Pheeeeeewwwwwwww!
Did Arsenal need that win yesterday!
WBA made 11 changes. They rolled with kids. BUT WHO CARES.
6 goals was the medicine to the illness of the last two weeks.
Bukayo Saka dominating the game with his special talents.
Martin Odegaard showing that, actually, he’s pretty decent.
AUBA SHOWING UP LIKE A F*CKING KING.
Scoring 6 goals after barely threatening for two games was a huge, huge relief.
West Brom away in the league cup 2nd round is exactly the sort of game bigger players don’t want to play and can quite often tank in. The side they rolled out was particularly weak, so there was never really a chance they were going to do that… but be honest with me, you would NOT have been shocked going off the reaction of the last two games.
So what did we like?
Auba turned up like a captain with a point to prove and it made me feel footballistically frisky. I don’t care who knows it either. We have not seen that energy in a while. He played through the middle, he chased down lost causes, he made speculative runs… and he finished like a demon. I liked all his goals.
Is he going to do that against City? Probably not. It’s an entirely different game, but if he gets two chances in that game, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him score one of them.
Bukayo Saka looked the sharpest physically he has all season. He was relentless with his runs, his passing was sharp, and the goal he scored when Martin Odegaard backheeled a ball into his path was PEAK Arsenal. That’s what we need to see more of in the league this season.
Can I have a little shout-out for the away fans? You could hear them over the other side of the pond. I thought the home fans were excellent at the weekend, but the away fans for a midweek game were exceptional. I’m so happy about that.
Martin Odegaard looked fit and raring to go. He has a great connection with Saka, he controls the ball under pressure really well, and when he’s ready to make a lethal pass, it’s usually a good one. He’s the missing finesse we’ve been waiting for in the final third. He doesn’t have the all-action hero vibes of ESR, but he compliments what he has with a devastating final pass vision. I am VERY happy we signed him for a relative pittance.
Can we touch on a negative? What the hell was Arteta thinking with Kola as centre-back? We’ve been trying to kick him out of the club for months, now he’s taking minutes in defence? Felt a little bit nuts, I have to say. It was either some galaxy brain aberration, or it was a weird cryptic statement. The only way I could accept this is if Cal Chambers is right back for the City game at the weekend.
We also might want to have a little conversation about Nicolas Pepe. Have we regressed again? He’s just not the full ticket. His decision-making, even against kids, was very off-key. I can’t work it out, he’s either about to explode… or this is just him, hot and cold, all the time.
Aaron Ramsdale looked really solid. His kicking was strong, he’s brave from crosses, and his shot-stopping was pretty sharp. Early days, but he looks like a character.
Great pic.
Despite all the negativity from our fans and the media, there really is a togetherness amongst our players. pic.twitter.com/ahjRC8in3d— Martin Wengrow (@MartinWengrow) August 26, 2021
Also… I love this picture. Cleansheet on his debut. Great stuff.
Ainsley made an appearance. He set the ball rolling in midfield for one of the goals and his speed helped bail Mo out of another loss of position in midfield. I’d love him to just accept he’s a right back. It seems such a waste of talent to watch him piss his career down the toilet over a preference when he could be one of the best right-backs in the league.
So what did we learn? Well, more senior players in the starting 11 will generally make Arsenal better in any game. We will still get beaten by City on Sunday, we likely have to accept that fate, but after the break, when everyone is back, there’s no reason we can’t go on a run of games and catch up. I totally get that there are problems at Arsenal, but the reaction to two defeats has been absurd considering the number of players we’ve missed, and the circumstances we lost them in. A 6-0 win against WBA kids doesn’t prove anything… but that feeling you got after it shows that if Arteta gets it right after the break, he can start to win some hearts and minds… something he really, really needs to do. It’s still a big lift, but let’s maybe hold back the #ArtetaOut banners until we’ve seen what the football looks like with our best players.
One final thing. There’s not a lot of it, but there’s a bit to merit comment. If your first thought after a 6-0 loss is how to frame other fans joy as an issue, you’re lost. You either don’t understand fan culture, or something is broken. Football is about joy. If you cannot enjoy your team scoring 6 goals and keeping a clean sheet, why bother? Being unhappy with a mauling isn’t standards, it’s a misunderstanding of fan culture. It’s such a shame that there’s traction for that sort of carry-on, because if you went to a pub after a game with that sort of reaction, you’d be laughed out the door. I’ve no time for that. Weird that some people do. What a sad footballing existence.
