Morning all.
The Sun newspaper report that talks are taking place between Arsene Wenger and Arsenal FC over a new contract reported to be worth £15 million. Talk about quoting the bleedin obvious eh, those talks have been going on for months, both Wenger and Gazidis confirmed that ages ago.
However, I strongly suspect that by now, his contract will have been sorted out and the announcement that he is staying for at least a couple of years will be made real soon. Signing Ozil may just have won a few doubters over.
One of Wengers summer signings, Yaya Sanogo has his feet firmly on the ground and he’s loving life at Arsenal:
I know my time will come. I am patient and I am working hard every day. I tell myself that I’m only 20, I have to keep working to gain experience.
“I have been with Arsenal for two months now and I am adapting well to England and starting to get my bearings.
“In training, there are only great players, so you can only move forward.
“Arsenal is a great club, but even if I am only a small part of it I am a player like all the others. I have two eyes and two feet like them.”
Sounds like he’s a lad with his head screwed on the right way, we’ve seen plenty of players at his age who think they should be playing but this young man isn’t too fussed. He’s young, he’s enjoying training and yes, he’ll get his chance real soon. My bet is he’ll start away at WBA in the Capital One Cup and that’s not far away. The fixture I mean, not the distance to Birmingham!
He could also play a big part in our Premier League campaign should he start finding the goals when he plays and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain believes that we are truly in with a chance of winning the big trophy:
We really think we can take the title.
Obviously it hasn’t happened in recent seasons. But in the form we showed at the end of last season, and – when I was watching from the sidelines – in the spirit we’ve shown at the start of this, in the derby, everyone was fighting for each other.
Without doubt we think we can win the title. Just like we believe we can win every competition we’re in. If you don’t believe that, if you aren’t striving, then you don’t deserve to be at Arsenal.
Of course young Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is right, the players and coaching staff have to believe they can win every match and every competition the team take part in, otherwise not only should players not be playing for Arsenal, they really shouldn’t be involved in sport at all.
Winning is about believing in yourself and in a team sport, believing in those around you and that’s exactly what we fans witnessed against the neighbours. Despite the late onslaught on our goal, each and every player had just one thing clear in their own mind and that was, neither they, or their team-mates were going to surrender that one goal advantage and they didn’t..
That kind of belief will see us us win more football matches and winning that kind of match will only bring more and more belief and more confidence..
That’s what will win silverware.
Can we honestly win something this season?
Well if we can have the lady luck of injuries on our side, why not?
That’s it for another day….
morning rico,interesting read about wengers new contract.
i think the club had the plan to get to the new commercial deals and then push on..
just want an improvement on last season.
Yes believe and confidence is key. Many of us have said the same our first 11 on their day could beat anyone in England, in Europe.
However its been mentioned by all that we lack numbers in certain areas and this is where we need lady luck.
The sheer volume of fixtures seems impossible to rest enough defenders or forwards whih is why I have said before, if we are near enough to the top by January and AW invests early and correctly then yes we have a great chance of winning silverware.
A great read as always HH. Many thanks
Morning Mg, Lawrence and all.
I too still think we are very short on numbers and depth, hence my lady luck comment but we have who we have and if they keep on believing in themselves then who know, we could win the CO Cup..
I’d take that and 2/3rd in the PL right now, IF we truly are going to continue to sign class players.
But, if we can stay in the top 3/4 until Christmas and with only a few points between us and the top, sign two class players in Jan, especially a striker and anything could happen…
i think the confidence is there lawrence.we have to remember the villa game was the 1st 1 we lost in long time.
i agree rico,i can actually see wenger going out and spending 50 mill on suarez in january,i think a lot depends on how the scousers are doing.
My gut feeling is Real will try for Suarez Mg and if they do, I think Liverpool will sell, they don’t want him joining us..
I think the Suarez ship has probably sailed from us now. Can any one of our “”ITK “” twitter followers cast any light on the Ciprian Marica rumours. Might put the Bendtner situation to bed .
we can dream about suarez joining us but he would be perfect for us.
I think that’s an old story Potter, I saw it back in July I think – his agent suggested he was close to signing for us. He’s free having been released/run his contract down at Schalke..
