Morning all.
Does it feel like Christmas Eve in your head? The anticipation of something good being delivered tomorrow night? I have mixed feelings. Excitement of course, but a little bit of ‘we’ve been here before’ feeling at the back of my mind. Pre-season has been very good, the transfer window has been excellent so far and yet the belief that all the good things will carry on throughout the entire season is far from being 100%. You know the old saying that when something seems to good to be true, that’s where I am. It doesn’t help that our first fixture is at a ground where we were spanked just a few months ago.
Aaron Ramsdale hasn’t wasted any time getting the number one shirt on his back. He was brilliant during the first half of the season but any doubters he had, probably came out of the woodwork post Christmas as his levels seem to drop. When on form, his distribution from the back is top notch and his saves, almost unbelievable and that’s the Ramsdale Mikel Arteta needs this coming season. But, he wasn’t the only player to have a few ropey performances during the second half of the season so I’d be cruel to single him out.
All Or Nothing is finally here. Amazon Prime are showing the first episode today but after clips have already been trailered, Mikel Arteta has been heavily criticised for playing You’ll Never Walk Alone during a training session in preparation for the trip to Anfield last season. We lost the game, I think we would have done regardless because Klopp is a number of years ahead of Mikel Arteta as far as squad/team building goes, but as per usual, ex football players feel it’s their right to have an opinion on something which really doesn’t concern them.
Former Aston Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor was highly critical on TalkSport:
That is the most pathetic thing I’ve seen and if I was on that pitch training I think you’d be laughing with your team-mates.’It’s ridiculous and the players are not going to be on board with that. These players are international players that have played in big atmospheres. I’m baffled. When they play in the Europa League and they play Fenerbahce away, is he gonna get flares for the training ground and drums? Honestly, it’s ridiculous.
Piers Morgan watched the footage and tweeted: ‘What on earth is Arteta doing? This is insane… and guess what, we lost 4-0.’
I’ve yet to see the clip but regardless, I suspect Mikel Arteta had his reasons and as far as I know, he doesn’t have to answer to either Morgan of Agbonlahor. Neither who’ve managed/coached a team in their life as far as I know. Mind you, the thought of Arsenal training with flares going off around them is quite amusing.
Not much floating around as far as transfer rumours this morning. Youri Tielemans is still in the Arsenal headlines but most of the activity seems to be in relation to players leaving the club.
Have a relaxing day, it might be your last for the next ten months. Lol
Good morning Rico.
All or nothing is a program designed to prompt just what we have seen already, as Potter called them yesterday “two bob” ex-players and publicity seeking C list “celebrities” making headline grabbing comments. It is also designed to make money for Amazon…and no doubt a few quid for Josh Kroenke and his relatives.
There is already, in the Telegraph this morning, an article taking the piss out of Arteta eyebrows as he appears in a publicity poster in Liverpool Lime Street station.
Brace yourselves, I’m sure there is much more to come.
I can’t imagine on any level why the powers that be at Arsenal ever agreed to this in the first place. If they thought that it was likely to reverse the media hatred shown towards the club then it just goes to prove how detatched they are from the real world and football supporters in this country , No doubt the far eastern ones will lap it up but those at home will use it as fodder for even more derision to heap on the club.
Already the spicy little leaks are out in an effort to boost the viewer figures which just as a mere coincidence is to be shown the night before we once again get to open the premier league season.
The negative will be highlighted , any predictions will come back to bite us .
It never was a good idea for anyone but the media and it just gives potential ammunition to those that wish to use it against us ,any positives will be swept away and hidden .
Nothing good will come from it.
Morning Rico. Agbonlahor, Piers Morgan. Yeah ok. It might be Simon Jordan and Adrian Durham next.
Anyone spot the common denominator?
Get over it ffs.
Morning Cicero, Adam, Potter and all.
Spot the d**k Adam.
I can understand the club doing the documentary, financially it’s beneficial and it gives the fans an insight of things.
Rico. Since I was a kid, Arsenal have always been news. It has bought all sorts of creatures slithering from the undergrowth.
Adam, I recall you saying that before and I wonder why. Surely people aren’t still bitter about us not getting relegated that year, or winning the league at Anfield? Or is it just jealously perhaps.
Rico. I imagine there are many bizarre reasons and they stretch back decades. Probably the press, who have always been in thrall to Man Utd or, in London, to Spurs or West Ham, have something to do with it. But there has always been something different about Arsenal and for those whose shoe size exceeds their IQ this alone is enough to breed a weird and furious resentment.
Analysis is futile. It’s just the way people are.
It’s quite amusing actually.
Adam, I must admit, I do often smile at some of the tedious stuff I read.
Rico. I prefer to swerve it if I can. My relationship with Arsenal is deep and personal. As you know I was born close to the ground and the club, despite its changing identity, remains special to me probably because of family, friends, memories etc. But we have had our ups and downs though😀. I also believe that football in this country is very, very badly served by the media generally. But that’s another story.
Sometimes it’s too late Adam. Lol
Agree re the media, Sport in general I’d say, especially towards England.
My past goes back to Gospel Oak and a grandfather that as a blacksmith worked at Woolwich Arsenal , it’s been in the family and through my father and uncles the club runs through the blood so to speak. My mother first took me to Highbury in 1956 .we beat Preston 3 – 2 . and strangely my next game was the next season against Preston again in a cup replay which we won 3 – 2 again .
My uncle said he would only take me when we played Preston the next year. It was a family joke for years.
That’s funny…
Sportsmail has been told the NCA investigators have discovered evidence of significant sums being wagered in cryptocurrency in markets that are not regulated in this country, with much of the activity understood to have taken place in Albania.
The NCA are also looking into claims that Alban Jusufi, a Swedish-Albanian striker given a five-year ban for match-fixing by the Swedish courts in 2017, made huge sums by betting on Xhaka to be booked.
The 41-year-old was found guilty of bribing AIK goalkeeper Kyriakos Stamatopoulos £150,000 to underperform ahead of a derby against IFK Gothenburg in 2017. Sweden’s FA postponed the fixture after the match-fixing was reported.
Xhaka, expected to start for Arsenal at Crystal Palace on Friday night, was born in Basel and plays for Switzerland but is proud of his Albanian heritage.
Perfect timing !
Torreira has agreed to join Galatasaray for a fee “reported” to be between £5/6 million.
Barcelona are trying to offload Aubameyang, they have offered him to Chelsea apparently.
I would have thought that Xhaka would have been an odds on favourite to get booked in any match he played, to the extent that the returns from such a bet would miniscule. There would certainly be no need to bribe him. 😉
Good old Daily Mail. Buffoons!
New post up now.
😆 Cicero.
Just to add to the Xhaka bit