Well good morning to you ALL!
The Lionesses, amirite?
What an incredible win. Against Germany. In front of a record crowd of 87,000. With an extra-time winner that didn’t look like it was going to go our way.
I don’t watch a lot of women’s football but that certainly inspired me to do so this season. Will this be a tipping point for the game in general? Will that success create household names like the Women have in America? Hopefully. I was at a conference recently listening to football owners talk about the Women’s game and they said there is a path to profitability and you will see massive growth over the next 10 years. That is superb news, it’s taken a long time, I hope those players are revelling in what they just achieved. MAGNIFICO!
Right, onto The Arsenal.
Lucas Torreira finally exited Arsenal for a whopping £6m. Matt from the podcast made a great point, it’s not that we’re bad at selling, it’s that we were terrible at buying. LT exiting means that every single signing made by Sven Mislintat has exited. No diamond players in that batch, were there?
Gone too soon or gone too late?
Ben Knapper has been pulling strings like Vanessa Carlton. Flo Balogun is NOT going to the Premier League, he’s heading to Ligue 1 to replace Hugo Ekitiké who moved from Reims to PSG. I like this move. I’m not sure Balogun would make the starting 11 at many Premier League clubs, so it makes sense that he goes to an easier league that allows BIG talents to flourish. Hopefully he finds goals, gets a bit of culture, and comes back a very confident player next season.
Nuno Tavares made his debut for Marseille, got sent off almost immediately, had the decision overturned by VAR, then put on a masterclass of attacking play. If Igor Tudor can coach him this season, we could have a really tasty left back next season. Nuno might come to slot in for Kieran Tierney who I suspect will exit next year.
The slowest most inevitable transfer of all time, Youri Tielemans, still hasn’t moved. This is what Brendan had to say.
“There is that possibility (he leaves) but there has not been anything for him, we haven’t had any approaches to the club yet on that. Of course it is in the back of the mind, that sort of what if scenario, but he doesn’t want anything to drag on either”
That sounds like a ‘pull your faarking finger out, Arsenal’ type of message. I would love to see a midfielder before Friday, doesn’t feel like it’ll happen if there hasn’t been an offer yet.
There’s still no news on the winger we have in mind to do what we wanted of Raphinha. Coady Gakpo’s name has been ringing around the internet, the tall wide player has all the raw ingredients to succeed, and at £22m, it might be a gamble worth taking. What do you get tho… Marc Overmars or Ryan Babel? I kind of think the winger will be someone that has NOW special sauce. Not a player we’ll need to wait a year to reap rewards.
… but, I’ve been wrong plenty of times before.
Right, I’m tapping out. Get yourself in that Podcast right now. Watch the video. Then sign up to our Patreon for the start of the season. We have a new series called BEFORE THE WHISTLE which will go out every Friday and it will be just for the Patreon crew. You do NOT want to miss that.
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Bloody typos.Mounded should be “ Kounde “!
I bet Zinchenko will become a fan favorite in literally no time. Guy is a baller and a half. Totally underrated and comfortably among our best players. Tierney will not start many EPL and important EL games this season.
Pete
No way they will sign Cucurella for 50 mil. I think they are pretty much done with the window unless it is for a cheap deal like Alonso and Azpilicueta. They need to register players. And they are focused on outgoings now.
Habesha.You’re prob right.It’s more so the thought of it😜but you know they always miraculously seem to find some loose change down the back of the sofa.Besides I hope they do take the pair of dirty gits from the chavs.Can’t wait to see the back of the pair of them.
Pedro
Is there a FPL league for Le Grove, for bragging rights?
😂😂😂
Chelsea have been getting embarrassed this window though. Raphinha, Kounde, De ligt, Dembele all chose not to join them. I know Arsenal would be rejected too for the same players. But it is funny to see the Chavs trying and getting rejected. I hope City get Cucurella too 😂😂😂.
I’ll be looking at Chelsea and Spuds results first this year, after Arsenal’s! If we can finish above these two then we’ll have had a successful season.
