Daily Bits and Bobs

Is Akpom the answer? Romagnoli & Aubameyang in Arsenal talks?

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

Devil has written a piece about yesterday’s pre-season opening game.

A right footed shot, a well stuck penalty and a header from a peach of a cross sums up Chuba’s performance and he was no doubt the hero for the Gunners yesterday in their first match after the summer break.  The 19-year-old striker, who signed a long-term contract in February, had made only four substitute appearances in the Premier League for Arsenal but this was the first game in which he started up front from the off.

Arsenal began the new season in the same way as they finished the last with a comprehensive 4-0 win. Granted, the opposition were not at a high class level, however a team can only beat what is in front of them and Arsenal duly responded. 

Arsenal began the game with the following team:

Martinez, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Monreal, Flamini, Akpom, Coquelin, Iwobi. 

Subs:

Szczesny, Bellerin, Zelalem, Crowley, Toral, Willock. 

It was a strong starting line up but Arsene still found a place for a couple of youngsters, with Akpom and Iwobi both involved from the offset.  It was clear from the  beginnning that the Singapore XI were up for the game and in fact during the early exchanges both teams had a similiar possession percentage.  The attacking department received limited service for most of the first-half as both teams tried to play the passing game and the Arsenal players were a bit rusty and squandered some passes which were intercepted from the Singapore XI. 

I thought it odd that Flamini and Coquelin were both in it from the beginning. Why begin the game with Flamini whose only contribution to the game was always in the negative? As a consequence, Arsenal struggled to create many chances. Yes, Flamini might commit a foul which stops the opposition but that also stops our team from creating as much as we can. 

The difference in contribution to the team’s play can be seen when one compares Flamini to Iwobi.  Although the latter squandered a couple of goalscoring opportunities, overall, his debut with the first-team can be seen as a successful one as he displayed a good technical level and was involved in some intricate build-up play.  His youth and inexperience certainly contributed to some tactical errors and erroneous decision making, however his contribution to the team was by far greater than the one offered by Flamini.

Arsenal probed and probed for the initial stages of the game, and on the half hour mark, Akpom opened the scoring.  Wingers Iwobi and Chamberlain did some good work in setting up a fast counter attack and while Wilshere had a shot saved Akpom opened the scoring with a neat finish.  A goal worthy of a poacher who is in the right place at the right time.  Fox in the box?? Time will tell.

Arsenal continued to press until half time came.

The second half began in the same fashion as our team continued with their intricate passing game, sometimes mixing it with long passes which usually ended up with the linesman flagging any Arsenal player offside. One of the offside calls had me scratching my head as to why it was offside but the offside rule is being changed once again so until we get used to it, mistakes will will be inevitable..   

On the 50th minute Debuchy had a shot cleared at the near post after a good cross by Chamberlain and 5 minutes later Iwobi smashed a shot over the bar from the edge of the box.  Two minutes later Iwobi had another shot off target after good work by Wilshere, who was playing in the No10 position (contrary to Hodgon’s advice).  4 minutes later the OX had a shot cleared off the line after he toed the ball under the keeper.

A minute later Camara seemed to pull Debuchy down (replays suggest otherwise) and Jack made no mistake after the ref pointed to the spot.  A flurry of substitutions followed and out went Flamini, Chamberlain and Wilshere while Zelalem, Willock and Crowley came on.  7 minutes later Bellerin and Toral came on for Iwobi and Debuchy.  

Super sub Toral set up the next goal after he was fouled in the penalty area. This time there was no doubt about the penalty, although personally I would have preferred no penalty and the goal to be scored after a very good build up play which saw some neat passing.  It would have merited a goal since it is a move which is practiced on the training pitch. Akpom dispatched the penalty for his second goal.  Three minutes later and Akpom rose like a salmon to head home Bellerin’s peach of a cross which followed some good work by Zelalem.

On Saturday Arsenal face Everton in the Final and surely the team will be a lot different than the one which played yesterday.  There were some positives to be taken from the match and in my opinion Akpom is ready for more first team games. He needs more exposure, especially to rest Giroud but I don’t think he ready yet to be considered as the team’s focal point.

