Manchester United dropped 2 points on a rainy night up at Burnley.
No one really wants to make Top 4 their own this season.
It is up for grabs if we can go to Wolves and not let the usual post-long-break-nonsense happen to us.
We’re in that shitty zone where every game in hand feels like a bit of hope.
Points on the table is always the ideal
We don’t have that ideal.
… but games in hand is always a little better than flunking opportunities.
The prize is there for Arsenal if we want to take it.
If we can do some damage over our next batch of games, then it basically becomes Spurs and Arsenal leading the pack for the top 4. It would also put us in the mixer for 3rd.
Spurs next 3 games are Southampton tomorrow, Wolves on Sunday, and Manchester City away the following weekend.
I’d take a draw at Wolves on Thursday, but if we can squeeze a win and start the ball rolling for a run, we could be level points with Spurs by next weekend.
Again, a lot of ifs, a lot of hope, probably a lot of pent-up heartache to deal with next week… but we’re in the business of dreaming baby, so let’s dream.
The Arsenal web team dropped a bit of a faux pas on the shopping trolley button on the e-comm website. I’m down for elite-level banter at any time, but I do think this sort of gag lacks a little bit of class. It feels like the Roma Twitter feed. The sort of tweenage meme comedy every club seems to be doing at the moment.
I appreciate the jokes, but I think we’re better than this.
Kurt Zouma kicking a cat? Disgraceful. Honestly, I don’t think non-Brits understand quite how insane the country feels about its pets. 15% of people love their animals MORE than their partner. I expect that number would be higher if people were honest. But… he starts for West Ham. I mean, I’m not surprised, David Moyes isn’t going to risk top 4 for beautiful cat… but it’s interesting how much damage that move to start him seems to have done.
Don’t keep animals if you hate them. It’s very simple.
But in the grand scheme of things, it’s actually quite light compared to the grimness elsewhere. Mason Greenwood has been charged with rape and threatening to kill. Raith Rovers tried to sign a 32-year-old convicted rapist, but don’t worry, it was ‘footballing reasons.’ Then you have Marc Overmars losing his job for sending something inappropriate to work colleagues.
Only in football could drop kicking and slapping a cat seem like the least worst incident of the week.
It’s all very sad.
Ok, tapping out.
1st
Evening, just need the sp*rs to mess up as well and then we’re all over 4th
Talking of which
Go time
4th
Top 10?
It’s a slow week when all there is to go on is kicking a cat and the Arsenal basket. Only one more day until some real action
Some big games coming up. I trust this team to put a shift in but Wolves away feels like one with the potential to be a horrible 90 minutes
Pedro, I think you’ve kicked a few of your beloved posters around here a few times. 🤣🤣🤣
We are definitely making Top 6. Too many inconsistent teams in that Top 8.
Even Chelsea.
Pedro
I would rather have points on the table than games in hand. Because we are The Arsenal. We can lose to Nottingham Forest with our first teamers.
I’m really enjoying your optimistic and positive posts this year, it’s a refreshing change. Sadly, I don’t agree with this one. Wolves are solid team, they don’t concede many particularly at home and we don’t score many particularly away from home. I’m afraid this has got all the signs of dropped points in a classic must win game for Arsenal.
This is a golden opportunity.Fluff it and Arsenal will be back to square one
Of course Wolves worry me, I just hope we don’t look like a team that hasn’t played in a lifetime.
If we come out like that I’ll blame the manager because of mental preparation. Players need to know these are no easy marks too.
What is the injury situation like? Is everyone fit and ready to go? If we have Saka, ESR, Odegaard and Lacca starting upfront, anything other than a win is a massive disappointment.
David Moyes let down football today
Some would say he’s pragmatic, sly or transactional but at the very least, you taker Zouma away from football until he sorts out his shit.
If he’s not going to be prosecuted, let him “volunteer” for 100 hours at the local animal shelter cleaning out cat poo.
