Eddie Nkeitiah has put the world of Arsenal fandom in a spin; he seemed to be floating out the door in unspectacular fashion, then Lacazette landed the London Plague.
‘IT’S OVER FOR ARSENAL’
‘EDDIE IS LEAGUE ONE’
‘HE AIN’T IT’
5 starts.
4 goals.
Arsenal fans revisiting past assessments.
The solution to our striker problem has been sitting on the bench since August. Most young players can’t impress a diet of 6 minutes here and there, they need a run of games, they need the confidence trust gives them. Eddie was dining out of bins, then he was given access to the chefs’ table, now he’s gorging.
Eddie runs the channels, he wins balls back, scores goals, brings our wide players into the game, works an absolute shift, and my-oh-my, does he get under the skin of anyone he plays against.
Matt Kandela reckons he could be the new Andy Cole, I think he could be our Sylvain Wiltord.
Eddie was the difference against Leeds.
His first goal came from his hounding of the Leeds keeper. The English striker forced an error, nicked the ball, and poked home from a yard.
‘Very Eddie’
Indeed. It’s a feature of his game that he rumbles defenders and keepers. They don’t see him coming, realise how quick he is, nor understand that he doesn’t care about their careers.
Meslier was totally rattled. Eddie Krueger took a nightmare into the real world. He left their keeper muttering to himself.
Eddie Krueger was not finished.
Martinelli did some excellent work down the left, bullied his way into the box, cut back to Eddie who had to do all sorts to reshape his body to sweep home his second.
Two up after 10 minutes.
Eddie doing a hatchet job on a club that treated him like shit.
Wondering how his stats compare to the rest of Europe? Take a look.
Those percentiles are from the top 5 leagues. That is a very complete set of numbers for a striker people said would struggle two divisions lower in England.
His stats compare favourably to Jota, Havertz, Firmino, and Nkunku. More on what to do next a bit later.
I can’t be arsed to go too deep on the rest of the game, but in short, we battered Leeds, conceded their first attempt at our goal, and looked a bit rattled. That is a worrying pattern, our defence has been weird, Ramsdale isn’t invincible now, we need to sharpen up for Thursday.
… there are some mitigating circumstances for the shakiness tho:
Arsenal is inexperienced. What these kids are doing is ridiculous, they stand up to the pressure of the fans and experiences they’ve never had, but it’s not easy. Manchester City score two goals and they know how to go for the kill, and end games with 5. Arsenal are babies, we play with our food, and sometimes the meal escapes. We had 19 shots, 9 found the target, we were not ruthless enough. We cruised in second half then stalled when we needed to find 3rd gear.
Leeds scored and we couldn’t play out of the weirdness of knowing we were in total control but at risk of doing something very dim. We could have drawn 2-2 or won 5-1 in that final 20.
There’s also the chance that the halftime marching orders were built around preserving energy in the 2nd half. It might not have even been an instruction, unspoken perhaps, sometimes players just decide there’s something more important on the horizon. That was dangerous, it was risky, but we got away with it.
We all FELT like it was close, maybe it was, but if I told you before the game Leeds would have 3 attempts at our goal with 2 shots on targets, you’d be happy with that. January 2020, they had 19 shots, 6 on target. As fans, we’re not used to challenging for something at the end of a season, it’s jittery, and sometimes the emotion of those jitters makes us think the game was more in danger more than it was.
Still, our reality is this: We took the 3 points.
Nothing.
Else.
Matters.
The table is looking favourable.
Spurs have to beat us.
If they lose, we’ve created a historical reference point in their house before they have.
If they draw, we’ll need to win one more game. Everton will likely be safe after Wednesday (Watford), their players won’t give a shit when they come to play Arsenal because Frank Lampard will have the company credit card out and he’ll be showing the young whippersnappers what the Ayia Napa days were all about with some BIG nights out in the North West. Newcastle, for all their positive results, have had far too much praise for beating shit teams of late. Before City, the last time they played someone good, it was Spurs, who scored five. City also scored 5. Arsenal fans who love Bruno are too keen to call them a top 4 side when they are just a Jonjo Shelvey vessel of misery.
Even if we are b****n by Sp*rs, the top 4 race is in our hands.
Pivot your thinking for a moment.
Imagine Spurs were closer to 3rd than 4th. Imagine they were coming to our house, knowing a win would end our top 4 chances and a draw wouldn’t be good enough.
How would you feel?
The Conte masterclass of ‘lump it to Kane and Son’ + ‘put 11 behind the ball,’ isn’t going to be good enough for them.
They have to play.
When Spurs have to play, they struggle.
