I’d given up on Diamond Eyes. Written the man off. Decided he was the next Giles Grimandi, playing Fortnite in the stands instead of focusing on what’s happening on the pitch.
The man couldn’t see past Dortmund I thought. He rode the wave of luck. His diamonds were imperfect.
Arsenal fans are triggered fam.
We’re chasing some tinpot Dortmund centre-back while Liverpool out there dropping £50m on Fabinho. I can’t lie, that does stick in the throat a little. The Monaco player is a classy talent at the base of midfield, one that we’ve been crying out for for a while.
I think this rumour was given more power by a Sky pundit who said we inquired, just a bit late to make the deal happen. We all know Sky has had a crisis of credibility this summer, no doubt because there’s big business is muddy waters when you run a betting company.
Are we passing on Fabinho because we have more expensive fish to fry? Who knows. But a 25-year-old DM with world class in his tank feels like exactly what we need. I’m kind of getting the feeling we’re not going to play in those markets this summer. They’re chasing Allison as their new number 1, we’re hunting down Bernd Leno. I know which I’d prefer.
But then again, maybe we’re stuck in a rut when it comes to self-awareness.
Arsenal are not a Champions League side, and we’re heading into season two with that shame around our neck. There’s no guarantee the new man is going to restore us to glory because regardless of what the fans think, players won’t see Emery in the same league as the managers of the other top 6 sides… yet.
We have to earn our stripes back, so does he. We have to prove that this season is more than a giant recovery plan. Until then, we’re going to have to sift around in the bargain basement, and hope we strike Salah like gold.
But look, that doesn’t mean we can’t find gems. It’s not like Spurs are raiding Monaco for their best players, is it? They’ve done pretty well scouting players over the past few seasons. We just have to hope the board have the guts to take risks and strike when players are on the rise, not after every team in the world wants them (Liverpool > Naby Keita).
Maybe Arsenal fans would feel a little more assured about the path the club were heading down if we dropped an exciting name. But then again, the football club isn’t run for our feelings is it? It’s run within the parameters set out by a frugal Stan Kroenke, and the budget is spent by two guys who know what they’re doing.
I hate to be the one dishing this out, but it’s really early in the window for tears, it looks like we’ve already made 2 signings, and I’d imagine there’s a lot more to come.
> We are not a 2-3 signings kind of club anymore, move away from that Wenger PTSD.
Maybe we have to wait it out before getting triggered that the Champions League finalists are dropping big money on elite players who probably want in on a project that has a high chance of, you know, getting them to the Champions League final.
My god, I want to be sick in my mouth. I’m standing up for the regime. I’m not longer counterculture. I’m part of the NEW problem that is yet to happen.
This is the path I chose… but seriously, let’s not vent too many spleens. The club did some great work in the January transfer window, and I reckon we’ll do some exciting stuff in the coming two months.
We have to exit the dross.
We have to bring in some experience that’ll root out the weakness in our old culture that was built around nice boys and year-round pleasantries.
We’ll have to start lowering the age of the squad. Mikki, Auba, Lichensteiner and Sokratis will boast an average age of 30.5 come the start of next season. It’s quite apparent the strategy is to buy in players who can give us some ‘NOW’ impetus, which is no bad thing considering the importance of the CL money.
However, Ivan said he wanted a manager who could bring through young talent, I am kind of hoping that we can do a Dortmund MKII. Young exciting players, technically gifted, loaded with power and pace, delivering a brand of football you want to pur over.
So the moral of this post is if our work so far looks a bit boring, that’s because it is. That’s because it has to be. We have to rework the fabric of a damaged culture, as well as upgrade the starting 11.
But don’t panic just yet, there’s plenty more to come from this summer, and I can only hope we’re keeping that powder dry for a great keeper, and someone a bit OH MY to replace Sanchez.
POWDER DRY, listen to me. What a boring joke this site is.
Right, see you in the comments, where I expect you to celebrate the balanced tone of this post.
Reports coming out of Germany today that the club is looking to bolster experience in defence again with the signing of 29-year-old Dortmund centre-back, Sokratis. I can’t say this signing makes me weak at knees, and I’m not really sure he’s adding levels to our game. I keep looking at the signings we’re making through the prism of culture building, versus seeing them purely as elite level talent hires.
Oh damn, there’s me just minding my own business on the net of inter, I click newsnow, jump in on a story about Emery using Lacazette and Auba together…
“If the ball is in play, you press. If play stops, you reposition yourself.”
“For me, the 4-1-4-1 is the system which facilitates that type of pressing. The 4-4-2 is designed more and more for zonal positioning. It’s less aggressive, but is more difficult to get past. That’s the case with Marcelino’s teams, Quique Sanchez Flores’ teams, Saint-Étienne when we last played them…
I’m sitting at my laptop, and I won’t moan.
But come on?
Just one!
