ARSENAL NESTLED IN THE PACK

by .

Well hello my DARLINGS.

It’s Monday morning and I am just going to say it: That United beating kind of fired me up? You know that feeling when you’ve seen a fight in a pub? Or you’ve just watched Mike Tyson knock someone out and you want to go out fighting? That’s how I felt yesterday. Blood was in the air and I wanted some of it on my hands.

Is that weird? Maybe.

I can’t get over it. How could they be so bad? OGS finished 2nd last season, made a Europa League Final (beaten, lol). This summer, he has all the transfers addicts saying things like:

‘THAT’S AMBITION, MY CLUB’

9 games into the season and they are having their backsides handed to them at home by Liverpool. Outrageous stuff.

Arsenal made a move on the Premier League table at the weekend. We’re now level points with the teams you’d expect us to near at this stage of the season. The only real outlier in the group is Brighton.

The only team unbeaten in 6 is… Arsenal.

Phase 3 is about to get a lot tougher. The coaching staff have a tough decision to make. Do they go all-in on Leeds and risk legginess for an early Saturday kick-off? Or do they go for youth and risk a defeat that might impact the first team?

I suspect the manager will go for… a hybrid. Leeds is not in good shape this season. They have a very lean squad and they haven’t been able to handle the Premier League. They have a very good starting 11, but if they are missing 6 odd first-teamers, they are always going to struggle.

So what will the equation be for Bielsa? I’d imagine he’ll have limited interest in this cup game. His priority is rescuing the Premier League season before it goes to the bad place. I think he rolled on 3 reserve kids at the weekend as subs. They are depleted. That could make it a bit easier for Mikel Arteta to pick a zesty youth team.

So who will play? My hope is that Folarin Balogun lands some minutes. If the club aren’t going to use Eddie in the first team squad, what is the point in wasting minutes for him in the League Cup? I’d love to see Charlie Patino, but I think it might be a bit soon for him. Though I do think he mostly missed out last time because our first team was extremely green to the league. So you never know.

We’ll also see some of the fringe players we need to keep in the mixer. Holding, Cal Chambers, Leno, and Mo Elneny will likely earn some minutes. I would like for us to put a few of our starters in some cotton wool… Smith Rowe being right up there and Lacazette also. Can’t have the risking bodies for a cup this early in the season.

William Saliba had a really good game against PSG last night making a majestic last-ditch tackle on Mbappe in the second half.  His first half was ok, but he really came into his own as the game was chased. This loan move is working out really well for him. When he makes mistakes, it’s good for us. When he has towering moments against big teams, it’s good for us. By the time he comes back to us next summer, he’ll probably be the most experienced 21-year-old centre back in the Premier League. As Clive from Arsenal Vision said yesterday, the player has 2 years on Konate. It’s hard to imagine that he’s not picking up that slot behind Ben White next season.

Matteo G also had a solid game. Could he find his way back to Arsenal? You suspect he’d like to. If he can have a season without issue, maybe there is a way back? What I still can’t fathom is why we put a guaranteed number on a transfer for a young player with a high ceiling. But there you go.

Right, short post today, I shall see you in the comments.

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Emiratesstroller

Drinking Culture, poor diet and laddish behaviour was part and parcel of English Football
until the arrival of Wenger.

Most leading managers including Busby, Shankly and Ferguson would have turned a blind
eye to the goings on offield.

Anyone who has read the biography of Tony Adams will know very well that he was an alcoholic and there were several incidents resulting on one occasion in gaol. I think that it
was highly unlikely that Graham would not have been aware of what went on.

PhD2020

PedroOctober 25, 2021 22:22:16
Words, no mate, you just don’t understand elite level sport like myself and Conte do.

——

lol
lol

PhD2020

The Punch & Judy Show in full effect…

Lol…

Pierre

I can’t remember seeing Cantona track back, which for many on here is more important than what a player can do on the ball.

