EDDIE MAKES THE CASE, BUT FOR WHO?

by .

Well hello my darlings, how are we today? Good I hope. VERY good.

Hot topic of debate is the Eddie issue. He looks… good. Right? This isn’t just the one game he played, this is his mindset since preseason. He looks more powerful, his game is more deliberate, and he looks very focused. Amazing what the insecurity of having no new deal can do… and what growing up a little bit can add to your game.

I think there’s some concern at Arsenal that if he doesn’t sign up, he could be a sleeper-Emi Martinez for us next season. He’s a good player. He’s extremely young. He could add a lot of value to many clubs in the Premier League. As fans, we do tend to get into the mind that you are either an elite 17 year old or you are a failure. Not everyone can break like ESR or Saka. Ivan Toney is 25 years old, he’s making waves in the Premier League this season. There are loads of examples of players that are not great until they are. Patrick Bamford at Leeds is a prime example, even Leeds fans lamented how poor his finishing was… then things clicked last season and people were talking about big moves. He’s 28 years old! Let’s go a step further… Serge Gnabry was binned off by Arsenal at 22 after failing to stake his claim under Tony Pulis, now look at him? You can’t tell me anyone saw that coming.

It’ll be a shame to see him go. Folarin Balogun ain’t there yet. The third striker berth is open this summer with Lacazette going. It could be his. Let’s see if Arteta can persuade a player I’m pretty sure has little love/trust for a manager that benched him for a season.

I’m feeling pretty good about Arsenal at the moment. One of the interesting things about the Leeds game, which was a great spectacle, was the speed we were moving the ball at. The lethargic passing of last season seems to be cycling into something a little more one-touch and a bit more purposeful. There’s a rhythm to what we’re doing and it doesn’t look as one-dimensional as it did. When we spoke to Nigel Winterburn last week, he talked about working under George Graham and the relentless coaching of the defence. I asked him if he believed in over-coaching and he said he didn’t. The coaching is there to help you make better decisions on the pitch, but it’s down to the players to be bold and make them. I think one-touch passing is helping us. It wasn’t there before, now it is. Long may the confidence continue through every level of our squad.

Leicester at the weekend is another huge test. I do like that we set each game up as some sort of definitive moment in our season.

SPURS: Good side, if you can’t win the derby… well

Aston Villa: Good side, their midfield is better than ours, if we can’t beat them… well

Leicester: A real test, because they are top 4 contenders, if we can’t beat them… well

I’m going to keep it going. I think this is a real test because I see us at about the same level as Leicester City. They have great players, a well-coached operation, and they spring surprises. Brendan Rodgers is sharp and he certainly played us like a fiddle at home last season.

This game is a big one for us. We’re doing the business at home, but can we go away to a big atmosphere and win the occasion?

I really hope so. 9 games unbeaten has a nice ring to it. Moving 3 points past Leicester in November is a good omen heading into some really tough games. More confidence means we get to where we need to be faster.

3 points are important because there are a few games between teams that are rivals.

United vs Spurs

Liverpool vs Brighton

Villa vs West Ham

Wolves vs Everton

If we win our next two games, I think there’s a fair chance we’ll actually be in the top 4. That would be a lot better than how we were shaping up this time last season.

Right, that’s me done, see you in the comments.

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Karsa

Anyone in?

Karsa

Eddie is at least a season ahead of Folarin but will he want to stay beyond this season? I have my doubts.

zimmie2652

tr4phy

zimmie2652

damn, third place. guess it’s better than 4th.

Karsa

I thgink the Leicester game is 50/50. Could be fine margins as Rich would say.

Huge game if we could pull out a win.

zimmie2652

Leceister is going to be big for us for sure. 50/50 is an accurate statement. I don’t see them as a top 4 contender this year though.

Their defense has been far too fragile to break into the top 4.

Havyn

Our overall record against Leicester is not bad. If we work hard and Tommy and Whyte can contain Vardy we win

Samesong

Think we will draw with he foxes.

Kroenkephobe

Eddie did brilliantly taking that goal and put in a shift for 75% of the game. I sensed however that he was flagging towards the end but that’s maybe the difference between training levels and match fitness. He’s certainly developing as a striker but… I’m still unconvinced that he’s the answer technically. He possesses neither Laca nor Auba’s best qualities and I think he needs constantly good quality players around him in order to flourish. I struggle to see him changing games and performing highly against better defences around the league and Europe. He’s a likeable kid, but I’d try… Read more »

Kroenkephobe

I think we will beat Leicester. Confidence is running through the players. Must score first though.

