Will Pep get his three most wanted Arsenal men? Xhaka snaps – real or fake?

Morning all.

We all know Pep Guardiola is heading to Man City as this summer. Some fans believe he’ll struggle to adapt to the game here in England, especially when he faces clubs who park a bus in defence, or managers who deploy ‘rough’ tactics and let’s be honest, there’s a few who do both.

Pep is believed to be one of the best, if not the best in football right now so it’ll be quite interesting to see how he fairs. It’ll also be interesting to see what he and his new club do during the summer transfer window, especially with City having so many players who are clearly heading towards the exit door.

Ther’es been plenty of stories doing the rounds which suggest the Spaniard wants Alexis Sanchez, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta, the latter to join his coaching set-up but Arsenal have to do all they can to ensure none of those moves take place. With Jack and Alexis, Arsenal hold all the cards as both are under contract but with Mikel, the choice is his. I hope he chooses to give something back to Arsenal, the club which gave him what he craved for, and that’s champions league football. He was full of praise for the club on the final day of the season, ‘this club is class’ he said which of course it is….

But it must be a difficult decision for him to make. Stay and work under Arsene Wenger’s leadership, or head north to coach at a club with oodles of money, loads of ambition and a club where one of his good friends is the manager…..

Similar could be said about Alexis and despite having two more years on his contract, he too could be tempted to work under Guardiola again, the manager who signed him for Barcelona in 2011, only to leave just a year later after deciding he wanted to manage Bayern Munich. I’m sure if Alexis really has had enough at Arsenal, he’ll do all he can to get his move if he wants it and imo, Arsenal don’t need players who don’t want to play for the club.

Then there’s Jack Wilshere who I don’t think will be going anywhere. He loves Arsenal, he hates Tottenham and he’s one of Arsene Wenger’s favourites. I’m sure the only thing on his mind is staying fit and having a great season for the club. Talk is he’s been offered a contract extension too, so that’s that.

I personally hope that Pep gets none of them. Selling our better players should be a thing of the past and Arsenal certainly need to keep Alexis and build around him and a few others if they want to improve.

Real or fake?
Real or fake?

The above was just one of a few pictures which were doing the rounds yesterday but whether they are real or not, who knows. I hope they are that’s for sure. If so, it seems Arsene Wenger hasn’t wasted any time in snapping up the Swiss international midfielder Granit Xhaka. I do wonder if this deal was pretty much agreed last summer or January but the player wanted one more season in Germany. After all, since when has Arsene and his team done a deal this quick?

If this is the start of Arsenal showing ambition then marvellous but we need a few more before most fans will believe the club really are about to assemble a great squad again. Then it’s over to Arsene Wenger to do good things with them…

Fingers crossed eh…..

149 thoughts on “Will Pep get his three most wanted Arsenal men? Xhaka snaps – real or fake?

  1. Wath says:

    For Kante and Mahrez they can have Theo + Ox + ten million, quick Kev get them up to Leicester…!

  2. goonster says:

    Rico you forgot the abominable one is back in management. That and manure wining the fa cup took the joy out of me yesterday. He ll make them great again. Man I hate that twatish gimp faced turd. God help us if he’s giving another 250 million to spend just like LVG in the last 2 windows. Morning good people.

  3. rico says:

    goonster – I wouldn’t waste my words on that ghastly man. Palace should have won yesterday and had Clattenburg done his job better, they probably would have…

  4. goonster says:

    But they didn’t rico and now they have that Portuguese gimp in charge. If lvg could thwart us with average school boy tactics and players what do you think maureen ll do to us. My hopes for next season is ebbing away fast. Klopp pep poch bilic koeman and now maureen!!! God help us.

  5. Merlin96 says:

    Good day all!

    Pep’s track record is that he never last more than 4 seasons so far.
    I believe it is all overhyped and he will have a tough time to meld all those players he is going to buy to hit eh ground running.

    EPL is different from Spain and Germany where it is highly combative and on their days, any team can beat any team.

    There are only 3 settled teams in EPL, namely, Arsenal, Tiny Totts and Leicester City.
    But then if Leicester City starts dismantling and selling Kante, Mahrez and even Drinkwater and Vardy?

