We’ll start with a bit of a loan watch chat.
Ainsley is NOT impressing Jose over in Roma. The fallen giant of a manager has used him all over the park, but the player has not done enough to earn a permanent move this summer. If you are struggling in Serie A for 6th placed Roma, your career really is hitting the skids.
Needless to say, we’re building a bank of evidence to suggest that maybe his future isn’t going to be at the very top of the game… and maybe Arteta was right on this one.
William Saliba, a man who commands the oddest of online cults is heading back to Arsenal this summer, ready to fight for his place in the team next season. He has CRUSHED his loan. His form has been truly exceptional as has his attitude. He didn’t take the loan as a sleight, he used it as Mental Powerade™, and he’s made it happen for himself. Chris Wheatley reckons he’s going to be given a bumper new deal and let’s be real… why wouldn’t a 21-year-old center-back that fancies himself accept that?
Is there a better club for him in world football right now? We are built for a ballplaying center-back, we have the youngest team in the league that is on a clear growth trajectory, we’ll probably add some really exciting players this summer, and he is the EXACT profile we need in a back-up defender.
‘But we’ll need to work on his feelings’… hey, who knows, but what I do know about sport is the infantilization perform in players is usually overblown, especially at big clubs. Players like Saliba, that grew up with Thierry posters on their wall, want to play for big clubs like Arsenal. They are the 0.1% of football players in the world, do you really think competing for a place at a top club is an upsetting episode? A loan move at 20 years old is pretty standard in world football. If his feelings are hurt, maybe he’s not the player we thought he was, if he’s motivated… like his press comments suggest… then we have a player on our hands.
Hector will be sold this summer, that’s best for everyone, we’ve seen pretty clearly this summer what a right back in an Arteta system is and it ain’t Heccy B.
There’s some chatter that the red shorts we wore at the weekend were a ‘commercial decision’ with regards to future kits. I have to say, that would be a bit of a crossed line for me. We are not an all-red team. I thought the combo looked horrible. I’m not sure that’s a creative or viable option for a perm kit. Move the needle on design, for sure, just don’t roll the needle under a tank.
There’s a lot of striker chatter in the air and some interesting names being served up. The one that drew a lot of controversey yesterday was Marcus Rashford. I’m on the fence here because I think that’s the sort of name that we might very well pursue. He has all the ingredients to be a top-class striker/winger, the biggest thing he’s missed over the last few years is proper coaching. I do wonder what a player like that could turn into under the Arteta regime. The bigger concern with him is probably focus, I know he’s out doing great things in the community, but you do have to consider the things Arteta has been saying about Saka and ESR: They dedicate their whole self to one thing, the game.
That said, Arteta said he was looking for PURE goals, so we’ll see.
One thing fans should stop fantasizing about is Haaland. The player is a beast of a man, but let’s be real here, we aren’t going to drop Mino £30m in cash, and we’re not about to blitz our wage structure with a £400k a week player. To be honest, who is going to do that right now? If Arsenal did, you’d have to give raises to everyone. I think we need to find a striker that is on the up but below the radar, or a player that’s fallen off. We are not a galactico club, nor should we aspire to be that right now. The strategy is clear: Find elite youth talent with 2-3 seasons of top performance under the belt, then help them find the next level with Arsenal.
The really interesting thing about top 4 this season, is if we make it, our summer goes from 3 players to needing 6.
Right, short one today. Check out Johnny on 5 LIVE with Micah Richards, Rory Smith, and Mark Chapman (skip to 35mins).
THEN check out the podcast.
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“If the club had backed him dumping Ozil, Kolasinac + Mustafi, and listened to him on Zaha + Nkunku, then his story at Arsenal might have been very different” Whatever you think of Rich, his balance is astounding, The trouble makers for Emery became the trouble makers for Arteta. Arteta was stymied until the club backed him and got rid of the bad apples. When Nkunku was linked to Arsenal because of Emery’s inside knowledge of PSG, Pedro dismissed the notion of a bum head coaches polluting the club, We could have paid less than £12 million for him in… Read more »
Poch in fairness is a top coach, and PSG is basket case. Backed up by Rangnick at United, he’d likely get them going again Rangnick is on the inside already, he’s built clubs in the past, he’ll know what the issues are, and if United back them to cleanup the issues, they’ve got some exceptional players. Could be a big chance for a clear out at United, they’re going to lose Pogba, Lingaard, Mata, Cavani Ronaldo will likely leave, Greenwood is likely done there. They’ve got 5 players out of contract in 2023. If they drop the egos in the… Read more »
Poch is the one who is a bum.
Average coach. Proved it again.
Did anybody ever watch how the Spurs played under him? To say he’s so good is ridiculous.
He had a prime Kane and Son. Prime Lloris, Vertonghen, Alderweirald, Kyle Walker, then Trippier, Dembele.
