Morning all.
The England women plonked themselves into the history books last night by being the first international team to score eight goals in a Euros competition. A dodgy penalty started the 8-0 rout of Norway, which included a hat-trick from Arsenal’s Beth Mead. The victory means England are through to the quarter-finals as Group A winners. Defensively, Norway were at times all over the place but that’s not to take anything away from the way England played. So much better than the huff and puff performance in the opening match.
Poor old Northern Ireland though. They’re out of the tournament having been beaten by Austria.
Back at Arsenal, those returning to training after playing international fixtures last month were put through their paces in the gym yesterday.
Per Mertesacker has been talking to the media about the future of a few of our players:
On Nicolas Pepe:
I saw throughout the three weeks that I was coaching the first team that he has major potential. Hopefully we can see that at Arsenal.
On Reiss Nelson and AMN:
To see them in the leagues of Europe – they went to Holland and Italy – it was a fantastic experience for them. Hopefully they’ll see the benefit of it, whether that is here with us or whether they need to go somewhere else, that is obviously the decision of Edu and Mikel Arteta.
I think all three will be gone by the time this transfer window closes. AMN’s loan at Roma was little short of a disaster but Nelson, after a tough start, finished the season well and was unlucky not to be a Europa Conference League winner. Them’s the breaks though. Lol
Nicolas Pepe, talented no doubt but used sparingly by Mikel Arteta which suggests he’s not in the long term plans of the Spaniard. The only surprise to me is that there isn’t a host of clubs showing more interest in signing him. Just because his move to Arsenal hasn’t really worked, it doesn’t mean he’s not a very good footballer, it just means that he needs to be elsewhere in order to thrive. He’s not the first and I’m sure he won’t be the last player to make a move which didn’t quite work out.
The Daily Mail have suggested Arsenal have made contact with Lyon midfielder Lucas Paqueta. The 24-year-old Brazilian was as they put it “the standout performer for the French club last season”, scoring 11 goals and registering seven assists in 43 matches across all competitions. €80 million is the price quoted to secure the player. Newcastle want him too apparently but Arsenal have the Brazilian upper hand. Lol
As good as he might be, I’ve no idea by the way, if there’s money to spend, I’d much rather see other areas of the squad be bolstered long before another creative/attacking midfielder is signed. I think we have more than enough attacking midfielders. Plus we have Charlie Patino coming through as well as Omari Hutchinson. Both I hope will feature in the domestic cups this coming season.
Ismael Bennacer is linked with a return to Arsenal. It seems like it was years ago when he was on Arsenal’s books yet he only left in 2017 and he’s still just 24 years old. He certainly fits the profile of this current Arsenal. As does Amadou Onana, albeit a lot taller than any other player the Edu/Arteta combo has signed. West Ham are reported to have had a second bid rejected so perhaps he’s waiting for Arsenal to come in for him. Lol
How good would it be to see a 6’ 5” player attacking our set-pieces and defending the oppositions?
Yes, I’m obsessed with height….
See you in the comments.
Regarding our potential outgoings the vultures will show themselves closer to the end of the window as they will likely get their desired player at an even lower price as they know arsenal will be more desperate to sell.
Possible vultures: AC Milan, Juventus, Marseille, Lyon, Valencia, Villarreal, Everton, Leeds.
Replying to comment from the previous thread, as I wasn’t aware of the new post.
I wasn’t blaming everything on Arteta and Edu, Rico.
Arsenal had the tradition of buying high and selling low well before Arteta was even playing here… But his appointment didn’t help turn things around either.
Yes, Ramsey, Alexis are not on Edu or Arteta, and we are probably better off without Welbeck and Lacazette taking their final year into consideration. But I see some of Mikel’s responsibility in Lacazette’s abysmal season, especially after he was the BEST forward in the league from shot conversion perspective only a year ago.
However the rest of the players mentioned apply. We had some suitors for Sokratis, but instead of selling him for a reasonable fee (I remember 5M but could find this post on 3.5M https://arseblog.news/2020/09/napoli-confirm-interest-in-sokratis/) or even for free Arteta kept him with the team losing further 2.5M on wages and then terminated his contract and possibly paid his remaining wages without him playing 2 games.
