Morning all.
William Saliba has received four yellow cards so far this season so if he picks up another he’ll be banned for one game. The golden reset fixture is number 19 so with Arsenal having only played 15 fixtures so far, he’s got to try and play through four more matches without a picking up a booking. If he’s booked on Saturday, he’ll miss the Newcastle Utd fixture at The Emirates, if he’s booked in the Newcastle game, he’ll miss the trip to Tottenham and should he get booked in that one, he’ll miss the home fixture against Man Utd. Harry Kane is another player who is one booking away from a ban so unless he’s careful, he could miss the NLD.
What a start to 2023 we have though, three really tough fixtures but at least two of them are at home. There’s Brighton to contend with yet though, our final game of 2022. Takehiro Tomiyasu was back in training yesterday so that’s a boost for Mikel Arteta, especially as he can play in central defence as well as he plays left or right. Oleksandr Zinchenko was training too so the minutes against West Ham didn’t have a negative impact on his legs and ESR isn’t far off returning either. Exactly what we need going into the New Year.
If you’ve not already seen it, check out Flo Balogun’s 8th goal for Reims on YouTube. Hopefully he’ll be bring his goal scoring form back to Arsenal next season. Arsenal could do with him now really but he’s better off playing every week as he is in France, rather than sitting on the bench back in England.
Premier League top scorers 2022/23 – as of December 28th
- Erling Haaland – Man City – 20
- Harry Kane – Tottenham – 13
- Ivan Toney – Brentford – 11
- Aleksandar Mitrovic – Fulham – 10
- Rodrigo Moreno – Leeds – 9
- Miguel Almiron – Newcastle – 9
- Leandro Trossard – Brighton – 7
- Roberto Firmino – Liverpool – 7
- Phil Foden – Man City – 7
- James Maddison – Leicester – 7
- Mohamed Salah – Liverpool – 7
Not an Arsenal player to be seen on the above list but that’s because Mikel Arteta’s teams are sharing the goals around. Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli have scored 6 each, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka have scored 5 each and the rest of the 36, the second highest number of goals scored in the league by the way, have been scattered around the team. I still think this group of players have more goals in them, if they’d just put their boot through the ball a bit more often instead of looking for one more pass. But, that seems to be our playing style, that and snapping at the heels of the opposition when we’re out of possession. I don’t recall the last time an Arsenal team worked so hard on and off the ball.
Sleep tight Pele…
See you in the comments…
Good morning Rico, not here in Norfolk though it’s “persisting” down, that’s the polite, woke way of saying “pissing” down. 😉
It’s never a good time to get booked, but the sooner it happens the sooner Saliba will be back in play..
The Mudryk deal might still be on, Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin told the media, as per CBS Sports. “We are open to negotiations, ready to exchange ideas and figures. If we will agree, then let it be so.”
Not only that, but also Joao Felix could be coming too, according to The Athletic. The asking price, will however, need to come down a bit.
Morning Cicero, I was beginning to wonder if there was life out there. This blogging malarkey seems to be a bit like Arsenal’s bad times, history..
I think we’ll see an arrival or two next month, who though is anyone’s guess. Felix and Mudryk would certainly give us something more up front.
Morning all ( Just ). Still “persisting” here too , and we have just had a flood warning for the three rivers Thurne , Bure and Ant . Water levels are high and the shops are putting out sandbags.
Hose pipe ban by June , I reckon .
Talking Arsenal is difficult when things are as good as they are at the moment without sounding sycophantic . It’s easier to have ideas on how to improve things than it is to just keep saying ” Carry on “.
As with all windows we can only wait and see Felix and Mudryk are the ones getting the headlines but don’t be surprised if Edu springs a surprise on us and the media.
Saliba will get his booking before the Spurs match , you can rely on PGMOL for that and no doubt Kane will get his booking against us after he has scored his traditional penalty and miss the game after.
It is written !
I thought similar re Saliba missing the NLD although my hope is that Webb isn’t another Riley and he wants fairness and consistency in the game.
Yes, it’s always more busy when we’re losing…
RIP Pele, he really was the greatest player of all time despite the hype around the pretenders. Won the World Cup aged 17, not as a super sub but as the man/boy leading the line for Brazil, scored 4 goals on his senior debut aged 15.
