Morning all.
I’m sure there’s good news around this morning but for some reason, I can’t think what it is. Perhaps it’s that Gabriel Martinelli has returned from seeing his family in Brazil. He’s back at Arsenal where he’ll go through a daily strengthening and recovery programme with our rehab and medical teams. He’s not expected to return until the end of the year at the earliest. Pablo Mari is another whose been out for a while but his return isn’t that far off. Full training by the end of the month so by the middle of October, he could be back in the squad.
It’s just come come to me, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has only gone and signed ‘da ting’. Three more years of our best striker since Thierry Henry. An expensive deal no doubt but if his goals help us return to the top four or win the Europa Cup, he’ll be worth every penny. Speculate to accumulate. Him staying is a massive deal, it really is.
Before anyone moans about his age or wage etc etc, just think of the negative impact his departure would have had on the club. The constant chewing over of how Arsenal couldn’t keep hold of their best player, another captain gone, his goals would not only be missed but we’re irreplaceable. The list goes on and on, and on. Instead, those idiots who’ve probably been preparing their scathing headlines for weeks now, will have to return to Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi. Two players who neither Mikel Arteta or Edu brought to the club. One of whom will be gone in a year’s time at the latest, the other who could yet be sold during this transfer window.
Either way, Guendouzi and Ozil aren’t likely to be the future of Arsenal but Aubameyang is. He’s our captain, his work ethic has been superb since Unai Emery left and he’s a vital cog in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal wheel. Arsenal fans should be happy, elated for once.
Take your accountants head off because what he’s being paid to stay isn’t worth worrying about. Not when he’s scoring goals week in and week out. The drama surrounding his signing was.. Well, drama. Fun though.
Anyway, this will he or won’t he saga is finally over and of course, both Edu and Arteta are thrilled. As is Aubameyang:
Signing for this special club was never in doubt. It’s thanks to our fans, my team-mates, my family and everybody at this club that I feel like I belong here. I believe in Arsenal. We can achieve big things together. We have something exciting here and I believe the best is to come for Arsenal.
I wrote yesterday about Edu and Arteta being able to sell Arsenal to footballers they want to bring to the club but they still have to sell it to players already at the club too as their contracts need renewing. To reassure them that Arsenal are on the rise. Aubameyang came to Arsenal when things weren’t particularly good. He’s seen Arsenal at its worst since the Premier League began. Now it seems stable again, with better things around the corner. He wants to be part of it, he wants to help make Arsenal better. He must have believed in what Edu, Arteta and the owners are doing. Which direction they want to Arsenal to go in.
Older, wiser and certainly experienced players are a must for any club if it’s to be successful. Arsenal have them in Luiz, Aubameyang, Lacazette, Cedric and Willian. Then we have the likes of Xhaka, Mustafi, Mari, Leno, Bellerin, Holding, Chambers and Elneny who are just a few years younger and then youngsters. 23 years old or younger, of which we have many. Guys that will look up to the older and more experienced players and learn from them.
Ibrahim Sangare, who according to Tuttosport, Arsenal are in the race for. Toots and Milan are interested him too. An alternative to Thomas Partey and Amadou Diawara perhaps. Tall, strong and athletic. Cheaper too, much cheaper. If he’s good at his job, it doesn’t matter if he’s Arsenal’s plan b. If Atletico don’t want to sell Partey, there’s nothing Arsenal can do. Same goes for Aurora, if of course it’s true that Edu and Mikel Arteta are trying to sign him.
However, The Mirror’s John Cross reports that Arsenal will look to sell Matteo Guendouzi, Emiliano Martinez, Lucas Torreira and Sead Kolasinac in order to raise funds for a revamp of their midfield. Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar are both wanted by Arsenal, but both would cost around £50 million.
Oh to be in the know Mr Cross.
See you in the comments guys.
Hi Rico and all Great to see Aruba finally sign now lets get the 2nd keeper sorted out
Morning Geoff, all.