Brighton is the team most similar to Arsenal in the league outside City. They man-marked Kane, stopped him dropping deep, didn’t register a shot on target all game, and they were beaten.
Brentford battered Spurs. Spurs didn’t have it in them to play against a deep block and they had rings run around them.
They are shit. But it doesn’t matter in a NLD. All rules go out the window. It is MASSIVE.
So who knows what will happen.
We always imagine the players are going to be deeply entrenched in the emotions of the history, the fandom, the future.
They won’t.
We don’t want them to be.
They need to be relaxed.
When the players think about the magnitude of who they are playing, this side in particular, tends to get walloped.
Liverpool, City (home game), too much respect for Cristiano, are just 3 examples.
I don’t think our boys will do that on Thursday.
Harry Kane, though clearly the best striker in the world, is not an enigma to a group of players that have eaten dinner with him and possibly had to deal with him as a member of their team on a quiz night.
Spurs don’t have prestige like Liverpool. They’re the mob down the road. Our players know what beating them means.
This game is a toss of a coin. If we can surprise Conte, make them come at us, and attack the space for the first goal, it’ll be very exciting.
It is a HUGE win for Arsenal to be in a position this good. We are in overachievement territory right now. We have the same points that secured top 4 last season. We have the same amount of wins that 2nd place United achieved last season. There are 75 points to play for, which would be a massive top 4 haul.
Very exciting stuff.
Before I go, I think Eddie will sign a new deal, and that is the right thing for him to do.
For Eddie:
- Only Newcastle can offer him more money than Arsenal. He wanted £90k a week-ish. He’s worth it.
- Germany is step down in prestige AND money
- Go to Newcastle, you might be fighting MBappe for a position next season.
- Go to any club in the league, bar Brighton, you are fighting other players for a start
- Palace: Edouard
- West Ham: Antonio
- Newcastle: Barnes / Some mega signing
- We have Europe, we need two strikers, he is now a worthy 2nd striker
- You only leave to go to Brighton as a stepping stone to get to an Arsenal. If you are doing it at Arsenal, and you fired them to Europe, why leave?
- DON’T BE A ZAHA. He left United, banged at Palace, took the big-money deal, then wasn’t allowed to leave, now he’s 29 and he’s wasted his best years
- One year left on his deal this summer. Could be good CL squad filler
- YOUR MATES ARE HERE
For Arsenal:
- Arteta knows he did a bad. There’s no second striker in Europe we know more about than Eddie bar Jesus. £40m for a player who, up until 2 weeks ago, had 5 goals after 1500 minutes? Please.
- We don’t have a lot of money to spend – keep your powder dry, spend that on another position
- You won’t lose on Eddie, he has shown he can do it at the highest level, if he has a bad season post-deal, there will always be another Prem club that needs an English player and £90k is easy money for any Prem team
- Eddie is 22, he has 4 in 5 starts in the EPL, he has 10 g/a… he has a better England U21 record than Tammy. Why would we let him slip the net?
It’s a no-brainer for both parties. Hopefully, Eddie’s agent, who has a bit of a rep, will do the deal.
As for the fans that blew-up all my feeds with ‘YOU HAVE GOT THIS WRONG’, when are we going to have some accountability here? The talent ID in the noisy part of the fanbase has been cataclysmically wrong this season. Time for certain people to just sit out the opinion game.
As for Agenda FC?
- We’ve seen off the xG pearl-clutchers
- We’ve seen off the ‘Arteta is cone boy’ crew with a new 3 year deal
- We’ve seen off the ‘THE FANS WILL BE BOOING BY NOVEMBER’ folk with the fans embracing Arteta HARD
- We’ve seen off the League One Eddie’s
- We’ve probably seen of the ‘PEPE NEEDS MORE GAMES’ crowd as well
- Finally, most are ready to admit… Arteta has sauce.
But now, we move into a phase of shared agenda ownership: Beating Spurs.
We all want it.
No one is any doubt it will be tough.
So let’s do something like, unite around Louis Dunford’s new anthem, and crack on with beating that lot on Thursday
🎶 North London 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 🎶@LouisDunford ❤️ pic.twitter.com/M2pm31pNe4
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 8, 2022
But before I go, check out our podcast: And please, in the upfront, accept my apologies for the sound issues, that was on me. I’ll have it fixed for the next one.
Rich Tavares in the carabao cup was immense against lower oposition, he needs game time like a year in the championship and he will thrive
Madhu
You are welcome. Yes me too, I have been saying it for years!!!
Positive vibes about Thursday night.
History tells me we’ll get something from the game.
I’ll go for at least a score draw or narrow win.
