Matteo G has been training on his own. Sad to see so much talent, with so little control. There are folk painting this as ‘caring too much’, but it’s nonsense. He’s badly behaved, he’s unpleasant to the staff, and he refuses to get on board the new direction the club is heading.
He had issues with Freddie before him, so it’s not just a Mikel thing.
So what do you do? Do you truly believe that elite players behave like this? They don’t. If he won’t play by the rules, he has to go. We’re not far enough along in the process to absorb a player like that. This is not Nik Anelka here. The delivery on the pitch doesn’t merit the problems off it.
Barca had something similar when Pep landed. He booted out problematic players way more accomplished than Guen, all in the name of making sure Messi and the kids coming behind him could thrive. Arsene Wenger did it when he landed, moving on senior players he thought were a bad influence.
We’re not quite Barca, or the squad Arsene inherited, but we have a lot of youngsters giving more than Matteo, and preferential treatment would not be helpful. That is Emery-style thinking.
The only shame of the blow-up is it might reduce interest in him, or lower the asking price.
I think it might work out well for us though. He’s a pretty sexy make-weight. Might be perfect for Simeone. He’d look like a smart move and allow them to save face on the Partey deal. Let’s see where it goes, but don’t cry over someone that thinks they make the rules at 20.
In news that I didn’t speak on, Tim Lewis joined the Arsenal board. I’m going to stick my neck out here and say that sort of hire from the Kroenke’s makes for ominous reading if you are Raul.
A few things stuck out for me:
- The KSE group don’t exactly have a lot of trusted confidantes in London. I’m pretty sure this guy worked with them on the stadium or takeover move. He’s trusted.
- Tim is a lawyer. They ask questions, they probe, they get to the bottom of things. What Arsenal need right now is someone assessing how we landed on deals and why we did them. Having someone with laser focus and the time to assess is going to be very valuable to the family. We don’t have a counter to Raul, a Clifford Chance partner; if activated with a mandate, is a force for good.
- He’s a ‘lifelong Arsenal fan.’ I don’t know the guy. I’ve never had a beer with him to assess how much a fan he is (‘DO YOU GO TO AWAY GAMES MATE’). But if he is like you or I and spends over 16 hours of screentime on Newsnow, reads all the blogs, pays for The Athletic, mainlines AFTV, and has a google alert set up to catch transfer stories from Eastern Europe and beyond, my hope is he gives a fuck about Arsenal and wants the club to do right by the fans.
- This move has happened as leading bloggers and journos write about the wacky goings-on at Arsenal… combined with very senior people at the club clearly leaking hard. I just do not believe that billionaires don’t pay attention to their most valuable assets. For me, being a total amateur, this looks like a statement addition to the hierachy.
My hope, at the absolute minimum, is this means Raul and Edu have a very long think about how they want to conduct this summer. Do they want to bring in players that have been recommended by Arsenal people? Or do they want to continue suckling the contacts teet of Kia and Canales?
We shall see. We’re rooting for you, Tim.
Arsenal has a huge game later today. Spurs beat Everton in a horrendous game. We need to make some space before Sunday. If we go to 52 points, and beat Spurs, we’ll be 4 points clear of them with 3 games to go. Lose tomorrow, and lose Sunday, we are in biiiiiig trouble.
Let’s see what we’ve got.
I’ll leave you with a solo podcast. It’s a good one. So listen. x
This is a fix
Why we even complaining shouldn’t we be 2-1 up?
AMN be like Jesus
Dave
If that was arsenal i would have expected that goal to stand.
He didn’t actually impact play so it shouldn’t matter if he moved his foot in blank air towards a ball he never touched
What made me laugh at sky sports is they showed one angle where it’s clearer that vardy was offside, but quickly switched it to the angle that made him look onside lol
Macey is a terrible goalkeeper and that is why he is leaving at the end of the season.
Twice on loan once at a lower league and once at a non-league club he was sent back for being not good enough.
If Martinez is promoted to No1, then let sell Leno and either get a better No2 or promote one of the youth team.
Both the strikers f***ed us today
Omg evening ruined by VAR they should just cancel it and do what we have been for all this time
Did Perez come from an offside position though? Slow mo shows he ever slightly touched it.
