Kai Havertz has picked up an injury in Dubai. We had a front 3 of Martinelli, Saka and Havertz – all of those are injured. We are left with Nwaneri (an 18 year old), Trossard and Sterling (who is on loan). It was clear 2 seasons ago that we needed enforcement in attack and we ignored it completely. I don’t care if it’s the manager or the technical director or the club stopping such a move, I know the money was there and we spent it all on defenders. We have this approach of making sure to cover all ifs and buts in the defense while praying for the god if something happens in attack. And the pryaer didn’t work, so we are going to pay the price!
Kai Havertz is out for the season. Not that he was a prolific striker but we lack even the half decent options in attack and him missing at this season puts our season in jeopardy. Ultimately, Sterling will play on one side, Nwaneri on the other and Trossard in the middle. It doesn’t give me confidence at all.
I’m not sure if anyone had given attention to the attack, at all! Gabriel Jesus is an injury prone player, everyone knew that when he was at City. Havertz was brought as a midfielder who is covering the CF position, but it’s not like he is a TH14 incarnation whom we have moved from the wings to the middle. We needed a striker and we didn’t have one since Aubameyang left. It’s such a pathetic condition that if the twitter ITKs spread the rumours that we are in the market for Eddie Nketiah, I will feel happy!
All this crap of ‘titles are won in the defence’ makes sense when you have Mustafi in your line-up. Not when you have a 17 year keeping the likes of Zinchenko (45m), Calafiori (35m) away from the starting line up. You, at this level, should have identified that talent, stopped yourself from spending 40 odd millions in the defence and used that money to get a CF. We were ready to pay 40m for Ollie Watkins, Villa were asking for 60. 60million GBP for a decent striker at 29 years of age is YES any day when you have Jesus and Havertz to pick from. If you were out of money, you should have sold Zinchenko, or shouldn’t have bought Calafiori and used some of that money to fix the main problem.
I’m frustrated. Havertz is injured for the season and we have no one to fix this problem. We did nothing in the transfer window.
You know what Mikel will do? He will try to fix it by playing Merino or Trossard in that position. Be brave enough, accept your mistake and develop someone in that role from the academy. You got MLS, Saka, Nwaneri who is saving your arse, go and develop someone for a change rather than crying in every press conference. If you can’t do that and the only thing you know is spending 100m to fix a problem, you are just Pep without trophies.
Right, a short rant today. Hope you are doing well.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/alan-shearer-motd-arsenal-nwaneri-34688074
The Arsenal kid worth gushing over .
But come summer the insecure SoB will go about getting a replacement and rinse repeat what he has done earlier.
Nwari shone in spite of a 1 billion squad going about emasculated.
Dirty scouser blatantly dives for a pen which was given then overturned by VAR but no booking for the scouser.
If an Arsenal player did that guaranteed card.
Wicksy (LG Robert (Bob)bot- still on the juice? or Pedro Pete?)
Anyway what TRVL and Marc says. LIR is for all gooners – even the misguided rose coloured tinted glassed ones.
Your numbers to savour 88522 not a fuvcking win in sight just capitulations for 3 seasons. If you’re happy with that, then that’s on you.
We back winners here. Stick around it might rub off on you.
Missed the Pool game but no surprise they have bounced back again.
Marc
Havertz is our Oscar worthy diver because Sterling doesn’t play.
They don’t get cards 😂
A 4 goal draw for Spuds v Manure. Best result to hurt them both.
Tony—I came so close to making a “Bob” reference, but the verbiage he’s typical used seemed a little too pedestrian…now that he’s opened up a bit, I think the comparisons are more apropos…Cheers
typically
Shall we dare to dream Manure gets relegated tis season?
Would that be fun with Bantz rights.
TRVL
I shall ignore your rather snide remarks.
more importantly on to the football and what could be a very pivotal week in the race for the title.
