Morning all.
Josh Kroenke was made welcome yesterday afternoon. About as welcome as a toffee would be for someone with toothache. There might only have been 10,000 fans inside The Emirates but the message was pretty clear, “Stan Kroenke Out”. Josh will no doubt have passed the message on to his father by now but then he’s probably well aware that he’s not wanted at the club anymore.
On the pitch, Arsenal signed off the season with two cracking goals from Pepe. Partey hit the crossbar twice, Gabriel once in a pretty one sided game which was wasn’t always pretty to watch. At the King Power Stadium, Leicester City had a disastrous afternoon and lost 4-2 to the Toots which means it’s them instead of us who’ll be travelling around Europe on a Thursday night.
Despite Arsenal not qualifying for European football for the first time in over a hundred years, five wins on the trot is a positive to take into the next campaign. Chambers, Pepe, Partey, Holding, Gabriel, Saka, Saliba, ESR, Martinelli, Tierney and Mari are players to build a team around. Balogun, Willock, Mavropanos, Ballard, Azeez and hopefully AMN will be part of a much younger and more energetic looking Arsenal squad as we go into the new season. Question marks must hang over the future of Willian, Bellerin, Aubameyang, Lacazette and perhaps even Elneny, Cedric and Xhaka too.
Neither Nelson or Nketiah seem to be in Mikel Arteta’s thoughts for the future but I very much doubt they’ll be the only ones. Players currently on loan need their future sorting out so either another season on loan or a permanent transfer away from the club awaits them. Unless they are deemed ready to play in the domestic cup fixtures and perhaps even the bench for PL matches of course. Torreira, Guendouzi and Kolasinac will hopefully find a new club and Arsenal will raise some funds to reinvest into the squad.
As much as many of us would like to see all the academy players break into the first team over time, the reality is, they won’t. That doesn’t mean they won’t make a good career at another club, just not at Arsenal.
Jeorge Bird has a list of all the young players who have signed professional contracts but aren’t yet part of the first-team squad although for one or two of them, that’s likely to change.
Ryan Alebiosu
Daniel Ballard
Folarin Balogun
Tolaji Bola
Harry Clarke
Trae Coyle
Tyreece John-Jules
Jordan McEneff
Mark McGuinness
Zech Medley
James Olayinka
Joseph Olowu
Jordi Osei-Tutu
Ben Sheaf
Matt Smith
Zak Swanson
James Hillson
Ben Cottrell
Karl Hein
Joel Lopez
Arthur Okonkwo
Tom Smith
Miguel Azeez
Catalin Cirjan
Charlie Patino
Zane Monlouis
Marcelo Flores
Tim Akinola
Jonathan Dinzeyi
Salah Eddine
Joel Ideho
Nikolaj Moller
That’s a long long list of players whose ambition is to make it at Arsenal. Or at least that should be their ambition. Some will probably lose patience, perhaps thinking they’re ready for the first team when they’re not, or at least the manager thinks they’re not. Others might be tempted to move just because the grass appears greener on the other side whilst the other younger ones are likely to continue under a new coach for the under 23’s or go out on loan. The more senior or developed players will probably be part of next season’s squad with those who the management/coaching staff feel won’t ever make the step up will be sold/released. So yes, Edu, Arteta and Mertesacker have a busy summer ahead of them.
Finally, we’ll done to Joe Willock who scored yet again for Newcastle yesterday. Seven goals in seven games, a new Premier League record. His form won’t have gone unnoticed by many clubs and I suspect Arsenal will receive a lot of interest in him this summer. Interest they must surely ignore.
See you in the comments guys.
allezkev on 24th May 2021 at 10:21 am
I’m not sure about top two DG because Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City will all strengthen this summer, our advantage is no european competition to distract and weary us but finishing 4th is the minimum for me, but yeah I do share your concern over the ACN players.
Everyone else will have the same problem but Arsenal if we sign Bissouma could lose a big big part of our core. Aubameyang, Pepe, Partey, Elneny and possibly Bissouma would constitute the spine of our team. It why we cannot lose Xhaka, who I thought was excellent yesterday and probably have to think deeply about retaining Willock and Maitland Niles.
Top four is surely the minimum for Mikel Arteta next season, especially if the club make a few good signings this summer.
Rico, when you look at some of our league results it makes for some really odd reading, for example losing 7 home games, when did that last happen?
