Morning all.
Arsenal players wearing the number 9 shirt during the Premier League era have not always excelled. In fact one of two of them have been little short of awful. Francis Jeffers, Park Chu-young, Julian Baptista? Lucas Perez and Davor Suker. Life at Arsenal wasn’t easy for Suker, not with a certain Thierry Henry and Denis Bergkamp in the team. Is he remembered more for his penalty miss against Galatasaray than his goals? Perhaps. What about Lukas Podolski and his wicked left foot? I always liked him but didn’t think Arsene Wenger got the best out of him. Alan ‘Smudger’ Smith was definitely one of the better ones. Jose Antonio Reyes and Eduardo were in my opinion, fantastic players. One couldn’t really settle in England, the other, well, we know what happened to him and he was never the same. Paul Merson wore number 9 for a couple of seasons in the mid 90’s and Alex Lacazette over the last few years but Merson was a midfielder whilst Lacazette had a very up and down time stay in north London. Despite not scoring many goals, his last season was perhaps one of his better ones. But the best number 9 of the lot, has to be Nicolas Anelka. Signed for £500,000 from PSG in 1997, he was sold to Real Madrid for £22.5 million with a Premier League and FA Cup medal in his pocket. If only he’d stayed at Arsenal eh…
Arsenal have had other strikers who faired much better in a different numbered shirt but this summer, thanks to Edu and Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have a number 9 who on paper, should put an end to the jinx associated with the number. I’m pretty sure that had Gabriel Jesus not previously worked with Mikel Arteta at Man City, or perhaps Edu wasn’t a fellow countryman, the deal might not have been done. The relationship between Man City and Arsenal must be pretty good too, especially if they’re going sell Oleksandr Zinchenko to us too.
A few years ago, Arsene Wenger was the big attraction but perhaps now, Edu and Mikel Arteta have pulling power too. Arsenal will always be an attractive proposition in itself but players have to believe in the project and the people selling it to them. Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira and Marquinhos could have gone anywhere really but Arsenal chose them and they chose Arsenal. If Arsenal end up signing Oleksandr Zinchenko and Man Utd get Martinez, I don’t doubt there will be discussions as the season goes by as to which club got the better deal. I’d imagine a few of think we know the answer already and Zinchenko hasn’t even signed for us. Yet.
Fabio Vieira, Arsenal’s new number 10 player in a number 21 shirt.
I’m an offensive player. Vieira told The Athletic. I like to make the last pass, and to help team-mates to score. And I like to score goals too. The manager told me he knows I can play as a midfielder — No 8, No 10 — or on the wing, left side or right side. They know I am a versatile player. I prefer No 10. It’s my real position.
Honestly, he’s the guy who excites me the most ahead of the new season. Not because he’s better than anyone else but because I don’t know what he’s going to bring to the team. Similarly, what to expect from Marquinhos is unknown too but if we’re to believe what’s written in the back pages, Arsenal risked a potential court case brought about by Wolverhampton Wanderers to get him. The fee we paid was a “travesty” because he should have been sold for a lot more than he was according to his previous club São Paulo. He looks strong and more than capable of handling himself in the Premier League. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that we’ve signed Jesus but with him, we know what we’re getting although I must admit, I totally misjudged the reasons for wanting to move when Arsenal were first linked to him. He’s since made it quite clear that he’s not putting his feet up for a long time yet.
I don’t think Arsenal are done yet in this transfer window either, not even if we sign Zinchenko. Mikel Arteta previously suggested that the club need the kind of numbers of last summer’s transfer window brought in so perhaps another 2/3 are yet to come. Or am I just being greedy? Lol
Arsenal played Everton overnight and won 2-0. Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka scored the goals. I wonder how many times I’ll be writing that this season.
See you in the comments.
The new Vieira , and Odegaard covet that number 10 shirt currently Smith – Rowe has it and doesn’t play in front of Odegaard .
Is the defensive side of the midfield more important ? Currently we have four and Xhaka and Thomas seem to be the preferred two with Elneny and Lokonga in the 1 and nines . Maybe a potential Zinchenko is designed to stop that gap.
