Derby Day – F*ck the Spu*s!

as for Declan Rice, I truly believe that ship has sailed for us, in that if we were really wanted this player we needed to make our push some time ago…he should have replaced Xhaka in year 1 of this 4 year plan, which would have allowed us to deploy Partey in more advanced positions and then likewise pursue a more forward thinking RB, like Dumfries, knowing that we had Rice playing in deeper-lying positions in front of our CBs…I just don’t believe we will enter into an obvious bidding war with clubs who splash the cash without much hesitation

TRVL

I’d love to see Rice replace Xhaka but I can’t see him going anywhere but Chelsea.

Marc, I’m just worried that they’re thinking that Rice is Partey’s replacement not Xhaka’s…that said, I do agree with the likelihood that he’s destined for someone other than us, whether that’s Chelsea or not, I’m not sure

Rice would do for me this window. That and bring back Bolagun I’ve been banging that drum for a long time. I prefer Bolagun to Eddie, but would like to see them play together.

We can invest in the right attacker in the summer TW.

TRVL
I’d see Rice as both and more a versatile player, as he has many strengths as in playing 6/8 and a makeshift 10 if Ode & Vieira were injured.

ESR/Viera/Zinch/Azeez/Patino cam all fill in for Xhaka if Rice fills in for an injured Partey.

After we beat United and we should being at home as well, there will be 19 games to go.

With us beating Manure Sunday, we’ll be on 50 points. Of the 57 points on offer how many do we at LIR think we will end up with?

Can we get over 100 points? With the right buys in this TW, I believe it’s achievable at a stretch, but not without at least 2 quality additions now.

Hope I’m not tempting fate or letting my Arteta guard down too early.

12 days and counting!

Tony
The opening quarter of the manure game will be telling. If we can smother them and stop them moving the ball upfield as we successfully achieved against the cockerel jockeys (and bag a goal or two) we should be in business. I’ll get my crystal ball out before the game.

Transfer activity (or the lack of) will have a bearing on how many points we muster I suspect. Frankly, I’m more interested in our final position than the maths. We have a golden opportunity right now – look at it as an 8 point lead to play only 20 games.

Mitoma from Brighton could be available for 60_65 . Proven, chaos creator like Jesus and Brighton play like us a bit , though more perfectly

Now here’s the real story of last weekend:

“Eighty per cent of toilets at last weekend’s Premier League derbies tested positive for cocaine, a shocking MailOnline investigation has found”

Not sure what this says about the state of the game and/or life in general in the year 2023…crystal meth should be ashamed of itself LOL

The more details emerge of the Mudryk deal the worst it gets and the more incompetent the dynamic duo appears. From the Athletic article “Inside Chelsea’s Mudryk deal”

Admittedly, the £97,000 salary the Ukrainian will pick up at Stamford Bridge is bigger than that proposed by Arsenal, but not astronomically so. That may surprise those who assume the only reason Chelsea beat Arsenal to the signature is they offered a significantly larger financial package.

Arsenal had been speaking to him since October and their contract offer was within £10,000 per week of that eventually accepted across town he will be earning over £5million a year until at least 2030. Arsenal offered the same amounts and split as Chelsea, albeit the speed at which the various installments would be paid was markedly different on their bid.

Edu and Tets don’t learn if plan A doesn’t work there is nothing else. Last TW Vlah or nothing. Summer TW Raphinha or nothing and they refused to go for Mudryk which was on their list and instead went for Partey back up how did that work out? Fucking morons in the front office.

Nothing has changed as this Athletic statement shows “Arsenal were still confident a compromise could be struck for a lower fee” what is the stooges problem? Is Wenger standing behind them with a gun to their head demanding lower fees to be offered? Looks to me like a repeat when Mbappe confirmed in 2018 that he had the desire to be managed by Wenger.

Almunia you have so much material to go with this saga, PLEASE help us to lessen our hurt in case Mudryk turns out to be the next MBappe.