Bradybunch

If we can match the intensity of the Villa game we give ourselves a great chance at Leicester. They didn’t cope with Paddy’s boys press . Though we struggled after our intensity dropped too….
I think photos are from yesterday , but no sign on Ben or Rob in training shots.
I hope they’re fit to play as we’ll struggle without both . Either one alongside Gab is okay with me.

Rich

If Eddie won’t commit and we get an offer, then we’ll definitely sell in January

We need Pedro to come in and sell him on a path to the No9 shirt next season, with some kick-ass marketing campaign….

Football’s a team game, I’d rather have a good group who work hard and have the right level of hunger and desire

Rather than a group of disinterested individuals

Eddie sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders, and a fantastic work ethic

Sign him up, Nketiah #9

Ernest Reed

“Let’s see if Arteta can persuade a player I’m pretty sure has little love/trust for a manager that benched him for a season.”

It appears that eddie’s in the driver seat at the moment. Not really sure or understanding why Arteta appears to have such limited faith in him, enough so that playing time is limited to non-league play only these days? Totally agree with your take Pedro on maturity building such players into better rounded players. Is Eddie just such an instance?

Ernest Reed

I have been saying that if the boys put in a 90 minute solid effort then the results should follow. Leicester, for some reason, always seem to really play very well against Arsenal. Im thinking that a draw would be a good result and a win would be a great result. This one i have reservations over as Leicester are also playing well at the moment. Should be a good one and hopefully the boys come out firing – release the hounds once more!

PhD2020

When we spoke to Nigel Winterburn last week, he talked about working under George Graham and the relentless coaching of the defence. I asked him if he believed in over-coaching and he said he didn’t. The coaching is there to help you make better decisions on the pitch, but it’s down to the players to be bold and make them. I think one-touch passing is helping us. It wasn’t there before, now it is. Long may the confidence continue through every level of our squad. —— It’s not about the over-coaching though-is it? Comparing GG coaching to Arteta a novice?… Read more »

AFC Forever

Pete, nice write up. The coaching is evident so too is the benefit of successfully recruiting based on profile. Young players bring an energy and desire but with that comes a bit of naivety. Arteta demands a high work ethic and efficient pressing, which is something Eddie admitted he needed to develop. We saw with Lacazette what that tenacity can do and he’s been good for the lad. Eddie may be still learning but we should remember he broke Shearers England U21 goalscoring record, you don’t do that if you’re a mug. At the end of the day he needs… Read more »

Bradybunch

Eddie are you Okay? Are you Okay Eddie? Foisted by his own patard. Too good to let go last year. Then ‘ circumstances’ went against his gametime last season. They are on Arteta as Pedro rightly points out. Hopefully if it’s in the Clubs best interest, Mikel will fess up and show him some faith, particularly with upcoming afcons. Last week we’re discussing whether to keep Laca, now it’s Eddie. We ain’t got room to keep them happy. Prior to that there’d been much talk about the kind of Striker we need going forward. So unless Eddie fits those boots,… Read more »

AFC Forever

Rich “Football’s a team game, I’d rather have a good group who work hard and have the right level of hunger and desire. Rather than a group of disinterested individuals” Absolutely. It’s the sum of all parts. Our lads have been together for what 6 Premier League games? They’re mostly youngsters learning the game. Then you look at that lot at old Trafford who have been together a while. A team will beat a group of individuals and that’s why disclipline, attitude and work ethic is the catalyst to success. Against Leeds we saw people stepping up and proving we… Read more »

Spudnik

Pedro, I agree. A big test against Leicester. It’s a tasty encounter.

AFC Forever

Phd2020

Your comments are impossible to scroll past. Don’t stretch them so far down the page mate. I can’t see the other comments.

Ernest Reed

“At the end of the day he needs to work hard and take his opportunities and demand a place in the team through what he does on the pitch and in training.”

So in your opinion AFC, what is missing for Eddie as by all accounts he is working hard, has a better attitude and continues to score?

Ernest Reed

Alien Ant Farm just came to mind with your opener, BradyBunch.

AFC Forever

Ernest Read

“In your opinion AFC, what is missing for Eddie as by all accounts he is working hard, has a better attitude and continues to score?”

I would say his hold up play. I like him, he’s a young lad learning the game.

Bradybunch

Busted Ernest. Sure they wouldn’t mind a bit of selective lyric adjustment.

