Well, it’s the North London Derby time. One of the best teams in the world is going to get into sh*t and hope to come out clean. September is a tough month for us, we already have dropped points against Brighton – thanks to the referees, and we are going to play Tottenham away next Saturday with City coming up next. With a bit of dent in our confidence, we need the win. I will go into the matchday details in a later post and let me use this one to vent out my frustration.
Declan Rice received 2 yellows and is suspended for the Tottenham game. Why? Because a ref decided to fuck up. I am not getting into the discussion of whether it was right or wrong call. If it was right, Joao Pedro did the same and should have been sent off as well and the game should have continued 10v10.
First off, Veltman appeared to quickly take the free kick but the ball was still moving, which makes it illegal. Ref should have had a talk with both players and should have said play on. If you are hell bent on giving a card, because it’s an Arsenal player, you miss (or ignore, choose your words) the illegality of that free kick that was about to be taken. And why was no card given to Pedro when he kicked the ball halfway through?
At this stage, we don’t even want the referees to be RIGHT. We just want them to be CONSISTENT in their POOR REFEREEING.
Saka had to say this to BBC Sport :
I thought it was a bit harsh for us. We just want some consistency. Joao Pedro booted the ball halfway across the pitch in the first half and got nothing for it, and Dec got the slightest touch and was sent off. It is what it is; I don’t want to put the whole game on the referee as we still had chances to win it. It has been a good start. Today is a disappointment, but it is a long season.
source : bbc sports
Mikel Arteta On Declan Rice’s red card…
I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be. In the first half, there were two incidents and nothing happened. Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan, he turns around, doesn’t see the player coming and touches the ball. By law, he can make that call, but by law then he needs to make the next call which is a red card. So we play 10 against 11. This amazed me, at this level.
source:Arsenal.com
It’s such a shame that nothing has changed yet again this season. The ref was from Manchester and I don’t need to guess if it can affect your decisions on the field. It’s high time for neutral European referees who don’t care if you are playing in blue or red. The PGMOL is a circus that needs disbanding.
Right, that was on the ref. The next one is on Mikel.
We haven’t heard from Mikel yet but there were injury concerns for Odegaard and Timber. Declan Rice is out for sure because of the 2 yellows. It’s okay that we have Thomas Partey but we have seen drop in performance after the 60min mark. Against Tottenham, it’s going to be a high intensity game which require a very high level of concentration. Can Thomas do that for 90min? I doubt that. Jorginho, the same thing. So, we haven’t got a DM that can play 90 with the same intensity, our only RCM could be ruled out for the game and for LCM, we would be playing Merino – his first game in Arsenal color.
You see why I was worried when we sold ESR and loaned Vieira? Odegaard. If our captain picks up an injury, no one is their to do half his job. ESR was the closest, Vieira could have still covered but there’s no one else to cover that position. Declan Rice / Thomas Partey / Jorginho / Merino – fight for the other two positions.
Third – we needed a CF. We missed chances in the Brighton half. A proper CF would have converted atleast one. A scoreline of 1-1 with 10 minutes sounds like the best thing, but we could still have won had we converted.
Right, I was gone for a week celebrating my birthday in Jaipur, the pink city and a lot had happened before transfer window closed. We brought Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea. A move I would have hated if he was to be our first choice but everyone and their dog know that he is going to play those 20 min when Saka needs the rest. Mikel Merino finally made it, Calafiori was done deal long back, the deal for that Spanish goalkeeper collapsed so we loaned Neto for a season. Reiss Nelson left, Nketiah is gone, Vieira sent on loan and Aaron Ramsdale joined Southampton on a permanent deal.
A good clean up but I am not satisfied with the incoming. I don’t know we may have to start a fundraise to bring a CF to the club. That’s it for the day, I will be okay by next weekend and I’m sure we are going to enjoy a beautiful win against our arch rivals.
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Tony
Its not Arteta’s ear I want cut off!
