Morning guys.
I didn’t think I’d watch much of the World Cup but I’ve already watched two matches. At least some of them. The women’s T20 World Cup started yesterday so Englands opening game took precedence. The football in both matches I’ve watched has been fast and quite furious but the actual quality has not been very good. Apparently America were pretty good in the early hours though but I’m blowed if I’m staying up to watch the morning games.
David Ornstein has a bit of transfer news in that Arsenal are exploring a deal to sign Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge. More on that should a deal be done.
Yesterday I read back on the 2013/14 & 2014/15 seasons. Both were pretty mixed.
In the summer transfer window, Arsenal announced Yaya Sanogo had joined on a free transfer from Auxerre. Fantastic, said not one Arsenal fan. Better news was that a young and exciting prospect in Serge Gnabry stepped up from the academy to the first team. It wasn’t until the final day of the transfer window when Arsenal would sign a a player whose name I recognised. Mesut Ozil. I think the transfer we all remember from that season though is the January loan of Kim Kallstrom, the man with a bad back who missed half a dozen matches after arriving. Priceless!
Anyway, after the opening game defeat at home to Aston Villa, Arsenal worked their way to the top of the league table and pretty much stayed there until just before Christmas. Surprise surprise, it was downhill from there, or down the table anyway as once again, Arsenal ended the season in 4th place.
In the Champions League, Bayern Munich knocked us out in the knockout round, the League Cup journey was ended by Chelsea.
However, Arsenal were plodding along nicely in the FA Cup. Our first fixture in the competition was an NLD at The Emirates which we won 2-0 thanks to goals from Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky. The draw was kind to us as another home fixture came out of the pot, this one against League One club Coventry. Two goals from Lucas Podolski and one each from Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla secured our victory. Next up was Liverpool who had thrashed us 5-1 at Anfield just a few days previous, but this cup match was again at The Emirates. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain gave us the lead before Lukas Podolski made in 2-0 early in the second. Liverpool pulled one back from the penalty spot but Arsenal held on. Another home tie in the draw, this one against the blue team from Merseyside but they were brushed aside with ease. Goals from Ozil, Mikel Arteta and two from Giroud saw us to a 4-1 victory.
Off to Wembley we went to face Wigan. Mertesacker went from villain to hero after conceding a penalty before heading home an equaliser late in the game. Extra-time produced no goals so penalties were required. Fabianski made a couple of saves to help secure our place in the final.
The final against Hull City was bonkers!
4 minutes in and Hull City were 1-0 up, 8 minutes in and Hull City were 2-0 up and but for a Kieran Gibbs goal line clearance, Arsenal would have been staring down the barrel of defeat. Then, Santi Cazorla was fouled just outside the Hull penalty area. Our Spanish wizard whipped a lovely curling free kick up and passed City’s keeper. 2-1. With around 20 minutes to go, Laurent Koscielny made it 2-2 but extra time was needed to decide this final. Then it was about Aaron Ramsey.
Great to finally lift the cup again but my goodness, Hull City made it difficult. Or did Arsenal simply make it difficult for themselves?
2014/15 season.
The summer transfer window saw the arrival of Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona and I think it’s fair to say that Arsenal fans were over the move with this signing. I was. Danny Welbeck arrived that summer too along with Mathieu Debuchy, Callum Chambers, Gabriel Paulista and David Ospina. Hector Bellerin would make his step up this season too.
The season began with a 3-0 defeat of Man City in the Community Shield Cup Final. As was par for the course back in those days, our Premier League form and results were very mixed but we secured third place by the end of the campaign. Alexis Sanchez ended his first season with 25 goals in all competitions.
Our Champions League journey was ended by Monaco at the first knockout stage and the League Cup challenge ended in the third round by Southampton. The FA Cup though, well, that was our route to silverware once more. Ironically, we faced Hull City in our first match and defeated them 2-0. Next up was Brighton, 3-2 away from home. A 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough at The Emirates earned us a quarter-final fixture against Man Utd at Old Trafford. Good old Danny Welbeck eh!
Off to Wembley we went for a semi-final against my local team Reading, a game which needed extra time to secure a 2-1 win and finally, Aston Villa stood between ourselves and another FA Cup trophy.
Enjoy…
New post up.
That’s doing nothing for me Devil. Lol
Havertz scored twice, one a penalty and the other a nice finish. Perhaps if he keeps playing well, another club might sign him…
https://x.com/OnsOranje/status/2066200901832859934?s=20
The above is brilliant… lol
Can’t get invested in Germany playing Curacao as the only thing I know about them is mixed with Vodka , Ice and lemonade . Curacao that is.
they DO do something Rico. They sit on their arse
Afternoon Devil, I wonder how much FIFA pocket though for doing absolutely nothing..
It’ll be interesting to see how Balogun plays against a stronger opposition. I’ve been watching the early games, usually whilst doing something else.
Transfers are definitely a lottery, kind of why PL players are a better option.
Good afternoon Rico and all
Some good news with regards the WC………FIFA is literally paying Arsenal nearly half a million pounds a week just for letting their players look world class on the global stage.
