Happy Friday to you ALL.
David Luiz is out at Arsenal.
A good leader at times.
An inspiration to a generation of Arsenal kids who saw him as a mentor and a legend.
The absolute correct decision for Arsenal FC as we head into a big summer rebuild.
I don’t want to bag on the player, but the reality is for all his big game skill, he was mistake-prone, unfocused, and problematic if he wasn’t getting exactly what he wanted.
Moving him on is a big move for Edu and Arteta. It’s the first break on the grip that Kia has had on the two of them. It opens up a space for someone like Saliba. It allows us to start addressing the ‘unforced error’ table he’s had a massive had in over the past two years.
This move was also correct from an injury perspective. Arsenal lost Luiz at the most important part of the season, we got him back, then lost him right after. Big players need to be fit. Luiz is on the back 9 of his career, he’s not getting fitter or faster.
I am very, very happy. This sets the tone for the summer providing we don’t walk right back into another hellish deal for some other older player looking for a retirement deal.
There are lots of rumours bubbling around. I think we’ll move on Bertrand as cover for Tierney, we’ll sign a right-back, we’ll look at a good central midfielder or two, and I suspect we’ll find competition for ESR for that #10 spot.
We need to move on the players that have baggage with Arsenal.
We need to age down the squad.
We need to find players with big personalities that want to grow with one of the most exciting young crops of players in Europe.
This summer could be exciting, we just have to trust our novice leadership team actually learned the lessons of the last 18 months.
Big, big if… but this is a great start.
In other news, how awesome is the new Arsenal kit? Literally the best part of the season is the new shirt.
Right, a quick one today, see you in the comments.
Interesting how DL cites cultural problems, and MO has also hinted at problems in the squad which may stop him staying.
Edu really needs to sort things
It seems David Luiz walked away from Arsenal.
Arsenal was looking for ways to keep him but he has had enough of working with
jokers pretending to mange a sinking club.
The man played for Chelsea and PSG. He’s seen how proper clubs are run.
Dissenter
It’s interesting that last summer Luiz was almost as pro Arteta as Pedro is clearly Arteta behaviour over the course of the season has changed his mind. From the outside it’s erratic God knows what it must be like being at the heart of it.
Marc
Agreed
Did yo see Arteta;s cowardly attempt to weasel of comments he made to the media.
When you read what he said and what was published, then you try to match it with his faux anger, you realize that we have a bullshitter as manager.
He chooses to give obfuscatory answers to simple questions, questions he could have declined to answer, then he gets angry because the newspaper reported whatever he was trying to say with their own slant.
Marc/Dissenter I suppose that if you’re in the Arteta out camp it’s beginning to look like the cracks are beyond hiding now. I’ve always suspected that the argument that he had the support of the younger players was unlikely. Far more realistic to conclude that he was able to still intimidate them,god knows he made enough examples out of the young lads early on. You don’t need to have inside information to see that he has treated virtually all the young players poorly. If he’s losing the senior players despite falling back on Wenger’s tactic of offering them undeserved extensions… Read more »
The end is nigh!!!
Dissenter
It’s not just what he says being ill thought out – he bloody repeats it to the press.
Alumina
Arteta is definitely finished it’s just a question of when. A repeat of what we’ve seen for most of this season and he’ll be lucky to make it out of September with fans back in the stadium.
Looks that way alright. At least he knows he must get this window spot on. The hope is he uses whatever influence he has at the club to loosen the purse strings. The fear is he buys players at the wrong stage of their careers(big fees/wages, little ambition)seeking instant answers to his problems. The disastrous possibility is he wastes all the money cause he has no plan,no eye for talent,no philosophy.
Yea Luiz wants out of the Arteta circus.
Imagine trying to spin this by 180 degree and credit Arteta being ruthless.
That’s Le Untold Grove for you
Well despite all the inside knowledge on here, most of the reports state Luiz wasn’t being offered an extension. But of course what do they know compared with the experts on here?
Rambo
I did think about suggesting a new name for the site to reflect the different era we’re in I thought “Insert Excuse here” was about right but as I’m on think ice maybe not such a good idea.
Look at Bielsa,
They hammered Bunley 4 nil
This is a manager with limited Engish
Their players understand their roles and the system bc its consistent. They improve over time… they become comfortable
Arteta OTOH messes about so much. Alienates players. Plays Saka wherever he wants.
This is a boy of a manager… like its he is playing FIFA on the play station or something that he decides to try things out on
Not sure how Edu is selling Arsenal to transfer targets….
aside luring them with $ contracts
We should be raiding Fulham and other teams getting the drop.
