Well, good afternoon to you all.
Tomiyasu says ‘I’m buzzing.’
That’s the post people.
JUST KIDDING.
Rumours are doing the rounds that Bernd Leno has been relegated to club #13 right away. Makes sense now why we dropped such mega-money for Ramsdale. He’s a keeper we all thought was for next season, but Arteta has made a big decision and dropped the German right away.
This goes one of two ways. Ramsdale adapts to the club, the pressures of the football, and creates a relationship with the fans that last for a decade. OR, he sinks, we have to bring a pissed off Leno, and it’s all sorts of carnage. This Ramsdale signing was a big Arteta push, the Spaniard needs a ‘talent ID’ win here, so hopefully the early signs are the right signs and we can banish the misery of slightly ok keeping to the bin.
What is he banking on? Ramsdale is a big communicator on the pitch. He has great energy that transmits to the fans. His decision making and passing is better than Leno’s. He’s a catcher when it comes to high ball into the box. His shotstopping is good. Can that all come together right away? It has to. It’s that simple.
David Ornstein shared that Arteta was again the main man when it came to the right back. We’d been offered Emerson Royal for Hector Bellerin, Arteta resisted the temptation to do an easy deal, and opted for the tactically preferable Tomiyasu. Again, who knows whether this was the right decision, but after one game, it looks like the Japanese player could be a steal. He’s dominant in the duel, he’s fast, he’s tall, and he seems to embody the sort of work ethic that always makes you a fan favourite. Emerson Royal, over at Spurs, dropped a stinker against Zaha. In any high-performance field, the hardest thing to do is pick talent, the second hardest? To say no to something easy and logical. Turning down Emerson could have been a disaster, so let’s hope Arteta is right again… because his job partially depends on that right-back position being ELITE this season.
There are also some rumblings that Granit Xhaka is still a target for Roma this January. I have no idea if this is true, what I am wondering is whether the constant body blows from Granit are taking their toll on the Arteta/Edu relationship. The red card was very Granit and it could have cost Mikel his job. The covid stuff was also pretty bad and could have caused another outbreak. Professional athletes should know better. Could he receive the Willian treatment and Lokonga the ESR? We’ll see. Bit too dreamy a thought.
Mikel Arteta is finally listening to his PR team and he’s making moves on our hearts. He has opened the door to Jack Wilshere returning to the club to train. Jack had this to say.
‘I really enjoyed playing with him, sharing a dressing room with him. To hear him come out and say the door is always open is nice’
‘I think that it can only help me. As you said, being a round good players, training with world-class players and, as well, just being in a team environment is something that I am interested in. I am sure that I will have a conversation with someone at the club over the next couple of days.’
This is great PR, it’s a lovely move from the staff, and you never know… it might prove useful. Not sure if our squad can cope with his inclusion, but it’s a great story regardless. The player holds a lot of love in the fanbase and we’d all love it if Arsenal could be part of his future, even if it was a bit-part role.
The Saliba Ultras are absolutely fuming because it seems like William still likes Arsenal, sharing a birthday cake with a bit of Arsenal on it to his IG feed. The whole situation at Arsenal is weird, the manager doesn’t seem to like him, but I’d be shocked if that remained the same after this summer if he continues to play like a hero. He’s tall, fast, good on the ball, and it looks like he might be playing in a top 4 Ligue 1 side. It’d be an odd decision if we didn’t keep him on or offer him a new deal. But we’ll see.
Finally, Fabrizio Romano says rival clubs are circling Bukayo Saka. I mean, I’m not shocked… the only way we keep him beyond the current deal is if this new team bangs (and some big dollars). There will likely be a sacrifice for the next build of the team and I just hope it’s not one of our highly attractive Hale-Enders… but you have to brace yourself that it could be, just like it was at Liverpool.
P.S. Before you go, click that little chat button in the bottom right to give your opinion on the Arsenal players. It’s a simple ask, you rank the players 1-5. We’ll keep track of it as the season goes!
P.P.S. Listen to the podcast.
