Champions League group stage is concluding today after 8 game-weeks. Every team will be in action at 8 PM UK time, and we are visiting Girona today. Though a draw is sufficient to qualify for the knockout stage and avoid 2 additional games in a play-off, we would love to win and keep the confidence high. Girona aren’t having a great season, having lost 6 of their 7 CL games and we should be beating them easily.
Mikel Merino and Odegaard missed out against Wolves but are back in contention for the game. Saka will be missed but Nwaneri is back and I am hoping he won’t let us miss the starboy. We have a game against City on Sunday, so I won’t be surprised if Mikel pull out the likes of Jorginho and Sterling to rest some of the main team players.
Liverpool and Barcelona has qualified already, we are sitting on 16 points. Lets see how it can go if we lose today!
Inter, Atletico, Milan and Atlanta are between 14-16 points, a win would take them above us bringing us to 7th position. There are 6 clubs (Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Monaco, Feyenoord, LOSC, Brest) with 13 points that will level with us. But we have got a very healthy goal difference of 12 and only Atlanta (14) with their win will surpass us. It will bring us down to 8th position. No other teams with 13 points has more than 7 goal difference and for us to not qualify to round of 16 directly, we would be losing badly and one of the 6 teams would be winning with some margin. That’s a lot of permutations and combinations and it still favor us.
So, lets just sit comfortably, enjoy the game and lets hope Mikel do some rotation to keep the players fit for the game against Man City. Again, we should win against Girona with our bench players and I won’t mind if Nwaneri keeps his place in the team ahead of Odegaard, Jorgi starts ahead of Partey/Rice and Sterling gives some rests to Martinelli.
I never got time to write about MLS red card but what a shite decision that was. FA has rescinded the card and has deemed it to be a wrong decision. Michael Oliver (as usual) gave a RED against us for challenge that didn’t deserve it, VAR looked it in slow motion for a handful of seconds and agreed with Oliver. If we remove the bias-angle from that decision, what in the hell was VAR doing? A referee can have bad day or bad view but VAR was put in place for exactly the same reason to fix this. There’s incompetence at all level and PGMOL should be held accountable. With such small margins, you can’t forget to draw the lines at VAR, you can’t give two yellow to a player in the same passage of play, you can’t have two rules for two different teams for kicking the ball away, you can’t be handing straight red cards for challenges that deserve a max yellow. It’s a shite show and it needs to stop.
Right, that was all for the game and all thing Arsenal. But I have something more to talk about.
I read an interesting take from Goal.com regarding the new Champions League format :
I have been a supporter of the new Champions League format and though I agree with some of the things they have written, they have missed to touch the some important points for the sake of criticizing new format. Hear me out!
I agree with the sentiments here – more matches means more injuries and almost every big club in Europe is playing twice a week where both the games are considered important. They talk about players welfare but lets be honest here, no team would play another big club in all of those 8 group stages games. If a manager is fixated in playing his best XI every game, it’s on him. With high profile signings and money spent, clubs like City, Arsenal, Chelsea have got two XIs of 40-100m players. If you are hell bent on achieving success only via ‘100m’ players, it’s on you. If players are getting injured (excluding impact injuries) because they are playing more than they can sustain, it’s poor from the manager and the club who can’t decide when to rest a player even with multi-million health experts on their payroll.
Their next argument is money over meritocracy. UEFA wanted to make more money out of it – agreed but that’s not helping only the big clubs. Even the likes of Girona are getting 8 games, some of them happens to be big enough to generate excitement among their fans. There’s a trickle down effect here. For every Read Madrid making more money, there are Young Boys, who are trying to sustain in this market and remain competitive.
Regarding the extra safety net they are talking about, giving example of City, who after losing to Sporting, Juventus and PSG can still qualify by beating Club Brugge today – I’m not sure how that’s a bad thing. With the earlier format, it was more of a luck where you could land in a group of death, or lose a game on a bad day and you are out. How often we had seen a very non-competitive round of 16 earlier – very! Group stages may give you some boring games, but it would also filter out the elites for the next stage and it’s going to be more competitive as we go. I don’t want the likes of Madrid, City, Arsenal or PSG to go out of the tournament because of a bad day.
