A little less football news to chew through today, but look, I’ll put in a shift regardless because that’s the type of player I am.
Bukayo Saka scored an absolute screamer against Austria to take the game for the mighty England. The 90 was quite uninspired if I’m honest. Gareth Southgate giving minutes to everyone felt a bit weird, no one needed to see Pickford between the sticks. It was fun watching Grealish draw fouls, people just love to kick him, a bit reminiscent of our very own Jack back in the day. He’s an awesome player, it’ll be very sad when he moves to Manchester City this summer… and Arsenal fans, please stop pushing him as an option on the internet, it’s depressing. Not as depressing as reading fans thinking they are too good for Raheem Sterling. What the fuck is wrong with people?
There’s big talk that Spurs are trying to lure Mr Conte out of self-enforced retirement to have a crack at Daniel Levey’s ‘CAN YOU HELP ME WITH A TROPHY’ problem. This move isn’t as banterous as Roberto Martinez. Conte worked wonders at Chelsea in season one, before things went south. He turned Inter Milan around. His pattern tends to be, step into a mess, win something, complain about lack of signings, get fired or retire as a result of petulance.
I honestly don’t know why he’d go to Spurs. Levy isn’t exactly free with the cash and the Spurs rebuild job is a big one. We’ll see though, who thought he’d replace Poch with Mourinho? Maybe Levey will give him control over transfers? Always remember he oversaw Morata, Zappacosta, Bakayoko, Drinkwater, and Ross Barkley.
There is a tantalizing rumour in the French press via Loïc Tanzi that we’ve been talking to Luis Campos about moving to Arsenal. I think we could all agree that a move like that would be immense for the football leadership at Arsenal. No one moves a club quite like him. A hire like that seems almost a little too smart for Arsenal, so I’ll hold judgement on that. He fits the bill though. He knows how to identify value, he’s good at picking coaches, and he’s built transfer eco-systems on small budgets… and won titles.
Arsenal will head to Florida this preseason for a Florida Cup with Inter, Everton, and Millonarios. UK Arsenal fans complaining they can’t go. Can you believe that? THIS IS NOT FOR YOU, NOT EVERYTHING REVOLVES AROUND YOUR NEEDS. I’ll be jumping in a camper van and heading down. I might even do some LGTV interviews. Should be fun.
Martin Ødegaard does not know what to make of Carlo heading back to Madrid.
‘He is a coach I know and with whom I had a good relationship when he was last there.’
‘In that sense, it is positive. But beyond that, one day has passed, so I do not know too much about what he thinks about things.’
The hiring of Carlo is a control move by Perez, so you’d imagine if the President likes Martin, Martin is what he’ll see in the side next season. There is also talk that he’ll be sent back out on loan again, so we’ll see.
Kola is coming back. Schalke can’t afford. Hopefully we can bin him off like we did Mesut Ozil.
The club announced the players released.
Men’s and women’s first-team squads:
Dani Ceballos
David Luiz
Leonie Maier
Martin Odegaard
Mat Ryan
No shocks there.
Let’s finish out on a FRESH podcast. Get your ears on it. I talk with Johnny about transfers out of the club, Willy Saliba, and the moves we should be making this summer. It’s a good one. No Arteta talk.
Buendia would be an exciting move were it to materialise. Marko has a point re him having his breakout season in the Championship rather than the PL but he played a very good season in the PL the season before, creatively at least. The concern is if he fails to transition his goalscoring from the Championship up into the PL which is a fair reservation to have, I would hope he has more of a nose for goal now though. He’s not going to score 15 PL goals but if he evens manages 8-10 along with 10+ assists to go… Read more »
Mr Serge Aubameyang isn’t a player who makes many chances for himself, we need to surround him with technicians, and if we do that, we should start getting much more out of him We invested big money to keep Aubameyang here, and since we’re likely stuck with him, we have to try and put a system in place to extract the maximum value out of that investment I agree about Pepe as well, he’s had plenty of time to settle, he’s coming into a good age, and as a senior player, we should be demanding that he significantly increases his… Read more »
Weagle
Agree with that. Think 8 is the magic number for supporting attackers, you have 4 players that can chip in with those kind of numbers and that’s 30+. Need a strong return from your CF in that case, with the odd goal coming further back.