Bielsa is the special one.
Can anyone see any other than a Chelsea win in the Cup Final today?
Northbanker Define inside knowledge. If you’re suggesting that only those who have a direct line to the players or management of the club have the right to actually discuss club issues then I would have to ask you what you’re doing on a public forum such as a football blog, unless of course you think we are all using monikers to disguise our real status as professional footballers? Speculation based on media stories,rumours and of course, god forbid, what we’ve actually seen with our own two eyes is what we footballing peasants have survived on since the creation of the… Read more »
Alumia
It’s strange how the Arteta in crowd are suddenly against talking about Arsenal on an Arsenal blog.
Lets hope a UK pressman does his job at the next Arteta press conference and ask this simple question for starters.
“””Mr. Arteta , did you offer Luiz a new contract or did you not? Yes or no will suffice!”””””
Then, as supporters we will know for sure.
Apart from ” Trust The Process” or “”Being Ruthless”” or “Non Negoatiables” Arsenal’s FC public relations remain absolutely pitiful.
Clearly Arsenal executives copying Silent Stan’s mantra.
Marc
When fans are back in the stadium in September
There is no way the group of mad scientists Boris is allowing to run the country, will allow crowds of any significance back in stadiums we will by then have the Isle of Man variant sweeping the country killing thousands
Or Presswoman! Got to be careful these days.
Misery people all over here. I hope arsenal do well but most of you can’t wait for the club to fail like pierre always says y’all wanted wenger out i mean the most successful arsenal manager ever and you think we’ll just climb up the upper echelon like everything was already in place lol
Marc I don’t mind the opposite argument when its presented intelligently,it annoys me when the argument used is stfu you cant prove what you’re saying. How can I? Even Arteta doesn’t know what’s going on! Hard to see beyond Chelski alright, Vardy so out of form. Leicester have players that can hurt,but chelski have more and they’re playing well. Still going to think Coventry,Wimbledon, Wigan, you never know. I haven’t looked at the telly yet today, I remember watching the entire build up all day, even watching the progress of the team’s buses,even when Arsenal weren’t involved. Football saturation catching… Read more »
Not re signing old players is not ruthless.
Sad to watch Arsenal slow degeneration .
If this management and Tets stay for next season its 100% relegation fight next year.
You hear managers like Brendan owning their mistakes after their judgment colas let their teams down. Has Arteta ever owned up to a mistake… ever? When he complicates his game tactics to the point where his players don’t know what to do or what they are doing, he never takes responsibility. Playing false 9 against a shite team like Villarreal in the biggest game of the season, when your midfielders aren’t known for scoring goals is as dim as it comes, Playing Xhaka as LB for 9- mins against Newcastle was also very dim when he knew he was going… Read more »
BBC just done an interesting piece on Tuchel background and career. Arteta’s would be “put the cones out and got Pep’s breakfast order”
wattsy
They’ll be fans back in the stadium the Government isn’t going to be able to keep people bottled up anymore especially with the vaccine rollout. If you were to be correct it would be a financial disaster for the club (we’re already fucked) we cannot afford to have another season losing a huge amount of match day income.
Marc
Last 8 head to head
2 Chelsea wins
2 Leicester wins
4 draws
Just 2 points separate them in the league, and overall goal difference Chelsea +1 on Leicester
Leicester have scored 10 more than Chelsea, but Chelsea have conceded 11 less
On paper it’s an interesting game, hopefully Leicester show up on the day, and get the rub of the green
Chelsea slight favourites for me though
Buzz words since Arteta took over
special Sauce
generational
fine margins
ruthless
phases
and the list keeps growing lol
Marc
Fans are absolutely coming back to the stadiums next season
The vaccines have been very successful, I reckon fans will go back to the stadiums and not even have to wear masks by September.
Almunia
The reason they resort to what they’re doing is because they know there’s intelligent defence for so much of what Arteta says or does.
It’s strange that the pressure seems to be getting to him now because there’s nothing realistically left to play for.
*Playing Xhaka for 90 mins
I assume Chelsea we will (god bless my score predictions are always wrong!)
Would absolutely love to see Leicester win it. Partly because I hate Chelsea and partly because Leicester is a real football club which I have enormous respect for. Would be a lovely surprise if Leicester do it
I just can’t see past a Chelsea win tho. Chelsea are serial trophy winners and besides the league Leicester never win anything. Plus form is on Chelsea’s side.
But let’s go Leicester, make it happen!!