NORG
Nice. I thought you’d be a fan.
Marc
I fully support your unsaid thinking. Head on a platter come our missing out on the PL trophy has a nice ring to it.
You can see the Kroenkes are badly informed because if El B went to City he’d have them as also rans in no time at all.
Perfect time to devalue one of our main competitors and the Kroenke’s once again can’t read the room.
I find the timing of the Arteta re-up to be an incredibly tone deaf maneuver on the part of ownership, much like when we handed him the managerial keys following his first half season…clearly our off-season wasn’t nearly as successsful as most would have hoped, in fact, if it weren’t for a last second deal we would have totally shit the bed when it came to addressing our most pressing needs up top, so why would this be the moment when Stan would move all his chips in…are we really concerned that another club would turn his head before season’s end, if so, maybe he wasn’t as committed as he’s always claimed to be…so either ownership blinked first or MA wasn’t even willing to bet on himself, the latter of which seems the most likely answer considering what has transpired in the business end of the season 3 years running…if he had the utmost faith in his supposed plan he would have waited until the end of the season, then if we actually turned the proverbial corner he would have held all the leverage…instead he undoubtedly pushed to have this done and dusted before a tricky fixture list, especially with all our potential injury concerns…sorry but I just don’t get the sense of urgency…let’s not forget that even though we’ve climbed the standings we’ve never been a less attractive landing spot for players of real consequence, which speaks directly to what footballers actually think about the man we’ve put in charge…we should never be so naive as to ignore the sentiments of those on the outside looking in
The Mirror online:
“Arsenal reportedly rejected the chance to sign Victor Osimhen this summer because they felt the Napoli striker was simply too expensive.
Osimhen was heavily linked with a move away from Napoli this summer, with the likes of Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli all interested in the 25-year-old’s services.
However, Osimhen failed to seal a permanent transfer and ended up joining Galatasaray on a season-long loan instead, with Napoli having already signed Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea as his replacement.”
Let me get this right, El B said he was too expensive and loaned Sterling who El B said he knew he had to loan Sterling after 3 seconds talking to him.
El B obviously missed the part of Galatasaray loaning Osimhen most like for peanuts because they are a bargain basement or bottom feeding club.
Now Osimhen or Sterling on loan? No brainier, right, it’s Osimhen.
Sounding like Sterling is starting Sunday and Spuds are only missing Bisouma.
Any thought TRVL …… anyone?
Did Osimhen choose Galatasaray over us?
Tony—it’s important to remember when the loan took place, as their respective windows were open later than ours…he was only allowed to leave on a loan once it was determined that he wasn’t going to PSG or one of the bigger PL clubs…there’s little to no chance that Napoli was going to allow him to go on loan to a team they felt had the means to buy him, as they will likely push for a similar type move next summer…as for all the chatter regarding his potential transfer fees, that appeared to have changed somewhat in the last couple of weeks of our window, especially around the time that Napoli was wrapping up a move for Lukaku…personally I feel that MA wasn’t interested in either Osimhen or Toney due to their alpha-type personalities, as we know full-well that he doesn’t want any real competition in the room…now I wouldn’t have paid 115+M for the Nigeriam Striker, but if that price was substantially reduced, which I believe was the case, it would seem negligent on our part to not have made a concerted effort to get that deal over the line…at some point our manager will need to make decisions that are based entirely on the betterment of the club as a whole without care or concern for his exceedingly fragile self…if not, we will undoubtedly repeat the mistakes of our more recent past, when Wenger’s insecurities negatively impacted our recruitment practices
Thanks TRVL that makes sense about the loan.
This throws a little more light on the subject:
“Osimhen has joined Gala on-loan from Napoli this season in a deal without a purchase option. The agreement includes a break clause in January for 10 clubs chosen by Osimhen. And Il Corriere dello Sport says his Napoli deal will also see it’s buyout clause cut on January 1 from €130m to €75”
Are we going to snap the player up at a buyout clause nearer to what we paid for Havertz at £63.3m in the January Window? Give for take a little with the exchange rate…. There can’t be any financial excuses, can there?
