Happy new year 2025 – lets start with a bang

I have seen some crap players over the decades watching Arsenal – Havetz has to be right up there with some of the worst. The galling thing is he is the highest paid player. How long before supporters turn on him and El B.

Tony—it’s probably the fucking FA Cup grass

Absolute wank from start to finish. Neither the players nor Cunty Bastardo give a fuck about the cups. He needs to go of course! A fucking shit show of a week. All down to the little man.

https://www.football365.com/news/feature-ten-arsenal-moves-arteta-january-transfer-window-rashford-jesus

Some protracted bytes blended with red herrings

Guys it’s the ball the problem and the fact that we had to play extra time. Arteta is by far the greatest manager we have had. Let’s cut some slack. We give me few more 100 millions in the TW and get defence sorted out. Who needs FA Cup we have plenty of them. We will win the st Totterigham cup this midweek. Don’t worry guys.

we had 26 attempts on goal, 7 on target, whereas United had 7 shots, 4 on target…simply confounding numbers

So we’ll have tied legs mid week with a threadbare squad and be even more fatigued come Saturday against Villa.

not sure how we right the ship after another piss-poor performance in front of goal, but I do worry about what an increasingly fragile MA might do in this window, especially if Jesus is out for an extended period…I would much rather he was forced into stewing in his own shit until season’s end, so that if we do sack his ass there’s more monies available for the future manager…of course, I very much doubt he’s going anywhere, so let’s just hope he doesn’t bring in anymore half measure fucks

TRVL

I’m not sure we have that much money to spend in Jan anyway – Arteta might have to do some actual management and coaching.

So that’ll end well!

Big Ange will be playing his get out of jail card.

we have shitloads of money, that’s just another ode to our former boss by our little plagiarist so as to temper expectations and to provide a built-in excuse should things go sideways…you just know that MA wants to avoid having a saviour-type come in on big money and upset his little.closed door operation…just think what he would have to offer up, assurance-wise, in order to convince someone of real import to jump ship in January; not to mention, their present employer would milk the shit out of us…I don’t think he can afford to get another transfer wrong for fear of how that might impact the locker room…and I think he knows it

this just landed from the BBC’s chief football writer:

“So many of Arsenal’s problems, and why they trail Premier League pacesetters Liverpool by six points having played a game more, result from Arteta and the club’s transfer strategy. Arteta’s acquisitions have reduced the Gunners to a blunt instrument when a lack of cutting edge was their biggest, most obvious weakness.

There are a variety of responses, cynical or otherwise, that could be given to Arteta’s claim that “from 1,000 games like this you should lose one. Unfortunately it was this one. You [Arsenal] deserve to win the game by a mile but the reality is we are out and that is the only thing that’s going to be judged”.

The simple answer is that Arsenal have been a team without a recognised striker for some time, something Arteta has declined to address, choosing instead to strengthen other areas rather than their most pressing, obvious need.

And now, as they go out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle, face an uphill fight to reach Wembley in the Carabao Cup and struggle to keep up with Liverpool in the title race, Arteta and Arsenal’s failure to sign a goalscorer has been exposed”

spot on…enough said

Said at the time, this long streak of very expensive German piss would be The fraudulent Cunts undoing.

Chelsea sold him to us silly cunts for £60 million and we gave him 250 grand a week until 2028. They then and bought a generational talent in Palmer.

I can’t abide this man. Tells more lies that other cunt Starmer.

Watched Wolves new manager absolutely murder Man Utd a few weeks back.

Morning all
Good to see you AF as always.

Sorry for Jesus, but it’s his gung ho, reckless antics on the pitch that make him look all in, no matter what, often results in injuries.

TRVL
Great BBC piece echoing our long term assessments, which he may well have read here so many times in the last 18 months.

Here the song remains the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxSsol3Zd7k

Not the song you’ll be expecting but one of my Plant favs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB6OlJqV1rQ

Both links should be part of a very eclectic YT mix I’ve got going if you want something a bit different.

I doubt we’ll overturn the Newcastle result so that will be it for the domestic cups, and we have zero chance of lifting the CL trophy, so all hopes pinned on winning the league then………?

What will Josh & daddy think after wasting £800m for a net return of zero silverware and possibly finishing outside the CL births for next season.

KP
Sadly you describe us well.

Tony—I still listen to tracks from several of Plant’s solo albums, most notably from Pictures at Eleven and Now and Zen…Big Log and I’m in the mood were two of my favourites…as for your second link, I’m very familiar with Ten Years After, but I had no idea who the lead singer was until just now…a little bit of a cross between Government Mule and Gregg Allman…good timing, as I needed a little something to mellow me out a bit, as I’m watching the NFL playoffs and I’ve got a good chunk of change riding on today’s games

it appears as if MA’s learning what everyone knew all along, there’s a reason why you pay the big bucks to those who’ve proven themselves in front of goal…it requires a particular set of skills that not everyone possesses, just like those who defend exceptionally well or those who have an uncanny ability to unlock defences…so if you want to be one of the top clubs you had better develop or buy those who have displayed the above described skillsets…what you don’t do is deploy them in a way that doesn’t take advantage of their respective skills, like playing them out of position, and/or spit in the face of conventional wisdom, like some sort of egomaniacal twat, by continually refusing to properly redress a position of such great import…it’s not rocket science, so don’t overthink the simple stuff…Cheers