They played boring defensive football even with that talented defense, and they went nowhere.
Later, he was not backed like he wanted, but let’s not pretend he was a genius coach.
I hope United get him. Bang average.
I would love us to try to bring in two Real Madrid youngsters this summer… Camavinga and Jović. They would be excellent players to bring in to give our team depth and strength especially if we qualify for Champions League. The question is would be would Real Madrid be willing to sell? It all depends where Haaland goes. If Haaland goes to Real Madrid I can see Real Madrid be open to selling both players. Realistically Haaland’s going to cost between £150m to £200m (if not more). Therefore, they will want to raise some funds by selling their fringe players… Read more »
*Odegaard
Anyone writing Obituaries for Messi should wait till the World Cup 2022. Its gonna surprise a whole lot of them . Argentina has build a good squad , a team of fighters , Scaloni has quietly had them singing from the same tune. As for PSG boohoo I hope they spend another billion dollars and not win the CL . Their swanky new keeper just started that collapse .When they had Keylor Navas on the bench . Poch is a bottler , there is just no excuse.
So Ooch bottled again yesterday
Indeed, you can take a man out of Tottenham, but you cannot take the Tottenham out of a man
Poch ***
Leeds,
Same story no matter if they go for Haaland or Mbappe as they will likely need to raise funds. Would love it if we could take advantage and get Camavinga!
“He had a prime Kane and Son. Prime Lloris, Vertonghen, Alderweirald, Kyle Walker, then Trippier, Dembele.“
You can add Eriksen to that with his transfermarkt value topping 100m at one point.
6 goals and 15 assists from mid the year Leicester won the league and Spuds collapsed.
Southern Slide Tackle
Apparently Real Madrid wants to bring in Mbappe AND Haaland so if we are smart about it I think our chances of picking up talented fringe from their squad seem good.
Love your “handle” are you new on Le Grove? If so, welcome!
*fringe players
Camavinga isn’t joining us. Real Madrid don’t cut their losses on a talent like Camavinga this soon. They might in 3 years or so but not next season. Odegaard and Kovacic also had to wait a lot of seasons to eventually move to new clubs. And he is doing well for them this season. He was a game changer sub last night too. Valverde and Camavinga are going to be their crown jewels of their midfield for the next 10 years. Other than that, I wouldn’t want any of Real Madrid’s fringe players. Not one. Not even Jovic on a… Read more »
Sorry about AMN, we will use him as a backup right back.. if nobody wants him
We should have taken the £15 million for Niles when Wolves came with the offer.
Looking like a poor decision now
The poor decision on AMN wasn’t one-off
I see Abramovich assets are being frozen. What does that mean for Chelsea I wonder ? PSG are always going to struggle at the elite level. You can’t carry 1 player let alone 3 in the modern game.
The Bard- maybe the bridge can go back to being a dog track like it was once.Or maybe a car park.Hear their short of space over in SW.
I have read Chelsea can’t buy or sell players, only season ticket holders can attend games (plus I would think those who have already bought a general ticket), no merchandise sales, no new contracts. They can sell catering at matches though so there’s that.
Positive Pete, very funny.Let’s hope they implode and make our job easier.
On a negative re Chelsea.. buyer probably now get Chelsea for even a billion cheaper,, so more money for new owner and Chelsea (hopefully won’t wanna spend it on players)
Since the asset is frozen, Chelsea won’t be allowed to sell ticket for next season. .
I can see Tuchel walking he already looks a bit frazzled. In the lunacy of football wouldn’t be at all surprising to see PSG fire Potch and beg Tuchel to come back .
Chelski will end up with John Terry at this rate
The Bard
According to BBC Abramovich cannot sell the club.
Also existing ticket holders can attend matches but they cannot sell further tickets. They cannot sell merchandise and their shop will be closed.
My guess is that will not be allowed also to trade in players although their staff can be paid
out of existing revenues.
Chelsea are in a mess and I suspect that will also apply to Everton as well.
I wonder If this is not a case of finding scale goats to punish The west cannot punish the madman, so now it’s a case of find the nearest Russian to punish? If Abrahimovuc was truly deeply connected to Putin, wouldn’t he have had advanced information about Putin’s intention and sold his club ahead of time? Anyone of value in Russia has do the balancing act with Putin or face trumped up charges or even death. The curious cases of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Boris Berezovsky comes to mind. As many as 14,000 Russians have been arrested protesting the war, people… Read more »
* nearest scapegoat
Chelsea will have to endure a torrid time it seems Azpi, Christensen and the top quality Rudiger all out of contract all seemingly going anyway and unable to sign replacements it seems?
Saul option to buy don’t think they would of kept him anyway but unable to complete that transaction also.
