Morning all.
Wouldn’t that be the prefect Friday morning headline?
Can you imagine waking up this morning, the date not being the 1st of April with the Frenchman announcing he was ready to leave at the end of the season. I think many fans would be thrilled but many would also be sad and disappointed as the belief is when he leaves, Arsenal will through a really tough time.
An equally exciting headline for me would be Stan Kroenke had sold his shares to someone with ambition, someone who wanted Arsenal to win everything on offer in the trophy department. Or certainly ensure the manager had a squad well equipped to give all competitions a really good fight.
But sadly neither look likely for a long time but never say never in life eh, and if by some miracle Arsenal win the league this season, Arsene Wenger might just decide to walk away on a high. As said yesterday, now it’s about winning the remaining fixtures and hope that both clubs above us drop enough points to allow us to crawl home.
That’s exactly what Mesut Ozil hopes for too and he’s been quoted as saying:
Looking at our season so far, we have to be honest and admit that we mucked it up ourselves.
We did not play to our potential in the games against the so-called smaller teams. You immediately get punished for that in the Premier League.
But we still have a chance of winning the title. We have to hope Leicester and Tottenham slip up and then make the most of it.
He’s right of course. There’s been far too many occasions when the team simply didn’t turn up in the right frame of mind and got beaten or despite battering an oppositions goal, no-one could find the back of the net. The sad thing is, not too long ago, well, around this time last season, Santi Cazorla said something very similar about not being focussed enough, especially against the so-called smaller teams so it’s clear that no-one is learning.
I’m not trying to suggest all is rosy after the performance and result at Goodison Park but one has to wonder why the same level of football hasn’t been produced more often, especially during the second part of the season. I guess now though, all we can hope for is more of that kind of football between now and the end of May and if Arsene Wenger does stay on, he does what’s right for the squad in the summer.
That would make a refreshing change wouldn’t it……..?
Good Morning Boss and Peeps.
Very windy today. Is it the wind of change?
Rico, with regards yesterdays post, in the comments section, what made you think that Ibrahimovic wanted 600kpw??
Nice post today bdw.
Morning Devil. Was it me who said Ibra would want £6k a week? I don’t recall suggesting that…
yes I think. go and check.
You let me know when you have found the comment Devil… lol
April fool lady!!!!!! 😛
Oh well, I am glad I didn’t bother checking….
I’m off to get my Friday chores done…. Have a good day Devil..
Headline:
Xhaka signs pre-contract with Arsenal
A pinch and a punch for the first of the month.
Happy All Fools Day
The way I see it is this. Win it, and it will only be because it is the poorest quality premier league in history, we had the easiest run-in ever in the history of football and next season we will finish 10th because all of the big boys will be back.
Lose it, and it will be the ultimate shame – taken to the cleaners by a championship quality team and, well, you know…
So I say, go for it, win every game and who knows? Besides, we all know that failure is our trophy haul during Wenger’s reign – and that 55 years without a title and average football brings plaudits on a global scale. I hear Delli Counter is going to replace Bobby Moore’s statue as he is now the greatest England player – or was that Citizen Kane…
When it comes down to its way easy to love the Arsenal and everything about it. Still hope the boys make us proud this year. COYG
On a by the way Rico you run one of the best Arsenal blogs, congratulations, I am an Arsenal fan from South Africa and can assure you we are just as passionate about the Gunners as everyone else. Hope the weekend brings more fun and joy for us all Gooners
Morning boys and girls.
Mabo, I thought you lot only did Rugby… you should chat with Scott he is also a big rugby man but from Oz as you can see…. all we need in here now is a Kiwi…! 😀
Oh and morning you lot
Mabo – agree – other Arsenal sites pale into insignificance.