Should you be surprised VAR didn’t rule out a VARdy goal??
We never retained the ball long enough and just kept kicking it back to the opposition. Wouldn’t be surprised if we lose this game now.
Eddie’s red….hmmm. in fairness if it had been a tackle like that on our player even though there wasn’t any genuine malice in the tackle, I would of wanted a red card too. As much as it pains me to say.
Vardy at his age is still top class. Best English striker. He’s been difficult for us to handle tonight.
Stupid Ass Arteta: Play gaddem wingers on the flanks and play your best Striker down the fcuk game middle!
If Auba had all those chances this game would’ve been over after 45 minutes.
Just pure stupidity and arrogance!
DO NOT LET THEM SCORE
This is a classic arsenal perfomance. Better team but not enough bite and didn’t kill off the game when we could have.
where is Willock’s one goal scoring per game situation?
we need it now
lol Godfather ranting about Auba up top again
Just amazed how quickly VAR managed to deal with it compared to those many less controversial situations.
Remember those multiple lines from all angles etc. Where were they? Showed a couple here and that’s it?
5th place out of sight now.
Our problem was not getting a second goal in the second half. We eased off too much. Started to look tired.
Mustafi was good there again – clearing up
Tierney again let his man crosses from his side.
But for the red card I think we would of won. Still happy with the result.
Fuck off
Yeah its a damn shame feel there was a chance of top 5 if we won this game and went on a winning run till end of season
Very bittwr sweet tonight. Played well but lost all chance of champions league football
Willock was in the box but didn’t manage to do something with it.
Fuck off VAR Ref. Is it Mike Dean hiding behind the curtain??
Terrible result
Ref fucks us up the arse. Yet again.
Should have won it, VAR and a dumbass move from Nketiah cost us 2 points.
Still happy with the result.
I’m not. Laca chance is haunting me a the moment. That was 3 points and momentum.
Infuriating.
Battered them first half and should’ve been out of sight. Hope we use that as motivation for the next game.
We’ve been shocking at times this season , really really bad. So tonight I was impressed as their is some improvement.
dissapointing
we had this team in the first H
Terrible….
good first half performance undone by VAR that’s all
on to Spurs
things will get spicy again
more sauce please
Good game
Unlucky not to win.
Hey stat keepers please note Arteta is the only coach that has failed to beat Leicester @ home
As much as I enjoyed the first half.. You just know all those wasted opportunities would haunt us. And the second half was agonizing. The yin/yang of being an Arsenal supporter these days.
Dumb. We really should’ve won that. By far the better side in the first half.
Actually want to give a shout out to Schmeichel top performance first half. Like our back-up keeper a lot 🙂
Draw not surprising tbh as the game was never comfortable when it was 11 vs 11 and Leicester were quite competitive in the match ovderall.
Shame that they couldn’t hold on.
Unlucky.. Looked comfortable till sending off
I know eddie messed up but I dont rate him.
would rather have left Laca on… at least he was trying to get us something.
Laca Auba Saka did well
Need to see Pepe playing
Like WTF
VAR screwed us, Vardy was offside. Eddie was silly, one of those that looks worse after every replay.
As many have said we should have been 2-0 up with a bit more clinical finishing but overall a good performance, especially in that first half, we played some really good football.
Why players shake hands with officals
Would not bother bent scum
No rec player turns his back
No goal Vardy offside
But yet again it goes against the arsenal.
Fuck the bent corrupt league.
Another game where terrible substitutions by the manager prevents the team from winning. The only change was Pepe for Saka. I guess that’s the price Arsenal have to pay while the manager completes OJT 🤦🏽♂️
The remainder of this season has been around building and that was a really promising performance. Strong defensively and our attacking moves looked dangerous.
Wasn’t a red and goal was offside. Doesn’t take away from the performance
Laca again missed 2 great chances.
Bellerin apart from that 1 cross was again horrendous.
Mustafi, Tierney best performers.
Can someone please ask Arteta how is Amn a better option to bring on to change the game when you have Pepe on the bench too. In game management needs serious improvements.
Fuck the commentators too. Fair outcome my ass. How many chances had LEI got in comparison??
really keen to know the xG and xGA in this occasion.
Didn’t feel as bad as the BHA game but still 2 pts dropped when we had so many good/ great chances in the 1H.