Ray Kennedy will be floating around WHL.
Mark my words.
Rich: “I wouldn’t write him off completely, but he’s got a lot to learn, and the stakes are too high to have him learn on the job with us”
Reading this made me think about someone else.
Rich
Sending Tavares on loan just to buy someone like Zinchenko is not good for the books . 3 LBs just like we have now 3 RBs ( Soares , Tomiyasu and Bellerin) on the books . One more season where Tierney remains first choice and Tavares , who will have a good pre season to work with . He is Only 22 and inconsistencies are part of the game.
Tavares. Funny but I can remember when he replaced the injured Tierney and everyone was raving about him keeping Tierney out. A few difficult games and he’s on the scrap heap. He is a very good player but I think he lacks maturity and feels pressure. That’s the problem with a lot of younger players, they lack the experience to cope with pressure situations or when things go awry. Confidence is so important in this game. You can see his head drop and then he passes to the opposition or loses his technique and shape when taking a shot. That’s… Read more »
DS If we can sell Tavares, then great. But if we can’t find a buyer, we’ll have to loan him out, and make sure it’s somewhere he’ll play, there’s no value sending him to sit on the bench somewhere. He’s apparently not on big money, so providing he has a successful loan, he’ll be an appreciating asset, with plenty of time left on is contract Chelsea do this all the time, and they do this much better than we do. If Tavares goes to a Championship club, and plays a blinder, there’ll be a market for him, and hopefully for… Read more »
I like Tavares. He is good going forward and is a bit unpredictable unlike Tierney. He is still very young , enough time to improve his defensive capabilities.
City get Haaland for peanuts.
If we keep Eddie best to avoid Da Silva. Both players are a bit similar. Elneny is useful but needs an upgrade. Balagoun should be third choice striker offering a chance for one big striker signing upfront.
Pepe leaving can allow the club to bring in one creative roving player like Nkunku. Fit overlapping left back or right back will be nice, however it’s key to get another midfield general in.
Good post, Pedro. If we make Top 4, this summer will all be about priorities. 1. Do we really need 5 central midfielders? Is so, Elneny stays and we bring in a player like Tielemans. 2. How important is cover at RB and LB? With unlimited funds, we would offload Cedric and send Nuno out on loan. Do we spend our limited resources elsewhere and keep Cedric for another year and hope Norton-Cuffy can progress next season on loan at a bigger club? 3. How far are we willing to go to keep Eddie? Knowing that he won’t be first-choice… Read more »
What’s the plan for Kane & Son?lasagna?😋
Eddie “ Marlo Stanfield” Nketiah.Developing the killer instinct.Nice one.
1. We don’t need 5 central midfielders, we’re reportedly trying to renew Elneny on a 1 + 1, or 2yr deal 1 + 1 would be ideal, we could loan out Sambi to gain experience, who I really like, and have a potential internal replacement lined up, either next season, or the one after 2. I’d be inclined to keep Cedric, he’s a decent enough squad player, see how Norton Cuffy develops, who could be another potential internal replacement. We definitely need another left back for next season. 3. Ideally we keep Eddie, his pressing is good, he’s added power… Read more »
For all the Tielemaners out there, are you getting rid of Xhaka first ? Surely we aren’t keeping Xhaka and then adding Youri on top ?
Naija
In an ideal world we would have already gotten rid of Xhaka but Arteta clearly fancies him so its better he stays and we have experience to rely on when Tielemans isnt available . I hope Arteta has learned his lessons and rotates more next season , irrespective of where we finish.
Man management, talent recognition, player trust and adequate squad rotation are Arteta’s biggest flaws.
Explains Eddie situation. If he does walk who can blame him.
If Saliba wants out which would be a huge shame/loss imo we take Mavro back from soon to be relegated Stuttgart. He’s had a very good season in the Bundesliga right up to yesterday’s draw w/ Bayern where he rode Coman so hard he weakly bitch slapped Mavro and got sent off.
Loved the way Eddie got us two cheap goals yesterday.
We havent valued the importance of scoring goals enough over the years. Doesn’t matter how they come
Even Auba was annoyingly wasteful & casual at times which cost us .
DivineSherlock
I m assuming that Tielemans would be starting and Xhaka would be riding the bench ? If that’s the case, Xhaka might feel that he should be starting games ? Might end up wanting to leave.
Paul Merson is a major dickhead
Why is he saying that Saliba will be sold written any reliable sources?
Saliba has tested himself to the hilt in league un, that’s why he will relish the challenge of the premier league.
People need to get over the fact that Xhaka is staying.
