Let’s talk about Arsenal putting Senor Edu front and centre for all these deals we’re doing.
Arsenal 🤝 Young players
💬 “We want to see a club like Arsenal with a young squad, an exciting squad, with a big big future.” pic.twitter.com/KgiQVQMd0K
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) June 21, 2022
He’s been under a bit of pressure over the past few years, he was signed by a scuz bucket director of Arsenal and was very close to a lot of murky goings-on at the club before the said scuz bucket was ejected from Arsenal never to be seen again.
Edu kept his job. Was it because he was just following orders? Was it because the club didn’t want more disruption? Was it because he has a really nice voice and how nice your voice is impacts how people percieve you?
Who knows. But there has been a bit if a rebirth of Edu. Just watch that video, listen to the strategic clarity in his voice, look at the positivity he’s omitting. The guy is very believable and if I met him, I would sign whatever paper he was waving in front of me.
I’ve had my misgivings. The double-your-wages deal for Willian. The Super Agent lovefest. The Cedric deal that was HORRIBLE. But… we have to forgive in life. We have to look to the future, not dwell on the past. We have to embrace the good in someone, rather than point to what has gone before.
Edu, I’m ready to forgive. Come give me a hug and let me smell your cologne IRL. Is that Le Labo? Ooof, you sexy beast.
I think the best thing about Edu is that if you give him a brief and tell him to get a deal… the man will get the fucking thing signed.
Let’s look at what he’s achieved:
- He’s moved on roughly 18 players that could have been considered in the first-team squad
- He’s overseen about 15 signings since Don Raul was exited
- We haven’t lost a single player to a free transfer that we wanted to keep
- Our wage bill has dropped from £190m to £90m
- We are no longer a banter club when it comes to negotiations, he gets the job done
- We have the youngest squad in the league
Can I talk speculation? There are strong indicators that both Gabrel Jesus and Raphinha are going to turn down the advances of Spurs because they prefer the Arsenal project. Who is sitting in a room with those two? It’ll be Edu, in a crisp white shirt, with a plate of BBQ, and a Keynote prez.
Is there work to do for him? Yes. He needs to sell someone for a proper fee at some point. But who cares right now with Sugar Daddy Josh showering us with Super Bowl/Stanley Cup money.
You can’t knock Edu right now. All the fears everyone had about Europa League costing us talent seem to be getting dispelled. Edu is firmly in the mixer there.
Do I like the Super Agent stuff? No. But it’s the price of business at the highest level. Jorge Mendes is trying to move Raphina to Arsenal, he’s moved Vieira there, he’ll backfill Leeds and he’ll backfill Porto taking a fee at every step.
But I have to accept that and so do you… I don’t mind super agents when the players are super talented.
So in short, I’m enjoying the better Edu, he’s doing great work, I am over my issues with him.
Right, are you going to jump into our Patreon? Johnny is completing his Top 25. We also have a nice FREE podcast for you to enjoy.
4th
Now
Trophy
Trophy
Sales are a big issue. We get awful fees for players.£2m for Ballard?
If he delivers on the CM we desperately need I think 95% will finally admit the guy has redeemed himself.I’ve a hunch once Jesus is wrapped up ( £45/million) I understand.Then he’s on the case for Raphina or Cody Gakpo.Then onto CM & it’s Tielemans or Fabian Ruiz( poss cheaper option)
All in all said That would be a helluva window.🤩
Wow…..sowie winordie…. When you are after tr5phy you you gotta go all out…😎….the incumbents are on holidays now…. and muppet and his brother crispy had better not rain on my parade..
We’d already activated the 2 year extension on Ballard. He was entering the final year of his deal.
Pete, I uploaded that on the previous thread!
The clubs doing a fine job, I am lucky enough to be able to treat speculation as what it is, thanks to my Thesaurus.
*For those I may have confused; no I do not have a pet from the Jurassic period.
Mulerise I’m truly happy for you, 😁
Seems one commenter here calling for Saka to be moved to the left side hasn’t really been watching Arsenal play the past 2 years, even though he claims to be the expert…. The season before last, Saka was average for most of year on the left, very little production. Then he moved to the right late in the season and came alive. Much more influential and confident. At the beginning of last season, idiot Arteta (in this instance) forgot and tried him on the left for a couple games… again, no production. Then quickly moved back to the right, and… Read more »
Pedro Pete
“…turn down the advances of Spurs because they prefer the Arsenal project.”
