Morning all.
Italian football journalist Emanuele Giulianelli has taken the Benzema story to another level. Not only has he predicted we’ll sign the Madrid player, he’s now said the deal will be closed today for £35 million. Benzema will sign a four year deal on £120,000 a week. That price has come down a bit eh, but I still don’t know why we are trying to sign him. Still, if he arrives, so be it, I just hope he’s worth it….
Thierry Henry thinks if he’d be the perfect signing and if we get him, we can win the league and the Champions League! Arsene Wenger has denied any such move for the Frenchman:
I never came out on Benzema, it’s just media talk.
Talking of strikers, another pygmy, this one from Liverpool is playing down our chances of success again this season:
I think it will be pretty much more of the same for Arsenal, however much they are being talked up in certain quarters.
They probably do have their best squad in a long while, I’ll give you that, and Cech in goal will give them more solidity. And I think their forward line is good enough for a domestic title challenge, if not the Champions League.
“I like Giroudddddd – though I am not sure Walcott is a centre forward just yet – but I look at their squad, and the opposition, and I just don’t see them as title winners.
What is it about ex Liverpool players? Not one of them over the years have had a good word to say about Arsenal, especially Owen! Since he’s been signed up by BT Sport, he suddenly thinks he’s a footballing expert. Well if he’s that good, why isn’t he in management showing off his skills?
But of course it’ll be more of the same from Arsenal, although I suspect he means in terms of where we finish in the league but we’ll be better. 2015 saw that things were changing. We’ll be stronger in defence, hopefully stronger in midfield once a midfielder is signed (cough) and our attacking force has goals galore in it doesn’t it?
But what a twit, first he says ‘more of the same’ and then contradicts himself by suggesting we could challenge for the PL and CL. Perhaps he’d be better off focussing on what Brenda does with his old club than spouting rubbish about Arsenal.
As for his comments about Alexis not getting into the current Chelsea side, he might want to ask Mourinho just why he tried to sign him last summer because he sure as heck wanted him! Thankfully, Alexis ignored his pleas….
Sticking with Alexis, he’s back and in great shape according to the manager and should be ready to play in ten days time…. Great stuff.
Transfer Gossip:
Arsenal are closing in on a deal to sign 15-year-old Portuguese keeper Joao Virginia from Benfica, according to reports. The youngster was wanted by Man Utd but he’s training with Arsenal ahead of signing on the dotted line.
That’s about it so have a great Friday.
Im so excited we get underway this weekend. Everyone debating where everyone will finish, how many goals will be scored etc etc. Everyone agrees we are the strongest for years and we should have a good shout this year. But even as a serious fan watching almost every game, I still think we are slightly off the pace for first… Im not seeing missing factor X.
Maybe we’ll buy factor X, maybe a young player will come in and be that, but right now I think 2nd or 3rd is most likely, with a decent chance that Im wrong and snatch first. For sure there is not much in it, but as soon as jack got injured and I look at our midfield depth which includes Arteta, Flamini and Rosicky, Im not sure how we will manage if Coquilin and Ramsey are out for long spells. Thats my biggest concern.
Looking forward to being proved wrong and winning the damn thing!
Morning all.. Great post RICO, Owen is still trying to please the Liverpool fans he deserted when he went to Madrid.His F…lishness don’t bother me one bit.
Roger, I still worry about the midfield options too..
Thanks Bondex..
‘Hammers will be on a high after their European experience… lol
Judging by pre-season we look the team most up to the pace. There’s plenty in the middle in terms of depth to deal with the period Jack is out.
It’s an injury/red card for Coquelin that concerns me Nickie and imo, we needed a midfielder before Jack got injured…
Its been confirmed that owen is The Jigging Midget
Yeah a competitor for Coquelin is a must. Jack’s role – Ramsey, Cazorla, Rosicky, Chamberlain, Arteta can all play.
Maybe he will use Chambers more in that role this year, he did use Chambers to site in beside Coquelin when we were looking to seal games out. I see Gabriel getting CB time ahead of Chambers
Thanks being polite David..
I too have a sneaky feeling Chambers will be the man used to cover. Just praying Flamini isn’t!
Good Morning Lovelies and Hunkies.
I wish I could believe what you cooked in the above post. However, although I enjoyed reading it, I still do not believe we will sign Benzema. Its like I used to say with Cech. I believe it when I see him play.