75 becomes more realistic in that case.
Love your arsenal.
And interesting reading what Aguero’s old lad had to say about Pep, nothing good lol.
I agree with him, I don’t think that Pep ever really fancied Aguero. Always seemed to prefer Jesus over him in the crunch European ties.
Aguero is amazing but he is an out and out 9 and Pep has a complicated relationship with those. He’s the poster child of the false 9 after all.
I would say two words to anyone who is worried about a player having s breakout season in the championship
Jude Bellingham
Charlie
Yeah if Buendia can put up 8 goals and 10-15 assists as well as Saka bumping his numbers up to 8-10 goals and 5-10 assists we’re on our way.
Where would you see Buendia playing? CAM or LW?
Buendia is the type pf player to force the game, he s going to lose the ball a lot as a result
It will be important to surround him with 1-2 ball winners like Bissouma -type midfielder and Partey.
The manager has to trust him to get the best out of him because he will lose the ball a lot.
Weagle cam for me with Partey and another cm behind him
Weagle Can see him similar to Odegaard, but maybe with more ability to go wide if need be. Played a lot from the right at Norwich, but Saka is developing well there. Maybe he’s just as capable going left and interchanging centrally? Could also be as an 8 with as much defensive work as he gets through. Think what kind of CM we go after will tell us more about the options available next season. Lots of links to Bissouma, but that screams double pivot which requires a 10. If noises are to be believed we want a different profile… Read more »
I see Buendia playing more as a 10 or 8 in a 4-3-3 for us.
His versatility is an added bonus as the fact that he can play right or central means he can ease the workload on Smith-Rowe and Saka
We are not ready for a 433
I think Mike opts for 4231
Buendia in the middle for me
Saka right
Martinelli left
Auba up top
We really should be asking Norwich city about Max Aarons if we’re doing a deal for Buendia it only makes sense that they will be able to work with us on pricing if we are going after two other players. it would be criminal to not at least inquire
The Ajax RB is half the money of Aaron’s not sure what our budget is but we need a striker that will not be cheap
Pepe over Martinelli for me. Love Martinelli and think he’s been massively underused this season but I’d give Pepe the lions share of games on the LW next season
Charlie
Agreed, LW is most likely imo with license to roam in-field and allow Tierney to bomb forward for those overlapping runs/overloads.
I really hope that we don’t go for Ruben Neves, such an underwhelming player for me. Good footballer technically and intelligent but for me he’s pretty ordinary in every other department, like a watered down and less mobile Emre Can.
He wouldn’t be much of an upgrade at all on Xhaka.
Much prefer Bissouma/Anguissa if we’re raiding the league. Both far more dynamic than Neves is.
I don’t want to see Martinelli at LW, he’s a number 9 for me.
Brilliant finisher and has an underrated aerial game, he scored a couple of nice headers in his first season here.
He’s not ready to take over the mantle at CF yet though, needs another season. Should be used far more than he has been though, I’d like to see him get at least 15 starts in the PL.
Weagle I really like Neves, but he’s been ordinary the last 18 months or so. Hasn’t kicked on like I expected, but that’s not to say he wouldn’t in a better team etc. Always seems to perform well for Portugal. I see them both as different types of players, a player like Neves is a Rodri sort of player who sits and controls, whereas Bissouma is a tackle merchant like Ndidi, and Anguissa more between both boxes like Partey. Could take numerous directions depending on who we sign, I just think Arteta will gravitate to a player like Neves because… Read more »
Charlie Agreed, well said on the different types and profiles. I could definitely see Arteta being inclined to prefer a Neves type over a Bissouma/Anguissa one especially as we already have Partey who is more in the mould of the latter two. I just think that there are better Neves types out there that we could get for even cheaper or similar price, Wolves would make sure to rip us off if we tried to sign him, probably look for 40m+. Fabian Ruiz, Brozovic, Joan Jordan, Maxi Arnold would be my preferences if we are looking strictly at Neves types.… Read more »
Doesn’t bentdner hold the record for the fastest ever PL goal after coming on? Against spurs no less. 6 seconds.
