Arsenal dropped a Vinai x Edu collab so dense in information, I’m about to give you a 2000 word analysis so you can digest it. The newly empowered duo rolled up on a fancy lawn looking like the two new Godfathers in town. There was a lot to unpack.
The big news.
- Vinai is now the CEO of Arsenal Football Club
- Mikel Arteta is now the Manager of the first team
- Edu and Mikel are on the same level in a shared football leadership role
Ok, so let’s go deep on this.
Overall Messaging:
Le Grove has called for this sort of communication for a while. We need to know how the club is setting up for success, we need to know what the new structure looks like, and we need to hear from our leaders. Vinai acknowledged Arsenal had been weak on this a few weeks ago. So what is the plan? Well, here it is.
‘We belong in the Champions League. Yes we’ve been in European football for the past 25 years, which is a great record. But the past three years and this one, we are in a competition we don’t want to be in.’
‘We want to get back in the mix competing for the Premier League – and doing it the way Arsenal have always done, playing the entertaining, engaging football our fans want to see.’
We don’t need to ask for the timescale, Mikel Arteta has told Willian he wants to win the Champions League in 3 seasons, it’s clear how fast we’re moving.
The CEO Title
Arsenal made a huge error when Ivan G left in handing over the keys of power to two people. It generally doesn’t work in business. Human nature is a one leader system, don’t fuck with nature. What tends to happen without clear leadership is a power vacuum opens and people land grab. If you work with two leaders, you can play them off against each other. If you are the two leaders, it creates paranoia, arguments, and stand-offs that are unproductive. I know because I work in an industry where you have to partner with people in leadership and I hate it. No one is truly accountable (or one person is totally accountable), which can also lead to excuse-making and dropped balls (‘I thought you were doing that!’).
Netflix recently turned to this leadership approach and its share price dropped. Raul was not of the standard needed when he was paired with Vinai and the lack of oversight on what he was up to led us down a very dark road. Vinai taking on the CEO job in its totality is what is needed. Pure accountability for direction, execution, and performance. He is the leader of the commercial side of the business as well as the football side. That is how it should be. Is he young? Yes. But he has 10 years under his belt at the club. He knows what has worked and what has not (bit like Arteta). He needs to be ambitious, bring everyone together, drive the staff forward, and keep the fans (and sponsors) excited. Today was a good first step.
The Manager
Mikel Arteta has been given a promotion in a pandemic, saucy. The Adidas kit launch video positioned him as a rockstar at the club. The job title bump gives him the power to really make changes.
“This is recognition of what he has been doing from the day he walked in the door and also the capabilities we believe Mikel has,”
“He has walked into probably the toughest nine-month period this football club has had in its 134-year history. He’s on a long term contract and we’re really comfortable with what he’s doing.”
This is massive. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, Arteta is a generational coach. He’s an obsessive freak of nature. Creative, driven, innovative, as well as being an elite communicator. This bump is recognition of those traits. It’s also a reflection of the love he’s getting from everyone at the club, especially the players. The bet Arsenal is making is that he’ll bring some of the Manchester City IP into our setup, but also bring people in that can help him shape that knowledge into something uniquely Arsenal. The best artists copy and build upon the greats work. There’s no greater manager in world football than Pep. He is the ultimate artist.
Additionally, I think this is a protective measure. The club is hedging that the chances are, Arteta will do pretty well and attract attention from other clubs looking to jump on the young manager bandwagon. The concern, I suspect, is that when Pep bins off Manchester City, they’ll come knocking for Arteta with a big deal. Remember, they were promising him the head coach role the first time we came knocking. This is horse before the cart, but at the top end of business, you have to plan for every eventuality.
The Technical Director
It was great to see Edu rolled out to talk about his plans and step out of the shadows. He spoke glowingly about the manager and the project.. then Vinai dropped a bombshell.
“So in terms of how that will work, going forward Mikel will join a really strong team with Edu and they’ll be working really, really closely together to manage all the other elements of our football operations that are so important, whether that is analysis, recruitment, high performance or medical, they’ll be looking after those areas together.
