Morning all.
April is nearly done and hope our blip in what’s otherwise been a really good Premier League season, goes with it. Ordinarily, a point at Anfield would be a good result, but not this season, not when we were 2-0 up and cruising. The West Ham and Southampton games were the most disappointing, especially at this stage of our campaign.
This week has seen Michal Rosiak sign his first professional contract with the club which of course, he’s thrilled about:
Signing my first professional contract for Arsenal means everything to me, it’s pretty amazing. Playing for the club I’ve always loved and watched growing up, hopefully it will be the first of many contracts
Rosiak is a midfielder by trade although this season, he’s been deployed at right-back.
I think my progress has been very good. Clearly, you can see from getting my first professional contract. I prefer to be a midfielder but if it’s an inverted full-back, I can do that!
He’s 17 years old so there’s plenty of time for him to master either position but whether that’s at Arsenal or not, who knows. Same applies to CDM/CB Bradley Ibrahim who in March last year, also signed his first professional contract with the club. Ibrahim is older though, 19 later this year and the midfielder has been training with the first team this week.
Going back to the performances/results of this month, I think what’s come out of it is that Arsenal are still lacking depth in strength within the squad. I doubt any Arsenal fan expects the club to boast the kind depth a club like City, Chelsea have and next season, no doubt Man Utd under new ownership and Newcastle too but the reality is, there’s no point in a player being at any club, certainly Arsenal if the manager doesn’t believe in his ability. To you and I it might seem bonkers why player x, y or z isn’t playing and personally, I think that quite often, but I’ve no idea what Arteta sees behind the scenes or on the pitch really. I just know football management is easy from my sofa. The great tactician and know it all Gary Neville who has spent the last few days berating a number of Arsenal players, soon found out what real management was all about. How long did he last in a real job? Same goes for most of these footballing pundits who sit and criticise clubs each week.
Going back to our squad though, a number of Arsenal players who’ve been in the starting eleven during April wouldn’t even make the bench let alone the first team at City, Chelsea, or even Brighton, Newcastle or Man Utd. Actually, scrap Man Utd, they could do with Holding. Anyway, you get my drift.
As we go into the transfer window, question marks are possibly hanging over the futures of Vieira, Soares, Mari, Balogun, Nketiah, Smith-Rowe, Holding, Tierney, Partey, Jorginho, Lokonga, Pepe, Tavares, Kiwior, Marquinhos and Trusty. We already know Maitland-Niles is moving on and it’s likely, a number of the current under 21/23 players will join him. Once they hit the ‘need to be named in the squad’ age, they’re either in or gone.
Edu has already revealed that plans for the summer window are under way. Speaking in March, he said:
It’s already started [preparation for the summer], you know what’s happening [in] the market. Everybody’s working, everybody’s doing stuff, you have to plan ahead of people to be prepared, and when it gets to the summer, we are well-prepared.
Edu’s comments suggest that decisions might already have been made on a number a players future. Soares, Mari, Lokonga, Tavares and Pepe are very likely to be moved on. There’s speculation in the newspapers which suggests the club are open to selling Balogun, Xhaka, Tierney and Holding. Isn’t there every year? Speculation I mean, certainly with three of the four yet they’re still at the club.
Next season we’ll be playing Champions League football but as good as this current squad has been to get us there, without sounding harsh or negative, they’re not going to get us very far in the competition are they? Maybe it doesn’t matter though, for now anyway. Being in it, or rather, reaping the financial rewards Champions League football brings with it s what matters more as the club continues to build the squad so it’s deeper, stronger and more able to deal with the difficult moments in a season.
Anyway, I’m hoping to see Fulham batter City later today, Southampton get stuck in against Newcastle and Aston Villa beat Man Utd.
Catch up in the comments.
Trouble is who would want to sign the likes of Lokongo, Pepe, Tavares and Soares?
How much would you get for these players?
Not a lot I imagine – the important thing is to free up spaces in the squad so we can bring in new people and reduce the wage bill.
Even Arteta’s vaunted process creates deadwood.
Afternoon rico, House. Quiet here on this weekend with no Arsenal fixture, but thanks for writing a full report. Hoping for a magical improvement on Saliba’s back. And that Poch is not appointed too soon.
