Champions League biggie, Friday a signing day?

Morning all.

Its been a long time since the Arsenal first team have been involved in a Champions League quarterfinals. 2009/10 season I think it was. 2-2 at home in the first leg followed by a 4-1 defeat in Catalonia and we were history. The Champions League and Arsenal haven’t exactly got on. 2006 was close, but not close enough.

The women however, they’ve won the big cup. The season after the men’s final. 1-0 was enough to see off Umea. Alex Scott on 91 minutes, talk about leave it late.

The quarterfinal will of course be played behind closed doors at the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastián and kicks off at 7pm. Annoyingly, BT Sport have the broadcasting rights, same as the men’s competition.

Two players to watch out for will be Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema and PSG’s Nadia Nadim. Whoever wins tomorrow night’s battle will meet either Lyon or Bayern Munich.

Good luck to the women, winning this competition would makeup for losing out to Chelsea in the Continental Cup final earlier this year and not being able to defend their Women’s Super League title. Next time eh, next time.

Next time for the men has been going on for a while now but it seems the club are out to do the best they can this summer to ensure we have a stronger and more balanced squad for the challenge ahead. Willian will bring the team something new and different and if we get the Gabriel signing over the line then we’ll have another young, athletic centre back who together with Saliba, might just give us the strongest central defensive pairing we’ve seen in a long time. The back pages and Newsnow headlines suggest Man City, Utd and PSG have made late bids for the defender which is a bit of a bummer, but if he opts to go elsewhere, then his heart couldn’t have been in an Arsenal move from the off. I remember when Joel Campbell changed his mind at the last minute, only to change it back again and finally sign for Arsenal. I’d have been tempted to tell his representatives not to bother, move on to plan b. Arsenal need players who want to be at the club for the right reasons.

If Gabriel chooses Arsenal over the money of City, Utd and PSG, I think it’s fair to say he wants to be part of what Mikel Arteta is trying to build. Where Arsenal are trying to go.

A week ago today, Arsenal announced the signing Willian, perhaps today will be the day we hear that another Brazilian has arrived.

TGIF.

Catch up later guys…

 

 

 

 

 

58 thoughts on “Champions League biggie, Friday a signing day?

  1. potter says:

    Looked it up , during the period taking into account a period before and after there are 8 games .
    Brighton , west Brom , Palace , Newcastle , Southampton , Man Utd , Wolves and Villa.
    Most of these will have foreign players but how many will be internationals called away.

  2. Sue says:

    Nice one, Rico 👍

    Still waiting for Auba news…. bloody hell, I’m irked!! Hurry up!!

    Has anyone got wind of us playing any friendlies before the Shield? Liverpool are playing Stuttgart tomorrow – which is where Mavropanos is… I hope he has a blinder!!

    Yes, Rico, good luck to our women!

  3. Cicero says:

    If, as reported, Arsenal have agreed terms with Lille for Gabriel and personal terms with the player, who has passed his medical at Arsenal, why has the club not insisted that he sign his contract?

    I rather suspect that we are being used to bump up the wages being offered by other clubs. No doubt his agent is licking his lips at the thought of how much he can trouser from the deal.

    Edu should be telling both to either p**s or get off the pot.

  4. Aussie Geoff says:

    Hi Rico and all interesting reading that Raul did not want To us to sign Gabriel megalhaes before he left but Edu want us to sign him

  5. Aussie Geoff says:

    We need to be more aggressive in the transfer market and not give the players or their managers a chance to look for other clubs just to raise their payments

  6. Joaquim Moreira says:

    afternoon all!
    Who knows Danny Loader (ex – Reading)?
    Good luck to Arsenal Women at Anoeta !

  7. Sue says:

    Argh!!!! Rico, still no news! I was so sure today was the day… thought maybe they’d wait until 2ish pm, with his shirt number being 14 and all… but no, it’s come and gone!!
    Now the question is – will it ever be announced?!!! I don’t know whether to laugh or cry!!

  8. Cicero says:

    Sue, a philosophical shrug of the shoulders would be about right for a Gooner, considering Arsenal’s long standing tradition of cocking up transfers. 😉

  9. allezkev says:

    Matchday 1 22nd October 2020
    Matchday 2 29th October 2020
    Matchday 3 5th. November 2020
    Matchday 4 26th. November 2020
    Matchday 5 3rd. December 2020
    Matchday 6 10th.December 2020

    Europa League draw 2nd October

  10. Wavy says:

    Fawkes off Kev. No more punny jokes please! You’re firing me up!

    No new signings today then? Just talk!