Under the FIFA Club Benefits Programme, Arsenal gets paid around £4,000 a day for every single player away on international duty. With 16 Gunners heading out, the math gets absolutely crazy, because just one player brings in £28,000 a week.
All 16 Gunners together bank Arsenal a massive £445,000 every single week while they are away. And the deeper they go in the tournament, the bigger the payday gets. A single player reaching the final banks Arsenal roughly £225,000. If a handful of the boys make the semi finals or final, the club will easily clear millions by the end of the tournament.
It literally pays to have a world class squad.
(Copied from FB)
Transfers are a lottery , all of them are good players but some fit and others don’t. It’s a gamble from both sides . It’s kind of similar to the ones we bring out of the junior ranks. I can’t really remember many that we have let go to have become top stars elsewhere.
Gnabry maybe and now Balogun may have slipped through the net but there are not too many.
I have not yet watched a minute of the world cup. Brazil and Morocco might have been interesting but I think I will leave it until the over inflated dross has been eliminated.
Balogun’s Arsenal ship is long sailed imo.
Dreadful wasn’t he. Didn’t he switch shirts with an opponent at halftime in one match?
Oh my god Santos,
Had nightmares for years about him.
Balogan is getting rave revues in the States, I wonder if we could entice him back.
🤣 Cicero.
I loved McDonald Limey, even though he was easy to nutmeg. 😜
Good point re Arteta, not sure any signings that summer had the wow factor, Oxlade-Chamberlain was an exciting prospect. I think Gervinho turned out to be the worst, Santos too.
Yes he was Rico, he even made one of his signature goal saving blocks. 😉
Afternoon all,
I’ve seen a bit of the World Cup now,mostly good to be fair. I saw highlights of the Scotland game – they were a bit lucky but it doesn’t matter how you win I suppose. So pleased for the Aussies,fantastic defensive performance – sounds familiar.
Yes Rico,we had some laughable bad players over the years. A low point for me was 2011 when we had some decent players,but the League Cup loss to Birmingham and then the 8-2 at Old Trafford were the stuff of nightmares.
I suppose out of that came the signing of Arteta,unremarkable at the time,but without that he probably wouldn’t have the love for the club he has now,and maybe the club wouldn’t have brought him back in 2019.
There are plenty on here with longer memories than mine but in my memory there’s been loads of iffy players and results. My first favourite Arsenal player was Malcolm Mcdonald,first big disappointment was the 1978 FA Cup final,I think Ipswich were in the second division.
First Arsenal game live was at Stamford Bridge in 1985 or 86,our manager was Don Howe,Niall Quinn was up front and he was terrible,couldn’t trap a bag of cement as the saying goes. To be fair Quinn developed into a really good player in a few years. Can’t have been due to coaching because Don Howe was a really good coach. Result was 0 -0,and it was dire. Those were dark days.
My point is there have been lots of bad players and results over the years.
Next years fixtures are announced next Friday!
Was Gabriel not playing Cicero? 😜
Morning Geoff. He does but I’m always sceptical of rumours. Lol
I watched the B B C highlights of the Brazil Morocco game and there wasn’t a single foul shown. Odd!
Morning Rico and all, I know YouTube can make anyone look good, but Tzolis looks like he could fit in well with Gyokeres with his quick pass into the box.
I reckon Ozil would fit this team better than he did when he joined us however I would like a young Thierry Henry in this side.
Morning Cicero, Kev, all.
Not seen anything official about that Cicero, hope it’s true though. Read something the other day suggesting Forest were interested.
Good morning all.
Nottingham Forest have submitted a £25 million bid for Fabio Viera.
Arsenal have been runners-up 12 times in total with around half of those coming during the last 26 years!
But Liverpool have been runners-up 15 times so I guess the Scousers are bigger bottlers than us whilst Man United are the mega-bottlers after coming runners-up 17 times…
Hakimi continuing his fouling from the CL final and still not getting pulled up!
Alan Shearer is really a crap commentator, I hope that none of you’s are listening to The Rest is Football podcast with Gary smug Lineker?
Dev, I managed 10 minutes of the Switzerland game on the radio, then switched to a podcast, at least Brazil vs Morocco atm is entertaining.
Good experience for him though , should help his return next season. England’s under 21’s next fixture is not until September so plenty of rest and training at London Colney.
Sucker punch at the end for Granit..
Ethan Nwaneri has left the England camp along with others who were called into the training camp.
I found the first half amazingly boring. watching paint dry. moves too coreographed, no imagination at all very predictable moves and a very lacking in creativity
Atm I am watching Switzerland. But tbh I am simply not feeling any emotion by the WC games. The tv is on the game but its not my primary focus. Too distracted by other things. The only thing I like about the game is the Swiss mint shirts. Imagine that with navy blue shorts with mint/blue hooped socks. No blue sleeves though. Fascinating.
It means I miss Arsenal games.
The Ornstein transfer guff is in the post Devil. He wrote it this morning.
