Morning all.
What a weird old season this has been for football, especially Arsenal. The wait for Unai Emery to be replaced dragged on too long and then once it happened, it now feels like everything stopped. It didn’t of course because a few months passed before football and the world really, came to a standstill. The longer the forced interruption to the season continued, the less likely it seemed that football would return. The thought of Liverpool being denied their Premier League trophy brought a smile to my face, just as it did many others no doubt. All barring Liverpool fans possibly. Selfish I know and daft really because more important than who won the League was overcoming this pandemic and vast numbers of lives being lost to it, stop.
Project restart suddenly became a reality and here we are now, Liverpool champions and the final fixture of the season just days away. A feast of football has come and gone in a flash. Relegation, promotion and European football placings are still to be decided. The FA Cup, Champions League and Europa Cup Finals to be won. Arsenal could be the team to relegate Watford on Sunday but after our dismal showing at Villa Park, I wouldn’t bank on it.
Whilst Sunday’s fixture means very little to Arsenal as far as the League goes, a strong performance ahead of next weekend’s trip to Wembley is important. No injuries, bookings or sendings off is crucial.
There’s more at stake for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this weekend in their match against Wolverhampton Wanderers. A win will secure a top four spot, a draw might too if Utd fail to beat Leicester City, in fact if both Chelsea and Leicester win, it’ll be Utd who finish 5th I’m sure. Who gives a toss I hear you say and trust me, I don’t but it means that Chelsea have a tough fixture and need a big performance. A knackering one I hope. No, of course I wouldn’t wish injuries on them but a sending off or two? Ok then.
No sooner does the season end, the transfer window opens. The solution to every clubs poor season. Man City will probably be throwing money around like it’s going out of fashion, Chelsea too perhaps along with the newly promoted clubs. They always spend big. I expect Liverpool to shuffle their pack a little as will Man Utd but for the rest, including Arsenal, who really knows?
Arsenal don’t need quantity in my opinion, just quality. Numbers are irrelevant in both signings and financial terms. Getting the right kind of player is crucial. Like a creative midfielder and a guy with power as well as pace in midfield too. Just those two along with Saliba would make us so much better. Much stronger and certainly more competitive.
Then it’s about who goes and how Arsenal replace them or indeed if they need replacing at all. By that I mean buying players. Saka, ESR, Willock, Nketiah, John-Jules, AMN, Nelson, Martinelli, Chambers, Mari, Leno, Matt Smith, Balogun and anybody else I’ve missed will be either a year old and wiser, or returning from injury. There’s a chance one or two, maybe more will be sold but I’m not convinced they will be. Not even AMN, especially not AMN.
One thing we know about Arsenal though is to expect the unexpected. Not always has that been in a good way but every now and again, a goodie comes along. Holding, Alexis, Martinelli, Leno, Pepe and Xhaka (no grumbling at the time) and Auba, Lacazette and even Ozil. There are are more I’m sure, many, but it’s not until they pretty much arrive, do we know they’re arriving. If that makes sense. Which is perhaps why I doubt Thomas Partey or Jon Stones will become Arsenal players this summer, nor the bloke at Porto. Arsenal deal under the radar, not in full view of everyone.
NN and every other newspaper will try and convince us otherwise though…
Lastly, the squad shirt numbers are changing next season. Bukayo Saka will now follow the likes of Liam Brady, David Rocastle, Robert Pires and Tomas Rosicky and wear the number 7 shirt. William Saliba will be given the number 4 shirt. Mohammed Elneny has agreed to take the number 25 shirt.
AFC.com:
The new adidas home shirt will be worn for the first time on pitch when we play Watford in the final game of the Premier League season at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
The team will also wear the new shirt for the Heads Up FA Cup final at Wembley on August 1, when we’ll be aiming to break our own record by lifting the trophy for the 14th time.
See you in the comments guys…
Good morning Rico and thanks for a fine post.
Saliba being given the number 4 shirt indicates that he is to be high up the centre back list. Sokratis could be one of those on his way out.
Hi Rico and all if Auba does not sign soon is it because he he thinks he is to good for us or is it because he his scared of being replaced by the younger players
Thanks Rico.
Dont the Chavs still have a CL game to contend with as well?.
