Morning all.
I didn’t watch the match between Arsenal and Man Utd this morning so I’ve stolen a few bits from Arsenal.com.
Mikel Arteta added a bit more experience into his side to the one which played Bournemouth with Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus to the starting eleven. , Ethan Nwaneri and Ayden Heaven kept their place.
Nine minutes in and we were a goal down. Hojlund who got the better of Heaven before firing one through the legs of Karl Hein. The same player nearly doubled Utd’s lead but his shot was too high. The Dane tweaked a hamstring in the process and off he went. Utd’s new signing Leny Yoro went off injured too.
Just before the half-hour mark, Gabriel Jesus made it 1-1 with Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri involved in the buildup, the latter providing the assist. Hein saved a Mount shot to ensure it was honours even at the break.
After tea and stickies, Trossard came close to making it 2-1 but Onana somehow got his fingertips to the shot which looked destined for the top corner.
Gabriel, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli made their return during the second half and apparently, our left winger caused problems from the moment he stepped onto the pitch. With ten minutes left in the game, it was he who grabbed the winner.
After picking up possession on the touchline, he sped towards the box, beat James Scanlon all ends up and then drilled the ball through Will Fish’s legs to find the net and send the largely Arsenal crowd home happy.
United did get the ball in the net in stoppage-time when Jonny Evans headed in, however a couple of attackers bundled into Hein in the process and the goal was rightly chalked off.
A ‘let’s practice our penalties’ shootout took place with Utd pipping us 5-4.
Mikel Arteta spoke afterwards about the two Arsenal youngsters:
Ayden Heaven:
Very impressive. At 17, I don’t know how many players are able to do that on a stage like this. He’s lost a duel against one of the strongest and fastest players in the world, it can happen, but the reaction afterwards, the composure, the quality, the body language that he had were all remarkable. I’m really happy with him.
Ethan Nwaneri:
It’s always in the hands of the players, so show what you can do. Show that ambition, that determination, that quality and things will happen naturally. Tomorrow he’s going to train with us again and if he continues to play like that he’s going to play some minutes on Wednesday for sure.
I hope both continue to get minutes in all the remaining pre-season fixtures.
Gabriel Jesus, who Mikel Arteta has been extremely positive about this summer, also spoke after the game about himself:
My last pre-season was not good because I was feeling my knee, so I had to have surgery and missed all of the pre-season. So, I was trying to force it during that pre-season, but at the end I couldn’t and had surgery. That was a little bit difficult after to come back, but this season is different. I could enjoy my holidays and then I trained a lot, and I was focused to come back well and do a good pre-season. Now I’m in different shape and can play football again.
That explains his under par performances last season. For he and Arsenal, I hope this coming season is so much better. Regardless of what you and I may or may not think of him, when he’s at his best, he’s a very good player. Especially if he concentrates on staying on his feet more than trying to con the officials with his theatrics.
According to Fabrizio Romano, and photographs of the player on board a flight would support his report, Riccardo Calafiori jetted into London yesterday where he’ll undergo his Arsenal medical. If true, I suspect confirmation of him becoming an Arsenal player will come tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Emile Smith Rowe is expected to become a Fulham player very soon.
Have a good Sunday guys….
Nice post Rico, all the youngsters involved did well, but it’s notable that Ayden and Ethan both kept their places even though senior players were available. For a manager constantly castigated for not promoting the youth I think that Arteta has fully put those ill-informed opinions to bed. If the youngsters have the quality then they will get a chance.
Thanks Kev.
I’m still not convinced. There’s a difference between minutes in pre season and during a season. Gabriel has literally just returned so probably needs a few training sessions after his break.
I hope Heaven stays around long enough for us to see how he plays.
Calafiori will fly to USA to join up with Arsenal squad
Latest from Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth:
Riccardo Calafiori will fly to the USA this afternoon to join up with the Arsenal squad on their pre-season tour.
The Italy international arrived in London yesterday to have a medical ahead of his £42.3m move from Bologna.
Good afternoon Rico and all.
Good post Lady
as Kev pointed out….Nwaneri and Heaven kept their place. And as you pointed out you are not yet convinced. PErsonally I feel that both should be kept and they should train solely with the first team. Heaven has all the qualities of a good CB and he is still young so he can learn. if he can keep the upward trajectory Arsenal and England will have a top CB.
