Thomas Partey is FIT for the Liverpool game. That’s massive news. We need all our best soldiers ready for the fight in Liverpool. The Ghanaian midfielder also avoided a long trip to Africa, so he should be very fresh. With him in the side, you feel you have a chance. Let’s be frank, this season, he’s felt like the £45m signing we bought last season. It’s always amazing when people savage our 8th placed finish last season, they forget that our star signing wasn’t available 50% of the season. You think there’s a chance if he’d started the whole season, we’d have picked up an extra 6 points? I do. He’s so much more than a defensive midfielder. He gives us control, power, and vision from deep. Maybe his shooting will start delivering this season?
The major questions we’re all pondering is: Which Liverpool will show up?
- The demolition crew that dismantled United in brutal fashion.
- The slightly meek soft-boys that showed up for the West Ham game.
The league is better this year pound for pound. My concern at the start of the season was that we’d see the top 3 race away from the pack. That hasn’t happened yet. It’s close at the top. Last year, it was also close, but it had red herrings flying too close to the sun (Spurs). This year, it’ll be very interesting to see if the smaller clubs can keep up the pace.
I’d never post a calendar-year points total graphic to insinuate that Arsenal are doing pretty well overall.
WHO LET BEZOS INTO THE ADMIN SECTION?
Seeing tables like the above really does make a mockery of the SACK ARTETA narrative that was polluting the airwaves after three games this season.
What the fans are lusting for is a bigger performance against a team like Liverpool. There are only two teams I feel we give too much respect to. City and Liverpool. We gave City things to think about for about 20mins at home before the wheels came off. But I want to see a whole 90 of that.
There’s no point in going gung-ho to prove a point. But, I also don’t want to see Apocolypse Now scenes after three minutes against Liverpool. We are good at defending. Arsenal are tough to play against. It’d be really nice to see that translate against a team that boasts the intensity and ferocity of Klopp’s Liverpool.
This game is roll of the dice. Expectations are pretty low. Wouldn’t it be great if we could surprise a few? I’d take a point whilst keeping our unbeaten run in tact.
I’m not sure how the starting 11 will go. The big worry right now is Auba, he had an injury scare, but he seemed to be happy celebrating with his team after their game. Issue is, you can’t just play Laca up front on his own. So then you need to consider Eddie, who seems to be done with Arsenal Football Club. It’s going to be tough not having Auba from an edge perspective, he’s the one you’d want limited chances to fall to. So we’ll see where that lands.
Midfield will also be interesting. Sambi Lokonga surely gets the nod. But, this does feel like a man-marking masterclass opp for the in-form Ainsley.
Smith Rowe and Saka are absolute musts for me.
What will the surprise be? What will the tactical nuances look like? I’m sure there will be something. It’ll be exciting.
Finally, NBC signed a MEGA deal with the Premier League for $2billion. They are going to run all the matches over here. Their coverage is absolutely awesome in my opinion, so it’s great to see they will continue as a partner. I just wish they didn’t make it so tough with their average app they make you subscribe to. I also wish they’d just let me buy all the games in one place. But… they pay a lot to be annoying, so whatever.
… also, just a quick note. I am going to dive in on the advertising game. I’ve taken on the cost of this site on my own, but now it’s getting a bit of hand, and I want to pay my valuable contributors if I can. Servers are $200, podcasting is $40, Adobe is $20, Mailchimp is $20, buying sexy outfits for the show is $1000 a month. The partner I’m working with knows experience is my prime motivator, I don’t need ads that fuck with the flow, so rest assured, there will never be pop-ups. Thank you in advance for accepting this annoyance.
That’s me done. The whole gang will be there for a Sunday OTW podcast. Tune into that. Also, grab the Perry G interview while you can. It’s fantastic and thank you for all the nice comments on it.