NEXT CONTENT PLEASE:
We did an On The Whistle last night. Johnny was back after ditching us for BBC 5 LIVE. We talk about the goals, the psychology of an audience, what fan opinion is all about, and some of the new signings.
P.S. Can I just say, I am VERY thankful for the people that support our live streams, videos, and podcasts. It’s been a bit of a slog building an audience, but it’s blown up over the last 6 months and I am VERY thankful for the support. x
Weagle I read Aouar has an issue with a thigh muscle and was only lasting around 70 minutes of a game.
How true or serious an issue I have no idea, but if he’s being offered for a price, he probably needs treatment before getting g back to his best.
doesnt matter, we need Aouar
One positive from being out of Europe, all of arsenal games are quite watchable this season (time wise)
NotI many late kick offs that I will miss.
Tomorrow’s game being a prime example. I get to watch it at 5 in the evening, perfect time as it’s just after tea.
If we have to pay some of Willian’ contract out to get rid of the fat lazy cunt then it’s only fair it’s deducted from Arteta and Edus’ salaries. If not, how will they ever learn to take the club funds seriously? This is a repeat pattern. Not doing proper due diligence (Runarsson, Willian) and striking stupid and even crooked-looking deals with agents (Pepe, Cedric).
I’m really loathe to give Willian a fuxking penny otherwise. Poor Mrs Stan Walton has to sit around at home for hours to earn that kind of cash.
“”””””” I read Aouar has an issue with a thigh muscle and was only lasting around 70 minutes””””””””
You must be envious of him. Enough sleep, basil, ginseng, yohimbine, will improve your situation.
Sid at 66 it gets boring after an hour. You’ll probably need cans of starch by then or lollipop sticks and elastic bands at that age.
Either that or a fcuking good shaman rhinos don’t go near.
Sid
why have you chosen Vjosa Osmani as your avatar ?
I think we are ‘victims’ of plausible plans gone awry
getting Emery in as a “Euro League specialist” to get us back into the CL was only one humiliating game in Baku short of been successful
Arteta showed some promise before he showed his flaws
Willian, if he played the way he played for Chelsea, would have been a solid contributor
there is an element of being jinxed in much of what has happened to Arsenal over the past few years 🙂
RayinLA, this is the 2nd time you have asked that question, Any reason why?
Ray
Or the simple fact that, at arsenal, people are rewarded way too early and pre maturely.
Have one good performance, you receive a 5 year contract.
Have an agent who can talk you up, receive a good sum of money. And so on…
Tomorrow’s game being a prime example. I get to watch it at 5 in the evening, perfect time as it’s just after tea
Gons 😊
That’s great news mate. I knew there had to be a silver lining somewhere after losing to Burnley, being doubled by Wolves and Villa, drawing at home with Fulham etc etc and having the worst Arsenal manager in living history.
Enjoy your tea before the game because I have a feeling we won’t be enjoying the game itself. That’s cheered me up no end. You’re in Nepal right? What’s on the menu out there?
Kroenkephobe What’s on the menu out there? Seriously, no idea how to answer this. If you are talking about food, I’m just having a simple curry for lunch with rice and some vegetable stir fry. If you are asking about the situation, it’s bad, but everything is open and no one really seems to care what the case load is anymore regarding covid. I’m just trying my best not to get it. Sanitizing and wearing double masks. Makes me sweat a Lot but I guess it’s not that troublesome. If you are asking about what I’m doing. I’m in the… Read more »
Also the weather is shite but hopefully this is the end of the monsoon rains. They like to go out with a bang. So will pour continuously for a few days and then it won’t rain again till February or March.
How’s things over at your end? Sure. The arsenal is depressing but other that, hope everything is well in life.
Guns feel for you especially with Covid all around you. Building is frustrating in most countries, at the best of times. Our house took 15 months to build. The builder and his family were a friends of my wife’s mother who’s well regarding in around the city.. The problem was getting continuity with good labour. Offering extra money didn’t help they just didn’t care. Work a few weeks, then spend it on gambling, girls and whisky. When that supply dries up , it’s out to work for a few more weeks – wash rinse repeat. Be well out there, Gons.… Read more »
Tony
Good morning Thailand!
