Morning all.
Kieran Tierney has extended his contract at Arsenal which is brilliant news.
“It feels amazing,” Tierney told Arsenal.com. “Firstly, when the manager came to me and said, ‘We want you to extend your deal, we’re so happy with how you’ve come along’ it was just amazing for me to hear because I’ve worked hard since I joined.
“I had a hard first season with injuries and COVID, but last season it really picked up for me, and the club have been brilliant with me, so I am more than happy to extend it. I’m absolutely delighted.
“I think the vision of the club, where it wants to go, and the expectations of the club [are why I signed[. Where I want to be in football is at the top. There’s no doubt about it, we’re not where we want to be just now, but we’re going in the right direction.
“The way the club is run from the inside is amazing. I love everyone. I love all of the staff, I love all of the players, I love the manager and just working with them is an absolute joy. Being happy in life speaks for a lot and I am happy, so I was more than happy to commit my future [to the club].”
Not one bit of his interview sounds false to me. It’s clear to see he’s happy playing for the club and Mikel Arteta because his performances show that. Every time he walks out onto the pitch in a football kit, he gives 100%. I think he’s the model footballer.
If Arsenal had a squad full of players who shared Tierney’s work ethic and commitment to the game, the club would be in a much better place than it has been for the last few years.
I’m not going to use this as an opportunity to batter the players who seem to be enjoying a life of luxury in north London because I’m sure Mikel Arteta and Edu are aware of who they are. What’s important is moving them on, preferably this summer. Easier said than done I’m sure. For an example only, how do Arsenal move footballers who are over thirty and tied to a long contract on high wages? Something, or rather someone, has to give. If it were me at that kind of age, I’d like to think that money wouldn’t be anywhere near as important as being happy in life. Certainly at this stage of a career and with an already bulging bank account. But if a footballer still puts money ahead of happiness, it’s the club who suffer if that particular player is no longer in the manager’s plans. In reality, either the player is practically given away, or he stays and the club has to pay him regardless of whether he plays him.
As far as Arsenal go, I hope they push for as much money they can get for the younger players the club are hoping to move on but for the older players, I guess the priority is to remove their salary from the wage bill and clearing a space in the squad for someone else to take. That might be an academy player, or a player from outside but most importantly, it’s a player who wants to play for Arsenal and not just paid by Arsenal.
See you in the comments.
Morning Rico and all.
Very happy to see Tierney committed to us, I get the impression that he just loves playing football, as a lot on here have said all we need now is for ESR to extend his contract
Morning Geoff, all.
Absolutely agree on both, oh to have another ten like Tierney.
It’s only when the wheeeling and dealing is done that we will see Arteta’s master plan and whether it works .
Tierney signing is good news , now there are further must haves already here before we go looking too far outside for others.
Tie down the ones we want to keep and then blend the squad around them.
Morning Rico, that is such an exciting post, so much so that I almost got out of my armchair!
Interesting to compare the comments and behaviour of Tierney with other Arsenal and ex Arsenal players of the last 18 months?
Like Ozil and his subversive social media output, whatever happened to him?
Like Mustafi and Kolasinac, whatever happened to all those internal leaks?
Like Guendouzi or Torrieira or Martinez and their assorted and unhelpful social media posts?
We all love Tierney because he doesn’t leave anything on the pitch and he won’t accept the standards that some of our other players seem to readily accept, it’s also interesting to read his positivity about the club and the people inside it and compare it with the above.
I know the type and profile of footballer I want in my club so yeah Rico, 10 more Tierney’s.
ESR being top of that list Potter and I think Azeez is soon out of contract.
Morning Kev, the only exciting bit is Tierney. 😂
Agree re his comments about the club, Arteta too. Refreshing really.
Morning all.
Tierney is just a footballer to be loved.
It’s clear he plays for the right reasons-he loves the game.
Him, ESR and Saka are players to build a squad around.
Rick, I’m hearing that Oyegoke is off to Brentford and that Ballard is joining Millwall on loan.
Yes Rico, but one piece of excitement at a time is all I can handle these days. 😀
Unless he is being mercenary I can’t see a reason for ESR to want to leave . Although money talks and the latest rumour is Villa upping their offer to £30 million.
His agent is Jordan Wise who appears to have 3 clients the other two being at Wimbledon and Zech Medley recently left us..
