Morning all.
A bit of fun.
Below is a list of players. On the left, those from the Arsene Wenger era but not necessarily signed by him. On the right, the players of today, very few of which have been signed by the current managerial team.
Leno v Szczesny
Tierney v Cole
Bellerin v Lauren
Holding v Keown
Gabriel v Koscielny
Mari v Mustafi
Partey v Edu
Xhaka v Song
Elneny v Petit
Saka v Pires
ESR v Wilshere
Aubameyang v Alexis
Pepe v RvP
Lacazette v Wrighty
Martinelli v Overmars
Arteta v Wenger
Out of each pairing, you can only choose one so that in the end, you have a fifteen man squad.
What’s interesting is of the fifteen players on the left column, only three have been signed signed since Mikel Arteta took over as manager of Arsenal. Of course we can add in Cedric, Willian and the Aubameyang new contract as being moves he must have supported but until now that’s it. Yet I think it’s fair to suggest that most Arsenal fans expected, and still expect to see vast changes in the way the team plays.
Did Arteta expect Aubameyang to drop in his performance to the extent he did? Did you? I didn’t. Is Willian really that bad a player to have on the bench or for Cup matches? For three years yes but let’s see if he goes this summer.
Did you or I foresee an Arsenal team suddenly being able to defend and actually keep clean sheets? A massive tick in the Arteta coaching box for achieving that.
I’d imagine that the focus this summer and going into the new season is about improving on the already improved and trying to get a balance between defence and attack and scoring more goals. In my opinion, that requires different players than he already has at his disposal.
Just in case you’re interested, in my final fifteen, only five from the left column make my fifteen. Mind you, I can’t decide on two of them.
See you in the comments.
I’ve not watched all the games, in fact I’ve only watched four completely, but I’ve seen quite a bit of Italy and I’ve felt that they had finalists written all over them from the start.
Mancini has done a similar job to Southgate in generating a club like togetherness with his players, he’s actually a very good manager.
As far as the play acting is concerned every team does it but some are better than others at and Italy are masters, just check out Chellini he is brilliant at grabbing an opponent, falling over and winning a free kick, he does it all the time he’s a brilliant defender, he must be about 40 but you rarely get past him.
The thing is you have to be switched on and allow for it and Spain can simulate with the best so they’ll both be at it. If England blow it in the semi final and that’s a distinct possibility given our last two meetings with Denmark ended in a draw and a defeat, then I hope that Italy win it.
We lionise Germany, Argentina and Brazil but Italy more often than not find a way to beat them, they are experts at starting slow and gaining momentum as a tournament progresses, in fact England have been quite similar this tournament so it would make a great final.
Morning all.
Rico, superb post.
Let’s have a crack 🙂
Szczesny
Tierney
Lauren
Keown
Koscielny
Mari
Edu
Xhaka
Petit
Saka
ESR
Alexis
RvP
Wrighty
Martinelli
Some of mine are based on what the player in question will become, imo.
For example, ESR over Jack because Jack never did fulfil his potential through no fault of his own, but ESR is untapped and could become something special, I believe.
Tierney is superb and offers things Cole didn’t, even though he was a brilliant LB……that was the hardest call for me.
Thanks Scott.
Arsene gets my vote too. Maybe one day Mikel Arteta will win some silverware worth shouting about and I’ll think differently but for the invincible year alone, I doubt they’ll ever be better for Arsenal than Arsene Wenger.
Szczesny
Cole
Lauren
Keown
Koscielny
Mari
Partey
Xhaka
Petit
Saka
ESR
Aubameyang
RvP
Wrighty
Martinelli
And, as to the most disrespectful vs on that list, Wenger every frigging day and twice on Sunday. Arteta is not fit to zip up Arsène’s puffy coat.
Creative, thought-provoking idea.
Some choice are easy, some were really tough (I will put an asterisk, if it was really hard to pick).
Some of my decision must have been influenced by my off-pitch sympathy (or the lack of) for a few players.
Leno
Tierney*
Lauren
Holding
Gabriel
Mari*
Partey
Xhaka*
Petit
Pires*
ESR
Alexis
RvP*
Lacazette
Martinelli*
Wenger
So at the end of the day it’s 10:6 for the current team.
Szczesny
Cole
Lauren
Keown
Gabriel
Mari
Edu
Xhaka
Petit
Saka v Pires – really can’t choose.
