Bloody hell, it took Mikel Arteta a total of five and a half season to get a CF. He inherited three – Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang but he shipped them all off to play Kai Havertz – a midfielder, Mikel Merino – another midfielder and Trossard – a winger. We finished 2nd three times in a row and I can bet a tenner we would have won at least one of them had there been a proper goal scorer upfront. With the Sesko and Gyokeres saga and the delay that was happening, I was getting sceptical that it might not happen at all, but better late than never.
Since The King left, we had the young 16 year old Walcott wearing that number for a decade, he did much better for his age and the support he had around him. Auba came and delivered some beautiful goals and games for us. Loved him except for his move to Chelsea but hey, he got a family. Nketiah was a trial and failed as it did for the ESR #10. Time will tell whether Gyokeres does justice to the number but let me be clear, I am pretty sure he will.
We are paying £64m to Sporting because the add-ons are too easy. That’s a lot of money after we have already spent some on Kepa, Zubimendi, Norgaard and a lot of money for Madueke. But I DON’T CARE. I just don’t want to see midfielders playing as a striker and I don’t want to see a sulking Havertz up top. We are bringing a striker who has got personality, presence, and intimidation in him. He has some unbelievable stats albeit in a weaker league but hey, he did pretty well in Champions League.
I have no doubt he will do great in red and white. He knows it, so he pushed for the move; his agent knows it so he is marketing himself by dropping 6m of agent fees, the club knows it because ultimately they are going to pay 60+ million GBP for him.
Cristhian is here – Welcome to Arsenal
We have signed Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia. I was always calling out the club to get a proper CF, and ignore this versatility crap everyone throws around these days. How many games have you seen Kiwior, White or Tomiyasu play at CB or which one of them were able to bench Saliba when he was going through a bad form couple season back? No one. We need competition everywhere and we need good back ups.
Mosquera has been a starter for Valencia since 2023/24 season and have played the most number of games for any player in Europe top 5 league who is under the age of 21. If you are not even 21 and you play 73 games as a CB in couple of seasons, you are a talent.
A very good signing according to me, hats off to whoever pushed for it. And we only paid £13m for him with some add-ons. Brilliant deal considering Tomiyasu is gone and we have White/Timber for RB while Calafiori/MLS fight for the LB spot.
–
Right, sorry for a short one today. Days are just getting busier as I am getting old. Hope you are have a good one, wherever you are in the world. Cheers.
Art
Is that true. They’re selling Win merchandise? Fucking hell
https://arsenaldirect.arsenal.com/Gifts/Toys/Arsenal-Win-the-Dog-Plush-Toy/p/N06526
I bet Wicksys got the fucking set.
And if you really want to laugh or cry or simply despair read the fucking reviews.
This is the fanbase 2025.
Cheers Art,
25 fucking quid!?! For that? Football is fucked.
Kroenkephobe
It says all you need to know about football these days and the utter bollocks that surrounds it.
And 99% of it, is nowdays is total and utter bollocks.
Like how many players and how much money the moronic cunt needs to spend before he creates a title winning team.
Lucky, I am a on old cunt and seen the best times.
Anfield 89 was probably the highlight and us signing Bally and Super Mac.
What a player and character Alan Ball was.
As mentioned previously, our biggest problem has always
been the fanbase.
Super Mac – looked as if his knees would give way any second. I can remember an early game for Brady when he sent a long cross field pass to a marauding Armstrong on the right wing – he sent a first time cross towards goal and there was Super Mac to guide the ball into the back of the net (clock end). Easy, Easy were the chants from the clock end.
Meanwhile up the road in rainy Manchester Ratcliffe cannot get it right. Around the corner from Old Toilet is Westinghouse Road and a crucial part of the New Toilet development is the acquisition of TP1 rail terminal owned by Freightliner. They have offered FL £50M to relocate – easier said than done for a rail terminal – FL want £500M. Foster has designed their new stadium and despite being a United fan will no doubt have put in a hefty invoice so far. Poor old Jim – he will be soon.