Cherysev might be a signing though. And he can play central and on the left wing. Eur11mill might do the trick.
Yes we do have a good squad……its just 2-4 players short. we need more bodies for a sustained challenge on all fronts. If we get them and AW rotates we can be the first team to win the domestic quadruple in one season…..Charity Shield, League Cup, FAcup, EPL.
Have a busy day today so catch up later…..
There’s only one answer….
Bender…
Morning Rico and the House
Interesting post. I saw some stats the other day where around 30 BBC pundits predicted the top four. None of them went outside Chelsea, Arsenal, United. City , none of them had our boys finishing lower than 3rd and whilst the majority were predicting Chelsea as Champions we were definitely the 2nd favourites.
What was a little more telling were the odds being offered on the individual top scorer. The other three were well represented, but the odds on
Gironde, Alexis or Theo being top scorer were quite long. Now you could argue that our team has the ability to share goals around the team is a factor here. But you do wonder if we had a top scorer contender, if we would have more chance of winning the league?..
As for Michael Owen he just spouts rubbish. I hated Gary Neville as a player, but have to admit to a growing respect for him as a pundit, which is more than can be said of his brother.
Still think cover/ support for Le Coq should be our major transfer target
Morning all.
Retsub, yesterday I did a short post on the number of goals each individual player should score in the coming season. If you can go back to yesterday’s article you will notice that I put Ollie, Sanchez and Theo on 15 goals each and Wlbeck and Aaron on 10, while Ozil and Cazorla on 8 goals each. That is how I like a TEAM. No one stands out. I always prefer goals to be split. The opposition would not know from where the next goal is to come. If we had a single goal poacher (Wright/Henry) the opposition would mark him and stop us scoring.
So no, I would not like a goal poacher supreme who dominates the team. I prefer the goals to be split between the team.
Devil, I think the fact Giroud assists a lot of those other guys to score goals is overlooked by plenty.
What would you prefer to have in your team……a 30 goal a season striker or 5 players who get into double figure plus????
I prefer the latter option.
Good Morning to The Lady of the House and all fellow Gooners in residence.
Rico – I’m always amazed at the amount of coverage The Merseyside Mental Midget gets in the English media. There is absolutely no pretense of impartiality or accuracy for that matter. Yet the odious little twerp is never taken to task for his oft erroneous prattlings and predictions.
I place him in the same league as Maureen Yo. I fear they both suffer from acute ‘small man syndrome’ and must constantly seek acclimation and validation.
Kev – Which Bender or is it both Benders?
Exactly Scott. What many fail to realise is that essentially Ollie is a playmaker who happens to play with his back to goal. He is the perfect foil for those around him.
We had teams built around Bergkamp, Brady etc. I feel that this team is built around Ollie. And that is why I feel his name, even if we had other options, is usually one of the first to be put on the team sheet.
One might tell me….hang on. Theo started up top in the FA cup, Charity shield etc etc. I say yes. But that is variety. Adaptation.Begin with Theo. Rattle them. Then put on Ollie.
Begin with Ollie. Give defenders food for thought and a hard game. Then when they are tired put on Theo.
Ollie is an important part in the team.
Devil
Yep fair point,I don’t disagree at all. In an ideal world of course we would have a 25 – 30 goals a season striker plus goals shared around the team as well.
Two Benders on the bench would be than one in the bush!
Omission, ‘would be better than…….. Sorry late night last night not functioning too efficiently today!
Theo….5 goals in 14
Ollie…..14 goals in 27
Alexis…16 goals in 35
Both Theo and Ollie missed a good chunk of the season. Had they been fit from the off I feel they would have gotten the remaining 11 goals between them to give them my total…..15 goals each.
Ozil…..4 goals in 22 games
Santi…7 goals in 37 games
Again…Santi achieved 7 goals in nearly 100% games, while Ozil missed 1/3 of the season and got 4.
Aaron 6 goals in 29 games.
Danny 4 goals in 25 games.
None of the above 2 played over 30 goals. And while Aaron needs to play more regularly I feel that Danny is the one who has to up his ratio. He needs to find the net more. Although he is a big game player as well.
The wild card with regards goals this season could well be the OX. Chamberlain should take more chances if he stays fit and he deserves a good season.
Devil – Spot on regarding the goals be shared around the team rather than funneling everything to a Ronaldo type a la Real Madrid. Arsenal, even when they had the likes of Ian Wright and Thierry Henry, always had their best seasons when 8-10 plus goals came from three or four other players like Anelka, Bergkamp, Ljungberg, Overmars, Pires and Viera.