ESR
Alexis
RvP
Wrighty
Overmars
I’ll add Arsene.
The man was revolutionary.
He changed the club AND the game, how many mangers have ever done that before?
pbarany, good idea to include the *
I struggled between Cole and Lauren, Martinelli and Overmars, Pires and Saka, Leno and Szczesny too. Seaman will always remain my first choice, Jennings behind him I think.
Good morning all, just to refer back to the cheating discussion. FA Law 3, “A match is played by two teams, each with a maximum of eleven players; one must be the goalkeeper. A match may not start or continue if either team has fewer than seven players”.
Hi Rico and All
Had to think as some of these older players have slipped my mind how good they were.
Coach Wenger
Szczesney
Tierney
Lauren
Keown
Koscielny
Mari
Partey
Xhaka
Petit
Pires
ESR
Alex
RVP
Laca
Martinelli
Prefer Seaman as keeper, Alex did not give up as easy as Auba and chose RVP over Saka only due to the amount of games played by both
Szczesny
Tierney
Lauren
Holding
Koscielny
Mari
Edu
Xhaka
Petit
Saka
ESR
Alexis
Wrighty
Overmars
Wenger (not the post 2010 version)
Hi Geoff, it’s RvP or Pepe, Saka or Pires.
I couldn’t choose between Saka and Pires because Pires was incredibly whereas Saka could become incredible.
It’s tough though..
It’s only fair to say that at the time we signed Leno he was far superior to Szczesny, but since his move out of Arsenal the Pole has improved beyond my expectations.
Jack had just too many injury issues, whilst ESR, in the words of the song, has had a few but too few to mention
.
I’m glad people are seeing at fun Andrew, that’s exactly what was intended.
Song over Xhaka is an interesting one, both full of mistakes, both give away free kicks in dangerous areas… lol
Fun post rico, thanks, here goes:
Szczesny
Tierney
Lauren
Keown
Koscielny
Mari
Edu
Song
Petit
Pires
Wilshere
Alexis
RvP
Wrighty
Overmars
Haha, not many recent! ONLY TWO But then you forced some in like Song and Mari that wouldnt be in, in a different combo! And hated leaving Saka and ESR out but then Wilshire and Pires gave too many good memories to be discounted.
PS one more good season by ESR, and he replaces Wilshire! Same with Saka, two more needed to leave out Pires!!
Andrew, their the little sticky ones to work out.
It makes the exercise fun 🙂
I wonder how we’d go if each player was judged solely on ONE performance, benign their best in the Arsenal kit.
Immediately, Jack is in for “that” game v Barca.
You could say that about Almunia Scott. 😂
Afternoon Rico. Interesting post. I guess there is some clairvoyance called for in as much as let’s say Bobby Pires was a great player and Saka is on the way. If we consider players who have had their careers against those who are starting theirs, then who knows? But, here goes.
Leno
Tierney
Lauren
Keown
Kos
Mari
Partey
Xhaka
Petit
Pires
ESR
Alexis
RVP
Wrighty
Overmars
Wenger
Afternoon Adam, I think we differ on many. Lol
It’s certainly tricky, I’m of the opinion that those who have proved themselves will usually get picked because as you say, who knows where some of the current players are heading. Out the door for a few I hope. Lol
GUENDOUZI BIDS ARSENAL FAREWELL
Midfielder Matteo Guendouzi has penned a heartfelt farewell to Arsenal as he closes on a departure from the north London club.
The 22-year-old, linked with Marseille, wrote on Instagram: “Thank you @arsenal , thanks for everything ! I discovered and learned so much during my time here. It would be impossible to list everything without forgetting one memory or word… But I will never forget any minute spent with the Gunners jersey.
“I will never forget the Emirates Stadium. I will never forget the fans. I won’t forget the city. I will never forget everything I’ve been through here. I will never forget that my only will was to defend with pride Arsenal colours.
“Thanks to all of those who believed in me during my time here, during the good and the bad moments. I can only wish the best to the club and its fans who deserve so much, trust me ! Good bye Arsenal, I will never forget you and will be a gooner forever.”
Rico based on now not the future I will pick RVP over Pepe and Pires over Saka and that is based on amount of games played but I could easy change my mind and pick Pepe if he keeps improving and Saka if he has another year like last season
Rico, but he wasn’t an option hahahaha
Nah, I know what you’re saying 🙂
Scott, agree, oddly my lasting memory of Jack is two goals, one great Arsenal move, and the other being a long effort for England that would have kick-started hi international career, just before another injury!
