Morning all.
All we asked for before the game was rotation, well, I did and that’s just what we got from Arsene Wenger. Thursday is far too important to the club to risk any of our key players. As it turned out, Danny Welbeck and Nacho Monreal did come off the bench but got through unscathed.
The starting eleven were young and inexperienced as far as this kind of game goes. A few have had a taster of first team football but for Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos it was his first time. Thoughts of the 8-2 thrashing popped back into my mind but this young Arsenal team had no plans to surrender as the team did on that awful night.
Not one of the young players let themselves or the club down, totally the opposite in fact. The standout under performer, certainly in the first half was captain Granit Xhaka. He switched off from his defensive duties as he’s done before and will again until he’s told otherwise. In all fairness though, the Utd players shouldn’t have been in our box in the first place as yet again, a referee failed, or perhaps chose not to award a foul which lead to the home team being able to break in the first place.
The fit again Henrikh Mkhitaryan made the scores level and it looked like we’d be heading down the motorway with a very well earned point, they scored. Heartbreaking for the youngsters and totally undeserved I thought.
Kevin Friend was awful, just like the rest of the officials in this country. As said, he’d missed the foul before Utd broke away, he missed one of our penalty decisions too. The first would have been soft but the second looked quite clearly to be a foul by Sanchez on Nelson.
Friend booked Xhaka, rightly so I hasten to add, then later on in the game got all bullish after the Swiss midfielder chested the ball out for a Utd throw in, telling him to think about what he’s doing. This is the same bloke who watched on as the Utd players, especially Young, fouled our boys on many occasions. Fair and consistent? Never.
My favourite moment of the game? Mavropanos Tackle on Lukaku. Hard through the ball and plonked the big Belgium striker flat on his butt and his game was over. A good old fashioned tough tackle which we don’t get to see from our defenders very often. Tony Adams would have liked that one.
The downside of the game was Mikki. Having looked good on his return, he hobbled off injured and is now a doubt for Thursday, as is Ospina who suffered injury to his ribs thanks to the ghastly Fellaini. In hindsight, perhaps Mikki shouldn’t have played.
With all the big names on the pitch, how rewarding it must have been for Ainsley Maitland-Nile’s to walk away with the Man of the Match award. The young Greek deserves a mention too, I though he was pretty solid, a throw back to a proper English style defender who calmly went about his business without fuss or complaint. I’d say he made Mustafi look like the player just starting out in the first team, not him.
We’ve got a few good young players coming through that’s for sure and with a new coaching team and manager set to arrive some day soon, I hope they can move their Arsenal careers further forward and most if not all, will play a big part in our future.
Hold on to your hats out there, it’s breezy…
Morning Rico and All.
Match of the Day did their usual sanitising job on the highlights yesterday, even the radio commentary, who are traditionally anti-Arsenal mentioned incidents that MotD airbrushed from their highlights as Arsenal got roughed up, so good to see Xhaka and Mavrapanos giving some back to those northern wankers.
Wenger is a soft touch now, nobody has seen him as a threat for over 10 years so it’s easy to be all nicey nicey in those circumstances.
Andy Cole summed it up yesterday by basically hinting that the Man U crowd were taking the piss out of Wenger, United as a club whilst being massive financially are an empty vessel.
Anyone who has been to Old Trafford will know what I mean about them, a classless bunch of Northern inbreds, bereft of any culture and class.
Mourinho was made for them…
Morning Kev.
Couldn’t agree more. Never a match more made in heaven than Mourinho and Utd. Their club is a far cry from the one it used to be. Hopefully our next manager will be far more imaginative than Mourinho and his boring, rugby style of football.
Morning all and thank you Rico.
How odd is it to feel good about a defeat ! 🙂
Does Wenger know who the next manager is from the first line ?……………
Wenger said: “My successor certainly will have watched this game today.
“Hopefully, he will come to positive conclusions for the players.
“For them, it’s whether they can be part of the future of Arsenal Football Club.
“I think some of them have shown today that they can be, 100 per cent. I would say, personally, 100 per cent.”
Beautiful sunny day again here, just a bit cold with the wind chill factor, but it`s sunny, probably do a bit of cruising on my ride on mower !
😎
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We should know who the new manager will be by the middle of next month.
Or at least for certain before the season ticket renewal deadline.
With the English transfer window closing before the EPL season kicks off, Premier League clubs are going to have to be proactive in the market. Whether this will have a negative or positive effect on transfer prices remains to be seen?
Enrique now looks set for Chelsea according to the media and Allegri is the new favourite.
