Derby Day – F*ck the Spu*s!

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

So we’re going to sign a winger/forward and a left sided CB but no CM.

We’re going to have to face the truth that we’ll not going to sign another CM for some time quite simply because shot for brains would not replace Xhaka with anyone.

just did a deep dive regarding the contractual situation involving Nkunku and it appears as if it’s a forgone conclusion that he’s heading to the Blues this summer…at first I just thought it was the usual speculative nonsense, but according to “credible” footballing sources it’s signed, sealed and delivered…the suggestion is that the final fee is in the neighbourhood of 70M, although it could be a fraction or two higher…what a steal, considering what’s on offer and the going rate for young readymade footballers…the fact that we weren’t in on this highly talented and versatile player is a crying shame…someone from the League offices needs to step up to a podium and explain how this club has spent a half billion dollars in less than a calendar year…of course, nothing is a given, but we better make some transfer hay this off-season because if they and Pool figure their respective shit out, we could be 2 steps forward and 4 back within a year’s time

This is an interesting article by the Swiss Ramble “Will Chelsea’s Transfer Spend Break Financial Fair Play Rules?”
https://swissramble.substack.com/p/will-chelseas-transfer-spend-break

Conclusion:
As it stands, it looks like they will be compliant with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability regulations, though they will have a few more challenges with UEFA’s FFP, due to the smaller losses allowed. However, even here, the new rules that will be implemented from 2023/24 will allow them more scope.

Chelsea can improve matters this season with some player sales in this transfer window, but they could also worsen the FFP situation with further purchases (there is much talk about Caicedo and Noni, for example).

Most importantly, if they fail to qualify for the Champions League, then all bets are off.

MA offered up this little cherry-picked commentary in response to those who criticized the Trossard acquisition, considering his age and questions surrounding his “professionalism”:

‘It is not that we had to sign 20, 21, 22-year-olds for the next five years. That is not the plan. We need to have a balance and at the moment we have a really good balance in the squad, it can absorb a player of that age.’

of course, I agree with the sentiments, in that I believe you can’t be succesful in the PL with a squad made up entirely of players under the age of 24, but it’s a rather ridiculous and disingenuous statement from someone who spent the last 4 months or so trying to woo the vastly younger Mudryk to North London, only to be stymied by our crosstown rivals…deja vu latter days Wengerism

Marc
Trossard’s primary position is LCM although he can play LB and anywhere across the forward line, so we have a much better Xhaka replacement. Junior and I were hoping Edu would seize the initiative with the Trossard deal, so we can bolster out left attack with Martinelli. I also like what I’ve seen of Mitoma so far as a versatile speedster with goals from either foot. Tore TAA a new one in BHA’s recent win over L’pool. De Zerbi has improved Brighton where they play very attractive football sitting 7th in the PL.

A Zinchenko, Trossard and Martinelli left sided attack will become far more fluid without Xhaka. It will make our attack more balanced.

Will Arteta play Trossard instead of Xhaka? That’s where it gets blurred.

Looks like we have a new DM/CB in Jacob, which was your biggest concern if Partey is injured. Ok, so not as experienced as we’d like, but reports say he’s strong in the tackle, 6’2″ and good in the air where he also has a decent range of passing.

Let’s see how he beds into the squad.

TRVL
We are very like minded and unwittingly you are increasing Junior’s English vocabulary with K’phobe as well, as with Junior being in accordance with both your views. His private high school English teacher learns from Junior now and play games for EoY points towards his English grades by using a word where the other has to explain the word’s meaning and uses. A Paediatrician friend suggested we talk only English in the house with my tutorage and Thai outside except in English speaking company. Worked perfectly.

He’s been chosen to be the lead in the School’s ‘Khon dance’ where there are many battles. Junior has a 50kg 160cm female warrior climbing and fighting on Junior’s 6′ 2″ 75kg frame as in the pic:

https://thinkglobalheritage.wordpress.com/2017/11/27/khon-the-traditional-thai-masked-dance-will-it-survive-today/

The school is putting on a big Khon stage show and it’s taking the cast 6 months to learn it. The show will be as you see in the link with full costumes. Junior was brave taking the part on with his ADHD but the dance seems to improve his focus. He’s really invested in the character.