Net transfer spending by the top 5 European leagues over the last ten seasons compiled by the CIES Football Observatory Weekly: 1.) -1075M€ Manchester United (ENG) Spent 1545M€, Earned 470M€ 2.) -984M€ Manchester City (ENG) Spent 1699M€, Earned 715M€ 3.) -941M€ Paris St-Germain (FRA) 4.) -650M€ FC Barcelona (ESP) 5.) -583M€ Arsenal FC (ENG) Spent 1029M€, Earned 446M€ There is only 1 English club that made a positive return: +43M€ Brentford FC (ENG) Spent 144M€, Earned 187M€ How will Stan read this in 10 seasons the club spent over 1 billion Euros and lost 583 million Euros. Wonder how this… Read more »
Leave it to Killjoy to dig up that many numbers and still not make a meaningful point.
Nigel, it is obvious that basic reading and thinking skills are not your forte, you may want to consider finding a solution for that before removing all doubt of what a pitiful and poor fool you are. But what you really excel in, is trolling this blog with insults and clueless comments which must give you a real hard on resulting in some weird and warped pleasure, what a waste of live you are.
Killjoy says: first…. Waaah! Saka is going to leave! Now it’s.. waaah! Josh and Stan won’t spend any more money! Waaah! The sky is falling over the Emirates and it’s all Artetas fault !! What other sick negative fantasy are you going to dream up to torture yourself? Saka owns a cat! He might kick it! What if he kicks his cat and runs down his contract… waaah! By the way doomer. We just offered big money for Vlahovic. I guess Stan and Josh hadn’t seen those financial numbers you posted LOL. Your sources are amazing. The owners don’t even… Read more »
Maybe the football-gods are ready to shine on us this season. Why wouldn’t Haaland
want to join the best league in the wof..? every game is a thriller, battles everywhere,
like being a kid again learning the game
Nigel Tufnel
“Word out already that Arteta has been promised cf and mf money commitment in the summer, which makes total sense”
Only if we were 100% confident that Arteta knew what he was doing with it.
You are.
I’m not!
I didn’t see the Man United result this morning. I saw the highlights. United should have won and by a clear margin. But they are so shit defensively that they can’t keep anyone out. I am not worried about them at all. We need to win Vs wolves. It would send a statement. Win all of the three games in hand and we would be 2 points of Chelsea and reathing down their necks. Lose all three and we might be 7th. A win, A draw, and a loss would mean around 5th or 6th. We quite literally have it… Read more »
It will be interesting to see how we line up against Wolves tomorrow in the absence of
Tomiyasu.
Wolves line up frequently with three at back and pack their midfield with five players. Would
you play the same formation against them?
I have seen the stats, but are wolves a low block team this season? If so, Lacazette should start. If not I would put Martinelli up top with ESR, Odegaard and Saka behind him for creativity.
I suppose if you were to utter the old phrase of ” i went home and kicked the dog” …it would now be a hangable offence..
Karen`s still crying over a cat. Im sure Kitty has gotten over it but not the animal lovers many of whom still eat meat
HG
In the absence of Tomiyasu I would play Holding at back and start with Saka, Smith-Rowe and
Martinelli in the team. Arsenal need to find solutions to our lack of recent goalscoring in January.
Were we not linked with Trippier. Player still looks like he can add value to a team.
Trippier would be a starter for us. Outstanding RB. Better than current Tomi as much as people are fascinated by him. Project youf though. Better have a weaker player than an older player. Same way we should have had Anguissa for pocket change but got Lokonga for 1.5x more cash.
I bet Overmars cringes every time a Love Island episode comes on the TV. The sound of ‘Ive got a text !’ must send shivers down his spine…
Imagine if he was sending dick pics to his female colleagues? Lmao
By playing an unfit Tomiyasu against Liverpool the other week, Arteta has unknowingly put doubts in Tomiyasu’s mind.
He was flying prior to his injury but confidence and doubts can quickly be eroded
Super man management by the extra special one.
