SEASON WRAPPED – HOW DO WE MAKE THE JUMP TO CHAMPIONS?

by .

Arsenal exited the season on a high, wallopping Wolves 5-0, in the sunshine, in front of a beered-up crowd.

It looked like a beautiful day. One, that on reflection, really felt special.

Arsenal fans have been through a grubby 15 years. Arsene Wenger hung on far too long, our rivals caught up around us, we made poor replacement hires, we made average technical hires, we let a corrupt exec run amok behind the scenes…. then one day, everything clicked, and Arsenal finally started behaving like a mature club with a plan.

In football, when you are winning, everyone is a genius. Right now, there’s no club on the planet that looks sharper.

Fans are onside

Our recruitment team looks top 5 in the world.

We have a top 5 coach on the planet

We have the best young winger and the best centre back IN THE WORLD

The momentum behind the clubs feels unstoppable.

But you can’t rest on good vibes. As fast as we’ve shot up, we could come tumbling down. Do you remember people legitimately saying Leicester was a better club for players than Arsenal? That was two seasons ago, they just got relegated. Do you remember Liverpool being the best team in the world? That was 18 months ago, they finished 5th. Do you remember being petrified of Chelsea’s transfer spending? That was 5 months ago. They ended the season with 44 points. Do you remember 1 year ago watching me go out on a limb to say that Spurs were doomed after finishing top 4 with Antonio Conte? Where are they now? Not in Europe.

Our position right now is under attack.

Newcastle is one of the best run clubs in the league right now – they are doing it by the book, they have a great CEO (who gave me advice on how to manage Supporter Groups), and they are building a juggernaut.

Liverpool finished very strong. Klopp is still a top 3 manager globally. You can’t doubt Fenway Group. Their rough diamonds might move to celebrity-engagement-ring-levels of fancy.

Chelsea will throw money at their massive problems again – they spent £9m a point this season.

Brighton might level up and enter the conversation for bigger prizes next season.

Manchester City will go big, they’ll spend like there’s no tomorrow, and they will age down their squad in a bid to maintain supremacy.

The Premier League never stops and nor should Arsenal. We were 5 points off top. Here’s what we need to do to get to the next level.

CLEAR THE DEADWOOD (remember writing this every summer for about 10 years in a row)

We have players that aren’t at the level or they don’t suit the system. There are literally players at the club who are there for the good vibes and what they bring to the dressing room. We need to move on from that. Every time we have a ‘but we’ll never need to lean into our 5th choice centre back’ that player becomes what we rest our hopes and dreams of. Time to shift on banjo players and court jesters and move to an ‘all thriller, no filler’ kinda model.

AGE DOWN THE MIDFIELD

Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey were good enough for top 4, but they won’t be at the level for a title push. Partey isn’t robust enough, Xhaka wants out, so we’re at a crossroads that means we’re going to have to invest in a 10 yr midfield pairing for the ages. Mikel Arteta seems to be looking at Rice and Caicedo. We’d go from two 30 yr olds to a pairing with an average age of 22.5. That is a significant loss of experience, but if we have a 5-8 season view – it’s what is needed.

WORLD CLASS + ROBUST

We need to sign at least 4-6 nearing world-class players that boast one key feature – robustness. Arteta needs players that can hack his intense training regime without breaking down. We don’t have that through the whole squad. We need it if we’re going to compete. City had no injuries this season. We had too many. That’s why we don’t have a Premier League trophy.

ADDRESS UNCOMFORTABLE PROBLEMS

We outperformed our xG by 20 goals this season. Quite the number.  It means the finishing was – elite but kind of lucky. That sort of jump on xG isn’t sustainable. We have to address our finishing in the summer. We have two strikers in the top 8 for underperforming xG. We scored 88 goals – but if we played to our xG, we’d have the same goals as Newcastle who scrapped 4th. People don’t want to have the conversation, but Gabriel Jesus was not good enough in front of goal this season. His misses mean we don’t kill games early, it means wins go to draws, and draws go to losses. We need another option up front and I think the club will explore options. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Jesus spend more time on the wing next season.

