Morning all.
The Premier League did the right thing yesterday by postponing today’s NLD.
The Premier League released a statement saying:
Following a request from Arsenal FC, the Premier League Board met today and regrettably agreed to postpone the club’s away fixture against Tottenham Hotspur, due to be played at 4:30pm on Sunday 16 January. With Arsenal having fewer than the required number of players available for the match (13 outfield players and one goalkeeper), the Board accepted the club’s application.
The decision is a result of a combination of COVID-19, existing and recent injuries and players on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. All clubs are able to apply for a postponement if COVID-19 infections are a factor in their request.
They had only one option really after so many other fixtures have had to be moved but that didn’t necessarily mean they’d make it. But they did.
It’s easy for people outside of the club and Arsenal fan base to whinge and moan but all the club did was present the facts and ask the question. No different to Liverpool, Burnley, Newcastle, Wolves, Leeds, Aston Villa, or any other club who’ve asked the Premier League the same question and had the same reply. No one batted an eyelid then did they? No one questioned Liverpool’s 100 positive Covid tests which lo and behold, returned negative the following day.
I didn’t read Pep Guardiola bragging about how his squad has been affected by Covid, yet have not felt the need to request a postponement before now. Well, I doubt Mikel Arteta would either had he had a bottomless pit of money to spend over the last couple of years and a squad as deep and strong as Pep’s. Tomas Tuchel is another manager who’s felt the need to offer an opinion on postponements but only after Arsenal’s request was submitted to the Premier League. He’d be very cross if football clubs were taking advantage of the Covid rules in order to get matches postponed he said. Not a nice thing to suggest of his fellow club managers or the PL. Mind you, there’s a saying that, to catch a thief, one needs to think like a thief.
If the critics want to blame anyone in all this postponement confusion then blame Premier League and English Football League as they made the rules. The rules which are as clear as mud.
Anyway, whilst others whinge and moan, Mikel Arteta and whichever players he has who are able to train, can prepare for the visit of Liverpool on Thursday night. Assuming the player situation improves at Arsenal of course because there’s no guarantee it will.
In the world of transfers, Arsenal still haven’t managed to add anyone to the squad. Ralph Hasenhuttl has made a suggestion that in the rearranged fixtures, any new signings clubs make post the original fixture date, should not be permitted to play. Basically, if Arsenal signed Erling Haaland this month, he wouldn’t be play against Toots. I can see where he’s coming from and why because at both ends of the table it’s tight. Not as far as the title goes as City seem to be running away with it but for the European places and the relegation battle. Southampton aren’t involved in a relegation battle at the moment but a number of clubs below them have 3 or 4 games in hand which if they win thanks to a flurry of new signings, will see them overtake Ralph Hasenhuttls’ team. Is that fair?
Through my Arsenal tinted spectacles, I’d love us to be able to field a couple of new signings in the NLD, the rescheduled Wolves match too and give them both a thrashing but would that be fair?
I strongly suspect that the answer is no, but who cares… lol
See you in the comments.
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If the game is a rearranged fixture then only players that were registered at either club on the original day can play .
It should not be too complicated to administer but you can bet your life it will have coaches and horses waiting everywhere.
Making decisions in the English game has always been in the too difficult tray and I doubt this will be any different. What you suggest makes sense Potter.
Morning all.
Morning guys.
I’m amazed at the outcry over this.
You’d think we were the first club to make such a request.
Crazy.
That’s the Ashes done and dusted.
I think your boys will be very happy to get home-it’s been a tough time for them.
Morning Ashen Faces, morning Rico.
Well when I got up we were 3 wickets down after a good start – plenty of wickets and overs to get the runs I thought, so I did some tidying up, pottered about, made a cup of tea, ran a bath, took about 35 minutes or so, got in the bath and discovered that England were 9 wickets down…
Now this isn’t the Australia of McGrath, Warne and Waugh, and this isn’t the Blackwash West Indies, this is a very average Australian team with a good spinner.
But this is a very very poor coached, selected and prepared England team with a group of players who are serial failures.
The coaching staff needs clearing out, the selectors need to be finding a new profession, driving for Uber sounds about right.
Root needs to seriously think about his position because he looks exhausted and a new batting coach is absolutely imperative
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This England team is the epitome of the weak, woke, generation of narcissistic youths our culture has developed. But I’d better not offend them!
This is a football blog Scott, other sports are verboten……..particularly those involving blokes, trying to hit a red missile, thrown at them, with a bit of wood. 😒
Hahahaha Cicero.
Kev, I don’t agree that it’s an average Aussie side.
It’s one of the better ones I’ve seen with no weaknesses.
Good morning Rico and others.
I have absolutely no problem with Arsenal taking advantage of the rules, laid down by the moguls at The Premiership, in order to get the NLD postponed.