Double Double,
There is one but you may have missed it. Two years ago it started after Christmas and last season it began in September. From what I can make out this year’s one began in July…….
Habesha
Even Jesus rejected Chelsea.
Apparently, we are in a good place heading to the new season. However, fans are never tired is shiny new toys. YT, could be an amazing addition to our team as we search for better placement than we’ve done in recent years. As much as we seem to be great analysts, we do not have a vivid idea of how Viera would play in the team. We are yet to see him deployed but we have a faint idea he would be in the midfield but here we are having seismic breakdown on why we are yet to bring the… Read more »
Akinzo
That was an excellent post
We just spent a boat load of money on Vierra. The club preferred to buy him. Even though he was crocked than commit money to signing Tiellesman.
Then you have Patino, waiting in the wings.
It just underscores the point Ishola is making; There may not be midfield reinforcements this summer.
Maybe the club would rather have Tiellesman as a free transfer next summer when we are a CL. club, who knows.?
As I said earlier we don’t need a no 8 as we have ESR, Viera, Xhaka, Zinchenko who can all play there.
But we still need a good back up for Partey as his absence can cost us top 4 yet again.
Akinzo.Take your point.But it’s all about the squad these days & more players are accepting of this fact.Prob more so with the new 5 sub rule.We’ve lamented in the past of always being a couple players short or square pegs in round holes.If we’re to be a success that situation has to end.If you’re at a big club with the potential to win trophies you must accept this.
The major reason most crave YT this TW is to see the back of Shaka and this am aware could truly make us better. But my argument is that shouldn’t just pile up players for the sake of it. How often do we complain that our HG players’ path are being blocked? There’s no doubt about the potentials of ESR but how often does he play these days?(am aware of his fitness issues). The job of the managers would only be getting more cumbersome. If there’s one thing I have grasped firmly, its that there’s a real plan towards making… Read more »
Yeah we need central midfielders. We can talk all day about this player and that player filling in and playing out of position but the fact remains we currently only have two capable starting CM’s (Partey and Xhaka) one of which is injury prone and you know what could still happen and the other one is Xhaka who should have been binned off years ago. It’s threadbare at the base of our midfield that there’s so many scenarios where elneny and lokonga are starters a lot. So yes we do need at least one CM signed I think two otherwise… Read more »
Thanks Almunia, not sure which one you’re talking about, but the fantasy Premier League one hasn’t started yet, starts Friday with the Arsenal game
Never been a fan of Tielemans. I’d rather buy a player in Anguissa, Sangare, Bissouma’s mold that can play both CM and DM to secure the much needed quality cover for Partey. Cause right now we have the likes of Elneny and Xhaka that could play there but the drop in quality is visible especially in a prolonged amount of time.
ESR should do well now as a left sided 8, with Martinelli ahead of him and Zinchenko right behind. That side would be pretty tough.
And then you ve also got Vieira, Lokonga and Xhaka for options.
I was worried that Odegaard wasn’t providing much of a killer instinct but he seems to have proved a lot more in that area. Is it because he has more options and better movement around him ?
Having an improved Odegaard and another of his ilk on his left in ESR or Vieira is gonna be sweet.
How do people feel about Elneny as Partey cover ? We know he can do it for 3 games. But can he cover Partey well for 30 games ?
Would you trust this midfield for 30 games
ESR/Vieira – Odegaard
Zinchenko – Elneny
I agree we need a more of a defensive midfielder than an offensive one. Knowing what I know now that we signed Viera and we still need another, I wouldn’t have kept Elneny. I think we need an upgrade on Xhaka too though. But Viera is apparently going to play some games as one of the two 8s infront of Partey.
Anguissa would have been good last summer. Now he has joined Napoli permanently and he won’t move twice. Sangare is an okay player too. There aren’t a lot of players that can do what Partey does though.
Naija
Elneny will be fine for games where teams aren’t relentless in their press. But if say we were playing Liverpool away and Pattey isn’t available, we would get smashed. His worst performances came in the defeats to Newcastle and Tottenham where they pressed us to submission. Tottenham due to us being a man down.