Receding, I watched him as well at Bournemouth and WestHam. And I thought that he still had abilities. I even thought that he had developed some aspect of his game like releasing the ball earlier. The main issue was that at Bournemouth none of the strikers were making good runs. And when they were making good runs their first touch often let them down. Wilshere needs players around him on the same wave length, he has none at his last two clubs. I don’t think that today’s Wilshere is the same or as good as the 18 years old who… Read more »
Valentin
Not sure if Wilshere is miles better than Elneny but even if he is, he’s still not good enough for where we need to be.as a team. This is a player that was released by championship side Bournemouth at the end of the 2020- 2021 season
By all means let him improve his fitness by training with us but he’s finished as a Premier League player.
“Wilshere needs players around him on the same wave length, he has none at his last two clubs.”
But has plenty at Arsenal because he once had a great game against Barcelona. On what evidence is your belief that players here are on Wilshere’s unique wavelength.
Valentin you are very transparent, you like him and there is nothing wrong with that, but can you give me just one reason no other club in Europe has taken on this improved talent?
Oh Wilshere can train with Arsenal. That is classy. But giving him any sort of contract is very stupid. He can’t stay fit to save his life. And now I don’t think he has the burst and ability to dribble that made him such a unique player. Would he be better than Elneny? May be. But we shouldn’t be taking a stupid chance like that. Let him train, get his fitness up and look sharp. Then he can convince a championship team to take a chance on him. Our way forward in that midfield is letting Elneny go when his… Read more »
Hi Tony I’ve sensed there’s been a bruising atmosphere on here in the last couple of days. We’ve all been at it, myself included, and I reckon it’s a symptom of the malaise affecting the club. The Norwich game has solved nothing – it’s arguably made the fan base more divided (as if that we’re possible) and we’re all a little more on edge as a result. Burnley will be a far tougher test, not least because it’s at their’s, but it’ll slightly be in our favour that at this early stage the pitch cannot be worse than it was… Read more »
Let Wilshere enjoy what he has earned in his football career or invest in bitcoin,
He is finished.
Receding, ESR will need a breather, but we currently have nobody in the same mould. Buying a ready made replacement for ESR is going to cost money and potentially stunt his development. the closest to an understudy are Azeez and Patino who both needs to learn their craft on loan for at least 12 months before being ready. ESR will not be physically able to play every premiership and domestic cup games. So until both Azeez or Patino can step into the role, in the meantime we still need a 12~18 months backup for ESR. IF Wilshere can show he… Read more »
Habesha, I am saying nearly the same thing than you. Let him train, get his fitness up and look sharp. The difference in my view is that THEN IF he deserves it, offer him a “pay as you play” contract. I would rather have Wilshere handle a few games rather risk a serious injury to ESR by overplaying him. I have said that this team needed 2 more midfielders. An extra athletic midfielder so we can play a 4-3-3 with Partey+Lokonga+ New CM with AMN/Elneny to rotate for one of them. For example when Partey is away or suspended. We… Read more »
You haven’t answered my question, why is nobody else in for this useful backup? Why can’t he find a club for love or money? Last I heard he even went to Italy and they said no thanks.
Your suggestion is based purely on emotion and I expect more of this nonsense as the season unravels and he still trains with the squad, maybe we hit a rough patch and Wilshere is rolled out to remind us of the good old days.
Apparently Barcelona fans are distraught at how far they’ve fallen and they are comparing themselves to Arsenal. Seems their is a word for fucking up now, it’s called doing ‘An Arsenal’. The krankies have turned us into a laughing stock
You can already see it. Wilshere being rolled out after the team goes into a rut. The new propaganda will be how we need a press resistant player who knows the values of the club etc etc. Arteta is such a bullshitter he prepares his material well in advance. Shame he can’t prepare to beat Brentford on their first day.
You really have to wonder why on earth Arsenal fans are on here debating Wiltshire , absolute madness, please let’s concentrate on the more pressing issue the lego headed maniac in charge .After the Norwich display I am really struggling with the style of play and how we are going to get points .I know he blooded 5 new players but it was Norwich not a battle hardened Prem ready Burnley or the spuds for that matter
Shaun
Your concerns are warranted. Just watched a clip from Everton vs Burnley. Dyche’s men have taken the “let the game flow” to heart. They are going to mow us down. I still have no idea who will score for us unless something comes off the Pepe’s shin to Auba’s foot on the goal-line.
