Martin Zubimendi is a done deal. His announcement is imminent and we would have a technical, good defensive midfielder in our ranks. I am, for the sake of positivity, assuming that he will do a better job than either of Rice or Partey in that midfield.
But a lot other things worries me.
We have failed to come up with an agreement with Partey for an extension. Arteta has got 6+ years as an Arsenal manager and nothing to show for it apart from 2nd places finishes and a Champions League semi final spot. Financially, we have done very well but as fans, we are out there to see our club, players lifting trophies and not read the balance sheet. If Zubimendi fails to deliver (he is coming from a different league) or doesn’t do well enough like Partey, we would be in a mess. If Zubimendi breaks down at any point of time, we will play more than 60 games, who is going to play that role? Yes, we can shift Declan Rice but that would require you to play either of Merino or Havertz as the attacking option and that’s compromising 2 places for one player. Lets stop crapping about Declan Rice’s versatility. He is either defensive or attacking midfielder – whichever you prefer – but I feel he is more suited in moving forward and certainly better than either of Havertz or Merino in that role. I think we should have kept Partey, even if it costed a bit more than what we wanted, because getting even an understudy would cost money and there’s other areas of pitch which we need to prioritise.
Next one in the list of frustration is Gabriel Martinelli’s situation. I don’t know if there’s any truth behind it but Sky is reporting that Bayern are showing interest in him and 50m GBP is what we need to let him go. Ok, but that’s very bad. We are talking about a player who is regular in Brazil national team, have played 36, 35, 33 games for Arsenal in Premier League in last 3 season which also makes him started for Arsenal, and scored 15, 6, 8 goals respectively. The outputs have reduced in last 2 season but the reason is not because he is shite, but because he has been asked to stick to the side line, draw out 2/3 defenders and allow the right side of the pitch to be the battleground where we can dominate. He is doing his job, while being available for majority of the season, is still 24 years of age and has got goals in him. Name me another player who possess all these characteristics and whom can get for 50m! Also, if you are A Rodrygo fan, let me disappoint you a bit. He has scored 9, 10, 6 in his last 3 season in Madrid. There’s absolutely no improvement if we are selling Marts for 50m and getting Rodrygo for 70m. If you want to strengthen the LW, sell Trossard and get Rodrygo anyway. Show some muscle because you are one of the biggest club in the world.
Third, we haven’t decided about the CF position yet. We were talking with Sesko but seems he is asking a lot of money per week. Gyokeres and United love story was short enough and if we don’t land Sesko, we would probably go for Gyokeres. Frankly, I am more than happy if we do. You judge a CF by the number of goals, everything else is secondary. Haaland runs in the box, gets the ball and converts it into a goal which wins games. Gyokeres has better numbers. Do we want to pay for a potential who could be the best striker in the world, or someone who has scored 29 and 39 goals in his last 2 seasons? Mikel loves a player in the mould of Lacazette, who is better in hold up play and in position, but Aubameyang wins the game. If you know what I mean.
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So, yeah. We had a midfield problem so we are out buying Zubimendi but letting go Partey. It does fix the problem a bit because we are replacing a 32 year with 26 year old but we would struggle the same if he gets injured or there’s a drop in his form.
We have a LW that is not delivering like the RW, but that’s because our attack are mostly from the right side and Saka is allowed freedom. Replacing Martinelli with Rodrygo will do nothing while we shell 20million extra for it.
CF – we still can’t fucking decide, can we?
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And one of the Merino and Havertz will be redundant because I don’t see a world where Zubi and Rice sits on the bench, and if a CF comes in, one of them needs to go. FOR SOME POUNDS, please.
TRVL
I understand your thinking re Rodrigo and VG, and can only hope they work for us if we buy them, especially if Eze is added to the summer additions.
As I said in an earlier post how does MA shuffle that pack and getting a starting line up with players in their best position, such as Rice at 6, then what happens to Zubi?
VG @ 9, then where does Havertz play?
A young Spain CB as back up to Saliba and Big gabs. We have Kiwior who did well last season, sick note Tomi, and White with his Bambi on ice playing style. Why do we need this kid? What about our Hale End CBs in waiting?
Rodrigo as LW, what happens to our Gabs who has been left to rot on the LW with little support because Havertz and Rice are not 8s?
I’m assuming here that Rodrygo isn’t going to play RW instead of Saka?
I also see that he can also play as a 9, but so can Saka and Marts given the chance. Add Ethan to that list but he’s not really fancied by MA for some unfathomable reason, but can play across the front 3 or false 9 and score with both feet inside and from outside the box.
