Feels like it’s been a while since we had a meaty David Ornstein drop – and it dropped harder than a hock of vegan ham.
Arsenal is channelling some of 2018 January energy as they look to consolidate their powers to mitigate risk heading into the final stretch of the season. New York Times writer, Sir David Ornstein, reckons we’ll pull money forward for Dusan Vlahovic if the player is game, though people in Italy seem to think the player isn’t really game.
You can say many things about Edu and Arteta, but when it comes to the sales pitch, and making sure the purchase is possible, we haven’t really missed that often. If Edu has to be pulled away from the family BBQ, rest assured, he’s not wasting non-grilling time on a player he’s not sure about. Also, let’s look to what Arteta said about Auba: He doesn’t have enough passion or commitment to be Arsenal captain.
I’m doubtful we’d go in for someone if we were their 9th choice.
I’m still a bit sceptical, but if you look at striking realities elsewhere, it does leave you a little more positive… because Dusan doesn’t have the best set of options right now.
Spurs just don’t have any money for big January moves, so count them out unless they bin Harry Kane
United has too many strikers as it is
Chelsea has sad Rom for the foreseeable, they are rich, but not rich enough to drop another £60m so soon (especially after Werner tanked). Tuchel has to make that one work.
Manchester City feels a little too right for Haaland, if not him, maybe Kane. Both signings won’t come sooner than the summer.
Liverpool don’t need a striker right now, I’m also not sure they are flush with cash
Juventus cannot possibly have any money, Fiorentina are not going to accept a 6-year loan deal with no intent to buy. Selling to a rival also isn’t cool for the home crowd.
If Vlahovic wants a banger of a project, there aren’t many more exciting than the one we have AND we have a little pawn called Lucas Torreira to make the deal more palatable for everyone.
Matt on the podcast made the point that a January signing is basically a 5 month preseason so the player bangs the year after. Serie A is played at a snail’s pace, Lucas Torreira looks a monster there, a player that couldn’t hack La Liga. So if we’re bringing in someone from there, the more time they get, the better.
There’s also talk about Iska and DCL if the deal falls through. All very similar in profile, though Isak does look to have that demon speed the other two don’t.
Granit Xhaka is out of contention for the weekend, which will give THE BIG MAN CHARLIE PATINO a chance to make his full debut against Forest according to Chris Wheatley, MBE. I know I said that Liverpool were a bunch of bitches for postponing our Carling Cup game, but let’s be real, if Patino is rolling in that first leg, we might be in a bit of trouble.
I know there are a lot of smug journalists out there saying football fans see bias where there is none and it does make me laugh because their job is to be curious.
Rick Parry, exLiverpool man, pushes their postponement over the line in the League Cup. Even if you are the laziest human in the world, can you not at least wonder if someone with deep affiliations might have bias? If I went into Government and gave a massive fat COVID loan to my old agency, would people ask questions? They would. Nothing is dodgy until someone does a bit of poking around.
For the record, Liverpool are on for their FA Cup game.
Manchester City has to play their game despite a massive outbreak.
Then I read that Arsenal were fined £20k for losing control of their players. United had a similar incident a few months ago, where is their fine?
Even the way the league maps fixtures is off. Spurs get new dates for Leicester when they are at their absolute weakest. Vardy is out, 4 of their players are at AFCON. Why aren’t Spurs playing Brighton or Burnley?
Arsenal haven’t played a big team after a European night out all season.
I’m going full tin-hat, but if you can look at how badly the league has implemented TV replays to help refs, do you not wonder how shitty their processes are for everything else?
We play this weekends game in an all-white shirt. Idris Elba, massive Gooner, is behind the idea.
“The idea that Arsenal are going to come out in an all-white kit and say ‘No More Red’ will hopefully make people think ‘Hang on, what’s going on here?’ – then look further and try and find out more,”
30 kids have died from knife crime this weekend, so let’s hope this has a positive impact.
