Morning guys.
Absolutely loving the new kit. Great to see Adidas back at Arsenal and good riddance to Puma I say. Hopefully this is the start of better times for Arsenal. Feel good, play good ‘they day’ although my shiny football boots and well pressed kit didn’t do me much good…..
It’s the 1st July today so white rabbits, pinch punch or whatever your thing is. For Arsenal it means Danny Welbeck, Aaron Ramsey, Petr Cech, Cohen Bramall, Charlie Gilmour, Julio Plequezuelo, Stephan Lichtsteiner and their salaries are officially off the books after their contracts expired at midnight. The big ones of course are the senior players but even so, add up what the others earn and it all counts. I’m sure more players will depart as the club attempt to sort out what I think is an unbalanced squad.
Departures of course, open the door for new signings and boy do we need one or five of those. Defensive ones are crucial in my opinion as the entire back line, not including the keeper situation, needs some serious attention paid to it. Actually, so does the midfield. All with £45 million in the bank. Yeah right……
Arsenal have many academy players pushing to start as we’ve talked about before and although not everyone will agree, it looks like Unai Emery will have no other choice but to use them. If the club do nothing else but sign top notch defensive players, it’s highly likely we’ll be much better than we have been for a few years. Leaking goals is our major problem which isn’t just down to the defenders, it goes deeper than that. As a defensive unit we’re rubbish but you don’t need to tell you that.
Arsenal came third in the goals scored table with 73, behind Man City with 95 and Liverpool with 89.
Clean sheets – on just eight occasions did we not concede a goal. We lost ten fixtures which surprisingly was the fourth best in the league, level with Utd and only bettered by Liverpool, City and Chelsea.
As the saying goes, every picture tells a story and the above one shows exactly how many goals we conceded. A massive fifty one, more than double the number Man City and Liverpool let in between them!
One of the ex Arsenal players I like listening to on Sky Sports is Charlie Nicholas. He’s not Arsenal born and bred, his accent alone gives that away but he remains super passionate about the club. Like many of us, he’s a much frustrated onlooker who has a view on which direction the club should go. I’m not suggesting he’s right or his opinion matters more than anyone else’s but as so often, it seems a good opinion is only deemed as such because it’s similar to that of the person reading or hearing it. In this case, I’m with Charlie Nicholas who told Sky Sports News:
I wouldn’t keep any of the defenders. Maitland-Niles I feel sorry for because he’s not defensive-minded, he’s more of a central midfield player. He’s a good athlete but he’s not getting taught how to defend by these players who are on survival courses.
Koscielny’s been in the deep end now for three years. Arsene Wenger, when he started playing Monreal at centre-back we knew Arsenal were in trouble. I’m sorry to criticise individuals because they give every ounce that they have but they’re not good defensively, I would let them all go whatever it takes.
I don’t think it will take £150m to get them out and rebuild and build a new dynamic back four. The genuine aspects of it is I think £60m-£70m would make it better than it currently is. We have a decent goalkeeper but we need pace and younger legs at the back. Bellerin and Holding will come back. It’s time to use the younger players, like Nelson and Willock. But defensively everything must be pin-pointed to sort the centre of defence and a left-back.’
He said that after the Europa Cup Final defeat but in all honesty, he could have said it many times through last season and those before. As suggested earlier in the article, throw in a proper defensive midfielder and Bob’s your uncle.
Build the brick wall, no, build two. A strong midfield in front of an equally, if not stronger, defensive line. Our midfield is crying out for a Petit, Vieira or Diaby kind of player. Strong, athletic and quick. Or even the opposite end of the scale, a Gilberto kind of guy who simply reads the game well and quietly goes about his business. Someone bigger and stronger than Torreira, someone other than Xhaka. Bielik or Chambers?
Im certain that with a stronger, more confident and convincing defensive setup, the likes of Aubameyang, Lacazette, Torreira, Willock, Nelson, AMN, Iwobi etc can flourish. I’m not saying they can shirk their defensive duties because every great team defends from the front but perhaps those duties would lessen and we wouldn’t see Lacazette back in his own half quite so often. You never know, we might even get to see Ozil more involved, Mkhitaryan too if we’re stuck with both.