    I see Chelski, ManU, Abu Dhabi City and even Liverpool are going through yet again another transitory period to field a settled side.

    We must hit the ground running and going off a flying start to grab as many wins as possible in 2016 before Klopp’s Liverpool, Maureen’s ManUre, COnte’ Chelski and Guardiola’s Abu Dhabi City started to gel in November/December and start getting consistency to challenge for the title.

  6. rhyle says:

    Mourinho too busy managing himself, saying clever things and slagging off his own players to do anything with Man Utd. They’ll be better, but I’m almost certain they won’t compete. He lost a lot of his mystique with that woeful season at Chelsea. Those photos? Totally legit – too many, too much attention to detail, too much effort!

  7. goonster says:

    And it looks like everton ll get de boer too. Man I can’t handle another season of failure. It ll break me. God help me.

  8. Tapera says:

    Why are you surprised about the early signing of Xhaxa? Were you not an Arsenal supporter when we signed Podolsk?

  9. rico says:

    Leicester a settled club Merlin? Not sure I agree there as this season will probably turn out to be a one off. Most other years they are flirting with relegation or somewhere in the bottom half of the league and that’s far from being settled…

  10. rico says:

    Hope you are right Rhyle..

    Of course I was Tapera, which is why I know his name is Podolski rather than Podolsk, and how long ago was that??

  11. goonster says:

    Rico he’s there maam. Yesterday was lvg’s last game. He’s gone and the twatish one is now in charge. There goes our season before it even starts. He ll probably take 4 points off us. Maybe even 6. God I hate that poxy little poisonous dwarf.

  12. goonster says:

    Tapera or whatever you call yourself is that how you address a lady? Show some respect or jog off.

  13. rico says:

    I wouldn’t give Mourinho so much credit goonster, the fans will soon get fed up with his style off football and I bet certain players would dread him going there…

  14. goonster says:

    Rico for the first few seasons he ll win them something. Plus I don’t think he ll want to muck this one up. It’s his dream to manage manure. Every dog and their owner knows that. He ll make them great again rico. I just lost my mojo again. Can’t see us doing anything with him in charge of one of our greatest rivals. Since the emergence of maureen wenger took a nose dive. He just can’t compete with that Portuguese prick in charge of any team in the pl. Now we also have to deal with klopp poch pep koeman bilic and maybe de boer. I just don’t see it rico. Sorry for putting a dampener on things this early. Forgive me maam.

  15. rico says:

    I’m more interested in what Wenger does this summer tbh goonster, what goes on up in Manchester doesn’t really interest me. If AW assembles a great squad, we should be good…

    Get a really strong midfield sorted and our forward line…. I have a feeling he just might…

  16. goonster says:

    A change of tactics might help. I ve been pondering over a few plays we could imploy. Am thinking a 3 4 3 rico. Bellems kozzer and nacho at the back. Our new signing xhaka at the base of the midfield as our deep lying midfielder. Then next comes santi elneny and Rambo. In front of them I ll place ozil. If we end up signing mkhitaryan and morata then the front 3 picks itself. Sanchez on the right mkhitaryan on the left and morata upfront. That team ll give any team a game in England or europe. Santi elneny and xhaka to pass them to submission. Elneny Rambo and xhaka to Harry the opposition when we don’t have the ball. Bellems and nacho to act as wing backs. We ll slice and dice through the opposition with relative ease. But someone has to tell Rambo to cut out those Hollywood passes and be disciplined. We ll be unplayable.

  17. goonster says:

    With that team we ll keep our possession based football and also have the odd ball over the top for bellems and nacho to run into and cross for morata. Xhaka has that long pass in abundance and I see bellems clocking a significant number of assists next term.

  18. Merlin96 says:

    Rico, Raineri is a fine manager and the title win is a firm foundation which he can continue to build Leicester City. I will not sell this “Nearly Man” short again. Remember how O’Neill on a shoestring budget managed to keep Leicester up and a hard team to beat as well?

    Actually, I am looking forward to the strengthening of the defence once we had a DCM like Xhaka in place. It is the DEFENCE that costs us dear.

