My hope is that a desperately poor performance like yesterday’s works out better for Arsenal in the long-term. Two shocking games without mitigating circumstances might save us a season of misery.
How so?
The worrying narrative that Arteta had been spinning prior to the last two games was that the players were focused, fighting, and turning a corner. ‘They might not be the best, but they always give 100%’ has been the gist. For a moment, I was convinced. When we’ve suffered bad results of late, there’s usually been a valid excuse. Red cards, injuries, bad luck… just a shit day at the office.
Brighton felt like the exception. We made inroads away from home, we beat teams above us in the league, we took two major scalps inside 4 days, we made a cup final. Then this week happened. We had to put on a show against two teams in the relegation zone and it was miserable.
The squad showed their true colours. Like Emery post-22 games, when the focus drops, it really drops. There’s no real reason for it, it’s not a talent issue, it’s a character problem. You cannot coach that out of this squad, Mikel should know, he played with some of the offending characters.
We had an Arsene Wenger performance at Aston Villa. The players took their foot off the gas. We held onto possession and did nothing with it. Managed to lose to an average press. We were the only team this season not to register a shot on target against them. We are MILES better than Villa, but we fucked it.
Then we had an Unai Emery performance against Watford. We lost our shape, we were outbattled, we let a shit team absolutely batter us. We lucked out with a win. Where was the adherence to the game plan? Where was the desire? How can you let Danny Welbeck look world-class?
This isn’t all on Arteta, but he has to take a share of this week. He doesn’t seem to realize that these players will always let him down. They don’t care. They don’t have the ability to retain focus. If the game isn’t interesting, they won’t turn up. He knows Kola is mentally weak, yet he keeps appearing. He’s seen the stats with Luiz, yet he’s telling us he’s elite and the only way to get him out of the mistakes is to… play him some more? We also gave him a new deal, that’s not good. Rob Holding, I want him to be great, but it’s clear that isn’t happening. Lacazette for a new deal, really? There is a group of players that have the ability but lack the focus to be dangerous for any sort of stretch and that won’t change.
We’ll see the mentality shift for the cup final. I bet we show up. The players will look totally different. They will execute the game plan. They will battle like demons. We will be very competitive. Why? Because it’s an important game they care about.
The Watford game was a disgrace. I don’t care that we won. The points were irrelevant. We needed a performance and we didn’t get one. Our xG was pitiful.
Look over at City. Comfortably 2nd. Fuck all to play for and they smash Watford with a stylish display, then they hammer Norwich today. No mercy. They haven’t had a good season, but they still showed the gulf in mentality between us and them.
Arteta needs to learn fast that this sort of performance always waits in the wings. David Luiz conceding 5 penalties, a record, is exactly what he’s about. 1 worldie, 3 average games, 2 howlers. You can’t rely on him. He should be taking on a Lichtsteiner role next year. It doesn’t look that way and that’s a worry. If he’s central to our plans, we’re in trouble, because everyone in football knows how that story ends.
As for the rest of the squad, it’s clear who needs to go. If we make minor tweaks this summer, you can bet your bottom dollar we won’t move forward at the pace required. You cannot coach character. You do not progress with players that can tactically boss City, then throw in the towel against Villa and Watford.
Yesterday was a wake-up call.
Yes, Arteta has moved us forward. Yes, he is the right man to take us into the future. But he needs to get woke to these players and their weaknesses. The most novice and arrogant thing he could do this summer is buy into the idea that he has changed the fundamental character flaws that are deeply ingrained in these players. You do not create a high-performance culture with these players. The kids do not develop training with bums. It is as simple as that.
I love the theory that Steve Round and Mikel speak to, it sounds smart, it reads very progressive, but it has to go beyond words. Their actions have to show they have the courage to deliver the bad news and make horrible choices. The non-negotiables have to go beyond training ground etiquette. This summer, his non-negotiables have to focus on talent. If you don’t have the focus, get out the club. If you are good with the kids but can’t cut it on the pitch, you are no good to anyone. If you lack talent, then see you later. The way some of the contract talks have been shaped over the past few weeks, I am deeply worried about that he’s not going to deliver the aggressive stance we need. A half-baked job this summer would be a disaster.