Steven Gerrard has walked right into his first big deal and I gotta say, I love it. He’s signed 29-year-old Coutinho. I know Edu had a lot of love for the Brazilian, but Villa have walked right into the move and I couldn’t be happier. It’s quite odd watching Villa move in the market. They’ve gone from quite a clear transfer strategy to making some very odd moves that don’t look like they fit. Like I’ve said here many times before, every manager wants peak 29-year-old players, because it requires less effort to coach them. The magic of a proper club is to tell a manager they can’t make moves like that. Also… that Emi Buendia deal is looking like a solid dodge, right? They overpaid for him, dealt with swarms of agents, and accepted a sell-on clause that means they’ll have to get £45m-ish to break even.
Arsenal still need to do something in midfield, unless they believe Patino is good enough to cover. I guess we’ll find out this weekend. I’d love for us to bring in a player that might be the one to take over from Xhaka long-term, again, the idea of having someone ready for next season is a sexy one. That said, if the money isn’t right, Jack Wilshere would be my bet.
Ok, that is all I have my darlings, have fun in the comments, be kind x
“on the possible chances for younger players on Sunday… We have a young squad. A lot of them are already really young but we will assess the squad. We still have some issues around it like is happening in every single match tomorrow and when we have done the last training session and have every test back we will know who is available and we will try to go there to win the match WITCH is going to be difficult because they’ve changed their team so I expect it is going to be a tough match.” The youth policy is… Read more »
No to Jonathan David and A VERY BIG to Renato Sanches. Renato’s Sanches is exactly the kind of midfielder who look extraordinary in a highlight reels, but look bad in reality. He will keep attempting those Hollywood passes who rarely come off and give possession cheaply to the opposition. There is a reason why two successive Lille manager do not trust him with a starting position on a consistent basis. He is the kind of player managers throw in the last 30 minutes of a game to quicken the tempo. However forget about the concept of control and came management… Read more »
David Ornstein
@David_Ornstein
·
4h
Arsenal pushing to sign Dusan Vlahovic this month. If 21yo leaves Fiorentina now, #AFC currently ahead based on fee/salary. Decision of striker + agent will be key. Isak & Calvert-Lewin also admired.
I guess Vlahovic is first choice target. I am uneasy at targeting a player who has doubts about us. But he would be the first choice for every top club this summer after Mbappe and Haaland. So you have to admire the ambition we are showing to move ahead of everyone.
How does he have doubts about us? No stories of that over here
What I like about Vlahovic is his goals record and that his hold up play is apparently excellent. It’s what we need as Lacazette brings that quality into the team and brings in goals for Saka/ESR et al if he is Giroud easier but with better finishing he sounds perfect.
What I don’t like is his apparent coolness towards joining us. What is great about the youngsters we have is their love and enthusiasm for the club. We don’t want anyone who feels they are doing us a favour by joining.
AMN – talented player, very suspect mental side to his game. He’s lazy, slapdash, if he could get it right mentally he’d be a decent player but I think he’s too ‘old’ to change now. Chambers in midfield???!!! Fuck me sideways, why is it some of our fanbase want championship level players playing for us?? Nice guy but Get rid, he’s never been anywhere near good enough. Move Ben White into a deep midfield role, he’s made for it. Sounds like Forrest will be called off I reckon, both clubs struggling to put a decent team out. Son will make… Read more »
Liverpool are the first team this season to get a VAR official changed. In the aftermath of the draw with Spurs, when Stuart Attwell and Chris Kavanagh let off Kane and made two other clear errors, Klopp had Attwell removed from VAR duties for the Chelsea game. This is dangerous because it is exactly what Fergie used to do. Create enough noise and have the power to remove officials from big games and it’s win/win. Referees need big games, Liverpool play in many of them, so pissing off Klopp isn’t a good career move. So the next time they are… Read more »
Bati There are a lot of rumors that he wants to go to City or Juventus. And considering the fact that Only Haaland and Mbappe are the only ones better than him, he could choose where he goes. PSG will try and replace Mbappe. Madrid are rumored to want both Mbappe and Haaland, city also want Haaland. So one team will definitely want Vlahovic. I like our progress. But the rumors somehow make sense when you look ay what the top clubs will offer him. Anyway, question though. You know the Serie A well right, Can Juve afford him at… Read more »
There’s no quotes that I can find about Vlahovic being cool on joining us.
