Arsenal dropped their squad picture for the season. Bit weird that Mesut is in it, but hey ho, what are you gonna do?
BIG trouble for Willian. He’s been busted taking a hot trip to Dubai to meet with Salt Bae. He was caught by… a photo. Which suggests the trip was probably permitted. The story seems to say that he’ll have to take a covid test before he returns to play with the lads… not sure that’s any different to how the rest of the players will have to behave. Kind of feels like this story is a bit of a nonsense. Hardly a Sneeze Rave in Brockley Park, is it? Also, notable that the Brazilian is all over the .com. I suspect the club will welcome a bit of alone time for him, needs to get his nut on the game this weekend.
Our big hope after this lockdown is that Arteta has had some time to think through the abomination before the international break and work on some solutions. He’ll have had plenty of players to work with, so hopefully there’s some new thinking heading into another outrageous run of Premier League games.
I’m hearing mutterings that he very much likes the Swedish kid…
Our first game back is Leeds away. Far from ideal. They play like a pack of hyenas, hunting you down, harassing you… scoring goals for fun. There’s quite a chunk of the fanbase that thinks the best way for Arteta to get over the loss last week is to throw all caution to the wind and try to savage them back. That my friends, is what dim people suggest. We don’t have the players, nor the muscle memory to drops something like that. I suspect the system will stay in place, but the chess pieces will move around.
There are some forced moves that we’ll have to deal with. Mo Elneny is out with Covid. That likely opens to the door for Dani boy next to Thomas Partey. The question is who fills in for the more advanced role? Will Arteta dare put Granit Xhaka in against a side that will see him as a tactical weakness? Is it time for Joe Willock to get a runout? His positional sense and movement could be problematic for Leeds, especially on the break.
What is apparent is the options in midfield aren’t exactly oozing sex appeal. However, it appears the rumblings have started up for January.
The most alarming of them is that Christian Eriksen has been linked with a swap deal for Granit Xhaka. Now, on paper, I quite like the idea of moving on the Swiss for someone creative. However, the deal would put us back on course to repeat the mistakes of signing greats of the past. The Dane has been a machine during his career for assists and vital setpieces. However, at 28, on £250k a week, it’s hard to look at signing him as anything outside Mesut MKII. After watching that Spurs doco, it’s apparent he’s a bit of a beta male. Not sure I like that.
Now, I could tolerate the move if it were a loan for 5 months. I would also want to see movement on Aouar or Sobolazai. My preference would be the Hungarian. He has a low price point and a very high ceiling. You also don’t have the annoyance of an entourage that’ll be pushing for Madrid after 3 assists. Though the Austrian League is less competitive than Ligue 1, I do like that Dominik is and out and out goals and assists machine. The ceiling there is very high.
Any of those players improve us, but two of them are the profile of player we SHOULD be signing. The other is just giving oxygen to a transfer strategy that has not helped us at all.
I’d normally suggest that Arsenal moving for anyone is January unlikely… but, we know there’s probably budget available from the signings we didn’t make in the summer. Well, that’s the hope anyway.
There’s also a higher probability that we clear a few players off the wage bill that have 5 months to go on their deals… though I won’t hold my breath.
Ok, do you feel textually satiated? Good. Now listen to a podcast I did with an Arsenal and a Spurs fan, it’s called United Mates Podcast. They had a quiz at the start they had to scrap because I was so bad at it. I talked some good football though, enjoy.
2 – 0 England.
Nelson
Gareth Southgate is a shitty manager. This match against Iceland is a dead rubber game, neither of these teams will go any farther in the nations league
He is going to break some of these players.
The Saliba thing is ridiculous. That’s one qualm I have with @Pedro and the podcast – you cannot argue the situation is down due a) him losing his parents b) language barrier c) injuries d) ligue 1 ending early last year when we have 300 goalkeepers in our Europa League squad and yet chose Mari over Saliba. I’m sorry that is just batshit crazy and something smells really funny here…
England playing well.
now Southgate needs to get Saka off the pith before he pulls his hamstring
Dis
The players appear to enjoy their football.