The Villarreal game about to kick off at the Emirates should give us a better view of VG and how we are incorporating him.
Let’s hope he’s the real deal.
Pepe back to haunt MA by skinning Skelly then netting a rebound with a sweetly placed far corner shot.
As for us and VG still underwhelming with our usual play. Very nice build up play, but predictable with the final ball.
AF
I might’ve been a bit too young to appreciate Alan Ball fully (and his red boots). It was also a time when the team flirted frequently with the bottom few places. Jimmy Rimmer was worth his weight in gold at that stage between the sticks. As for midfielders, I really liked Trevor Ross who I think came a little later in the 70s and the signing of Noddy Talbot was a massive lift for the club. I think Talbot was key in helping Liam Brady to flourish playing just in front of him. Copley and Petrovic not so much – Peter Nicholas was as tough as fuck though in the midfield.
So as it stands we’re losing to Villarreal. Can’t watch it anywhere. The club are cunts for denying us the chance to watch free pre season games.
Kroenke
Do you have a firestick?
Dowman wins a pen on 74 minutes.
We’re 3 – 1 down.
Arteta’s a useless cunt can’t even win his only friendly competition.
Marc
I do yes. So many channels so little time. Put it in a few weeks ago and still exploring it. I’ll look next time. Cheers.
Hi Kroenke
Can’t remember what channel it was on now but I’ll check it and let you know for Saturday.
Nice one Marc. Cheers mate.
Kroenkephobe
If Rice was worth £100 million
Ball would have been worth a billion.
Souness was once asked who were your best and toughest opponents he played against
1. Zico
2. Alan Ball at Southampton at the age of 38.
Nearly 900 games , nearly 200 goals and a World Cup all from central midfield
Not really wanting to, I was going to write a post on yesterday’s dire Groundhog Day defeat.
While skimming NewsNow and the Internet I read this below and thought the DM’s Issak Khan had nailed it except for MA addressing the glaring issues, as what we witnessed WAS MA addressing issues he saw.
VG clearly needs first time ball, vertical service, at pace thread through small gaps to run onto as he has pace to burn. MA served up ‘Havertz-ball’ service.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-14977197/Viktor-Gyokeres-Gabriel-Arsenal-Noni-Madueke-THINGS-LEARNED-Gunners-Villarreal.html
New striker, same old problems for Arsenal, the young Gunner who continues to impress and the glaring frailities within Mikel Arteta’s XI: THINGS WE LEARNED from 3-2 defeat by Villarreal
Arsenal’s Emirates homecoming was spoilt on Wednesday night as a Villarreal side boasting a couple of former Gunners ran out 3-2 winners in north London.
Nicolas Pepe and Denis Suarez, who made just six appearances for the club during a 2019 loan spell, were involved in a couple of the goals for the LaLiga side.
The former bagged the 16th-minute opener before Karl Etta Eyong doubled Villarreal’s advantage just after the half hour. New Gunners signing Christian Norgaard halved the deficit before the break.
Suarez then provided the pinpoint pass that allowed former Tottenham forward Arnaut Danjuma to restore the Spanish side’s two-goal advantage. Mikel Arteta had by this point made a raft of changes and the revamped roster rewarded his faith by notching the side’s second of the match.
Arsenal’s frustrating afternoon was confounded during the penalty shoot-out that followed the match. Villarreal were again victorious after Mikel Merino, Gabriel and Noni Madueke missed from the spot.
Our reporter ISAAN KHAN watched on as Arteta’s men stumbled on their north London return.
GYOKERES STARVED OF SERVICE
Thousands of Arsenal fans descended upon the Emirates wearing Viktor Gyokeres’ No14 shirt.
They had long been crying out for a striker. So when the north London club finally obliged last month, spending £64million on the Swedish attacker, their optimism resulted in Gyokeres’ shirt becoming one of the fastest shirt sales for a new signing in Gunners history.
Yet on the pitch, it was the same as usual around these parts — an Arsenal frontman being starved of service and feeding off scraps.
It’s a scene that has been re-enacted time and again last season, and one which will need to be fast rectified if this club are to properly utilise their shiny new striker.