ROTATION OPTIONS

We need to go from a squad of 13 trusted player to at least 19. Our season failed on a lack of good options to rotate key players. Saka ran out of steam. Saliba succumbed to a load injury. The whole team looked fried when we dropped points against teams we should have comfortably beaten. Arteta cannot ignore the bug in his system that makes him play the same bodies week after week. The squad needs more robustness, but it also needs Arteta to get better at rotating – and Edu needs to clear out players he doesn’t trust. If ESR and Fabio aren’t good options – why keep them? I want to see more quality squad players – no more Lokonga / Taveres misses.

TRUST IN THE NATURE OF EXPERIENCE

The reality of elite-level sport is experienced players tend to win trophies. Look across literally any team sport and look at the average age of the squad. You’ll find clubs winning big trophies have lots of players that are older. You can’t fake experience. When things go badly, experience shows you the way. When things are going well, experience teaches you how to manage the emotion. When the chips are down, experience helps you find parts of your game you didn’t think existed. Arsenal don’t have that – we don’t have winning IP yet, but this season will have added so much code to the formula. The two youngest teams in the league had two very different seasons  – Southampton went down, Arsenal just missed out on winning the league. When our players are at an average age of 27, in about 3 seasons’ time, we will not be the same group. Our players are special, but they have some levels to go until they reach world-class.

But it’ll happen… no doubt in my mind.

This season has been pivotal to the process. Fans believe, players know they are close, and the ownership group is ready to invest to take us to the next level.

What a great time to be a Gooner. I hope you had a brilliant season. Thanks for reading and listening. Now jump on the podcast!

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Habesha Gooner

We should be looking at Benjamin Pavard if Bayern will sell. Would fit us like a glove, he is experienced and at 27 a good age compared of the rest of our defenders. And he would also cover both RB and RCB roles depending how we see fit.

Guns of Hackney

What do you mean “doubters put to the sword”?

What is that? You mean some words written down have reassured you, and the future of Arsenal football club.

We actually have to sign the players peter talks about. I don’t know why we haven’t already cemented in some bids. Once again, we’re tyre kicking and looking through the window while the others are in and out.

jwl

I can’t believe Milner covered the most distance last season, the bloke is 37 yrs old. No wonder Brighton want him, he going to run forever.
————————–

OptaJoe – Which players covered the most distance (in kilometres) per 90 minutes in the Premier League in 2022-23 (min. 900 minutes)?

11.2km – James Milner
11.2km – Brenden Aaronson
11.0km – Ryan Christie
11.0km – Christian Eriksen
11.0km – Roberto Firmino

Ageless.

TheLegendaryDB10

Great post Pedro This season has been pivotal to the process. It absolutey was and is essential experience that we need to have if we want to be competing at the top in the next seasons to come. You earn experience by being there and learning from it. This season should be a massive learning curve for everyone. From MA, the players to the backroom staff. Arteta needs to learn to rotate. Edu must look at the profile of players that can actually be a back up and that can be rotated. Investing in a player like Viera, who does… Read more »

DigitalBob

Guns – technically the real transfer business hasn’t started yet. All we have is somewhat reliable sources saying “x player is going here or wants to go there” so the usual summer stuff. We clearly know Declan Rice is our main transfer target as does everyone else. Moyes has said he wants over £100M but unless we are in panic mode, I don’t see anything other than another couple weeks of this before any concrete bids are made. Especially considering the West Ham vs Fiorentina final is on the 7th June. We also need to keep an eye on Bellingham’s… Read more »

zaco

only a confused person would spend 70-80 million on Caciedo to now play him as a right back.
he impressed you playing in the Midfield which made you to sign him for such a huge amount, then you think the best thing to do is to play him somewhere else.

if we are buying him then it must be to play in the same position we all saw him play in

Guns of Hackney

Bob

I know but players prices aren’t going down like an end of season sale. I’m not saying we drop £100m on Rice but if the dude is worth £75+ we should be offering that and a couple of players.

We need to start selling and buying almost simultaneously.

Arsenal are notorious slow and it’s not working. People are richer than us and just as attractive now. There’s at least 6 clubs players would go to now.

Shape up.