We don’t know what is happening in the dressing room and behind doors, so everything is up to interpretation. All we have are the facts, and some pundit perceptions circulating. Here are my arguments on the ego topic, feel free to dispute or challenge them:
– Guendouzi. It probably doesn’t need further explanation, but to be on the safe side, the lad made some teenage mistakes, some hotheaded decisions and despite promising performances on loan forced him to be sold for a ridiculous transfer fee. I think guiding, coaching young players is an inherent part of the managers, and giving a second chance to starlets (independent from their potential, but definitely to a player who is successfully competing with Rabiot, Camavinga and Kante for CM/DM places for France) is not a weakness but would be a show of strength.
– There is an unconfirmed yet popular rumor of Mikel wanting to get rid of Sokratis, Guendouzi, Mavropanos (done already), Pepe, Leno and Torreira (in coming weeks) maybe even Saliba, because they were all Emery players, Emery signings. If this is true (which I seriously hope it isn’t), I doubt that you, Rico – or anybody else for that matter – could explain it without using words like ego or incompetence.
– Saliba could be a separate bullet point here as he was not loaned out on multiple occasions as he was thrown into too deep water hence proven a defensive liability, but he was in fact never tried for a single minute despite of the hype around him, the hefty price Arsenal paid for him and the fact that he was already playing for the French Olympic team.
– Every managers have their fallouts with players, sometimes even with accomplished stars. But in just 2 years Arteta had conflicts with quite an illustrious list of Özil, Guendouzi, Pepe, AMN, Willian, Saliba and Aubameyang.
While ego could be an interpretation as stated above, the excuse that “he just wants the club to be successful and all decisions made are probably in the best interest of” the club could be applied to anybody. I’m sure Mourinho, Ferguson or Hoddle only wanted their clubs to be successful, but that doesn’t contradict them having huge egos.
And coming to the last topic: what could Arteta do about Aubameyang once the player disrespected the club with his actions?
First, I am not aware of significant disrespect to the club. As far as I know “The club captain was punished by his manager Mikel Arteta after being late for a team meeting on the morning of the game, and Parlour says the manager was right to act in the manner that he did.” Yes, being late for a meeting is uncool or arriving late from a family visit, but neither of them says they are bigger than the club. If PEA was late, that didn’t disrespect me at all. Not because I like him, but because it is a jerkwater story. These happen everywhere and there are proper tools for punishment: a week salary, not being considered for selection, training with the U23 team… there are plenty. Being stripped of the captain’s armband might seem a bit overkill, but let’s say it wasn’t his first breach. But terminating the contract of the clubs best player, paying 22M in compensation so he can continue his goal scoring frenzy at Barcelona is the opposite of good management. There are players with bigger ago managed far better: Ibrahimovis, Ronaldo, Neymar – just to name a few. They are all coached properly and kept producing top performances… Mourinho, Santo, Conte made the best out of Kane, while he was communicating that he wanted to leave. That could be perceived as a disrespect to the club, not being late for a meeting…
What could have Arteta done differently?
– renew Auba’s contract back in 2020 so he would be more sensitive to the disciplinary issues (and maybe give him performance-based incentives to avoid making 350k a week independent from playing well or playing at all)
– coaching him properly, keeping his form at the top
– discussing differences in a professional manner
– give him another chance if/after some serious punishment became inevitable
By the way, I am not “extremely critical and hostile” towards Arteta, just simply – OK: consistently – critical. (Not even towards Edu, as I don’t know what were his decisions or doings.) I am well aware of Mikel’s strengths – young player development, team unity, great transfers like Odegaard and Jesus, good results against tier 2 teams, etc. – I just don’t mention them as they are constantly repeated all the time. And I have not advocated him to be sacked either, just trying to balance the picture with arguments and data.
Rico , we should not ignore the fact that size is important , since Giroud left our free kick and corner defence has been weak at the near post. Having a 6 foot plus player there means that the ball has to be lifted and that gives the keeper an advantage. We have improved with what we have but it could be even better with a tall player there.
