Right? Can you honestly believe for one minute that Arsenal are about the answer their creativity problem, under financial stress, with a loan move for a precocious 22 years old creative talent from Real Madrid?
Gtfo…
Edu has probably asked Kia if Neto can play as a dynamic #10.
Kike Marin, who I have a lot of respect for, reckons the player is less inclined to leave Spain, preferring a trip back to Real Sociedad.
David Ornstein, who is back on top in the world of ITK, reckons we are very much interested in the Norwegian.
Personally, I’d be happy to see another blonde creative force at Arsenal.
I was WRONG to be tempted by Isco. Martin would make more sense. He’s an elite young talent that needs to prove Zidane wrong (lol Dani boy). Staying in Spain ain’t cutting it for me. His manager doesn’t fancy him, his loan move should be about shop-windowing himself for the summer. Joining Arsenal will give him the games he needs. Doing well with us shows he has it at the highest level.
It seems unlikely, but if this is the sort of player we’re going to start going after, then I am very excited about the future.
Papa Sokratis exited the building yesterday. He left after Arsenal terminated his deal early. Good for him. He always seemed like a true professional. There was no bitchy tweet on the way out. He just packed his bags and took a deal that was good for him.
There was a German-speaking clique at Arsenal that has been problematic for the new project. That’s not simply down to being awful humans, I think it’s partly down to pandemic-style-shit-decision-making, and the realities of humiliating senior players in public.
It’s time to move on now… but here are the lessons.
- If you are going to de-list players from the squad, tell them early in the summer. There were rumblings that Mesut did not know he was going to be binned from the squad. If that’s true, it really isn’t cool. Blindsiding someone into a corner isn’t fair.
- Stop signing short-cut players over the age of 27 years old. Unless they are truly elite, it is simply not sharp from a strategic perspective. We need to be in the selling game if we’re going to get back to the top.
- Sokratis was given £90k a week. No one in Europe would have given a limited player like that a deal that big. It was stupid and it had no upside… and because he failed on that deal, he was never going to leave. Arsenal really, really, really need to get a grip on wages. Double your money offers are stupid and seem to be our special move. It needs to end.
- Age down. We are not challenging for the title on this current strategy. The best and only way forward is to identify the best young players in world football, give them a platform, give them elite coaching, and grow them into a team that could challenge in 4 years time. I want William Saliba. I want Azeez, Balogun, Saka, Martinelli, ESR, and AMN-like players as the future of our DNA. We have our senior spine. Partey, Auba, Holding, Gabriel, and Tierney. Let’s build young muscle around them.
I will budge on the above on one signing: back-up keeper. If we sign a 33-year-old, that is fine. We just need someone decent between the sticks if something bad happens to Bernd.
Ground Zero for Mikel Arteta was Willian. Arsenal can never, ever, make a mistake that fucking embarrassing again.
Vinai needs to get real. Put in the work. Make the hard decisions. Take the long route to glory because here’s the thing… even if you miss your mark by a year or two, you’ll have a crop of young players you can cycle out the club, and you’ll always have money to pivot and tweak your plan. The sooner Arsenal accepts the truth, the faster they can get back on track. Ødegaard would be a good indicator we’ve learned a lesson and we’re moving our thinking forward. Let’s see if we do it.
Right, short post. I’m dying. See you in the comments.
“He has pattelar tendinopathy in his right knee. It is a heavy injury that does not have a 100% effective treatment”……… that’s from the Real Sociedad team doctor.
Did someone on here use the term I hope he can hit the ground running?
Ouch.
Beat me to that one London, Santos was absolute toilet.
KDB out for 4 to 6 weeks… but no doubt I’m sure he’ll make a miraculous recovery when we play him on the 21 February.
They almost always do.
Michael Olise would be a better decision than Odegaard
Im telling you for free!
Andy
Santos must’ve been shocked to hear part of his remit was also defending
Andy1886
Wenger signed him probably because he was Brazilian…and you know Brazilians are supposed to be good at football.
Park Chu Young, we definitely signed the wrong Korean there… completely destroyed him and his career…. as well as his reputation back in Korea.
Yeah, I think that Santos forgot that he was supposed to be a professional sportsman rather then a rabid pie eater too. Spotting defensive talent was never Wenger’s strong point.
