Morning all.
Arsenal Football Club stepped into the summer transfer window knowing that Mikel Arteta wanted a deeper and stronger squad. He got it.
Kepa, Martin Zubimendi, Cristhian Mosquera, Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard, Ebe Eze and Piero Hincapie all arrived at some stage throughout the summer. Hincapie was a loan deal but with an obligation to buy so he was ours for the foreseeable.
Not every Arsenal fan would have been pleased with all the names on the above list I’m sure but that’s life, not every person can be pleased all of the time.
As always, many players left the club too. Kieran Tierney, Jorginho, Nuno Tavares, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior being the main ones. Ethan Nwaneri left too but on a loan deal to Marseille. Fabio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Reiss Nelson and Sambi Lokonga went out on loan again too. Thomas Partey left the club on expiry of his contract as did Raheem Sterling whose dreadful loan deal came to an end.
Other than the obvious, doing the double over Totts in the fashion we did it was great, as was repeating the feat against Newcastle Utd who had of late been a bit of a bogey team. Liverpool are another nemesis of ours and once more we couldn’t beat them. Nor could we beat Guardiola’s side.
A couple of draws in January and again in February led to the “bottlers” headline to reappear and they increased after we were beaten at home by Bournemouth before losing at The Etihad. As City raced to a 3-0 lead against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, remember “that photo” doing the rounds. Of course you do. It will haunt that Man City fans for the rest of his life.
However, it wasn’t Arsenal who ended up bottling what was a close race for the title. No, that was Man City as it was they who dropped points whereas Arsenal fought bloody hard to get the points needed to get us over the line. In the end, the points difference was seven! Easy eh….
Like with transfers, not every fan was a fan of the appointment of Mikel Arteta but what he’s done has been remarkable really. Not for just winning the Premier League but for the way he, as well as others at the club, has dragged Arsenal Football Club out of the gutter and brought the club back into the mix. Not only in England but in Europe too. The fan base are together again, in sync with the club. The support both home and away has been fantastic and that’s because there’s been a reason to believe again which pre Mikel Arteta had not been apparent for a number of years.
Now we have to kick on. Bring in better players than we have, different players to who we have and now we’ve finally conquered England, let’s go and conquer Europe too. We made it to the quarterfinal, then the semifinal and last season, the final when only penalties divided ourselves and PSG.
The Arsenal, 2025/26 Premier League Champions…
Morning all.
Still muggy here, need a storm and rain to clear it. 🤞
New post up.
Probably do something similar as non footballing friends booked a birthday celebration this evening in a Thai restaurant for 8 pm.
When it’s on offer Cloudy Bay , Marlborough Estate is one of our staple purchases.
‘mornng all. Thunder storm here at 5.15 this morning a fair amount of rain too. It felt fresher at seven by its all ready 26 and heading for the low 30s.
Tonight’s kick-off is not until 22.00, I shall record the game and watch in the cool of early Sunday morning.
My tomatoes were very happy about the rain last night, cooler today which will make driving in London less of a chore.
Don’t want Bruno, that ship has sailed…
Big Ben back in town is turning the odds somewhat.
Which white did your lady wife enjoy, Cicero?
We celebrated my middle sons 27th bday. He chose curry on this the hottest day of the year.
We’ve had a drop of rain and I mean a drop. 😜
It was too hot for our regular Friday fish and chip lunch so we had it this evening followed by a hour or so sitting in the garden with a bottle of New Zealand white for my wife and a bottle of Speyside Single Malt for our neighbour and I. Still quite warm and not a breath of wind.
He’s a red card in the waiting imo
I am a bit mixed with regards Bruno. He is definitely a good player and with Rice by his side I am certain that not even air will pass. He is EPL experienced and relishes a bit of a scrap and is not one to hide in away games during winter.
However…..28 years old. no resale value. has not won that much.
So that is why I am mixed about him.
When I saw it I had no idea if it was fake or not?? That’s why I asked if any of you saw the game and saw that particular incident.
Imagine if it was real lol.
Afternoon Devil, that re Havertz etc is fake. Two different things put together I believe.
Let’s hope it’s just click bait Cicero, I believe it originated from The Sun.
Nor me regarding Bruno Rico.
Good afternoon Rico and all.
Great summary of the Champions’ season. Was it really last season?? seems such a long time ago lol
Did any of you watch Germany vs Ecuador?? Those who did, did you see Kai protesting with the ref because Hincapie got a yellow?? He forgot that although they are team mates in the red and white, that game they were opponents.
Raya is on 150K a week. That is a very good pay but for a keeper of his stature I guess he should be earning more. 3 times in succession golden glove winner. No mean feat. I hope we keep him .
The Bruno rumours don’t make a lot of sense to me..
Yep, I’ll be watching that one too.
Really enjoyed the German game last night although it was not for the footballing purists.
Yes it is a bit warm today , and the rumours abound . Norway v France tonight I will keep my eye on that.
Agree re Anderson, he’s yet to shine in an England shirt.
Morning Cicero, hot and stuffy here too but it’s set to break with storms due.
City to pay £100 million plus for Forest’s Anderson. From what I’ve seen of him that’s grossly over paying for a fairly ordinary midfielder.
Good morning all from a sweltering Norfolk. Temperature to hit 38c (101f) by midday, it’s already 26c.
All subjective really Dennis. As you said though, we’ve just won the league so we’re doing something right.
Congratulations Ecuador. What a performance..
Zubimendi, Rico. As for Eze, £60m for a filler not up to our levels is just pure waste.
