The Champions League is over, the big show is tonight, Arsenal vs the MIGHTY Slavia Prague.
What did we learn from last night?
That teenagers can do it at the highest level.
Jude Bellingham, 17 years old, dropping a big performance against a top 3 side in the world.
Phil Foden, haircut of a god, not quite a teenager, but young enough to be worth mentioning because he decided the game.
Mikel Arteta falls back on his safety blanked of senior players like they’re the Milan side from the 90s. I’m sorry, I can’t have it. There’s no Inzaghi, Seedorf, or Pirlo to fall back on in this group. We have seen that movie enough times.
‘One last job for the boys’ usually ends up with the robbery vehicle stalled with everyone going to jail.
Tonight is about the kids showing the world how good they are.
We need their energy. Their hunger. The decisive nature of their football offering.
Auba wasn’t at training yesterday. Maybe he really does have flu? Who cares. What I care about is knowing whoever is on that plane is ready to deliver in a game that is absolutely vital to our season.
ESR is fit. Martinelli is fit. Saka is fit. Those three, playing at their peak, is enough to take the tie.
Lacazette will likely start again, I like the role he takes on, creating openings for the pace technicians.
Thomas Partey should be the pivot in supporting two banks of 3, or even a 6 man forward line.
I’m a little concerned about Xhaka at left-back again, only because the Slavia forwards have more confidence and they seemed quite fast on the break.
This Arsenal team has enough to win tomorrow. We just need to show up with the same urgency and aggression we saw at the weekend.
Unai Emery in the next round will no doubt be tougher, but at least the game will have some zest about it. Last time we played Villareal in the semi-finals, we made the Champions League final. It’d be pretty sexy to do it again.
This is a big moment for Arteta.
The worry is that he is often more concerned about proving his ‘manager’ decisions in the summer were the correct ones. We need the Arteta that knew his job was on the line at Christmas.
Pick the best team. It’s that simple. Don’t select on reputation, salary, or the memory you had of said player from 6 years ago. It’s time to move this project on, accept what hasn’t worked, and go for the starting 11 most likely to execute the game plan.
Liverpool was a disaster. Slavia at home, regardless of the chances, was a disaster. Time to make amends, and as a 7 famous sounds artists once said…
‘Reach for the stars’
‘And when that rainbow’s shining over you’
‘That’s when your dreams will all come true’
Big night. Let’s see what the players have! Make our dreams come true.
ONWARD, EUROPA!
Don’t mess it up tonight lads
2
3
Tr4phy
Where I dream we finish….
Lol, Leno ‘open-minded about future’ aka he wants out.
Bunch of fools here last summer bagging on people for saying letting Martinez go for cheap was a massive mistake and honing in on any micro-error he made for Villa.
No bigger fool than Tets though.
Slavia 1 Arsenal 2.
Has a nice ring to it.
Will be interesting to see what happens with managerial merry go round in Germany this summer. If Flick leaves Bayern, you’d expect them to go after Nagelsmann. Don’t think Flick would be short of a job offer, he’s half the price of Mourinho. And if he does stick around, Nagelsmann could be tempted by a decent offer. Sure, a system is lovely, but Arteta is on at least a million quid a year more than Nagelsmann is. Arteta could go down as the saviour of Arsenal if we win the Europa League and get back in to the CL, but… Read more »
Top 10?
Biggles
Non of our big players will leave for European football. Surely not Auba, Laca, Xhaka, Willian, Luiz.
Arteta will still have his favorites in the team.playing next year.
:))
Wenger Eagle
My feelings on this particular subject are well documented.
If I was CEO/ owner, heads would have rolled for this. In fact, it wouldn’t have been sanctioned.
Kick in the teeth for all the players and the fans.
surely he can not pick Willian again- he does and we go out I’m done
So while I was bored yesterday I was sat here planning my Arsenal buy/sell list for the summer. Tried to make it (fairly) realistic: SELL: Torreira – 15m Guendouzi – 12m Elneny – 10m Bellerin – 12m Lacazette – 18m Willock – 5m Nketiah – 10m TOTAL SALES – 82m BUY: Hakimi – 26m Bissouma – 42m Buendia/Odegaard – 34m TOTAL SPEND – 102m NET SPEND – 20m Doable, right? 🙂 Kept Auba for now because I think it’s gonna be difficult trying to sell him now, especially on his wages, and even if we do, we then need to… Read more »
I’m done even if we win and Willian starts.. ffs.