Ha the embodiment of Arteta in the squad
He’s not going anywhere, anytime soo
We need senior voices in the squad. Xhaka is the captain of a very good national side.
Mersin knows fuck all and has been bitter to Arsenal since we sold him, the guys steals a living at sky, his opinions are as useful as a 10 year olds eff him
Xhaka can stay. Unless we get a good transfer fee then there is no point in selling him. I wanted him out last summer. But he is clearly not going to fetch a good fee. Despite his flaws, this is his best season since he has been here. He can be an okay backup . Tielemans Partey and Odegaard can be the first choice midfield. We don’t need to do too much in one summer. We have to sign a CM , a ST (possibly two depending on Eddie), a Winger, a LB, a GK. We also need a RB… Read more »
City getting Haaland means the league is done for the next few years. At least until Pep leaves. It gives us a wide berth to Jesus though.
Savin available from Lazio for £60m this summer
Very good player Savic
I’ve been reading on Le grove the past week or 2 of how important xhaka is to the team.. Against Leeds xhaka was an embarrassment, he is supposed to be an experienced leader who the younger players should look up to and learn from. But what did we see, Xhaka playing the hard man, xhaka doing exactly the opposite to what he should be doing., including throwing an arm after being fouled that fortunately missed the leeds player and consequently having to be held back by his team mates, also getting involved in petty squables when all that was required… Read more »
Hitman
“Loved the way Eddie got us two cheap goals yesterday”
The 2nd goal was anything but cheap , a superb run and pick out from Martinelli and the finish from Eddie was quality in many different ways.
He was off balance when he struck it , it was on his weaker foot , the ball was slightly behind him and had to be struck perfectly to beat the keeper and find the corner with pace and it was anything but a tap in being 10 yards from goal .
He made it look easier than it was.
Not convinced by Tielemans even if he is a good player. For me he is not a game-changer in there and he will cost at least £50m. We can do better looking elsewhere or at least get a player similar in ability for much better value. Someone like Traore at Sassuolo, Pellegrini from Roma. If we are looking for a marque CM signing, we should consider Milinkovic-Savic. He’s a physical specimen, well-rounded and he scores and creates goals from CM. 18 goals and 20 assists in his past 2 Serie A seasons combined. Lazio are on a trajectory to nowhere,… Read more »
Un beat me to it on Savic above.
Agree though he is a rare talent.
We should only keep one of Xhaka or Elneny if we want to seriously improve the quality of our MF and at this point I would definitely rather keep Elneny.
More well-rounded, low-key attitude-wise and likely to be happier to be a squad player than Xhaka. He also has better chemistry with TP.
Spot on Pierre. Class finish to a quality build up.
Despite the drop off in intensity, that first half was pretty impressive beasting. If the boys can click like that , in whatever formation, on Thursday, then they’ve got a good chance of the trophy by the end.
Not so keen on Eddies phone me celebrations . Doesn’t auger well. Hopefully he’s just canvassing for his worth .
Wenger eagle Tielemans won’t cost 50 mil. 40 mil at best considering he is in his last year. There were even rumors saying he was going to cost 25 mil. The real fee would be closer to 35 mil if I am guessing. And I totally disagree about Tielemans and him not being quality. I have said this before and I will say it again he would start for Liverpool, (Keita and Henderson aren’t on his level) and at city he would be a rotation player. He would still get a lot of game time though. I don’t think there… Read more »
60 mil for a 27 year old Savic? Fuck that. He is the kind of player you add as a cherry on top considering the fee. We still have holes to fill. We can’t be spending that on someone who is above 24,25. It would mean we would have to rebuild our CM options in 3 years considering Partey is also around 28. Liverpool for example added Thiago because their squad was complete. And they didn’t do it for 60 mil.
Tielemans would be a top quality signing like mahrez and Kante were for city and Chelsea,
35 m would be a bargain
£50 million for Tielemans with one year left on his contract?….
I’ll have some of whatever you’re smoking….
I was thinking £25-£30million max
Habesha It’s not the mid 2000s. 27 is the new 23/24, let’s not pretend that it is even remotely old for a dedicated modern pro. It’s coming into his prime years, Partey will be 29 in the summer for context. Goals are a huge issue for us, still. And adding a ST alone will not resolve this issue. We have no goalscoring midfielders which is a real problem. Savic is a goalscoring CM that can also create. He’s a much better player than Soucek who is a similar build and has been very effective for West Ham. No chance £60m… Read more »
Cheaper then yes but does Tielemans put our CM on par with other top teams? Not for me.
4 open play PL goals this season, Partey has 2. We desperately need goals from midfield, all of the top clubs have them barring Liverpool who have freakish power across the frontline that vastly overpowers ours.
