"Bologna asked for Jakub Kiwior during talks with Arsenal for Riccardo Calafiori, but Polish defender’s currently not keen on the move. Calafiori keeps waiting for Arsenal. Kiwior can leave Arsenal on loan with mandatory buy clause, as reported in June."
Partey's future really looks to be up in the air as per the link above from Arsenal Insider.
There is interest for him but it looks, reading in between the lines, that Partey doesn't want to move.
I am big fan of Partey (when fit) as he truly is unique when 100% match fit and offers us something that we don't have: some excellent defence splitting passes.
I suspect that the club are hesitating between letting him run his contract down and see what we can do with him or add an extra year to his contract to see if we can add value if we can sell him (and see if we can make the most of him).
We started going longer as in the 2nd half we were struggling against Liverpool’s press.
Can’t see what your issue is with that goal, we need variety in the way we get up the pitch, and a multifaceted attack that can score all types of goals.
Seems Timber is the solution to all our problems without even kicking a ball. He will solve the left back, right back midfield and maybe attack as well.
One of our issues with midfield options is a lack of physicality…
We brought in Havertz + Rice to balance that out last summer, adding 2 players that allow us to be more direct, play the percentages, and defend open spaces when the game becomes stretched..
But I hope/suspect that Havertz will now be our first choice No9.
Ødegaard is one of the best players in the world off the ball when the games condensed, but he’s not designed to defend larger spaces.
Jorginho, Vieira are both technically gifted, but both lack physicality… Patino is 6ft, but still looks like he has some filling out to do.
Partey is one of the best in the world at getting the ball between the lines… But physically he looks shot, and if he stays, his availability needs to be viewed as a nice bonus, rather than anything we bank on.
For these reasons another slight midfield like Joao Neves seems risky..
He’d also need to be the rare exception to deliver top class consistency straight away aged 19/20…
And for the type of money being quoted, I’d hope for a midfielder who could deliver straight away, rather than in year 2-3 of his contract.
That’s why the rumours about Merino don’t surprise me… 3yr + 1yr contract.. £21 million reported fee seems reasonable.
He’d add some physicality, and as a squad option who’d add something we’re lacking, seems like a pragmatic solution.
Not every player needs to be elite, adding a few squad options who can operate as cogs in the system, is also sometimes necessary.
I think there's a lot to like about Merino. I haven't done deep research because I think he's much more likely to stay in Spain. But if Arteta can convince him, I have a feeling we'll all love him as a player soon enough.
Physicality is more important in the championship than technicality. If patino couldn't crack it because of physicality What makes you think Vieira will be able to do it. We all know from the past two seasons that Vieira is feather weight physically. That's even in premier league and in arsenal not a bottom club fighting relegation.
Current stars include Summerville, Gnonto and the kid that moved to Bournemouth - Alex Scott, 20 yo midfielder bought for £25m.
We all know the story about Gnabry but that's not what usually happens. Usually a good player does well in a weaker league, as Rich gave examples, all of the players he mentioned had a huge impact in their loans, bar Gnabry.
Vieira has starred in Portugal and also versus the likes of Liverpool, Lyon, Brentford, Fulham, Man United.
Bottom line is, Patino will likely not make it at Arsenal and thinking he's ready to play for us at the moment is wishful thinking.
It isn't great I can't lie. The best kits are kits you can wear anywhere. The black and golden one a few years ago was absolutely beautiful. I don't know if you can say the same about this year's away kit.
I agree, I don't buy the shirts that I wouldn't wear outside in public. I think all 3 of our shirts this year have stripes on the shoulders and I don't like it. I would like away shirt without so much green/red.
""In the current season, 1 in 4 goals (25%) for Brentford have come from set pieces. Thanks to Cueva’s great work and the good results already proven, Chelsea are very close to signing him for their technical staff"
""“I haven’t seen a better team than this one at set pieces,” said Pep Guardiola after City’s 3-1 win over Brentford. Despite the win, the Catalan highlighted the work of Mexican-born Bernardo Cueva in charge of Brentford’s SPs.
The goal they scored against Man City came from a goal kick and consisted of 3 steps: first, Flekken (goalkeeper) had to take a long central kick. Then, striker Ivan Toney had to ‘screen’ Nathan Aké, to prevent him from getting to the ball. """
Its time to bring back Unai Emery to Arsenal. It is now proven beyond doubt he has what Arsenal needs to lift the PL trophy. Any doubters?
