Morning all.
I watched some of the Spain v Portugal match last night and what a contrast it was to the England game just a few nights ago. It had everything from play acting to wonderful football. Mikel Merino was involved in the game as was Martin Zubimendi. The latter opened the scoring for his team but after a penalty shootout it was Portugal who came out winners.
Love or loathe Cristiano Ronaldo, and I’m firmly sat in the latter camp, he really is a machine. 40 years old and still going strong. His remarkable 138th international goal in the second half, brought the scores level at 2-2. He played whilst injured too which at his age I suppose it’s easier to do as long as it’s not serious because he doesn’t have to worry about his future career. Or money for that matter.
I felt the injury since the warm-up, it’s been bothering me for a while. But for Portugal, if I had to break my leg, I would do it”. “It’s a title, I had to play and gave everything”. Ronaldo.
I’m pretty sure many of Tuchel’s squad played with such dedication. Not. England have a new manager and yet the football is little short of dire. Perhaps the ten months of continuous football beforehand played its part although that didn’t seem to prevent both teams last night from playing well.
I think we have three more days of international fixtures and then the under 21’s, under 19’s and under 17’s in action.
The transfer window closes tomorrow for a few days. Why I haven’t a clue but it doesn’t really make much sense. As suggested before, it won’t stop clubs from trying to get transfers over the line. It certainly won’t stop Chelsea from trying to sign every half decent player out there either.
Apparently the West London club are hoping to do a deal for Benjamin Sesko. I wouldn’t put it past them but I’d imagine, if a deal with Arsenal really has been on the cards for as long as the media will have us believing, then I think it would be a waste of Chelsea’s time to pursue him. It’s a bit like the Declan Rice transfer really, he wanted Arsenal so Man City never really had a chance. Sesko, Gyokeres, whoever, I just hope Arsenal can soon get a few deals over the line, even if it’s just to stop many of us from thinking we’re in for a disappointing summer transfer window.
I don’t think we are, not after all the pre summer chat from Mikel Arteta and Josh Kroenke. They’ve set themselves up for a mighty fall if their words were empty.
Slovenia have one more international match which is a friendly tomorrow night, Spain though are done for this month so hopefully, if Zubimendi and Sesko are coming to the red and white side of north London, it’ll be sooner rather than later. Kepa too.
Catch up in the comments.
Mudryk wanted to come but was strong armed into signing for the Chavs by ‘dark forces’ operating behind him at his club.
Ultimately it’s down to the player himself and I’m sure that if Sesko wants Arsenal he’ll ignore the efforts of Chelsea and sign for the Champions League semi-finalists.
That’s if the rumours are true….
Media spite I’m sure.
I have zero confidence of a good window tbh
We dither still
Uncle Bert needs to settle in.
We don’t know wats going on behind the scenes though…
Good afternoon Rico and all
A good roundup Rico. Especially on a Monday.
Kepa to Arsenal seems a done thing. Zubimendi as well. Though nothing is concrete until we see it on the dot com with the players wearing an Arsenal shirt.
Am I happy with that?? you can bet on it. It strengthens us at the back and in midfield. Kepa will come fighting for a place. Wouldnt it be wonderful if we had two keepers who played 19 games each and won the golden glove at 15 clean sheets. While its just fantasy and difficult to happen I cant imagine the look on every muppet’s face. It will be a bitter pill to swallow.
before you hurl comments at me remember…..its just fantasy and a dream. sometimes they become reality. Once I told my Pa that I wished Arsenal would one day go a whole season unbeaten. He told me it was impossible. We did once and I feel we can do it again. I also told him I wish I would be lucky enough to witness double. He told me that that’s once in a lifetime. We did it three times in my lifetime.
Will we sign Sesko and Rodrygo?? who knows. If they come it would be heaven especially if they begin scoring goals regularly.
Whatever happens in the TM we are in for another hell of a ride the coming season.
We finished 2nd with a small squad with many injuries and awful decisions. Imagine if we have a bigger squad and better decisions from the ref.
I look forward ramming it down the naysayers throats.
Not holding my breath though.
Rico there are so many things happening behind the scenes even at Semi professional level. And its not as quick as it seems. While we often cite City and Chelsea doing quick deals, or RM for that matter, we have to remember that this is Arsenal we are dealing with. With the above teams nothing happens until its pointed out. With Arsenal every breath they take, every move they make, every sound they make the FA will be watching (fucking) them. No I am not quoting Sting but saying it as reality.
One rule for Arsenal, one rule for the rest.
Up till now, have Arsenal ever been investigated for any transfer? No we haven’t. That means that we do things by the book. unlike other clubs.