Right, that’s my take on this. Goal has certainly made their case and I am just on the opposite side of it. I am stirring the pot here, because I would love to hear your say – some of you have seen the changes in the past and would have better, valid points for and against it.
This is fucking ludicrous…
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cvger7p8z3lo
PGMOL overturn Oliver’s decision and thus the MLS red card is rescinded….But
They decide to punish the club for reacting to that wrong call. Idiots!
KP
It’s like a criminal suing the police for breaking his door.
I won’t bore you with all the gory details, but I was watching an analytics expert speaking about the recruitment practices of MLB clubs and something he said had me thinking about the manner in which we’ve typically conducted ourselves in this particular window for the better part of two decades…simply put, clubs who rely too heavily on waiting out the market, in the hopes of landing a supposed “big fish” for a fraction of the going rate, rarely achieve their desired results…in fact, more often than not, it actually costs them decidely more in the end, as this attempt to cheat the system usually leads to a shit ton of unnecessary settling and/or ill-suited square peg purchases…on the other hand, those who conduct themselves like a “real” professional outfit, by doing the work and aggressively going after those who best fit their needs, even if it costs them more on the front end, succeed at a vastly higher rate, which in turn enables them to recoup the money they’ve spent in a timely fashion…certainly not revelatory, but important nonetheless
Hi Vieira
I often thought that the waiting-til-the-end-of-the-window bullshit was more to do with financial expediency, ie the longer you delay the signature, the less you have to pay them. You then compound the club’s stupidity by expecting said player to fit in immediately with other players and the style of play.
I’m sceptical that any new players are going to join. Ben White will be like a brand new signing!
TVRL, KP – do you think that Kreonkes are slowly coming to the realization that managing a sports club outside US is different and they are likely to loose money? I believe we are going to post a loss this year as well. Revenues are not stacking up. Either it makes them to think of selling of the club making a hefty profit like a real estate asset or making another attempt at Super league with guaranteed revenues? Interesting to see how they go about..since they are pure businessmen can’t see them humouring MA with all his buys taking us nowhere in the near future.
Good stuff guys hope your blood pressure is ok, KP.
The is reporting that we’ve had a bid for £60m for Watkins turned down my I guess Monchi at Villa. MA is no match for Monchi’s pedigree. Seems Villa want £100m of Ollie few goals. They have written a similar pitch to porn empire Sullivan thinking they can achieve similar.
Let’s hope Josh is holding the TW purse strings tight or MA could buy a blind gazelle to join his giraffe up top.
Ollie is hardly pulling up trees this season, where although a good striker when on from, he’s not the level we need. Hopefully, Unai will keep hold of Watkins and do us a favour.
Kluivert or Isak is what we need right now but we will get neither.
City v Madrid in knock out play-offs. Last 3 titles is with them, and one of them will be out before round of 16.
Brilliant.
Carlo is reported to be leaving RM at the end of the season. He will want to go out on a high.
KP—that might be the case if the team was experiencing some sort of financial crisis or the player was pushing to get out, like with Tross, but generally speaking it costs you more as they have all the leverage and you’ve put them in an awkward position because they don’t have enough time to properly replace said player…even with Tross we ended up paying their valuation…the only times this has supposedly helped us was with maybe Jorginho and Sterling, but Chelsea’s a different beast, as they would rather get something for a player who wasn’t in their plans, then use that roster spot for another incoming player…neither of these players were necessary or highly valued adds for our title-chasing purposes, regardless of the inherent cheaper costs
Madhu—Kroenke’s has made an absolute fortune here considering his actually personal investment…just look at the club’s valuation now versus when he first came on board….there’s a reason why he pushed to increase his control over the club and it wasn’t because he wanted more say in the day-to-day operations…buying sports teams isn’t just a dick measuring contest for thirsty Billionaires, it’s possibly the best long-play investment out there, even when you pay way above the number from the off
Ambarish—that could really open the door for a host of other clubs…it should provide us with some extra impetus when it comes to this window…if we really wanted Watkins or Duran, why didn’t we make an aggressive offer early on, with a proviso that they only had 48 hours to decide, and if they balked or upped the ante we simply moved on to other targets…we’re amateur hour personified for so many reasons
btw Carlo’s end of season departure wasn’t really a recent development, as insiders have been talking about Alonso’s pending hire for a few months now