A wasted talent, Andrew.
Such a shame as he’d have been one of the very best.
Merci et Bon Voyage Matteo.
According to the Guardian the following is the business the big five leagues have done both incoming and sales;
La Liga…………… £57.7m
Ligue Un…………£141.5m
Serie A……….…..£150.8m
Bundesliga…..…..£298.3m
Premier League…£350.5m
Nice one, Rico!!
Leno
Cole
Lauren
Keown
Koscielny
Mari
Partey
Song
Petit 😍
Pires
ESR
Aubameyang
RVP
Wrighty (all day long!!!)
Overmars
Arsene, without a doubt!!!
Farewell to Guendouzi… Will miss him 😔
My membership (red) is renewed.. cheaper than last time… now just waiting for the season to begin!
Good Afternoon Rico and all
Lovely post. We get to play like being a football manager.
Some interesting options out there. And you were a bit cruel with the options you made us chose from…I mean Saka vs Pires?? Oh dear. that is so bloody hard.
Well here goes. I begin with the manager though. The problem is that AW favoured 4-2-3-1 while Arteta favours a 4-3-3. I am going with a 4-2-3-1 formation although I prefer Arteta as manager….simply because he puts his team out with the opposition in mind. And he adapts the team not expecting the other team to worry about us.
So ARTETA as coach
Leno v Szczesny………Not much difficult. I prefer Seaman but between those two its easy….I go with Szczesny. He is Arsenal through and through and I feel he was forced to leave because Arsenal got Cech. SZCZESNY
Tierney v Cole….If I had to go on skill alone I think that Cole was more advanced than Tierney. But If I had to include attitude with it than Tierney might edge it. Maybe I am biased here because I love Kieran’s honest and genuine character whereas I get the feeling that Cole is a snake. Tierney for me. TIERNEY
Bellerin v Lauren…..LAuren wins hands down. no comments needed. LAUREN
Holding v Keown….Keown edges this for his never say die attitude and his aggressive approach. Holding is more technical of the two but Keown has more tactical awareness and knows when to stick the boot in. Oh and he bullied RVN into submission (although Holding had Costa in his pocket). KEOWN
Gabriel v Koscielny….Koscielny wins this one for me. Yes he did make that odd mistake but he also scored some important goals. He prevented certain goals (although he scored some howlers in our net. But still better than Gabriel KOSCIELNY
Mari v Mustafi…….err why did you make it so easy by mentioning Mustafi. Even if you put my name…Devilgunner v Mustafi I would have chosen myself. MARI
Partey v Edu…..Partey is a box to box whereas Edu was more AM. Since I am going with a 4-2-3-1 it has to be EDU
Xhaka v Song….lol. hilarious. I am going to get a Daisy flower and begin picking the petals…Xhaka, Song, Xhaka, Song….I got bored and will chose XHAKA
Elneny v Petit…..Petit wins hands down. He is my all time favourite. Even my son has the same name as him. PETIT
Saka v Pires….Cruel you. This was the hardest one of them all. I love them both. Can we seperate them for once? maybe putting Pires v Marwood and Saka v Santos?? Tsk Tsk. Pires wins it for me because of his duck feet…I wish I had them….PIRES
ESR v Wilshere…..Another cruel option. Both skilled, Both raised by Arsenal. Both love the club. Maybe Jack would edge it because of his attitude. but only by .00001 of a point. WILSHERE
Aubameyang v Alexis….ALEXIS
Pepe v RvP…..Err. is this a choice? RVP wins hands down. Forget the way he left. Remember the goals he scored and his lethal foot. yes he might have a little boy baggage. But Pepe has a little baby baggage as well. RVP never hid though. RVP
Lacazette v Wrighty…Love them both to bits. But Wrighty wins it for me. WRIGHT
Martinelli v Overmars….Overmars wins it due to experience and skill. Although in 5 years time Martinelli will be one of the greats. Martinelli is still raw. OVERMARS
SZCZESNY, TIERNEY, LAUREN, KEOWN, KOSCIELNY, MARI, EDU, XHAKA, PETIT, PIRES, WILSHERE, ALEXIS, RVP, WRIGHT, OVERMARS
Team in a 4-2-3-1 formation….