DigitalBob

Very true Guns when it comes to our long drawn-out transfer dealings of the past, the only difference I would say this summer is given the calibre of players we are after, no way they are still available towards the end of the window. In terms of any cash + player deals, if you were Moyes what Arsenal players are you taking and what Arsenal players are willing to be a part of any exchange deals? I doubt Edu is able to get away with giving them the likes of Vieira or Lokonga who have some value in exchange for… Read more »

Guns of Hackney

Bob I disagree with some of our players. Remember we sold Iwobi for £30m!

Vieria isn’t cut out at Arsenal and although I like Lonkogia, he’s not stepping up. Why not offer Partey and £55m for rice? Throw in Holding.

Two or three players and cash is great business. We need to be more creative.

I say, get out no.1 targets, then start looking for those second tier guys who can fill places in the squad.

We could easily lose 10 players and not miss them.

Marko

BM signed Gravenberg last year, its highly unlikely they will let him go.

I dunno about that one they barely played him the season just gone and then went out and signed up Laimer and are looking at the likes of Rice. So barely played him and are still willing to bring in two midfielders. Doesn’t scream vital for Gravenberch.

Also can people stop with the Caicedo being brought in at RB nonsense. He was literally played there once or twice at the tail end of the season don’t read into it too much

Marko

Bob makes an excellent point there I also think what certain players go for will dictate what our targets go for. No shot West Ham ask more for Rice what Bellingham goes and same with MacAllister his fee will determine whether or not Brighton ask for something reasonable for Caicedo.

DigitalBob

Iwobi to Everton, good point! Seems the stars aligned with that deal. Iwobi off the back of a decent season, Everton and Moshiri splashing the cash etc. I mean I like the idea of player(s) + cash for the likes of Rice and Caicedo, but because you also need the agreement of the player surplus to requirements on the buying sides end, I guess it’s why we don’t see it happen as much. If we look outside the likes of Vieira and Lokonga, maybe Tierney, Holding and certainly Emile could be used in exchange but with Emile I’m not sure… Read more »

jwl

Ornstein – “Arsenal have no intention of letting Emile Smith Rowe depart this summer. 22yo contracted until 2026 + important part of #AFC plans. After injury-hit campaign, hope is he shines at #U21EURO & in pre-season before big 23/24.”

LoveSausage

The idea of Caicedo at RB is an interesting one. I don’t know if Arteta is beginning to question whether Zinchenko’s attacking contributions outweigh his awful defending, but in the last two games, he’s been trying out Partey as an inverted RB. Caicedo looks like a good alternative in that sense. He’s no Zinchenko going forward but his range of passing is very good. And, assuming we have Rice as the 6, it would effectively give us two sixes when we turn the ball over and get hit on the counter. However, that would mean benching White, which would be… Read more »

DigitalBob

Yep, agreed Marko, Caicedo is best in the middle for sure, winning the ball high up the pitch and adding that physical presence, very much in the Kante mould. His versatility is certainly an asset though so even more reason to follow up on our January interest.

Jwl – Lovely stuff that, I hope Ornstein is right on the money with this one.

LoveSausage

jwl,

Interesting news. Next season will be critical for ESR. I would have preferred if he’d got more minutes this season. On the other hand, he showed jack shit when he was on the pitch. He needs to grab his chances next season.

Marko

Could also read Arteta has no intention of using ESR. I suppose he’s been kept around as a squad option. Absolutely vital next season the manager actually uses his full squad more or it’ll be his undoing

Savage

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65708445

No team was as badly affected by the World Cup break as much as we were. Our star striker got injured, and City’s star striker got a nice break. Given how dependent City were on him, that was a very nice gift for them.

raptora

It’s obvious we’re not selling ESR. The issue is that he’s been fighting injuries for a while and that might have taken an irreversible toll to his body. Next season is monumental for his Arsenal future. One more big injury and it’ll be curtains sadly. As much as I like him, he needs to remain healthy to show what he has. He is so talented but he’ll be 23 yo in two months. He is a year older than Saka and Martinelli. These two have one or two top seasons behind their backs and are younger than him. Emile needs… Read more »

raptora

From Samesong’s link I see Manure got a higher Post-World Cup points per average than us. Probably means Manure registered more points than us Post-World Cup. That’s quite shocking to me.

raptora

Fab Romano:
Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi told Moises Caicedo in January to stay at the club until June despite huge bids… and then promised to sell him in the summer in case of good proposal 🔵🇪🇨 #BHAFC

Pact will be respected; Chelsea are still keen on Caicedo but it’s 3 clubs race.

andy walker

if we had not dropped the 6 points in the draws v liv/ful and shamp..we would have one it?