Dani, arguing that it’s something else is crazy.
You’ve been told the reasons, they marry with reality… but you think it’s untrue.
Saka is a bit shy to shoot. He tries to setup Kane instead of shooting.
Saka not being forced to play as a LWB seems like a benefit, who could have seen that? 🤔
Only a super manager like Southgate..
And Southgate isn’t playing Kane on the wing, doesn’t he realise the obvious benefits of putting him wide?
Saka is developing good chemistry with Kane. Unfortunately, Auba is not a good passer compared to Kane.
Pedro
“You’ve been told the reasons, they marry with reality…”
Is that real reality or Pedro’s wonder world of Arteta reality?
He is Nelson, also looks like the start of a healthy relationship with Grealish too.
@Pedro – the reasons marry reality in the sense that he’s not playing in the EPL, Carling Cup, or the Europa League so far., But to not even name him in the Europa League squad opting for literally 6 keepers and Mari instead of him DOES NOT MARRY REALITY MATE!
With the Saliba thingy every Arsenal fan was complaining that he was loaned back to France after he was bought. So that is done for the new season, but now he doesn’t fit in the plans or was overlooked? While there may be other reasons it reeks of incompetence and begs the question why spend the money when you are not using him for 2 years and need to do contract negotiations in a year. Now you got a new problem on your hand a dissatisfied player that demands to play or leave in January. If Arteta couldn’t see that… Read more »
Kaz
I saw that too. He constantly exchanges position with Grealish, sometimes he is inside of Grealish and sometimes outside. I am afraid Arteta won’t allow his players so much freedom.
Kaz
Are you from north America too? It seems that we are the lucky one who can enjoy UEFA games.
Marc
“It’s very difficult to get the juices flowing for Arsenal at the moment – right at a time when we could all do with an enjoyable distraction.”
Congratulations…you have officially become no.1 moaner on Le Grove , you’ve taken over the mantle from Marko…..
Saka benched Chilwell. Chavs must be fuming!
Unless it’s Southgate trying to do us well and nice when Saka breaks after playing so many games at such a young age.
Now Arteta needs to give him a rest or risk the lad getting injured. He’ll be the one to receive all the criticism. Imagine resting players in the Premier League but playing them in absolutely meaningless international games during a Corona pandemic. UEFA are such a garbage organisation.
Nelson, I’m in the UK. I just watch the streams 👀
Very good point that, I hope Pedro is taking note, he seems to have forgotten what it’s like when you trust the players to have some freedom.
Arteta sadly is too restrictive.
Isnt Chilwell injured?
No change in the England lineup for the 2nd half.
Save the kids for Europe , Saka, , Eddie , ESR Nelson , Willock, Balogun …plus Saliba and Martinelli in the new year . their time will come when they will be starting in the prem unless the more experienced players buck up their ideas…
“he’s a spreadsheet merchant who doesn’t know how to draw actual insights”
The most stupid comment I have ever read.
7Amkickoff makes sense every which way, and produces more insights then anyone.
This blog is frickin hilarious.
Chilwell is on the substitute bench.
The kids haven’t been artetered yet…they still play with an element of freedom.
“Congratulations…you have officially become no.1 moaner on Le Grove , you’ve taken over the mantle from Marko”
Thats rich coming from LeGrove’s #1 Troll, Pierre!
You of all people should remain silent on such matters, your track record isn’t exactly “clean” these days.
Saka just draws a fault from an Iceland player. It is a second yellow (RED).
Ern
How are you..
Just to point out that i am criticised on here for for being supportive of our players like Eddie, willock, Pepe etc..
It appears that to win friends on here one has to slag off our players , especially the kids who are trying to make their mark .
