Well, hello there ladies and gentlemen. I know you aren’t really happy with the sun in London for now but I’m sure an evening in Brighton or at Leigh would be a good thing. Are you bored even with no football around? Well I’m here to spice things up for ya with Zinchenko and Saka’s news.
Rumours suggest we are persuing Zinchenko after missing out on Martinez to Man United. I have no problem with him, he looks a very decent signing and in need of regular game time which we can afford to provide with Europa and Tierney’s injury record. That will also mean we will ship out Nuno Tavares and we might get a buyer for a change for him.
Fab Romano has dropped a tweet confirming Saka’s extension is in progress and that the young lad is happy with the project. It’s the money which is holding him to sign da ting but he is not the one we would let go for few quids. He is one of our own.
The club ran an interview of William Saliba, where the player has nicer things to say –
“When I was on loan I watched every single [Arsenal] game because when I was there some players weren’t. I watched the games to see how they played, so when I was back it would be easier to play with those I hadn’t met before.
Source: Arsenal.com
“It’s important that the fans are behind you, and I like it very much. I can’t wait to give back to them.”
Take what you want of this, but I’m positive (and hopeful) the young player of the season extends his contract. We spend a whooping 28million pounds for a youngster so that we won’t have to pay 70m when the time comes. There is no point letting him go on a no profit, no loss case. Moreover, we need him this season when we are fighting on two blocks and I genuinely believe he could be a starter in our playing XI.
In a sad affair, one of our bright academy prospect in Omari Hutchinson has decided to join the London rivals Chelsea. Again, this could mean a dozen things but I have a feeling it’s monetary. Our hale end is in good hands of Per Mertesacker and we have been able to tie up all our good players from academy recently; no complaints from me on this one.
Another sad affair is, there is no news (or even rumours) for a midfielder. What are we going to do if Partey breaks down again this season? Are we going to stick to Xhaka again when everyone knows we need an upgrade on him? Arteta isn’t really done much in giving game time to Patino/Azeez and Sambi has looked raw till now. Are we going to low ball Leicester for Tielemans and put a bid for Savic when the time comes? So much to ask with no answer yet for the midfield. I’m not sure if we will try to leave it unattended giving an excuse for Arteta and Edu for another season of mediocrity, afterall they can’t fix everything at once (Yep, I am sarcastic here).
Right, that’s all for today. Hang tight, mercury will drop down soon to a bearable state.
Kroenkephobe,
Good to hear from you also,hope you’re well. Yes, I’ve had to take it handy over the last month but I’m hoping to be fully mobile again soon. I have fallen in love with cricket again. Was wondering if you were at the t20 game tonight in Cardiff? Really enjoyable stuff though I’m still more partial to the test format. Ireland will be in the World Cup this year( albeit a qualifier group). Fingers crossed.
I think I read TN was 80. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that our heroes from the 70’s and 80’s are going to start leaving us,but it doesn’t half make you feel nostalgic.
That’s a tough start for the bluebirds, I believe the bookies have Norwich as favs for the title. Will be watching Charlton v Accrington myself thanks to the wonders of the ‘dodgy stick’. There is still something magical in the lower leagues that older fans can relate to. Football when the result mattered more than money or image. Told you I was getting nostalgic.
I hope you recover your health fully so as to resume your family taxi service. Mine is temporarily suspended, so there’s always an upside,even to sickness!
Marc,
Thank you. I enjoy reading your thoughts here and it has often struck me how difficult it can be to respond to someone whose thoughts echo your own so emphatically. So for what it’s worth I’ll say it now rather than constantly repeat it, your views on Arteta,in particular your doubts about his character and the manufactured PR campaign around him,both by the club and his supporters, are absolutely appropriate as far as I’m concerned. And while it’s comforting that there are still those who vehemently put the club before the manager,it is worrying how the voice of those supporting Arteta is so much louder. Real Orwellian stuff going on here. Anyway,keep up the good fight.
Thanks Almunia
OK so the season kicks off in 7 days and we still haven’t signed a CM. A position that needed sorting just as urgently as the striker position.
The only links to CM are Tielemans and Melo with the Melo links being a loan move. If Leicester are asking for an unreasonable fee for a player who will be available on a free in a year I can understand waiting a year however bringing in a loan player tells me that Xhaka is going once again to be the first CM name on the team sheet.
Are we seriously expecting Partey to go through a season without missing a chunk of it again? Let alone a season that has a World Cup slapped bang in the middle of it – assuming the Melo loan deal goes through our CM choices for large spells of the season are going to be Xhaka, Elneny (not a bad squad player) and Melo who will need to adjust to the 100mph PL after coming from Italy.
And the fan boys have us not only getting top 4 but challenging for 3rd!
Hi Almunia
Glad you’re rekindling your interest in cricket. I reckon we could put a good XI together on here and absolutely thrash those muppets over on Le Grove. My interest in the three different forms fluctuates wildly but it’s test cricket for me at the moment. England’s three game series against NZ is one of the best I can remember, and the make-up game against India was pretty special too. By comparison I’m finding ODIs a little dull and T20s are like an insane lottery. Makes for good viewing though. Did you watch the rugby a few weeks ago. Ireland are in a great position leading up to the WC.
I can’t get to Cardiff at the moment because our kids have their mates over from Spain. Madly enough, they’re loving the (significantly) cooler and wetter weather.
https://metro.co.uk/2022/07/28/lucas-paqueta-snubs-arsenal-move-but-is-keen-on-move-to-premier-league-rivals-17081825/
Paqueta wants EPL, preferring Man City. In spite of Edu links and charm guess playing under an unpredictable generational manager trumps everything. Poor Edu has his hands tied …and also eye on agents