Villa have apparently offer £100k a week the same as Saka and he is waiting for us to equal or better it.
Good day to you all.
Kev, I should think you get all the excitement you need dodging the lunatics on illegal electric scooters.
😉
I’m not sure that building a team around individual players is a good idea. Liverpool based their entire trust in VVD with the result that their performance level fell off dramatically when he got injured.
We tried with Sanchez, not a roaring success. Ozil was another failure. Whilst putting too much reliance on Aubameyang was totally undermined by his new contract and increased pay.
I’d rather see Arteta building a side that are willing to put their own egos on hold, trust their team-mates and play for the common good.
I know the feeling Kev,.. 😆
I can’t see any reason ESR would want to leave either, he certainly doesn’t come across as a guy who’ll put money before the game. Or his Arsenal career imo.
I wonder if Edu would except £35 mil for ESR to finance buying Ben White
I’d like to think not Geoff.
Morning all
ESR, the noise from Aston Villa and their possible pursuit of one of our star men is risible to say the the least. Imo they are trying, sending out feelers for ‘the new Grealish’. I think they’re fairly certain he will leave either this summer or next and want to replace like with like!
Personally I can’t see why someone who has been born and bred into the ‘big club’ culture would want to go to club that lives on its long distant past history and a Victorian ground and facilities to match!
However, I do think the next best signing that the Arsenal make should be ESRs, before some other big club come acalling!
Perhaps Tierney has shown the other doubters, if there are any, the way forward is with the Arsenal, not elsewhere.
Geoff, Villa are expecting to get in excess of £100 million for Grealish, why would they expect to buy his replacement for such a measly figure as £35 million and why would we accept anything less than most of that £100 million for him? Any way why would ESR want to move from leafy Hertfordshire to grim Brummagem? 😉
Snap Wavy
Ah Cicero, you need to experience it, there you are in slow moving traffic when up alongside you is a, er, well yeah you got it, a lunatic and they seem to be floating on air, of course it can make you jump and then off they go, no helmet of course, swerving in and out of the cars, buses and vans and up, onto the pavement to scatter a few bemused pedestrians.
It’s all good fun mate, brought to us by Mayor Khan, secure in his City Hall next to Tower Bridge.
Maybe he should be moved a few hundred metres into a secure cell in the Tower itself?
Totally agree re ESR Wavy/Cicero.
I hope we don’t sell ESR I got the feeling he will take another step forward this season but stranger things have happened
Good afternoon Rico and all
That was an enjoyable read Rico. Thanks
According to Italian sources (?) Xhaka to Rome is a done deal £15.5M with add ons depending on appearances for Roma and his national team. The same source has said that it will be announced when Switzerland finish their Euro Venture.
Afternoon Devil, thanks.
We should hear soon then as I can’t see Switzerland going much further.
Indiviually I would tend to agree with you . However keep the ones that we want to as a nucleus and then fill in the gaps from existing players and purchases to blend a squad that wants to play for uis.
One thing I think we’d all agree on is Arsenal don’t need any more players who are divisive. We’ve had more than our fair share of those over recent years.
Nice one, Rico 👍 Wow, Wales were spanked.. I didn’t realise Mikel’s assistant coach – Albert Stuivenberg – was also Wales’ assistant coach!
Thanks Sue, yep, second to Giggs until he was naughty.. Allegedly.
….and Italy need extra time to beat Austria 2 – 1.
Good Morning Rico and all
Keiran Tierney
“My agent called me and said Arsenal wanted to talk about a new deal, what figures should we ask for?. I said the only figure I care about is the length of years I can stay. I want 4 more years. For the other figures I couldn’t care less”
May the club move heaven and earth to keep him till he is past his sell by date.
Arteta should reward him with the captaincy.
Devil, I have a feeling he will be our next skipper.
Morning all.
The Arsenal captaincy is a poisoned chalice think back a little while, how many of our captains left not long after being elevated to the role. Wenger seemed to believe that giving the armband to a want-away star would convince him to stay.
Don’t wish it on Tierney!
Cicero, that seems to be the difference though.
Tierney will have earned it, and most definitely wants to stay.
Perfect choice, imo.
Wenger used the captaincy as a sop to keep players that didn’t neccessarily want to be here.
Appointing Tierney would be a throwback to a hard headed committed Scotsman who led The Arsenal out of the wilderness in the 70’s with the kind of grit that’s been missing for a long time.