Back to football there is no question Arteta still has faux pas in him particularly his in-game thinking or over thinking. Whether the upcoming errors will blunt our current hold on the title remains to be seen. What is somewhat heartening is that the dream team have learnt from last winters TW clusterfcuk.

We are witnessing blips in Pep’s AI virus ridden football. I believe the virus is named Haarland, which will be a tough one to work out, and one I hope takes the rest of the season to get back to their seamless football incorporating Alfe boy.

Winning the title will give Edu and Arteta money to put together a team to mount a serious challenge one the CL cup next season and for seasons after IF KSE keeps the funding in place.

Guys there’s a good thing brewing here where the next 20 cup finals need winning.

Exciting times ahead.

10 days for another incoming.

Could that be Eduardo Camavinga on loan as we did with Ode? Icing on the cake that one!!!!!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11658225/Who-17-5m-Arsenal-target-Jakub-Kiwior-22-year-old-star-compete-Thomas-Partey.html

For the uninitiated like me. 🙂

Tony, glad to be of assistance, no matter the capacity…as a once member of the academic community it’s always nice to know that my “voice” still resonates with others…best wishes to you and yours

BTW I, like Junior, rather enjoy the way in which KP can turn a phrase…you’re certainly not chop liver when it comes to the “gift of gab” , as I assume you’re well aware…Cheers

Tony
Big ups to junior for embarking on that. It takes some balls to get up among your peers and perform. I empathise because we did a lot of theatrical stuff at our school. Most kids (me included) we very shy but you learn a lot about yourself volunteering for a part, singing sone corny song or learning a role (in my case for an abridged Shakespeare thing). He’ll do well I’m sure.

Generally, everyone on here writes good, honest and readable stuff about Arsenal (and numerous other ad-hoc topics) . I think it’s brilliant too that we’re all different ages and from vastly different parts of the world. Ambarish is a fine writer and the guys in India provide the raw emotion and excitement from following the team. Not to mention Ireland’s 21st century answer to Wilde, GBS and Joyce whose mere name conjures up images of when our goalkeepers were the laughing stock of world football…

Cardiff in a spot of relegation bother these days (its the hope that kills you). Playing those scummy cockney bastards Millwall today. Prayer mats out again lads.

Marc – hope you’ve got the chance to be there for this one tomorrow.

You’ve possibly got an image of me poncing around like Larry Olivier or John Gielgud but it was mainly an attempt by decent teachers in a shitty comprehensive in a one horse town to get kids to come out of their shells.

TRVL
On that Nkunku thing, I’m pretty sure Unai was busting the board, Sven and Raoul’s collective balls to sign him over 3 years ago. Makes you wonder where we’d be as a club had the Emery been lavished with the same patience and moolah as the Basque Bantamweight. Just conjecture.

Sorry – this all got jumbled up and I’m not going to risk losing it by cutting and pasting. I spilt my tea and got toast crumbs in the bed. By the time I’d sorted that the cursor must have moved. Nurse! More medication please!

TRVL I thought you were part of the academic world by the way your mind works with your words. That or from a senior government office or from the editing dept of a publisher. I leaned towards the former because your choice of recreation. It’s not important, but nice to have an idea of who you’re talking to.

I agree with K’phobe LIR is excellent for it’s variety of supporting topics to The Arsenal, which is very much appreciated, Ambarish.

Well I kissed the Blaney Stone on a school trip to Ireland late 60s, at the castle where I was lucky they didn’t let go of my legs, I’m sure Almunia will be pleased to know. I also spent many years in London’s east end, so I’d say ‘gift of the gab’ is an excellent choice of description for me.

Like Pedro, I often wrote copy for a marketing campaign I’d put together, as well as brand placement, advertising ++. I enjoyed my consultancy work for its variety of products and services I got to work with. I still write occasionally when an old client wants some out of the box ideas.

We still have our company here we built form a shop to £20m TO with over 100 employees in 24 years.

K’Phobe – “Prayer Mats out lads” made me choke on my vape. Funny as, my friend. 🙂 I don’t like Millwall either.

Can’t wait for Manure to lose their shit at the Emirates MacTom, Fernandez et al. I still have a red card feeling for a red.