Wilshire is shot he has biscuit bones and is not good enough for a championship team, he has youth and wealth i do not fell sorry for him, see him driving through cockfosters many times in his lambo and rolls royce and he is not 30 he does not look sad whenever i spot him.
Valentin
You aren’t saying what I am saying though.
I am saying we shouldn’t offer a contract to him under any circumstances. I am saying help him find a new club. Let him train and be part of a team atmosphere. But let him find a new club. He is 29 now. And even at his early twenties he wasn’t a reliable player to stay fit and be consistent. If Bournemouth won’t give him a new contract at this stage, Arsenal shouldn’t under any circumstances.
TYAG
We firmly deserve the stick we get and if I wasn’t an Arsenal fan I’d be relentless with the slander.
Bringing back Jack under any circumstances is insane for me, this club is intent on burying us completely.
Receding, Sometimes a player does not find a club not simply because of his alleged lack of ability. It could be financial, it could because the position is crucial and so nobody wants to take a risk on an player with a reputation for injury. Arsenal got both Overmars and Kanu because of those preconceptions. Also Wilshere may be unwilling to move to Italy or Spain to be a bit part role. Is he willing to be a backup at a lower League club? Maybe not. Is he willing to be a backup at Arsenal? Of course he is. You… Read more »
The same Pepe that is looked down upon on this site is this sides chief goal threat, unless you still believe that Auba can roll back the years somewhat and be lethal in front of goal. Pepe, if fit needs to start every game.
We knew we needed goals but did nothing at all to rectify that this summer.
Valentin And we don’t need anyone to rest ESR. Odegaard was brought in to share the burden of the Central attacking midfield role. We have 3 wingers ( Pepe, Saka, Martinelli) and 4 strikers (Aubameyang, Lacazette, Balogun, Nketiah). So we have no problems regarding squad depth in attacking positions. You might argue the quality. But all of them offer a whole lot better than wilshere at this point. So when you want to rest ESR we play Odegaard and 2 out of those 3 wingers plus one of those strikers. It is just bullshit reasoning to bring back a player… Read more »
We’ve bought back players before e.g. Keown, Sol, Flamini, Henry, Lehmann, Lukic so why not Jack? Of course only if he can really still do it, Pires trained with us but he wasn’t good enough anymore and went to Aston Villa.
K’phobe if you haven’t seen Stevie Nicks this is worthy of any collection. She may be in her twilight years but her voice hasn’t degraded at all.
Her story telling in lyrics and during the show are fascinating.
stevie nicks 20 karat gold tour
Habesha, Like I explained before, Ødegaard does play CAM but his style of play is completely different from ESR. Simply because he is an attacking player does not mean that he would be a good fit in any attacking position. Square peg round holes comes to mind. For example We can’t rely on Ødegaard to score goals or create havoc with dribbling and direct runs. Ødegaard lack of goal threat means that he would be better with a deeper position. Replacing Xhaka in a 4-2-3-1. Arteta has said that he would like to move to a 4-3-3 in which case… Read more »
Maybe we should just tell Pepe to stand on the right hand corner of the opposition penalty box(or thereabouts) and wait for the ball to come , as he is lethal from that position.
Also tell him under no circumstances should he stand on the touch line as this restricts his strengths.
You have no legs to stand on Valentin, Arsenal should not be offering any sort of contract to Wilshere, end of. I am done debating this absurdity anyway.
TYAG
Barca are the only operation as shambolic as ours around Europe since 2016, the only difference is that they were on top of Everest at that time while we were halfway up Ben Nevis.
Wilshere is completely done as a footballer.
No serious club would touch him with a 10 ft barge pole after his latest loan spell.
Bringing Jack back makes sense. Highly unlucky he’s going to be ready for first team action but just having him around will be good for the Hale Enders who looked up to him. They can still learn from him. By all accounts he is a fun guy and well liked and thats important to build team spirit. Football is psychological as well as physical. I have said for a while that imo we have lost too much past connection, it is time we thought about that because to me it’s a bit soulless at the moment.
* unlikely
Habesha “Oh Wilshere can train with Arsenal. That is classy. But giving him any sort of contract is very stupid. He can’t stay fit to save his life. And now I don’t think he has the burst and ability to dribble that made him such a unique player” I agree mate. I don’t think there is any chance he will be coming to play. It will be a win/win situation where he can train to get fit for his next club and at the same time have a positive effect on the squad. He hasn’t played for a while and… Read more »
Slow and brittle players do not dominate in the MLS anymore.