“And they’ll also together be responsible for our technical recommendations, whether that’s players that we’re going to buy, whether that’s players that we’re going to sell, whether that’s players that we’re going to loan.
“Of course, working closely with me and the board and working closely with the owners on the financial elements to make final decisions. But those are going to be their responsibilities and I think we’re going to have a really dynamic team to drive this club forward.”
Yes, you read correctly. After experiencing first hand what power-sharing looks like, Vinai has dropped the same model on his subordinates, placing the Technical Director and the Manager on the same level.
Let’s have this clear: Power sharing does not work.
This is a demotion for Edu. There will always be a dominant partner in a ‘power share’ and that is going to be Mikel Arteta. ‘We really love each other’ is not a technical rationale for this move. I don’t want to hammer anyone, but I have heard whispers that there is a lot of convincing that needs to happen for Edu to work his way into the good graces of the Arsenal people.
My overarching concern here is that we’ve spent years trying to move away from a superstar manager structure, and we’ve just walked right back into one. If things go well, then the concern is moot… the problems come when things go badly, or, the superstar manager leaves. What are you left with?
That’s a story for another day. What I will say is this: Edu was the driving force behind hiring Arteta. His trip up to see the City coaching assistant in December blew the race wide open. If it wasn’t for his pressure, we’d be looking at Perreira or Nuno as the Arsenal coach at the moment. So, we have to give him credit for recognising elite talent and making an effort to bond with our ex-captain.
What does a Technical Director do?
We all asked wtf is an Edu? Well, let him explain.
“It is simple for me,”
“With my position here I want to put in place one clear process how we are going to sign, who gets the responsibilities, where we start to understand where we need the player, the position we need, the characteristics we need. That has to be very clear internally right now.
“The decision we made, to change a little bit our infrastructure, it is clear for me. I want to work with less people. I want to work with StatDNA a lot more, which we have internally here at the club and is very important.
“I don’t want individual people working in one area or for one country. I want a group working together. Less people with much more responsibility. That is my vision and for me in this process the most important thing is that everyone is very clear on the responsibilities which everyone has to make the right decision.”
I love this. The old scouting approach of 50 people sitting around clocking timesheets is over. The technology these analysts have now is unbelievable. We have had all the tools needed to be a top data club since 2013 when we purchased StatDNA, now, it seems like we’re finally going to activate the tools with elite people that can pull the insights and action them.
What people don’t realise is there has always been a lot of very talented people working at Arsenal, we just haven’t used them properly. Edu is speaking the language of elite business. The job of a director is to unleash talent. We want the best people in the world employed at Arsenal feeling absolutely empowered to do their best possible work. When you create a high-performance culture, every cog is vital, the competition between people should be real, but healthy, and all in the name of the best possible work outcome. I am excited that the talk now is about how well we’re executing against that vision, versus having to debate whether the ‘contacts’ approach was about to come roaring back into relevance.
The other comment I liked is the stake in the ground when it comes to agents.
“It is important to be clear,”
“What I would like from now is that everything related to football has to come through me. All the contacts, agents, internally, externally, people outside Arsenal, have to see me — and my name — as the first one to call or connect to. It is important because sometimes they feel unclear about it. To be clear and open that is how we are going to operate.”
Vinai had a crack at this, trying to pretend that the last 24 months didn’t happen when he stated the people writing about agent influence were wrong. No we weren’t, but I guess he wasn’t about to dig up the past. The important thing Edu now knows is that if you step out of line, you will not be working at the club. Part of this rebirth has to be about restoring the values we hold dear as fans. Edu, like Vinai, has made it clear, he is in charge when it comes to this part of the club, and everyone has to fall into line.
What about transfers?
Edu seemed to be fairly bullish about moves.
“Everybody is waiting, everybody wants to do swaps, everybody is talking about loans. What is important is that we have a clear plan on the players we want to keep, the players we want to loan and the players we want to sell. After that, we have to be patient, to understand how the markets are reacting, and then to make the right decision.”
