The newswire is alight, nonsense rumours, bundled with some threads that are of interest.
The biggest transfer I suspect we’ll try and do this summer is Martin Odegaard. Madrid pushed Zidane out and there are journos saying this means the Norwegian will be back in the plans. I’m not sure I believe it. A rebuild is coming to them this summer and they need cash because they are absolutely broke. Perez, the man on the sinking super league ship telling everyone there was no iceberg, is not turning down £35-40m for a 22-year-old that is still pretty raw by their standards.
That doesn’t mean we’ll get him, obviously, there are a million ways to fuck up a deal… but they love him at Arsenal and I think people have underestimated his talent. He’d be an immense signing and one for the future.
Stuart Webber, the Norwich Sporting Director, has put out noise that they are open to selling their stars this summer if clubs come armed with a big number that starts with a ‘3’. Emi Buendia, another player that could blow up in our team, would be a very sexy consolation prize. I like his game because it has the bang-bang of Alexis Sanchez, something our team has sorely lacked over the past year. He’s not a true #10 though, so would be a bit worried about him eating into some development time we have with the younger Hale-Enders.
Matteo G, fresh from burying his nose deep into the backside of Unai Emery this week, looks set to complete a move tooooooo… Marseille. It’s hard to work out what the deal looks like, because no doubt it’s dripping in sell-on clauses, but it’s certainly not a mega deal.
Why?
Well, firstly, sirens generally flash when young kids have blowout arguments with their coaches. If there’s a history that follows your entire career, it’s more than a siren, it’s a pattern. Matteo is 22 years old, he’s always been a problem, then he went to Hertha, dropped a very average season that was capped by an unflattering interview from their coach where he was called an ‘animal.’
There can be a narrative that we handled him badly, but that dies a death when the player fucks the redemption tour. There could also be a view that we tanked his value with coaching. Outside that being a total nonsense, do the people of the internet truly believe the sharpest mines in world football would ignore a top-level 22 year old for a very low fee brutalised by ‘coaching’? Don’t be silly. Matteo G costs what he does because world football knows the deal. When you are a father of 1 and 22 years old your shitty behaviour doesn’t get a pass.
… and I’ll say it one more time for those at the back of the room: Being a dickhead in 2021 is not an admirable trait. It does not mean you care more. It does not add to a high-performance culture.
Dick heads clog up the system. Their bad behaviour creates a gossip vortex. It unsettles. It wastes time that could be spent coaching. It toxifies the air. You cannot afford to carry dickheads, even if they are good, and the jury is still well and truly out on whether Guendo can hit the heights.
There’s some Sheffield news that Sander Berge is interested in Arsenal but they want to recoup his full fee. Not sure they’ve seen the news, but there’s no chance anyone is dropping full fees on relegated players this summer. There’s also a low chance anyone is going to take the valuations of Sheff U seriously after they dropped £18m on Rhian Brewster.
Eddie Nkeitiah is attracting the interest of Watford, who are next door to us in a training ground sense, and back in the Premier League. His price tag is £15m, which is a snip, and mostly because he’s down to the last year of his deal and I don’t think there’s an option for us to extend. I think the better move for him is Brighton. They have a clearer need, a better coach, and the shops are really nice in Brighton… AND BISSOUMA.
Daniel Ballard took Blackpool up a division in a hard-fought battle against Lincoln in the play-offs. I don’t know if he’ll make it with Arsenal, but doing 32 appearances at 21 years old in a tough league and going to Wembley is very impressive. The Blackpool fans love him, hopefully, he goes back there next season for another rough and ready season.
William Saliba has been shortlisted for centre-back of the season after only 6 months in Nice. The painful back and forth of ‘will he stay or won’t he’ is very boring. Pretty sure he’s going to get a chance this summer to impress and if he’s good enough and strong enough, I think he’ll stay next season.
Right, that’s it, enjoy your Bank Holiday/Memorial Day weekend!
Yes Tony,
I’ll have a listen please. Chateau Kroenkephobe is in dire need of some entertainment in the dog days of summer.
It’s a mad coincidence but I was listening to duelling banjos the other day and talking to my kids about Deliverance (as you do).
I’m also a huge fan of Dexys although the too rye ay album is not their best. I like the look of those lads as well. I’m often sat at home in a rocking chair with just a pair of dungarees eating chitlins, drinking sippin whisky and smoking a clay pipe.
Unfortunately I also have a fat pink neighbour and I often fantasise about making him squeal like a pig… Maybe too much information.
Balls should be launched via a swing of the leg (and hips/pelvic bones) and nothing else I’m afraid
Shame on Madrid they fooled us once with Ozil, shame on us if they fool us twice with Odegaard
Onana’s appeal is apparently tomorrow
I really like the look of him, we’ve really got to watch our African quota though
Losing over a quarter of our squad off the back of a busy Xmas schedule, would be straight up negligence
Sid
Textbook technique for a table ender. But what about improving a golf swing?