We are listing 32 players as first teamers including Leno , Runarrson , Mari , Tavares , AMN , Torriera , Pepe , Nelson , Bellerin and Balogun . Who of those do we want to keep because some will be staying otherwise we will have a threadbare squad of 22 and need to go mad in the transfer market.
Glad that I am just a supporter with a laptop.
Morning Rico. I’m sure that Pep would like to strengthen us so we might take points from his rivals.
Just why I think more signings are to come Potter. If we have the same midfield as last season, we’ll struggle imo.
Morning Adam. Let’s hope we can and do.
Morning all.
I don’t expect 3 more signings. 1 tops – or 1 more incoming than outgoing (as Tavares or Pepe should be replaced id sold).
The highlights of the Everton game are available on the club’s website as well as YouTube (a slightly longer one). Even though we didn’t score the 5 goals we used to in our last 3 games, the display was convinci9ng according to the clip and Kevin.
And if you are particularly bored, here is a quadruple nutmeg goal for entertainment:
What a truly irritating pillock is that Ozzie Man, do you know him Geoff? 😄
Peter what did you think of Walters, a candidate for the senior squad perhaps?
Morning Rico, nice post on our new No.9 – just gotta keep him fit…
The drop in quality when he and Saka went off at half-time was stark which kinda explains why we pushed so hard for Raphinha.
Morning Kev. Vieira should bring a bit more quality to the team. Did Marquinhos play?
Our injury situation is a bit of a concern.
Rico: Bernd Leno, Aaron Ramsdale, Alex Runarsson, Ben White, Kieran Tierney, Fabio Vieira, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Marquinhos, and Emile Smith Rowe were all absent, despite being in the USA with the rest of the squad.
3 GKs were surplus to requirements for a single game, 5 of our players have minor injuries, the only outfield player to go totally unexplained is Marquinhos. https://dailycannon.com/2022/07/mikel-arteta-arsenal-injuries/
Kevin, I am a huge fan of Walters. I’ve seen him playing only a couple of games when they televised U23 matches at the end of last season, but he was mature and composed well beyond his years. On the other hand we have Brooke Norton-Cuffy in our ranks, who is the other stand-out player of the U21, playing 17 games (1200 minutes) at League one at a reportedly very high level, and recently won the EC with England U19. So while I think non of them is expected to play a single minute with Tomiyasu, Cedric, and White, Ainsley and Nelson all capable of operating at RB/RWB, one of the 2 should be promoted to the first squad at the end of next season and be mentored by Cedric in his final year.
I think BNC will be loaned out again (hopefully to the Championship this time), and Walters will be the main RB for the U21 team (with Alebiosu getting sold, released or becoming his deputy), and the better of them should join the first team at the end of the season.
Yes I know Pbarany, I’ve read Mikel Arteta’s press news.
It’s being reported that both sides have reached agreement on the transfer fee for Zinchenko and personal terms have also been settled. The deal looks done and dusted.
Excellent.
Peter, I think if we get a kind draw in the Europa and League Cups we’ll see plenty of our young players this coming season of that I’m certain.
I think that Arteta has fast-tracked Walters not only because of his talent and maturity but because of his versatility and his ability to play anywhere across the back-four, the last time I saw an Arsenal defensive youngster of 17 come into the team and look so assured was when I saw Tony Adams making his debut and playing his early games, which unfortunately dates me but there it is…
I’ve said previously that I think there is going to be a Gabriel – Arthur swap with Juve paying about 30 mill. Right now, everything is heading in that direction. Juve has just sold De Ligt and now has the money to buy a top centre-back or two (after losing Chiellini and De Ligt). There is also talk about Arsenal looking for a 50 mill ball-playing Left CB (Gvardiol, Tapsoba …). If Juve and Arsenal are going to do a deal, they won’t wait around. It will all happen in the next day or two. Buckle up.
