Morning all.
If I’ve managed to copy and paste the below information correctly, this is how fixtures from September through to January will look.
September:
Sat 14 Tottenham Hotspur (A)
CL Match 1: 17–19 September 2024
Sat 21 Manchester City (A)
September into October:
Sat 28 Leicester City (H)
CL Match 2: 1/2 October 2024
Sat 5 October Southampton (H)
Sat 19 Bournemouth (A)
CL Match 3: 22/23 October 2024
Sat 26 Liverpool (H)
November:
Sat 2 Newcastle United (A)
CL Match 4: 5/6 November 2024
Sat 9 Chelsea (A)
Sat 23 Nottingham Forest (H)
CL Match 5: 26/27 November 2024
Sat 30 West Ham United (A)
December:
Sat 7 Fulham (A)
CL Match 6: 10/11 December 2024
Sat 14 Everton (H)
January:
Sat 18 Aston Villa (H)
CL Match 7: 21/22 January 2025
Sat 25 Wolverhampton Wanderers (A)
January into February:
CL Match 8: 29 January 2025
Sat 1 Manchester City (H)
Being in Pot 2, Arsenal are going to face at two clubs who’ve won the Champions League but, it’s unlikely we’ll face an English club. Not that it makes much difference really because every club in Pot 1 will be a tough opponent.
September and November are cruel with us playing an away game either side of our CL fixture but at least one of the away fixtures in both months is against a London side so the travelling is not such an issue. Personally, I don’t think it matters who the opposition is because in the case of Totts and City, they too will be involved in Europe and their fixture might be just as tough, if not tougher than ours. Same goes for Villa and Liverpool who will also be part of this new and hideous Champions League format.
This is European football, it’s tough but we’re in it regardless. It’s where every top club wants to be and just as Mikel Arteta will have juggle his squad throughout the season, so will other managers. I’m sure there are clubs we’d like to avoid like Real Madrid, Dortmund etc but let’s not forget, there will be a lot of clubs who’ll want to avoid Arsenal too.
The draw in August should be interesting that’s for sure..
Catch up in the comments…
Good morning Rico, it’s not as if our players have to hitch hike to away fixtures in the Champions League. They mostly travel on private aircraft, courtesy of Emirates Air Lines, and do not have to join the immigration and security scrums and sit with their knees under their chins as the rest of is have to do. So the travel fatigue issue should not be a problem. But it does give all and sundry a good, if slightly dubious, excuse for poor results.
Morning Rico
Yeah, the new CL format is going to stretch even further the stretched resources of those in it, so in our particular case this summer and the business that Edu and his team do is going to be absolutely crucial to any chances we have of finally usurping the evil ogre that is Etihad.
Last season was quite an astonishing one from a fitness perspective with our medical staff doing an amazing job in keeping so many of our key players on the pitch. A repeat of that sterling work will be vital with two games a week for most of the forthcoming campaign. Extra viable legs to spread the load will be essential.
The upgrading of our present squad players so that Arteta has options that he can he feels confident of using and who can also be used off of the subs bench to make a difference is also a given. Players who can make an immediate impact and who don’t need 2 or 3 games to get going. We won’t have the time to allow players to get up to speed.
It’s going to be a hell of a ride and I for one can’t wait until August 17th.
Morning Cicero, Kev, all.
Agreed, also, we can’t moan about the schedule one minute, especially after moaning about not being in the champions league. I think it’s great we’ll play some of 5he best clubs, especially when we beat them.. lol
“But it does give all and sundry a good, if slightly dubious, excuse for poor results”
Agree wholeheartedly. Theres always an excuse for not winning but usually, the reason we don’t isn’t always down to outside interference etc, it’s much closer to home…
Good afternoon everyone
I still think that with the fixture list being what it is, Arteta, whether he wants it or not, whether he trusts players or not, simply has to rotate. because besides the CL Rico, you didnt mention the international breaks, when a good part of out team is playing in meaningless internationals. Yes, its not only our team whose players are occupied playing with their countries but at the end of the day Arteta can only field the players he has.
On another note, in the Italian Gazzetta dello sport there is a heated discussion, and clubs are protesting with the FIGC, with regards agent fees. Its obscene that the agent is demanding EUR15 million for a player whose releasing fee is Eur45 million. Essentially the paying club is parting with Eur60 million.
Clubs should get together and agree about salary caps and agent wages. Its either that or else the player will soon find himself without a club unless he agrees to the wage on offer and the fee the agent gets. We wlll soon see players parting ways with agents. ….that is if they have balls to do so
Sorry I forgot to mention the player in the above post but I am referring to Zirkzee
For goodness sake we are not talking about a top elite player, a world class player in the Messi, Bellingham, Zidane, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo (brazilian), MAradona, Van Basten, Ronaldo (penaldo) mould. We are talking about a player who is, to put it simply, a bit good. He is not even as good as Saka, Foden, even Bowen.
Yesterday we saw Leao who turned out to be a major disappointment. So much furore about him but where was the end product? Would you pay over Eur100 million plus agent fees (I suspect he will want more) for him? I wouldnt.
Hi Devil, yes, there is the international schedule to factor in. I do agree re the rotation but then many of us said the same thing last season but little changed. I think we got lucky with injuries and of course, hope we do again but Saka looks knackered going into the Euros so goodness only knows how he’ll be afterwards.
Looking at the fixture list (with the CL games included in it) in the majority of the games we are a bit disadvanteged….Yes 1st game we have Spuds and City either side of it, but in other games we have Leicester, Southampton, Bournemouth, Forest, WHU, Fulham, Everton and Wolves who arent involved in European football.
