GOOD MORNING TO YOU ALL!
Waking up to a new keeper signing was the fuel I needed to get me through the day.
Matt Ryan joins us on loan from Brighton for the remainder of the season. The Aussie comes with over 100 Premier League appearances worth of experience. He’s a very capable signing and he will allow us to all breath a sigh of relief when we watch Bernd Leno play. Make no mistake, Runnarson would have been deadly to our season if we’d needed to have called upon him.
Signing for the club you grew up supporting as a kid ✔️ @Arsenal
Buzzing to be beginning this new chapter and will give everything I’ve got to contribute to the first club I ever loved. pic.twitter.com/IUohEjFKVK
— Maty Ryan (@MatyRyan) January 22, 2021
Some folk are pointing to poor save percentages, and sure, he’s been out of form this year, but this Brighton fansite points out that maybe covid and family separation has added to that. Overall though, he’s been a big part of keeping a very underfunded team in the league and he’ll add the strength we’ve lacked to the keeping department.
There also sounds like there are rumblings on the left-back front. Currently, Kieran Tierney is backed up by Pablo Mari or Bukayo Saka. Neither option are satisfactory. We’re apparently looking very closely at Ryan Bertrand. The experienced 31 year old is running low on his deal and could be loaned in like Cedric was last year. Not the ideal age profile, but ultimately, we’re up against it this window and as long as there isn’t a 14 year deal at the end, I’m fine with this.
The really exciting rumour? Martin Ødegaard. The NORWEGIAN youngster has gone from ‘no chance’ to ‘very good chance.’ Kike Marin about-faced on his doubts. He’s now leading the charge with Ornstein that the player is very close to making the move to London.
This would be a real coup. We’re not in the financial space to be dropping mega-money on Buendia this window. The best move was always likely to be a loan. What I love about bringing this precocious talent to the club is that it ‘seems’ like a shift in mindset from Edu and Arteta. The easier move and the sexier one might have been Isco or Eriksen. They’d give you instant impact, where Martin Ø might take some bedding in.
… but man, this makes us instantly more exciting. Last season, he played an important role at the exciting Real Sociedad project. He was 2nd to only Messi for progressive balls. I think he was also second with through balls. Third was Santi!
There are limitations to his game. Zizou doesn’t like his nice hair and the defensive lapses in his game. Let’s be real, Madrid is a long, long way from where we are as a club. The bar for making us more creative is quite low. We’ll be better for having him in the squad.
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 country, another league, a different tempo. It shows he has great belief, which makes me happy. The way Arsenal play can fit him well, a kind of football that suits him. He can also play in different midfield roles, whichever Arteta chooses, different formations. He will get assists and be a good team player.”
David Nielsen, his manager at Strømsgodset, likened him to David Silva and Lionel Messi. International teammate and Rosenborg winger Morten Gamst Pedersen dubbed Odegaard “The most talented player I have ever seen. For his age he is unbelievable – his knowledge of the game is unbelievable and his technical skills are fantastic.”
Those quotes are SEXY.
We are not hitting the top 4 this season. This sort of signing for me is all about showing the fans what the future of our football ‘could’ look like. What we’ve badly lacked is quality in the final third, we’ll land that with Martin. Imagine him feeding the runs of ESR, Martinelli, Auba, and Saka.
Finally… Matteo Guendouzi having a bust-up coming out for the second half with one of his teammates? COLOUR ME SHOCKED. He might be talented, but he is Mario Balotelli levels of ‘loose cannon’ and he likely always will be.
See you in the comments.
‘Edu probably thinks Ødegaard is a ski lodge’
via @trentmcginn
We both hope this ages badly.
— Le Grove (@LeGrove) January 19, 2021
1st
And
The
Tr4phy
Now to read the post….
Mat with 1 ‘t”, Pedro 🙂
Top 10
Boom
I’m assuming it’s Ryan Bertrand, not Beryrand Russrl.
Why have we suddenly become a retirement home for ex-Southampton fullbacks?
pragmatic purchases people.
*Bertrand Russell
We need players to hit the ground running, no time for bedding in players when half the season is nearly over.
The league is so topsy turvy that it can’t be said with confidence that top 4 is off
I’m not interested in assists where even corners are counted as assists. No, goals are where it’s at.
‘Why have we suddenly become a retirement home for ex-Southampton fullbacks?’
We were a retirement home for Artetaas a player, he is simply returning the favour.