Szczesney, Lauren, Tierney, Keown, Koscielny, Xhaka, Petit, Edu, Pires, Overmars, RVP. Subs…the rest.
Afternoon Devil, Sue – thanks.
It’s a great shame Arteta and Guendouzi didn’t see eye to eye, just as it’s a shame the Frenchman seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. I thought he was going to be good for us…
ARSENAL CLOSE ON TAVARES, LOKONGA – Sky Sports
Arsenal are closing in on the signings of Benfica left-back Nuno Tavares and Anderlecht midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga.
Defender Tavares is currently in quarantine in London and will have his final medical checks later this week before completing his switch for a fee understood to be worth £8m.
Tavares has been brought in to provide competition for first-choice left-back Kieran Tierney.
Arsenal have agreed a deal in principle for Lokonga and are in the process of finalising the payment structure of a £17m deal.
I reckon it’s still a bit too early for the club to announce Tavares yet Rico, he’s only been in the UK a week.
Haha Kev, I wonder why the club faffs around like it does. If the deal is agreed, just announce it fgs.
He came at the weekend Rico, as he arrived from an amber list country he has to self isolate for ten days or until he can produce to negative tests. 💉💉
Not Arsenal’s fault in this case. 😉
I’ll let them off then Cicero, this time. 😂
I’m reserving judgement until the window closes.
We have enough “executives” to get the job done, but are they the right ones?
Question for Sue , How easy is it to get tickets as a red member , My son and I live in Norfolk and sometimes just can’t make it to london we put our tickets on exchange but if you have membership numbers we could transfer them . There are two north bank lower almost behind the goal near the back.
https://foxhole.news/2021/07/05/primary-schools-viral-video-in-support-of-england-attacked-by-woke-brigade/
Bet the kids really enjoyed themselves , they certainly looked like they did. But then the complaints came in .
Seriously what is it with these people
Finally :- Szczesney, Cole , Lauren, Keown , Kos , Mari , Edu , Petit , Pires , Wilshere , Alexis , RVP , Wright , Overmars . Then a choice of midfield I would keep Elneny as well and get rid of both Song and Xhaka and I want Bergkamp back .
Just watched that video, considering this is England, I thought it was great. Being patriotic at a young age is healthy.
Hi Potter.. I usually get tickets I want after making a phonecall, but on the odd occasion I’ve had to use the ticket exchange. Because of work, I’m limited to around once a month… thank you for the offer 👍 Much appreciated…
I think about 20% of the adult population in the UK are on Twitter, so if that’s actually correct then that leaves around 80% who aren’t on Twitter and also who aren’t woke, therefore in my humble opinion all the loony leftie Twiterers can go and fcuk off…
It’s about time the media, culture, business and such like stood up to and treated the Twitterers as the mouthy ‘minority’ they are…
I’m a loony leftie who’s on Twitter. 😜😜
Rotten news about the England ODI squad and staff… Good for those newbies who’ll now be selected for Thursday’s ODI though.
Morning all.
Kev, the minority groups in Oz have infiltrated our political parties over the past 20 or so years, and doesn’t it show!!
The place is run by lefty fukktards now.
No, I’m not suggesting all lefties are horrible, unreasonable people, far from it, but the extremists (fukktards) are ruining a great country!!!
Woke-shit, many who claim to be woke wouldn’t know if their arse was on fire.
It’s the “participation award” generation.
Look at a 22 year old, and odds are the kid has no ability to step out into the real world and survive.
I recon this political correctness is gone mad. Some idiot now wants the law changed so parents have to ask a baby for permission first to change nappy.
can you imagine the future a football player asking another player during a match for permission to tackle them
I’m sticking to football on here. The woke debate is for somewhere else I think.
We Arsenal fans think the club are in a pickle, Barca reportedly are unable to register their new signings as their wage bill is too high. That’s funny.
Morning Rico and all
Let’s hope we see some positive news on the transfer market today.
Rico, there’s a huge difference between a lefty and a rabid lefty but that applies equally to the conservative side of politics.
Geoff, I saw that.
What the actual f**k?
Incredible.
Rico, what’s happened to the cricketers?
Covid struck Scott.
I should’ve known, Rico lol
Scott; https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/57732043
I’ve just found out myself.
Kev, on and on it goes….
Rico I read the story about Barca and couldn’t stop laughing when I read that they couldn’t even resign Messi until they sell several players,
Their fans must be going crazy at the board for getting them into this much trouble
They will probably get round it Geoff, they just need to offload a number of players. Sounds familiar eh…
Spain is broke, yet their footballers are the highest paid in the world.