Hmm. Six minutes and City awarded their regulation penalty. 0- -1 Haarland of course. 😕
Afternoon Andrew. It is. Hoping Fulham can find a late equaliser.
Poch in time for the City game perhaps, give them a new manager lift.. lol
Was is a definite penalty Cicero, or just a helping hand for City..
Let’s just say the player very cleverly “won” the penalty. Rico.
In all honestly City won almost without breaking sweat and some regular starters rested.
Ominous for our chances of the title.
9th penalty for City this season there’s a pattern . It looks like one of those that could have been given and might not have been .
Then again apparently this wasn’t https://twitter.com/mushari16/status/1652683464980742149?s=46&t=5y5I-fN2-3A4kaQ121Gk7A
A bit Kaneish then Cicero..
Crikey, I bet Fulham are well cheesed off..
You can almost begin to feel that there is some kind of conspiracy against Arsenal winning anything. Now I know that’s extremely unlikely but……
15 minutes in and Totts are 3-0 down v Liverpool…
Yes, but….. there probably is.
Loads of fun at Anfield , Spurs equalise in the third minute of injury time , Richarliason leaving him one goal behind Holding in the goal scoring charts . Only for Liverpool to go up the other end and Jota makes it 4 – 3 . At which point Klopp does his famous run up the touchline gets booked in the process and pulls his hamstring .
Cheered me up a bit.
You’ve gotta larf, Klopp while celebrating the winner pulled his hamstring. Mind you, how Jota was not sent of for high kick that drew blood and went on to get the winner I don’t know.
😂 Re Klopp.
Normally I try not to blame the ref’s but last knight I was Flickering between matches, the referring was shocking.
Has Jack Grealish taken over from Kane as the number 1 protected player, by the ref’s.
Morning all
Having just read some of Mikel’s comments I feel a lot of angst coming on about Saliba’s back condition. No sign of any improvement according to MA. This is not good! Backs are strange bits of one’s anatomy. Perfectly alright one minute but a small sneeze the next can render a back not fit for purpose the next. No improvement after 4 or five weeks suggests serious, very serious damage. All I/we can hope is that there is a remedy to his problem and that it is found sooner rather than later.
If there has been one player who has been missed during our recent crisis of non results I’d say it was young William. The team need him back as soon as possible if only to shore up our newly developed leaky defence.
Get well soon please.
Morning Rico and all.
Wavy, totally agree about back injuries. when they go it hurts like hell, I have 2 slipped disc in my lower back and I can’t stand for more than 20 minutes yet the doctors will not operate as they claim it’s not worth doing.
Rick, if you’re about, what do you think about the reports from David Ornstein suggesting that Arsenal are prepared to let Charlie Patino leave in the summer as he wants regular first team football and the club can’t guarantee that?
One of the problems of the loan system is that players want to play and they get used to having regular pitch time . No doubt he has watched ESR and Nelson occupying the bench whilst he has been getting his 90 minutes . If he sees our first team as set in stone and he thinks he is behind the others , he will ask to go .
Were we to start unloading some of the midfield that do not work for us , there might be an incentive to stay but I can still see Xhaka and Vieira on the books next season unless Arteta has seen the light.
There’s every chance however that ESR and nelson will be off too and if I was sitting behind Vieira I would be also.
Hi Geoff, all.
I’m also having a worry about Saliba, seems it’s much worse than a bit of backache..
Ditto re Vieira too, how he’s considered a better option than ESR or Nelson I don’t know. Less than a year ago, ESR was scoring goals for fun and playing really well too.
The women kick off at 5-45 tonight against Wolfsburg…
Blackstenius put us ahead on 11 minutes, but Wolfsburg equalised just before half-time. 1 – 1, 3 – 3 on aggregate.
The dream is over
Close, but but no cigar. 😕
To go out 5 – 4 on aggregate is tough, but given the number of injuries our girls have suffered throughout the season, with more this evening, I think they have been magnificent. There can be no blame, they have stuck together and supported each other wonderfully well. Truly a great team and a great manager too.
I’m proud to support Arsenal Women.
Feel so sad for the women, so so close to going through.
As you say Cicero, injuries galore yet still did so well.
Morning Rico. Yes, it was a sad ending for the women last night after doing so well coping with the bad injury list.
There can be no excuses tonight I think. We simply have to beat this Chelsea team and have a strong end to the season.