The keeper deal is rumoured to be pretty much done. We need that midfielder too imo.
Good morning Rico
Great to see Auba sign ‘dat ting’. Hope to see Arteta and Edu strengthen our midfield. As a Ghanaian I would have loved to see Partey signed but who knows.
Morning Paddy.
Ditto re our midfield. Not seen Partey play but friends suggest he’d be a great signing for us if he arrives. I read this morning that money has been made available by the owners but we have to sell because we have far too many players in the squad.
Fingers crossed we can offload a few really soon.
Good morning Rico.
Am I just being cynical or has Aubameyang finally realised that there isn’t a super out club out there willing to pay him astronomical wages for the next three years? Instead he has settled for just being Arsenal’s highest earner.
Auba’s personal spin doctor has been hard at work, “there never was any doubt…” “I love Arsenal and am very happy here”, “I want to leave a legacy”, ” I want to be up there with Thierry Henry, Ian Wright and Tony Adams”.
Morning Cicero.
In this case I think you’re being cynical. Auba turned down a couple of big clubs to stay at Arsenal if the back pages are to be believed and I do believe them because they’re not known for putting a positive spin on anything related to Arsenal.
As for his comments about being an Arsenal legend, they all come out with that jargon. Arteta is reported to have told Auba he could leave if he wanted but after their chat about the club and it’s plan for the future, he decided to stay and be a part of what Edu and Arteta are building.
Morning Rico. Yes, really good news about Auba signing. Replacing his goals would have been difficult all round.
Looks to me as if Mikel and Edu are fashioning a new style of club. Arteta speaks sense and seems to do it without any sense of an overwhelming ego. It also seems that Stan and Josh believe him to be the real deal and that should mean they will back his vision. I like the fact that he says that those players who train well and respect what he is saying will play and those who don’t won’t.
Shifting Guendouzi and Torreira and hopefully Kolasinac will be good though I doubt that Ozil has any great desire to ever play competitive football again. The operative term there being ‘competitive’. Once he finally leaves it will be a good day for the club and that gives some indication of his grotesque character which has turned out to be very disappointing all round. I doubt he will do a goodbye video in the style that Emi did yesterday. I wish him well at Villa. No doubt Mesut is currently plotting his future career in Turkish politics from the safety of his armchair. His deal, supported, it must be said, by Gazidis, Arsene and Stan, will go down as an object lesson in how not to be held hostage by a single player. The only thing that bloke ever bought into was himself.
Morning Adam.
I must admit, I wasn’t fussed whether he stayed or not but I realised what the impact of him leaving now would have. Top footballers want to play alongside top footballers for a start so that’s important. Thankfully, I don’t foresee Auba taking the money before sitting on his backside doing nothing which is in theory what Ozil has done since he signed his contract. I agree, his contract is a path we must never head down again as a club.
I haven’t seen the Emi video, but I’ll check it out now. I too hope he has a great future, one which I think will at a club other than Villa. No disrespect meant towards Villa. Saying that, they too are building a good squad and getting Grealish tied down to another deal is smart.
Edu and Arteta need to drop their asking price for some players now just to get them off the books quickly so we can bring in 1 or 2 more players
Morning all and thanks Rico.
Curious to know where you read……… ” I read this morning that money has been made available by the owners”………you sure you didn`t dream that!………….. it`s not 1st April is it? ……………………………first bought into Arsenal in April 2007(be ironic if it was 1st April!)……………………16/09/2020 still has yet to invest a single penny/dime in club! …………………………………..part of me hopes he never invests a single penny/dime just so that I can keep reminding everyone it! 😆
Gabriel,Willian,Mari,Soames,Danni’s back,Auba’s signed and Ozil is frozen out if Arteta and Edu get Partey and Aouar start building thier statues outside the Emerites.
The Independent Lc. And of course we should believe it, after all, all the negative stuff about our owner is believed, why shouldn’t the positive? Can’t be selective now can we?
