Morning all.
Guys and gals. If any of you would like to rent out a season ticket for the next couple of years then please let me know and I’ll put you in touch with the person who has them. Three in total are up for grabs, so just email me at highbury.house@yahoo.co.uk.
The penultimate game tonight against already relegated Sunderland who quite frankly, have been dreadful this season. I’ve no idea what’s gone on at their club but for David Moyes, it’s clearly been tough and a far cry from his Everton days. I bet he now wishes he stayed there and not been tempted into the Man Utd job, after all, following in Fergie’s footsteps was never going to be easy, especially having been left an ageing squad on it’s last legs. The funny thing is that he was sacked, yet here they are hardly any better off under Mourinho. But that’s their problem, not ours although so many Wenger defenders cite the goings on in Manchester as being a reason to ‘be careful what you wish for…’ Funny eh!
Not so funny was Arsene Wenger having a moan yesterday about clubs not giving their all at this stage of the season. How he had the cheek to fire that dig at West Ham beggars belief as a) it’s not their job to help us to fourth spot and b) his group of players have looked like they’re on holiday for large chunks of the season. People in glass houses Arsene!!
Arsenal seem to have nabbed Sead Kolasinac from under the noses of a few big clubs which is quite remarkable really considering. I guess with us he’s been promised a first team place which could spell the end of either Nacho Monreal or Kieran Gibbs career. Sad to see one go but there’s no sentiment in sport and to be honest, if I was Kieran Gibbs I’d have gone a few seasons ago as I wouldn’t put up with sitting on the bench for so long, regardless of how much I was earning. Top professionals want to play, or they should do in what is a relatively short career.
And it won’t be long before we have to read more transfer rumours and not only those coming into the club but those leaving to and we are not short in that department that’s for sure.
Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Wojeck Szczesny, Yaya Sanogo, Mathieu Debuchy, Aaron Ramsey, David Ospina, Per Mertesacker, Carl Jenkinson, Francis Coquelin, Wojciech Szczesny, Calum Chambers and Joel Campbell. That’s just from the players (and on loan) who will be listed in the first team squad at the end of the season. No doubt a few younger players will be released or sold on too.
Added to the above list is the future of three others to sort out. Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alexis Sanchez. So, it’s going to be a very busy summer for Arsene Wenger, if he stays of course, and convincing any of these players that he’s ready to win the league is an all but impossible task for him to conquer…
There could be plenty of empty seats as fans protest against the manager with their feet at The Emirates tonight.
Not that I think it’ll make much difference, not to Arsene Wenger anyway….
Morning Rico, all.
I have no idea why Wenger has to put his nose in anyone else’s business, then make stupid comments about it. Saying Westham didn’t turn up was stupid regarding we rolled over at Everton, Westbrom and Crystal – Bournemouth also had us at the ropes yet no other manager said we didn’t turn up. He likes to be the smartest guy in the room and more often he ends up being daft.
Last week he mentioned teams that won the league this season and the season past did not ‘take the initiative’ in ball possession. Ball possession stats are irrelevant if you are not winning! That’s why he sends out sideway passing robots so as the possession stats can be in our favor? He should stop commenting on stuff that aren’t his own to say.
When has a Europa playing team won the league? Yup, next season it’s going to be the same of this bull…!
There was an outstanding post from Kev the other day. Transfer wise our club doesn’t seem to have a plan. Long-term or short. Chelsea having won the league they will go ahead and strengthen and assemble a team for Europe and domestic leagues, over at the Ems they’ll spend the entire summer ‘ironing out’ contracts negotiations for the players mentioned above. It’s farcical.
Morning Marshall.
That’s Wenger though isn’t it? Shame he doesn’t spend as much time organising our defence over the years as he has poking his nose into other clubs business…
Morning All
Morning Rico, thanks Marshall.
Rico, when chatting to Adam I’ve often suggested that Wenger might not be as smart as everyone thinks he is. He certainly doesn’t think things through before shooting his mouth off, which isn’t, in my book, much of a sign of intelligence.
