You know it’s a sad news day when publications start writing stories like, ‘Arsenal fans get excited about something someone said.’ If you’re a journo and that’s all you can muster, have a word with yourself.
So anyway, people in the comments section are talking about oral health today. Funny they should be chatting about that topic because I was introduced to a WATER PIK just last week. It is jet-powered flossing. I put it in my mouth and it was like letting off a sub-machine gun. Unreal how much pik-ing it did. I’d highly recommend it.
Damn, that only took us to 100 words?
Ok, Thomas Partey’s sisters best friend who owns one of those really cute cats with the bushy faces posted a relatable meme with a hidden message.
‘Live. Laugh. SIGN FOR ARSENAL U FUCKIN IDIOT’
You know you’re struggling to maintain a rumour when your circumstantial evidence is an inspirational quote.
Arsenal are really looking a little short in midfield heading into the new season. Our ‘like a new signings’ look like, well, our new signings. The opening day of the season might see Elneny, Ozil, and Guendouzi brought into the fold. Not exactly a thrilling prospect.
Stories out of France have the price of Aouar at £70m… and with Kai Havertz fetching £100m (nuts), why not?
The Thomas Partey story has been sputtering along all summer. They want the cash we don’t have, so there’s very little momentum that we know about there.
Then the link train seems to have shuddered to a halt.
I’m sure we’ll make some headway on deals, but I do wonder if some clubs are just thinking that waiting things out for a year might make more sense from a financial perspective? Aouar has 3 years left on his deal, he’ll be worth more next summer. Partey is at his peak, he might just sign a new deal if no one comes up with the £43m buyout.
We’ll see… but as it stands, the starting 11 we send out against Fulham will likely look very much like the starting 11 we put out last season.
Still, there could be some interesting movement there.
If we’re going to look to play a more progressive style of football, what does that look like? Deep blocks is where the issue is going to be this season. Does Arteta play Willian in a #10 role? Or does he keep him out wide where he did so much damage for Chelsea this season?
Does he bring Mesut Ozil back into the fold? The German ain’t what he used to be by some stretch, but if he’s playing by the rules, maybe there’s a role for him against teams that need to be unpicked? People don’t want to accept that there is still a player there. If Arteta can stop Xhaka from playing like the intention was mistakes, I’m pretty sure he can suss a way of making Ozil work in some games. As it stands, our creativity options are very lacking. We’ll have to try something, otherwise, we’ll struggle.
The other big questions I have is the defence. Defenders coming over from France tend to take a while to adjust to the power and pace of the league. How long is Arteta going to wait until he starts to bring Saliba and Gabriel into the fold? Saliba binned off a cup final to get prepped in London. He’s focused on the first team. I love that. He’s also a proper ball-playing defender. He’ll make us strong from setpieces as well. Is he starting next season? Or is it gradual?
This season is all geared to being competitive for the season after. We have a lot of the groundwork pieces in place. We’ve reshaped the keepers who will be top of their game this season. We have a defence built for the next 5 years. All they need is experience, familiarity with the system, and some elite moments together. The baton will be passed this year to Gabriel, Tierney, Saliba, Mari, Tierney, AMN, and Hector.
It feels pretty sexy to say that we’re happy with our defenders, right?
Midfield is anyone’s guess. It still need a dynamic 8 and a 6 with power and pace. There are some unknowns. ESR looks a very good prospect, can we make him ready to challenge for the first team by next year? Joe Willock sparks something in all the coaches he meets. He needs to progress his game this season and be more than a super-sub. Saka has been mooted as a #10, will he be a chameleonic player this year, or will we settle on a role for him? We really need the club to come to the party with some midfield names if we’re going to be ready for next season.
Our striking options are also up in the air. Is Eddie ready to fight for his place this season? He scored a hattrick for the U21s. We need him to match his work rate with goals this season. He needs to challenge. Then we have Gabriel coming back into contention in October. Could he play like a 9? Or will he stay out wide. He’s great with his head, he’s fierce in the press, and he has electric pace. Or, will Arsenal move on Lacazette and bring in Odsonne Edouard in? Still some work to be done to stop us being so dependent on Auba.
Lots of work to be done, but still plenty to look forward to this season!
Wow, I made it to 900 words.
Tell me YOUR thoughts in the comments section. Podcast out a little later. x
Oh boy, Chumpagne and Pierre have joined in.
