Morning all.
I saw a headline from the Mirror which covered the battles between Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane. Whilst not condoning their behaviour, the passion they showed was incredible, either that or they simply just hated each other.
From 1996 through to 2005, the Premier League was about us or them. Keane v Vieira, Arsene Wenger v Fergie, Arsenal v Man Utd and the battles made great viewing. Players from both sides crossed the line but Fergie and his players got away with a lot more than Arsenal’s did. With Mike Riley in Fergie’s pocket and Utd being sponsored by Timex, I think it’s fair to suggest, Arsenal were always up against it even before the whistle blew.
Before Vieira, it was Tony Adams, Martin Keown and on the odd occasion, all the players joining in with a mass brawl. I’ll admit, I loved watching it as it showed how much both teams wanted to win anything which was on offer. Even the fight. So many moments and I’m sure we’ll cover those in the comments.
It’s funny really though how despite one of the hottest rivalries in the game being the NLD, that lot down the road we’re never a threat to either Utd or Arsenal back then, to be fair they’re not now because none of the three clubs are anywhere near winning the league.
Big Sam, Tony Pulis, plus a few others, including the very likeable Roy Hodgson sent their teams out in a way to stop Arsenal. Literally. “They don’t like it up ‘em’ ‘they’ said. As if that meant fouling the opposition was acceptable. Arsenal were pretty soft though during that time because the tough guys had been long gone.
Anyway, I’m not this is the politically correct way to ask this question, but which are your favourite battles of the past?
Here’s a few of the ones involving Utd…
See you in the comments.
Xhaka has agreed a five year deal with Roma according to Chris Wheatley on Twitter.
He’s usually reliable I think.
Morning all.
Some of the battles on here have rated pretty highly, Rico 🙂
It’s always pissed me off that we have been known as a supposed soft touch, yet we somehow manage to be at or near the top of lists each season for penalties conceded and red cards given.
It defies all logic.
Ha ha Scott, that’s funny.
Good news for Onana, excellent if he’s heading to Arsenal and he’s good.
Afternoon all.
Onana ban reduced to 9 months.
Good afternoon Rico and all
Afternoon Rico and the house.
Onana ban reduced to 9 months
Can start training 4th sept and play 4th nov .
Will we sign him.?
Afternoon Rick, that’s the million dollar question.
Favourite battle? Hmmm so many. But if I have to go for one I would choose Keown and friends on RVN.
Now that Onana’s suspension has been reduced to nine months, allowing him to start playing from 4th November, would it make sense to sign him in this window?
Bernd Leno is rumoured to be working towards the exit door.
The Athletic are reporting that negotiations with Brighton are on-going over a permanent move for Aussie ‘keeper Matt Ryan, but it is not certain that Arsenal will want to sign a player of his age rather than a younger home-grown talent from our own academy.
The only other senior ‘keeper is Runnarson.
If we sign Onana and Leno stays will still need a reliable back-up until at least 4th November.
I am assuming that Arsenal envisage Onana as the number one ‘keeper once he has settled in. If my assumption is correct, Leno will be even keener to leave in the current window. Which would make it more necessary to sign Ryan who, in turn, may be reluctant to take the number one shirt only to give it up in November.
It’s all a bit of a mess, isn’t it?
Problem solved if we sign Pope, Cicero 😏😏😏
DG, Pope is twenty-nine and recovering from the knee surgery he had last month. Would he be match fit for the start of the new season?
What about Sam Johnstone of West Brom? He’s in the England squad and looked pretty good the other night.
Play Runarsson!
Problem solved.
It’ll be exciting if nothing else…
And footballing suicide… lol
Kev, LG suggest Patino is into the first team next season.
Onana gives you some confidence? Not to me.
It’s a dread in goal!
We are trying to get a team to be in the top 15.
Xhaxa is in Rome. If he perform well in the Euro (as is normal when playing for Switzerland), his value would increase. Whoever we buy will always cost more than selling this player for this price.
Wenger v Fergie always fun.
Onana no thanks
(1) 9 month without a game and who nows
(2) How serious he was / is with his training during his suspension
(3) Can we take a chance that he doesn’t make the same mistakes again.
(4) will he be able to cope if the opposition fans start calling him a drug cheat
(5) How much skill has he lost during his suspension
I’m all for giving someone a second chance but we have a lot to loose if he is not fit or mentally fit
It’s a quiet morning Geoff…
Morning Rico, yeah I read that about Patino, we might see him in the League Cup if we get a favourable run of draws?
Morning Kev, him and one or two others I hope. I read Ballard is going out on loan again but to the Championship. Blackpool will be in for him surely.
Just before anyone thinks like jumping in front of a train let’s not forget that there’s not been hardly any business done by anybody.
Most contracts expire at the end of this month and that’ll concentrate the minds of players and their agents.