Lukaku knew this was coming with his lack of movement he’s been a frozen asset all season anyway,
Seems Chelski are heading back to the Mark Stein, Gavin Peacock days
On a separate matter look how Pedro starts this post. A player who has been at Arsenal since he was a 6 year old kid is struggling on loan and Pedro is crowing about it ….. because he can say it proves Arteta right
I will say no more other than it’s very sad.
Emuiratesstroller I would say Everton are in a far,far worse position than Chelsea who at least have a lot of players out on loan Broja, Gallagher two attacking players but at least look top young players. Chelsea even if it takes a year will at some point have to be sold and do have a lot of quality and depth in most positions barring as it stands next season central defenders. Everton awful squad and from what I read in a mess with FFP any sponsorships/investment with Usmanov dead in the water and under obsevation to the level of a… Read more »
I’ve got no love for Chelsea as an organization and I detest their fan base even more
Any fan who chants Abrhamovich during a minute of silence for victims of war is a certified idiot.
The inability to sell tickets is an interesting one. Presumably they could still give them away to ST holders for the FA Cup games for example? Or even operate some sort of scheme where no monies change hands but costs are added subsequently to ST renewal prices?
From a Chelsea perspective it makes sense to give away tickets to members rather than have a half-filled stadium.
Also what about refreshments during game days? Can they still sell drinks and burgers? Programmes? All very unclear.
With the Chelsea situation in mind, is it prudent to debate about the ownership model of the football clubs. In a world with so many geo political fault lines does it even make sense to allow foreigners to own a PL club. If the UK govt is so worried about cultural aspect of football should it not cap a foreign owner share in a football club to not allow a repeat of Chelsea. Capitalism to damned and it’s never worked as a barometer for equality although providing avenues for many to improve their livelihood. But yiu cannot have capitalism allowing… Read more »
@Invincibles – that’s a superb point and i endorse you in this. AMN was our academy product and surely if given games abd nurtured we would have done a job for us and saved few millions. You have to ask is unbridled support for coach same as supporting your football club?
Can people just face up the fact the AMN is just not good enough.
For every Saka there are about 10 AMNs. That’s life
Easy Trivia
Question : What do Chelsea and a Freezer have in common ?
Answer : They are both frozen.
Hahahahaha!
Great chance for us now to get 3rd.
AMN will have a choice to make in the summer. Attitude permitting he would be a perfect squad player especially if we are in the Europe or he could try and make it at a lower EPL team as a full back or move the Championship to play as a midfielder
Chelsea undergo change of sponsor…………Iceland😂😂😂
AMN gets his dope from the same place Alex Song did. They play like stoned teenagers.
However, suggesting Rashford for Arsenal, even as a joke is cray cray. He is shit. End of debate.
Chelsea are done for the time being so like most clubs facing hard times, we should be in there getting some of their players on the cheap. It’s a short hop across town for them.
Rashford! Lolz.
> Chelsea are in a mess and I suspect that will also apply to Everton as well.
Moooooooooooooaaahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha
^^ Evil Laugh ^^
There’s something I don’t get, Abramovich’s been sanctioned by the UK government over his ties with Putin, the same ties he’s had since day one, so what’s the fuckin’ diiference, why wasn’t he banned from buying Chelsea in 2003?
Here’s hoping Chelsea disappear up their own arses like when they were a 2nd division team back in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
Somewhere in France , Arsene Wenger is having a little jig .
Can Everton be implicated in this too,? I didn’t think Usmanov was an owner, just a backer financially, that doesn’t mean Everton are looking at the kind of situation Chelsea find themselves in?
I think Everton are in enough trouble anyway considering they have a stadium to pay for with a bloated, unbalanced squad with a manager already looking out of his depth, a new stadium to pay for with FFP troubles, and a very real possibility of them going down this year.
Divine
“Somewhere in France, Arsene Wenger is having a little jig.”
Did he ever stop?
During his time at Arsenal, he took in excess of £100m in wages/bonuses etc, not bad for someone perceived to be massively underachieving after the stadium move.
In terms of coach/manager options for Chelsea next season, Claudio Ranieri is recently fired so should be available for work. Back to their level.
No way Tuchel returns next season…
youdaman check that math
hackney-is your problem w rashford his wages or the fact that since breaking through the ranks pretty frighteningly, hehasn’tdone well on a team that’s boastedcoaches as seasoned as OGS and Van Gaal?
ever seen a talented player leave a shit setup and play better? eagle made the only valid point about him which was his wages are unreal and the way he’s been playing means pretty much nobody outside manure is gonna offer him anything close to what he’s got. man city could but thats prob the only club he aint ever headed to
Hopefully Norwich will get something out of tonight’s game. Love to see Chelsea distracted and drop points
“, not bad for someone perceived to be massively underachieving after the stadium move.”
Maybe he overachieved …a couple of 8th place finishes and a net spend of over 300 mill in the last few years tells me that Wenger did a remarkable job in keeping the club seeded in Europe’s top 8 for so many years