Potter, Agreed.
Tierney will make demands of his team mates, and they’ll follow him.
Morning Devil, all. Why am I not surprised by Tierney’s comment.
I think Tierney’s work ethic is similar to Alexis. I can remember a few of the players, certainly Oxlade-Chamberlain, saying how his enthusiasm and commitment in training was rubbing off on the others.
It’s strange how highly many (everyone) rates Tierney, yet don’t rate Arteta, who Tierney has quite often gushed over.
Should we be taking notice of current players attitudes towards Arteta, ex-players, or those critics on social media?
Tierneys comments about the man are very public, and most definitely not an arse kissing exhibition.
The latest I read are about how much Arteta has built KT’s confidence in himself and how much he’s helped in general.
That’s just one player though..
I don’t think there’s much to criticise in Arteta’s ability to coach .It seems that certain players find his methods inspiring whilst others obviously do not.
It’s his ability to be a manager that is under scrutiny , when you coach , you cajole , you guide , you teach and you prepare players ,you hone their skills.
When you manage you set the tactics and pick the team to play them . This is where he has made choices that don’t always look sensible and sometimes don’t work..
That is where the criticism comes from.
Not true, Rico.
Plenty have made similar comments.
Damn, even Mustafi recently said how good a manger Arteta is, and surely he’s have reason NOT to be so kind.
Potter, there’s no doubt he’s got plenty to learn, but the facts show our second half of the season was bloody productive, he will have closer to “his” squad when the new season starts so the time is closer where he can be judged fairly, imo.
The players that don’t buy in to him are gone, or going.
Time will tell, and that time is coming.
Said similar yesterday Potter. It’s not his coaching skills which necessarily get questioned, more his in game management.
Bravo Potter. You put into words some of my feelings which I could not find the right way to express them. I agree wholeheartedly with your 1.04 comment
Maybe those who did not buy into his ideas are those who had an easy life under other coaches and now dont want to adapt.
Here we are frying….with temperatures hitting 40 degrees. Its imperative not to go out between 10.00am and 17.00 otherwise you will pass out. heat is unbearable.
Spot on Potter, he learnt his skills under top, top manager Guardiola, but they were coaching skills not managerial.
Arsenal appointed Arteta as Head Coach and It is my opinion that they were too quick to promote him to manager. A question mark hangs over Edu, is he sufficiently hands on to take the pressure off of his subordinate or should we appoint an experienced former (not Arsenal) manager as an “elder statesman” to back up Arteta?
That must be one hell of a place you live in Devil.
😉
Maybe the club took a long term approach.
Let the man grow into his role as the squad grows with him.
How many clubs rotate managers and players and end up going nowhere???
Plenty.
We can’t buy a squad, most big name managers don’t want to hang around and build one, so there really was no choice but to chance it on a young, inexperienced guy.
Hmm, give the captaincy to Willian
The only mistake (I feel) Arteta did, was that he did not target the FA Cup which meant A CUP plus entry into Europa lge. He was only 1 point away from Conference lge and just 6 points shy of CL. However, winning and holding a cup aloof is great in itself. because it would have bought him more time, more acknowledgement and also more faith from everyone concerned.
Yes he will grow with the team….and I presume the board know that a clear out is needed and new players bought in. So they are willing to let him oversee that. That is why now they need to back him with new signings. And as Scott pointed out….we could have employed an experienced manager who would have worked with what we had but we would have arrived nowhere.
I must have missed them Scott.
Kev….seeing that the captaincy is given to those who want to go elsewhere maybe it should have been given to Willian last season….so he would have left this summer. Anyway….with that line of though, maybe Auba should also leave….unfortunately it looks as if he might stay after all.
Managing wise it’s the team selections and sometimes the comments that he appears to make . Like me with my Spanish , I spent a lot of time there , I know the words but not always the phrasing and nuances . Sometimes I hear his comments and realise that he is trying to say something but it doesn’t always sound right..
His treatment of Martinelli and Cedric stand out for me . One day he plays them and praises them and the next they disappear and we are told that they have faults in their game.
Well that’s his job to iron those faults out.
His latest comments are critical of Martinelli for not defending when Tierney plays , yet to my mind he gets back a lot more than Willian or Pepe and of course our overpaid illustrious captain.