I think we’re going to make the signings we need to make. I suspect there will be a few days when everything goes crazy and we make all the signings we need in quick succession. It appears that we’re about to move on Martinez for £20m. It’d be sad, but if it adds to the coffers so we can sign Aouar, I’ll take having an average back-up keeper. I am very confident we’ll have the squad we need to compete for top 4 this season.
Concluding Thoughts
Arsenal is mostly doing the right things. The power share thing is a nonsense, but in a relationship based on bromance, it might just work out. For the moment, as long as it’s being led by smart people making smart decisions, for the right reasons, we’re in a great place.
We now have a proper club to support, the banter is hopefully in the past. We have a young and dynamic leadership team. We have one CEO. We have a manager. We have a Technical Director that wants to lean on data to drive the club. We have our best player signed. There is wind in the sails and momentum is working with us, not against.
This is a GOOD time to be an Arsenal fan. You should BE excited this time. I cannot WAIT to share this season with you.
Big love, now fire up the record player and inject some Le Grove into your ears and listen to our NEW podcast.
P.S. The new Newsletter lands today. Let me know what you think.
Marc
With the information at hand it’s pretty clear that Martinez wants to leave because Arteta will not give him the guarantees he wants.So the question is why won’t Arteta name Martinez as No 1 for the PL?
Because the Sauce and the goal keeping coach know or see something in training that we don’t know?
@Marc – I feel like more should be said about this era of football in England. One of these most obvious cases of match fixing that has ever occurred and over such a long period. United got away with it by being so open about it. I recently re-watched the game where United ended our unbeaten streak and it is shocking to watch now, I don’t think I have ever seen such an unashamed example of match fixing. “If only the PL had the balls to strip ManU of titles.” They most defiantly should have titles stripped from them, but… Read more »
“This is a GOOD time to be an Arsenal fan. You should BE excited this time. ” Thank you Pedro for the exciting post! This is how every Arsenal fan should feel today. Few hours before the canons start firing again!
Great write up Pedro, love that club has a mobile feel all positive moves. Talk about timing, Vinai living the ultimate karmic footballing dream for a non player. Ascending to the top in less than decade.
Mikel clearly heavily involved in future targets is a very good thing imo.
Exciting season ahead, Arsenal are thru the Moyes era, skipping the LVG phase and hopefully onto OG’s successor in a single move.
(Good Post) If Arteta has any sense- he will scarper the moment the first enticing job offer arrives ( Barca/Man City /Real Madrid types ) because no competent and proud man deserves in having to work with Edu and Vinny. Edu is the Unai Emery of technical directors. He is so out of his depth its beyond parody. As for Vinny. No one gains a promotion like this non-entity. From marketing director to Joint of head footballing Ops to now full blown Chief Executive. X 3 promotions all within 3 years. (Only under KSE ‘ S Arsenal). And he has… Read more »
Mozart
Exactly my point.
Pedro, You seem bullish about the triumvirate Vinai, Arteta and Edu. I am not. I am bullish about Arteta, but I think that it is a mistake to crown him king and manager of Arsenal. Maybe that decision was taken in view of Edu’s lack of experience especially the European market. Hopefully Edu and Arteta will have a collaborative and fruitful relationship, but I would rather have somebody overseeing the football operations including the head coach rather than on equal footing. Like you wrote, if we lose him we run the risk of losing a lot more than just a… Read more »
Can’t get excited about the game tomorrow as it’s basically the same team which struggled in the league last year.
Fulham will sit back and without creative midfielders we will not be able to break them down.
Spin is never enough, media talk heh!
Talking of job titles and changes…… maybe Arsenal should outsource all our transfer negotiations , starting with Emi to Villa for 15m , to the Chelsea woman.
The combination of her good looks , the Russian accent, and fear of getting tuned up by Russian mob seems to always get them the right price for their outgoings.
Jim
It won’t happen whilst Fergie is alive – too many are too scared of him and being sued. Once he’s dead it’ll begin to leak, the leak will turn into a trickle and the trickle will turn into a torrent.
