enjoy Mourinho losing.. it makes me happy. That frowny, pouty look… you know the one. Doesn’t matter what team he manages for.. but now with the Spuds it makes it even sweeter.
Kwik Fit come back man… Le Grove needs it’s Fuck off Mourinho chant leader back.
#legend
I mean, where the fuck is Martilleni? Is he injured
_______
He’s injured.. Knee ligament in training will be out most likely for months including start of next season.
Overmars
He is being very pragmatic with the team he has.
I know that Arteta is doing the best he can with what he’s got. I am just disappointed that nothing has really improved after 3 months.
Why the hell is Laca still nor contributing? Why is our defence still commiting horrendous mistakes?
I’ll admit a caveat. Covid-19 has disrupted the season and disrupted any possible progress. So i will reserve judgement until next season.
Maybe i am expecting too much of this team.
Let’s just see where we can finish at the end of the season. Nothing is spoken for and everything is still in play to finish top 6.
Overmars
We got clouted 3-0 and lost 2-1 to a side who hadn’t won in 2020.
Our famous two victories came against a Southampton side with the worst home record in the league and against bottom of the table Norwich….lol
If you think that is worthy of praise then the bar is fucking low at Arsenal
Who let this AKB’s nutjob Overmars out into the community.
DB10 I think you’re expecting too much. Even Klopp or Pep wouldn’t be able to make this team title contenders by next season. It will take minimum 2 years to even think about that. Klopp took a long time to get Liverpool were they are now, and Pep didn’t win the league in his first season. Arsenal are arguably in worse shape then City and Liverpool were. It takes time, a bit of patience from the fans and most importantly, the board to back Arteta with the money and players he wants. The early signs have been much better than… Read more »
We could have used Smith rowe during this run in, but it’s also a good thing he is getting game time at huddersfield. Lads has good quite good most of the time he has been on the pitch, makes the team tick.
I desperately want him to do well, challenge and eventually make the attacking mid position his own. Saka, nketia, Smith-Rowe, salina, martinelli, Tierney, willock (maybe) Nelson (maybe) we could well be looking at a golden generation.
*saliba
Red-
You have been mad at Arsenal for 25 years now.. let it go man.,.. let it go. That’s a lot of negativity to carry around for 2 and half decades. Football isn’t going back to the way it was played in the 1970’s and 80’s when you were growing up, get over it.
Redtruth
Am I not allowed to praise the team for 3 wins in a row? Like I said, the next 4 games are the real test.
You’re right, the bar is low at the moment. Mainly because Arteta has had to take over a team crippled of confidence by Unai Emery. You’re unrealistic if you think anyone else would come in and do a better job at the moment.
You never know, we could till end up with a Europa League place and win the FA Cup.
Considering how poor end of last season and start of this season has been, that would be overachieving.
Overmars
Arsenal Truth
“Wenger left Emery a squad that was unmotivated, arrogant, part-decrepit and psychologically moribund. Arteta inherited a better group with lots of young players to work with. They still lack experience, but at least they’re 18 months further down the road in their development.”
Arteta has not yet turned a corner but it is clear he has great rapport with the players and he has a vision. Hopefully, he would be so driven in pursuit of results, that his passion can become infectious across the club!
City were like a symphony of death today
Incredible how the work the ball in attack.
Its like art in motion
I do hope we can get to that level of beautiful football…
More importantly it’s a reminder of how we need to prepare for the fa cup game
Will Arsenal find a way to screw up the signing of Partey? What are they waiting for?
Other teams to ramp up the transfer fee and tap him up to greener pastures?
Godfather
If we’re interested in Partey, I’m sure they’ve been working on the deal for months. Remember how long Teirney took last summer.
I trust Raul, Edu, Josh and Vinai to get a deal over the line more than I trusted Gazidis and Dick Law.
Hope you’re right Overmars.