I did hear that Arsenal are trying to extend the contract of Nketiah, probably because there’s been so little interest and the club is trying to protect his value?
With so little spare finance around and the value of players being in sharp decline, what do you do?
Especially if you’re skint and your owner won’t invest in the club and you can’t raise enough to finance new signings from clubs’ asking unrealistic fees?
Do you stick or twist?
Even if Kroenke wanted to invest, I don’t think he can. Not to the degree he’s expected to by a section of fans.
We all know that our squad is bloated, in fact everyone and their dog knows that our squad is bloated and that’s the issue.
When you have players you want rid of and everyone also knows you have players you want rid of their value plummets.
Everyone undervalues our players, in fact a lot of Arsenal fans undervalue our players, too many in my view and that really doesn’t help.
Agree by the way, we’re an easy target because we’re out of Europe but have a massive squad. £17 million for Xhaka I read, that’s cheap.
Reading round the fans sites there are so many that critcise our players and the name calling is really bad , this player is shite , this ones crap , this one I would give him away and cancel his contract .
Having spent time and effort destroying the players reputations in the next breath they act surprised that the club are not getting top dollar for them. Perhaps someone should force them to read the rise and fall of Gerald Ratner , although that might be too complicated for them to understand.
I’ll get a copy off of eBay Potter. 😜
I agree though, it’s funny how a player suddenly becomes great at the point of sale when it’s for a pittance.
Take Xhaka, the reported fee we paid for him was considered to be very much over the top but if Arsenal do sell him for £17 million, that amount will be considered not enough. Not by all of course.
Yeah, I saw that about Ballard as well Rico, seems as if Arteta is keen to see him push on and as he came through our academy he’s home made so being a Northern Ireland international doesn’t affect his position in any future squad.
Re Ballard Kev, I’d like to see him at a PL club but at least he’s going up a level. The championship has a lot of good quality strikers/players who’ll test him.
Morning all.
Rico, fans actually expect him to invest nothing, so he’s not let us down 🙂
We’d like him to invest, but one thing I’ve always said is he’s never pretended to be anything but an investor.
Geoff, at the price, Obama is worth the risk, imo.
If he has not learned his lesson, move him on and we haven’t really lost that much.
If he succeeds though, he’s an absolute bargain.
Right here and now, we must take the odd chance, imo.
You perhaps Scott, not me though. He stumped up for Partey last summer after all.
Seriously though, all the time we have a bloated squad why is bursting the wage limitations, were hamstrung. I think that’s why we see comments suggesting the club just sell players off for cheaply.
£17m for Xhaka is a giveaway Rico and especially when you see Wolves are talking in terms of £35m for Ruben Neves.
£10 for Guendouzi is another giveaway!
What about Torrieira? I read some Arsenal ‘fans’ on Arseblog suggesting we should give him away for free because his mother died. I mean really!
They’re also the same fans who complain when we don’t throw millions at the latest shiny new player linked to us on Twitter.
What chance do we have?
Arsenal are not a charity, no football club is a charity.
I don’t think it is re Xhaka Kev but transfer fees have inflated because of City, Chelsea etc. Neves is younger but is he worth £40 odd million? Personally, I think for that amount, we could do better with the money but I suppose it’s about who fits into Arteta’s plan.
Guendouzi and Torreira should be getting a good fee because of their age but aren’t both out of contract next summer? There’s the problem imo.
Rico/Kev, if we are to sign another CB then I can see logic in Ballard having another loan spell.
A step up in class will allow him to show his worth.
Do we need another CB though Scott? I don’t think so.
Tbh Scott I see no logic in signing another centre back when we’ve not even given Saliba a chance, for as much as I try I still can’t see a plan to our squad rebuilding?
As an aside I had a look on Transfermarket.com as it’s a sensible website that gives values to players among other info. I’m not sure how they work out these values but I’d guess that they use some stats that take things like age, appearances, goals, International apps, etc into account.
Anyway here’s some values for ya:
Willock, £14.4m
Willian, £8.1m (sell him, sell him now)
Nketiah, £14.4m
Xhaka, £19.8m
Bellerin, £22.5m
Lacazette, £25.2m
Scott…..if we sign Obama will we get Trump as well 😂😂😂😂😂 he is so fat he will cover half the goal with his tummy.
Like many over here, I am a normal supporter who loves the club deeply. And no I never bash our players and then complain we sold them for nothing. I realize the situation as it is. Like Kev pointed out….we have a bloated squad so the players’ value goes down.
All i ask for is for the club to have two players for each position and three versatile players….25 players. All i ask for is for the majority if them to be homegrown by our academy. All I ask for is that they all get good coaching which turns them into solid players who will bleed for the club. All I ask for is that the players are taught to have pride in the club. All I ask for is that the club does not get players on loan from any other club. All I ask for is that the club produces at least 1-2 players every season.