Pedro, When did Edu ever have “absolute power”? Under the previous structure, he was the junior partner to Raul, and if Raul wanted to do a dodgy deal with Agent Alfonso Nefariouso, Edu was powerless to stop it (and presumably Vinai was unable to see the full Gory details). Now way is nominally the senior partner in a power sharing deal with Arteta. Arteta takes care of the first team and matchdays and tells Edu the kind of players he wants, and Edu takes care of all the rest: the medium term, scouting, backroom personnel, data and bringing new players… Read more »
Arteta’s first mistake – convincing Xhaka to stay. Second mistake – ostrasizing Guendozi. Third mistake in the pipeline – offloading Martinez. IF our great sauce man hadn’t make mistakes 1 and 2 he would have had enough money from Xhaka and a sellable asset in Guendozi, had he not totally destroyed his market value. And people who think Leno had it worse because of the defence are wrong, he was rather part of the problem than a victim of it. Funny enough I think he’s a better shot stopper than EMI, however organizing defence, being vocal, having calm nerves game… Read more »
Dave
Afraid I’m with on that one and with Arteta currently excelling as the Spanish Tony Pulis I’m not sure tomorrow is going to be particularly pretty.
You can’t blame Arteta for being negative with the midfield we have but it’s up to him and Edu to sort that.
I’m not sure maybe the message was lost, Edu and Arteta have already got their working relationship established, this has just formalised it. I don’t see it as a demotion for Edu, more of a showing of trust in Arteta, by all accounts Edu is watching the team closely in training too. This speaks more of a good bond between them. If Edu decides 100% we aren’t signing a player, then we aren’t signing that player. I think it’s meant to show the manager is working closely with the director and not a Raul and Unai style relationship (which was… Read more »
don’t agree with the Martinez sale at all wrong wrong wrong and wrong leno should be sold simple as .Leno will want to go to bayern soon anyway Martinez has much better command of his area and is just better for the Prem with his size and catching .Leno has it wrong with his punching and pushing .clubs are paying 60-70 mil for good keepers and we are excepting 20 absolute madness
Valentin, I’m bullish because we have to give it a chance.
I wouldn’t have made the changes myself. It looks messy on paper.
Dave, we were unbeaten before the pandemic and finished 5th place from when Mikel took over (4 points from 3rd). Hardly a struggle.
With Lacazette and Guendouzi staying it’s pretty much as we were.
shaun
If Leno is good enough for Bayern then he’s good enough for Arsenal.
“Valentin, I’m bullish because we have to give it a chance.”
Just like you gave Emery a chance!
Left
I’m really beginning to worry this season could be a write off.
If we do not strengthen CM we’ll finish 6th – 8th.
5th place in the Pandemic Premier League is like a trophy!
Left
And Guendozi will be like a new signing!
Leno’s biggest weakness is his meekness.
He couldn’t trash-talk trash.
And buying players isn’t like going to the supermarket to buy a loaf of bread.
It’s cliche Friday!
Marc, Emery was a bum… but i gave him a chance.
Mark
“That means that Arteta is planning to win the CL in his first attempt because no one on here seems to think CL football is a guarantee for next season”
Nobody cares what you think, but what Arteta thinks.
Pedro
Come on you wanted him to fail before a ball was kicked. Keep this up and the Football God’s will punish you by sending you back as a Spud in your next life!
We finished 8th, there was no pandemic premier league. We were 8th when he came in and 8th when the season ended.
Guem
Do the maths on the quote – by telling Willian he’s want him to help win the CL it means Arteta is saying he’ll win it in his first or second attempt. If we don’t make it into the top 4 this season it’d be Arteta’s first attempt.
Benny
Thanks for the invite but fantasy football isn’t for me, feel kind of the same way as Marc about it.
/
Good to hear that we’re still active in the market both in and outgoings. Would be really nice to see some movement soon. Just 1 top midfielder in and I would feel a lot more relaxed about the rest of the window. Anything else would be a bonus.
PedRo
“”””””I wouldn’t have made the changes myself. It looks messy on paper.”””””””
Messy! Bloody amateur hour. more like.
Only at KSE’s disinterested Arsenal where players sign up on 3 or 4 year deals and ride the gravy train and executives promote themselves.