Yep. These players know Spuds have been dodging top trophies longer than they’ve been alive. Tom won’t like that but it’s true. You’ld have to be a bald bloke with a Betamax VHS to have seen them win anything worth winning.
While Edu is talking about Arsenal bringing in young players for the long term benefit to grow together, Spurs have decided to set up a retirement home! Two blokes aged 33 plus and another who has done more Bail than Gareth…..!! Now that’s banter.
Its either Betamax OR VHS …… so i’m told ……. and I have my own hair
Marseille interested in taking Tavares on loan, Atalanta also very interested,
Didn’t Marseille just take Kolasinac off us?
I’d prefer to keep Tavares in the country, send him to play 40 games in the Championship, what’s important though is that wherever he goes, he plays consistently
Be nice to have an early break clause for January as well, Justin case Tierney breaks down again
unrelated but Auba may find himself sitting on the bench when Lewandoski joins Barca, that would crack me up
…………Ramsdale………
Tomi–White–Gabriel–Tierney
………..Partey–Tielemans
……Saka–Odegaard–Raphinha
…………………..Jesus…………
Realistically where does this team finish? I would say 3th/4th behind City, Liverpool…
The weakest players in that squad IMO would be Gabriel, Tierney and Odegaard.
Samir If we sign Raphinha, Jesus, Tielemans, and a quality left back, then secure the futures of Saka + Saliba Then we have to be looking at 3rd 81-86 points 50% uptick in goal output Try to get under 38 conceded We’d be favourites for the Europa League, and we’d have no excuses not to try and compete for the domestic cups I’d see the shape more like this though: ……….Ramsdale ……..Saliba Gabriel White Partey Tierney Odegaard Tielemans Raphinha……….. Saka ………….Jesus With Nketiah, Martinelli, Smith Rowe, Vieira on the bench, that would give us serious options in the final third… Read more »
Pedro,
I admire your charitable nature. But it is buy and sell at the hypermarket that is the premier league. When he gets 35M quid for an Iwobi clone then I will be truly impressed.
And he still has to get Jesus and Thielemans over the line. I think that both would be wonderful additions. But I still would prefer Ward-Prowse ( for his skill, leadership and grit) and a big, nasty centre-forward (Oh Tammy, where art thou?). 🙂
Chances are arteta May have had circa 0.5 billion invested in squad building at the end of this TW
What will be minimum expectations for this season seeing that the LG bias will be off KSE and Edu and firmly on tets?
Anything less than a 3rd place finish will be unacceptable and I’d want to see a team playing with panache and big balls. I’d also want to see us taking points off city and Liverpool
Looks like we’ve put in a new bid for Rafhinha
Apparently Arsenal have made another bid for Raphinha per the below link.
https://www.football365.com/news/leeds-receive-e70m-bid-for-raphinha-from-unnamed-club-journalist-then-reveals-its-arsenal
Cor Lisandro Beckenbeur
Those Ajax forwards miss more than ours do on the Odegaard compilations
Pierre
Did you sport the b silva/Odegaard stats for last season?
Almost identical…..
Edu represents the club very well.
He’s grown into that job and is actively driving the yough policy
I hear he has an excellent working relationship with the manager which is great.
Fuck Raphinha
What about Lisandro? Signing of the summer right there. That man can play.
Anything less than a 3rd place finish will be unacceptable and I’d want to see a team playing with panache and big balls. I’d also want to see us taking points off city and Liverpool – to you Sly maybe
Everything coming out the club is top 4 finish target
In the reality I still adamantly believe that Arteta would get a reprieve for finishing out of top 4 if he wins either of or combination of the Europa League / FA Cup / Carabao Cup
Sly,
Lets look at the purchase value of the squad come the end of the window, and their annual wages, and then let’s see how that compares with the other members of the Top 6. Then we can have an informed discussion about appropriate expectations should be
its Edu’s job to make positive vibes so the fans get on board the Project. We will demand 4th next
season and sexy champions l football.. Hopefully we will have the squad up for it .