Go figure.
European Super League anyone?
Kev, It was their saviour.
Well so they thought 🙂
Here are the results of the voting.
Leno………..3 votes
Szczesny..7 votes
Tierney….7 votes
Cole……….3 votes
Bellerin….zero votes
Lauren……10 votes
Holding….2 votes
Keown……8 votes
Gabriel…..2 votes
Koscielny..6 votes
Mari……….10 votes
Mustafi…..zero votes
Xhaka……..8 votes
Song……….2 votes
Martinelli..1 vote
Overmars…6 votes
Elneny………zero votes
Petit…………10 votes
Partey………5 votes
Edu………….5 votes
Saka…………3 votes
Pires…………5 votes
ESR……………8 votes
Wilshire…….2 votes
Aubameyang.2 votes
Alexis…………..8 votes
Pepe……………….zero votes
RVP……………9 votes
Lacazette……2 votes
Wrighty .……8 votes
Wenger…..6 votes
Arteta…zero votes
Any errors or omissions should be referred to the Electoral Commission.
Hats off to you Cicero, I thought about adding them up but that’s as far as I got. Thank you.
I’m surprised Tierney beat Cole on here.
On the basis of the votes, here is my selection.
……………………………….Szczesny
Laure………..Keown……………….Mari…………Tierney
……………….Petit………Partey………….Xhaka
RVP…………………….Wrighty…………………..Alexis
……………………………..Wenger
Only a week to go before our first pre season game and despite a lot of youngsters in and around the 1st team Arteta has pretty much a full squad to choose from?
So that first Arteta team selection is going to be very interesting and despite it not meaning a great deal in the grand scheme of things you can be sure that those that love to, on Twitter, will be having a meltdown…
Personally I’ll be intrigued to see how involved the likes of Balogun, Azeez, Rekik and Willock are in the two games vs Hibernian and Glasgow Rangers before the trip out to Florida?
Maybe that’ll give us an insight into how much Arteta sees them as part of his plans for next season.
I’m looking forward to seeing the younger players in pre season.
Oyyy Cicero…..I voted for ARTETA 😛😛
Why surprised Rico? Tierney is superior to Cole in terms of mentality and attitude. True, Cole has more experience but BA and narcissistic mentality
Evening everyone
Is he Devil? I don’t think so.
I think that time has eroded the memory of just how good Cole was. To me he ranks alonside Kenny Sansom as the best left back in my time . Like the ESR /Wilshere question where ESR has it all to do so do Tierney , Martinelli and still Saka. in all their cases Pires , Overmars and Cole have the notches on theiir belts . Come the end of the season there might be wriggle room and I still would ditch Song and Xhaka for Elneny who I think is severely underated by many fans that have never patrolled a midfield with superior players choosing when and when not to contribute. In my view he doesn’t shirk , he might make a few mistakes but he never hides and his ego doesn’t make him feel entitled.
Evening Rico and the House.
Who will we all want to win tonight?
Evening Rick. Not sure it makes much difference really, but if push comes to shove, Spain.
Potter….Rico put Petit with Elneny. And whoever is pitted against Petit (in my book) will always come 2nd. Even my other favourite…Gilberto. I like Elneny, and would have him over Xhaka and Song. But against PEtit??? Tsk Tsk I told you that Rico was cruel in the choices she gave us
I agree with you that Cole is one of the greats. But his attitude and mentality and his character after he left, leaves a lot to be desired. And while he is (as I agreed with you) a top top left back, I feel that what he said in the after sales service has contributed to his demise in the opinion of Arsenal fans.
Rick……I hope that the vertical colours will win against the horizontal ones. I have blue eyes.
I worked it out with help from google and reckon that in my time I have seen13 regular left backs at Arsenal and I put them in this order. Sansom , Cole , Winterburn , Monreal ,Tierney , Nelson , Gibbs , Clichy , Mc cullogh, Silvinhio, McNab , Kolasinac and Rostron.
I’m disappointed Santos isn’t in there Potter. Lol
Only just Potter.
Bella primorum cara Patria
Nunc et semper florens gloria
That memorable
Santos wasnt a left back Rico
He played at left back Devil. Badly I hasten to add.
He wasnt a left back Rico. I am not sure what he was. And I can bet my bottom dollar that even Santos himself did not know what he was.