Our main problem though is one of character, not just talent. I desperately hope that Arsenal losing out on 5th because of Villa, Spurs and Brighton has drive home that point to Mikel. No more chances for players that don’t have it. No more bringing in characters that are finished. Don’t roll the dice on players from other clubs that are 26 years old with clear mentality issues. It is not worth it. We have seen it too many times at Arsenal. The story needs to change.
This upcoming transfer window needs to be profound. We have no money, but we do have players that can be traded for better ones. But there has to be intent from Arteta to move on names he seems to think are cutting it. If we blow it, based on the naïveté of the clubs coaching and technical staff, next season will be rough and the fans will not be so forgiving.
8th place for Arsenal is relevant because Klopp finished there in his first season. He learnt his lessons and he attacked the fundamentals aggressively. Arteta must do the same if we truly want to follow the same path.
We’ll spend today complaining, then it’s cup final vibes all the way. A huge chance for Arteta to start his career with a trophy, also a chance for the players to redeem themselves after a shocking end to the season.
Onwards!
We’re fucked. Pedro…agreed you can’t teach character. But I think Arteta is a superb role model in terms of exceptional character: principled, driven, dignified, clear, direct, honest. If anyone can inject some of this into this group I would place my money on him. But as you point out, it’s at best inconsistent. So now we look for the root cause…why is it impossible to fire up this group. Why don’t they give a fuck. Why don’t we see the hunger and necessary drive to win day in and day out for the club and team and as individuals. I… Read more »
Wenger was a big part of the culture of failure. He is gone, but somehow the stench remains. if our owners are aggressive and ambitious it filters down to everyone. Losing is not acceptable. Winning championships is the goal. Not long term but now. Look at the big teams. They dont wait to win, or wait for the market to do this or that. its a quick turn around to get to the top. Kroenkes are not like this. Someone like Dangote or others are invested owners, also from a sporting perspective. They hate losing too. We have a bizness… Read more »
China I agree with your take on Nelson… dude is great at taking his man on, and is physically strong…. a right footed winger on the right side…
If we get a tall striker, will need crosses from that side, which is something he can do…
Oh well, I hope he gets more mins. I like him but he needs to play!
Dissenter
Was calling myself a geographical pedant!! As for Birmingham City being a big club – even though they fluke a win against in the League Cup final a few years back. Club is a Mickey Mouse outfit – they’ve just retired the #22 shirt worn by Jude Bellingham following his transfer to Borussia Dortmund – a player who made fewer than 50 appearances for the club….
Good write up, Pedro. For me, forcing a significant change in the culture of the club is Arteta’s hardest challenge. The weak and defeatist mindset has calcified over the years and it’s going to be a really tough job to instill belief, a work Ethic and a winner’s mentality. Unfortunately, things haven’t got off to a great start with the contracts handed out to Luiz and Soares. A defender’s baseline should be not giving penalties And goals away, so however we look at it, Luiz is A failure this season. By continuing to reward failure, we undermine any statement we… Read more »
Yeah I thought Nelson looked really dangerous when he came on. A couple of his attempts didn’t quite work out but that’s ok imo because he kept aggressively going for it and had his man pegged back repeatedly. He also nearly got an assist with a great cross to Tierney who unfortunately didn’t connect well I think Nelson is a genuine prospect. The problem is he has two players ahead of him on the right as Saka keeps getting shoe horned in there or even Nketiah as well as obviously Pepe. For me our RW should be Pepe with Nelson… Read more »
This whole thing of giving contracts to players like Luiz because they’re good in the dressing room is absolutely ridiculous imo Eboue was also good in the dressing room… A better question would be why are we so unsure of being able to sign *good* players with a good attitude and mentality? You’d think such players were so rare since arsenal always love to make a song and dance about how good our average or worse players’ attitudes are. This dichotomy of choosing between good players with bad attitudes and average players with good attitudes has to stop. Top teams… Read more »
Seriously all this giving contracts to bad players who are good in the dressing room can be traced back to eboue He actually started his arsenal career brilliantly but his form obviously went to shit a couple of years down the line. Even the most sentimental manager in footballing history (wenger) had to bring him off in the first half to save him from himself. But again, the only reason he was still there was because he was apparently hilarious in the dressing room and was loved for his joking around. What was the actual tangible benefit of that though?… Read more »
Eboue is a favorite of mine. His life really went down the tubes. Wife took him to the cleaners, he ended up homeless. Sad story…. people were worried about his mental health…
His spirit always seemed strong overall… i wish him well.