Interesting that we seem to be genuinely in for a CF and a CM. Surely we’re not going hard for both in Jan?
If we’re really going hard for a CF presumably CM will be a loan?
Habesha. Juventus’s finances are currently being investigated by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office because of the allegations of ‘artificial’ or ‘exaggerated’ transfer fees which they conspired with Barcelona. The reason they artificially inflated transfer income despite no money changing hands, was because of their huge debt. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports said issues began with the Gonzalo Higuain deal. In the 2016/17 season, the value of the squad on the balance sheet rose from €186m in 2015/16 to €302 m. Juve paid €91m for the Argentinian striker and gave him a salary of €7.5m net per season, which started the… Read more »
If arsenal get a quality CF and CM in January then we will quite literally have a complete starting 11
You couldn’t say that since what 2008 or something?
I refuse to believe we’ve gone from banter FC to having a top qualidee next level is the next level first team in the last few years. If we can bring money forward from the summer to do that tho I would
Then in the summer we could focus entirely on some bargains for squad depth as the first 11 would be sorted
We are 12/1 to win the FA Cup currently, and I am getting on that!
China, don’t do it!
Sounds way too good to be true.
A top CM and a top striker coming in and we are pretty much set.
https://smarterscout.com/articles/arsenal-dusan-vlahovic-fiorentina-aubameyang-lacazette-nicolas-pepe-serie-a-premier-league-champions-league-arteta
I hope Vlahović isn’t all hype without the substance!
As I’ve said before I rather us bring in Alexander Isak, Jonathan David or Yousef En-Nesyri.
You couldn’t say that since what 2008 or something?
China
We had very good starting 11 in 2011 and 2016
Does the AMN loan have an obligation to buy in it? If not, when he comes back I think he’ll be within the final 12 months of his contract.
Hopefully if he plays well we should be able to get a decent price for him…
Habesha
Like AFC forever mentioned, Juventus can’t afford Vlahovic at the moment and reports are they’re looking at Icardi on loan which would be perfect for them money wise.
Take any rumors about him not wanting to join us as just a rumour.
AFC and Bati
Thanks for the info. It would be disappointing to lose out on our first choice target like last summer in Locatelli. I hope as you guys think Juve are out of the running.
When i watch smith Rowe i see a bit of paul scholes in his game when he is on the ball. Scholes had a nastiness in his game that has no part of the game now and Smith Rowe has more pace on the ball but their football intelligence, eye for a goal and one and 2 touch pass and move football is very similar.. Scholes spent the early days of his career higher up the pitch but played deeper and went into centre mid in the 2nd half of his career with great success. If you look at a… Read more »
Legrove favorite Bissouma going to Villa.
The no more red campaign …….no chance , not with the PGMO still running , or should i say ruining the game.
Always a red just around the corner when it comes to Arsenal football club.
the vlahovic thing seems to be its a big ol story. theyve already bought piatek as well as ikone from lille in RW /#9. vlahovic is on the way out. i thought his contract was up in the summer, but its next summer.
think whats happenign is they expected a lot more firm offers than they got and ours was the best of a disappointing bunch.
Pierre
“The no more red campaign …….no chance , not with the PGMO still running , or should i say ruining the game.Always a red just around the corner when it comes to Arsenal football club.”
Ha ha. Great comment Pierre…..!
Anyone have a live stream for the FA Cup games?