Dissenter

De Zerbi isn’t the one to “sell” Caicedo

andy1886

Not sure that de Zerbi makes those decisions Rap. If Brighton sell MacAllister then they would be under no pressure to sell another top player and could hold out for a ridiculous fee.

raptora

Fab Romano: Benjamin Pavard will not sign new deal at Bayern, confirmed — as reported by @altobelli13. Pavard wants to try new chapter, current deal expires in 2024. 🚨🔴 #FCBayern Barcelona have different priorities, Inter asked for Pavard in January. But the race becomes 100% open now. _____________________________________________ João Félix will NOT stay at Chelsea next season. Pochettino has decided, João returns to Atléti. “We have been informed that Poch does not count with João Félix for Chelsea. He will return here, we’ll see… we’ve nothing planned”, Atlético president Cerezo has announced. _____________________________________________ Kulusevski on buy option clause still not… Read more »

Dissenter

“Arsenal have deleted a tweet wishing ex-player Andrey Arshavin a happy birthday amid controversy over the Russian allegedly vowing to fight for his country in their war with Ukraine”

It’s quite stagenge that we can’t wish a happy birthday to a former player because of his nationality.
Isn’t that discriminatory in itself?

jwl

“Arsenal have deleted a tweet wishing ex-player Andrey Arshavin a happy birthday”

Encyclopedia Britannica –

“Puritans became noted in the 17th century for a spirit of moral and religious earnestness that informed their whole way of life, and they sought through church reform to make their lifestyle the pattern for the whole nation.”

Dissenter

West Ham will be wetting their lips
Bayern jus6y created a proper transfer battel; for Declan Rice, now they may really get that £120 milion they are seeking.

Topside Northbank

No one is paying 120m for Rice, even if say three clubs bid for him.

Bellingham going for around 100m euro to RM,.

Different players but I don’t think BM go anywhere near the reported £95m supposed bid for him.

Dissenter

Topside Northbank
“No one is paying 120m for Rice, even if say three clubs bid for him.”

Limited supply of one player and at least 3 top monied clubs [if you believe the media] queueing to sign him…means that that fee can be mat in principle

Bellingham making his choice known publicly contributed to other clubs dropping out. Rice’s coyness is strengthening West Ham’s position.

Topside Northbank

With Rice,Caicedo,Mac Allister etc it will also be about where the player wants to go any clubs interested in those three players would of done a lot of groundwork already with agents and player preference. Someone like Kane, he may well want to stay in the PL but Levy will want 100m eve for a 30 yo last year of his contract but highly doubt anyone pays more than 80m. Clubs keeping players that don’t want to stay rarely works we had it with Cesc, Nasri etc. Kane may be happy to stay and see out his deal, there will… Read more »

EdTheREd

I know it will cause wrath on here, but I have to counter Pedro’s Top5 coach nonsense.

He barely makes Top5 list in this league.

LoveSausage

We’ll see where Rice’s priorities are soon enough. City isn’t an option unless he wants to warm the bench and the Bayern story is BS. They’re not spending 95M on a DM. Newcastle have money but don’t need defensive reinforcements. Liverpool need to shore up their midfield but will prioritize creative players. Plus, they’re not in the CL. United is the most realistic option to Arsenal. Either he’ll force West Ham’s hand to come to us or he’ll drag things out, in which case we’ll know that maximizing his paycheck is a bigger priority than maximizing his development and sporting… Read more »

Topside Northbank

Diss,

We will see but I just don’t see anyone paying 120m possibly a player goes the other way in a make weight in a deal but those deals rarely come to fruition?

WHU I believe will want to do a deal early by the end of June, drag’s on say to mid August, other clubs will also be upping their prices when they come in for players.to possibly replace Rice.

jwl

I would like to know if Bayern actually have money to bid for Rice, because if they do have £££, surely basmati goes to Germany. Guaranteed trophies, champs league all the time, he could be next Keegan and become legend in Deutschland.