That would make sense but when does El B make sense or Edu in the TWs?
Wenger and El B have or had weak minds and let’s not confuse stubbornness for strength, it’s a big weakness in people like Wenger and El B who are scared of being challenged.
They cannot have their control threatened at all, where people with NPD (Narcissistic personality disorder) are the same or exhibit similar tendencies. I’m not saying El B or Wenger has NPD, just that successful people are often in spectrum and what the far raging issues the spectrum offers. More are affected today by microplastics and other pollutions.
The spectrum used well can be seen as a gift, such as with creatives: musicians and elite sports people along with actors and successful business people et al
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/narcissistic-personality-disorder-npd
Paranoia and fear of loss of control certainly affected Wenger and also El B in football management. The lack of alphas in the dressing room back then and now confirms it. Wenger didn’t replace the strongest voices of the Invincibles with strong or stronger voices because he didn’t want his word/world challenged
The general conception from Romford Pele’s book, and others from that era, was that Wenger’s tactics were , “Go out and express yourself mon amis”. They did to incredible effect.
Big Tone, Vieira, Petit, mad Jens, Henry and others managed themselves and their games all had strong voices where they berated any player falling below what was required to win the game. Those days were a charmed management for Wenger because the invincibles knew what they had to do and did it.
The status quo was perfect until the wheels feel off at Old Trafford where we finally lost.
Then, the rot set in. Cesc and RVP came and went because of Wenger’s lack of winning mentality and ambition through buying ‘yes men’ who fawned at Wenger’s feet admiringly at all times. After all, 4th was a trophy and a DoF was someone who directed traffic or similar. Wally Walcott was benched for saying Spuds, I think it was, who wanted it more than us.
Back to this weekend with tomorrow’s game, and what currently looks to be issues in our MF and attack.
Looking at the grey or bleak areas, who’s going to play LB?
If Zinchenko, then he will be Spuds MOTM.
Havertz at 8? Ange will think Xmas has come early with Son will be preplanning what to do with his goal bonuses.
We will be porous down our left because Partey can’t marshal the whole MF, as El B seems to think. Ode did a lot of defensive work with Rice, so Partey will either have the slow Jorginho or Nwaneri to create time and space for to create service for our front 3.
It Partey is expected to do this role, he will tire by 60 minutes leaving gas centrally for Spuds to exploit.
The huge creative void created by Ode’s absence is the main worry.
I assume Sterling will play 9, but is only 172cm, and Jesus is 175cm, so 2 aerially challenged midgets to get on the end of crosses against towering CBs. However, both have Oscar material with their diving off to a fine art, so maybe the plan is a pen?
I don’t have a good feeling about this game. My wobbles have been collied where I think we get lucky at best with a draw.
No prediction from me, just unanswered questions:
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=unmanswered+questions+song&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:2b4c7492,vid:lrz3F_bDVg8,st:0
KP
Are you home or away games this weekend?
Osimhen going to Gala is a good thing as his valuation has a 90% chance to further drop. If he scores less then 20 goals in the Turkish league that would have a negative effect. If he scores in the mid 20s it still will have the stigma of “it is the Turkish league”. So, unless he scores a record number or is instrumental in Gala winning the EL, his value will be less next summer then it is now. However regardless of his valuation then, Chelsea being the circus they are, will splash cash as they may feel we need a CF more desperately then Arsenal and will outbid us. It then depends on what Chelsea can offer in Europe and if that makes a difference to Osimhen if the salary being offered to him by Chelsea is obscene.
Kilroy
Not sure father Todd has enough say if reports are to be believed that another entity owns 61% of the Chavs. I think Todd would have spent big to get Osimhen, but with Maudrake looks as promising from the game I saw him in. Easy to see why Sterling was past his Chavs sell by date.