After signing for us Park Chu Young went to the dogs.
Just checked the stats again. For R sociedad, it was 4 goal and 6 assists for Liege games and 3 goals and 3 assists for Cup games.
“Michael Olise would be a better decision than Odegaard Im telling you for free!“
Sid, not sure I can trust your judgment after your claims AMN could play better mid than Wijnaldum.
Nelson
Had a quick look on whoscored and it said 2019/20 4 goals 6 assists .
I don’t know whether it’s correct or not
Well regardless of anything else, it is nice to see that we are finding our level as Real’s Vitesse.
Maybe Bayern might help out by taking some of the better young players off our hands. That German speaking clique might have come in handy.
Kris Your stats about Mat Ryan made me laugh. It sums up LeGrove. Honest, some of you will go to extreme lengths to invent a negative narrative. It is funny though. What is quite interesting is the Goalkeeper with the fewest saves to his name is the current Brighton goalkeeper, Sanchez. A completely meaningful stat but there it is. Most stats are completely meaningless without any weighting applied. For example. My son had £50.00 in his piggy bank. This really impressed my Aunt, especially when he told her how hard he was saving because he wanted the new Playstation machine… Read more »
Getting some players in. Decent stuff.
Looks like Lampard is on the ropes. Beefing with reporters now. Tuchel the favourite to take over.
Stats only have meaning when they’re being used to prop up Eddie.
andy1886
“Spotting defensive talent was never Wenger’s strong point”.
Arsenal currently hold the European Champions League competition record for the most consecutive clean sheets with ten, set between September 2005 and May 2006 on their way to the final.
Arsenal also hold the record for an unbeaten season 2003-4.
This might not be a popular thing to mention (and there is no denying that some of our defending under his tenure was poor) but nonetheless the above speak for themselves.
Lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Anyone heard the Ryan Bertrand to Arsenal rumor as back up to Tierney. Rumor has it that Bertrand has only six months left on his deal
AFC Forever – yes but the CL clean sheet record was widely credited to Martin Keown coming in the drill the defence during that campaign (he wasn’t retained which some put down to AW not liking the credit he was given for his work).
As for The Invincibles credit for moving Kolo and Lauren into the back four, Campbell was of course a ‘no brainer’ and AW had been about to sell Cole before Sylvino developed passport problems. Our defensive problems really started once the old guard and the guys they mentored left the club.
Someone on twitter suggested Tyrick Mitchell. Young, HG left back. Only 6 months left on his contract.
Would rather him to Ryan Bertrand.
Let’s just hope MO doesn’t turn out to be another Kim Kallstrom !
Signed even though he failed his medical with a back injury !
Good window so far. If we can get in Odegaard, add a left back and get rid of Mustafi then it’ll be excellent.
Maybe Edu isn’t as clueless as some try to make out.
Debruyne out for 4 – 6 weeks.
Vardy out for a few weeks.
Liverpool in freefall…
FFS, are ManU gonna win the league? I’m honestly done with football if this United teams wins it.
Obviously, due to low-scoring results, football is the least fair sport out there, but this would be just impossible to stomach. Or this Spurs team winning it (which they won’t)…
BTW, AFC, I was just joking about Ryan. I know most football stats are unreliable, especially those which cover less than 50 games or so…
Solbakken, has said that he thinks Martin Odegaard, dubbed the Norwegian Messi, will be a good signing for Arsenal. The 22 year old Norway international had a hand in 16 goals during 36 Sociedad outings – and they wanted him back. Solbakken said Arsenal would suit the Madrid playmaker and fits the Arsenal style of play. “It (Arsenal) is a team with great traditions that have underperformed for a while now. I like Arteta, I think he is a very good manager. But he is not going to a club that is a self-propelled machine. He is going to another… Read more »
Kris
“Debruyne out for 4 – 6 weeks. Vardy out for a few weeks. Liverpool in freefall…FFS, are ManU gonna win the league?”
Proves fourth isn’t completely out of the question if Man Utd are top and Liverpool are in danger of imploding. Next few games will be a pointer. Won’t be easy but of all-seasons, this one is completely mental, anything is possible.
Vardy out for Leicester too.
City won a PL title 98 points with De Bruyne missing almost all of the season. Think they can do it again
Vardy is a big loss for Leicester and their long balls.