Hi Hoopah
That’s a lot of money for another practically unproven player. He did well against us but he’s still got a lot to prove. And I doubt BHA need to sell him. Moussa on the other hand looks a real goalscoring threat. But I still think CM is the main need.

TRVL
That coke and football thing is massive these days. In the 90s in London when everyone was going from football to house music clubs (and back again), going to games represented a chance to take a break from ecstasy and blow.

Someone said earlier this season that toilets in the away end are starting to look like busy launderettes at the end of a day’s business. It goes on at all levels too. I watch plenty of Cardiff away games – half the spectators have looks on their faces like Al Pacino in Scarface. The rest are absolutely spannered. They must travel on buses… Unfortunately, I’m always the designated driver because I’ve always got my kids and their mates.

That late Palace goal was a joy to behold. The look on eth’s face and that tosser fernandez made my evening.

KP-in a world where common sense is little more than a fallback plan, nothing surprises me anymore…of course, I have no axe to grind with those who partake, as the pot should never call the kettle black, but the fact that the levels of usage are such that a team of toilet inspectors needed to be rounded up and dispersed, like an army of fecal-caked minions, is a little unsettling…I’m not sure if I empathize more with the plight of those who can’t help but parade to the shitter every 20 minutes or the hazmat warriors who’re waiting in the wings…with the pace of most matches this season, I would suggest that a pipeload of old school white widow would be a far more intuitive choice…Cheers

Killroy, time to move on; dwelling on what could or should have been is a waste of negative time/energy. Apparently, we’re looking at Trossard along with Chelsea and the Spuds. Plus a host of others.

K’phobe
Recreational drugs are and have been rampant since the 60s as you know :). Coke was only affordable to the masses from the mid 80s onwards then Ecstasy & MDMA soon after as the club music started to dominate. There’s a club in Berlin where you go straight from work Friday evening and then leave the club Monday morning to go straight to work. Was reported there were rooms for everything whatever anything is for todays generation. I’m guessing a modern version of Sex Drugs & Rock & roll.

Designated driver is another term for waiting until after the kids are asleep. 🙂 🙂

I left the music industry to get away from drug addled executives and musos. Jarvis Cocker once said he wished he’d waited until he was over 30 before trying drugs: a wise remark from the legendary, ambidextrous hoover.

Trossard has reportedly fallen out with Desevi at BHA, so I guess it’s a straight pick of who Trossard wants to play for: Conte, Arteta or Potter his last manager who brought his skills to prominence.

Edu and Arteta – Edu’s prize star is down 2:0 thus far from last summer and this TW. I guess being top of the PL doesn’t have as bigger pull as Arteta thought it would and Josh says it’s a real head scratcher?

After first seeing Mitoma, Junior I thought he could play 8 for us as well as across our forward line. Hoopah added his weight to the POV – thinking the same. A modern version of Carzola perhaps? Xhaka has license to plod around the front third and occasionally gets an assist or goal even more occasional. Zinchenko makes this possible at LB.

Mitoma could service Eddie and Saka feeding their runs far more intelligently than Xhaka whose brain is slower than his feet while scoring himself. Far more importantly, Martinelli would have someone better to play off/with and build an interesting duo, each playing off each other. We need to spread attacks across the final thirst. Martinelli needs a support player.

If we’ve got £70m, then I’d be happy with the Mitoma experiment as our sole purchase and PL ready.

Could Trossard do the same as Mitoma, possibly he could.

Killroy
” pipeload of old school white widow would be a far more intuitive choice” I like your choice of word ‘Old School” because there is an auto grow version these days that grows from seed to harvest in 12 weeks. WW was an 80s creation and still highly respected today in the weed world.

The WWW is packed with wonderful information these days.