Tony
I’m keeping my powder dry on predicting the score til tomorrow. I’m pretty certain however that it’ll be a tougher test than last weekend’s stroll.

Fresneda? Right back. The guy looks really fucking strong and composed for a 21 year old. Not sure why we need a RB though. He looks as hard as nails and skillful if the wholly believable YT clips are anything to go by.

Agreed K’phobe tomorrow’s game will be a very hard fought home win and a god test for our title winning credentials.

Chavs and Pool is a very uneventful first half where both sets of strikers seem to be scared of shooting. Gakpo imitating Partey’s worst efforts. Hope the 2nd half livens up.

Chinese New Year so fireworks a plenty, which is not going down well with Pumpkin. He should be ok for the pre game rub, though.

Regarding Fresneda I just wish Arteta and Edu would put the same effort in buying MFs as he does with our back line.

To all those ” Grapes are Sour in the Grove” , Mudryk finally got the ball in Chelsea vs Liverpool. Absolutely tight close control. In spite of interferencee by Gallagher almost got the goal at the first involvement.
Would have been deadly with Tuchel or Zorbi. Surprising not being involved much not even to receive a throw. Potter, guess is not meant for bigger clubs

Ha ha
Desperate times for Potter. Auba to the rescue. Wonder how he will gel with Mudryk.

Hi Hoopah
What do you think about Trossard? Do you think he might get a run out tomorrow?

Tony. I know. Almost everyone who cares about Arsenal knows we need cover for TP. There’s such a chasm in quality between him and Elneny. I wonder if he’s seriously thinking Xhaka could do a job in there with Trossard covering the GX vacancy.

Hoopah, it was good to see what all the fuss was about. I’m sure Mudryk will bet good for the Chavs. However, I think Trossard isn’t far behind Mudryk at the moment because Mudryk is still raw. Trossard is PL hardened and will hit the ground running wherever Arteta plays him.

For our present needs we need experience to blend with the youth. Give Mudryk a season or 2 in the PL and then he’ll be a top player. Maunure’s kids really started to come on after Cantona joined from Leeds.

Jacob can do half Partey’s job at 6, but Partey plays 6/8 and a little at 10 at times. Not many can cover so much ground with his quality.

K’phobe I don’t get LG & Pedro’s Xhaka love fest in the least. He’s playing further forward to stop losing us games; worst thing Xhaka can do up top is get a red card. He brings chaos to our defense as has been witnessed in recent seasons.

Arteta believes Xhaka is our Cantona and galvanizes the team. The glue that gels the players together or more like the only glue Xhaka has is on the soles of his boots.

Loan and buy Camavinga ala Ode style works for me more than buying Rice. Now we have Jacob Rice isn’t such an essential player for us in this window.

Hoopah I think your judgement of Potter is a little flawed. Potter did an excellent job with BHA on a very limited budget and was always a thorn in our side when we played them. Roberto Dezerbi has Brighton playing excellent football.

Look how long it took Arteta to get us to playing title winning football: 3 years.

At least give Potter a season to oversee the building of the Chavs that Toucel couldn’t do with all his experience.

If it’s all going Pete Tong next season, then by all means troll the life out of him. Potter and Eddie Gray at Newcastle are very good young managers who with Arteta are cutting their managerial teeth at the very top clubs.

Give Potter a ;little of this, Hoopah. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErvgV4P6Fzc

Tony
Pedro and LG have morphed into one of the club’s shitty clichéd official communications outputs. It’s all about spewing out the official line and sucking up to authority, in a pseudo-edgier format with sone middle aged men swearing gratuitously and trying to out do each other as hard men. It’s as fucked as the club’s official match day programme (said a middle aged man swearing gratuitously…). Most of the good eggs have migrated to sunnier climes leaving a few addled omelette fanboys and barely disguised Pedro alter egos. His main mouthpiece, the awful Negative Nigel Tufnell was laughably asking Pedro to so something or other. It made me think to myself, why don’t you what normal people do and just think it to yourself from one side if your brain to another?

Great goal by Mitoma after some earlier tight defensive work.

Kid’s another 25 yo we should be looking at.