If he’s playing mind games then he really isn’t that good at them. How many times do we all wish he’d just keep he very big mouth firmly shut.
Morning Rico
Sead Kolasinac
Yaya Sanogo
Mesut Ozil
Mustafi
Elneni
Is fair to say that religion is a factor that Le prof is looking according to this list from top of my head.
He can’t resist having an opinion on everything , sometimes he should just reply to questions by saying , not any of my business , it’s not my club. Perhaps if he did that they would stop asking him for their next headline.
Oxlade-Chamberlain (if fit) or Bellerin?
Giroud or Welbeck?
Cech or Ospina?
Xhaka & Ramsey or Xhaka & Coquelin?
At Wembley??
I didn’t see the Chelsea vs Watford game, but conceding 3 goals, could have been more, is it a sign that the Chavs are letting it slip?
Ox for me.
Welbeck simply cause he mOves.
Ospina. Cech always has the blues when facing the Chavs.
Xhaka & Elneny
No he gave JT a farewell performance and they played an open testimonial which Watford were happy to go along with. Don’t try grabbing straws they will be totally different at Wembley.
Morning Kev. Totally agree. Wenger has no speech filter…
Hi Alex.
Speaking of speech filter, him referring fans who fly planes as ‘rich fans’ totally disregarding why they are flying planes. Seems he’s numb to these protests or he is good at diverting attention away from him.
Alex, if I may, I doubt religion is a factor. Football quality is and should be, besides Sanogo of-course. I know not what factor he got selected to join us…or why we are still keeping him.
he have 2 Szesc, in the squad?
chelsea played with a second team
different games and different ambition.
“Cech always has the blues when facing the Chavs.”. and Fabregas not?
Jm, Fabregas not so much. Cech basically gifted him a goal – his head wasn’t in the game.
Maybe it’s how they are mentally prepared by their managers…
When six players of the starting 11 players are muslim …well that is a worry.
Come Romadan and if decide to fast what are we going to do ?
Sanogo ….i stated several time my opinion on him and it remain unchanged.
Give the lad a propper run of games then i criticise him or praising.For me i do not see one game that embarassed him totally.His touches are exaclty Adebayorish but i have seen Feo for decade .
Fair is fair fingers should be pointed to that flop who is completely donkey.Ten years of tutileage and playing among the best players and did not improve one bit .Still run and rjn and run.
Feo and the idiot who bought him merit big time sack.
The next in line should be Gibbs.Another complete waste of space not Sanogo.
A real professional player should not accept to be all his years as a substitute .This idiot accepeted that rsther than to go and look for another club that can give him first chances.
Sanogo is just a scapegot .He is not among the starters nor than occuping space.Barely a number which i believe at the minimal wage scale.
FEO bought for 12M and at an unbelievable wage for a decade .This is fulcrum of pain at Arsenal and of course Le prof .
Considering the £100+ million he’s earned from us over the last 10 years, for precisely 2 FACups, it’s a bit ‘rich’ of Arsene to be talking about rich fans…
If Ospina plays tonight or at the weekend then that would be a pointer to the way that Wenger is thinking for Wembley.
Alex @ 11:37, Chelsea has Hazard, Kante, Zouma, Begovic, and it didn’t stop them for winning the tittle, last year LC also had 4 or more Muslim players, fasting didn’t hinder them either, and by the way most “true” Christians fast more/ longer during the year than Muslims. Some athletes such as Hakeem Olujuwon, 2x NBA and MVP of the league, asserted that he’s much stronger during Rahmadan because he has a better routine – rest and eating routine.
On your point with Sonogo, I agree with you 1000%. First of all let the kid get a run of games first, he has played about 10 games for Arsenal is not as though he’s Theo or Ramsey. The guy makes 30k pw, can our focus as a club be bigger and better than Sonogo?
Unfortunately at a club like The Arsenal that is always near the top and pretending to go for titles , a run of games to look and see , is not affordable. I suppose that is why they go on loan to get playing time and see how they develop.