To me, Liverpool look like they are feeling the pressure , villa and city away this week will certainly test liverpool’s nerve, city put in a very good performance at home to Newcastle at the weekend , so I would expect something similar v Liverpool on Sunday as they will go into the game with high confidence.
Villa are more than capable of taking points off Liverpool as their more recent victories v the top 2 sides Arsenal and City have shown.
Merino finding space in the box and scoring was no surprise to me, I had mentioned a few times previously to family that Merino’s off the ball movement in the box is probably the best in the team. He certainly has better heading technique than Havertz who i have to say has a very poor technique when volleying and heading the ball. I believe Havertz knows his technique is poor so consequently he snatches at balls coming into the box , unlike merino who is technically sound.
Generally I have been disappointed with his performances this season though his timing couldn’t be better to finally make a telling contribution.
Arteta has to make a decision on Sterling as he is clearly struggling, can he afford to persevere with him in the hope that he will come good..probably not , which means Merino could play as a false no.9, which opens up the possibility of Merino and Rice making well timed runs into the box whenever Nwaneri picks up the ball in the final third…
For a footballer attacking the box there is not a better feeling than knowing that the wide player( Nwaneri) will put the ball on a sixpence..
With regard to our fixtures up until the end of March it is in our favour that we have 2 weekends free to enable the squad to stay fresh , though of course champions league comes into effect next month…hopefully martinelli’s hamstring is not long term
Wicksy
You were telling us Wolves was a banana skin for Liverpool, Villa haven’t beaten us this season and beating City when they’re a shambles this season doesn’t mean anything.
Arteta is a cunt and anyone who thinks he isn’t is an even bigger cunt.
See the PR spin is saying Saka and Marts will be back after 6 games and we’ll be firing on all cylinders was the way the upped the Anti.
No thought of lack of match fitness or fear of breaking down or that preseason could be over by then or that we haven’t been firing on many cylinders let alone all for the whole season.
Next 2 games for us and Pool will have a big say in the final positions for me. The supercomputer has us 2nd trailing winners Pool by 7 points.
That’s 6 less than Emery did in his first season spending next to nothing on players he didn’t want.
885222 looks like MA’s almost 6 years have given us. It why players MA wants to sing don’t want to play for MA or they’d be playing for us.
Time will tell but the next 2 games will be telling.
Finally RM are thinking of leaving La Liga is touted in the press today about a red card so Perez threw his toys out of his pram.
Be interesting if they moved to the PL. Is this the super league beginnings?
No idea what to think anyone got thoughts on this?
Our season*
May 10th we play Pool at Anfield so will be interesting to see what’s at stake before the game starts………..
Sign
“Saturday was Arsenal’s first chance to show they could still compete even after those injuries, but the first hour of football was a dire attacking display that only made supporters more concerned. Some fans could be heard singing “we want Kroenke out” during the first half in Leicester”
Two points of interests:
(1) at the close of the window, our weaselly-prone manager went out of his way to plant a seed of doubt, regarding his blameworthiness for our lack of transfer activity, in the minds of anyone who would listen, most notably his slurpy fucking minions…as the above quote would attest, some within the fanbase lapped that shit up, even though it belied logic
before his attempt to deceive, not a single fucking soul would have ever believed that he didn’t play THE definitive role when it came to transfers, even moreso after Edu’s exodus, which is why his most loyal followers would wax lyrically about HIS supposed transfer window exploits…yet as soon as he needed an out he played the victim card…to make matters worse, this cake and eat it too fuckstick not only tried to absolve himself from blame, he actually tried to evoke a sense of empathy, almost as if he was one of us
the very fact that these spineless fucks could so easily set aside everything they had once held to be true, seemingly on a dime, speaks to the underlying cult-like issues that still permeate our club
