The performance was meh and not only from our highly anticipated signing Victor G. The back line looked shaky, midfield didn’t control the game like we do, and the front 3 was so poor Mikel had to sub the striker and the LW in the 60th minute. Havertz was on the pitch in place of the Gyokeres and Madueke got his first game in Arsenal shirt.
There was nothing positive to take away from the game except those 3 sweet points and a clean sheet. Raya was superb and did some brilliant saves to keep us in the game. The United fans were furious for the goal they conceded, counting as a blatant foul and obstruction, but they ignored the same thing happening at the other end when Raya was surrounded but he made it to look like an easy one by punching the ball away comfortably.
I get it, the first game of the season, away from home at Old Trafford, it’s always going to be difficult. Plus, the new signings from them in Cunha and Mbuemo were ridiculously good – so good that they both contributed an equal amount of shots on target that we managed as a team, which made it worse for us. We lacked cohesiveness in the midfield and Zubimendi will take some time to deliver what Partey used too. Our captain was poor, Saka was not at his best, Martinelli had to be subbed, White wasn’t having a good day and Saliba looked shaky as well.
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News of the hour is that Kai Havertz has picked up a knee injury and it looks to be pretty bad. There’s no official club announcement yet Ornstein has reported it and he is usually right about Arsenal. He also said that we are now looking to address the Havertz’s unavailability by going back into the market. I don’t understand why we are after replacing a back up player but not my circus, not my monkey.
There’s another one of its kind development around Trossard. We have renewed his wages but not the contract. I don’t know who comes up with these kinds of ideas because we are talking about a player who we should have sold this summer to raise money. Now, it’s even more difficult to sell him because he earns more per week. It can mean two things though – either our LW reinforcement is over or we are going to sell Martinelli and didn’t want to have 3 new faces and the left wing. Still about 10 days to go, so we will know.
There’s another breaking news from some journos – Mikel was seen switching Saka and Madueke on the wings in training. I doubt he is going to play the best right winger in the world, out of his position. It could just be a tactic for more flexibility in the game where the wingers switch positions to create more chaos. Usually, Saka is surrounded by defenders and switching him to the LW can cause confusion to the opponents.
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Right, that’s all for today. We have a game coming up this Saturday and I will be back before then.
nothing definitive on the Havertz injury front yet, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t bring me the briefest of pleasure…of course I don’t wish injury upon anyone, but it’s clear that so long as he’s fit our manager will find a way to shoehorn him into the lineup regardless of the consequences…maybe Havertz’s knobby knees couldn’t handle the added muscle…it reminds me of the time I saw a 300 pound man trying to ride a giraffe…typically in those scenarios something’s got to give…of course it could be karma for our fucktard re-upping of Tross…looks like he’s the next man up behind VG, unless MA favours another one of his transfer missteps, Merino…the blunt instrument brigade rides again
as for the whole Saka /Noni switcheroo, we talked about this on the previous thread…it’s clear that teams are forcing Saka to the baseline, so at least if he’s on the left his crosses will come from his dominant foot…meanwhile it will give Noni a chance to get inside on his better foot against the soon-to-be weaker side coverage…unfortunately all this talk of crosses is just a logical extension of MA’s set piece or bust amateur hour tactics…now I know VG scored from a header in the preseason, but that’s not his or Kai’s bag, so it seems like more of a hope and chance coin toss gig…the only players we currently employ that have excelled with their heads in front of goal are Merino and Gabs, so we could be seeing a lot of the former going forward
based on MA’s recent history when it comes to making transfers late in a window, I’m more than a little concerned about who might be coming in…with Tross staying and things stalled on the outgoing front, with regards to Vieira, Zinchenko and the like, I fear we might make another short-sighted and rather ineffectual maneuver…I hear Sterling is still available