Nigel Is Saka leaving ? Not too sure that Kilroy is 100% in saying that but how he sums up the situation is doing no more than point out the various elements of the debate and flag up some worrying factors of what could lead to a perfect storm and yes I can likewise see a problem ahead As for the numbers well they weren’t a figment of Kilroy imagination they come from a reputable source https://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/mr/mr67/en/ But it this comment from you that intrigues me the most “By the way doomer. We just offered big money for Vlahovic” There… Read more »
ES
I would play all 4 to be honest. We need all the creativity we can get. ESR, Odegaard and Saka all must start for me. It is between Lacazette and Martinelli uptop for me this game doesn’t suit Martinelli on the wing.
Raptora
Trippier is 31. Tomi is 23. One is an experienced player. And they are very different RBs. Tomi is the azpilcueta kind. He is a fullback who loves to defend. He isn’t a bad passer either.
Habesha, I got it. I like Tomi too. Trippier, however, is a title winning RB. I understand Tomi’s transfer though. It’s a good deal. I have more problems with Lokonga bought for 20m when they knew that our starting CMs are both going to miss games – one due to having quite a lot of injuries lately + AFCON, and the other one because of his brain farts + his inability to tackle well. They knew they will miss a lot of games, so we needed a CM ready to battle in the EPL and take Xhaka’s place in the… Read more »
I thought Lokonga was £14.75 million?
The price was reported as “initial fee of £15m” everywhere + add-ons of £3m and in other sources it was stated £18m. It’s not £20m, I was speaking figuratively.
Xhaka has openly admitted that he doesn’t mind playing for Roma. We should let him go. There are many midfielders better than him.
Manure’s draw last night was so bad for them. We should totally capitalize on it. From here on, to the final day of the EPL, every game is a cup final for us. We need to make it count. I want to see the desire to win every game like the world depends on it.
ManU dropping points to Burnley, nice. Just a pity we did the same. Everton sinking fast. Hopefully Spurs will be shown up by Southampton. Here’s hoping Declan Rice is outed as a Hare Courser or Badger Baiter, Zouma’s kitty abuse obviously too tame for sanctions, so far.
“Here’s hoping Declan Rice is outed as a Hare Courser or Badger Baiter”
hahaha
Terraloon In normal circumstances I would treat the rumours circulating about Saka’s potential departure with a “pinch of salt” However, I have been always concerned about the agent who represents this player. He acts also for Sancho, Iwobi, Nketiah, Balogun and Nelson. There has been a pattern with this agent where he plays “hardball” in contract negotiations and runs down contracts to a point where a club is forced to choose between making a sale or running down contract. We have seen that happen with sale of both Sancho and Iwobi. It is going to happen this summer with Nketiah… Read more »
Classic Graham ‘unknowingly put doubts in TT’s mind’
You’ve had a recent chat with him I’d assume.
On kicking cats, everyone knows we Brits love them (along with dogs and horses) more than people. And with good reason: they possess the virtues most of us don’t: loyalty, devotion, courage, beauty…
Arteta made the right choice with Laca as captain. He is inspirational, leads by example. Does it mean he is always in first-team pick? I hope not. He can be effective just sitting on the bench.
Will Saka leave? No chance. He is far too nice and sensible and grateful. I know the manque cynics will scoff at me, call me naive, but it betrays their singular lack of judgement of people.
ES The contract negotiated by Arsenal for Saka is not the same as with Odegaard, Smith-Rowe and Martinelli. The term for these is at least 5 years with in some cases a 1 year option. Saka’s contract expires in June 2004.So if the player refuses to sign a new contract by this summer Arsenal will be under severe pressure to make a decision to sell him if we are going to generate a decent transfer fee. I personally think , maybe not as well worded as this , that’s exactly what Kilroy and yes me have been saying but alas… Read more »
Terraloon I would not be too concerned about losses incurred by the club during the pandemic even if the figure of £104 million proves correct. The club is currently solvent and is running down the charge incurred when the stadium was built in 2004. The debenture debt has 125 years repayment terms. The Kroenke family are massively wealthy when you factor in his wife as well and their track record is buying high value real estate assets. The losses at Arsenal are chicken feed. There is absolutely no evidence that Kroenke is forced to sell assets nor that he has… Read more »
I love my cat more than I love 98% of people I know.