Could just be old news, but he’s scoring for Romania at the moment…
Ts mentioned him the other night too, the penny didn’t drop for me though then..
i would take torres like a flash,i thin a stable manager is what he needs.it would be interesting to know how many mangers he has had at the chavs
I would not touch Torres with a forty foot pole. If we are going for a striker the go for Lewondoski in January. He will be free to sign a pree contract agreement on the 1st and if we offer Dortmund 25 to 30 million for a guy that has only six monts left on his contract I’m sure they will bite our hand off. Offer lewendoki 150+ a week and the chance to play with Ozil and he my bite.
I wouldn’t complain if we signed Torres either..
TT – he is off to Bayern, he made that clear. He wanted to go this summer but his club wouldn’t sell. No offer from us will change that imho..
Rico he has no agreement with Byern. He cant have as he can only do so from 1st January. As for wanting to go there money talks bullshit walks. make him an offer on wages he cannot refuse. Plus he will be playing with a assist machine Byern do not have.
most top forwards will be playing cl.it will be very hard to sign a top class forward in january.
benteke??
Good Morning Lady, Sir, Gentlemen and Ladies.
Nice post Rico.
TT………AW to offer 25-30 million for someone who has 6 months left on a contract?? April fools’ is next year mate. Good thing he does not read your post otherwise he will choke on his cornflakes my friend.
Haha devil I know I know but it would be perfectly logical to do so. But then AW does not do logical does he?
Morning all.
Another great day to be a Gooner 🙂
TT – I totally get what you are saying and yes, no harm in trying but he wanted to join Bayern in the summer and said he was happy to stay one more year and then move for free…
I know he won’t have a deal done on paper, but watch this space 😉
tt i dont think money will be an issue for lewandowski when he will be signing on a free contract,he would have to command at least a 20 mill signing on fee
Morning Devil, thanks re the post..
Benteke would be good too imho Mg, although I think he divides opinion on here.
It is Scott, no injuries from the internationals, that’s a good start..
Hiya Rico.
I will send you an email in a minute…..
Hello everyone else.
TT is absolutely right I was wondering if I was the only one thinking Ledwandowski in January regardless of any agreement with BM
Let AFC force the issue he is the only world class striker available lets stop taking no for an answer easily and show ambition
If we are willing to pay £40m for Suarez we should be willing to pay £50m for him…if we offer even £15-20m for him dortmund would bite our hand off!!
Hi Scott, looking forward to it 😉
Cgunner – the player has to want to come to us, and the comments from the player suggest he wants to stay in Germany and join the European Champions…
But, no harm in trying, he’d be a great addition..
Oh, and Rico, the email will give you some insight as to what my post will be about in a week or so 🙂
Benteke over Lewandowski imo.
Beast of a forward. Technical and athletic. He would become Drogba mk 2. No make it Benteke mark 1.
Morning all You sound like your starting to believe again Rico. 🙂
What we have is a team that can beat anybody on their day, But it also has to be said that they don’t always turn up. We have witnessed some performances that looks like our team has been on the lash the night before, Not just one player but the whole team. Having said that they do have have spirit and they do have fight, mixed together with belief that is growing slowly. The manager has shown that a 42.5mill signing shows that he intends to carry on for 2 maybe 3 years or hopfully more . Our team are getting the feeling that Arsenal are now pushing the boat out, supporters are now looking forward to the next window, now that hasn’t been the case in the past.Teams like Sunderland are to be beaten to build the confidence up, the NLD helped a great deal. but to be honest we need good results from teams that have knocked us down these last few years. Get results there and i honestly believe that our confidence will drive us on to be the team that everybody strives to beat. Home support will need to stay resolute and help the players feel at home. We need the Emirates to become a fortress again, a few home wins should make that happen. Players like we have in the team should lift others coming in. Ozil Sanogo and Milano must know the talent they are joining and they will need to blend in quickly. No one player will be guaretee’d a start. Competition is there to win your place, and that is a healthy place to be.
Ok, thanks Scott..
Either would do me Devil, I’m not fussy 😉
Hi Devil,
Benteke is bloody impressive, but one year with Villa and he thinks he is too good for the club that gave hims his chance?
I question his attitude.
Good Morning to the Lady of the House and all fellow Gooners in residence.
How can you tell it is an international break? Although it is less than a week since the transfer window closed, all that most papers and websites can talk about is transfer targets for the January window. The World Cup qualifying games take a distant second place, not a good reflection on the England team.
Rico – Our team seem to be gelling and exhibiting focus, grit, self-belief and tenacity. They appear like they can grind out games even when they might not be playing well. Arsene seems to be changing some of his tactics and now has a plan B.