Jack is looking already sharp and with the team playing through him he seemed to thrive.  Hopefully he will have an injury free season.

Finally it seems that Arsene has a good batch of youngsters coming through and hopefully their promise will one day become reality and we will see the forming the core of our team.

In the meantime, let’s just enjoy the win…

Onto some other stuff:

Aston Villa have appointed their first sporting director to work with manager Tim Sherwood after recruiting German Hendrik Almstadt from Arsenal. He’ll join up with another ex Arsenal man Tom Fox who is Villa’s Chief Executive.

  • Arsenal are in talks to sign Roma centre-back Alessio Romagnoli. AC Milan are also in negotiations to sign the 20-year-old and have had three bids rejected, and now Gazzetta dello Sport says Arsenal have approached Roma to discuss a deal.
  • The Metro believes Arsenal are poised to make a ‘huge offer’ to sign striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
  • Bayern Munich are allegedly in talks with Juventus to sign Vidal.

So that’s another midfielder who doesn’t look like he’s heading our way. I sure as heck someone is because Flamini offers very little in my opinion and Mikel Arteta is aleady injured apparently…..

Thursday done, five dry and warm days now please Mr Weatherman and let’s see England go 2-0 up in The Ashes….

rico

116 thoughts on “Is Akpom the answer? Romagnoli & Aubameyang in Arsenal talks?”

  1. Steven Kelly says:

    Good read Rico – Match was a solid effort and an expected result I’ll be more so looking towards Saturday to see what level of fitness the bigs are at…. I wonder if Akpom can do a Harry Kane next season I don’t know how many times Kane was written off by the Spurs lot or wasn’t? any clue? but it took him until he was 22 and failures of other expensive strikers for him to get a chance… Akpom at 19 maybe needs a full season in premier league at a hungry team say Villa (when they sell Christian) play week in week out, it was interesting to read Wenger said Akpom got a taste of that last season at Forrest but from my recollection he didn’t have the best of times there and didn’t really score…I’d prefer a DM of real quality hopefully not a striker I think we have enough up top and it would be a good piece of man management for Wenger to say Giroud it’s your spot this season show me what you can do… after all he is keeping Karim out of the national team and his overall play for the team is brilliant a better end to the season he really could of had quite a few goals to his name…

  2. rico says:

    Thanks Steven but it’s Devil’s report this morning..

    I still can’t see a striker coming as we have many options up front, especially if TW is going to be given a central role.

    A central defensive/holding/B2B (to cover all options Devil 😉 ) would be my priority next..

  3. scottfromoz says:

    Well done Devil…..top read.
    I think Debuchy did cop a slight touch, and he never took a dive as he most definitely clipped his heels…. Only one angle showed clearly he didn’t take a fall, but it didn’t show if he was touched or not.
    A very decent Performance for mine, and a solid starting point.
    Akpom was terrific.

  4. rico says:

    Good post by the way Devil, I thought Akpom was good but of course, the oppo wasn’t the strongest. Will be interesting to see how he plays on Saturday if he starts.

    Really liked Iwobi, lively and keen and to be fair, all the younger players didn’t look fazed by being in the first team. Toral looked strong physically and I reckon he has a good chance of being in the squad next season…

  5. Drake says:

    Morning all,rico our dm target is alaba,bid has been submitted but wenger is still looking at COQ closely before making official dm signing.a no.9 will be signed too.

  6. tsgh says:

    For a man who has 8- legged friends, that was a peach of a write-up!

    Iwobi, Kamara are all very promising youngsters; shame we did not get to see Maitland on this tour before his loan.

    Sweet P.E.A…; will he remind folks of Gervinho or TH14?

  7. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Thanks lads and lass.

    I got confused when the young ones came on. but that will stay on until i get used to seeing them day in day out.

    you are right about the opposition not being the strongest. that goes with strength. What I like about Chuba was his awareness and runs. I hope he begins the game against Everton next Saturday. It will shed more light on him.