He isn’t press resistant. There are some big games he played well though and it is due to them not pressing us as much.
Well Elneny, Lokonga and Xhaka are the options if Partey goes down.
And as none of these players are going to be offloaded this summer this is the hand we have been dealt.
You can ask for more quality in midfield but if these players don’t exit then it is an unrealistic request.
Hairstyle looking slick today Pedro!
Our CM is the only reason that I am not that optimistic about the coming season.
Even with Partey it is weak, without him it is a fucking shambles.
Was hoping for x2 CMs but at least x1 is a necessity. Xhaka cannot be a feature again if we are to be taken seriously in any way.
Habesha
That’s my issue with the whole Elneny can be cover for Partey if he isn’t press resistant. That means he s gonna be useless against the big teams cuz u need a press resistant midfield in those games.
Newcastle and Spurs games you referenced are the perfect example.
WengerEagle I was hoping for the same when the window started. Another attacking Mid wasn’t a priority for me when the window started. Since Odegaard and ESR were there, I though a technical CM to complement them and a DM to alternate with Partey was a necessity. Seeing what we are doing in Preseason though Viera might play the role Xhaka was playing. The 235 we were playing might suit him too. Xhaka was getting in the box more than I have seen of him in the past. So may be Arteta is thinking of playing Viera there. But our… Read more »
TR7
For me I like a midfielder who scores when there’s a chance not pass, pass and pass like Odegaard and Martinelli do so I prefer ESR
Habesha,
I agree that Tielemans would be a great fit, but Ishola says he is a “clumsy tackler” when informed of his good tackle statistics. I guess that’s the new response when someone makes you look silly with a solid stat.
Salah scores a lot but he’s not as smooth as Thierry. He’s a clumsy finisher then.
3 days to go and I am so excited. We better smash Palace.
“Lucas Torreira finally exited Arsenal for a whopping £6m. Matt from the podcast made a great point, it’s not that we’re bad at selling, it’s that we were terrible at buying.”
Guen, Torreira, AMN…….three midfield options valued at one time at over 75m combined. The first two sold for less than Arteta refused to sell the third one for when an offer came.
And now he’s stuck with the player no one wants.
So maybe both are true.
I think we have to give up the dream of ESR playing 8 for us. I was one of the very first to suggest it when we had such limited options in the past. We’ll be lucky if he stays fit enough to give us good minutes on the wings. If we use him in CM, we may lose an important rotational player up front. Besides that, he doesn’t have the energy to play the position to the level we require, which is lung busting, Man City level.. Emile is great in spurts. Short bursts of energy for his runs… Read more »
When Martinez was helping Auba deliver the FA cup for Arteta few would’ve argued Arsenal had the best keepers in the PL.
We sold them both for 25m combined.
Shocking.
The fact we are accepting low fees isn’t due to the players being dog shit. Some of them are decent players. But we have too many players that we have to sell. When this summer started we had to sell Leno, Bellerin, Mari, Torreira, AMN, Nelson, Pepe all had to be sold. And all of these players are in their last year except for Mari and Pepe (2years left). And even the likes of Guendouzi and Mavropanos only moved this summer. Selling 9 players when you have to get rid of them, save on wages and negotiate on a transfer… Read more »
” but a player is worth what someone is willing for that player. If we could get 40 mil for all of them, we will have done okay’
Incidentally 40m is the number I mentioned when certain posters were throwing around numbers in the neighborhood of 120m
Another day another arsenal fan lamenting the loss of Emi Martinez
Tuffers Again you are portraying Tielemans as an absolute world beater. Not only is he good offensively which most realise about him but now you want us to believe by number stats that he is also good defensively. This would put him in the absolute top notch of midfielders to be very good in both aspects of midfield play both offensively and defensively. He’s very good going forward, he’s a good tackler and he is press resistant by your description. Are you his agent by any chance? Despite being this absolute top notch midfielder by your description of him no… Read more »
Tuffers
I have seen Tielemans get over-run in midfield and be a passenger in midfield in some games off the ball. An onlooker.