New post
Fab Romano -
"Bologna asked for Jakub Kiwior during talks with Arsenal for Riccardo Calafiori, but Polish defender’s currently not keen on the move. Calafiori keeps waiting for Arsenal. Kiwior can leave Arsenal on loan with mandatory buy clause, as reported in June."
We need to tell players like kiwior that they should go wherever, because there will be no playing time with us. Timber returning, and any new buy.
https://www.arsenalinsider.com/transfers/mikel-arteta-transfer-stance-on-thomas-partey-now-revealed-as-arsenal-could-still-offer-new-deal/
Partey's future really looks to be up in the air as per the link above from Arsenal Insider.
There is interest for him but it looks, reading in between the lines, that Partey doesn't want to move.
I am big fan of Partey (when fit) as he truly is unique when 100% match fit and offers us something that we don't have: some excellent defence splitting passes.
I suspect that the club are hesitating between letting him run his contract down and see what we can do with him or add an extra year to his contract to see if we can add value if we can sell him (and see if we can make the most of him).
I
https://fb.watch/toWSslV29y/
If you have time to check Martinellis goal vs Liverpool, its a replica of the tactic described for the goal Brentford scored against Man c
Chasing a lost cause, and the best defender of the past 6 seasons, and the best goalkeeper, making an uncharacteristic error?…
All I learned from that goal was that sometimes chasing lost causes pay’s dividends, even against the very best of them.
3 steps.
Magalhaes(Flekken) takes a long central kick, Havertz(Toney) had to 'screen' CB, Martinelli(Maupay) runs behind
Just a long ball over the top…
Havertz drops deep, Martinelli goes central.
We get lucky from chasing the lost cause.
We started going longer as in the 2nd half we were struggling against Liverpool’s press.
Can’t see what your issue is with that goal, we need variety in the way we get up the pitch, and a multifaceted attack that can score all types of goals.
Sid is doing a makeover
He's the succinct sage.
The point he's repeatedly made about how our goals tilt far too much to set pieces stands out, uncomfortable truth but truth all the same.
Agreed about the progressive distance and completed passes- Having Partey fit for preseason should help.
One of our issues with midfield options is lack of technicians.
We are 6th in progressive distance and completed passes. Behind Liverpool, Brighton, Man c, Spurs, Chelsea
Timber will hopefully address that.
Was the most progressive player in Europe in 2022/23.
A line breaker in general.
I wonder if Timber will play CM more if Calafiori does come in.
Seems Timber is the solution to all our problems without even kicking a ball. He will solve the left back, right back midfield and maybe attack as well.
Cheer up
The way Tets deployed him at LB on his first game with us makes me think this is where he will be playing.
He would provide excellent support for Martinelli.
I know that he has played in MF before so I am curious to see whether Mikel goes along with this and plays him at Left 8.
One of our issues with midfield options is a lack of physicality…
We brought in Havertz + Rice to balance that out last summer, adding 2 players that allow us to be more direct, play the percentages, and defend open spaces when the game becomes stretched..
But I hope/suspect that Havertz will now be our first choice No9.
Ødegaard is one of the best players in the world off the ball when the games condensed, but he’s not designed to defend larger spaces.
Jorginho, Vieira are both technically gifted, but both lack physicality… Patino is 6ft, but still looks like he has some filling out to do.
Partey is one of the best in the world at getting the ball between the lines… But physically he looks shot, and if he stays, his availability needs to be viewed as a nice bonus, rather than anything we bank on.
For these reasons another slight midfield like Joao Neves seems risky..
He’d also need to be the rare exception to deliver top class consistency straight away aged 19/20…
And for the type of money being quoted, I’d hope for a midfielder who could deliver straight away, rather than in year 2-3 of his contract.
That’s why the rumours about Merino don’t surprise me… 3yr + 1yr contract.. £21 million reported fee seems reasonable.
He’d add some physicality, and as a squad option who’d add something we’re lacking, seems like a pragmatic solution.
Not every player needs to be elite, adding a few squad options who can operate as cogs in the system, is also sometimes necessary.