Find it rather comical that in your eyes Pierre, Wenger remains a no-can-do-wrong manager, right to the end, and yet Emery became a no-can-do-right manager quickly enough and now Arteta is taking similar abuse from you, in record short time one might add. So far your track record of support houses Wenger, Ozil and Pepe. All three have to things in common – 1. They are are all championed by you and, 2. They are all pretty much useless in the grand scheme of everything. That would be an observation and likely a fair one given your track record of… Read more »
Not slagging any of the kids, how can I? They’ve not had enough time to establish themselves.
Who’s slagging you on the kids, Pierre? I get the Ozil and Pepe slagging, but the kids?
“Ern
How are you..”
Day by day, my good man. How’s the golf game these days? Any particular time of year that your game benefits more from?
I wish they replace Saka by AMN. Saka needs a rest.
Mount and Grealish are linking very well together too.
They sub out Kane and Grealish but not Saka…
AMN is coming in…
Finally, AMN replaces Saka.
Saka is still playing.
Pierre
Don’t be a tit – only someone who’s operating on the level of a zealot (Pedro you OK mate?) would not look at this season so far and say the results haven’t been great and the performances in the PL have been at best hard work.
If you want to tell me that right now “at a time when we could all do with an enjoyable distraction.” isn’t a reasonable comment you’re even more delusional than normal.
It’s actually impressive how shit Ireland are at scoring goals.
No goals now in 7 straight international matches, must be some kind of a record amongst nations not including San Marino, Andorra, etc.
WE
Actually the Irish model is what Arteta’s aspiring to!
Marc
Arteta is on paper may be Pep’s creation but he’s a Stephen Kenny Disciple at heart.
Not a single shot on target at home to Bulgaria. I’d sooner bleach my eyeballs than actually sit through an Ireland match.
Dragging Ozil back for that team photographs is a bit cruel.
To his credit, he’s walked that fine line and stayed mainly professional.
You spelt his name wrong Pedro
Not even close
It’s dom slobby
As a lazy merican.. who can’t be bothered to pronounce any ethnic sounding name.. It’s officially..
Dom S-boz. in my household. Reminds me of trying to spell Tzszczszezny…. aka Chezzer.:grin:
oops 😀
emoji failure … my bad.
Karsa
Arteta will not and should not get a free pass for three seasons for winning an FA Cup.
That’s called lowering the standards and the bar.
The real business end of football now is producing in the EPL and that hopefully translanting into further success in european competition.
The FA Cup on it’s own doesn’t cut the mustard any more.
Well look Midwest if you’re going to have a name comprises entirely of consonants better expect this haha
‘S-boz’ lol
Also known as ‘D-Bizzle’
Really strange that some posters think winning an FA Cup on it’s own is a pass card for several years.
If Arteta is seen as failing in the EPL the FA Cup win is not going to help him.
Middy
I remember a few decades ago, the head of the. US National Security Agency sported the all-American name of Zbigniew Brzezinsky….
I guess that was before The Donald came along and ‘Mericans got lazy….
For me having 3 direct players like.. S-boz, Saka, and Marti in the lineup would make too much sense so .. it probably won’t happen, Especially in January when we usually sign… nobody anyone wants or expects based on recent history. 6 weeks seems like forever away too.
Anyhow.. make it happen Edu. You got some making up to do for Willian who seemingly over night seems to have forgotten how to play like a Brazilian. No flair what so ever.
Winning two recent FA cups could not save wenger
I adore the FA cup but it is sadly a second class trophy much as I wish it wasn’t
Zbigniew Brzezinsky….
—
oh Yeah Z-big… Brosky… remember him well.
Ishola70, not strange that people think it gets you more than 8 games when you are 6 points off the top when you’ve been outspent by your rivals.
‘6 points off the top’ is the new ‘beat Liverpool 3 times in 4 attempts’
Meaningless phrases that are only relevant till we play more games.