Kev/Freddo
, We have to remember that when TA4 first emerged he was immediately attacked and derided by the press putting ears on his picture . This of course led to that wonderful song at Wembley as the donkey won the derby.
The thing is that Walters will make mistakes as I expect so will Saliba, The defence without Gabriel is likely not to be as tight as it would be with him but if it provides a player to put serious pressure on the Partey/Xhaka axis then it is probably worth it, but is Melo that player ?
Arteta’s top priority (and probably his second and third) is the build-up. He has to construct a team of highly press-resistant ball players who can penetrate the ferocious presses of Liverpool, ManCity, Chelsea and just about every other Prem League club. Everything depends on that. That’s why he now wants a highly technical left CB (to compliment white and saliba) AND a highly technical LCM. That is why he wants Arthur. The guy has amazing ball security and short passing. When he played for Barcelona, he bossed Classicos. Then he got pushed out to Juve and was forced to play DCM with a bunch of cloggers. Arteta and Edu know his worth. They will resuscitate his career (I hope).
Pretty interesting, isn’t it. Nobody wants Arthur except Arteta/Edu. Yet, I expect, they are going to back their judgement and build a team around him. That’s pretty exciting.
Freddo, something similar happened with Odegaard, White and Ramsdale, too. They weren’t on Arsenal’s radar beforehand, they weren’t rumored to top teams, but Arteta/Edu were adamant. (We were in need of an AM and a goalkeeper to be fair.)
Some of it did absolutely work out – I think Ode was the Arsenal transfer of the season, and among the top 5 in the league. White and Ramsdale didn’t make such a huge impact, but weren’t transfer flops like Sanogo, Dennis Suarez, Lichtsteiner or Willian either. (Ramsdale was among EPL’s worst 5 keepers by stats, but had some magnificent games, and his personality won many fans over, while White was nothing beyond average – which would be perfectly acceptable from Holding, but less so from our transfer record breaking defensive signing.)
We’ll see what next season brings, as the first year are often prove to be an unreliable indicator of long-term performance. But if a player is not demanded by anybody except Arteta and Edu, it is not correlated with success or failure, therefore I am rather interested than actually excited. 🙂
Is it not a bit of a guessing game suggesting which clubs wants who or who was or wasn’t a target of Arsenal last summer? There is absolutely no evidence to suggest White, Ramsdale and Odegaard weren’t on Arsenal’s radar, nor is there any evidence to support the theory that no one wants Melo.
Just because the papers don’t run a story, or Arteta/Edu don’t send us an email telling us who they want to sign, it doesn’t mean they haven’t got transfer targets.
Morning Rico and all
Kev which Aussie block are talking about, If it’s a commentator most of them seem to talk more about themself than the game they are covering.
Potter let all go if the price is right
Morning Geoff. Who is all?
Kev, I’m not sure we will ever meet, but I’m willing to bet with you for the first 2 rounds of beer/cider that we will NOT see plenty of our academy players this coming season. (Marquinhos doesn’t count, and neither does sitting on the bench.)
Let me propose the threshold based on 2 Emery games against Vorskla Poltava and Qarabağ FK. Not considering Ainsley Maitland-Niles – as he was promoted by Wenger already – 3 academy players played 90 minutes each, and 3 more: Medley, Gilmour and 16y Saka came from the bench. On these 2 games only we saw no less than 640 academy minutes combined.
Would you be interested in taking the bet that you win if there will be more than 500 academy minutes in all competitive games this season, we will declare a draw if the minutes are between 340 and 500, and you lose if there will be less than 340 (Vorskla game only) academy minutes in the entire next season?
And you can make your decision after the EL draw. Any player counts that is not in the US (including Hein, Azeez, Patino and Balogun), and you got Okonkwo and Walters from the traveling squad. Is that fine?
Rico, you are obviously right that what we can read in the papers or online rumor mills are not necessary the facts, and what we can’t read there does not mean that it is not true or happening either.
Yet the entire summer is all about the guessing game.