Zomber

There is something I do not understand about this full back situation. In the last two games we seemed to play without one. Was not it a mobile 3-4-3, meaning in fact we do not want to use full backs next season? Of course Partey was moving back to defend our right side, but he moved centrally a lot. Some insiders say that Arteta promised to Rice that the game plan is already in a change to be more suitable for him too, which may mean we will play somewhat different next season. And the full back inverting was not… Read more »

NORG

Dissenter

The Germans are playing games – they meant Nein £5million

TheLegendaryDB10

LoveSausage On the other hand, he showed jack shit when he was on the pitch. He needs to grab his chances next season. To be fair to ESR, whenever he did play, it was mostly for the last 15 – 20 mins of a game which is really not enough. One needs to get “warmed up” and get up to speed with what the team are doing. Had he been given more substantial 30 mins chunks here and there we may have seen a little more from him. Regardless, I agree with the general consensus that the 23/24 season will… Read more »

dSidstathopoulos

“””I dunno about that one they barely played him the season just gone and then went out and signed up Laimer and are looking at the likes of Rice.”””

21 year old, new league, change of managers,
they have Goretzka, Kimmich, Sabitzer. They have luxury to rotate him.

Happy birthday Andrey Arshavin! Russia saved Europe from the little man with a moustache. Keep the good work.

LoveSausage

Zomber,

It wasn’t really a 3-4-3. It was the same system we always play but instead of Zinchenko being a fullback out of possession and inverting in possession on the left, Partey did it on the right, with Kiwior doing a Benny Blanco impression on the left.

LoveSausage

DB10,

That’s true. It’s a shame he didn’t get more minutes, especially considering how many we wasted on the Portuguese straw man. That said, when you’re out in the cold, you have to make the most out of whatever you get. And he looked very bland.

Dissenter

Yea, Happy Birthday to Arshavin, regardless what nationality he holds

No one censured patriotic Americans for still loving their country during the Iraq war, everyone knew it was GWB and his band of post 9-11 revenge seeking war crazies that made that call.
Why withdraw a simple “Happy birthday” to a former player because he’s a proud Russian. We knew he was a Russian Patriot when we signed him,

Marko

Bayern have gone over 50 million just twice in their entire history. This notion of them overpaying for anyone doesn’t exist. And what West Ham would look for for Rice is the definition of overpaying. He’ll be going for less than 100 million easily

Marko

Dissenter genuine question but do you know what is happening in the Ukraine? Why it’s happening? And then he says he wants to fight in that war…who cares about wishing him a happy birthday

Dissenter

I think some signings can create more problems than they solve
Signing a 21 year old Portuguese u-21 player with a handful of senior Porto appearances, even though he was crocked and wouldn’t be ready for preseason was a mistake and has created a problem that didn’t exist.
It should have been Ode/ESR for that role. The manager just created a headache for himself-
That 35 million that was used to sign Vierra could have helped us in better ways last summer

dSidstathopoulos

The little man without a moustache with his Azov friends wil face the same fate as the little man with a moustache.

Dissenter

Marko
It’s Putin’s illegal war, same way it was GWB’s illegal war.
There’s a lot of bullying going on right now and they are deploying different standards from the one used for Americans. During the Iraq war, the outrage was just as bad in Europe but people still made the separation between government and private citizens so why is it different now?

Habesha Gooner

Thank God the ESR rumour isn’t true. It would have been shambolic to sell ESR before Viera from a contribution stand point, injuries aside. Let him have next season with more important games to come and he will be an important player. We need to try for Benjamin pavard too while we are at it. A quality player that can play both RB and CB roles. He is experienced too. We would have no problems if he replaces Holding. White Tomi and Pavard would all be capable of playing RCB and RB roles. And that would make our vulnerabilities vanish… Read more »

Marko

Dissenter first off bullying? Are you a child. Secondly illegal war or not one was a dictatorship the other a democratic country and he’s talking about signing up to kill people so there’s a lot of differences honestly to the point where I’m shocked I actually have to point it out to a grown ass man. If it makes you feel any better I don’t think arsenal have wished happy birthday to George W either

jwl

Does Kimmich play same role as Rice? Because in past 4-6 weeks I’ve read a few stories that say Kimmich is unhappy in Munich and wants to move. If Kimmich and Rice same position, and the Germans sell Kimmich, Rice’s price won’t be so costly.