I get the impression the main share holders are not too happy with the money wasted on players like Mickey Mudflaps etc.
Could still lose out to Manure’s next manager as ten Hag looks to be on borrowed time or Arene Slott.
LIR
What’s the thinking for todays games: wins for City, Pool and Villa – all home games?
Can Southampton the the game too far for TH?
We could be looking at being 7/8th going into tomorrow’s game where a Spuds win could pout them ahead of us on GD.
Nothing but a win is needed, but I still feel we scrape a draw……
Manure playing the way I like toothless in attack and very suspect at the back with Dalot playing like Zinchenko.
Southampton by far the better team.
Posters curse Manure 1 up after Obama saves a pen.
Tony
I can’t see beyond comfortable wins for City and Liverpool with a win for Villa against an Everton team who look like they’re going down.
Dyche has to be the first manager to get the bullet this season, another loss today and 0 points from 4 games would surely send the owners into a position where they have to act.
As for our game I have no idea – we’ve been really average this season, will be missing 2 of our best players and have a manager who’s usual approach is to play safe for a point.
I think the deciding factor will be the Spuddies – play well with the right approach and they could cause us problems rather than us going and stamping our authority on the match. They’ll be a lot riding on Saka going forward and Saliba and Gabs in defence.
Check this shit out:
“Arsenal’s reported willingness to let William Saliba depart for Real Madrid indicates a bold strategy by Mikel Arteta. The club’s intention is to secure Aurelien Tchouameni, a player they believe can significantly enhance their midfield. Saliba, a key figure in Arsenal’s recent successes, could be sacrificed to achieve this goal. The potential trade underscores Arsenal’s commitment to elevating their squad to compete at the highest level. As Fichajes notes, Arsenal are keen on bringing Tchouameni into their ranks, viewing him as a crucial addition. The French midfielder has impressed with his performances, and Arteta is reportedly eager to integrate him into his tactical setup. “Arsenal are reportedly ‘willing to offer William Saliba’ to Real Madrid to secure the signing of midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni”
read this last evening and just had to share it with everyone…can you even imagine a more delusional take, considering what we all know to be true in regards to Saliba’s potential Real interest…only a paid hack would even attempt to spin this script in MA’s favour…so let me get this straight, getting Tchouameni would elevate our squad, even if we lost one of the premier CBs in world football…only a moron or a brainwashed slobbering fool could ever draw such nonsensical conclusions…let’s hope this isn’t the actual planting of an early seed, so as to better prepare us for Saliba’s departure next summer
TRVL
Arteta has to keep the “we’re one or two players away from winning the PL” thing going otherwise people are going to expect him to actually win things.
He’s gone through the whole team and spent almost €800 million – he’s now got to start selling players to then have to replace them.
Odd’s Saka’s next to City? Assuming City aren’t kicked out of the PL etc.
Liverpool losing with 10 odd minutes of normal time remaining – didn’t expect that.
Marc—I kind of thought it could be a possibility on the heels of the break considering how Salah’s inner circle used that time to spread nonsense about his future…probably why he’s been both incredibly selfish and shitty today
TRVL
Looks like the international break has left quite a few teams half asleep.
makes sense…guys are just revving things up then you send them out to play some typically dire football…international breaks are a form pox this early in the season, except for those teams who have little to no players getting called into action, as they can use that time to actually work on shit
TRVL/Marc
I’m numb at the possibility of losing the potentially best RCB in the world to fix the 10-year 8 AM conundrum where Xhaka was never the player. Saliba currently is irreplaceable at RCB in the PL; he would fit straight into City’s line up and obviously RM’s.
I’m not surprised and I’m sure Ebenezer Kroenke will love the lack of money used in such a deal or maybe the purse strings have been tightened and hence why no Osimhen or similarly priced elite potential 9.
