Morning all.
Of all the things going on in football, Mikel Arteta going on a walk about seems to be a big problem for Richard Keys. What a plonker, but then he did suggest when we win, we’re lucky but when Man City needed a penalty which really never should have been given, it’s the sign of champions. Keys also thinks it’s wrong to celebrate too hard after a victory. I bet Sky Sports miss him as much as you and I do and for me that’s not at all.
Why is this allowed every week @FA_PGMOL ? Arteta has been jumping up & down all game – way outside his technical area. Potter is in his & 4th is watching. Do something about this man. pic.twitter.com/ofUuAKSD3j
— Richard Keys (@richardajkeys) November 6, 2022
The replies to Keys are funny.
Another Twitter war of words, and I use that term lightly, involved Aubameyang and Gabriel. Auba had tweeted about London is blue, no offence and no sooner had our big Brazilian enjoyed celebrating a victory over Chelsea on Sunday, he responded on Twitter with “NOTHING PERSONAL .. LONDON IS RED” For now, and hopefully it’ll stay that way, Arsenal are bossing London by a country mile.
I feel sorry for Gabriel though as he’s been left out of the Brazil squad for the World Cup in Qatar. I know he’s young and other opportunities will come his way but it must be a big disappointment for him. It’s hard to believe that a 5’ 11” 38 year old Thiago Silva is in the squad instead of him.
As expected though, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli have been selected.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has been named in the Japan squad which either they’re keeping fingers and toes crossed that he recovers or a representative of the national team has been in touch with Arsenal and been given positive news.
Positivity is all around Arsenal right now and it’s great. It feels like it’s been years since we’ve got to November sitting in the top four, let alone top of the table. Probably because it has been years. We’ve beaten Totts and Liverpool at The Emirates and Chelsea away, three of the so called big six dealt with. A couple of blips at both St Mary’s and Old Trafford but no Premier League club wins every fixture during a season.
I was reading an article by Rio Ferdinand this morning about our win of Chelsea and whilst he was very complimentary about what Mikel Arteta and his players are doing, he was quick to point out that Chelsea had a lot of injuries which meant Graham Potter had to field a much weakened team. If Arsenal lost William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus to injury, Arsenal’s level of football would drop considerably – he said. To a degree, he might be right but considering we beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season, and the season before without both players and a number of injuries, he might be totally wrong too. I think he’s forgetting the fantastic work Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel and Kieran Tierney are doing in defence. Rob Holding too when he’s stepped in.
What I don’t understand in football though is why pundits, media, anyone with a voice really, bring ifs and buts into football after a game. Injuries and football go together, Arsenal fans know that only too well but no one will convince me that Chelsea’s squad, so deep with strength because of the insane amount of money the club has spent over recent years, can’t cope with a few injuries. It’s not Arsenal’s fault if they’ve wasted a lot of it on players who can’t be bothered to work hard for whichever manager happens to be at the club at the time.
I didn’t hear or read about our injuries having an impact on our final few performances/results last season when we were chasing a place in the top four yet we were without Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey. Unlike Potter, Mikel Arteta didn’t, and still doesn’t have the strength in depth to call upon should injuries hit us hard again.
The reality is, Arsenal do have William Saliba at the club and they are playing extremely well, but two players don’t make a team. Every Arsenal player is doing their bit, everyone is working hard for the team, the manager and the fans and that’s the difference in my opinion. A player doesn’t need to be world class to do that.
Perhaps what Rio Ferdinand should be writing about is how fortunate Chelsea were not to get thrashed.
See you in the comments.
Morning Rico
Richard Keys reputation is in the gutter. That’s where it will stay following Gabby Logan’s comments.
The moral of the Rio Ferdinand story? Stop buying the Daily Mail. Unless there is a toilet paper shortage!
Good morning Rico, to be fair to Ferdinand taking two of a club’s best players out of the picture would seriously impact their results. For example, Spuds without Kane and Son would be severely hampered when it comes to winning, and converting, penalties. City without DeBruyne and Harland, Liverpool without Salah and Van Dyke and the list could go on.
Gary Neville got a right kicking from an unlikely source, on Have I Got News For You, Ian Hislop pointed out that taking Qatari money to pontificate on the sleaziest WC ever was hypocritical to say the least.
By the way, I enjoyed the post Rico, thanks.
Morning Pete, I don’t. I read online just to see what’s out there. All the newspapers are dreadful these days, they seem to be living off negativity.
Morning Cicero, thanks. I think what irks me is what’s probably behind his comments which I think is bitterness. Like suggesting we beat a second string Chelsea team.
I take it back Rico. The iPad just doesn’t have the same absorbent capabilities as the Daily Loo Roll.
😉
Morning rico, all. I liked Potter’s refreshing comments after the game. Basically, ‘despite the scrappy goal, Arsenal were just the better team and deserved to win’. Seems one of the nicer Managers in football.