Look at Matuidi and Higuain struggling over there now, it may be a bit of a joke league technically compared to Europe’s top leagues but physically it is well up there.
Ibrahimovic may be slow but he is a freak of nature and a physical specimen. He is still banging in goals at close to a goal a game rate in Serie A and he turns 40 years old in a couple of weeks.
Pierre, The problem is that in order to be dangerous in that position he needs to receive the ball facing forward. That means that he needs to take the ball slightly outside of the penalty box and then run into the penalty box. In order to avoid being surrounded by two players, he need to have one of our players to offer an alternative outside of him. If the pass to him or to somebody outside of him is possible, then the opposition fullback has a choice to make. Also because he so left footed, he can’t make the outside… Read more »
WE
Yes the MLS does not look great quality wise, I agree. Which is why I believe the pace of the game will suit someone like Jack, who is technically far superior- providing he proves he can get fit which is questionable to be fair. Can’t see a club here taking a gamble with a player who can’t guarantee any kind of minutes.
WE, yep take your point Ibrahimovic is certainly a freak. A bit like Ronaldo. Crazy to be doing what they can at their ages, Ronaldo physically is a proper specimen a real athlete. I’m playing over 45 football at the moment, I’m 59, and it surprises me how many really fit blokes there are in the 45 plus bracket. Luckily I’m technically good but some of these guys are like whippets, well to me, and I’m treading water or grabbing shirts! Be interesting to understand the physiology of a body because some people appear to have nature on their side.
Wilshere is just a PR move. It’s to tickle those fans again who can’t move on from Arsene Wenger. And after all we wouldn’t have this current failing manager in place if he hadn’t played under Arsene Wenger. Plenty of these enablers of Arteta are doing so simply because of his Wenger connection. They are holding on to him for dear life as a payback to those who so disgracefully ran Wenger out of the club. They ditched Emery sharpish as he had the audacity to be the first man in after Wenger with no connection. It was no surprise… Read more »
AFC Forever Agree, Arsenal will never be great gain until it re-captures its soul. This may sound fanciful nonsense to young fans, but it’s the kind of awareness comes with the passing of the years. The dead hand of Stan and the ego of Arsene killed off the Arsenal of old.But there are visible signs of rebirth. Arsene has gone and Stan (or, more likely, Josh) has changed the tune. Instrumental in this is Mikel Arteta. His every word, his every action is soaked with awe of Arsenal Football Club. A manager who initiates long-term projects not temporary fixes. A… Read more »
I think joe Cole played for Coventry for a couple of seasons in league 1 at the fag end of his career, that’s what JW needs to do. Its delusional to think he can operate effectively in PL or championship. Even in league 1 hed probably break after a couple of games. It’s over for him.
It’s crazy to think what the standards were and what was seen as acceptable or not just a few seasons ago. Miss top four by a point or two. How dare you. You are shit. Lose a Europa League final. How dare you. You are shit. Truth be told Emery didn’t have a chance in hell here because so many fans were just hungrily waiting for him to make his first bad steps and then slaughter him and all because he was that first man to come in after Wenger. Let’s be clear. A set-up of Emery and Mislintat is… Read more »
I don’t think that Ronaldo is a freak of nature. I think that an obsessive/dedicated model pro. I read somewhere that he does everyday about 1000 sit-up in order to keep his abdominal muscle look like they do. Many pros don’t even do 100 per day. You don’t get the physics he does without exercising at least 2 hours per day and eating properly. For some removing the Coca Cola bottle from a press conference may have been a publicity stunt, but I am ready to believe that he genuinely think when he say that it is nocive for his… Read more »
AFC Forever And it will only improve as sport science advances and players take better care of themselves. Even Ronaldo’s mentors in Roy Keane, Scholes, Giggs, etc lived in the pub in their days off in the nineties when they were playing, maybe not Giggs so much as he was useful up until he was 40 himself. Ronaldo will score 30 goals this season in all comps if he stays fit and he turns 37 in February, it’s incredible what we are witnessing. Ibrahimovic is 40 and banging them in. Lewandowski and Benzema are 2 of the top 3 strikers… Read more »
Morning lads
Is Englandsbest for real ?