Imagine that some bellend DOF not being able to swallow his pride is going to cost Bayern their best manager by FAR since Jupp Henyckes that has Lewandowski and Muller playing the best football of their careers in their 30s.
Got abused on here for preferring Emi over Leno, the defense being Leno’s price tag and Martinez experience.
Still an easy choice for me.
DM
Why would Inter be open to selling Hakimi who they bought for 40m only last summer and is 22 and has had a very good season for 26m? I missing something, he stab a family member/club member ala Quincy-Promes or ?
And your valuations look off, I mean who is paying 10m for Elneny?
And only 5m for Willock, would be sackable considering he has done ok at Newcastle and showed much more than Solanke or Brewster who Liverpool hauled in 45m for combined.
I like that DM very doable, think we could get a bit more for Bellerin but I like it.
Graham
It looked a mistake at the time, the Runnarsson saga was bad enough but now with Leno wanting out after costing us more points than Martinez has for Villa it is beggars belief.
WengerEagle
Fair enough re Hakimi, gotta be honest I don’t know much about him other than what’s been said. If he just signed for 40m then I guess not! He was my unknown, but we def need a RB and I’m sure we can find a decent one for the 26m I budgeted 🙂
Elneny for 10m is absolutely doable in my books, he’s really not a bad player at all, just not an elite level. He’ll do a very decent and consistent job for a lower side (and he had a v successful loan spell abroad last season).
Also hope we don’t spunk our load on Bissouma.
He’s good but he’s a bit like Partey in that he doesn’t do much for us past the halfway line.
Spending nearly half our budget on that kind of player which we did literally just last summer after only scoring 50-55 goals would be ill-advised imo.
WengerEagle
Oh and the 5m for Willock… look, if we can get more, great, but I don’t think he’s exactly been stand out for Newcastle and I’ve tried to go low on prices because of how the market is and if we have unrealistic expectations then we can only be disappointed. I’d also like a lot more than 15m for Torreira but unfortunately it doesn’t look like we’re gonna get much for him even though he’s a very solid player who, tbh, I would’ve liked to keep for next season
DM Be that as it may, he only cost us 5m and since then he has had spells of looking terrible, a poor loan spell out in Turkey with Besiktas and being a back up squad player for us. He is also approaching 30. Just can’t see us getting any kind of fee for him. We may as well keep him as back up anyway because as you say he can come into the side and do a job occasionally and is settled at the club. A replacement CM would cost more so it would be a pointless sale for… Read more »
Whose going to blink in La Liga?
Atletico have really let a golden moment squander this season and they still face Barca with Real Madrid having Sevilla left. My moneys on Madrid…. just not sure which one.
Ligue 1 up for grabs as well, some coup for Lille if they can ride it out.
I think a midfield combo of Partey and Bissouma offers us discipline at the back and mobility going forward. They can both shift the ball really well, both offer attacking prowess, and if they make sure that when one goes forward, the other drops back, it could work very well for us. That said, I haven’t seen an enormous amount of Bissouma, so if someone has watched every game of his and doesn’t think he’s the right man, fair enough… for me, he looks a very good player who has PL experience in a position that we desperately need to… Read more »
Looking forward to our lads doing their best tonight. They didn’t deserve that last-minute kick in the teeth in the home game which we should have won by at least three goals. Hopefully, they’ve been spending time on the training ground, especially Saka; as good as he is, he has to stop snatching at chances. Knowing we have to score will suit us, we play better at a higher tempo with greater intensity; we aren’t so good at playing safe and within ourselves. Tonight is going to be about being patient and calm but above all else, we must be… Read more »
Reposting from previous thread. Liverpool are not resting on their recruitment laurel. They have signed an agreement with StatBomb with regard to their new statistical profiling of players. Meanwhile at Arsenal… When I read the names of players whom Arsenal is linked with, most looks like the easy, lazy and obvious approach to scouting. The German, the big European clubs are looking at Ligue 2 clubs to find gems and Arsenal look at relegation threatened clubs. Bissouma, Anguissa are decent players but they are not coming cheap. None of the relegated clubs will be desperate to sell. They know that… Read more »