Getting reputable traders is difficult anywhere. Never go by ‘Check and Trade’ garbage either. Always by recommendations and word of mouth. Unfortunately, there seem to be too many rogue traders out there these days. Have always tried to do most things myself but as the body starts to question things you have to stop balancing off rooftops and going up ladders too much.
How’s life with you and your family?
Gonsterous
Sounds a big project.
Good luck with it all.
Liverpool in for Bissouma .
BBC REPORT 40 M.
Liverpool are signing the right player from Brighton for a lower price whereas Arsenal…..
Bissouma instead of Ben White was the priority for the club! We bought a luxury CB in Ben White at inflated price while not having a functioning midfield. How can any reasonable person even more a professional manager and DOF think that any benefit of having a ball playing CB is not immediately counteracted by having a static, error prone, easily pressed midfielder. Put the best defender in the world with Xhaka and you still have a very weak spine of the team. Put a decent CB with a Bissouma and you have a decent spine. Mind Boggling that Dumb… Read more »
Spurs should piss that Europe confiderates cup. The europa league is piss poor to the very later rounds and that’s another level below. I can’t imagine many fans getting excited by it if we had snuck in at end of season.
Bissouma wanted to go Arsenal also.
Gabriel, holding, Mari and Chambers but Arsenal didn’t need a CB?
“Gabriel, holding, Mari and Chambers but Arsenal didn’t need a CB?”
Gabriel, Saliba, Mari, Holding, Mavrapanos and Chambers – there was absolutely no need for White.
None of which are top centre backs yet. If we had bought a midfielder people would be moaning at the need for a top class centre back. The truth is we need so many players all over the pitch as the squad is weak.
Gabriel, holding, Mari and Chambers but Arsenal didn’t need a CB?
———-
Add Saliba and Mavrapanos… Arsenal have signed 8 CBs in the last 5 years.
Having watched Saliba his last three matches can’t say he’s worse than any of our current CBs. Marseille leak goals but it’s more systematic of how they play.
There’s a presence about Saliba I don’t see in our current CBs.
Anyway, the problem is the ones making the (CB) signings.
£50M for White is an undeniably stupid transfer when all is considered but we’re here now.
All good thanks, Graham. Thankfully the building was completed about a year ago.
Hope all good with you and yours.
Good to see you back
We absolutely need a cb. People name dropping mavro and saliba? Really? We absolutely need a cm too but compare xhaka and saliba/mavro with luiz gone and you’ll see why the club made its choice. Some of you act like you’ve never made mistakes and all your suggestions are legit but they aren’t. When wrong you’ll just brush it off but wil gloath the few times you’re right.
Brighton will likely fight harder to keep Bissouma than they did White. They have yet to invest any money they received from us to my knowledge so may not feel the need to sell for the sake of it. They have made a very good start to the season and Bissouma would be a huge loss in their midfield. Liverpool only enquiring at this stage apparently.
OM conceeding has nothing to do with saliba but ben white is shit after one match…looool
“None of which are top centre backs yet. ”
White is not a top centre back either.
Hi Gons I was talking about food but was fascinated by the other stuff too. I’ve not been to Nepal. I almost made it to Simla from Delhi but we had a car crash which is almost de riguer in India. It’s difficult to imagine the far greater extent to which covid is affecting developing countries than the UK. Early news coverage all those months ago was focused on places where the news channels have correspondents of course so it was always going to be distorted. And the amount of time they spent broadcasting Trump’s loony ideas while covid was… Read more »
“OM conceeding has nothing to do with saliba but ben white is shit after one match…looool”
Nobody is claiming White is shite or world class after one game. The only argument being made is we could have spent the White money in a better way.