Whinges by the likes of the Neville’s and Carraghers of the media world have little or no relevance to the reality of the situation. The rules are the rules!
Altering those rules in the face of a virus which we will all have to live with as part of everyday life will be futile.
If anything has become clear over past two years, it is that making rule changes and creating new laws on the hoof is a self defeating policy, driven by a panicking medical profession and by a gullible Prime Minister.
All I have to say to the moaning hordes who support the Middlesex based club is Hard S**t.
I hope this link works hahahaha
https://fb.watch/azLdPx0TbD/
Morning Rico. I just had the unfortunate experience of tuning in to Sky Sports and listening to their stance on the postponement of the Arsenal game. When will these people even begin to understand the difference between a fact and an opinion? There’s nothing but innuendo and so-called ‘insider’ information. “ I’ve heard that Arsenal don’t have any confidence in their youngsters?” Oh really? Where did you hear that from then? Jeff Stelling? Suggestions of dodgy claims of Covid followed. Oh, so you know who has tested positive then? Who has told you that and what about their right to medical privacy? Tuchel?
So, as soon as Arsenal ask for a postponement, Sky have decided that it’s a scandal. Nobody mentions the influence of Covid on the opening match if the season against Brentford. It’s all “I have it on good authority” stuff. Nudge nudge, wink, wink. Never question the Sky narrative.
In fact, it’s all Sky politics and desire to drive the agenda isn’t it? Liverpool-good and righteous, Arsenal-bad and devious. If Neville and Carragher thought that the matches should be played then why didn’t they come out with it earlier? Why get on their soap boxes as soon as Arsenal ask for the postponement when there was so much head-scratching over the Liverpool one a week earlier?
More opinions presented purely as facts. Just look at the Mutt and Jeff transfer show to see the sheer weight of nonsense and bullshit on show.
Well I guess we’ll know for sure when they visit Blighty Scott, I wonder if the touring Aussies will be as restricted in England as the England team has been in the People’s Republic of Oz?
The reaction is typical of the usual anti-Arsenal bias – I just sit back and enjoy it.
We’ve managed to upset S***s AND Hacker Neville at the same time – a good day to be a Gooner!
Morning Cicero, Kev, Adam.
I also find it farcical that Sky Sports etc etc are moaning about our postponement but deep down, I know it’s they who come across as the idiots and not Arsenal.
Selective reporting at its best. Or worst.
Adam, would that apply to Klopp for not trusting his youngsters either? Despite him playing them in the previous rounds. Idiots aren’t they..
The Sky Sports whinging is simply based around the cancellation of their flagship football show on a Sunday and a lot of lost advertising revenue.
I couldn’t care less.
Kev, who knows, but this country remains a large prison atm lol
In a nutshell, this is how manipulative our government and media have been.
The Djokovic situation has been headline news.
Tucked away, well hidden from plain sight has been the tale of our biggest and best religious profit maker, I mean church, getting away with staging a huge event where thousands attended, singing and dancing the night away as if nothing else mattered.
Our PM is a happy clapper of the highest order.
Priorities-mmm.
Our population has been treated like puppets and acted accordingly.
Now we can focus 100% on next Thursday because if we beat the MSM little darlings then we can really stick it up them because they’ll all be Chelsea fans come the final…
Well Scott, you can rectify that at your next local, state and national elections, it’s still in the hands of the electorate…
Not a chance Kev , they will be free to go and do whatever .
Didn’t you know that it’s virtually all over ? Sunak and Carrie are whispering in the prime minister’s ear , one to get business thriving and the other to spend everything we have on her pet projects.
There is of course no mention of the long term effects of this virus and that we have a record number of deaths . All the press can do is moan about a few office parties . If they really want to get Johnson out go with the hard facts about the handling of the whole affair.
It’s like Sky who has it’s nose out of joint because their whipping boy suddenly got a decision in it’s favour .
They are missing the point and going for The Arsenal where they could make a lot of noise about many other things . Interestingly the the major voices crying out are from Liverpool with a second leg away match against us on Thursday , Spurs 2 points behind us , Man Utd 3 points behind us and Chelsea 8 points ahead but we have 2 games in hand and still to play them in one of four rearranged fixtures the others against Wolves , Spurs and Liverpool ;
Those four should be tasty.
From the online gooner :- The premier league shafted us at Brentford, Wolves gamed us big time over Christmas and the victims completely pulled our pants down in the league cup but we’ve played an absolute blinder to pull one back against the scum today.
All pretty much true.
Shame the same kind of ‘passion’ wasn’t directed at the Riley brigade…
By logic this is what it should be, but if, for example, if a Club has three new players (or just 1), to replace 3 core players that it had before, it leaves in the background to be able to count on the 3 that no longer had the 3 new ones, that is 6 in total.
For example Arsenal: you couldn’t count on Balogun, etc., plus those who were injured, plus those who were suspended, plus those who were signed. Apart from those who had Covid and those who were available and were part of the squad at the time, they could play.