ACAST | SPOTIFY | GOOGLE | CASTBOX
Rich “It’s why I think they wanted to create a closed off super league, they can see the production lines of talent coming down the track, and that seriously threatens the statuesque, and the current order of things” Or maybe it was all about money, money and money. Barca and RM having to compete on more competitive terms with other clubs in La Liga while being in a big shithole of a mess financially certainly pushed them to initiate SL this season. Barca suddenly could’nt afford to keep Messi after he agreed to cut his salary in half. After La… Read more »
My hope for tomorrow is that we don’t go too negative. I don’t want to see 3 at the back and parking the bus. We’ve looked pretty solid defensively with the setup we have. The thing that kills you against Liverpool is giving their fullbacks time on the ball 30-40 yards out. If we go with a super low block we’ll get thrashed.
Bob, what I think’s going to happen is that enough top talent will be produced to pack at least 20 squads with 15-20 top players Then take into account the financial might of the PL, and how weak the other league’s are financially in comparison PL clubs outside the traditional top 6 clubs, can now buy players off any clubs they want, outside 10-12 across mainland Europe, such is the financial might of the PL, the wages on offer, they can also attract the best coaches, right through the age groups We’d be crazy to break up the success of… Read more »
Don’t think I’ve ever seen Klopp without a hat on.
Rich Arteta now has an opportunity to grow Arsenal’s reputation as a career building club for young players much the same way as peak Wenger. It’s actually needed more than ever with the money-bags clubs now being swelled by Newcastle (although they will take a long time to buy into success as its harder than ever now). Our answer is not to match that but to build a system which attracts many of the world’s top young players. The Dortmund Mark II model can be finessed especially as Dortmund are now going bigger budget, having succeeded with Mark I The… Read more »
A Super League is a miserable invention not wanted by most. The game needs some tweaks – get rid of meaningless internationals and international breaks; stop inventing new trophies that no one is interested in eg Nations League; the shit thing Spurs are in etc; stop letting Champions League failures into the Europa Cup ; get rid of the TW – but it doesn’t need that sort of massive overhaul. Money and greed are so blinding
Sorry Pedro as much as I like the comparison.
Liverpool have done it with PANACHE.
Where as we have done it with a deal of luck
and football most of the time that really is hard to
watch.
Take out either ESR or Saka and we will struggle.
No depth.?
Northbanker, I have to say I’m very skeptical towards this Dortmund Mk 2 idea. Sounds good in theory but I feel it can only be successful as a transition strategy to go from midtable to top 4. At some point you have to start spending serious money to compete for the #1 spot or you become a selling club. Top players at their peak want to win, not play at a club that’s just focused on bringing through more talent. I have huge respect for Dortmund but they are the permanent #2 in a league that’s a one-horse race. If… Read more »
LS, Arsenal are 1 of the richest clubs in the world, we can compete within our resources
If we get our scouting, recruitment, squad planning, and contract management right
Then combine that with quality coaching + world class youth development, there’s no reason we can’t build a competitive team within our resources
North Banker, Newcastle United are about to appoint Michael Emenalo as their new Technical Director. Another good candidate with an actual track record of achieving at Chelsea. It will take them some time to get all the pieces but perhaps not as long as you’re suggesting. Emenalo was a Chief Scout at Chelsea before being promoted to his old role as TD. Arsenal could have done the same thing with Francis Cagigao but Josh Kroenke thought it a better idea to bring in a national team coordinator for the role as Raul Sanllehi wished. Now Don Raul is no more.… Read more »
Rich,
I agree. I’ve said the same thing many times when some of our fans are playing the victim card and saying we can’t compete financially. Except for 2-3 clubs in the world, we can.
My point is just that Dortmund Mk 2 might get you to a level below the best. Not all the way.