    Iwobi impressed me as well. but he needs to play….so either loan or else play him more frequently AW.

  11. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Thanks Ginge.

    i agree with you regarding Maitland. but I feel AW was afraid of his mum barging on the pitch during half time. and he did not want to pay her aeroplane ticket so he packed him off to Ipswich.

  12. Vaandja Mbekumuna says:

    Can Winger please sign Vidal please we need him I want our first 11 to look like this Chec , Debushi , Koshalny ,Gabriel , Monreal , Coquelin , Vidal , Sanches , Wilshare , Ox and Benzema please

  13. Hell Raising Devil says:

    I doubt that Rico. Alaba can play LB, LM, CM. He is too much versatile for Pep to allow to go.

    I like Alaba but cant see us getting him.

    I still feel that if a midfielder comes he would be an unknown who will not disturb the balance of the team but would give us enough cover. Arteta’s injury may be a blessing in disguise as the medical team is not giving any time frame for his recovery. So that might mean another player coming in.

  15. tsgh says:

    Lol Dev. AW is normally always on the right side of the ladies.

    Even Rico ‘could’ fall for the smooth operating AW if they meet and start telling us all AW has no money to spend. 🙂

  18. Drake says:

    Alaba may not get game time next season,pep rates that spanish lb highly and martinez is back,this reminds me of ozil and sanchez

  20. Drake says:

    Signing him is like signing two players and we will benefit from that,last season we lost both monreal and gibbs,having him will be a bonus

  29. scottfromoz says:

    Decil, I rate Giroud higher than most, but yes, Lewandowski is a different animal.
    Absolute quality of the highest order.
    Saying that, he’s no Sanogo 🙂

  30. rogerbij says:

    Excellent write up Devil, thanks for that!

    I hope that by the time Akpom turns 23 he will be our 20 goal/season striker.
    But for now he needs to be playing week in week out and improving A LOT, and thats not going to happen spending time on the bench or training. I think he needs to go out on loan to either a lower premierleague team or good championship team.

    For now I would like to remind everyone that Akpom currently has a grand total of 0 (zero) goals in 26 senior appearances for various clubs. (obviously not counting friendlies like yesterday). So if Akpom is the answer this season, what is the question. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuba_Akpom#Career_statistics

    Lewandowski would be incredible, but google Lewandowski transfer and its all ManUManUManU… im not holding my breath…

  31. Brian Price says:

    I thought Chuba really looked the part, Awobi showed he has real skill in touch and passing, and Jack and The Ox were awesome. Re Chuba, don’t forget Sanogo scored 4 in a pre-season game, and look what happened to him. I don’t think Chuba will be in that category.
    Brian

  33. tsgh says:

    If Lew is for sale I wonder who pulls Pep’s strings behind the scene.
    Pep needs all his big guns for next season…

    Tuchel is a formidable coach who I rate as being more tactically astute than Klopp. imo of course

  34. Malaga gooner says:

    If its true lewandowski is for sale we have the funds to compete with his transfer
    He would be the quality signing wenger talked about

  36. Hoffa00 says:

    Tsgh, do you reckon any other Bundesliga teams will challenge for the title? Wolfsburg have been looking good.

    Bit of a Schalke man myself (I know you won’t like that!) But we look like a bit of a Basketcase at the minute.

  37. tsgh says:

    SC04 man you say? Oh no; Rico/Wath why did you allow Hoffa in? 😀

    I am not sure any team will compete for the Bundesliga but I expect my BVB to be 2nd. 😛 and S04 mid-table.

    I think Wolfsburg will struggle because of the UCL. BUT De Bruyne is proving to be a top player.

  42. Wath says:

    Disco dave burning up the dance floor Ts…..

    Rico, me greedy, never… It’s only 2 signings hardly greedy madam…! 🙂

  43. rico says:

    🙂 Ts..

    Afternoon Tai..

    I know Wath, it’s the kind of deals we need to be doing….

    Dippers about to sign Benteke!!