Pierre
Ozil in his prime was better than Odegaard, but certainly not during the last 3 seasons that he
was at the club. Odegaard at 22 will improve and you have to factor in that he would also be competing with Smith-Rowe who is a very good young player.
Neither is at the moment a “match winner”, but the priority is to improve the team and squad.
Rich
I agree with your assessment that we need to cut our first team squad this summer.
Personally I think that Arsenal will have no difficulty in offloading players this summer. The
only issue will be terms of sale, termination of contract or loan.
Bellerin and Xhaka will be only sold if price is right and we are able to recruit a decent replacement.
We need a decent second string left back. Kolasinac will be offloaded because he wants to stay in Germany and is willing to take pay cut.
I don’t think that Arsenal are going to buy a new Centre Back. I think that Arteta will take a
risk with Saliba on account of all the earlier criticism. His backup will be Holding
The midfield does need serious attention. Arsenal will offload Torreira, Guendouzi and
probably AMN. I suspect that some posters on here will disappointed with the fees but if we
make £30-35 million that is still a break even figure on our cost.
One point about the potential recruitment of Buendia is that he can play both as a AMF and
RW. So he could rotate with Smith-Rowe and Pepe.
If there is one major departure that I would like to see it is Willian. He adds no value to the
team, costs us a ridiculous wage and wants to leave. That is the one departure, which I think
is problematic.
Any transfer manoeuvrings with Arteta at the helm is a waste of time and money. So not looking forward to the wasted summer.
Euros should be fun though.
Worth pointing out that the GA column improving and our midfield being a bit cack are related. MA likes to have a midfield player (usually Xhaka) drop into defence as a third CB when we attack with our FB’s all of which leaves a massive hole in midfield. Of course Partey (or Ceballos/Elneny) then struggles to contain several opposition players outnumbering us in the middle of the pitch. With no midfield to speak of it’s hardly surprising we then struggle to create chances.
Stroller
The problem is we are falling into a trap that could hinder us for the next couple of years…
We allowed Emery to decimate our midfield in his treatment of Mhkitarayan, Ramsey and Ozil, of which we are still recovering from now , and if Arteta brings in Odegaard , as he wants to, then we will have a situation where Smith Rowe will rarely play and he will be sent out on loan and that’ll be another talented player gone to waste with his value dropping like a stone similar to Guendouzi. .
For me , there is no question that Smith Rowe is the better player now and also has the higher ceiling
When Smith Rowe is on the ball the game comes alive, he is similar to Paul Merson in that he likes to drive through the heart of the team, he us a risk player..
When Odegaard is on the ball one can almost predict what’s going to happen.
If he receives the ball on his right he will never try to beat his opponent and will check back 9 times out of ten.
If he receives the ball with his back to goal , he will never drop his shoulder to lose a defender, he will control it and lay it back or square….he is a no risk player.
He does have his good points but they are not enough to halt the progress of Smith Rowe.
I can’t see the dynamic willock getting his chance, Martinelli and Eddie will rarely get game time, especially if Lacazette, Aubamayang and Willian remain at the club..
Aubamayang to Chelsea is my call and that will be a criminal waste of talent for Arsenal football club.
Lacazette and Willian are the players who should be sold if we want to make any improvement on the last 2 seasons.
We will see who comes in and who leaves , any more poor decision making in this respect and Arsenal football club will take years to recover..
The best thing that could happen to Arsenal is that Madrid refuse to sell Odegaard, Willian goes to the states , a good bid comes in for Lacazette and we accept , xhaka and Bellerin are sold..
This leaves us with our talented kids and a couple of new signings .
No Europe means a smaller squad..
Really Pierre? Mikel made the decision to release/pay off both Ozil and Mkhi, the club withdrew Ramsey’s contract offer and as we all know Emery wasn’t the decision maker on who we bought and sold.
Rich,
I agree that Willock may not be the best player to assert possession, but I would argue that this season we have played possession for the sake of it without getting any control. We had the possession but without threatening the opposition goal, and worse when the opposition put us under pressure most of the time we folded.
I would rather we relinquish a little of possession in favour of more penetration and efficiency. A point is that we do not exert pressure in a consistent way.
Against big team, we abandon the midfield and pressure their attempt at playing from the back. That paid off against Chelsea (even if the goal itself was very lucky), Liverpool last season. However Aubameyang, Xhaka, Ødegaard, Pepe are not good at it. Pepe is getting better. Willock does that very well and in a more pro-active chaser approach would be better suited than Elneny.