Ernest Reed

I would agree with that AFC, hope his good play continues and equally he continues to develop. Just hope its with Arsenal is all…

Pierre

Of course Eddie is good enough, you just have to look at the quality of his goals this season , the quality of his hold up play this season and the quality of his link up play this season. And the pity is , he has only started a few pre season friendlies and 2 league cups and hasn’t even made the squad for any premier league match so he can hardly be match fit can he. It’s a strange one, the fans are finally realising that Eddie has the potential, Arteta is convinced that Eddie has the ability to… Read more »

Bradybunch

Surely the focus of the blog is what’s missing. His contractual commitment, versus his desire for immediate action/ recognition.
It’s a tough call for both parties as we’ve been discussing Ideal strikers going forward for weeks.. Is he ever going to meet the Specificity Arteta is looking for?.

AFC Forever

Ernest Reed

Yep fingers crossed.

Bob N16

Can the use of lol be banned?

PhD2020

PedroOctober 28, 2021 20:46:47
PhD,
Nigel Winterburn, Premier League winner, says over-coaching is not a thing.So, it’s probably not a thing.

———

<________>

So,Ped’s which Nigel Winterburn are we talking about?

The one on your podcast,that’s catering to your audience?

Or the Nigel Winterburn that’s somewhat in agreement with Thierry Henry about Arteta?

Ernest Reed

Has to be said that Pierre has been championing Eddie for as long as i can recall. On many fronts Pierre is very much bang on in his assessments, its just that fixation on Ol’ Bug Eyes that deflects away from otherwise really good commentary (in my opinion). Just being honest when it comes to Pierre, who gets a lot of stick for a lot of his views.

Ernest Reed

And before anyone gets the wrong idea, i still think you are an old goat that needs to take a long walk off a short pier!, Pierre! 😉

Emiratesstroller

Does anyone seriously believe that Eddie Nketiah is going to make the grade at Arsenal on the
evidence of his performances when he has played for us in EPL?

I can understand why the club is anxious that he signs a new contract, but that has to be for
commercial reasons rather than his prospects with us.

Personally I did not see a lot in his performance on Tuesday apart from a scrappy goal.

Rich

White, Holding, Odegaard, apparently all trained today

No sign of Tierney, if Tierney isn’t fit, we should go with this:

….……….Ramsdale
…….…White Gabriel
Tomiyasu………..Tavares
………Partey Odegaard
Saka Lacazette Smith Rowe
………Aubameyang

Gazza

We won comfortably at Leicester last season despite going a goal down so not sure either team will be outright favorites

Ernest Reed

I guess the better question ES is what are the clubs plans for Laca? If they don’t offer him a contract then logically do you risk losing two Strikers in the summer, a position that the club, beyond those two and Auba, are not overflowing in talent. Eddie may be a logical signing and he still continues to develop. He’s not the finished product, not yet anyway, but its not like others on the team are tearing it up either.

Emiratesstroller

Eddie Nketiah made his first appearances in EPL in 2017/18 season. In five seasons he has made an appearance in 38 games and scored 5 goals.

I accept that he has made most of those appearances from the bench, but if he was outstanding potential he would have made a breakthrough by now.

He is a goal poacher, but has very little else in his repertoire and that was frankly evident on Tuesday despite the euphoria of some posters.

Leedsgunner

The truth is not everyone in our youth set up will make or fit into our first team line up. For those who don’t, we must begin to start receiving decent prices for them… so that we can go out and buy truly talented world class youngsters in positions not being covered in the short term future for the first team. We can’t allow the fear of missing out on the ‘next Serge Gnabry’ from stopping us cashing in decent transfer fees. Joe Willock sold to Newcastle this summer is a good example. His transfer basically bought us a new… Read more »

englandsbest

I’ve been convinced about Eddie in many ways. I hope he plays and I’m near certain he stays. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it once more. It’s his agent who’ll open he door.

The game against Leicester City could be the turning point that the dubious have been waiting for. I hope Auba is on the bench for a late charge if necessary. Eddie is the man needed early on to harry the Leicester defence, keep them fully occupied. A rested Saka will float past them, and no doubt will be fouled often.

Pierre

Stroller “Personally I did not see a lot in his performance on Tuesday apart from a scrappy goal.” This is how i saw the scrappy goal . 1) A defender had what looked like a straightforward header back to the keeper. 2) whilst the ball was in the air, Eddie went full throttle in case the header was underhit…which it was. 3) Eddies first touch, the flick over the keeper’s head had to be inch perfect, anything other than inch perfect and the ball would have either gone out of play or the defender would have cleared . 4) with… Read more »

Leedsgunner

I started as an Eddie fan when he broke into the first team but I’ve been disappointed that he hasn’t made more of his loan moves away.