We’re 30+ goals away from City/Liverpool and 15 away from even Chelsea who have not have a good ST since Costa left.
A ST alone doesn’t dramatically bridge that gap. We need goals from CM and wide too.
Compare the end product output from Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard + Smith Rowe, from last season, to this season. I’d expect each of these players to improve their numbers next season. If we keep Eddie, he’s definitely got goals in his game. We’ll need to astutely supplement that externally, but not all improvement has to be external improvement, there’s plenty of room for some of these players to grow significantly We’re a team at the beginning of a cycle, that’s on the way up, not the way down. I’m confident the end product will flow with Martinelli, he’s still got a… Read more »
Habesha
Partey cost £50m at 27 yo
Not a huge difference with the £60m being quoted for Savic
Yea, Tielesmann shouldn’t cost more that £20 million with one year left on his contract.
20 million with one year left means his 4 year value is about 50 million
With Savic and de Jong up for sale this summer, we have to be in for one of them
Both exactly what we need and game changer signings
For me they are the two best central midfielders in the world right now with Bellingham coming up fast behind them.
Bags of skill and control from the middle.
I don’t get the clamor for this Louis Dunford song
I understand the romanticism of the local vive but it’s not great for a marketing pitch.
You have Chelsea with a “Chelsea FC-Pride of London” song that lays claim to the entirety of London whilst Arsenal are chest beating about a fraction off the city.
Thing about anthems is they spread organically, no need to wave pompoms like in American sports.
I like the song itself, I just think it’s too limited in scope and ambition.
Un if those 2 are for sale I can’t see them coming to us especially savic at his age you go to a club at the top of their game, we are not there yet
I just want to say.. great job to Pedro and the gang yesterday in taking good care of a regular reader who spoke about personal struggles.
You all said everything so perfectly… each in his own way. Seeing the way you came together was uplifting.
Tielmans seems like a serviceable option but if we’re going for the Xhaka replacement needs to be notable upgrade for me. Not sure Tielmans is that.
Regarding goals doubt it but if those rumours have any juice that Inter need to sell Martinez we should jump right to the front of the queue. Seems weird after just signing new deal but it is the Serie A in financially weird times. One of the few in current window worth the splurge.
the amount quoted for tielemans is ~ 25m gbp
one year left on the contract as of june
Emirates,
Kind of true about Elneny and Cedric being just adequate… but I am enjoying pointing out the improvement in Mo’s game this year. He’s not the same player I wanted gone for 6 years. Big credit to the coaching staff.
One more year out of Cedric could be perfect for an internal solution to follow.
Holding is better than many give credit for, in my opinion. Not spectacular, but very steady. That’s what I want in his position.
Habesha I see the same high ceiling in Sambi.. from videos of great skills to some flashes for us.
But in this fast paced league he hasn’t adjusted yet. He dwells on the ball too long in dangerous areas, looking for those sweet passes.
I’ve said he needs to be more direct. Much more. Maybe in cup competitions next season? He’s behind new-improved super Mo in my book now.
Wenger eagle Tielemans is generally good for 8 or 9 goals a season. He is having a poor season by his own standards but he is a top player. 27 isn’t the new 24. Not for a lot of players. Rarely do you see CMs be at their best in their 30s. Modric and Kroos are the exceptions. You can look at Cesc, Kante, Matic, Busquets, and a whole lot of other CMs that fell off the level they were at in their 20s. How many 32 year old top CMs are there? And I don’t think we should have… Read more »
Keep the positivity up Pedro. It’s more than justified but you have a congregation of doubters and naysayers .Ignore them you understand better than most how this club needs to be run ,
Some of the garbage spouted on here over the past season has been amazing . A lot of the spouters are conveniently absent when we win .
I’d love acwin on Thursday but a draw would pile huge pressure on the Totts
The doubters open here after the. 3 losses recently were in their droves funny how they hide when we are successful, i actually think they don’t support arsenal they are just trolls
“We’re still on course for Pedro’s stretch goal.”
Nigel you say this right. It is Pedros “stretch” goal.
There has been multiple players coming out over the season saying top 4 is the goal.
Top 4 was our objective. We fail if we don’t get it. Just not enough to sack a newly re-signed managed. But there is enough improvement to acknowledge that we can hopefully push on next season.