At Newcastle he scored goals from retrieving/intercepting/tackling the opposition (goal against Leicester) and once he recovered the ball he drove forward, forcing them to commit. He is one of Newcastle better ball retriever and most fouled players. There is no reason why in the right framework he would not be able to replicate his form at Arsenal.
Although I do agree with you on Odegaard, it’s difficult to see what he brings to the side and from what I’ve read it’s more a case of his fans believing that he will become a great player eventually (and we know where ‘belief’ alone gets you).
Val, sometimes I get the feeling that certain fans would be quite happy watching us retain possession and playing slick passes around for 90 minutes without bothering the ‘keeper. Wenger used to do it sometimes, sterile possession as it’s known. Dull as ditchwater to me.
Odegaard can play CF better than Laca
Bless him, he still thinks he is in 2017 the way he constantly fawns over his darling Mesut.
Probably thinks that Conte is still in charge of Chelsea…
At this point in time, all I want to see is some decent, watchable, even exciting football from Arsenal.
The anticipation of match day has gone due to the dire, boring , insipid football we have played over the past 12 months.
I mention Ozil, but I don’t want him back.
We now have Smith Rowe and Saka and hopefully Martinelli, Willock , Eddie and Balogun to bring something different to our game.
My fear is that we will start the new season with a starting line up of Lacazette and Willian with Odegaard as the No.10 with players like Smith Rowe, Pepe , Martinelli nd Balogun consigned to the bench and Willock and Eddie nowhere to be seen..
I do like the sound of Beundia and Bissouma coming to the club as they will add something to the team.
Daniel AltosWhat constitutes a tight defence if it is not conceding goals?I have expressed on many occasions that the right side of defence needs improvement. Hopefully we will recruit a decent right back. However, I don’t see Arsenal spending mega
bucks on a Centre Back. I think that Arsenal will give Saliba a chance to prove himself next
season.Let’s judge how good West Ham and Spurs are next season when they are playing midweek in Europe.
Es atletico madrid had the tightest defence,had most clean sheets,scored the 2nd most goals and won the league….its no use having the tightest defence and lose over 10 league games… this so called tight defence is a sham especially because it has come at the expense of our attack
Valentin
“. There is no reason why in the right framework he(willock) would not be able to replicate his form at Arsenal.”
He first has to be given a chance to replicate that form…I’m not sure that will happen..I hope I’m wrong.
Rich -12:00pm – Yes one area we are in agreement is that Onana would be good addtion, he has very good footwork and kicking distribution. I suspect Leno will also perform better if he has more than competent competition for his currently guaranteed number 1 spot.
Yes we also need to be careful in terms of the AFCON. Its fine as long as we still have Leno. If he is brought in as Leno’s replacement then we need to be in the market for another GK as well as Onana.
Pierre you are now blaming emery for binning ramsey and you are the ine who used to call him a glory hunter?Ozil was finished and arteta decided to sell mikhi…..moreover emery is on record saying he wanted ramsey to stay…raul and co decided otherwise
Valentin
I’m not against keeping Willock and throwing him in, he’s a bit rough around the edges, but there’s enough to work with
I don’t ever see him playing at the base of our midfield, I see him as more of a No8 or a wide right midfielder
We need to make a decision, either we play him and develop him ourselves, which means we create space for him
Cash in this summer
Extend his contract and send him to develop elsewhere for a season
There’s no value in keeping him to warm the bench, Willock is 22 in August, and he needs to play competitive football consistently, in order to aid his development
Whatever happens, I think he’ll develop into a really top player over the next couple of seasons, but he needs to play for that to happen
Odegaard is indeed a workmanlike Ozil lite. I don’t think we need that type of CAM. Guy will never start scoring, has a negative pace and he slows our game down. I was fed up with Ozil’s slow, sideway passing, safety first approach style 4 years ago. Don’t want another one of his mould.
Give me a dynamic AM with pace, flair, someone who goes in the box and scores often.
Bruno Fernandes from Manure is the prime example of late.
Gundogan scored a whole lot this season without being the fastest player but with great positioning and desire to make runs in the box.
Either go for a dynamic AM who’s a threat or get another body in the middle of the pitch similar to Pool and concentrate the danger coming down the wings with the full backs playing like wingers and the wingers playing like wide forwards.
I’d rather go with 3 CMs as a good, valid option than pay premium price for a snaillike Odegaard to slow our game down. If Buendia is that type of flair goal threat just go for him. Slow football.
It all comes down to Artetaball and what his philosophy of play is. If he likes his Iniesta/Thiago type of player, Odegaard maybe could work although both Iniesta and Thiago were CMs and not AMs so their teams weren’t losing midfield presence because of them being in the team.