And then at the same time we won 10 away games, something we couldn’t buy under Arsene in his last two seasons…
Taking 6 points off of Brighton a bogey team in recent years, 6 points off of Chelsea we hadn’t done that since 2004, won at Old Trafford we hadn’t done that for years, since Adebayor, but we took zero from ManCity, Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa and Wolves and some of those really hurt us.
We actually missed out on a Champions League spot by 6 points, 6 points, in a season like this one when a relegation battle was being seriously discussed before Christmas and the managers position was under intense scrutiny.
It’s been so weird, apparently Liverpool this season hadn’t lost as many home league games since 1937/38 so what does that tell you about referees, how they’re influenced and how crowds also motivate footballers?
It’s certainly been a weird season Kev but even though we’ve won our last five, do you think we’ve played well?
Fans or rather lack of them has certainly played a big part in home results being very different to previous seasons and I believe it’s been similar in Germany and other countries. For Mikel Arteta, no fans have possibly saved him his job but on the flip side, had fans been in the stadium, would the players have performed better at home? On from there though, would the teams we won against away from home played better?
What’s odd is the results you point out against Wolves etc. Maybe that comes down to individuals want to win more for their manager. All guessing games by me though.
Basically, yes, fans make a difference 😜
Morning all.
If Auba stays, I hope crowds make the difference lol
I am not sure that Auba staying or going will make much difference, in fact I was hoping that he would take Auba off at half time yesterday & put Laca or Martinelli on . Auba just isn’t the same player since he signed his new contract his whole body language is not good, & he is sloppy with his passes
Sheila…I wasn’t hoping that Auba would be taken off at half time. I was hoping he would not even be a sub let alone in the starting eleven.
Agree Sheila, Auba has really struggled this season. I think he’ll leave this summer.
Rico, concerning the last 5 league games I’m not sure if we’ve played well or not because I’ve not actually enjoyed the majority of our football this season, the passing backwards drives me crazy, the building from the back, it’s just so ponderous and for me football is supposed to be about excitement, the unexpected, imagination, thrills and spills, it’s supposed to get you off of your feet it’s not supposed to be choreographed to the last degree.
I loved the way that Pepe took his goals because they were instinctive, we’ve scored some great goals this season but a lot of them are like something from a Bob Fosse dance routine.
Kev, rightly or wrongly, it’s the way all clubs are going now.
Even at the youth level, it’s all about possession and playing out from the back.
My sons side have a talented keeper who’s shocking with the ball at his feet.
6 games, 4 goals and several more chances conceded directly from his mistakes and it does my head in, but it’s the trend.
Ditto Kev, I can’t recall the last Arsenal game I enjoyed watching, probably one of the Europa games. The backwards and sideways passing is awful..
I think that’s why I enjoy watching Leeds.
Well whoever is coaching your sons team Scott, isn’t doing a great job, you don’t have to slavishly follow everyone else do you? You play to the strengths of the players you have.
Yeah, Leeds are great Rico and so are Leicester.
At the moment everyone is doing the same but eventually some bright spark will start playing with two big strikers up front and a winger who puts over great crosses and we’ll all go ‘this is news, let’s copy them’ that’s how it goes, in a circle.
Agree re both Kev, their football is refreshing. Most other clubs persist with playing from gives an opportunity for another club to shock the PL I think. Similar to when Leicester won it 2016.
Hi all,
The great clean out has started, Bould has been let go.
Hi Bradley, is that really cause for celebrations mate, because I’m not sure about that.
Bould had his best players sent out on loan from under him and the replacements were long shots and second chance fellas who were being released by other clubs, he wasn’t responsible for the squad he had and it’s limitations but whoever was# responsible is still in situ and Steve Bould has taken the wrap.
Anyway, let’s see who takes his place, maybe someone will be promoted from within?
Have Arsenal confirmed it yet Brad?
@ltarsenal
·
6h
Steve Bould was informed of his sacking at a meeting with Per Mertesacker on Friday. It is not clear who will take the Arsenal U23s job now, although Bould’s assistant, Ryan Garry, will be a contender, as will Ken Gillard, who is currently in charge of the U18s.[
@ground_guru
]
https://trainingground.guru/articles/arsenal-sack-bould-after-two-decades-on-coaching-staff
two big strikers up front and a winger who puts over great crosses
Resurrect Radford , Kennedy and Armstrong and we will be fine.
You got it Potter…
I didn’t mean great as in it’s great Kev, meant as in the big clean out.