So in a way. games which are deemed as easier than the top six, have a slight advantage in that they dont get to play midweek and have more rest.
So what is best?? Facing City, Chelsea, Spuds, Liverpool etc in the games before and after the CL or the above so called easier sides?
Saka will definiterly need a 3 week rest at the minimum. Rice as well. Hell even Ben White needs to rest more (to recover from the rest he is getting lol)
Re Zirkzee, if he’s in demand who can blame his club for asking for a high transfer fee? As much missed Adam used to say, a player is worth whatever a buying club is prepared to pay and how he will improve the team.
I think that as we’ve got used to seeing our own players sold cheaply, valuations of others look high. Havertz looked a waste of £60 million ten months ago…
Disadvantaged compared to who though Devil?
I did not refer to how much the club asks for any player Rico. I was only refering to the agent fees.
If the club asks for a high amount its ok for me….a club must get the maximum it can. I would love Arsenal to do the same.
What I was refering to was the agent fees. I dont have any problem with anyone paying 45 million to his team (although not Arsenal) but do have a problem with paying Eur15 million to the agent. That is why I suggested that clubs should come together with regards agent fees.
Ask yourself….is it worth parting with Eur60 million for a player who will not improve on Saka, Martinelli and Trossard? A player who will not hit the ground running but needs to adapt to the league.
Rice was a super investment at 100 million. But would Zirkzee be the same at 60 million??? I dont think so
WE would be disadvantaged against teams such as Leicester, Southampton, Bournemouth, Forest, WHU, Fulham, Everton and Wolves who arent involved in European football but who we have to face after the CL. They would have a week’s rest. But we play in midweek in the CL.
Oops, silly me Devil.
Agents fees are ridiculous but until something changes, they are free to charge what they like I guess. I’m surprised this hasn’t been stopped by now though.
But not the likes of City, Totts, Villa, Utd, Liverpool etc Devil – we can’t forget that every club in Europe will be disadvantaged when it comes to playing those who aren’t.
But then as a CL club, we have more finances which help build better squads than them.
Adam got it right, a players value is what a club is willing to pay and that includes the agents charges.
If clubs don’t want to pay exorbitant fees to agents, just don’t sign their players. They’ll soon get the message and reduce their percentage.
Players like Zirkee are types who clubs are willing to lay an expensive bet on their future paying off and being worth as much or more in the future.
We are at a stage where we must add players who will literally add points almost. Players that can be at least, almost equal to our starting 11. That’s a small handful of players in the world, and most of them are 60m and above.
Some people phrase it as raising the level of our back up players, but that’s tricky because … what excellent prospects want to come sit behind Rice, Saka, Saliba? We will need to find ascending talents that Arteta can work his persuasive talents in convincing to join, and even be patient.
We filled 2 starting spots last summer, and Arteta made both Havertz and Rice better players in our system as he probably promised them.
The selection process is difficult. A Partey replacement is the only one that can be assured of playing a lot, and they’re the most expensive category.
Exactly Cicero.
Nigel, said the same before, any players we sign need to be better than who we sell barring a central midfielder.
Trossard wasn’t signed as a starter, he was signed as a squad player, to raise the level so that rotation didn’t equate to a drop in performance.
But he never saw it that way because he had confidence in his ability and he eventually replaced Martinelli who now has to knuckle down to get a starting place in the squad.
Those are the kind of ‘squad upgrades’ I want to see, players who aren’t prepared to be on the bench and maybe that’s the problem with Nelson, Nketiah and Smith Rowe, they’re too comfortable as a back-up and thus don’t pressurise the guys in front of them.
I just think none of ESR, Nelson and Nketiah were/are Arteta players. I know they extended their contracts whilst he’s been manager but I think that was more about squad numbers and being homegrown. Cheaper options..
Well I don’t think we will be selling Tierney this summer, he’s been stretchered off against Switzerland with what looked like a hamstring injury. With his injury record and historically long recovery time the window will be closed before he’s fit to resume training.
Could be a minor one. 😂
So 2 Germany players are not happy with Havertz, great feel free Germany to drop him, that way we know for sure he will be coming back injury free,
Good Morning Lady and lads
29 years ago, with just one signature of his pen, Bruce Rioch changed the face of how the game should be played when he signed DB10
Rioch’s first words (when he signed DB10) were, “The age of classlessness is over. The age of the Gods of football is about to begin.”
Yes the Bergkamp signing has to be one of the best in Arsenal history.
Didn’t Bruce Rioch try to change the way Ian Wright played,told him to be more like John Mcginley ( ?)
Agree re Bergkamp, one of the best if not the best and to think he thought about leaving until he met Wenger.
Haulmund! The new John Jensen🤓 get him signed up!!??
Afternoon all
Hi Wavy, I think this England performance has sent everyone to sleep..
Wow Denmark the better team,our only tactic is get the ball to Kane,try and win fouls( fall over) hope we get a penalty,it’s embarrassing.
Will Southgate have the guts to drop Kane? Okay he scored our only goal but for the rest time he was ineffectual at best and a bloody liability until he was eventually hooked off.
Awful performance, absolutely awful.
only need a draw against Slovenia time to ring the changes and give Kane , Saka and Rice a rest . we need pace and a team spirit and after the competition a new management team.
Ideally, Slovenia and Denmark win on Sunday and our guys set off into the sunshine for a well earned rest… 😂
New post up.