And what happened to Cedric ? one minute he’s virtually undroppable and then he’s gone from view.. How did Willian get so much time on the pitch and why was Xhaka preferred to Cedric who hadn’t made too many rickets.
This is what worries me and I believe many others- It’s not what he’s trying to achieve but how he’s going about it.
I concede that he wants different players , so would we all, but until they arrive he has to make the best of what he has. And I don’t believe that so far he’s been particularly successful in that .
Potter….do you think that the board would have backed him up if he got (at least) 7 more points, got into the CL and won the Europa lge??? I agree that you might ask me…..do you think he did it on purpose?? not qualify so that he would get his way??? you have all the rights to ask me that.
However, its a situation like who came first, the egg or the hen. I feel that Arteta knew that if the team got at least 7 more points and won the Europa lge the players he would have wanted might not have been bought.
Then again….my feelings might be mistaken and my thoughts flawed for thinking and asking these questions. But it does make me ponder.
A few seasons ago the Chavs went a whole season without European football….and ended up winning the league. A couple of years later they win the CL.
2.14 Potter, couldn’t have put it better. What you’ve said is exactly what irks me about Arteta. Add AMN to Cedric and Martinelli. One minute he’s playing a huge part in us winning the FA Cup, the next, dumped. Same goes for the keeper during tha Cup run but I know that’s been done to death now.
I don’t care what the players say about the coach / manager at the end of the day it’s the results that matters
Plus individual performances Geoff.
I would hate to think that he deliberately went out to not qualify although I can see the way your mind is working. Whenever I walked on the pitch I did so with the intention of winning , making up the numbers never existed .
I would hope that this is the case with MIkel although I do believe that certain players have not had this ethic..
Whether the board would have backed him had we qualified we will never know and we still have to see how far the boat will be pushed out as we didn’t.
They would have had more money to spend had we got into Europe and so although they may have apportioned the money gained for qualification to sorting the squad they may not have dug into reserves to fund things.
It’s still quite possible that they won’t now and just rely on player sales for funding .
Rico agree the players have to put in but at the end of the day it’s up to the manager to select his team and keep them motivated
That’s the plan DG
Inter Milan want Bellerin then…
Hi Rico.. Holland must be feeling Schick to their stomachs, but the Czech Republic will be De Ligted at going through 😂
Patrick Schick is having an excellent tournament..
Hi Sue, very good. Lol
I was pleased for the Czech’s. Always think of Tomas…
Ronato Sánchez is some player, the kind of midfielder Arsenal could do with…
The little mozart 😍 What a strike from Hazard, Rico. Love how he’s been outplaying his brother!
Was a superb goal Sue, Eden who? 😆
Morning all.
If a player criticised Arteta, some of you would be all over it, telling us how he’s lost the dressing room lol
Ya can’t have it both ways, though I guess some can.
I’m thankful that Arteta has the backing of those who count.
And Newcastle want Holding , Villa want Smith Rowe soon we wont have any home grown players left.
Potter, the club may as well close the doors if they sell these guys.
Good morning all.
Our move for Camavinga looks to be over, he’s in talks with Manure apparently. Whilst Inter Milan want Hector Bellerin and Xhaka expects to sign for Roma shortly. But fear not, reinforcements are on the way in the shape of Leicester’s Belgian midfielder Denis Praet .
The rumour mongers are in overdrive! 😉
Morning Cicero.
It’s the best time of Year hahahahahaha
Morning all.
The “Utd in advanced talks for Sancho” make me laugh. The papers have been writing that since last summer.
Xhaka plays tonight doesn’t he? Lose and I guess his deal will be confirmed if he’s going. Same with White and England tomorrow.
Morning Rico,
So we can be confident White is joining us?
I think the Xhaka move is good for all parties.
It’s been a tense time he’s had with us.
Fwiw, imo, he’s always given 100% for the club, so should be respected for that.
Morning Scott. No idea really, there’s a lot of things written but until it’s official, anything can happen. Assuming Arsenal are in for him of course.
That time of year 😉
It’s never dull, that’s for sure.
Gee, I hope we aren’t selling Holding.
I reckon he will just keep improving.
It’s official! After the beer ran out before half-time at the British Lions vs Japan test at Murrayfield yesterday, Sturgeon’s Scotland couldn’t organise a p**s up at a rugby match. 😀
New post up now
https://highbury-house.com/2021/06/28/finally-arsenal-confirm-signing/