Well kids, how are we doing on this fine day? I’m in Miami making deals happen. Well, ok, maybe not doing that. But that’s beside the point… the point being is that you are in the rain and I am not. So I am bragging about it.
Let’s move onto the latest in Arsenal opinion.
Gareth Southgate is back on the shit list after he passed on Ben White and Emile Smith Rowe. Aaron Ramsdale did get a call-up, but you know he won’t start.
Now, on the one hand, we can take solace in the fact that two of our star performers don’t have to travel. On the other, you have to respect that they’ve both been better than some of the dross in the England setup and it’s a bit unfair. Still, that is international football. Reputation quite often beats out the hard facts of performances. There are a few in the current squad that are dining out heavy on the past. I’ve no doubt there are starting places in the future of all three players. They are young enough not to need to worry.
KT is back training with the Arsenal squad. It doesn’t sound like he’s ready for action, but I suspect he’ll be well in contention after the international break. I wonder if they’re going to line-up another friendly for the players that stayed at home? I do think KT will go back into the starting 11, though you’d be hard pushed to give a justification outside him being a top, top player. Nuno has done an excellent job in his absence, I hope some of the things he’s been doing will inspire the Scot.
Don Unai has passed on the Newcastle job. I think that’s probably for the best. Let’s be honest, the Spaniard travels extremely badly, and I have my doubts he’d get the control he has at Villareal under a megalomaniac at Newcastle. Eddie Howe is the frontrunner. It’s not as sexy as some had hoped, but I think it’s a sharp move. Eddie suffers from the English name tax. If his name was Ediano Howistzer and he’d taken a small Spanish team up 4 leagues, he’d be a hipster wet dream. But he’s not. He looks like he could paint your garage door in another life, so he’s written off. I struggled with the same thing, Peter Wood is a boring name, so I went to America where I can create endless hours of joy by just saying words like ‘Tally-ho’ and ‘blimey guvnor’… always go where you can be an object of joy, life is so much easier.
We play Watford at the weekend. We’ve been good against them over the years, we smashed them in preseason, but this is the Premier League, and Arsenal are that box of those chocolates Forest Gump was banging on about. If we show up, play with focus and energy, we’ll come away with the desired result and phase 3 of the season will have been a rip-roaring success. If we draw or lose, it’s a setback, but hopefully Arteta and the players will have done enough not to set the ball in motion for the whiners to get on the front foot for the international break.
It is fun to have a better flavor of conversation right now. All the things people complained about are slowly but surely being addressed.
The biggest win of the last phase was the senior players for me. Auba, Lacazette, and Partey have all decided that they are going to give us fitness, form, and leadership. Art De Roché had a great piece in The Athletic where he mapped out the numbers, Auba is pressuring more than ever, so those lying eyes of yours might be telling the truth for once. Lacazette has found the zone, he looks connected to the squad, he looks at ease with the beautiful game, and he’s playing a stunning role no one else in this squad can play. That one touch movement in the false 10 position allows our build-up to go faster, his aggression sets the tone for the team, and he’s showing up in pivotal moments. Thomas Partey looks like a £50m player right now, that’s all we need to say there.
The young players haven’t ever let us down really. Saka and ESR have moved their games up a level, of that there can be no doubt. Smith Rowe is offering end product. Saka has been a little quieter on that front, but he’s still been good. Both of those players will grow in stature this season, they’ll become more reliable on off days, and the numbers will improve.
But how about the new signings? Talent ID was a big issue for the fans and rightly so. From what I understand, some of the cheaper signings with certain agents arrived at the club because that was all that was on offer from a certain operations guy that doesn’t work in the game these days. Since he exited the building, we’ve been laser-focused on getting the deals right. This Project should have started a year prior, we’d be so much better for it if we had, but there we are. What we have now is very exciting. We’ve aged down the squad, each of our 6 signings has offered something fresh to the side, the entire squad feels bigger in character for it.