LS – I totally get you on this – has it moved them on? The best strategies take the best bits from other successful ones and adapt them. Who said we need to be a selling club? There may come the time when we have packed in so much talent that something has to give and then you’re selling from a position of strength rather than weakness. Look at peak Wenger rather than late Wenger. We sell Anelka and use the funds to buy Suker (part ex) and Henry with 50% of the funds left over. Late Wenger sells RvP… Read more »
Our 2 big signings (Partey & Gabriel) last year had questionable debut seasons with us while the clubs that sold them both went on to win their leagues. Think that tells that the selling clubs didn’t miss them and made a nice few quid from
“Nice of Tony to provide a list of the” Bedwetters”.But we all know who the hardcore are.Oh. & Tom ,other Arsenal managers never had any easy runs in their 1st 100 games to beef up their statistics? Talk about clutching at any straw you can find.lol!“ Positive Pete, do you have something more substantial to back up your claims of easy games for Wenger in his first 100 matches or just lols? Because if that’s all you’ve got , I’m not impressed. See, the thing is, 1996-97, 1997-98, and 1998-99 seasons were about four years ahead of my time starting… Read more »
China
Cheers. I worked in about 30 different places all told for varying amounts of time. All had something to recommend, even 6 months in Damascus. My probable favourite was the two spells in Argentina in the 80s and 90s. Interesting though sometimes hairy being there 7 years after the war, good colleagues including many brilliant Argentines, nightlife, restaurants and shit loads of the most passionate gripping football.
Northbanker, Couldn’t agree more – we need to pick the bits that work. And ideally, innovate on top of that. The big thing that no one seems to have cracked is how to refresh squads while maintaining performance over time. It’s obviously a complex problem. But even Liverpool are on their way to fail because they’ve chosen to ignore squad freshness. And this is a team with owners who are known for sporting success and maybe the best manager in the world. I don’t envy the poor bastard who’ll need to execute that rebuild job in a year or two… Read more »
Tom No stat-padding by Arsene in Europe to be found. If anyone says otherwise, they are making it up. (Arsene Wenger’s 1st 100 games) Premier League: Played – 79 | Won – 42 | Drawn – 23 | Lost – 14 Goals for – 126 | Goals against – 62 Win Percentage – 52.7% UEFA Cup: Played – 2 | Won – 0 | Drawn – 1 | Lost – 1 Goals for – 1, Goals against – 2 Win Percentage – 0% UEFA Champions League: Played – 4 | Won – 1 | Drawn – 2 | Lost –… Read more »
LS We have to create a new cycle of being competitive and playing attractive football The generation of global fans who fell in love with Arsenal under the peak Wenger years, won’t be around forever With what we’ve dished up over the last few years, no fans across the globe would have any reason to fall in love with us, and we need to build a team that captures the hearts + minds of another generation of supporters There’s plenty of massive clubs who’ve fallen via the wayside, we need to put ourselves back on the map, hopefully KSE recognise… Read more »
Rich,
Agreed, that’s a real threat. I’m a non-British Gooner myself who, as a kid, saw Bergkamp perform magic and that was that. I could never muster up much interest for any other team after that, incl my national team.
I’ve lived all around Europe, Southeast Asia and now the US and I rarely see kids wearing the red and white these days. Here in NYC I see more of them wearing the chicken shirt which blows my mind.
IAT-Robbie
Who needs facts when there’s lols?
Here’s the funny part, I’m not even that big of a Wenger defender ( I always thought he underachieved in Europe) but Arsenal fans can’t even have a reasonable debate about anything involving Arteta these days without being labeled a hater.
You’d think I was bigging up Mourinho or Tony Pulis’ numbers the way some reacted to a simple question whether any other Arsenal manager had a group of three weaklings his second stringers could manage three points against six games straight.
LS, what Wenger was very good at was creating the illusion of an overall philosophy Football is about emotion, and Wenger was brilliant at telling a story, painting us as the underdog, as a club that did things the right way, gave young people opportunities It’s much easier for people to fall in love with a purist philosophy, than it is a scattergun approach Unfortunately Wenger lost his magic in the transfer market towards the end, it’s a shame the board didn’t back peak Wenger with the type of money we’ve squandered over the last few years, because he’d have… Read more »
Tom
So what IS your ‘reasonable’ opinion on Arteta? Or don’t you have one?
