Morning all.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland won the PFA men’s Players’ Player of the Year award, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka named Young Player of the Year.He was also nominated for the young player of the year prize, but it was our very own Bukayo Saka who won that after he scored 14 goals and contributed 11 assists during the season. Four Arsenal players made it into the team of the year too, William Saliba, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale. Even Ian Wright picked up an award, the men’s PFA Merit award. A great night for Arsenal really, and Man City. Not entirely sure how or why Kane made it in there though… Oh yes, he’s England’s captain… Was Tripper really a better performing right back than Ben White?

Anyway, I’m chuffed for those Arsenal players, especially Bukayo Saka having already won the Football London Young Player of the Year award and finishing third in the Football Writer’s Association Player of the Year voting. He’d also nominated for both the Premier League’s Player and Young Player of the Season, before scooping the PFA prize last night. Previous Arsenal winners of this award are Tony Adams (1986/87), Paul Merson (1988/89), Nicolas Anelka (1998/99), Cesc Fabregas (2007/08) and Jack Wilshere (2010/11).

Mikel Arteta’s new tactics and team selection has got a lot of people scratching their heads. I’ve read all sorts of views from we have to suffer through what will turn out to be a great move, to for goodness sake, get back to basics instead of over complicating the game. I’m just a firm believer in playing a player in the position he’s worked hard all his career to master. I understand moving left, right or central when absolutely necessary but taking a player out of a role in which he’s previously excelled in to play in a position which so far in his career he’s not played, strikes me as being strange and unnecessary. Of course I hope I’ll be eating my words in a few weeks time but I just can’t get my head around Thomas Partey playing as a right back, just as I can’t understand why there’s such a thing a a ‘false 9’. Whatever happened to just signing and playing with a proper goal scoring striker. As for all the ‘I will pass 500 times’ before thinking about taking a shot, well, it bores me to tears.

Stats will tell us we’re controlling matches with high possession figures just as they’ll tell us we’ve recorded vast number of opportunities to score but in reality, we’ve scraped our way to two wins and a draw with mistakes allowing Forest to score once and Fulham, twice. Mistakes or positional confusion.

I don’t believe many, if any transfer rumours but the one relating to ESR being sold before the deadline is worrying. Even more so because it’s reportedly Chelsea wanting to sign him. Obviously I hope he says no, better still, Arsenal say no too and Arteta starts to play him. However, if he is on the move, Arsenal should in my opinion, stick a £100 million price tag on him, after all, he’s young, English and a World Cup winner at under 21 level with three years left on his Arsenal contract.

Tonight we’ll find out who we’re going to face in the third round of the League Cup. Totts were knocked out by Fulham on penalties last night but the biggest surprise of the night was Salford City beating Leeds Utd 9-8 on penalties.

Catch up in the comments.

 

 

 

 

 

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