Stadiums should give out gummies at half time so everyone goes home happily whether lost or not, but not too potent or nobody will be able to remember where they live. 🙂

Tony—my favourite 80s treat was a hybrid blend of WW and AK47…best served after an evening with a tab or two of california sunshine or some white mic…have a good one

Casimero picked up a yellow against a hard fighting Palace earning a draw from Olise’s brilliant free kick last night. Another player we should be looking at. We can expect even more rotational fouling from the Manc scum than usual, as their talisman CDM is out for the game.

I felt we could get at them with our special brand of tag-team pressing high up the field even with Casimero, but his absence is going to be a big Manure miss, I’m delighted to say. United get rattled too easily as Fergie’s Team did to others, we can do to them. I can see a red card for the Reds if we rattle them enough.

This needs to be a 90+ minute game of full intensity with clever subs for those tiring early in the 2nd half to keep the intensity momentum and not sit back and defend.

We have 16 players who can be part of the 90.

Many of Ten Hag’s starters played a hard game against Palace, so hopefully will be leggy against our fresher legs and minds.

KP, Pumpkin will get his lucky scratch where hopefully the cute wee little fella will be 2 for 2 by Monday morning.

Sounds very enlightening, Kilroy, particularly at the time.

Thai was crossed with sinsemilla in the 80s to create that unbeatable gaiety. Not being a drinker I’ve been a keen botanist for several decades seeking knowledge with like minded people like your very own John Belushi in Oregon with his BB brand. For me it’s been nature’s way for slowing down my ADHD when not working.

Tony—it’s TRVL not Killroy, not that it really matters, in the grand scheme…years later I ordered something quite similar, in seed form of course, from an advertisement in HIgh Times related to the Amsterdam Olympics…never actually thought they would ever arrive, or even worse, but they did and they generously included a bluberry blend that was equally outstanding

You’d need something way stronger to talk to John Belushi – mescal & Peyote. My bad! I was referring to his Blues Bros brother Jim who has a legal farm in Oregon. Daft but entertaining 3-episode show on his farm was made that’s worth a watch.

My apologies TRVL.

Excellent, Blueberry is very pleasant as an auto, but autos at their best are about 50% of a photoid’s potential if grown correctly. I much prefer sativas to indicas as a rule. Some very interesting crosses. What’s interesting, though, for a weed, they are not very hardy plants. Seed sales is a profitable business.

As a retirement hobby it’s a lot of fun and one you never stop learning from. Like minded people all want to help offering wisdom from decades of experience.

If you ever get the chance to sample Nepalese Temple Balls from the highest fields in Nepal. That is if you’re still so inclined to enjoy the benefits of good plants.

Sorry TRVL was meant to read:

If you ever get the chance to sample Nepalese Temple Balls from the highest fields in Nepal, do so without hesitation would be my advice. That is if you’re still so inclined to enjoy the benefits of good plants. It’s a messy and difficult process, but you end up with, for many, the purest form. Something I’m researching.

I doubt that NTB is in my immediate future, as my indulgences, since the time that the much-tampered weed oil became a permanent fixture in my next of the woods, shifted towards a variety of hashes…btw the white mic I spoke of was actually a white lightning tab, but those trying to make a few extra bucks were selling it as a double-hit, which wasn’t an uncommon practice at the time…that said, keep me informed if anything interesting arises from your “research”

Tony and TRVL
Nice one. I enjoy these kinds of hazy exchanges. Always something new to learn. That Berlin style weekend you explained there Tony was not that far removed from what I got up to in London from about 91 to 97 (although I much preferred the Berlin club scene, the little I saw of it). The only real add on being my trips to THOF to watch Arsenal. I’d return to mates’ flats or even my own place after 5pm on Saturday and pick up the pace again with whoever was still going. It was a counterpoint to some really heavy stuff I was doing at work, first in the Balkans then Iraq.

I’m not inspired by Trossard nor Mitoma (yet!). Olise on the other hand… And our very own former academy star Eze. But I still think the priority is MF and Milinkovic. I’d even take Kovacic if Chelsea were in the mood to offload him. It’s all that 90s exposure to the former Yugoslavia you see!