What a hero
On another note loads of reports saying we’ve bid 30m for buendia. Even tho I doubt it’s enough I’m glad if that means we’re genuinely in for him and testing the waters
Weagle I think PL-ready is king for CM personally mate, I’m already uneasy that only Partey is tried and trusted centrally for us – especially without absolute confidence in his durability in the Prem. Honestly think Xhaka moving on makes the pull for PL-proven that much more important, plus the underrated qualities he takes with him. Say what you like about Xhaka, but he’s durable af, has personality, and the play goes through. We’re in for a world of hurt if we recruit a replacement that has a Partey-like first season in and out the side. Could see how someone… Read more »
I’ve no concerns about buendia not being able to recreate his goal scoring form. He will be fine if he comes.
He saka, esr and Pepe will all chip in. As will Martinelli Eli if the boy is allowed any meaningful minutes.
Even partey is bound to have one of those row z rockets smash in off the underside of the bar one of these days 😂😂
CG I’m telling you how, he’s very good. We should have got him last summer for 25 million. Now he’s gonna cost 35 at least. After Grealish he is probably the best we can get if we are only looking in the English leagues. He did score only 1 goal in the Prem last time out but his underlying metrics like key passes, assists p90 and chances created were up there with KDB and Grealish. And he was playing for the poorest team in the league. His goalscoring numbers have also improved this season. If you want an eye test… Read more »
Good news if this thing about Campos is true. It could mean that Edu is being pushed out. I have hard time seeing you’d take someone with that kind of pedigree and let him report to a complete amateur like Edu. Unless the plan is to replace him. As for Sterling, I think it would be a mistake. And not because of some reductive BS like “we’re too good for him”. We’re a team that’s dependent on Granit Xhaka – we’re not too good for anyone from a top PL side. Sterling is a good player but he’s someone who… Read more »
WE I think we are looking at options like Neves and Berge because we don’t want an all African starting eleven when the Afcon rolls around. Especially both of our starting Central midfielders CANNOT be African. That would be disastrous. + our 4th choice is also African. For that reason alone I believe we won’t sign Bissouma. Neves for me is a downgrade on Xhaka. Same pace, less power, and not half as good as Xhaka in passing or Ariel defending. There are a lot of better options then Neves for 35 million. Neuhaus is a baller, Soumare has elite… Read more »
Buendia is not coming to play an #8 or a CM. His style is far too risky to play in central midfield. He is an attacker and will most exclusively play in the front 4 .
Just because he is short and skillful doesn’t mean he will/can be our Cazorla replacement.
He can be developed into an attacking #8 ( like B.Silva at City) in his latter years but he is not ready to play that role now.
An Arsenal fan on Twitter has made a Luis Campos welcome to Arsenal compilation video 😂
Does this Arsenal regime know there’s a player by the name Amine Harit? Do they know his team is relegated from B’liga? Do they realize Arsenal and that club have done several businesses in recent past?
Or, is Harit too attacking for Arteta????
Another B’liga club wuth which Arsenal have done business Hertha wants to sell Cunha. And, Arsenal wants to sell Laca. Do they know D’cunha is a skilled baller and a Brazilian and a player capable to substitute even Auba?
“””While the top clubs in the world were investing millions of dollars in their youth academies, Brentford decided to eliminate theirs completely. Instead, they relied on a “B team” of 17-to-20-yr-olds that were rendered useless by other clubs 12) Why? Because Brentford believed you had to give a young player at least 35 games before determining his value. But the richest clubs in the world didn’t have the time, patience, or appropriate infrastructure to do that. As a small club willing to experiment, Brentford did. 13) This allowed them to find undervalued players, or market inefficiencies, that could come in,… Read more »
Its too bad we are worried about losing good players to the fucking AFCON. a tournament that doesnt last that long. It is imperative that we get the best talent and not worry about a once a year tournament.. We should have Azeez bled in, to cover, or buy cover but lets not pass on talent please due to this reason.
