Things are NOT looking good for Auba. Man has shamed his nation with his elitist behaviour. The partying pre-AFCON, the COVID likely because of the partying, and the strong rumours from Gabonese media that the player got totes wasted and had a fight with security at the team hotel when he brought babes back.
Not cool.
Still, goals are the prime currency in football, so hopefully someone comes in with a deal for him this January. CBS is reporting that there’s an offer from Saudi to take over his contract. That’d be epic, though a little sad, because that really is a retirement deal.
Any exit leaves us short.
Still no links.
So let’s see where we go there, there’s just no way we trimmed our squad this hard if we don’t have something lined up. The presser today would indicate we’re not looking to make junior players senior with return loans.
Arteta did his pre-game presser and basically said that Arsenal has been honest. He intimated that other clubs have not been honest (Liverpool). He also said that he would fight with nails and teeth to defend the honour of the club from those that are lying about us. I do like his aggressive approach when he talks about the club, he’s always reinforcing that we are massive, that hypes the fans. Matt on the podcast said we’re moving away from the victim culture Wenger allowed in the backdoor. No complaining, no excuses, we’re moving forward and no one can stop us.
Juxtapose that against the Thomas Tuchl presser last night where he was snappy, whiny, and full of excuses. Can you imagine being the Chelsea manager and complaining about your massive squad being mentally fatigued? His body language was horrendous. I wrote at the start of the season that Thomas is very good at being good when things are good… when the pressure arrives, he starts throwing elbows. Just look at how he spoke about Lukaku at the weekend? The fans that were clutching their pearls when Arteta criticised Nico weren’t anywhere to be seen when the veteran Tuchel threw his £100m striker under the bus.
Liverpool is in the media saying that Arsenal are favourites in the second leg of the league cup. Honestly, they can fuck off with views like that. They are the favourites by a margin and we all know it. The important point for Arsenal fans is that we are not a million to one to get binned. If the fans show up, the players play at 100, and the luck rolls our way… who knows what could happen.
I just want to see another performance where we leave it all on the table.
Arteta wants the fans to put on a performance.
“The [fans] are able to change the energy, the momentum of the game, give a massive lift to the players and give them confidence so if they can drive the team the way they have been doing recently, that would be incredibly helpful to give us the best possible chance to get in the final,” Arteta said.
“When you have your people next to you, and the way they have been, how encouraging, supportive, loud, it really creates a bond with the team and makes a huge difference.
“It is one of the best atmospheres I’ve seen for many, many years at the Emirates and I’ve been in a few of those so I can just thank the fans for their support that they are giving the team.
Clearly, he knows what The Kop atmosphere gives the Liverpool players. One of his big ambitions when joining the club was to get the fans back on side. Well, he’s done that, home and away, win or lose, the Arsenal fans have been magnifico this season and there’s no chance that’ll stop tomorrow.
If you’re going, bring your BIG voice.
Ok, we are SHORT on content today, so I’ll see you in the comments. x
We should be discussing Man c ir Liverpool if we must, any conversation involving Spurs is mediocre.
George
“Tottenham last won in ‘61, & its been 61 years since your wretched club won. And it will be another 61 years till you win another. How’s that for symmetry you lilywhite plonkers!”
Take a bow, mate..for this beautiful written truth 😂
We all knew that Mane and Salah were ruled out tonight, but for me the fact that Thiago and Origi are probably still ruled out pushes the needle in Arsenal’s favour..
What Arsenal mustn’t do is get caught up in the occassion, we must play with our heads and not allow the electric atmosphere to affect our decision making on the pitch.
The way i look at it , the danger will come from the liverpool full backs , cut off the supply in these areas and i can’t see them having many other options to hurt us.
If Odegaard plays , I’d like to see him more central so he can ask some questions of the liverpool defence, against forest he spent the majority of the game in the right channel , meaning Martinelli was starved of any good ball which consequently renders him ineffective.
Of course , there is a strong possibility that Odegaard will drop in alongside Lakonga in midfield , meaning lacazette can play in the hole with Eddie up top with Martinelli and saka ( if fit) out wide..
That looks the favourite to me ..
Going to other club’ blogs is a bizarre thing to do in my eyes. I’ve never done it or felt the need to do it.