When I look at Slot’s buys none come close to our choices: all are well above quality wise.
Ditto the Chavs and City’s rebuilding efforts all seem far more cohesive than the 2 we are wanting to buy with negative press reports regardless of whether true or not as there is never smoke without fire.
So our window currently looks like this:
Kepa from Chavs
VG untried in the PL at 27 who thinks he’s the 2nd coming of Haaland.
Rodrygo unwanted by RM by a manager I rate highly after scoring 14 goals last season I believe?
Eze is the only real star of the current window’s potential buys.
So, I’d only buy Eze: I’d prefer Kudus or Bowen instead of Rodrygo from the hammers, as they can play false 9s if Havertz is still a star only in MA’s eyes.
Obviously, I want Isak as our 9, but it’s never going to happen, so I’d settle for your previous choices sans VG and Rodrygo.
All good here with Junior and myself, thanks were are off on a 5 night road trip next week looking at properties to buy from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Lincoln to Somerset.
Hope all good for you and family now summer is upon us.
R.I.P Diogo Jota who did in a car accident in Spain yesterday just days before his wedding.
died*, but 2 weeks after his wedding*
Apparently Jota’s brother was also in the car and was killed – terrible for the family.
To be a complete callous bastard and to turn this to football watch Liverpool identify a target they didn’t think they’d be needing and sign a replacement before Arteta gets his head out of his arse and signs the striker we’ve needed for years now.
Tony—what a horrible situation…something quite similar happened in the NHL commmunity last year when a well-known player, Johnny Gaudreau, and his brother were killed by a drunk driver while riding bikes in New Jersey…his then pregnant wife gave birth to their 3rd child a few months later…I was always a fan of Jota, as he had a real knack for scoring goals early on in his career…this seemed to dissipate a bit in more recent times, likely due to his health issues, injury-wise that is, and the amount of competition he faced for minutes…obviously my condolences go out to his family and friends…RIP
Tony—in regards to this window I read a rather revealing article by the BBC, which addresses some of the potential reasons why we’ve floundered during this window thus far:
(1) relationships with other teams/players—it appears as if the Sesko stumbling block revolves around the notion that Edu/Ayto had worked tirelessly to cultivate a relationship with the player, his agent and his current club, which was negatively impacted by their departures…once again MA can’t seem to sell himself or his multi-phased project to anyone of consequence without giving them the world
(2) MA’s previously transfer window failures/missteps, which cost the club mightily, have placed us in the unenviable position of requiring repayment plan arrangements that aren’t selling-club friendly (unless the deals are on the lower end of the scale like with Kepa and Norgaard)…in fact, we had to pay above the release clause amount for Zubi, so that Sociedad would accept a repayment plan…this makes it inifinitely more diffcult to dictate terms or have any leverage…as such, this would make any Rodrygo, Leao, Nico move incredibly problematic, unless they publicly declared their desire to leave
this is undoubtedly why Eze’s name has risen up our supposed wishlist in recent days, as Palace are a “selling” club, so it might be easier to get them to bend a bit on their current stance…right now they want any interested parties to pay his 68M release clause in full…furthermore, it’s likely why players like Maghnes Akliouche, from Monaco, and a few potential Chelsea rejects, such as Jackson, Noni, Nkunku are being bandied about, as more favourable fee terms could be had
(3) our inability to sell—so far everyone who has left garnered us sweet fuck all…we still haven’t sold Zinchenko, Vieira, Nelson, Lokonga etc, we can’t sell our constantly injured fucks like Jesus and Tomi, and we seem unwilling to move off players MA either doesn’t favour, like Marts and Kiwior, or does favour, like Havertz, Tross, Merino and potentially even Cala…now I would keep Marts, but just not sure he will find a way to thrive here so long as MA leaves him on an island
this is why I’m so pissed about us bringing in periphery pieces before addressing our front line, as that’s certainly not going to help with our current supposed financial predicament…there’s no doubt that Kroenke wanted some more tangible rewards from his earlier investments (ie the Rice and Havertz window), like with his other sporting franchises, who all won as a result of the uptick in backing
simply put, we might be screwed
So Partey’s been charged with 5 counts of rape and 1 count of sexual assault – the police investigation has been going on for 2 and a half years and the club knew.
Now its tricky grounds for the club to ban a player who hasn’t been found guilty of something but there are ways to get round disclosing it and still dropping him (carrying an injury that won’t heal for example) – you have to keep paying him but that’s life.