Sexy moves indeed pedro. Arteta has sauce in convincing players it seems. 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 at least until the end of the season. Add Partey to that and I fully believe we can finish in European places. We have tanked… Read more »
Will Arteta risk Odegaard in centre mid.
It goes against the grain for him to be so expansive in his team selection.
Smith rowe..partey..Odegaard
Saka..Lacazette..Aubameyang.
Maybe this what Arteta meant when he said Partey could patrol the centre of the pitch by himself..
I find it hard to believe that Cabellos would even want this guy at Arsenal, let alone be one of the people who convinced him to come?
Surely his arrival will limit Cabellos time significantly?
Gutted we haven’t been able to get an obligation or option for Odegaard
He looks exactly the type of player we’ve needed..
I’m not convinced permanent deals for Ryan or Bertrand can be classed as sexy though…..
6 month loans could possibly be pushed into the category 4/10 f*ck buddies…..
Provided you never meet them sober
Never wake up next to them
And none of your mates ever get to the meet + greet stage
And who knows, maybe they’ve got great personalities…
If you’re into that sort of thing……
Pierre
That is an offensive Juggernaut most teams cant handle. But that midfield depends on partey. We cant play both ESR and Odegaard if partey isn’t available because no one else can handle most of the dirty work. If he is rested we would go with one of ESR or Odegaard. Anyway you look at it, it is better than any midfield we have put out in the last two seasons. Odegaard and Partey are Champions league level players. ESR also looks like he belongs at the top.
Fullbacks will need to show more discipline if Partey is to be the sole holding MF
Arsenal should never play with two holding midfielders especially at home.
How fortunate we are to have Arteta and Edu. I am not talking simply about the transformed team, the emphasis on youth, the impressive defensive know-how, and so on. It’s the new face of Arsenal that we ought to be most grateful for.
No longer dated, down-at-hill, dull, the Club has become vibrant, vigorous, the exemplar of vitality.
‘He hadn’t actually saved £50.00 because I had given it to him the day before. A week later, he went out and bought all his mates a MacDonald and the latest Arsenal shirt. He currently has £3.50 saved.Just saying.’
The apple doesnt fall far from the tree. Just saying
We’re back with Wenger’s youth project, we all know how that ended.
I would be surprised .. if Ødegaard and ESR played much at the same time unless we were chasing goals late in a match. . To me this looks like a loan move for a player to help us win the Europa or Fa Cup and keep ESR healthy for the League. Anyhow… we will see if we actually land him..in any capacity. Been through this before. And yes it would be a bit devastating to develop another player for La Liga with no options to make it permanent if he is successful. Goal Keeper thing is a relief.. no… Read more »
Im sorry
Betrand Russel? As in the philosopher?? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Tierney would have to fight to start if we we managed to sign Ryan Bertrand,
Bertrand would easily start for at least half of the teams in the league.
That’s some ready made headache for the manner .
Odegaard is a top talent and will definately be a quality addition to the squad. Didn’t know Edu had it in him to make this beastly move out of the blue.
Young, hungry, eager to improve, hard working and extremely talented. The complete opposite of Willian.
For the left back spot I’d be looking at the young Palace left back who’s having a break out season. He has been one of their best performers this season and reportedly has only 6 months left on his deal.
Mat Ryan is a quality #2.
Dissenter
Bertrand is good but Tierney is different gravy. Only bettered by Robertson in the league imo.
Pedro, These actual and potential transfers and loans…Exciting, intriguing, promising? Yes. Sexy? No. Sexy is hanging out the back of someone you fancy or giving one’s other half an impromptu table ender over breakfast. Maybe that’s how all you marketing johnnies speak, but don’t try it with Kroenke or the board who are strictly missionary position.
Ryan Bertrand can conjure up some defence-splitting dialectic. Hey we need a new philosopher now sokratis has left for the Greek conference league so why not?
Kroenkephobe, sexy is a 22-year-old creative midfielder with numbers up there with the best in La Liga.
Hang on a minute Pedro, I thought that the narrative was that Edu was crap and the reason for our previously failing season? Just trying to keep up.
Captain Tierney
Maybe Tierney is that much better than Bertrand but he would crazy competition because Bertrand too is solid.
Guns of Brixton,
Yeah, Bertrand Russell.
We need a deep thinker as a left back who can immediately understand Arteta’s football philosophy!
If the Ødegaard loan deal maybe Edu can go for Jean Paul Sartre.
He’s a got a decent reputation in France, I hear.