If arteta gets aruar over dominik szco it’ll really prove that he is a cheque book manager. I don’t think he quite knows how to handle young players. Saliba situation, guen situation, then we have the likes of nelson, willock, ESR, AMN who don’t get any games. Arteta seems to be opting for players in their peak rather than players that have to develop, which in a way is good because of the toxic negative energy from the fans who demand instant success from players. The same fans crying for sczolabai will be the ones crying how shit he is… Read more »
Gonst tbf re Guen, it was only yesterday his previous manager was talking about him in the press saying he’s talented but unbearably annoying to manage. He only spoke a little on the matter and literally used the word ‘annoying’ about him about 3 or 4 times. For his old manager to still be relentlessly lamenting how awkward he was, it’s perhaps to be expected that he’s ended up how he has He alluded to him basically never shutting up and giving in. Said this kind of player needs to be a captain or vice captain because he’s way too… Read more »
Also yeah Pedro let’s be serious Mathematically our position isn’t bad in that a good run of results would leave us in a nice position for sure But it’s still a lame comment about being 6 points off for a few reasons 1) we’re not winning the league so what is a 6 point gap now will be more like 20 by the end of the season. 2) we’re only 8 games in 3) literally anyone in the top half of the table is within 6 points. It says little about us doing well as much as it just shows… Read more »
Imo for captain material you have three broad characteristics which at least ideally two are needed
1) charismatic (people like to follow)
2) professional (good influence especially on youngsters)
3) extremely talented (people respect)
Guen, like bentdner, has the ego, but does he have 1, 2 or 3? Not really. Players with huge personalities but lacking in the above three will often find themselves on the fringes at the upper levels of the game
China1
I have a different opinion regarding Guen. He wants to be a leader on the pitch. Our team is known to be soft and has a weak mentality. Just like hockey, a team needs a fighter. He doesn’t have to be the best player. He needs to have the heart. An experienced coach knows how to manage a character like Guen.
Arsenal is soft as fuck.
When not one person at the club; including managers and players, could not reel Guen in at least a little, that’s a worrying sign in itself.
And I do not care about previous managers and the like. Someone at our club hired him (and is probs not here anymore 😂), who should have done due diligence. It must have been worth the trade off, high ceiling for a youngster vs shite attitude. Which at that age is in its most tender (attitude wise). Unless every facet of why he was cut from the team is released, it’s going to be hard to truely justify the decision. He literally was the only one who showed some heart on the field these last few seasons. And as much… Read more »
China
I agree that guen is a problem, but is the only solution to make an example out of him? Arteta handled the situation very poorly. Guen wasn’t even our worst player.
Arteta has favourites and those sadly are players over the age of 28. The untouchables so as to speak, with the exception of ozil and on that occasion arteta along with the higher ups have come to a certain decision which has been spoken about in great length already on here
“Graham62, we need to play like we did against United. The game the week before Villa” Thought it was joke Friday reading that Pedro. Can’t make out whether Arteta is morphing into post 2007 Wenger MK II or if Arteta is just a Wenger clone with all the BS that was Wenger. Seems Arteta has got Wenger’s lip service pressers off pat now where his footballing nous is worse than Wenger (didn’t think that was possible) with poorer stats than Emery at this stage. Arteta has a lot to prove between now and New Year starting with Leeds on Sunday.… Read more »
Tony,
Arteta is no Wenger. Wenger would never move from attacking football at all costs.
At least we would lose trying to outscore the opposition.
Arteta wants to bore them to death and then spring a quick goal and then super bore them to death to see out the game.
It’s funny as fuck having read this blog for the best part of a decade. Everyone (except Pierre and a few others) were for the main thread of the blog (aka wenger out) until Wenger left. Everyone who was Wenger out gave Emery more leniency than probably worthy, but just needed that change. Everyone who was pro-wenger to the end gave Emery no chance. (Bar Pedders who was Wenger out and Emery out 😂, *and the few others). Now it’s like conflated the other way. People who gave Emery no chance give Arteta every chance possible and vice versa. I… Read more »
Actually, I’d dispute that Emery should have had top 4 his first season.