I don’t get the all in for Raphina – it is the least problematic position we have
Our focus should be Jesus Tielmans. Lisandro in that order to fix the CF CM and LB problems of last season
Then if we have any pennies left by all means add some luxury player
At the moment we havent fixed one problem from last season
We need someone like raphinha just as much as Jesus. We need to add at least 30 goals to the team to be able to compete for top four and above
It is actually possible to work on multiple deals simultaneously.
Premature celebration and anointment and a lot of hyperbole
Let’s wait and see where we end up when the season finishes.
It’s unlikely that we could complete deals in a particular order.
No we really don’t – we already have wingers who are developing into top players already. Our transfer focus needs to be CF, CM and LB
We need goals. End of! I’m happy we’re signing quality attacking players that will deliver that. I’m not interested in waiting for Nketiah to start delivering week in week out so why not have others to help him carry the load. Raphinha and Jesus are welcome. We didn’t come 4th because we couldn’t score when it mattered and didn’t have enough quality to finish off those chances.so I wouldn’t risk signing CM and LB first and not getting what we need in attack to take us over the line in those moments in games where we can’t hit a barn… Read more »
‘ Let’s wait and see where we end up when the season finishes.’
TR7, I’ll remind you of that next time you make some dark prognostications about where we’re going 🙂
TR7
Stones + glass houses spring to mind…..
Last season you were predicting Armageddon, which never materialised, and when we exceeded your expectations, you still complained…
What is it with you and your opposition to optimism?…
Reach for the stars, and if you fall, just grab a branch…
Brighter days are on the horizon 🌈
Nigel Tufnell I will humour you . Yes , saka has performed well on the right, but I think it’s fair to say that our strikers over the past 2 seasons have been starved of clear cut chances , of that there is no doubt.. We have had a problem in that we struggle to get behind the opposition defence , our full backs ( other than tavares) are not creating the width and both Martinelli and saka tend to cut inside to either have a shot , lay the ball back or square the ball . This makes Arsenal’s… Read more »
Great Edu interview. Loving what I’m hearing. Early days but Edu and Arteta are showing the ambition we lacked for years. I’m fully in on project youth, let’s leave it to the spuds to sign a 33 year old, 35 year old and a bloke who might be wearing a striped suit with arrows on it soon. Imagine if we had done that, all hell would break loose on here. We have a few spud apologists paying us a visit from time to time, but the fact they have to troll Gooners proves they aren’t happy with what they’re seeing… Read more »
One rotten apple spoils the barrel. Well, we had plenty at Arsenal, indeed it was harder to find a decent one.
Emery stood no chance, the bad apples – led by Ozil – ganged up on him. Then along comes Arteta – and Edu finds a soulmate. Honest, straightforward, forthright, both of them.
Now the apples are all delicious, the rotten core has been hosed out.
Un
“Fuck Raphinha
What about Lisandro? Signing of the summer right there. That man can play.”
Exactly what i was thinking
Nice way of putting it – EB
Pierre
Nobody doubts Saka – the boy is a force of nature
Englands Best
I’m enjoying the Apples too! Feels like we’ve got an orchard of goodness on our hands 🙂
Englandbest
“Nobody doubts Saka ”
Except nigel tufnell
Nigel Tufnell
“With Tierney and Saka on the left, our left side was weak.”
Always been underwhelmed by Raphinha.
Pierre I don’t need to see that video. Saka’s incredible deliveries are chiselled into my memory…i’ve rarely seen anyone be that good at crossing, and NEVER an 18 year old. Quite phenomenal. However, as others have commented, people who know more about football than us seem to think he’s best on the right. I get that too, and is what others are doing (leftie on the right), so i’m trusting that there’s a reason for that. With the heavy investment in Raphina, I’m wondering two things. Firstly, could Saka play Left #8 in more of a 4-1-4-1? Could be quite… Read more »
Englandsbest
“Now the apples are all delicious, the rotten core has been hosed out.”
Ha ha, spot on. Now we have a ripe pear and it’s all looking pretty bloody tasty.