Pierre,
I am not so sure that the Liverpool fullbacks are so effective without Mane and Salah. Those two makes any decent ball in the penalty box look deadly, because of their anticipation and quick reaction time. Without Mane and Salah inverted wingers world class movement and clinical finishing, Liverpool looks toothless upfront.
Minimino missed sitter just typify that difference in class with those absent. At least Origi with his physicality brings a sense of danger and chaos.
I think that Klopp may start with the Ox centrally to bring some threat in the middle. Bar Lokonga, we have no central midfielder to defend that area, so Klopp may switch tactics and attack where we are the weakest.
Valentin
I think Ox injured his ankle at the weekend , meaning they will probably go with Henderson, Fabinho and Milner in.midfield.
Also Jota is better in the air than both Mane and Salah, plus he has very good movement in the box
Not that there was ever any doubt about it but Pep Guardiola has once again proven he is the GOAT of football managers. Even without a striker ( in fact he sold Ferran Torres in Jan) he has managed to lead City to top of the table with a gap of more than a dozen points. He has taken City to a level where it doesn’t matter much who is in his line up and who isn’t. Except against Arsenal, his team has looked imperious. In a league deemed to be the most competitive he has managed to totally dominate year on year.
TR7
Agree…pep is different class.
The report in the athletic today is damning on Liverpool if true, tonight’s game should be cancelled, and Arsenal awarded a 3-0 win:
“Liverpool decided to send their players for precautionary PCR tests using a laboratory after a round of negative lateral flow tests as they were fearful of a second outbreak at the club & requested the postponement against Arsenal before knowing the results”
“ #LFC originally returned negative COVID tests
Then ordered extra ones that weren’t required
They turned up positives so game v #Arsenal called off
But tests were faulty though that was not made public at first”
Arsenal legitimately get a game called off within the rules set by the PL themselves, and there’s outrage
Liverpool do this, and not a whimper…..
Arsenal had 2 points deducted because of this..
United no punishment..
https://youtu.be/ebSRjIBxFNE
Rich
That’s a bloody disgrace if true, but so numb to Arsenal’s mistreatment over the years by the media, PGMOL etc that now you almost wonder what the point of kicking up a fuss about it is. It’s futile.
Hopefully our boys use it is a motivational tool. I think we will edge them out on the pitch tonight anyway.
“ Also Jota is better in the air than both Mane and Salah, plus he has very good movement in the box”
We really dropped the ball not going in for Jota, class player
So no more masking and covid certificates, looool
Pierre
MU had one point deduction.
Good morning
Conte worries me.
Arturo de Meko is unfancied at Juventus and can hardly get playing time. Anyone can see Juventus are dressing their Sale window. Don’t know why Edu is still there . Agents honeypot .?
Pierre, we got two points deducted rather than the one that United got because we were already on a warning following the ‘brawl’ at home against Norwich in 1989.
As if we didn’t already have Pep, Klopp, Tuchel to worry about. Now Cunte.
S Asoa
I wonder why he isn’t getting game for Juventus. Ramsey benching him ? Not good enough for Juve ? This Melo business is just fishy.
Every time we try to buy a Melo, there always some issue.
We really need a clever player in there
Not sure melo is that guy
Get JW on that short term and let’s go hard in the summer for a striker and a technical leader in the middle
No point adding bodies for the sake of it
Lots of news coming through about Vlahovic in the last hour. Legit or click bait?
Yep Leicester we’re very very naive.But spuds were thrown a lifeline when Fatty Moss added those EXTRA minutes arbitrarily.That’s the problem with extra time minutes.It’s down to the ref.Hence Fergie time back in the day.why the clock isn’t stopped once the ball is out of play say for a goal or serious injury on the pitch leaves it open for the “ dodgy refs” to have their influence.Instead of time being accurate.Like Rugby union.
Unoni.With you on that one .Midget Milo another Caballos.We can surely do better.
Unoni
I like your idea bro. Though I m guessing Jack has already been assessed by Arteta and he doesn’t feel Wilshere got what it takes for his team
Yea not really liking the looks of Melo.
Most give the recruitment team credit for the summer signings so it makes sense to trust them to make the right decisions again.
Naija
Was it you who gave me the cesc/arseblog link?
If so then thank you. Was a great listen
On Jack, let’s see, either way I’m psyched for the game tonight.