Ofcourse Wath our soccer aint as good as our Rugby. But come weekend we sit with our boxes and wait for the Gunners. Iceman the other sites lack passion and sense sometimes. By the way Iceman is my older brother’s nickname, how about that! Feels great chatting with you lot
Afternoon, I don,t know what would hurt me more, us continuing on playing like we did v Everton and just missing out on the title, or to see us just put in half-hearted performances and languish in 3rd or 4th place,
I do think AW will go big on a striker, I think he will finally acknowledge we badly need that 30 goal striker to compete next season,
A replacement for Debuchy, also Xhaka and another quality Midfielder brought in for the outgoing Flamini and Rosicky and Arteta
Thats 4 players that are a must.
Whereas Merts, Ox, and Theo stick or fold, is anybody,s guess….
Wolfsburg to pay Bendtner to leave. Contract for further 15 months, worth €3m a season, Bild say €1.5m to €2m severance payment likely
Same should,ve happened with Flamini.
Yeh right. For all Flamini’s faults and inability as a footballer at least, unlike Bentner’s, he is not a knob!
I actually feel sorry for the guy, could of had, a half decent career if it wasn,t for his arrogance, ego and high self-worth, that just didn,t match his ability,
Although AW didn,t help that by giving him a ludricrous 52,000 grand a week contract at a very early stage in his career.
RIP Denise Robertson a very warm hearted, caring lady. The perfect agony aunt.
Hi all. Like how JW returned on April fools’. Hope we go full throttle for the rest of the season. Pick all the points and see how it unfolds.
Watford up next.
…And Marshall, if not for nothing the boys should smash them for all the talking and jesters they did when they beat us at the Emirate… btw Mabo is right, HH is the Messi and Makelele of Arsenal bloggers (the fuel and the engine).
Afternoon all..
Welcome Mabo and thanks guys re HH… 🙂
Dublin, terribly sad news re Denise Robertson. Pancreatic Cancer is the most evil thing!
RIP
Yes Obi. I still feel gutted of how they bragged we’re like a small team and that they’ve figured us out.
I thought we played Watford on Sunday, oops ?
Catch up tomorrow..
Night guys..
3 o’clock Saturday. Most unusual
Good Morning Boss and Peeps.
I would like to pose a question.
So many of our ex players and present players say that they all played for AW. Yes, they may be right. And he has done a lot for the club. But how many players have we lost because of AW??
Morning Devil and all..
Not just because of AW Devil, but the entire board surely? That is if RvP’s words before his departure were true…
A very good way to re-phrase the question Rico.
Trouble is Devil, we’ve been over it time and time again yet nothing changes. An owner who cares only about money and a manager who is more than happy to assist him.
exactly. I think we have lost many players due to board and AW. tbh….some of the players we lost, I do not mind. their attitude or physical condition stank the place. However, imo some players I would have liked AFC to keep or sign from other clubs. Yes there are idiots like Turan who said that AFC were always his 2nd choice simply because AW does not play pragmatic soccer but only wants beautiful soccer. But how many players would have come to us had AW not been so obsessive with our playing style??
My team for today…..
Do not risk Cech if he is not yet ready.
Ospina
Bellerin, Gabriel, Kos, Monreal
Elneny, Coquelin
Iwobi, Ozil, Alexis
Danny.
I do not think the line up against Watford will be much different than than.
Hopefully the game will be put to bed by half time. But we need to get out the blocks quick. Scoring early would be a great bonus.
There are a few I wish we’d kept for just a season or two more.. Henry, RvP, Bobby, Cole…. actually, there’s a few… 🙁
New post up now..
Interesting to see that Wenger admitted, as he usually does, that he knew all about N’Golo Kante when he was at Caen, the defensive- midfielder that Leicester paid £5.6 million for and who will probably win the EPL title this year…
Why didn’t Wenger sign him then, if he knew about him?
Questionable judgement once more from Wenger, when we were crying out for an additional d/m to compliment Le Coq?!!!
Surely at £5.6m he was worth a punt?
Tbh, Wenger just just keep his gob shut…
Morning All
Morning Rico
Morning Kev, bring your comments onto the new one…. 😉