Morning all.
Watching Arsenal yesterday was kind of weird. There superb goals yet it all felt too little and certainly too late. Saka was excellent at left back, ESR likewise without Odegaard nicking his space and even Willian had a decent game, topped off with a super free kick. Just a shame it’s taken him so long to find his range.
Substitutes are made to make a difference and they did but not in a positive way. That’s not me criticising the changes, just that once Saka moved up the pitch and ESR and Martinelli went off, our game kind of went to pieces. But hey, that’s Arsenal’s season for you, up one minute, down the next but the difference yesterday was three chances were executed. We still conceded a goal though.
Did you know that Arsenal were behind a big fat first in the Premier League? Yep, the first team to send Big Sam down a division. A good time for Arsenal to do a deal for Pereira I reckon….
Seriously though, there’s nothing wrong with Arsenal looking at the three clubs who’ll be relegated and trying to pick off their best players. Why not? They all know what it’s like to play in the Premier League so they should be able to hit the ground running. I don’t think Arsenal can afford to bring players in who might need a season to adapt to the rigours of English football.
The best bit about yesterday’s game was ESR scoring his first Premier League goal for the club and understandably, he was pretty chuffed when talking to Arsenal Media:
It’s a moment I’ve been waiting for all season to be fair. I’ve been waiting to score for this wonderful club so it was a dream come true for me. B (Bukayo Saka) got the ball down the wing and when he crossed it I just tried to stay as calm as I could and it was a good finish, I’m happy with it.
I feel like [Bukayo’s] got so much experience now and he’s so versatile. He can play in so many different positions and stuff. I feel like we know each other inside out and we’re going to keep carrying on and keep playing games together.
That’s the bonus of coming through the academy together because they probably do know each other’s game inside out so there’s bound to be an understanding between them. Our best football this season has been post Boxing Day when they’ve been the creative duo in the team. Odegaard has shown glimpses of his ability but when all three play in the same team, it hasn’t quite worked.
Personally, I don’t think signing Odegaard permanently would be a good move. He’d be expensive and in my opinion there are other areas in the team which need investment. A few contracts need addressing too, Lacazette, Chambers, Nketiah, Ryan and Azeez.
New Director of Football Operations Richard Garlick joins the club later this month and he’s likely to be a very busy man. Talk about in at the deep end.
Arsenal play Chelsea on Wednesday night. With Thomas Tuchel’s side still needing points to ensure they finish in the top four, there’s little chance they’ll take it easy against us although with a Champions League Final looming, perhaps Tuchel will be kind and rest his entire first team. West Brom scored five against them so there’s hope…
9 points out of the 9 left on offer and you never know, Arsenal might just sneak into a Europa spot.
See you in the comments.
Morning All, hopefully Rick they can sort out a deal for Taylor Hart, then send him out on loan where he can toughen up.
Rumours that Arsenal have had a rethink and are now considering an offer to Lacazette to hang onto him as Arteta it seems wants to keep him. I’m not sure what to think about that but it doesn’t smack of joined up thinking to me.
Maybe because of the recession in football they think that they won’t get a good enough offer for him and that it’ll be cheaper to keep him rather than letting him go for a pittance and replacing him with someone whose no better but more expensive?
DG, if Smith Rowe felt his hamstring yesterday I hope they rest him against Chelsea, that is going to be an enormously difficult game against an in form team looking to finish this season with a flourish. Odegaard can come in and we can play pretty much the same team, even if Martinelli didn’t set the world alight. I reckon that Arteta had one eye on the Chelsea game and it influenced his selection yesterday.
Thanks for the post Rico, yes it did feel strange yesterday because a lot of our football, well most of it actually, is quite uninspiring but interspersed among the dross there’s some really inspirational stuff from our youngsters and it’s simply natural to those players, not coached, because they’ve been doing it for years in the U18’s and U23’s.
Saka and Smith Rowe have made this season bearable with their off the cuff adventurousness and fearless attacking verve, everything they do is progressive but maybe that’s just the fearlessness of youth? They’ve had a positive influence on those older, cynical, safety first pros around them and provided us with most of the few highlights we can take from this disastrous season.