This fella Sarr reminds me of Eboue in his movements. Explosive off the line… the way he moves…
China you bring up some good points about Auba and his speed. I have thought the same things actually. He hardly seems to use it, or know when to use it…. i thought he was a speed merchant but we hardly get to see glimpses of that… He does have a nose for goal tho, and that is good enough for now. I also noticed that Saka has been left out of the team since signing the new deal. Also not really lighting things up…. I hope its just Arteta being careful with him, now that he is a valuable… Read more »
arty is playing Nketiah a lot… like something is up… like
Hmmm Laca may leave…. i need to bleed him in…
Laca shits all over Nketiah. I sure hope if Laca leaves, we get a replacement instead of Nketiah…
Then again, those funds can go to fixing our midfield.
When Gabby comes back, I think its curtains for Eddie unless Arty does not play him or keeps him on the wing… the kid is just too good to be on the bench this much
Gambon
You wrote:
“If we sign 2 players, Auba leaves. Simple as that.These 2 players would have to be the best 2 players in the PL to get an Auba-less Arsenal into the top 4.”
If we can’t afford to keep Auba with Partey and a quality creative passing LW
then we should forget top 4 and start project youth.
Auba scored 20 NPG in the league.
We aren’t going to replace that cheaply.
So no point trying for a top 4 then,try to get all the players > 26 off the wage bill and go project youth fully.
Yeah guns it’s not personal as I actually really liked eboue. He was amazing in our CL final run. A great prospect that sadly didn’t only lose his career but pretty much everything else as you say
A sad story I wouldn’t wish on him at all. But purely from a footballing perspective we should’ve sold him 12-18 months before we did. He was being kept around because he’s funny. This is a football club, not a kindergarten. Arsenal are too often unclear of the difference
Champagne Charlie Nah. We have been lucky in a lot of games. We weren’t unlucky vs Villa.We just didn’t create much.We have had a lot of 0-0,1-0,1-1,2-1 scores this season which could have gone either way. As far as last season’s team is concerned,Big difference with last season’s team is the absence of any creativity. Ramsey,Iwobi and Mkhi left, Pepe came in. Pepe performed at a worse level than Iwobi and Mkhi did,last season. The difference between a midtable team and a top 4 team is basically creativity. Ability to create and score vs defensive blocks consistently. Its what got… Read more »
Guns I’m not sold on Eddie either but I think he’s a prospect and as a 3rd choice CF is fine. For me (if it can be done), I’d sign up auba, sell laca and not replace. Martinelli can compete for minutes at CF and LW and Eddie is our rotational option and cup game go to for when we don’t have Auba or Martinelli I don’t know what laca can fetch, but if he could get 40m that basically makes Partey almost a free transfer net and I don’t think we’d miss laca if we have auba playing at… Read more »
Yeah guns auba doesn’t appear to be that good at utilizing his pace. It could be a beastly weapon in the same way Henry used to abuse it but it’s extremely rare to see Auba skin his man and break through the lines. I’m not sure if it’s a lack of confidence or what, but even a lot of less capable players like Nelson will be very happy to play hit and run to ask questions of their marker and stretch the game. Henry used to tear his man to shreds with it. But with auba he seems to always… Read more »
Nelson’s on the ball talent is special.
Let him develop physically before writing him off.