I actually watch matches rather than reading stats sites.
I’m not saying he is dodgy every week off the ball for Leicester but there has been matches where this has stood out and been alarming about him.
People need to understand that there’s a glut of overpaid surplus players on the market
United, Chelsea and Arsenal have many of such players.
The buying club has the advantage now; buyers market.
TomAugust 2, 2022 15:18:51
When Martinez was helping Auba deliver the FA cup for Arteta few would’ve argued Arsenal had the best keepers in the PL.
We sold them both for 25m combined.
Shocking.
even the math doesn’t make sense
No one’s lamenting the loss of Martinez.
Pedro wrote we can’t sell worth the damn because our players are basically worthless.
At the time of Emi to Villa transfer the prevailing Legrove opinion was we had two No 1 keepers we couldn’t possibly keep happy so one had to be sold.
Whichever one you think was the better one we sold them both for less than what we payed for Ramsdale.
Hardly great asset management is it.
Howard
Yes I love ESR and Saka. ESR reminds me of Rosicky, hoepfully he doesn’t struggle with injuries the way Rosicky did.
I think Saka and Odegaard are nailed on starters and Gabi at the moment looks ahead of ESR. If Partey plays as DM I don’t see any problem in ESR playing as no 8. He is very capable of driving with the ball and playing in midfield.
Will be very disappointing if ESR has a more marginal role this season, he’s a superb little player.
Imo our most gifted one along with Saka.
Hopefully now with 5 subs rule ESR gets enough opportunities as a sub to force his way in to the starting 11.
It’s simple do the math with the players we have now and with the potential of another winger still reportedly being targeted how can Emile not get marginalized
Marko, if he stays fit and shows his top form ESR will not get marginalised.
well w martinez refusing to stay and sign on i guess youd argue it was better asset mgmt than the alternative. also dont see why it matters today
ESR has tons of time to break into the xi.whats the rush to promote one player over the success of the team? we look solid w ESR on the bench right now
Apparently Lokonga is doing very well in training as a no 8.
players get better when forced to compete. without top class competition ahead of ESR he wouldnt be pushed the same way and in the long run thats a good thing
Thats right Bob. Nobody who can score like Emile will be overlooked purposely.. All the front 3 will be shifting sides, moving fluidly through matches. No one will be nailed left, right, or center .. look where Jesus picked up Whites long pass wide left before his goal… or Martinelli running down the right for Xhakas long through ball. Keep defenders off balance with versatility. If Smith Rowe is fit, he’ll be 3rd choice behind Martinelli and Saka, so he should get plenty of chances to prove himself. We know he has the talent. Just need him on the pitch… Read more »
If Smith Rowe is fit, he’ll be 3rd choice behind Martinelli and Saka…Just need him on the pitch for 90 (or close) once in a while.
So marginalized
Plus you know it also depends on who the supposed winger that we target is
ESR definitely behind Saka in pecking order but not necessarily behind Martinelli. Depends a lot on their form and fitness.
Esr will get plenty of game time once he’s fully fit
Arteta didn’t give him the no10 for no reason
He’s taken big strides under Arteta and he will know the value of a guy who brought 10 goals in half a season
Torreirra went for £7.5 ( which inc add ons) as I understand it.The diff is marginal I know.”But every little helps” to quote a behemoth supermarket chain.Thro in the£8 million from Leno & it’s over half the likely Tielemans fee £25 million.which is what I’m hoping will seal the deal.If there is one.
Right you’re not getting it though lets just say hypothetically we bring in another winger and he’s not a pile of shite and on top of Martinelli, Saka, Vieira, Gabriel and Nketiah in the front 3 how could he not suffer minutes wise.
leno and torr gone, mari up next going to italy, nothing on bellerin…looking like thats a canceled contract. we end the window w those 4 gone it’s good one way or the other
Leno £ 100K per week
Mari £85K per week
Torrera £75K per week
If we can sell all 3 on permanent deals we save close to £12M on wages per year on top of £20M combined transfer fee. Hoepfully enough funds and savings to bring in one quality CM.
