Morning all.
Some transfer rumours are amusing, as the chances of Arsenal paying £71 million to Real Madrid for Martin Odegaard are very slim to very none. Yet that’s the story doing the rounds this morning, or at least the story Football London have conjured up. ‘Arsenal’s ears may have perked up’ they suggest. He’s handed in a transfer request they ‘report’ although there’s no evidence to support either theory.
There’s no doubting Arsenal need a midfielder, in my opinion someone like Rosicky, Fàbregas or Cazorla. Try finding one of those these days, especially on a budget which most clubs are these days. A selling club holds all the cards I think because they can demand a premium for their player which is just what Arsenal need to do if there are plans to move any on this month.
Arsenal need a left back too I think and he doesn’t need to be a big name, just a big performer who can step in and do what Cedric does when called upon. It’s funny how our freebie from Southampton, a crock at that according to many a headline on NN a few months ago is now being deemed a better right back than Bellerin across the Internet. I don’t want to name names as everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I just believe that some days are better than others for a lot of footballers. What one can do against one type of opposition, he may not be able to do against another which is why clubs have a squad and why managers pick the team they do on the day. Take Aubameyang for example who struggles to have an impact in the so called big games, yet in others, he might excel. Walcott was often a big game player, yet struggled against many other teams. Didn’t Henry struggle in the big games too? I’m might be wrong on that one but on days like those, others have to step up. Right now, Arsenal don’t have enough players who can step up when it matters.
If Mikel Arteta had to rest Tierney, ESR and Saka at the same time, the impact it would have on the team would be big and not in a good way. The FA Cup fixture along with most of the League fixtures which preceded the Chelsea game proved that. ESR seems to be the ‘final piece in the jigsaw’ player but he can’t play in every fixture between now and the end of the season but we don’t have another player like him. Certainly not in the first team squad. So yes, I think we need a midfielder. A player who can link our midfield and attacking unit together swiftly. Ideally, if the club are intending to sign one during this transfer window, he’d be someone who has experienced the English/British game. We need him performing now, not in 6/12 months time or more.
The name we keep seeing in the gossip columns is Emi Buendia but Norwich manager says he’s 99% certain his player is going nowhere this month. His words mean very little I’m sure because if Arsenal were to make an offer Norwich couldn’t refuse, I’m sure they wouldn’t. Money talks after all and more often than not, it wins too.
Chelsea lost again last night as did West Brom. Southampton defeated Shrewsbury in their FA Cup fixture which means we’re heading to St Marry’s On Saturday for round one of two fixtures against Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side. Hasenhüttl rested a lot of his first team players in last night’s match but whether he’ll do the same on Saturday is anyone’s guess. The League fixture is just three days later.
See you in the comments guys.
Morning Rico and all.
Mixed reports about ESR and the new contract.
Some say he’s signed, others say he will be kicked down fairly soon to a long term deal.
Either way, best it’s sorted before other coins start sniffing around imo
As far as signing a new midfielder, if we are hoping to snare a top 4 place then it’s a must, but can we afford it?
If not, best we wait til the summer so we can sell a few to fund a new purchase.
Off topic, a few months back I was mentioning our race dog.
Well in 12 months she’s won 22 races, and $125,000 prizemoney (around £65k) and tomorrow is in the biggest race if her life so the nerves have kicked in, well and truly!!
Anyway, back to the Arsenal, o wards and upwards and happy birthday Calum Chambers!!
The problem I have with spending silly money on Buendia is if we do, then Smith Rowe becomes a regular substitute and I think he’s proved that he’s better than that, he’s moved on from that, he’s ahead of the likes of Willock, Nketiah and Nelson, he’s on or very close to the level that Saka has found.
So no Buendia for me…
Morning Scott, Kev, all.
Kev, I reckon we need a midfielder, just someone to cover ESR, not replace him.
‘morning all.