TRVL
Totally agree with your thinking there has been too much messing with the original genes. The early strain crossing as aforementioned by us were excellent. So much so, I’ve gone back to basics and have old favs, such as Acapulco Gold, Durban Poison, orginal Thai and 4 other equally top strains of the 60s, 70s 80s. I wouldn’t trust any oil if I was unclear of its origin from a trusty source. In China I’ve been told they sell oil in big buckets ready for vaping. God knows whats in it.

I had a music production company in Holland in the 80s and met some very cool like minded guys at that time. Set me off on a journey I’m still traveling. As I said on the net you can meet some cool people: there’s a group in the Congo I’ll be talking to soon. Malawi Cob was a mean beast in the 70s.

K’Phobe, where you’re going to live: Chocolate and Zero Zero from Morrocco again from the higher fields will keep you and Mrs KP very happy. The clear honey oil is pure and needs treating with respect.

Alcohol is the 2nd biggest killer after tobacco my Dutch surgeon was happy for me to go to cafes instead of giving me barbs to slow me down after my heart bypass.

You need a release when involved in stress that involves emotions and mentally draining work. Touring can be like that so many personalities on so many different highs most of the time. That was everyone, crew to the management to probably most of the fans.

With our liberal outlook here, our son and daughter have a very good understanding of the drug culture and talk to us about what they learn from school and Uni, which is great for open communication. Neither has any interest in drugs and very little liking for alcohol. That’s one crucial mine field navigated for now. 🙂

Can’t believe Trossard is available for around £15m to 20m. Might as well get Mitoma as well and we’ll have a much better left offensive to link up, especially when you add ESR into the equation.

Both PL tested and ready and both can score goals. It’s what we need to mount a summit defense.

Tony–open communication is key…I’ve always tried to be incredibly honest with my children about my experiences, making sure not to over-glamorize for ego’s sake, and thankfully they’ve expressed little interest in doing anything outside the bounds of moderation…unfortunately, the “gateway” narrative of the past has little relevance nowadays, as most young people today are so exposed to a plethora of drug-related nonsense, like “tall tales” from the cyber ether, the proliferation of a highly mechanized forms of peer pressure and society’s continued overreliance on prescription medications, that it’s just as likely that their first foray into this realm could involve hillbilly herion than that of simply smoking a blunt with friends in the “smoke pit”at their local high school…it’s such a weighty and nuanced gig that if you think about it too much you just might drive yourself batshit crazy

on a side note, I remember when blotter became all the rage…I’ll never forget one particular incarnation which was designed to look exactly like a variety of classic album covers…unfortunately I discovered a little too late that each LP was actually 4 hits combined into one, as the perforations were nearly impossible to notice at first glance…to this day it still gives me the “willies” whenever I hear a track from Boston’s Greatest hits…no more for now, as I don’t want to be another footnote in the problematic narrative I spoke of above LOL…have a good one

Brighton must love it when we come-a-callin, as they always know we’ll pay above the number for their leftovers…that’s 3 on the trot now…saying that, I do like certain aspects of his game, but this was big boy pants time and we’ve chosen to wear our short pants instead…he had gone rogue and was an entirely expendable figure at BHA, considering the rise of Mitoma, not to mention he doesn’t exactly fit our youth-driven narrative, so that fact that we shelled out 27M+, seems a tad short-sighted and desperate on our part…any management team with the requisite accumen and onions would have tried to pry away his high up-side replacement…that said, if he comes in and plays at times in place of Xhaka and/or Eddie, provides some logical cover for Marts/Saka, and, most importantly, doesn’t stunt our ability to go big game hunting this TW or in the summer, I’m not going to get too twisted about this clearly underwhelming grasp, considering the other names that were supposedly on our “wishlist”…after all, it’s not Troussard’s fault that we can’t get our business done in a proper or timely fashion, except when we pay over the number for someone all the other “big” boys passed on…I must admit though, at one point this season he was on pace to pot 17-18 goals this season, but only if watched a handful of “select” matches…onwards and upwards?