I’m not a fan of stats but in some cases, they don’t lie. We do concede goals, far too many. We create opportunities to score but we miss too many of those too, some which have cost us crucial points but on average, I’d say not as many points as the inability to defend properly has. Should Arsenal only sign defensive players during this transfer window, I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
£100m for Zaha? No thank you. In any case, who’s to say Reiss Nelson won’t score ten goals in thirty four league matches this coming season? Or Amaechi, or Zaka if they get the opportunity.
Go on, tell me I’m wrong. I don’t care…. LOL
And just as I finished writing this, NN is full of headlines which suggest that Yacine Brahimi has agreed to join Arsenal this summer with an announcement expected at the end of the Africa Cup of Nations. Or earlier if Algeria get knocked out. Daily Cannon is running the story with a link to another link which I can’t read because I don’t speak or read French. You get the gist…..
See you in the comments guys.
Good morning Rico, I like the new kit but suspect that a few extra endorsements will appear on it before long, Visit Rwanda type things, all good for a bit more dosh.
We are entering the silly season, all the hacks will be feverishly beavering away inventing stories about almost any player leaving, joining or saying how they would love to join the club they have supported since babyhood, regardless of where in the universe they grew up.
Gotta go, dental visit due, back later.
A very fine Post, Rico, and I enjoyed the read, thank you — and top of the morning to you, too. 😁
The Arsenal financial model that is supposed to keep the club sustainable, will see Arsenal being sustainable right down to the lower leagues, if this nonsense with the transfer funds and having to become a selling club continues.
All that will happen is that we will be unable to sell the dross we currently have for anything more than buttons, if anyone will take them, and we will end up with more dross that is commensurate with the rubbish transfer budget and the vicious cycle will continue whilst Stan ‘Not’ the Man remains the owner.
Yours truly: Unhappy Gooner — still living in forlorn hope.
Morning RA, Cicero and all.
I’m waiting until the transfer window shuts before commenting too much on our transfers. By the way, I copied and pasted that sentence from last summer, and the one before, and……. 😂
So much anticipation and excitement awaiting to hear about all of our signings 🙂
Well, we most definitely need plenty,
But quality over quantity would be better.
Morning all.
Morning all and thanks Rico.
Obviously Ornstein is the only person to listen to on transfers as all the rest are Transfer Window Lickers and imo the only person to listen to on our finances is Swiss Ramble, so here`s his take on it !………..if you`re clever enough to understand it then hats off to you !…………I know Redders will understand it, so maybe he can condense it all in a short sentence ! hahahaha
https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/1145583489103945728
LC, I can give you the lowdown.
We are f****d 🙂
Lc, isn’t our problem wages?
Good morning , Monsieur Le Coq, ça va?
Hope you are keeping well, sir?
As regards transfer info, even Mr Ornstein is relying on tidbits from players/agents/tea-ladies etc, because when clubs are dealing with other parties and committing to legally binding contracts at club commercial level, and confidential personal contracts for the players, governed by contract law etc, means no one but the parties involved really know what has been agreed, until a deal is reached and the clubs announce the player has been physically assessed, the contracts signed and he has been transferred. The rest is guesswork, because as they say — ‘there’s many a slip twixt cup and lip’. 🥺
Swiss Ramble, and its author are excellent, and I have a lot of respect for those Posts.
There is a fly in the ointment though since Usmanov sold his shares to Kroenke and the club became a private company and not now a public company. [That is a loose synopsis for those who hate accountant speak]. 🤪
In a nutshell; private companies are allowed to disclose much less financial information in their annual accounts than the more detailed information required by the Companies Act for public companies.
The result? Swiss Ramble will struggle to be as precise as it has been when comparing the annual accounts pre and post privatisation.
Sorry, Coqui, still too wordy! 😩
Hahaha……………….my own fault, Scott, I did ask for a short sentence !………………………long sentence should be for Kroenke……………preferably Devil`s Island !…………………..ironically, the shape of Devil`s Island from above looks like a penis !………………….Kroenke will feel well at home there !
Ask Redders, Rico ! hahaha
Thanks Redders shorter than your normal encyclopedia inducing finanacial comments of the past .
🙂
Ok my friend, had a recent little scare in Hospital, but on the mend……………………..if there was ever one true saying in life, then it`s ………..you are what you eat !………………all my friends on this site, please eat healthfully, for as much as you may exercise and look good on the outside, it`s the inside thats more important !………………..I`ve had a wake up call !