We need another 4 gone on top of that Zach then we may buy one more
Tr7 correct
Un “Esr will get plenty of game time once he’s fully fit Arteta didn’t give him the no10 for no reason” I’m not sure i can see Arteta dropping Odegaard for smith rowe anytime soon , not in the league anyway. In fact I would go as far to say that off the ball I’m not sure smith rowe is an Arteta type player, as he will never be a player that will press with intensity, so don’t be surprised to see him moved on within the next year or so, unless he gets a chance this season due to… Read more »
Ode is going to be immense this season with willing runners in front of him his stats will shoot up
Marko
“Right you’re not getting it though lets just say hypothetically we bring in another winger and he’s not a pile of shite and on top of Martinelli, Saka, Vieira, Gabriel and Nketiah in the front 3 how could he not suffer minutes wise.”
100% correct
The writing would be on the wall for smith rowe.
Odegaard is not a great off the ball player either and his pressing is meh. Honestly for me ESR is a better all round footballer than Ode. It’s a shame Arteta prefers the Norwegian to ESR.
Carney Chukwuemeka going to Chelsea. Would of liked him, but they are paying him close to 100 grand a week for an unproven young kid who hasn’t played a full season.
I can see Balogun bossing it in France. (Isn’t there a loan limit abroad? )
Still want Wijnaldum and Tielemans. Loan Lokonga and Patino, Azeez, Norton-cuffy.
Cedric can cover for 1 season
Serge
“Ode is going to be immense this season with willing runners in front of him his stats will shoot up”
You could be right , though despite beating sevilla 6-0 with willing runners up front , Odegaard failed to register an assist or a goal.
He did play well though, maybe he will never be that player who provides the killer pass.
A killer pass is like the one produced by Walsh for the England ladies first goal in the euro final , inch perfect, weighted to perfection, split the defence on 2, a 100% killer pass
Ramsdale
Tomi –Saliba — Gabriel –Zinchenko
—–Partey —-Odegaard/Viera—–
Saka —-ESR—— Martinelli—
——Jesus ———-
My preferred line up and combination
The Xhaka interview is a slightly interesting read.
Our captain in all but name.
Anyone excited for the Amazon doc?
I fear its gonna be cringe just a PR stunt. Although it will be interesting to watch, probably just 5 minutes of actual proper content.
We all want cover in every position, sufficient depth in numbers to deal with absentees, fatigue, etc. so let’s not worry about ESR getting games. If he’s fit and able, he’ll get plenty.
TR7 – neither Ode not Vieira will be able to play that deep position. Luckily you’re not picking the team!
* nor
100% correct
The writing would be on the wall for smith rowe.
before a ball is kicked this season…
Nunos debut for Marseille was fun.
Cazorla needs to come back! Player\coach for under 23s?
I like Saka as the penalty taker
Predictions for the end of season is pointless
Confirmed Smith Rowe is Banksy!
Writings on the wall
I knew he was painting pictures
Double Double – it was a joke. If there is a league I’d be up to put my team of Gaggle of Gabi’s in it 🙂
TR7 Odegaard is not a great off the ball player either and his pressing is meh. Honestly for me ESR is a better all round footballer than Ode. It’s a shame Arteta prefers the Norwegian to ESR. Fundamentally different types of players and given the make-up of the rest of the team, Ode is a much better fit. ESR is not that great a passer – his specialty is more running with the ball on counters or accelerating play with 1-2s or a quick turn. That’s why he plays on the wing. I see Ode as an David Silva type… Read more »
Whats all the fuss about ESR? Theres plenty of matches this season and 5 sub rule. Bearing in mind his fitness problems this is ideal situation for him. Club and Arteta obviously have ESR in high regard hence no10 and Villa offer rebuffed. He will get plenty of game time without added pressure to carry burden of being in the spotlight week in week out as a nailed on starter that must perform 8/10 every match. With EL this season he has oportunity to regain match sharpness slowly without being in jeopardy to get under too much pressure that would… Read more »
Chukwuemeka joining Chelsea for 15 mil. I don’t know what these young players are thinking. Hutchison and now Cuhukwuemeka. They should have went to Dortmund or the Bundesliga or somewhere else if this was about advancing their Career. Sancho, Moussa Diaby, Nkinku all went the same way and now they are superstars. I guess it is a short career and you have to think about money too. But they will be sold to a lower team in a few years time because they never got the opportunity.