Just sick of hearing this stretch goal bs
Dissenter The song is not about ambition, it is about love and identity. Anf it works perfectly because it could give Arsenal the push it needs to have a strong atmosphere at the stadium. North London boy Arsenal fan North London song Beautiful Chorus Identity, pride and love in it It is the kind of song that can ingrain Arsenal culture in foreign players it is the kind of song that can give a bit of adrenaline when it is needed in a hard game. And we stumbled on it, it was the pressure on social media that made it… Read more »
Whenever i hear pundits and le grove talking about Eddie, there is always a reluctance for them to say that Eddie will be our no.1 striker next season if he stays. What they don’t realise is that what we have seen from Eddie recently is just a fraction of what he can achieve.. As his confidence and fitness grows we will see a player who will demand the ball more , who will be prepared to commit defenders more and go past them , we will see a player who will use his pace to run the channels and i… Read more »
Your writing style recently has been tanking Pedro. Eager to always show who got what right or wrong. Guess what we are all Arsenal fans, and we all have an opinion to criticise what we don’t like and praise what we like. Get ahold of yourself and give us quality like before. Please
Habesha
I don’t agree
I think Savic is one of the best midfielders in the world
Better than partey for me
Mystic I think it’s safe to say Pedro’s earned the right for a victory lap, after some of the going’s on within this space, he held steady (mostly) throughout this bumpy ride. Dealing in heavy opposition at the slightest wobble. The remit this season for me was compete for top four at the business end of the season, be in or their about’s at the end. We’ve hit that marker and may exceed all by clinching in Purgatory. That didn’t seem possible at many stages notably when Auba was shipped with Laca running thru a dry lake bed of goal… Read more »
Negative Nigel
I think a young Ashley Young looks more like Marlo than Eddie does but there is a resemblance!
Pedro-overall a really good post today but even you must realize the clear mischief you are delivering with these two contrasting statements:
Gabriel Jesus: ‘up until 2 weeks ago, had 5 goals after 1500 minutes’?
Eddie Nketiah: ‘4 goals in 5 starts’
How do you rightly include Eddie’s recent great run of form but reject the recent form of Gabriel Jesus?! Busted!
SAGG
I don’t disagree with your post about Dunford’s song, in principle
My point is that it’s tepid, bland and represent poor branding so Chelsea get to claim “pride of London” and all we are is “North London” is our home”? Seems we’re letting them stake a claim unchallenged.
Also 95,000 Liverpool fans can jam into the Melbourne Cricket ground in July 2013, many of whom have never been Anfield. Yet they connect to that song in teary fashion.
I’m not sure this Dunford song rings those bells.
I am still not sold on Jesus
To reach the next level offensively it’s primarily about goals and to get more goals we need to be more efficient. Besides his crazy match recently where he scored a bunch, at what point this season has he been clinical?
Sal: “If we fall short it will certainly sting but the progression cannot be denied. Notable that the thru haters of this manager are missing when it’s all up for grabs. Weakest sauce available in my opinion.” But then Pedro also warned us midseason when the haters started moving the goal posts on our objectives to make any achievements of the team under Arteta seem a disappointment… and they thought we wouldn’t notice. Imagine the laughter if you had predicted a top 4 battle after 3 games this season. Someone acting like it’s no big deal now, just par for… Read more »
Dissenter Liverpool case is special because they got lucky having a song from a Liverpool Band that is the most iconic band in music modern. One in a billiion stuff. Chelsea pride of london, well we are the kings of London and have a song about that but it is so outdated that I dont think it makes an impact. More important than the lyrics is how hard the fanbase push the song to the next level. I mean we could have a song that says “We are kings of the world, eat Real Madrid for breakfast” but if the… Read more »
Fuck Spuds!
I dont like Tets and still not convinced but if we get top for cant argue.
New deal for Eddie but still need 1st CF.
Fuck Spuds!
Sagg
I think we are looking at it from difference lenses.
The song just makes us look more provisional, confined to north London, when I fact we are global brand.
I’m nor poopooing or minimizing the emotional connection many have with the song.
Sal I get all that. Everybody was scared at some point. I mean it’s good that we may get top 4 now but like you said at some point it seemed impossible. I still don’t think that it will be a miracle if we get top 4 cos really, man to man, we are like 5th best squad in the league. But it will be a good achievement for the squad.
All we want is a successful Arsenal right? So criticism and praise when due is not wrong either.
Honestly, who gives a shit about what the song is about. To me it sounds pretty generic but whatever. It has one job – to get the people going. If it does that then I’m all for it. The Wonder Of You mostly put people to sleep so it can’t be any worse.