Its bad enough that we carried on playing him but why the fuck did we either offer him a new contract as has been reported or allow stories to circulate that we had made an offer if we didn’t?
Hi Marc
His contract has expired – he is a free agent or should I say not so free agent. Tw0 and a half years is a long time – perhaps the old bill got in quick just in case he went to Saudi.
Two players killed and family destroyed yesterday because they wanted to drive a lamborgini over a more apt car.
A player charged with rape today.
Thats is why, it’s our duty to call these players and managers CUNTS.
The last thing, they need is more praise for their overinflated egos.
Cunts.
Can I let you all in on a little art project I’ve been involved in? I did it imagining that the entire T Partey/Tea bag issue has somehow gone away. How wrong was I?
Anyway, building on the TPartey/Tea Party theme, I refurbished on old wooden tray, painted it in bright colours and carried out some very amateurish decoupage (a french decorative technique that involves sticking 2d images onto something and sticking them down with an overlay of lacquer or varnish) . I’m rather proud of it and my friends think it’s highly original. But I’m in two minds about showing it to the wider world given what’s happened.
In essence, there’s a bust of TP in Arsenal colours with a speech bubble coming out of his mouth saying,
‘You put the kettle on, and I’ll do the teabags ‘.
Tragicomic, and some cunts are bound to suggest it’s tasteless, but artistically I’m very pleased with it.
Ambarish – if I email you a photo of said item, would you publish it on here as an art piece by Kroenkephobe?
Any feedback welcome. AF – I sense you’d have no problem with it.
It’s getting awfully messy around these parts with the news of Partey’s pending trial, Ethan’s hesitation to re-up without assurances and another player, Tomi, being taken off the book with nothing to show for it…no wonder our little dictator does everything within his power to maintain a closed shop…it might be a major reason why it’s so hard to convince anyone to join on, unless you’re running from the law or you have an unusual fixation with not playing in your best position
first things first, why the fuck were we even engaging in any potential re-up talks with Partey in light of his circumstances…there’s little doubt in my mind that the club were privy to some “inside” information pertaining to the validity of any claims for some time now, which begs the question, why didn’t they remove themselves from the equation much earlier…regardless, I hope he’s not guilty of the crimes in question, albeit the way in which things have played out suggests otherwise…the only silver lining in this shit show just might be KP’s soon to be revealed teabgging art installation…all I know is I don’t want to be sitting on drip row for that unveiling
as for Ethan, although there are some conflicting reports about the hold-up on his re-up, there’s clearly a reason beyond his participation in the Under21s for the delay…if I were him I would want some ironclad assurances, especially after being left for dead once Saka returned to the lineup…furthermore, MA has a horrible reputation when it comes to his man management skills involving academy pieces and the like…if it were up to him the only “homer” talent in our lineup would be Saka, as we all know how he’s dealt with numerous of our young prospects, including Saliba, ESR, Marts and several potential blue chippers who signed elsewhere…besides what does MA know about someone who can create and finish without the need of his amateurish tactics
finally, this whole Tomi situation has been a long time coming…he should have been sold off 3 injuries ago when he still had some value in the open market…now that we’ve seen how it looks with others on the left and right(Timber & Skelly) it’s glaringly obvious that he was never going to make the grade…if you want to fully comprehend the difference between how MA treats “his” picks versus those of others, just look at the manner in which he dealt with Tierney and Tomi…even though the former was a vastly superior LB, MA’s PR minions constantly attacked KT for his lack of availabiity, whereas there was never a peep about the latter…ultimately they both went out the Arteta way, free of charge
on a positive note, I finally saw some articles talking about the prospect of Havertz being sold…Praise be, albeit I’m not buying it just yet
btw Noni Madueke appears to be balking at our advances, as he wants to start and he knows he’s not doing so in his preferred position on the right, unless Saka were to get injured, and he wants nothing to do with being another MA-created shoehorned guinea pig…good for him
Cheers
TRVL
I’m not surprised Nwaneri is stalling – he seemed to be suddenly dropped for no reason towards the end of last season and now we’re being linked with Eze.
As you say Arteta’s record bringing youth players through is dire – it all seems to come back to a combination of favourites and not being able to accept that anyone else might get credit for something.
I think this coming season is going to be one of the most closely fought for a while now – City will be stronger, Liverpool are making good moves and at least one of Chelsea, Villa, Newcastle will be better next season.