We’re also offering performances now. Actual good football. Can we make the good football last longer? Yes. But that’s not the point, these players have been together 7 games, performances will get better, that’s a given. What we needed to see was that there is in fact a promised land and a clear identity. Well, we’ve seen it. We cannot unsee it now. We know the potential and we want to see more of it. There are going to be more rough moments. I’ve read and heard people doubling down on Brighton and Palace performances, like those 90s were moments of shame. Brighton should have beaten Liverpool. Palace beat Manchester City. Shake the idea from your mind that this is 2003 and there are whipping boy teams. It’s not the case. Every game has the potential to be tough. The league is so much stronger than it was even 6 years ago. We are going to suffer at times this season, as will every side. We’re 5 points off 2nd. Why? Because the league is tough this year.
The final part of the equation isn’t Arteta. It’s the fans. I don’t know what the pivotal moment was, but I do think the accusation that we were cheering City goals really stuck with a lot of people. It was not true and since then, it’s like the fans have gone out of their way to go all-in on the squad. The Emirates is loud. You can hear it through the TV. There’s very little groaning. The young players need that. Anyone can offer their energy when things are going well, but that’s not when they need it… they need it when there’s a disaster class brewing. Our fans are there for kids and it’s fucking beautiful to see/hear because our summer was radioactive online and there was a big fear that’d be in the ground.
The internet is not real my friends. I am glad about that.
We had our best week ever for podcast numbers. We broke the top 50 for UK sports podcasts again. The most interesting twist for the podcast is MORE people tune in for winning podcasts. That trend happens on the site as well. It wasn’t that way in the old days. Are we… the place for positivity? Did we move from the darkness to the light? Did someone just drop the keys to the hashtag #TeamPosiGooners through the letterbox? What turnaround. Anyway, thanks for listening (and watching), it means a lot. X
Joke Friday?
On his first day at Spurs, Conte walks into the changing room and says. I know things have been difficult lately, but rest assured we WILL win a trophy in my tenure.
68m does sound very very expensive for a player most of us have never heard of.
That being said his record is very good. He’s young and CF is our area in most need of long term attention (along with Cm if Arteta insists on dumping granit back in the starting 11)
£68m for Vlahovic makes more sense if he has more than 12 months to his contract- although it’s a massive outlay for someone so young.
I wonder if a permanent deal for Torreira from Arsenal to Fiorentina is being treated as a separate deal then. It would be nice to get something for Lucas as he clearly wants out.
Just reading that in the news, China. The bit I liked most was this: “Antonio Conte could miss out on his primary target in the January transfer window as Arsenal are prepared to offer Fiorentina £68million for Dusan Vlahovic.” Then the end paragraph: “The Italian manager had identified Vlahovic as a primary target but was reportedly put off by his price tag. However, that has not deterred their North London rivals Arsenal.” Obviously, not ruling our ‘clickbait’ here but did Conte really want the player and Levy told Conte to look in the bargain basements of under £20m? However, if… Read more »
With Aston Villa dropping like a stone I would be tempted to do a “Aston Villa” back to them and put in a cheeky bid for one of their best youth players- Jacob Ramsey… he scored a screamer against us…
Worth a punt in January?
Nowhere did i say i believe the story 100% guys
Im saying it would make sense though, maybe take a few mill off the the grand sun etc. throw in the torr swap. If it aint vlahovic its surely going to be a big outlay on someone- maybe DCL is for sale at that price who knows
Looked around for a minute and I think whats gone on is that fiore flogged him for this price tag knowing there was a lot of interest and seeing who was most interested. Looks like arsenal bit, maybe liverpool and city…
Leeds come on we’re not signing rival youth players in january who arent made for a specific slot in the team and dressing room
China, kudos to your new system implementation with a new team, was it? Sounded greatly satisfying once the light at the end of the tunnel was real, and slit writs thinking at worst. Career turning points even if small at the time are sure to be indicators recognized in the places you want them to be so. Do you play backgammon? I really got to learn it when I worked in Greece. I guess it’s a simpler version of Mahjong, but has 3 versions where most who casually play don’t know about. When playing Greek men, especially, they flow effortlessly… Read more »
Nice story and good suggestions Tony! I actually have never played backgammon but might look into it. I have found a few things that can help me relax better and get off to sleep but the real kicker is the waking up at 3am every fricking night. Did it last night. Thought I had to send an email to the global head of prime services about a problem in our system that… doesn’t actually exist… lol. Great feeling waking up this morning and realizing it was a Saturday even tho I sometimes have to work weekends to if we do… Read more »
Another supremely relaxing song that also has really meaningful associations and nostalgia for me is Simply Red – holding back the years. Super calming
I’ll check out the titles you mentioned but I also love Simply Red at the right time to relax Barry White can have a similar effect with that deep bass vocals going into baritone. I sometimes play Simply Red live in my cinema (sorry not bragging) before intending to go to bed and find myself there at 4am not remembering at what point I drifted off. I play Enigma on long haul flights and Floyd Wish You Were here and always marvel at my JHarvey Audio Roxannes sound. You can buy A&K 380 (US$1800+ new) for £500 online or less.… Read more »
Hah sounds great (If you’ll excuse the pun)!