We’re going back to the luxury type of player who we can’t really afford to have if we want to control and win games. It’s why Ozil at Arsenal was as a whole a disappointment. I don’t want to witness the same story again, especially because we are going to have limited funds and we have to make every big 30-40m purchase worth big time.
Pierre June 1, 2021 13:12:13
Couldn’t agree more Pierre.
Surprised to see nobody talking about Real Madrid re-hiring Ancelotti.
Only one of the 5 major European leagues that he has yet to win.
Tough task ahead of him as he won’t have the funds to drop and buy marquee widemen/proper support for Benzema.
Not that he had much of a choice to make having said that, alternative was wasting away in mediocrity at Everton and ending up like Mourinho.
Bissouma or Anguissa we have to get one of the 2 or someone similar. I’m more of team Anguissa because I like the player more. Relegated Fulham might sell a bit cheaper than what Bissouma would cost and I just like Anguissa’s ball progression and offensive skills more as their defensive part of the game is very similar.
DanielAltos
“.moreover emery is on record saying he wanted ramsey to stay”
Then why did he only start Ramsey 14 times with 14 on the bench.
Mhkitarayan 18 starts
Ozil 20 starts
Iwobi started more league games than those 3 .
The shock and horror at Everton when a huge part of their hopes of progressing was linked with them having a top class manager. Unless they sign another top class manager which will be a really tough task.
Weagle
“Surprised to see nobody talking about Real Madrid re-hiring Ancelotti.”
Try a real madrid blog and you may find someone interested.
Luteo and Jamie play golf, knew I liked them.
Tony
Don’t buy a trackman, your son has loads of room to develop before hitting that gold standard and the tech will likely evolve further by then. Not worth the circa 15-20k setup. If you want some decent data for a modest price go with SkyTrak or FlightScope (provided you have access to either) which will give feedback for a couple of grand tops.
Luteo is bang on with using data in today’s golf though, have to question any pro that isn’t incorporating that into their teaching these days – if your son gets lessons and there’s no data present then it’s a red flag. Game has evolved and it’s now very, very measurable. Put a few charlatans to shame so it has.
Get your son in love with chipping and putting and he’ll improve immeasurably (100yards and in is king). Easiest way to bond too because you can play all kinds of little games together.
Two of the best golf books ever are “Tiger Woods: How I Play Golf” and “ Ben Hogans 5 lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf”. All the classic teachings and insights are in both, and provide great fundamentals of the game.
Pierre,
don’t go there. Emery has literally said that a big part of why he ultimately failed was down to Ramsey not being in the team anymore. Spin anything else but not that one. The guy has said it many times. I could post you quotes if you want.
”Try a real madrid blog and you may find someone interested”
Says the daft wanker rambling on about Golf half the morning…
Emery benched Ramsey for half a season until it was clear as day he was a influencing matches more than anyone in 2018.
Laughable to suggest Emery was a Ramsey fan given the cold shoulder he gave him.
Weagle
Ancelotti getting the Koeman treatment. Guy who knows the club and can take the fall of an overhaul, he ain’t building anything there he’s the steady pair of hands while this era of stars ends. Didn’t trust Zizou with it
Ramsey was always 1 game away from a hamstring injury. You couldn’t play him 40/50 games a season, you’d be lucky to get 30.
If the rumours about his deal being in the region of Ozils was true, then we did the right thing letting him go.
But of course, the best thing to have done would have been for his, sanchez, Wilshire and welbecks deals previously and we could have actually got some cash for these players.
(Or sold Ramsey and sanchez when we had the offers for them.) but we didn’t. And who was to blame for that I wonder.
*renew their contracts previously
Charlie
Yeah, falling upwards in its most classic form. Not that I think Carlo is past it but to go from Bayern to Napoli to Everton, your career is heading in one clear direction before the left-field opportunity.
No real surprise that he is willing to work in conditions deemed unacceptable by Zidane who can get another gig at an elite club tomorrow (PSG will need a manager).
Work really is cut out for Carlo though considering Benzema carries them offensively and is 33 going 34.
Fat Hazard and semi-retired Bale the most marquee support options, Vinicius and Rodrygo still both very raw and Asensio not good enough.
Getting competition is good but arteta really needs to learn to play players in form and not through favoritism.
Don’t give us the they are amazing in training bs and learn when to drop players. That’s how he can be ruthless, not talk about being ruthless only when selling players but when picking them and knowing how to play a player back into form.
Terrible negligence from arteta on Tierney and saka last season. Saka got over played to the point where he looked like an academy prospect and not the world class youngster who first came into the spot light.
Similarly, Tierney who we all.know is injury prone was played non stop till he was broken, he came back and arteta again played him non stop. Get in a proper competition for tierney and rotate and rest the Scot.