Is this the suggestion?
In my logic, it is as if a game could not have taken place, for example, for weather conditios: no one demands that the same players who were called on that day play the game on another date, except those who were suspended.
Afternoon Rico.. Nice read 👍
Good old Micah Richards has our back:
“I just feel like when it’s Arsenal, everyone wants to lump in for some reason. By the rules they have done nothing wrong & every other club in the league would do the same. If they say they wouldn’t, they’re lying.” I bet that broke Graeme Souness and Robbie Keane’s hearts haha!
So sod the Spuds and everyone else!!
Afternoon Sue, thanks.
Good on Micah for saying it as it is, he jolly well right too.
True Jm, and weather postponements are usually this time of year.
‘Arsenal offer £50m plus Torreira for Vlahovic’
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera claim Arsenal have submitted an offer of £50m plus on-loan Uruguay midfielder Lucas Torreira in an effort to lure Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina to The Emirates Stadium in January.
Sky Sports.
Rafa sacked – he’ll always be a red; won the CL with them and tried to get Everton relegated!! Joking aside I did feel for him though, that Everton team is so poor [don’t remind me of our result!!] even the best in the business would struggle there!
His sacking was just a matter of time. Everton seem to have no direction which surprises me after Moshi, or whatever his name is bought into the club.
They’re even worse than us, Rico and that takes some doing!!
Rooney’s name has been mentioned…
Ha ha Sue.
Rooney would take further down the table imo.
Perhaps they’ll get big Dunc back in.
Leeds hold on for a 3 – 2 win over the Hammers,😁
Good result for us.
Great result for us Rico, the Hammers have played 2 games more than us and are only 2 points ahead. Both Tottenham and Man Utd are stuttering, then there’s european games and FACup ties for them to play, I mean if we’re lucky we’ll have 2 more League Cup ties and just the EPL to focus on, it’s really falling into our lap if we don’t mess up anymore winner able games as we did at Old Toilet and Goodison.
Fingers crossed Partey will return early from Africa and then we go again…
One club no doubt keeping a close eye on developments in the south of France over the last couple of days, meanwhile, have been Arsenal.
This comes with the Gunners currently having not one, but two up-and-coming talents out on loan at the Stade Velodrome for the 2021/22 campaign.
The players in question? Matteo Guendouzi and Willian Saliba.
Midfield enigma Guendouzi had long been expected to see his Marseille switch made permanent in the summer, serving up potentially crucial funds to the transfer team back in north London.
If the latest word doing the rounds in the media on Sunday is anything to go by, though, then those in a position of power at Arsenal need not fret.
As per French football expert Matt Spiro, Marseille will be granted permission to make the loan additions of all of Guendouzi, Cengiz Under and Pau Lopez permanent in the summer.
This comes with the framework for all three deals having been put in place last year.
When it comes to Saliba, on the other hand, a permanent OM switch appears to be out of the question, due to the stopper’s loan deal not including an option to buy.
Kev, you’d think so, but it’s amazing how many people believe our politicians actually give a shit about them, and that the media tell us the truth 🙂
Richards and Souness were both in our corner by the way, both amazed that others are criticising our club for doing what every club has done or would so.
Ahhhh to be hated by scum is a compliment in itself 🙂 🙂
Something from left field, Arteta has 28 months left in his contract.
Time to extend?
Imo yes, what do you guys think?
Scott No leave Arteta contract for another 12 months it will still leave plenty of time to sign it then.
Geoff, don’t think for a second he’s not being noticed elsewhere.
City are eyeing him up as Pep’s replacement apparently..
Sue, my gut tells me he’s being backed by the owners and is really trying to build something so he will stay, but best lock him down, imo.
They’ll offer him a new deal, Scott, for sure. There have been times I’ve questioned whether he’s the man for the job – they believe he is..
Now sign some bloody players 🤣
Yeah true, players are the priority right now!!
Morning all.
I wouldn’t offer Arteta a new deal just yet. See how the season finishes first because as Kev said, 4th spot is ours for the taking if we get things right. 3rd even if we push hard enough.
Fair enough, Rico, and I do believe he wants to stay long term.
Judge him in May 😉
I do too Scott. In my opinion, Arteta is more of a team/squad builder and I’d imagine he’d want to see what he’s started grow and succeed. I’m not suggesting he can’t handle big names or egos, although there’s a question mark there, but I think he prefers to coach younger players who will adapt to his way of thinking.
There was talks in the media when Arteta first signed that he was only going to Arsenal to learn then return to city when Pep leaves.
like I said wait another 12 months if he turns out sign it then after all he will still has 16 months left. getting to 4th is one thing keeping them there is another.
There were rumours about Barca too Geoff, but that’s all it is really. We had it with Arsene Wenger too.
New post up now