Has the financial demands of Enrique priced him out of the job?
A £50m transfer kitty seemed as unrealistic as a £200m war chest, I reckon it’s somewhere in between.
Funny how the media never talk about a Tottenham transfer kitty or one from Liverpool or ManU or anyone else really, it’s just the usual media obsession with Arsenal and all the associated click bait sites like Football.London and the Daily Cannon who constantly drone on and lie about all things Arsenal.
Interesting to read that Ancelotti has reportedly turned down the Italian national job.
I wonder if the club are looking to him as a safe pair of hands for 2 or 3 years?
Agree Lc, it’s odd but I guess we are all in holiday mode… lol
Me too, I reckon the new guy will be given a budget, plus any money he makes on sales and there might be two or three.. 😉
Wonder if Jack is waiting to see who comes in before making a decision, or if any new guy won’t take a risk on him…
Who knows, but not long until we find out..
Whoever it is, it apparently won’t be Brenda.
“The diminutive Irishman pulled his lips back to reveal a set of china that was truly awe-inspiringly white. Beyond mere white in fact, Brenda’s Hampsteads had strayed into the blue region of the colour spectrum. While acknowledging his jealousy over the pearlies now exhibited by Kapitan Klopp and his sidekick Bob Firmino, Brenda was in full flow yesterday after his team crushed one-time opponents Rangers 29 nil to win the SPL for the 50th time in succession. “It’s a tough league” said Brenda, blinding all before him as the camera flashes reflected into the faces of the adoring crowd. “It’s the best job in the World so why would I want to leave for a club like Arsenal?”
Pausing only to pick a shard of humble-pie from between his molars, Brenda went on “ We had some hard games this year but I rose above my 5 feet 5 inch stature to meet them head-on, so I did”
So, it seems as if Arsenal will need to look elsewhere as this truly magnificent manager has greater challenges ahead.
Taken from The Keltic Times.
Yeah Rico, Jack might be waiting, but I wonder if Mislintat is already addressing the improvements that are needed so that any new manager will pretty much have the squad he’s going to have to work with in situ and maybe Jack isn’t part of those plans?
Rodgers could have been a valuable secret weapon during the Blitz, imagine him dazzling the Luftwaffe with his choppers as they attempted to bomb Liverpool Road.
Der schwinehund
Kev. perish the thought. 🙂
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/30/tottenham-reality-check-stadium-costs-escalate-mauricio-pochettino
Those fried chicken dumps and housing associations in Tottenham High Road must be worried.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/04/30/rush-praise-arsene-wenger-george-grahams-arsenal-feats-overlooked/
There isn’t anything quite as finger licking good than a box of Tennessee fried chicken, cooked in red derv, it’ll keep repeating on your for hours giving you plenty of time to relive the experience.
Washed down with a glass of Cava
????
Afternoon Rico and All.
Kev ……..GG coached all of them at the back
Said on here before..I watched Bouldy the week before
we bought him from Stoke..Not a bit impressed.
How about Dixon..Who’s he.
Winterburn had a bit of history,with the wombles.
Then Big Tone ..Talk about Raw or Ehaw.
All became great players for us.Under GG.
Nearly every defender under Arsene has arrived Ugly
then turned into a prettyboy overnight.
Hopefully Arsene can walk away,then tell us the
truth,because the one thing I do know is..
Arsene will blame someone.
Lets hope we get the right man in..What a job it is.
We could be like most clubs now,As soon as we get
fed up with him/her..We just sack them.
That should keep them on the front foot.
Afternoon( not good, as it’s been raining hard since last night).
Yes, it does seem odd but no one seemed to mind losing yesterday. Mind you, if manure had, then Napoleon wouldn’t have been so gracious in defeat. AW seems much more relaxed now, so him moving on seems to be good for everyone.
It’s a real choice right now for Jack, does he sign quickly before the offer is withdrawn? Or hold out and hope the incoming manager offers him a better deal? Hmmmmn, I’m even undecided on Jack. He played really well earlier this season, but then seemed to drift back to being average again more recently.
If it’s to be a real cultural change in style, there will be a few surplus to requirements imo. But who would want them if they are put up for sale? Mustafi? Iwobi? Xacka, Danny, Bellerin? Even Ozil may have to go, and he is quality, but very lightweight. Yes, I can see why some may think we need a stop gap manager, but until who becomes available?
The youngsters we have coming through are pretty good, so that is one thing not to worry about, as long as they can be coached a different way to the Wenger style.