‘none of us enjoy being realistic in painting our negative reality views…I take no pleasure in being right”
spot on Tony…far too often we’re painted with too negative a brush, much in the same vein as during Wenger’s latter years, but all we want is for this team to become the best version of itself…if this couldn’t be achieved under Wenger, how the fuck is this going to be achieved under the tutelage of a poor man’s version…the only reason the results, standings-wise, have improved is because he’s been given a billion dollars to hopefully bridge the enormous gulf between himself and a real bona fide manager
there’s seemingly no end to the rumours about us going to market again to get a replacement for the now injured Havertz…if there’s any truth behind these rumours, it would be a huge mistake, especially in light of those who appear to be under consideration…now if we had a frontside player already on our transfer radar, then we should proceed accordingly, so long as the player involved is a world-class option with goals in his boots…if this is another stop-gap half-measure shit show, like Sterling, or a move that will negatively impact our ability to pivot at a later date, like with Tross, then we should avoid it like the plague
you just know our first call will be to Chelsea, after all we’ve got them on fucking speed dial…now I like Jackson much more than Havertz, but his rate of return in front of goal is barely above the Mendoza Line, and Nkunku has been a shadow of his former self since arriving in the PL, so thanks but no thanks…furthermore I don’t want the likes of DCL or Vlahovic or even Watkins, unless there’s a 6 months loan arrangement I’m totally unaware of
let’s face it, this motherfucker has had 47 windows and the GDP of a third-world country at his disposal, so if he needs to go to market again solely to replace someone who was a poor man’s luxury buy in the first place, then he should be sacked immediately…only those who actually believe our previous season was lost due to Kai’s hamstring injury would wrongly suggest otherwise
Btw “Biereth’s transfer value has risen from £62m to as high as £64m, according to CIES Football Observatory. That is higher than Gyokeres’ current worth, after the club spent £55m as a base fee to sign him from Sporting”.
another too stupid to live moment by Arteta et al
Looks like we have gone to Crystal Palace for Eze now after Havertz’s injury. Atleast something sensible we are gonna do, plus it comes on the cost of Spuds who were willing to trade Richarlison..
Lol
Vieira
Genuine question: did you actually see the 300 lb man riding the giraffe or was it the Ayahuasca talking?
The rejuvenated talk of Eze coming home is making me moist. I fucking love the kid, ever since I first saw him tearing up championship defenders when he was at QPR.
KP—with my very own eyes…in Kenya with members of my family…some super rich fuck paid a considerable sum to one of the guides…the giraffe half-buckled and sent him on a backwards slide that required some fairly serious medical attention…I’ve never seen an incident where every witness was so fucking elated about an injury to a fellow traveler
an Eze move would make perfeect sense, as it isn’t just a knee-jerk maneuver and we desperately need someone who can score from distance on occasion…maybe it would also signal the beginning of the end of Kai’s time here (insert praying hands emoji)
Guy’s
Big deep breath – and release.
Let’s be careful of the clickbait. How would Eze be a serious replacement for Havertz? Don’t let your desire to sign what is a very good player be lead by fake rumours because you want to believe them. Havertz’s on £300k per week we’ll never manage to unload him unless some Sheik in Saudi gets plastered.
There’s very little lively transfer news to go round with 10 days left of the TW – Isak and Eze are the two names that will be linked with everyone (we’ve been linked with both off the Havertz injury), Guehi will go to Liverpool.
Marc
My daughter’s shown me something that suggests Eze is a done deal. Fucking hell. If true I’d say the best bit of transfer business we’ve done this summer. Cannot wait to see this geezer in red and white.
Marc—I get your positional concerns regarding Eze, especially after the foolish re-upping of Tross, but maybe Eze’s hiring will force MA into making the required tactical changes…I still think it’s unlikely to happen and we’ll be more inclined to search for a loan agreement with some total afterthought, as that will be substantially cheaper and will likewise enable MA to shoehorn Havertz back into the lineup upon his return, but I’m holding out hope that another Sterling-esque move isn’t in the offing
Eze is almost done.