Muppetman, Pedro and his band of Arteta apologists have been telling us how Arsenal has the 3rd best defense since Christmas. So obviously the priority issue must have been the defense… No it wasn’t. It was and still IS the midfield. Against most opponents, Asking 2 central midfielders to defend against 3 players is setting them to fail. They will be systematically bypassed. When on top of that one of the midfielder is Xhaka who lacks tackling ability, mobility, quickness of passing and burst of acceleration, we are always on the back foot, overran and outmanoeuvred in that area of… Read more »
We have a term locally for that thing where builders don’t turn up. It’s called a Pembrokeshire Promise. It’s so ingrained here, it’s also used as a brand of local ice cream.
Good midfield makes an average bunch of defenders look good whereas a porous and incapable midfield makes even a good defense look ordinary.
We cant sign bissouma, we cant have 2 defensive midfielders going the african cup of nations leaving the team to suffer, not to talk of the high chance of an injury, yall just gotta think smart.
Good midfield makes an average bunch of defenders look good whereas a porous and incapable midfield makes even a good defense look ordinary. ————- Makes sense. I’ll add that we needed creative players to go with that. I like Saka and ESR a lot. They’re the future of Arsenal. But looking at the numbers they’ve delivered so far we shouldn’t be depending on them the way we do. It’s unfair. Odegaard is another for the future. We should have gone for 2 players like Bernardo Silva, Sterling, Dybala…experienced attacking players in that 24-27 year old age bracket. I’d have taken… Read more »
receding Hairline
I am not married to Bissouma, personally I would have taken a midfield trio of Partey, Lokonga and Soumare (French player from Lille now at Leicester).
With AMN and Willock to supplement them in case of injuries, suspension or AFCON (only Partey).
More athleticism, tackling and verticality.
Radio
Agree completely. If it were up to me I would have spent £130M on one central mid (to replace Xhaka), one wide player (to replace Pepe) and one attacking mid (to replace Odegaard). Everything else can wait as fas as I am concerned.
The only downside for me was Holding, never been the same since his injury and Chambers is a Championship player . 6 goals regardless of the opposition must install confidence.Glad Ramsdale was given credit as he did nothing wrong, real competition for Leno.
I would add without a foundation you can’t build a house in other words a defence that works as a unit. We overpay generally in wages so where is the incentive and when we want to get rid wages becomes an issue. Edu is to blame as much as anyone. 4 or 5 players earn more than double that Arteta earns, do they respect him ? not so sure.
Saul went to Chelsea on loan? Quite jealous of that one. Ronaldo to City, Messi to PSG, Mbappe to Real. That’s quite the reshuffle and I’m sad that the current version of our club would never be seriously considered by players of that caliber. I wonder if Arsenal will ever again become a chamber where an elite player might land during the transfer roulette amongst marquee clubs that happens every year…instead we have been stuck overpaying on transfers and handing out huge wages to questionable players in order to entice them to play for us. I imagine the lure of… Read more »
Pierre Good morning. I know you’ll agree with me on this because you’ve always felt that the financial implications, specifically the spending power of the likes of Chelski and MC, affected our chances of winning things over the years under Wenger. You also know that I felt Wenger could have tweaked things here and there to compete with Chelski in particular. The rest, of course, is history. The thing is, it’s now got so silly that I think many fans are breaking away from the elite game. Knowing where the money is and who are going to always finish top… Read more »
Neves/Bissouma and Willock, Soumare, lokonga, buendia makes more sense than the mediocrity we have at the moment.
Brighton are the best run club in world football.
Run by people that truly understand the game.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/aug/27/freddie-ljungberg-arsenal-trophy-loved-it-arsene-wenger-coaching
Freddie doing it (learning how to manage) the hard way. A true legend who has all the attributes, EQ, and knowledge to become an excellent manager.
We have had worse CBs than we currently have. Squillaci, Djourou, Senderos but our midfield was the saving grace. They were Not exposed.
Diet Pep thinks buying CBs and GK is intelligent and his sheep bleat along in acapella.
Joke Friday A fisherman is selling his catch for the day, yelling “Get these fuckers before they sell out!” A priest is passing by, and hearing this he tells the fisherman to mind his tongue. Embarrassed, the fisherman thinks quickly and explains that these are rare fish called “fuckers” and they sell out fast. The priest then buys the fish and back at the church, gives it to the Mother Superior and says, “Clean the fucker.” Surprised, she asks him to mind his tongue, he explains to her that the fish is called a fucker. She cleans it and gives… Read more »
Main reason we have a manager who is so shit is cause people above him are even worse!