That shows why LacaSad got to be sold to raise fund. Even if not past it not the future.
Useroz
If the lines dont suit them, they won’t use it.
I swear, these cunts, erm, refs are not corrupt. *cough* *cough*
Well that’s it then. We were playing really well and holding off Leicester until these cunt refs decided to make the crapest decision possible. I mean the Leicester player did not even end up being seriously injured. I mean, really, what the fuck?
Disappointed
Absolutely must win at spuds
Wish wolves lose against Sheffield
Some off u go well over the top when we don’t win.. Pathetic
Arteta not making substitutions on 55th or 60th cost us, we were complete shit in the 2nd half, how only he didn’t see that I really don’t know.
Whatever, we held on for the point with 10 players so fuck it.
Why did lava touch touch the back header was going in…
That Leicester team will be lucky to finish top four. Out of ideas as a team, they didn’t really batter us even though we gave them the pitch and kept retreating. Pushed up near the end and that finished them off. Without their two full backs they are ordinary.
Great first half should have yielded more goals. Second half we always look jittery.
Leicester 14 fouls …yellows none….
Nobody to blame but ourselves, should of killed it off.
Let’s remember that Martinez was called upon to make several good saves as well.
Leicester were competitive and the game was on the edge throughout.
Of course Eddie and his over exuberance didn’t help matters at all.
Got to say I think the way Mikel has the team now gives me hope for us going forwards – freeze out arseholes like Ozil and Guendozey, Xhaka and Mustafi look like different players think we have hired the right guy.
Look, this is a joke.
How many times does the club need to get fucked by the officials before they come out and say something?
I mean yet again a side we play against commits foul after foul with no yellow card in sight and we are punished continuously.
Evans in the first half went through the back of Laca and they put it down to water on the pitch yet that wasn’t considered for Eddie’s tackle?
Playing our natural goal scorer on the wing and our blunderer in the middle what do we expect?
Lack of clinical finishing in the first half and Artetas golden boy with a challenge that will always go against Arsenal is why we haven’t won this game.
Call me paranoid but I just don’t see any other premier league seeing a red card for that challenge by Eddie. It has to be watched in normal speed to see how bad that decision was.
I think AMN was brought on to try shore up the point. Not for scoring
G
I don’t care about not winning
I get annoyed with a frustrating bias system that is not impartial.
Workers with agendas.
We got exactly what we deserved… if not more. The game is not 45 minutes… it’s 90, and our manager/players keep forgetting about it. Just keep disappearing in the second half.
Not a bad point in the end, fine margins and all that. Eddie will learn, defensively we were decent again so bodes well for the future (starting Sunday).
Did someone say we have put a lawyer on the board?
If so, about time to use him with these officials
But no bigger picture was arsenal didn’t press positively for a second goal especially in the second half. Arteta should have spotted that and added impetus to our attack. Leicester did not really threaten until we had 10 men.
I actually think that was one of our better performances. We had all given up hope on champions league long ago so this shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Thought Mustafi had one of his best games in an arsenal shirt. I don’t like to single out Xhaka because he is an easy target, but he needed to be tighter to Gray. It was so obvious he was just going to shift it on to his right foot but he gave him too much space.
I’m not gonna get on Nketiah but that was never a red card. Bloody hopeless officiating.
Horrible game changing decision.
Absolutely shocking but the guy is a total idiot for putting his mates in that position …
I like what Arteta is trying to do but his game management leaves way too much to be desired
So we have had two reds since the restart…
Bollocks
Corrupt league
The only thing we’re fighting for now is finishing above Spurs and the FA cup (unlikely with the teams left). No chance of CL football.
Looking forward to next season. This season has been very boring.
“ Playing our natural goal scorer on the wing and our blunderer in the middle what do we expect?”
So simple but our “emperors In their new clothes” think that they are smart by complicating easy decisions.
Idiots
I’m guessing “clear and obvious” has been dropped from the criteria when decision making?
8 mins added time, the majority of which from VAR. The red card taking a good 20 replays to ‘land’ on a decision. Such a nonsense.
“Nobody to blame but ourselves, should of killed it off.”
For sure, Sal
Great result especially considering the circumstances….it looked like another solid defensive performance before the red now onto the derby.