Rich, I get what you’re saying but I’m not sure money would have helped. In the last 10 years I just had the impression that Wenger had dug in. He refused to spend money on defensive players as a matter of principle. And he was obsessed with unearthing “gems” that no one else had seen. This worked when everyone was doing contact/eyeball scouting but once everyone else became data driven it just backfired. That’s how we ended up with gems like Park, Chamakh, Gervinho etc. The thing is, he had more money than he makes it sound like. He just… Read more »
I think some of y’ all are losing the plot… Why would you want to switch to a more complicated and undynamic formation like a 3-4-3? Especially when what we have been doing is working. 3-4-3 requires a great degree of training.. communication and more rigid and unifrom spacing.. If something goes wrong it can go horribly wrong. And since our backline is used to playing with 2 cbs… I don’t even think it would make us better defensively. Think y’all are giving Liverpool way too much respect. For me, good teams do what they do .and if we want… Read more »
LS, I disagree, some of Wenger’s best work was between 2005-2013 He should have gone after the FA Cup win in 2014. Not signing a single outfield player in the summer of 2015 really cost us, had Cazora stayed fit in 2015/16, I think we’d have won the title Not signing another top midfielder really cost us None of us really know what was going on behind the scenes, but the 2007/08 team was electric, the 2010/11 team was also really good, had we not had the Crown Jewels picked off, there was a good platform to build on But… Read more »
Midwest, I think the idea that we’d play 3-4-3 was more a discussion point than expecting it to be introduced tomorrow.
Tom
So what IS your ‘reasonable’ opinion on Arteta? Or don’t you have one?
————-
EB, I think he underachieved vis a vis his circumstances in his first two seasons but I’ve been impressed by his squad building and overall performance this season.
I don’t think the schedule has been as tough as some would have us believe but I’m still optimistic.
Never wanted him fired even at his lowest point so why would I want him gone when things are going well?
Oh ok Bob.. I think we shouldn’t switch to 3 at the back unless we want to play in every match that way.. And we have a preseason of training. with the players we have now maybe next season. Situationally as a one off to try and combat teams here and there to me rarely works. Would rather we go down swinging with what we have been successful at ,, is my point, basically. If Mo Salah is on one of his superman days or Mane. then I dont think we can tactic our way out of that.. Just tip… Read more »
MidwestGun exactly , however I would be tempted to go with Niles instead of lokonga as Niles is better defensively and Partey will need the extra defensive help as he is not fully match fit , will also do Niles confidence the world of good getting the nod for a massive game and will inspire a performance
Shaun –
I also think we should start AMN over Loko. Have been impressed with his last 2 starts. Physically he he is a little more imposing and he has excellent recovery pace. Always been a mental thing with him for me.. He switches off sometimes. And as a fullback I didnt like his positional awareness. As a midfielder I think he has been better, his range if passing isnt always dynamic but his dribbling skills are pretty good when he does it at pace.
Tom
An encouraging assessment, though not entirely reasonable given the awful state the Club was in when he arrived.
Football is unpredictable, but I believe that Liverpool and Arsenal are pretty much on par at the moment. Two lines crossing on a graph, Arsenal on an upswing, Liverpool on a downswing.
So, for me, a draw seems likely.
Shaun/Midwest,
AMN vs Lokonga is a tough one. I’m leaning towards Lokonga. Agreed that AMN is slightly better defensively. But we also need to be able to hold on to the ball to give ourselves some breathing room. And that’s where Lokonga is better. The nightmare scenario is a full-on Liverpool onslaught where we’re just kicking the ball long and they keep coming back at us.
EB, at least I’m consistent.
Conte just started his Tottenham reign and no matter how many changes he wants to make or whoever he might want to bring in, their current talent level and wage bill dictates he takes them up the table to around sixth or higher come May………or he’ll have failed to deliver on his hype.