Sure, I will celebrate if he signs a new contract and he begins making a name for himself but if we get a decent price for him which enables the club to sign someone like Dusan Vlahovic I won’t complain. Someone like Vlahovic will make our team stronger in the air which we sorely lack in the present make up of the squad.

Nelson

I have a bad feeling that we’ll lose Eddie for free next Summer.

Leedsgunner

I don’t have any extra knowledge except a hunch but it is clear that Arteta rates and respects and rates Eddie. This is why he gives him game time over Balogun.

I think he will sign another new contract, perhaps a three year one.

Pierre

Stroller
“Eddie Nketiah made his first appearances in EPL in 2017/18 season. In five seasons he has made an appearance in 38 games and scored 5 goals.”

Or put it another way

Only 11 starts in the premier league

5 goals

at nearly a goal every other game , plus of course Eddie has been regularly scoring in the cup comps.

Cup comps

15 starts
10 goals

Total starts for Arsenal …26
Total goals for Arsenal……15

Pierre

Leeds
“I started as an Eddie fan when he broke into the first team but I’ve been disappointed that he hasn’t made more of his loan moves away.”

Will just point out that he’s only been on loan once, for 3/4 months to leeds…

Leedsgunner

Pierre

Nketiah had every opportunity to go on a loan last January but he didn’t push for it. I was disappointed with that. I would have thought he would have wanted to play rather than just sitting on the bench…

Leedsgunner

*Does it betray a lack of ambition?

AFC Forever

Pedro

“PHD, you’ve got to stop spamming the feed with 1900 word cut and pastes. Make a point yourself”

Yep. I did say it makes it hard to view other comments when it takes up 10 pages, half of which are spaces. We can all cut & paste stuff that suits a particular narrative.

Looking forward to a tough game Saturday. They are a difficult side to play against because of their pace on the break. Van dt seems to like playing us. Should be a very good game.

AFC Forever

*Vardy seems to like playing us.

Pedro

AFC, who are you starting this weekend?

Pedro

Leeds, it was an ego thing. Same with Reiss

Rich

Pedro who would you start?

Leedsgunner

With Xavi heavily tipped to become the new Barcelona manager any Barcelona youngsters we could opportunistically make a play for?

No doubt Barcelona will look to raise some funds by selling some of their first team so that Xavi will have the funds to bring in some of his own signings.

I would have loved Moriba before he went to RB Salzburg (for £12m!) anyone else in Barcelona B or the Masia that people are aware of?

Dest? Puig? Or are existing U23s players at a similar level?

Leedsgunner

My starting XI for the game versus Leicester

Ramsdale

Tomi – White – Gabs – Tavares

Saka – Partey – Odegaard – ESR

Auba – Laca

Subs: Sambi, AMN, Pepe, Nketiah, Martinelli, Holding, Leno, Balogun, Patino

Leedsgunner

*If Tierney is fit replace Patino with Tierney…

Emiratesstroller

My response to the question about Lacazette did not come through to the thread. So I will repeat the post. Lacazette will leave at the end of this season. Arsenal are unlikely to extend his contract as he will be 31. Also it is clear that Lacazette wants to leave and there are clubs interested in his services. My view is that Arsenal will invest the bulk of next summer’s transfer budget in a proven striker to replace him. Also I think that Martinelli or Balogun will replace Nketiah as third string striker in the squad. I don’t think that… Read more »

Pedro

Rich, I think I’d bring Odegaard back into the mixer. Leicester are probably going to sit back against us, so we might need some lock pickers.

Who would you pick?

Tony

Pedro
Something from yesterday by Cannonball aimed at Ernest saying that this blog isn’t a Samaritans blog obviously referring to Ernest’s bereavement in losing his wife to Covid.

I’ve never called for a binning but that comment was just evil.

Sorry Ernest I had to bring it up so we get bio more.