What Arteta said with regards Heaven may be taken with two options….either he is bigging him up so he can be sold and fetch good money OR he really means it and wants him to stay. Our defence will be settled for the next two years…..White, Saliba, Magalhaes, Calafiori and the 2nd defence…Timber, Heaven, Kiwior and Tomiyasu. I hope that Heaven is kept and Kiwior stays. And I also hope that ARteta has faith in them and plays them not only in cups but also in the EPL and also in certain CL matches.
Nwaneri did well again. he reminds me of Cesc breaking through. He is very intelligent and he wasn’t fazed by the opposition in both games.
ETH keeps complaining. That means he hasnt changed, his team hasnt changed and we have beaten him again. I hope he keeps complaining everytime we play them. it means we are winning and doing our jobs well.
Afternoon Devil, thanks.
Only time will tell I guess but Arteta did suggest more minutes for all the players is on his agenda although I’m sure he something similar last summer.
I’ve not seen the games so no view on either on our youngsters.
Apparently Nottm Forest want to take Ramsdale on loan, without an obligation.
Aaron needs to play so as to remind folks how good he actually is and given his long contract I’d be comfortable with a loan – as long as we get a decent loan fee and Forest pick up all this wages.
At the moment we don’t have someone to replace him though. Someone as good as Ramsdale won’t come cheaply.
West Ham have submitted a £15m bid to sign Reiss Nelson to try and get ahead of Leicester City in the race, according to the Mirror. It seems that Arsenal are asking for upfront cash than a loan-to-buy deal as they look to balance the books.
Medical done for Riccardo Calafiori and will fly to the US together with his agents this afternoon to join up with the Arsenal squad on their pre-season tour ahead of his move from Bologna.
Calafiori will sign five year deal as new Arsenal player in the US
Meanwhile, Arsenal are prepared to advance in talks with Mikel Merino’s camp next week, after positive contacts. He’s not the only name on list but well positioned; price tag requested by Real Sociedad will be key. Arteta appreciates him; as soon as ESR leaves, Arsenal can proceed.
I think £15m is on the cheap side, Reiss Nelson’s performances in preseason makes me think he’s more in the £18 to £20m range.
I agree with you Kev. However, I think that we would have easily got 20M had Arteta played him more.
Kev,
I was liking the Ramsdale loan idea because I’m sure he will play well and increase his value, but now as I think it through, it’s too tricky. We will need to replace him with a solid number 2 while he’s on loan, like the guy in Spain… then, when time comes for Aaron to return to us, everyone will know we have 3 good keepers and play games with low ball offers and loan with options.
Aaron has to stay (or go for a price that allows us to replace him well,) because we’re challenging for a title and can’t loan out a great 2nd choice and downgrade our backup. Our whole season could crash with a Raya injury.
Too bad if he doesn’t like it (or his dad)…
He’s well compensated. We plucked him from obscurity, made him better, and he’d be nowhere near the England team if it weren’t for Arteta and Cana. Tough life he has.
Honestly, he really could excel and go for 2 cups this season alone. FA and Carabao With the squad depth and quality we have, he has a shot at both. I don’t feel too sorry for him.
Nigel, if Raya gets injured we’re buggered anyway, It doesn’t really matter who our No.2 is because our level will drop and we’ll end up 2nd or 3rd, Raya is that critical to our game.
I’d loan out Aaron and that’ll increase his value as he’s going to leave eventually anyway and by loaning him we’ll maximise that value.
We could sign a No.2 on loan, that way we’re not committed to signing him, there’s gotta be plenty of decent goalkeepers out there who we can get as cover and who can perform in the cups.
I am happy for Ramsdale to be loaned out, the chances of a keeper being hurt and missing several matches is low, and we have to show faith in the new keeper and the other under 21 keepers we have, Ramsdale loan would be a win for all.
(1) if he fails, then so be it.
(2) if he excells then we have 2 options (1) we bring him back (2) We can possible sell him for more.
(3) it gives him the game time he needs.