@Cicero Gary Neville and his cronies are a bunch of hypocrites.
He’s taken big money from Qatar to keep his mouth shut (quite an achievement) on human rights.
His mate Beckham has been advertising how great Qatar is, but not a word on the negatives.
Money talks for these muppets.
I read that the England band have an all-expenses paid trip to Qatar in exchange for playing the right songs and reporting on England fans that don’t toe the line. It’s straight out of the pages of 1984.
I’m sure they started out at Sheffield Wednesday. They’ve always been sh!te.
Ha ha Pete.
Morning Andrew, yes, Potter was honest which was refreshing. If he wasn’t at Chelsea, I’d wish him every success. However…
So we wait It’s the old chestnut , weaken too much against Brighton and get into trouble ,play your strongest and risk injury but then we only have one more game before the enforced lay off , so that becomes the international managers problem until they get injured in Qatar when it becomes ours again.
Glad I am not the manager.
I am sorry for Gabriel but in one way also relieved that’s one possible that we can wrap in cotton wool until Christmas. Tomiyasu’s selection suggests that his injury is not that bad although we have to cross our fingers that they don’t make it worse.
So we wait on the other managers naming their squads , we know that Saka will be picked but the jury is out on White .
. Ramsdale and Martinelli will go but will they play ? Turner will be a starter as will Partey and Xhaka and probably Jesus . Lokonga may have burned his bridges and will Portugal take Vieira ? personally I don’t think that either are good enough for us but we would probably beat most international sides anyway.
It will be nice to beat Brighton as it gives games to the fringe players but for the first team all we can do is get the three points from Wolves and sit back and see what happens.
Ah Gary Neville, hasn’t he threatened to go into politics?
Been catching on Richard Keys, seems like he’s a wonderful husband, a man you would trust with your wife, er I meant your life…
The quality of football punditry in this country is appalling. Too tribal, too many “will Arsenal win the PL?-type questions. It’s utter nonsense. Jenas, Neville, Sutton, Keys, Danny Mills, Souness (really?), Rio and all the ex-Spuds, Scousers and Mancs that come crawling out of some stagnant, fetid pond of shite on such a regular basis for their few quid etc are being mugged off by the ladies like Karen Carney who seems like a really perceptive analyst to me. It’s why I thought Scott Parker was good on match day. He concentrated on the Mikel’s coaching and the on-field benefits it has bought and ignored the usual vomit-inducing tripe that Jake Whatever was constantly trying to feed him.
Thankfully, I think a lot of our players will be returning quite quickly but I know I’ve said that before. Other than Jesus, Martinelli and Saliba imo.
There’s a woman who commentates on BT too Adam, Lucy I think her name is, an ex player. She’s pretty good imo opinion too. As you say though, too many of the ex players turned pundits, can’t seem to forget their playing days and what came with it.
Pathetic really. Scott Parker was a breath of fresh air.
Kev. So true. The usual old guard are pretty dumb and ludicrously biased dinosaurs now. The vibe is changing and that’s good.
Joe Cole’s pre-match comments say it all really. Moronic.
https://dailycannon.com/2022/11/arsenal-palmeiras-danilo/
That’s good news Rico, I don’t know anything about him but if Edu rates him then you’ve gotta trust his judgement.
Lokonga doesn’t look as if he’s got the game to understudy Partey so maybe this guy is the answer?
Catching up on more Richard Keys I see that he and his juvenile sidekick Andy Gray we’re saying some obnoxious things on a plane within earshot of Gabby Logan, I guess his behaviour reflects of BeIN sport and the kind of people the Qataris like to employ..,
I’d certainly trust him more than YouTube or the papers Kev. 😂
I think Gabby Logan has written a book and it includes some unpleasant stuff Keys and Gray are supposed to have said and it’s spiralled from there.
We’ll Rico, we shouldn’t forget what the two of them said about Sian Massey.
BEIN Sports still employed both of them though.
Indeed Adam, horrid people who clearly have no morals. Living in and being paid by Qatar, no thank you!
RIP Leslie Phillips, a truly funny funny guy during a time when jokes were allowed…
Ding Dong , left hand up a bit , It must be Gryffindor , So many catch phrases from Carry ons , Navy Lark and Harry Potter .
RIP to one of the entertainers.
Leslie Phillips would never get away with his characters in today’s woke ridden “entertainment” industry. I wonder what today’s puritanical audiences would make of my two favourite radio shows Beyond our Ken 1958/1964 and Round the Horne 1965/1968. I’m pretty certain that the governors of the BBC didn’t understand half of the things going on in those two comedy programmes. Innuendo after innuendo.
Get a taste of them on you tube. 😉
Leslie Phillips may he RIP,
I can only imagine how many complaints the tv network would get if they played Dave Allan, Dick Emery and Syd James.
Some of the best there Geoff, they were my youth.
New post up