“Always been a mental thing with him for me” exactly , Niles used to make me want to bash him over the head with a frying pan .He has all the tools and an excellent physical profile for any position but if he plays tomorrow he should be looking at putting Lokonga on the bench for a while with an all action display and if he does that we can finally say good bye to Xhaka ….not saying that would be an incentive or anything lol…………………..lol
I think I read we haven’t picked up a point at Anfield in like 6 years and haven’t won there in 9 years or something like that… so .. a win would be massive . I’d take a point for sure. Just don’t get all crazy with the setup is all I ask. If I see Odegaard as a false 9 or something.. I might hurt my tv.
LoveSausage , I am a big fan of Lokonga as well but he is not as experienced as Niles and with the full press from Liverpool I can see Lokonga getting caught and that’s my worry as he is very keen to except the ball under pressure which is great but he can sometimes get caught in very dangerous positions that can lead directly to goal attempts , of course with more exposure and experience he will manage those situations and we will have a hell of a player on our hands but for me tomorrows game I would go… Read more »
Well like.. I said … Loko or Amn is really the only decison for me. Tavares starts for me over Tierney. If we knew we were gonna get “A” game Tierney maybe.. but he hasn’t been A game Tierney for me all season. Probably due to nagging injuries. Think I would ease Tierney back in with Cup matches then go from there . He is better in and around the box.. but Tavares for me is more dangerous at the moment wth his pace. And defensively he has been spot on. Granted he hasn’t faced a Mo Salah.. and got… Read more »
Shaun,
As long as I don’t have to watch Xhaka stink the place up, I won’t complain. AMN has been good lately. I’d love to see him pull off another man marking miracle.
Liverpool made us dizzy in the 2 league games last season Our 4 worst league performances were the 1-0 away to City, the 3-0 against Villa, and both Liverpool games Arteta is edging Klopp in the head to head We won 2-1 with an ugly smash + grab at the end of 2019/20, we beat them in the Charity Shield + League cup last season, but lost both league games in 1 sided affairs 3-2 Arteta, hopefully we can build on that tomorrow, 3 points would be massive I’m not confident, but if we can beat Liverpool, and Leicester can… Read more »
LS -sorry bit of time elapsed there as i had to work, lol Your point o sustainability / freshness. I agree this is a modern problem but if you cast back in time to when Liverpool dominated the 70s and 80s they did so by making usually just one key signing each year. They also had the ‘boot room’ for bringing up the next coach Shankly – Paisley – Fagan – Dalglish When Man U dominated football in the 90s and noughties Ferguson (uiquely just him – no succession) did so by doing the unthinkable – getting rid of a… Read more »
englandsbest, I’m not sure we are… I don’t think we have a 5th gear like Liverpool.
We just got to hope that West Ham game rattled them and everything goes right on the day.
Hi Pedro
As you’re back in line thought i’d just say I for one am happy you do whatever is necessary to commercialise the site and make it pay for itself. My only bugbear was the other day when I was getting pop-up ads with no X inset box to delete. On the iphone the ad blocked the comments box and half the screen. It seems to have been a one day only issue though.
online lol
EB – we’re not at Liverpool’s level yet. We stand a chance only because of injuries to their key players
Someone earlier pointed out that a develop and sell strategy (which btw I wasn’t advocating, just the develop and constrained selling) would only take us to top 4 and not to trophy levels. Well our initial strategy has surely to be top 4 so we can continue to attract the very best talent. We will not be in the running for Vlahovic for example without the prospect of champions league football.
Trying to build stability + cohesion, while still evolving and freshening up the squad each season Fergie was brilliant at it, he wasn’t scared to dump a star, and he’d also change up his coaching staff, he once said: “if you don’t change your team every 5 years, then they’ll change you” He’s also on record as saying 27 was the optimum average age for a squad, most clubs try to aim for this. We need a first team squad of 23, backed up by a few really talented youngsters, we then need to replace 2-3 players from the squad… Read more »
“””””””Raptora/Sid are hiding because at least they have the pride to hide from their shame when we are winning””””””””
Pavlov’s iPhone
That pull you feel when your screen lights up?