It is utter incompetence if the leadership is not thinking about AFCON. A tournament that lasts long 4-6 weeks iirc. Thats around 6 league games ( could be more) . In Premier league the margins are so small that you can’t not compete even for 1 game. Losing your first choice midfield for 4-6 weeks will completely derail the season. Just think back to how far our performance dropped when we lost only Xhaka. Having a stable and strong Midfield is imperative to us having a good season . + There’s higher chances of injury because of the cramped schedule.… Read more »
The dates of AFCON are
9 January – 6 February 2022
less than a month… and without Europe, that isnt too much if we have good cover. My point is that our league is way longer than AFCON.
I would sell El Neny too. Never rated him, even as a back up. We need better than that.
Bleed in Azeez, promote him to first team and get cover that is not African.
i just hate the thought of passing on Bissouma or Anguissa due to afcon
If campos comes what is the actual purpose of edu? Serious question
So what is the midfield you gonna play for those 4-5 weeks? Azeez/ Patino ( who have 0 senior football experience)? Because Elneny is probably going nowhere. He is a great 4th choice option to have. Never complains, gives 100 percent all the time, always reliable. That leaves us with our 3rd choice CM and the likes of Azeez and Patino. As good as they may be in the reserves and the academy they are not ready to be thrown into the deep end. + If Onana’s ban gets lifted and we sign him as well ( apparently we are… Read more »
China
Arsenal distanced themselves from these reports quickly because it would undermine Edu’s ability in the TW that doesn’t mean it could not happen in secret still.
https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/state-play-luis-campos-arsenal-20734325
China1, In France most newspapers reports suggest that Arsenal wants to hire him on an consultancy part time basis to help rebuild the scouting network. He would not take over from Edu, but in fact work him and advise him on who to hire as scout. Because of the pandemy and because Luis Campos does not necessarily wants a full time job in London that could make sense. But that does not resolve the issue that why did we hire Edu and sack our scouts? Did it took 6 months after culling the scouts to realise that Arsenal should not… Read more »
Didn’t StatDNA suggest not to buy Griezman and also suggest to buy Mustafi? You need competent individuals with footballing knowledge to use any generated data correctly which Arsenal doesn’t have!
Zaha put a transfer request. Usually players make a transfer request when they know that at least club is interested in them or has been for them. Everton was the rumoured interested party, but they have distanced themselves plus with Ancelloti leaving, their list may change.
Maybe Arsenal made a cheeky enquiry. I would love it if he was available at a cheaper price than Buendia and Ødegaard.
Yep, solid points Captain Tierney.
Don’t really disagree with any of that, like those CM options too from abroad especially Locatelli.
I would be pretty underwhelmed by Berge or Neves. Neither are particularly brilliant technical players and both are pretty sluggish movers albeit Berge is huge.
Zaha’s nearly 29 and he’s as good as he will ever be, which is not particularly good for a club the size of Arsenal.
Would be such a lazy move to make.