Josip Skoblar

Arsenal did not delete a tweet because Arshavin is Russian, but because Arshavin is on record as saying that he would happily fight Putin’s criminal war in Ukraine. There are lots of Russian people who oppose the war who would certainly never say this outrageous thing.

Habesha Gooner

Rice isn’t going for £120 mil when Bellingham is going for £86 mil. Rice is going to be more expensive because there are more clubs bidding for him. But unless United come in with a stupid offer, sensebile prices will prevail. Even with United bidding, I can’t see Rice wanting to go there over us. It will be a deal that makes sense for all parties because money is the least factor for the player himself. That was the same reason Dortmund were forced to accept a lower fee from Madrid than they would have got from a Man City.… Read more »

jwl

Putin has passed some draconian laws since he decided to invade Ukraine. Here in North America, Russian ice hockey players are refusing to wear gay pride flag on their uniform because they fear what Putin might do to their family members still in Rus. We have no idea why Arshavin said what he did, so he should get happy b-day wishes because he hasn’t actually gone out and slaughtered anyone yet.

Guns of Hackney

JWL taking it to political levels. Football dried up?

Marko

It’s a happy birthday tweet who cares

Guns of Hackney

People are missing the point. Just because…ain’t a reason why X play isn’t going for X price. That’s not how the world works.

It’s a sellers market, and therefore, you wanty wanty, you payee payee.

Most of the posters on here probably think about Thai rules when they speak about transfers.

Where’s our business? Fuck all.

Xhaka hasn’t even officially left which is scary as no doubt he’ll get a £250,000 pw 45 year deal based on his ‘last’ game.

Joker club.

dSidstathopoulos

The rainbow flag includes groups that practice mutilation of genitalia.

salparadisenyc

Agree JWL, Arsenal comms have bottled it, Pedro we need your expert op on this.
Nobody fucks w/ AA23 and his quattro madness, not even Putin.

EdTheRed

It’s amazing how almost everyone forgot that Xhaka kept passing ball backwards for at least three seasons.

Arsenal’s PR is truly second to none.

Nigel Tufnel

Someone posted analysis from Adrian Clarke that explained the Holding problem better than anyone else. Our midfielders had to shade farther back to protect his lack of pace, which made the midfield space in front of them more open for opponents. We lost that tight squeeze and confidence in the high press that Saliba and Gabriel usually join. That was what had us dominating all season. Holding is a good player- just not in our new system. For most teams, he’d be very solid. Holding is part of a flawed squad that we started the season with due to being… Read more »

raptora

Why would Rice want to join us instead of Manure btw? Other than the location, we don’t have that many pluses compared to them. They have by far the more famous brand, they pay higher salaries, they are also going to play in the CL, their new manager had a solid first season, there’s a positive feeling among their fanbase, they have a lot of money and with the expected sale, they’ll have even more money, he won’t have any issue starting for them next to Casemiro literally no competition. If we remove our Arsenal sunglasses for a second and… Read more »

Habesha Gooner

The need for another winger is done now with ESR staying. Nelson is staying as a RW cover and ESR and Trossard will play from the left and Centrally at times. And added to that, Ornstein has also said there isn’t an other center forward coming in. We need one imo. I like Eddie and he is better than most Backup CFs. Hell, he might even start at Chelsea and United right now But if he had another CF with a different profile that can score goals then we would be golden. But the likelihood is that our focus will… Read more »

Guns of Hackney

Raptor gets it. Nails it to the wall. We don’t have the magic. Why WOULD any play join us over all the other big boys?

Habesha Gooner

“”””””Why would Rice want to join us instead of Manure btw? Other than the location, we don’t have that many pluses compared to them. They have by far the more famous brand, they pay higher salaries, they are also going to play in the CL, their new manager had a solid first season, there’s a positive feeling among their fanbase, they have a lot of money and with the expected sale, they’ll have even more money, he won’t have any issue starting for them next to Casemiro literally no competition.”””” Did they push City this season??? No one is blind.… Read more »

Topside Northbank

Rice will also be aware in Arsenal it’s a young side that should only be going to get better.

Highly rated coach within football, that does seem to be able to explain exactly to a potential signing how he will use and improve them.

United until a takeover is announced it’s a club with a lot of question marks.