This season could/should see a change in our fortunes. We could win some silverware. The only thing I’m not confident about is the Arsenal fans. I have read comments from neutral observers that Arsenal fans are a fickle lot and I have to agree. The one thing I remember about Portsmouth, the last time they were in the PL, was that their fans were always 100% behind the team. Many of ours seem to turn at the first sign of trouble.
Steve, we have not had a bad performance since Xmas.
A few average ones, but no bad ones.
We are a bloody good side.
Good morning, nice read rico,
easy like Sunday morning!..
Wenger is staying for more two years I assume, unless he is lining up klopp to take over ..
What is this news about Ozil playboy lifestyle that persuaded RM to sell him and mourinhos concern about his private life???..
CG…brilliant post.
scott we have had loads of bad performances since xmas,the difference is we were winning when we were playing bad,this is what top teams do.
Judge, believe that report on Ozil and you will believe anything.
DG – I think Arsene is a meusli man like Adam, corn flakes aren’t healthy and nutritous.
So those performances were not so bad then, MG.
I believe in the players we have Sp, how could I not?
But, what I don’t believe in is the depth of our squad, we don’t have enough quality on the bench imho, we are at least 2 players short.
If we don’t suffer any more injuries, who knows where we could finish and what we could win, but if injuries continue, then we are going to struggle…
scott you can play well and still loose but we were grinding out results.
Morning rico & all,
It seems that the squads in the modern game
have to be around the 30 player mark
the chavs used 30 the year 2009/10
the mancs used 29 players 2010/11
last couple of years slight change
the shitty used 24 players 2011/12
the mancs used 24 players 2012/13
is a trend being set for smaller squads?
It takes me back to 1980/81 season
the villians used 14 players…
yes 14 to win the league over 42 games
Just a thought gang.
Scott, I personally don’t believe it at all.. I am just seeking clarification..
Judge :- Perez has made a monumental mistake and has misjudged the mood of the Real fans. Typically they are trying to lay the blame on the player rather than their own shortcomings. If there was truth in these rumours the other players at Real would not be saying so many positive things about Ozil . Interesting to see that the Catalan papers are heaping derision on these comments as well. Anyway BFG will keep him under his wing for a bit when he arrives.
Thanks Potter..What you say makes a lot of sense..
BFG would certainly do that..
Scott – Thank You! I do have my moments.
Morning Cg.
My own view tends to differ from yours 😉
I think the fans our on the players/teams side and will support them through thick and thin. But, the fans are’n’t 100% behind the manager, the board and certainly the owner.
Personally speaking, I hoped that AW would clear out all the ‘dross’, leaving us with nothing but good/very good players and he has doe that so I would be very foolish to moan..
My only gripe is we didn’t add a class striker and another defender. Of course I wanted a beast in the middle of the park but the day we signed Flamini, I believed that wouldn’t happen…
i think tw14 will benefit the most from the wizard of oz.
Good read rico.
Judge Madrid are all out on a smear campaign against Oezil.Perez expected that after buying Bale the madridistas would kiss his feet but instead they are furious.they are seeing through this galactico BS.Pro madrid outlets like Marca 1st began by calling Oezil greedy…that did not stick because if that was the case he would’ve joined PSG.
Now they are questioning his lifestyle hoping the fans will see the club was right to cash in.Today pro Barca outlets are not happy with how dirty madrid are willing to go to villify a player that was fantastic for them.its frankly very petty of madrid and i suspect their fans will see right through it again.it was a cock up from them but Perez won’t admit it.Bale hasn’t hid this fact.
ktr there is a bitterness about madrid since barcelona became the top dogs.
Scott – we have seen a few dodgy performances, especially as the season closed last may, but, winning playing badly is not a bad thing, it shows there is a bit of grit and determination to pull out a victory when it’s least likely.
I would rather we played badly and win, than play really well and lose – well, sometimes 😉
Morning Fred.
AW said his perfect squad number is 18-20 players, if we are going to win the PL, we’ll set a record 😉
Thanks Judge, the Ozil naughty stories are all bollards and envy I suspect…
He certainly doesn’t play like a gut with ‘issues’ lol
Judge – As Potter said, Perez made a massive error in selling Ozil to balance the books. He can’t admit to that as he wont get re-elected by the the RM supporters. So, he is trying to make out that it was Ozil who engineered the move to Arsenal and that Perez let him go because of his ‘questionable character’.