Pretty creative.
Noam Chomsky is a defensive CM,
Go get him Mike Arteta… i heard he is a smart player
Andy, were you hoping that I’d blindly slag off every single thing he did until the end of time? Would you find that more intellectually stimulating? Is that the mature approach to opinion writing you believe in? Trying to keep up
Bertrand will be 32 at the start of next season
Full back is the most physically demanding role in the team
Under no circumstances should we give a 32yr old outfield player a contract exceeding 12 months.
No contracts exceeding 12 months for over 30s
Keep them hungry, make them earn and chase their next contract
What’s this obsession with us signing geriatrics in the twilight of their careers and entering decline
Where are the Odegaard’s of the left back world?
We want young hungry, athletic talent on the way up, not one on the way down
We can get top four this season, if we manage to be consistent! Can we? I doubt.
Betrand? Not feeling that signing too much. Maybe till the end of the season yeah. if he comes in and does well. 1 year with the option of a further would maybe work for me.
Surprised no big sides came in for him over the years!
Would Arteta be brave enough to go with this:
…………………Leno
……….Holding Gabriel
Bellerin….Partey …..Tierney
……Odegaard Smith-Rowe
….Saka……………Aubameyang
……………Lacazette
…………..
Or is this entering into reckless territory?
Ah, the philosophy of football
Pure Darwinian. Dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest
Rich
Too much work for Partey who isn’t an out and out DM. We need a strong player next to him at CM.
Henry19January 22, 2021 17:22:26
We played a Chelsea in name only whose manager is now on the verge of being sacked
Henry 19
But they are not a shit team. You said we are only winning because we are playing shut teams
You’re wrong
Winthorpe
Rule one ..never engage with redtruth( henry)
A pointless exercise.
Pierre
Oh. Cheers
Various people in our family have a soft spot for the Bluebirds (Cardiff City for any foreign readers). While we’re on here talking optimistically about Norwegian superstars and philosophical LBs, fans in the Welsh Capital are facing up to the absolute horror of having the execrable Mick McCarthy as their new manager… Yes the erstwhile Ireland manager who Roy Keane one told “to stick it up your bollocks” (fucking mad I know). Kind of puts our travails in perspective a little.
Chelsea have lost 5 out of their last 8 Premier league games, i’d say that’s pretty shit..
Pedro, sod off for your Guendouzi agenda. It stinks. He had a minor argument with their other top player because they were losing. Would you prefer an Auba character who’s happy win or lose?? Also, Odegaard is a 10 or RW. He’s not a central midfielder and definitely not in the EPL (yet). He’s too weak defensively even in Spain, so he won’t be ‘feeding the runs of ESR’, you can be sure of that (unless we bin everyone on the RW – Saka, Pepe, Willian). And he won’t be ‘competing with Ceballos’. Odegaard will alternate with ESR. That’s the… Read more »
Winthorpe
Do not engage with Pierre, he’s as nutty as a fruitcake
What’s stopping us moving Smith-Rowe to the left
……Partey Xhaka
Saka Odegaard Smith-Rowe
Aubameyang
Smith-Rowe is good defensively, playing an inverted position on the left, would give Tierney room to exploit down that side
Odegaard and the emergence of Smith-Rowe give us qualities we’ve been in desperately short supply of
I’m excited again,
Bertrand is 31 yo, but this boy what is called a late developer, he didn’t break into the first team at Chelsea until he was 23/24. He could be great back up for KT. Also, what a lot don’t know, Bertrand can and have played as a left winger.
So what happens to Runarsson?
Henry19January 22, 2021 19:10:11
WinthorpeDo not engage with Pierre, he’s as nutty as a fruitcake
You’re as nutty as squirrel shit
Kris, it’s not an agenda, it’s reporting facts. Hertha are tanking, he’s falling out with the best player in their squad, in sight of everyone.
The agenda is calling bad behaviour ‘caring too much’
Kris
Agreed. It will probably not be Bertrand based on his recent comments but Arsenal are clearly looking for a left-footed back-up to Tierney. Not really sure where this leaves AMN but unless we’re looking at adding him to the central midfield rotation, he’ll be gone this summer at the latest.
Ryan fits the profile as an experienced back-up.
Ødegaard is clearly going to compete with ESR for the floating attacking midfield/#10 role.
Pedro-he’s a hothead but there’s only one Balotelli
Good window, now let’s hope Mustafi out and Nelson loan with Odegaard and Bertrand in, then we could give thumbs up to Edu and Arteta for managing this good squad buildings while we’re broke.
