Bukayo Saka, you absolute beauty, rocking New Balance like peak Aaron Ramsey. The young superstar inked a new deal with New Balance and immediately leveled the brand up about 15 points. Good for him, let’s hope the new boots bring him many goals and many assists FOR ARSENAL SPECIFICALLY.
Let’s continue the news… Dino Mavropanos landed Rookie of the Month in Germany. That’s a nice accolade. No one saw his resurgence coming, bar the might Sven (gone too soon). It’ll be nice to have more centre-back options for next season. It really is imperative we don’t renew contracts of players that’ll stifle minutes of players that have high ceilings.
Talking of summer… there are reports that we’ll enter the battle for Hakimi this summer. One can dream. Think we need to be realistic which market we play in when it comes to right-backs, I have my doubts it’s for someone of his quality and price. Still, nice to be linked.
The focus this week is all about Olympiacos in the away leg. We head to the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium to take on a side that’ll likely contain Sokratis. He’s been giving them all our secrets apparently.
‘let them fuck it up themselves’
… is probably the gist.
The game plan is clear. We’ll need two goals and a clean sheet. That’ll make the return leg comfortable, and honestly, for once this season, it’d be nice to just do things the easy way. Don’t get sent off, don’t play headed through balls to the opposition, don’t pass to their strikers, and take your fucking chances.
Last season, Auba missed an absolute sitter in the last minute of extra time, and we limped out of the competition. He really needs to pull out the big guns and give us some of that Auba magic. He’s finding form of late. I loved his goal at the weekend, but we need more of that.
Each game we progress in is another chunk of change that supports a better summer in a pivotal transfer market. I think the semi-finals is more than realistic, and providing we avoid a British team, there’s a good chance we do something interesting. The worry is Spurs or United over two legs. I tend to fancy us in a final.
We have to beat the Greeks though. They’re smashing it in the league this season, sitting pretty at the top by about 400 points, so this is basically a Champions League Group Stage game. It will be a tough game. I think we’ve lost 5 of our last 10 against them. I remember one of their centre backs (Morrocan?), a bald chap, having a worldie against us when they knocked us out of the Champions League way back when. We don’t need any such reruns on Thursday.
Also key for Arsenal… we need to put on a show against Spurs who have their leg as the home fixture. That game always has a residual impact on the mood of the fans. If we win the two games, everyone is happy, we lose, and everyone goes into pitchfork mode which will make it very tough for Arteta in the ground next season.
My view on the manager is this close of season is about fan capital building. If he puts on a good show, snatches some exciting wins, and progresses in the Europa, the atmosphere next season in the ground will be sexier. If we clunk to the end of the season, it’ll be tough for him.
Let’s see what he had this week. One final trophy to player for, let’s make it simple.
seeing all the memes going around at the mo, I thought Oprah was Ian Wright!
The alternative to a free press, is a state controlled press
And we don’t want to go down that route, I’m not sure there’s any easy solutions, and I’d like the UK to have its own first amendment
Our media isn’t about reporting the news, and allowing people to draw their own conclusions
It’s about clicks, subscriptions, advertising, viewing figures, and sensationalising and dramatising every little thing, and then targeting their viewer and reader demographics with content that will appeal
Our entire democracy has been turned into a freak show, soap-opera
We’ve got political activists masquerading as journalists and “Experts”
Whenever you see an “Expert” on the tv, take into account that there’s a 90%+ chance that person is a political activist
Conveniently there’s no kids sleeping on A&E floors outside of the weeks leading up to general elections……
The oligarchs in Silicon Valley have far too much power, and are far too cozy with a certain political party, and everyone should be uncomfortable with Silicon valley becoming the arbiters of truth, and the judge, jury, executioner, defence, and prosecution, for what constitutes hate speech
We should make it illegal for social media to ban any British person, who hasn’t broken any British laws, in order to protect free speech
Then you’ve got 🔔-Ends like Piers Morgan, who’s job is to be a full time sh*t stirrer, he goes on screen and tries to be as divisive as possible, he doesn’t give his actual opinions, he’s just very good at getting people debating and engaging in whatever subject he’s reporting on
That’s why ITV share price dropped 5% yesterday, and he won’t be short of offers, with GB News already very keen on snatching him up
Daily Mirror, Guardian, Independent left wing tabloids, all pro-EU
Sun, Daily Express, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Times are all Tory papers
Daily Mail + Times are both pro-EU, traditionally Daily Mail was Eurosceptic, but switched before the referendum
Sun, Daily Express + Telegraph are Eurosceptic papers
SkyNews UK are centre left Blairites
SkyNews Australia are brilliant, they’re so right wing, they make FoxNews look like hardcore Marxists in comparison
Channel 4, left wing
BBC not all, but mainly left wing presenters, it’s very London centric, and London is very left wing city, it’s why they never seen Brexit happening, or the Tories gaining an 80 seat majority, because they rarely get outside the M25: and don’t understand that the rest of the country don’t think like they do
Ultimately a free press is better, we just need to hope people can read between the lines, I do wish they’d tone down the drama a bit though….