  11. allezkev says:

    Just had a look at News Now and immediately wondered why I bothered as none of them have a clue about what’s happening even though they claim ‘Deal agreed’ or Arsenal legend says ‘Arsenal must sell *******’ etc etc, then there’s ‘Arteta’s clear out’ or words to that effect, I just simply went by the headlines without clicking on any of the crap sites because if you read in between the lines of the headlines it’s all recycled bollocks or lies.

    They like to keep things vague and keep you guessing and hoping so that you click and they earn from their ads, usually if there’s no name then it means they know fcuk all…
    If there was any developments it would be Gabriel this or Gabriel that blah blah fecking blah.

    Anyway, Seville are a bunch of divers, but boy don’t they work hard and Inter played those last minutes of the game as in a trance, I mean you’ve got Lukaku up front ffs, try a few crosses into the box, Young can cross, Moses can cross, but no, instead then knocked it around at the back and lost without a whimper, how pathetic…

  12. ScottfromOz says:

    Eriksen has lost the CL and EL finals in pretty quick time.
    Can’t take the Tottenham out of them…….

  13. Aussie Geoff says:

    So Aubameyang claims he has not received any new contract paper work to sign seems same old Arsenal they don’t know what paper work is no wonder they are so slow in the transfer market

  14. Sue says:

    It’s looking likely that the weekend of October 3rd is when fans will be back! Though the government are saying 30 per cent capacity limit… plus it’s also been mentioned about no singing or chanting 😳

    Cicero.. consider my shoulders well and truly shrugged 😄

  15. allezkev says:

    No away fans for the entire season, so about 20,000 Arsenal fans at the Emirates scattered around or approx 50% of the season ticket holders.

    I wonder what has happened to all the ticket touts?

  16. allezkev says:

    Maybe Cicero, I remember taking a ticket tout home to Peckham about 18 years ago and during the course of our conversation he told me (BS alert) that he didn’t have a Nat Ins. number or an NHS number and that he’d never paid tax in his entire life. I do have a way in talking to passengers and getting info out of them, or BS, you can never be sure.
    But yeah, they probably do get benefit only it’s probably under another name.

  17. allezkev says:

    Pat Rice’s elder brother has been one of the biggest ticket touts outside of Arsenal for years Cicero, he was always hanging around outside the Arsenal Tube in Gillespie Road.

    Now how did he get his tickets?

    When I go to the Emirates I always approach from Holloway Road nowadays – well I used to in another life – and as you approach the mini roundabout where the two cannons are situated you usually pass by anything between a dozen and 20 touts and they’ve always got a fistful of tickets.

    They all dress smartly, have nice shoes or trainers and look financially very comfortable.

    None of them pay tax I’d suspect, they all go on holiday I’d imagine once or twice a year and drive a nice car, live in a nice house or flat and laugh at the rest of us… 🤔

  18. potter says:

    As you walk up Gillespie road you the same old faces year after year. We know them I am sure the police know them and the club tolerates it , I think if it were publicly exposed the scandal might go to the hallowed halls of the board room.

  19. allezkev says:

    Some people will try to suggest that there’s been a clash between Arteta and Ljungberg, but it’s just a case of Freddie being his own man and wanting to be a manager.

    Pakistan 6 for 1

  20. Cicero says:

    Arsenal 1 – 2 PSG.

    We had chances but didn’t take them as well as PSG did, a very physical team, our girls took a bit of a battering but did well to compete..

    Night all.

  21. Aussie Geoff says:

    Hi Sue totally agree Freddie has all ways tried his best for us on and off the field now it’s our turn to show him support and wish him luck.
    As long as he does not come back as a coach and knock as out of any major competitions that is ha ha

  22. rico says:

    I think it’s great that Freddie has gone to further his managerial career. He’ll always be a Gooner and who knows, when Arteta seeks pastures new, he might return. I hope Freddie does well.

  23. Sue says:

    Dani Ceballos has told friends, family and Arsenal teammates that it’s his wish to return to London.
    He’s really invested himself into the team, the ambition of the manager and the whole club ethos. As long as Arsenal are in for him, he will reject moves to all other clubs. #AFC

  24. Sue says:

    He’s always auditioning for an oscar! I do like him though… who knows, maybe he’ll end up in NL… what with half of his compatriots already there 😂

  25. Cicero says:

    After holding talks with fellow Brazilian Edu and speaking by phone withnA Arteta, Gabriel will travel to London tomorrow and will have medical later in the week. He is expected to complete his transfer to Arsenal during the week.

  26. Sue says:

    Mikel has supposedly signed a set piece coach from Brentford – Andreas Georgson… which is just as well, as didn’t we concede about 14 or so from set pieces??

  27. Aussie Geoff says:

    Sounds like Arteta likes Brentford coaching staff first he took there goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana now he wants there set piece specialist coach Andreas Georgson.
    If he keeps this up Brentford will take legal action against him as a serial pest who keeps taking there coaching staff ha ha ha

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