Most, if not all, of these slanderous rumours seem to originate from the Spanish newspaper Marca, which is the tame unofficial mouthpiece of UnReal Madrid. This cheap and scurilous attempt to defame Ozil’s public personna is just one more example of what classless unprincipaled cretins the RM executives are.
Even most of the usually muck raking red tops have dismissed these rumours as desperate sour grapes on RM’s part.
No probs Judge………believe nothing the media spit out, especially when its origins are in Spain 🙂
Guys, i know we have won ugly a few times, but that is not necessarily playing badly, imo.
It is something our guys have learned how to do over the last year or so.
Thanks Kt..
Perez should count his lucky stars that there are no presidential elections anytime soon.the fans would’ve voted him out.for such a huge sum of cash the fans are going to expect Bale to produce a Ronaldo-esque output.if not perez will not make the next elections.Madrid really are a ‘virus’ as rednose once called them.they pushed Oezil out of the door and are now slinging mud at him despite him being brilliant for them.
I hope he ignores them.Wenger is going to be the best manager he will ever have.we are going to build the team to his strengths just like Germany and he’ll shine.I’d LOVE it if we were to win a CL title knocking out madrid with Oezil leading the charge.i know its a long shot but frazier things have happened.
Prove them wrong Mesut.
🙂 Love it….
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/427844/David-Beckham-s-son-Romeo-joins-Arsenal?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daily-express-sport-news+%28Daily+Express+%3A%3A+Sport+Feed%29
Well that’s sorted then kt, cg..
lol rico, he is not playing like a guy with tissues neither 😉
It would really be comic justice if we were to win a CL title before Madrid get their La Decima with Oezil leading the charge.I hope it happens similar to how Robben and Sneijder led their respective clubs to glory after being pushed out of the door by madrid.
New Arsenal signing Mesut Özil has told Die Welt
that a lack of “trust and respect” at Real Madrid
convinced him to end his three-year stay at the
Santiago Bernabéu.
Özil, who joined the Gunners on the final day of
the summer transfer window, admitted that talks
with Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger persuaded
him to make the move: “In some way, that
conversation flicked a switch in me and made me
realise what I had lost at Madrid: transparency,
trust, respect. He told me exactly how he saw
me, how he wanted to use me, what he expected
of me.”
Discussing his transfer to the Premier League
club in a deal worth 45 million euros plus five
million in add-ons , the German international
added: “I would even have joined Arsenal
for free ”.
Özil also revealed that Germany colleagues Per
Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski are providing
him with ample support as he adapts to life in
England: “I talk to Per and Podolski a lot; they’re
helping me.”
Quote of the week: Özil: “I would even have joined Arsenal for free”
Zinedine Zidane: “Mesut Özil is my successor. I’ve never seen such quality in a player.”
“He [Özil] will be an Arsenal great, that I am sure of.”
— Thierry Henry on Arsenal signing Mesut Özil
It seems we just landed ourself a very good deal
Rico – I agree that it would have been great if we had signed world class players in the striker, DM and CB positions. However, we are going to have to show that we are a club with ambition and we have the means and the plan to deliver it.
Money isn’t enough, if that were the case a club like Anzhi would be doing much better in their league and Europe. Since we have signed Ozil, we are being linked with players like Lars Bender, Draxler, Gundogan and Reus (i.e. qulity players); not every Tom, Dick and Harry who is availble and play in the positions we are seeking.
Mesut Ozil is the first step in the flight of stairs to take us to the next level. Once the club can convince these top top players, that Arsene talks about, that we are a viable choice; we should find it easier to recruit them. It is going to take a little time and a lot of effort.
A number of players like Draxler opted not to accept our offer(s) as they wanted assurances of playing time to increase their chances of making their respective national squads. It takes most players a season to fully adjust to a new league and their performances could suffer. It is not a risk they wanted to take.
I know we are a step down from madrid but Oezil noe has the chance to be the main man for both club and country at the age of 24.he is now going to get the recognition he deserves.Wenger must have been very convincing when they spoke and he made Oezil feel valued.I have a feeling that he will work very hard to repay the faith and trust of the man who trebled our transfer record to get him.at least Oezil no longer has dreams of playing for madrid 🙂 🙂
We are on our way to being the dominant club in world football.
It relies on one thing though…Stans willingness to allow it to happen.
Gtid i still can’t believe we have Mesut f***in Oezil!!!…a player that would walk into just about any team in the world 🙂
I think the recent negative news about Ozil has to do with Perez/Madrid because everyone’s blaming them for selling Ozil and wasting money on an overpriced player( of course they won’t say this out) and are now trying to blame it on the poor guy.