This ought to be fun !
Some people are just painfully too dogmatic!
Özil might get back in simply because he is the 2nd best we got behind Willian.
Willock and ESR not deemed good enough yet. Not enough intersest in our outgoings. A Partey/Soumare seems the only option for another signing if we get some money for Guen/Laca/Torr.
Tom
“Emery was weak but probably assured by Raul of an extension regardless the results, considering Raul was still proposing one for him even as Arsenal kept sliding down the table.”
Maybe Raul instructed Arteta to leave Ozil out of the side as he did when Emery was boss.
Now that Raul has gone , Arteta can get on with picking the players he wants in the side.
Jamie
Elneny in his last game, after his loan, he was superb and the games he played prior to his loan, he was woeful.
Do you disagree with the simplest of observations?
Side step all you like but you know the answer that’s why we were blessed with eyes.
Dave
It’s also likely that if Auba was to jump ship it’ll be late in the TW giving all sorts of issues replacing.
We still don’t know what’s going on with Laca who’s now down to 2 years on his contract.
Just curious… but how would you be handling this situation with Ozil?
Mikel was handling it fine up until the last few days. He was keeping out of the team someone who was problematic and a hindrance to the team and he wasn’t playing it out publicly despite Ozil’s jabs. It was the most promising thing about Arteta imo. Here was a manager finally standing up to Ozils antics and poor attitude and performances. I personally still hope that it was a one off otherwise we’ve got a problem
Marc Agreed we need 1 top class midfielder to even think about challenging for the top 4. Any 1 of Partey or Aoaur will do for me. If we can get both, that would be a dream. And I dont think there will be as many questions as you think about Ozil’s stamina levels. When he was playing regularly he was always among the top 3 or 5 Arsenal players in distance covered per game. CC ‘That’s my point, you have fans actively hoping for us to wage a war with Ozil this season. Can not believe the naïveté of… Read more »
Marc If we don’t get a CM because lack of funds I can see some questions being asked why did we prioritise another CB when we have so many on the books? I agree with you and your assessment of where we will finish with or without CMs. If Partey is one of them I’m happy but if we go for downscale versions like Diawara I think we will struggle to make top six. We have a double problem of defensive security and attacking creativity . I think we’d all like to see Partey, Ceballos and Aouar in midfield and… Read more »
Just a small point – Pedro’s done a great job getting you all to bite on what is currently an irrelevant subject when there’s nothing else happening.
He’s just driving traffic.
All or nothing: Tottenham is worth watching. I recommend.
I’d like to see one made on Arsenal.
Can’t believe Ozil is still a subject of discussion.Arteta has the world full of footballers to use as tools. Ozil is a dry rusted tool that has broken, you know…, the type you discard because it no longer has a purpose. After a handful of games playing with 10 men and Ozil providing zero assists or goals and making the hole we have in midfield even larger you all will come back on here moaning and lamenting why Arteta used him instead of the brighter younger hungry players currently on the books and in the market. I’m not even a… Read more »
Marko Just like to point out the numerous times you’ve disregarded views on here today as pathetic, now you’re comically calling me dense…..this comes after you interjected yourself a couple of days ago to tell me about apparent aggression towards others etc. Do you even hear yourself? As I said, do illuminate everyone how you’d be handling the situation in Arteta’s place. Should be a fun read. “Secondly I can’t remember you being critical of Mikel being spiteful initially. And thirdly isn’t it spite that keeps Guendouzi out of the side? Where’s your horror at that.“ What was spiteful initially?… Read more »
Henry
If the club doesn’t start getting it’s shit together it’s going to have to start offering happy pills with club memberships.
Raheem
Isn’t calling a film about the Spud’s All or Nothing sort of giving the plot away?
It’s nothing, has been for decades and will continue to be so.
“Mikel was handling it fine up until the last few days. He was keeping out of the team someone who was problematic and a hindrance to the team and he wasn’t playing it out publicly despite Ozil’s jabs. It was the most promising thing about Arteta imo“
And if Ozil decides he’s going to stay here this season and see out the final year of his contract. How would you manage that? How would you react to Ozil performing top of the class in training for two months?
From all the interviews with player and their social media interactions it seems like Ozil is a highly respected, humble and a friendly member in the squad.
But according to Le grovers having a spite he is a hindrance to the team.