“I’m not judging you on behalf of anyone, I don’t have your delusions of grandeur, I just happen to think you’re a prick, that goes way back to your prime AKB days. You might not find any substance in the Keyser comparison but that’s how I’ve always seen you, always going round in circles picking fights with other posters, always backtracking and claiming misunderstandings when you get pinned down. Being condescending is just the “cherry on top”” Freddie’s nailed you there Charlie. To name 3 out of 4 of your failed crusades: Wenger, Ozil and now Xhaka left you with… Read more »
At this stage, after being a ‘Xhaka is the least of our worries’ merchant myself for atleast 2 seasons now, it will be a travesty to keep Xhaka and let Ceballos leave. Ceb is so mobile and full of innovations and quick thoughts that he will be pulling his hair having to play with immobile midfielders at this club. That’s why he twists and turns and appears like he’s slowing the game. No CM at Arsenal is at his level, mobility and quick thinking wise. Partey, Ceb, Dominik, Guen/Willock could work well for us but Xhaka must be sold else… Read more »
I like Arteta. He seems to be a top class coach. System wise,he is Pep,Klopp level. His only legitimate criticism so far is his in game management. Its not good. But that’s a small thing. Klopp,Poch and Conte are all great coaches with poor in game management. We drop off in 2nd half because we get tired. Our football is more intense under Arteta than it was under Emery and the players are just not fit enough to play the football that Arteta wants us to play. Players will get better in this aspect next season with a proper pre… Read more »
Mystic
I’ve been saying for a while that Dani is our best passer and best b2b mid we have
Always moving and breaking up play
His goal at Sheffield shows his awareness and non stop running. It paid off when he knew that Pepe would lose the ball trying to put it on his left as usual
I like him. I agree with everything you said bar guen. I’d like him gone too
Arsenal will probably lose to Wolves and Liverpool. We are weak in duels,set pieces,defending crosses,lose the ball in our own half and get exposed on the counter. Both these teams excel where we are weak.
We have a chance against Leicester and Spurs.
Go after Diogo jota as left side winger / forward
A dribbler for sure . Work horse. Young and can fit inside to score and distribute. Mobile 100 percent
Watch him on Saturday
Cut not fit
Beat wolves and we’ll be 3 points behind them. I know there are a good team but this is the kind of major game where I wan to see Arteta put his stamp on arsenal and have the team rise to the occasion I’m not expecting us to come top 5, but he’s now had enough time with these players and he’s got a bit of momentum these last few games. I don’t want to see us struggling with dubious performances, dubious subs and dubious results for the rest of the season. Wolves are good but but they’re only 6… Read more »
“Oxlade OG to make it 4“ Well at least he scored and can blame the alcohol for the illusion! Arsenal had the highest cash reserve (something like sum of the rest of PL teams? ) only couple years ago. Who ran the financials nearly to the ground? With the harsh environments induced by Covid if we had managed to retain good portion of that financial muscles, could do very well in the TW with so many clubs suffering. Well… Of course, we now need more budget to just pay Raul and Edu’ pals Those reported amounts in commissions would cause… Read more »
China I can’t wait for Saturday
Wolves are a true test. Not Norwich
I would raid about 3 players from that team
Jota Jimenez and boly. Ironically their entire midfield is represented by one agent
Goes to show that sometimes super agents can help
Anyhow… I don’t expect a high scoring game but I want to see a plan in place. Arteta has already sang wolves praise in the media. Says he has a plan
I want to see that
Guns, very very aware of space and what’s happening around him. His energy is terrific. He won’t set the league alight alone (he’s not Fabregas), he needs people like him to thrive. Arteta appears smart and I am sure he’s taking stock if we can see things without badges. Re Guen, I was one that told people to be careful of the hype from a very early stage. But since then I have seen enough performances from him atleast want Arteta to correct his off field problems and focus him on the field. If everything goes well, he could be… Read more »
Guns
Diogo Jota is fine but how we fit him in with Saka and Martinelli upcoming? What’s his fee level?
Jota is a quality little player. 15 goals already in all competitions this season.
But as it stands, we have Aubameyang, Saka and Martinelli as our left wingers. We don’t need another and I would prefer us stick with Saka and build the team around him.
Investment need to be made at the back and in the middle of the park.
Ceb as a box to box CM is mediocre he could pass as CAM but not for a title challenging team,
Xhakalsons lack of mobility and creativity causes problems for any midfielder he plays with resulting in a lack of combination play in midfield.
His game is about passing to the wings.
Jovic as a Laca replacement would be good. He is stronger and good at combination play.
It took sometime for Arteta to accept that the best formation for this group is a back 3 with wingbacks any of 343, 3412, 352
I think even Wenger in the end was using wingbacks
No to Partey he is 27(i know he is older) he has reached his peak and its downhill from here after trying to adapt in his 1st season in the epl.
Sid….he’s not older than 27 and he will marry the EPL. Almost like he’s made for it. Wonderful player already.