The Saliba thing is a worry but he’s also quite capable of serenely sailing through the next four games without a hitch, if we worry too much about it it’ll happen…
Persisting and bookings aside I think a hearty cheer to Arteta and the team. We’ve had a truly engaging year with Arsenal our run in at the end just missing out on CL, the Documentary with all its insights, and the run we’ve had this season has taken everyone by surprise, I guess, apart from the Arsenal faithful who could honestly see this coming. Having said that we do need some decent players and Murdryk and Felix would be perfect. However, as you said I think Edu will also be strengthening the midfield maybe Teilemans or the Lazio Croatian sounds like a great player both would be incredible. But we will need these players and as Arteta said not bodies but players who can improve the squad add depth and impact at the right moments in games we pack that.
Having said that I can’t wait to see ESR back in the side he is one of those impact players we need and he will be like a new signing getting him back. Then with Zinchenko and Tomi match fit we will start to have some options available and depth where needed.
It will take time for Webb to stamp his authority and as we have seen with all government bureaucrats they always just carry on regardless until someone actually tells them to stop.
The PGMOL won’t be any different.
I have been watching The Arsenal overcoming bias for 67 years ( first game at 8 ) , I don’t expect things to change any time soon.
You can stick your Effing two points up your *rse . For just one a nd the2007 League cup final for another.
The only player to win three World Cup medals too I think.
ESR really will be like a new signing when he returns.. Yep, the days of someone, anyone will do are over thank goodness. That’s one thing Mikel Arteta has told us although it’s also a good excuse not to sign anyone. Lol
I’m not so sure re Webb, I don’t think he’ll want his reputation to be tarnished. If he changes the way games are officiated, he’ll make a big name for himself and going from the way he often posed for the camera, he’d like that.
It would be nice to have a goal scorer in the top 5 but on the other hand if he gets injured who will stand up and score, at least we are winning, and the oppositions goal keepers don’t know who to watch.
I may be wrong but I recon one of the reasons why we are doing better this season is we are taking more long shots at goal than the past few seasons.
From AFC.com
Having signed a new long-term deal in October, it’s safe to say Gabriel is enjoying life in north London.
Our defender has become a key first-team player since arriving from Lille in the summer of 2020, and has thrived at the heart of our defence this season, featuring in every Premier League match so far this campaign which sees us heading into 2023 on top of the league.
That is something he is attributing to the influence of Mikel Arteta. “We’ve got a very good relationship,” the defender explained. “We’re always chatting. He’s a manager who is very close with his players and he’s very influential.
“He’s helped me a lot since I arrived here. He’s a great person and really looks after every person in the team – it’s like a family. He makes us happy and that gives us a real desire to win.
“All the players are working hard together and the most important thing is that everybody wants to play and everybody wants to win. The group is very united together and we are on this journey [together]. There’s still a lot of work to do but we hope that we can stay focused and get the job [done].”
Gabriel feels our summer signings have also played a key role in our ascent to the division’s summit, as has the emergence of William Saliba, with whom the Brazilian has forged a strong centre-back partnership with in the heart of our backline.
“They’ve brought a lot of quality to this group,” he added. “We’re a very young team and these new players have brought a real desire to win and experience [in winning]. We’re still working together with that desire to win and that experience.
“[Zinchenko and Jesus] won a lot of titles at their previous club and we know the quality they have. They came here to help us. Gabby Jesus has been injured – he’s so important for the team and he helps us a lot. He brings that experience to the group.
“Wilo was out on loan but he’s come back as a much more mature player. He’s got good quality and we’ve got good communication between us, especially given it’s only our first season together. We work hard every day and that’s helping us to get results on the pitch.”
Hi again Rico et Al,
The Croatian midfield target reported by Daniel O is Sergej Milinković-Savić apparently it now seems like he would be up for a move to NL. We live in hope, but there’s no doubt our league run and position this year plus the type of attacking football and the way Arteta (and coaches) develop talent are opening new opportunities for players, to come to Arsenal. If we strike whilst the iron is hot, and use our current leverages, we can bring in players to maintain this seasons performances and hopefully beyond. We have not been in this position for many years and it’s a testament to both Arteta and Edu that we are a club in the moment, and one building for a long term future!!
Hi Mig. Arteta certainly seems to have a lot of players turning their heads. Must admit I couldn’t see it to begin with, but I was wrong. If the club can afford the best players, I think they’ll want to sign for us now because of what Arteta and Edu are doing. Credit to the Kroenke family too.
Bar City, we look the best prospect imo.
Absolutely Rico,
I don’t know about your point of view but my take on listening to Declan Rice after the West Ham Boxing Day game was, I thought, intriguing. He was full of praise for us and stated that we were title contenders 100%, I think he said. But it was the way he was talking, if I didn’t know any better I would have said he was telling Arteta/Arsenal to come and talk to me in the summer. I just think he loves what we have at Arsenal and the way we play. He wouldn’t need to move home so he wouldn’t be uprooted too much and he knows he would become the main midfielder for many years in a young dynamic CL playing team. We couldn’t do much better than Declan!!