Dissenter Agree 100% and it’s not just how effective the vaccines have been the technology involved in vaccine development has made a huge jump forward. It’s funny that the media is trying to get people to panic with one story and with another talking up the vaccines. There’s a story in the Daily Telegraph today saying that research in the US has shown that not only do the COVID 19 vaccines protect against the virus but they actually provide some defence against other COVID viruses yet we’re supposed to believe they won’t do anything against the Indian variant of COVID… Read more »
Leicester will win today.
Marc
I think people forget that there are flu variants every season that defy the typical flu shots and kills thousands of frail people
We are going to just have to live with COVID-19 same way we’ve dealt with the flu.
I’m sick and tired of so many agendas that have developed around the COVID. Some people don’t want to get re]id of their make in the states, even when they are told it’s no longer required…they still want to keep wearing them.
Yeah dissenter Forget whether or not xhaka should or shouldn’t have been used as a LB. putting that entirely to one side, why would you play him for 90 mins in a dead rubber a few days before the most important game of the season – a game where he said he built his game plan around having xhaka there? Like if xhaka was so integral to the Villareal game plan the fucking spare him 90 mins in a pointless league match, surely. This is the shit which gets me about arteta more than anything. It’s that he doesn’t only… Read more »
Dis
“””””Fans are absolutely coming back to the stadiums next season
The vaccines have been very successful, “””
But are they resistant to the Arteta Variant?
I respect the views of people that still want to support Arteta, our good friends Charlie and AFC are in that camp.
I just expect them to at least concede that there are enough reasonable grounds for any well meaning gooner to be a card-carrying, banner-displaying, airplane-renting members of the Arteta out camp.
China
Arteta is his own worst enemy I honestly think he believes he’s on another level to other managers (Pep excluded).
Vaccines are incredibly successful, it’s just the the likes of the control freaks within SAGE , the power has gone to their head, and they are packed full of their own agendas. One of the leading lights in SAGE / SPI B , Susan Mitchie ,like many academics, is a card carrying member of the Communist Party, regularly publishes work praising China and their government. I suspect SAGE, in line with much of academia also has a fair share of woke anti capitalists and even XR , who would quite happily deprive us of opportunities for foreign, even domestic travel… Read more »
Dissenter
You forget noose tying?
What did James Maddison do again?
Brendan left him out of the starting 11
That lad has developed a bad reputation already.
They are still uncertain as to whether the covid 19 vaccines that we’ve all had will provide immunity against the Indian variant.
Marc,
He was stung by the ferocity of the criticism he received after the Villarreal game. He was waiting for a positive result to prove his critics wrong so he exploded after Chelski win. As always the failure was in identifying the difference in significance between the two games.
Marc I don’t think it’s quite accurate The problem with the Indian variant is primarily that there isn’t much data on it and it has two rather than one variation which means whilst we don’t know for sure yet, there’s a higher probability of it reducing the success rate of the vaccines, combined with it also appearing to be more transmissible and with a higher mortality rate But again the primary issue is that there’s a lack of good data in part because it’s still new on the scene Anyway probably a month from now we’ll have a better idea… Read more »
“But are they resistant to the Arteta Variant?”
It seems resistance to the “Arteta Variant” is a genetic capability to ignore the hype and look at the facts.
Marc
Can’t mess around with nooses, same way we can’t nick corner flags like the United fans did.
“They are still uncertain as to whether the covid 19 vaccines that we’ve all had will provide immunity against the Indian variant.”
Yes but
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/pfizer-moderna-jabs-may-help-guard-against-next-coronavirus/
That was my whole point the media just seem to be capable of nothing more than scare mongering. If a vaccine will protect against other types of COVID it’ll work against different strains of COVID 19 quite simply because if a strain was that different it would be COVID 21.
Marc
I believe the key objective of herd immunity
Once a population karat herd immunity, the virus’ pathogenicity is weakened over time because even though people get infected their immune systems will progressively weaken it as it goes from one individual to the other.
I don’t understand why India didn’t play hard ball with these vaccines. Many of the vaccines are made in Indian vaccine mills. Why didn’t they insist on keeping or nicking a fraction of what they were making?
Almunia
Yeah it all comes down to little man syndrome.
*Once a population attains herd immunity
Man, I wish we were there. It’s the FA Cup, we should be there!!!
Marc The media is built on fear Brexit is going to kill you Trump is going to kill you Climate change is going to kill you COVID is going to kill you New variants are going to kill you It’s a never ending cycle of fear, once COVID is over, they’ll just replace that news cycle with another bogey monster in an attempt to scare the population witless COVID is a horrible disease, but there’s been a real lack of perspective, and the debate around lockdown has only been one way They’ve become so fixated on COVID, that they’ve forgotten… Read more »
Kroenkephobe
How are things? An evening watching the Fa cup final,how bad? This day 17 years ago we sealed the invincible season. Does it feel like yesterday or 50 years ago? Find myself in the ridiculous position of hoping we sign Grealish or Rice, pair of ………!!