WE I’d advise you to check out Neuhaus. Very underrated. His passing ability and vision is top notch and he is much more agile than Xhaka, Neves and Berge. I like Locatelli too. Albert Sambi Lokonga for 12-15 mil should be our 3rd choice. Looks like a gem in the making. Only worry with him is that he still hasn’t decided which country to represent, Belgium or his home country which is in Africa. But our first choice in this position should be Soumare, Leicester close to signing him for 15 mil + add ons. Thats a bargain. Berge imo… Read more »
Captain Tierney Yeah I have seen a little bit of Neuhaus, like him. Nothing about his game is spectacular or immediately grabs you but he is a bit like Goretzka in his sound all-round game and technical ability to go along with a similar physical profile although not quite as imposing. Was saying to Charlie earlier that I love that kid for Ajax, Gravenberch. Have you seen much of him? Very impressed by what I saw of him in the CL and in the handful of Ajax games I watched this season, he’s been getting absolute rave reviews off of… Read more »
WE The more you watch Neuhaus the better it gets. A little bit like Modric and Kroos. You watch some comps and a game here and there and he may not grab your attention like a Pogba or Bruno. I think he falls in the Fernandinho, Fabinho, Xhaka, Hojberg category where they are not appreciated by fans as much as players playing on the wing or the striker position but are probably more important to the side than those flashier players. I have only watched YT comps and read about Gravenberch on some trusted websites. He looks the real deal.… Read more »
CT ”I think he falls in the Fernandinho, Fabinho, Xhaka, Hojberg category where they are not appreciated by fans as much as players playing on the wing or the striker position but are probably more important to the side than those flashier players.” One/two of those are not like the others!!! Haha. Didn’t have you down as a Hojberg fan, thought that Dissenter was sitting alone on that island. Agree, was why I used the Goretzka comparison because on Bayern it is always Lewy, Muller, Gnabry, Kimmich, Davies that get the lions share of the plaudits with Goretzka doing a… Read more »
No to Zaha. He has never been a top tier player. And to sign him while neglecting we need a N10 would be typical. People don’t realize this but Zaha is as good as he is because he thrives on the spaces created to counter attack. He would struggle much more against teams who play a low block which most of our opponents do against us. And winger is not in our priorities right now.
WE I’m not a hojberg fan but some people seem to really hate him and 1 guy massively overrates him. I think he goes about his job well. Good team player to have for a team competing for top 6. For top 4 he’d probably be a first rotation. Just like Xhaka. And btw I’m not saying Neuhaus as good as Modric or Kroos. Just that it took more time for them to get fan’s and media appreciation than some other players like Bale, Ramos, Benzema, Ozil, James, etc. In his team’s case all the plaudits go to Thuram and… Read more »
Captain “””” He is similar to the next Hazard”””” (Hopefully not the Real Madrid one after he got his fat contract.)?? The only stats you focus on in modern day soccer – does the player score goals? and how much he costs.? ( thats why the Partey for £50 m was ludicrous- he dont score them either) We need goals.Goals get you wins. Goals get you points.Goals get you up higher in the the table. If Buendia is worth £35m ( 1 goal in 37 prem games) If we were to sell Willock ( hopefully no) he has to be… Read more »
CG I said a young Hazard. He still has lots of development to do before he can come close to the Hazard we saw at Chelsea You seem smart but sometimes you make questionable statements. Ofc goals are the most important but to score them we need a chance creation system which we so lack. We have Auba, Pepe, Laca, Saka. These 4 imo should be our primary goalscorers. Buendia, ESR, New CM, Saka, Tierney, RB should be the chance creation department. TP is the primary link between defense, Midfield and attack but he should chip in with 5-7 Goal… Read more »
RIP Alan Miller, former AFC ‘keeper gone too soon aged just 51.
Seems all very complex what you are describing to me, Captain I do feel all supporters get ‘brainwashed’ from the bullshite the likes of Pep and Arteta spout. The best and experienced managers do keep the game simple for his players. ( Eg.Bruce / Wilock) We never seemed to lack goals when A. Wenger was in charge and yet we spend more money than ever and the goals become less every season. I have always believed a well resourced team, should score at least 1 goal in each half. Thats what Bayern do. I should know, they have won me… Read more »
Doing a quiz at work on the 1991 Arsenal Spurs FA Cup semi final.
Of the 25 players that appeared during that game, 6 were called Paul.
Can you name them?
Yes.
Correct
Cheers I’ll take that to the bank with Sid.
Gascoigne, Walsh, Merson, Stewart, Allen(?), Davis,
That’s a toughie. And some of those are guesses. Good luck!
What’s with this AFCON hysteria?