Since joining us he has made 20 competitive appearances and has scored 1 goal , On loan at Palace 11 games 1 goal , Ajax 9 games no goals and Charlton 8 games 3 goals .
He needs to find his level but sadly Top 6 of the Premiership ain’t it.
As for rich fans flying planes it shows how little the club pay attention to it’s supporter base. One only has to read the forum of the Online gooner to know that the first plane was crowd funded with many supporters contributing , furthermore similar donations were taken for the projections that have been seen in many places.
b]A reader of this forum and a fellow WoB contacted me last week saying if we hit our £2500k target, he would match it. I thought it was a wind up or there was some catch but he contacted me yesterday, said there was £403 in the fund and to show his good intent he would put another £500 in…which, if you go check the page, he has subsequently done. So basically he is prepared to match, at the end of every week, what we can raise. This is somebody really putting his money where his mouth is and we need to take him up on his generous offer.
We had something really eye catching planned after our “banner tour” in London last night but unfortunately it eventually became prohibitively expensive. Now if we can continue to contribute and encourage others to do so as well, and with our generous benefactor we can definitely do what we originally planned and more. And I promise you, this will really get peoples attention. So those of you who can, please give…….
Was this man Ivan Gazidis by any chance?
From the above mentioned forum.
Potter, what’s the £2500 target? Sorry if I’ve missed something..
Afternoon all.
Hi Obi @2:24
Agree to some extent but there is no general rule on this diet thing.
On the other hand i was thinking contractual obligation should be there to make the player be available for work.
Footy is not a fun it is work for players i guess
Ajax coaches gave up on Sanogo, it would be a waste of time to give him games. As mentioned above he doesn’t fit the quality required for a top team.
Afternoon all and thank`s Rico.
Wenger going on about other teams being on “Holiday”…………….didn`t mind the other teams being on “Holiday” when we`ve scraped into top 4 in recent years !…………….
Is Koz confirming Kolasinac`s arrival on link ?……………..it`s the last words at the bottom !
http://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/transfer-news/koscielny-opens-up-kolasinac-transfer-13043036
@Marshall
And what us your take on Feo if i may ?
This is great from the Romford Pele ! 😆
https://twitter.com/SportsBreakfast/status/864026400847745024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Farsenalarsenal.net%2F2017%2F05%2F13%2Farsenal-stoke-away-today%2F
I’d be very surprised and disappointed to see Yaya Sanogo’s name in the squad next season….
Hi Lc, Kos is certainly suggesting the club have a plan, not sure if they’ll execute it though… lol
Not sure how many people it takes to form a religion, but I will join Alex and Obi as the founder members of……………..Sanogoism ! 😆
I bet any money that Conte is now watching video`s of Arsenal`s new formation and looking to exploit any weaknesses before the Cup Final……………………….I`ll also bet that Wenger wont be doing the same !
He won’t need to, after all he hasn’t been at the club for 20 years for nothing… lol
Afternoon all,
I spoke to a friend of Dein last night who told me U?smanov offered Kroenke 20K a share when they were 15K about 9 months ago and Kroenke declined.He also told me that the club are actively still talking to Alegri and the german coach(forgotten his name).No need to disbelieve him and Gazidis and Wenger are not talking to each other.Gazidis wanted Henry on board,Wenger refused.?
Joachim Loew ?
Must admit, Kelsey, your rumours are my favourite stuff to read ! ……………………………more please !
🙂
Although I do like it when Lee has an expletive rant about Arsene ! 😆
Kelsey, is that the same guy/gal who said he was going, or was it staying, I can’t recall…?
rico
I just invent these things depending on which way the wind blows 🙂
🙂 Kelsey, I thought so… lol
what’s the £2500 target? , I believe at the outset they set that figure to get the plane and the light shows . Nothing more . \I am not involved so I don’t know definitively.
Thanks Potter.
Team news.
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/864537270916984833
Full strength line up except for Koscielny, really going for it tonight…
I thought he might rotate a bit?