Kroenkephobe

ES Kin ell mate. You’re sooooooo pompous. Things I don’t know about I express my uncertainty. Read again what I wrote. Here it is to save you scrolling I’d be intrigued to know if he was aware of TA, Parlour and Merse’s liquid afternoons. Geddit? I’m saying I don’t know. And frankly nor would you although there’d surely be signs to someone who was trained to spot it. The game has changed immeasurably since GG was a manager. Or if you have an inside track, tell us rather than adding 2 and 2 and making 5. Stop being such a… Read more »

Kroenkephobe

Oh and of course I’ve read ‘Addicted’. You’re the exalted oracle of course so do tell me if GG absolutely knew about it at the time (rather than afterwards).

Pierre

Imagine Cantona playing under Arteta , I’d give it about a week before Cantona would walk out, never to be seen again…

Emiratesstroller

Kroenkephobe

Stop your personalised attacks.

You posed a question, which I answered. There is absolutely no possibility that Graham did
not know what went on with Tony Adams. His antics particularly the events leading to
his gaol incarceration were well publicised.

Pierre

Stroller
I’d be surprised if George Graham knew thàt Adams was an alcoholic…

If he did, then I’d be even more surprised that he and Arsenal football club didn’t do something about his alcoholism.

Emiratesstroller

Pierre

Of course he did.

The car crash in 1990 followed by the alcohol readings and the subsequent 4 month prison sentence would have highlighted Adams drink problems. I am pretty sure that there was
a report on Adams drinking habits.

Do you think that Busby was unaware of George Best’s antics and drinking habits?

The fact is that most clubs ignored the shenanigans of players unless they occurred at the
club and on the pitch.

PhD2020

PierreOctober 25, 2021 23:47:22
I can’t remember seeing Cantona track back, which for many on here is more important than what a player can do on the ball.

——

We get it….

Just let it go…..

You are to Ozil,what Pedro is to Arteta,to what CC is to Xhaka,to what TR7 is to Rosicky,to what WE is to Sancho,to what … is to Ramsey,to what Wallace was to Arsene(though I think he’s come back as Bob N16 propping up Arteta)…

We get it…Just let it go….

All the best.And good luck with your golf…

PhD2020

PedroOctober 25, 2021 23:15:00
Come up with new content.

——
Funniest thing I’ve heard on here in years….

‘Artetasexuals’ asking you to come up with reasons,to not be attracted to Lego hair after 22 months of ‘ fornicating all’ on the pitch-with no European football -mind you..

Hilarious…

Johnno

Sorry. Just checked in. Need to verify something Pedro-

Did somebody try to compare Eric Cantona to Matteo Guendouzi ?

PhD2020

JohnnoOctober 26, 2021 02:02:04
Sorry. Just checked in. Need to verify something Pedro-Did somebody try to compare Eric Cantona to Matteo Guendouzi ?

——

Did someone compare Arteta to Michael Schumacher at some point?

Did someone compare Arteta to Steve Jobs at one point?

Did someone compare Arteta to Jeff Bezos?

Just checking in also….

What’s the reply or response Johnno?

Tony

What’s funny about the Guen comments is that he has to agree to sign for Marseilles for the option to be picked up. The player and the agent decide the transfer the they both want, not the club. Would love Guen to come back and play well for us. Ditto Saliba. I’d say under a different manager ala at Marseilles Guen could be a very useful midfield player where we are still lacking cover for and PL tested. But Arteta’s way is to sell for 10pence and buy a replacement at £50m who isn’t really better than Guen who is… Read more »

Johnno

To be clear. I am not Pedro. Therefore I have not made those comparisons. I assume Pedro has. Seems obvious but thought I’d make sure. Fwiw Pedro is way over the top with arteta IMO. I am happy with the players we have bought and promoted. I think a manager will get a tune out of these players in next 24 months. Not convinced it’s arteta. But two things can be true and I can think Pedro is naive abs still agree with him on guendouzi. And as such – I think the idea that you would compare Cantona. And… Read more »