Gyokeres showed glimpses of hold up play, including an early flick on, as well as his presence in closing down space when off the ball.
But after receiving flack for his 13-minute run out against Tottenham on the Gunners’ pre-season tour of Asia, he will have been keen to show what he can do in front of goal.
Instead he had to make do with an unrewarding shift in darting around, though not being picked out by team-mates.
They did occasionally go aerially to him to limited avail. And Mikel Merino played him through on the hour mark, Gyokeres’ shot saved by Luiz Junior.
Overall, though, he will be hoping the likes of Martin Odegaard, who started on the bench, will have a much better radar in finding him.
WONDERKID DOWMAN SHINES AGAIN
A slew of substitutions were being readied on 62 minutes. Yet the loudest cheer was reserved for the introduction of 15-year-old Max Dowman, who the stadium announcer prefaced with: ‘making his Emirates debut for the first team’.
He, and those in attendance, knew this will be the first of many times Dowman will feature at the Emirates in the coming months.
The Arsenal attacking midfield wonderkid, who dazzled on their pre-season tour of Asia, was given another chance to shine — and he did.
On 69 minutes he shimmed past a couple of players, shooting wide, before winning a penalty after being pulled to the ground by Pau Navarro who had been wrong-footed by his trickiness.
He carried on in the same vein, being picked out by team-mates to frighten the opposition backline with his watertight dribbling abilities and fearlessness to attack the box.
The teenager played in a number of crosses which had to be desperately snuffed out. This kid is special.
DEFENCE IN PIECES
Villarreal’s opening two goals saw David Raya pull off good saves, only for an opposition player to steer the rebounds home after pushing past Jakub Kiwior on the back post.
The defender could’ve done better in these instances. More broadly, the backline sorely missed Gabriel.
The Brazilian underwent a hamstring operation in April but came on in the second half as he pushes to be fit for Arsenal’s opening Premier League match against Manchester United next Sunday.
Cristhian Mosquera came on at half-time for Ben White and looked good at right back. He showcased composure on the ball and pace in covering the backline well.
The glaring miss, though, was Gabriel partnering his sidekick William Saliba from the beginning.
It’s a fearsome duo who form the bedrock of Mikel Arteta’s defence. When one is missing, a lack of synchronisation is felt.
That could be seen in those first-half back post tussles and when the opposition attack broke on counter-attacks. Gabriel will need some time to get back to full match fitness — and Arteta will be keenly assessing.
TOO SAKA CENTRIC
That sheer imbalance between the two Arsenal flanks continues.
Bukayo Saka’s talents make the activity on the right wing inevitably lopsided. Most teams would do the same to utilise such a sheer talent.
The problem, though, lies with the drop off in quality on the other side where the Gunners are unable to exploit the extra space.
Gabriel Martinelli, as ever, looked energetic on the ball but, as ever, failed to make real inroads with a final ball.
It points to why Arsenal signed Noni Madueke, who had a short cameo late on, and are still eyeing other attacking signings like Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze.
In fact, in the couple chances Madueke had on the ball he arguably showed more directness. There is a good player in Martinelli, but he needs to up the ante – and fast, or risk losing his place.
RETURN OF PEPE
Dismal, dire or underwhelming would all describe Nicolas Pepe’s time at Arsenal.
The £72million signing had such a torrid time in north London that he eventually left on a free transfer to Turkish side Trabzonspor in September 2023 after four years on Arsenal’s books.
On Wednesday he showed signs as to why the Gunners signed him in the first place, giving Myles Lewis-Skelly a tough test on the right flank.
The 30-year-old scored Villarreal’s opener, striking a post with a curling effort before collecting a rebound to score past Raya.
On a few occasions, he twisted and turned in sprints at Lewis-Skelly, who was occasionally caught on the back foot but battled back.
Pepe didn’t celebrate his goal, raising his hands in the air. Though on the night Arsenal unveiled their star summer signing in Gyokeres to the Emirates, it was their former flame who came back to haunt them.