WOW, I leave you for a day and everything goes crazy.
Arsenal borrowed £120m for a special covid loan to tide them over until the TV money drops. It’s not a shock. We built our future on having fans in the stadium. There are no fans in the stadium. £93m down the drain with many huge outlays.
This money is for cashflow. It’s not there so we can put in a cheeky January bid in for Haaland. What it does remind you is that we’re really not in great shape as a club. Kind of maddening that we dropped such huge wages on certain names if this was what was going to happen… but here we are. Also odd that KSE doesn’t put the cash up. Tells you all you need to know about the idea they’d bail the squad out this summer.
So, as I said in my last post. The priority is going to be clearing people off the wage bill this month.
We moved on Saliba to Nice. He had a mixed bag first game, not surprising considering how little football he’s played, let’s see where he is after 10 games. Because the French media can’t stop crying over this whole debacle, we keep getting drips of information. This is from the player himself.
“I couldn’t train outside, couldn’t play. I arrived there as they were finishing the league season, so I was training alone.
“As soon as they came back from holidays, we quickly had the first friendly matches where I lacked rhythm and was a bit insufficient physically.
“The coach immediately told me that I was not ready. I would have at least liked to have a chance to rediscover my rhythm, but this is football, it’s like that.”
Errr… didn’t the French media run stories that he was totally kept in the dark? They did. Arteta gave more weight to the reasons and they’re basically the same as they were before: At 19, he’s not ready…
“I’ve always been very conscious that when he came back [to London] he hadn’t done the step he needed to do before joining us.
“I want to protect the player that we signed and the future that we have alongside him.
“That’s why we made that decision. I know sometimes it’s difficult to explain or understand after the money the club has spent trying to bring him in only to send him on loan, but a lot of things have happened to him.”
This is logical. What is tough to digest is that Arteta played Runarson in the League Cup knowing he was shite. It’s also hard to piece together the Europa League omission. If you’re good enough for the Nice first team, you are good enough to play against Dundalk. That was the baffling bit and it looked vindictive. The club shouldn’t have allowed Arteta to do that, especially as he kept people like Mustafi in that squad, a player we all knew was leaving.
Talking of vindictive. Mesut Ozil looks ever more likely to move to Fenerbache for the rest of the season. Quite unbelievable listening to his adult fanboys defend something the have ZERO insight into.
1m50 onwards is what you’d hear off the record on Ozil if you spoke to people that worked with him.pic.twitter.com/wbH3VqTlgc
— Le Grove (@LeGrove) January 8, 2021
If you want a little insight into what people behind the scenes tell you about the player, go to 1.45 on this Keown interview. These are the things that bothered Arsenal. The injuries, the illnesses, a whole manner of things that said he didn’t really give a fuck. That was Keown speaking at the end of the Wenger reign, did it get better? No. Emery dropped him, Freddie dropped him, Arteta binned him for good. If you need to find a conspiracy with evidence like that, you have deep problems. Weird that there’s literally a Qanon like group that follow some of our players.
If the player is moving now, it’s because it suits him, and I’ll make a £10 bet with you… he’s not going to lose a penny from his final 5 months. Let’s also see where he goes next, his fans are hoping it’s an elite club, myself suspicion is the clubs he’s being linked to are the level he’ll find. A real shame for someone of his age and talent.
Anyway, we move, it’s 2021, I have no time for toxicity.
The Arteta presser was a whole different mood. He seemed upbeat, positive about how the form had changed, and happy that things are moving in the transfer market.
He’ll be taking the game against Newcastle seriously this weekend. The FA Cup is a backdoor into Europe. One that we’ll likely need if our inconsistency continues this season. I’d also be looking at this game as a good way to bring players back into full fitness.
As I correctly reported, Thomas Partey should be available. I hope they put sensors on that knee and massage it with horse placenta. We need it strong for the remainder.
I haven’t checked, but I’d assume we’ll have Gabriel (defender) back in the mixer again. It looks like we’re starting to get some choice back in the team. I think Pablo Mari has done an excellent job. They like him at Arsenal because he’s a hugely positive influence behind the scenes. It’s a minor thing, but our squad has quite a few Debbie downers, positivity helps, especially when you’re looking to bring kids through.
Will we see some game time given to Pepe, Willian or Luiz? Maybe. They’ve all been showed up by the Hale-Enders. Our run over the next couple of weeks isn’t shocking. We have 4 days recovery after the FA Cup game before we play Palace. Then it’s 3 days until we welcome Newcastle again.
There will have to be rotation. I’d prefer it to happen in the FA Cup. Newcastle will have one thing on their mind this season: Survival. They aren’t going to win a cup this season. They might stay up. They have a HUGE 6 pointer against Sheffield United on Tuesday at their gaff, so I expect efforts and minds to be there.
3 games has changed the mood around the club, the players, and the manager. That could all change over the next 10 days. If Arteta slips back into old habits again, we could find ourselves in trouble again. These next three fixtures are all about momentum. Arguably, the two most important games of the season are at the end of the month. Southampton is gunning for the top 4 and United, as it stands, are title contenders. Bring home 4 points there and we will be right where we needed to be heading into February. The run-in becomes a cup run. This team is built for that.