Here’s a thought, Chelsea lost last night through blunders by their central defenders. Now what they need is an experienced centre back. Ideally one who knows the Premiership and can step in and make a difference. I have the perfect candidate for them…..David Luiz! £20/30 million would seem reasonable for an extra £20 million they could have his Brazilian compatriot Willian too. 😉
Hi Rico and all Rico I just read part of the story that you mentioned yesterday that Arteta said that arsenal will miss the quality of Ozil, unless he is trying to calm the whole Ozil issues down it doesn’t make sense what Arteta said considering he was the one along with Emery who would not play him.
Haha Cicero
Hi Geoff, it’s all for the media I’m sure.
Morning Rico,
We need a creative midfielder that’s a decision that was made back in the summer. We were speaking about possibly two creative midfielders as we have none at the right Performance levels. So we’ve identified and are using one ESR and he’s been incredible since he broke into the PL first team. However as Rico has said numerous times ESR is still young snd and cannot play every match in every competition. We need to be able to rotate when the time is right. I am a fan of Beundia, he’s played in the PL so no transition period he would hit the ground running (so’s to speak). I think if he costs sub £50 million we should go for him if it’s north of that then I guess we will have to wait until summer. Maybe we could utilise Martinelli in that no.10 role. But we have identified others but Beundia looks like the perfect player for us.
I can’t see Arsenal forking out the £40 million Norwich want for Buendia, particularly in this transfer window. Better by far to stick with ESR and use Ceballos as his back-up.
I don’t see the problem in making him our first choice #10. He’s not a kid, he’ll be twenty-one in the summer. I doubt that he will burn out if his training is managed sensibly and he is monitored closely.
Morning Mig, plus ESR has had a few injuries already, if he’s overplayed it might do more harm than good. A bit like Jack Wilshere.
This is where things get tricky.
Overplay a youngster, they can start having injury issues.
Don’t play them enough, their agent, family and friends start telling them to look elsewhere.
Either way, the club ends up the villain.
Neither can I Cicero.
Scott, perhaps just play ESR in the league fixtures, they are the most important right now. Unless we reach two finals. 😂
Rico, I agree.
I’d protect the kid, from himself as much as anything.
He has a superb career ahead of him if managed correctly.
Good Morning everyone.
I dont think the club should fork out money for Buendia. I agree with Kev upon that. We could look for someone like Soares as Rico suggested. Someone who will accept being a squad player, come in and do a job. For all their youth Both ESR and Saka are there to stay. They will not tolerate being a squad player now seeing how well they are doing and also keeping players like Willian, Pepe, Ceballos out of the team. The only way I can see them accepting a place on the bench is if someone from the academy takes their place due to rotation. But if money is spent on a player I presume they will not spend it on someone who will warm the bench.
However, money should be spent if someone like Tierney and his attitude comes around.
Imo we need a back up goalkeeper, another CB to take the place of Mustafi and Luiz and also good replacements for MArtinelli, ESR and Saka. Players who can rotate with them to keep everyone fresh. And hopefully Arteta finally decides that Auba should not take a place on the left of advanced midfield.
I feel that Arteta should go after Freddie Woodman of NUFC on loan at Swansea. First of all he already knows the league. Secondly he is English. And he would jump at the chance of coming to Arsenal I feel. Especially if he fights hard for his place. He is only 23 years of age. A good height and also one who can put pressure on Leno and who knows….maybe even take his place one day.
And finally Arsenal would have an English goalie which along with a British defence would give Arsenal a title winning backbone.
I doubt that we will ever agree on where Auba should play , I would point out to where he was as he broke his goal drought on Monday.. I don’t see him as a central striker in the English game and to adapt the team to accomodate him there would mean a total change of the system that fortunately circumstance has thrust upon us.
Smith -Rowe and to some extent Saka and Martinelli are playing like satellites around Lacazette , I don’t think that Auba has that in his game in many ways like all good strikers he is selfish and chooses to go for goal rather than find a better option.