Is he a bot that Pedro created ?
I ask because who writes this: ‘ Instrumental in this is Mikel Arteta. His every word, his every action is soaked with awe of Arsenal Football Club. A manager who initiates long-term projects not temporary fixes. A man who creates a team of enthused youngsters for the future. Someone who stirs the soul of Arsenal’
That’s dangerous adulation stuff.
Of course he’s not for real Dissenter but he is having to turn up the satire as people have been taking him seriously.
WE Yep. I watched a documentary on Ronaldo and it was ridiculous how hard he works. They can’t get him off the training field and he’s even using his home gym. Word was they had to tell him to resist over doing it. Apparently it can be a drug due to the release of endorphins that makes tehse players over train. Funny to think it wasn’t long ago Tony Adams & Paul Merson were getting smashed senseless every Tuesday with the rest of the players; and in the latters case shoving stuff up his nostrils – he’s paying the price… Read more »
Tony
Please stop your snide remarks about me.
I have never called any “fan” plastic. What I have criticised are people who are constantly criticising the club and team. I don’t mind “constructive criticism”.
Also I don’t like people who are constantly targeting other posters and “put them down” which is what you are constantly doing.
You are someone with a very high opinion of himself as LG has posted.
Doesn’t Valentin understand that it s possible to be a freak of nature and still be obsessively devoted to keeping yourself intact.
Anyone that can perform at this obscene level at 36 y/o is a freak of nature.
Receding it’s not bloating the squad if it’s a risk free contract
If he trains well enough to be taken seriously, he plays. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. We only pay him if he’s actually playing.
What is the issue?
Worst case scenario he’s absolutely wank and injured and never plays for us, probably retires. Best case scenario he shocks everyone and is good enough to actually add something to the squad. Likely scenario he’s not dreadful but nearer the crap end of the stick. So what? What did we lose? What did it cost us?
Ronaldo and Lebron James are both very alike on and off the pitch/court and are only 5 weeks apart in age, pretty mad.
I’m not sure the signing of Odegaard improves the team,all it does is complicates the team selection.. Smith Rowe really needs to be starting with Saka, and if you look at some of our best link up play during 2021, it is normally with Lacazette up top and Pepe on the opposite wing to Saka… Aeteta needs to find the right balance in attack, atm I don’t believe he has a clue which is his best 4 offensive players.. His options are Aubamayang Lacazette Nketiah Martinelli Smith Rowe Odegaard Balogun Pepe. Saka If we are going to play with high… Read more »
AFC Forever
Merse by all accounts was a different animal altogether, made the likes of Roy Keane look like tee-totalers. Booze, Charlie, smokes, Gambling, you name it. Has definitely caught up with him sadly.
Always remember an interview with old ‘Arry Redknapp where he named Merson without hesitation as the best signing of his managerial career, he signed him at Portsmouth. Said even in Merson’s decrepit state that he was levels above anyone else in the Championship and absolutely bossed it and drove them to promotion to the PL.
Dissenter
Steady, that’s dangerous self-adulatory stuff
“Arteta needs to bin Xhaka and look at Liverpool’s attack and how narrow Salah”
We all know he walks back into the side, to the detriment of the team. It’s a bit of a double edged sword as Xhaka and Arteta will sink this side further in the short term but it will most likely result in Arteta seeking new employment. Fans are not as enamoured with Arteta as Legrove and Twitter would have one think. I’m at all the games, nobody in my section is in support of Arteta.
China why are we discussing Wilshere? Because he couldn’t get a contract with just about anyone else.
Like I said its a boring topic and its only being promoted based on emotions. There is no justification for offering a player who the footballing world have forgotten a contract simply because he used to play here before.
Let Wilshere train if he wants and good luck to him but offering him a contract seems a bit silly.
What is the purpose of that? So he can make a 5 minute cameo in the match so fans can get all nostalgic again.
Wilshere is not a legend anyway in the Henry, Vieira or Begkamp sense. He was a unfulfilled talent really that never quite managed to live up to his billing despite having good matches with the club.