Enlightening stuff.
Red Army –
Still not a single metric you can list as evidence of Elneny being a ‘vastly improved player’ since his return from Turkey.
Maybe hang back on making absolute statements for which you’re incapable of providing evidence.
None of us know what happened behind the scenes but if Ozil is staying and we’re still committed to his monstrous wages, then common sense dictates he needs to start earning them. If he’s training properly then he should be considered for selection – even if it is only against teams using a deep block where we need creativity to unpick (Ozil as a 10 and Willian as an 11 with Auba playing 9) I wouldn’t want him playing against any decent team where we need to rely more on the counter-attack. He has proven himself to be totally inept… Read more »
Are there 2 Champagne Charlies?
One in red, one in black
And if he isn’t training properly then we should consider him in breach of contract and cancel it completely.
Jamie from one football watcher to another, weren’t you impressed with the confidence he showed to play forward more freely, playing riskier passes through the lines and receiving the ball in right areas under pressure? Something that was clearly missing before the loan.
Marko, another intellectually sound interjection.Emery, who spent 150m on players deserved the benefit of the doubt because he laced the chance to bring players in… but Arteta, with next to no money to spend, should be held to a higher standard during this totally normal transfer window? Right back at you Pedro. Honestly I expected no different from you it had all the hallmarks of a Pedro response inaccuracies a biased towards Arteta a misrepresentation of what was said. Emery spent 70 million at the time of icing and bringing back in Ozil not 150 million. No one has said… Read more »
“Are there 2 Champagne Charlies?“
Just my split personalities
Red Army –
Nope. He’s always been a recycler, makes himself available for a pass then does nothing but push it sideways or backwards 4 feet.
Nothing offensive about his style, it’s just painfully average. Change my mind with some metrics/examples of what he learned during his loan spell that he couldn’t/didn’t do a year prior.
“Use your eyes” is for folk who are out of their depth.
Pedro when you said this season is all geared towards being competitive next season you weren’t being quite clear, by competitive next season did you mean competing for the title or for a champions league place, if you meant the latter I see nothing stopping us from competing for that this season.
And if Ozil decides he’s going to stay here this season and see out the final year of his contract. How would you manage that? Same way because nothing’s changed. How would you react to Ozil performing top of the class in training for two months? Very very doubtful of that. That sounds like you trying to very very hard to justify something that isn’t likely at all. But besides that say hypothetically speaking Ozil is pulling out all the stops at training what does it matter if he ain’t doing dick in games which he’s shown and he pulls… Read more »
Marko
“it’s very likely that it was a one off behind closed doors game and we can all go back to shit talking Ozil when the season starts”
Speak for yourself..just because a few muppets on Le Grove slag Ozil off 24 hours a day doesn’t make it the norm.
As yet , the Emirates crowd have remained solidly behind Ozil which sort of says it all really.
It was a behind close door friendly, no need in being militant about the whole issue. I understand why some are finding Pedro’s stance hard to swallow though but you have to understand at this point Pedro will defend Arteta if he starts Martinez as striker and Nketiah in goal.
Don’t expect any kind of consistency or objectivity for that matter from his opinions.
Jamie what’s evident is you haven’t a clue about the game. You need stats to exist in the game to give you validity. Yes you can count forward progressive passes but you can’t quantify sky high confidence and self belief. Think Torres at Liverpool and Torres at Chelsea. Two different players.
Evidence? Are you actually disagreeing that Elneny didn’t have a superb game in the charity shield?
Grow some bollocks and answer a direct question.
Marc
Haha fair point.
It’s an interesting series of documentaries that gives the sort of behind the scenes insightful most football fans dream of. I wonder how the documentary makers select the teams to document.
All or nothing.
So nothing then, lol only the spuddies.
I bet Amazon was taking the piss when they suggested that title!
‘ Nope. He’s always been a recycler, makes himself available for a pass then does nothing but push it sideways or backwards 4 feet.’
Jamie if that’s what you though he did in the Charity shield then I can’t help you. The difference was night and day.
“Use your eyes” is for folk who are out of their depth.
‘Show me stats’ is for muppets that have never played the game and have a severe lack of understanding it.