Don’t think Germany are enjoying Ecuador’s style of football. 😂
Saying that, Germany’s goal should have been disallowed for a very high boot..
Eze Dennis or Zubimendi?
A very conservative signing for a very conservative club, Rico.
We will Dennis, as said in the post, not everyone can be pleased all of the time. 😜
Hindsight is a wonderful thing with transfers.
Didn’t watch much of the review but I definitely heard a few of those words being muttered.
I know we all enjoyed beating Spuds for the signing of Eze, but I think they got a player with a higher ceiling in Xavi Simons.
We’ll have to agree to disagree on Zubi, Rico, I’d rather the money had been spent on a more progressive player.
Sky’s review will no doubt contain words such as Set , piece , boring , holding , corners , slow , defensive and anything else that they can find to be derogatory. They might mention that we were the second highest goal scorers in the league but will counter it with negatives relating to how they were scored.
Don’t think I will be watching it but please tell me if I am wrong.
Zubimendi faded after Christmas, up until then I thought he was excellent and I disagree Dennis, I think we did need him. I was pleased when we signed Eze. He gives our attack something different but I do agree with the view that he goes missing too often.
Two of the signings baffle me, Madueke and Norgaard, the latter because he barely played.
Ha ha Potter..
Spookily, Sky Sports are running a season review this afternoon.
Hi everyone.
Our summer window was ok last year, but could have been better as the football style bears witness.
Kepa for £5m was decent enough, and no-one thought it was a bad idea.
Mosquera another promising signing, plenty of potential there.
Hincapie is a warrior who puts it all in, versatile as well, he can operate at centre-back as well as left back. Now he’s signed I hope we keep him.
I have an issue with the midfield.
Zubi is a poor man’s Declan Rice, and I seriously hate playing a double-pivot of DM’s, there’s really no need for any big club to play so cautiously.
If you’re stuck on the principle of 4-3-3, at least balance your midfield. A DM ‘screener’ who helps out the defence, a box-to-box for quick transitions, and a proper 10 who operates mostly around the edge of the opponents 18yd area.
A 6, 8 and 10. We have two 6’s, an 8 (Ode), and Eze, who you wouldn’t know was on the pitch most games.
So, we didn’t need Zubimendi, Eze, or yet another Chelsea reject, Madueke. That’s around £150m waste, that should have been spent elsewhere.
I couldn’t understand why Arsenal limited their choice of strikers between Sesko and Gyokeres when there were more options. Joao Pedro (£60m from Brighton), but if they had been a bit more adventurous we might have gone for Hugo Ekitike.
What I do like about Gyokeres is his attitude.
The transfer fee isn’t his fault, but he made it clear he wanted to join Arsenal as soon as he knew the club were interested.
He didn’t start like an express train and he had plenty of critics among the Arsenal fan-base (me included), but as the season went on he quietly went about his business and grew into his role, scoring important goals and contributing to help Arsenal get over the line.
A year on, I would still steer clear if he was elsewhere and available, but he does offer things we would find hard to replace, so now we do have him, I wouldn’t sell either.
There’s also an argument to be made for over-analysis, and you can over-think or talk yourself out of enjoying the moment as much as you should.
We got some stuff wrong, but you’re getting more stuff right than wrong when you’re winning titles.
It’s about how you follow it up.
Well , well , there’s a new post.
Was a good toss to win.
77 I think Stuart. Certainly matches Eze relaxed style.
300-0
“Say you, say me” is one of my faves. My Dad used to sing it when he had been in his cups.
No, I didn’t read that, Rico. Must be in his late 70’s, still got a voice smooth as Vegemite.
That song should be turned into a terrace song for Eb’s.
45 mill well spent on Piero. Great signing.
200 for none after 50 overs in a test match!
Geoff, he was probably fit when we signed him. 😜
Did you see Lionel has been poorly Stuart? I loved the Commodores in their prime.
Hincapie deal confirmed by Arsenal.
I guess the transfer team have returned from their summer break. Lol
You’re singing a sweet song, Rico. Thanks for the post. “Easy, eh?” Easy like Sunday morning, mate.
Hot day, flat wicket… the Kiwis are flying. I hope you’ve got air con in your sherbert, Kev.
Rico, Sorry I wasn’t trying to blame any particular manager, more the recruiting / medical team that said buy him.
Afternoon Geoff. To be fair, Tierney was signed pre Arteta. Calafiori and his injuries worry me but hopefully after a summer off, he’ll be over them going forward.
Afternoon Rico and all, Hope the nights are cooling enough for to sleep.
We have defiantly had a few players that had a lot of potential come in that never worked out. How every saying that I still don’t know we brought Kieran Tierney he was injury prone before we brought, but at least we are now buying players we need not just because there is only 12 hours left and no one good come in.
Afternoon Cicero, thank you.
It’s still really hot down south. Blinds shut, windows shut and I’m melting 🤣
I like Eze but he needs to be more consistent imo. Goes missing too often. Madueke is all speed and not much else.
G’day Rico.
Excellent post thank you. As far as I’m concerned, none of the departures were a loss and we didn’t miss any of them.
Incomers were a mixed bag, Hincapie proved to be one of the best along side Zubimendi, Mosquera and Gyokeres. I still have reservations about both Eze and Madueke, neither are game changers, neither are regular scorers. Ok back-ups but not regular starters.
It looks like being a very long day in the field for England, I wouldn’t bet against New Zealand finishing the day with 400+ plus on the board still with wickets in hand.
Cooler here this morning, I even cut half of the rear lawn before breakfast.