Welcome Stan, I can’t see us signing two midfielders. Not now Ceballos is back but I’d love to be wrong.
Morning campers, morning Rico, good post and yes yesterday was a really good day for yours truly on so many levels with Aubameyang being the cherry on the Bakewell tart for me…
Of course Aubameyang had interest from other clubs and of course he wanted to see what they had to offer, it would have been blindingly stupid not to have done so not least because he’s had, mainly through his father, an ambition to play for Barcelona. But I guess if you look at the basket case that Barcelona currently is then you look at how Wuhan is changing the face of football with some previously major clubs outside of England scratching around for loans and bargains and then you then compare all that with the serenity of Arsenal, with Edu and Arteta at the helm, you compare the relative calm of England with what is happening across Europe and it’s a case of better the devil you know?
Aubameyang has a great life in England and importantly he feels safe, he is at a club where he is idolised among a group of players who look as if their on the cusp of big big things why would you walk away from that especially if the difference in finance isn’t that great. It’s a balancing act and he knows he’ll earn a small fortune, not as much as probably elsewhere but he’ll have some certainty in a very uncertain time.
As for the comparisons with Ozil well I guess time will tell, but he’s never struck me as a player who hides or lacks effort and desire, Ozil’s salary only became an issue because he failed patently to deliver the required level of performance and effort for the huge amount he was paid.
By the way Lc, the so called constant reminders will end up in the bin.
It a great news that Auba has signed that thing. He is our talisman, his goals put us where we are today and things can only get better, However the exit of Martinez still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. That guy has become a super goal keeper, and with him and Leno alternating in our goal post would have kept both of them at their toes. The rumored replacement for Emi is giving me the chills, an unknown 25 years old second goal keeper at Dijon in France ,Runar Alex Runnarson valued at 1.5 million pounds. God help us if Leno ever gets injured. Our mid field area still needs some creative players and one hopes our able Coach do some thing fast about that before this transfer window shuts.
Rico, I`ll believe it when actions speaks louder than words…………………..and words of a newspaper, they wouldn`t make up stuff surely!……………………. I rely on the historical facts! 😉
Morning Kev, thanks.
Apart from their salary, neither do I see any comparison between Ozil and Auba. Auba works hard on and off the ball, Ozil just doesn’t work, period.
Auba will be always be the blue eyed boy at Arsenal, whereas he’d just be another player at Barca, Real etc. He looks happy, he plays like he’s happy. I bet other English clubs are disappointed he’s staying put.
For goodness sake Lc, give the Stan beating drum a rest. It’s boring at a time when all things Arsenal are looking so positive.
Chairman, it does me too re Martinez. I think we’re keeping the wrong one, if one has to leave. Great shame imo.
Love you dictatorship Rico where you pick and choose what people(mainly me) can opinionate!……………can`t talk about this, can`t talk about that and it`s not even of an adult nature or about physique and anything else that meets your disapproval!
Morning all
Really delighted that Auba has climbed back on board and committed to the arsenal for the next three years. If Arteta is right in his final game for the the club he will be raising the CL cup to the acclamation of all the arsenal supporters, both at the ground and in armchairs.
Well, hurrah for that😀
The last two goals he scored were so reminiscent of TH14. I purred with satisfaction, magnificent strikes, magnificent!
I’m not great at predictions but, I do feel that with Auba in the team we will have a better than fair chance of finishing in the top four again, come the end of the season. Without him I’m certain we wouldn’t.
Everything I say is boring to you Rico, just admit it!…………………….you stated something about Kroenke which I found ridiculous considerring his history and replied my opinion in disagreement which is ok by your motto, so please give it a rest with the hypocrocy.
Utter garbage Lc. You’ve been beating the Kroenke drum for so long. The club are having a good summer, the football is so much better and there’s a lot to be positive about but all you seem to want to do is go on about Kroenke. It’s not dictatorship, it’s just real.