    Cech?
    From the very first match 0-2 loss against WHU to penultimate match against Palace where Cech was cruelly exposed as “geriatric” in getting down swiftly to block those corner shots, it is worrying that every team will know Cech is extremely slow to get down to save accurate shots to the corners.

    Will an agile and quick-reaction Ospina saved those corner shots?
    I believe Ospina will certainly save majority of those corner shots as he is more agile than Cech and has a faster reflex action that Cech as well.

    The glaring weakness of Ospina is that he is not a commanding and domineering presence in the box like Cech. And Cech certainly is a calming presence and restore a resemble of calmness in the box.

    Ospina wants game time but Wenger had make Cech as No. 1 to attract him to Arsenal FC. Tough decision time.

    Mertesacker?
    His forte was bringing the ball out of defence to initiate attacking plays and pass to a midfielder. Plus his anticipation and superb reading of the game compensated for his lack of pace.

    And Mertesacker’s form had deteriorated this season and not as willing to drive forward in his first season with us. Plus his woeful tackling and bought the dummy numerous times cost dear with goals scored against us or fellow defenders had to commit a foul to stop the attackers … yellow and a few red cards.

    It is much more urgent to find a replacement for Mertesacker than a forward.
    And of course, where are the back-ups for Bellerin and Monreal since Gibbs and Debuchy are most likely to leave?

    Jenkinson?

  19. rico says:

    goonie, I wouldn’t have Ramsey in the first team at all based on last season. As for the tactics, I’ll leave that to you… 😉

  20. rico says:

    I disagree Merlin, both about Ranieri and signing a defender being more important than signing a striker, after all, didn’t you say in your post yesterday that the defence weren’t to blame for us losing the league??

    We need another central defender, but more importantly imo, we need a top class striker…

  21. Canadian Gooner says:

    Good Morning to The Lady of the House and all fellow Gooners in residence.

    Rico – “I’m more interested in what Wenger does this summer tbh…” – I’m with you there.

    Stan – Chill out, the transfer window hasn’t even opened yet and you are wound tighter than a cheap alarm clock. You’ll give yourself a coronary. Whatever happens we and Arsenal will survive.

    Maureen Yo may do wonders for ManUre or he may not, but when he moves on, I bet he leaves them in much worse shape. Look what he has done to Chelski. Hard as it is, have faith.

  22. Micko says:

    rico, we got Alexis done very early on as well and then had to wait all summer for another one to come along.

    Xhaka would be great, just hope the club don’t drag it out and turn it into a freak show.

    Not sure if the City of Manchester is big enough for Pep and Jose mind ya !

  23. goonster says:

    Rico trust me he ll be disciplined if wenger tells him to. Plus he can afford to FUCK about next term. There are tons of players getting ready to take his spot. We already witnessed what iwobi can do. My boy toral should be back next season so one slip up and to the bench he goes. If only wenger was that strict. Oh for a Manager that actually have balls. Bummer.

  24. goonster says:

    Well rico there you have it 😀 just like theo and oxcham. Ramsey never really improved from when he was 17. I ve not seen anything that suggests that he has taken his game to the next level. Gone are the days arsene makeshift stars from duds. Now he does the opposite. I bet you if we ever lose Walcott or oxcham we ll psychoanalyze dearly for it. Mark my words.

  25. Canadian Gooner says:

    Goonie – Good Morning to you. Family is good my man and that includes our Arsenal and Highbury House families.

    I can’t sat we’ll do well or badly on the transfer front, but I’m going to wait until July before starting to get concerned. In the meantime I’m going to enjoy family, friends and the summer weather.

  26. goonster says:

    Psychoanalyze dearly??? What the FUCK is that? It was meant to read “pay dearly ” oh God give me strength.

  27. malaga gooner says:

    Afternoon Rico and the house

    i expect us to get all our deals done before the Euros start

  28. goonster says:

    And what’s your source MG 😀 are you an ITK too?? Lol just kidding morning pal. Happy with xhaka or underwhelmed? Which are ya?

  29. Canadian Gooner says:

    Goonie – My apologies, I forgot you are on the the east coast of the Excited States. I was thinking of Rico Time.