At least we’ve signed a back up keeper.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-arsenal-statement-thomas-partey-35505032
TRVL
Agreed with your earlier post regarding the BBC article just typical of MA and his transfers or lack of quality transfers to take us to a new level and really compete for a PL title.
3 years now as also rans doesn’t cut it at all with our specialist in football management failure with coming up to 6 years now.
It makes me wonder exactly what Josh has learnt about the PL in the last 5 years at least? Judging by the same mistakes being made each season, I’d say Josh has very little to zero understanding of the PL and The Arsenal as a club in general, especially understanding the simplicity of TWs where players are our assets to develop and improve their values.
Does Josh override Tim Lewes or is he just ambivalent about the PL and MA? Can Josh see that elite players don’t want to come to us and play for a loser?
My first Partey question is why it’s taken 2+ years to charge Partey? 2nd question is why did the police wait until after Partey had left the club before charging him?
I hope Partey is innocent, but nothing makes sense with these charges. If he’s guilty, I hope the 2 women can get closure.
What I find difficult to understand is how 2 women can be raped multiple times? After the first alleged rape surely you stay away from the perpetrator? I guess we need more details here………
As for Ethan, he has 2 choices, first is to wait it out for MA to be fired being consigned to the bench until we are free of our professional loser manager – facts are facts! 85222 are the results of a loser manager!
We will be 3rd or lower this coming season, where I’ve never been wrong in 5+ years of MA not winning a Pl or CL.
Secondly, Ethan should leave to work with a manager who can develop him not hold him back.
I’d hate to see Ethan go, but what choice does he have with a clueless manager when it comes to spotting talent?
Our last 5 years of TWs tells that historic story as we are still mystified why we have failed to buy a quality 8 for 5 years and an elite 9 for way too long? Olisse last season was a huge miss and BM’s good fortune because we bought Rice who sold himself as an 8 to MA. Isak was another along with many others.
Now we are looking at Eze, but I’m not holding my breath, as Arteta is running up a vast number of players he could have signed ALA Wenger with Ronaldo and others et al.
MA should have this as his moniker:
“Arteta’s the name and not winning the PL or CL is my game.”
Any other monikers you guys want to add?
Arteta – I’m a wanker and I dont care
Kroenkephobe
04 Jul 2025 21:08:57
Any feedback welcome. AF – I sense you’d have no problem with it.
Not if it does not look like Arteta the cunt Sir
Go ahead Art F is a sport and a great guy.
We are indebted for allowing us to vent out pent up steam in a quick monosyllabus
Tony
Superb and rounded piece.
Er..you could have fitted in A the C*¥$t somewhere
Arteta – It’s everyone else’s fault, I’m amazing.
Great comments Tony & Marc!!
according to Sky we’re in a more advanced stage in our potential pursuit of Noni Madueke, which is likely why he came on as a late sub yesterday shoehorned on the left…it’s not as if I haven’t seen flashes from this player, in fact, in a handful of appearances, last year and the season prior, he looked like the best player on the pitch, but he simply lacks the kind of consistency one requires from a starter at this level…now the player himself hasn’t requested a move, even knowing our interest and the fact that Chelsea has bought in several frontline players over the offseason, so to suggest in any way that he’s had his head turned would be nonsensical…keep in mind, he’s had 156 appearances on the right and only 11 on the left, which perfectly fits into MA’s typical backwards script
why the fuck can’t we seem to conduct any significant business outside.of London or fucking San Sebastian…I’ll tell you the fuck why because MA has wasted so much of our resources on perpiphery pieces and square peg in round hole coin tossers, he can’t do business with anyone playing hardball, financially-speaking, or with players of consequence, as they simply don’t trust his particular “process” without ironclad assurances and astronomical wage packages…frankly, I don’t blame them one iota
of course, our situation would be vastly different if we could make some fucking money selling players on and if our overthinking wannabe manager would recruit players who actually fit our most pressing needs brief…what a novel fucking approach
so until such a time as we either rid ourselves of this twat or somehow convince our absentee landlord to stick his hand in his own pocket, we’re only going to conduct business with (1) clubs we can slow-play “bully” over a couple months or even years, (2) Chelsea, who have so much money they don’t seem to give a shit about terms once they’ve giving up on a player, or (3) minnows/financially-stunted clubs, who’s players just might be desperate enough to push for a move without a checklist of demands
Another Chelsea scrote on its way. Thats two so far in this window alone , with still another month or so to go.
The cunt so fucking predictable and one dimensional.