I don’t expect you’ll ever be in my neck of the woods but if you are visiting Tianjin do let me know
China 1…..yes this project needs a lift;
– CM
-a top Striker in January and I would not bet against us making top four.surely we can get this far to sit on our hands
Not been to China yet. Will have to go to Beijing if I do the docu and book. Also, want to see Shanghai, so never say never, China.
Thanks for the offer, though.
Chika….I was on an arsenal blog where a poll was taken that if Tierney is available on Sunday, should he come in the stead of Tavares? most said no.
I think Tets must run ‘formotocracy’.
If it’s not broke don’t fix it, that way Tierney’s fire would be rekindled when he finally comes in.
……*surely we can’t get this far to sit on our hands
Great one Spudnik…..sure the intelligence of that whole team could be placed on the head of a nail and still leaves plenty space for angels to dance on.
I am going to have to say it, one of my conditions with Arteta was that he showed the ability to adapt and change his tactics and team formation. And he finally did just that with the 442 formation change. This shows me, I hope, that Arteta can be flexible (to some extent) which is what you want from a coach. Being too rigid is counter productive. This was being discussed by some of you when talking about Fergie and his success. If you can’t adapt and evolve your tactics and coaching methods, you will be slowly left behind, however… Read more »
Wow! I finally managed to beat Stockfish level 7!!!
It only took me 8 months, hahaha.
See Villa lost again and to think during the summer the amount of people saying villa had moved past us because of their signings.
China ’68m does sound very very expensive for a player most of us have never heard of.’ I don’t really think that whether we’ve heard of him should be the criteria! I’m sure the combo of AFC’s data analysis and scouting can put the club in a much better place to judge than us armchair fans passing judgement based on a couple of televised games and YT clips. If Vlahomic is a real target then it’s very encouraging that we are still pursuing the strategy of targeting young players under 24 with high ceilings and that Summer 2021 wasn’t a… Read more »
Hiya Tony
I used to collect Greek swear words when I was working there years ago. Athens in the winter during a period of economic and political upheaval is far from fun. I did go to see an Olympiakos v Panathanaikos Derby which was called off in the second half because all the seats ended up on the pitch. Tear gas and alsatians everywhere. It was carnage.
Anyway, try this one which conjures up some marvellous images (not sure if the spelling is right).
Sta archidiamou – which in English means I’ve got your name written on my bollocks.
When Lokonga was asked to play igxactly like Xhaka,he was confused….. but dovetailing with Partey,we now seeing the real Lokonga… wish Xhaka swift recovery,his absence is forcing Tets to see that we need to move away from his particular specificity….top of the agenda for Jan should be a top striker, convince Saliba of our love for him,a RB in the mode of Tavares(don’t have to break bank for that) and a CM who can play 6 n 8,same as Partey n Lokonga, that way a cover comes in for Partey while at African nation’s cup. Yes,we can see the direction… Read more »
Spudnik 👏👏👏 😂😂😂 I lost it on Ole. Vlahovic is a fantastic talent. He looks like Haaland in playing style. But £68 mil is too much for a player with a year and half left on his deal. And he is 21 so there is a chance things might go sideways for him at a better league like the premier league. Even €68 mil comes around at £58 mil. I think the fair price would be around 50 mil tops. He isn’t a proven player like Haaland is at the top level either and he will have a tear left… Read more »
there is a continuing debate on this Blog about the role of systems…Jonathan Wilson has a nice article about Grealish and Sancho
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/nov/05/grealish-and-sancho-could-be-thriving-if-each-were-at-the-others-club
one came from a tight system in Dortmund to an unstructured ManU
the other was a maverick and is struggling to adapt to Pep’s rigid systeming
JW suggests the teams should swap 🙂
Vlahovic for 40m + torreira, with cost also offset by the sale of Auba or laca would be good as that would leave us net probably around 30m.