regardless, even if the Kroenke’s weren’t willing to go above and beyond to secure a world-class Striker in January, it stiil wouldn’t be on them, as MA should have got that business done in one of the previous two or three summer windows when they had supplied him with more than enough resources…instead it appears as if he has allowed his fragile ego, which was revealed during the whole Auba saga then again after Sesko rejected his very public advances, and his obvious tactial shortcomings to play too predominant of a role when it came to his transfer practices…this is why we still don’t have a “real” Striker within our ranks
(2) as for the LC fixture itself, there will be some who will eagerly pat themselves on the back for even postulating the “brilliant” notion of deploying Merino up top, which is rather disconcerting for a couple of reasons
first and foremost, the deployment of the only plausible remaining option, Merino, considering that Tross and Sterling were already on the pitch and every other viable option, minus Ethan, who MA clearly doesn’t favour, was unavailable due to their respective injuries, is far from brilliant…so get over yourself
secondly, if MA had a pair and truly believed in this “plan” surely he would have started Merino from the off…Sterling has proven himself to be totally useless, yet our resident genius of a manager still ran the offence through his side of the pitch for the better part of 60 minutes…furthermore, he clearly felt that having Rice deployed as a false 9, at least when we were in possession, was somehow a better course of action than starting Merino along side Tross and Ethan…so enough with the whole fabricated “brilliant” gig, as this was his version of a last ditch, throw caution to the wind, plan Z kind of decision for our stunned cunt of a manager, even though it certainly wasn’t a revelatory option
in fact, all sorts of fans and pundits spoke about this possibility leading up to the match, due to Merino’s obvious size and heading capabilities…let’s not forget he was only on MA’s radar last summer because he was Zubi’s more gettable teammate and the fact that he headed in an extra time winner for Spain, so him getting a shot up top in a season defined by bully-ball tactics and set piece tallies was almost inevitable…in fact, it might have been deemed as totally negligent on MA’s part if it hadn’t happened
fact remains, Merino’s brace speaks more about LC’s inept defending, which has defined their season thus far, than the likelihood that he will repeat this particular performance in the future…that said, I would still rather that he play up top, instead of Tross, in that if the latter were to start it would likely mean that Sterling was on the pitch far too often; not to mention, Merino’s an above average finisher with his head and, so long as he’s not being asked to play with his back to goal, he could provide us with a viable target man against lesser defensive sides…against the “better” squads, he might provide the opposition with a viable distraction so the likes of Ethan can find some space in and around the box…simple and believable!?! Cheers
Great post TRVL leaves little to add.
Hate to say it but Ethan looked better than Ode against LC. Unafraid to shoot with both feet and, if Rice knew how to play 8, Ethan could have someone to feed, instead Rice is always a little behind due to his lack of pace and lumbers around in the opponent’s box. Rice is not instinctive at 8 but is at 6.
Ode has 3 PL goals and Ethan 3 Cup goals in a fraction of the games.
As you say TRVL Ode should switch left and Ethan right with Rice holding at 6 only or Partey who looks to have found his old form back at 6, where I’d play him before Rice.
On paper it may look very tempting to play a midfield of Partey, Nwaneri and odegard , but in reality it would be a midfield that would be open to the counter.
All 3 are excellent footballers but it’s all about finding the right balance in midfield .
Discipline and positional sense are essential for top quality midfielders and that is why the likes of Roy kean , Vieira, kante, Rodri and Rice are considered amongst the very best over the years in the premier league as they are/were team players. Cantona made the “water carrier ” comment about Didier Deschamps and although that was regarded as slight on his football ability , it was also a comment that had an element of truth as currently I would regard Rice as our “water carrier” , a player that a few on here want benched for the flair players. Dropping Rice to move Odegaard into a left side no 8 is non sensical, though I see nothing wrong in bringing Nwaneri to replace Odegaard who has had very goal involvements this season.
If you really want to see both Odegaard and Nwaneri in the side when saka returns then there is an easy solution , move saka to the left as that is where he learnt his trade.
Martinelli could play up top and keep Rice in the side and for me Partey has been superb in midfield this season so must also retain his place.