I think there's a lot to like about Merino. I haven't done deep research because I think he's much more likely to stay in Spain. But if Arteta can convince him, I have a feeling we'll all love him as a player soon enough.
Kaya Kaynak
Arsenal rejected a £25m bid from Fulham for Emile Smith-Rowe. ❌
Fulham are considering to send a heftier bid. 🎬
Mikel Merino could be ESR’s replacement. 🇪🇸
Any move for Nico Williams looks unlikely, as things stand. 🇪🇸
Eddie Nketiah is open to moving to Olympique Marseille. 🏴
Patino is a big upgrade on Vieira.
Patino was given about 2 out of 20 starts since January in Championship. Incredible talent that can't crack it in the 2nd tier of football.
Fabio is so disrespected it's unbelievable.
Physicality is more important in the championship than technicality. If patino couldn't crack it because of physicality What makes you think Vieira will be able to do it. We all know from the past two seasons that Vieira is feather weight physically. That's even in premier league and in arsenal not a bottom club fighting relegation.
James Maddison made it at Norwich back when.
Current stars include Summerville, Gnonto and the kid that moved to Bournemouth - Alex Scott, 20 yo midfielder bought for £25m.
We all know the story about Gnabry but that's not what usually happens. Usually a good player does well in a weaker league, as Rich gave examples, all of the players he mentioned had a huge impact in their loans, bar Gnabry.
Vieira has starred in Portugal and also versus the likes of Liverpool, Lyon, Brentford, Fulham, Man United.
Bottom line is, Patino will likely not make it at Arsenal and thinking he's ready to play for us at the moment is wishful thinking.
Patino’s minutes in the 2nd half of the season was disappointing, but the new manager didn’t fancy him…
Technically Patino is brilliant, he’s also got elite balance + agility.
His issue at this stage seems to be physical, but that’s not uncommon for players in central areas in their teens + early twenties.
I suspect he might leave… But wouldn’t be surprised if we looked back with some regret in a few seasons.
Maybe he can still convince Arteta in pre-season…
Players having bad loans isn’t uncommon.. Gnabry had 1…
Harry Kane had 4 loans… White had 3 loans, Ødegaard 3 loans… Partey or Rodri were nowhere near at 20.
4 weeks Saturday we play Wolves.
Our squad is as short numerically as it’s been for a long time at this stage of pre-season.
At one stage last summer we had 34 senior players still in our squad… Back in 2020 we had 38…
At the moment we’ve got 24, but some players won’t be back after internationals, so we should be able to give youth a chance.
Patino, Norton-Cuffy, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri, are the 4 most likely to get pre-season minutes, and a chance to impress.
There’s also reputable reports that Nelson has agreed terms with West Ham..
But considering how pissed off they were about selling us Rice, they’ll probably just fuck us around.
I always thought Patino would have a good chance of making the breakthrough, only 1yr left on his contract..
Would be ideal if he could offer an internal replacement for Smith Rowe.
I’m a fan of the new away kit, prob bias on my part as I have African heritage
New away kit is out. It's the black one everyone was speculating about.
Not sure I like it to be honest
It isn't great I can't lie. The best kits are kits you can wear anywhere. The black and golden one a few years ago was absolutely beautiful. I don't know if you can say the same about this year's away kit.
I agree, I don't buy the shirts that I wouldn't wear outside in public. I think all 3 of our shirts this year have stripes on the shoulders and I don't like it. I would like away shirt without so much green/red.
Yep, I didn't like the blue stripes in the home kit. And the red and green together on the away kit isn't great to look at either.
The shirt doesnt like your beer belly too
I don't have a beer belly man
""In the current season, 1 in 4 goals (25%) for Brentford have come from set pieces. Thanks to Cueva’s great work and the good results already proven, Chelsea are very close to signing him for their technical staff"
""“I haven’t seen a better team than this one at set pieces,” said Pep Guardiola after City’s 3-1 win over Brentford. Despite the win, the Catalan highlighted the work of Mexican-born Bernardo Cueva in charge of Brentford’s SPs.
The goal they scored against Man City came from a goal kick and consisted of 3 steps: first, Flekken (goalkeeper) had to take a long central kick. Then, striker Ivan Toney had to ‘screen’ Nathan Aké, to prevent him from getting to the ball. """
From drawing positions, Arteta’s side has scored 11 times from set pieces