Any news on the 115K charges that City face?? When will they be demoted to the non league?
we cant keep blaming the FA, All clubs have to do a lot of negotiation in the background, only problem is they all seem to be able to get deals done quickly were we seem to wait until the final few day and miss out, Arteta should have know 6 months ago who wanted and started the ball rolling.
Afternoon Devil. Ditto, until Arsenal announce a signing, I’m ignoring all the nonsense online.
My point exactly re behind the scenes although I doubt the FA can intervene with any deals we might do.
Keep on dreaming DG, like Rico I’ll just wait and see. 😉
And then moan Cicero 😜
Manchester City have reached agreement with Lyon for the signing of Rayan Cherki. £33 million… bargain I reckon..
Nothing to do with Arsenal. But one which will make you smile. Totti scoring from halfway line in a charity match. A brilliant goal……legends never die
https://x.com/SerieA/status/1932030440740683851
Saw that earlier, a fluke 😜
I had a feeling we’d be linked to Garnacho at one stage or another and here we are… Arsenal and Chelsea linked to him for £50m
Totts have stepped up their interest in Antoine Semenyo.
However, Manchester United also remain admirers of the Bournemouth forward. That is despite United having a bid rejected for Bryan Mbeumo – a player also on the list at Spurs.
Mbeumo appears to be United’s priority target after a £55m offer was rejected by Brentford last week – and they are expected to follow-up with another offer.
Sky Sports News can reveal, however, that United also remain keen on Semenyo along with Spurs.
I just wanted to say that it is an admirable job Rico to produce a Post daily and I read with interest every day. The sites on WordPress seem to be diminishing or become chargeable so well done to you.
Thanks Kelsey, very kind of you.
Good morning Rico and all
Arsenal will pay around €65m (£55m) for Martin Zubimendi — slightly above his €60m (£51m) release clause — after reaching an agreement with Real Sociedad to structure the payment in instalments.
This deal, finalised after months of negotiation, allows Arsenal to avoid triggering the clause directly and instead spread the cost over time — a financially strategic move.
Arsenal regard Martin Zubimendi move from Real Sociedad as done & signed.
26-year-old Spain midfielder expected to report at start of pre-season with the Gunners.
Real Madrid sources say they never actively pursued situation.
Does this mean that the Zubi to RM was just all paper talk???
Make of all the above what you will. Its just what I read on various pages on FB as i don’t go on NN anymore
I wonder if the sources on Facebook get their info off of News Now?
Just saying 😉
Morning Devil, Kev, all.
Just why I don’t believe anything written in the back pages…
£50m for Garnacho, good luck with that? We might as well stick with Martinelli than bid for Garnacho as you’re just swapping one speed merchant with questionable finishing ability for another.
NewsNow has become a bit of a joke really. It’s full of click bait. Not all I know but an awful lot is just regurgitated speculation.
Morning Rico, not much to write about today, when does Wimbledon start?
Yeah, NewsNow is as good as the sites it’s sources it’s info from and most of those are garbage.
Later this month Kev, the cricket has been fun though..
Thanks indeed, Rico, for keeping the flame burning …
About the WC qualifiers, I watched Norway-Italy the other day, and it could have been captioned “rebirth of a playmaker”. Each and everyone of Ødegaard’s touches was silky, he was light-footed and no longer looked like playing with a pebble in his boot, as he had since returning (did he, really?) from injury. He got rid of the ball in no time, into spaces only a few players on the planet can figure out (his through pass to Haaland on Norway’s third was a peach of a perfectly-weighed assist). The French “pundit” that night on “L’Équipe TV” was Vikash Dhorasoo, the former French international who knows a thing or two about immaculate technique, and he couldn’t lavish enough praise on our skipper.
The Norse’s first half was very impressive, and another standout player was Leipzig’s 20-y-o Antonio Nusa, whose performance was reminiscent of Dériré Doué’s against Inter. I know I’m not in the majority here, but I wouldn’t mind keepin’ on keepin’ on with Havertz upfront. He’s only 25 after all, so I think there is much more to come from him in that position. On the other hand, I think that, at the level we pretend to compete, our Martinelli-Trossard combo just doesn’t cut the grade. I would have loved a “Marmoush” move in winter, but this ship has sailed to other shores. When I saw him play for Napoli, I thought of Kvaratskhelia in the red-and-white a lot too (as Neil Young used to sing “I’ll always be a dreamin’ man”); but right now I’d have nothing about a Nusa-Lookman left-flank alternative to what we have in store …
Lastly, (they did impress me, didn’t they?), I found their “other” big man upfront, Sørloth much more subtle than I think he was; he would come at a much cheaper price than Gyökeres-Sesko, and looked like the perfect backup for Kai (provided MA decides to … rotate more, of course!!).
It’s a shame Kev, when HH started it was very different but I suppose it’s now seen as being a big money maker..