So all your poncing around in front of the mirror lifting sofas has done you no good at all Lc? 😜
Seriously though, glad to hear you’re ok…
Bon Jour Gooners.
Bon Jour Rico.
From now on Cocker you need to bench press more fruit and veg.
Hope you are much better now…
I read Swiss Rambles ramblings and as much as I don’t do graphs (yawn) I always find his views interesting, but not too surprising.
Arsenal have been leading up to this for the last 5 or 6 years, Kroenke is the problem, or his decision making. He allowed Wenger too much say, for although Kroenke brought in Gazides and paid him handsomely, Wenger had the final say on who got the CEO job, so all three of them share the responsibility of our decline – a decline that can only continue.
Gazides did try to change things at the 11th hour and eventually got Kroenke to sack Wenger, probably 2 years too late. But he must have known that he’d royally fecked up thus his quick escape to Milan – God help AC…
It now makes so much more sense and why Emery got the job.
Also why Monchi changed his mind?
We are in a financial mess, we have no head of recruitment, Edu isn’t due for a few more weeks, we have players on enormous wages who won’t shift, no transfer budget, an owner who is the pits, season ticket holders not renewing in their 100’s but at least we have a nice new kit.
Actually I really like it but if a new shirt is all we’ve got to shout about then we’re really up the creek without a paddle…
Hola Kev…
Was Monchi definitely coming then Kev? Before he changed his mind…
Edu is due any day soon isn’t he…?
Thanks guys/girls, the last month I have changed my diet completely, processed foods, saturated fats, fcuk you tate and lyle, Mcdonalds, etc etc have been replaced by brussell sprouts !……. ahahaha
Eat well my friends !
As for the Swiss Ramble stuff, it`s evident to me that our club will be playing catch up for quite a few years. The club under the new direction are obviously trying to get the wages down ala Ozil and a few others.
As Scott jokingly said but with serious intent, we are f##ked !…………..how long that lasts I have no idea.
LC, it’ll last as long as Stan does.
New change to the spending rule !
https://www.football.london/premier-league/arsenal-spurs-financial-fair-play-16512788
Agree Scott, unless we do a “Leicester” and start winning loads of trophies with some average players and build up our sponsors etc`………………………yes , big ask and even bigger luck needed .
LC, all we can do is support the lads on the pitch.
As long as they’re giving their all, what else can we do?
Coqui,
Sorry to learn about your recent medical problem — but great to hear you are recovering now, buddy.
Remember, when you sense a gaseous eruption about to enfug all those within 10 paces of your good self, warn your friends immediately, and then try to aim downwind at any Spuds. Downwind is important or you may asphyxiate yourself.
Those brussels, eh?? 😳
Good to hear your on the mend Cocky. Start growing some home grown veg in that huge garden you have. Much better for you and tastier too.
So easy to do, erect some raised beds and away you go. No digging, just sow/tend/pick/eat, simples.
Only don’t buy your seeds from Thompson & Morgan. Use Suttons or Unwins.
Look after yourself, and I know you’ll always keep smiling. Take care Buddy.
COYG
sorry rico, wheres my manners. Fine post, as always.
I keep banging the same drum regarding transfers. If we had a good scouting system there is always some hidden gems ready to unearth.
Not sure on his price, but have a look at Jonathan Teh. Big CB, just what we need.
Forget Zaha, his price is ridiculous. Play young Nelson instead and invest our money wisely and get some decent defenders and big athletic DMF.
Thanks Vcc.
Agree re the gems out there to be found, but I reckon we have a few of our own too. 😆
Danny Simpson is available for free, anyone reckon he could do a good job backing up Bellerin for a season?
Sky Sports are saying we’ve bid £40m for Zaha…
Really?
Just seen it, don’t know whether to laugh or cry… 😜
That’s me Rico, AK ITK… 😁
Afternoon Rico, and all. Well to start off with as Cockie stated Swiss Ramble an accountant and Arsenal supporter forsees the biggest loss in the accounts since 2002
. With regards to the shirts.New shirt, £60 selling price, landed cost price £7.00 but adidas have to pay a lump sum initially to get the deal but the club make a fortune from sales.A friend of mine supplies Celtic and they make a minimum of £10 million a year.