Dissenter
Money!
Also it’s actually in a viruses own interest to become less lethal hence previous pandemics that happened way before modern medicine including Spanish Flu eventually burn themselves out.
*FA Cup Final…
Rich
I was told “keep doing that and you’ll go blind” anyway where’s my braille keyboard gone?
The stadium looks half full.
Leicester’s attack is weaker without Maddison.
As far as I’m aware it’s a happy coincidence if a virus makes itself less potent because their mutations are random rather than intentional.
The situation in India is a real eye opener. I have a lot of colleagues and friends in India, several of whom have contracted covid and it’s been a genuine disaster there recently. The images you’re seeing on the news of India in disarray are the same stories I’m being told first hand by colleagues and friends there
“Misery people all over here. I hope arsenal do well but most of you can’t wait for the club to fail like pierre always says y’all wanted wenger out i mean the most successful arsenal manager ever and you think we’ll just climb up the upper echelon like everything was already in place lol” Starts off complaining about miserable folks and how he’s much better. Ends with a miserable, there’s very little hope for Arsenal dialogue and adds in a ‘haha lol I find this so funny’ for good measure. So who’s the miserable tosser who enjoys an ‘I told… Read more »
Isn’t it amazing how Wesley Fofana is considered good enough to play 26 league games and a cup final for Leicester city yet Saliba isn;’t considered by the likes of Rich to play league games for Arsenal?
Our standards must be super high since we compete for quadruples every season.
There is no social distancing inside the stadium. I wonder whether all the fans have the vaccine passport.
China1,
Same thing here. Former colleagues went there to help with families issues and came back shell shocked by how bad the situation is.
Some are still over there because the relatives cannot get a VISA for UK.
Tough situation if your parents went to India last year because they were afraid of COVID in UK and now they are sick over there. One colleague had to take some time off because of the stress caused by having both parents and grand parents sick in India.
Modi is the Harvey Dent of India as far as COVID is concerned.
Almunia Hiya mate. Trying not to think of that metaphor of the kid with his nose pressed up against the window. The FA Cup leaves me a bit cold these days though so I’m apathetic. But let this sink in – we’ve taken 9 points from these two clubs this season and it could have been 12. Mad isn’t it? I’m going to lighten the mood with a trip to Aldi’s to get some dog biscuits. That’s not a euphemism for a purchase of mind bending drugs by the way, although I could do with some. But for the first… Read more »
Typical London weather, wet
The problem with Covid19 is that it is / was synthetic rather than natural. Just my own conclusion.
Can’t prove it of course but too many ??? Plus its a CV rather than influenza so comparisons with the Spanish Flu evolution may not be suitable.
Hope it does burn itself out but it does seem to have been engineered well.
Darn Commies.
Rich, Media is built on what sell the most. Unfortunately what sell most is fear, envy, rage, outrage, greed and lust. Why because they appeal to feeling, so you can stoke them to anybody whatever their level of knowledge and intellect. People assume that only idiots fall for those nuts story, but that is not true. A lot of well educated, reasonably intelligent people have been sucked into cult, conspiracy theory black hole, because they taped into a psychological need. For a while the big story was how well the UK vaccination program worked, but then it stopped selling. So… Read more »
“It’s a never ending cycle of fear, once COVID is over, they’ll just replace that news cycle with another bogey monster in an attempt to scare the population witless”
Rich, I’m sure you can think of a new one for them.
How about “the communists/marxists are out to get you!’
I see that you’re already on message.
Leicester loses Jonny Evans. Not good for the next game when they fight for the top4 spot.
A majority of medication produced by big pharma are not necessary and alternative medicine is more effective and cheaper.
Dissenter 6 – 12 months is a long time at that age, Smith-Rowe went from Huddersfield into the Arsenal first team Saka went from sitting out the back end of last season, to becoming our most important player this season Mason Mount who’s 22, went from Derby to becoming one of the stars of the PL + CL, inside the space of 12 months We’s signed Gabriel who had just over 50 senior competitive appearances to his name Blooding 2 young and inexperienced defenders at once, who don’t speak English, probably isn’t the best of ideas It’s not the same… Read more »
The standards of hygien in India have always been poor
Covid-19 is a biological weapon used by China to destroy the economy of its rivals/enemies. It’s an open war but sadly no nation has the guts to call China out for it, not even India and the USA who bore the burnt of it the most.