I have not seen any of the pracrice matches however as for the young players doing well in America, we either keep them in the under 21 side or we loan them out for 12 months to get better experienced as not matter what Arteta say’s I cant see him playing them much this season.
Good to read that Josh Kroenke is against playing the main season over seas
Can’t agree Kev. Too much at stake with a CL and PL chase. We really cant afford to have a question mark as second keeper. Must be Ramsdale or someone our scouts and Arteta, and our keeping coach, really rate. Can’t do that without a fair sale of Rambo.
We’ve been perfecting this squad for 4 years, spent loads on players. We can’t downgrade in a critical position because Ramsdale isn’t in football Nirvana. He should shut up and try to get us to cup finals, where he’ll be playing with our best 11 again.
People often say Arteta should be ruthless. In this case, I say definitely yes.
I wish I had Aaron Ramsdales life problems.
Harsh Nigel. Ramsdale has said nothing negative about the club etc, in fact he’s always been the total opposite. Yes, he said he didn’t like not playing football last season but I’d be more concerned if he said he was happy with the situation and was glad to be well paid etc.
Imo, he’s done absolutely nothing wrong, certainly nothing which warrants a scathing opinion of him.
Morning Rico, I agree with you re Ramsdale but the whole keeper situation is a mess .Ramsdale is on £120K a week basis and that is a stumbling block.I hear Forest want him for a years loan but that surely isn’t the answer .
Arteta won’t keep both of them and I think this could be a critical mess , even if we buy the Wolves keeper for next to nothing .
The main problem that I see is that average to good players who don’t get regular game time are hard to shift at a price as their wags are far too high.
Morning Kelsey, I agree re the goalkeeping situation. We seem to get through so many.
Whatever happens with Ramsdale though, he played a big part in our journey to where we are today and without the quality ahead of him which Raya enjoyed last season.
The Ramsdale situation could well be the Albatross that hangs around the neck of the Arteta / Cana combination. It reeks of danger whichever way it goes . Ramsdale goes and gets his form back and becomes England’s number one and criticism that will follow . Or he stays and eventually starts kicking off because they have a blank spot about him . Even if they start him in the prelim rounds , should we progress and they bring their favourite back for the later ones there could be a fans rebellion.
They will have to tread very carefully with this one .
There isn’t a cloud in the sky, but fortunately there’s a nice breeze at London City Airport.
I hope that Aaron Ramsdale gets his move whether permanently or more likely on loan, it could have similarities with Dean Henderson and how Man United loaned him out on a regular basis, no doubt earning a nice loan fee into the bargain.
It’s a similar scenario to Smith Rowe, we don’t want them to leave but they have to play and the odd game in the League Cup just isn’t enough.
Having seen the shambolic way Chelsea lost recently to Celtic you have to wonder why they haven’t been on the phone to Edu again?
I wonder how true the West Ham rumour regarding a bid for Nelson is?
£15m is a good place to start, now let’s see if Leicester are going to firm up their interest?
Out of interest Kev , what approx would the cost of a black cab from Manor House to say Backstock road / Gillespie road be , It’s all about car parking and walking difficulties .
Seems as if a lot of deals could go to the wire this summer with PSR stifling the traditional Premier League jamboree leaving the rest of the European leagues seemingly skint. I mean £55m for Raphina, are you serious Barcelona?!
Depending on traffic, which on match days is usually heavy despite the option of bus lanes and where in Blackstock Road you want, you know Finsbury Park or Highbury Barn, it’ll be between £12 and £20 I reckon, but the tube from Manor House to Arsenal should be cheaper.
The thing with a cab is you get into it with a figure in your mind and depending on how far you get, you can bail when you’ve hit the mark.
Personally I go to Highbury & Islington and have a stroll down Holloway Road, which is what I’ll be doing on 11th August when we play Lyon.
I don’t bother driving to Arsenal anymore, it’s just too problematic, all the little street I used to use to escape the traffic, particularly between Englefield Road and New North Road are closed to cars, so you either wait until most of the crowd have gone or you leave early, even then it’s pandemonium getting beyond Dalston and Mare St.
