It has turned out to be such a strange season, that even after we playing at our best, beating teams for fun, winning at shite hart lane, keeping clean sheets more than any other teams, scoring more than anyone else – we are going to end up second! Man City just can’t lose can they?
Fulham can do us a favor, they can restrict Pep to a draw or win against them. I have zero confidence in Tottenham beating City and West Ham can’t go through them on the last day at Etihad. If something can happen, it’s today. Lets hope the gods favors us and Fulham and we get to see for once the sad face of Pep Guardiola. We have one of ours play for Fulham, Bernd Leno, who has promised that he will give his 100% to stop our competition.
There has been some happenings while I was missing. Jorginho signed the contract for another year, Mikel was full of praise for him and it basically confirms it’s time for Thomas Partey to go. I don’t believe Mikel wants to keep two 35 year olds to fight for one place when Declan Rice is a starter. If I was you Mikel, I would sell Thomas for whatever money we can get, and go into the market for a DM understudy to Rice/Jorginho.
Bayern did us dirty in the quarters. Saka was denied a clear penalty. Harry Kane got away with an elbow on Gabriel which should have been red. They weren’t so furious then about refereeing, but when it happened to them against Madrid when the offside whistle was blown a bit too early, all hell broke loose. Mr Tuchel, Karma is a bitch.
Next year’s kit has been leaked, and I am disappointed to say the least. Last season was best of Adidas, both Red and White, and the black ones were great. This season, the third kit was a standout and home one was fine too. I think I might skip the next season’s if the leaks are true.
A belated Happy Birthday to Dennis Bergkamp, you happened when I was playing cricket as 10 year old but looking back, I would have loved to see you play live. A gentlemen, a magician, red through and through.
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Fabrizio reported that we are monitoring the young 18 year old Ajax centre back Jorrel Hato. He has a deal till 2028 and he will be an investment for the future. We most certainly need a third regular CB to rotate with Saliba and Gabriel without hampering our game play. White/Tomi are CB but we haven’t seen them play there, and we don’t know if they will turn out to be equally good. If it costs us 10 odd million, I would say go for it.
Sacking news have started about Pochettino. He talked about an interview, the content doesn’t really matter but if the manager comes out and talks about it, either he is fearful he will be sacked, or he knows he will. Chelsea has just moved from a billionaire russian who managed to win things to a billionaire american who can’t make things happen. Loving it.
Right, and Ten Hag just can’t stop talking about us can he?
AITCHO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26ClGxCylSM
Morning all
I thought as we near the PL final countdown some reference should be made to City where Richard did-you-smash-her Keys who charm school made no difference has actually found the right voice today stating the following in the DM:
Keys said: ‘The problem remains, it all comes with an asterisk.’ (referring to a 4th title)
He later read out the charges that Man City are facing:
’54 failures to provide accurate financial information between 2009-10 to 2018.
14 failures to provide accurate details for player and manager payments.
Five failures to comply with UEFAâs rules including Financial Fair Play 2013-14 to 17-18.
Seven breaches of the Premier Leagueâs PSR rules 2015, 16, 17, 18.
35 failures to co-operate with the Premier Leagueâs investigations from December 2018 onwards â thatâs the charge sheet.’
‘Then you look at the circumstances where they have been able to spend what they want. Theyâve had fantastic lawyers and even better accountants.’
Manchester City are awaiting the outcome of 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League at the start of 2023, for regulation breeches across 14 seasons from 2009-10 onwards.
The charges include claims over financial reporting, and a lack of co-operation with a Premier League investigation which was opened in 2018.
Premier League CEO Richard Masters said a trial date for Man City’s case was set in January, but it has not yet been revealed when it would take place.
Mail Sport reported last year that the ‘trial of the century’ was pencilled in for late 2024, with a verdict not expected until at least the summer of 2025.
Manchester City deny any wrongdoing.
Tony
The likely outcome – Pep will be told to drop his kacks, bend over the desk, have a severe thrashing with a wet lettuce leaf and then told he is a very naughty boy. It is now 2024 – 6 years on. City’s lawyers are bordering on the criminal to keep this trial away from conclusion.