don’t be surprised if Boniface becomes another player we’ve supposedly had our eyes on for a considerable period now that Al Nassr opted for Duran over him and the Saudi window has now closed…it’s not like I don’t think he’s a talented player, but he has a somewhat problematic injury history and there’s clearly a reason why he’s being shopped in January…this player was out for 3o+ days this past month for supposed “fitness” reasons, which seems incredibly fishy, so he might be a head case…I would imagine if this were the case MA’s best buddy Alonso would give him the inside skinny
excerpts from Paul Merson discussing our transfer search:
“You have to weigh it up. I would be shocked if Arsenal didn’t get Watkins because it’s a bit embarrassing if you put in a bid for someone and you don’t get him…No disrespect, he’s at Aston Villa and Arsenal are coming for you. Arsenal are that next level for Watkins and he supports them as a fan…For me, you can’t keep on rushing in and buying Tom, Dick or Harry…you don’t want to enter the market and sign someone for £30m to £40m who fits the gap for now and then at the end of the season you’re stuck with that player”
now I’m certainly not always aligned wth Merse’s club-related commentaries, but I definitely concur with his last point, as oftentimes fans don’t take into account the possible longer term ramifications of bringing in half-measure options…where I didn’t agree with him was him supprting the notion of us paying 100M for Ollie or comparing Watkin’s potential impact to that of Isak’s, as the latter has a rare blend of pace and height, plus he’s never going to be shoehorned elsewhere…I can just see MA playing OW out wide so Havertz doesn’t lose his preferred position, which wouldn’t solve our problems…fuck I wish we never signed that tweener fuck and stop looking for DM alternatives after we forked over 100+M for Rice
“and stopped wasting so much time looking…”
it’s interesting how some outlets are already referring to Watkins as a 100M Striker, which is absolute nonsense…he’s never been worth anywhere near that amount and never will be, especially conisidering MA’s less than friendly tactics when it comes to Strikers…I’m a fan of the player, but come on
TRVL
Reports this morning all say Ollie is staying at Villa. Another turn don for MA where I agree with your thoughts on Merson’s comments.
More egg on MA’s TW face.
Broken record I know, but with Isak staying why not bag Kluivert? 60M should get him and he’s pulling up trees this season.
a few notes of interest:
(1) look as if the 18 year old Norwegian wonderkid has rejected our advances, at least for the time being…MA can’t seem to convince kids, with other suitors, to come or stay, which shouldn’t be ignored
(2) read this today and thought it was spot on: “Arsenal’s speculative bid for Watkins shows a lack of forward planning at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners could have moved for the Aston Villa striker earlier in the January transfer window. A bid could have been made last summer when Villa might have entertained the idea of letting a key player leave”
—this speaks to my earlier rant involving the constant bullshit being spewed by our club regarding the rigorous nature of our recruitment practices
(3) Theo Walcott had an interesting take on our search for a stop-gap Striker, Liam Delap, especially if none of our top options were available until the summer and his presence wouldn’t hinder our off-season pursuits..he’s a bigger 21 year old, who would be much cheaper than some of the other options being speculated and who fits what we do now, rely on set pieces…not to mention, his age profile would likely allow us to recoup some monies if things didn’t work out
(4) AFTV’s Robby Lyle has been adamant that we’re seriously considering a move for Mateo Retegui, the Atalanta Striker…traditionally I would take anything he said with a huge grain of salt, but I feel like the club throws him a bone on occasion ever since he reigned things in following Claude’s passing…I’ve spoken at length about my admiration for Gasperini, but, more often than not, his players experience a significant dropoff when they move elsewhere, which speaks to his uncanny ability to get the best out of his players (unlike some other managers I know) that said, it’s difficult to argue with his productioin this season, as he’s potted 16 in 20
(5) Mathys Tel, the young Munich forward, has rejected the Spurs advances and some are saying he wouldn’t do likewise if United or ourselves came calling…he’s only 19, so I don’t think he can help right away, but he was highly thought of by those who have an opinion I typically trust…that said, I didn’t much like what Kane had to say…it’s not like he wasn’t flattering, but his cautiously optimistic tone gave me cause for pause
Cheers
Tony—that’s what a savvy club does in this type of situation, as it ups the ante(MA could really learn something from this approach)…there’s likewise lots of reports about them sniffing around a whole host of other forwards, which could be them preparing for another exit…just me speculating of course…regardless the whole thing speaks to our inability to get our business done in a proper/timely manner…maybe MA’s trying to revert back to his old Partey tricks….difference here is that I don’t think Ollie has a release clause
hope all is well bud!!