That’s addiction.
A dopamine hit associated to stimulus
I thought Pepe was meant to be our star signing…
Saka defies natural science. He can be in two places at one and the same time. Or at any rate that’s the way it appears to be. He’s defending back in our penalty box, look away for an instant, and you see him homing in on their penalty box. Truly, a phenomenon. And then there’s ESR, with an elegance reminiscent of Beau Brummel. Classy, beyond his years, beyond belief. And Partey, the most frightening guy to wear an Arsenal shirt since Vieira…and Ramsdale, as good a GK as there is anywhere…and a defence as rock-tight as Fort Knox…. Yeah, I… Read more »
Tomorrow’s game will answer a lot of questions about Arteta’s mettle
We have a team that can deliver a reasonable performance if well coached
Northbanker I am one of those who advocate a develop and sell strategy. Because it’s the only policy that can keep the Club self-sustaining and at the same time, elite, competing for and winning major trophies and titles. That policy has always been the beating heart of the Club. That does not preclude a necessary transgression from time time, like the splurge on Bergkamp and Platt. But in the golden years of GG and Wenger/Dein the policy worked very well. The truth is that Arsenal are well-suited for that strategy, probably more than any other PL club. It’s also true… Read more »
By all means, work with adds. Im so grateful for allt the content you give us, blog, pod, twitter and ofc you should have an income and not expenses for the work you do.
Wow….. Englandsbest that’s almost a poem…I can relate, this team of ours one cannot but love them for themselves.one’s position on the gaffer becomes secondary,few months back the mood would have been gloomy, but we are daring to hope that maybe just maybe we are on our to being the Arsenal of old….
EB – yep but I think we can tweak it to turn ourselves into a financial powerhouse again. Key is top 4 positioning (to get the very best talent) and consistent selective buying strategically and nurturing. Game time however is also vital – the counteracting forces are visible lack of time for players like Martinelli. Actually I don’t think it is the case with Saliba who is getting plenty of game time.
Sly, teeing up tomorrow like some sort of definitive test is a really narrow view. Why is Liverpool defining of anything? It’s not. If we get something, amazing. If we don’t, they are one of the best sides on the planet.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11662/12469266/nuno-tavares-exclusive-arsenal-defender-reveals-key-behind-clubs-defensive-improvement
Interesting graph in this article with average ages of each teams this season
Thanks Kris! The team I’m working with ensure me they will give me the good inventory
“People under estimating Tierney is a real surprise to me.”
It shouldn’t surprise you except if you are new to le-grove which you aren’t
@Pedro
If you want to monetise anything, look at twitch. Your already creating the content, take a look at the subscription model- i bet there is a big chuck of your audience that would happily give up the free monthly amazon prime gaming sub that they dont know they have 😉
Hey guys, been a while. Hope everyone’s well.
Pedro, I’m fully supportive of the ads. You definitely deserve to have your time and commitment rewarded in ways other than traffic haha. Your whole use of the social networks is great. If you can give us the ads without being super obtrusive then sweet.
Any chance of finding ads that are also funny? Just to take the edge off them. I have no idea how any of those marketing/advertising processes work but I’m sure your expertise would be able to work something out.
Cheers mate
So here we are, on the eve of what is arguably the most important Arsenal fixture since 17 May 2006. IMHO this is the fixture that will define The Arsenal going forward. After a record breaking time period of clean sheets leading up to the final, Arsene Wenger picked a team for the final on name, not form. He dropped Flamini for Cole, & the rest is history. So when Arteta picks his starting line up for the Bindippers, for me Nuno Tavares starts & Kieran Tierney warms the bench. Ofcourse Tierney may still not be fully fit, who knows,… Read more »
Peter fully understand doing the ads..
Just please no full screen ones with hidden close buttons..
If Eddie is closed should we give him s chance ?