Just like there was absolutely no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Hutchinson’s decision to sign for Chelsea was motivated – or even influenced – by money. Sometimes we just fill in the gap with guessing and wishful thinking, and that could often make us wrong.
There’s a difference though Pbarany, one comment is made as a ‘probably, or perhaps’ etc, the other is written as if it’s fact but it’s not factual at all.
Rico all is anyone who reads your site
Freddo, have you seen a lot of Arthur and if so what do you actually think that he can bring to our team, who would he replace in the team in your opinion and what are his qualities?
Gabriel is our best defender, selling him in my view would be crazy but if Juventus came in with a big enough offer then I guess we’d have to consider it, that’s consider it not accept it.
If Arteta and KSE actually harbour ambitions of challenging for the top honours you don’t sell your best players.
If Harry McGuire is worth £80m then considering that Gabriel is at least on a par with him then to sell him for anything less would be dumb. Somehow I can’t see Juventus making Arsenal an offer that we’d find acceptable for our best defender and I’d just suggest that you should all ignore the rumours coming out of Italy, they’re worthless…
Potter, I remember those times in the mid to late 1980’s very well, they were brilliant times to be an Arsenal fans particularly when George arrived in 1986 and Arsenal began to compete again.
Ok Potts, I think that the media abuse of Tony Adams you mentioned (via that appalling left-wing rag the Daily Mirror) began during the 1988/89 season, before then Adams was treated quite fairly in the Press. I don’t recall any adverse comments about him prior the the Man Utd game at Old Trafford although he did come in for some criticism after Van Basten destroyed him in the 1988 Euros, mind you Van Basten destroyed every defender he came up against.
Peter 10.13, you may well be right but we already have quite a few injury issues so let’s see what occurs. It would be foolish to throw too many young players into a game at once but maybe introduction from the bench makes more sense, after all we don’t want another Nottingham Forest debacle do we?
But I’ll enjoy a drink or two watching our Europa and League Cup teams…
Agreed, Kev, especially on Gabriel.
Arthur can be a decent player, but I don’t see him such an improvement over our existing midfield than selling Gabriel would be a downgrade compared to his expected replacement. Good and tall left-footed CBs – with PL experience – are hard to come by. And while many fans envy United for snatching Martinez for 55M, I’m not sure if that was the deal of the transfer window.
Let me know if you are interested in taking the academy bet, though. 🙂
I would not sell Gabriel for Melo. Finally there is the high possibility of having a top defense in years and we want to dismantle it for a a player that we have 2 of. Melo is not better than Odegaard, and Viera passing/ ball control game is on par with Arthur. I prefer Viera because he’s stronger on the ball and goes forward with a purpose. I could see Melo being bully in EPL, especially if Allegri thinks he’s weak.
David Ornstein
@David_Ornstein
·
11m
🚨 EXCL: Arsenal finalising move for Oleksandr Zinchenko from Man City after reaching agreement in principle on 4yr contract. Fee £30m + £2m achievable adds & now personal terms in place too. If all goes to plan, medical then sign
@TheAthleticUK
#MCFC #AFC
https://theathletic.com/news/arsenal-oleksandr-zinchenko-manchester-city-transfer/xFNVd6aVh31m/
Sorry Rico the other All I was talking about was the list Potter said at 11am
GM All, with Zinchenko done according ESPN, I wonder where Arteta will deploy him. He prefers mid field where he plays for his national team and expressed that to Pep according to ESPN FC; however, Pep played him at LB. And with Fernandino departing, Pep opted for Philips instead. Could it be that he moved to play midfield ar Arsenal? We shall see.
Obi, the fact that he can play either as a full back or midfielder is a large factor in Arteta’s move for him. Tierney’s injury record suggests Zinchenko will be mostly used as a left back but I can see him playing a defensive role alongside Partey in midfield, particularly if Xhaka continues to amass yellow cards or, indeed, if he leaves.
Already 29 degrees here and only 9.30 am. Phew! What a scorched. 😎
I too think his versatility played a part in moving for Zinchenko, just as Martinez was rumoured to be a target.
New post up now