My question is , can smith rowe become the new scholes/ cazorla and find a niche position for himself in the centre of our midfield .. I’m sure he can learn the defensive side , he has the technique to receive the ball in tight areas , he has the vision to pass between the lines, he has football intelligence.. Pierre It’s a great point and something I’ve noticed myself I do recall Pedro mentioning last season that the staff at Conley see ESR in a deeper lying role at some stage and it’s something I’m excited too see. For… Read more »
izzoJanuary 7, 2022 19:14:16
Legrove favorite Bissouma going to Villa.
I would t worry. We’ve already got 2 players in the middle who are similar to bissouma. We don’t need a third.
Makes great sense to move our top scorer into a deeper position. A player that thrives on one-touch passing, that loves to up the tempo so high the moment he receives the ball, that has the natural instinct to be in the right place at the right time to finish our attacks. Let’s make him learn the defensive side of the game. Really…
I wouldn’t expect you to understand raptora.
I’d imagine you said exactly the same when Cazorla was dropped back into midfield despite being prolific from midfield .
Ditto man utd supporters when scholes dropped back .
Raptora
I don’t understand it either. ESR isn’t a passer. Every good thing g he has comes from affecting the game higher up the pitch. He doesn’t need to play deeper. Neither should have Cazorla if we had a capable CM then.
£33m for a 30 year old injury-prone Coutinho is Barca taking the piss, be interesting to see if Villa are thick enough to bite.
Can’t believe that Barcelona wasted £335m on Coutinho, Dembele and Griezmann. Not that the players are not worth the money, just that Barcelona had no clue about the profile of player they needed. None of the 3 fit well in there.
33 mil for Coutinho is madness. They should feel lucky if they get 10 mil. Barcelona are in the dirt now because of their impulsive spending to appease fans that were disgruntled by neymar’s transfer. Things have never been the same after that. If they had planned things well they might have come out ahead. But they blew it all. And it has cost them messi. And now dembele also will rightly leave for free because they can’t register Torres without offering scrappy new contract to him. Anyway at least they won’t destabilize any of our players for a while.
Wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Wijnaldum is brought in on loan for the rest of the season. He might not fit the transfer profile but in a situation where we’re losing two experienced midfielders for a decent amount of time, he actually makes perfect sense for a short-term loan. He could step in quickly and add some experience and savvy to an inexperienced team.
I can see this one happening.
A crappy*
Raptora
You can’t have ESR taking up the same positions and half spaces as martinelli, Saka Odegaard and laca.
I’d be happy to see Odegaard tested a little deeper too but I think ESR has quicker feet in tight spots which is more useful in those areas for me.
Essentially I think either could work in that position and I’d like to see it
I’d support Wijnaldum. Till very recently he was even better than Partey. Great professional, can press, defend, attack, dribble, excellent tactically, tough as nails. Not sure of his recent form but IF we need cover, he’ll probably be one of, if not our best, midfielder.
I thought we have enough cover in midfield but if we end up the January with AMN out, Gini in, that’s a massive improvement for the next 5 months. It’s a chance that we shouldn’t miss and in my eyes, it will undoubtedly improve us.
Sky reporting Ath Madrid in for Cedric Soares on loan.
We seem to be unable to sell anyone loan deals only, Soares don’t think he will be missed if he does move, bang average player.
Raptora At least you could see the logic with Dembele. He has missed something like 50% of their matches since he was signed, he was incredible at Dortmund and Rennes and had a clean bill of health so you can forgive them for that one albeit they still massively overpaid. The Griezmann and Coutinho moves were bizarre. Both square peg players for their team, neither was effective out wide and there was no space for either’s natural position off the front man with Messi there. Griezmann especially was bizarre, guy literally is a left footer false 9. Made zero sense… Read more »
No to Gini, we’d have another Auba situation on our hands.
Guy is already 31. Makes no sense to pay him obscene wages in his mid 30s.
He left Liverpool because they wouldn’t give him the bag. Let’s not make that mistake 1 year later.
I have this feeling we might go big in January and shut up shop in the summer.
WE,
Unbelievably shit luck with injuries for Dembele. His whole Barca career was stop, start, stop, start… And here I am, still can’t help it but be a fan of him and what he could become in the next years if his body stops breaking. He’s still 24 yo.