Tell you guys one thing, Santos was the best deliverer of a cross we’ve had in the past decade.
Shame his lack of fitness meant he only got forward once every few games lol
Morning all.
How’s the divefest going?
Its 1-1 Scott. They are playing Chess. Tactics are nullifying all the good players both sides possess. Each side sits deep when the other has the ball.
I just wish Arsenal can defend like that.
I have the feeling that if Italy are going to score it will be via a counter attack. They are sitting deeper than Spain who are trying to press high up. Italy are masters at waiting patiently.
but the problem is if Italy (and also Spain for that matter) attack, they have the players to turn it on and score goals. Both goals were very well taken goals.
The quality and intensity are of a high level Scott. But its a pity that the defensive side of tactics are nullifying the game. It should be a more beautiful one worthy of a Euro SF.
Both sides are playing a classic 4-3-3 but when the opposition have the ball the other team enters into a defensive shell.
If only both teams remove the shackles
Penalties now.
Italy win the penalty shoot out…..Spain win the diving competition….as the keeper dived the wrong way for the final penalty
What a game! Love penalties! Typical Morata.. What a unit Donnarumma is..
Well done Italy, I was rooting for them!
You see Rico. That is why I wanted Donnarumma at Arsenal. And he was on a bosman. Now he has gone to PSG
Sue…you are a top scout
Devil, from Wikipedia.
André Clarindo dos Santos (born 8 March 1983) is a Brazilian footballer who most recently played for Figueirense. Santos is a left-back, who can also be deployed as a left winger.
Morning all
If we can beat Denmark tomorrow, Italy won’t present much of a problem. Too many old guys in the team.
Good night one and all.
Cicero, I hope you’re right, but I think the last side anyone would want to meet in a final is Italy.
Denmark first..
I think that that is now 33 successive games unbeaten by Italy, which by anyone’s reckoning is a pretty impressive run of how to be hard to beat.
Now England have to lean into their defensive resilience to get past Denmark which won’t be easy but if England prevail we’ll then have two teams in the final with the most impressive defences in the competition…
Kev, as well as two nations with MASSIVE pressure from their fellow countrymen.
That’s where we know Italy will stand up to be counted, let’s hope your lads do.
It’s in them, they’re potentially a great side.
The problem facing Italy is their older players know this may be their last chance of winning a major trophy,
Whoever plays them will need to score early and keep the pressure on their keeper
If reports are correct it sounds like we are getting some players coming in, I’m looking forward to seeing Lokonga I like what I have seen and read about him
Devil.. 😁 It’s hard to believe PSG got him on a free!! They certainly know a good thing when they see it – 22, and all those appearances (clean sheets!) under his belt already. The guy is a man-mountain!
Apparently Gabriel is out of the Olympics with a knee injury…
yes Sue they got him on a free. Milan wanted to give him 7 million a year. Juventus thought they had him by offering 8 million a year. But then PSG came and gave him a salary of 12 million Euros a year. That is roughly EUR231Kpw….around £200kpw.
I feel Arsenal would and should have afforded that on one of the top 5 keepers in the world. And aged only 22. AND FREE
Perhaps Arsenal did enquire about Donnarumma, I’d imagine a lot of clubs did as he was free but at the end of the day, it’s his choice where he goes. PSG have certainly got themselves a good keeper.
And instead we’re looking at Ramsdale…. sheesh!!
Ha, yes, Rico to then be told ‘we tried’ 🤣
Rico….I was pulling legs with regards Santos. Because I still feel that eveyhe himself didn’t know where he was best fit 😂😂😂
Just a good keeper Rico? A top one I dare say. He was in the first team at 16 and kept his place despite having seasoned professional keepers in front of him. And at 17 he was already in the national team…. comparing him to Buffon when he was same age I dare say that Donnarumma is better. And Milan have another very good keeper in 21 year old Alessandro Plizzari.
Morning all.
Let’s face it, Donarumma could have gone to almost any club he chose, so we can’t be disappointed we didn’t get him.
He’s a superb keeper and will get better-scary thought, but will likely end up the beat of all time imo.
Devil, Santos has found his best position-retirement lol
But he could deliver a cross 😉
Just a thought, perhaps Donnarrumma didn’t fancy joining a mid-table side with no European football next season.
‘morning all.
Cicero, it’s a shame players want a walk up start and a massive wage these days ahead of all else.