No wonder why we are a soft touch and a laughing stock.
Nothing will ever change at Arsenal until the ownership changes.
Well Arteta just basically hinted we won’t get both Partey and Aouar. He said we can’t fix everything in one window. So It feels like it will be Aouar that will come in. Torriera will probably leave. Guendouzi will stay because there are no decent offers. Elneny will probably go on loan. Sokratis will move on. Kolasinac also leave I think. Lacazette will also probably stay too. So it will be a Ceballos, Xhaka, Aouar, Guendouzi, Willian, ESR, Willock midfield. I think it will be creative enough but we won’t be as solid as if we had Partey. I wouldn’t… Read more »
I don’t know about telling Willian you intend to win the champions league in three years as a way of convincing him to leave a club already in the CL to join one in the EL.
That would mean you believe top four this year is the minimum and he buys into that too. Anyways it all kicks off early tomorrow, a strong start is imperative.
“Marc, Emery was a bum… but i gave him a chance.“
Pedro, when was the last time Arsenal started play with you convinced the right man was the manager?
It’s got to be …what…..about 6-8 seasons at least, right?
On keeper from
Just cos new season don’t mean Leno has to start
Emi in form
He starts period.
Marc,
You could not make the distinction between expectation and prediction. And now you can’t make the distinction between expectation and hope.
With Emery I expected us to fail, but I was hoping to be wrong.
This time around, I am expecting us to succeed and I hope to be right. Top 4 is the objective and a good cup run.
Habesha
Not sure the finances are going to be any better in Jan.
Valentin
That wasn’t directed at you – don’t be paranoid.
Tom
You can probably double that.
Big loss to lose Emi, we should keep him for the season.
His aura is one of those intangibles the stat guys just cannot account for. Dude exudes safety, the defense feel it and are more confident, the few times we were opened up post restart the big man mopped up. His handling is amazing, something we haven’t seen in a keeper in 10+ years. His positioning is so strong and the sheer size of him is daunting for opponents and so great for us. Feels like Van Der Saar at Utd.
Leno just isn’t that type of player.
And if we aren’t getting the man machine to solidify our midfield and stop it being run through, I certainly don’t want to lose the big keeper making those stops resulting from the midfield being run through.
Tom, a very long time!
I’m 90% happy with where we are.
Contacts has been binned, we have one point of leadership. We have one of the best young coaches. The squad is shaping up.
Hopefully, this season will bring some joy
Marc
If ozil some how decides to leave right now, I reckon we can sign both Aouar and Partey. If not he might be tired of sitting in january and he might leave. Mustafi will also leave for peanuts. There is chambers to sell when he returns. I think there will probably be 1 player coming in. It will be for big money.
“I’m 90% happy with where we are.“
Pedro, what’s the other 10%?
The squad is shaping up!
One CB and one golden oldie on the wing
Some improvement that
Martinez sale must equal Partey coming in minimum.
Creative mids are never cheap.
Dave
Our squad is so bloated it’s a joke and even unloading the expected players Torreira, Kolas and Sok it’s still got too many players we don’t really need.
I’d like to see Lacazette out Edouard in. Aswell as Aouar.
Both Leno and Martinez are good but different. I feel less nervous when Martinez is keeping especially when crosses and corners keep flying in. Don’t recall he screwed up once when he came for those. With Leno I just hoped he managed to just reach the ball let alone catch it! If he managed to punch it I just hoped the ball wouldn’t drop too close so someone can take a shot! Arteta doesn’t need to promise Martinez first choice. Agree to play him as long as his form is up there! Even first choice keepers are dropped as soon… Read more »
So far we’ve got rid of…
Henrikh Mkhitaryan FOR NOTHING!
May be Edu knows what he’s talking and people are waiting for each others
Media says Guendouzi rejected 3 offers on the table. Can this be true? Can’t be just £10m can it?
If we all get pragmatic and want cash to buy Partey and Auoar, shouldn’t Leno be sold to raise funds? If people are saying Leno is still the bette goalie wouldn’t he fetch a higher fee like 35m?? Wouldn’t that be much closer to where we want to be ? Either way, we need to buy a backup goalie. Is Ospina still playing? £500k should do.