Tony

Wenger was just as bad with players management. Remember when Wallcott got benched for ever after saying I think it was Everton wanted is more than we did. Arteta is a negatives Wenger clone. Both narcissists. I thin k you’ll find, Pedro, that Guen would respect Conte for his achievements and as an elite player where Guen would behave because he trusts Conte with his career. Arteta? Not at all. You’ll learn this things as you get older, Pedro. It’s called mature opinions made over 6 or 7 decades. You’ve got 3 decades under your Pedro learning from a dad… Read more »

Tony

Agree with your Arteta thoughts Johnno but not Guen. The kid was still going through puberty at 18/19 or the end of it. If you’ve had teenage kids, you’d know. Now Guen is growing up more and has a decent manager to play under who is smart to give Geun the captain’s armband. Give petulant players controlled leadership orders and most of the time they will respond the right way. Arteta just loves throwing our money away and then you have Pedro crying about the petro-Dollars the Saudis have to spend. What is the real cost of having Arteta for… Read more »

Johnno

I have had two teenage kids. They never acted like the stories we hear about guendouzi. They were like their mother. Humble. Appreciative and polite. I also coached a highly ranked team throughout their teenage years. I was fine with the emotional elements of being that age – but never disrespect or poor work ethic. That’s a killer for the coach. There has to be standards and one or two must be sacrificed to make the point. Arteta will likely fail. But at least any cliques he has will have been made under his watch. Probably by his actions. MG… Read more »

PhD2020

PhD2020October 25, 2021    22:52:26 Arteta’s EPL record since Dec 2019-May 2021(Dumped out of Europe altogether for the following 2021/22 season). He would have managed 58 EPL matches from Dec 2019 up until May 2021… Winning 27;Drawing 13; Losing 18. Points accumulated in that time period equates to 94 points over 58 matches and 1.62ppm(points per match). In short,Arteta’s managerial record in the EPL since Dec 2019-May 2021 reads in percentage terms:- Wins -27/58 =0.47% Draws-13/58=0.22% Losses-18/58=0.31 % versus Arteta-Dec 2019-Oct 2021(No Europe &£200 million+ spend) season…. Arteta’s managerial campaign with a total £200 million+ spend and being out of ’Europe’… Read more »

Tony

I understand what you’re saying, Johnno, and it seems your kids were helped through their teen angst by cool parents. I’ve said before that I feel Guen has some form of spectrum based alphabet soup. My daughter is 23 and about to do her Masters in Melbourne, but she has a mental issue that she has needed meds for. She’s almost savant at times in her nerd driven ways. My son has had full blown ADHD the same as me and my wife. He’s also doing exceptionally well with maths and Science subjects while being addicted to sports, now golf.… Read more »

PhD2020

JohnnoOctober 26, 2021 03:25:10 Not sure what’s MG got to do with Arteta playing a false No.9 against Villareal in the Europa Cup? Or how MG somehow contributed to Arsenal finishing in 8th place for two consecutive seasons under Arteta and out of Europe for the first time in 25 years? It’s safe to say,I missed your point…Totally…. And let’s not harp on about the the £250+ million spend under Arteta.. And shipping out a £30 million (CB)Saliba out(with no match time in almost 2 seasons) in place of a ball carrying £50 million CB in Ben White from BHA,because… Read more »

Tony

PhD you’re confusing Pedro because he only understand massaged stats you lose him with the real qualified results.

Pedro lives in the world of Walter Mitty when he considers Arteta’s star. He doesn’t get it that there’s 38 games in a league season.

Maths is not Pedro’s best subject, PhD, or is it he’s just disingenuous when talking mathematically about Arteta?

Tony

stats*

Tony

Anyway, Leeds tonight at home should be another win for us depending who Arteta plays?

Do we really need to rest players with our non Europe schedule?

I’ll be happy with 442 again.

S Asoa

Arteta winning of a lucky FAN cup on new coach bounce immediately after he was appointed and therefore on players nous trained by the earlier manager , is flogged ad nauseum

PhD2020

TonyOctober 26, 2021 03:54:39

Not sure,why the continuous spin….?