With less games next season, we should keep all.our players fresh and have everyone firing on all cylinders. That is something arteta wasn’t able to do last season. This is the season we find out if he is a cheque book manager or he has got sauce.
Raptora
Then why didn’t he play Ramsey …he benched him more times than he played him.
I’ve said many times that Emery made the mistake of trying to flex his muscles towards the end of the 22 game unbeaten run .
Ramsey, Ozil and Lacazette showed their displeasure at being substituted around that time and they paid for it by being dropped from the side.
Of course , they were reinstated to the team when the season started going to pot , and I must admit that Ramsey put in a few superb performances with discipline in centre midfield until he was injured and the team did miss his influence on the pitch
Weagle
Bale, Hazard, Benz, Modric, Kroos, Ramos all expiring for various reasons. Not enviable to rebuild that with the demands of being competitive in everything or else.
They’re another one that’s had a pretty sour 5 year recruitment drive. Madrid and Barca absolutely dine off their global appeal and seemingly have nobody in charge with a smidge of competence. Imagine one of them had a proper visionary? Be apocalyptic for the rest.
Talking absolutely bollocks about Matteo G, he had a strong season and was well liked.
”and I must admit that Ramsey put in a few superb performances with discipline in centre midfield until he was injured and the team did miss his influence on the pitch”
Wow, very big of you to admit that, well done.
Next thing you know you’ll be admitting that pigs do indeed fly and that Ozil has been shite since 2017.
Look who is here branding other people’s posts laughable when yesterday he was speaking how he finds pathetic people disparaging alternative opinion. Typical.
The alternative opinion is that Emery probably didn’t want to build his team around a player who the club decided to let go at the end of the season.
What i find strange is that Arteta followed a similar path to Emery in that they both had decent starts, they both decided to flex their muscles to show who’s boss and then results took a turn for the worst.
Where Arteta is fortunate is that Smith Rowe arrived on the scene at exactly the right time.
The team were in disarray, the football was dire , creativity was Zero until Smith Rowe started v Chelsea.
Arteta obviously doesn’t recognise the importance that Smith Rowe brought to our results and performances at the turn of the year as he prefers playing Odegaard in Smith Rowe’s best position
Pepe ESR Saka is our best line up for definite.
Odegaard should be only a plan b or when esr needs rest.
However we know if ode signs permanent we will see esr shunted left.
I think if we’d have had a better striker and CM alongside Partey and probably someone with better chemistry with Pepe at right back we would have been miles better.
“Tom, take the ‘Tierney is no good’ argument outside a blog and tell me how it goes“
Never said Tierney was no good did I , Pedro.
Just gave an example of a case of terrible defending against a team and a player no one should know better how to neutralize than Arteta, which I said at the time btw.
Tierney doesn’t lack recovery speed so getting tight on Mahrez 30 meters from your own goal, instead of staying off him and then backing up into your penalty box is always the right way to play him.
Lee Dixon called it during the game too, so I suppose he’s also wrong and should be embarrassed.
The only difference between Tierney and Chilwell and how they defended Mahrez is the coaching , as far as I’m concerned.
One was in your face, the aggressive type that produced the CL title, while the other was the chicken shit type the produced one of the lamest attempts by Arsenal ever.
Ancelotti leaving Everton
Charlie
Agreed although they kind of did have that albeit many years ago now, didn’t they?
Real in 09′ bought Ronaldo, Benzema, Kaka and Xabi Alonso. That was the Galacticos 2 summer build.
From 2010-2015 they didn’t actually spend as much as you would think, marquee signings were Di Maria, Ozil (who they got for pretty cheap), Khedira (cheap), Varane (cheap), Modric, Casemiro (cheap), Carvajal (cheap), Bale, Isco, Kroos (cheap), Navas (cheap) and James Rodriguez.
Only Bale and James were massive purchases and they were also the only two over 30m actually.
And that side constructed won them 4 CL titles in the space of 5 seasons.
Went off the rails after that and as these players aged/declined they didn’t/haven’t spent well in replacing them.
Spunked loads on Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Jovic, Hazard, Reinier, Mariano Diaz, etc and for the past two seasons Sergio Ramos a fucking CB has been their second top scorer to Benzema.
Almost as disastrous squad planning as Barca.
Weagle
“Next thing you know you’ll be admitting that pigs do indeed fly and that Ozil has been shite since 2017.”
Will just point out that in the 2018 world cup, prior to Emery arriving, Ozil created the most chances per 90 minutes…obviously not that shite when you consider the competition he was up against
Will also point out that just prior to Emery arriving , Ozil was the 3rd most creative player in Europe during the 2017/18 season….so obviously not that shite when you consider the competition .
It’s amazing how a manager can have such a negative influence on a player’s career.
