A literal meaning would say – Enjoy yourself while you have the chance, but it applies to the current state of Arsenal. If you are one of the miserable souls who has seen too much of mediocrity at Arsenal Football Club that sitting 5 points ahead of Manchester City led by one of the best managers ever, is not enough to hope for a title push then my friend you need to have better expectations.
More than one-third of season is over, we were playing some sublime football before the world cup and sitting on top of the table. If you say we will drop points, so will City. If you say we will be plagued by injuries, so will City.
And if you decide to bring Haaland into the conversation, I would say we have a January window coming and with Jesus out for couple of months (hopefully he will return before that), let us bring in someone who can give us what Jesus gave… and some more.
Our next 3 games are winnable, West Ham (H), Brighton (A), New Castle (H). Hopefully our players won’t be hungover from World Cup and continue with the performance. Win these 3 and we go in confidence at Sh*te Hart Lane and that’s winnable too. Say what you want, but the players have been brilliant and we have a manager in his 4th season having replaced everyone except Xhaka.
Lets do it, stars have aligned so far. Jesus injury is a concern but we can get a competition if Eddie can’t do the job. 3 strikers are not too much, we are going to qualify for Champions League anyway and I don’t see Jesus playing mid-week against better opponents alongside Premier League. 2 games a week among 3 players is okay, Balogun can wait.
Ornstein has reported that we are pretty much in conversation for 21-year old winger – Mykhaylo Mudryk. We have been looking for these kind of profiles from last couple of seasons and are in a better situation that we were in Ozil-era. I don’t mind it but hey, we need a striker first. We have enough cover on wings, ESR is coming back who can play if needed. If you have money, get a Partey competition and a CF. If you want to add Mbappe I have absolutely no problem but lets not make a Ben White of situation at Wings.
My consolation to English fans, it must have been hard but that’s football. Portugal is out, so the Cristiano v Messi final dream dies. I will love to see Messi lifting it, just because the legend deserves it. Hopefully you enjoy the semi-finals and finals and I will have enough time to keep LiR running.
Have a nice day! Lets keep our expectations high and hope higher. This late-Wenger defeatist mentality needs to go away, there is always the next season but you can only win this year for now.
Piers Morgan going crazy against Messi, putting him behind Cr7, Maradona, R9 and Messi.
I would have been happy if R9 was the first but eh CR7 the goat? Nope.
R9 for me. Messi second. Every time.
This is because I have never seen a Maradona game.
Ambarish
Not to put too fine a point on it, Piers Morgan is an ignorant cunt. If you wanted some advice on how to phone hack the parents of a young girl who was brutally abused and murdered by a psychopath, that’s when it would be prudent seek Morgan’s advice (because that’s exactly what he did when Editor of the Daily Mirror). But for anything to do with football I’d seriously recommend you ignore him; he’s a public school tosser who’s never played the game, let alone understands it. He is a stain on British society.
If you want to see a Maradona game when he’s in full flow, it’s the one against England in the Azteca in 86. He’s at his skillful best and his cheating worst, all in one half of football. I know a person’s character is not a conventional criterion when deciding on a player’s ranking as a GOAT but he’s a level 6 shitbag exemplified by his behaviour when he got back to Buenos Aires from playing in Italy. Drugs, violence, threatening people and living above the law – not for me.
KP
Yep, he is. And he flaunts it too haha
I would see if I can find the Maradona game but I do know about the hand of god and his influenced life. May be great at football but not the role model you want your kid to be.
Cr7 and Messi can be looked forward too.
R9 was just crazy. Ronaldinho was another one.
Who do you pick for goat?
Search for Maradona dominating the best AC Milan game for another display of his skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H-QkNYi09w&ab_channel=MatigolVidz
Watch this 3 minute discussion by Lineker on BT Sports. The reference he makes to kicking the ball you get some idea by searching for Maradona pre game preparation. Don’t have the link for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKIFPaR_ZIo&ab_channel=BTSport
Hi Ambarish
Everyone on here will call me a wanker for saying so, but I think Dennis Bergkamp is at least in that discussion about GOATs. I’m old enough (just!) to remember Pele and that 1970 Brazil team who to me were the clearest winners of a WC. A few years later, John Cruyff lit up European football (and then gained added credentials as a manager). Of the current crop, its clearly Messi but its only opinions. I listened to a journalist based in Argentina who used a Spanish term to describe him that I hadn’t heard in years. Pecho frio, or cold chest, ie an aloof, cold hearted character who seldom hugged people warmly. Just about sums him up. Got any special plans for watching the game? I doubt I’ll bother. Cardiff is playing Blackpool on Saturday – I’m hoping to see Patino up close.