I sear this blog is like a horde of wild hogs charging down the cliff, the herd effect is pretty strong here.
The players that go to the AFCON will miss as many games in January/February as Saka will miss in August September for playing for England at the Euros They may miss fewer games than Martinelli and Gabriel who are playing for Brazil at the olympics.
Then there are the ubiquitous injuries that ALL players risk having that will cause players to be unavailable for games.
Jaroda
Oh, and how can I get a job at your place?
If campos comes what is the actual purpose of edu? Serious question
China
Replace ‘if’ with ‘irrespective of whether’ and you’ve got a good question there. 😏
it’s like suggesting that g]don’t but players who are practicing moslems because they will have a month of Ramadan fast. This AFCON hysteria is just low info nonsense. Most players don’t stay away for the full month because their teams don’t go that far in the competition. The ones that stay can still play for their clubs in key games if an agreement is reached with the national team manager. Some players are allowed to report late because physical conditioning is not an issue. I believe theAFCON is being held in Algeria so proximity to Europe isn’t an issue, players… Read more »
Also with the Acon.Surely not all your players would qualify or be playing? Also could get eliminated early.Don’t see it as too much of an issue.
Almunia
I’ve got to get your read-out of that game last night against Andorra. I assume you watched it (maybe through your nail bitten fingers).
Nil nil at ht, Andorra open the scoring and Ireland don’t get on the scoreboard til the 60th odd minute. Just remember mate, international football is shite. The goal avalanche at the end must have helped but have you managed to unclench your arse yet?
Finally the competition is tagged “AFRICAN NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP’’”
‘The competing national teams must be composed of players playing in their domestic league. For example, an Algerian player is only eligible to play for the Algeria national team if he is playing for an Algerian club’
European based players are excluded from the next championship. It may not even hold because there may still be a surge of COVID-19 …who knows?
Can we slow down on the mass hysteria , please?
People suggesting don’t buy African players in 2021?
AFCON would be a problem if you had players in the two teams that went all the way to the final… and if they played every game of the tournament.
Unlikely.
Most players I suspect will be back in a couple of weeks after the group games were done… although given our luck and track record on this tournaments they would probably all return to us injured. The injuries they might sustain is a potential bigger and more likely problem.
For reasons of clarity
European based players are excluded from the African nations championship taking place in January-February 2022.
Partey, Elneny, Bissouma etc aren’t required to be released
What I am hoping for this summer
Outs:
Leno (wants to leave)
Héctor Bellerín
Willian
Granit Xhaka
Lucas Torreira
Matteo Guendouzi
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Sead Kolašinac
Eddie Nketiah
In:
André Onana
Matt Ryan
Yves Bissouma
Emi Buendía
New first choice RB
Back up LB
Onana/Ryan
New RB/Cédric Saliba/Holding Gabriel/Mari Tierney/New LB
Partey/Elneny Bissouma/Willock
Buendia/Pepe ESR/Buendia Saka/Martinelli
Aubameyang/Lacazette
*on these tournaments
Dissenter you are wrong
Afcon 2021 is from January 9 to February 6 and it’s for all African players irrespective of where they are playing
There’s another competition for African based players and it’s the one you’re referring to which has already been played where Morocco won Mali around February this year
Raphinha from Leeds is a player. Liverpool are interested in him.
Dissenter The issue with the African cup is we potentially play 6 league games, and the FA Cup 3rd + 4th round while the tournament is on, and that will be off the back of a busy Xmas period The margins between success + failure, and hitting our targets and failing to hit or targets, are small The players won’t travel between their clubs + national team during the tournament, that’s fantasy We’re not required to let the players go to the Olympics, where I belive we are required to let the players go to the African cup, unless they’ve… Read more »
I am not worried about signing s couple of African players we have cover
According to the Telegraph
@ltarsenal
Arsenal only gave Aubameyang a new £350,000-a-week contract last summer, but there are already murmurings that the club would listen to offers from him
If he does leave, I can see Aubameyang joining Chelsea. He put up his best numbers under Tuchel. Tuchel is more than capable of putting a system round him to focus on his strengths rather than his shortcomings
Edu was a “yes” man installed by that fucking Raul to protect his power in the club. He has no knowledge of players in Europe and Africa. His qualification is no comparison to Campos.