Are we royalty that we announce the Away shirt, muted to be yellow/banana on another date.
I heard Mustafi is off on loan to Fernabache for peanuts, not sure if true and the option to buy half what we payed for him.
if i hear any other good news will let you know,VCC and I are on the same page. Mid table would be n achievement next season 😉
😂 Kev, you were spot on.
Thanks Redders and VCC……………I have 5 acres so should have plenty of room to grow my own, even have the horse shit ! hahahaha
Hi Kelsey, I read that too re Mustafi, I think Jm mentioned the rumour last week too.
The Prophet Ornstein has spoken !
https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/1145743658320314369
Hi Le Coq, glad to hear you’re on the road to recovery, keep taking the tablets, good luck mate.
Lc. Hope all is good in your world. I’ve always sworn by the benefits of home grown broccoli, a bit smelly but very good for you!
Alternatively you could always forsake the terrors of Cornwall and move to the midlands where life is really sweet and in need of more southern missionaries😊
Good morning all, it seems that we are starting to get active in the transfer market, if the hacks can be believed that is..
Arsenal have made a bid in the region of £40 million for Palace’s winger Saha, despite the asking price being £100 million. That’s one deal I’ll not be sorry to see flushed down the toilet. Meanwhile Palace are after Jenkinson and willing to pay the princely sum of £5 million, double that and it might be acceptable to the Arsenal hierarchy.
We are “preparing” a £12 million bid for Hull City’s 22 year old England striker Jarrod Bowen, anyone know anything about him?
We are also “in talks” with 29 year old Algerian attacking midfielder Yacine Brahimi a free agent after leaving Porto.
.
We’ve also been offered the chance to sign 25 year old forward Nabil Feker from Lyon for “just” £30 million.
We’ll just have to wait and see if any of these actually happen, don’t hold your breath though. 😉
I used to deliver to the midlands every Thursday, Wavy, it was torture !………….not the countryside but the accents !………………..does my head in so much that I have had to dub every character of Peaky Blinders with my own Cockney accent !……………………………if anyone wants a copy of the whole series with my unique dubbing it is available, just send cash to Cockney of Cornwall and I will get back to you Drekkly, no need to give me addresses as I know where you all live !
😉
Morning all.
If Arsenal really want Zaha, why not include a few of ours into the deal. Like Mkhitaryan and Ozil? 😜
Morning Gooners
Morning Rico.
I’ve seen the £40m bid for Zaha described as embarrassing….
I don’t know who used those terms, but embarrassing!
Are you fcuking sure?
I couldn’t be bothered to read who’d made such a comment, but they’re obviously very dumb.
Then in a piece scribbled by that numb nut John Cross Arsenal’s £40m bid was described as cut price. Cut price?!
I know it’s the Mirror and that lot are wall to wall garbage, but cut price, what world do these inbreds exist in?
It isn’t embarrassing and it isn’t cut price, it’s actually realistic, you know a common sense bid in an era when football has lost all sense of proportions.
You may not rate Zaha or want him at our club, but bidding £40m for any footballer isn’t small potatoes.
Bidding over £100m for any footballer is ridiculous in a game that lost all sense of reality but don’t tell the folks on News Now as they love this shit.
We’ve seen the pitfalls of the transfer jungle, Mkhitarayan has been an unmitigated disaster, but not for his bank balance or the bank balance of his agent, the appalling Mino Raiola.
We have to steer clear of these sharks as it only ends in tears, for us…
It’s frustrating that Arsenal haven’t closed out any deals yet, but very few have actually been concluded for anyone else in the EPL so we’re not alone despite the constant rumours and non stories. But in general I like the kind of young players we’re being linked with, it’s where we are, a club in flux trying to recover from going down the big signing, big wages, agent rip off, underperforming avenue. It didn’t work for us and now we’re having to clear up the mess left by Ivan and Arsene and it’s gonna take a couple more years I suspect to sort out…
Morning Kev. I don’t think £40m is embarrassing. Had he opted to play for England then Palace might be right to ask for a bit more bu5 £100 million for a guy who failed to hit the ground, well, apart from literally, at Utd is ridiculous.