Even though im cautious about thingy with an o, I’m so pleased we didnt get Isco or Eriksen, This might be our best window since windows were invented, its hard not to be optimistic about the future…… oh, sorry, i forgot, Arteta and Edu are cunts and we cant beat good teams.
Rich
Arteta has his formation and his preferred first XI for this season. He’s not going to experiment at this stage.
……………………………..Leno (Ryan)
Bellerin (Cedric) .Holding (Luiz) Gabriel (Mari) Tierney (New Signing)
……………Partey (Ceballos) Xhaka (Elneny)
Saka (Willian/Pepe) Smith-Rowe (Ødegaard) Aubameyang (Martinelli)
…………………………..Lacazette (Nketiah)
This isn’t totally accurate because Nketiah is now behind Auba if Laca isn’t playing, with Martinelli inserted on the left.
Haaland is incredible, already easily a top 5 ST in Europe and he is 20.
2 brilliant Sancho assists too.
Dissenter will be very upset.
Runarsson goes on loan or replaces Macey as our #3.
Nice to see that you’re giving him a fair crack of the whip though Pedro, the agenda was pretty transparent a few months back so it’s good to see.because we all want to see the club do well ultimately. Well, pretty much all of us anyway…
Very good window from Arteta and Edu if and (seemingly) when we get Odegaard to go with Ryan. Especially with the players we’ve got out the door this month also. Credit where due. My only worry regarding Odegaard is the fact he has to hit the ground running and adapt instantly. although Norwegians usually settle in quite fast in England. Ability wise i have no doubt whatsoever about the kid. He’s a good a loan your gonna get during a pandemic hit January window. Shame it seems we have no option to buy in the loan though. But no doubt… Read more »
Sancho should of buried that one Eagle!
Sal
I take it back, overrated English shite!
Feo wannabe.
Matt Ryan is shit but he is better than Runnarson
I like Odegaard. Let’s see if he can recapture his form pre-covid, a pretty tidy if so.
Oh and if Mari is a LB then Chambers is a RB.
Radio knows, pre Covid Ødegaard was on fire.
Bacary,
Could easily see Ødegaard alongside ESR with Partey pinning out on right flank which he did quite a bit at Sociedad or even more central as he did just ahead of Illaramendi in a more Ceballos role.
Options if that move comes off, feels weird. Willian, Pepe, Ceballos and Mo all could see less time. There is an Arsenal god.
“”Noam Chomsky is a defensive CM,
Go get him Mike Arteta… i heard he is a smart player””
Next to the French man Michael Foucault it would be a deam midfield
“We are not hitting the top 4 this season. This sort of signing for me is all about showing the fans what the future of our football ‘could’ look like.” If we’re not hitting top 4 (or winning Europa League), Arteta should be canned. Those had to be objectives so I just don’t see it any other way. We can’t be finishing below the likes of Everton, West Ham, Soton ,etc… as for the signings and what the (bright) future holds for us – is this a joke? So we’re picking up two very average players / soon to be… Read more »
Pedro
Hertha Berlin had 4 points from 6 games before Guendouzi joined. They’ve since picked up 13 points from 11 games. They are a really inconsistent team. Just look at their points per game for the season. No evidence they are tanking-it’s a bad 3 game run but if it goes another 3 games then maybe tanking is correct.
3-0-0-0-0-1 then with Guendouzi 3-0-1-3-1-1-0-3-0-1-0
Sal
Heard a journo who should know describe him as the best player in Spain at the time. I think a manager better able to develop young players would have given him more minutes, Clint’s just not the one.
Why must we go for Bertrand? Arseblog news did a scouting report on an interesting lad in Derby who they reckoned would be attainable for about £5m to £7m. Why not him?
Lee Buchanan I believe he was called…
I’d like us to look at other LB options on loan but aside from that, Ryan is super pragmatic. Very pleased with this.
I’ll keep watching the Ode story unfold but it’s clever and exactly the sort of thing we should have done in the summer.
Whether it’s Edu putting his balls on the table, Arteta being more receptive or a combination and actually listening to our scouts and stat teams, I don’t care. Long may it continue.
Arteta will probably go with a Xhaka, Partey and ESR or Odegaard midfield for away games or tough games. But I can see him going with ESR, Odegaard and Partey for home games we would need to unlock a deep block like the Burnley and Palace games. It is great to have options. Xhaka Ceballos and Elneny would be rotation players. There is no better news than that.