It would have been good to see a football club put morals before money for once, ie West Ham dropping Zouma but that’s obviously too much to ask in the kind of world we live in.
The outrage from some people is quite something f however, when they are still more than happy to chew on a bacon sandwich. We still have a long way to go to eradicate animal cruelty.
Raps, why don’t you try and have a positive day about Arsenal for once.
Terraloon
I agree 100% with your analysis.
I suspect that Arsenal will match the wages offered to Saka by other clubs. He is a strategic
player and the club will not want to lose him.
The clubs which we need to be concerned about are Man City and Chelsea. They can if they
want outbid us both in wages and ability to win trophies.
I am less concerned about Liverpool. Their finances are not on the same scale and their
trophy track record is less impressive.
From todays press conference:
Arteta: I do a lot of things wrong, for sure
———
Ok, fair enough but lets see where we end up after these 17 games.
Liverpool’s trophy track is less impressive?
Have you only just started watching football?
Top Tier Titles – Liverpool 19, City 7, Chelsea 6
CL – Liverpool 6, City 0, Chelsea 2.
Looks to me like Liverpool are ahead by quite a margin.
Graham62February 9, 2022 07:37:35
Nigel Tufnel“Word out already that Arteta has been promised cf and mf money commitment in the summer, which makes total sense”
“Only if we were 100% confident that Arteta knew what he was doing with it.You are.I’m not!”
I take it from that you don’t rate any of last Summer’s purchases then ?
Chris,
I hope you have signed the petition on Change.org to prosecute him.
Wouldn’t be worried about Saka at all. Unless he doesn’t sign in the summer, then the tables turn. As you are speculating the worst outcome of why he hasn’t signed anything. Maybe it is as simple as he has already agreed to sign a new contract in the summer. When he signs a new contract, he can still leave if he becomes unhappy you know. I doubt there will be much of difference in the transfer value if he has 2 years or 5 years left on his deal. His value is already massive, it will just force our hand… Read more »
As you’re not concerned about Liverpool, ES, which in your opinion will happen first, Arsenal win their 14th title, or Liverpool win their 20th?
Chris
February 9, 2022 11:32:59
———–
Exactly, you can get prosecuted in the UK for kicking a cat or a dog but when it comes to e.g. a pig, a cow, a chicken etc then nobody gives a fuck.
A very positive piece & analysed well Fedda.No point “ bedwetting “ on something that may or may not occur.
Should non-vegetarians really kick up a fuss about Zouma’s treatment of a cat ?
Fedda He will sign for whoever gives him the best deal . If another club comes in with the offer of a lot more money and CL football, I’d expect him to go. a very simple business decision. Bang goes project youth.
That would also apply any player, youth or experienced.
TR7
I think you mean non-vegans, vegetarians aren’t serious about animal welfare.
Dog shit comes to mind
“I think you mean non-vegans, vegetarians aren’t serious about animal welfare.”
This is on point. The dairy industry often commits worse atrocities than the meat industry.
The Bard
You are sooooooo wrong. The best deal is not just about money.
Danny
You are right. Milk bearing animals are subjected to a lot of cruelty.
Herbs Army
I am pretty sure that I have been watching football a lot longer than you.
Arsenal have won more trophies in 21st Century than Liverpool, Liverpool have won only two trophies since Klopp arrived at club eight years ago.
No-one would argue that Liverpool are a better team than us at the moment, but it does not
follow that will be the case in two years down the line.
