Afternoon all.
Does it really matter that Aston Villa beat Arsenal in a behind closed doors preseason friendly? Of course not. Friendly fixtures are nothing more than minutes on the pitch, experiment time for Mikel Arteta, a time to give every player available a run out. Also, it’s another chance to see fringe players, perhaps even to make a final decision on where their immediate future should be. Does Eddie need a loan, ESR, Nelson and Willock too or will they stay and play a part in Arsenal’s season, albeit a bit part perhaps. It’s a shame really that Eddie is away with England because despite scoring goals for his country, it’s for his club he needs to find form. I’m convinced he will if given the right service. He could be one of those players who once he gets one, many more will follow. He’s young, he must feel the nerves when competing with Auba for goals.
Mesut Ozil played against Aston Villa. No idea how or what his body language was like but the big question now is, was his selection an olive branch offered by Mikel Arteta, or a test of his character. Is our number 10 ready to pull his weight for one last season or will his Arsenal career continue to fade into what will be a disaster signing from beginning to end. Yes, there have been moments of magic, most notably when he and Alexis were in the same team, but otherwise, he’s been disappointing.
Not every player signing a club makes will be a success. It matters not how much homework is done, nothing can prepare a manager for a player who simply can’t be bothered. The error with Mesut was not signing him, but extending his contract. But that’s been chewed over so many times before today. The club have moved on and away from such stupidity now. At least it seems that way. But it’s worth remembering that whilst criticising the owners for their lack of financial input, the amount of money the club ha# lost over the years by dishing out new contracts to underperforming players and allowing players to run their contracts down. Selling players too cheaply.
Handing out big salaries has been another achilles heel because when it comes to selling players, there aren’t many clubs who are prepared to offer them a similar salary and we know that for a lot of footballers, it’s all about money so they stay put, enjoy an easy life and then leave for nothing.
| Contract option |
Age & market value |
|
|
Jun 18, 1989 (31) |
 |
30.06.2021 |
– |
£50.40m |
|
|
Aug 7, 1996 (24) |
 |
30.06.2021 |
– |
£28.80m |
|
|
Apr 17, 1992 (28) |
 |
30.06.2021 |
– |
£13.50m |
|
|
Oct 15, 1988 (31) |
|
30.06.2021 |
– |
£10.80m |
|
|
Jun 9, 1988 (32) |
 |
30.06.2021 |
– |
£7.20m |
|
|
Apr 22, 1987 (33) |
 |
30.06.2021 |
– |
£7.20m |
|
|
Sep 9, 1994 (25) |
 |
30.06.2021 |
– |
£225Th |
Apart from Aubameyang, I doubt many Arsenal fans will concern themselves with what the future brings for the above players who are out of contract next summer. Ceballos is in the table but of course, his is loan deal. Another good season and perhaps Arsenal will be able to make the deal permanent. The rest I’d imagine will go next summer, if not before. However, the following summer is in my opinion, what the Arsenal board should be looking at now and I’m sure they are.
I think Elneny is worth more than the £4.5 million transfer market value him at. Martinez £7.2 million valuation does not reflect the performances he’s put in. He’s a £50 million keeper in my opinion. No, I’m not bonkers, compare him to Kepa and de Gea, or Allison and Ederson. Are either of those four better than our very own Argentinian? I don’t think so. Chambers might be injured but if English defenders like James are considered to be worth £30 million, isn’t Chambers worth more than £13 million? He’s younger for a start.
For Martinez, Eddie and probably Chambers too, their value is for Arsenal and I think all three will be offered a new contract. All three being homegrown is important. Even from the underestimated valuations transfer market have for Lacazette and Guendouzi added to the petulant behaviour of the latter on show this last season, it’s easy to see why both Frenchman are linked to a move during this transfer window. Selling both would raise enough money for Arsenal to go for Partey, Aouar or another transfer target Edu and Arteta have in mind.
The financial books will have to be balanced at some stage but as Kolasinac and Sokratis appear to be heading away from the club, our wage bill will at least be reduced and I’m sure that more will follow as the days and the next 3-4 weeks pass by. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Ozil was one of them.
I’d imagine this week will be a busy one as players want to be moved and settled ahead of a new season. Ours kick off in just six days time. Atletico though don’t kick their domestic season for a while yet so they’ve plenty of time to find a replacement for Partey. lol
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday guys…
Sorry Rico this isn’t on subject but I didn’t want Scott to miss this when he wakes up.
England beat Australia with seven balls to spare by six wickets. Two nil in a three match series.
Butler 77 not out.
Ha ha Cicero, I’ve just watched it. Excellent opening partnership and finished off nicely by one of them.
Cicero, thank you for the update 😉
T20 games?
What’s a game for Xhaka!