Meanwhile in London N5 we must be perilously close to the limit of what we can spend. No doubt Tim will make sure we are squeaky clean.
Tony
Food -Mediterranean, Middle Eastern & North African are my favourite cuisines. I was 18 when I first discovered what courgettes, aubergines or capsicums were. I moved to London not long after my 21st birthday and the world of food opened up before me. My daughter is a real foodie and an excellent cook and she can conjure something out of nothing -it always tastes delicious. We will be in London in a couple of weeks – I will be loading up the jars of smoked, pulped aubergine and tahini. We will be dining at an Eritrean restaurant while we are there.
âŠtbf Iâm fairly certain youâre a Trump-loving American, likely from Columbia, Missouri, due to your linebacker and Falling Down referencesâŠhowâs that for using âthe logicâ
Hi Vieira
That would be geographically incompatible with the turquoise and orange Miami Dolphin’s Pony trainers (the ones with the little astroturf nobbles on right?). Floridian Aitcho – respect for mentioning them but what were you thinking? I’m a Raiders fan BTW so I’m in a glass house happily throwing stones…
I’ve been to St Louis and I’d say it was properly insulting to have someone suggest you were from ‘Missoura’ as George W Bush liked to call it. GWB seems like the Olaf Palme of US politics after that little handed orange bastard which is bonkers considering how awful his reign was.
Apart from that massive silly arch and the nearby STL Cardinals stadium (where I saw them beat the Brew Crew) there ain’t much to recommend. I was glad to get out until I hit my next baseball stopping off point which was…. Cincinnatti (!) which is also grimmer than Grimsby!
Anyway, I’ve given up trying to suggest we all play nicely because it would be boring. Roll on the toffees and let’s get the season out of the way.
Aitcho is perfectly adept at defending himself and I welcome his stuff on here. I don’t think he’s as rabidly pro-Arteta as he’s sometimes portrayed – those types o’cunts are still picking fights in the empty room that is LG (RIP). There are nuances and he can and will defend on field progress. I can see that but still think Arteta’s the weak link in getting Arsenal just that bit further forward. Plus Senor Stubborn El Bastardo – to give him his full name – seriously grates on me while every previous manager we’ve had since and including Bertie Mee (and even Stewart Houston) I’ve easily been able to like, support and respect.
Love and Peace
Wales’s answer to Jeffrey Lebowski
In contrast to keys, I liked Andy Gray as a pundit as he talked sense. Don’t know about you guys but I like Andy Townsend in the co commentary chair. He’s on our coverage for much of the season and talks unbiased sense. He was an honest hard working player, now a similar pundit.
In The Mirror El B says he feels responsible for his parents divorce, would this suggest mummy and or daddy issues, as a source for his non negotiables? Not really sure what his parents’ divorce has on his management nous and ability as a manager?
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-mikel-arteta-premier-league-32825882
I Know TRVL likes Sesko so what do others think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOQ_dHg-S4M
Obviously, the lower league gives Sesko time on the ball he won’t have in the PL. If he can adapt then he looks a good 9 project. Is he ÂŁ65M worthy? Well, it’s Havert’z territory price wise, so El B obviously thinks so.
Norg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNOaiDb5C_8
That’s an hour’s worth of the secret policeman’s ball.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSOeZliaCgU
Another of their best
Norg
I watched Have I got a bit more news for you with Jack Dee last night and really enjoyed Jack Dee’s delivery. He was really on form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIDWnV8ss74
In The Mirror El B says he feels responsible for his parents divorce
Apparently, he annoyed the shit out of both of them within seconds of being born. Striding up and down his bassinet waving his arms about, generally getting in the way and being unsporting to other babies in the maternity ward. And from there it just got worse…. He kinda had that effect on me too when he arrived at the club. And since then, well the rest is history.
Any thoughts anyone on whether those RM/Barca type rumours might resurface this summer about them wanting to poach him from Arsenal? đ
An extract from Arsenal.com about Petrovic which clears up a few questions.