Spuddie’s go 2 nil up at City with 2 goals in about 5 minutes. City been alright by no cutting edge – this is beginning to look an even stranger season than when Leicester won the PL.

Marc—you might have spoken a little too soon, but I applaud your reference point…let’s hope Troussard performs more admirably than Cech did in that fateful season

R.I.P. David Crosby of Crosby Stills Nash & Young. Here’s a sample of the legendary American band:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm0sishe02U

I am loving Pep’s continued meltdown throwing the player, fans and club under the bus blaming everyone but himself. What a pathetic, sad little man he is. Still, the more his childish behaviour continues the less City become like the old City.

If I was to hazard a guess as to why Pep is throwing his toys out of his pram, I’d say they’ve changed their tempo to accommodate Haarland and move the ball quicker through the channels instead of neat slower interchangeable play, just swift enough to evade presses and frustrate opponents and wear them down draining their gas tanks.

Long may it continue.

I hope we land Trossard. Just 28 and experienced in a way that will help our ‘band of brothers’ squad. He’ll fit in and will keen to impress Arteta and Edu. How I would love Mitoma to be next incoming after Trossard. Why not? They can play together and both know where the goal is as well as being excellent link players.

The only other player I’d get now is Rice. I don’t see the flaws in him others seem to be putting out there. “Slower than Xhaka” one said. “Can’t pass” said another can’t play 8 or with Partey others joining in the footballing character assignation of Declan Rice. Junior and I actually really like Rice and he is none of the former BS from what we’ve witnessed.

For his size he’s very agile and can get up a decent rate of Knots when running down the channels or centrally. I’d say he will fit in with Partey and also be interchangeable 6 to 8 with Partey in a way Petite and Vieira did for us.

So my TW would be complete with Rice and Mitoma following Trossard which I believe would be an outstanding window and with the incoming strengthening our squad sufficiently to win the EL cup & the title with over 100 points.

TRVL & KP
I think parents who have experienced much and dabbled out of curiosity in more taboo things make better parents. Most important is we have learnt by our mistakes & those errors of others, which gives us our mostly sound reasoning in our adult life.

I didn’t go the dotty route or mushrooms preferring MDMA for audio and visual distortions way back when. A very famous director used to add MDMA to his top strains of weed during their growth. I have to say the thought is appealing for future research.

My wife and I always answer our son and daughter’s questions frankly, and as far as mind stimulants are concerned, we have such a relationship that they know they can ask to try at home with us. Both are way up on the spectrum with ADHD and our daughter being savant like. Ditto my wife and myself. I don’t drink and my wife occasionally has a glass of wine with dinner or when we’re relaxing in the family room. They both know there is nothing they can’t talk about to both or one of us and they know that if asked the talk will be kept private. It’s essential kids can trust their confidants.

Communication as you say is paramount with kids and the wife. Our 2 have their own Dr’s they talk online with when they feel the need. They just ask for consultations as and when which is normally about once a month for each.

Being in the music industry and having won awards in the industry and then my connection to the MC world my kids have seen and met some of the strangest and fun characters you could imagine for any youngster to meet. Equally, my wife will entertain CEOs and other visiting suits from conglomerates we are distributors for. So they get to see a good mix of life’s education and the important schooling where here kids study 7 days a week until they go to Uni.

Helicopter parenting is terrible here. I really feel for the kids.

I started being a parent at 50 when I was close to retirement just doing the work I felt I’d enjoy most. I got to be with our 2 pretty much most of the time when they were home. Looking back on that I’m glad it happened that way, at that age.

Our daughter is getting a good response from her initial search for her first job in the Aerospace Engineering field so sadly, she will be gone soon to start her career.