We will have to see how this unfolds, but it appears more and more El B’s PR spin doctors are using the press to get fan approval as they did for his new contract blowing smoke up El B’s arse. Except for Souness; who wants to see success from our great pretender the season from our serial loser manager with one covid FA cup in 5 years.
Marc, what will the mood in the stadium if Willie goes?
El B never really wanted Saliba and made it known in public only to get severe egg on his face when Willie turned out to be elite, now he wants to part exchange Saliba.
We’ll have to see what transpires, but thanks TRVL for sharing; what a story to bring out on NLD day! If Ange had put the story out, you’d have to say brilliant shithousery for throwing possible destabilizing vibes at us and our starters today.
The irony is it’s El B’s crew shooting themselves in the feet with the story. Shame it wasn’t a home game………..
What to make of yesterday’s football?
Pool slipping up gave Arne a taste of just how any team can beat another on their day even in someone else’s back yard, and there is no tougher place than Anfield to visit with Newcastle and United close for the tribal hostility.
That said, I liked Forest under Steve Cooper, who I often thought would make a brilliant psyco actor in a horror flick. However, Cooper laid the foundations at Forest, and now Santo has improved Forest and made them into a tough team to beat, as was seen yesterday. It didn’t help that Salah’s footballing ego got in the way rendering him easy to be put in the defender’s back pocket. I really hope Salah plays like that against us and Calafiori is fit and up to the task. Timber won’t be!
We all said that this season teams will have improved where even the dire Dyche managed 2 shots on target, both finding the back of the net where Villa needed 8 to score 3 to secure the points.
It’s fair that from you both that you’re right in thinking the international break has taken its toll with another break hangover, and there’s another on in about 4 weeks. It’s shameful that a brilliant league gets marred by international by way of lost form for whatever reason or injuries.
I watched an old Have I Got New For You recently when they went to town on Blatter, it was hilarious.
I digress.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13847377/Arsenal-Tottenhams-combined-north-London-derby.html
Something to read with your morning coffees where we try to work out what is the usual gamesmanship where players do the equivalent of Lazarus from the treatment tables.
Don’t be surprised if Ode comes trotting out of the tunnel with his laser focus and bursting with creative flair waiting to be unleashed on the unsuspecting Spuds. That was my dream last night whilst enjoying some tasty hybrids.
https://www.premierinjuries.com/teams/arsenal
Calafiori is 50/50 and Jesus has been passed fit. Sick-note Tierney has no return date from injury; shocker!
The reality is it will be Jorginho as TRVL and I wondered during the week. I’d prefer Nwaneri.
As a guess El B will rock up at the toilet bowl with this line up:
Maya
White – Saliba – Gabs – Timber
Jorginho/Nwaneri – Partey – Havertz
Saka – Sterling/Jesus – Marts/Trossard
I think Sterling who El B knew in the first few seconds that Sterling had to be signed on loan, will get the nod ahead of Jesus and Trossard instead of Marts……
What say you guys?
What I do know is we need 3 points to put us back on track with Pool who uncharacteristically dropped 3 points yesterday. In the past we fluff our lines when it matters most to take advantage to keep our “Nearly men” bon tag.
This afternoon we need to add 3 points to be one point above Pool and 2 behind City and ready for our away trip to the Etihad.
Take 3 points there and then who knows?
Drop 3 points and we end up where Spuds will join us in 6th, and then going to Manchester will be a much more different and difficult proposition mentally and emotionally.
No amount of dumb & dumber pop psychology from El B is going to work in the away City game. Simple fact is we need to be better than City on the day.
I see a draw today and have done all week. Ode is a huge miss, so we’ll play for a point, as we did at City last season and damage limitations rather than a positive winning attitude.
We’ll end up level on 8 points with Forest, but the GD remains to be seen.
See you at the game lads.
