Morning all.
Arsenal have announced that the club and Sobha Realty (pronounced: Sho-ba) have today announced a new long-term vision for their partnership which sees the Dubai-based luxury real estate developer become the club’s first ever training ground naming rights partner. From today, the training ground will be known as Sobha Realty Training Centre. (Arsenal.com)
Arsenal Sporting Director, Edu, said:
This is a very exciting agreement that will help us develop the best possible environment for our men’s and women’s players, coaches and support staff for years to come. Our training centre is a big part of our people’s lives. It’s not just about working hard on the pitches, but also working in our office spaces, learning, relaxing and spending time with teammates, colleagues and their families. We are building a winning team and a winning culture, attention to detail is very important and it’s crucial our people have the right conditions to prepare well and perform at their best.
I like the bit from Edu which said we’re building a winning team and culture. For so many years it seemed like Arsenal were simply taking part in the game without really challenging. That changed last year when we the only real club to challenge City for the title. Yes, we dropped off but we were in the race for more weeks than we have been for years.
I know it’s easy to be critical of a few things on the pitch, after all it’s human nature to believe we as a team could to better, but the culture in and around Arsenal football club is so very different to what it was pre Mikel Arteta. The spat between Zinchenko and White wasn’t about anything other than wanting to do better. That’s what Arteta has instilled I’m sure and that’s why I think he said what he did afterwards.
Deadline day didn’t see any player join Arsenal, which to fair, I think most expected would be the case, but it did see a number of academy players depart.
The biggest surprise was Lino Sousa moving to Aston Villa but the others, well I suppose they were inevitable. Certainly Alex Runasson leaving for good, Miguel Azeez too. Striker Khayon Edwards has joined League One side Leyton Orient on loan for the remainder of the season while defender Zane Monlouis has joined League One side Reading on loan for the rest of the campaign.
No senior players left and I’ve not read anything about where Marquinhos will be playing his football from now until the summer so perhaps he’s staying put. I’m pretty sure the summer will see more younger players depart either on loan or for good and a few senior players too. Elneny, Soares, Jorginho – who knows, maybe more too because there are only so many spaces in the squad.
Short one today, catch up later.
G’day Rico, training ground naming rights eh? Shirt sponsorship next? Eventually a buy-out? Who knows where it will lead? One thing for sure, there will closer and closer ties to Emirates money.
Afternoon Rico et al, nice post, short n sweet.
People losing their minds over Lino Sousa leaving, but what’s the point of keeping him if the coaching staff don’t think he’s got it? I guess he could have signed a new contract in the summer, stayed for a couple more years and gone out on loan, you know, like Miguel Azeez.
Aston Villa have paid Arsenal a fee for Sousa with add-ons, various clauses and a sell-on fee. Which is exactly how Chelsea and Man City use their academy – as a cash cow.
It’s not as if he was from Hale End, we signed him from West Brom 2 years ago, so maybe he had an agent who likes to move him around?
I was disappointed about Bradley Ibrahim leaving for Berlin as I really liked him but with Lewis Skelly and Nwaneri coming through maybe Mertesaker and Co thought it better to not have him hanging about and to let him move and develop elsewhere where he had a better chance of 1st team football. Hopefully we have a buy-back clause, I do hope so.
Interesting piece of PR guff from Edu but I’m not sure what else he could say about our new sponsorship?
It’s exactly what we need to be doing because it’s an area of the business that hasn’t been as exploited as it should have been. You can’t afford to be sniffy about sponsorship income with FFP making things increasingly complicated.
Afternoon Cicero, Kev.
The new LC name makes sense to me. Arsenal go to Dubai, they come to Arsenal. 😂
Omar Rekik has joined Swiss side Servette on loan for the remainder of the season.
Rekik leaving with an option to sign for Servette permanently Rico and anyone would think he was the next William Saliba the way that some people are losing their minds about him.
It’s business, you take a chance and if it doesn’t work you move them on hopefully at a profit or with clauses inserted. In the past our youngsters pretty much left for nothing.
I’m only interested in how much we get for them Kev which is usually, very little. I’ve kind of accepted that very few youngsters if any will be exposed to first team football these days.
We have a very young squad, there are some older players, but no geriatrics so finding space for even more youngsters is always going to be difficult and early exits from the domestic cups doesn’t help. With every match, from now until the end of the season, being virtually must win only injuries will open opportunities to play the youngsters.
Exactly, which is why I’ve always hoped the best would feature in the domestic cups. One or two could have easily come off from the bench imo.
I saw somewhere Marquinhos has joined Fluminese(spelling ?)
Maybe this means his time at Arsenal is limited,otherwise a loan in Britain or Europe would have more sense.
West Ham and Liverpool were not the games to weaken too much . We didn’t get the draws that might have allowed it.
The days of getting lower league opposition seems to have died on the need for television to get blockbuster games. I firmly believe in the hot and cold ball syndrome
Isn’t Sousa a fullback?.. We already have White, Zinchenko, Timber, and Tomiyasu… all in their prime and on fresh new contracts.
Even with Timber out and Tomiyasu away, fans wanted us to BUY someone in January to help (I was on record as only wanting a loan).
So what future did the kid have over the next few years with us? Almost no chance of even getting a minute in the senior team.