Or is it because he was sold to ‘Arsenal’, we all agree to a certain extent we’re not the media’s darling.
Scott by all accounts it seems Silent Stan was vital in the Oezil deal.he must know in football to make money you must spend money first.lets hope this was a turning point.
When i look at the amount of games we play in a season and what players are expected to play its not that many when you come to think of it. Players have said after 3 games that we were tired how the bloody hell can they be tired. What do they want for 50 to a hundred grand a week. they stay in 5 star accomodation with medical staff that can rub their tired little legs after running for a maximum of 30 minutes they go home to their manshons and swimming pools jacuzies and hot tubs they drive round in lixurious transport and fly in first class with their feet up having specially prepared meals put in front of them and they dont even have to tire themselves out with washing their own kit or cleaning their boots. their footballers for Christ sake that what they do. I have worked like the rest of you for ever and if i told my guvenor that i was tired and couldnt work he would point my arse to the door. Take Theo for instance i haven’t seen him get stuck into a tackle ever, he runs about i give you that but usually to find a microphone and he gets 100 grand a week for that.
ktr7 – Ozil also mentioned that he was impressed that Arsene could speak to him German, his native tongue. That seemed to put him at ease for their discussion.
🙂 Judge…
Gtid the comments of his teammates tell you all you need to know about his talents.to see a selfish player like Ronaldo get so upset is just the icing on the cake 🙂 he is going to be fantastic for us and our detractors all know it and can’t stand it.
KT, if that is correct, then we REALLY have a lot to look forward to.
Night all.
Dreaming of the good life 😉
Good Night Scott.
Ktr7, almost everybody is feeling the same way you are now. I don’t think we’ll be spending that amount on players except on another gift like Özil.
Plus i dont think we’ll be spending another 70M on two players anytime soon as some gooners outside this forum are saying
Cg – 12.11 – finally, we agree 😉
We certainly have the money, from what IG has said, the plan is also in place.
Now we just need the manager to stay on board with signings of quality.
As Adam said the other day, many things must have been said to Ozil during that lengthy conversation they held and if he didn’t believe that we meant business in the future, I honestly don’t believe he would have chosen to sign for us..
Another of course being the future of Arsene Wenger who I believe will stay. No way would Ozil have signed if he wasn’t assured of both..
Night Scott.
G’tid, everyone who loves Arsenal loves the fact that we signed him. The only doubters are the bitter and twisted jealous ones…
If the way he played for Germany the other night is any guide , I might be tempted to put a little money on Theo getting the golden boot . It will all be about timing of the runs and the pass and that’s what Ozil excels in . Strange that a German might be the making of an Englishman.
It is easy to understand why CR7 is so upset. Ozil was to Cristiano as Bergkamp was to Henry. I could take some time before someone else develops that telepathic connection with him. In the meantime Cristiano’s game and goal average could/will suffer (cue sad violin music and crocodile tears).
Sp, for a man who has been so positive over the summer, it seems you are the only one knocking the players??
Don’t you believe in AW and his boys any more?
As infuriating as Wenger can be he is respected by almost every player out there.even the likes of Ronaldo only have good things to say about him.
We have had scouting reports on Oezil since he was 17 and am sure Wenger knows how good he is better than the player himself.that must’ve really impressed mesut.Wenger has so much trust in him despite him never kicking a ball for us.
Night scott.
🙂 Potter, that’s really funny.. And a Frenchman supporting the Englishman up front would have been unusual a few years ago…
If and it’s a big if wenger to stand down, surely must be one of the German coaches lined to replace him.. With all the German evolution thing, klopp could be the candidate..
Judge, he’d have to be up there as one of the favourites and he’d have a big pot of gold to spend 😉
Especially is Usmanov takes over…
CG Ronaldo knows without Oezil the number of tap ins will be greatly reduced…he’ll have to work harder for goals while messi continues to bang them in on a weekly basis 🙂
I think we have taken Bayern’s approach to transfers.since 2008 they developed their own youngsters such as kroos/mueller/schweinsteiger while supplementing with big money purchases every summer such as Ribery/Robben/Martinez/Neur/Gomez until eventually they had a CL winning team.
As it stands we have the #Britishcore and with steady additions like Oezil we’ll in no time be back up there where we belong.
Rico – I think Arsenal will continue to seek to buy top top players. In any transfer window it is tough enough to convince them to sign for a team, but the World Cup adds another level of complexity.
