Finally, football is back and we can all start being friends again. Kind of sad that international break is like being cut off from the world. My group chats have been dead. Do I only have friends because of Arsenal?
Matt from the pod called me the other day and it was like an awkward first date. I don’t know what he likes outside football. Is that child he walks around with his? I’ve never taken the time to ask.
Friendships during international break is a bit like growing old as a couple and realizing all you had was great sex… my relationships are vapid and narrow. Most are men I’ve met online. Still, I can live with it if we smash Liverpool tomorrow, am I right, internet best friends?
Arteta was asked whether he was prioritizing Europe, he correctly said no.
Good leaders should always reference history for insights into the future… I think one of the defining moments for Emery was when he went all-in on Europa, took his eye off the league, and in the end… fucked both.
This Premier League season like a corgi race… it’s utter chaos, you have no idea how it’ll end up, so the best bet… as I advise all my corgi clients… is to keep going until the very end.
Liverpool has been found out a little bit this season. VVD is very much essential to the way they play, and they, like every other team, need their big players firing. It hasn’t really happened for them.
That doesn’t mean they aren’t still an elite side. They’ll have this season fixed for August, no doubt. Arteta made reference that even in the position they are now, the data nerds have them as a top 2 side by almost every metric. Sometimes, a season just doesn’t drop for you, that’s Liverpool after having nearly everything go right for 2 years.
I suspect Klopp will have noticed what West Ham did. A heavy opening 30-minute blitz against a team that weren’t suspecting it. The key for me in the West Ham game is Moyes knew there would be a very specific plan based on his patterns of play. He zigged and we couldn’t zag. Liverpool will be different because the players will be expecting to be bullied from the first whistle.
What I hope is that we don’t give them too much respect, like we did against City. We have to try a play some football. We’re more than capable of landing punches. The manager said they were better than us, this is true, but that doesn’t mean we have to find a laundry basket and hide under it for 90 minutes.
Liverpool has been beaten by Fulham, Everton, and Chelsea in the last 5 games. They are weak. There is no aura we should fear.
There are 9 games left of this season. There are 7 points between Arsenal and West Ham. There are 6 between us and Spurs. There are 4 points to Liverpool and Everton.
Beat Liverpool and you never know…
Before we leave. It seems like we’re renewing Mo Elneney. Seems like a nice guy, I just can’t understand why we’re giving a new deal to someone who was yanked on 55 minutes in a last 16 game against a bum Greek team.
The more worrying rumour is Sergio Aguerro being a target for Arsenal. No, no, no, no… that is not £300k a week spent well. I don’t care about his ‘special’ qualities. He could be a secret unicorn that harvests carbon emissions in his sleep… he’s not for Arsenal. Let Barcelona start the rebuild with a 32-year-old. We simply have to do better this summer than falling back on players that are past it or simply not good enough.
This summer cannot be about collecting old players again.
Here’s today’s special podcast. I speak with Football Consultant, Rob Gevertz. He’s worked at Manchester City and Talksport. We talk about the world of the digital fan, modernising stadiums, and a bit about Arteta and his progress at the end.
SpanishDave, I’ve been going to Arsenal for 30 years. Not sure I’m a ‘new boy’
Kroenkephobe
Agree with you totally, his loyalty to Newcastle cost him, his move to city occurred just before they started churning out trophies and also coincided with the rise of Joe Hart. Christ,do you remember Danny Rose’s ‘screamer’ against us for the spuds. I still don’t know what Almunia was trying to do, all he needed to do was stand still and put his hands up. Like I said that’s when I seriously started to question Wenger. Then again I cursed George Graham from a height for replacing lukic with Seaman and look how that worked out!
Team news
Luiz out discomfort in his right knee
Saka + Smith-Rowe late fitness tests
Xhaka unwell, late fitness test
Willian available
Pedro I’ve been there for 65 years catch up
Almunia,
Just allowed myself to watch that Danny Rose goal again. I’m re-traumatised! Almunia’s reaction was glacial. I thought twitching Arry’s head was going to spin off his shoulders after that went in.
I loved John Lukic as well – brave, calm and always willing to come for the ball, even though some called him Johnny Bostik because they thought he was always stuck to his line…
He used to do this really curious thing when he took a place kick where he’d do a little shadow punch halfway through his run up. I always looked for that and if he did it I knew all was good in the world.