Pierre
‘A killer pass is like the one produced by Walsh for the England ladies first goal in the euro final , inch perfect, weighted to perfection, split the defence on 2, a 100% killer pass’
Word is it that Keira Walsh is giong to run down her Man City contract until they end up paying her off to move to Fenerbahce. Sorry-couldn’t resist.
I like the competition on the left wing, i wish the right wing will also be like that.
Crimson
“The Xhaka interview is a slightly interesting read.
Our captain in all but name.”
It was noticeable that in the pre match huddle before the sevilla game that it was Xhaka giving the pep talk and not our “captain”..
Didn’t xhaka refuse the arm band at one point last season.
Pierre
He didn’t refuse the armband. That was clarified at the time. It’s a great example of hearsay turning into ‘fact’
If anyone’s interested to join the fantasy league
https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/0r2hme
https://twitter.com/now_arsenaI/status/1554525455247712257
Its only Tets blasting YNWA in training pre-liverpool
Marking
Marginalise the one who scores (ESR) and play those who don’t score but flashy and pray that Jesus and Saka can deliver all our goals. Without ESR goals, we would have finished 7th or 8th.
Ornstein just tweeted the Leno deal. It is a joke to be honest. 3 mil upfront+ 1 mil based on appearances, 2 mil if Fulham stay up, and 2 mil if Fulham stay up for two seasons. That means we will get 4 mil if he plays all season. The other 4 is dependent on Fulham staying up. FFS. We better have a sell on clause if they do get relegated this coming season. The only saving grace is the wages we will be saving from him. 100k a week. The 5 mil saved for the season. We are having… Read more »
European clubs have misspent for the better part of half a decade; huges fees and unsustainable wages
There’s a glut in the market of place yes fitting that description. Too many players and few interested buyers – hence the low fees.
Chelsea and United have a boat load of them too.
It’s tedious reading people saying Leno is going too cheap, when they can’t identify any other suitors who would have paid more.
There’s some type of recession in the transfer market of older and overpaid players. The market gets to reset itself every now and then.
* There’s a glut in the market of players fitting that description.
Habesha covid has ruined most clubs like you said only prem and top euro clubs can spend.
The Leno deal is shit as is the LT deal bit we save a lot on wages and get some money at least
Yep diss correct better we get some money than having to pay them then free them for sure
Dissenter Regarding Leno, I don’t doubt that it was the best available deal we could get for him. Having said that, I don’t see the logic of selling him for 4m plus a likely 5m in salary savings. There’s a minimum 11m difference between qualifying for The Champions League vs The Europa League and that’s before the extra payments get doled out for winning group games etc. We have almost as good a chance of advancing to The Champions League through winning the Europa League as we do by getting there via the top 4 in the Premier League. If… Read more »
That Leno deal is oof
Oh my god!
Leno for 4m?!?!?!? What the fuuuck?
8m was already dirt cheap but 4m?
31 yo Mignolet secured Pool a base 6.4m and 8.2m with add-ons to mother effin Brugge.
We are selling a better keeper than Mignolet, year younger than him, to an EPL team and chances are we’re going to cash in 4m???
Actually unbelievable!
Mari next out of the door at least we are getting rid of these players man u seem to be stuck with them
i’d rather have another proper CM than leno
Just let Leno be No 2 if no decent bids.
ESR is a baller and still very young.
That Leno deal is a shocking. 3 mil guaranteed fee, how much then are we gonna sell Runnarson?
Tbf I was expecting 3 mil guaranteed fee for Runnarson and then some chump change in add ons, I guess we’ll have to tear up his contract then
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