Tony

no more*

Tony

ES you say this blog is for football only, but yet you talk about your daughter and Saracens for starters. You call Ernest ignorant when he challenged you yesterday because you had no answer other than name calling. I’ve been here some years no most days and I’ve never read that Pedro made you blog moderator. You always get upset when people challenge your POVs. You go round in circles saying the dame thing but differently. 3 words that some you up perfectly ES: Arrogant, Pompous and Condescending. Those 3 words can be summed up in one word: boring. Quite… Read more »

Tony

Now* same* sum*

Pedro

Tony, thank you for letting me know. Will bin him asap

Gonsterous

Nice to see ben white making me eat humble pie At the start of the season, I thought he would be replaced by 2m pound signing holding, but I’ve been proven wrong. Now can mikeal make me eat humble pie and win tomorrow? We shall see, but when the pressure is on to win, we either draw or lose. Win tomorrow and mikel will win me over. Similarly, If I see him pushing to get better players in the jan window, I will take it to heart that he really has ambitions to succeed as a coach and manager. The… Read more »

Nelson

If it is a choice between Eddie or Laca for next year, I’ll select Eddie. Eddie is young and hungry. Laca may be looking for his last big pay day. He’ll probably want a 3 year contract.

Tony

Thanks Pedro

GuNZ

I’ve a feeling we will nick the Leicester game 1-2. No real logic, just a tickly sensation telling me to put an online bet on it. Or that could be the Friday arvo beer warm n fuzzies (we start early in lockdown Auckland) – I have been horribly wrong before.

DivineSherlock

For once this match I’d like to see Saka and ESR play together , not separated on opposite flanks . Send Auba down left , ESR in the middle and Saka on right . Odegaard & Pepe on the bench .

China1

Feeling good.

Good feedback about my performance from management at work.

Slept well (don’t do that very often)

Arsenal are on a good run lately. The Leicester game is early enough for me to watch.

I’ve got a day off today and it’s a Friday. No bed wetting from me today. This pair of pampers dry nights can be reused tomorrow!!!!

DivineSherlock

China

Early enough to drown your sorrows or rejoice in alcohol later 😉

Kroenkephobe

China This pair of pampers dry nights can be reused tomorrow!!!! I usually turn mine inside out on the second day to get a better sensation of freshness. Double duty doodoo defying diapers! 💩 Wotcha Tony. Kudos on getting that amoeba sent to the sin bin. I tried but you obviously have the magic touch! Not before time either. I guess supporting man utd right now will do that to someone. Hope all well chez toi. I enjoyed my trip to the Emirates on Tuesday (my first day at any proper footy since the pandemic) even more than I thought… Read more »

Leedsgunner

“Something from yesterday by Cannonball aimed at Ernest saying that this blog isn’t a Samaritans blog obviously referring to Ernest’s bereavement in losing his wife to Covid…”

Ernest

My most sincere condolences. It’s not much but but I hope that the happy memories sustain you in the days ahead.

bacaryisgod

Pedro-overall your last post was very good but a correction on Gnabry. He wasn’t binned by the club. He made it clear he wouldn’t sign a new deal with us. We might have mishandled him by sending him to Pulis among other things but he was also injury-prone if I recall which might have affected our decision to commit to him earlier. By that time, it was too late as he had a storming Olympics and he rejected our offers. Here’s what he said recently: “It was the hardest decision I had to make in football, leaving a club like… Read more »

bacaryisgod

Pierre-agree on Eddie but we also have to recognize that it looks like he’s improved in some key areas in recent months, including his strength and hold-up play (which are connected, of course). For anyone knocking him because of a lack of goals in the last few seasons, you don’t need to look any further than Auba. In his first 4 seasons (mostly on loan from AC Milan to French clubs), Auba scored 16 goals in 100 games. In the following 4 seasons, he scored 82 in 177 games and then in the next 4 after that scored 141 goals… Read more »

Tony

Really happy you enjoyed being back at the Emirates, I can imagine how it felt both physical sensors and emotions. Winning makes it all the better especially with a reasonable performance. I’ve nailed my colours to the top 4 mast purely because I believe we have the players and a far better squad than Emery. Arteta said it’s going to bang so I’m assuming that means they team are about to go on a decent run and not it’s going to blow up in his face. I’ll give my thoughts on the game tomorrow. Yes, Don had to go again.… Read more »

Pedro

Ernest, to echo Leeds sentiments… I’m sorry that weak boy slipped the net.

Big love as always.

Sid

Im here for the comments, blog of loooòve!

Emiratesstroller

Tony You need to read carefully what I posted and its context. As is usual with you you like to reference me in an earlier post and I posted a response. I don’t pretend to be a football expert, but I have an opinion after 60 years watching football and Arsenal. However as I pointed there are members in my family with an international background in sport and I was an administrator and therefore have an understanding of what is required to run an elite sports programme. My response was to Bob N16 who referred to the usual spat between… Read more »

China1

Love always Ernest ❤️

China1

Kroenke you turn your pampers inside out???