If the shares are £17k each and the owner doesn’t want to sell, it would take £50k per share to make it attractive to Kroenke.
What’s the crowd Adam?
The radio reckons the ground is only half full
It’s awful Rico. Half full? Possibly
Lots of empty seats Kev.
The football is awful too Adam.
Could be a glimpse into next season.
Could be Kev
City 1-0 up.
I suppose Wenger will blame fatigue
Take off Gibbs, put on Welbeck and go 4 at the back.
Gotta go for it now.
He won’t Kev.. no changes until 70 mins isn’t it?
Just home, not missed much?
With Man City 2-0 it doesn’t really matter what he does or doesn’t do Rico
Only a pile of poop Andrew..
Reading got a penalty
1-0
Good…
One pass forward, the next, backwards… So boring.
Man City have a 7 goal advantage as it stands, so even if we won we’re not gonna catch City
We can still catch the Dippers lol
So many mistakes! Against Everton or Chelsea would be a disaster …
Many empty places
Are we afraid of “hurting” the ball when it comes to shooting?
Now, only a miracle…
We’re not good enough to catch a,cold, leave alone,the bin dippers!
It wasn’t good Jm.
Night all.
I cannot believe what the hell is doing in this team that Wally.
People has the audacity to criticize Sanogo…lol
Just listening to talksport. That Jason geezer should have a party & invite his balls down. Gee he’s got a high pitched voice:)
The bloke with the high pitched voice, when he gets excited, went on about the empty seats being because top 4 is gone, & nothing to do with people wanting the current manager out. I really think these media mercenaries have got their heads up their arses TBH. That Jason geezer, while his head is up there, should tell his balls to come down & show themselves 🙂
I had to turn those shock jocks off from talksport. But according to their theories of how to judge a season, its been another failed season for Tottenham Hotspurs, they didn’t win a trophy 🙂
Spurs failed to win a trophy …….. again!!! Go on, admit it Spuds you’re
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=youre+shit+buzzcocks
Alex, on my view on Theo, I’ve said it two seasons ago. He is the symbol of stagnation for our club. Always plays for a contract (or when his wife promises him a coffee maker).
Two seasons ago he didn’t know which was his best position – Wenger throws players left, right and centre and it confuses them. I wouldn’t miss him when he’s gone. Esp with this system of wingbacks.
Sanogo at 24 should be tearing defences apart and having 9-14 goals – since he is a striker…but doesn’t feature at U23s either! He was given chances during loan spells…how did he take them?
I hope those who slated Sanchez because he was disrupting our strong ‘cohesion’ (by not being a Wenger yes man) are eating back their words. Playing through injury and totalling 23 goals is a remarkable thing for a selfish player who only plays for himself… Give me 15 selfish players next season!
Nice inside scoop from Kel. It’s evident Wenger and IG aren’t seeing eye to eye…time to sleep, lovely day folks.
Was thinking the same Marshall the ones slating Sanchez, just what do they want…
ok he ain’t perfect (who is) as sometimes he holds the ball to long… but fuckin hell his 23 goals and 10 assists have carried this team all season.
Anyhow they’ll probably get their wish as he’ll be off in the summer as the clubs regressing.
Morning all.
Agree there lads, but I`d also chuck Ozil in the mix, the most chances created last night(12) by any player in one game since records started and the most successfull final third passes than any EPL player this season (878) , shame he hasn`t got the work rate ! 😉
Also, 72 points !………….. better than last season with a game to spare……great improvement !
😆
have to say Xhaka passing last night was excellent his range was superb, I’ve previously been critical of him this season.
maybe it’s the new system we are playing suits him better I don’t know but long may it continue very Alonso like last night.
Glad to say I was not one to slate Xhaka, Kel, and did say months ago that he needs a season to find his feet…………….and also like you, said that his game reminded me very much of Alonso`s game/play.
GG……….cant stand Jason Cundy…………..lucky for me I only listen when I`m driving and he`s not on in the day time, thank fcuk for that as I would take the base ball bat to the radio !. hahaha
Unfortunately for Ozil le coq he had Giroud trying to finish most of them chances ffs lol .. give him An Aguero, Cavani, Higuain, and we score 5 last night.