I will be surprised and disappointed if Arteta drops(replaces) Tavares for Tierney…it would make no sense Our 2 best footballing performances under Arteta since before covid have been our last 2 league games, the only 2 league games that Tavares has started.. Tavares has given the side a new dimension in the final 3rd of the pitch with his electric pace. What is overlooked is the timing of his overlaps which makes him near impossible to pick up, and he is starting to build a special relationship with Smith Rowe. The fact that he had a 92% pass completion rate… Read more »
I’m at the only restaurant in Tianjin that does elite fish and chips! What a treat
China1,
I didn’t know that fish and chips could ever be described as “elite”! 😂
WOAB ofc it can be!
I think fish and chips is one of the most inconsistent dishes you can find anywhere around – including in England!
The difference between awesome fish and chips and some overly dry/oily crap is massive!
Back in Bristol there were only about 4 chip shops in the whole city I would actively go to because they were awesome – all the rest were too dry, too oily, too this or too that
Also if you order fish and chips somewhere like here (even in a western restaurant) you’ll be served something that as a Brit you would say does not accurately qualify as the stuff 😁
Skinny, dry fries, fish that is certainly not cod, cut into two smaller pieces in batter that isn’t great. No mushy peas or anything of the sort. No lemon to drizzle. Disappointing taste.
Until you leave the UK you don’t know how much you’ll miss really good fish and chips!!
It’s funny to think about it but we British get lambasted for our bland food – yet travel the world and you see only a small minority of places can accurately recreate British food!
Underrated! British food is the Santi Cazorla of food – overlooked and under appreciated!!!
Eddu…..am not sure Arsenal would be up for English tax again….we can get a CM as good or even better than Rice in this depressed market…. let get the 3 points against Watford,then face Liverpool showing them zero respect..they sure can be rattled, and we get the Arsenal to rattle ’em…..fortune favours the bold
China1,
Haha that’s a new one on me, British food as the Santo Cazorla of world cuisine!
Presumably also just a little podgy/stodgy, tricky (to get right) as well as being underrated!
(P.s. tried and failed to get the two-footed reference in.)
I don’t really care how much we pay for players, but the £68 million for Vlahovic is reportedly including add onns which, if activated, would mean he has already paid for himself.
If you throw Torreirra into the equation it looks like a more than reasonable deal.
Haha well our food lacks the culture of Cazorla but still
Underrated majorly!!
“Peter Wood is a boring name, so I went to America where I can create endless hours of joy by just saying words like ‘Tally-ho’ and ‘blimey guvnor’… always go where you can be an object of joy, life is so much easier.“
Similarly, I moved to Asia to become like Vlad the Impaler.
WOAB/China I own a fish and chip shop. You’re right there can be all sorts of variations but fresh cut chips from real potatoes (ideally Maris Pipers) , freshly made batter and the right cut of cod cooked for the right amount of time in oil that isn’t too old usually does the trick. This is no word of a lie. Some poncey geezer once told me our f&c were better than Rick Stein’s. I nearly pissed myself laughing but he was deadly serious. Pepper on the chips as well as s&v and served on warm plate with mushy peas… Read more »
Oh, and the trick to good chips is to pre-blanche them in oil at a lower temp then fry them off at about 175o.c. when theyve been ordered
Read some rumours that Auba wants out to Barca. If true its a fantastic opportunity to offload an ageing heavyweight on massive wages.
The best English food is a roast dinner. Roast potatoes, Yorkshire puds, veg, beef, gravy and a bit of English mustard on the side. . Absolutely delicious. Topped up with a decent red, it’s hard to beat.
Mince and dumplings, veg and mash does the trick for me.
Kronkephobe is correct my parents owned a chip shop for more than 40 years they where always packed on Thursday Friday Saturday and people would come from miles around
Blanche the chips and very good quality fish potatoes and oil that is cleaned constantly is a must
I can’t find anywhere now in my area that cooks it like they did
If the new manager bounce is a thing, then we could be getting unlucky with timing
Watford – Ranieri
Liverpool –
Newcastle – Howe?