Most of problems stem from our midfield. All of our midfielders lacks at least one critical ability of great DM to thrive in the EPL Dynamism: Xhaka, Defensive awareness: Guendouzi, Physicality under pressure: Ceballos, Torreira, Guendouzi Forward passing: Torreira Tackling: Willock Some of them you can get with experience: tackling, defensive awareness, but others there are physical limit to how much it can be improved. Get two midfielders without these flaws and suddenly Arsenal will look like a proper contender. Same effect than Fernandes has had on ManUtd. Party may be an upgrade on Torreira, but can he take the… Read more »
Tony
Good morning.
Your perceptions on CC are 100% correct.
Partey Signed a contract with athletico in 2011, aged 18 is suspicious,
African players generally sign for 2nd tier clubs or go to Scandinavian clubs not straight for big club 1st teams.
Tackling: willock – can be improved
Physicality under pressure: Guend- can be improved as he matures physically
Defensive awareness: Guend- can be improved
Looks like mikel wants ceballos, so much for fixing the midfield then. Looks like we are skint this summer, especially if we don’t qualify for Europe.
Valentin
Contrary to what most believe Partey is not a defensive midfielder.
He is a top quality all round midfielder.
I would describe him as a Jack of all trades but a very high quality jack.
If you look at his forward passing numbers they are good but not Xhaka levels.
If you look at his tackling numbers , again very good but not Kante/ndidi levels.
If you look at his dribbling numbers , again quite good but not the same as Kovacic , etc.
Dont think we are going to sign Ceballos permanently. With 1 season under his belt , he will most definitely be a better player if he continues for us next season but we desperately need pace and power in that midfield. And unfortunately Ceballos doesn’t provide that
Wasi
Dont think we are going to sign Ceballos permanently.
We said the same thing about luiz and mari, guess what happened?
Hindsight is good but you don’t need it to know that letting BHA off the hook in the manner we did and lost the precious 3 pts would cost and bite us. That’s in game management as much as player attitude and quality. Lucky or unlucky, our competiton , again ,did poorly and have not been able to position to capitalise. Emery’s horrific let slip of the 4th place has been and is still widely critiqued, and deservedly so. Arteta, if smart as many believe , should learn and avoid similar mistakes, thou under more challenging circumstances. The positive is,… Read more »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzlU1rfTwT8
Gons
I believe what the club did is patch up the defence so that we can put all out money into midfield this summer. And maybe a Striker if Laca/Auba leave.
Indian version of Thriller.
Very under-rated. Bubbling just under the radar.
Oh and I knew Sheffield Utd were going to beat Spurs after 5 minutes. They came out strong from the first whistle and if we are honest we were a little fortunate to beat them ourselves in the cup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDKcevMFUCo
I really did snigger when Kane’s goal was disallowed yesterday, even a bigger snigger with the result and an even bigger one when I read JMs post match comments. We all know that the rule change was all about hand ball goals such as Kos goal against Burnley? but I am far from sure that the rule as written is as clear as it should be This is the 2019/20 FIFA wording on handball Deliberate handball remains an offence •The following ‘handball’ situations, even if accidental, will be a free kick: •the ball goes into the goal after touching an… Read more »
Wonder when we learn as fans. Extremely lucky to beat Southampton as they were all over us. Lucky to beat Sheffield and then two gifts from Norwich ( finally watched a rerun and I don’t see what the back patting was all about), and all of a sudden we are drawing up league tables and projecting where we could have been if the saucy one started the season. Naive is the word. The real test starts on Saturday, Wolves are a very good team. Spurs we should beat if we go by the we beat Sheffield, Sheffield beat them so… Read more »
Wasi
Spot on re:Partey.
Terraloon, What about WestHam disallowed goal in the first half for offside? The problem is that we now go into personal interpretation of the law of the games. Strictu sensu to the letter of the laws both decisions are correct, however most casual observers will find them jarring. Same with the 1cm boot offside, technically correct, but in reality annoying because the law is about stopping an advantage to the attacking side and the 1cm gap does not really create a genuine advantage. I prefer if you can’t see a gap with the naked eye, then give the decision to… Read more »
Wasi
All the news reports suggest arteta wants to keep him. So I guess it’s just partey that’s coming in then.
Of course if dani costs 10m it’ll be good business since he’s only on 50k a week, but if he costs the sum that RM believe he is worth, then it’ll be terrible business for us. Time will tell.