Arsenal dropping the ‘Dog ate my designs’ 2018 away kit line.
What are the lads at Puma thinking?
This looks like the sort of sportswear my mum would buy for the start of year 8.
‘Well, I thought it looked natty’
Geez Mum, I’m already getting wedgied for the extra-special braces and velcro shoes, how could you do this to me?
FFS. I’m trying my hardest to button up the moaning, but it feels like every other day Puma drop a new monstrosity for the fuck-you-very-much victory lap.
Anyway, let’s crack into Unai Emery. I’m gonna go all Buzzfeed up in this bitch.
5 things that Unai Emery needs to address:
Aaron Ramsey:
The only superstar in Wales these days is down to the final year of his deal. There’s no doubt he’s looking at the fat mega pay cheque part-timer Mesut Ozil just dropped thinking, damn, I want to get me some of that sweet sugar.
Knowing that Arsenal can only raise their wage bill £7m a season, I find it highly unlikely we’re going to drop £300k a week on a player who spends a lot of time injured. The leak from The Sun claimed Unai wanted to build the squad around Aaron’s engine, so it’s going to be interesting to see what they do there.
My gut feel says he’ll be moved on so we can crank up that weak transfer pot and free up some cash money. We could easily get £50m for him, that’d be good dough.
CAPTAIN:
Arsene Wenger didn’t believe in captains, which I always felt was an apt position to take from a man who showed a real lack of leadership in his last 5 years. We’ve cycled through Gallas, Arteta, Mertesacker, Cech and Koscielny. With the Frenchman out for the foreseeable, and our #1 likely on the chopping board, it’ll be very interesting to see who takes on the armband.
My preference is someone who actually plays, that’d be a good start. It looks like the options are basically Aaron, Ramsey, or Aaron Ramsey. I don’t see a lot of leadership outside those three.
XHAKAKAKAKA:
Lord of the Spare Key, Granit Xhaka, had a pretty awful season last year. I think he had more assists than Ramsey, but, you know, for the opposition.
Amirite?
You sure are Pedro, you sure are.
The Swiss midfielder needs a career reboot, Emery is apparently a major fan according to legendary ITK Kike Marin, so it’ll be interesting to see how he develops him. The biggest challenge he has is physical, he has no acceleration, and he’s a bit of a ding-dong when it comes to positioning. A lot of that comes from having played in Lucian Favre system where you’d get screamed at for being 5 yards out of position in training, to playing under Wenger who had no tactical system outside ‘express yourself.’
Also, Xhaka is a very fit player, he always plays… captain material?
Meeeeesut Ozil:
The German international takes more short breaks than my retired Dad. I’m not sure the new man is going to take that sort of nonsense. It’s very doubtful he’ll afford him the same freedom to do what he wants on and off the pitch. The #10 is dead unless you want to be a workhorse, which isn’t Ozil’s bag. Will he opt for a wide right position? Will he play deeper? Or will the club try and shift him on for a fee?
The German won’t be tolerated in the new setup if he doesn’t pull his weight, and the new head coach will pull him off if his fitness or effort levels are flagging. Ozil is just one of many now, no special treatment for a player on so much damn cash.
Keeeeeeeper:
Cech has been given the #1 jersey, but as John McEnroe would say, ‘HE CAN’T PLAY WITH HIS FEET AND HIS REFLEXES HAVE GONE’, so let’s see how long that lasts.
We need a keeper who can keep us in games, we need someone who can act as a sweeper, we need someone who can bring the ball down from 40 yards, stun it, and break the lines like a keeping version of peak Zidane.
The universe of great keeping passed Cech by, you’re not teaching someone those new skills in their mid-thirties. We need a modern take on a keeper, and that looks more like Allison and Ederson than it does Cech.
DM me, bruh:
Arsenal made a massive hash of a DM during Wenger’s terror reign. The club thought Xhaka and Coq would be a better alt than Kante, so we passed on the Frenchman. Oh how that stung. We need to address that deep-lying midfielder. We need someone with power, pace and smooth bald head. I think AMN is the future, he has it all. Recovery pace, aggression, footballing intelligence and that cool/calm composure usually only associated with elite riflemen. He could be the answer… or the club could go big with an unknown from the Bundesliga.
Will Arsenal take a chance on youth? Let’s see…
Right, that’s me done, see you tomorrow you sexy beasts. x
Ok, we’re in.
No more moaning from me.
The new era is here.
It’s really amusing to read the opinion police out in force when they read something they don’t like. I think the Unai Emery hire is bland, I laid out my reasons if you don’t like them, it’s really not a problem.
Here’s the thing, Emery is going to be far better than Arsene Wenger because anyone would bring improvements to us. I’ve been telling you for years that our ex-coach was dated and past it, so it’ll be really hard for anyone born of this era to not improve on 6th, no real analysis, no pressing system, and a poor grasp of coaching.