* thought * he was
Morning LG.
I think Havertz up front is a good option too but for me it’s about having an extra front man who brings something different to the team. A plan b if you like although I hope whoever comes in will be another plan a.
That’s interesting re Odegaard, albeit a slight concern because if he can do great things for Norway, what’s stopping him at Arsenal. I do however think the answer is likely to be in the question. It’s the way we play…
Ah Le Gall.
we seem to come from the same planet with regards many thoughts on players etc. Especially Havertz. But only if Arteta does not forget to rotate.
But as Rico pointed out and many of us have as well……Its important to have an out and out striker (although for me if the goals are shared I prefer to get 4-5 players who score 15 each in the EPL than a single striker getting 25-30 goals) who specializes in the CF role. With another striker in the Sesko/Gyokeres mould Arteta should not find it difficult to rotate with Havertz.
With regards Sorloth, whilst I agree with your thoughts I have to say that at 29 years old he might find it difficult to adapt to the EPL hustle and bustle. He has good technique and eye for goal and would be suited to our style but at his age losing a year to settle in would be costly as well.
I would think the difference might be having a dedicated goalscorer that moves around the box to aim for .Too often he gets caught in the Saka , White triangle and looks up to find no one to aim for . Obviously Martinelli and Trossard are told to stay wide to stretch defences but with little going on in the middle they have to recycle by going either sideways or back . We have one half of ghe combination and City have the other . With Kdb going dont be sourprised if Pep comes calling .
Agreed. Different players/tactics offer different solutions…
I don’t see a problem with Arsenal having two, three or even four strikers, but it depends on how you view how the club is being run.
If you want to criticise the manager and the club you’ll regurgitate that old trope about Arteta not signing enough strikers and then to prove your point you’ll insist that Havertz is a midfielder, even when we know he’s not just a midfielder he’s a versatile attacker who has shown he can fill in playing several different roles, one being at centre forward. Jesus was signed as a striker but he too can fill in by playing different roles, then there is Trossard? He’s played a number of different roles, winger, inside forward, striker, No.10 and more. But he wasn’t signed ostensibly as a striker so if you’re a bit odd you can use that fact to attack the manager.
Sesko is a centre forward, Watkins is a striker, I’d like to get them both, fill the squad up with attackers and then worry about it.
Me too re Sesko and Watkins.
Brilliant news.
Arsenal have confirmed that the women’s team will play all 11 of their home Women’s Super League (WSL) matches at the Emirates Stadium next season.
The side’s longstanding home, Meadow Park, will still be used for league-phase fixtures in the Champions League as well as domestic cup games. Should they progress to the knockout rounds of the Champions League, these matches will be played at the Emirates.
Tierney has re-joined Celtic. I wish him well.
Me too, he never put a foot wrong for Arsenal.
Mikel seems to be on holiday…
https://x.com/Sids30/status/1931768150560747787
Well deserved in my opinion Rico.
Absolutely Cicero.
Imo Tierney is a player who I really wanted to succeed at Arsenal. His attitude and humility simply stood out and shined every time he stepped outside his home. Hearing the name Kieran Tierney implies someone who can be trusted with eyes closed. He was that type of superstar. A special and unique person.
And he’s a player who I want him to succeed wherever he goes and whatever he does. We had players far better than him but he is the sort of player who you would want as your son, your son in law, your brother, your uncle etc. I am not saying he is a saint. But a unique and genuine human being.
Another England team booed off the pitch! England 1 – 3 Senegal.
I can’t be bothered to comment further.
What date does the League start?
I’m sure they have Google on the Iberian Peninsula
Tuchel is also still upbeat, despite recent evidence, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: “It is a tough learning, but we need to stay calm. We need to accept the criticism and get better………The World Cup is not next week. We have two more games in September and then we meet again in the World Cup season. We need these kinds of matches to learn.”
Learn what exactly??? We’re talking England here….with full time professional players. I am not English but that was downright embarrassing. The result, the performance and the way the team was set up left me open mouthed.
Malta got wallopped 8-0, but in a way that is understandable when one considers the limitations. I still feel we were torn apart with ease. Embarrassing as well.
Saturday 16th August J M.
One has to keep in mind the fact that the current international games, whether friendly or competitve, come after a long hard season. Whilst I agree that these are professional players at the end of the day mentally they are shot and need a break
KDB said this in 2022, ‘The nations league is unimportant in my eyes. Just glorified friendlies after a long tough season. I am not looking forward to it.’
I don’t agree with what he said because at the end of the day you are representing your country, however the top brass should keep in mind the players’ recovery.
Morning all.
New post up now.
In my opinion, if players aren’t physically able to give 100% for their country, withdraw from the squad and give someone else the opportunity to represent his country.