For goodness sake does anyone believe seriously that Ozil has a future at Arsenal just because he has trained with first team and gained some gametime in an uncompetitive game against AV? The only reason that we are having a discussion about him is because we are currently short of players in midfield. I think that it is most unlikely that Arsenal will not bring in at least one more quality midfielder in this transfer window with such waifer thin resources. Ozil is a luxury player with 10 months until end of contract. No-one expects the contract to be renewed… Read more »
If ozil has been bought in from the cold and he probably has, as arteta said everyone has a clean slate. We may as well use him in certain games and get our money’s worth from him. He should be fine for cup games and teams who sit back that need breaking down. If we need a workmanlike performance from the team then he hits the bench. It’s not perfect but you work with what you have. Something doesn’t sit well with me that aubas contract isntaking so long to sign. And midfield is an absolute shambles. Glad dani is… Read more »
All this Ozil talk is fucking boring. Same arguments have been going on for three years now.
Red Troll batting for f**king Elneny now 😂
“Very very doubtful of that. That sounds like you trying to very very hard to justify something that isn’t likely at all. But besides that say hypothetically speaking Ozil is pulling out all the stops at training what does it matter if he ain’t doing dick in games“ There isn’t an ounce of justification about anything, literally nothing has happened and it’s only the prospect of Ozil playing football that has you feverishly rambling. Ozil hasn’t actually played a competitive game for over 6 months and after performing well for a sustained period of time in training you wouldn’t include… Read more »
Cali
The worse thing is even after he’s gone there’ll be one or two piping up with “if we’d had Ozil today”.
*insight
Red Army –
I’m disagreeing with your hot take on how Elneny is a ‘vastly improved player’ since his return from Turkey. He’s always been decent at making himself available for a pass, it’s what he does with it that’s always been average.
Just so we’re clear, Elneny has improved by absolutely nothing measurable, just confidence and self-belief is all that was missing. Got it.
À propos, how do you know his confidence and self-belief has improved if it can’t be measured? Answers on a postcard.
If you’re comparing Mo Elneny to Fernando Torres, you’ve lost the game.
Imagine if Arteta just shunned all the guys he made available for transfer this summer because he didn’t manage to get rid of them, instead of just draw the line and do his best toward the goals of the club 😂
LeAdErShiP
Receding We should be competing for top4 this season, no ifs or buts or any such excuses really. If we don’t hit top4 this season, it would and should be considered a failure from the manager and players. Either through the league or Europa, we absolutely should be nailed on for the champions league next season. Arteta has had a long enough time with the squad, certain reinforcements have come in, we have a balanced enough squad so no one should be making excuses this coming season really. I’d like to believe Arteta knows this too anyway, anyone making any… Read more »
Red Army –
“‘Show me stats’ is for muppets that have never played the game and have a severe lack of understanding it.”
Never played the game! This I love. Bet you were a right pro back in the day, lad.
Wow a complete U turn from Pedro and Charlie. A couple of months ago when I said Guen should not be made an outcast for one incident against Brighton, I was told Arteta was setting some basic standards for everyone which if not adhered to by a player should rightly result in that player being made a ‘non-negotiable’. It was called leadership then and apparently now letting Ozil walk back in to our squad is also leadership.
The squad is fit only for the knackers yard.
The return of Ozil signals the team is being led by a donkey.
TR7 There’s no u-turn, Guendouzi never got back in the side (neither did Ozil) because they didn’t abide by the rules set by Arteta – alluded to in numerous post-game interviews. I would’ve had no issue with their reinstatement, I had issue with the type of nonsense that Guendouzi should be allowed to act a prick because pashun. If he did what the other players managed to do he’d have played, that simple. You’re preaching a player shouldn’t be banished indefinitely, and arguing that I’ve made that same remark about Ozil if he’s showing a new found application to the… Read more »
Take all of the background noise out of the equation and based purely on performance Ozil just isn’t good enough.
CG and others, Top four is going to be a very hard ask of Arteta in his first full season regardless who else we might get in before the season starts. Jumping four places or more to make top four has only been done 3 times since the 2002-03 season and two of those were anomalies. Leicester did it in 2015-16 season when the league favorites were all in transition in a once in a lifetime miracle on grass event, with an overwhelming approval from the PGMO’s finest it should be said. Chelsea did it the following season when Conte… Read more »
As someone else said above, forget about Ozil, matters such as Aubameyang signing on and a new midfielder are far more important concerns.
As far as Ozil goes, like it or not he is here for a year so use him when it is best to do so.