No Torreira or Vlahovic today in Fiorentinas traning pics
Pete
There was a study done in that and games would last around 30 minutes longer. Would be a fitness disaster with the modern day schedules.
Vlavovic stumbling point No 4.
“ The Emirates club have also put aside £8m for Vlahovic’s agent something that has put other clubs off.
On top of that, Arsenal are willing to offer Vlahovic a £300,000-per-week wage that he is looking for with his next club.
The one thing sporting director Edu cannot guarantee is success.”
Courtesy Mirror Football
Arsenal should have deployed one of the 6 Artetafanboys who would have shown Vlavovic the moon and hyperbole and convinced him to join.
By the way it is said Vlavovic is the real deal ahead of Halland who might not come up to his current standards in PL
Positive Pete
Yeah not looming like the guy we want there. We’ve already got xakha who can do what he does as effectively if not more so (yes I know) so why bother when we have Partey lakonga patino Odegaard ESR and Jack available short term before the international break?
Leave that one well alone
Gunnerman.Interesting.But perhaps make 5 subs an option?surely something can be done to take away the ref being the arbiter?
Pete
Average time the ball in play is around 52 minutes in the Premier League. It was less than 45 minutes when Pulis played top teams. He defended their time wasting by claimingt the less time the better team has the ball the more chance his team has of getting a result or pinching one – he was right.
About added’ time. PGMOL have admitted this is not accurate. The referee guesses, Clattenburg himself admitted that. I fully support the idea of an independent time keeper who manages game time. It’s not hard to do, other sports manage it.
Buzzy.Interesting in a weird way!
AFC .independent time keeper.possible for sure.But I get VAR vibes!
One dodgy win against Leicester and everyones worrying , lads its Tottenham. They are one injury to Kane away from disaster.
There’s no problem that a room-full of drippy career bureaucrats can’t make worse
If they try and solve the issue of time wasting, they’ll 100% mess it up
They’ll find a way to make it worse, and they’ll definitely find a way to extract more money out of the game, and into their pockets during that process
Don’t let them anywhere near trying to “Fix” this problem….
Rich
Ha ha….! You have made an excellent point. Mind you, you would be hard pressed to find anyone more incompetent than Mike Riley and the PGMOL protectorate.
Rich
Absolutely 1000% with you. VAR being the obvious example.
Officiating is worse now than at any point in my 30 years watching the game. The more rules they alter the worse it gets.
Gone are the days of elite refs like pierluigi collina.
Refs should be psychologically profiled to the extreme. Far too many pansies and narcissists.
Maybe we should hire rugby refs. They seem to attract a superior standard
Unoni
Yeah all we can do is wait and see.
I didnt send you the link I believe it was WengerEagle?
When you add an n to Melo that’s what you’re buying. No thanks.
My preference with midfielders signing:
1. Yves Bissouma, valued at £22.5.m
2. Bruno Guimaraes, valued at £27.5m
3. Youri Tielemans, Valued at £49.5m.
4. Arthur Melo, Valued at £22.5million.
That is the strength of Antonio Conte . His players believe that they can win, even when they are not good enough.
Time keeping like the obligation to have only 1 ball available to play is part of the rules that PGMOL uses to unduly influences games.
During the AFCON, one referee pushed that to the limit with stopping the game 4 minutes before 90 minutes. I am sure if Riley thought he could get away with it, most ManUtd games would finished the minute after they scored.
The premiership is the only European league where ball boys were explicitly forbidden to have multiple balls that could be used to speed up restart. At least COVID it an end to that non sense, allegedly installed to Stoke gamesmanship. It was falling when the obvious and fairest solution would have been the opposite one, impose home clubs to have 8 balls available around the pitch for throws, corners and goalkicks.
Nelson,
The strength of Antonio Conte is to have a good plan that is well explained and drilled to every players. The belief in him comes after, because they can see his plan is working.
As a manager, Being just a great motivator can only carry you so far.
Conte is a stupid bald tw*t, with a ridiculous hairpiece……
We’ve got a semi final tonight, why are Arsenal fans wan*ing over the spurs manager….