Mmmmmm………..Aguero/Cavani/Higuain…………..cant argue there !………………..bet Arsene nearly signed all three at some stage ! hahaha
Morning all.
Spot on Alexis Sanchez Marshall, the man is a genius, regardless of whether he sometimes looses the ball or not. Perhaps if others moved a bit more, he’d release it quicker. Or perhaps he simply doesn’t trust a few of his team-mates to do something positive with the ball.
Xhaka looks like he’s getting used to this league, maybe next season he’ll be much better. Perhaps he could work on his speed over short distances during the summer, but his passing is really good…
Kel, agree. A top notch striker would have slotted a few more home last night. Ollie has a role to play but he’s no fox in the box. Still, shame we didn’t sign Lucas Perez last summer.
Last night was the perfect example of the need for a clinical striker , 30 plus efforts on goal less than half on target and 2 goals from 1 yard out. It’s been the problem for too long now if we had forwards like Wrighty was , hungry for the ball in the box , we would have put last night , West Brom ,Palace , Middlesboro to bed with ease and all the fuss over Champions League would not even be on the agenda.
Rico, I think you can add Perez to the long list of players Arsene nearly signed !
😆
I`m not going to slate Olly as I think he is a horse for course player and is vital when needed, but yes, we do need a clinical striker, but isn`t Alexis one ?……and are we not missing a trick by playing him middle in the 3 ?…………..I`d bring on Ox to play right of the 3 in front of Bellerin as WB………………..but I`m pace crazy, so know nothing ! hahaha
Come back Scott !………all is forgiven !…….not that I know you have done anything !……..well, other than an angry `Roo`s father after you for Marsupial support maintenance ! 😆
A Top drawer centre forward is what’s needed no doubt I agree Rico Giroud has a part to play but he ain’t the fox in the box we need.
Aubameyang would do lovely but probably outta reach. Unless we put 60-70m on the table.
Morning Rico and all. Last night the Emirates was an incredibly dour place to be. The crowd was small and it was quiet. I couldn’t help wondering what on earth Arsene must have been thinking, sitting there. He spent a lot of the game leaning toward Steve Bould, which was unusual body language from him.
The chap sitting behind me in one of the empty seats was from Chile and I spoke to him about Alexis. He reckons that, in Chile, they love the fact that he plays for Arsenal as the club has a great following down there, but the feeling is that he is off to Bayern at season’s end. He did say though that, if Wenger actually signed some better players, he might stay. Seems he doesn’t rate a few of our players too highly. He cited Vidal as having the same appetite on the pitch and those are the kind of players Sanchez really wants at the club. Winners.
As Wenger has already stated that Sanchez will not be sold despite entering the last year of his contract I imagine we’re in for some fun and games there.
Just watched the highlights on Player and for all the shit we may be in I found it very entertaining football wise, some lovely football and Xhaka`s range of passing is something I dont think I`ve ever seen from an Arsenal player !………………..I enjoyed it ! 🙂
Players to move on…. imo
Ospina
Jenkinson
Debuchy
Gibbs
Mertsacker
Coquelin
Theo
Sanogo
Possibly Jack due to (fitness)
I`d keep Coquelin, but agree with the rest !……………….Jack is the funny one, just how long do we keep him to prove his fitness ?……………………..we hanged on to Diaby forever in hope, shame as he was so talented………………. and so is Jack imo.
Morning Adam. I can imagine.
The ‘he doesn’t trust some of our players’ makes sense to me, in fact I wrote that in my post earlier this morning. It would explain why he holds the ball so long as he looks for Mesut, Xhaka and even Ramsey. I think he worked well with Elneny too, another absentee which baffles me.
Perhaps Wenger said he won’t sell Alexis or Ozil because he’s been told he has to get players in who match his standard?
New post is up now..
I wouldn’t keep Coquelin. This Sead fella can play CDM… 🙂