Other than that I agree and would go a little further and suggest that Willian and Ceballos are surplus to requirement and as one goes back to Madrid we should be looking to move the other on for a profit in the end of season window.
At that point we need to be looking at Azeez and Akinola and see if they are ready to be where ESR was at the outset this season .
With all of these players including Balogun and John Jules , Ballard , McGuiness we need to have a set plan and let the players know what is their target course because if you set out a positive plan and they can see their future they are less likely to listen to the whispers in their ears from outside sources and agents.
Auba is not suited to the English game or to our system. So yes I agree with you Potter. Because to suit Auba, Saka, ESR and MArtinelli would suffer. And tbh I would rather do without Auba than do without those three.
And the system as it is suits Laca much more than Auba.
Sokratis leaves :- Technical director Edu said: “On behalf of Mikel, our coaches, players and everyone at the club, I would like to thank Papa for his contribution to the club.
“He has been an important part of our group and has been a model professional throughout. The negotiations to end his contract have been collaborative and we wish Papa and his family well for the future.”
Same situation as our more publicised midfielder but with a different attitude . Good luck wherever you land.
Upgrade: 7 players of Benfica with covid
Hi Rico..Another one bites the dust – this is my favourite Sokratis moment:
https://twitter.com/_chrismartin1/status/1069261120475750401?s=20
Nice read, btw, Rico!
Norwich want far too much – no chance are we paying that, unless we sort an installment plan for the next 20 years 😆
The clock is ticking…
Sokratis may not be the best centre back we ever signed, but he is far from being the worst.
He arrived at a time when a primary school side could have bullied our defence and inserted some backbone into it. Okay, that backbone came with a red card or two and a scattering of yellows but he always worked hard and gave 100% on the pitch.
His way of coping when he was “de-squaded” was a lesson to Ozil. No agenyt bleating to the media, no threats of hanging around like a fart in a phonebox. He quietly negotiated the termination of his contract and departed on good terms. I sincerely wish him well.
I actually believe that Rob Holding has learned from him , the way he remostrated with Almiron was very similar to Sokratis and Son. We have needed a no nonsense centre back for some time and Rob versus Mari for the slot next to Gabriel is going to be interesting.
I also wish him well, Cicero. He was a character and a pretty decent CB too…
Under Arteta do we actually play “The English Game”?
I’m assuming, Potter and DG, that what you mean by the English game is sticking a big lump, like Andy Carroll, up front and lobbing balls up to him.
In fact Arteta seems to be following in the footsteps of Guardiola and Klopp, neither use a traditional number nine, they rely on players like Salah and Mane or Sterling and Mahrez.
At Arsenal for Sterling or Mane, read Aubameyang. For Salah and Mahrez read Pepe. None of the six are there to put in crosses but to carry the ball into the box from the left and right corners of the penalty area respectively and shoot on sight.
What we need is a Jimmy Greaves at the head of our attack. A player a with the quick wits and skill to get to the deflections and rebounds and put them away.
What we need is a Jimmy Greaves at the head of our attack. A player a with the quick wits and skill to get to the deflections and rebounds and put them away.
Greaves was a lot more than that , I watched him from the shelf and the upper tier at Wembley and his movement was why he got to the positions that you allude to . However I would like to be more parochial and suggest another Wrighty.
Wright wore his heart on his sleeve whereas Greaves was a lot more calculated but they were just as effective as each other. Both predatory.
My contention re Auba is not that we need to play long aerial balls to him but we need someone that can hold the ball and give other players time to push up and relieve pressure. Although he was the butt of much criticism Giroud was good at that and going back in time so was Kevin Campbell and of course the Liverpool combo of Keegan and Toshack.
Interesting to hear that it’s Lacazette who is responsible for bringing ESR through and is it a coincidence that with his emergence Lacazette is scoring goals again plus his much higher work rate than our captains.