Pete, why would arsenal fans who have a spot of sympathy for Nico give a toss how Tuchel talks about Lukaku? Bit of an odd remark, that. I like Arteta defending arsenal as well. It is great to see. But do you really have to constantly throw subtle jabs at arsenal fans who might disagree with you about minor matters? I just don’t get the point, and I doubt it helps keep the fan base united, which at the moment we seem to be (relatively speaking). Just my two cents, fwiw.
Anyways, Lukaku’s return to Chelsea has been predictably hilarious and I am sure every arsenal fan can appreciate that 😀
Leno to newcastle?
Yes plz
Conte is a stupid bald tw*t, with a ridiculous hairpiece……We’ve got a semi final tonight, why are Arsenal fans wan*ing over the spurs manager….
This x 2
Who gives a shit about anyone else? Worrying about other managers and other teams players isn’t worth the bother.
We have a cup final to reach tonight. No one cares about anyone else.
“Conte is a stupid bald tw*t, with a ridiculous hairpiece……We’ve got a semi final tonight, why are Arsenal fans wan*ing over the spurs manager”
100% agree. Jesus, you’ve got have. a bald head yourself to have seen that lot win anything worth winning…………
Looking forward to tonights game. It’s nil-nil so it’s going to be a proper game with both teams trying to win.
* 100% agree. Jesus, you’ve got to have.a bald head yourself to have seen that lot win anything worth winning…………
I would just go on to say, f*ck Conte and f*ck spu*s.
Lets beat the false positives today 3-0. #COYG
Tom,
Just finished reading yesterday’s comments.
Get me out of your head… I never said Conte would blow up Spurs. I never thought that. I was with you .. unhappy that he went there.
Having said that, I’m predicting finishing easily ahead of Spurs. We have been winning on good form, they have been winning on incredible luck.
The game would be too late for me, but I’m sure I can manage that. I’m sure someone would help me with a working stream. Govt has banned most of the links recently and running a VPN slows down everything.
Zacharse
Anything around 30m would be a perfect sell. It can fund our midfield
This is beautifully and eloquently put , it’s real poetry
MbJanuary 20, 2022 15:49:48
I would just go on to say, f*ck Conte and f*ck spu*s.
Asoa
It’s been pretty much debunked, that crazy 300,000 salary rumour. But he’s still going to get a huge multiple raise anyway. That’s enough.
RichJanuary 20, 2022 15:55:35
This is beautifully and eloquently put , it’s real poetry
Hahah 😂
Folk saying Spurs are getting lucky under Conte aren’t really following. Since Conte’s arrival in Nov, they’ve played:
Everton Away 0-0
Everton xG 0.60 Spurs xG 0.80
(Spurs more unlucky than lucky here)
Leeds Home 2-1
Spurs xG 2.32 Leeds xG 1.47
(par)
Brentford Home 2-0
Spurs xG 2.07 Brentford xG 0.23
(par)
Norwich Home 3-0
Spurs xG 2.01 Norwich xG 1.07
(Spurs lucky clean sheet, win roughly par)
Liverpool Home 2-2
Spurs xG 2.80 Liverpool xG 1.55
(Spurs unlucky not to win)
Palace Home 3-0
Spurs xG 2.82 Palace xG .018
(par)
Southampton Away 1-1
Southampton xG 0.35 Spurs xG 2.81
(Spurs very unlucky)
Watford Away 0-1
Watford xG 0.30 Spurs xG 1.94
(par)
Leicester Away 2-3
Leicester xG 1.95 Spurs xG 4.25
(Spurs unlucky not to win by more)
Spurs are banging in pars since Conte took over, slightly underperforming xG. It won’t be a cake walk snatching 4th from them if they keep performing like they have been. Fortunately they have some tough fixtures coming up, but if we don’t beat them, they’ll be favourites for the final CL place.
Bad news for the Bissouma fan boys.
He’s not good enough for the team we are building. He can go to a United or Chelsea… Man City would not take him, and that’s what we’re aspiring to.
Anyway, also not coming because we’re looking for squeaky clean characters to be around our kids. I don’t want alleged criminals around Patino and Saka.
When did Pedro change the name of his blog to:
“Le Toilet Bowl”….
The site was set up in late 2007 by Geoff and Pedro. They set out to create a haven for Arsenal fans to chat about The Arsenal 24/7.