And allow slow news days, to simply become slow news days
Just in case we want to sign up another geriatric player on a freebie, today’s feeds going crazy on linking Jerome Boteng to us.
Please please please…. no. No. No.
Sal
Surely there’s a place in that attack for her majesty
A bit Rich a Neoliberal(“free market”) supporter complaining about silicon valley oligarchs.
Feudalism can No longer hide in political institutions so they camoflage it with corporate feudalism (“free market”)
Bati
Kind of assumed she was between the sticks sweeper keeping with eye on serious attacking distribution. One touch stuff.
Although there is an argument to be made for her majesty pinning the mid in a double pivot with Phillip.
In the end just get the ball to Ø, we’re talking vertical upward mobility.
Wow, the comment section under this post is doomed.
Need a new post so badly lol
raptora,
Nothing more to say until the match starts tonight.
If we win I will argue persuasively that Arteta is Arsenal’s Basque Jesus.
If we lose or draw I will conclude that it’s time to say “good ebening and goodbye” to the guy I had marked down all along as the Basque Fraud.
And if Willian starts I’ll be depressed and have a dose of Meghan’s mental health problems
Im looking forward to Arteta’s project going “bang”…
I’ve left the windows open.
Sorry if already posted but Guardian statistical analysis published yesterday of the best goalkeepers in Europe’s top 5 leagues this season.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2021/mar/10/want-to-compare-keepers-fairly-take-a-deep-dive-into-their-clean-sheets
One standout performer in Europe this season.
<— Closes Sal's window. Stay off the ledge, my friend.
This is why mankind invented alcohol. And Pedro, Le Grove.. so we can do some drunken venting if things go south.
I've already resigned myself to seeing Willian the square pass assist king .. locked in and loaded on the left wing.
Sid
It’s not a truly free market when the odds are fixed in favour of the corporations who live in the pockets of our corrupt bureaucrats
The free market isn’t the problem, the corrupt bureaucrats who are officiating are the problem
Bureaucrats should be fair referees
Referees should never become players
Referees should never have a stake in the game they’re officiating
Referees should never take back handers to fix the game their officiating
The game isn’t the problem, the problem is the game is riddled with a combination of corruption and useful idiots
Middy
Not to worry, the window is open in order to hear Arteta’s b a n g.
Rich
A reductionist reply to your treatise on the UK media.
Most of what you have written is consciously complete piss incorporating a harsh market adoring, reactionary agenda of your own. It’s written in a tone that erroneously suggests you see yourself at the centre of the British politicals.
when in reality you’re actually over there in the weeds with the likes of Farage. At least I can admit I’m a leftie.
Do yourself a favour and stick to football analysis. You’re like Bojo insofar as you have an issue with the truth. Who are these left wing presenters in the BBC? Name names!
In Los Angeles, we HAD to employ a certain amount of Hispanics, regardless of whether they were the best candidate.
I am not middle aged so don’t include myself in that demographic.
Don’t give me that shit about I’m scared to walk around town because I’m x colour. My son, who is white got so badly beaten up by a brave bunch of six black blokes, he was hospitalised and didn’t leave the house for six months. Too many people only want to see things from their leftie fucking woke perspective. Sht things happen to every class, every colour, and tko deny it is as ridiculous as your own arguements
We have become too sensitive! Rustin Cohle in True Detective said –
“Human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution.”
@Rich, the game is flawed
Im telling you for free!
Blah blah blah green bay. You xenophobes all start crying when you’re challenged. Anecdotal evidence is as unreliable as mind reading what’s going on in someone else’s head, yet lazy people unwilling to engage in proper, evidence based debate always fall back on it.
And by the way Hispanic is a term that people from central and south America bristle at for historical reasons but you know that don’t you. Yeah, I’m “woke” and proud. Let’s have some footy analysis greenbay – the team you support is kicking off in 3 hours in a rather important game. Keep the race controversies and provocations to yourself.
We should get over and done with Olympiacos, the game vs Villareal will settle things on le grove mano a mano
Green Bay
California was a part of Mexico until the US took it in the mid 19th century. Worth bearing in mind.