I’ve seen that one before Devil. Lol
oops posted it twice. please delete on Rico. Thanks
More on the TZOLIS news…..well imo the Belgian league is not the same as the EPL but who knows.
David Ornstein has just dropped a massive transfer bomb confirming that reigning Premier League champions Arsenal are exploring a €40million (£34.5m) blockbuster deal to sign Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis!
The 24-year-old Greece international is an absolute statistical machine, racking up an unbelievable 17 goals and 23 assists last season in Belgium. He’s found the back of the net over 20 times in three consecutive campaigns!
Ornstein reports that this move would NOT impact Arsenal’s pursuit of Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers either, as Arteta looks to completely refresh our attacking options with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard entering the final two years of their current contracts.With 43 goals over the last two seasons, Tzolis looks exactly like the efficient, versatile forward we need to retain our Premier League crown next season.€40million for a winger with 40+ goal contributions last season—is this the perfect depth signing for Arteta, or should we target someone else?
Rico……this is a great watch from the past. Well not in this century but back in the good old GG days. Enjooooyyyy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JERdIAMmFNQ
Afternoon Devil.
Alexis and Santi would be great for today’s Arsenal. Possibly Ozil too which I know sounds bonkers but in a team with 9 other grafters, he’d shine. He just wasn’t a fighter.
Cicero, as rare as hens teeth. 😜
JM, 20 million for Trossard is quite reasonable imo. One has to consider his age and his contract duration. Imo I wouldn’t sell him for anything and extend his contract by one year at a time. He will surely help the team whether as a starter or as a sub.
If we were to get Yan Diomande to play on the left then its a no brainer. Still only 19 he is very fast and very good.
You might enjoy our upper twenties and lower thirty degree mates, but I can assure you with our high humidity it feels worse. And its still only June. Cant even dare to imagine August with our usual 39-43 degree temps.
October can’t come soon enough with temperatures between 18-22 degrees.
20 million for Tossard isn’t too little?
this is how much Besiktas pays (or wants to pay…)
Martinelli’s departure is also beiing considered…
That was a rarity for sure Rico. 😉
Good afternoon Rico and all
The reviews are enjoyable, well at least parts of them bring back great memories. Some of them bring heartbreak as well. Some players put you on the edge of your seats or over the moon. Some others made you hold your breath…..for all the wrong reasons.
The Villa final was both a great moment but looking back it was also a bit of a heartbreak for me….even though at that moment I did not know it. That was the last final Pa and I watched side by side. A few months later Pa went into a home for the elderly and the only times Pa watched Arsenal were either highlights on my laptop or else when the TV showed games during non visiting hours.
With the present team I wish we had Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez. The latter would have dismantled PSG singlehanded in the final. Cazorla would have pulled the strings behind VG14 or Kai. Being double footed would have made him a dream for both the right and left wingers.
Arteta played with Ozil who couldnt be arsed. He couldnt wait to get rid of him. Pa never liked Ozil and always said that with him in the team we were around two men short.
Arsenal are exploring a deal to sign Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge. The 24-year-old left winger expected to cost €40million. Forget Barcola or anyone else for that matter. Those are click baits imo….this might turn out to be the real deal which I and many others, believe will happen.
I would love Arteta to buy Wesley Franca, the Brazilian right back. He is only 22 and plays for Roma and the Selecao. I see him play regularly on Italian TV.
Must admit Limey, I have a bit of a chuckle when reading about them. Some of the defeats against the likes of Stoke, Southampton etc, I wonder how on earth they happened.
Apparently, when Arsenal built the stadium, the bank would only lend the club money if Arsene Wenger agreed to stay for the next ten years. Maybe that’s why he hung on so long.
Afternoon all,
These reviews of past seasons are fun. We are in a golden period now. These things come and go so I’m just enjoying it while it lasts.
The 2014 and 2015 FA Cup wins were great,looking back Wenger should have stepped down after either,although two of my favourite FA Cup goals- Sanchez and Walcott,came in 2015,so maybe then.
I see Balogun scored two for USA,I haven’t seen much of the World Cup yet,thinking about it the TV companies should put a daily highlights show,at a more reasonable time.
The one thing the season reviews do is highlight just how many awful signings the club made over the years. A lot of great ones as well but we always seemed 2/3 players missing in vital areas..
Morning Kev, Potter.
I loved Alexis, such a wonderful player to watch and like you, I was so disappointed to see him leave.
Ozil was a lazy and luxury player. Brilliant one minute, blown over by a gush of wind the next..
About as rare as the Pires one
Morning Rico,
Mesut saw Arsenal as a nice little earner with low expectations and no real pressure, he pretty much played when he felt like it and when he didn’t he didn’t and Wenger allowed him to do so.
Alexis was great, always looking to progress the ball and attack, was sorry to see him go but loved how expensively it failed at OT.
Every summer we’d go into the season on a wing and a prayer only to get smashed by Chelsea, Liverpool, United, City and sometimes Tottenham, it was like death by a thousand cuts.
I’m sure I saw Ozil make a tackle in the final against Villa 😜