These sentiments towards Wilshere exists because many people think the club still owes him something. There’s a belief out there that Wenger ruined him, when in fact all Wenger did was to provide him with opportunities that matched his prodigious talent at the time. Jack Wilshere is not worthy of your pity. Like Mr Serge said, he’s shuffling about in his exotic cars, enjoying life in ways many of us can only dream of. He’s achieved what any baller would dare to dream of as a chid in the academy. It seems to me, he’s struggling to accept the reality… Read more »
Englandsbest
You have this unquestioning approach to Arteta when in fact, he’s just another manager. Managers will come and go, Arsenal will remain.
You’re describing a human being like he’s some deity of sorts. He burps and shits as much as we all do.
Tony “….. as with the Hungarian immigrant, ES, who likely has some Isreali blood in hm, as it makes up of 50% of my real heritage. Now ES thinks he’s a cut above everyone else while he looks at his silver spoon in its case on the wall.”. AND “I went it alone and made my fortune to spite my real mother because I never talked to her again” AND “Luteo, ……….if you don’t like that, tough. Carry on being a keyboard warrior or come to Thailand and discuss it with me face to face” Tony seems like a nice… Read more »
AFC Forever I ignore usually Tony over the last 6 months or so. However, I drew the line yesterday, because of his blatant antisemitic remark. Many years ago I worked as a trainee lawyer for a well known firm of solicitors [non Jewish]. I was sent out to take a statement from a prospective client who was the son of a famous Film Director who was coincidentally of Hungarian and Jewish Heritage. The mother was non Jewish and the parents were divorced. During the interview it became crystal clear to me that the potential client was a “rabid antisemite” despite… Read more »
Dissenter, A freak of nature is somebody who train normally and still has his physique. It’s somebody who at 40 years still have stamina and athleticism of 25 years old professional athlete. That’s not CR7. At 36 he has already regressed physically. That’s why he is not the speedy winger anymore. He is a striker. He is not the player that he was even 5 years ago. The difference between him and the others is that he started from such a high point, he is still higher than most. Hence it looks miraculous. CR7 is extremely talented, but his physical… Read more »
Let’s be honest here , Ronaldo’s 3 goals all had a little bit of fortune.
He could just as easily be on zero goals.
Poor old Tony, getting it in the neck from le grove posters.
I’ve noticed he’s been on his best behaviour recently but a leopard doesn’t change it’s spots…..
I prefer the old Tony with his excellent “wish you were here” Judith chalmers impersonations.
Thoroughly enjoyed watching Ole’s ineptitude for United in the CL vs Young Boys yesterday.
Apparently his CL record with United consists now of 7 losses in 11 games played.
Yesterday his in game management resembled that of Arteta’s in Europe.
Meanwhile in the world where real managers exist Chelsea have lost one CL game under Tuchel while having played 8.
I really had no idea Tony had shared details of his family dispute, his lineage, heritage and other personal details until I read posts from some of the other posters quoting him or replying him.
P.S : I avoid reading lengthy posts, so I skip most if not all the posts from Tony. By the way it’s never a good idea to share one’s personal details/stories on internet. Looks like Tony has written about his personal life in chapter and verses.
ES
Just ignore the racist idiot, his head is so far up his own arse he’s chewing on tonsils.As for the “My son got really upset when I told him I’d had enough of the Arteta’s disingenuous, trolls on the blog led by Pedro”
Unless his son is Dissenter, who gives a flying xxxx………!?
Has to be a wind up surely?
“A freak of nature is somebody who train normally and still has his physique. It’s somebody who at 40 years still have stamina and athleticism of 25 years old professional athlete.“
Sorry Val, but the person you’re describing doesn’t exist and never has.
No 40 year old has a stamina of a 25 year old.
Not in football anyway.
‘At 36 he has already regressed physically. That’s why he is not the speedy winger anymore. He is a striker. He is not the player that he was even 5 years ago.’ This is very true, that time last night where he nipped in on the ponderous defender and managed to get through on goal and create what would have been an easy one vs one chance for himself in his prime but was instead easily caught up with by a supporting defender to deny him the chance was a stark reminder of this for United fans getting ahead of… Read more »
”By the way it’s never a good idea to share one’s personal details/stories on internet.”
Agreed.