Bang Bang – Arteta’s gonna shoot you down
The entire west coast from Texas to Canada border used to be part of Texas but thats another story
Used to be part of Mexico
People are analysing the Meghan, Oprah interview the same way as Carragher and co on MNF.
WTH is going on ?!!!
Kroenkephobe
Do some research, nothing I put was factually incorrect
You might not like what I put, because it doesn’t fit your narrative
Try reading a book on confirmation bias, or maybe just try reading a book to begin with, my 2yr old nephew has some good ones with fun pictures, which might be more your sort of level
I’m not going to do your research for you, but it’s really not hard to look into the political backgrounds of BBC + SkyNews + Channel4 presenters and their program editors
If you can’t differentiate between our left wing and right wing press
Or can’t spot the difference between CNN + FoxNews
Then I’m guessing you’re the type of person who couldn’t identify the woods from the trees
I’m not criticising it, I believe in a free press, mainly because the alternative is the state controlling what we can and can’t read
Buy yourself a Guardian + Daily Express tomorrow
Independent + Telegraph on Saturday
Daily Mirror + Sun on Monday
You get exactly the same stories, being interpreted in two entirely different ways
And the ways those stories are interpreted, will be aimed at the targeted demographics of the people who buy their content
Sheriff Diet Pep always Martinelli/Saliba
For what I don’t know
Every time that I plant a seed
He said, “Kill it before it grows”
He said, “Kill it before it grows”, I say
and if we lose tonight Arteta may be wailing.
Y’all don’t really wanna do a deep dive into politics and racism today.. do you? Come on now.
I think what we should be concerned about is will Papa Sok and Luiz get in a wrestling match and who will win?
Rich,
I can already tell you what you will get on your favourite newspapers:
On the Daily Express you will get a story on the weather and how this great country is going to the dog because of all those ungrateful bloody foreigners, who we singlehandedly saved from the Nazis.
On the torygraph, you will have story on how poor William, Kate and the royal family are the victim of a cabal of woke people.
On the daily Mail, you will have more campaign against that ghastly black American woman who has turn that poor innocent boy against his family and country of birth. Again damned immigrant.
Fox News will just report on non existing facts and create a controversy on how the poor silent majority which happen to be in the minority are silenced by those woke people. They will complain about cancel culture while in the same time trying to cancel anybody who dissent about Trump in their rank. Another non-scientists climate denier will rage about the fact that scientists characterise his “research” which has been funded by oil companies as garbage pseudo-science. Anti-vaxxers will be given a platform and spew things that for anybody with a modicum of intelligence can only be qualified as rabid stupidity.
The problem is that before I was able to read the FT, the Times, the Guardian and get a view of the world. I could disagree with their interpretations of the fact.
Now with the Daily Mail, the Express, the Torygraph, Fox News the issues is not their interpretations, it is just that they don’t even bother with reporting the facts. Half of it is just lie and garbage about reality TV and echo chamber opinion polls masquerading as news.
Royals, Nazis, Land Grabs and Piers Morgan.
SMH
Nice goal Kessie, away goal Milano.
Any team news yet? Confirmed line ups?
VAR is fucking pitiful.
I have put a tenner on Villarreal today. Don’t kill me.
Valentin
If you think CNN is balanced, then you’re out of your mind
It’s every bit as skewered as FoxNews
The Times is right leaning, and pro-EU, but it is a Tory paper
If you think the Guardian is a balanced read, I can assure you it’s not
It’s the polar opposite of the Daily Mail
You need to learn to distinguish between “The Truth” and “Your Truth”
The left wing press happily pushed baseless conspiracy theories on Brexit and Trump for 4 years
But when their guy won the Whitehouse, and Trump tried playing them at their own game, of delegitimising their win, suddenly election fraud became completely impossible……
But for 4 years I bet you though Brexit was the Russians + responsible for Trump winning the Whitehouse, because that was the consistent baseless narrative of CNN + The Guardian
When really it was Clinton was an awful candidate, and the British people wanted their sovereignty returned
If you can’t see we’re all being played like fiddles, I really don’t know what to tell you….
At least I can distinguish between what’s right and left wing press, and that we’re both being lied too
You think it’s just the right wing press that are full of sh*t, and are pushing a narrative based on reader demographics, which really makes no sense
Let me spell it out for you, you are the target audience of the Guardian + CNN, they tell you what you want to hear, that why you agree with them, and see them as moderates
Because you like to see yourself as moderate
Once you understand that virtue rarely goes far without vanity, it explains everything you need to know about the modern left
Lefties need that dopamine hit from being told their views are superior, it makes you feel good, and that’s why you tune in….
Leno, Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Willian, Aubameyang
From Wheatley.
Batistuta cannot be enjoying this.