Actually scratch that..I have a feeling why..

Either way,hope you are doing well Tony…

Caught one of your links the other day..Was great to listen too.

PS
Are you guys expecting another wave of the Covid-19?

S Asoa

It looks like Fantom proudly wearing his good jock over his tights.
Ridiculous, in enlightened times

Janky

Only gripe with Matteo is giving him away cheap. But, he didn’t really look like a sellable asset back when we cut the deal, so I wouldn’t even worry too much about that. The retrospectoscope always makes things look easier than they were. That’s not the same thing as saying I think mike did a fine job handling that situation. It was rookie moves all the way. Man was cleaning house which is good, but went studs up on Matteo for his prickishness when another tactic might have led to a better outcome. More money maybe? But I don’t think… Read more »

PhD2020

PhD2020October 26, 2021 03:36:26

PhD2020October 25, 2021 22:52:26
This was the post that was censored or deleted on Pravda…

—–
Heaven help us,should we criticise Arteta on such a blog…

Kim Jung Un-SOS

gnarleygeorge9

Pedro

How long now has it been since manure won a trophy 😛

Tony

Hope all well with you as well PhD. Thanks for the stats recently, made for good reading. Thailand now has many areas in lockdown with Bangkok being the worst hit at the moment. we always get things after the west it seems so we’re hit with the delta variant that made its way here a couple of months ago. UK looks like it might get through the winter without a national lock down, but things can change rapidly. Regards to the spin I’ve wondered for a while if the Process was post Xmas last season and then the wheels fell… Read more »

PhD2020

TonyOctober 26, 2021 04:53:27 Hope all well with you as well PhD. Thanks for the stats recently, made for good reading.Thailand now has many areas in lockdown with Bangkok being the worst hit at the moment. we always get things after the west it seems so we’re hit with the delta variant that made its way here a couple of months ago.UK looks like it might get through the winter without a national lock down, but things can change rapidly. ———- Hi Tony, Great to hear from you… Good to know you’re still vibrant…More so,great to hear your family and… Read more »

bacaryisgod

Pedro It was a long time ago but here’s part of a 2002 Observer article about Carragher. The bad behaviour peaked in 1998 when Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher got a little bit too into the swing of things. At the club’s bash, the England international – dressed as the Hunchback of Notre Dame – quickly whipped off his hunch and reached for the whipped cream upon noticing the arrival of the night’s entertainment. ‘Scene of lust: guests hurl themselves into a frenzy’ the News Of The World captioned one gruesome picture (above, right) as Carragher and several of his team… Read more »

Sid

@Tony, give us some anecdotes, the Estroller guy tried yesterday but his game is weak.

Tony

“As the debauchery kicked off Michael Owen allegedly went to stand in the corner”

BIG that bastard could score from anywhere!

Habesha Gooner

I really hope I am wrong. But Arteta is a midtable manager. He is a Yo-Yo kind of coach. There won’t be a significant winning run. Everytime we have a good performance, which is far too few, we follow it up with a crappy one. The fact that we still have no identity makes me think that this is the best he can do. And that’s why I want him out. I hope these rumors of Newcastle appointing Overmars are false. They are also saying he would like to bring Ten hag with him in the summer if he moved.… Read more »

Tony

Sid our best story teller, Almunia, has gone to ground I believe to take a well earned rest. Any chance you could fill in for the fella? I tried and failed with Pedro-Pete so was really happy Almunia made it his own. Almunia if you’re reading hope all is well with you and family. K’phobe good to see you’re taking no prisoners. At least Pedro have you the bin warning. Poor Graham was hacked down behind and in the bin before he knew it. Took him a while to recover. I mean you share the bin with Don’s many monikers… Read more »

Tony

Budgie*

Tony

Couldn’t resist one more from one of the R&B rock greats.

There are 2 great focus for any interested people to check out.

We lost a brother on a ride doing 15kph going round a bend when the front wheel lost traction on grit/sand and he slide across the road in front of a pick up.