But in late 2021, they set out to create a haven for Spurs fans to chat about Conte 24/7, how unlucky Spurs are, and how they’re under performing their XG
They did this to distract away from the fact Spurs have now been 5079 days without winning a trophy and 6 decades without a top flight title, because they’re sh*t, and get battered everywhere they go
They’ve only won once in the league at Arsenal in 23 years, and Arsenal have won the title twice in spur’s own back garden
They have a stupid bald manager with the most ridiculous hairpiece on the planet
And as MB just beautifully and eloquently put, fu*k conte and fu*k spurs
Jamie, can’t you let people have a bit of anti Spuds bias?
Rich
Lol, I’m just saying the truth man 😂
Jamie – don’t lose sleep over spu*s. It’s our top 4 to lose and we won’t.
Looks like a few Spurs stats caused Rich to wet the bed. Yikes.
We are set to sign a back-up for Ramsdale. We about to sign possibly, the best goalie in the MLS
It’s true that Leno is set to make an exit this January
MLS sources are reporting that Arsenal have made a substantial offer for the New England Revs/US MNT goalie, Matt Turner.
The deal is expected to sail through very quickly.
Funny that Sead Kolasinac think that his good relationship with Matteo Guendouzi and William Saliba will help his integration at Marseille.
I thought that both were bad apple…
JamieJanuary 20, 2022 17:38:05
Looks like a few Spurs stats caused Rich to wet the bed. Yikes.
Jamie
And it looks like you’re achieving wood over it. 😯
“Jamie
And it looks like you’re achieving wood over it. 😯”
Remember a year ago when you were ‘done with Arteta’?
Maybe go polish your van until the game starts lad.
https://metro.co.uk/2022/01/20/dusan-vlahovic-considering-arsenal-u-turn-after-huge-contract-offer-15952980/amp/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/dusan-vlahovic-arsenal-transfer-arteta-26002671.amp
If auba is going then it’s a good indicator that Vlahovic is coming
Picking up legs by the looks of it
Time will tell.
Jamie
Talking of polishing, any more delightful tidbits on the spurs ascendancy?
Regarding the discussion about time added on and time wasting , there is a very simple solution to the problem at the top level of the game..
Most of the time wasting is in the last 15 minutes or so, usually if a team is one goal up or hanging on for a point.
This is normally when all the time wasting tricks begin, like sitting on the floor waiting for the trainer to come on and pretending to be injured, or substitutions , or taking anything up to 45 seconds to take a throw in, corner kick or free kick.
The simple solution to avoid this frustrating part of the game is to bring a stop clock into operation on the 75 minute mark.
The clock would show 15 minutes plus any other injury tine during the 2nd half , so it would maybe show 17/18 minutes.
From the moment the stop clock comes into operation the clock is stopped every time there is a halt in play , whether it is throw ons, corner kicks , free kicks , goal kicks, injuries or substitutions.
Time wasting will be a thing of the past when this is brought into operation, fans will be able to know EXACTLY the amount of time that is left, and if a team is looking for a winning goal , they would know that they won’t be left frustrated by the opposition faking injuries….15 minutes left will mean 15 minutes and the game will be better for it.
There is no logical reason as to why a system like this or similar to this is not used at the top level, it will be easy to implement and for those who think it will make the game drag on , i disagree as it may have the opposite affect as wasting time will be a pointless exercise so they will get on with the game and i can guarantee that it would add ro the excitement knowing that your team is actually going to be allowed the correct amount of time to get a result…
Pierre
Players can still fake injuries to get a breather. They can still take time on goal kicks. They can still run the ball into the corner. It’s part of football.
Unoni
“Players can still fake injuries to get a breather. They can still take time on goal kicks
They can still run the ball into the corner. It’s part of football. ”
It’s become a part of football that was not there when i watched the game growing up, and it has become unbearable in recent years.
Arsenal do it now and it’s a pathetic way to waste time , sitting down on the grass when they can just as easily walk to the touchline.
Leicester did it twice last night and they deserved what they got …nothing , as it shows you are an inferior team if you can’t play football for 90 minutes and have to resort to such an obvious time wasting tactic.
If you notice , it’s never the team that’s looking to score who, for no reason, sit on the grass and caĺl for the trainer .
It’s only” a part of the game” because we have allowed it to become a part of the game… and it’s a shit part of the game
Partey on the bench but interestingly Leno isn’t.
And we get to see Ode and ESR start in the same team.
.