Gustavo seemed to be interested in coming to Arsenal, but wasn’t sure he would get enough playing time so opted for the safer alternative of staying in the Bundesliga.
I think Arsene may well test the waters in January, especially if our team is performing well. Fingers crossed and saying my prayers.
I have always believed in the boys and Wenger leading them, I of course read the comments of other supporters and of course i understand their points as well. when all you read is negative even on your favorite blog it can somtimes blind you for the moment but i am not knocking the players. I expect them to be able to play in every game . If i had ever been good enough to play that level i would have made myself play in every game especially for Arsenal 🙂
That’s what I hope for too Cg.
I can understand players on the fringe of selection for their country wanting playing time as that’s the only way they will get a call up.
But sometimes, players are so confident in their own ability they know they will only have to play once and will never be dropped again.
Which brings me back to my goalkeeping post a few days ago, I think Ches is in for a shock. Our new keeper is going to go all out to be first choice and get a permanent deal next summer..
Ha ha Sp, you won’t wriggle out of it that easy, poor poor Theo, you are always on his back..
And he being our top goal scorer last season, tsk tsk 😉
Oezil looks so hungry to play for us…he is going to be a fan favourite.
Let’s hope he settles into PL football early then Kt.
Podolski and Merts struggled in their first season…
Careful steve…rico is going to tear you a new one for attacking hamilton…er sorry theo 😉
lets hope so rico.am hoping his adaptation will be easier since other attacking players from la liga such as santi/mata/silva/michu hit the ground running immediately.santi said the PL has more space due to its open in nature and its less tactical too.
I agree Sp…the players are young fit and in peak condition with all their needs being met, they should be able to manage at least 2 games a week…in Ireland G.A.A players work all week….train twice per week (after work) then play competitively at the weekend..(with no special care), GAA football and hurling is a lot more intense and demanding than football, English soccer coaches have been suprised at the level of fitness compared to soccer!
Rico – As for Viviano, I hope so. Chesser needs a kick up the backside and must be made to realize he is not ireplaceable. Chesser has a lot of potential, but was becoming complacent.
The last thing we need is for him to become another Bendtner or Pennant.
I don’t think Mesut knows how much adoration he’ll get from the fans here.he’ll not regret this move.
ktr7 – As a bit of an aside, but an extension of what we have been discussing and your 12:41 pm post. It was very interesting reading some of the responses to the FA’s Mr. Dykes speach on the England team. Kevin Keegan says the FA is in great part at fault for failing to develop coaches and players starting at the grassroots level. Also, the FA coaches for the youth national teams are well behind the times in trying to make the players train and play in an archaic style that is contrary to what they are taught at their respective clubs youth academies, especially those of the top six PL teams.
Damien Commoli (sp.?) one of our former scouts and former Head of Football at Tottenham and Liverpool also criticised Mr. Dykes who was trying to place much of the blame on the Premier League, it’s foreign players and foreign coaches.
I just hope too much pressure isn’t placed on his shoulders Kt..
Cheer’s Keith 🙂
Theo Your right Rico he is coming out well at the moment , but you wouldn’t want him in the trenches with you. a 50 50 ball will always be won by the other guy and that makes me wince. sorry 🙂
CG: i agree Its all a coaching issue at grass roots level, They aim to win the worlld cup at 2022,,,why wait? If they got a great manager they could aim to win it now!….one bad manager after the next for England.
CG Its kind of ironic that Mr.Dykes waw essential in formation of the Premier League.
England needs more coaches.instead most of the former players prefer to being pundits for the likes of sky sports instead of working for coaching badges.England has only 1000 licensed coaches;Germany has 5000 while Spain has 12000.foreign coaches are not the problem.neither are foreign players.
Not all Keith, we have a number of older players too, Podolski, Merts, Santi, Rosicky, Sagna and Arteta to name a few…
He can handle pressure rico.he has played for madrid after all but lets hope he isn’t over pressured.
I think the criticism of Theo Walcott is overdone. Theo made great strides in developing as a player and honing his talent last season.
He no longer runs around like a chicken with it’s head cut off (not one of Rico’s of course), a very fast chicken none the less. He doesn’t run into blind alleys as much and is thiking much more on what he is doing. He is scoring more goals, getting more assists and making off the ball runs to get himself open for a pass &/or open up space for a teammate. He is maturing and becoming a team player and not trying to do it all himself. Once, that becomes instictive to his game I think he will be a very valuable player.