So now when I go, I get the train to Stratford, the North London line to Highbury and Islington and just take my time strolling to the ground via a stop off for a couple of pints+
Very civilised…
Ramsdale could very well turn out to be Martinez take two…
No pie Kev? 😜
Potter, drive down the M 11 join the M 25 for junction or two and head for Cockfosters station car park leave the car there and get the tube to Arsenal station and Robert is your father’s brother. Simples!
Done that last couple of times the car park was full , Reckon We will have to start going the night before.
Good afternoon everyone.
nice post Rico. Ermmm….I told you that yesterday but tbh I really did enjoy re-reading it again today. hehe
With regards Ramsdale…..why dont we do as Internazionale do….that is, make players sign 5 year contracts and then loan them for a season to another club. Ramsdale has a long contract no?? so he has a choice….either sign a 5 year contract this summer and loan him for a year (he is still 24) OR unless someone stumps up a 35-40 million for him he will have to just sit it out on the bench. (I love Rambo very much and hate the idea of him as number 2, personally I prefer him over Raya, but I am not the manager so dont have any say). Inter always ask for 5 million Euros for a season long loan especially if he is an international. We could do the same with ESR and maybe Nketiah. Imagine them being loaned out and Arsenal getting 15 million from their loan with the clubs having to pay their whole salary for that year.
Obviously in this scenario the same does not apply if, lets say we loaned out Nwaneri or Heaven. The fee would be a lot less since they are youngsters and Arsenal might well agree to pay their weekly salary provided that the club to which they go must agree on the players getting at least 25 games throughout the season.
Inter do exactly that.
Kev you do well to take the train or bus to go to matches. sometimes the traffic is unbearable especially if you struggle with finding parking. For me that is not a problem…..if I had the same luck in lottery as I have in finding parking spaces I would be filthy rich. That is what my family keep telling me. anywhere I go I am blessed with parking spaces even in rush hour, or whatever reason it is. I just wish that for about 5 years my luck changes from parking to lottery every week. But I agree with how you do it. and mentally you will relax mate.
You might get to read it again tomorrow Devil. 😂
That is ok Lady. I dont mind. simply because I always go to your post first thing before NN and anything else. Then see the comments that everyone contributes. With you I am certain that its not clickbait posts. you say it how you see it. On NN and other sites you just dont know if its try, if its a figment of someone’s imagination or pure lies/hatred/bias against Arsenal.
Even when I was occupied by Pa and was at my wits end I always saw your posts first even though I was not contributing anything.
Must be honest Devil, I swerve NN because it’s not what it used to be. I certainly don’t click on any of the headlines.
The Athletic and Sky Sports for me or The Daily Cannon as they usually do a round up of all the gossip out there.. JeorgeBird too for youth news.
Nelson will be a steal for West Ham or many other premier clubs. I also thought west ham could really use Nketiah, but they never went for him, instead wasting their money trying foreign players like Scamacca.
Rico,
You’re correct about me being harsh on Ramsdale. It’s where we are as a club.
He did something stupid in cleaning out his locker at the end of last season, which he shouldn’t have.
He should make sure that he and his agent have a serious club interested with a tangible offer before acting that way. Otherwise, he’s actually making it harder to sell him.
Clubs are absolutely waiting to see if he starts making waves, so they can get him cheaper.
He was PFA keeper of the season before last, and in the England squad.
Edu needs to be firm.
People will come to a blog and complain that Arsenal don’t sell well, or that we’re a soft touch.,, but at the same time shed tears for Ramsdale when we’re trying to do proper business and compete for league and CL at the same time.
Did he Nigel or is that just media talk? First time I’ve heard about it.
Whatever, he’s been very good for Arsenal during a difficult spell, and as said earlier, I’m sure he’d have benefited a lot more from having the other ten which Raya has had.
No one is crying, but no one else seems to feel the need berate a player who has given so much in a short space of time either.
“ People will come to a blog and complain that Arsenal don’t sell well, or that we’re a soft touch but at the same time shed tears for Ramsdale when we’re trying to do proper business and compete for league and CL at the same time.“
Totally disagree, especially as our exits so far have been loans. We are bad at selling players imo.
Fulham and Arsenal reach ‘agreement in principle’ for Smith Rowe
Latest from Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth and Lyall Thomas:
Fulham have an agreement in principle with Arsenal for the signing of Emile Smith Rowe.