Saka and Martinelli are rare players who had no problems dealing with the physicality and the intensity of this league.
“You can’t coach character”
What a BS headline!
Tell that to Alex Ferguson, Mourinho , Phil Jackson and the other great coaches!
It’s one of the main jobs of the manager to instill a winning spirit and character into lethargic players and turn them around!
The problem with playing Aubameyang on top is that he can’t hold the ball. So against teams that retreat and defend that’s not an issue because we dominate the ball possession. But that expose our lack of creativity. Nobody is able to bring the ball into the penalty box. Against teams that put pressure to recover the ball higher up, Aubameyang poor holdup play means that the ball does not stick upfield and the opposition keep coming back. As a central striker, He needs wingers whom the opposition fears and who therefore drag fullback or CB wide before firing the… Read more »
From the Athletic “There were changes happening behind the scenes too. Sven Mislintat had arrived as the club’s new head of recruitment. The existing chief transfer negotiator, Dick Law, was set to leave, having agreed to stay on until February to help bed in contracts expert Huss Fahmy. A new head of football relations was due to arrive in the shape of Raul Sanllehi. Although not yet officially an Arsenal employee, Sanllehi had sought to use his Brazilian contacts to assist in the club’s pursuit of Malcom — a deal they eventually opted against. What’s more, although we did not… Read more »
As much as Arteta has improved matters the Club face an extended period wallowing in the “Also-Ran” positions in the PL unless he is able to move on the Wenger/Emery deadwood and replace it with better players with a better attitude. The difficulty remains in either persuading these players to leave or persuading other teams to want their signatures in the first place. The wages that the likes of Sokratis,Elneny and Kolasinac are currently earning mean that Arsenal’s desire for a decent fee is probably just “pie in the sky”.This means that if the Club are to be able to… Read more »
Val Genuine question. For the benefit of the Auba Out fans Which is easier, especially for a team with limited resources? To build a team around a proven goal scorer (who is already on your books) and play to his strengths Or Sell the said proven goal scorer for less than optimal price while trying to build a team around a “CF who can hold up play” but doesn’t guarantee goals. Bear him mind, TH14, our greatest, wasnt renowned for his back-to-goal hold up play, rather for speed, finishing, dribbling and ghosting from the left. I know I am asking… Read more »
*bear in mind
Willock, Willock, Willock!!! I agree with most of your positions except for the Willock part. Obviously, that dude is not ready. We need a Bruno Fernades kind of midfielder (without all the theatrics) who can arrive late in the P box, play defence splitting passes through the channels, brave to make incisive runs in, hold up play an tackle as well. I am not so sure Willock has those ability. We need a brave work horse tackler, passer and creator!
“wasnt renowned for his back-to-goal hold up play”
Heh, for a minute I thought you mean Theo Walcott.
https://www.gunnerstown.com/arsenal/2020/07/28/coutinho-or-buendia-analysing-who-arsenal-should-sign-to-replace-mesut-ozil/
The more I see it the more Emi Buendia looks an attractive signing. And we could probably get him for under 20 mil which makes him fit our budget. And he contributes to defense massively while creating chances. God knows our midfield needs players that can do both.
Auba’s lack of holdup play is not an issue. Neither do Aguero or Jesus have any good hold up play.
He has scored 20 NPG in the league without any help.
He is fine.
Pepe’s hold up play is good enough.
The front 3 simply lacks some passing quality.
Its why I want a creative passing LW.
Auba and Pepe can easily play together.
Country boy – totally agreed. if we’re keeping Auba (and I’m not sure whether should given his age and cost) then we need to look at the Henry model. They’re quite similar players in many respects and Henry used to thrive as a CF who would drift off to the left. This does mean someone else needs to do the heavy lifting there but i think its the way to go. Just as Henry thrived with Pires to his left and Bergkamp feeding him from a deeper position, so we should look to the same with Saka to Auba’s left… Read more »
I would keep AMN as I still see a player who has the speed and power to play as our no 1 RB. Far more imposing than Cedric. Certainly if we sell Bellerin then we will need to keep him. His attitude seems better too. If we sell now we would not get best value.