I think you’ll find that motto has gone. And you’ve just talked yourself into joining it.
It will be interesting to see whether Guendouzi and Ozil play in the Carabao cup against Leicester.
I love Arteta’s optimism Wavy.
I think there is Mark an evens chance that Guendouzi could get a game but for Ozil to play we’d have to change our whole system and his impact isn’t worth changing our system for.
I guess that Arteta could follow the example of the last German team to win the World Cup and play Mesut on the flank?
Leicester won’t take it easy, this is going to be a big game for both Arsenal and Leicester, an early chance to get some kind of psychological advantage against a rival and Leicester are a big and clear rival to us.
I’d be really disappointed to see Ozil start Mark, he’s not the future of the club. I’d rathe4 one of the younger guys play. Players who give a lot more than Ozil.
Nice one, Rico… I’m still on cloud 9!!
Has anyone heard owt about Balogun? Just heard a whisper saying he’s going to stay with us??!!
Thanks Sue, spookily I was just think of him and wondering whether cup games would see him change his mind.
Well I’m really excited about the up coming season and I certainly haven’t felt that way for years!
I also don’t think Arteta/Edu are finished in the transfer market yet… add Partey and we’ll be definitely challenging for a CL slot.
Aubameyang on target to become an Arsenal legend if he continues his current form! IMHO
Bloomin heck Lee, I thought you’d vanished off the face of the earth.
I reckon you’re right about Edu/Arteta, they’ve certainly hinted at more signings.
Morning all.
Great to see you alive and kicking, Lee!!
Hope all is well mate.
To be fair, whether or not Auba was capable of attracting a job at a super club doesn’t bother me in the slightest.
He’s with us, I’ve got no doubt he will give his all every time he’s on the pitch, and that’s what counts.
6 months ago, every Arsenal fan alive would’ve snapped off the hands of Aston Villa if they offered us 20 million for Martinez.
Opinions change very quickly amongst fans, but it’s a done deal, so let’s just wish him well.
LC, forget Stan-he’a going nowhere and spending nothing so don’t stress it.
Just enjoy the Arteta era.
Welcome back Brudder. 😃
Thank goodness Stan backed the Arteta appointment eh Scott.
I lost my Arsenal mojo…but it’s definitely returned Rico.
Cheers Digger… all good my end, I hope you and your family are all good?!
Rico, he backed Emery as well so yes, we are so very lucky to have him lol
All is well here Lee.
Family are well, Arsenal are definitely back with a vengeance and the future looks better than it has for a long time.
There’s a definite buzz among the fans again.
Love it!!!
Understandable Lee.
He did Scott, but Arteta was the risk out of the two I think.
No risk at all, Rico 😉
From what I read Arteta will have the money to buy 1 or 2 players but has been told he must sell a few players first, lets hope he can move some on . so any new signings get the chance to settle in.
been watching some youtube video’s of the goal keeper we are looking at and he did not impress me, hopefully Arteta see’s some thing in him I missed
Rico.. he tweeted an egg-timer at the same time as Auba yesterday……
I wonder if that’s why the derogatory offer was declined Sue. 🤞
Iwobi and Walcott are up for sale apparently… Ancelotti obviously needs a clear out too.
Just watched the Martinez interview what a brilliant interview he done Thank you Emi and good luck. hope we put some ruling in that he is not to play against us HA HA
A real gent who truly loves the club. I hope we have first refusal when he’s up for sale.
What a way to spend 5 minutes 😉 –
https://mobile.twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1306203759991808000?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Ha ha.
Alli to Real Madrid is an odd one..
Hey Scott are you watching the decider? Aussies chasing 303 are 80 for 5 after 17 overs..
Swap deal for Bale Rico. I wonder how Moaniho feels about getting Bale. Didn’t he freeze him out at Real?
I’ve seen that Cicero, odd one imo. Real signed Bale after Mourinho left I think but rumour has it he had a bust up with Alli.