Now Fofana is replacing Evans as the CB.
Ruthless is…
1. replacing Arteta
2. re-focusing Arteta on the coaching-side and bringing in a seasoned pro to reclaim the managerial-side
3. bringing in coaches that add quality and provide independent feedback…as in “Really? No strikers?”
Valentin,
Thanks for the link to the “clearing out the deadwood article”
Chelsea are likely to try and unload the following…Davide Zappacosta, Baba Rahman, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater, Victor Moses, Ross Barkley, Kenedy and Michy Batshuayi
anyone have an opinion on Barkley and Partey as our midfield pairing next season 🙂
Rich “I’m not saying this is the case with Saliba, I’m just offering it as a potential explanation” …or maybe the young manager handling his first Sumer TW just effed up a young player. He didn’t make the appropriate adjustment that the lad was rusty since the French league never restarted after covid. Then you consider that we stopped him from rejoing St Etienne for their cup final so he got even less playing time. New country, new language even though he turned up earlier than necessary …and yet Mikel assessed as not being ready after two pre-season games, only… Read more »
Dissenter
I’m open to both explanations being true
One thing is certain though, if we were going to loan Saliba out, we should have decided before deadline day in October, he’d been training with us since July
Complete amateur to screw up the loan on our part
‘The standards of hygien in India have always been poor’
India’s population is 4X the population of the USA and still no of people dying of Corona is half the no of deaths in the USA. It is not about hygiene, countries with large population were bound to suffer from Corona. United States, India and Brazil suffered due to the size of their population.
TR7
Not sure you can use the official numbers coming out of India it’s been a complete shambles over there.
Looking at the Chelsea starting line up and their first half performance, how can anyone come on here and say they are way more talented than Arsenal is mind boggling.
Oh yes, they must be because they’ve spent sooooo much money.
Tom, yup, fourth biggest net spenders in the last five years after the two Manchester clubs and, er… Arsenal.
TR7 “India’s population is 4X the population of the USA and still no of people dying of Corona is half the no of deaths in the USA. It is not about hygiene, countries with large population were bound to suffer from Corona. United States, India and Brazil suffered due to the size of their population.’ You really believe that India is truly reporting the fatality numbers from covid? Your statement smacks of naiveté at it’s worst. They are transporting the dead to quick funerals on the backs of scooters without even reporting it because the system is overwhelmed or rubbing… Read more »
andy
I do wish you’d stop lying everyone knows we’ve got the worst case of squad poverty ever.
In the US, they definitely over-reported deaths from COVID
There are usually about 500k/year hospitalizations from the flu in the US and about 35-40k deaths per year.
Last year, these numbers were in the hundreds because they were all diverted to covid-19 numbers.
Hospital executives preferred COVID-19 because the government is reimbursing them fully unlike for the regular flu.
Marc/Dissenter
I am not saying the official.numbers are true. Actual no of deaths is at least 4 times the no of deaths reported but the point remains with the size of population India has the system was bound to crumble and it did.
Countries with higher wealth disparities were bound to have higher death rates.
Also there’s a lot of hysterical reporting in international media. Some agenda driven journalists are deliberately publishing pics of burning pyres to further their agenda.
Wealth disparities= poor nutrition and shelter
Thousands bathing in a dirty river is unhygienic
There’s a goal fit for a Cup final
What a goal, get in.
Fuck the Chavs.
Leicester scores!!!!
Tielsman scores !!
People talk about Bissoumma.but for me he is the guy we need.
United States, India and Brazil suffered due to the size of their population.
TR7
Leaders of those countries, and therefore in charge of managing the pandemic? Trump, Modi and Bolsonaro. Three of the biggest business felating, market worshipping, misanthropic, bleach injecting cunts in the world. That was a far bigger factor than their population. Compare it to China.
Can we buy Tilemans
TR7
I get your point about proportionality but even that goes both ways.
The situation in India is the doomsday scenario that many public health experts were trying hard to prevent in the spring of 2020.
Imagine an under-resourced system with lots of poor people who never had access to begin with in free fall from covid.
They don’t even have enough oxygen for treatment so the death rates have to be apocalyptical
The referee should have faced a lifetime ban if he disallowed that goal.
Leicester deserve a trophy the way the club has been run for the last six or seven years. Fully expect the chavs to nick it though.
Chelsea will lose this and the champions league and Tuchel will last 3 months next season. And I’m telling you for £5
Tuchel needs to move Jorginho to LB to save this game for Chelsea, surely.