Al money raised must be focused on a CDM and a CAM first and foremost and probably a CB. If Laca is sold and given Martinelli now out for a while then we will need a replacement striker.
The Athletic Stat
Of Aubameyang’s 54 Premier League goals, Ozil has provided the assist for just one.
The Athletic on Auba’s Contract “Although June 2021 is the official end date of Aubameyang’s deal, The Athletic understands Arsenal did insert a purchase option on an additional year. This technically granted Arsenal the ability to unilaterally extend Aubameyang’s deal by a further 12 months, if they meet certain financial conditions. There was an agreement that activating this clause suited nobody’s purposes. For Arsenal, the financial conditions would have been punishing. For Aubameyang, this summer is the right time to sign a deal that will offer him a degree of security in the latter stages of his career. He’ll require… Read more »
“While The Athletic understands Aubameyang would consider staying in London without continental competition, it would certainly help Arsenal’s chances of retaining their captain.”
I agree with most of that analysis Val which is why I also always push for saka on the left You’re not wrong about Pepe but he also provides a genuine goal threat and is a wild card so I think he can still bring value with auba up front Because at the end of the day it’s not like laca holding the ball up is really that high level for us. He’s not a giroud sort, dominating that central space and bringing the midfield and wide players in for chances… lacas not an especially good link up player imo,… Read more »
At the end of the day auba is going to score goals all the time regardless of who he plays with or how we play. He will always always find that little moment or make some luck for himself, sniff out that tiny opportunity. It’s all he’s good at but he’s incredible at it
Auba could play for Watford this season and he’d have at least 15 league goals.
Granted it’s based on YouTube clips but this Brentford lad, Benrahma, looks a bit tasty.
Emery made some very bad decisions. Worst one was to let Ramsey leave. he was the creative engine in the midfield. if there is any chance we should get him back.
Also, i am against holding Auba if he wants to leave. you cant do anything when a player’s heart is not with the team anymore. its better he leaves. i would rather have average players who will give 100 % rather than a star player who doesnt care. we already have Ozil for that.
Everybody here is saying , we need to buy a defender.. I am worried. Isnt Saliba coming to us this season. Havent watched him TBH. Is he not worth it?
Ramsey was the creative engine?. What. How many games did that sickler play in any season. 15, 20?. Talk about building your team around and absentee player.
Who do some people assume that 95% of the population are blind?. We are not.
Overmars
“Players like Nelson, Willock and Nketiah have been in and around the team for a couple of years now, now they have a bit more experience playing top level, I think next season we could see the best of them (and I’m a big fan of all of them).”
Good to see someone who talks sense.
Ramsey, an absentee player…??
2015-16 – Ramsey apps 31 — David Silva – 24
2016-17 – Ramsey apps 23 — David Silva 34
2017-18 – Ramsey apps- 24 — David Silva 29
2018-19 – Ramsey apps – 28 (before hamstring injury) — David Silva 33
This is just for the PL. Remember Man City have a fatter mid field and better rotation in other comps
Ashwin I think the fear is just that saliba is not enough Even if he’s a beast, who is he playing with? Luiz switches between awesome and awful weekly Mustafi is mustafi Holding has struggled to recapture his best form since his injury Sok is a wrestler Mari is a complete unknown quantity Chambers is a utility back up CB/RB and probably not first choice Not sure if I’m forgetting anyone. But there’s a lot of wishful thinking for this combination of CBs to be able to do a good job in a 4 or 3 man defense with depth… Read more »
Pedro, do you fall out of love a bit with arteta? Is the honeymoon period over? Or did your evil twin write the blog? Jokes aside, some of the things arteta has said and in game management moves dont make sense, and I’m glad you flagged it up. I think given time and support financially, he can be the man that puts us back on an even keel and turn things around. But It’s going to take time and money though. Once the fa cup is out the way, then we’ll start to see players moved on and have a… Read more »
As you wish Ashwin. Good thing is nobody in his right mind is going to bring Ramsey back to Arsenal. We may be stupid but not that stupid. Imagine Ramsey and Ozil sitting in the stands 600kpw wasted.