WE,
We wouldn’t have an Auba situation cause it’d be loan. For me, it makes a lot of sense and we can’t lose much really.
Rap
Why would PSG loan him? And why would he agree to the move if it is a loan?
WE,
That’s not for me to judge. It showed up on the news so I give my 2 cents on it. Gini on a loan deal would be great. Literally no downside to it. Now if it’s possible to happen, I’ve no idea.
Rap
Nah have given up on Dembele myself. His attitude problems are more disturbing than the injury ones.
Would be very surprised if another elite team take a gamble on him. I could see him ending up at Newcastle if they survive.
Rap
Ok it just makes no logical sense from PSG or his POV so I call BS on the story.
i dont think too many clubs will be eager to help out psg w the obscene wages there
WE,
Yeah, true on the attitude problems. I’m more in love with the Dortmund Dembele, I haven’t really followed him much after he moved to Barca. Fkin despise that club. Will always hate them for how much ref help they were getting when we were relevant. That 2nd yellow card of RvP would have never been given versus any other team in the entire world. Garbage club and I’m happy they are in crisis.
even the guardian has a full article on us trying to be vlahovic…
fingers crossed here boys
big striker like that means CL
Who would of thought that a football team changing their kit for one game would end knife crime?
Terraloon,
Your comment about broken promises is true, but is not relevant to Pedro’s supposition about Patino or an incoming player.
I’ve been complaining that I wanted to see AMN play a lot more in midfield too, and I don’t like how he was handled by Arteta. I’m sure there was English clubs who wanted him, but we pushed Italy so in case he comes good, we won’t see it as much.
If arsenal genuinely get a classy CM and CF this month it begs the question of what would be needed this summer CF position would be fine Wide areas would be ok if Pepe stays. He’s need replacing if he goes. CM would be fine. LB fine. RB I’m fine with chambers as a second choice tbh CB bring back Saliba GK I expect Leno will be out so we would need one So my expectation would be we may need a winger and a keeper if Pepe and Leno leave. In both cases I would not suggest we spend… Read more »
Bacary
Great summary and description of our summer acquisitions, including the part about Nuno. I really want to see him more.
AfC forever,
You’re so right about the geniuses here believing the silliest clickbait… then they start wetting the bed about us losing our guys.
They do it to themselves.
WE
You might be right about Wijnaldum. All the stories coming out look to be from his side being unhappy with his role and playing time at PSG. However, it looks very unlikely PSG will let him go so soon after signing him. He’s also still playing a decent amount of the time for them.
As I suspected At. Madrid are looking at Cedric as a replacement for Trippier but on loan.
Instead of faffing about with loans – offer Cedric to them for a £2m and be done with it.
Heres a new one
http://www.thehardtackle.com/news/2022/01/08/transfer-news-arsenal-interested-in-colin-dagba/
Dont think leno will leave til the summer…
Dont think anyones got cash 4 him
Nigel-thanks.
So far it’s shaping up to be our best transfer window in terms of arrivals, departures and renewals (including ESR) since the 1996-97 season when we essentially traded Anelka and Vieira for Hartson and Dickov and still made a profit. Of course we then sold Anelka a few seasons later and brought in TH14 for about half of Anelka’s sale price.
.