I don’t see that Ozil’s arrival will be a threat to Theo. Far from it, Mesut will be able to pick Theo, Santi or Olivier out and put through some of those killer passes we have lacked since Cesc left. Both are capable of adding to that fluid interchange of players and positions that is becoming part of our game.
I think Theo will step-up to another level this season and we may finally see the true extent of his talent.
Oh I don’t know Sp, he’s a bit young I know but….. 😉
The PL is very different though Kt, all I am saying is let’s give the poor guy a chance before believing he’s God….
Well said Cg 🙂
hope so too rico.
Kt, why do you add an ‘e’ to Ozil’s name? Not being funny, just interested..
In terms of the way we play theo is absolutely crucial.he is fantastic for us since he is an outlet to all our build up play.his movement off the ball is immense and if passes were better in the NLD he would’ve been in 3/4 times.Oezil is going to love playing with theo and vice versa.
Rico Ozil has 2 dots on top of the O (umlaut).since i’ve not yet figured out how to do it on my phone the correct spelling without the umlaut is to add an ‘e’ since that is how his name is pronounced.
Bar Arteta and rosicky Rico those players are at a mans phsyical peak which is 29!
I actually think Theos movement off the ball is poor, sort that out and he’d be a much better player.
Still like to see him play on the left and cut in onto his natural foot, but hey, what do I know 😉
A number of people have commented that the squad is a little thin in numbers. In the striker and CB positions that is certainly true, but I think Arsene is planning on fast tracking some of the Young Guns into the first team.
We will get a good idea of who and how fast once the CO Cup playoffs start. I don’t think they will be first choice players for a few more seasons, but could be the longterm replacements for our older players like Arteta, Mertesacker, Rosicky and Sagna. What better role models to learn from than these and other experienced internationals. This will not preclude us from also buying some ‘top top players’ as replacements, with the Young Guns being alternates and back-ups.
We have some very promising players on the cusp of entering the first team (e.g. Akpom, Bellerin, Eisfeld, Gnabry and Zelalem). It’s time to see if they have what it takes to make it in the first team.
The clearout of many of our young players about to outgrow their U21 exemptions seems to be have done for more than simply reducing the numbers and wage bill.
Ah, I didn’t know that, thanks Kt. I knew about the umlaut, but not the ‘e’..
You sure Keith – I’ll have to take your word on that… 😉
I have to go now, got a family bbq to go to..
Night Cg..
Catch the rest of you later no doubt, have a good afternoon…
umlats,cidilas,accents etc are not used here and don’t appear on our keyboards. Always drives me nuts trying to delete things in Spain as I can never find the keys to press.
CG I actually think our CB sitiuation is kind of overplayed.Chelsea have Terry/Luiz/Cahill with Ivanovic as 4th choice who doubles up as their 1st choice RB.its quite similar to Mert/kos/verm and sagna.its not ideal but its adequate in my view.this will allow jenks to get more games to accelerate his development with Bellerin behind him.
Our midfield is packed.i feel only in the CF position are we in glaring need for another player.
Rico – I believe it was in the Fulham game. Watch what Theo does as Olivier closes to shoot. The replays from other angles shows that Theo is making a cross-goal angled run taking a defender with him and opening up a gap for Olivier. Whether Theo was expecting a pass or trying to open up a gap is hard to say.
Yes, it is only one example , but it is indicative of a change in his positional play.
Its quite funny reading the tabloids say that we have a leaky defence.Since March in the league we have conceded 8 goals with 3 coming against villa.for me creativity was my main concern and Arsene agrees.it was painful to watch in that unbeaten run we barely created chances in almost all the games.we have now addressed that because Oezil is meant to give us exactly that.
CG I was so impressed with theo’s movement in that fulham game especially when we were in the counter attack.it was kind of similar to when we beat MUFC a few years back with a nasri double.for nasri’s 2nd he made a run across Rio that took him out opening space for nasri to shoot and score.
In Giroud’s goal against Spurs he made 2 different runs within seconds that took Rose out completely.he made even more but the service wasn’t good enough.with Oezil in the side he is going to flourish.
Ozil is absolutely fantastically fabulous isn’t he?
Yeeeeessssss!!!!! adam 🙂
I just made a fifth scale model of him out of mashed potato and then I licked every bit of it until it was gone. I somehow feel closer to him now.
ktr7 – I agree the situation has been exacerbated by a few untimely injuries and certainly overstated by the pundits and the press. Even when lauding our capture of a world class player like Ozil they can’t resist having a back handed snipe at us.