You can always man or double man mark the loan scorer, but with diversified fire power that Arsene prefers, that can be very costly. The loan target man makes your play more predictable.
You’ve already given a good and detailed list of of our probable regular scorers.
Wenger confirmed today that Gnabry had a medical at WBA yesterday and that his loan deal should be announced later today. It will make it 9 player out on loan, 6 of whom are attacking players – Toral, Maitland-Niles, Crowley, Gnabry, Sanogo, Akpom
Finally football is back!!!!!! Good read Rico sad for jack we really need to do something about his constant injuries Goodluck to him.. .. .. I am kinda of scared of westham hope we don’t take them lightly their coach is a character and a damp good coach too
The dwarf “Mickey mouser” has a chip on his shoulder in relation to arsenal.i believe it all stems back to anfield ’89.they have never gotten over it & cannot hide their bitterness of a title they thought was in the bag.hence anything you hear from Hansen,lawrenson ,Aldridge etc is anti arsenal bias..
eduardo – I think this will be a very important year for all of the loan players. If they get, as hoped, regular playing time they will show that they are capable/ready to step-up to the first team in the the next season or two or they will be putting themselves in the shop window for a future sale.
I’m sure Arsene expects at least two or three of those to be Arsenal quality. I think that is why he extended the contracts of Arteta and Rosicky for one more year. They will not block the progress of those young players into the squad, but give the team the needed cover and depth in the meantime.
Afternoon Rico, All…
Good post.
I’m worried for Jack, truly worried…hope he doesn’t go the way of Abou! That’d be another talent wasted.
Wilshere’s injury suddenly put us in a quandary…good enough it happened early enough…with only Ramsey and carzola as effective b2b in the team, we need a DM now…to pair and share with Coq! Knowing Wilshere, one can forget all about his contributions this season. A huge blow, knowing what he could have offered. Without Wilshere, we’re short in the middle.
I completely share your opinion, Dev…give me multiple scorers than one banger, however lethal. Even with Benzema, Giroud will still be my no 1 for this Arsenal.
Agree CG, the total point of loans of the young ones that some fans miss. Very, very few U20s in world football could walk into Arsenals first team without at least a full season of competitive PL football.
The loan is a chance for them to get experience, learn fast, and show what theyve got. So when they come back to Arsenal they are men, not boys. I think all of the loan teams are good ones.
What I don’t get is – with Sanogo, Akpom, Gnabry, Heyden, and God-knows-who-next on loan, who and who play our COC matches?
Oh speaking of loans, I was at Ajax vs Rapid Vienna on Tuesday night. Sanogo came on about the 65th minute, and I think I saw him make a poor pass, get tackled, make one good jump to put off the keeper from a cross leading to Ajaxs second goal, and make very few runs. Thats about it. He has a long long way to go.
I think what I was most disapointed about watching from stands was his lack of movement off the ball.
Wavy, 11.55; 😆
About one or multiple scorers. Rad ford had Kennedy .Wright and Smith had Campbell.Overmars and Freddie scored their share too with Henry and Anelka. In modern football secondary scorers are a necessity.
Evening all….
Darn no-balls!!
Real have a habit of getting rid of centre forwards
new manager every 2 years is probably why.
Fat Rafi says he wants to play earolls through the middle
this is whats fueling the Benny storiers,
as per usual…………..
Is wenger telling the truth or is porking..A lot of ex-players seem to think
wenger wants him.
Is that a reference to the Portuguese pollock, Rico?
Pillock….although bollock would have done, except it isn’t alliterative!
I think he tried to buy him before he went to RM as he did with Ozil and Sanchez. He knows who likes and seems to be patient enough to wait until he can buy them. Benzema, if he really is available will be one of Wenger’s bucket list buys, I reckon. There just may be some truth in the rumours.
Personally I’m not bothered, I think he’s a little on the lazy side and will definitely be way overpriced! Still we’ll soon see, won’t we?
It appears Karim is the new Gourkuff.Benzema is not coming…I been saying that for the last 3 summers.
Not sure why a striker playing for RM who scored only 15 league goals and 26 goals for clyb and country is so highly rated ahead of a fairly industrious OG12.