I thought we already had a top 5 striker with us. Watkins at 100 M no thanks. I wouldn’t blame villa if they put a premium since every dog apart from Win knows that we are in for a striker. Josh would be a fool to fall for this and so much for our clubs strategy based hiring. Looks like it’s MA all the way and with no effective scouting system supporting it as well. What a farce.
How’s your local football, KP?
Very hectic Vieira but all good. 11 more days left here then onwards and upwards with junior.
Seems like MA is a pariah when it comes to buying players only lands ones with agendas he can pander to.
City tomorrow should be an interesting game with Ode rallying the troops with his bring it on- war cry.
A score draw for me but blind hope to win.
2 days left in the window then……
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/feb/01/jeremy-corbyn-ben-corbyn-arsenal-coaching-keir-starmer
Marc
Who would have thought you’d have sooo much in common with fellow Gooner Jeremy Corbyn?
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/feb/01/jeremy-corbyn-ben-corbyn-arsenal-coaching-keir-starmer
Everyone
Take a look at this to see the other side of what being a Gooner means. As Marc will surely agree, Jeremy Corbyn was the best UK Prime Minister we didn’t have in recent years. Those Tory Cunts over the past 15 years (including my old mate Starmer) combined are not fit to suck the sweat off of Jerry’s shriveled old balls.
Hi Tony
County playing away in Penybont (known as Bridgend in Ingerlish or sasenag) today at 12.30. They’re second and a toughish proposition but if the boys win, they’ll be knocking on the door for an automatic euro spot. I’m doing something with the nippers otherwise I’d have gone. I’ll post some highlights (uchafbyntiau) ….if we win.
Cardiff are playing up at Elland Road today so may struggle. But ever the optimist, if by Sunday evening the two sets of Bluebirds and the Arsenal have all won, I’ll be partying like it’s 1999!
Kroenke
A genuine question and then I’ll leave it (for now least!) – we have a pretty left wing Government who have managed to take the fastest growing economy in the G7 when they were elected and push it into recession through their own actions.
With that in mind how do you come to the conclusion that the solution to the massive damage socialism has done to the economy in such a short amount of time is even more socialism?
Marc
Wrong, wrong, wrong. We don’t have a left wing government (thus rendering the rest of your commentary as utterly meaningless). Mate, stop thinking lazily about labels from the Daily Mail editorials and delve into the actual detail.
You know I’m a lefty and that I’m happy to admit it. Ask yourself this: what possible motive could I have for describing Starmer as a right wing turncoat who has sold out the labour movement?
Starmer might seem to you to be to the left because your thinking borders on reform/extreme right wing of British politics but by any objective yardstick of his current political thinking, he’s one of yours I’m afraid. You’ll have to get used to it because he’s got years left. Remember that thing I copied to you a few weeks ago about him being on the right of all MPs in the HoC. Well like it or not, that’s evidence.
Marc
Time for some personal truth. You’re not sitting in the centre politically are you? If you allow yourself think you’re rather to the right, then it ought to be easy enough to see Starmer is not that far to the left of you. It’s overly simplistic because policies and life generally change all the time. But if you stood Starmer next to old skool Tories like Heseltine, Geoffrey Howe, Douglas Herd, Major and even possibly the arch bastard Thatcher you’d conclude his thinking was more pro-capitalist, anti equality, authoritarian and anti Europe than those Cunty old relics. See? Your thinking is too simplistic because of those agenda driven hate rags you read.
Forest v Brighton should be an interesting match up
Never thought I’d see Forest putting pressure on MA but they are cruising against a decent Brighton side.
Level with us in points now but only +8 GD.
Forest are not going away and deserve CL football. Gibbs-White would fit for us and better than White.
Interesting stat Chris Wood for Forest has 15 goals this season.
Wood now 16 PL goals to Kai’s 6.
Says it all. Really
Kroenke
You’ve got the centre ground wrong – the current Tories are just left of centre and Starmer is far left – Corbyn is then even further left.
Forest 7 nil what the fuck.