I’m with Pierre northbanker and left test
Why are we wasting £50m on a Rhafinha? Let’s get Lisandro and Jesus tied up and locked in
I’d be gutted if Lisandro went to United.
Looks like some player
Lisandro beckenbeur.
After that passing compilation Rich put up…. 😍
Will
To be honest saka could play anywhere and look good.
I just wonder if there is a better way to create clear cut chances for our strikers because at present it just isn’t happening,
Aubamayang struggled, Lacazette struggled and Eddie’s goals were mostly self created.
I think our strikers would benefit from having a wide player who can whip the ball in on their strongest foot without having to cut back..
If not , sign some full backs who can create the overload but that aint going to happen is it.
AFC
“Ha ha, spot on. Now we have a ripe pear and it’s all looking pretty bloody tasty.”
Don’t get too carried away , we still have a midfield and cam that is not press resistent and away from home we really could struggle even against the mid table and lower teams.
The opening game v palace will give us some inclination if we have learnt from our final 2 away games v Newcastle and Tottenham.
At home we will be fine.
I wonder how much we would of had to pay for pope. Soon as we’re interested the price doubles
WW Most of the top teams play a 5 + 5 system, there’s different variations of it. We can’t play 2 attacking full backs, 2 x No8s, 2 x wide players, and a striker That’s 7 attacking players, and would leave us defensively vulnerable What Liverpool usually do is this in possession: ……………Alisson ……..Konate Van Dijk Keita Fabinho Milner Trent………….. Robertson Salah. Diaz ………….,,Mane They place their 3 central midfielders as a shield around their 2 centre backs, push both their full backs on as wingers, then have their 3 forwards attack the box Playing with aggressive full backs, comes… Read more »
Tottenham seem to be spending the cash.
Obviously the stadium funding is not crippling their abilities to function.
What salaries are they offering down at WHL?
Un
“Fuck Raphinha
What about Lisandro? Signing of the summer right there. That man can play.
Pierre
”Exactly what i was thinking”
Me too 🙂
Most important fix is the injured-KT vacuum — two end-season’s of damning evidence
Pierre
“Don’ get too carried away”
Sorry, I forgot this blog doesn’t like people who are positive.
My god do some of you whine. Can’t you try to enjoy supporting this great club, even if it’s just one day? It’s not personal mate.
Cheers Rich, much appreciated
AFC
“Sorry, I forgot this blog doesn’t like people who are positive.”
The reality is that unless we find a way to play away from home then many teams / managers will replicate the Newcastle/ Palace/Everton performances of last season by pressing us ferociously…
Graham, they borrowed £150m to spend the cash.
Ray in LA
I was hoping more that turned would stay fit and Lisandro would play left centre half or DM and use that left peg to open teams up from the middle of the pitch. Whatever role Arteta has him lined up for though, I just hope we get him in because his passing is fucking elite from the video Rich put up
Rich
“We’re going the route of high energy pressing with Nketiah, Jesus, Raphinha, Martinelli, Odegaard”
Something i have been advocating for the last 2 seasons.
Maybe you can explain why we signed willian and gave Aubamayang and xhaka new contracts when they are about as far away from high energy pressing you could find.
Rich, how do you think having xhaka still in the side will help us implement the high press from centre midfield.
Rich I said this the other day as eyes rolled. We’ve been compromised with the players we’ve had which has limited our tactical discipline. There’s a reason we’re bringing in young, technically strong players. It’s to give us the energy to play a pressing game and the technical ability to implement a fluid system of interchange. As you say it’s the City template. People forget the City side is stacked with technical players in every position. Yet one of the first things Pep did was bring in a keeper who could distribute the ball. One of City’s most influential players… Read more »
Honestly I would rather go all in for Gnabry…… can you imagine a front three of Gnabry(LW) Gabriel J Saka(RW)…a potential menace to any defense…. we need someone in that mode,the ambidextrous left winger.if Gnabry won’t come,let’s go for Gakpo. I don’t want Saka dislodged from the right wing
Thanks Pedro.
Graham62
“Tottenham seem to be spending the cash.
Obviously the stadium funding is not crippling their abilities to function.What salaries are they offering down at WHL?”