He’s headed to a pretty uncompetitive league, apart from 2 or 3 clubs.
He’s not taking a pay cut either 🙂
Gabriel withdrawn from Brazil’s Olympic squad with a knee injury.
Where does that leave us on the loan deal for Saliba ?
Hopefully those days are over Sue. Lol
Good question Potter because it’s still two weeks until the Olympics so his injury must be pretty bad.
I think the same as well Cicero. Donnarumma prefers to play CL football. so he chose PSG because out of the CL teams they gave him most money.
What I find difficult to digest is the fact that Kroenke and the board dont realize that if they are ruthless, get in top players and sell what we have……yes we will have to pay more wages. However, we get full capacity every match, people buy more merchandize, more stadium tours, etc. So in effect the better players we have the more money we make.
Its a vicious circle and like the proverbial who came first hen or egg its the same with playing staff. we get good players, we pay more wages and we get more revenue. we paid 35 million for Xhaka. There were better players who went for less when we bought him, there were better players who went for a couple of million more as well. I like Xhaka but why buy him and expect him to play in your formation when everyone knows that he thrives in a particular formation we saw at the Euros? Gante went for 40million at the same time. And he is adaptable to 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3.
Yes we have Leno……but why not offer Donnarumma 12 million a year from the start and then sell Leno? Donnarumma comes free not with a fee. So if we sold Leno for 15-20 million we could have bought another player with that money.
Rico….last time you said you preferred not to have Italians…..but what if they are top talent and cost less than other players who are inferior? Yes we are on the verge of Sambi Lokonga but honestly Barella, Locatelli and Jorginho are of a different and higher level. We cant get Verratti as he is with PSG but those three and maybe Pessina are a lot better than what we have right now. We paid 45m for Partey…..honestly Barella is much better. Even Locatelli.
So much talent in the world…..and so many wrong decisions by the board. And so many like Tierney in the UK. Are we, those of us behind a keyboard like we do on here, more knowledgeable than those in the coaching staff?? I should suppose not. But if you, Sue, Kev, Cicero, Scott, me and the others can see the obvious from behind a laptop, why cant they?
Italians and the PL hasn’t often mixed well Devil. Not outfield players imo. Other than Zola, I can’t think of many, if any who have done particularly well in England.
Gabriel has patellar tendonitis an injury which can be resolved in about six weeks. But full recovery takes anywhere from six to 12 months after physical therapy.
Here we go again !
Devil, for whatever reason/reasons, it’s clear we’ve settled for certain players this past decade or more.
Yes, there have been errors made, but I reckon Arsene, Unai and now Mikel would buy different players at times if finances permitted.
For what we’ve spent on certain players, though, yes, better options were out there, at times.
Devil , The club has used the free transfer high wage policy and has come unstuck, Willian , Kolasinac just recently.
Donarumma is a different kettle of fish , he is young but ambitious and sees Arsenal showing a desire to gradually improve but ” he wants it all and he wants it now.” ( unquote )
I accept that the Italian midfield looks good and their players in their collective in my opinion will be too strong for England if we get past Denmark but who would not have gambled on Kolasinac who was Germany’s player of the year when we snatched him up.
It’s easy to criticise in retrospect but the transfer market is like swimming with sharks and in Arsenal’s case with one arm cut off with blood billowing out.
yes we can all see the deficiencies but can only play at solving them and stand aside and complain when they get it wrong.
I think things went awry for us when Gazidis went down the track of Stats .com and made scouts redundant .
As fans that regularly watch we form our opinions from players performances that’s what scouts do It took me some time to realise that Denilson who topped the passing stats as a midfielder was wrong for Arsenal but it took me 20 odd games , the same with Song and I am afraid for Scott , Xhaka.
Sometimes it’s not the player but the ones around him
. Away from Arsenal look at the Lampard and Gerrard situation , both great players for their clubs but any number of England managers could not get them to gel .
Potter…..Does Potter Mercury sound nice….I want it all….. 😂😂😂😂😂
But why get Willian when we had Nelson? Why keep flogging a dead horse over 25-30 odd games and none to Nelson?
If I were Nelson I would want to leave. ASAP
Potter….the fact that no manager could get Lampard and Gerrard to gel says more about the managers than the players.
First of all they were similar. Secondly they could play together in only a 4-3-2-1 or 3-4-2-1 formation….both of them given a free reign behind the lone striker. Thirdly in those two formations they should have been allowed the freedom of the pitch.