Proof
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.givemesport.com/1358727-mesut-ozil-stats-from-the-2018-world-cup-emerge-after-he-quits-international-football%3Famp&ved=2ahUKEwiSgvKFxPbwAhWBRkEAHbCUBFoQFjABegQIBBAG&usg=AOvVaw0ac27Y_cgbRqeF88bNHuBz&cf=1
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.dreamteamfc.com/c/news-gossip/372787/mesut-ozil-is-the-third-most-creative-player-in-europe-this-season/amp/&ved=2ahUKEwjTzo63xPbwAhUIEcAKHSOqAHwQFjABegQIAxAC&usg=AOvVaw12IMVbHTwgOAtO-SAxEQB9&cf=1
We don’t talk about Real Madrid or other clubs over here Mr Serge!
Only Arsenal… and Golf.
Raptora
.
Still blissfully unaware. What’s boring is the constant dismissal of views because that persons apparently represents ‘the other side’, in this fake construct you build between fans/posters with your childish “AKB” bollocks. Being a pedant over linguistics after being criticised isn’t a face-saver.
Your view is “laughable” because there’s no evidence to support it at all, everything is contrary to it. Ramsey was ostracised and then left the football club, so to suggest Emery was a big fan is utterly baseless outside of some media sound bites. Was he a big fan of Ozil too? No, yet both received the same treatment. Weird.
All Emery/Arteta/Ljungberg’s fault then Pierre?
Nothing to do with putting pen to paper on securing that 350k a week bag?
His performances fell off a cliff in the second half of Arsene’s last season (signed the 350k a week contract in Jan 2018, go figure) and a tiny sample of 2 World Cup games of data doesn’t disspove anything you have shamlessly and relentlessly bleated on about here re the bugged-eyed one for years now.
He was shit from virtually the moment he signed that new deal in Wenger’s last season and he has been shit since he moved to Turkey in January which shows just how drastically he has fallen off as that is a pathetic league.
End of story.
Would love to see an Arsenal starting line up at the start of next season with Saka, Smith-Rowe, Willock and one of Balogun/Martinelli/Eddie up top, just to see how they’d get on..
Supported by Bissouma/Partey in midfield with Tierney/Chambers as full backs..
Of course it won’t happen but it would be interesting to see how they get on .
Sorry WE lol
Weagle
Yea, suppose they did of sorts, although I wouldn’t say so because despite having a knack for winning they weren’t a truly dominant side like Pep’s Barca. That’s more of what I mean with a real visionary leading things.
Barca and Real have been stunningly bad in their recruit the past half decade though. It’s amazing some of the decision-makers there are still employed with how bad it’s been in truth. Almost like they’ve have an identity crisis each and been numb to the deterioration. As an interested onlooker I find it staggering, but I’m not privy to all that goes on there obviously so maybe I’m being naive of something.
I just know about the fundamentals of supply and demand and their application in football. Both clubs have players across the globe desperate to join them, but neither have figured out how to blend a group of 20 to look the part. Really, really poor imo. As shite as we are we still have players wanting to join us, can you imagine the levels at those two!? It looks harder to get wrong on paper, but they’ve conspired to do it.
Both leaking money like no other too, just a mess top to bottom. How can you have players falling over themselves to join you and still get conned into 100 mil transfers for guys you don’t need, sticking them on 300k? Lmao. Gtfo.
Ancelotti is leaving Everton to return back to Madrid
That’s it for our Odegaard love in, Odegaard will definitely go back to Madrid
One bullet dodged, fate has a way of making the best decisions for Arsenal.
Wenger Eagle
3 things
1.If Ancelotti is going that likely means as Charlie said that he’s being brought in to oversee a clean out/ hatchet job. So has he ever commented on Odegaard?
2. Everton will be searching for a new boss. Can you recommend any former players with managerial experience in the prem to them?
3. On a serious note, can you see a system where both esr and Odegaard play without esr being pushed wide?
Andy
Your post about Ode fans hoping to improve is me in a nutshell. The way I see it is that very few class players peaking around 27-30, have shown their full hand by 22. Chelsea of course have famously been caught out with KDB,Salah and Lukaku but there are many more examples. You have to look at the players technique, physicality, attitude,injury record etc but there is a lot of educated guessing going on and that’s from those in the know! I wouldn’t see anything wrong with buying him provided price and wage aren’t extortionate,(which 60 mil is btw,would need to be around the 40 mark). He gives us something we don’t have a player who can pick a pass,unless you think Partey will become that player. He’s young and unless he falls of a cliff will still have resale value in 4 years time. No need to worry about Arteta because he will get the best out of him or he will be fired, he wont last another season like last. I would consider mahrez a greater gamble because if he falls of a cliff he is worthless after it( love him btw but would we see the best of him?). I guess I’m saying youth is the way to go but the burden cant be carried by the players at the beginning of their careers, saka,esr,bal,martinelli,etc. They should all be playing but supported also. Ode has the right profile for me.