That was peak time for all supporters doing the old “you’re shit aaaagh” when the opposing goalie was kicking it out. One of the more reductionist chants but we loved it. A mate of mine once claimed it helped win an NLD because he’d got it going against spud GK Erik the viking/wanker Thorsvedt. Was very happy when Lukic returned for a while.
Dave, working on it!
Good man
We are all of the same mind really
Re-traumatised is right! When you look back on it we were fairly spoiled for keepers over the years, Wilson, Jennings, Lukic ,Seaman,Jens, with honourable mentions for Rimmer and Maninger(rarely let us down though I’m not sure he would have lasted as a no.1 over a prolonged period). Felt szcezesny(close enough) was unlucky but the league cup final mistake was pretty close to unforgivable (bow your head koscielny). That’s why I just don’t get how we’ve failed to address the position for so long now. Is it that younger Arsenal fans just haven’t seen real quality keepers at the club or has the standard of keeping dropped? Do you remember Southall winning leagues for Everton by himself?(slight exaggeration). If we could just get a good number one it would take a lot of pressure off what is,as stroller pointed out, a young but promising defence emerging for the future.
Surprised you didn’t give Rocky a mention Pedro
G, the blog with the #7
Did you hear about the bloke who can’t stop singing Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin songs? He’s got crooner disease………
If injuries are to be believed then I hope the beach bum has a plan to throw a new youth into the team tomorrow to unsettle the pool.
Also wtf has Eddie done .
Fella ain’t getting no seconds on the pitch at all lately.
@kronkephobe.I’m still traumatised by Almunia.CL semi finalist the Ems.Ronald from about a mile out daisy cutter.And his piece de resistance the CL final nr post between his Bambi legs.I could go on & on.Never forgave wenger for those years of Almunia.criminal.
How many years are left on saliba’s contract
Xhaka unwell, late fitness test
Don’t tell lies! No chance he’s unwell! Perhaps he coughed once
Pedro I think I agree with you on 70% of points and tend to strongly disagree on the remaining 30
But I do have to say you are an excellent writer.
I have this image in my mind of you feeling frustrated at work because you’d be constrained by the whims of the client and use this blog as an outlet to impart your ‘own’ work. Am I right on that?
My brother used to be a phenomenal graphic designer and he literally dropped out of uni for this reason. He used to get middling scores from lecturers based on their wish to see him do less interesting work. As well he used to absolutely resent it when he’d present 5 amazing logo candidates to a client and they’d without fail pick the least creative, meaningful or interesting one
I have this image of you coming up with a slogan for a tooth paste company and them saying ‘yeah that’s good but how about we just change it to ‘makes teeth whiter’ instead haha
Is my suspicion right?
Pedro is good writer
My brother once showed me these 4 possible logos he’d designed for a client which were each similarly amazing, creative and thoughtful. Then he laughed and said ‘but I bet he chooses this one instead’ and pointed to a really shit one he’d literally made as a joke in the hope that the contrast between the mundane one and his other ones would lead the client to pick one of his good ones
Sure enough the client picked the one he had made in sub 5 mins
He was furious lol
Liverpool tonight.
I would go with this line up considering all the injuries.
Leno
Cedric Holding Gabriel Tierney
Partey Ceballos
Pepe Odegaard Martinelli
Auba/ Laca
I have this sinking feeling though that Arteta will either put both Auba and Laca on at the same time or he will play his favourite willy now that he is back from injury. Things might go south if he does that.
Hope Xhaka is ready for tonight’s match.
Willian nailed on to start
Saka and Smith Rowe unlikely to be in the XI (maybe one of them makes the bench)
Luiz not fit
Think Mari will get nod ahead of Gabriel
Leno
Cedric Holding Mari Tierney
Partey Xhaka
Pépé Ceballos Willian
Lacazette
https://c.newsnow.co.uk/A/1073702595?-19387:844
Interesting view towards considering Aguero 🤔
Tonight we probably see another intriguing lineup from Arteta that produces a typical disjointed performance in the 1H, especially after a break.
Just hope we wouldn’t concede in 1H, and look to a better 2H…
Trepidation towards tonights match,we should be able to put up a decent performance,but how many times have we seen,when you need a performance or a player needs a goal-bring on the make a wish foundation,Arsenal-guaranteed 3 points or a highlight reel goal.
Like our atrocious injury record,I am hoping we have moved on from that.
The Torreria situation should be straight forward,he is under contract to us and will go where we want him to go,surely a non negotiable-when my Mum died unexpectedly,I still had to go on tour as i was in the military at the time,didnt want to go and get shot at,but that was the job,I am sure if Torreria breaks his leg in training he would still want to be paid by us-a two way sword,we have to become tougher in our recruitment and management of players.