Ramsey had one stand-out season with the rest meh overall. Forever leaving gaps in midfield and his stupid Hollywood flicks he would pull faces after executing them badly most of the time. Only saving grace was vital goals in UK cup finals. Would be different if he scored 10 goals a season from MF each season. Very hard no from me for him, although Rambo Ransey’s acid tongue at times is missed by me. Hope you’re well mate. We seem to be doing our best to woo Dustan Vlahovic and convince him of the Arteta revolution that has only picked… Read more »
dust up*
ESR*
Sorry Tony, that just makes no sense. You say ‘at DV’s age, he should be looking for an established winner of a manager’ and then go on to say we should Albert Stuivenberg to talk to the player and his agent if we have any chance of bringing him here. Talent aside, I’m not convinced that Vlahovic will be a good cultural fit for the club. He might turn out to be the CF version of Unai Emery at the club. As far as his interest level goes, it’s all speculation right now, but if he’s desperate to play Champions… Read more »
Now worries Bacary, what I’m saying is Albert has more experience and seems a calmer influence than the hothead, Arteta. If a player wants to come to us, then no problem for Arteta to talk all enthusiastically about his vision for the future or our football. DV from reports in the papers (if true) doesn’t feel our progress/play matches his ambition. Basically, he’s not on board the Arteta train. Supposedly he’s waiting for a better club. So my meaning is if Arteta really wants DV, he’s better sending AS to do the winning over of the player and his agent… Read more »
I became an Arsenal fan in August 1984. I’d just moved to England from Canada, did some couch surfing with friends, and then found a bedsit in Belsize Park. My local was the Washington on England’s Lane. I started talking to a guy named Nick, and of course the conversation got around to which club I supported. I didn’t really support anybody – there was no English football on Canadian TV at the time, except for maybe the FA Cup final. I said my friend Gwen, who I stayed with when I first got to England, supported Spurs. He said… Read more »
“from the slower Italian league?” Just thinking about this again, I think Batistuta said here a while ago, the Italian league isn’t necessarily slower than the PL, it’s the pace and duration of the ‘intensity’ that’s different and unsettling to virgin PL players in the same way as it is to academy players getting their first PL minutes. I hope I got that right because I’ve assumed Italian football is slower. Very few players new to the PL hit the ground running. Ode did until his injury last season. Now he improving on that initial form and only what 22?… Read more »
Tony
Its nice that you have so much to say about Arsenal but it really grates me to scroll past your long comments sometimes . Keep it short and sweet too
Tony talk too much. Next thing we know you’ll start regalling us with how you’re on an expensive holiday in your expensive yatch on the coast of the Dubai desert no less!
Tony prefers lasting long, going on and on and on.
Short and sweet is for younger guys without experience.
Arsenal have a bad experience of players from rivals in the Premier league.. so hopefully this will
pan out for us in a positive way.
There something about DV that doesn’t fill me with excitement. I like my forwards with lightening pace. And when you see the clips he is barely getting past his man. Hope we don’t sign him.
China If we get a CM and a CF this January, which is unlikely, we would need to fix very few positions in the summer. We need one of Eddie on Lacazette to extend. If not Balogun needs to bang at Middlesbrough and be the back up next season. Pepe needs to be sold. Leno will also go. Chambers is out of contract in the summer. There are rumors on sky that Atletico want Cedric on loan with an obligation to buy. So basically we will need a tavarez kind of deal at GK and RB. And a decent attacking… Read more »
Devine – Duly noted. I don’t have the time to post on LG at other times just generally over my morning coffee. I tend to be scrolling through the day’s sports’ news stories not long after most have gone to sleep in the west depending on the time zone, and so have views to offer on what’s reported. Not normally a lot of traffic during my morning coffee, so I always felt I wasn’t clogging up traffic at peak UK times. I’ll add ‘Devine friendly* for the shorter ones if that helps? Ones that aren’t headed that way I would… Read more »
“Tony prefers lasting long, going on and on and on.”
Sid probably minus 2 ‘on and ons’ is about right at 67.