DM Yeah you’re right about the market but still, Liverpool pulled in 25m for Brewster from Sheff despite him showing absolutely nothing at PL level. Willock has actually looked good in a few games and scored against Tottenham and Southampton. He is 21. If our negotiation team had a pulse we would be able to get 15m minimum. I agree with you on the sales barring Laca, just not the fees. I would really push for an Auba exit. He may well turn out to be another mercenary but something about him tells me that he still fancies himself as… Read more »
SELL: Torreira – 15m Guendouzi – 12m Elneny – 10m Bellerin – 12m Lacazette – 18m Willock – 5m Nketiah – 10m TOTAL SALES – 82m Torreria. From what is being said will only go back to S America and then he is said to be asking to go out on loan. Irrespective he is on around £80k a week at Arsenal who is going to pay him that ? For me he will go out on loan Guendozi. He is said to be around £40k a week but I just somehow doubt that the sort of club that maybe… Read more »
The debate about Martinez has been done to death and only a few people are still arguing that it was the right move to make. What those rumours that ManUtd are sniffing around Martinez means that after one year, Aston Villa has benefited from a very good goalkeeper and will generate enough profit to purchase a replacement. Most could see that even from a purely financial aspect selling Martinez for £16 millions for a mistake. We were underselling an asset for £16 millions that would be resold in 1 or two years for twice the amount, when Leno was unlikely… Read more »
WengerEagle We sold Iwobi to Everton for circa 40m… Not only was that an astounding bit of business, it was probably also the last and only time we manage to do well in a negotiated sale. Auba is a really tough one. I’m not sure we’d get any decent offers even if we wanted to sell him (considering his wages), but even if we did, we then need to replace. I really really like Laca but I think we need to be selling him this summer. If we keep Auba then we have him, Martinelli and Balogun as strikers (Martinelli… Read more »
Bissouma + Partey = fuck all goals.
We need goals from midfield. A Ramsey type that will hit 15 goal/assist contributions a season.
Sal
Atletico will bottle. Barca will beat them.
I would back Real if I were a betting man now. Looked pretty imperious and their midfield is just a cut above. As long as Benz is scoring, they will continue to win games.
Considering the chances we had in the 1st leg, i’m inclined to think we have a bunch of loosers (players) who are ready to shit on themselves when they are one on one with the keeper.
Laca hits bar, saka might never reach foden’s level, also Auba missed a big chance. bottom line i’m less optimistic about tonight compared to what i’m reading from most on here as well as in the media.
Hope we win.
Auba has looked ill for a while.
Grave concerns for tonight.
But everything crossed.
RuPaul sends text to Arteta. “Good luck and don’t fuck it up”…
Sal, anyone with eyes could see Emi was the better keeper. Arteta in his arrogance failed to. He thought Emi would just take not having his efforts in the FA Cup & Comm. Shield rewarded, and accept going back to the bench. Poor reader/manager of people. Emi had attracted offers as he was too good to be a bench warmer, and a deserved No1. So decided (rightly so IMO) if we don’t want him as first choice after his heroics back end of the league, then we must be happy with Leno, so he’s moving on. The smart manager tells… Read more »
I think we should go with
Leno
Chambers Holding Gabriel Cedric
Partey Xhaka
Saka ESR Martinelli
Lacazette
Bellerin has been poor recently and chambers has been dangerous with his crosses. Cedric is the other contentious one but I would ho with him on the basis of not starting Ceballos in this game. He has let us down too many times in the Europa league this season. Pepe can come on if we can’t score late on.
DM Yep, no arguments there. Was that the summer we also sold Ox for 35m? Think that might have been the summer before. Re Auba, I’m more of the opinion that he’s in the midst of a terminal decline. For every CF that is like Benzema or Lewandowski there are 5+ Higuain types that fall off a cliff after hitting 30. Auba will be 32 in June. I just cannot envisage him being a starter for us next season if we are in any way serious about being competitive for top 4. It looks night and day when Laca is… Read more »
Valentin. Interesting report. I’d guess our scouting to identifying emerging talent outside of Mertesacker’s patch is close to if not defunct.
Footballing reasons aside, with a skint owner , we practically need to go back to the dark days when we sell nurtured young talent for large profits in order to buy some decent, established players., and other kids with leftovers.