United – If Solksjaer gets pumped at home today, then a change is possible
Everton – Benitez walking on thin ice already….
It’s unlikely KSE make a change mid-season, but if we don’t win tomorrow, then Arteta will likely be right under it by the beginning of December, because we’ll almost certainly drop points after the next break
The way it’s going, a quarter of PL managers will have been replaced by the New Year
Still hard to beat a hot curry on a Saturday night! A Madras, Lamb Naga or Jalfrezi washed down with a cold beer or three. That’s tonight sorted.
Kris I was being a bit too broad with my statement I admit. And you are very right with what you are saying. I was more thinking along the lines of progressing your philosophy and not staying too static with it. Arteta is young and one pitfall is being too cocky and thinking you made it (winning the FA Cup was it). And he got himself into a job that required a lot of work to be done, regardless of who the manager comes in and what experience he has. Arteta looks to be finally be doing alright. I will… Read more »
Arteta is a far better coach than a lot of people want to admit. Professionals rate him very highly.. Wenger was a bit of a one off, what he did was outstanding for many years Today’s game is more tactical, the rule change has made a big difference. This is why will we see a lot of younger Coaches/managers, like Arteta, imo.
Roy Keane a much better pundit than Gary Neville 😂
Poch to United, Zidane to PSG wouldn’t surprise me
United will win plenty of games with the amount of firepower they’ve got, but it feels like Solksjaer won’t make it to the Arsenal game at this rate
He should please hold on….. though the end is nigh,at least until we play ’em
People pontificating on how good a coach Arteta is on the basis of nothing. An FA cup win is something many ordinary coaches have lucked upon. Give him till the ned of the season, then next season the same thing again. Be fore you know it 5 years will have passed and we be furiously paddling to stay mootly relevant to being worthy of consideration for anything of substance. If we are 8th again, then what exactly are you waiting to see?
AFC We have a family run pub about 100 metres from where we live. Their lunchtime and dinner menu is at best ok but come a Sunday they do a Carvery @£12.95. Which to be honest is a bargain They will have a minimum of 5 meats. The Brisket and Pork Belly are my favourite He pushes the boat out with veg last Sunday there was 9 choices add to that roast pots stuffing, yorkies and gravy that is made with care as opposed to just a powder mix. A pint on arrival and a couple of glasses of Chardonnay… Read more »
Rich. Thats exactly what I forsee happening if PSG do not improve this season even with the GOAT in their team. Zidane is a better coach than Poch and Poch would be a perfect fit at OT.
City should hold on and not give United a sniff. If they can score 1, they will surely dive their way to a 2nd
utd looking like last year’s arsenal
come on, put in another cross
City are so good at controlling the game, United chasing shadows
The league is competitive, but the gulf in class between the top 3 and the rest is substantial
That was nearly as humiliating as the Liverpool game at OT.
Sure was only 2-0 but as Rich says, they literally didn’t string 3 passes together for the last 20 mins.
How the fuck was that not a pen on Jesus either?
As comfortable a 2-0 result as you will ever see
Utd’s snobbery towards Conte/nepotism towards Ole really is going to come back to haunt them.
WE, Clear penalty
City didn’t get out of second gear, it was a stroll for them, if they’d been bothered to turn the screw, that could have easily been another absolute drubbing
Still think United have enough quality in the final third to win plenty of football games though
Absolutely shocking decision to keep Ole and pass on Conte??????????????????
Ronaldo should have come to Arsenal lool he must be thinking wtf have I done?!
I’m not sure if I am the only one, but the website’s response time is quite low from a week.
Pedro – worth checking with the hosting guys may be, only if others are facing too though.
United are absolutely dogshite. Except an inconsistent Pogba and Luke Shaw, no real quality in the team.
If I were Ole, I would always start with Cavani up top.
Hey, No coaching from the sidelines chaps. We all want Ole to stay don’t we
Mctominay should thank his lucky stars that he plays so much for Man Utd. Nothing there at all apart from attitude and workrate.
“ The news outlet has added that there is still time for Odegaard not to become Ozil 2.0.”