As for Willian, what more is there to say about him?
He actually seems to be popular among his teammates because they all looked delighted for him when he scored his goal, it’s just a shame he didn’t do it in August instead of May.
He actually had a really good game and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him keep his place for Wednesday vs Chelsea, now that’s the acid test for ‘old curly top’…
Good Morning Rico and Everyone
It was wonderful to read that its the first time that Fat Sam went down. I really hate it when he appears on screen.
One step at a time. Or more appropriately one game at a time.
Kev….I fully concur with you regarding Odegaard. The future number 10 is already here. And yesterday he did what we have been saying all along. When we got Odegaard I was afraid that ESR would suffer….and he did. But I hope that Arteta sees that that position belongs to ESR. And the player who will rest him and also rotate with him is at NUFC…..scoring goals at will.
If Arteta/Edu sanction the sale of Willock it would be criminal and they deserve the sack. Because Willock, if sold, will go on to play for a top club. He will end up at Liverpool, Man City or Man Utd. Maybe even Chelsea. He is way better than to play for NUFC or midtable. So the club should keep him.
I wonder why it took so long for Arteta to realize that Saka is a better LB than Xhaka. Maybe he mixed the first letter of each name??? And Xhaka is a better DM than he is at left back. So why didnt he play that way when Tierney was missing? Saka is the most similar player to Tierney attacking wise plus faster than Xhaka for sure. Moving Granit, our most important pivot at the club right now to LB is ridiculous.
And as Cicero rightly pointed out MArtinelli did so much more than Auba did in the last 6 games up front. Martinelli is more Auba style than Laca style up front but he does work harder for the team and not the team has to work for him.
Agree re ESR and Saka Kev, the shining light in an boring season for Arsenal.
Much prefer seeing Martinelli up front. Ok, he didn’t score yesterday but as others have said, he works really hard for the team. He is everything Aubameyang has struggled to be this season.
Good morning Rico and thank you for the post, it must have more pleasant to write than many of late.
I was pleased see Rob Holding trot out with the Captain’s arm band on, he could become the 21st century version of Tony Adams. He must be high on the list for Arsenal Player of the Season.
When it comes to substitution time I prefer to see like for like replacements. Surely when ESR was subbed Odegaard should have come on. Saka was having ball at left back, and we lost his fizz when he was pushed out by, a clearly not fully fit, Tierney.
On another topic entirely, yesterday Ollie Watkins got a straight red for a dive in the penalty area. The day before Raheem Stirling only received a yellow for a much more blatant attempt at “earning” a penalty. Consistency? Bullshit!
Morning Cicero, I came over feeling quite unwell whilst writing this one. I think it was shock of writing about Willian having a good game and scoring. 😜
I wonder if Holding wearing the armband was a hint to the future…
I saw your comment on Leno by the way, I too reckon he had a slap on the wrist at halftime.
Talking of Holding, I think his bashing and ball play in general has improved.
Bashing? Rico. Smashing, dashing, lashing, crashing ??? 😉
Washing, clashing, alright I’ll stop now. 😉
Passing Cicero 😀
👍Rico
Hi Rico and All, I would be happy for Odegaard to stay next season if the price is right as I see it ESR and Saka will have to keep on top of there game knowing Odegaard is waiting for his chance and also how will these 2 young players cope if they have a bad game and 60 thousand fans abuse while Odegaard can be used also as a back up so we can rest Saka and ESR,
As for Ryan if Arteta is not going to play him more regular then send him back and save money,
Cicero unless I am mistaken Ollie Watkins was sent off as it was his second yellow card as for Raheem Stirling I did not see that match.
Yes, nobody quite bashes the ball like our Rob.
Hi Geoff, don’t forget we have other young midfielders coming through, personally I think Odegaard would be an expensive luxury right now.
Lets hope we get to see some of the other younger players during practise matches to see how far off they are from taking the next big step. but I still feel Odegaard at the right price could still be a good deal even if we sell him in a year or two if our other younger players are ready.
hope fully there may be some good young defenders coming through because we need them and possible a really reliable striker would not go a straw
Rico the down side of living in Australia we don’t really get to see the younger teams play much and see how good these younger players are.