In short, where are , and who’s finding, the next 14 to 17yo Guendouzi (sans petulance), Saka, Martinelli who could be put in the EPL shopfront after a couple of years ??
Leno better CLOSE his open mind tonight!
We expect and need Leno’s complete and undivided attention !
FFS can we move on from Martinez now. He has been here 10 years. 20 games aren’t enough data to kick out your keeper that is a full German international that has been decent for you. And we got good money for him considering no one was looking at him a year ago. It now seems like a mistake. But the decision was made with a sound logic. Making decisions by heart is not a good way of running a team. What if we turned down 17 mil and he sucked or went to the level he was for 10… Read more »
Nelson’s suggested starting 11 look great , given we need goals.
The only dilemma is Gabriel or Mari to partner Holding, again aeteta isn’t going to play two left foot CBs.
Saka playing LB boosts defense confidence while allowing inclusion of an extra forward ….
Let’s go for the juggernaut !
Long gone are the days you can pick up a Hleb or Rosicky (Bundesliga winner) for 10 odd million from a top 5 Euro league. Simply not possible anymore with how easily accessible those leagues are. If you have BT alone you can catch half of the games. There are still gems to be had outside of that if you expand your horizons though. Look at Soucek. West Ham only paid 20m for him, he’s easily a 40m+ player now. Atalanta base their whole model off of picking up these gems. Look at Gosens, Papu Gomez, Freuler, Pessina, etc. So… Read more »
“The smart manager tells Emi the shirts his to lose. Leno ain’t gonna leave. He has to earn it back like anyone else.”
Agree with this completely.
No question Arteta made wrong decision on keepers with his stylistic needs, notably wanting to play out of back.
Wasn’t it Mark0 leading the lighting bridge for Leno in typical Mark0 fashion, horse blinded into the oncoming weather.
Slavia 1 – Arsenal 3
Called Arteta to win the trophy weeks ago and I stand by that.
Habesha
Haha, you’re going to have to take the L on that one mate as the kids say.
It was anything but a sound and logical decision to let the superior GK walk out the door for only 15-20m that knew the club inside out and clearly had more of a rapport with the team than Leno did.
Doesn’t matter if it was a small sample size. Sometimes it only takes that to recognize a player’s impact.
Sal
Is Mark-o banned again?
Azed
Hope your right matie.
If this season has proved anything for me its surely whenever I feel Arteta has found something… anything and turned a corner we inevitably drive into the next available brick wall. .
Sal
Madrid won’t blink plus they have the know how in these very tight situations
Athletico have looked knackered since January really, how they let that lead slip no one knows
Barca will just not have enough in the tank for me.
I’m rooting for Monaco in France. I’m a Cesc Fabregas groupie so that’s where my hearts at but something tells me PSG with the momentum they’ve gathered will eventually win it
Eagle
I’ve not been around much but have to assume so as his name didn’t post on first attempt.
Did I miss fireworks?
Lol at Arteta winning the Europa league, don’t get me wrong I’ve always maintained since last season it was the best route back into the champions league so I’d be incredibly happy if we won it but Arteta is so tactically naive I’m not holding out hope
I could see us getting to the Final and even though you would fancy United, anything can happen in a one-off match.
Villarreal aren’t about too much outside of Gerard Moreno. We’ll be favourites if we survive tonight.
Hey Bati
Agree, Real Madrid have to the look but the end is in sight and Atletico can grind but does seem a bridge too far, injuries mounting as well. They can find the draw’s but its going to require winning remainder or close to it.
Monaco would be ideal, really anyone but PSG as its such a mountain to climb finacially for any side in that league. Cesc still has the sauce, he’ll be the sauceman at 50. Hopefully managing the Arsenal.
Sal Not sure haha, been in and out myself. He’s like Bam in his dogged determination to get banned. It’s the Paddy in him. Bati Shame about Milan this season. I really think with a fully fit side for that run post February that they could have challenged Inter. Any side would struggle missing their primary goal threats in Zlatan, Rebic and Leao for lengthy spells. Not to mention Calhanoglu, Bennacer and Calabria. Inter have looked great to be fair to them. Lukaku is a monster. Such a more complete player than he was in England. Looks slimmer and faster… Read more »
Cesc will always be a Gooner even if he had to win titles elsewhere.