    As for “gerwanko”, I’m not familiar with the term, but knowing you it is probably something crude, lewd and/or rude. Whatever it is, I’ll let it slide.

  30. malaga gooner says:

    hi, goonie micko and all

    im not sure about him,haven’t seen much of him. he comes with a big price tag, what do you think of him goonie

  31. goonster says:

    My apologies CG it wasn’t meant as a snide towards you. My stupid Samsung phone is acting up. Please disregard. You know I ll never insult you. Once again am sorry.

  32. Canadian Gooner says:

    Micko – Young Theo Pires will have to have ball skills far in excess of his father at his prime, and that would be truly miraculous, to succeed right now. I think he’ll need a decade to mature to that level. In the meantime let him enjoy terrorizing his fellow school and Academy mates. Until then, we’ll watch him in our youth teams.

  33. Canadian Gooner says:

    Goonie – Accepted. I didn’t take any offence. What’s a joke between family & friends?

  34. goonster says:

    MG he’s the shit. This guy is Steven G xabi alonso and Andrea pirlo all wrapped in one and the good news is he can only improve. He’s a nasty bastard whom we ve been praying for since emmanuel petit and he’s ball retention skills is second to none. Not to mention he’s a leader at 23 and don’t like losing. I love this guy. He’s a rebel and will do what he deems fit for the team. Trust me if he has an opportunity to shoot from 35 yards he ll do it regardless of what arsene tells him. He’s the shit MG. Am super excited.

  35. Canadian Gooner says:

    Stand back, it sounds like Goonie is about to cream himself.

    Although, I too am excited to see Xhaka in an Arsenal shirt.

  36. malaga gooner says:

    well thats a glowing report Goonie…. lets hope hes the start of a couple more signings

    reus and lewandowski and we would be set to make a proper title challenge

  37. goonster says:

    Reus won’t come CG. Lol don’t even think about it. He’s madrid or Barca bound. Plus we can’t really afford to pay over the odds for a sick note like marco. I ll take mkhitaryan off their hands thank you.

  38. goonster says:

    I ll put in a bid for draxler too if I was in charge. Reminds me of a younger RVP but without the cnutish persona 😀

  39. goonster says:

    CG I don’t cream anymore. Rico warned me of the dire consequence that awaits me plus what kind of father creams in front of his daughter 😀

  40. goonster says:

    At this rate MG I ll take morata. Bayern won’t sell lewa neither ll dortmund sell reus. There’s a dearth of world class strikers out there. So the best teams already have them don’t see them relinquishing any of them unless stupid money is involved. Say 120 million. Do you see arsene sanctioning that kind of transfer?? Lol

  41. malaga gooner says:

    goonie i think wenger will pull out all the stops in the summer, being its his last season

  42. goonster says:

    Lol and you believe that MG. Lol lol lol. Wenger ain’t going no where MG. He’s here till he can’t fart on his own again. He ll sign a new contract as soon as we go on a long winning streak next season. Sometime around September/October. It’s only a dream MG. Wenger won’t quit. Not yet. He ll dead in a year if he does. He just separated from his wife remember? No choice. He’s here for the long haul. Lol

  43. obi says:

    Goonster @ 1:12 let’s hope Wenger doesn’t coach it out of him. Btw relax Jose is done as a manager I said it before he left Chelsea. Actually MU did us a favor by bringing him back and I don’t fear Pep either. I think with a full squad – healthy Sanchez, Jack n Santi and the proper additions striker, winger n CB we would be good. Liverpool will still b a top 8 club and am more concerned with W.Ham making the top 4 than them. In a typical Wenger fashion we might win the EPL next year.

  44. obi says:

    Goonster @1:12 let’s hope Wenger does coach it out of him. Btw relex, Jose is done as manager, MU did us a favor by bring him back and I don’t fear Pep either. Liverpool will still be a top 8 team. I am more concern with W. Ham and Southampton making the top 4. I a typical Wenger fashion we might win the EPL next year.