Leno has been put up for sale according to some articles on NN
DG I think an online Journo by the name of Wheatley (forget his first name) Tweeted six or was it eight players he reckons will be sold in the summer and Leno was among them.
None of them were a surprise and any of us could have Tweeted the same without anyone being shocked.
I mean if it happens, it happens, as long as the club have an adequate replacement lined up and we get a decent fee for Leno, I won’t lose any sleep.
I would love to have Nick Pope Kev. He is a good sound keeper. Plus he is English.
We don’t either Geoff, not unless afc.com show the games or the odd opposition website. Some are on YouTube too I think
I would love to have an English core made up of players from the academy. Most of all I want the keeper to be English.
Me too Devil but great English keepers are rare.
I still think it’s criminal that as a club, Arsenal don’t churn out at least 1-2 players a year from the academy. Even keepers. And I mean players of Saks level. Those who will not look out of place in the first team
Very few clubs do though.
I don’t care about other clubs though. Our academy should imitate Ajax in that regard and concentrate more energy into the youth sector. And concentrate on producing footballers not run of the mill players.
I don’t either, I’m just suggesting it’s perhaps not as easy as we think it is.
It never is Rico. But it all depends on the quality of coaches and recruitment from when still young. Coaches at that level should be dedicated more than senior team coaches.
And the coach must always see the young footballers as the subject of their coaches rather than the object of their ambitions. Take Freddie Lyungberg…the players loved him for a reason. Because they were the centre of his methods. That is why they still mention him with respect and admiration.
At the same time they must not be over coached because it is there that they lose their creativity. they must be taught to think on the field of play and at the same time fit into a team system and play.
Can you create a footballer?? No you cannot. Being a footballer is something that one is born with. However you can create player coaches….player who see the game as the coach does. Players who can understand and read the game and tactics.
Look at our teams in the past 9 years. Did they read the game and its tactics? how many times have we been guilty of committing errors simply because we reacted to situations rather than being pro-active?
Iniesta and Xavi were not taught how to be a footballer. But they were taught how to read the game, influence it and also dictate its tempo
I realise all that Devil but we were talking players and unless the kids have the ability and dedication, they won’t make it regardless of the coaching.
Yeah DG, I like Pope a lot, but Burnley would want stupid millions to get him and it seems that Arteta and his Spanish goalkeeping coach are looking in La Liga.
I do agree, I’d like an English goalkeeper, not least because of communication at the back.
Obvious to me and others that Edu makes all the decisions on which players stay and those who go,Arsenal chief Edu is preparing to sell six senior players this summer.(the Atletic, ornstein)
Football.London says money is tight at the vast majority of clubs which suggests that player sales will be required to raise funds.
Arsenal will be looking to do just that, with six of their stars set to be made available for transfer ahead of the summer window.
The report claims that Bernd Leno, Hector Bellerin, Sead Kolasinac, Lucas Torreira, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Matteo Guendouzi have all been earmarked as potential money-makers.
Leno and Bellerin have featured heavily this season, with both players failing to live up to expectations at times, while the latter four have been spending time on loan at Schalke, Atletico Madrid, West Bromwich Albion and Hertha Berlin respectively.
The Gunners are also in talks with Stuttgart with a view to allowing Konstantinos Mavropanos to stay at the club until the end of next season, at which point the Bundesliga outfit would have an option to buy the Greek defender.
Meanwhile, a number of youth players are also expected to leave Arsenal this summer, with numbers set to be ‘dramatically reduced’ in time for the new campaign.
So if Ornstein is correct, if, then the Willian deal is totally on Edu?
Does that mean that the sale of Martinez and the signing of Runarsson is on Edu as well?
Also letting Ozil join Fenerbahce whilst still paying most of his wages I guess?
Giving Soares a four year deal?
It’s quite a mixed bag isn’t it?
Morning Gooners
Morning all.
I don’t believe Edu is solely responsible for any transfers in or out.
New post up now
https://highbury-house.com/2021/05/11/for-sale-list-isnt-long-enough/