I made a video of the funeral for his family and club and used this song for the walk up to lay a flower and pat his chest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXLeNv4VVUo

Tony

Docus*

Graham62

PhD2020

You present things so well and I’m in agreement with nearly everything you highlight.

You should have made a point #13 though. It would have put the icing on the cake.

Graham62

Any predictions for tonight?

Dependant on the teams of course.

I’ll go 3-2 to the Arsenal.

@EmiratesStroller

Mate comparing Ali and Cantona is ridiculous. Cantona wasn’t half the man or sportsman Ali was. Massive disrespect from you their.

Graham62

Am I right, this in the last 16?

The QF’s beckon.

Then MC bring in their first XI for the semi finals.

Game over.

Bob N16

Good posts from Johnno and Janky. Arteta being blamed for not getting enough money for Guendouzi. Am not sure that is his responsibility. You could argue that Guendouzi’s handling could have been improved upon and that effected his value but loan/ transfer negotiations are not down to Arteta. Guendouzi was bought for not very much and it appears we’ll make a slight profit on his transfer. No real drama there. There are many more transfers we could highlight that lost us loads. We took a punt on a flawed young player with potential. We’ll never know but he might well… Read more »

Steg

PhD. – nice post but i disagree with a few points as follows; 1. Inexperienced manager – yes he was when he was appointed but now in situ for 2 years – doesn’t that make him more experienced. I personally wouldn’t have appointed him in the first place but hey ho. 2. Background team full of journeymen – doesn’t that make his backroom team experienced and therefore a good thing? Also Journeymen isn’t exactly a bad thing – lots of the best managers were journeymen. Look at Wenger and Klopp – absolute Journeymen pros till they turned elite managers. Dont… Read more »

Bob N16

Graham62, hopefully we’ll avoid City for as long as possible as these games provide much needed practice for our ‘second’ team. Leeds under lots of pressure in the PL so imagine will play a much weakened team. They’re playing Norwich at the weekend which is obviously of vital importance that they get a good result. That said Bielsa is his own man so we’ll see. I expect a good atmosphere tonight. As ST holders have to pay extra for these fixtures, there are always keen ‘newbies’ to join in with the singing. It being half term I expect quite a… Read more »

AFC Forever

Morning all. It’s a difficult one tonight. On the one hand, we have a very young team that has only played a handful of games together and need more match minutes. On the other, we have the squad players. If Arteta wants to continue building rhythm after Friday’s game, he won’t make wholesale changes. The risk with that is injuries and recovery with a weekend game. The good thing is, there will be players who will be hurting after missing out on Friday’s game. They will want their places back – well if they’re good professionals. It’s only the League… Read more »

Rich

Leeds have injury worries, I’d be surprised if they put out a strong team

I’d also be surprised if fielded anything resembling Friday’s team

Really looking forward to this one

2-0 Arsenal
Pepe + Martinelli

Kroenkephobe

Graham 62 and others,
I’m going. I’ll try and give you a no holds report tomorrow. I suspect Bielsa will be under heavy manners to play as many reserves as he can. I think we win, but I’ll take a squeaky bum victory on penalties. That could all be out of the window if we concede first of course. Looking forward to hearing marching on together again.

Kroenkephobe

20 quid for the ticket. Cheaper than Cardiff!

Bob N16

£10 lower tier!

AFC – couldn’t agree more. Worry though that sometimes attacking players’ decision making, desperate to impress, can be on the selfish side. Would love Martinelli to have a blinder but in a ‘scratch’ side may be difficult. Hope he has Tavares marauding near him to allow him some space.

Emiratesstroller

AFC Arsenal

Leeds are playing Norwich on weekend, which is a must win game for them. So I would expect
them to select tonight a weakened team.

Arsenal can afford also to turn out for this game what could be described as a second string team.