  45. goonster says:

    Rico /CG Kante and mahrez won’t happen lol. We ll only get one of the 3 aforementioned and am leaning towards morata. I ll love kante if only we ditch the tiki taka stuff. He ll just be another coquelin in the middle. We need ball players that’s why wenger wanted shniedrrline *spelling last season. Kante is great when you re a counter attacking team. In a set up like arsenal’s he ll be exposed. I don’t know how comfortable he is with bringing the ball out of the defense but hey If I have to choose between him and Rambo. I ll choose him. as for mahrez he ll be split in half if he plays fot the arsenal. One robust challenge and he’s out till 2019 😀

  46. goonster says:

    Obi I hope you’re right my friend but what you forgot to mention was that the chelshit players got him fired not because he suddenly turned shit. Hopefully he’s streak continues at his new club.

  47. Le Coq Monster says:

    Afternoon all.

    I`m still wondering what all the fuss is about Xhaka !…………thought we were pretty strong in the middle and before someone say`s we have lost Arteta,Rosa amd Flamini, well they`ve been lost for years !………..but hey, if Wenger rates him and goonster is creaming over him then maybe he is the dogs doo dahs !.

    Off subject, any of you lot who live over the pond know who this secret celebrity is, the one who`s having marital affairs but an injunction over in England means he cant be named, but has been named in America……..and sweaty sockland ?…………..oops, then again Rico might get in trouble if the person is named on site !

    On a serious note………..some poor Spud fan lapsed into a coma this time last week and has just woken up and thinks his team are still second and is about to watch the game on SKY sports !

  48. obi says:

    True Goonster, and the Madrid players got rid of him too because they didnt want to play for him. I guess Mata will be the first one out of the door.

  49. goonster says:

    Oops I totally forgot about him and mata. Hey maybe we can finally nab mata then. A cheeky 20 million bid should land him.

  50. Merlin96 says:

    Rico, sure we need a bona fide 20+ league goal striker to help out Giroud.

    But I rated CB to replace Mertesacker as top priority as we can ended up like Chelski 2015/16 leaking 40+ to 50+ goals next season! That is failing to replace an ageing Terry and no competent CB after Cahill was out injured.

    If we are to win the 2016/17 title, we must concede less than 30 goals, score 70+ goals, and back to the good old boring days of “1-0 to Arsenal”.

  51. goonster says:

    Lol Rico oxcham is injured remember? Walcott won’t leave yet. 140 a week??? No way I know I won’t too. Only if leceister can pay him close to that plus I think he may want to remain in london. No need uprooting a young family. So west ham it is.

  52. goonster says:

    LC monster a good midfield you said?? How’s that? The last time we had a world class midfield was 07/08 rozza flamster (before he turned shit) hleb and fabrepass. Sigh that was a beast of a team. Totally dominated Milan at the San siro. Outplayed pellegrini’s Sevilla and smashed the spuds at the lane with ade scoring a wonder goal. Yes LC monster that was a good midfield not what we have now. We had power pace precision and my world did we Boss games or did we Boss games. No team could touch us then. The best arsenal team ever. Unfortunately they didn’t win a single title

  53. rico says:

    Goonie, in football, you just never know who will move where. Let the summer unfold and see what happens. Ox will be fit before pre-season apparently and with Walcott not being selected for England, he may just want a move…

  54. goonster says:

    Even our reserves were so good we thumped liverfools at arnfield by 6.3. Alex song denilson and I think diaby ran the show. My oh my what a team.

  55. Canadian Gooner says:

    Merlin – “If we are to win the 2016/17 title, we must concede less than 30 goals, score 70+ goals, and back to the good old boring days of “1-0 to Arsenal”…” How do you score 70+ goals in 38 league games winning by one to nil scores?

  56. rico says:

    Merlin. I think we need a 25/30 goal a season striker to replace Giroud myself and I still think that’s more important than replacing Merts, although as I said earlier, we do need a CB…

    We need a winger and a right back too and another midfielder imo…

  57. Canadian Gooner says:

    Julio Baptista came to Arsenal as ‘The Beast’, but he turned out to be and left as a pussy cat.

  58. goonster says:

    Say what you like about adebayor but he was a beast of a cf. Gosh what I ll give to have a younger ade again without the arrogance though. Sad times being an arsenal fan. We went from that time this.