Habesha, I like your opinions usually but you are saying that Milinkovic-Savic isn’t a top midfielder then you say that Ward-Prowse is. Not sure how to react to that. SMS was valued at £81m four years ago, currently £63m. Ward-Prowse’s maximum valuation is the one he’s currently at – £28m. SMS is a 6’3 giant who is a press-resistant, highly technical midfield general, collects the high balls, wins space by carrying the ball forward with his excellent dribble and long feet, super useful in both boxes in free kicks and corners due to his titanic figure. He’s a chance creation… Read more »
damned if you do, damned if you dont:
1. we get top 4: the boys played out of their skins. top talents. a lucky club to have such a collection. they should be doing much better with another coach. they should be lifting the title and win the ucl next season with a better coach.
2. we dont get top 4.: told you so. told you all season. these players should be challenging for the title if arteta hadn’t fucked up several times at crucial points of the season.
you can’t ein, pedro.
Savic would be an immense signing, would love to see him in the premier league but don’t think it will happen in this window, certainly not with Arsenal. Maybe United . Value in Tielmans as Raptora just said and all rumours currently leading there, unless we put Lokonga on loan and go in for a player like Haidara at Leipzig who looks solid, great breaking up play and transitioning. Moreno at Sociedad has had another strong season but don’t think he’d be ideal alongside Partey, Tchouameni and Partey would be such a high level but we’re not getting him. Where… Read more »
Raptora
I like SMS too but would Lazio let him go? Frankly given his age I wouldn’t want us to pay more than we did for Partey…
Celebrating wins is fine in isolation, I don’t think it is indicative of how much you support the club, but wins have to mean something longer term. A more ruthless top club 2-0 up against 10 men would have smashed Leeds out of sight, because while they might have marginally improved under Jesse March, they are the same players who have been getting trounced all season, including by Arsenal at Elland Road. But it’s not like we’re championing the cause for a team anywhere near challenging for the PL title, so waving pom-poms after every little win for me, feels… Read more »
*Marsch
So many ridiculous hot-takes on here that it’s difficult to know where to start…I guess this makes sense when you have the Pied Piper of trolling blog-bites leading the charge you will invariably encourage card-carrying members of the Kool-Aid crew to spout all sorts of nonsense…from comparing the likes of SMS to JWP, to the ludicrous notion that Eddie should not only be re-upped but likewise given the starting nod moving forward, there appears to be no bounds to the lengths in which some will go to “fluff-off” the man who’s spent considerable time trying to convince anyone and everyone… Read more »
Just a comment from an internet algorithm fan. The last 20 minutes of the last game, Arsenal almost snatched a draw from the jaws of victory. The first 20 minutes were exactly how we should play, after the 2 goals and sending off the sqaud vacillated between actually looking like a blowout win, to damn, another way to be Arsenal in this last decade. Better get 2 draws and a WIN against spuds to get top 4. Which is the f’n goal-period-full stop-end of discussion. What about 2 draws and a loss? 5th place from no Europa, Cups or other… Read more »
Raptora Savic is a top midfielder. But he isn’t in the Top 5 of the CMs that are playing in the world. I didn’t mean ward-prowse is a better player either. If given the choice you would take Savic. You forgot my main point though. Savic is 27 now. Partey is 28. If history is anything to go by most CMs decline at around 31 years of age. Savic is at least going to cost 50 mil. That means we would have spent 95 mil on players that will have no value in 3 or 4 years. And we would… Read more »
City pissing all over the rules again, FFP really is a joke of an establishment
If we are going to spend 50 mil and above, I would go for Jude Bellingham. You will get resale value, 10+ years of service. Savic is good. But if only he was 24 or 25.
It is interesting to follow this season’s banter on the blog. It was Pedro’s constantly reminding us that this season 5th or 6th was the goal and 4th was a stretch too far. It was a setup in case there would be failure. Well this just has taken another twist that could be even worst then missing out on 4th, namely being denied 4th because of loosing to the Sp*ds and doing what Arsenal often does best not getting the points when needed. For me at the beginning of the season facing loosing out on 4th again but having EL… Read more »
Eddie scores 2 goals and suddenly he is a worldie in the making. Do me a favour. In time honored fashion he is playing out of his skin to attract as many offers as he can. Once he signs for someone his level will drop off.
Aaron if we beat Spurs we’ve already confirmed top 4 mathematically. No need for 2 draws.
If we beat Spurs by hook or crook our objectives for the season are met with two games to spare.
I have a feeling if we actually win all 3 games we’ll come third which would be lovely. But if we do beat Spurs and lose the next two it has no practical implication, only a dent on pride.