They let him waste this money……wht happens next summer when we are out of Europe again?
Have another 100m plus??.
Doubt it..
Only new and better ownership can save us. Decent ownership would never have hired Arteta in the first place!
Graham62, the La Liga financial problems were long time coming. For years there was no regulation so you had clubs getting deeper and deeper into debt. It was an arm race that nobody could win except bankers and hedge funds. La Liga tied itself to Barcelona and Real Madrid. If they were to do the right thing and relegate clubs such as. Barcelona for their debt, many would disappear. If Barcelona in its current form were to disappear, it would be a disaster for the league. Longer term they may emerge stronger but nobody think long term. At least the… Read more »
Val, not a dig here but what is happening to your boy tanguy? Seems to be a troublesome one that and with average skillset and a terrible work ethic to boot
Brighton did a brilliant piece of business on us.
The sold us their least experienced and smallest central defender for a kings ransom. They made us crawl through a minefield to get White, for a player that they didn’t even have to buy to replace.
On another level, I do think Arsenal has the same situation as Brighton- we had a glut of decent defenders -Mavros and Saliba ought to have been recalled. Central defense was not an acute problem.
Interesting looking at SwissRamble’s post from yesterday on wage bills around the Big 5 leagues (19/20 season as last comparable with info). We still have a top 10 wage bill in world football, and unless things have changed in the past couple of days, we are the biggest gross spenders in Europe on transfers this summer, as well as the 3rd highest net spenders in the PL over the last 5 years (very close to City’s net spend). We REALLY need to get the DoF / recruitment / contract management right, as a matter of priority (even higher than the… Read more »
Raulishuss, Lack of maturity. Same than Aouar. Those kids have come through the Lyon academy systems. They are treated like royalties at the club. Suddenly they move to a different environment and their little demands and tantrums are not indulged. I still think that if Tanguy NDombele had had a proper pre season and man coach than a bitter Mourinho, he would have been a success. He still has the talent, but he has to be more professional in his approach to football. Treat it as a job rather than a passion and hobby. Managers have to treat them as… Read more »
Words on a blog
Good article on Freddie and he comes across really well. When he was our interim manager, you could tell he wasn’t quite ready for the job. He would sit slumped in his chair at times and was a bit sulky too. However, it looks like he’s matured and will be an asset for a smaller club now.
This is also the crux of the issue with Arteta. We’ve seen a number of odd tactical decisions but by far his biggest weakness is his emotional immaturity and how it’s played out with player personnel matters
I think we should gamble on Aouar. I think we might get them to agree to a loan with an option to buy. Only spurs were rumored to be interested and that’s not true according to fabrizio. Arsenal is the only high profile team in for him now. So I think we could land ourselves a bargain. And if it doesn’t work out we can send him back. It’s better than seeing Elneny for a full season trying to play football. Off topic though. I am loving the hysteria of United fans regarding Ronaldo’s move to city. They are losing… Read more »
Oh I forgot Varane and Ramos. That is as big a profile as a CB that is going to move.
Look at some of the Championship salaries. Players are on £80k a week!
Crazy!!
Elmo,
I read Swiss Ramble notes as well, but I am disappointed he didn’t dig deeper into the financial P&L of the clubs per league and their EBIDTA ratio.
Wage bills should be viewed alongside revenues and the P&L generated. For example despite having lower revenue than La Liga and Serie A, mostly due to the early termination of the previous season and the collapse of the TV deal, Ligue 1 clubs are in a much better financial position than their Spanish and Italian counterparts.
Many Spanish clubs are literally one default payment away from bankruptcy.
RJM
True.
We are an incompetent club from top to bottom. It’s “the blind leading the blind” at AFC and it’s been that way for many years.
No owner, who has a basic understanding of the game and puts the club first, would have hired Arteta or Emery and, significantly, would have shown Wenger the door long before they eventually did.
Habesha- loving it too that Manure fans are losing their shit over Ronaldo.Serves the arrogant c** ts right.Shoe onthe other foot for once.But I’ll tell you what.I’ll lose my shit if we let the dippers sneak off with Bissouma & for £40;million.He’s exactly what 5hey need & I suspected they were keeping their powder dry for a a last minute ,sneaky raid.