I think we should go back to the old way of 1 year extensions to players over 30,not too many of our 30 year olds would cause us many tears if we said goodbye to them at the end of the season.
We must remember we are The Arsenal.
Fingers crossed for the win,tonight.
Dream10
Do you get your squad info off the back of your cereal box?
With you Samir, can’t quite see Arteta picking Ceballos ahead of Odegaard.
Useroz so Aguero worked with Arteta and yes he has been a world class striker but he not going to come to Arsenal because he had some love affair with us over the years.
He will only come if we pay him £200 grand a week give him a 3 year contract. Surely we’ve learnt our lesson on paying passive wages for players in their 30s.
Be interesting what Arteta decides to do at right back tonight, I’ve never been convinced of Chambers at right back, he’s far too slow over the first few metres, and Mane is incredibly strong, quick, and direct
Chambers was one of our better players against West Ham after the 35th minute, his positioning caused West Ham all types of problems when we were on the front foot
The issue is we’re unlikely to largely dominate Liverpool for 55 minutes, and their forward line can be ruthless
If Xhaka is still sick, I’d definitely go with Elneny next to Partey, that worked well at Old Trafford earlier in the season
Assuming both Saka, Smith-Rowe and Xhaka don’t make it, this is what I think we’ll see
……………..Leno
…….Holding Gabriel
Soares …………. Tierney
………Partey Elneny
Willian Odegaard Aubameyang
………….Lacazette
I’d go with Pepe instead of Willian, but Arteta generally opts for structure
Rich, think you’ll be close with that line up. Hope Saka can feature though.
I want Gabriel to play ahead of Mari (assuming only one of them plays)
Gabriel is on very good form and was one of our best players in March with some decisive performances. He’s also got more pace.
Imo Gabriel is the logical CB we should be building around
Going for a 2-1 Arsenal win tonight
Super Mo Elneny with the winner, and Partey with the opener, who’s well overdue his first Arsenal goal
Samir
Lol don’t think Aubameyang or Odegaard will start today. Hope I’m wrong
I’m banking on Thursday night pirlo to score a worldie and be the difference maker as per
Rich
Chambers was played at rb vs West Ham to negate their aerial threat
It won’t be him today. I’ll be amazed if it’s not hector.
I hope he goes with Mari and holding today
Leno is a joke without those two protecting him from high balls
China1April 3, 2021 11:13:40
I want Gabriel to play ahead of Mari (assuming only one of them plays)Gabriel is on very good form and was one of our best players in March with some decisive performances. He’s also got more pace. Imo Gabriel is the logical CB we should be building around
China
And yet we concede more goals with him and Luiz in the side
Wiglaf how many of the goals we’ve conceded recently have been on him and how many were on Luiz?
Gabriel was player of the month multiple times when playing regularly at the start of the season. Got injured and missed a lot. Came back a little rusty and hasn’t had a long period in the side since. But quite tellingly he was a contender for player of the month in March which was the first time since the early season when he’s played quite frequently.
I hate it whenever we face a team that’s been on a terrible run. We are always the team that allows others to end terrible runs. Anyway, I have written off this season and just hoping for a top 10 finish and a good showing for each of the remaining matches.
Lowered my expectations so anything better will be a bonus to smile about
Not only do we need to say no to BUYING rubbish we need to say no SELLING our stars. Multiple reports stating that the club would consider selling Saka to raise funds.
No. No. No.
We have more than even excess weight to shed before we consider selling our stars.
It’s like selling Fabregas all over again.
Plus I wouldn’t trust this lot to spend the wisely in any case…
Also look at half the goals we’ve conceded recently
Leno, xhaka and Ceballos have all made huge errors leading directly or indirectly to goals. Luiz has made multiple as well. And mari was heavily culpable for Leicester scoring as well.
Of all the goals we’ve conceded in recent weeks a large number have been from poor errors but very few have been on Gabriel
Agreed Leeds
We’ve got dross that should be sold before we consider looking at auctioning off the family silver.
China1April 3, 2021 12:12:16
Agreed Leeds We’ve got dross that should be sold before we consider looking at auctioning off the family silver.