Funny that things are so bleak journos in madrid writing about ode.
Maybe this gives him a little extra motivation. Bizarre little subplot
This post game section is brilliant
Roy Keane keeps coming back to a lack of characters at United
It’s something we’ve got to learn from, we should go all out for Jude Bellingham or Declan Rice next summer, we need to litter our dressing room not just with quality, but the right type of characters, particularly through the spine of the pitch
Pre game noise was all about the Brilliance of Ronaldo and how he wins games single handedly. This of course hasn’t been true since he left OT for RM way back when. If the team sucks, so will Ronaldo
Arsenal u23 scoring 3 in the last 7 minutes to draw 3 -3. Balogun with the winner and Azeez finally starts.
For Portsmouth in the face Cup.
Rich
We can’t get Jude Bellingham now. We had a chance to sign just before Edu came but he was so consumed with signing Kia players so he didn’t bother when the report dropped on his desk. Now we cant buy Dotmund players, they’re too expensive.
Havyn We’re 1 of the biggest clubs in the world, we have incredibly wealthy owners, and the PL is where all the best players want to be I’m a bit sceptical of giant fees + wages, but there’s always exceptions, and Bellingham would certainly fall into that category If he cost £70 million, and then sat in our engine room for decade, then £70 million would prove to be a bargain KSE have shown they’re willing to put their hand in their pocket under the right circumstances, we couldn’t currently compete with Liverpool, Chelsea or City for players But there’s… Read more »
Seeing those links to Zlahovic gladens my heart, guys going to be very good. Perfect replacement for Lacazette whom we absolutely shouldn’t be renewing his contract.
Have to say last few weeks have been good and positive, expecting a good performance and win tomorrow
The cojones Troy Deeney mentioned were the ones Arsene Wenger lacked .. not the players..
AFC
hadn’t heard of a Lamb Naga, so looked it up — Naga is 200 times hotter than a Jalapeño
only three beers with/after it ? 🙂 🙂 🙂
It is good that Manure didn’t get Conte. Manure’s financial power is ideal for Conte and not Spuds.
Great to see you Bati. Milan ripping up Serie A, hopefully do not run out of steam again.
Paddy is building something special at Palace, have never seen a Crystal Palace team play like this.
Chelsea drawing with not long left
‘’ The cojones Troy Deeney mentioned were the ones Arsene Wenger lacked .. not the players..‘’
Maybe he didn’t need them being the most successful manager in the history of Arsenal
Eagle
How you been man??
Very happy with the way Milan have started man, but yea just hope we don’t run out of steam like last season. Our Champions League campaign has been an absolute shambles but not a lot of folks were expecting much over here in that regard and I’m glad we may not even make the Europa League. Need all of our attention on the league.
How you been enjoying the Arsenal last month or so. Quietly optimistic really but the club has let us down so many times before I’m basically in a holding pattern.
How exactly is Wenger the most successful manager in Arsenals history?. Did he ever win a European trophy?, Did he ever defend a title?. He watched Fergie win 3 in a row and sold him his best player to help him win a send off title after not winning one himself in 8 years. Are we counting Emirates cup as well now?
Our position is easy to explain: 1. We lost 3 games with new players settling, key players missing, and two of those games were against the PL + European Champions, two established + settled teams, and the majority’s of our fans pissed the bed….. 2. Norwich (Home) Burnley (Away) AFC Wimbledon (League Cup) Spurs (Home) (we’ve lost once in the league at home in 23 years) Brighton (Away) Palace (Home) Villa (Home) Leeds (Home) (League Cup) Leicester (Away) We dropped 2 points at home to Palace, but gained them back away to Leicester, things have just balanced out, after a… Read more »
Globalgunner
“How exactly is Wenger the most successful manager in Arsenals history?.. Are we counting Emirates cup as well now?”
Could possibly be that during his 20 years at the club he won 10 trophies with 10 runners up , which equates to a trophy or a runners up for every season…
Could add the many community shields but no need , Wenger’s record is very very impressive as was the quality of the football.
I’d settle for that for the next 20 seasons……wouldn’t you.
I would! Just because he overstayed for 5-6 seasons, doesn’t mean anyone need to belittle him.
49..49.. Undefeated…
Boring thoughts…