Twenty Twenty Scott. Crash Bang Wallop Cricket. 😉
I say, is this actually Mondays post already and it’s slipped out a bit early, you’re taking your eye off of the ball Rico…
I know that the burning question is Aubameyang and him re-signing but what do we do about Mustafi as he’ll only be 29 next April, do we try to sell him in January or give him a new contract? I doubt that we can sell him during this window, but he’s gotta be worth £15m at least and to let him walk for nothing after Arteta has got him playing to a decent level after two years of dross would seem careless.
Before any player goes out on loan they should be signed to a new contract, this way we stand a better chance of making money if they are subsequently sold.
With Martinelli still on the injury list we need to keep Nketiah at the club as Aubameyang has still not renewed his contract and Lacazette could also be on his way.
C’mon Auba, sign da ting!
Could you tell Kev? Lol
It said good morning at first..
Mustafi staying/going depends on who
Leaves I guess. If Sokratis and Holding go, mustafi will be needed I’d imagine.
Hi Rico and all As I said before I don’t care about practice matches they are only for trying different things out as for Ozil I think Arteta is giving him a second chance now we have a few new young fast players, hopefully he has that hunger back
We are in that water treading time , things are going on in the background , we hope , but just waiting for the Fulham match to get started.
As some one that is not normally into stat’s I noticed an article about Xhaka which showed the following. during 2019/2020 Based on 45 minutes per match. ( don’t no why )
With Xhaka = played 29 – won 13 – drawn 12 – lost 4 – win rate 44.8% lost rate 13.8%
Wth out Xhaka = played 9 – won 1 – drawn 2 – lost 6 – win rate 11.1% lost rate 66.7%
If stats alone were to go buy I wonder how many Arsenal fans that called for Xhaka to be sold now have a different opinion.
Geoff, I was saying this months ago mate.
Similarly, look at the win/loss ratio when Arteta was playing for us.
Plenty criticised him, yet the fact is we were much better when he played.
Wilshere, however, was the opposite.
Arsenal fans loved him, me included, but results were better when he didn’t play than when he did.
One for the diary!…………………..
The Women’s FA Cup quarter-final between north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will be broadcast live on BBC Two and the BBC iPlayer.
The match will be played on Saturday, 26 September, kick-off at 17:15 BST.
Like I said Scott I’m not normally into stats, I like to judge a player or coach by what I see live or on tv The problem I have with stats is it does not show what any player did off the ball to shut down his opponent.
That’s it Geoff, and while some stats can be misleading, the win/loss ratios is exactly what counts in football.
Aside from the “facts” of stats, win/loss ratios are also affected by the number of “Luiz” type incidents i.e. commit a stupid and needless foul, give away a penalty and get sent off for doing so. I rather suspect that if we could have cut out that type of foul, last season, we may well have achieved Champions League football for this season.
Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood have been kicked out of the England camp after breaking coronavirus quarantine guidelines in Iceland. Is their behaviour due to arrogance, ignorance or just plain stupidity? It’s hard to rule out the last option.
Cicero yes red cards can hurt but you have to look into the cards was it a bad decision by the ref, team mates not helping or plain stupid tackle but missing simple goals does a lot more damage.
Lets hope this year we can fix both issues.
Geoff the inquest after the event is a pointless exercise other than to highlight the fault in the first place. How many times do we read that the authorities, not just in sport but throughout the wider World, “need to take note of the lessons to be learned”? The trouble is that however much they “learn” the same mistakes are made time after time.
It’s hard to rule out all three Cicero.
Agree Potter, hopefully things will pick up once the league starts up. I’m sure it will should we lose to Fulham. Sad, but true.
Personally, I don’t think a teams performance can be judged on whether one player plays or not. Different circumstances, different opposition, different officials and different kick off time and location.
It’s like saying we play better when Xhaka plays but it’s not just about him, it’s about who plays in the same team as him.
Rumour from The Athletic…………………… Aston Villa have tabled a bid close to £20 million for Arsenal goalkeeper Emi Martinez.
Counter offer…………………………£19,999,999.99p plus Grealish !
LC, that’s an inflated evaluation of Grealish 🙂
What, where’s Tuesday post?
It will be a shame if Martinez leaves but you can not blame him he deserves his chance as a number one keeper. Unfortunately he is starting to peak at the same time as Leno
As much as I think Leno is a superb keeper and being a little bit forgotten, he’d be the more commercial sale for us and to be fair, more likely to have his head turned by a large club.
Keep Martínez at all costs, imo, and if one does have to go, sell Leno.
Why can’t we keep them both though?
Plenty of games.
Scott I suggested that we try to keep both and play Leno for Home matches and Martinez for away matches for the first half and swap them around for the second half so both player get to play at home in front of the home crowed and this way both players not only get game time but it keeps them match ready but it seems most fans only want one keeper for all matches and it sounds like Arteta prefers Leno
New post up now
Cheeky Kev. 😆