My second favourite after Henry. Nobody balled out for us more than Cesc post Invincibles. And he bled Arsenal unlike RVP.
Pedro “This Arsenal team has enough to win tomorrow. ” Thats great but how about whether its enough tonight?
Never has an early goal for us been so vital as tonight. We need as priority no 1 to level up the away goals quickly
‘Bissouma + Partey = fuck all goals.’ Yes but you don’t have those two guys in there to score goals. Vieira and Petit I think averaged about 3 goals a season apiece, but what they did do was form an incredible wall in front of the defence and they gave the ball to the attacking midfielders or strikers to do something with it. We’ve lost a lot of points this season because our centre midfield has been non-existent. The point of having two very good players in the middle protecting you means that they’re able to win it and give… Read more »
TeeCee
I agree, in an ideal world.
Those Arsenal sides with Petit-Vieira had an incredible defence (1998-99 we conceded only 17 PL goals) and a plethora of forward talent in them though (1997-98 prime Bergkamp, Overmars, Wright, Anelka) (1999-2000 Henry, Bergkamp, Kanu, Overmars, Ljungberg, Suker).
Our GD in each season was 30+.
Our forwards and defenders are nowhere near those teams. Bissouma would make us more solid and resolute but it would hugely improve us as a team imo in the way you would hope from a 40+ million pound player.
The problem I have with torreira at the moment is he constantly makes it known he’s miserable which will surely make potential suitors extra wary and impact his price Him losing his mum was a terrible tragedy and I sympathize 1000% on that part. Regardless I can’t help but notice since the day he arrived he’s always been unhappy. First it was the weather and the food. Then he goes to Madrid and that’s an unhappy one too. Now he wants to go to South America. I suspect he won’t be happy there either when he earns a tiny fraction… Read more »
* but it would not
TEENAGE KICKS (INTO THE NET PLEASE)
And right through the night, as the song goes.
China
We’ll be doing well to get anything for Toreirra.
Have a feeling that we’ll just keep loaning him out until his contract runs out and take the hit.
Clearly his head isn’t here. And as you say he has let everybody know it which has torpedoed his value.
❤️ cesc
Real Madrid under Zidane are a club that wakes up from hibernation just before the end of the season. They just suddenly relentlessly, machine like grind results and teams to the final victories. I don’t see that in this Athletico team. Between the injuries and the changes of approach, I can even see them finishing third behind both Real Madrid and Barcelona. It would be interesting to see how Barcelona handle the summer transfer window. They clearly need to raise funds and they will have a massive clear out of players. But they also have a nucleus of young hungry… Read more »
Our central midfielders Xhaka Partey Elneny Ceballos Guendouzi Torreira Niles Assuming Ceballos goes back to Madrid, we don’t need more than 4 central midfielders next season We’ve got 6 on our books, so if we want to buy 1 central midfielder, we need to sell 3 We could sell 2, and numerically we wouldn’t need to enter the market for any replacements Guendouzi – £15 – £20 mill Niles – £15-£20 mill Torreira – £15mill Providing we can move these 3 on permanently, (which might be difficult in this market) We could maybe recoup £45-£55 million to buy a player… Read more »
“Cesc will always be a Gooner even if he had to win titles elsewhere.”
I second that. I loved the kid. The way he used to dictate the midfield. His bravery and passion despite his lack of size and pace was so unique.
Easily an Arsenal legend
Forgot Willock off that list, I like him, but he’s another we could potentially get a fee of £12- £20million
Sal,
I would like to see that LOSC team win, knowing that it will be completely disbanded once the season is over.
Due to the change of ownership and DiF (Luis Campos wants to leave) combined with the likely change head coach (Galtier), half the teams know that they are for sale.
They even tried to force Soumare to accept Newcastle offer, but he did not and once reintegrated he has been integral to their push toward the title.
Useroz
with a skint owner
Our owner, who is a billionaire, skint?
He is more of a miser who wants to avoid the pitfalls of the money sink that is football.
To avoid being a money sink the club need to be spending the money wisely… which is not quite what goes on at The Arsenal unfortunately.
And if these rumours re Martinez are true, I am just shaking my head in disbelief (but not surprised at our ineptitude in the market once again).