Only Pedro even knows 95% of posters on here’s real name.
TR7 “By the way it’s never a good idea to share one’s personal details/stories on internet” Very true. From a MH perspective social media can be harmful. Really have to be careful there are some pretty unsavoury people about who troll to cause problems for people. Also, I went to a security seminar once and they said Facebook was the most used tool for the criminal. Not just being able to identify when houses are empty, families on holiday but obtaining pin numbers and passwords. Most people use pet, family or sports names as passwords (easy to remember) .and have… Read more »
How can PSG pays the salary to all those stars and is still within the FFP limit while Barca can’t hold onto Messi???
“he doesn’t have the legs to beat defenders in foot races or long dribbles.”
Call me a hater but I don’t think Ronaldo was ever good at dribbling. Showboating with step overs ? Yes but long dribbling running straight through 4-5 players ? I don’t think he was ever capable of that.
Is this Le Grove or the playground of 13year old schoolgirls.
Nelson
In fairness, PSG got a lot of freebies in the form of free transfers
They really don’t give a damn about FFP though, if they did, they would have sold Mbappe.
FFP exists partly to keep premier league clubs from going too far ahead.
Receding you keep missing the point You don’t offer him a contract until he’s proved himself worthy of one – and that contract is designed to be risk free There is no throwing contracts at him based on emotions, that’s not part of the conversation. You just let him train for free. We’ve let many ex players do this and we even let David Beckham train with us once. It’s classy and harmless. He only gets anything resembling an actual contract if he does enough in training to actually warrant one. It’s unlikely by everyone’s estimations exactly as you said… Read more »
Nelson didn’t you hear? Coming second in the French league and making the CL semis is actually worth £999999999999999999999. It’s funny how that works!
There is a consensus about Saka and ESR starting together. But again overplaying could lead to permanent damage specially in the young. So I am with Valentin about playing Wilshere , if found fit, with Saka. The advantage will be a familiar playmaking , and allows the usual football to flow which might not be possible with a totally different player.
But am also wary that Wilshere could be some sentimental ammo Fraudeta lining up to use in case he needs to save his bacon.
Funny seeing the reaction to Wilshere possibly training with Arsenal again.
Yes, it’s a risk I agree.
Saka could pick up one of those loose cigarettes falling out of Wilshere’s secret stash he keeps in his shorts, and get hooked on them.
Dissenter
My question is about the salary. Some Barca stars are willingly accepting a pay cut to help the team to meet the ffp limit. I am sure that those PSG star players, Mbappe, Neymar, Messi, Di Maria, Verratti, Marquinho, Kimpembe wouldn’t accept a low salary.
China1
Now you confuse me further. I find north American sports provide a more level playing field.
TR7
”Yes but long dribbling running straight through 4-5 players ?”
Could anyone in the past decade and a half do that besides Messi, Neymar, Ribery and maybe Hazard? Pretty harsh criteria for being classified as a good dribbler.
Any player that can consistently beat a defender in a one vs one is a good dribbler in my book and Ronaldo at United and early on at Real could do that for fun.
https://www.football365.com/news/arteta-creates-own-problem-as-arsenal-promise-revealed
Regarding the last question
Ans : no chance. Congenital liar
Ish
Looks like Arteta was appointed for the pep relationship and not the wenger connection
Herein lies our present predicament
Arteta doesn’t have the tools to evolve beyond a certain man city blueprint he learnt
His mentor however is constantly evolving
The lack of coaching nous and fixation on a particular method is why arteta will never be a decent coach imo
and Arsenal can never progress beyond a lower level mid table team under him
TR7
Yea, you;re a Ronaldo hater 🙂
We all know that now
Ronaldo used to get scythed al the time when he was in the premier league because he’s a bag of tricks, a terrific dribbler that will tie up a defender’s legs in knots
He adapted his game over time to get better because just nutmegging people and step-overs wasn’t enough to get into the GOAT conversation.
Sly
“Looks like Arteta was appointed for the pep relationship and not the wenger connection”
Arsenal would not have appointed Arteta as a novice unless he was a former Arsenal player.
They made a big deal that Arteta so-called knew the workings of Arsenal FC.
Doesn’t matter how supposedly good an assistant he was at Man City.