  59. goonster says:

    Like i said best arsenal team ever. Our matches were just beautiful to watch. Even chav fans gather in their hundreds to watch us. The invicibles ll always be the greatest arsenal side but to me the side that epitomizes everything arsenal was that 07/08 team.

  60. Canadian Gooner says:

    Merlin – Great video. Hopefully we see young at video. Hopefully we see young Enzo Cazorla joining Theo Pires in the Arsenal Academy in a few years.

  61. Canadian Gooner says:

    Goonie – Adebuymore could be a great player when he wanted to be, but he rarely, if ever, gave any of his teams more than one good season and that was usually the one where he was looking for a transfer away.

  62. Le Coq Monster says:

    Some fine young Gooners there with plenty of DNA skill !……………………however lets hope Squilacci and a few others dont gave any kids !

  63. Joe says:

    25-30 goals a season striker how about Giroud with 24 goals with scope to get better if the twit doesn’t take an 8 week break. ?

  64. Joe says:

    There’s the scope for improvement ?
    I to hope we get brand new striker after Welbeck’s injury in the 24-30 goals a season but unfortunately they are very hard to find if they are not at a big club.
    Oh and they are bloody expensive and the club’s that own them do not want to sell them basta*d’s.

  65. Wavy says:

    At what minute do think Jack will pick up an injury?
    On a different tack, how will the poison Pygmy put the spanner in the Xhaka works how will he hi jack his move to the Arsenal in order to upset Wengers plan A? Ivan needs to get him signed up pdq, before manure queer the move to us!
    Hope I’m wrong but watch this space!

    Afternoon al.

  66. rico says:

    I don’t understand the Holding stuff – if the reports are true of course. £7 million Bolton are asking which is less than half of what we paid for Chambers yet Arsenal have offered £750k…

    Makes no sense…

  67. allezkev says:

    It’s all a game of who blinks first Rico, and why we’re waiting for Bolton to blink someone else will come in and sign Holding…

    Usual old bollocks…

  68. tsgh says:

    Cg- Julio Baptista was dubbed ‘The Beast’ when he played as an AM at Seville.
    Note he was loaned to us from RM because after moaning his way to become a CF he struggled to replicate that form.

    Good afternoon Rico, Kev and all…

  69. tsgh says:

    Why do the footballing hierarchy lie to fans. Maybe because we keep failing for it and it makes good story in the press…

    It was odd how Jorge Mendez came to Yanited in the summer under the guise of negotiating Di Maria’s transfer, whilst others suspected it was to agree a deal for Jose…

  70. allezkev says:

    Afternoon Ginge

    Turkey are quite physical, but it’s good practice.

    I wish our players showed a bit more composure on the ball instead of lashing it long. Just calm down and play intelligent.

  71. allezkev says:

    Delli Alli has to calm down in particular, because his inability to stay cool will be noted by opponents and they’ll try to wind him up.

  72. allezkev says:

    I don’t think that Stones and Cahill work, too similar like Koscielny and Paulista…

    I think our defence misses Smalling…

  73. tsgh says:

    agreed Kev…
    A player like Denisov of russia, Muller or even Verrati or Candreva will push Delli to the edge in the Euros

  74. tsgh says:

    🙂 Joe. or is it Igor Joesov?

    Mickonov is quite a dodgy aeroflot pilot but that’s another topic of discussion for another day… 😉

  75. Joe says:

    That’s all very well and good but I’d like to see Vardy get penalties like that at Arsenal it would be more like yellow cards.

  76. rico says:

    I think Vardy is smart, if not slightly a cheat. Just before he goes over, he always leans towards the defender to make it look like a foul. Many times it’s not imo….

  77. bradster says:

    Morning Rico,

    Are we getting the better Xhaka brother of the 2 that played for Basel? I saw reports that he travelled to London with his brother for a medical.

  78. bradster says:

    I saw it as a headline on a website, it’s address was something like trendelizer or so, wasn’t really paying attention. Maybe they’re close and he’s there for moral support.

  79. bradster says:

    I searched for it. The website was trying to get hits. goal.com says his parents and brother joined him in London before the Euros.
    His brother plays central midfield for Albania and Basel. Sounds like the same position.

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