Junior has realised that being able to have carries of 350 yards in golf is great but he has to be good with the other aspects of the game. I doubt his handicap will be lower than 10 so it’s a sport he can enjoy rather than being serious. Now he 6’2″ at 14 he’s basketball mad. He’s also at his sister’s high school so he has big shoes to fill.

Have a good day guys and Trossard in today would be a good start to out TW.

Forgot to wish Overmars well. Her may have been stupid at Ajax but it wasn’t serious enough to ban him from working in the game.

He was a great for us and looks like he’ll need a heart transplant unless the hospital can improve on his 30% current blood flow.

Let’s hope his recovery isn’t too long.

pretty difficult to compare Rice and Xhaka, as they have vastly different roles in their respective clubs…I’m not totally sold on Rice, unless our plan is to have him set up shop in a deeper-lying position and then properly replace Xhaka, so that we can commit more forward-thinking players in and around the box

personally though I would much rather that we acquired a younger more transitionally friendly cover piece for Partey, who could play cup matches and against some bottom-dwellers, then go all out and finally replace Xhaka…maybe MA actually envisions Vieira as Xhaka’s replacement, now that he’s playing in more advanced positions, but it’s glaringly obvious that he doesn’t trust this player, at least not yet….I would suggest that MA believes that VIeira needs considerably more development before earning his starter stripes, especially for a team looking to compete for things…as such, maybe he could provide some much-needed depth behind a more polished Xhaka replacement

fact remains, if we invest heavily in Rice simply to cut ties with Partey, as neither would accept a split-time gig, nor should they, then retain Xhaka’s services, I’m not sure if we’ve actually upgraded our roster….Rice has never shown the propensity to be a proper deep-lying pivot, especially for an offensively-minded squad, and he’s a far lesser player with the ball at his feet than Partey…what we can’t do is pursue such a move if largely non-football narratives, like our youth-friendly initiative and the always contentious homegrown quotient, are our primary motivations, as this could come back to haunt…I get the love directed Rice’s way, especially in the UK, but from a pure football sense I’m just not convinced yet

just so things don’t get twisted, this isn’t an attempt to needlessly slag Rice, who I much admire as a player, but I find it difficult to accept the notion that he’s the missing link…Partey’s been healthy this season(knock on wood) and he’s looks to be the real deal, so grooming his eventually replacement, not moving on from him, seems to be the most logical path forward…not to mention, Rice has always played on more defensively-minded squads, whether for club or country, so I’m fearful that if we invested heavily in him MA might revert back to his old mind-numbing ways

on a side note, until his World Cup antics, I would have rather had Phillips than Rice patrolling our midfield, as I liked his pace and link-up capabilities more than his once national team midfield partner…I think sometimes we look for Patrick Vieira-like traits in DMs, like Rice’s larger frame, then fantisize and/or fabricate the rest…it’s not our fault though, as this organization has spent years and countless funds NOT properly replacing our midfield talisman, which has naturally skewed our perspective at times

PS…thanks for the follow-up Tony, great for contextual purposes

Interesting take TRVL. All points are relevant to Rice abilities and the lack of in some areas. Thinking about it Rice as a 6 and Partey as an 8 works if Rice is disciplined enough.

That said if I could buy the next player it would be Mitoma. I think he could be had at a good price. He’s 25 where junior and I have watched him a few times and been impressed each time.

Trossard, Mitoma, ESR, Jesus, Eddie, Saka, Martinelli would be a powerful front line to choose from.

The first 3 could replace Xhaka in the fluid fast tag pressing game Arteta has instilled in us.

11 days and counting

I agree with your Mitoma sentiments, albeit the sample size is a tad brief for my liking, but I very much doubt that BHA would ship him after Troussard’s exodus, unless we were willing to pay well above the number…I think tried and tested would be the best move for this club, especially if we’re talking about replacing Xhaka…MA needs to have someone of consequence in the room, who’s mere presence will raise spirits and instill confidence in both the squad and our manager, who has a tendency to revert back to his borefest ways when the going gets tough…for me, our next big purchase must be a seminal one, then we need to be ever vigilant and savvy when it comes to shoring up our depth, which includes finally embedding some more academy pieces

Trossard? Meh. But happy to be proven wrong. I don’t see him as the sort of geezer likely to be mixing it up and connecting with crosses and corners.