Kroenke
No one’s going to call you a wanker for that – plenty of other times but not on that one!
I’m actually a bit of a killjoy on this type of subject I don’t think you can compare footballers from massively different era’s – the truth is all the players mentioned are / were fantastic.
We’ve been lucky to see 2 hugely talented players in Ronaldo and Messi at the same time – it’d just be easier to stomach Ronaldo if he wasn’t such a complete tosser.
The friendly between Juve and Arsenal is free to watch with English commentary on the Juve streaming website for all those living outside the UK and Italy, OR those who have a VPN. Registered with a throwaway email address for the match 13:00 EST or 18:00 GMT this Saturday.
https://www.juventus.com/en/news/articles/arsenal-juventus-live-free-on-jtv
K’Phobe I couldn’t and wouldn’t want to imagine you in such an act unless it was for a motility test. Others may disagree, but they’d be the shallow or wierd types. Pedro on the other hand is a different matter. I honestly thought it was his middle name, it was used so much.
In other less wanking news Arteta is in for Isco. In decades gone by made famous by Zola ay the Chavs an Italian name being added to the team did in fact mean the dropping of many trousers and grabbing for socks. I refrained, of course, because I only had one pair of socks with holes in them.
Remember when Arteta wanted to sell Emi and did, well the little Spanish fcuker is at it again.
He wants to do a swap Vlahovic for LCB Gabs with Juve. Juve are particularly keen because Gabs has had a good season thus far, and is improving obliviously to Arteta. 16 goals and 4 assists are decent for Vlahovic in an Italian farmers league not at the WC is decent return for Juve.
Wait until Arteta explains Vlahovic has to do what Jesus did to help out MF because we can’t afford one while buying defenders we didn’t need, and a CF who will take the rest of the season to catch up to the PL pace and pacy CDs who like to kick Achilles heels whenever the refs and cameras aren’t looking.
That will leave us with perma croc Tomi at RB and Cedric behind him. Then we’ll have the aerially challenged White at RCB, Holdingho at LCB and either perma croc KT or our other perma croc Zinchenko at LB & God forbid Xhaka the perma cnut.
So, we’ll have Vlahovic at CF while Jesus is repairing, then perma croc Partey and back to the W word again wandering Xhaka because he can’t run. His slowness catches defenders out as they tear past him looking back where Xhaka’s trusty left peg misses 8/10 but does score 2.
It was the same down our end Xhaka would be responsible for at least 2 goals by Xmas.
Genius decision that Arteta converting Xhaka’s goals in for ‘for’ column. Hopefully, ESR will edge Xhaka to the bench and remain fit & healthy. Sadly for now he’s on the perma croc list.
Up top we have the indestructibles’ in Saka, Martinelli and Eddie, now Jesus is well er crocked. Not on the perma list just yet, but give it time.
At least all the perms crocs are in the first 11 and played into the red constantly. Have to give Arteta credit for getting his pound of flesh – literally of course.
Going to be some cold legs when they get back for Boxing Day. Will seem like playing in a cryogen field where out perma crocs will be as feverously nervous as turkeys on earlier Xmas eve. Once good crunch on frozen bones that have been honed in warm weather are likely to do something not good.
We run out of gas and have all season. I’d have thought the smart thing to do would be go to to say Denver and do high altitude training then our lads could come back and do their Duracell Bunnies bit on the pitch. To be clear Xhaka would NOT be able to run faster. Longer? Certainly, just not faster unless he was going down hill.
For all my facetiousness we do have too many crocs in out first 11. Arteta can go forth and fornicate regarding selling Gabs for Vlahovic. Pay for the fcuker.
It’s like at the last supper Jesus said I will turn this water into wine, and Peter replied fcuk off you tight cnut and put your money in the whip round like the rest of us. 🙂
The oldies are best.
Maybe not watching the WC was a bad thing judging by this post, and I’m suffering wanting to know the end of our season’s story with perm crocs FC AKA The Arsenal with resumption on the 26th or 10 feverish days excluding the WCF.
Thailand doesn’t do Xmas it only makes money out of it. New Year is a 4-day partying event.
Enjoy the weekend, lads, and I’ll see whoever’s here for the final on Sunday for the concluding part of Mbappe v Messi.