Given the choice if I had to I would lean towards selling Auba over Laca but in an ideal world I would like to keep them both.
Greaves or Wright? I guess if you asked our supporters now they would choose the later, most are too young, far too young to remember Jimmy Greaves as anything other than Ian St John’s television sidekick.
Personally I think Martinelli could play the role.
Cicero….Lewandowski is a target man. And he does not play the Guardiola or Klopp way. He is a finisher but he also brings others in the game. Auba is more like Wright and Henry. He floats like a butterfly.
What I meant is so unlike Carroll. Lacazette is more technical and also tactically aware. He is not a bg lump up front. Similar to Giroud. Or Ibrahimovic.
I loved Wright a lot. And also Henry. But because of their style and game, others suffered. Because everything went through them. Infact both Campbell and Smith suffered in goals with Wright around. While when there was Henry, especially after Pires, Freddie and Dennis left everything went through him. And if he did not score no one else did. And that is something I really hate…..I want goals to be shared…..I prefer 4-6 players getting into double figures instead of one scoring 25-35 goals a season.
DG, I was comparing what I perceive to be “the English game” with the style played by Liverpool and Manchester City, a style that Arteta is gradually introducing to Arsenal.
Where Lewandowski and Bayern Munich come into it I don’t know.
Cicero….I mentioned Lewandowski because he is the type of the player we need. Lacazette and Giroud are similar styles. Auba, Wright, Henry and the ones at dippers and City are different breeds. Maybe I did not communicate clearly what I intended. But for Saka, ESR and Martinelli to achieve their full potential we need a striker in the Lewandowski, LAcazette and Giroud mould. Players who bring others in the game. Auba does not do that much. He needs two other strikers like him. Which we do not have. The yardstick has to be Lewandowski…..who is the epitome of the old style CF who brings others into the game while being a deadly finisher himself. Carroll is neither.
Joe Biden can talk for England…. lol
12.39 Potter, Dortmund. Lol
Hi Sue and thanks.
All the best Papa, you joined us when we needed to man up and he certainly help us to do that. His strength and dark side was good to watch. Unless the ref saw it too. Underrated player I think.
Kind of disagree re Wrighty Devil, he was a team player in my opinion. Him and Bergkamp was a fantastic pairing I think, one of our best. A proper number 9, even though he wasn’t.
Rico….with regards IW08 and DB10 you are right….but only as far as the latter was willing to play to the former’s strength. Go back a few years and calculate the goals that Alan Smith and Kevin Campbell used to score before Wright and then compare the goals they got after Wright came. Wright was getting the bulk of the goals with the consequence that those around him scored less than before.
Personally as I said many times, I prefer a team which has 4-6 players who score double figures to having one player who gets 25-35 goals a season. Imagine Laca getting 15, Martinelli gets 12, ESR gets 10 and Saka gets 11 (just fired numbers out of my head) Do you prefer that to having Auba getting 25 goals while the rest score less?? Obviously you need the other players to chip in with goals.
I dont see Auba getting others more into play the same way that LAcazette does. Giroud would have been perfect as well. Because they seek to bring others into the game. Auba plays only for himself. Unless the others bring him in the game he just disappears…..as was the result between end of October till Boxing day. He was rarely seen and we were sort of playing with a player less.
I wish Papas all the best. We got him too late imo. We should have got him around 2012/13. He would have been fantastic or us.
https://cz.pinterest.com/pin/782219029007063829/
If you can print it Rico , be my guest. Sums him up for me , shades of Keown and Van Horseface.
I certainly agree re Auba Devil, His game is about his game much of the time. Not a criticism, just an opinion.
I still think there’s a place for a 25+ goal striker as well as others getting into double figures. Henry, Bobby and Freddie did that a lot.
Love it Potter, thank you. I’ll add it tomorrow in the post.