Not OG12 missed 3 or so months and still scored 21 goals for club and country with only 1 goal less than benzema in the league…
Fred, I reckon Benz is on his way to us….
Goonie- what happened in Arnhem yesterday.
Rico you must be pleased Jay Rodriguez is back from injury. 488 days out.
🙂 Wavy…
Love your earlier re the Zbender twins by the way, made me chuckle…..
David De Gea been left out of United’s squad for the weekend game. Rumour has it Madrid need money if they want De Gea
Forest vs Brighton tonight.
Proper fotball is back…
Hope the boys are ready for WHU. We have won only 1 of their last 5 opening day Premier League matches & that was last year when they then won just 2 of the 1st 8 games
Sad with Neville Neville passing away
Dreadfully sad Ts, only 65…..
Very sad rico… life is too uncertain.
Sure is Ts….
Ts, sometime ago you asked me of Iheanacho…
Rico, I have a post for tomorrow if youre interested? If not can postpone. Its ready in 30mins
Yes please Roger, I have a day with the in laws tomorrow so won’t be around to post between 11-4 but I’ll keep an eye out, as long as that’s ok?
i did Tai
Great, I just sent it to you Rico, let me know if there are any issues 🙂
Thanks Roger, I’m onto it right now 😉
Those charts might be tricky to post Roger 🙁
I am now excited. roger has graph’s? 😀
Hmmm? for you micko.
Martin Atkinson will be officiating Arsenal v West Ham tomorrow. Unfortunately we have lost four of the last five PL matches with him as referee.
Ts!!!! 🙂
Enjoy your Friday evening guys, I’m out of here…
Night all….
Hmmm…went off again Ts….
Well, Kelechi Ihenacho was voted MVP of last World U-17 Championship in UAE. Some learn to play football, some are born footballers. Ihenacho belongs to the latter category. In the EPL, I respect three left-footed no 10s…Mesut Ozil, David Silva and Juan Mata. If potentials of Ihenacho follow straight course, he’d end up in that category…however, he’s most suited to be a Silva than the other two…he’s extremely skillful, very quick with the ball, can spot a pass that bellies his age and can assist as much as he scores, which is a lot.
The most positive aspect of his game is selflessness….unlike most Africans his age, he never holds onto the ball for any showmanship…despite his ability to finish, he’s never selfish. I’m not surprised Manuel Pellegrini has promoted him to City’s main team at 18. With him playing for Silva, Man City will not drop much in quality.
Given the same playing time with Rahim Sterling, I’m sure the Nigerian would outshine the ex-Liverpool speedster.
I was worried when he joined City after that U-17 tourney where he returned with Nigeria as champions. I believed a club that couldn’t let an Englishman, Johnson express his potentials is not a place for an African talent like Iheanacho…but it seems Pellegrini is poised to prove me wrong. For sure I’d keep a huge eye for him.
Hi Rico, one more graph just sent to you by email.
Dont worry, those few tables/graphs are intentionally just images, they can be added just like a normal photo. (I knew that would be a problem otherwise!)
Morning all..
I have it Roger and all done… Thank you..
Morning Rico…
What’s the weather forecast like in the Nottingham area?
Looking forward to Toral, AMN, Crowley, Hayden, Akpom and Gnabry all getting starts and having good debuts for their loan clubs…
Morning Kev, overcast I hope 🙂
Me too, certainly a season to keep an eye on the Championship…
If De Gea leaves Utd, they could struggle this season, how many times has he got them out of trouble…
Mourinho and Pellegrini staying put for another four years then…
It’s bright and sunny with a little cloud. The Ashes may well not be decided until lunch on the third day! The result shouldn’t be in doubt and the weather should not play any significant part in the outcome. Nor will the Aussies be saved by the rain!
I see the pint sized pigmy will be with us a little longer. At least we shall all have a focus on ‘something small and smelly on the soles of our shoes’ that we can rail against and abuse for the next 4 years!
Morning all.
Morning all!
Morning Jm & Wavy, I reckon it’ll be over by 1130….
Morning All,
First thing I read The Grey Badger is out the Champions League(Fenerbahce)
…What a Nob…
Next bit..Brenda..”This is a new start for me”
Is he kidding…In 3 years 23 players he has brought in.
New start…….Gotter Laugh ain’t yer.
Morning all, yippee real football is back but why oh why do we have to wait till tomorrow for the Arsenal.
Morning Fred and Joe..
No CL for RvP is funny!
New post up now..