You dirty dog, you! That sensation of freshness is but a mirage. Those late night tinkles and skidders will seep through the fabric and get you sooner or later. Don’t ask me how I know this!!!

DivineSherlock

Youri Tielemans is the man on form for Leicester , I expect him to be marked out of the game like Douglas Luiz.

The Bard

Emiratesstroller: that’s my view. We buy a top class forward in Jan if any are available. If that’s right there’s no point keeping Eddie, Martinelli and Balugon. I suspect Eddie sees that or his agent does so he leaves. I’ve said before he is good but not that good.

China1

Good article guns

The summary is last year we score fuck all from set pieces, this year we hired a set piece coach and half our goals are from set pieces

Good stuff

China1

One thing that has always irritated me about set pieces is when you have two players standing over it to throw off the defense but obviously one of them is not going to take it – but the player who doesn’t take it always leaves the ball way too early so the whole element of surprise is lost The first player and second player should be running to the ball at virtually the same time to cause doubts in the defense, but instead the first player doesn’t take it and the second player waits like 2 more seconds before taking… Read more »

China1

There is huge scope for the development of set piece play in football that has largely been left untapped due to a lack of imagination and attention imo

The tactics are almost always standard and basic because ‘that’s how we do things’ but you can cause havoc for a defense with a bit of ingenuity in your set ups. The problem is virtually no one even tries

China1

It’s one of the tricks I used to use well in chess and as well in my competitive video gaming days of yesteryear – when you’re facing someone who is well drilled, ready and strong, don’t be afraid to play a bit unorthodox. Sometimes going unorthodox might be weaker on paper than playing to your absolute strengths, but the very nature of taking the predictability and certainty out of the situation for your opponent forces them into scenarios they are less likely to be ready for which can be sufficiently advantageous to outweigh the relative weaknesses of the unorthodox approach… Read more »

bacaryisgod

China1

We already had a set-piece coach (Andreas Georgson) who was replaced this summer by Nicolas Jover who Arteta knew at Man City. Hopefully Jover can make more of a difference than Goergson.

Interestingly, both coaches were originally at Brentford.

China1

There was a perfect example during our invincible era with lehmann Every time offensive players put him under pressure at a set piece he’d flip out and there would be drama. That drama used to unsettle our defense and was indirectly responsible for some of the goals we would concede (tho no one at the time seemed to actually notice lehmann was causing us this problem) But what I found strange was opposition teams didn’t target him more. They’d do it once a game but they should’ve been relentless. Every set piece they should’ve been on him. There’s no way… Read more »

Emiratesstroller

The Bard

As I said I think that both Lacazette and Nketiah will leave next summer on Bosmans. Arsenal will need then to freshen up their strike force. Arsenal are no longer in control of the situation,

However, I don’t expect Arsenal to make major changes to our squad next season. I expect
us to promote at least two players from U23s eg Balogun and Patino + perhaps recruit a
second string goalkeeper

The emphasis next season will be on building a stable team and squad.

Graham62

Interesting game tomorrow.
A draw would be a good result but a win would definitely silence a few doubters ( myself included).and put us in the mix.
I’ll go for a 2-2 draw or a narrow 2-1 win.
Fingers crossed.

Emiratesstroller

This is how I read the situation.

Leno leaves and is replaced by second string goalkeeper.
Saliba if he returns will replace one of our CBs.
Kolasinac does not need to be replaced. He is surplus to requirements.
We don’t need three right backs. One will leave.
Elneny is replaced by Patino
Lacazette is replaced by new striker.
Nketiah is replaced by Balogun

We can of course argue that there are other players in team/squad who need to be replaced.

Raulishuss

If anything nkethia is the stability in the attack. It’s only rational to sell laca and buy either an am or a cf. Nketiah isn’t/shouldn’t be guaranteed anything yet but he already has a keen interest to improve and fight and tbh his record in isolation is great, his qualities is now begining to show. I have a very soft spot for nketiah, this a guy that scored twice to win us a cup tie as a substitude too. It was just about progress and take forward steps and he is.

Raulishuss

*taking forward steps*

Bob N16

ES, think your right with your transfer business predictions except I would hope we get rid of Soares and Chambers and bring in another RB to compete with Tomiyasu. Just as we have brought in Tavares, our RB would benefit from competition and our squad depth would be bettered.

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