Dissenter

Habesha I agree with raptora regarding Rice The only thing we have on United f the London locations, otherwise United are a bigger draw. I’m not sure what you mean by us “We are much further ahead than United interms of what Rice wants. We are going to challenge for major honours before them” United aren’t as bad as you’;re making out and their manager has done in 1 season, what it took Artea 3 seasons to sort out. They have the CL next season, same as us so not sure what you’re referring to You have to take off… Read more »

salparadisenyc

Rice linked w/ City, United, Bayern and Arsenal.

Likeliest destination for me is City w/ Calvin Phillips going other way and Gundogan looking longer term elsewhere. Followed by Arsenal or United which is toss up if City don’t pounce, financially could be a real bleed out as United will mint him.

Caicedo seems more likely to me with deal in motion from January.

Nigel Tufnel

It’s seems so strange to think of it, but with Xhaka going finally, and us planning the long awaited “upgrade”….. We now have to worry about Xhakas goals being replaced! It’s a real concern. It’s not going to be a simple thing for the new players to replicate, let alone improve on. We never expected to be concerned about that. Whatever player we buy should be quicker and stronger in the press, so that’s a big plus. More than his last couple goals, his recent run the length of the pitch to put in a last ditch tackle in our… Read more »

EdTheRed

Rice might have seen us celebrating like mad 2nd place trophy and decide to go somewhere where they celebrate real trophies?!?

zaco

Arsenal would be shooting themselves on the foot if they sell Thomas Partey, you don’t sell one of your best 3 players if you are serious about challenging for the Title.

Some people here are so obsessed with players’ age that If Gundogan was an Arsenal player they would have asked that he be sold because of his age.

Habesha Gooner

Would you take United’s players over ours? No chance. They basically relied on Rashford who had a purple patch all season. We are a much more attractive proposition than United. The only thing they have over us is money right now. And I doubt a 50k pay bump is going to convince a player like Rice to choose them over us. If you think that after this past season then you haven’t really been paying attention. Arsenal is the destination now over United. Any one that hasn’t got an inferiority complex can see that.

dSidstathopoulos

Kiwior breaking speed records but the manager decides to play Holding instead.

Let that sink in

raptora

Habesha,
Manure got more points than us in the post-world cup games.

Manure 24 games 49 pts
Arsenal 24 games 47 pts

That’s after Ronaldo left. And all it took for us to implode was the injury of 1 player.

If they bring Kane + Mount + Rice + Min-jae their team on paper because really fkin good. You say 10 players, I don’t think so. If ETH kicks off that is. A team is a reflection of it’s manager.

EdTheREd

Anyway I think we need Caicedo more than we need Rice, but Rice/Casemiro partnership would be one to worry about.

raptora

Kane + Mount + Rice + Min-jae

Add ^ to Manure and they become a contender easily.

Habesha Gooner

Dissenter
United are really bad. Ask any sensible United fan and they will tell you they need 10 players to compete with City. And they will get destroyed in the FA Cup final.

EdTheREd

Casemiro walks into this Arsenal team, let’s not fool ourselves.

Topside Northbank

Vieira I knew nothing of him when signed but even in the Europa group games he struggled to impose himself. PL he had a good game away at Brentford iirc but the whole team put in a superb performance, PL wise not much else decent cameo at WW, can’t remember much else? I just think as well look at the physicality of the PL now, buying cheap free kicks etc atm is a thing of the past. Going down under contact until the last year or so bought players free kicks, pens and drew cards I’m pleased it’s a higher… Read more »

EdTheREd

Yeah, 27 home wins in mangers first season, equaling Alex Ferguson’s record. Terrible stats.

zaco

if you Sale Partey because you are buying Rice or Caciedo what happens when the new arrival gets injured or out of form?

Partey was the heart of our Midfield and never put a foot wrong until the tail end of the season when most of the players including Saka, White, Gabriel, Ramsdel etc were fatigued.

Habesha Gooner

Raptora
They need 2 CMs. Bruno Fernandez and Eriksen at this age are good enough to be backups. They need a CF or two. Martial is unreliable. They need a GK and a number 2. Their fullback positions need upgrades. The wingers apart from Rashford are all good enough to be backups too. So how are they close to us??

dSidstathopoulos

Kane will take his Spurs DNA to man u, they would challenge for 8th.