What a massive let down, and I have no idea how the team, despite Emery, didn’t show more at the end of the season.
Actual shite to witness, yet it’s not actually any better as of yet.
Its clear covid19 is working in favor of Arteta, if there were fans at the emirates it would get real ugly
Diet fat sam…… looooool
Theres no way Guen would face off with a guy like Paddy, a legend 6 4′, longstuff that can smack you on the face while his other hand answers the phone.
Guen just saw through the bullshit
Pedro Ishola is arguing the FA cup should not buy any manager of a top club three years of finishing outside the top four. And you know he is right. You also know the football we are playing is no where near what you expected when he bought the Arteta idea, but you took solace in “defensive solidity” when all the stats pointed to us being lucky. Great goal keeping and Auba playing for his next big deal won us the FA cup. It should not be a factor in deciding what we do as a club if the football… Read more »
Pedro
“not strange that people think it gets you more than 8 games when you are 6 points off the top when you’ve been outspent by your rivals.”
Karsa was implying that Arteta gets a three season pass because of an FA Cup win in his first season.
Ain’t gonna happen.
6 points off the top
Oh the lengths
6 points off top, and I’m 6 pints shy of Jessica Alba seeing me as anything other than average
P4 W4 L4.
Slow, ponderous football. No attacking threat.
Players being restrained.
Best GK sold.
Confusing rhetoric from Arteta.
Where’s the chemistry that was there at the end of last season.
Too many backwards steps.
Very apprehensive about the Leeds game.
Anything that gets the Swiss Slug out of the club is good imo. Hell, I’d even swap him for a current day Alex Mong!!
I just want to know what xhaka does on the training pitch (apart from never get injured and hold onto the shed keys) to warrant being the first name on the teamsheet since he’s been here (haha until recently)
Truth be told because we are only guessing what has happened between Guen and Mikel we don’t really know
But the proof will be in the pudding two or three years from now. If he doesn’t change his behavior or particularly improve as a player but doesn’t piss off his current or future clubs then maybe it is artetas fault. But my money is just on him being a bentdner
Diet fat Sam LOL
Isn’t that an oxymoron?
Guendouzi had a lot of responsibility thrust upon him at a young age coming from Ligue 2 and going straight into the Arsenal first team.
And not only that it can’t be easy playing as a midfielder along with Xhaka beside you and this was the situation he found himself in. Doing his running for him.
Guendouzi showed enough in moments at Arsenal to suggest that when and if he is moved on he can get his career on track and be a useful player elsewhere.
Ishola you may turn out right we’ll see
But you really have to be leaving a mark on people when your first pro manager keeps talking about how annoying you are 3 years after you left and your third manager freezes you out entirely
Anyway the stage is set for him in Germany to prove himself. If he does it fair play. If not as I suspect then he’ll probably not go on to achieve much unless his behavior changes
I think Guen next to Partey would have been pretty dynamic. Partey has the stature to reel Guen in and they would have been huge in the middle of the pitch.
We went from having a potential 70m youngster to loaning him out and maybe we will be lucky to get 20m.
Will be interesting to see if Arteta can work with Martinelli or weather we continue to see him benched. That’ll be another waste of talent that would make Tets seem like maybe he was a mistake.
Today I turn 30 🥳🥳
Happy birthday Kaz!
Danny S,
If tets doesn’t bring martinelli back into the side, there is something majorly wrong with the man. Can’t see him benching Gabby when he’s fit and ready to play though.
Sorry to hear Jessica Alba is playing hard to get Goober.
This young lady could maybe be a good sub for when Jessica sees sense:
https://www.andyallo.com/music
Happy birthday kaz
How does it feel?