Tony, ‘Arteta’s rancid man management of young players” although he is playing the youngest team in the league? – comes across as way too strong. ’23 months he was a train wreck on speed’ – surprised you’re giving him a month off the crazy train’. “better sending AS to win him over’- either tongue in cheek or complete misjudgement. After coming off a fantastic team performance with both attacking and defensive organisation clear to see, your attacks on Arteta seem a little anachronistic. They were so well set up last Sunday, the absence of the manager on the touchline was… Read more »
Arsenal need to offload still a large number of players who are currently still on our books whether still in squad or out on loan. That is to some degree an impediment to our future recruitment. However, in current circumstances Arsenal do not need a 25-27 first team squad since we are not playing in Europe, which means that we are not playing at least 10 additional games a season in midweek. The decision to offload AMN was the right one, but its timing in view of ANC Cup is not the best timing with three experienced midfield players missing.… Read more »
I’ve been complaining that I wanted to see AMN play a lot more in midfield too, and I don’t like how he was handled by Arteta. I’m sure there was English clubs who wanted him, but we pushed Italy so in case he comes good, we won’t see it as much. Phil tuffnel I agree. I can’t complain too much as Arteta has gone with most of my wishes 1) installing a creative heart beat in ESR and Odegaard (which was the biggest issue this team had when he took over) 2) removing auba and going with laca to allow… Read more »
No to Ramsey. Yes to Jack Wilshere. Even if it’s only short term, no other central midfielder can control the flow of the ball like he can
” They were so well set up last Sunday, the absence of the manager on the touchline was not noticed.” Not little anachronistic, Bob. Probably a lot, but I tend to be a lot more gung ho here because to assess the now and future potential, you must first analyze the past, so mistakes are not repeated. If they are, then they are repeated by others dismayed by such poor managerial behavior No, for me, there was a far calmer guy directing players waving less frantically in Albert Stuivenberg who acquitted himself well. That and we were playing potentially the… Read more »
SamesongJanuary 8, 2022 07:10:40
There something about DV that doesn’t fill me with excitement. I like my forwards with lightening pace. And when you see the clips he is barely getting past his man. Hope we don’t sign him.
Samesong
As long as he can link play and bring the others into the danger areas as well as Lacazette then we will score goals
Just look at how Odegaard ESR Saka and martinelli have come to life feeding off him rather than doing all the grunt work for an auba tap in.
Torreira was knocked all over the place and he’s more bulky that Patino, so that’s a worry for the kid who looks like he has the heart.
Tony
Scholes, cesc, wilshere, cazorla, David silva all dictated play from the middle superbly despite their diminutive stature. Let’s see if patino can play first of all. The meat on his shoulders will come
As for DV? My thoughts are above ask why a top 23/4yo high ceiling MF player is absolute priority? It’s hard not to be critical of Arteta when he’s making the same mistake in the summer window.
Tony
This I agree with. If we are to recapture the imaginative football that arsenal was once renowned for then a technical midfielder who dictates play is the next piece of the jigsaw
‘Scholes, cesc, wilshere, cazorla’ Not sure I was clear about Patino. My concern is that he’s played before he’s ready more than his size.. The cameo he had was gilt edged with the goal for the lad who had to be there to score it. It’s ok letting him get minutes later in games when the bullies are either on yellows or tiring. Patino is certainly highly thought of, but as you say he has to earn his place as ESR and Saka before him. To have to play him as a starter now could well damage the lad physically… Read more »
We are still playing in January two games per week, but thereafter there are likely to be very
few midweek games unless we experience cancellations or FA Cup replays.
So to be realistic Arsenal do not need more than our starting eleven and bench to cover most
games unless we have an illness or injury crisis.
Arsenal are gambling on our requirements for this month but not realistically beyond.
Tony
Got ya
That clears it up. As the old adage goes, if you’re good enough you’re old enough. Not everyone steps in like JW or cesc at a young age but if he can hold the fort and gain valuable first team experience this season until we bring partey back then it’s a win/win. Even more so if wilshere can come back into the fold as a technically superior back up option in the absence of partey for cup games
So to be realistic Arsenal do not need more than our starting eleven and bench to cover most games unless we have an illness or injury crisis. Stroller No but if we regain our European position next season then we will need a squad capable of maintaining that. I don’t expect us to be challenging for anything next season but it’s no good getting back into the champions league only to lose out the following year due to limited squad options As things stand I feel we have something very close to being able to achieve that anyway. If we… Read more »
Assuming Vlahovic is good enough, he still needs atleast till 2023 to adapt to teamates and the league.