Newcastle are not getting top 4 next season. I also disagree that Haaland is nailed on league for city next season. Is he a monster? Yeah. Do I see any high probability that he will fail? Nope. But football is not that simple and predictable in the premier league. As well there’s nothing (aside from the fact the guy is massive lol) stopping erling getting his leg broken in a bad challenge. Or rolling his ankle coming down from an aerial challenge. Or maybe he will be great but the players behind him might be off colour. Liverpool have one… Read more »
I would so love for us to beat Spurs then go and mug off Chelsea to 3rd place
It would be incredibly satisfying after the yo-yo season we’ve had to end on such a high.
It’s possible…
I agree with you China1 regarding Haaland. He will be coming from Germany where there are not many teams that are on the same level as PL clubs generally are.
He has also started to get injuries and you can just imagine what a difference it will be for him to come into a league where all the teams will give you a game no matter what.
Thank you Pedro for your fine work and it seems you have been right about a good many things,. Whatever comes now the manager and players have exceeded expectations for this season, despite many rookie mistakes made. Maybe just maybe we have a manager who can indeed learn from these mistakes and personally I would like to imagine a future of a team with a good young manager with lessons learned and full backing of the fans. The future of the club is rosy if you look at it in that context. We could indeed shaft Chelsea for third and… Read more »
Habesha
Savic absolutely is top 5 in the world. And he did have value. His value is to the team in the game he offers.
A strong unbiased referee is needed against Tottenham, something tells me it will be Michael Oliver and we know how he likes to red card Arsenal players, Martinelli and xhaka this season spring to mind.
Un he isn’t top 5 for me. Top 10 may be. Modric, Kroos, Debruyne, Thiago, De Jong, Pedri are all better. There are other names that are comparable to his level too. If he was really top 5, then he would have moved by now.
Un And we can’t be spending 50 to 60 mil on a 27 year old. There is much better value out there. He isn’t the missing piece to a title winning side is he? So who would you pick, Bellingham for 70 mil or Savic for 50 mil? You can see how Liverpool operate. The only player they signed that is over 26 for big money is Van Dijk. And he is the Best Center back in the world. Plus defenders last a lot longer than CMs. If Savic was available for 30 to 35 may be max 40 then… Read more »
Oh I forgot Veratti.
Eddie is good he should be a second choice striker to help share the burden of the main striker we buy that’s it, no way he should be our number one striker we are not palace or West Ham, sign the kid up give him 20 games a season and buy a top top striker to be our number 1 simple,
As for Savic as good as he is we are not buying a nearly 28 year old player with no resale value, that’s not what we have been doing, 23 to 24 max is what we are buying
Chelsea have Leeds away tomorrow and Leicster and Watford at home they are not losing 3rd spot now china
Lazio president Lotito on Sergej Milinkovic-Savić rumours: “Milinkovic is not for sale. I turned down €140m bid for him [years ago]”, tells Rai Sport. 🇷🇸 #transfers
“I’d ask Sergej what he wants to do only in case we receive am important proposal from a world class top club”. https://t.co/K0fmd49bu7
Think we can nip that in the bud right there.
The Bellingham figures I’ve seen are over 100m as well so that’s not happening either.
Serge “Eddie is good he should be a second choice striker to help share the burden of the main striker we buy that’s it, no way he should be our number one striker ” You and a few others might be eating your words, i get that you never rated him and are finding it hard to admit that what you have seen in the last 4 games are top level performances from a striker who is only now becoming match fit after being criminally underused this season. I wonder where we will find a striker who will even match… Read more »
The Bard “Eddie scores 2 goals and suddenly he is a worldie in the making. Do me a favour. In time honored fashion he is playing out of his skin to attract as many offers as he can. Once he signs for someone his level will drop off.” Sad comment, another one who is finding hard to come to terms that Eddie actually can play in the premier league and score goals , and link the play, and hold the ball up , and run the channels, and press like no other striker… Good luck finding another striker who can… Read more »
Pierre. Your radar is off. It’s bloody Tierney on the whistle AGAIN,and Dean in the hole. Ffs.
Is Eddie really ready for No 1 at Arsenal? I’m trying to believe, but we still gonna need another No 1 recruitment as cover. Arteta will be straight with him I think…. I don’t buy this bs Sociopath propaganda against his management style, Will Eddie sign in knowledge that we’re buying a ST to be a(nother) starting option.
Vera lynne
“, we desperately need to bring in someone who can create their own chances, with the ball at their feet, threaten from distance and make opposing defences account for them at all times,”
Unless I’m mistaken, Eddie has been doing exactly that.
I presume you watched his performances away to Chelsea and West ham and how he was a menace playing as the lone striker.
His best performance was against west ham when he didn’t score but ran Zouma ragged with his movement, pace and ability on the ball..
I
Mr Serge
Have you seen Chelsea play recently ? We just need one good result delivered by Leeds, who are really desperate .