Art Fraud—I had a sneaking feeling that you were going to make an appearance after our latest blunder…I applaud you for continuing to remind people of the fact that we literally provided Chelsea with the funds they used to acquire Palmer by taking their underwhelming German giraffe off their hands…of course they didn’t need our 70M to do so, but I think it’s important that people fully grasp the magnitude of that confluence of circumstances

the brief that summer was fairly straight-forward, get one of the best DMs in the footballing world and properly replace Xhaka…instead of even looking Palmer’s way, who btw would have totally fit the latter bill and played at his former club, he got so enamoured with Chelsea’s sloppy seconds that he seemed to forget the positional requirements, like some sort of starry-eyed fuck…it probably didn’t help that he was developing an inferiority complex due to the plethora of rejections he had faced on the recruiting trail, which is likely why he gave Kai such a ridiculous wage package and some assurances to boot…talk about doubling-down on stupid…have a good one AF

Let the following Arteta quote sink in:

“Are we going to win big trophies? I don’t know,” Arteta said. “But playing like this, there are very few teams in the world that can play at that level.

“It is incredible how you don’t win that game. The dominance, the superiority and everything that we did to try to win the game and we didn’t get what we deserved.”

WTF! I’m fucking done for the night!!

TVRL – there is a certain level of arrogance in his statement. He believes in his own hype and hype around his coterie. His has insulated himself in a eco changer and has all the trappings of a narcissist. I don’t think he is capable of recognising the obvious and doesn’t listen to any contrary views. Such arrogance and superiority complex in a rookie manager who hasn’t won anything is astounding. There is certain element of posturing in the press sure he can’t put his players under the bus or talk about his one shortcomings. But his statements blaming everything and everyone except look deep into his own mistakes is the root cause of the problem. Not sure where we go from here. If the club doesn’t recognise the fact that we are slowly entering into a crises phase then nobody can save us. We need some serious thinking.

And there were silly useless cunts in and outside the club, who liked the fucking amateurs they are rushed and gave this useless Cunt that obscene contract. He won’t ever ever get a top job when he is fucking axed.

They thought Barcelona might come in for him! Are these cunts for real?

Flick in his first season is getting them playing like they used to 10 years ago. Watched their win with 10 men last night,
fuck me they are playing a totally different sport to what we are playing. They score goals for starters and attack at speed from all angles.

As a basic tactic ManU seemed to press Ode to cut off the supply and double up on our wide players who not having anyone overlap them is very easy to do.

Without Saka’s quality Arteta’s going to have to adapt or we’re going to see other teams do this to us as well. Add to that not having a real striker who can do things like kick a ball and the rest of the season feels like its going to be a long hard slog.

“It’s claimed Arteta has already made ‘contact’ with Williams – who has a €58m release clause – and his agent to ‘convince’ him to move to the Emirates, ‘promising’ the winger a ‘blank check’ and ‘untouchable’ status at the club”

“Arsenal made an offer for Vlahovic on loan at the end of last week, yet it was rejected by Juventus, who want to sell the player outright or at least include an obligation to buy in any temporary deal that is struck”

“With the club reportedly prioritising attackers capable of making an immediate impact, the coming weeks could prove pivotal for Arsenal’s ambitions this season. Whether they opt for a temporary fix or a marquee signing, one thing is clear—Arsenal cannot afford to stand still in January”

Things have picked up considerably in the rumour mill since our FA Cup ousting, which certainly isn’t surprising considering the continued lack of finishing and the injury to Jesus…tbf I don’t give much credence to any of the above “news”, except the very real possibility of MA offering up all manner of assurances to anyone who would be silly enough to sign on

the one positive outcome is that there appears to be cracks forming when it comes to the sentiments of those who’ve continually backed the manager…of course many still believe that he has “another” trick up his sleeve and that everything could turn on a dime if he can bring in a player or two in relative short order…hardly surprising that these Mr. Magoo pipe dreamers are holding out hope…I, for one, believe that our little MIT hit his managerial ceiling some time ago and if it weren’t for the fact that many of the traditional top-siders have been mired in transitions of their own, he would have been found out much earlier…it should be an interesting next couple of weeks

Really hope you”re right TRVL. Looks like he’s almost bought Zubimendi for £51m joining in the summer.