Ramsey just picked up a league winner’s medal and is on 400k a week.
Were struggling to pay auba 250k
Which is what Ramsay turned down 18 months ago.
Will never see Ramsay in an arsenal shirt again unless its a testimonial.
Yeah, there are some points which are valid, some are debatable. But team character needs to be built up. Passing, Accuracy, Focus has to be drilled in. Creativity is pedestrian most of the time. Am waiting for the FA Cup final & then see if we really have”cojones”.
Players like Nelson, Willock and Nketiah have been in and around the team for a couple of years now.
I have to agree with you pierre, three good squad players . Not everyone can play week in week out, they have there uses, and probably not on huge wages.
They might come good or they can help plug a gap in the squad.
Ramsey was a very limited player and was NOT and is not the answer. I spent so many hours watching him lose possession in key areas of the pitch and otherwise playing deadbeat square passes. We have plenty in the team doing the same thing now so we don’t need another. He had his moments when playing the box to box role and getting forward to score but this didn’t happen on the same basis as for example Frank Lampard did for Chelsea, which would have partly made up for his other deficiencies. I don’t want to see him at… Read more »
Country boy, I believe that the decision to keep or sell Aubameyang is not mostly football based. It is a financial one. Is anybody willing to pay £35 millions for Aubameyang? I think that Arteta would rather sell Lacazette and replace him with Nkethia and buy a younger player who can play with his back to goal. Even in the academy, we don’t have a Giroud type of player. None of the academy strikers even reach the dizzy height of 6 feet. But who is willing to buy Lacazette and at what price? So if Aubameyang is the more saleable… Read more »
Willian will sign for us after the cup final
Coutinho or Buendia? Hands down, we should go for the latter. Coutinho – a very good amf who’s known for scoring some screamer but without the creative spark of Debryne or his ability to cover distance. Even when he was at Liverpool, I didn’t see him as that special an amf. If we are looking for stopgap transfer then we should go for him but at the same time the cash could be used for more younger midf. Buendia – a young very creative midf that also covers ground and also good in the defensive aspect. Stats show he was… Read more »
David Silva , great player …he was the playmaker for City for all those years, playing with world class strikers . Ozil …a pile of shit ..who played with substandard strikers compared to city’s elite strike force. Quote “David Silva only beats Mesut Özil on G+A in 3 seasons out of 11. Otherwise Özil beats Silva in the other 8 seasons. Mesut Özil and David Silva are close in terms of goals scored, but when you take into account assists and games, Özil’s productivity blows Silva out of the water.1 Jul 2019:” So , the pile of shit blows the… Read more »
Its obvious Laca should be sold not Auba, Laca cant hold up play, cant make runs, average in bringing others into play, average goal scorer
he cant be plan A and is a poor plan B
“very few Champion’s League clubs interested in Aubameyang and willing to accept his wage demand” Hope that’s true. We do have a lot of young strikers but no one is pulling trees at the moment. They need an experienced Striker to learn from and someone who can take us out of the mess created by our defenders. To be fair, this is Arteta’s first ever summer transfer window. Lets see how he performs. From the looks of it, he is very pragmatic and not like Wenger who was overly attached to his players. I mean, Arteta had no qualms in… Read more »
North
I will speak up for poor old Ramsey.
If we have a 2015/2016 version of Ramsey playing on the right, I think this team would be far more successful than it is now.
Because I think Arteta is the guy who knows how to bring the best out of Ramsey.
If we loose the final which is likely then Auba will go.
The club is in an almighty mess and edu and co are clueless.
Next year is make or break for the club, and it’s likely break because a rookie coach and a crap management set up will simply fail.
Pierre,
Let it go man.
You don’t need to mention him now because Arteta doesn’t want him.
Don’t derail the blog. You know a lot of commenters will come for you and the whole transfer discussion will turn to ozil this and that.