Cicero, just woke up and seems it’s an interesting finish ahead.
I dare say you’d not have been expecting this when you posted hahahaha
Exciting last few overs….
Cracking catch!!!!
Aussies made a meal of that over.
Never in doubt 🙂 🙂 🙂
Always best to wait until the fat lady is singing I say.
That’s no fun, Rico lol
Hats off to the Aussie s, ten off the last over done in style. 303 was a good score , I thought we had it in the bag..
The Ashes next summer will be hard fought Scott.
Sure will, Cicero.
The ultimate in cricket!!!
Lokomotiv Plovdiv host Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa Qualifying Second Round tonight. For those who haven’t heard of them they are a (very) small team from North London 😂
Nice one Sue.
😂 Sue.
Morning all. Expect a signing or sale today, I’m off out. 😆
No point in being prematurely braggadocious Scott. Saves the egg on face moments which can follow. Lol
Ah but the early crow is superb when it pays off, Rico.
Top 4.
Trust me.
Hooray Rico is away, let’s get the beers out and start the party…
Morning all, Sue that’s an interesting point, not Tottnum of course, but yeah Balogun, because as long as he’s at Arsenal there’s a chance of a change of heart.
His agent I believe is the same as Reiss Nelson’s and that saga went to the 11th hour before he signed and then went on loan to Germany. So who knows, maybe Foloran has seen what’s happening and thinks ‘I want a piece of this’….
News:
a) Runar Alex Runarsson medical to happen today although any deal unlikely to be struck in time for him to be in squad to face West Ham on Saturday.
Also understand talks have opened with Leverkusen over sale of Sead Kolasinac but are at a very early stage. #AFC
11:50 AM · Sep 17, 2020
b) RMC in France are reporting Arsenal have struck a €2m deal with Dijon to sign goalkeeper Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson, who will sign a five-year contract with the Gunners,
The medical will be done in two stages, first part begins in Dijon today, then more examinations in Paris.
I’m surprised the medical is being done in two parts, Dijon are mustard 😉
Callum Chambers back in training, I’m assuming the Leicester game will be too soon for him, will probably have a couple of U23 games first. Thinking about it that’s a really tricky one, I think Arteta will play a strong team.
I’m getting ahead of myself! West Ham first.
Let’s make it 6/6. Then follows a really tough run.
I really don’t understand why we are going for Dijon goal keeper Runar according to reports in the daily mail he has played 36 Ligue 1 matches for his club and conceded 61 times if this report is correct Leno needs to be rapped up in cotton wool when not playing
Emi Martinez has gone. Official. A sad day as far as I’m concerned.
Kev.. Even if FB was to go out on loan, I wouldn’t mind so much, as long as he’d signed a new deal! I’ve not seen owt about it, but a guy I know mentioned a 4 year deal… let’s hope!
So, if we beat the foxes next week, we then travel to Anfield…
Yeah, imagine it Sue if we could make the League Cup tie at Anfield four wins on the bounce against the Scousers? Some kind of record?
Hmm, ‘let’s beat Leicester first he tells himself’…. 😉
Lucky old Spuds….
Very lucky!! So much for the opposition’s manager’s son saying they’d be thrashed!! I bet Maureen wiped his brow at the final whistle!! Oh well, let’s hope next week in Macedonia is the night!! 😉
Just saw this on Twitter:
“Significant Chelsea and Arsenal news expected in the coming days.
Chelsea will make another move once Mendy signs. Arsenal are ready to do a madness.”
A madness?!! Jeez, come October 5, my brain is going to be completely fried 🤣
Sue, I wonder what the hell “a madness” means lol
Morning all.
Liverpool in the cup seems like a recurring dream or nightmare whichever way you look at it. Arteta gets the conundrum , he has a group of youngsters that need games and this cup is one opportunity to give matches to them.. Klopp will not want to lose to us again and will probably play a strong team which restricts Arteta’s options.