Some of these kids may end up having great careers, being transferred for 40, 50m. Its bound to happen to every team. Just look at Salah and debruyne with Chelsea. We just need to hope we can avoid that level of mistake. We can’t hoard young players and we have to be practical, as most clubs are recognizing under the rules. Only Man City is exempted as always.
Thanks Limey, I agree, that’s him pretty much gone then..
Maybe someone needs to stick our ball in the freezer then… lol
Two of those aren’t reliable as far as fitness goes Nigel. Still, he clearly didn’t want to sign a new contract and be patient so what else could the club do..
So much for Partey coming back, he’s suffered a setback and could be out for weeks..
Partey returning for the bulk of the season was the hope after the early season injury. Then after the second major one, hope was to have him for the second half… I don’t know how long this will be, but soon we’ll being targeting the final run in.
On the bright side,, I’m pinning my big hopes on Emile staying relatively fit for a good while.
I know the old sarcastic joke, but because of the way he plays, the unique elements of his game that Havertz, Ødegaard and Martinelli do not share share…
.. I really view him like a new signing.
Partey is starting to become a problem with his injuries, might be worth considering selling him at the end of the year, or replace all our medical team that can’t keep these players fit and atleast 90% injury free.
I think that our medical dept has actually improved in leaps and bounds from a few years ago, there’s not a lot that the medical team can do if a player returning from injury continually aggravates that injury during training, that’s gotta be an issue with the players’ body because it keeps on happening and pretty much in the same part of his body which suggests that he’s crocked for the foreseeable future and will probably leave in the summer of 2025.
It’s unlikely that we’d get a fee for him even if we tried to sell him next summer and extending his contract is simply out of the question – or it should be!
When did we last see Partey on the pitch? When will we next see him play? It’s time to cut our losses and offer him a golden handshake and let him leave the club.
I think Partey and ESR would have been a huge boost for the remainder of the season but I agree Nigel, ESR gives the team something no other player does. It’s a great shame his career has been blighted with injuries because otherwise I’m pretty sure he’d have cemented the number 10 position by now.
I’m really disappointed about Partey, I strongly suspect the players are too..
I would also get rid of Elneny, it’s a lot of money for someone just to keep the bench warm,
I think his contract is up in the summer Geoff.
Tomiyatsu in the way back.
Is Fluminense from Rio de Janeiro.
Personally, it was logical to bet on young people to reinforce the first team and value them as a chain, if they were transferred.
Who goes to Porto to see Arsenal?
Spurs were abused by Everton for 90 minutes and lucky to get a draw. 2 touches from Richarlishit miraculously ended up as goals. That’s just how it goes sometimes. Still a great result to laugh at spuds.
Gotta say though Nigel for as much as I dislike Tottenham – and this really feels nauseating – that they have a good team under Ange and play good, entertaining football.
You could say that they’re presently at a stage similar but just below the level where Arsenal were last season.
They aren’t really challenging Man City as we were a year ago but Ange has made (or is it Levy) some really smart signings and they look a far better team than they did with Harry Kane in the side.
That being said, I still can’t stand them.
Good result at Goodison then. Lucky Totts I read.
Luton beating Newcastle 4-2 at St James. Wow.
Patino and Sagoe Jnr on bench for Swansea, came on at 77 and both almost scored. Charlie probably should have done, but plenty of give and goes and making himself available for a simple pass.
Sagoe Jnr did ok, got the better of Lino Sousa who also came on at 77 for Plymouth and was anonymous.
Sagoe had one nice move in the box, feinted to his left with his back to goal then spun around on his right and hit a good left foot shot at goal that the keeper did well to save.
Charlie could probably do with another loan, at a Premier club.
A newly promoted side next season hopefully Kev, or at least to a club who really need him. Not somewhere just to make up the numbers.
Kev,
I hate to admit to having similar thoughts today, and most of the season about spurs. A plucky little bunch of over achievers except for the hateful pricks Richarlison and Romero.
I was just about to message a friend during the game that thug Romero is an accident waiting to happen in every game. A red card. A foul in a dangerous area. A stupid mistake leading a goal. And then he supplies the perfect own goal. Couldn’t have scored it better if he tried.
He’s quick, and has good skills. But unless he can get a brain transplant, he will always be a liability.
I disagree with you Kev in likening their situation to ours recently. We are at the beginning of a new period of success. A winning cycle of quality football by all measures.
For Tottenham, its just another false dawn. They have them constantly with new managers, and still can’t even squeeze a minor trophy like carabao out of it. They are where they will always be… scraping for top 4, pretending to be a big club, as Levys friends in the media always try to persuade us.
Totts might change if the owner sells out to some rich Saudi group.
Rico hopefully the new profit and sustainability situation will discourage more oil money … but the big stadium helps with income. Spurs making top 4 might not even be that important for the stadium debt… because new owners might (not sure) be able to pay off that debt as part of the purchase deal.. then come in fresh and able to spend.
Most important for new owners is the permission to spend freely to get a leg up.. That’s why Man City cheating with bogus sponsors perverted the league for a decade.
Good point Nigel, such a shame FFP hasn’t always been as vigorous. So many clubs have lost out at both ends of the table because certain clubs haven’t stuck to the rules.
New post up.