Real Madrid job over the Everton job is a no-brainer.
No one is taking Everton to the top three in England anytime soon, while with RM it is practically a given no matter the rebuild required.
Eddie Howe to Everton might be on the cards unless they’re keen on another “name” manager from Europe.
Think they’d be a good match personally, and he’s been resisting Celtic so maybe he’s holding out for a gig such as.
Ancelotti at Mad-rid aye? i’m sure Everton tried for Odegaard on loan in Jan. If so then Don Carlo might want him to stick around. If he has a say in that stuff of course.
I’m hearing the Ajax keeper Onana is signing for us. The outcome of his drugs ban (tomorrow) will determine whether we pay £2m or £8 (one year left on deal)
Hope its true. Excellent GK
Diet Pep should become manager of Everton, a perfect fit
Charlie
Performance-wise and on influence in the game, very true. But results wise, hard to argue with 4 CLs in 5 years not being dominant including a three-peat with even a back to back being unheard of in the modern era.
I do agree though, Bayern should have knocked them out in the SF in 2018 and Atletico should have beat them in the 2016 Final. Weren’t untouchable like Pep’s 2011 Barca side or Jupp’s 2013 Bayern.
That’s an important point re their allure that you made. Barca and Real still even now are the cream of the crop for luring elite worldwide talent. That however could change if they keep heading in this direction for another half decade in Barca’s case and 3 in Real’s.
Things will get really interesting when Messi eventually retires/leaves. He’s still elite even at 34 in a month but for how much longer, 2 years? 3 if they are incredibly lucky.
Barca in particular have just pissed so much money up the wall it is staggering. Was one stage last stage where they were badly struggling for goals and 120m Dembele was out crocked and 130m Coutinho out on loan with 110m Griezmann shooting the place up with blanks, lol.
What a mess.
Even with their massive advantages they are still managing to fuck up their recruitment.
A summer of aging Aguero, Depay, Wijnaldum doesn’t move the needle far forward. Going to take another golden generation to materialise out of thin air to save them now with how far the sugar daddy clubs in City, Chelsea, PSG are ploughing ahead along with Bayern.
Charlie
That is the most likely outcome although Dyche is making noises about getting away. Not great options if you’re a toffee.
Vintage
That would be a fantastic signing, on a par with milan stealing maignan for 13 mil. Hope it’s true. No chance of improvement til we upgrade on Leno.
Serge,
If Carlo is leaving, there will be an opening for Mike… he should get on it… 🙂
Almunia
1) Not that I am aware although can’t see him being a massive fan of Odegaard in Real as he is a classic playmaker type and he didn’t fancy Ozil or overly fancy James when there. Casemiro-Kroos-Modric will likely still be his CM trio and Valverde is closest to breaking into that.
I could see a sale to raise some funds. I like Odegaard but would be apprehensive dropping 40m on him. Ideal scenario would be snagging a second season on loan to see how he really gets to grips with the league.
2) Not sure, don’t keep too close an eye on upcoming managers to be honest. They could do a lot worse than Lampard, and that seems to be the calibre of club that he is angling for rather than a rebuild/relegation scrap one at Palace.
Think his work at Chelsea is a little underrated. Got them into the CL and was really influential in developing youngsters like Mount, James, Abraham. Ultimately showed that he wasn’t ready to meet expectations at an elite club after a 250m summer spend and the pressure that came with that but he showed with the football they played under him a lot of future potential imo, more than Arteta to date for one. Everton move would suit both parties.
3) Not really, think any system we play really it will be inevitable that one of Odegaard/ESR will have to operate predominatantly wide. It’s a squad game and a 50+game season normally, for us this season though a 40-45 game one without Europe.
We need more than one CAM in the squad so I’m not one of those that is against a move for Ode for this reason, more so price and bang for buck on my end.
Ramsey was obviously one of the better players.
He was being put in cotton wool for his move to Juve especially with his injuries.
If you as a manager are told that a player you start the season with will not be at the club the following season you may try to make plans and try out games without him looking forward.
All this Emery didn’t rate Ramsey is bullshit.
As soon as Emery walked in the door at Arsenal he was told Ramsey is a player who won’t be here much longer.
FINALLY
A black goal keeper. This is it. A new era for us.
Chelsea caught onto as well. The white guys aint doing it anymore.
Casillas and Buffon aint around anymore
Neur has become the the exception. Not the rule.
Onana will be great
2-8m for Onana is daylight robbery even given the circumstances.