It’s such a bonus to have Africans that decide to play for their European NT compared to Africans that are going to miss 1 month in the middle of the season. Players that picked France like Henry, Vieira, Zidane, Thuram, Mbappe, Kante, Pogba to name a few, now in the rest of Europe too with the likes of Lukaku, Gnabry, Rudiger, Boateng, Saka. Their African countries might not be happy with their decision but their domestic clubs surely are.
There are two African competitions
The first is the African Cup of Nations . The other African Nations Championship. It’s the latter that has the restrictions and as things are planned will be played between July / August 2022
The former will include players irrespective of where they ply their trade
If only we got Tielemans before he went to Leicester.
Mr Serge So we sell Torreira, Guendouzi, Xhaka We go with Bissouma, Partey, Elneny, + 1 Where is our cover for central midfield? Particularly if the +1 is injured…. Maybe we could push Chambers into the middle? But what if our other right back is injured, or carrying a knock? Or we sign Tapsoba, then Holding is carrying a knock? So Chambers moves to midfield, but we’re without a right sided centre back cover…. We lose Onana, but our back up keeper is injured, and we have to throw in a teenager or Runarsson….. We can’t go with three top… Read more »
Raptora Henry was born in France Even tho I know there are various reasons for it and they are genuinely valid in many cases, I always find it a bit odd when players spend their entire childhood and adult life in one country and opt to play for another even if they were born there Like zaha playing for an African team even though he’s spent 95% of his life in England as far as I’m aware. Same for iwobi. In some cases it’s just players taking the easy route to a national team because they know they wouldn’t make… Read more »
Jim Lahey
Totally agree with your wish list apart from the Ajax keeper-too erratic for me
I liked Martinez but what the fuck do I know
China
Zaha was in great form for Palace. Southgate chose not to call him up. Not sure if they had a falling at U21 level
Iwobi played youth football for England. With the amount of talent in his positions behind a striker, it woul be difficult for him to get caps
Laporte will play for Spain after being continuously not called up by Deschamps
Rich willock chambers azeez amn ESR can all play in cm plus we don’t know who we are buying yet so we are speculating
Kroenkephobe I watched it,hard going for a while there. There’s huge goodwill towards Stephen Kenny over here,a lot of football fans want him to succeed because he is a very honest,humble man of admirable integrity. His background is mostly LOI where he had great success but is levels below managing internationally. Again people are willing to give him time to learn on the job and are also very understanding that the player’s available to him are not of the quality necessary to succeed at this level. It doesn’t help of course when two particular wankers play their way through the… Read more »
types.Gravenberch the young fella at Ajax looks outstanding for a 19 year old, going to be a massive star. More potential than even Camavinga for me.6 foot 3, mobile, slick footballer, intelligent, powerful and already has a very solid all-round game.
This. I’m 100% on the Gravenberg Train. Had it all. Players like him make me wonder what our scouts are doing. I’ve watched him for more than a season and he’s looked amazing every time. Hidden in freaking plain sight.