I think Bould did a great job with the youngsters that have coome through. Not sure on his #2 role with Wenger but that could be more Wenger wanting to control everything.
Kev, I’ve hated this style of play forever.
Sean’s coach is great on the training ground, not on game day.
Big difference.
Oh and let snot pretend all clubs aren’t doing it-they are.
The fact we are often too slow at getting the ball forward is a different topic altogether.
Let’s not to let snot haha
Brilliant 🙂
Evening Rico and the House
Not only has it been a weird season I think its going to be a weird
start to next season.
There is so much going on It could be August before we see movement on the transfer front.
Kev you are 100% right with your comments about Steve Bould.
If he has left the person responsible for the demise of our U23 side
is still at the club.
I think it all started to go wrong at the end of th 2017-2018 season.
Mertisker took over from Luke Hobbs as Head of the academy and
Freddie took over from the departing Gatting as u23 coach.
In the 2017-2018 season our U23’s won their League, the U18’s won their league
and reached the final of the youth cup, and its been downhill eversince
Rico there are more things I would like to say but I think some of what I say could cause some friction.
For now I say good nightto you all.
Hey Bradley, no problemo amigo, if I’m honest I’ve got so cheesed off with certain Arsenal fans criticising Bould, in my view unfairly, that I probably jumped the gun, I didn’t mean to offend you and I’m sorry if I did…
Rick/Kev, is it an overreaction to sack Bould for the apparent “demise” of the 23’s?
Again, without all our players out on loan, would there even be a demise?
Is it possibly a clash of personalities that’s caused this decision as anyone can see our 23’s would be much more effective if we didn’t have players out of the club.
Surely the decision makers would recognise that as a huge factor.
Hi All First Berkamp now Bould I hope Edu, Arteta and Josh are not turning us into a job for mates club.
Geoff, I heard a little rumour this morning Edu might be heading out as well.
It never ends 🙂
Scott it sounds like everyone is leaving or being sacked hopefully the next people to leave are Stan and Josh but I am not holding my breath for that
Geoff, we can only hope, though I’d be just as happy if they showed real interest in the club and backed us.
An owner that cares will invest, both financially and personally.
Stan will never do that but again, he’s never pretended to be anything but am investor so our hope is (a) they sell or (b) Josh decided he wants what’s best for the club and it’s fans.
If not, I really hope they sell up.
The Edu rumour is from Charles Watts who I can’t say I am familiar with, but apparently is a journo.
Maybe our English mates will have some info on the report.
Charles Watts is Goals Arsenal correspondent. Not bad for info to be honest. The Edu thing stems from a scandal over in Brazil when Edu was employed over there. Not sure how involved (if at all) he was, so there maybe some fallout.
Morning Gooners, Scott there’s nothing on the Charles Watts Twitter account about Edu so I don’t know where that came from? But nothing would surprise me concerning Arsenal during these confusing times. The days when the club was a solid and settled place to work at have it seems long gone, it’s like a revolving door these days with managers, coaching staff, medical staff, all sorts coming through one door as their predecessors go out another.
I mean our old Directors didn’t put their hands in their pocket to buy players or anything but you felt that they had a safe hand on the tiller and that they knew what was going on, I certainly don’t get that feeling with Josh and Enos.
David Miles leaving/retiring is just the latest to leave and who are we replacing these people with and do they really care about the club?
I’m seeing changes at all levels that I’m not totally comfortable with, I’m not saying that change is bad because it often isn’t but change for changes sake, for cosmetic purposes or that are intended to strengthen someone’s power base isn’t beneficial.
None of us really know what’s going on but I’m rather uneasy with some of the changes and I’m certainly not seeing any improvement yet in many aspects of the club.
Thanks Hobart.
It’s never dull 🙂
Kev, certain things will never change until Stan leaves, imo.
Morning all.
New post up now
https://highbury-house.com/2021/05/25/steve-bould-sacking-smart-or-stupid/
Hi Rick, don’t hold back. I’d like to read your views.
Kev, I wonder if this is what Arteta means about about big changes. He suggests things were very wrong long before his arrival. I’m like you though, I’ve yet to see any changes which are seriously positive.
Maybe in time we’ll look back and understand it all.
The Edu story comes from ESPN. I can’t read it as it’s not in English 😀
If it’s Portugese then Joachim is your man or if it’s Spanish I will have a go if it’s not too technical . If you post the link because I can’t find it.