Morning all.
The newspapers are in overdrive, even Sky Sports are joining in. Aouar is heading to Arsenal. According to Telefoot that is, a French television broadcasting programme which I guess France’s equivalent of Sky or BT Sport. Talks got underway last Tuesday they say but the Lyon chief reckons we as a club don’t have the funds to pay the amount they are demanding. Didn’t they/he say the same about Lacazette? Back then, Lacazette was supposedly on his way to Atletico Madrid but because of their transfer ban, Arsenal got their man. Aouar wanted Barcelona or Juventus but they don’t seem to want him which means he’s settling for third choice Arsenal.
Seriously, you couldn’t make it up could you? Well, I suppose someone might have. I’m sure we’ve all have our ‘I want’ list but life doesn’t always work that way. In any case, who in their right mind would want to join Barcelona at this moment in time? The club is in a mess, or at least that’s how it seems from reading the newspapers and watching Sky Sports coverage and as for Juventus, well like Barcelona, if they really wanted him, they’d have got him by now, or at least try to but Lyon have heard nothing from either club. So say those same back pages.
What we’ve learned from Aubameyang is that sometimes, feeling wanted and appreciated, even loved, can be the most important thing for a footballer. That feeling played a big part of our captain deciding to stay at Arsenal. At least he said it did, although if I was a cynic, which I’m not, the naughts on his contract offer might have a little bit to do with it. Seriously though, Aubameyang has been Arsenal’s main man since he arrived to this day. Players seem to love him, Arsenal fans certainly do too. At somewhere like Barcelona, he’d always be second to Messi, one of a big crowd, same at Juventus with Ronaldo always hogging the limelight but at Arsenal, he’s the man.
But what’s becoming clear at Arsenal though is that regardless of the goals he scores, he’s a team player. He’s often caught on camera with his arms around a teammate. But they’re all it now. It’s a collective group of players who truly seem to be a united group. Be part of it or be cast aside seems to be the way under Mikel Arteta which for players who really want to play the game, is the right way. As the old saying goes, there’s no ‘I’ in team.
It’s well documented that Arsenal need to shift a few players. Some because they want out, others because they simply don’t fit into Arteta’s game plan. For Mesut Ozil, it seems that another few months without football looms large although I still hold hope that he’ll head out on loan yet.
Arsenal don’t miss Mesut Ozil in my opinion, nor Matteo Guendouzi but the squad does miss what both are capable of doing when they’ve had a good day. There’s no denying Ozil’s left foot can be a magic wand, but Aouar, just in those minutes alone, has two feet which can work wonders. He has trickery, the ability to run with the ball, round, through and past players. Basically, he has what our attacking unit lacks. Matteo Guendouzi is the tall and athletic midfielder we’d been missing. Young at the time of signing but this could have been the season he cemented his place in midfield, however, it seems his chance has gone.
So, with Lucas Torreira looking likely to leave, Matteo Guendouzi too along with Sead Kolasinac and possibly Shkodran Mustafi, the club should be able to find enough pennies to fund the signings Mikel Arteta needs to balance what he described as being an unbalanced squad.
Eleven days left, a lot of work to get done. 🤞
See you in the comments guys.
Hi Rico and all Did Auba really stay because of Arteta or did he stay because no one offered him the same amount of money or even close to what we offered him
Aulas is a wily old fox that has turned Arsenal’s negotiators Wenger and Law over a few times in the past .It’s not what he does say more like what he doesn’t that is important .
He is floating the idea that Barcelona and Juventus are in the mix but doesn’t say that they have made an offer . Reportedly the player wants to leave and Aulas suggests that we are third choice of destination whereas he doesn’t say that we are alone in coming up with cash
.Whether Lyon need the money is moot , probably they do like every other covid affected club . If they need a cash injection to balance their books they will sell . it’s just whether we boost their finances too much or just enough.
Morning Geoff, Potter, all.
Who knows the truth behind the Auba deal and right now, I doubt many Arsenal fans really care. Yes he’s got a good deal but he still has value should he want to move next summer. Win win imo.
I think you’re right Potter. Transfers are all a big game for certain clubs. Player agents too.
morning all!
Morning, Rico.. not long left now, things are heating up nicely! Imagine the euphoria if we get Partey and Aouar!!
Let’s hope the women spank the spuds later 🤞
Morning Rico. Personally, I would treat anything that Aulas says with a ton of salt. Only Chelsea, backed by Putin’s money and of course Man City and Man Utd’s colossal overdraft seem to have much to spend.
Morning Sue, Adam.
I take anything these managers/owners say with a rock of salt, let alone a pinch. It’s all game playing until a deal is done.
What time is that match on please Sue?
17.15 kick off and it’s live on BBC2, Rico 👍
This would be a good and worth deal, we are lacking in creativity if we play a compact team..