I think Pepe will stay and Nelson will go , this I feel will be a financial decision rather than an ability one . The club just cannot afford to be seen to burn more money and will try to save face.
Maitland Niles will go too he is a sort of Jack of all trades and as he has never mastered any one of them will be found to be surplus to requirement .
There will still be a couple of twists and turns before the new season starts , I am sure that you will keep us posted.
I expect you’ll be right Harry.
I can’t cope with long comments Pbarany but by turning up late, it’s disrespectful to the club, the manager and the players. Especially as he was captain.
I agree though Potter. We need height and strength. Players who’ll stand up against the teams with bigger players. As Kev pointed out, Liverpool and City have gone done the big striker route as well as having Salah. Technical players are all well and good but what about the graft, the guys who’ll stand up when teams are bullying us. We lack presence both up front and in defence imo. Hopefully Saliba will solve one, but the other? Mmmm
Hi Rico
Beth Mead seems quite some player the few times I have seen her.
I agree I can’t see a future for those 3 players. Mainsley seems to have all the ability, but lacks application. We’ve had plenty of that type of player over the years. It usually ends badly. I hope he doesn’t waste his talent.
@Pb reading your sermon you clearly don’t like Arteta. That’s fine.
Stick his picture on a dartboard and throw a few arrows at it. It might release some tension…
Hi Pete, yep, Mead is quite a player.
We moan about the club selling players for cheap or free but how many who’ve left us have shone since leaving? Ozil has fallen out with another club, Auba has just been Auba, start well and then fade, Mustafi, Kolasinac? I rest my case.
The only sale I didn’t wholeheartedly understand was Martinez.
Are you implying Rico, that players turning up late should have their contract terminated?
Or only if they are club captains?
Potter, I don’t harbor hard feelings against Arteta (well, let’s wait what happens to Saliba, Nelson, ESR, KT and Gabriel), I just honestly think he is extremely overrated and over-appreciated. I fully understand and acknowledge that people confuse being loyal to the club with being loyal to the manager (except from being loyal to the owners, as they are solely responsible for every bad thing happening). Hell I was loyal to Emery when appointed and to Arteta for his first 8-10 months, just had to cope with indicators contradicting the ‘right direction’ narrative without succumbing to cognitive bias…
And I have nothing else but wishing the best of luck and overall success to him – he is managing my club, what else can I do? – but that doesn’t prevent me for criticizing past decisions, or even present ones.
No Pbarany, but added to the fact that his attitude on the pitch was stinking the place out imo, I’m glad he’s gone. Shame it wasn’t sooner imo.
It was Pete who suggested you get a dartboard by the way.
True, my mistake and apologies.
Never said that you did. Criticism is understandable and if it’s merited then I will be at the front of the queue .But it has to be tempered with the thought that none of us know what goes on behind the closed doors of the boardroom . We can only comment on events that are on the surface and clearly obvious.( God that sounds like VAR )
I have been involved in some very difficult negotiations in my time and they twist and turn and frequently not everything is black or white.
At the moment we have overtures being made for Gabriel from various Italian sources mainly led by Juventus and Roma . Juve are trying to prise him away by offering players that are surplus to requirement and they are targetting a positional weakness that they can see in us and they wish to offer Rabiot , Melo and cash to bolster our midfield .
It will be interesting to see what Arteta feels about this especially as Saliba has returned.
Good evening all a brief comment only, it would seem that we are linked to more players than there are in a five pound pack of sausages. Their you Rico, no digital diarrhoea from me. 😉
Just why it’s best to wait until deals are confirmed because then we know. The rest is just media/agent driven codswallop imo.
Phew Cicero.. 😂
West Ham United are in talks with Sassuolo over the signing of striker Gianluca Scamacca. – Sky Sports.
Manchester United trashed Liverpool earlier today in a pre-season friendly (4:0).
However the full picture should include that ten Hag – somewhat understandably – broke with the tradition to use these pre-season friendlies for giving opportunities to youngsters and fringe players and fielded their strongest possible XI (bar Ronaldo) in the first half, and were leading by 3 goals in the 33rd minute, while Liverpool fielded a mixture of experienced, squad and academy players in both halves. So the result might be misleading, the display would put United – even before further reinforcements – a top 4 contender. And Fred’s goal was a joy to watch: a cheeky Bergkampesque chip from outside the box.