  49. tsgh says:

    😀 Wath

    Benteke signing for dippers might mean Aw is about to sign Lambert. :P; I think I can be a sports journo for one of the rag tops. 😉

  50. tsgh says:

    Hoffa- if the dippers get relegated the establishment will turn the table upside down and award them the title…
    The ‘biggest team’ in European must surely be exempt form relegation? 😉 Oh its not 1980 my bad…

  52. Micko says:

    rico 1.20, be careful of those splinters !

    tsgh, who’s this Disco Dave who keeps popping up, is he any relation to Dickey Dazzler by any chance ?

    All this fuss over Sanogo and he’ll probably never pull on an Arsenal jersey again !

  55. Adam says:

    What a joke this Lords pitch is. Lovely place to visit but the cricket I have seen there over the years has been dire.
    The Oval every time.

  56. Dublingunner says:

    Afternoon, Spanish media reporting a deal has been agreed for Monreal to join Bilboa/ Ghoulam 10m, is our target.
    Jan aage fjortoft, tweeted, “Arsenal wanted Vidal, but its looking more likely to be Munich”. Gutted, if true, We could have had that deal wrapped up, If Wenger didn,t pussy foot around. The same story with schneiderlin who wanted to play for us, over United, but Wenger “didn,t think he was value for money”, Is he trying to say these players couldn,t of improved our squad. Lets hope he knows what he,s doing. Eh.

  58. Lee says:

    Dublin, what pisses me off is that this squad is fucking close to being real title contenders…Coquelin needs completion a Schneiderlin-esque player and I personally think we need a proper striker insert the usual names! Two top drawer players and we’re set to go if Monreal is off he needs replacing as Gibbs isn’t up to the task, imo. It feels like everyone knows what we need apart from dear old Arsene and he likes gambling with the players we have or leaving it to the last minute in the window! I also appreciate the window isn’t closed but………..

  61. tsgh says:

    Still Iborra of Sevilla is on the radar. He is built like a wardrobe Nzonzi is his replacement; I would have thought Krychowiak would have been better.

    Hoffa- how would you rate Kramer for his performances last season?

  62. Adam says:

    It’s all true and Football 365 have an interesting piece on it. But when was the last time that Wenger actually really ‘went for it’ in the market? If Nacho does go and is replaced- yet a World-class CDM and striker never quite materialise then one would have to wonder why. During his pre-match interview yesterday you could see Arsene planting the seeds. His point that these days everyone demands that new players are bought was true, up to a point. It might not always be the answer, but that doesn’t mean it is never required. it hasn’t done Chelsea or Man City too much harm has it?
    So well, ’twas ever thus’ and he might surprise us yet. Hope for the best but plan for the worst might be worth considering.

  63. Dublingunner says:

    Munich have the right idea, sell a 31 year old for 15m, and bring in Vidal for 28m. You could say he cost them 13m. Shrewd.

  66. Dublingunner says:

    If reports are to believed, they,ve been talking a couple of days, no agreement as yet, but said to be close.

  67. Adam says:

    Personally I am surprised that Vidal wouldn’t want to test himself in a more competitive league than the German one.
    That’s a while ago now Rico 🙂

  68. Dublingunner says:

    Still time for Wenger to pick up the phone, but you,d have to think Bayern, would be his preferred destination.

  69. Adam says:

    Must be the attraction of Pep and the virtual guarantee of the championship with all the bonuses that would presumably bring.
    He who hesitates is lost.

  72. Dublingunner says:

    Other stories saying Wenger pulled the plug on the possible Vidal deal, after the drink driving fiasco.

  73. rico says:

    I was going by the Spanish reports Adam, not to say they are true though…

    There’s the other guy too, the one who the dwarf apparently wants, I read somewhere that Alexis wants him at Arsenal… 😉

    Lee, there’s always a bleedin ‘but’ with AW…

  76. potter says:

    Adam your 4.09.
    Even back in the dark ages when Liverpool were strapped on for the league every year they regularly renewed their squad. I believe it was Bob Paisley that said it was important to refresh things to prevent players from getting complacent.