MD Gunne Gabriel Magalhaes has been called up to the squad for the Ol;Olympics, along with Arsenal team-mate Gabriel Martinelli, while the competition starts on July 23 and finishes on August 8 the two are set to miss the majority of Arsenal’s pre-season and early EPL matches. Since this could open the door for Saliba ahead of a potential Arsenal debut next season, lets see how Tets handles this. ” Tets or Teats will bring in Runnarson . He is good with his feet and considering his length or height should obstruct a large number of balls. Arteta master class… Read more »
Dissenter Please do your homework before publishing wrong information here or anywhere. In my years of watching football I have never seen a player tip toe between their club and their country. AFCON is the biggest intentional tournament in Africa. And from what I’ve seen Football players are really passionate about representing their countries. The chances of injury are definitely much higher AFCON than at Euros. Players get adequate rest and preseason before and after the Euros. Since the tournament takes place the European league in consideration. That is not the case for AFCON. African players especially in PL will… Read more »
Mr Serge We should be aiming for a squad of 22 players next season, then 2-3 quality youngsters Too much competition, kills competition, having 10+ senior players outside the match day squad is unhealthy Too little competition, kills competition, because it doesn’t matter how badly they behave or play, there’s no one breathing down their necks trying to take their place Direct competition for places is healthy, and what we should be aiming for It’s entirely relevant to say we need to watch our African quota, because we can’t lose a quarter or more of our squad for up to… Read more »
Rich Agree mate. We don’t have the midweek European exertions to manage which means we need fewer players in any case. There will be less rotation required and the added recovery time between games will prevent muscular injuries. Some people don’t understand what a big difference not having midweek European games makes. Arteta himself complained that the squad he inherited was too big and that causes all kinds of off-field problems to be managed. As you say, it is strong competition for places that is required, not 8 centre backs. The African Cup of Nations is what it is. No… Read more »
S Asoa We’re not required to release players for the Olympics, that’s up to the club Next season I want to see us go with 2 right backs 2 left backs 4 centre backs New first choice right back, Chambers Tierney, direct competition for Tierney Saliba, Holding Gabriel, Mari Chambers can cover right sided centre back, and midfield Tierney can cover left sided centre back We paid €30 million for Gabriel, we pay his wages, I expect him to be better next season now he’s settled, and knows what’s expected We should tell him he’s not going to the Olympics,… Read more »
Dreams Auba won’t interest Chelsea in my view. He can’t hold the ball up or bring others into play
His 1st touch is poor. He is an out and out goalscorer. I want in favour of giving him a new contract. Once he loses that half yard of pace he is next to useless.
Sorry typo wasn’t in favour
Arsenal, Liverpool and Leicester are the biggest losers from the AFCON, and even after taking into consideration that not all of Ghana, Gabon, and Cote d’Ivore ( no disrespect to Elneny but he’s not equally important) might go deep into the tournament, It is still a possible season’s wreck in the making for all three clubs. Liverpool can forget about the PL title challenge without Salah and Mane ( Keita to a lesser extent) for a month, and Arsenal have a huge headache coming up as well without Partey, Pepe, and Auba. It’s a monkey wrench thrown into the rhythms… Read more »
“If only we got Tielemans before he went to Leicester.”
We’ll be saying the same for Soumaré in a season’s time. Excellent acquisition if the rumours are to be believed.
Leicester have a very good scouting and recruitment team. No matter who the manager is, they sell and buy well.
Tom Elneny started 27 games last season, 17 in the league Including the two league games against Chelsea, and the win at Old Trafford This isn’t me making the case for the quality of Elneny, but highlighting the need for 4 central midfielders, last season we needed Xhaka, Partey, Elneny, Ceballos Next season we’ll need 4 central midfielders, losing 50% of them to the African cup is taking a big risk, losing 75% of them is gross negligence That’s not an excuse, that type of poor squad planning that should rightly see heads roll, and if they tried doing that,… Read more »
Rich
That second last post is very well put.
22-23 senior players and 2-3 youngsters is a great balance to have. ( counting Saka, Gabi and ESR as first teamers)
The 3 youngsters could be Azeez, Kido and Balogun.
Third last now*
Has Renato Sanches rediscovered his mojo? That could have been a brave purchase when he was struggling on loan at Swansea… Lille took a brave punt and scored the jackpot there!
Renato Sanches would work best in a Liverpool like 4-3-3 imo.
Not so sure about a 4-2-3-1 which seems to be what we are building towards.
You know what would be brave? Arteta stepping down to make way for Conte. I’d respect that move a lot.
Nooooo chance of that happening raptora!
A man can dream though. A man can dream…