Taking Rice out of the side will also affect us defensively at set pieces as Havertz is also out of the equation.
Playing , skelly, timber , odegard , Nwaneri, partey, Martinelli and trossard leaves us lacking in height and strength in the air.
Previously we had Rice, havertz, white, saliba, Gabriel and possibly tomiyasu/ calafiori .
Christ you really talk absolute bollocks.
“a blessing in disguise” is a saying that could easily be used regarding the injury to Saka.
Without the injury to Saka and consequently the injury to martinelli, we would not be witnessing the rise of Nwaneri to potentially a first team starter with performances of incredible maturity.
It is noticeable that his team mates are showing more trust in him and feeding him at the earliest opportunity in the knowledge that he will produce.
As I said previously, play saka on the left when he returns, leaving Nwaneri on the right as there should be no need to disrupt our midfield 3 of Partey , Odegaard and Rice.
Even the injury to Havertz may prove to be a blessing in disguise as it may give Martinelli the chance to play through the middle , plus of course it has opened the door for Merino to use his excellent movement in the box to create problems for the opposition.
There are a few on here who seem reluctant to give Merino the credit he deserves for 2 well taken goals at the weekend.
Maybe they don’t understand what constitutes good movement in the box as shown for Merino,’s first goal where he had to check his run 2 times before timing his run to perfection on the 3rd occasion to plant a technically perfect header past the keeper.
His 2nd goal was the result of a very intelligent run on the back of the full back and the finish on the half volley was made to look easier than it actually was , maybe his composed finish fooled some who are not educated on the technique in finishing, Jimmy greaves would have been proud of that finish.
Villa/Liverpool tonight…villa a more than capable of causing an upset .
” Without the injury to Saka and consequently the injury to martinelli, we would not be witnessing the rise of Nwaneri to potentially a first team starter with performances of incredible maturity. ”
Talk of falling upstairs.
If all smart moves are accidental , can we say ElB™ is an accident that is going to happen ?
No, definitely no.
ElB™ is a disaster that happened. Do not count the upturn , because with the money spent that kind of a team could drive itself.
Arsenal financial results are out for year end May, 2024 – The club have announced a loss of £17.7m, down from £52.1m (2023).
– Revenue was a record £616.6m, up from £466.7m
– Matchday revenue up to £131.7m from £102.6m
– Broadcast revenues up to £262.3m from £191.2m
– Commercial revenues up to £218.3m from £169.3m
– Player trading profit up t0 £52.4m from £12.2m
– Wages jumped massively to £327.8m from £234.8m
——
We have been doing pretty well financially. That champions league money is flowing in, and finishing 2nd has helped in premier league.
Wages causing us some troubles because we have some very expensive bums in Zinchenko, Jesus, Havertz.
Marc—big-ups to you for your rather succinct and apt take on our “new” little trolling fuckwit…Cheers
TRVL/Marc
There are none that are so blind than those who will not see.
At least he adds humour to LIR. Can’t make out whether his pissed or stoned all the time he’s posting, why I thought it was little old wine drinker Bob or whatever his tipple was that made him snipe at people at night.
Looking forward to RM playing City. We are only 4k from the Bernabeu and seats are available for Euros 245 a ticket for that game. If only it was us playing there tonight.
Pool v Villa and RM v City makes for a fun football night …..
Reports on the net saying MA is after Isak again for the summer.
From your published accounts, Ambarish, we have there money but will Isak want to play for our serial loser manager.
Whiskey before you gob off again MA has won nothing in 5 years of note only breaking negative records more than any other Arsenal manager.
You can crow about that if you want.
Pool up for this and Villa shitting the bed.
Can Rashford score a winner for Culla?
Villa*
Villa getting their game together now
Emery is playing a dangerous high line squeezing the space but Pool look weak at the back.
Pool one up bad Garcia mistake giving the ball to unmarked Jota in the box to Salah who had an empty net