A playmaker but right-sided, who was seen as a replacement for Liam Brady. He was 5 feet 9 and weighed 10 stone. Unlike Liam Brady, one can see two problems already. Liam Brady, wasnât called âChippyâ for his technique but for his love of chips, which gave him his ârounded physiqueâ. Having that extra weight also meant Brady would, to use the English euphemism, âput his foot inâ. Two things poor Petrovic wasnât made for
… So chips are a good thing that give you a ’rounded physique’. Well I never!
KP
I saw Brady make his depot. Seventeen I believe. Skinny (but tough), shoulder length hair and baggy shorts down to his knees (not quite the fashion at the time). He was spaying accurate passes all over the pitch – a lot of happy gooners that day.
debut – probably needed a depot to fit his rounded frame in later years.
KP
We can only hope. If it happens, I hope Aitcho has a good support network for his El B PTSD.
He is a LIR gooner and likes seals after all.
NORG
Brady still makes my Arsenal all-time XI (and probably always will). He didn’t put a foot wrong in the 5 minute final against Manure and was everywhere. It must have been a real buzz at THOF when he made his first appearance.
KP – if their ages were the same Cesc would have loved to play alongside Brady. So would Steve Williams and Paul Davis.
KP You got any local football this weekend? Last trip with the young lads.
Norg
Loved all three but Brady was a one off and Davis was also gifted and such a sad loss.
KP-the reason I said Columbia, Missouri had nothing to do with anyone’s preferred NFL team, as sadly I’ve been a Browns fan since the Cardiac Kids of the 70s, so if your’s is made of glass, my house must be constructed of something considerably more penetrable, like maybe paper mache, it’s actually the birthplace of one Enos Stanley Kroenke…there was a similarly “styled” poster that I butted heads on another Arsenal blog, who presented himself as the supposed voice of reason, until covid hit, then he quickly emerged as a tin foil hat wearing Trump sympathizer with a penchant for racist rhetoric…I’m not suggested that the poster in question here is the same individual or even a full-blown carbon copy, but he does use some very similar phrases when on the offensive and employs the same divide and conquer techniques…Cheers
Tony-just to set the record straight, I’m not a big Sesko fan, which isn’t to say that I don’t think he could develop into a Striker of some note in the years to come…my concern with this particular player was that he appeared to be a cheaper option, who was a little too similar to our gangly giraffe…as such, I was worried that he would only be brought in as a backup, thus leaving Havertz as our primary Striker…not to mention, he was seen by some as a poor man’s Haaland, due in large part to the fact that he’s tall, was “discovered” by Salzburg, like his Norwegian counterpart, then likewise went to the Bundesliga shortly thereafter…in and of itself, this certainly isn’t the end of the world, except that it fits a settling narrative where MA seems to be always chasing Pep’s scraps or “lesser version” players and it likely doesn’t give us a viable Plan A or Plan B option that would provide us with a much-needed different kind of Striker option
no harm, no foul of course, as I do produce some lengthy posts at times, so I can see why one might misremember on occasion…have a good one
Tony-I have some similar concerns about Zirkzee, even though I do like what he’s accomplished at Bologna, as he’s been key cog in their unexpected rise in Serie A, considering that they’re typically a middling to lower half club…he to me is Jesus on steriods, as he plays a little deeper, with his back to goal, and has considerable link-up capabilities, but isn’t likely to score 20+ goals on a regular basis…I think he has more goals in his boots than our German tweener, if he was deployed a little differently, but I very much doubt MA would ever opt for a more Striker-centric tactical philosophy…with this in mind, he would likely be another Havertz backup option or, even worse, be shoehorned into a role that wouldn’t get the best out of him…just another potential rinse and repeat nightmare…it’s too bad though, in that if MA wasn’t married to Havertz, I could see this player really fitting in nicely with Saka and Marts, especially if we got another CAM and kept Rice in his rightful position
Guys, do you mind if I try some pop ups ads? The ads revenue is so poor that it don’t cover even the domain renewal, let alone the hosting costs.
Just asking, if you say NO, it will be a NO.