This Dortmund have a real banter Wenger vibe, give zero fucks about defending.
Bertrand is old. He will come to us for a pay day. We need to sign a cheap Championship fullback with potential. No more 30 somethings who want a fat contract to retire. He is doing well this season but so was willian last season.
ArsenalTruth I missed a portion of the Newcastle game on Monday so didn’t think it was fair to write a match report and submit player ratings. However, a lot of supporters are going a bit overboard about Arsenal’s form recently. If we look at the Premier League form table, you’ll find that four of the five teams we’ve beaten recently are placed 16th (Brighton), 17th (Chelsea), 19th (Newcastle) and 20th (West Brom). Including the draw at Crystal Palace, whose form has also been poor lately, all five clubs have only managed to win 2 of their past 30 PL games… Read more »
Radio
Culture is so the now at that club, they don’t seem to look into the next month let alone next season.
Sal
Maybe, but I think Arteta is a creature of habit. He’s going to stick with the formation that rescued him and fit the players into that formation.
Ødegaard is a no-brainer. and he correctly doesn’t trust Willian or Laca in that role.
For me, the really interesting decision will be what to do about Wilian and Pepe. One of them will need to be jettisoned in the summer, either on loan or sold. Have a feeling it will be Pepe due to resale value with Willian slotting in on left or wide in the event of injuries/late subs.
Habesha
“Bertrand is old. He will come to us for a pay day.”
We never learn, do we?
From todays The Athletic-
Who has had the easiest & hardest cup draws in the past 10 years?
@alihumayun33 has analysed the data with an algorithm and discovered:
THFC had easiest draws
LFC & Arsenal next
Lincoln City (92) have had it hardest
LeedsGunner
I think Bertrand is a really long shot. He likes it there and they want to keep him. The only issue is over an extension. Just don’t see it happening.
Best I’ve seen Sancho this season.
We still need to get rid of a few more players.
BIG
Agree, Pepe will be moved on this summer. Back to Ligue 1 or Serie A would be my guess.
Arsenal taking an absolute shower financially with 3x years left on his deal.
Upstate Yep it seems like we never do. But Bertrand is at a good club with a very good manager. So he might want to stay there as first choice fullback. And we haven’t spent any money this window. It might mean we are planning on going for a cheap Championship fullback. Anyway the roster for overseas players is full. And we have two more extras with Ryan and Odegaard. Runarsson is going on loan. The other might be Mustafi. Chambers isn’t going anywhere according to arteta so it must be mustafi. I also can see an early cancellation of… Read more »
If we did sign Bertrand the i’d suggest a two year deal, and a young player Buchanan of Derby (shout out to Pedro’s scout) and let him develop on loan for a year or two in the hope of replacing Bertrand by the time he’s 21
Just curious, where are these Ryan Bertrand stories coming from?
Unless it’s PSG Pepe ain’t going to France anytime soon with the financial issues in L1 at the minute. It does look as if his goose is just about cooked though…
Man, it’s a cracking game of football between the two Borussia clubs
I suppose Bertrand is an acceptable solution as long as it is a loan… I just don’t want another player looking for an easy pay day… you know like Willian.
Habesha
The stories come from:
1) We loaned out Kola, who was our only left-footed option to Tierney
2) Arteta has said it is an area we are looking at due to AMN, Cedric not being left-footed
3) Bertrand is nearing the end of his contract, like Cedric at Soton before him
The difference is that Bertrand is a key player for them and he wants to stay. Soton want to keep him.
Oh, and we’re playing Soton tomorrow so a nice destabilizing story (even if Bertrand is rested)
I give a Bertrand loan a 2% chance of happening.
If he wasn’t first-choice it would make more sense. But why would you leave the 9th-placed team as first-choice LB to join the 10th placed team as back-up left back?
@Bacary
Money and a bigger club. Plus the belief the bigger club will pull themselves up again.
Pedro
Looks like Edu may have more about him than we thought 😂.
As amazing as Dortmund’s forwards are, they really are basic in CM and dodgy at the back.
Bellingham is still years away and to be fair is a baby at 17. Can is ordinary as are Witsel, Dahoud and Delaney.
Even looking at their forwards it’s really just Haaland, Sancho and Reyna. Brandt has been really inconsistent, Hazard always seems to be crocked and Reus is a mere shadow of his pre-injury self.