I couldn’t give a fuck what they do. The other day Tom spent most of the day telling us how great their players were, pretty weird. Anyway, if they want to buy 33 year olds and a jailbird that’s their problem.40 years we’ve had all this deluded bollocks about them with fuck all to show for it.
Pierre, did you see that Auba is out at Barca and Willian had his deal terminated?
Un What we’ll likely do with Martinez is play him in this type of position: ……….Ramsdale …….Saliba Gabriel White Partey Martinez Odegaard Tielemans ……Saka……..Martinelli ………….Jesus What we’ve done in the past is tuck Xhaka in behind Tierney/Tavares, and have them taking up aggressive positions, and creating the overload on the left But instead of tucking Xhaka in behind, we’d just have our full backs playing as right/left sided defensive midfielders, who’s job is to progress the ball, and shut down counter attacks This would allow us to regularly get 5 attacking players on the pitch, without leaving us vulnerable If… Read more »
Bang on Rich
AFC Forever Cancelo is a dream player, one of the best players on the planet, and top 5 in the PL Doesn’t get as many plaudits as the likes of KDB, but every bit as vital to City, he’s pure class. TAA at Liverpool is also brilliant, I can’t believe Southgate doesn’t pick him, pure insanity, should be one of the first names on the team sheet His passing range is outrageous, brilliant technician Southgate is so bland, he’s going to waste a generation of quality players Fans can point to a Semi Final + Final, but with the talent… Read more »
The rumours are sexy: Jesus, Tielemans, and Raphina serious contenders for the first team. Martinez and Saliba should be knocking on the door. Vieira allowed to acclimatise and bulk up and Marquinhos to continue his education. Add extensions to Saka and Martinelli and Eddie’s contracts and then we have a good looking, deep squad with tweaks needed for the following year. EXCEPT it’s only rumours so far and we’ve been all hurt by those with this club’s owners – present and past. Fingers crossed for all to be signed (or similar profiles) and crossed fingers for Partey being more resilient… Read more »
“Jorge Mendes is trying to move Raphina to Arsenal”
inject that shit in my veins!
ffs what’s happening?
are we back mofo’s?
smells like it…
Rich That’s exactly the plan. You’ll end up with a high pressing team with high energy young players with the technical ability to hurt other teams in the final third. The point I made about the importance of Cancelo in the City system highlights the fact he’s more of a midfield player. The two number 8’s is what City do with players like Gundoghan & Silva switching position. It is where we are heading but you can’t do it without the right players. People harping in about last season don’t seem to get it. We’re a team in development, stages.… Read more »
UnJune 23, 2022 20:22:21
I’m with Pierre northbanker and left testWhy are we wasting £50m on a Rhafinha? Let’s get Lisandro and Jesus tied up and locked in
I’d be gutted if Lisandro went to United.
Looks like some player
Lisandro beckenbeur.
After that passing compilation Rich put up….
Surely £50m gets Gnabry why don’t we just go for him instead of Raphina ?
Don’t get me wrong Raphina is good but I much prefer Gnabry
Pedro “Pierre, did you see that Auba is out at Barca and Willian had his deal terminated?” Was just wondering why it took so long ( over 2 years) for it to dawn on Arteta that Eddie is the answer when you want a striker that knows how to press, and why even sign Willian if your football philosophy is high energy pressing, and as for expecting Xhaka to support the press …impossible. Let’s hope we do sign jesus and martinez, but as i said earlier , away form will be the key next season and at present i don’t… Read more »
Pierre, it didn’t really take that long. Arteta has been with us for 2.5 years. Willian was with us 1 season. Auba was out 1 year after his new deal when his form dipped.
Mustafi was with us for 5.
Joel Campbell was at Arsenal for 7 years
… just for context.
Rich
Yeah maybe but I’m not sure he’s gonna drop tomi who’s been blinding on the right before his injury. His two footedness and calm on the ball gives us a variety that white cannot, being so one footed. You could be right though but I’d rather see lisandro at lcb and Tierney on the left
Wouldn’t it be funny if we go with Saliba and Lisandro as our first choice after spending £75m+ on white and Gabriel
Un
Having versatile players who can cover multiple positions is a big plus.