ES Liverpool have won European club football’s most prestigious trophy twice in the 21st Century, something Arsenal are miles away from. Liverpool have been better than Arsenal for half a century, unless you slept through the ’70s/80s. They went 30 years without a title, and the only club to catch and overtake them was United, who are one ahead. Their worst period was the ’90s, and during Wenger’s Highbury years, Arsenal were better, but it wasn’t significant in closing the trophy gap. And we definitely do not want to compare the two clubs European records. Arsenal can’t even give their… Read more »
Many clubs have a cycle of success, at the moment it’s Liverpool & Man City topping the table, it took Liverpool 30 years to win the PL.
You only have to look at Barcelona, RM and Man Utd to see how quickly they can fall from being a force in Europe with the resources they have had at their disposal, now they will have a long journey like ourselves to get back to where they once were.
“I am pretty sure that I have been watching football a lot longer than you
.Arsenal have won more trophies in 21st Century than Liverpool, Liverpool have won only two trophies since Klopp arrived at club eight years ago.”
Klopp has been at Liverpool less than 6.5 seasons and has won 4 trophies in that time.
Bergkamp63
I wasn’t aware of the petition but will sign it now. Cheers.
Tom,
”Klopp has been at Liverpool less than 6.5 seasons and has won 4 trophies in that time.”
He was also relegated in his 6th season and resigned after his 7th season after failing to regain promotion in his first job at Mainz 05 !
160K signatures and rising !
ES I am not even remotely suggesting that Arsenal aren’t solvent that isn’t the issue nor am I even suggesting that KSE aren’t very wealthy all of that is secondary when it comes to FFP the bottom line can be to a degree subsided to cover losses but only up to a level of circa £100 million over a 3 year period and even then that can’t be by way of loans it has to be via equity. You raise an interesting point about Corporation Tax the irony is that when Arsenal was winning the “Bottom Line “ Challenge something… Read more »
“He was also relegated in his 6th season and resigned after his 7th season after failing to regain promotion in his first job at Mainz 05 !”
Not sure I’m grasping the relevance of your comment.
Tom,
I don’t recollect you touting Klopp’s name back then as the new messiah ?
Trying to compare Arteta with (fill in whichever name has been successful in recent years) when one is in his first job and the other white vastly more experience.
How about coming up with a new name for Arteta’s replacement ?
Show us some of that insight !
*with
Bergkamp63
If your point was Klopp started his career near the bottom and took his lumps early and often while climbing the ladder then yea, I agree.
Zouma’s cats confiscated by the RSPCA.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60312876
In that case, let’s give Arteta another 3 years and see if we get relegated or not, who knows, by that time we might back in the top 4 by then and challenging for the title and CL ?
Stranger things have happened in football.
Bergkamp63
I was challenging ES about his dismissal of Liverpool being a major force, and comparing their record with Arsenal’s over a significant period of time.
ES incorrectly stated that Klopp had only won two trophies in eight years.
Tom corrected ES on his error, at no time was he comparing Klopp with Arteta.
Try and follow what is actually said.
What is it with some of the posters on this site ?
Not a single mention of Arteta still invokes certain types of response.
You guys should really try reading what’s written.
ES made a factually wrong statement and I simply corrected it.
James,
Great news !
Jamie
Bloody autocorrect !
Tom,
Apologies,
I thought you were one of those boring Klopp wheeling types trying to compare apples with oranges and overlooking his first 7 years in Management.
A brief note as a continuation of yesterday’s conversation:
………………………
Pedro‘
Pierre, I wanted Wenger to succeed, but it was apparent he was incapable of adapting… so apparent, no other club has taken a chance on him’.
====================================
Iconic Former Arsenal Manger Arsene Wenger Rejects Opportunity To Join Barcelona: Report
https://www.republicworld.com/sports-news/football-news/arsene-wenger-rejects-opportunity-to-join-barcelona.html
PSG set to decide on ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger as Man United eye Mauricio Pochettino
https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/psg-arsenal-wenger-pochettino-united-22996984
englandsbest I actually said money and CL but hey I might be wrong. It would have been a more interesting post if you had highlighted what it is you think influences transfers other than money and CL opportunities.