Rich

…………….Leno
…..Holding Mari
Cedric …………..Tavares
…….Elneny Sambi
Pepe Odegaard Martinelli
….………Nketiah

I don’t want to see Partey, Saka or Smith Rowe, anywhere near this one

Steg

Kolasinac at Left back anybody…? Patino come on from the bench would be excellent. Balogun up top with Martinelli on the left, Pepe on the right. Lovely stuff

Steg

Rich – Nketiah is such a weird one. I wish he would come good for us as the lad looks like a pure goalscorer without the boatload of goals. Cant argue with the team you picked there. maybe Maitland Niles for Sambi?

englandsbest

Pierre

Drinking was the culture at the time, certainly GG knew that. I’m not sure that Tony Adams was an alcoholic then , probably just another guy who liked a few beers. Maybe I’ll check his book if I can find it on my shelf.

Pierre

Years ago , footballers had a personality on the pitch, not so much anymore.. Today’s kids coming through are all clones of eachother in that they know what to say , how to behave and are good at playing the game of keeping the manager sweet. This shows intelligence, as I’m sure saka and smith rowe have looked at the carnage that has been going on around them, like the treatment of Ozil, whom I’m sure they have total respect for his achievements in the game, and decided to keep their heads down and avoid any Ozil comments and continue… Read more »

Sid

Diet Pep fanboys want us to believe the lack of skills to handle a non conformist by their idol is elite culture.
It shows their insecurities.

Jamie

Pierre would convert to Islam for Ozil.

The love is so deep it transcends faith in any particular deity.

Graham62

Pierre

Ian Wright was born with that outward hunger to fight for things. It came out in his wonderful footballing abilities.
Eddie does not have that same visible hunger, I wish he did though because I think there is an inner Eddie in there somewhere fighting to get out.

Graham62

Pierre

Your love for Ozil holds no bounds.

No one’s perfect.

Emiratesstroller

Pierre I don’t understand your analysis. AMN is not being punished because of your “alleged claim” that he was an Ozil fan. The player is frankly not good enough to play in our midfield and that was evident last Friday when he cam on as sub. Kolasinac should have been offloaded long ago because he was not good enough when he played left back at the club. The fact that he is still at the club is no-one wants to buy him or for that matter pay his excessive wages. Guendouzi is not at the club or playing in the… Read more »

Sid

Diet Pep wants footballers that are easy to control and intimidate,
footballers you can shove back into the field while they are injured.
Robots playing robotic football without soul or warmth.

AFC Forever

Bob Thanks. Emiratestroller Bielsa is in a difficult situation. His players are out of form, you have to play yourself into form. Chicken and egg for him. As you say he has a big game in the PL. Tonight is a free hit, it’s pretty meaningless in the context of the season. That’s why Wenger played the kids, great way to get some experience under the lights. I think both teams will make changes – we don’t need to take risks and as I said, we need that competition for places. Be hurt when you’re dropped and prove the manager… Read more »

englandsbest

Pierre

Your interpretation portrays Ozil as a classic trouble-maker, a dickhead, such a pain in the ass that Arteta was forced to judge players on whether or not they were mates of Ozil.

Ludicrous is the word for it!

AFC Forever

Pierre

Mate, I was a massive Ozil fan. Incredible talent and I used to love watching him play. Bought my son his shirt. Then Ozil lost interest for whatever reason. Perhaps his political outburst and the perceived lack of support. Don’t know and I don’t care. He was part of the culture problem that much I do know. He’s gone, you really do have to get over it and move on because it’s pointless conversation.

Emiratesstroller

Arsenal’s defensive problems in the first three games where we were outplayed and conceded nine goals can be explained to some degree by our defence selections

v BRENTFORD
Leno Chambers White Mari Tierney

v CHELSEA
Leno Cedric Holding Mari Tierney

v MAN CITY
Leno Cedric Chambers Holding Kolasinac Tierney

White was diagnosed after his first game as having Covid, which might have explained in
part a dull performance and he is the only defender who played against Aston Villa on Friday.

Bob N16

Sid, your comments might be better received if you eased up on the labelling. That’s not a dig, simply an observation.

Bob N16

ES, let’s not forget the opposition!