Irishgooner had to make a comment basically criticizing Gabriel, of all people. This guy is early on his way to being a world class cb.
He’ll probably deny it was a dig, then why in the world would you take the time to comment how well his and Parteys clubs did without them?
Who cares?
Why waste a minute posting something that’s only intention is to make Gabriel and Partey seem less important, or less excellent buys for our club.
Just felt like saying it?
This is not an Atletico Madrid blog.
Iat Bamford had to find some esoteric stats to try and make more anti Arsenal points. The guy never changes.
Anything to drag the Arsenal. The amount of effort put in, to do it, is just sad.
Pedro, it’s well cool that you’ve asked your readers about advertising on your blog. Like most people here, I’m happy with that as long as it’s not pop ups and I sincerely hope the ads help.
Gabriel is quality
My favourite arsenal signing of recent years
Esoteric! Interesting. A new world learnt for the day. Thanks
I’ll try to keep my alternative personality in order next time.
The ramsdale stats back up what has been very much confirmed by the eye test Type —-Pl ranking G.conceded – 1st Clean sheets – 3rd Save % – 2nd XGagaijst prevented – 2nd Catches – 5th Interestingly he’s not only smashing the stats out the lark but on the eye test he’s ping even better. The quality of some of those saves has been unreal and perhaps most important of all has been the very very obvious boost he gives to the team. He gets them fired up, he gives them confidence. Some of his long balls have been unreal… Read more »
China1 …..
Gabriel is actually first name on the team sheet for me. Among a few good choices too.
Clowns here are busy talking about how well his former club is doing without him.
I just don’t understand the motivation to come to an Arsenal blog and make points like that, if you really like the club.
I think Tavares has been a great signing but his stats are also very impressive too – more so than I expected
Type ——- arsenal rank
Duels won 1st
Aerial duels won 2nd
Take ons attempted 2nd
Touches 3rd
Crosses attempted 3rd
These are not the kind of numbers you expect to see from a bargain basement, young backup player who hasn’t even been a starter for a few games this season.
He, Tomi and Lokonga are like peak wenger signings, they really are. Completely left field
China 1.
Agreed. Gabriel has been the most impressive of our recent signings. I was genuinely worried when he got benched last season. Glad to see he’s won his spot back. Most complete defender at the club IMO.
On to the big match up, most of my mates here in Aus are liverpudlians and were calling me out, until a hammers mate chimed in haha. I have some positivity at least for a point if we can stay focused for 90, but I’m not expecting a win away. I’d like to just show heart and desire for 90 and at least give them something to thing about. Also great that partey is fit, hopefully it’s not a repeat of the spurs game last season. It’s going to be great to watch regardless. And 430am on a Sunday from… Read more »
Gabriel is the most dominant CB we’ve had in the last decade. We’ve had players who are technically as good like koscielny, but no one who has the ability to reliably just say this space belongs to me and anything and anyone coming into it is going to get fucked
I do think he needs more time and for a CB he’s really young – but he has what he needs to become a world class, Sol Campbell level CB. Ability wise but also he’s got the athletic profile as well. Something we’ve never once had since Sol left
The recent signings are also laying to rest any notion that we can’t compete with Leicester, Dortmund, Spurs etc for premium quality players on the cheap and under the radar
Peak wenger signings will ALWAYS be available and in every position on the pitch. The problem is we just became absolutely shite at finding them.