” G Er season starts in a few days, no CM signings and Auba hasn’t signed.”
Swhat that makes it a shit summer.. Brought in 3 very good players and likely to bring more.. Getting rid of who we want and bringing in who we want was never gona happen before the season starts.. Most teams in same boat
MA doesn’t seemed to bothered re Auba so looks like he will sign as well
We’ve down this road before with Ozil, and we know how it goes. Starts off well, then fades into nothingness the more matches he plays.
He was behind our decent football when Arteta first took over – which led to a lot of fans prematurely patting Arteta on the back for improving our football in such a short space of time, but he reverted to type, and our football went south as quick as his influence.
CC Sorry for the late reply. I know what you mean about having Ozil as a resource. My problem with him, is that he has never acted out like one. Not once have i seen a show stopping performance vs a top team from him in the last…. god knows when. As much as we all all know how good he WAS, after Real and the AW/ Arsenal era, he never was the same player. And I cannot for the life of me see him come back with performances like he used to do with Real. A dedicated, healthy payer… Read more »
Jamie forget it. I’m wasting my time. You haven’t ‘got’ anything apart from a smarmy response. I think he’s a vastly improved player, evidenced by his most recent performance, you don’t and think he hasn’t improved and he didn’t have a great game just average. You laugh and think the intangibles like confidence don’t matter in sport especially the top level then more fool you. It’s a massive part of the game. ‘Just so we’re clear, Elneny has improved by absolutely nothing measurable, just confidence and self-belief is all that was missing. Got it. ‘ Jamie doesn’t think increased confidence… Read more »
Charlie What could be this grand change in Ozil’s attitude that resulted in Arteta changing his stance ? I would like to believe it was never about intensity of his training. Ozil has worked under several managers and to my knowledge his intensity in training or a lack of it has never been a big issue. Messi I have read does not train very hard but who really cares as long as he delivers on the pitch. So what could possibly have changed in the last few weeks ? It can’t be about training. As far as other matters are… Read more »
Tom “”””CG and others, Top four is going to be a very hard ask of Arteta in his first full season regardless who else we might get in before the season starts.”””” Hogwash. If he aint up to the task- get someone else who is. I ve been told( often) – we have a generational coach- but if he can’t muster enough points to do it -he can go back to the North West of England and practice pretty patterns on those white boards , modern coaches like so much. Its Top 4 or bust for Arteta , as it… Read more »
RMC reaffirm this afternoon that Lyon have rejected a €35m + unnamed player in exchange proposal from Arsenal for Houssem Aouar. We believe that they are merely referring back to the same verbal proposal made last month & that the player was Mattéo Guendouzi.
Actually in discussions about Aouar
Red Army – “You laugh and think the intangibles like confidence don’t matter in sport especially the top level then more fool you. It’s a massive part of the game.” Haven’t said anything remotely close to this. Weak straw man. Try harder. “Jamie doesn’t think increased confidence and self belief improves a players performance because there isn’t a stat for it.” Didn’t say this either. Straw man # 2. Weaker still. “The fact you can’t relate the example of Torres and his diminished confidence at Chelsea to why he was a totally different player at Liverpool speaks volumes about your… Read more »
Looks more of a case of us being stuck with him for another year and we are now forced to play him
How can we be forced to play him? If Arteta is forced to do anything we got bigger problems. Ozil’s mam must be in Mikel’s head
Ozil has been insulted enough that if he has some respect for himself, he would have looked for a club that wants him. You can’t be so good a player that for two years no team want you. Ozil should move on. Arsenal has gone past him.
TR7, you argued that Guen should be allowed to act like a prick because he’s passionate.
We said he has to play by the rules if he wants to be part of the squad.
Nothing has changed. If Guen gets back into the starting 11 because he’s doing what is asked, that’ll be fine by me.
Red Army –
So you’ve no metric to back up your statement that Elneny has vastly improved? Understood.
He was great in the loss to Villa yesterday. Super confidence and self-belief on show.
Marko
You know I don’t rate Ozil at all but I am just trying to guess what could have prompted Arteta to change his stance on Ozil. May be the management is thinking we are going to pay him mega wages anyway, why not play him when required. Again not defending the decision at all and instead I am questioning the U turn but I am trying to guess the possible reason behind it.