But no. England managers wanted them to be included together in the usual formation without thinking outside the box and changing formation to suit them both
Potter, yes, I like Xhaka, I believe he always gave his all, but I’ve also got no doubt he’s better suited in a different league and have said so for years.
Because I like a player, doesn’t mean I think he’s right for us.
Morning All, it’s sounding as if we won’t be seeing Gabriel in our defence this side of Christmas!
Kev… Sometimes, summer tournaments like the one that Gabriel gets injured in, are a blessing. Because as you pointed out we won’t be seeing Gabi this side of Christmas. So now we have Holding and Mari only. If we get White we will still be short. So it’s either Arteta buys another CB or use one if Tierney/Chambers if needed or pull the plug on SALIBA and get him to stay.
DG some 12 months ago Rob Holding almost left us to join Newcastle but fortunately Arteta had a change of heart and Rob remained to become a mainstay in our defence. Some don’t rate him and that fine, that’s called opinion and everyone is entitled to it even if if some would like to restrict that right. I like Rob, he’s not perfect and has parts of his game that aren’t as good as I’d like but his strengths are considerable in my view if overlooked by others.
William Saliba could be where Rob Holding was a year ago?
Maybe the injury to Gabriel, as suggested above, will kickstart his Arsenal career and I for one will be pleased about that, Ben White or no Ben White. Hopefully young William will show us what he’s capable of but he’s still very young and the EPL is unforgiving so expect a few mistakes.
My point was that as supporters we could see that in their system they were incompatible but professionals apparently couldn’t. It’s the od chestnut of trying to fit players into a system rather than forming a system that suits your players..
My hope, maybe even expectation is that Mikel Arteta is building a squad to suit his system. That will take time of course.
However, the problems come when or if Arteta were to leave because unless the next manager plays the same or very similar system, it’s back to square one.
When Unai took over, the squad was just a group of players to which Raul added his choice it seems, so as we all hope for x,y and z players, it’s Arteta who has to make them work. Jus5 because a player looks good where he’s playing, it doesn’t always mean the same player is right for an Arteta team.
Potter, I know, but you certainly don’t need to apologise for criticism a player I like 🙂
Horses for courses and all that.
Kev, I reckon Holding is a ripper.
I think Saliba will be even better as he’s got a natural talent that Rob doesn’t, but our lad gets every bit out of what he has and Saliba must show he’s capable of doing that.
As long as his head is in the right space, he could be a star for us.
Rico, I think it’s more important Arteta finds players that buy into the clubs new culture rather than our formation.
A culture that places demands on them as individuals, as well as a collective.
No free rides any more, I hope.
Scott, I think both are important.
So do I, Rico, I just think the culture is a little higher on the agenda
Lets hope that finishing mid table and Kroenke getting told no super league is the kick up the arse that the owners and board needed to finally listen to the manager and get the players the manager want’s.
Fingers crossed that we don’t let ESR go to another club. as for Saliba I was hoping that if we loaned him out it was to another English side so we could get a good look at him.
Did anyone see Martinez yesterday?
Arsenal will have a team not to be relegate. .
I’ve just discovered the ultimate lunch time snack!
Mature Cheddar cheese with hot buttered crumpets topped with the newly released, limited edition DYNAMITE, that’s Marmite with chilli. Fantastic !!
That’s sounds interesting Cicero.
Personally I like thin slices of onion tucked under my cheese so as it melts onto the crumpets it merges with the onion to make a taste sensation.
I am allergic to onions which makes eating a right bind especially in restaurants. When we go out whenever I ask for a dish without they have to prepare it seperately and consequently I often get served just as everyone else is finishing their meal. Although things are cooked individually often the prepared stuff , salads are pre prepared .
After a while you get fed up with being Mr Odd man out , so I rarely bother.
Afternoon Rico and the House.
I understand that Gabriel has said the
injury is not serious and he thinks he will be
with the team sooner then he would have done
had he played in the Olympics.
All 4 friendlys that we are playing in july will be steamed live (and free0
to members on the main website. this includes Red members.
Afternoon Rick, that’s good news re Gabriel then. I hope it’s true.
New post up now
Can you put the link on please Rico
Here you go Cicero
https://highbury-house.com/2021/07/07/saliba-loan-in-doubt-saka-fit-for-semi-final/