Ozil is already in the a “as been” set of players. He isn’t the future
Pierre
Doing yourself no favor still yapping about Ozil
Looks like the management of the club has made a stance on him leaving no matter the cost,so what’s the point exactly
After every significant defeat, someone from the Arsena playing squad or the coaching staff says something like this… “We have to learn from this.” In 2012, lost our lat Golden Boot winner Robin van Persie to Man United because he was unconvinced that the club was heading in the same direction that he wanted to. He needed and wanted to see the club make significant inroads into the transfer market. If Auba is to stay, he needs to see the same. He needs to see the dross at the club go. He needs to see them replaced with smart hungry… Read more »
Oh. no stop gap arrangement please. if we are building something lets build it right. Stop gap makes sense when you have a perfect team and one player is missing due to injury. not in our case where every one is shit some time or other
we have had too many Stephan Lichtsteiner’s over the years. Get some one young and hungry (with talent of course)
Spanishdave,
Everything about your comments is always likely negative.
Be that as it may, I see us winning the fa cup final. Don’t trash it, it’s my optimism.
Pierre, I’ll skip the big chances stat for you, how about your thoughts on how Ozil has assisted just ONE of Auba’s goals? Given all those ‘chances created’ stats you mention isn’t that a bit odd? After all, Auba is known as a greater finisher….
Laca does hold up play, make runs and bring others into play… his great weakness actually is that he doesn’t score near enough goals for the amount of time he spends on the pitch.
His time to goals conversion rate, for the amount we paid for him, to be a goal scorer has been really poor this season.
I just wonder if he’s been injured behind the scenes…
“if we are building something lets build it right.”
With Stan Kroenke as the club’s owner.
You can’t make that more logical.
*our then latest…
Damn, suckered into Pierre’s Planet Ozil again. Sorry people.
The bookies have Chavs as slight favorites and I think that’s just about it
They have a better midfield but we’re almost even in everywhere else, we faced them two times already this season and were evenly matched
Only the pessimistic blokes on here will have you believe we’ll ‘likely’ lose
I think it’ll be close again but we’ll win.
*Arsenal…
Mikitaryan this season for Roma 20 games 9 goals.
Courinhio this season for Bayern 23 games 8 goals.
Same type of player.
Same type of wages.
I would argue Mikitaryan slightly better,
If Cortinhio arrives-it will because as always at Arsenal these days it suits the Spivs.
From what I read AM need to raise cash and raise it it quickly. They will reluctantly sell for €50 million .Its possible they will take Lacazette but if they did AMs wage structure is unlikely to be able to sustain any massive increase.So somehow Lacazette would have to be compensated. On 1 July AM completed the permanent signing of Morata from Chelsea and the matter of paying some €50 million is now the issue. Of course the terms of payment will have been agreed prior to the transfer but any such agreement will have been made as long ago… Read more »
“The bookies have Chavs as slight favorites and I think that’s just about it”
With Luiz as our chief of defense ?? Yeah right… (LOL)
Willian will sign for us after the cup final
Retirement home?
I think we will win against Chelsea for the following reasons. 1. We have Arteta behind the bench rather than Unai Emery… tactically he’s already shown he can match it with the big boys. 2. Chelsea doesn’t have Hazard… and they have not replaced him. Everything went through Hazard last year in Baku. The closest they have in his role is Pulisic, and he is still finding his feet… and is inconsistent. 3. Lampard lost in the playoffs last year when he failed to take Derby into the EPL. Doubt can plague a man. 4. Auba and Lacazette are in… Read more »
Make your bets : how many mistakes from Luiz + Granité in the final ?
How many penalties ?
Not so easy to guess… lol
Pierre
Are you Ozil in disguise? I mean I would get it if you were trying to defend yourself.
“Chelsea doesn’t have Hazard… and they have not replaced him. ”
Too bad they still have Giroud.
The only good news is that Mustardi is out.
(only out for the final, unfortunately…)
@Habesha : welcome to planet Pierre.