Shame that we couldn’t get an easy run through but somehow we never seem to .
Of course he has the same problem first with Leicester and Rogers looking to head back to Anfield . As said before Bradford and Southend would have been nice but that’s not the Arsenal way.
Everybody is in the same boat Potter, too many games in too short a space of time and that isn’t helped by all the idiotic international matches.
Both Leicester and Liverpool will be thinking the same about drawing Southend or Bradford. That’s why the retrograde decision on substitutes is so dumb, those clubs who voted against it will be the ones who suffer the most.
Potter could you imagine if Arteta filled the the team with young player and we beat Liverpool
I wonder too, Scott… or hate to think 🤣
If we do beat Leicester, I want revenge at Anfield for last season. I was distraught after that loss for at least a week!!
Where the hell’s Rico? Is she helping Edu with the Partey deal?! 😜
Hi Sue Hope Rico is not too sore from the sex change
Just kidding Rico / Sue we all make spelling Mistake even worse with spell check takes over some times.
So the latest I read is Arteta wants to by 2 new keepers and is willing to let Macey leave if that is true then Arteta does not rate any of our keepers except Leno this does not make sense I would of used Martinez money towards a midfielder
Just home Sue and disappointed to find we’ve not signed anyone.. 😆
Sue hasn’t made any mistake Geoff…
You’ll have to stay out longer next time, Rico 😄 Hope you had a nice time. Been yet another lovely warm day 🙂
We have Michael Oliver tomorrow…..😳
I’d rather not Sue, I wasn’t born to be a carer 😜
Oliver will be fine. I hope. Lol
Evening Rico and the House.
Its not easy being a carer is it Rico.
The u23s are away tonight , Danny Ballard is cp
no Mcguiness.
Saliba is playing as well
Evening Rick. McGuinness heading out on loan perhaps, or in tomorrow’s squad?
Its 1-1 at h/t Cottrol with the goal
Kev like the look of Lewis not impressed with Balogun
2-1 Olayinka.
2-2, 72mins
Saliba in defence and we concede two goals? Are you watching Rick?
Final Score 2-2
Yes I watched it Rico.
I think that Saliba needs to get some more games under his belt.
He looked calm on the ball and has a good range of passing,
Of the other new players that we have signed Salah is not Mat Smith
and Akinola, well I dont know what to sayabout him.
Lewis showed some good signs in the first half but like the other 2 lost their way the seconed half.
Balogun missed a couple of good chances in the first half which he he would have taken with ease
last season.
at Times it looked like a training game
Hi Rick, even Jeorge Bird seemed to suggest that Balogun’s head was somewhere else, maybe he’s on his way?
I think we need to give the new boys time to settle Rick but tbh I think we was just taking a punt with most of them and if one of them comes off then it’s a result.
Yeah Lewis has settled in well Rick, he’s got a couple of goals already, if Balogun leaves he may well end up playing through the middle?
Pleased to see that Cottrell and Olayinka scored, I reckon that the latter will be off on loan before the window closes.
I think we better get used to a few more ordinary results this season with so many players out on loan or with the 1st team squad. I can see a lot of U18’s playing in the U23’s this season.
Bould seemed to be playing a back four which seems at odds with the first team unless he’s been instructed to play that way?
Rico what do you think about the article stating Arteta want to buy 2 keepers to replace Martinez and possible Macey, to me it does not make sense as both the 2 we have / had are better than the 2 he is looking at
Very little really Geoff. Lol
New post up now
Look at it from the keepers point of view , Neither wants to sit a season out on the bench , Martinez has got first team football and Macey can see that if we are buying another keeper he is not going up the ladder .
Martinez has done nothing different to what I’d do 8n his situation. What cheeses me off is that after the way he played when Leno was injured, it wasn’t Leno fighting for his place back.
I didn’t think that was right either but maybe he had said he wanted to go and we know Arteta’s attitude if you don’t do things his way your gone.