I’m 31 now… never had a long term injury in my life outside of growing pains as a teenager (not really an injury) then when I was 30 I twisted my knee and it’s been a 6 month recovery to date. Like wtf if I’d done exactly the same thing a few years back it would’ve been three days of hobbling then I’d be fine
31 year old knees, man…
Saka and Martinelli need to be playing regularly when fit
If we have wing backs then you can do saka wing back and Martinelli LW
If we play 4-2-3-1 then arteta has to find a way to include both regularly. Could put Martinelli on the wing and saka as a 10 or out saka on the right (prefer him on the left tho)
Thanks lads!
I very rarely celebrate my birthday but this was the one I was going to go in hard.
But 2020 had other plans 😅
Kaz
Many happy returns of the day.
——————————
China1
Wait till you hit 50.
Happy birthday Kaz.
Wait til you get to 65 Graham.
Arteta benched Martenelli, like many people have said. I don’t think Arteta is going to utilise him. Pedro spent so long building Arteta up, he’s invested himself hard into Arteta becoming a success. Which is why he’s become such an apologist unlike with Emery. Pundits and ex-players didn’t say a bad word against Emery either until the players had fully downed tools. The Guendozi situation hasn’t been handled badly yet, I think a loan move is a fantastic way for him to gain some maturity, I believe it’s probably true he’s an arrogant little shit but I think this is… Read more »
Guendouzi is a victim of the PC brigade. 20/30 years ago he would have been regarded as a player with a tremendous will to win, who would go into battle for his team mates, similar to Vieira when he first broke into the team.. Now he is regarded as a hot headed liability who doesn’t adhere to the non negotiables.. Imagine if the non negotiables were in place when Vieira first arrived ..i doubt if he had lasted a season under Arteta… Ian wright had the same problem playing under Rioch who used the sergeant major approach… What we have… Read more »
How about our players earning all that money we pay them by putting in a shift of 90+ mins once or twice a week ……and stop buying players !!
Excellent post Pierre.
Kaz “If Martinelli continues to be unused when fit and it’s Eddie for Laca all season, we got to get rid of this manager before he sets us even further adrift and causes us to lose even more good players.” Don’t write off Eddie yet, there is so much more to come from him if he is given a fair crack of the whip. Playing up front in this present side is no fun , the strikers are feeding off scraps, when the chances are created the goals will come for Eddie. He has the killer instinct of an Andy… Read more »
Hahahaha Tony, that did make me laugh!
Cheers for that mate. What a lovely voice she has too!
Pierre I’m with you there.
We need the youngsters to be pushing the older guys out of the squad. It’s a lot harder for Eddie atm to shine, yet he’s given the most time in PL (apart from Saka).
Willock needs a few games in the first team to properly adjust. There is no substitute for epl minutes. Especially not under 23s.
So if it was up to me, I’d have gone the Emery route and tried getting Willock to blend with the first team until he takes or fails to grab his starting place, rather than just Europa games.
I’m very much on the fence with Arteta.
I like a lot of the things he’s done at the club, but I’m also worried about some of the other things he’s done/continues to do, and more than anything his rigidity.
I just hope he has the people around him that are going to help him out and not just yes men lackies that are there for the pay cheque.
@Pierre
Kane was given his chance at a young age, he took it and never looked back.
Eddie has been given chances. What we’re seeing isn’t great… At the moment he’s ahead of Martinelli in the pecking order (Remember this is why Arteta benched Martenelli)
I think the tactics don’t help Eddie but I don’t think Eddie should be ahead of Gabby.
But the point of the comment was that Eddie for Laca is a meme at this point, if this is the breadth of our managers bravery and tactical nous then we gotta cast him out.
Kaz
Happy bday mate. I just turned 30 a week ago too. We seem to have turned into a dark corner in our life. Hopefully, we’ll live it like pierre, on the golf course. Cheers.
Thanks lads! Appreciate it, even if all we do is bicker and agree back n forth.