DB10 I tend to agree with you, and I’m not disputing the likelihood of such a resurgence from Ozil because its apparent to all he’s been mailing it in for however long now sadly. I’m strictly talking from a managerial perspective and judging the approach Arteta has to take with him, and anyone else in similar standing. There’s simply no way you can ostracise someone from the team because of personal feeling or even past transgressions come a certain point, there’s no future for people that apply those draconian measures. If Ozil touches a competitive game for Arsenal again he’s… Read more »
I am just trying to guess what could have prompted Arteta to change his stance on Ozil.
No idea I too am trying to guess the uturn on such a player and I don’t have anything. Others have offered up something in training but I don’t really believe that a person is capable of training so hard that you forget things that have happened fairly recently and forego your own principles. Makes even less sense to bring him back into the fold when you factor in signing Willian, ESR returning and trying to sign Aouar.
Pedro
‘you argued that Guen should be allowed to act like a prick because he’s passionate’
No my limited point was a 19 year old boy can make odd mistakes here and there and it was the job of the manager to handle him smartly. If a player who vilified the club in public can be reinstated let us reinstate the player who allegedly acted like a prick behind the scenes.
“I am just trying to guess what could have prompted Arteta to change his stance on Ozil.”#
Maybe he realises we are not signing anyone in advanced areas and he’s decided to bring in Ozil from the cold with that in mind.
I think 5th should be easy to get, but obviously 4th is the minimum.
We finished 10points off 3rd and 4th so the gap isn’t that huge to close up.
With a full season for arteta to have, and what should be a stronger defence, we should be harder to beat and should hold onto leads a lot better.
We haven’t lost anyone either (auba please put us out of our misery)
Midfield is still a mess so let’s hope he has a plan that isn’t bring back Elmo and ozil alongside xhaka because we’ve seen how that turns out.
Paulinho ” but he reverted to type, and our football went south as quick as his influence.” Sorry but your comment doesn’t make sense , like a few others on here if we were the only Unbeaten side in Europe domestically with Ozil in the side and lost 4 out of 10 league games without Ozil in the side, how did our football go south along with his influence. Now, if it was the other way round and we were unbeaten in Europe this year without Ozil, then your point is valid , especially if we had lost 4 out… Read more »
See, took long long enough but finally agree with a comment made by CG.
It’s got to be top4 this season for Arteta, no excuses really.
TR7
Nothing to with training or playing or attitude …all to do with the pay cut.
Everyone can go round in circles all they want, but it all comes back to the discussion/meeting during lockdown about taking a pay cut…
He went from starting every game to nothing ….without kicking a ball
Bati
I’ve been saying for a couple of weeks that Arteta’s main KPI this season will be top 4 but I can’t see it happening with the squad as it is.
Xhaka = no CL football. How long will it take Arteta to realise this is the question?
Charlie ‘In previous era’s I’m sure matters would’ve been resolved differently, but times change and there’s a great deal more inclusivity demanded which comes with unparalleled need for tolerance of differing views etc, even criticisms.’ Fair enough but what was the need to give Guen bad press ? There was an orchestrated slander campaign by the club against Guen last season. Arteta too indicated through his press confereces that Ozil and Guen were not playing to his rules. Well if everything had to be sorted out amicably in the end what was the need to make such a hue and… Read more »
“Nothing to with training or playing or attitude …all to do with the pay cut.“
Just knew this was the sentiment you were harbouring, anything but the realisation Ozil is a less than exemplary professional.
Marc I’d rather see AMN play instead of xhaka.
At least he has recovery pace.
Arteta changed the way we played to accommodate xhaka he doesn’t need to do that now it’s a new season.
If Arteta lands Aouar and Partey, top 4 all the way.
With the squad we have now, I still think we’ll be in the mix if we start well.
Also was told today not to look too deeply into redemption. More likely that it’s to do with the players being out on break.
We’ll see…
Club waiting to sell to buy… Harry Redknapp vibes expected in the last week of the window.
Maybe he realises we are not signing anyone in advanced areas and he’s decided to bring in Ozil from the cold with that in mind. Mmmmm even if that’s it it’s some very weak shit considering that we didn’t really miss him post lockdown and we’re gonna have Willian and Smith Rowe at the very least and either way his contribution if the last few years is anything to go by will not warrant his return. But I mean it’s pretty clear we’re trying to bring in more to address the creative problems under Arteta so I don’t see Ozil… Read more »
Paulinho
Even if we don’t get Auoar, I will prefer Willian to Ozil as CAM. You ?