Graham What do you mean that no owner would absolutely exhorted Emery There was nothing wrong with the Emery appointment. He was hired within the confines of a head coach role, had his chance and was fired promptly when shit hit the fan. That’s precisely how the system ought to work. Had we handled Arteta within the same parameter, no one would be complaining. We tore up the safeguards and organization to appease a newbie manager, demoted his boss to his level and then set lowering expectations for him. Emery was handled right; hire a manager, give him a definite… Read more »
* What do you mean that no owner would absolutely hired Emery
* * What do you mean that no owner would have hired Emery
Diss Yawn. We won, you dismissed it, waited for a day so you’ll start your rant about ben white for the upteent time. You’re boring GUY!
Val, in a squad of 25 individuals you can’t be seen giving an individual preference over the collective especially ones without exceptional abilities. That’s why i don’t want any of them around our youthful squad
Graham Emery has worked at Almeria, Valencia, Seville, PSG, Spartak Moscow, Arsenal and now Villareal. Lumping him in with a former assistant manager and saying no good owner would have hired him is unadulterated rubbish.
PSG are levels above Arsenal and they hired him.
RH
Emery may have done all those things but he wasn’t the right fit for us. 4 Spanish Clubs, where he can speak the lingo and he’s in his element, PSG where money was no object and Spartak, where he was for only six months, because he was shite,, doesn’t make him the right fit for Arsenal.
As for Arteta, we all knew it was a crazy decision. Well, most of us did.
After Wenger we needed stability not instability, that’s why someone like Ancelotti would have been perfect.
RH
As far as I’m aware, you’re not a club owner.
Would you have hired Emery after Wenger?
As a fan, we understand the entropy in Football. A good coach can look waste with average players. A team can lose even after playing brilliant football and an injury to a player can derail any good team.
So, appointing Emery first and Arteta next, looked somewhat right at that point. Buying Willian was okay and same with extending PEA contract.
Any team with ambition realises this sooner than later, and does the most important part…. Corrects it.
Bob N16 August 26, 2021 : > Lithuaniangooner, worst case scenario is that a > f*cking enormous asteroid hits, much more likely > than Arsenal getting relegated! Actually, I don’t think so. Scientists recently upgraded the chance of Benny hitting the earth to 1 in 1750 “As a result, scientists behind new research now say they’re confident that the asteroid’s total impact probability through 2300 is just 1 in 1,750” https://www.space.com/asteroid-bennu-osiris-rex-impact-odds Arsenal’s odds of being relegated on the moneyline is +6600, which I think equates to 66/1 if I’m not mistaken (I’m no gambler so someone correct me if I’m… Read more »
‘Would you have hired Emery after Wenger?”
Yes, track record of punching above his weight, the idea behind his hire was we wanted UCL by all means to sustain our wage bill, he either gets top four or wins the EL,he had a record of doing well in the EL and could punch above his weight, he finished 2 points off third place and lost the EL final, nothing disastrous about that. Dunno why some keep harping on like we avoided relegation by a whisker under Emery. Its rubbish
“After Wenger we needed stability not instability, that’s why someone like Ancelotti would have been perfect.“
Everton gave Ancelotti a 4 and 1/2 year contract for stability’s sake.
He fucked off to RM after one season.
2 for Kido Taylor-Hart
Patino and Rekik look talents
45 mins for Gabriel
Always good to beat spurs even at under 23s
Live on twitch
Looks like both City and United are in for CR7.
TR7 the only reason United will bid for Ronaldo is to pacify angry fans, they 100% don’t need him.
What a waste of money
If we were a champions league cup we would have taken a punt, although his move is strictly based on giving himself a chance to win the UCL ahead of Messi at PSG, City is the place to be for him
Good to hear Crimson _ I love to see the u23s doing well as always hoping those teams comprise at least 25% of our future first team.
Thanks BayingMob for the statistical update. I think you probably got my point though!
I’m shocked that Graham62 has bought into the big lie that Emery was a bad hire.
Even after the man resumed having relative success away from Arsenal?
Lots of hope it seems for a last minute deal for Aouar. If we’re going to go for it last minute with a midfielder then it must be Bissouma. He would be far more important for our progression than Aouar would.