How can Bould, Lehman etc, be coaching the defence properly, the way they have been performing?
Let’s hope they can do better on Thursday. We really need to end the season on a high note, and contrary to most, I hope he plays the new Greek lad and Maitland Niles. And Cech in goal.
Afternoon Fred and all.
Reading that article is music to my ears Kev.. ? Yes, unlike you know who, I’d imagine Sven really is busy as we head towards the transfer window. Busy working with our new manager too because I honestly believe the club know who is coming in next.
Spuds ground could possibly cost £1B !!!……………….fcuk me it`s fcuking Haringey !……………………..it`s like having to pay £1000 to have have sex with Gemma Collins when she should be paying you !
I know Fred, George’s teams got us to two european finals, I’m sure we would’ve won in 1995 if he’d still been in charge.
Defending has become a lost art at Arsenal under the culture bred by Wenger, you should have seen how easy it was for the Chelsea Youth team to score 4 goals at the Emirates yesterday evening, no defensive midfield, center halves constantly exposed, its endemic at our club.
We have talented players right across our club from youths to seniors but they lack defensive coaching, organisation and direction.
Merts will soon change that Kev. If anyone can, surely he can.
Morning all.
Morning Rico, I see that matchday programmes in the Football League is under threat, with a lot of clubs wanting to scrap them…
Well instead of scrapping them, why not make them cheaper, who wants to pay £3/£5 for a magazine full of poxy adverts.
It will end up with fans paying to download it onto their I pads which will suit most of our fans who could read it whilst the match is in progress between texting their mates and taking selfies.
Morning Kev, sorry, it was quiet so I went off to do my chores..
Programmes are well over priced and not just in football..
Weve come a lomg was from a wooly bobble hat and a rosette ,
Don’t forget your rattle and milk crate, plus enough money to buy a 6d programme and a packet of ‘hot roasted nuts. Peanuts’, yelled in your ear. 2/6 to get in too!
Ah, those were the days!
Afetrnoon all………………………………………Zeljko Buvac anyone ?………………….apparently the brains behind Klopp ………………
Rumour also has it that the Emrites west stand will be named The Arsene Wenger Stand………………..Manshafter renamed their North Stand, The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand two years before he retired…………………and I`m sure Man City named one of their stands The Colin Bell End !……………………….Totnumb will also name their new stadium…………………… The New Shit Hole and thats not just because the design and shape of it looks like a large toilet !
https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premiership/arsenal-fan-leaks-new-tottenham-stadium-blueprints/
‘The Colin Bell End’ ??
Afternoon guys, I read that too Lc, seems he’s the defensive mastermind which if is the case, I wonder why their defence was rubbish for yonks…
Adam Like it. Brenda molars. Boy am I glad Brenda has ruled herself out, even though she wasn’t asked.
Good post Rico. These guys (HH bloggers) are on for more today. Hope we scrape it on Thursday. No Arteta, Rodgers please.
Hopefully Spuds new stadium costs spiral, no money for transfers. We can help them out, throw them 50m for ex Arsenal boy KANE
Meant these HH bloggers are on form today. Bloody auto correct
Morning All,
Reiss Nelson joining Wolves on loan for a year makes a lot of sense but my only concern would be if he came under the influence of Jorge Mendes who has an influence behind the scenes at Molyneux.
Morning Kev, didn’t see that one coming. Thought he might be pushing for a first team place next season..
Taking into consideration Wenger’s departure , I don’t think I would be thinking about leaving just yet.
Who ever the Jew man coming is, it would surely be unwise of him or the club to release any of the players until the ‘manager’ has made an assessment of their individual talents. Unless, of course, the new coach is appointed with no control over the playing staff, that feature will be the domain of the back room staff?
Afternoon all. It’s finally stopped raining here and the sun has got its hat on!
Sorry! ‘The new man’ not what the iPad wrote for itself!
Agree Potter/Wavy. Although I do think the new guy already knows he’s got the job…
Similar with Jack, he’s got a decision to make and apparently, talks are stepping up so surely he’d want to know who is replacing Wenger before he makes up his mind..
The TW opens in just over a months time and what with the WC and all that, time will be limited.
I will simply not believe any managerial rumours until I read it on Football.London.
What’s happened to Ornstien, the font of all inside Arsenal stories!
Wavy, he was last seen with Wath drowning his sorrows !
Heard him having a jolly in Rome last night . No doubt a quick flight to Madrid this morning , that ‘s the life of a journalist . You couldn’t make it up .
Mind you they do half the time.
Morning Potter and all.
New post up.