Pierre

Englandbest “, such a pain in the ass that Arteta was forced to judge players on whether or not they were mates of Ozil.Ludicrous is the word for it!” Ludicrous or true ..or was it just a coincidence that Guendouzi, Mustafi and kolasinac were his closest friends at the club and were frozen out. Would just point out that none of Ozil,Guendouzi, mustafi, kolasinac or AMN were culpable in our worst finishes in the league in decades , strangely enough , with those players in the side we did finish higher in the league .. For me , it’s all… Read more »

Pierre

AFC
If you read my original comment , it was nothing to do with Ozil , it was more to do with the young players coming through.
It’s just that the Ozil obsessives chose to use the mere mention of Ozil to throw their dummies out of their pram ….as per usual .

CG

Looking when and not if, Conte heads to Old Trafford.

This time last season, Chelsea axed their popular manager and got Tuchel and the rest is history.

Arsenal missed out on Klopp and now happily letting another A lister join a so called rival.

How Arsenal miss David Dein.

AFC Forever

Bob ‘ES Let’s not forget the opposition’ This. It was astonishing that losing to the PL champions and the CL winners was greeted as a disaster. Don’t forget just before the Brentford game we also lost all our strikers, Auba, Laca & Eddie. Not sure if you saw the Neville apology? Flabbergasted when he said Arsenal had been judged far too harshly after the first few games, citing the Covid situation and the opposition. He said it was ridiculous but he hadn’t been aware of the facts. Could have knocked me down with a feather – the first bit of… Read more »

Jamie

Pierre trying the old “I know you are but what am I” defence when talking about his Ozil infatuation.

I can’t even watch.

Jim Lahey

In regards to the Ben White transfer, why do you think the club ended up paying £50m? It feels that if we had gone to Brighton at the start of the window and put 25m on the table they would have taken it. Let’s not forget that their largest sale up to this point was 7.5m.

Ben White, much like Pepe will be beaten with his transfer fee whenever he has a poor run. Both are good players, neither worth what we paid.

Jim Lahey

“How Arsenal miss David Dein.”

Yeah honestly, if you were to ask me to pinpoint the moment the club started to fall, it would be with the departure of Dein.

Jim Lahey

@AFC –

” It was astonishing that losing to the PL champions and the CL winners was greeted as a disaster. ”

It was the manner of the loss, not the loss itself. These are meant to be our rivals, not Everton, not Spurs.

City, Liverpool, United, Chelsea. These are the teams that should hit hardest if we lose to them.

Bob N16

Jim L, having a top operator negotiating deals should not be under valued! Maybe Dick Garlick can prove good at the negotiating, Edu needs to step up.

CG

”””Yeah honestly, if you were to ask me to pinpoint the moment the club started to fall, it would be with the departure of Dein.””’ never been the same Jim, since he left Dein liked to win and win this season , not next or the one after that. Dein liked proper managers. Graham , Wenger and Sir Bobby Robson ( who could ‘nt agree terms from Porto). Even Rioch had a good track record. In my opinion, its simply not acceptable Arsenal sit in 10th with a negative goal difference, out of Europe and allowing managers like Conte to… Read more »

englandsbest

PIerre

Okay then, have it your way. Ozil was a classic trouble-maker, a dickhead, a pain in the ass.

Jim Lahey

@CG – It seemed like when Dein left, Wenger himself filled the void left by his departure. Which in turn saw Wenger concentrating far too much on the business side of things which hurt us on the field. I personally think that we missed out on so many players because Wenger second-guessed himself during negotiations. When Dein was around it seems as Wenger would ask for a player and Dein would go away and make it happen while Wenger focused solely on the footballing side of things. If Dein had stayed I honestly think we would have won considerably more… Read more »

James wood.

Understand the talented GUEN broke all the rules.
But Xhaka done exactly the same and he is
still here enjoying plaudits.