I’m inclined to believe there’s a long term strategy and we don’t just settle for any available “flamboyant” name.
Ceballos/Xhaka/Partey/Buendia/ESR would be a massive improvement on our current options.
LeedsgunnerJuly 28, 2020 10:00:11
Laca does hold up play, make runs and bring others into play… his great weakness actually is that he doesn’t score
You must be talking about Firminho
We should stay away from Real Madrid castaways like Ceb,
After Ozil, Once bitten 2wice shy.
Pierre gets up in the morning, has his breakfast, brushes his teeth, sits at his desk, turns on his faithful amstrad, loads up Le-grove, takes a sip of Tetley tea, takes a deep breath, leans into his computer and begins to type:
‘Ozil….’
Pierre reminds me of the dude from the classic Eminem song ‘Stan’.
Pierre don’t worry mate it’s reached the point where it’s become endearing
❤️
Eminem has made a song about Kroenke ??
Pierre with wenger gone and ozils days numbered have you thought of who will be your next favourite?
For me the choice is looking easy (Tierney)
Kid is gonna be a legend. Quality player. Great attitude. What’s not to love?
China
He’s already picked his next lost cause – Nketiah.
Kay
With you on this one.
Problem is when you leave your garden shed untouched for more than ten years and then decide to go and open the door, I can assure you, it won’t look pretty.
Just imagine where we’d be right now, if they’d taken things this seriously back in 2006.
Never mind.
Well Marc we all have our favorites haha
Sol Campbell… cesc… Kanu… parlour… keown… I’ll not hear a bad word said about any of them
Surely we’re still not yapping on about Ozil.
This is a school based topic of conversation.
I like Ceballos. Loan with option to buy would be good for both party. Forget about Willian and Joelson. Our priority is Midfielders.
Agreed Nelson.
“According to A Bola, Arsenal are close to completing the transfer of young prospect Joelson Fernandes (17) from Sporting Portugal for 45million euros. A London delegation must move in the coming hours to Lisbon to complete the deal, and the Gunners are willing to pay the release clause of the young marvel.”
lol it will be a funny transfer window.
An “Arsenal transfer window”, of course.
(only at Arsenal lol)
Highbury,
Need a winger let’s by a goalkeeper.
Need a keeper we must buy a creative midfielder.
Centreback needed, let’s get 16 year old striker from katmandu.
Welcome to the summer arsenal transfer window.
Every year just like the last!
Nelson
“”””I like Ceballos”””””
Apart from running round like a village idiot- I can’t for toffee see what this funny looking thing brings to the table.
too too lightweight and no dynamism or output whatsoever.
Cebollas 24 league game= Zero goals
‘onions don’t get you top 6 next season.
Brighton Hove Albion have signed the better player overnight in Lallana.
The root cause – which I am glad Arteta is able to address is the lack of our midfielders and defenders ability to cover extra space when the team is attacking. For Xakha – Dani – XXX, their pure inability to turn faster and run and cover spaces is the root cause for our teams to be where we are in the EPL table. This also highlights another root cause which is the 2 central defenders – Luiz – Mustafi – Holding cannot attack the space in front of them (left vacant by the midfielders). In theory – Arteta is… Read more »
CG,
Lallana is 32, wanted a 3 year deal.
And has a 1 in 8 goal scoring rate with no sale on value.
Even as a free he’s probably getting a nice signing on fee.
Probably best to avoid.
If we pay 45m for a child in a position we are already well stocked in then he better fucking be the next Ronaldo or there’s going to be riots
Or maybe its 45m paid over 10 years lol. That I could take… sort of…
Arteta said our transfer activity this summer needs to be really really carefully planned
So on day one we’re apparently throwing chain saws at the tree and hoping for a clean cut
Fernandez of Man Utd 14 games = 8 Goals
Cebollas of Arsenal 24 goals = 0 Goals
Arsenal extend Cebollas for another 12 months,
Fernandez is the one that got away
He would’ve improved our midfield soooooo much