Pedro, if we land those two and retain auba,
I’d say third is possible.
Pierre
Yes, a player in the fag end of his career can’t possibly transform himself from a sloppy trainer to a consummate one. It certainly is not about training.
Torino have offered €24m upfront for Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira in the hope of overtaking Fiorentina to sign him, who offered an €8m loan fee with a mandatory purchase clause. Arsenal need the money now to fund a move for Thomas Partey. [@AlvaroLevrero] #afc
Bat
“”””See, took long long enough but finally agree with a comment made by CG.”””
I thought your earlier post was equisite too. And very fair.
Time for the talking to stop.
Time for action. A great Old Coach has left the building and potenially a great New one has taken over.
The Old one got his pack of ragamuffins top 4 constantly by hook or crook- now its time for the New one to do likewise
Top4 or Bust. Like it should be.
And like it will be for all the top clubs.
TR7 What constitutes a slander campaign? Arteta answered questions about Ozil and Guendouzi in press conferences in a rather unspecific manner as far as I recall. Never chewed anyone out and consistently stated doors are always open for people that want to jump aboard the “train” I think, or words to that effect. I think a lot of the stuff about Guendouzi come about because there was some unrest among fans feeling he got harshly dealt with following the Maupey incident. I think that was the straw that broke the camels back in his case and the attitude/petulance kept him… Read more »
Weeks ago Ozil did an interview with Ornstein and was criticizing the Club for the job cuts, because he wanted to justify why he was against taking a pay cut. Mikel himself had to defend the Club in his press conference saying that the wage cuts was voluntary and after you commit to it, you basically have no right after to question the club actions because it was voluntary. Ozil himself said the squad was pressured into doing it so it’s hard to tell who’s telling the truth. That interview was enough for Arsenal to write everything Ozil as bad… Read more »
Pierre – Our play got increasingly ragged after the first few encouraging games, where tiredness was used as excuse as to why we couldn’t sustain our level. That excuse didn’t really wash, and so it transpired over the next couple of months as we veered from one unconvincing performance to another (in terms of identity as much as anything) as Ozil’s influence began to wane, and entered liability territory. Remember, in the couple of matches before lockdown (Everton, West Ham) our performances were drab, yet we were still conceding a high number of shots. The West Ham match almost peak… Read more »
Marc
Even if we don’t add to the midfield, we should have enough or rather the manager should find a way to get us top4. We have a more settled squad than most and the manager has had ample time with most if them if you ask me so whether or not we add to the midfield, I’d still expect a top4 finish
TR7 – Yeah, probably, but Willian has mostly played in wide areas and I think there is a reason for that. Not sure about him in that role consistently. Prefer him as a option on the right rotating with Pepe.
As things stand Arsenal are still PL’s sixth most valued squad according to transfermarkt but anything short of top four will be a failure?
OGS and Franky Lamps will get the boot before Arteta does, missing that goal.
CG
Yea, I do believe that Arteta will do it though, not sure he needs anyone lowering expectations for him to be fair. He knows how very important it is for him and Us to not spend another season playing Thursday night football
Also was told today not to look too deeply into redemption. More likely that it’s to do with the players being out on break.
Thank fuck
Wonder if Banford is going to make more wagers about OGS and United before the season kicks off?
A Weagle/TR7 redemption arc is the only one of interest here.
Whats that over there, near the oat milk….
Smells like excuses, excuses excuses
SoccerAid
Just waiting for John Terry to perform a two footed lunge on one of the token women players.
William signing and Luiz and PEA new contracts are deals you make to get top 4. No excuse!
Charlie
‘What constitutes a slander campaign? ‘
There were scores of articles on Guen’s bad attitude for about two weeks and most of them covered specific details/instances behind the scenes. Looked like it all happended at the behest of the team management and there never was any attempt by Arteta/Edu to put to rest all the negative stories.
The England men and women international teams have been paid the same since January.
The world has officially gone nuts. 🤪
Bati
Oh I’ll be demanding it – that’s the standard we hold staff to there are no extenuating circumstances there are no excuses.
Left
I’m actually looking forward to the demand that it’s also applied to club football.
And then all the female footballers whinging when the club’s close down the women’s teams.