Without that prior link to Arsenal he doesn’t get the gig at Arsenal.
At the moment Jack is simply going to train, which is great. I’m quite sure if he plays then it will be on a pay-per-play basis and Jack would probably be delighted to do that deal. But can we play him? Haven’t we already registered the maximum number of players until the January TW opens?
TR7 – I think it doesn’t hurt to bare a little of your soul online. I’m very careful never to post shots of my holiday on Facebook until after I’ve returned and even then i make it clear it was the past. I also don’t use obvious passwords.
Nevertheless keeping it real a bit makes you more of a real person when we’re all using monikers etc.
“Doesn’t matter how supposedly good an assistant he was at Man City.“
Ishola, I disagree.
Take the City/Pep connection and especially the angle what type of football they play, and Arteta would’ve been just another former Arsenal player with coaching badges looking for an opportunity.
Pep co-signed for him big time, and some of the testimonials from City players helped too.
Pedro ran with the Arteta made Sterling narrative for months, when improving existing Arsenal players was still a thing, and buying a whole new squad was frowned upon.
Tom
It was made plainly clear that Arteta’s prior association with Arsenal was a very big reason why he was appointed.
People can go on about Pep all they like but without Arteta having been a former player and him knowing the club and vice versa they wouldn’t have appointed him.
Ishola, it was definitely a combination of factors, but to dismiss the City connection all together is nuts.
People thought he would produce a perfect blend of City like football while sustaining Arsenal values cultivated under Wenger.
We’ve got none of the two.
Tom
Of course it’s a combination of both but one without the other means no job for Arteta at Arsenal.
Or should we say such a high level job straight away.
PSG can afford the high salary of big stars because they don’t pay the rest of the squad so high salary. That led to Matuidi, Adrien Rabiot to protest at their treatment and leave. Kaylor Navas is on €52kpw (~£44kpw) when we had Runnarson on £40kpw! https://www.sportekz.com/football/psg-players-salaries/amp/ After being caught by many youngsters leaving on a free and making a name for themselves at top European clubs, they are now a lot more ruthless with the academy players. Most of the ones they sell for little money to other French clubs have a resale participation clause. This summer they have… Read more »
Signing Wilshere would be banterful stuff. But it’s not impossible for a club that signed the relegator himself.
I’m all for the nostalgia and if Wilshire needs place to train why not, he’s earned that right imo.
But it ends there, he’s not pulling a TH 14 type resurrection. Having visions of Wenger putting Sol Campbell into the side in 2010 who was so far off the pace had to feel for guy.
Tom,
Zlatan is a freak of nature. 40 years and still playing at high level.
Bruno the former Brighton right back was still decent until 38 years old. He was never great, but even his last season I never thought he had been done because of his declining physique.
I remember an interview where later in his career he was very proud of still being one of the fastest and strongest in their squad.
It is obvious that Arteta got the gig for the 3 reasons: + Connection with Wenger and Arsenal values because he was a former player. + Connection with Pep who gave his seal of approval. + Network connection, first with Gazidis and then with media and PR people who were able to sell that mythic narrative based in the word of his mates. The combination of all three is important, because only two elements would not have been enough to get the gig. Nobody thought that Pires, Ljungberg, Vieira or even Henry were valid option, when Arteta had even less… Read more »
Valentin
You forgot to add that Arteta was AVAILABLE, easy to get at the time and was a cheal option.
I was given a choice on here at the time of Mourinho and Arteta.
Come on that’s not fair lol.
Only 1 pic from what I can see of the clown Xhaka in training on arsenal.com today.
Maybe AFC starting to realise the fans hate him & that he is s**t!!
After 3 sacking opportunities you wonder whether our Board has any capacity for tough decisions at all. However it has happened the club has bought well it seems (although still very early days). It really needs an experienced coach now to ensure the players are properly bedded in and a fresh look can then also be taken with Saliba too
Dissenter,
Arteta was gettable, but he was in employment. ManCity demanded compensation, but you are right that compensation and salary were lower than if we had gone for Tuchel, Conte, etc.
When I see the good work that Galtier is doing at OGC Nice, I still think a duo of Galtier and Campos was gettable and would have been perfect for Arsenal. At least he would have been able to have Pepe firing in all cylinders.