Dunno why but a team with both Cronaldo and Messi would have been pretty fkin cool to watch. I’m not passionate about either of them, but a forward line of Neymar, Cronaldo, Mbappe and Messi would be absolutely insane to watch for a neutral fan.
Dissenter,
I think relative is a big understatement. It’s an insane achievement for Villarreal to win Europa. It’s like winning it with Celtic, Rangers, West Ham, Everton and the likes in their current states.
Bissouma fell to pieces moment club extended Xhaka.
If we’re doing any deals from here on in better be on the attacking end of things unless we also do a RB with Bellerin leaving (looks very unlikely).
Meanwhile Manchester battling it out between themselves for Ronaldo.
City certainly have the cash not landing Kane not to mention owner trying to match PSG’s Messi coup. But who knows with Bruno tapping him up and his history w/ United… cringe front and center.
Dissenter – were you asleep when Emery was in charge? The football between Baku and the sacking was even more dire than it has been recently. He had lost the dressing room and the whole thing was falling apart. Graham is right – the Board have got it wrong all along – didn’t act to oust Wenger sooner and shouldn’t have appointed Emery and Arteta. There have been seeds of decline since 2006 but the pivotal moment for me was the £100m splurge on Xhaka, Mustafi and Peres. That was when Wenger stepped up the dross and emptied the bank… Read more »
Emery re found his level at Villarreal the same way he had it at Sevilla. He is a very, very good coach for a mid to upper level Spanish team.
The performances in early 19/20 go through show it would have been the correct call to dismiss him after Baku.
It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see him guide Villarreal into the CL knockouts.
Receding I think United will go to any extent to ensure CR7 doesn’t end up at City but you’re right they are not going to win either the league or UCL even with Ronaldo. Not sure why Pep wants CR7 though. He felt Aguero didn’t help much in build up play, CR7 is even more of a poacher who hangs around the last defender to score goals. A meaningful soap opera if you ask me. Also CR7 is totally obsessed with Messi, he ain’t going to touch Leo no matter what he does in the remaining years of his career.… Read more »
Wherever he goes it would be a great spectacle to see Ronaldo back in the Premier League.
Meaningless soap opera*
Tony Evans from Independent can to see what everyone at AFC cannot.
bacary
Yeah it’s a shame Freddie wasn’t quite ready for us .
I think (hope) that he will eventually become a success- and he is modest/realistic enough to gradually build a career
Arsenal board have zero nuance to their game have missed out on Klopp, Tuchel, Nagelsmann host of others dithering about without taking proper action.
“ The football between Baku and the sacking was even more dire than it has been recently.”
That Watford game at Vicarage Road where we conceded something like 30 attempts on goal and the gap between our midfield and defence was staggering. It was a miracle we managed to draw that day.
And I recall Bamford defending that performance as adequate!
Freddie L was more ready than Diet Pep will ever be
Nketiah looks all set to move to Crystal Palace.
“ Arsenal board have zero nuance to their game have missed out on Klopp, Tuchel, Nagelsmann host of others dithering about without taking proper action.”
Rudderless leadership devoid of foresight. Bayern shooed treble winning Heynckes out of the door for Pep. We absolutely could have done the same with Wenger for a Pep or Klopp, we were told we were ready to complete with Bayern Munich after all.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/arsenal-mikel-arteta-man-city-b1909772.html
Brilliant article illustrates what a mess we are.
Raulishuss, It is not giving preferential treatment, it is adjusting how you manage people individually. Not every body should be treated exactly the same as long as everybody is treated with the same respect and attention. If you have an employee who is struggling mentally, of course as manager you will spend more time to make sure that they cope well. If you have young players, you need to adjust and be prepared to spend more time to guide them and accept more mistakes from them. It does not mean indulging them, but providing more guidance. If a young player… Read more »
TR7 well it appears City aren’t signing him. Never made sense considering Pep, he doesn’t need a look at me type player. Allegri is clearly relieved Ronaldo is leaving
The suckers will be United again.
United are suckers for signing ‘look at me type player’ Ronaldo…
What a take.
Suckers…eh.
That Sancho, Varane and CR7 into a side that finished 2nd.