Yeah
Leno bellerin and aubameyang
Yeah David it’s true
Before every match they always pull out some stat about how their CF hasn’t scored in his last 12 seasons and is suffering from two broken legs. 85th minute and he *inevitably* bangs in a screamer with his weaker foot from 30 yards
I HATE those stats they bring up because we bottle it every time they do
Out of interest which quality keepers are available these days? I think the Milan keeper is but I haven’t followed him for years and dunno if he’s a real upgrade on Leno.
Anyone been watching him this season?
China
The reason I don’t think Gabriel will start is that Liverpool may start with Jota or Salah as the #9.
Lots of interchanging with those two and Mané
Believe Arteta trusts Mari more to lead the defense especially with Luiz missing out
Gabriel is doing well, he’s 23, it’s his first season in a new league, learning a new language, and he’s got less than 100 competitive games behind him
I like the look of him, he’s calm, composed, doesn’t rush in, he’s powerful, and good in the air
He’s understandably a bit raw in aspects of his game, and will need to be dropped out from time to time like most young players
We didn’t buy the finished article, but there’s a good chance we can develop him over the next 12-24 months, and he can then lead our defence for the next 7-8 seasons, and provide us with some stability at the back that we’ve been lacking for a long time
Stability and cohesion are such an underrated aspect of building success
Liverpool have crumbled without VVD this season, City struggled last season after failing to replace Kompany, if we move away from Luiz this summer, and opt for the potential of Saliba, then fans need to be prepared for a further adjustment period
Unfortunately that won’t happen, the same fans who are screaming for Saliba this season, will be screaming for Arteta’s head again next season, when we go through teething stages of developing an elite young talent, in a central position on the pitch, where mistakes tend to be fatal, and experience is a real factor
We conceded 15 goals in 13 games before he was out, over a goal per game
we conceded 4 goals in 8 games when he was out 0.5 goals per game
Conceded 5 in the 4 games he’s played since his return
Seems clear to me we are stronger without him
China1April 3, 2021 12:16:28
Out of interest which quality keepers are available these days? I think the Milan keeper is but I haven’t followed him for years and dunno if he’s a real upgrade on Leno.
China
There’s a guy over at Villa who’s stats are you there with Emerson’s this year as the best keeper in the league. Wish we had someone as good as that
Stats are up there
I wouldn’t sell Saka for £150 million, unless he kicked up a stink
CL is worth potentially £40-£100 million, and that’s before you look at the commercial aspect
Europa League is worth potentially £30-£50 million
Saka is a match winner, and comfortably the best teenager in the league, we should be building a team around him, not selling him to the highest bidder, and then replacing him with a player of inferior quality, or 3 players of inferior quality
Moving on our deadwood permanently and picking up fees in this market, is going to be our main issue
We’ll have a first team squad of 28 this summer, so even if we sold Saka, we likely still wouldn’t have the squad room to replace him with 3-4 players
Replacing him like for like would be almost impossible
Selling our best players who are on the way up is a really bad idea, we should never allowed Ashley Cole to leave for Chelsea, Cesc for Barca, Nasri to City, or given United Van Persie so they could win another title
Arsenal better not even be contemplating selling Saka
Rich I get the passion but football has changed. The Tony Adams era doesn’t exist anymore. There isn’t such a thing as club loyalty. Saka’s agent will eventually ask for huge wages as he should and Arsenal have to decide if they can pay or if not sell him to the highest bidder. He’s a commodity and it’s business. I hate it as much as you do but it’s what it is.
The club wouldn’t dream of selling Saka, there would be an outrage from the fans.
If not playing Saka today means he is ready for Thursday, then I’m all for that.
Liverpool’s new centre back pairing seems more dominant in the air than on the ground, hopefully we won’t see any aimless crossing from out wide, more creativity through the centre.
The Bard
Pay Saka the money, and match his ambition with smarter investment
I get what you’re saying, but Arsenal’s core business is the football, without quality footballers on the pitch, that hurts our bottom line
The season tickets, club level, corporate boxes, merchandise, and all the jobs and revenue that creates, either doesn’t exist, or it becomes much smaller, if the product that people pay to engage with , isn’t of the desired quality
People aren’t showing up at the Emirates, just because they like the Hot Dogs
Far too many fans take Wenger’s work for granted, we’re still a big draw to young players across Europe, because Wenger put us on the map
David Dein once said, “Get it right on the pitch, and the rest will take care of itself”
I was all for letting Aubameyang leave last summer, or allowing him to run his contract down, but there’s a big difference in cashing in on a 31yr old, and cashing in on Cole at 25, or Saka at the beginning of his career, we’ll never progress will that type of mentality
Ashley Cole was the PL’s best left back for at least a decade, arguably the best left back in the PL era, and certainly one of the worlds best left backs as well
We lost him over £5,000 p/w, and while I liked Monreal, it’s taken us 15 years to replace Cole, and we had to watch players like Andre Santos come in, who’s by far the worst player I’ve ever seen, and that’s not just at Arsenal
People are still talking about replacing Vieira and Henry 16 years later, when you get hold of elite talent, you don’t let them leave if you have any ambition, because replacing them is near impossible
For stupid money Saka would be sold – hardly likely at a time when Mbappe and Hangeland are going to be focusing the accountants at two of the richest clubs.