Just catching up, yeah DG, Woodman seems like a sensible move, he’s English and would I’m sure be happy with playing in cup ties initially with the prospect of one day replacing Leno, it would also give Leno some competition.
I understand why those on here would like Buendia as he’s highly rated and Norwich develop some good players, but if Arsenal spend £40m or more on him, he plays, no question, he’s gonna be the managers first choice and then we risk losing a frustrated Smith Rowe and maybe having an adverse effect on Saka and how he feels about the club.
It’s a tricky decision and I get the concerns over Smith Rowe and his fitness, but they were growing pains, he’s a man now, a young man yes but a man all the same and he needs to play not sit on the bench.
The comparisons with Jack Wilshere are understandable but Jack was overplayed by Wenger when he was a teenager and they were totally different players with different styles.
And now to read the rest and see if I’m repeating what someone else has said…
Kudos to Sokratis, as said above he was just what we needed when we signed him, but when VAR came in he lost a lot of his effectiveness because he could no longer hide his shithousery.
I definitely think he has left the club with his head held high and with a lot of class, a lesson indeed to some other geezer whose also just left the club recently and who I have forgotten about already….
Well if ESR’s problems were just growing pains then that’s good news. I’d hate to see him or Saka pushed down the pecking order. Can’t say I’m thrilled that it’s happening to AMN.
Totally agree Kev re Sokratis, I bet there isn’t one Arsenal fan who doesn’t wish him well.
Pleased City beat Villa.
Me too, Rico. Their stay at the top won’t be for long – penalty to United 🤣
Rico….the situation of AMN is rather the fault of both himself and also in a way, the fault of Arteta and Emery. AMN himself does not try that much hard during certain matches. If a player has a good attitude he will play up to a certain level anywhere. Take a look at Saka…..LB, LW, RW and also CAM. His attitude is spot on. There are games (Everton) were AMN was a star. But then there are other games where he does not cut it.
On the other hand Arteta plays him various positions (where needed) and this may influence his attitude, output and also concentration. Take Lauren for example. He came to Arsenal as a CDM but AW decided he wanted him at RB and that is where he stayed. And the rest is history.
Personally I feel that AMN should be put in midfield which would give us a CDM quartet of PArtey, Xhaka, Elneny and AMN. Otherwise put him in at RB and leave him there. but this constant shifting him around is doing no one any favours.
Another one Sue? It’s becoming a joke although it’s not funny.
I think he tries Devil, he just has a laid back look about him. When he plays on the right, he’s good. How can any player get any kind of rhythm or form by playing one, sitting out the next five?
I think he’ll go soon.
AMN is a conundrum. None of Wenger, Freddie, Emery or Arteta have been able to find his best position. He has played both right back and left back but only as a stand in. Before Kolasinac fell out of favour AMN was a reasonable deputy, but then the arrival of Tierney closed off that avenue. At right back Bellerin is cemented in with the improving Cedric closing on him which, again leaves AMN out in the cold.
Midfield is getting to be a bit crowded too, Xhaka, Partey, Elneny, Ceballos, Saka, Willian.
It’s unfortunate for AMN that he hasn’t really impressed in any one position. He needs to get a loan move to a club that will play him in a definite role, but what that role is I don’t know and, I suspect, neither does the player himself.
Until AMN is given a decent run in one spot, I find it impossible to judge the kid and whether or not he has a future at the club.
Hi Scott I agree with you about AMN I would also put in the same basket Balogun no wonder why these kids want to move on so they can get more game time and structure in their career.
Geoff, but the trouble is who do we caste aside to give them game time?
It’s easier said than done.
We also have the issue where overplaying them leads to injury and then the club are criticised for that.
There just isn’t an easy answer imo, especially when you have a quite a number of talented kids coming through.
Scott the problem is when we lost 3 or 4 together would have been a good time but they did not get a good run so why keep them let’s sell them now or else we will loose then for free
Morning guys,
New post up now