WBA up……..yuck!……….they are the only loss I have seen at the Ems, all the other games have been wins as I cherry pick games that I expect us to win.
They beat us 3-2………….we were shit, Almunia saved a penalty before the Baggies went 3-0 up!……………..I was near Arsene and I said to my son that Diaby and Eboue need to be subbed early as they were both having a “mare”…………I could see Arsene was listening and I could hear himself thinking to himself……”Sacre Bleu………. Monsieur Monster knows his french onions!”…………….and low and behold, Arsene made his only ever non injury subs before 60 mins ever with Wheelchair and Rosicky coming on!……………………….Na$ri got two late goals and also hit the bar, he was different French Mustard that day………………………I have hated The Tea Baggies since as 250 mikles driving home after a loss is not fun!
Southgate needs to cap Saka before Nigeria get their hands on him and he then misses games for us when Nigeria play in the African Cup of Nations every 6 months!……………………….Nigeria are like the new Republic of Ireland………………whereas RI would cap someone if they had they had a friend of a friend who had a one sip of a pint of Guiness, Nigeria will cap anyone who has been claiming Working Tax Credits!
Nice one, Rico 👍
That French cup final is tomorrow night, Saliba won’t be playing… i shall still have a butchers though…
Interesting about the shirt numbers, Rico…
Le Coq… WBA are soooo crap, I can’t stand them…hahaha I’m a cherry picker too 😜
Great story, btw 😂 I do sympathize… the tube and train home from Paddington isn’t much better either…. it’s eerily quiet!!
Lc, they do. But they’re 3-0 down heading to Bayern.
Morning Cicero, Geoff, all.
Agree re Saliba, he’s coming into be a starter. Sokratis, Chambers, Holding and Mustafi must be wondering whether they’re staying or going.
Holding is the future Rico, Chambers has been injured for the entirety of Arteta’s reign so he will need to assess him after he has attained full fitness. I think Mustafi will stay for the present, but depending on how Saliba fits in and how Chambers measures up, he could go in January.
Sokratis will be the first one out.
Thanks Sue. The Elneny numbering is interesting, unless it’s just been done for paperwork only. Otherwise he could be coming back.
Super Serge will provide another power ‘Serge’ and dump the chavs out!!!
How come Bergkamp is being mentioned an awful lot today? Could this be the ‘big news?’ Is he coming home??
I know Cicero. Logic alone suggests Sokratis will be going as he’s not played but I wonder who would have had Arteta’s trust had Mari not been injured. Holding still seems to be playing second fiddle to Mustafi though.
To replace Aubameyang perhaps Sue? 😜😜
🤣🤣🤣 of course, Rico!!
The problem with not having EL ( if we don’t win the FA cup) is that we don’t really need such a big squad as usual. & so players that stay that are not 1st team will not get enough games to keep them here ( if they are any good) the BIGGEST problem in this area is the GK. Martinez has been brilliant I like him & I REALLY don’t want him to leave if Leno get’s the NO 1 spot back. A good question to answer is . IF only one of them will stay if they are not no 1.. and we can get £50 mil for Leno or £25 mil for Leno , which one should we sell ? & which one do you thin the club will choose
I personally have a very good feeling about Martinez , I think he will eventually be a better keeper for us than Leno ( his size being a big element in that )
Good point Sohara. Well just have to beat Chelsea.
Loans might come into play if not.
Afternoon Rico and all, nice post…
I wonder if Arteta will look for some internal solutions to what the squad is lacking, better the devil you know etc. Signing players isn’t always the panacea we wish it to be, it’s expensive and it saddles you with players you can’t move on, whereas promoting from within is more cost effective as long as the quality is there and usually comes with a loyalty a connection that players brought in from elsewhere often don’t have.
So we need somebody who can play in that area usually patrolled by a No.10, a Silva or a Hazard or a De Bruyne, someone who carries the ball, commits opponents and who can find a pass, like a Jack Grealish or a Jack Wilshere ( pauses to sigh ‘if only’ ).
Emile Smith Rowe could be that player, eventually, but is next season too soon, is it too big a job for such a young player, it probably is but let’s see how he responds to some Arteta coaching?
Reiss Nelson, could he do that job, he’s got all the attributes except for the consistency of performance you miss from young players, staying fit is important and he does pick up niggling injuries but the talent is there?