When he was unable to sign a first string striker like Suarez, he went for a temporary fix in a loan deal for Demba Ba. Ba would have given us back-up and relief while Podolski recuperated and was a player we wouldn’t have to worry about moving on, a la Bendtner, when we had a better alternative. I think we may see Arsene try to sign another striker in January.
Interesting to see some of the rumours emerging since the close of the transfer window. In particular, the one that UnReal offered us Benzema, but Arsene declined. No idea if that is true or not, but very interesting if true and I’d be curious to know if it was the player &/or the price that Arsene didn’t like.
CG I think Wenger with all the cash he has has decided only super quality players will do.it doesn’t help Benzema’s case that he hasn’t scored for France in like 20 hours.
you dirty dog adam 😉
I saw someone on the Guardian boards say he has made an Oezil mask for his wife to wear in the bedroom :O
Gentlemen – I thought this was a football forum, not Penthouse Forum.
Well dawn has come and gone. If I don’t scarper off to bed now, the day will be gone. Have a good afternoon and evening fellow Gooners. Till tomorrow.
Keep the Faith!
Have a good one CG.
GOALLLLLLLLLLLLL
I BET CORKY IS GOING MENTAL
international press:
“The members of Real Madrid will be elucidated on the reasons that led the club to sell Ozil – and Higuain .. – the voice of the president, Florentino Perez, the next 18th and 19th of this month, getting to know the German international second concerns some Spanish media on Sunday in Madrid, not wearing a life compatible with an elite footballer.
According confidences of a club source Madrid, since his arrival to the club in 2010, the Muslim Ozil (German national of Turkish origin), 22 who maintained the discipline of religion and did not eat pork will have transformed in the Spanish capital, both mentally and culturally. And this awakening included frequent late nights and lots of female company. Incidentally, the same source states that the German player had been obsessed with women and “was not a good professional” because as nocturnal, was many hours without sleep, reflected later in their field performance.
The joining behavior Ozil was joined to his father, Mustafa, who insisted on the renewal of the contract, asking for an increase of 6.5 to 8.5 million tax free, and then, through contacts with journalists, put it in markets such as Britain, France or Germany. Hence the “yes” when Real Madrid was proposed 50 million from Arsenal.
Higuaín’s departure was due to, according to the press of the neighboring country, the constant requests to increase the contract by his father, George, claiming to have offers from Premier League clubs, when, after all, they never reached real Madrid. And when did the interest of the Spanish club Napoli ended the “cry” of Jorge Higuain … “
ha corky,i bet the GAA are happy with a bumper replay pay day.
Ha ha JM, Ozil a regular scorer between the sheets eh !
Not only a sensation on the field but also in the bedroom department as well.
Gone full circle with Perez’ embarrasing attempts to cover his arse.
Malaga, long day on the pish, Clare must be beating themselves up tonite, gotta do it all over again on the 28th.
Fuck me malaga wot a game claire should have had it won by half time. Hotel booked for replay .not a big g.a.a fan but its hard not to get carried away
hey micko they were very unlucky,i think cork will hammer them now.
big session again corky
up the rebels!!
Cheerin for my home county today in the all Ireland final must feel like a north londener cheering on the super gooners. Come on the rebels.
night corky take care kid.
Adam, I do sense, that you showing worrying signs of ‘Ozil hero worship obsession’….
God knows what you’ll do at the AFC vs Stoke RFU game if Ozil scores???
Good crack in the local today malaga .claire bossed the game but u cant deny 3 goals.hope tbe replay is as good. My inlaws are pure gaa heads so should be able to get tckets
Morning all…..
Morning Rico.
Morning Adam, grey old miserable morning it is to…
Lovely Rico. All that ghastly Sun has gone. 🙂
Quite fine here at the moment with clouds brewing up on the horizon. Jobs to do outside , so see you later.
Morning all,
Back in rainy UK… phew.
The Ozil news about his party lifestyle is very true unfortunately. I mentioned that a few months ago when we were discussing Hig, Di MAria and Ozil. Ozil and Khedira were fined in 2010 and 2011 by RM…
He also has himself a pop star Mrs…
The good news is that he really wants to be the best and is not just thinking about how lucky he is to have hit the jack pot re JET.
Think I live in the wrong country Adam… 😉
Enjoy potter, don’t work too hard..
I don’t believe much of it Ts.
New Post up now..