Tom, we need to reshape the midfield and I think making Arteta a king isn’t a smart move… also not sure Edu is the real deal. But minor in the grand scheme of the last 5 years worth of shit show
Pedro
The problem isn’t so much what’s happened it’s the proximity to other issues.
But we’re stuck with that so all we can do is hope it works out.
Now Sok is reportedly injured. Ffs. How are we moving him on?
4 crook CBs before season starts. Classic Arsenal. Don’t be surprised we bought Stones! Media is talking …
I think that even worse than previous years, the last days of the transfer windows will be a mad dash. Right now every clubs is in a holding pattern awaiting to see who will blink first. Like Edu said, everybody is trying to get players on the cheap but expect others to pay top money in cash for their own players.
Left
Ins:
A free transfer
Another CB
A loan player
Exits:
Miki on a free
It’s this side of things that gets me down. There’s a rumour that Giroud is off to Juve, so much for them being interested in Laca!
Just want to know Pedro, what do you base your confidence that we can aim for top four. At the moment, without any reinforcements we basically have the same squad that finished 8th. We had some bad results against lesser teams that we should be taking three points from. All the clubs that are our direct rivals for this spot have reinforced their first teams with fresh blood. We still have a very poor midfield, and this is the area that concerns me. We need more power and pace here, with addition of a creative mid that can be effective… Read more »
Valentin
I think you’re right on the timing element although I think it’s more likely that nearly all clubs are broke and it’s going to take one of the few clubs out there with money to spend to inject some liquidity into the market.
I wish they’d get a move on!
“”””Tom, we need to reshape the midfield and I think making Arteta a king isn’t a smart move…”””””
Arteta will go the same way as our Wenger. if he stays too long.
Battered, bruised, scarred and made to carry the can for KSE shortcomings.
I hope he has taken heed of AWs tenure. And when gets a great offer- he goes at the first time of asking.
you wont get any thanks for staying loyal otherwise Mikel.
Redbro,
We finished 4 points off Chelsea and United if you do a half-season table.
The struggle will be against lesser teams, that deep block issue, but Willian will help there. Maybe Ozil will return.
Overall, we’ll be better organised and prepared this season. The players understand the expectations. We have a better defensive unit now, more paced and power. We also have momentum from the start. We didn’t have that last season.
It’ll be tough, but we’ll be far better this season… well, that’s my hope.
It’s a terrible thing to see Pedro’s only friend during the Emery times has turned on him.
CG, stop being such a drama queen. Wenger was one of the highest-paid and powerful managers in the world and he got away with steep decline when most clubs would have sacked him.
Pedro
On a serious note is Un banned? Haven’t seen him around for a while.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54081636
Of a panel of 24 contributors to the Beeb (mainly former footballers), one 1 (Ian Wright, bless him) has Arsenal finishing in the Top 4.
‘We finished 4 points off Chelsea and United if you do a half-season table.’
Hasenhuttl did better than Arteta
Back to you in the studio!
*only 1
Pedro, I’m with you, we do have a young, smart manager in Arteta who is and will make a massive difference. He has stated after Villa loss that owners are backing him 100%. I would like to see this to be true and we do get some more quality additions until the window shuts.
Redbro 14
Owners are not backing him with cash????????????
Ask Gazidis, Wenger, Emery, Raul
Top 4 or winning the Europa
CL football is the non negotiable
Im telling you for free
Yes, Marc
WOAB
In a strange way I’m quite pleased by that – they are all so full of shit that it improves our chances.
Pedro
What did he do now?
JW, exactly if you read between the lines. We back you as a manager, but we are not following that up with any funds for new players…..they really should step in and help at this critical juncture….
Got to say I think Sid’s right on that one.
Wonder who we’ll look at next summer as a replacement.
“William Saliba has revealed he owned an Arsenal shirt with Thierry Henry’s name on the back when he was growing up and admits it’s exciting to be following in the footsteps of so many great French players.”