I love Tomiyasu, plays as a left sided centre back for Japan, looked comfortable as an inverted left back for us,
If we can keep him fit, he’s going to prove to be a snip at £17 million
We need a squad, we’re going to need to rotate, we can’t have our season going up in smoke with 2 injuries like with Partey + Tierney last season.
RichJune 23, 2022 21:20:01 AFC Forever Cancelo is a dream player, one of the best players on the planet, and top 5 in the PL Doesn’t get as many plaudits as the likes of KDB, but every bit as vital to City, he’s pure class. Rich Absolutely spot on He’s an extra world class playmaker from right or left back Astounding what he’s capable of. He should be shown to Ainsley as an example of what can be achieved from “full back” It’s a great era to be a skilful defender. You get to play more now as a defender… Read more »
Edu could sign Maradonna, Pele, Best, Beckenbauer, Baresi in their prime. But our emotionally unintelligent Spaniard would still mess up a top four finish.
Don’t let the ‘look over there instead’ merchants confuse peeps as to where the problem has been over the last 3 years.
Jeeze talk about agendas hitman. Could you not wait until something bad happens to twist the knife?
Edu could be the next James Bond 007 he’s that 🔥 @ the moment!
I see killroy is back as hitman
Edu moving quietly and getting the job done. Just like how he was as a player.
Nice post
Hitman, he’s emotonally attuned enough to get all our players signing new deals and the youngest squad in the league winning 22 games.
No matter what happens in this transfer window, I don’t want to see Cedric any where near a match as important as the NLD
Samuel
Great comment right on the money.
Any more news on Martinez ?
Since we’re going on about the redemption of Edu, nice to revisit his story from Brazil unknown to arsenal invincible. Elements of this article really taken you back
https://theathletic.com/2978675/2021/11/26/exclusive-edu-on-his-arsenal-playing-career-from-tears-in-jail-to-the-crazy-to-win-attitude-of-invincibles/
Nice posts Rich
The sun is really shining on Le-grove today. Must be the Jesus effect. Loving it!
Just saying. Edu is an invincible. Don’t see why he is called out as the fall guy for what happens at the tail end of seasons. Yes redemption is needed – for the manger and some of his players. Let’s hope it happens.
Eddie Nketiah: “I have worked a lot with the manager on playing with my back to goal, on spaces to drop into & link play, but at the same time you don’t get here by just standing in the penalty box & scoring. People are always going to say things, but I know what I can do.” #afc
Is Artetas redemption top 4?
Clowns on legrove calling for Marina from Chelsea.
Kepa- 60?,80mil ?
Werner 50 mil..
Lukaku… historically bad deal.
Pepe, our most expensive mistake outperformed all of them.
She only looked good because their mistakes were written off.
Those days are over. Arsenal going for 3rd this season.
I want to be that optimistic Nigel.
Europa league and cup runs will show us how much Arteta has actually learned.
“Sugar Daddy Josh showering us with Super Bowl/Stanley Cup money.”
Surely these showers would become debts loaded onto Arsenal and not free lunches…
WW
“Lets look at the purchase value of the squad come the end of the window, and their annual wages, and then let’s see how that compares with the other members of the Top 6. Then we can have an informed discussion about appropriate expectations should be”
Didn’t we have the biggest spend last season?
Didn’t we have the 5th or 6th largest wage bill and squad value when Arteta finished 8th and 8th?
Goober, Fair enough. I’m generally an Arteta supporter but have criticized him plenty on occasions. That bothers the haters because it’s all black and white to them. I think the squad he’s trying to build is a grand vision, with Man City as the blueprint, and later hopefully sustainable more like Liverpool. BUT…. Even though the vision is good, I worry whether he’ll be able to implement this complicated system with so many new players…. and i hope he is mentally resolved to rotate a lot more, and sub a lot earlier in games with the new rules. I hope… Read more »
And by the way, there’s talk in Italy that Arsenal still like Melo, and are squeezing Juve for a loan with option to buy. They want rid of his salary completely, and they’re trying to replace him with Ruiz.
I know everyone here will be thrilled to hear that.
Nothing about that in English press, so maybe it’s fabrication.