It’s a controversial view, but I strongly suspect that Gabriel will soon be winging his way to Juventus. Why? He gets Champions League football and a nailed-on start as Left CB for Juventus.
What does Juve get? Juve has almost no other options to fill the left CB slot. All of the prime candidates are taken. If there is a swap with Arthur, Juve also gets to avoid a capital loss on Arthur (it will be Arthur-Pjanic accounting redux).
What does Arsenal get? It gets a big wad of cash (some de ligt money), it gets Arthur (a build-up maestro game-controller who Arteta clearly appreciates); it moves Tomi to left CB (his Japan position) to save his health (he’s too tall and stringy for full-back. He keeps playing there he will keep breaking down).
We shall see.
P.S. Don’t tell me that Arsenal only wanted to take Arthur on a loan in Jan. Juve did want a loan (with a commitment at the end) so that amortisation would allow it to avoid a capital loss. But, in Jan, the Arsenal board would not allow Arteta to make a financial commitment at the end of a loan. So Juve walked away.
I’m too knackered after a long hot day behind the wheel to read everything written, sorry and all that, but I don’t regret any of the players that have been moved on over the last 3 years, yes initially I was upset about Emi Martinez but not any more. Guendouzi was a complete arsehole and we’re well rid of him, Ozil has shown his face again in Turkey, he’s a lazy tosser and even his early years at Arsenal are sullied by how he’s behaved over the last couple of seasons.
As for the others we’ve got shot of, too many to name, well yes I’m disappointed that we didn’t get anything when we had the chances to sell but aren’t we all experts in retrospect, at the time I thought the club was doing the right thing…
For me all that shit is in the past, it’s what we do over the next year that counts.
Now I’m off to have a nice bath, goodnight
Arthur has NOT gone with the Juventus team to the US. According to Romeo Agresti, he has “a small problem with his ankle and will remain in Turin to continue training.” What more can I say?
Save water Kev, bath with a friend. 😉
Imho, the problem is not getting rid of players or keeping players, but we have to agree, to a point, Arteta’s man management is a little to be desired. Sure we don’t know all that is going on behind the scenes but imagine if you Kroenke, the level of losses you have taken on players recently? And the problem repeats itself. If Guendouzi was a problem, why would you be interested in Rabiot? He has been a problem throughout his career. Finally we have a defensive core that is gelling why break that up to get Arthur, when you can pay for him, and on the other hand you just signed Veira, you have Odegaard and there are plethora of young creative players in the pipeline. He needs to address the problem areas. PBarany has some valid points.
Obi, you start off by saying that Arteta’s man management is a problem and then admit that you don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. So how do you know there is a problem?
Historically there has been a less than stellar performance in the club’s transfer dealings but surely with all the personnel changes in the upper reaches of the club management structure those problems have, largely, been dealt with.
Since Edu and Arteta took the reins we have seen a considerable improvement identifying squad needs and working quietly to fill the vacancies. It is totally unfair to blame the pair for not making money out of the dead wood they inherited from the previous regimes.
Is it better to keep a disgruntled player for the full term of his contract whilst paying the exorbitant wages, rather than getting him off the books and saving money by doing so.
We can all have our opinions and express them ad nauseam, but most are just that, opinions, mostly based on very few actual facts.
Sorry Rico, a bit long winded, I promise a bit of brevity in future. 😉
Are we interested in Rabiot though Obi, or selling Gabriel?
As far as the selling of players goes, I’m pretty sure Kroenke would have to ok the deals in and out of the club and to be fair, up until now, he’s had it pretty easy really. Sometimes in life, one has to speculate to accumulate. If he, or Josh, and from the outside it does seem to be the latter, want success for Arsenal, the only way was perhaps the way it’s gone and is going.
Chelsea are going through similar now, as are Utd.
Trust me Cicero, that wasn’t long winded. 😂
I think we were writing something similar at the same time. Lol
New post up now