Oh, and remember OUR former Scottish player with the emasculated Russian surname? Yes, Trossard could be the identical twin (or bastard love child of) ….. Have you guessed it…. PAUL DICKOV!

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/paul-dickov/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/9221

How Trossard will look in our traditional red shirt.

K’phobe I don’t see Trossard pulling up trees goals wise, but he’s got quick feet and a decent footballing brain. Most important he has a good engine. I see him also doing some of the grunt work Jesus does. Cheap as chips and will help us towards finishing top also leaves us more money for the summer TW and CL quality players.

He’ll be much better than he was at BHA and they play very good football. In some ways better than us. Dezerbi is an excellent manager. It’s our good fortune he’s fallen out with Trossard.

Looks like our TW might be finished now with the signing of the positionally versatile Trossard and the left-footed CB Kiwior, the Polish international and Spezia LCB…I’m likely just as surprised as our management team that this is how things played out…I guess we’ll just have to and see if our desperate scrambling, after being treated like little BIlly short-pants by our neighbours in blue, pans out or not, but I do have a few concerns…regardless of my personal trepidations, it’s a considerably better scenario than this time last year, when it was one way traffic in the winter TW, but I do worry about MA’s ultimate intentions behind these moves

in regards to Trossard, I get that MA highly values versatility, but to sign this 28 year old to a 4 + 1 year deal seems a little counter-inuitive, considering our youth movement…not to mention, if he’s here to simply provide cover for our wide-side forwards, I’m not sure if I would pay such a handsome fee for someone having his best season, statistically-speaking, at such an “advanced” age, who’s situation with his current club should have given us considerably more leverage at the bargaining table(jthink of MA’s handling of the Ozil, Auba, Lucas, Guendo debacles), and the fact that we don’t even have any real clarity about what transpired between himself and his former manager, which requires full transparency in light of MA’s excommunication inklings

now if he’s coming to primarily replace Xhaka and play in more advanced positions, tucked in behind our Striker on the left, or to give Eddie a breather, whether front and center, in a 3, or more likely as a false 9, I’m far less miffed by this acquisition…when I think of what has transpired this season, regarding how opposing clubs have defended us, we’ve seen that Xhaka has been afforded considerable space and opportunities in more advanced spaces beacuse most teams are double and even triple teaming our wide side players…unfortunately, even though this has made Xhaka look good, he’s still produced exeedingly little with the plethora of opportunities…that said, I still don’t see MA benching Xhaka for Trossard, as he seems inextricably tied to our swiss miss

as for Kiwior, albeit not over the line as of yet, I have no problem with adding depth pieces at the back, especially a left-footed CB, as we don’t have this particular type of player on our current roster…I guess my only concern revolves around the amount of chatter surrounding Gabs potential exodus over the past year…I like the partnership that has formed between Saliba and Gabs this season, even though there have been times when I worry about the odd lapses in play by the latter, so I can only hope that instead of bringing in Gabs logical replacement, they will allow this tandem to move forward together instead of starting from scratch with a new partnership next season

ultimately, I hope that these moves won’t be oversold as key components of a definitive master plan, as we know all to well how the Arsenal PR machine loves to drive home disingenuous narratives, and I likewise hope that the monies used now won’t negatively impact our future tranactional plans…I would be completely distraught if what we did in this window left us unable to pursue a seminal piece or two, come the summer, and/or required us to sell off an important player or two in order to help facilitate any such moves…I pray that the Trossard move provides us with the necessary impetus to potentially compete for the title, or at the very least finsh in the top 2 and get an advantageous draw in Europe next season