In two,/three years time, if Saka continues to progress and the financials are not suffering from the effects of Covid then ok!
For the most part your right Rich but as Liverpool have shown, if you sell a top player for big money as long as you reinvest intelligently then it could be justified. Not sure our recent track record should fill us with much confidence mind you!
Let’s be optimistic and look into 3/4 years into the future and we have won the PL are back competing in the CL, it’s highly likely we would have ‘done an Anelka’ to develop our squad.
your/you’re
I wouldn’t want to sell Saka at any point unless he handed in a request and was being disruptive etc
To indirectly quote Wenger, you sell Fabregas and Nasri and you cannot pretend you are a big club after that. The fans have massive attachments for academy players who go on to be top level, the club would be bold as brass to sell him unless he was forcing it through.
Saka will be one the greatest for Arsenal, he is not going anywhere! You sell Aubas and Lacas, not a very good Saka/ESR who are still to get to their prime.
We are making a mistake with Guen and Saliba, give them couple of seasons to grow and they would be brilliant I’m sure.
The bard
I think I’m slowly(very slowly) coming round to your way of thinking. Getting attached to players is a dangerous game, they are going to squeeze as much money from their careers as they can and that probably means playing clubs off each other to get the highest wage they can(even if the player is not naturally inclined to do this you can be sure his agent is). So investing in a player emotionally leads to heartbreak ultimately because as someone said earlier the days of Adams are gone. Can you imagine an agent allowing le tiss to stay at Southampton for his career in this age? Accepting that the likes of Saka might leave before we see the best of him is very difficult but if you don’t prepare yourself for it then it’s even more painful. That
That will be a true test of Arteta. If he keeps these young players and builds a team around them he will have achieved something great.
Super 3rd goal for West Brom. First defeat coming up for Tuchel!
Hahaha Chelsea
It’s a little surprising to see Chelsea go to pieces like this even considering the sending off, Tuchel has organised the defence since his arrival to the point where they were looking almost impregnable.
Big pepe day, wouldn’t mind a left field martinelli as well, klopp is scared of that boy.
There is another breakout game coming from him, 2 goals
Good start to the day. A team incapable of creating chances and scoring smashing 5 past a Chelsea defense that is supposedly a wall is a really good sight. It shows you there are no games in the premier league you should take for granted.
Let’s see if the day ends well for us. Because we need it. Otherwise it will be Europa league or bust and that’s a fool’s game.
AMN looks like he is settling for being a championship level midfielder as opposed to a premiership level RB or RWB.
Watching the Chelsea game AMN seems to be more making up the numbers in Midfield rather than being a main man. More Elneny than Partey – verdict SELL we can do a lot better.
Mustafi dropped from Schalke’s squad today due to……
“Sporting reasons”
Again Arsenal have the opportunity to fight for something in the league, win today and you are just 6 behind chelsea.
But, as always, surely we are going to do our best to blow our chances.
Well done West Brom.
Tammy Abraham out of favour with Tuchel
Spudnik
We scouted Mustafi, signed him for £35 million, played him for 4.5 years, then paid him to leave
Schalke who are bottom of the Bundesliga, with 1 win in 27 games, have dumped him after 7 games
Signing him in the first place wasn’t a smart move, but they’re much quicker to react to their mistakes than we are
The best signing we could make would be a strong DOF who knows what he’s doing, these types of mistakes have been plaguing us for far too long
Edu scrubs up well in a suit, but I’m not convinced of his competence or that he’s particularly switched on, hopefully he surprises me, and has more in his locker than calling his mate Kia
Rich
Silvinho was a far better player than Cole.
Costa Pereira floats anyone’s boat? In a poor WBA side their most consistent and talented player… and definitely attainable if WBA go down…
Is Kendo Eedtruth?
Is Kendo Eedtruth?
Sounds like it.
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