Wasi
Agree on Partey
That’s why I think we need to be careful about selling Torreira
Dani Ceballos for 10 mil would be a steal. Even if he doesn’t work out we can sell him for a higher price. But reportedly Madrid want 40m+ for which we are not going to pay. Another loan with option to buy could be a good deal but I wonder if Madrid would agree to that.
Also Ceballos has stated quite a lot of times that he wants to go back to Madrid and compete for a place.
Arsenal were not “lucky” against Southampton. Easily much better than them. If this is being lucky,Liverpool are lucky for 2 whole seasons now. Against Brighton,Arsenal were either tired or were cowards. If you look at how arsenal players reacted after BHA kicked off post Pepe’s goal,all the players just sprinted back to their penalty box and allowed BHA players to access the edge of the penalty box easily. For the last minute goal,Willock was out of position and Martinez came out unnecessarily. Such individual mistakes will continue in the recent future. Norwich are shit. Arsenal are mostly fine defensively,they have… Read more »
Partey is very similar to Roy Keane imo. But he doesn’t get forward much,in Simeone’s system he is basically a DM.
In terms of attributes,he is an all around midfielder.
Sane reportedly on 385k a week.
Madness
Football is a game. The rule has to be applied 100% based on the text. Otherwise, there is no more game.
North I’d sell Torreira if we are forced to sell him to sign someone like Partey. Imo a team doesn’t necessarily need to have a specialist defensive midfielder. A good system with smart players is more than enough. Just look at Busquets, ,Sensi ( Inter) , Kimmich , Pjanic. Not excellent defensively but very good all rounded players. Simple example would be our own team under Emery vs Arteta. Emery wanted our slowest player (Xhaka ) to act as the deepest midfielder and told Torreira to push upfield ( which he is clearly not suited for). Result was the bombardment… Read more »
Under no circumstance should we extend Ceballos’ stay at Arsenal. Not that I see him as the calamitous failure some do it’s just I don’t see him moving us forward in any meaningful way.
27 year old Campana at Levante I think is worth a look
https://www.whoscored.com/Players/91214/Show/Jos%C3%A9-Campa%C3%B1a
Gomez (32), Atalanta, has probably peaked late in his career. Nevertheless, I’ll place him in the top 10 of no 10s playing currently. I doubt he’ll cost more than a pack of crisps.
However many times posters repeat Partey has no bearing on our chances of signing him, chances I feel are close to 0.
Anguissa (Villareal) is a more realistic target, 3 years younger too.
“Freddie Ljungberg
CCSure sugar tits, as soon as you stop being a condescending asshole, not holding my breath on that one”
Lololol
It’s only arsenal fans.that come out with this “we were lucky” line when we defeat other teams but would never say we were unlucky to have lose a match when our defenders gift oppositions chances to score. It smells agenda all over. When Chelsea had a smash and grab goals against us, it was lampard outsmarted Arteta but if reverse is the case, then you hear the chorus “we are lucky” Liverpool won a lot of matches that they didn’t deserve to win. In this case, our fans would say “sign of a formidable team”. A good football analyst would… Read more »
Ishola, I love that Thriller knock off. Apparently there is also an Indian Gangnam Style video which, unfortunately, is about gang rape.
We will beat man c in the F.A cup, they were average against liverpool
We have the EPL top scorer in our team
Im telling you for free!
Nice post Wasi, in agreement.
I think it is safe to say that rather than just a midfield destroyer, we need just a whole lot more dynamism and athleticism in our midfield.
Unfortunately despite liking him at the start of his Arsenal career I am not sure Torreira is cut out for the EPL.
We need 2 central midfield signings, both of who can do the same things, bring high energy, toughness and creativity to our team. This has to be the priority this transfer window.
A good read on The Athletic regarding Aubameyang and his sensational goal scoring exploits, especially if you like your stats.
Not a big game player? Turns out Auba has won us 39 points as a result of his winning goal in the game. He has stepped up to save us when we needed goals.
I like Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin.
Rough in the rough but could be a world beater.
Kenyan
“”””””I like Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin.
Rough in the rough but could be a world beater.”””””””
Good player that one. Another Traore.
When Newcastle get the green light for their disgusting Saudi takeover and they add some good players to this one.
They will be serious contenders.
Looks like Arsenal and Spurs will soon be the equivalent of two bald men fighting over a comb.