  77. Drake says:

    I pray for wenger to sign alaba and leccazed(sorry for wrong spelling),he wont regret it…that would be quality and competition added and that would get us that EPL title

  78. Drake says:

    Rico i you not scared seeing manu and liverpool improving their squad?especially manu midfeild i dont think we can win that fight.i still remember coq winning a fight against morgan and kondogbia…

  80. Adam says:

    Potter. Yes, I remember that period. They would always add a really good player to an already excellent squad.
    I reckon it’s hard to buy the right players in the right amount so as not to unsettle the squad but I can’t help but wish that, this season coming, considering the lifting of financial restraints etc, it might have been a good idea. But he may yet surprise us.

  83. Adam says:

    I dunno Rico. I feel he would love to buy a big, big player but has extraordinary loyalty with all that entails. Perhaps we sometimes get frustrated because we see how close we are, as must Arsene, yet we always want that buzz of signing a great player. He has done that for the last two seasons so who knows?

  84. rico says:

    Adam, I’m not fussed about a big big player, I just want him to sign the right player for the right position and I’m one of those fans who believe such a player needs to cost an arm and a leg.

  85. Adam says:

    That’s splitting hairs though. When I say a big, big player I obviously mean the right player, but of top, top class. We have seen what they can bring to a team on many levels.

  88. rico says:

    When I say that about a player not needing to cost mega money I think of what AW has done in the past when signing players who didnt break the bank yet really excelled once they joined Arsenal.

    If AW found another Anelka or Vieira for £10m each or less, then happy days….

  91. rico says:

    Ronald Koeman impresses me, some of his signings have been really good. It’ll be interesting to see how good Jordy Clasie is because he clearly had him ready to sign before Morgan was sold and that’s the right way to do things Imo. And, he managed him in Holland before so he knows what he’ll get I guess..

  95. Joe says:

    As is written inside the cover of the book ‘The hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy’ DONT PANIC
    Good words to live by when it comes to Arsenal’s transfer window dealings.

  97. Joe says:

    I wrote A while ago I’d be happy if Arsenal sign just Čech I’d be happy with that so I am relaxed and anything else will be a bonus.

  105. Tai says:

    Morning All…

    Sanogo happy for Ajax loan.

    Read…

    The Frenchman, 22, is expected to join the Dutch giants on a season-long loan after struggling for game time during his two-year stint in North London.

    Nevertheless, De Boer is adamant that Sanogo remains a “great talent” and the Dutchman hopes to utilise his abilities in Amsterdam during the 2015-16 campaign.

    “He’s obviously had a lot of competition at Arsenal and was very young when he arrived there,” he told AT5.

    “He showed a lot when he was 17 at Auxerre, albeit in the second tier, but he’s also come to the fore with Arsene Wenger. He stands to be a great talent, it’s just difficult to get there at Arsenal.

    “I think we can give him the opportunity to once again show that he has talent. Wenger is also still fully behind the idea that he is a top-class player. He just needs to make the next step now.”

    Sanogo spent the second half of last season on loan with Crystal Palace, where he netted just once in 11 games.

    His only competitive goal for the North Londoners came in a Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund last term.

  106. Tai says:

    I will forever remind you, Rico of what you said about Wenger, Pardew and all of Ajax being stupid for associating with Sanogo.

  107. rico says:

    Well Tai, when Sanogo has made it to the top and looks like he’s the real deal, then you can remind me. Until then, imo he’s not at the level to be playing for Arsenal.

  109. Tai says:

    Not being at Arsenal’s level yet for a not-yet-22 boy, who had Giroud, Podolski, Sanchez, Welbeck, Campbel, Akpom and injuries to battle with is no crime…

    But calling everyone associated with him stupid still baffles me.

    Against Bayern in the CL, Liverpool in FA Cup and when he came in against Hull in the final, Sanogo showed enough …

  111. rico says:

    I’ll be very happy if one day I have to eat a bit of humble pie re Sanogo, but until then, he’s in the right place imo…

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