I never ask for the club to splash money on mercenaries. Do I envy Manchester city, Chelsea, RM and Barca?? no i nver did and never will. Because I have been raised up as one who makes and works hard for his own success. I know others had the money. But I have the pride. and that is all that I ask from the club.
A case in point….if I had a choice of all the best players in the number 10 position for free I would still bang the drum for ESR and Joe Willock to share it between them. Because they are ours. To ESR I would give the number 10 now. But to Willock I would give the number 8.
Odegaard?? buendia??? whoever it is…..I still prefer ESR and JW over them.
The only clubs I envy are those who produce their own players…..Ajax, Atalanta, Juventus, Brescia and to a certain extent Barca (for producing good players from La Masia). That is what I envy. But never will I envy those clubs who throw money at will and get players they want.
The only regret I have??? its that due to personal circumstances I never got the chance to coach at youth level at clubs in Italy or England. Had that been possible…..my aim would have been the Hale End academy.
The transfer valuations on transfer market are bonkers though Kev. I think Bissouma is valued at just over £15m.
I wonder if McGuinness will go on loan to the Championship too Kev. He and Ballard are big strong units. Proper centre backs.
Devil, I don’t envy the likes of City either, totally the opposite really as I’d hate Arsenal to be like them. No young English manager will be afforded time at those kind of clubs which isn’t healthy for the national team. Nor will young overseas managers be afforded time either unless they win trophies from the off. All they do is sign the best players and employ the best managers. Boring I think.
Rico, I’m sure that Blackpool would take Ballard back like a shot, he’s very popular there.
Apparently there’s a few Championship teams interested in taking him on loan and that’s exactly what we want to see from our youngsters.
A few more valuations;
Torrieira, £18m
Kolasinac, £5.85m
Mavropanos, £5.4m
AM Niles, £14.4m
Guendouzi, £18m
Saliba, £16.2m! (another Raul special?)
Rico, and yet we had to sell Martinez to help fund the Partey deal.
Thanks Stan 😉
Devil, these phones have a mind of their own lol
Rico, well said at 12.44.
Chavs are the same.
Buy, buy, buy.
Build bloody nothing!!!
In some ways though Scott, that’s what you are expecting Kroenke to do by investing. Arsenal are a self sustaining club though.
The fans described by Potter are the typical plastic fans who only love to brag about Arsenal…and now that we are going through difficulties they cannot stomach being made fun of. They will never understand anything about love for the club…they only love themselves….and yet they are offended if you tell them to go and support Chelsea or City.
As Potter pointed out perfectly….they ridicule our players and in the same breath complain when they are not sold for more money. They are so thick that they talk simply just to say anything. Even if it means they talk from their arse. Actually…they are so good that they can make a living out of it because so many supporters tune in to watch pundits talking out of their arse.
Arteta is taking the brunt….not of what he did…but what others have done before him to get Arsenal into the mess they are in. Fast forward to 5 years and if he is still there he will be talked of in the same breath as elite managers, at least from those who love the club, simply because he was there when it was messy and stayed to steady the ship.
But yes….I would give anything to see Arsenal having most of the team homegrown and Arsenal having success under Arteta. Not because its Arteta but because I want the club to succeed. Will I be glad to shove it down the throat of those who spout vitriol just to say something?? No they are so thick headed that they will simply enjoy it because everything goes over their head…such is their stupidity and ignorance.
I’d be offended if someone told me to support a different club. In fact it’s one of the things I hate reading when views differ.
Arteta is taking the brunt, for the football Arsenal play which falls entirely on his shoulders imo.
There’s a new post up now.
https://highbury-house.com/2021/06/11/patience-its-the-arsenal-way/
Rico, again, I never expected him to invest.
You’re being pedantic Scott. You know I mean you think he should invest.
Bissouma £22.5m
Devil, what never fails to amuse me is the fact we all knew a massive rebuild was required, yet 12-18 months in, many fans can’t handle the tough times.
It’s something we just have to go through.
I think that the toxicity that surrounds Arsenal is straight from Enos himself, right from the off he’s made it perfectly clear that he isn’t interested in football or Arsenal and when your owner shows a total lack of enjoyment and a complete and utter disinterest in your club then how else are you expected to feel about your owner?
As for Josh, well if he wasn’t the owners son he’d probably be flipping burgers.
At least Ek shows some interest.
Ok Rico.
Must be wonderful…..
No idea what you’re on about now Scott.
I bet that all Man City and Chelsea players are in the ear of Bakayo Saka…
You know:
“Come on Bakayo, come play with us at Chelsea/City”,
“You’ll never win the league at Arsenal”…
Think about it, a great Euro 20 by Bakayo and a big offer from City or Chelsea, say £80m and would Arsenal sell?
What if it was £100m, would Stan say no?