B63
It’s not who we get, it’s how he uses them.
I like the players but still not convinced by the methods and systems applied by Arteta.
Are you?
Sorry, silly question.
Bergkamp63
No worries.
But you do realize who started the whole Arteta is just like Klopp rhetoric , don’t you.
It certainly wasn’t the Arteta’s critics.
Arteta said that he is the solution. You can’t help to think that an experienced coach would have multiple solutions. Auba is a proven striker. Since he is not suitable for plan A, then study how he became a golden boot winner and develop a plan B.
Graham62, Bergkamp63February 9, 2022 12:09:49 Graham62February 9, 2022 07:37:35 Nigel Tufnel“Word out already that Arteta has been promised cf and mf money commitment in the summer, which makes total sense”“Only if we were 100% confident that Arteta knew what he was doing with it.You are.I’m not! B63It’s not who we get, it’s how he uses them. I like the players but still not convinced by the methods and systems applied by Arteta“ So you do trust him to buy the right players but but don’t like the methods systems applied. Which methods and systems should these players have applied to… Read more »
Tom, I wasn’t aware that anyone thought Arteta was just like Klopp (I must have missed that one !), Just aware that those who used Klopp as a yardstick or guide to how success should be judged, were forgetting he failed in his first 7 years which ended in relegation and resignation, I also think given the size of the task Arteta had when he took the job (without endless funds like Utd or City or players worth £142m to sell), it was never going to be done in less than 3 to 4 years with 31 players on bloated… Read more »
I was watching last night a replay of Martinez and Aubameyang being interviewed after the FA Cup Final win against Chelski.
Very poignant.
This was chapter 1 of the Forsyte Saga imo.
Bergkamp63
Well, to be fair it was more along the lines Arteta is on the same trajectory with Arsenal as Klopp was with Liverpool, rather than a direct comparison of both managers.
B63 Welcome to my world!. Well, first of all I don’t particularly like the way we play. It is often too slow and too predictable. Interesting that we played our most dynamic football when Arteta wasn’t visible. Sorry, I digress. Ben White, who I’ve watched for a fair few seasons through my Brighton connections is a progressive, forward thinking player, even though he’s a defender. When the tempo is faster White excels because his decision making is instinctive and natural. Arteta, so far, doesn’t play to his strengths. I also look at Kieran Tierney, who again is( was)a dynamic player.… Read more »
Graham, don’t you approve of the money Arteta spent on Ramsdale, Ødegaard, Tomiyasu, Partey? I know you may never like Ben White because of price, but he’s still a very good player for us and deserves our support. Willian was a terrible move, never liked it. Even then, I cheered for him to turn it around till the end. Like most fans I wanted to retain Aubameyang mainly because I judged that he wasn’t past it physically. Turned out to be a mistake. A nice guy, but the money may have made him lose his edge. I just think Arteta… Read more »
Graham62, I don’t think we will see the finished article until the remaining 14 players that need replacing are at the club, we are in need of two forwards, a CAM, DM & a RB (back up ?) at minimum just to compete realistically for top 3 or 4, If you look at Wolves results over the last 2 months, they are really very impressive and have only lost by the odd goal to Liverpool & Man City, make no mistake, if they keep that up, it is them we have to worry about and probably not Spurs and certainly… Read more »
WTF? Are you serious? We need to replace 14 more players still? Who are we replacing them with?
B63
14 players!!!!
I’m sorry, not all our players are that bad.
Why not give Arteta unlimited amounts of money and let’s see how we get on?
Last weekend I watched Worthing Town FC playing and they have more of an ID than Arsenal.
I know, who would fathom it. A team playing in the 7th tier of English Football look more at home playing the game than Arsenal FC.
Quite incredible!