Torreira wants to go back to South America. We will be lucky if we can get £10 millions for him. More likely scenario is a hefty loan fee with a low obligation to purchase at the end of the loan. Guendouzi contract with Arsenal will expire on 30/06/2022. Arteta wants him out of the club. So no leverage. Most likely a very low fee of around £7~9 millions or another season long loan before departure on a free. AMN will have two years left (expire end June 2023), no intention to continue rotting on the bench for Arsenal. Will be… Read more »
I could see that Martinez was a mistake but AMN becoming a top star player in the future? No chance. Too inconsistent. Doesn’t have enough fire. He will have his moments in the future as he has done in the past with Arsenal but nothing to the extent of becoming a leading player for a real top club. Funily enough I liked his laid back style when he first arrived on the scene because it looked like composure on the football field which can be important but soon materialised that this composure was not married with the necessary fire, determination… Read more »
Valentin
Interesting what are your thoughts on Gabriel? Lille have not missed him. Despite having some good moments for us, he’s had similar amount of shaky ones.
I think there’s a few PL clubs who’d be tempted to take a punt at around £15-£20 million for Guendouzi this summer French under 21 captain, over 80 games for Arsenal, 50+ in the PL, speaks fluent English Wouldn’t be surprised to see Moyes take punt at taming him if West Ham sell Declan Rice Brighton if they sell Bissouma, or even Spurs, he’s a very Mourinho type of player Torreira is understandably in a bad place right now, but the reality is we’re not going write off a €30 million asset He’ll have to choose, stay at Arsenal, or… Read more »
Rich “I think there’s a few PL clubs who’d be tempted to take a punt at around £15-£20 million for Guendouzi this summer” You would think so given that his CV is quite impressive for one so relatively young. This is a player where we could see him become a real factor in the future. For all the ragging he got on here he showed at a young age and being inexperienced at the top level in that midfield that he was prepared to show leadership and with that enough glimpses of the ability as well. Of course along with… Read more »
It was possible to play Viera and Petit because Henry and Berg were orgasmic creating and scoring,
Playing Partey and Bissouma will Not be effective, we need someone to dictate tempo/between the lines creator next to Partey.
Bissouma should be considered to rotate with Partey Not to Partner him.
Weagle. I am honestly tired of hearing about Martinez. He is a very good goalkeeper. We didn’t have enough sample size to judge him and we had no money. We needed it for partey. If we had money I think we would have kept him. And with all the starter demand that he has it made sense for us to sell him. People don’t put context when they describe how we sold him. I preferred AMN to be sold too but it is what it is. I think we could find a competent GK for the price we sold him… Read more »
Guen will be 60m minimum in 2 years
You heard it here 1st!
Habesha
It’s poor business imo. Sheffield Utd paid more for a poor GK in Aaron Ramsdale. Leno is decent but inferior to Martinez, who is homegrown. The German will have two years left in the summer. He’ll want security, which is his right. I would consider selling him, but I do not trust Arteta and Iñaki Cana to choose a new GK after the Runarsson fiasco. Transfers are the most important part of a team and we can’t trust the decision makers
Anguissa is this seasons Doucoure, big NO
When we had the midfield of Guendouzi and Xhaka it was the young and inexperienced Guendouzi that was actually contesting the midfield. I’m not on about passing and control. I am on about the player that actually contests the midfield against the oppposition midfield players. We hear about Xhaka’s robustness now from Pedro likening him to Captain America lol. Xhaka would have had a few more injuries and time out at Arsenal if he actually contested the midfield against opponents. As it is as we know due to his limitations in this respect he draws away many times from these… Read more »
Guen was playing every match and suddenly he is on loan.
I read an article around Emery’s time suggesting Arsenal should build a team around him and I was so convinced.
I still want him at Arsenal and in that mid Field.
Apparently only Arteta don’t see it.
Md
“Apparently only Arteta don’t see it.”
Maybe as well as the disciplinary issues Arteta doesn’t see him as the sort of midfielder we need for his vision of that midfield.
I’d be disappointed in Arteta if all he wants are technicians in midfield. I think it’s better to have a mix and match in midfield. Of course players have to have the certain level of technique to play the football we want to see.
And it has overtures of Wenger and his teams that may have had the technique but had the soft underbellies as well.
Balogan signs.