Especially with Foden coming along so well this season. They’ve got enough to maintain a challenge. Leicester might suffer without Vardy though, he’s always one to score a much needed goal to get the win/draw.
I don’t think Arteta will play Odegaard centrally.
His signing probably means the writing is on the wall for Pépé. Willian will get more minutes because the manager and Edu like him.
DigitalBob
Yes, Man City are stocked with talent. Foden, Mahrez, Sterling etc. and we haven’t seen Aguerro yet. They aren’t reliant on one player, unlike Leicester.
Dreamqo
For all his talent, Pepe has been a disappointment. Wonderful left foot but probably too one-sided. Not helped by the fact he’s in and out of the team – not that he deserves more minutes. Sometimes additions can bring out the best in other players, we have lacked a bit of balance. Let’s hope so.
Haha she,
I don’t have to try to be a cunt, that comes naturally. I’m just trying to temper expectations. We know getting used to the premier league can take a long time, and he didn’t exactly set the world on fore at Real Sochihad.
AFC Forever – Pepe has struggled and he is not Arteta’s type of player
Signing Bertrand is a bad deal. Complaining all season about having squad players on decent wages not getting playing. Now the club are entertaining the possibility of signing a soon to be 32 yr fullback to a three year deal. Arteta should not get what he wants. Use Tierney, Saka and Niles as LB/LWB options.
Potential signings like this one means Arteta should be fired.
AFC – exactly Pepe’s left is a proper footballers left foot, its undeniable and while some have said he needs to bulk up, he’s bigger than Mahrez and Maddison so I don’t believe physically he needs to do anything to succeed.
The worry, as Johnny mentioned in the last podcast with Pedro is his mentality and it being that of a bottler. Its hard to see otherwise and as he’s not an Arteta signing I doubt he will get any more time to build that confidence going into games.
Dream10
“Potential signings like this one means Arteta should be fired”
Lol. I love LeGrove you lot never fail to deliver.
I think Arteta has shit on pepe and ainsley Both players have enough talent to start for arsenal and really have had their confidence shot to pieces. I think if you gave both a run of games in their preferred positions while breathing confidence into them then you’d see them really come to life I think Arteta can be petty and spiteful with his pampers and it’s one of his his biggest flaws I think at this stage both need to leave to get their careers back on track and I’ll bet my house that both become a success wherever… Read more »
DigitalBob
I can’t disagree. Physically he is fine. At times he looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights, he just doesn’t look like he believes. Some players can’t adapt to the PL or take time to settle, perhaps he is in that category.
Green Bay
“and he didn’t exactly set the world on fore at Real Sochihad.”
Did you watch Sociedad last season or we going off hard wiki data there?
Got a feeling Oyarzabal who was 2nd in La Liga in assists last season may not agree.
Winthorpe, I am with you. I don’t see it as either ESR or Odegaard, they can both play. The defence is sorted, I’m happy there. Partey coming in strengthens us without the ball and against transition. We have the makings of a very good team but the balance has been off which is getting fixed now.
Matt Ryan is a great signing!
Another Real Madrid reject wanting to join Arsenal
Stop deluding yourselves. Form improvement has coincided with playing against shit teams.
Samir
Mitchell would be a great LB back up, cheap and only getting better.
Pierre,
You starting your campaign against Odegaard in a subtle way just like you did with Martinelli because they might take minutes or “Kill” Eddie and Willock.
Nothing subtle about it, your agenda so obvious just like you were protecting your previous pet Ozil.
On current form and readiness, ESR is the better player. In 6 months time we can revisit this subject.
Green Bay
“I’m just trying to temper expectations.”
That’s a lie. You are trolling mate, just be honest about it. Some of you lot are like Jimmy Saville at a kids birthday party; so fkg obvious what your playing at but nobody says anything.
No offense AFC.. but you spend 90% of your time moaning about the moaners.. How is that positive? Let it go.. you cant police peoples attitudes. I know…. Myself and N5, jokingly made ourselves the LG Sheriffs one time. and were handing out badges, That’s all you will spend your time doing, though. And it’s tedious to read. We started out the season the worst in like 50 some years and we were in 14th position .. Arteta was on life support with bad decisions galore.. I think people have the right this season to be extra critical. The club… Read more »
* you’re
Arsenal on the up.