Tony – Another TW master class from Arteta. Rice whom we bought for a staggering 105M, his entire valuation being made as a Defensive minded midfielder in a West Ham side will now be shoe horned as a left sides attacking midfielder. Zubi will come in a natural #6 presumably unless MA has plans of converting him to a striker. Its seems that MA is intent on doing a Henry. Rice can nether carry the ball, dribble or shoot/head with any accuracy. In his best season he has scored about 5 goals and 3 assists. Zubi makes sense only if both Partey and Jorgi leaves this season. Partey for all his injuries is a super defensive midfielder who can play vertical pass and cut through the opposition midfields. It remains to be seen if Zubi is that good as a passer. Nobody will ever come close to Cesc in that regard, but if Zubi can 50% of what Partey does, we will be lucky.
Apart from this we also bought someone called Merino last summer and god knows what he actually does. He seems quite anonymous in games and that may be partly due to his playing style. So if Zubi comes in we will have a Real Sociedad midfield with Zubi, Merino and Ode. We will have a midfield of 105+25+50 M. Probably the most expensively assembled extremely defensive midfield trio with 0 creativity.
After all this, we will still need a striker, LW and RW additions to the squad at a min. Now where is the check and balances we so talk about. Who is going to challenge MA?

I suppose soppy bollocks has not learned a fucking thing from Pablo Vieira with his latest £50 million recruit.

Lightweight, too many touches,
passes and don’t score many goals.
And will take about another 12 months to settle in before he does an ACL because he has played him 6 games in 18 days.

The one player the cunt should have signed from Sociedad was Isak.

Amateur fucking hour , this club.

Madhu—speaking of MA’s love of all things Sociedad-related, I watched their match against Villarreal yesterday…what a fucking snoozefest…I will say this though, that Kubo player, who we were supposedly linked to, was the only player of any real consequence on the pitch last evening…he might be an interesting, albeit risky, cover piece for Saka, as he plays on the right and is willing to take on defenders, but I do worry about his stature, as he would be by far our most diminutive player…Jorginho is a giant in comparison…beyond that, I’m likewise not too sure how eager they’ll be to let him go, as he’s clearly a fan favourite, so it has the feels of another transfer fee milking…as for MA’s interest in the player, one has to only look at his CV to comprehend his infatuation, in that his goalscoring numbers are nothing to write home about, but his positional flexibility must read like an old school Playboy forum tale for our shoehorn-loving MIT

as for Zubimendi, the player MA actually coveted instead of Merino, who was clearly our consolation prize, there’s little doubt he can play as a deep-lying midfielder, but I very much doubt he’s going to be our Rodri, as he has neither the size nor the instincts of that modern day one-off…in my opinion he’s simply a means to an underwhelming ends and not because I don’t think this player is really talented

now if we hadn’t paid 100+M for Rice, I might think differently, but the very notion of deploying a supposed double-pivot of Rice and Zubi, which is already the narrative out there, does absolutely nothing to address our real issues up top…instead this would solidify our blunt instrument, sideways passing borefest, as Zubi would simply replace Partey, which would enable Rice to dedicate even more time in the final third…so just to clarify, I’m in no way attempting to minimize Zubi’s abilities, he just doesn’t make sense on a side that desperately needs another AM to play along side Ode, for creativity-purposes, and who likewise broke the fucking bank for one of the best DMs in the world

AF—hard to argue with your Isak comment, esepcially considering the inherent costs at that time…it’s likely why Sociedad’s DOF, Olabe, is on our Edu-replacement radar, so as to help facilitate the Zubi and then the Isak moves…that said, he certainly didn’t come in handy when we overpaid for Merino and his current side is boring as fuck

RVL

If Zubimendi were any good , Real Madrid or Barcelona would have signed him. Ask yourself, why they are not in for him?

They can have anyone they like for the price they like in Spain.

He will be like Jorginho and Elneny playing pretty 5 yard passes . Recycling bollocks they call it now.

Go and get and fucking centre forward , like Duran of Villa or the Brentford duo and fucking compete.

RVL

Our cunts even loaned them Tierney.

How so called supporters still think this cunt is actually good , fucking mystifies me.

The last Real Sociedad midfielder who came, the soppy cunts dislocated his shoulder in his first training session. Mind Merino plays like both shoulders are fucked most of the time, the speed he moves around the pitch.

Suppose someone was giving it the big billy bollocks act in from of the players, on his first session.

These signings are all fucking vanity signings and need to be called out for what they are.
We need proper premier league type players who understand the game and can deal with the schedules and pace.

TVRL- the double pivot of Zubi and Rice is no different from Partey – Rice/Merino. Arteta is fooling us by saying that he is playing us as attacking 4-3-3 when it’s actually a 4-2-1-3 with a tilt towards right due to Sakas output. So essentially you have a double pivot of center mids and a right shift of Ode-Saka leaving Martinelli on the left with so support at all. No wonder he looks bad and runs into blind alley as we don’t have the left midfielder supporting him. ode remains in the right supporting Saka. In an ideal double pivot ode gets the freedom to move across the field with protection of Two midfielders behind him. MA has never played with 2 creative / running midfielder in front of a deep laying center mid. That’s why he sold ESR and bent on converting Ethan to a winger. He will have only one creator and two other so called disruptors who does nothing to forward play but tries to win the ball back quickly in transition.
Seeing how we play and his transfer dealings I am convinced that MA will never play 2 creators and will have only creative midfielder and that’s Ode as of now.