Looking further ahead young Matt Smith, whose been in the last few squads and is rated as one of the most progressive passers at the club, watch any U23 game and it’ll be usually Smith who assists, but again, is it simply just too soon for him? Players like Bakayo Saka even suffer a dip in form and we’ve seen that in recent games, it’s quite normal for young players, they’re still growing and developing both mentally and physically.
Willock started the season off really well under Emery, he was getting a few goals and fans were saying he’s the next Aaron Ramsey, Ljungberg rates him and used him during his short spell in charge and even though Arteta has used him I’ve noticed his form dipping recently.
For Eddie Nketiah his suspension came at a terrible time for him as he was really establishing himself, he then unluckily lost three games and bingo the season is nearly over and he had probably his worst game for us this season vs Villa – that said, he still hit the post with a header which was our best attempt on goal all match, so that knack of looking uninvolved in the game and then scoring from nothing is still in his locker, it’s why Arteta likes him.
Just came across this:
Arsenal have held preliminary talks with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang. He’s made it clear he is happy at the club under Arteta. He will sign a new deal providing they get into Europe via the FA Cup.
Without Europe, he wants assurances of their ambition but is still open to staying.
how nice it would be if we win the FA cup and knock Tottenham out of the European cup
Afternoon Kev, thanks.
Good comment I think. Solutions are not always from the outside but as many as we have, our midfielders are still a season or two away from being reliable- for the want of a better word. Saka is one who seems able to cope each week but even he’s dropped off a bit recently. Understandable with so many games I know.
This will come as no surprise but a strong and athletic midfield would be first on my wish list and let Torreira go.
it would be nice to get more of young kids in but at the end of the day we need to win matches to bring in more money and better sponsorship not to mention burning this young players out. I know he may not be the best out there but would we be better off to sell Auba and buy William from Chelsea as his contract Is running out
Shkodran Mustafi looks set to suffer FA Cup heartache, with the defender expected to miss the Wembley showpiece with Chelsea through injury.
Mustafi, who was firmly out of favour with former boss Unai Emery, has become an integral part of Mikel Arteta’s side and had started nine of Arsenal’s 10 games prior to the FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City.
But after suffering a hamstring injury in the closing stages of the 2-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s side, Mustafi was forced to miss Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
The Germany international has undergone a scan on the problem and head coach Mikel Arteta has now revealed he fears the centre-back will not be available to face Chelsea at Wembley.
“I doubt it,” said Arteta, when asked if Mustafi would be fit for the final.
“We have to see how he evolves in the next few days, but at the moment I doubt it.”
From Goal.com
Afternoon Rico and the House.
At last I have some spare time to come back online.
I am pleased to say along with my better half I have been given time
off for good behaviour,the tag is being removed on Aug 1st and if we wear
a mask we can once again start going out to meet family and friends.
Rico I must thank you for the great posts you have penned during the last 4months
they have always given me a pleasure to read them.
Its allso given me a uplift reading the comments by Kev Adam Potter
and many others during this time and I saythank you to you all.
Having sacked most of our scouting network , the need for people watching lower league players is now premium . Is this a nother gaffe by Raul or are KIa and Jorge going to take a trip to Hartlepool on a cold and windy night ?
I tend to agree with Kev that big money transfers will not solve our problems , attitude however will !
Combine that with skill and ability and a desire to play for the club and like Dixon , Bould , Wright , you have a winner.
Kev
I think there is a goldern opportunity for some of our youngsters to show Mikal what
they can do. I gather that the U23s have already started training for next season,and some of them
are still traing with the first team.
There is one player everyone has forgotten and thats Ben Sheaf.
There are those who have written him off and are saying sell but I would like to see what
Mikal could make of him.
This season he has playsd about 40 games for Donny and they have been as a no6
From what I have seen of him he is over his injury and is looking really fit.
What do you think.??
I feel sorry for Mustafi as he missed the last final too. But Holding should be a fine deputy. 🤞🤞
Hi Rick, good to see you back here and thank you for your kind comments.
Potter, or a bit of one and a lot of the other.
Morning Rico and all. Really good to see you back Rick.
Morning all.
Seems so long ago we last played!!!
City, wasn’t it 🙂
When are we up next?
Morning Adam, Scott and all.
New post up now.
Just a bit of fun.