Thanks Sue.
Jeorge Bird
@jeorgebird
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8m
Dinzeyi gets his first callup. He’s on the bench for U23s v Tottenham. Quite a bizarre situation with him and Omole effectively swapping places.
Jeorge Bird
@jeorgebird
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8m
Arsenal U23: Hein; Oyegoke, Ballard, Clarke, Bola; Akinola, Olayinka; Cirjan, Cottrell, Lewis; Balogun.
Subs: Okonkwo, Alebiosu, Dinzeyi, McEneff, Azeez.
Jeorge Bird
@jeorgebird
U18 lineup: Graczyk; Laing, Kirk, Monlouis, Ogungbo; Patino, Bandeira; Taylor-Hart, Hutchinson, Flores; Edwards.
Subs: Ejeheri, Foran, Plange, Henry-Francis, Awe.
Jeorge Bird
@jeorgebird
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8m
FT. Arsenal U18s 3 Crystal Palace U18s 2.
Afternoon Rico, thanks for the post, which I shall now read, although I know already that it’ll be a fascinating read… 😉
Afternoon Kev, I’d swerve it if I were you. 😂
5 shots hit De Gea’s posts!
Come on Arsenal!
What a game that was!! Gutted for Brighton.. and am also gutted for our U23s!
Now Palace v Everton… then our women – sorted 👍
Brighton can certainly feel very hard done by. The added 5 mins were up before the penalty incident.
Fergie time is back, Rico!
Did it ever go Sue?
Good question, Rico!!
All that money spent… dropping Kepa… Thiago Silva to come in and sort their defence and they’re 3-0 down hahahahaha!!! Love it
That was a beauty from Jordan Nobbs!! 👌
Well done ladies, once Jordan scored that super goal, they woke up. Excellent
Chelsea fighting back now
News : yon have turned down a second bid from Arsenal for Houssem Aouar, according to reports.
French media organisation RMC have reported that Mikel Arteta’s side are back in with another offer for the 22-year-old midfielder.
The French Under-21 playmaker has been linked with Manchester City and Arsenal but the London side appear to be ahead of the pack in the race for the player.
RMC claim that Lyon have turned down a new bid of 38 million euros for the player.
That bid would represent a slight increase on the club’s first bid of 36 million euros, though it has been suggested that Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi is also part of the proposed deal.
Morning all.
Now whatever people may think of Roy Hodgson, what he said after the game was spot on.
The game he, and most of us, love is being reduced to results being driven by ridiculous handball decisions that are not handball.
He pointed the finger at the media suggesting they love the drama as they thrive on it and he’s right.
VAR should never be used for subjective issues and now the PL is stuck with it.
This sage on Aouar is certainly dragging on.
We’ve seen this before and hopefully it ends better then previously 🙂
It’s not the fault of VAR entirely Scott, the tinkering with the rules governing hand ball play a big part. They have changed the definition of what constitutes a hand to include the arm up to where a t shirt sleeve would reach. Plus they have added terms like “the arm being in an unnatural position”.
I agree though that VAR is important to the TV companies, it does provide an extra bit of drama for the audiences and of course more things to talk about for the numpties in the commentary box and studios.
As you rightly say, just like Covid-19 we’re stuck with it and will have to learn to live with it.
Another cold, wet and windy day in prospect here. Time to snuggle down for another couple of hours sleep. 😴
VAR lives and dies on the way it is being interpreted balanced against what it was intended to do..
If it is used as we were originally told it was to supplement the referee for instance in situations of clear and obvious mistakes where he was unsighted then the concept is sound .
The way that Riley’s pgmol however is operating it is taking away from the referee and remotely adjudicating on minute things which are not glaringly clear and obvious.. In effect they are using the system to remotely referee the game .
Great for the T.V fan who gets a full on controversy every time it comes into play but the spirit of the game is being destroyed .
If they want to referee the game from a tv monitor then we may as well have 2 or three independent inspectors and just have a whistle blower on the pitch . We don’t need linesmen as eveything can be seen by the eye in the sky .
Of course this means that the game can be sanitised completely , it might take an extra half hour to complete the game but then to make it easier on the TV audience it could be split into four quarters with extra advertising to generate the lost income from having no crowds in attendance .
From what I hear from friends abroad we are alone in the way we operate it ( JM what is it like in Portugal ) it seems that Riley as usual is covering his back , he is scared of recrimination without Fergie to hold his coat.
Spooky Potter.
New post up now
Guys, I said how VAR should never be used, and I stand by it.
I’ve also said for years that you won’t want it once you get it.
How do you believe it should be used?
I’d prefer to see an honest referee make a call and we just accept it.
No replay after replay by the media and any errors will just fade away imo.