And for what it’s worth, because of the mess left behind by Wenger and Gazidis, what’s the point in changing managers? Until we’ve got rid of the dross, no manager is really going to get a good chance of assembling a very good squad imo.
If we can’t sell those the club want to, well have to wait until their contracts run down I guess.. what a mess Raul and co have to sort out.
That’s right Rico, Ozil and Mkhitarayan aren’t going anywhere mate and why should they, it’s our mess, we’ve gotta suck it up.
We’ve got them both until the summer of 2021, so expect them to have stand out seasons in 20/21 when they’re looking for another big deal…
Exactly Kev, I’m not sure if it’s an option but I guess if it is, we could pay off their contracts but what’s the point? Might as well play them from the bench or in Europa.
Morning all. This Zaha saga is getting out of hand now. Someone please tell the powers that be at Arsenal thats far too much to pay for a serial diver.
Spend it more wisely on players/positions we need most.
Why the hell doesn’t UE give that position to Reiss Nelson? What more has the kid got to do?
Carry on like this and we’ll lose all our decent youngsters.
Has anyone got Freddie Ljundbergs mobile number please?
Loving the new shirt, but they won’t get any money out of me.
COYG
Maybe though, Rafa will tempt them to China? 😜😜
If Celtic are playing hard ball over Tierney, why not have a cheeky bid on Matt Doherty of Wolves.
27 years old. Can also play left back as well as right back?
What do you reckon guys?
Hi Vcc, I’m with you re Nelson, and Zaka, Amaechi. Why waste money on a diver….
I agree Rico, I wouldn’t pay them off, we’d have to bung their agents as well so feck that. Yep, Mesut + Mick, the Europa Leaguers, surround them with our kids and watch them go in the early rounds. Likewise in the League Cup and FACup, focus on the top four as we really can’t have another year out of the CL…
Clubs are pricing us out from buying or we are offering well below market price,not Zaha, but any club wanting our players in 80% of the time they insult us with their offer. As i said before the worst accounting period since 2002 and any other business would soon be in administration at this rate.
Offer mikkkitarian for Zaha and mustafi as the cherry on top. It’s farsical the way the club has gone.Either laugh or cry.
Athletico madrid are reported to meeting our officials today re lacazette.
Lacazette is at his peak, at 28 he has 4 or 5 more years at the very top, I’d hate to see him go, but we do sell it has to be for at least £100m or else it isn’t worth it…
The Prophet Ornstein has spoke again…………….
https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/1145750761743290370
………….and yet again !…………………
https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/1146001713717030919
We`ve acquired a player !!!
https://www.arsenal.com/news/looking-good-martinelli-arsenal-colours
Looks like Arsenal have started to move then..
Lacazette’s replacement?
Edu’s influence?
Eventually perhaps but not yet I’d have thought.
Eddie must be wondering about his future..
cicero 3:57. I hope not.
Im hoping now we’ve got this guy we drop our interest in Zaha and get a move on and sign a proper CB
Aubameyang is creating interest in China, I wonder if we can get them to take Ozil as well. 😉
Come on England! 🏴 🏴
Cicero 5:17. Nice one. Sell Aubameyang for a ridiculous price to Chinese buyers, and tell them we have an even better player by the name of Mesut Ozil. Appy Dayz.
It all came down to penalties, again! Not really but that’s the hacks view.
Poor defending, sloppy distribution by the ‘keeper and sloppy passing throughout the team all contributed to a poor game by the Lionesses.
Yes VAR did rule out an England equaliser, quite rightly as it turned out. Then redeemed itself by awarding us a valuable penalty only for our captain to step up, in place of the regular penalty taker Parris, and place a weak shot too close to their ‘keeper who made a routine save.
A late red card did nothing to enhance the reputation of England women’s football.
Question marks must be raised about Neville too Cicero. Why keep playing down our right when there was so much space on the left as America doubled up on Parris?
One swift move down the left gave us the goal yet we didn’t learn…
I agree, it wasn’t just the penalty, although that needs sorting out imo, England were poor but then so were the Yanks imo.
Hi Cicero, when was the last time you reckon a dude won a game because of good distribution by the keeper, because I reckon we never have to look back far to find a loss caused by bad distribution.
Playing out from the back-what an over rated fad!!
Morning mate.
Morning all.
New post up now