EdTheREd

They are ahead of us on points in 2023. So is Aston Villa.

MG42

Club coefficient for CL drawing
Man Utd 7th
Arsenal 23rd

So Man Utd in pot 2 same as Arsenal after Juve 10 point deduction and AC Milan securing 4th in Serie A. Clearly Man Utd. has some advantages. Any player of theirs will make more dosh on his Instagram account then if he would be at Arsenal.

Habesha Gooner

United lost to every away team above 9th this season. That is how bad they are and how far away they are from competing. Ole on steroids doesn’t fool me. Ten Hag is a good coach. But he has really bad players. And that is the truth. And because if that he has been playing a really deep line and counter attacking all season. And he definitely knows this too.

Guns of Hackney

Man yoo are still and have been the bigger team. That’s hard to say but age has mellowed me.

You don’t see a Cambodian child soldier wearing an Arsenal shirt.

Yes. That’s my metric.

Dream10

All the noise suggests that Arsenal is Rice’s preferred choice. However, two factors come into play. The number one factor is money. Wages and agent fees. In most cases Man Utd have few problems paying a player north of 200k a week and lining the pockets of the agents of said new arrival. They will have no problem having a highly paid Casemiro or Rice on the bench. At Arsenal, a player on 200k a week is an automatic starter. So if Rice arrives, it is almost certain #5 will go Same reason probably why Xhaka is leaving. According to… Read more »

zaco

“Partey is an injury machine. Where you been, son?
He’s also a rapist”

RVP was injury machine until he left us and won UTD the league.

Partey never had any injury at Athletico Madrid so there’s no way it’s his fault that he has had a few at Arsenal.
He played most of the games this season so he’s not as injury prone as people are making out.
Yes buy Rice/Caciedo but don’t sale Partey.

Habesha Gooner

Raptora We lost form at the end of the season. Still we finished 9 points ahead of them. And there are reasons for that. We have been the best footballing side for 75 percent of the season. You mean to tell me that players won’t look at that? United got their points by counter attacking. And we crumble at the wrong time. A player like Rice and other new signings can see we are 4 or 5 players away from actually being a superb side. That is why we are an attractive proposition to players. They can imagine themselves in… Read more »

Topside Northbank

Lot of what MU do or not depends on the ownership of the club. Get Sheikh Jassim in with 100% ownership, they will go big in the transfer market, debt wiped out and seemingly facilities upgraded as required. The other ownership options of part selling the club or even keeping the Glazers it will still be a club with issues, yes they can spend vast sums but you see issues just being can kicked down the road. I think they have several top players Casemiro, Rashford, Martinez few good ones but a lot that need moving on. Paying off even… Read more »

Marko

Caicedo always my number one target this summer. He’s a game changer for me

raptora

Hab, read what I said.

“Kane + Mount + Rice + Min-jae”

Add these to what Manure have atm and they become a competitor. The manager is the most important person in a club. I’m not convinced if ETH is the guy. But in terms of players, they will have an incredible team.

Not sure how you can say we were the best footballing side in the country for 75 percent of the season when they won more points than us in the last 24 games.

Habesha Gooner

Rap
Okay let’s make a bet. If they finish ahead of us next season I won’t post for the whole summer after the season ends. And you do the same if we finish say 9 points ahead of them.

raptora

New post

DigitalBob

If Mason Mount is United’s main midfield target and Kane is the main striker target, I don’t think we need to worry about them in regard to Rice as much as we do City and Bayern. Not to get to into Man Utd’s squad but how does a midfield of Mount, Casemiro, Bruno and Rice really work? Bruno isn’t being benched so I’d hope Declan is aware of this! Maybe Mount behind the striker and then a midfield three, but why go to United if its clear Kane and Mount are priorities to them when its clear he’s our number… Read more »

Nigel Tufnel

A legrove scholar:

“I don’t know why we haven’t already cemented in some bids. Once again, we’re tyre kicking and looking through the window while the others are in and out.”

We don’t know anything that’s really happening behind the scenes.
Because genius hasn’t read it in The Sun, he is in a panic and spewing negativity.
Also apparently believes everything he reads on newsnow.
It is fun to watch him spin out emotionally though.