That’s why I’ve no interest in seeing us throw money at big name signings – I just want us to focus on quality and value – and it is out there. It’s always out there
From Tom.. “I suppose when Harry Kane hangs up his boots having broken England’s national team top scoring records, while banging in a dozen or more against San Marino and Andora , our Nigel here will defend his record against Kane haters.” Answer is no to that. What you and Iat-Bamford and Kroenkephobe never seem to understand… We are Arsenal fans, we’re supposed to be slightly biased looking at stats of our own players, managers, etc. Not blind faith, just normal fandom. Equally we are supposed to hate Harry Kane and lots of other rivals. How do you still not… Read more »
My favourite quality of Gabriel’s is he’s amazing at going straight through the back of a player with a heavy step in challenge and bizarrely do it cleanly without giving away a free kick Those kinds of challenges are fodder for giving away cheap free kicks but he has this availing to go straight through his man without committing a foul As well for a striker it’s very disconcerting when a defender keeps going straight through you and comes out with the ball. You always assume the threat of a step in tackle comes from the front and sides and… Read more »
Have you seen that interview where Henry talks with Harry Kane from a few years back? It’s fucking hilarious Henry is there in London speaking a second language like it’s nothing, charisma and swagger dialed up to 10 and he’s chatting about how as a player he’d look at the angle of the keepers legs so he could ensure his shot would be unsaveable based on their balance etc. and when he asks Harry similar questions about that he’s basically like HERP DERP DERP MEEEEEH 😂😂😂😂😂 Irrespective of Kane’s good goals record it’s like Rembrandt talking to a toddler about… Read more »
100%
I don’t think big name signings are worth it these days. If I could have it my way. The recruitment policy would be U24, no more than £40 million and £125,000 p/w for every new signing for the next three seasons.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z4LBJqT9T9c
Gabriel is a beast. I think his partnership with white is going to thrive with time. They are both very front footed ball playing CBS, as well as being able to complement each other by covering ground very quickly. Something we haven’t had in defence in a long time. They both the game very well. Very good at winning the ball back and playing to feet. And also we are becoming solid in the air. Our backline is one of our most promising in a while in my opinion. Forgot to mention yet again how much I love this team… Read more »
Robbie yeah at the end of the day all those amazing players on cheap deals are out there. It’s on the club to dig them out and get them done. I’m not saying it’s easy but I am saying for most the last 7 or so years we stopped even trying. Dreadful scouting, dreadful transfer fees and honestly a lot of dreadful deals. How much money have we spent on transfer fees and wages for players like Pepe, xhaka, mustafi, ozil, Willian, Luiz, Kola etc etc etc? Auba and laca are both good players but I don’t think buying both… Read more »
Yes goober
We were told how important xhaka is every time we dropped points without him. This season this BS has surely finally been laid to rest
A bit harsh on Harold for what I suspect is an undiagnosed nasal condition, even if it is very funny. I’d rather criticise him for being too individualistic and a blatant cheat. Can’t forget his famous tunneling move that has almost sent several defenders (incl our very own Gabriel) to the Emergency Room.
Good morning Grovers football is back and Arteta is saying top 4 is not enough. Brave words, but the right ones. For all my joking yesterday I believe we can get something from this game. I’ve been saying all week and as well as my thinking on how we can get from the game. Of course Arteta has stated tactics hopefully trained for the win, so it’s all down to the players to bring home the bacon as the old saying goes. Since the NLD I have been happy with the 442 that should have been 24 months ago. My… Read more »
So IAT-Bamford….
You say,, that if you had your way, you’d basically use the policy that Arteta and Edu have used this year. (Except 10 mil over for White).
Don’t go out on a limb there buddy.
Stunning and brave comment Bam.
Keep digging up those rare gem stats while you’re at it.
One concern I have is the papers are melodramatically saying Partey racing to be fit. To be fit for the bench I hope and not rushed back to start. Partey’s been out for a few weeks so if he hasn’t had U23 games to add fitness, he won’t be ready for the pace of the Dippers and game in general. The other I can’t decide on is CT vs Tavares at LB. Auba’s fitness and main worry is his mentality often going missing in big games of old. Eddie then Martinelli can fit in well with Laca. Pace will win… Read more »
Any French League experts , whats the deal on Jonathan David ? How good is he ?
Meyer at his best live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBFW8OvciIU
If Arteta is brave and he allows the players the freedom to express and play on the front foot, I see a positive outcome.
If he reverts back to defence above all else, we’ll be in trouble.
I’m going to be brave here and say 1-1 or 2-2.