I mentioned that before too Mig. Rice didn’t need to praise Arsenal and Arteta but he did in a big way. Money might be the issue with him because his transferee would be £100m or more but you’re right I think, we’d struggle to find better.
I see the Kronkes are now entering a new phase with Arsenal. Either we want to win titles and play CL or we don’t. But staying in the CL is tough and I would argue that to maintain a strategy to stay top four rather than challenge is virtually impossible today, unlike in Wenger’s day you could do that but we now have 7 or 8 teams who are playing for CL places and probably 3 Arsenal, MC and NU who are title contenders this season. So unless you’re in the market for top talent like Rice, and Bellingham, you’re unlikely to remain in top four. The Kronkes and Arsenal have managed to get here with a young dynamic team, but to stay here and continue to challenge will need a squad of talent and depth to match those around us. Newcastle are in the same position as we are and will need to back Howe with top talent. But I would suggest that we need to be buying a Rice or Bellingham or equivalent possibly MacAlister in the summer. I also wonder if top players look at Grealish and Foden and wonder if they would become a little less effective playing with MC rather than NU or Arsenal. They would certainly play more games than at MC. Have MC reached a point where top players are thinking their careers might be best served not joining MC.
We have a few coming through the ranks though and as the older players depart, Xhaka, Holding, Elneny etc, I guess the club will naturally refresh each season.
Xhaka and Elneny are thirty, Holding is twenty-seven all three are in their prime Rico. I can’t see any of them wanting to leave just yet. The latter two don’t play that many games but are valuable players to have on the bench, both could be used more to relieve the load on the the defence and midfield. Xhaka just seems to go on and on, despite the number of games he plays he seems to be remarkably injury free. I would argue that he is one of the most important, and reliable, members of the first team.
I didn’t mean right now Cicero, but as the years roll. Although I do think Elneny might leave next summer.
I can’t argue with Xhaka he is unreal with the amount of games he plays and remains injury free but also seems to be reset for every game. Regarding Elneny and Holding I think they are now under threat in their squad positions. When Arteta says we have a small squad well we don’t we have the same size squad as those around us what he really means is we have a small squad of talented players, and we have a few that can step in when we need them. With the likes of Cedric, Holding, and Elneny Edu needs to be replacing these squad players with talent that improves our squad, not bodies, which no disrespect intended, but we would not buy these players today, would we. I totally value and respect them for how they have served Arsenal but I think their careers lie elsewhere. And they need to be replaced with players of a certain talent and age which means they will become members of this squad for years to come. I know Cedric will likely join Fulham in January and Elneny’s contract runs to the summer, Holding would do a job for possibly another year after which I would suggest we have either youth coming through or replacements planned. What we don’t have right now though is a replacement for Jesus and if Nketiah were injured. We also haven’t replaced Pepe yet and we are still light in midfield but quality midfielders. I would suggest Lakonga will not make the cut either but we have Pino coming through now and he’s getting game time and then Balogun will most likely rejoin the squad next season as he can become a top striker. It’s maintaining our form this season without unsettling the entire squad.
Going by the way the club have assembled the squad it has now which is clearly very settled and happy, I’ve faith they’ll continue to get the right players. If they get it wrong, he’ll soon be gone imo.
We still have a number of players who are likely to be moved on next summer..
Get well soon Marc Overmars after suffering a stroke..
Ditto Overmars very young for a stroke!!
A message on Antwerp’s Twitter feed read: “Marc Overmars, director of football affairs at RAFC, became unwell last night and was admitted to hospital with a mild stroke. Marc is doing well in the meantime, but will have to take it easy for a while.
Leah Williamson is awarded an OBE and Beth Mead is awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours list.
Congratulations to them both.
A HAPPY AND SAFE NEW YEAR TO ALL
Hey Rico and all a happy and prosperous new year!! Well done Leah and Beth!!
Morning Mig, Geoff, all.
New post up.
Catch up later..
Congrats to the girls but as a comparison it took 12 years for Geoff Hurst to get his MBE and 22 for his knighthood.
I suppose this is a sign of how the immediacy of the media works nowadays..
Away to Brighton tonight , one game at a time is the mantra , every point is a point closer to 4th place and that has to be the target , anything better is a bonus.
I see that having been used as a stalking horse by Shakhtar Mudryk is now on offer to all and sundry and Chelsea have stepped up with more cash. Maybe we will get Sterling as a consolation prize . I hope not.
Other than that it’s windy and very damp here today , but I suppose they didn’t put windmills where the wind don’t blow.