The deal – a club-record for Fulham – will see them pay an initial £27m, plus add-ons that could take the total to £34m.
Final details are being sorted between the clubs, but personal terms have also been agreed in principle.
Smith Rowe is expected to have a medical this week.
The Fulham squad fly to Portugal for a pre-season training camp tomorrow.
It is hoped Smith Rowe will join up with them at some point during the camp.
Afternoon rico, all. Calafiori signed and met new team mates. Apparently poor guy broke every ligament in his left knee as a 16 year old. Here’s hoping to an injury free and long Arsenal career!
Afternoon Andrew, didn’t see his signing coming. 😜
Yep, let’s hope injuries are history for him…
Well that’s it ESR gone , to say I am gutted doesn’t sum it up and at the price we’ve had our pants down . I hope the add ons are based on appearances with ba sell on clause because as much as I like Fulham they ain’t about to win anything.
Still from Emile’s point I hope he has a really good few years and enjoys his football , he was a player that I rated as different but as good as Saka when he first came through . I just hope that Odegaard doesn’t get crocked as it seems like in that event we will have to rely on Vieira.
Another one of my favourite Hale-Enders gone. Very gutted about it. I had the same feeling when Willock left although ESR is vastly superior. I know that Iwobi, Willock and ESR got us good money however I would have preferred them to be as good as Saka and remained at the club
Nketiah next and Nelson as well 😞😞😞
And tbh….I also wanted Martinez to stay.
What exactly has Ramsdale done for Arsenal, except perform his job? He was an upgrade on Leno. We paid for that.
He clearly didn’t do all the things Arteta wanted to see, so he was improved upon for the good of team. We can’t have sad backups dictating our transfer policy.
It’s a fact from a good journalistic source that he cleaned out his locker, and that’s not normal for a player who’s still in our squad. The club noticed.
I don’t like any players that try to slyly force their desire upon the club with any behaviour public or private.
I hated Baloguns stupid social media posts, and Arteta froze him out for it.
We made Ramsdale somebody by buying him for a substantial fee. He might be in a lower division now if not for Arsenal. He’d also be earning 80% less probably, and definitely not in the England squad.
Edu needs to do what’s best for the club, not Ramsdale.
And I like Rambo. This is simply football business.
We made Ramsdale, he didn’t make Arsenal. He did his job well though.
Well said Potter.
I’m saddened by his departure but wish him all the very best as he goes…
According to El Mundo deportivo the Merino transfer is further complicated by once again clauses in his contract that mean a percentage of the fee is owed to Oviedo and in turn if he goes abroad again then Oviedo have to pass on a fee to the club that they bought him from.
Seems that EDU has another complication on his hands . Off to read Sport and AS to get their takes on it.
That’s just opinion Nigel, equally, some other club might have snapped him up but we’ll never know now as he joined Arsenal. Journalist and reliable source don’t usually go together so unless it’s factual, it’s just rumour.
Balogun? How do you know Arteta froze him out because of social media stuff? Fact or just your opinion? Theres a big difference.
Fact or opinion, probably neither, fake news more likely.
Considering all the injuries he’s had over the last two years and how little football he’s played due to those injuries I reckon we’ve got a very good price for Emile. I read a lot of bloggers opining awhile back that we’d be lucky to get £20m, maybe £25m at a push – so I reckon £34m isn’t a bad fee at all. Fulham are paying for potential because we all know how good he can be, but is he going to be another Rocky Rocastle with his body letting him down?
Btw, is it me but has anyone else noticed that he looks a bit chubby around his mush?
Fabio Vieira will be next, probably next summer. Nwaneri will eat up the minutes that Vieira might have expected in midfield because it seems that Arteta sees Vieira as cover for Saka!
testing my comments gone missing
Just repeating as my first one went missing.
Now that Calafiori has officially signed, hopefully we will not have to listen to the broken record that he is all set to sign.
Now to concentrate on selling or loaning players out and maybe bring one more in.
Then, sack the person who brought the away shirts and return them to the pizza shop they brought them from.
It’s official, it’s on arsenal.com, Calafiori is an Arsenal player, squad number 33.
It’s probably in moderation Geoff, you keep changing your name.
It was for exactly that reason Cicero..
New post up.