Can’t be overstated how much we’re still dining out on that great team pre 2005, probably the last generation of footballers coming out now that grew up with them though so we have to start creating new greatness to stay relevant and a big draw for players. Here’s hoping Arteta gets the tools to do just that.
Marc, broke a non-negotiable
Duncan Castles saying Arsenal have increased their offer for Celtic’s Edouard. And Juve & Atletico in talks with Lacazette
Hmmmm
Freddie, Liverpool dined out on the 70s/80s for a very long time.
But yes, we need to be very relevant over the next 5 years. Need to get that club sauce spicy again
Marc
I’m guessing he done did a racist again.
Can’t get away with all of them…
@Thorough:
Thoroughly CORRECT!!!
CG
I don’t think Arteta would risk overstaying his welcome.
9 months versus 22 years.
Nice comparison.
Undie got banned ?
😭😭😭
ooofffff… Edouard would be a great bit of business.
We failed to make CL when it was there for the taking, Raul took the fall like a man, there should be 0 excuses if we dont get CL football
Marko
That would be great news if true.
Pedro
Tell me about it, most of my friends growing up in the 80s-90s were Liverpool fans.
They were kind of a banter club for many years though despite the occasional cup success. This is our season was repeated like clockwork every summer for about 20 years.
I think it’s great that we’re still respected because of the days of yore but yeah, like you say we can’t live on that forever.
“there should be 0 excuses if we dont get CL football“
Say 6 clubs looking to fill 4 places.
Husenhuttl, Viera, liepzig manager so many options Marc
” The power share thing is a nonsense, but in a relationship based on bromance, it might just work out.”
This line made me chuckle. Good read!
Brighton have come in with an offer to Emiliano Martinez this week in a bid to beat Aston Villa to the goalkeeper’s signature. [@jamesbenge] #afc
Cha Cha
“””””Say 6 clubs looking to fill 4 places.”””””””
yes but you are forgetting one thing ,we have a generational coach to assist us in our conquest.
Cakewalk.
Don will be back in the fold like Ozil
Bamford is legroves Guendozi
CC
“Say 6 clubs looking to fill 4 places.”
What do you think will happen to Fat Frank if they miss out on top 4?
CGSeptember 11, 2020 17:31:09
Cha Cha“””””Say 6 clubs looking to fill 4 places.”””””””yes but you are forgetting one thing ,we have a generational coach to assist us in our conquest.Cakewalk.
They should pay you for this!
“Duncan Castles saying Arsenal have increased their offer for Celtic’s Edouard. And Juve & Atletico in talks with LacazetteHmmmm”
Argh just get the business done!
If you can’t get excited about a new season especially under Arteta then whats the point. We all know the midfield needs work and our bloated squad needs trimming to get in line with the Premier league squad numbers (homegrown quota). But blimey let’s have a right good go and i have faith that top 4 is achievable with good cup runs. 20ish days before the window shuts in a market that hasn’t really got going yet.
Poor YAYA Sanogo can’t even get a transfer to Middlesbrough. ❤️
Marc, do you think the Frank / Arteta situation is exactly the same?
.@DuncanCastles on Arsenal’s offer for Edouard: “I understand, at present, that’s a verbal offer of £20m + £2.5m, they haven’t formalized it yet.” [‘The Transfer Window’ Podcast] #afc
Pedro
No but Arteta has sauce and Fat Frank just has grease stains on his clothes.
I should also point out that I’m doing a little fishing this afternoon – specifically looking to land me a Greater Spotted Snowflake Pedrofish. Looks like I hooked one!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpGS_E0xIvA
“We finished 4 points off Chelsea and United if you do a half-season table.”
Yes but no one does half a season tables
“Sokratis Right calf. Sustained mild strain to right calf in training. Will miss Saturday’s match at Fulham. Aiming to integrate back into full training within the next week.” Positive news, means we can still get rid. Arteta is going to be up against if for sure, as it stands we have the weakest squad in the top 6. Defence looks destined for greatness with Tierney, Saliba and Gabriel but will take some time to gel, our midfield is still a mess, but the addition of Willian at least gives us more creativity if we don’t bring in another Cam. Get… Read more »