However, 4 points against United and Southampton will mean fuck all if we botch the next three games. Arteta needs to show us he can defy our low expectations. He’s had his shocking run. We can brush it off as a horrible blip. What he needs to do now is show he can take this squad to greater heights using the ingredients that helped him escape his nightmare.
Let’s see what he has.
Albany isn’t known for headers unfortunately
Auba has one of the worst header among EPL strikers.
That was funking way over lol
Auba is just here for the laughs and fun…who the fuck shoots like that
Thats more like it, from saka
Tierney MOTM by far.
I wouldn’t worry about playing extra time. Our players haven’t run for 75 minutes!
This had a last minute AC header written all over it
Better from Tierney , having Saka alongside him immediately lifts his game.
*has
Xhaka already working on his pass completion stats with lots of sideways and backwards passing.
Yep Tierney is the architected of anything promising this match.
Don’t want to see Willian in the league unless it’s being subbed on in the 93rd minute up by 2 goals
Saka can play anywhere but I like him more on the right.
Time to get Eddie on to get the winner.
Have to say I’m missing all the Cedric fans reminding us how he’s a much better option than Bellerin.
Is Saka (back to the left), Auba, Pepe, with ESR in the “10” position Arsenal’s best attacking lineup? I think Auba as CF only works well with players like Pepe & Saka on the flanks.
Cedric is so shit, even as backup.
Haha Pierre.. I see what you did there. I was thinking more like time to get Amn on for one of his nonchalant pks after extra time.
The Chelsea Willian is chilling on a Brazilian beach, his identical twin, shit-at-football , brother is now stealing a living with us.
It really looks like we are going for extra time, aren’t we??
Pierre
Nketiah couldn’t score in a brothel
Fabulous cross again from Tierney. Keep feeding him the ball.
Wot a waste of another great cross by Tierney. Albany totalled it.
Auba has no control of his header at all1
*Auba*
I would love to see Tierney played at LW one day.
Auba heads like he needs glasses. Wonder if he has had a vision check lately?
I thought we are finished with subs. Any chance has to involve Lacazette and Pepe. Move saka to the right, Auba to the left.
Am I the only one who hates playing out from the back
However bad his header can’t display it by a 300k plus striker!! Embarrassing
Carrol well beyond ConanThree in Barbarian years nearly doing it there.
Tierney is fine
Shit game if we are honest.
Why is artery expecting auba to play 1- 2s with pepe, esr, he can’t
This is total shit.
Players not even looking at the ball in play.
Back to normal then
Eagle
And we are honest… SHIT.
Pepe is so one-footed he makes Nigel Winterburn look ambidextrous.
FOCUS guys. Can’t concede
Looking tired af
Ugh… all these late corners… just begging for them to nick a goal.
It is the hope that kills. After that westbrom performance, I thought we can move forward but this is pretty shit.
Good job for Arteta that there are no fans at the game.
Rubbish football
The moment Martinelli injured the gloss and appeal of the game had gone.
Auba looks borderline sluggish at times, weird myth about his pace.
Auba really is shit.
arghhh…
What a boring game,. Why not switch saka and Pepe around
Newcastle (red/white) Vs Newcastle (black/white)
Well if they are tired now… they get another 30 mins. So better try harder to score in next 3 mins.
@Useroz
Spot on. He’s one of the few players that really excites me. Well tierney, saka being the others .
Thank you Leno!
Xmon. Someone just scores to end the agony of another 3p minutes of thsi rubbish
Super save leno
Leno great save.
What a save Leno
Fuck me well done Leno
does that affect pl games? the red card
Well done Leno
What a joke of a team!
Oh wow… nice save.. that was the one where they should have fucked us.
Extra time , therefore next game we will not be at the races again.
Leno good save
Tierney has been head over shoulder best player. Looks spent. . Extra time will be difficult to get s performance from best player
Who needs Martinez lol..
ESR red Fuck sake ref
game saver by Leno
Red card? No way.
Never a red.
No chance is that a red card, none whatsoever.
What a pile of shit.
Auba not interested and he knows Arteta not good enough to drop him.
What a save by Leno.
Not even a yellow
Danger of unnecessarily playing ESR etc
This is BS. Not a fucking red
Leno is a god
never a red
Yellow at worst
How is that a red? not sure he even saw him.
These referees are utter shit
Better than nothing
Best decision all night.
Shit.
That’s no red card!!!
ok then.. yellow.
Is it given?
Andre Marina behind the Var wanted to screw us again
Fair play to ref on overturning that. Was definitely not a red. Fucking twat of a Newcastle player screaming like a girl
Yellow
Great save Leno. World class.
No way is that a red.
We are dog shite
We do have poor refs the player jumped over ESR
Hope the card escape does not deflate ESR
Sensible decision. Ref made his own mind.
He hardly touches the gezzers shin!!!
Phew…. justice is done with that yellow.
Newcastle player screamed like a bitch to fool the ref
VAR to the rescue!
This game highlights the weaknesses in our team are the senior players.
So so so boring.
well done referee
That’s a nice dive and a great heavy metal scream there
Why o why did Arteta need to play Tierney, Esr, and Saka when we have such a great bloated squad??
30 more mins… oh joy. Lets get our shit together already.
I don’t think it should come to this. We need to be better.
Arteta has to go really he’s not good enough
The shot was right at Leno.