AFC Forever

Jim “These are meant to be our rivals, not Everton, not Spurs” Firstly, if you think Man City and Chelsea are our rivals, you are going to be disappointed. Unfortunately, we aren’t ready to win the Premier League and Champions League, they are levels above. Sad but it’s where we are. Our rivals are the tier below City, Chelsea and Liverpool. We have to be realistic not pretend otherwise Jim. Secondly, as Emirates pointed out with the team selections, as tough as those games were the covid breakout made them tougher. The performances were dreadful, don’t disagree but there was… Read more »

Nelson

Good. Manure decides to keep OGS. As Pedro said, it is always possible that the team can win the next few games. Ha! Ha!

Jim Lahey

@AFC – Regarding your first point, why wouldn’t these teams be our rivals? We have spent enough over the last few years to at least compete with the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool. What is so outlandish about suggesting that we should be mentioned in the same breath as them? Second, once again you go back to a small sample size and try to justify it when in reality, we have not played good football for at least 3-4 seasons now. It’s has nothing to do with those games you mentioned, it has everything to do with the bigger picture… Read more »

Emiratesstroller

Jim Lahey

White is a bargain when you consider how much Man United spent on Maguire!!

Okay we overpaid for him, but he is not the first or last player recruited by EPL Clubs where
that has happened.

What is more important than the fee is whether he is a decent player and improves our defence. I think that he is on both counts.

As I posted previously we need on the books particularly if we qualify for Europe three quality Centre Backs and hopefully Saliba will return and turn out to be the third option.

englandsbest

Klopp has proven himself a great manager, and maybe Tuchel too, but I’d sooner have Arteta than either. And for a good reason: a Club like Arsenal is bigger than the manager or the team. They come and they go, but the Club and what it means to a fan should be forever. And we were in danger of losing that.

CG

Jim ”””If Dein had stayed I honestly think we would have won considerably more under Wenger. Players like Alonso and Saurez would have played for us.”””’ A. Wenger did win 10 major trophies in 20 years. Thats about 1 trophy every 2 seasons. Also the quality of the soccer was always very high and entertaining. But I agree , Dein and Wenger were an unbeatable combination and Wenger was never quite the same without him.( he certainly would have got the Suarez deal over the line) We used to have Dein and Wenger, Friar and Hillwood Now we just have… Read more »

Jim Lahey

@ES –

“White is a bargain when you consider how much Man United spent on Maguire!!”

That’s great and all, but United are in a position where they can spend that money on a player that is not worth it, we are not.

I am not saying White is a bad player, far from it. I just want to know how we paid 50m to a club whose previous transfer record was £7.5m.

Tom

How can we help Englandsbest in stopping his twelve year old granddaughter using his account to post her Arteta love letters.

He’ll be embarrassed when he wakes up and reads what she’s written.

Jim Lahey

“Klopp has proven himself a great manager, and maybe Tuchel too, but I’d sooner have Arteta than either.”

What….. So by this logic, you hated Wenger’s reign at the club? Out of all the years, I have been reading posts on this blog, this has to be the worst take I have ever seen.

Leftside

‘But Xhaka done exactly the same and he is
still here enjoying plaudits.’

This is it for me. Lots of players have fallen foul to Arteta but the likes of Xhaka who is probably the most or second most divisive player in our recent history can get away scot free with anything. It’s not consistent but hopefully Arteta has learned from his errors there.

Jamie

EB would sooner have Arteta than Klopp. He’s serious too.

Jim Lahey

@Jamie –

Either this is peak trolling or he is an imbecile.

Leftside

I’m also with CG.

When you have supremely talented managers available who are potentially game changing you need to strike and do whatever required in football. There is no time for sentiment or waiting in football. Football is just as much about the now as it is the future.

Emiratesstroller

Jim Lahey

I was joking in the first line.

I am in no doubt that Arsenal are not poor and can afford to spend serious money in transfer market if the Kroenke family choose to do so.

Since Usmanov sold his shares and Kroenke acquired 100% ownership Arsenal’s transfer
policy appears to have changed.

englandsbest

Tom

They are MY love letters not my gorgeous grand-daughter’s.

But they are for the Club, not Arteta. Though managers and teams pass by, my affaire will never die.