Guy is a 25-30m GK talent, would be amazing business.
Would this mean Leno out?
Druggies should not be welcomed to Arsenal
I’ve reckoned for a long while that Charlie would be an experienced golfer. Awhile back think it was six aces you said you’ve notched so far? Crazy number that requires lots of hours put in on the field, good man.
Onana would be a great signing, hope it’s true. We currently have no real backup GK to speak of, so would be ideal if Leno would be willing to stay and fight for his place, but he’s on £100k a week, so not sure I see that happening. Arsenal need to stop paying loads in salary to players that don’t fit in their plans, it’s all dead money. Still means we need to find a decent backup as well though.
This is Leno leaving Arsenal though isn’t it rather than the club deciding themselves he is not good enough and getting in a replacement.
Does Arteta to Everton have legs? If not can we start that rumour here? Someone go tweet it.
Lueteo
Matt Ryan supposedly on a permanent looks likely.
Onana and Ryan are good options, would be happy enough witht that.
Not sure where Leno is headed, maybe Borussia Dortmund?
Could be a blessing.
Depends how good Onana is in aspects Leno wasn’t.
Like command of your area and just overall presence.
I wouldn’t like to guess what Ancelloti would mean for Ode.
There’s no history or precedent to go by between the two. We can only guess what Carlo thinks about him
Weagle
Apparently BVB just signed Kobel from Stuttgart for a decent fee. If Leno leaves I’d imagine it would be Germany, but Bundesliga teams aren’t known to spend on keepers so not sure that would be best for us in terms of recouping any funds.
Almunia you are right that only a fraction of elite players become elite in their prime. These players can easily be pointed out but far more often an elite player is an elite talent at youth level. The kind of player like cesc who by 17 was already one of the better CMs in England and by 19 was probably in the top 5. By 21 he was as good as anyone give or take.
Saka is another one. A player whose levels are better as a teenager than 95% of PL wingers in their absolute prime
Luteo
Yeah we’re not going to get over 15m off of a Wolfsburg/Leverkusen for Leno.
Be interesting to see where he ends up because he’s not really good enough for a top 4 club anywhere but he’s amongst the best of the rest and has a good rep.
Germany or Italy and we’re looking at recouping peanuts for him.
Leno for his faults was one of the best shot stoppers in the league.
So to move the needle in regards GK position at Arsenal Onana needs to show us more than shot stopping.
Another comment robbed by a naughty word, no idea which.
Weagle
Yea their haul was immense, but the allure of the journey wasn’t nearly the same as mega sides of the past. Think that’s what’s missing for me, just not giving the vibes of previous Clasico teams.
Football is all about that after all, it’s what builds the desire in guys across the world. Clubs like City and PSG will nibble at that monopoly, but they’ve miles to go to touch their prestige.
Really feel La Liga needs an overhaul, too easy in Spain to rip a good team to shreds. Happens naturally of course, but when your brand is predominantly 2 of 20 teams then they really need to maintain significant standards. They don’t and the whole place suffers for it. Too many clauses in Spain that makes player accumulation standard practice. Guys like Isco, Asensio, Carvajal, Vazquez etc should be doing bits for a Valencia.
I’m never a fan of the cynical transfers keeping talent away from rivals as a tactic. Why I’m so dismissive of Bayern, straight mockery that they can pick and choose the best pieces of the 2nd place side in the Bundesliga so frequently. Isn’t healthy for the competition.
Luteo
Calloused hands as the war wounds. Would hit 1000 balls a day in my teens, so got pretty decent ploughing that much time into it. Great game, has loads to offer at every level.
For 20 years in England I lived in a house which backed into a golf course but it wasn’t until I left the country at 24 that I finally played it
It’s a fun and interesting game but I really don’t have the patience for it. Same with snooker and pool. I’m a big fan of the games. I appreciate them. But 20 mins is enough, after that I lose interest
Saka made the cut for the England squad
That’s a fine achievement fort the young man.
Gareth Southgate’s background as U-21 manager definitely showing through with his selection of Saka and Bellngham.
not so sure about this sterling signing at all as i am much more concerned with centre mid position i would like to see the Bissouma signing first , followed by Buendia .I would be quite happy with just that I mean we most definitely need more but with this current Arsenal and the way they are setup that could very well take the whole transfer window . Would be just surprising if they got both those signings done quickly , no fuss .The difference to the fans would be exactly what they would be after surely. I know I would be like OKKK this is different in a good way of course . Surely this is to much to ask getting two players who we need in the positions we need .Both available at the right price, both have sell on value .Not really possible I guess .Most fans would be really happy with those two then Arsenal could faff about for rest of the window and maybe get in a defender of some sort then maybe look at sterling lol………………………lol