Eddie to West Ham.???
Partey was a positive signing in that respect though.
I have a problem with what Torreira did. He has signed a contract. He should honor the contract. If he wants to break it, I would ask him to pay back every penny he received from the club.plus damages.
Torreira had an excellent work rate for the side. Never stopped running for the team. But overall he didn’t seem like a great fit for the EPL. Something missing. When Emery played him advanced further up the pitch in some games of course it had nothing to do with Torreira being capable offensively in those advanced positions. It was to do with high pressing of the opponent and as Torreira never stopped running he was seen as the player to do that. Of course many will cringe that you have an advanced CM in your team whose main purpose was… Read more »
Seeing Jude smash it into the top corner made me a bit mad. Reminded me he is another one that Arsenal fumbled……and instead got fucking Willian. .
Ishola
He simply isn’t built for the league.
5 foot 6 and a slight build at that. Tevez/Aguero/Sanchez he is not. Lacks stamina too.
And his ability on the ball was fairly ordinary. Likable lad though as he is industrious and puts himself about as best he can.
A little controversial perhaps but I’m distinctly lukewarm about Cesc and his AFC legacy. Things were fine with me til that post WC thing for the Spain squad. That contrived pseudo-coy bullshit when he let Pepe Reina put a Barca shirt on him annoyed the mutha fucking hell out of me. This of course while he was still very much our player. I thought it was pretty shabby and as disloyalty goes, not too different from that picture of Ince in a manure shirt while still at West Ham whose fans still and rightly view him as a gate figure.… Read more »
Dream
We got 20 mil for Martinez in some reports. And 17 mil in some. We will never know the real figure. But Sheffield were desperate. They had to let go of Dean Henderson and they had to pay for a 22 year old English keeper. There is also the English premium. Ilan Meslier went to leeds for 7 mil. Who is in the same category of keepers. I bet we could get another good goalkeeper for up to 25 mil if we sell Leno.
Weagle
Yes he did seem to have stamina issues Torreira that is.
For all that good work rate and running around he didn’t seem to know how to manage it over a full 90 minute period.
That could also be seen as a problem with the coaches and manager though. That they should have tried to make Torreira manage his game better. Pace himself better in matches.
Weagle
“Bissouma + Partey = fuck all goals.We need goals from midfield. A Ramsey type that will hit 15 goal/assist contributions a season.”
Clueless…
You’re missing the point here Habesha.
We COULD get another good GK for 25m but we could just as easily end up with another dud.
We literally had a very good GK in Martinez. 20m isn’t enough of a haul to justify the sale as Leno was anything but top drawer at the time of sale.
We all know Arteta doesn’t trust youngsters (Saliba), if it is not already proved (Saka). Last Summer, could it be Arteta wanted to focus on Houssem Aouar and rejected a 17 years old Jude Bellingham. Edu had no choice but to follow Arteta’s wish.
” A Ramsey type that will hit 15 goal/assist contributions a season.”
We have a 21 year old at the Arsenal who has a 8 goal /assist this season whilst starting a meagre 17 games.
At that rate , playing a 50 game a season , he would produce a 20/25 goal/assist return from midfield.
Apparently he is worth 5 million ..
Arsenal XI vs Slavia Prague: Leno, Chambers, Holding, Mari, Saka, Xhaka, Partey, Ceballos, Smith Rowe, Pepe, Lacazette
Arsenal subs vs Slavia Prague: Ryan, Hillson, Bellerin, Cedric, Gabriel, Elneny, Azeez, Nelson, Martinelli, Willian, Balogun, Nketiah
Kroenkephobe I think with Cesc, he was seeing Barca getting all these honours whereas with AW it was top 4 and nothing more. Being an ex La Media player, this must have stung him quite a bit. Which is why I view his last season as Cesc sulking massively and slowly but surely building up to what was an inevitable exit to Barca. The stories of being homesick were just a cover. For me what he did was more subtle than how RvP engineered his exit but still put his 2 fingers at AW to get his dream move back… Read more »
‘Clueless…’
We have failed to score in 11 of our 31 matches and have failed to score more than once in 19 of our 31 games but sure, let’s spunk most of our budget on another defensive midfielder.
Not expecting a rebuttal either as you won’t have one as usual. Just love to take a pop at us for no reason.