Thats why Diet Pep prefers Dominic lewin
Tony, Like you, my main issue is CM and Xhaka’s continued employment – I’m sick and tired of his inadequacies costing us. His strengths are not sufficient to compensate for his f*ck ups! I understand that last summer there were many issues to deal with and the intention seemed to be to upgrade Xhaka as well. Lokonga came in to play Ceballos’ minutes and to get use to the PL and hopefully take over Xhaka’s starting position. I’m sure if they see a CM fix they’ll go for it but it’s quite possible we’ll attempt to get Top 4 without… Read more »
Having watched Isak and Vlahovic, interns of play pattern fitting into Arsenal’s current system, I don’t really fancy any of the two. Haaland would be the perfect fit, but it’s a stretch.
However if I’m to make a choice between Isak and Vlahovic, if definitely take Vlahovic although I wish he was right footed or uses his right foot more often.
He looks too one footed for my liking
ES We are still playing in January two games per week, but thereafter there are likely to be very few midweek games unless we experience cancellations or FA Cup replays.So to be realistic Arsenal do not need more than our starting eleven and bench to cover most games unless we have an illness or injury crisis. Enlighten me how will you know if you are going to get illness, or an injury crisis? If the squad is down to its bare bone all the good work to date could fade away in a blink of an eye It’s why clubs… Read more »
Tony
Yeah thats probably better *Divine friendly* tags . xD
I fear Xhaka vs Spurs though , his tendency to dive into rash tackles and what not , I hope we bring somebody soon( on loan or whatever) Its gonna be a fiery encounter for sure and Conte will target him .
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Also interesting to note is Coutinho took a pay cut to join Villa , Xavi confirmed this . So definitely not a Willian thing .
Tallestiz “definitely take Vlahovic although I wish he was right footed or uses his right foot more often. He looks too one footed for my liking” Some of the greatest footballers in the world were left footed and used their right foot just for standing on. Maradona, Robben, Bale , Liam Brady , Puskas , Messi, Hagi ,Roberto carlos , Ozil and to a lesser extent RVP, Ashley cole , giggs , so i wouldn’t be too concerned about a striker being one footed. If Vlahovic has a left peg like RVP that’ll do for me., the question is …is… Read more »
Looks like we’re very much on the same page, Bob, re players incoming. As for being forgiving if we fail through injuries to multiple players when to be fair it’s the same for all clubs. Just means kids have to step up earlier pretty much what Emery had to do. No safety nets, Bob, and as we say in the MC world: ‘Go Hard or Go Home’ – Behave Sid! 2 sensible decisions Arteta can make now. Buy the CM we need now and keep and play AMN until Partey comes back hopefully free of injuries. If AMN really wants… Read more »
AMN in already in Rome…
Left footed players more often than not have a sprinkle of the old star dust about them.
Surely we have a midfielder lined up. It wouldn’t make sense to release AMN at the same time as Partey and Elneny, but this is Arsenal and sometimes logic goes out the window.
Pierre you forgot Pepe on that list
Sid We’re aiming for 2023/24 The cycle of the Liverpool current team was unlucky, because they came up against a brilliant City team, but they still won a PL title + CL They lost a CL final, Europa League final, League cup final, and finished second on 97 points They’re still a very good team, but if you look at the ages of their players, the cycle of that team now looks over, and they’ll need to take a few blocks out, and then build again, that current team have the quality to win cups, but I don’t see them… Read more »
There’s discussion on Arseblog today as Arteta explains the AMN situation.
Academy players irrespective of their ceiling have “ to earn their place “. Agree that they will not shine at first 10 minutes cameo. At that level there is chemistry that needs to develop along with the young graduates getting the feel of the physicality at professional level. Daring to tell this because am running a team at Professional level since last 3 years , a team brought up qualifying at various stages within 4 years. Wish people would not play out the AFC handouts as gospel truth. He is a bit extreme, but agree with lots of things Tony… Read more »