Marc and Tony
Cheers lads – I think! 🙂
I should have said Saliba instead of Holdingho so White is cover for RB & RCB.
Whatever way you look at our situation, we are in a similar situation to last season with no lessons learnt. Robbing Peter to Pay Paul scenario.
I have no idea how Arteta is going to play it at this point, so I’ve pointed out our weak areas for which there are many through lack of credible bench players with good experience that’s solely an Arteta problem, especially giving game time.
Same every season.
KP, I laughed when I read it back: nah not even motility. ): 🙂 🙂 Note to self less inhaling before posting. 🙂
Tony
If the story’s are true about selling Gabriel that perfectly fits in with Arteta’s previous behaviour.
He spent a fortune on White when we didn’t need to so now he has to find a way to keep him in the team, he’s not all that at RB, Saliba’s too good to drop so sell the Gab make it look like it was a strategic move and bingo.
All the while we’ve got a CM of Party (injury prone) and Xhaka.
It’s going to be hard work reminding the fanboys how they were talking about a title challenge when it all goes south (again!) and top 4’s in the balance.
Sad but true, Marc. Just get a loan striker/winger and finally sort the midfield out.
It’s not rocket science.
I have no idea as top tonight’s outcome. Weagle and Tom on LG going head to head with sensible points regarding each teams’ strengths.
For sentimental reasons I believe Messi has given the game far more than any French player facing the Argentines’ this afternoon. Mbappe will get to play in at least 2 to 3 more World Cups, so I’d like it to go to Messi and Argentina.
I like Mbappe and understand his age and and prodigious talent with the way he handles it. CR7 is gone and Messi is fading, so now the press have their poster boy to keep tearing down at every opportunity, such is the price of selling sports news.
I’ll tell you this much no Gooner would say no to Mbappe joining us.
3:2 to Argentina is my holding-a-wet-finger-to-the-wind of my office fan prediction.
Juve kicked our ass at the Emirates with 12 youth players in their squad. Nelson was having a good game from the reports before going off with a thigh strain. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious. We don’t need more injuries to our already short list of forwards.
The result isn’t the end of the world, but for a PL summit sitting side losing just before resumption of the PL next weekend is far from ideal.
Still, friendlies are to sharpen teams up and with The Hammers playing us at home, it should be a no brainier. Shouldn’t it?
Hi Tony
Changing tack, I’m thoroughly fucking sick of going to watch games where the refs are so poor/ biased that they ruin it as a spectacle and sporting encounter.
Cardiff mullah’ed Blackpool for nearly 80 minutes yesterday despite only scoring a single goal. Game ended 1-1 which is laughable. The ref gave nothing to Cardiff’s forwards despite bring wrestled to the ground, and dragged down in the area a couple of times.
I think it’s in everyone’s psyche now that the break up of the UK is inevitable meaning that Wales, Scotland and N Ireland are seen as separate nationalities from Ingerland.
So what do we see at Cardiff every time they play at home? An Ingerlish ref officiating an Ingerlish team bravely (!) playing behind enemy lines in Wales where fans are lippy and spiky in equal measure thanks to years of footballing bias. It’s a fucking shit show. Imagine if tonight’s ref was French or Argentine? It’s not that different. I lost the plot in the second half and still feel cheated. It’s getting to the point where its no longer worth watching. The cunty refs have ground me down. The 100 (yes really) Blackpool fans who bothered to turn up and watch their sinking team must’ve thought Ingerlish Xmas had come early. Its staggering. Cardiff have probably played nearly 20 games this season and I can think of only one (Wigan away) whee it seemed like we got a fair deal from the twats in black.
And what of Senor Patino I hear you ask? He had a great start to the season and is clearly relied upon in the middle of MF. But he looked lethargic and a bit disinterested if you ask me. Some decent runs but his passing was ordinary. Looked like he was going through the motions.
Fucking Ingerlish refs. Pricks!
That was the softest penalty ever, of coursebharder than blowing air today tople Diaria. The way Messi is playing dirty, appears he knows the ref is his fan.
It was soft, shouldn’t have been given. But the second goal was brilliant.
Messi scoring one and assisting another… who would have thought
Mistake France is making is they wait for thevpass to teach them while Argentina mose to intercept their passes. Should be more proactive. In this Mbappé is an absolute prima Donna. So is absolute passenger
Ambarish
Spot on
I think this will settle the goat debate. I am taking the piss out of my United & Ronaldo fans lol