🚨❤️🤍 BREAKING: Eberechi Eze to Arsenal, here we go! Verbal agreement in place between all parties.
“””Crystal Palace to receive package in excess of £60m as Eze preferred #AFC over Spurs.
Arsenal win race over Tottenham, been in advanced talks for days but never sealed.””””
– Fabrizio Romano
Symbolically, this will have fucked Spurs’s season after 1 game. They’ll all be on Levy and the owner’s backs after this.
BBC stated that this “strategy is in stark contrast to the inertia that gripped Arsenal last season, when their failure to solve an obvious problem – namely sign a recognised striker – cost them dearly”
looks as if we’ve finally become the gazumper instead of the gazumpee (not sure this is really a word)…by taking a page out of the Chelski dark arts guide to transfer funny business we appear to have stolen Eze from our closest rivals right in the knick of time…now I do agree with Marc, in that I’m not sure how he actually fits within MA’s preferred formation, but I’m trying not to look a gift horse in the mouth, as he’s the first acquisition in some time who actually represents a logical attempt to redress a pressing need
for far too long we’ve relied on what can only be described as “vanilla” goal production, which has made it too easy for teams to simply park the bus against us…with no “real” outside of the box threat, teams can send double-teams out wide with little care or concern about how that might open up some space just beyond the box…with this addition, if deployed properly, they will do so at their own peril (slight exaggeration for dramatic effect)
now it’s up to our mental midget of a manager to figure out the particulars…of course that’s easier said than done considering all the short-sighted assurances MA’s gifted a whole host of undeserved candidates…to that I simply say fuck that shit…it’s big boy pants time, so I don’t give a flying fuck if Tross feels betrayed or Rice is pressured into playing his less preferred deeper role or Havertz has a hissy fit upon his eventual return when he discovers that his role has been greatly reduced…it’s time to get OUR best 11 on the pitch and have at it…I know it might never materialize, but I can just imagine how a front five of Saka, VG, Noni, Eze and Ode, with Rice tucked in behind in the 6-hole, could finally ressurect the beautiful game in North London…one can dream
The fruit bat 🦇 has struck. Big ups for Berta I guess. Could you imagine Edu having pulled all these transfers off? He’d still be stuck on selling Nuno Tavares for the right price.
You’re right Vieira. A new 3-2-5 combination would be great fun but can’t see it somehow.
Eze under this manager , waste of fucking time.
And where does he play?
And if he really wanted Eze , why has he not bought Eze 8 weeks ago , to introduce him into his style pre season. And whats Madueke all about..
Where is he playing ?
And the Brentford cart horse?
He is a cunt of a manager , who knows time is running out and clutching at straws
And there are cunts out there, who seriously think this moronic cunt will get another top managers job after he gets binned off here.
Art
2 things can be true at the same time.
Arteta most certainly IS a level 6 cunt (level 6 is the highest level that exists. Just wanted to clear that up).
And, in spite of that universal truth, Eze WILL succeed in N5. Imagine how ecstatic he’ll be this morning knowing he’s not going to Spurs.
I know it’s a bit heretical but I’m feeling glass half full about this squad. We have two top level XIs now. Depth and cover everywhere including 3 exceptionally talented teenagers.
No excuses left for my and Art’s friend. We should be going all guns blazing in all 4 competitions.
In essence, LiR readers are finally going to get what we want. Either masses of trophies or Arteta replacing Moyes at Everton, his Alma Mater. Could we even be lucky enough to have a combination of the two?
If we had Glasner , we might see the best of Eze in an Arsenal shirt, but with this cunt not a fucking chance.
Not a fucking chance.
I’d imagine that Tottenham fans are this morning feeling pretty similar to the moment when it was announced Sol Campbell was joining us….they must be gutted.
For me and many others Eze is a bigger signing than gyokeres , there is literally no negative to this signing.