We have got rid of a lot of deadwood and freed up the squad.
Arteta and Edu have bought well: Partey, Gabriel, Mari, Ryan & a loan deal for Odegaard being done. Holding’s tied himself to the club. Plus we are seeing our youngsters coming out of the academy.
Very positive signs, which is naturally bringing out the naysayers.
At least another signing coming in too.
Not forgetting Willian too. 😂
If we sign Odegaard .. I guess I have to figure out how to do that O with the / through it now.
Little help .. Sal.
Time up
“You starting your campaign against Odegaard in a subtle way just like you did with Martinelli because they might take minutes or “Kill” Eddie and Willock.”
You have a very active imagination…..
Well said Midwest in regards to AFC.
I’m sure he’s used to blogs where they have like and dislike buttons and you’ve to be positive or lie about being positive and moan about anyone saying pointing out the negative to get a like.
“You have a very active imagination“
LOL
Yes Pierre, and I’ve also a big poster of Ozil and two small ones for Eddie and Willock in my room.
I think AFC has legit points.. but it gets lost in translation. Some people are glass half empty though.. always will be and then some people are The Mighty Gambon. 😀
Trade secrets Mid… I could tell you but i’d have to…..
Ødegaard 1Ø
Too soon to ink up?
Damn you Sal.. 🙁 Your just taunting me now. I will figure it out… I’m sure there is a Viking typing book somewhere on the internet.
ø
just hold the o button down, it will give you options
Henry19January 22, 2021 16:28:38
Another Real Madrid reject wanting to join Arsenal
Henry19January 22, 2021 16:30:16
Stop deluding yourselves. Form improvement has coincided with playing against shit teams.
Yaaaaaawn
Chelsea are shit? United are shit?
We are now breaking down teams we struggled to previously
That’s what we want to see
OOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOooooo shit. hahaha I have a legit keyboard.. laptop. Not virtual .
I’m desperately trying to be excited, but I can’t. Odegaard record with Real Madrid.
None goals.
None assists.
Ødegaard
I mean I can do it the old fashion way… steal it.
I’m with afc I think we have every right to start being positive We’ve beat chelsea 3-1 wba 4-0 and Newcastle 3-0 recently, playing good attacking football and with our defence looking solid I’d just like to say that I also think we look better defensively with holding and Mari I’ve always liked and holding and long maintained that he could grow to be come and arsenal captain given a run of games and belief. I prefer Mari to Gabriel as he seems to take charge more, he dictates and organises and reads the game more. Whole Gabriel may be… Read more »
Ø…
Middy,
Gambon is a legend in his use of stats.
I remember him saying after ESR had had just two PL starts, that Emile’s XG, XGA and key passes stats were ok JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH and that we HAD TO BUY AN ATTACKING MIDFIELDER for £50m or so.
Ø 👀
At least you like Marquee Moon Green Bay… thats something!
Middy!!!’
Owning the keyboard.
Mid
You have started the ball rolling against AFc forever ..
Let’s hope he is thick skinned.
It’s nothing to do with glasses half empty or full.
It’s obvious Arsenal are on a shit run temporarily halted by playing mediocre teams.
Words-
Gambon is a legend. Nobody like him. He takes realist to a whole new level and has the stats to prove it. He did a guest post for Pedro once was epic..
We played a Chelsea in name only whose manager is now on the verge of being sacked
Wasn’t my intent Pierre.. But to be honest you have to have thick skin to type on Le Grove.. You should know., this. But if your going to try and police it.. well, your just asking for misery.
Mid
Agreed
New post by the way.
Last season and this season we have looked totally crap because Ozil and Ramsey checked out at the same time. We have suffered because there are no chances to speak of. We didn’t have one silky midfielder. Now ESR has emerged to be that player. Add Odegaard to that and there is every reason to get excited. We have filled our creative void. Add Partey to that and I fully believe we can finish in European places. We have tanked the first half of the season so we won’t finish in the top 4. But we have reasons to be… Read more »
Ok new post.. thanks.
Arteta wants to keep Balogun.
Also Arteta- has 2 goalkeepers on the bench but no Balogun for FA cup match.
I know he played yesterday but wouldn’t it make more sense to give him sone minutes in the FA cup over an U23 game.