Was it the Crystal Palace game I think it was that the red wiped out a clear game winner … and the league had to apologize … it’s crazy how these decisions keep going against Arsenal
Still think Perez touched the ball. And then it could have been an offside. Laca should have scored from the chances he had tonight. Swap him with Party already.
Phenomenal pass by Ceballos for our first. He’s been a monster in the last several games. Sad to see him go at the end of the season.
@Godfather –
“it’s crazy how these decisions keep going against Arsenal”
I wouldn’t say its crazy, I would say its clearly intended.
Meanwhile Milan turning it around on juve lol😂….I know gazidis isn’t everyone’s favorite guy but Milan have some great youngsters(leao,Hernandez,salamaekers,benacer,donarumma ) and rebic is also getting better….they have also tied up Ragnick
Arsenal luck finally running out in what was a grotesque second half performance.
Bizarre thinking that wasn’t a red. If it isn’t, Arteta will challenge it and it’ll be rescinded.
Can’t see either happening.
We lost because we didn’t score more than 1 goal in the first half.
Need to be more clinical against spurs.
Un, suspect we may well have signed something like that, but if so, the club are bigger mugs than I had realised
We were being dominated, immediately i saw those two inexperienced kids, i knew there was trouble…a Torreira, Pepe would have been better giving leceister something to think about.
This season has always being a write off, its just an avenue for Arteta to get experience..
Rebic scores 4-2
Jim.Hate banging “ unfolds “ drum.But they had a statistic on their site that showed Leicester were able to commit 17 fouls before a booking.Yes Thats right .F **** Ng seventeen! It takes Arsenal 7.Can anyone please explain.Ive said it before & I’ll say it again.until the Board/ management call these anomalies out from the PGMOL( Mike Riley mafia) it’s going to continue.But our club is old school & it’s beneath their dignity.Stiff uppper lip old boy & grin & bare it.Could you imagine Ferguson or Maureen putting up with it? No bloody chance.
I’m not shattered from the result, more interesting is the noticeable improvements being made. We looked like fucking Arsenal for a change with balance being struck between defense and attack in the first 45 that i’ve not seen for quite a while.
This schedule is brutal for all, legs looking very heavy for some.
We should’ve been out of sight in the first half.
Worryingly, Leicester we’re slowly getting back into the game just before the red card and fortunately, they were just as terrible tonight as they’ve been lately otherwise we’d be ruing all those missed chances.
Really unlucky for Nkethia.
Naive substitution sending on a kid eager to please after Arsenal lost control of midfield.
Kolasinac turns his back when gray crosses. If he faces up and moves across he blocks that cross. Very poor from kola. Drop him next game.
Our defending for the Leciester goal was shocking.
Shall we seriously review the Leicester goal or do you lot just want to wallow in misfortune?
Samesong
“Our defending for the Leciester goal was shocking.”
At last.
Somebody without their head in the sand.
That was a red card.
Dunno what the whole complaints are about.
If that challenge was on an Arsenal players you will want a red.
Talking about refs no one noticed Kolasinac getting away with one in the first half, he wasn’t fouled in the build up to that goal.
Take the chances we created and game over. Second half we didn’t really play with the same freedom and intensity, let them grow Into the game
Sal
Totally agree, the structure and the signs we’re seeing are really good. Embers of hope for sure.
Nketiah’s challenge is a red card.
But I do agree that decisions go against Arsenal. Like in almost every fkin game. And it keeps repeating and repeating with no repercussions.
Bellerin completely switches off for the goal..a nothing footballer
@Uwot –
This anti-Arsenal bias all stems back to the early days under Wenger when we were seen as a horrible foreign team trying to challenge the righteous British side Manchester United.
Remember when we were the team that “didn’t like it up them”? A time when we had players assaulted on the pitch with no protection.
What is going on now is just a continuation of what has been going on for years.
Poor, poor defending from Xhaka to allow the cross to come in.
He was near enough to make a block or put a tackle in but didn’t bother. Instead he lazily put his arm up for offside as soon as the ball was crossed in.
Vardy got the run on Mustafi.
Mustafi got turned over.
Our two old friends having a hand in the Leicester goal.
The pandemic is shielding Arteta from vigorous scrutiny.