Tony—for this story to have any basis in reality everyone would have to completely disregard all the rumours involving Saliba’s Madrid-based aspirations…only then would it be possible for anyone to actually believe that this was all part of some carefully constructed master plan, instead of a pathetic attempt to finagle a narrative that could easily be perceived as an indictment on his capabilities as a manager of any real import…I just can’t imagine any manager being so fucking arrogant/asinine that they would devise a plan that included the following moves:
(1) pay 105M for a world-class DM, then instead of deploying him there we actually play him in a position where he’s a rather average option…after all, how much would you pay the Hammers if you knew all along that he wanted to play further up the pitch? certainly not 100+M
(2) spend another 40+M, a year later, on a player best-suited for the more advanced 6 role, then proceed to play him in a less favouable deeper-lying position simply so you could appease the rather fantastical whims of your 100+M DM recruit
(3) then 12 months later trade one of the best CBs in world football in order to shore up the very position you’ve already paid 150M to redress…you’ve now not only lost your best defender, you’ve likewise spent the functionally equivalent of 250M to have an undersized DM, who I’m still not convinced is a top-notch option, Rice in and around the box and Merino squarely on the bench
all that said, I’m seriously praying that this story has no merit whatsoever
as for today’s fixture, I still think we’ll be too much for a side that will struggle to dominate the midfield, especially if we spread their backers out wide…as such, if we don’t give the ball away cheaply in crucial areas of the pitch, we should be able to curtail their opportunities…of course, it will likewise depend on who’s ultimately available and how MA handles any potential selection decisions…I would suspect that if some key players are missing he’ll be very conservative in his approach, which could make for a boring affair…as a result, I’m heading out for a bit of a late night gig, then sleeping in, so I won’t be watching this in real time…looking forward to the running commentary though…Cheers
Agreed TRVL it depends on galaxy brain’s selection thought process or lack of one we all know about. I’m not betting against a typical city away, risk adverse blueprint, El B always turns to when he knows he’s going to be outthought, which this season has been every game we scraped wins in this season.
We are lucky Spuds have had a slow start and lack cohesion on the pitch with Son looking off the pace; the loss of Kane has negatively affected Son’s game, so let’s hope to day he doesn’t find his best from again.
I’ll happily add some commentary if you’re ok about spoilers but it’s a big game globally so not easy to not see the score or a well meaning completely Brahms & Liszt is bursting to tell you the score risking a rear naked choke. lol.
Enjoy your night, keep one ready for the throbbing head; it’s where the Venty is perfect and keep fingers crossed for once El B knows what he is doing.
Can we get a collective Gooner “Hallelujah” just before kick off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8AWFf7EAc4
Outside of the Havertz selection which I don’t like at all but realise he’s an undroppable today’s lineup is about as strong as we could go.
I really think we need to start seeing Timber look better at left back – that’s no criticism of the player more the manager playing a RB at LB and still persisting with this fucking atrocious inverted full back bollocks.
Marc
Trossard has never been a good fit at 8. It’s not his natural game and Rice is chosen who himself is far from idea no matter what Rice sees himself as.
Same as Havertz isn’t a natural 9: needs too many chances. Timber at LB again not natural for him.
Jorginho playing for Ode will be targeted so it depends when he loses possession?
I’m sticking to a draw hoping for a win.
TRVL
The UFC this weekend is in the Sphere my first look inside with my AV room.
Seriously impressive as my projector updates to 8K. My room sound is impressive.
Tony
I wasn’t praising the selection just given Arteta’s piss poor performance its about what we’ve got.
Of course we should have a proper LB at LB, a Striker up front and maybe a home grown attacking midfielder called ESR coming in for Ode.
Why the fuck are we wearing that awful kit? We always wear red for NLDs, home or away.
Marc
I was agreeing with you in my cockeyed way🙄
For some reason we were forced to change our usual red shirt
Off we go then
Spuds looking lively with first shot on goal.
We are really missing Ode’s guile and movement. Jorginho is pedestrian and slow.
Saliba on a yellow on 15. Had to be good for 80 minutes now
Saliba on an yellow, filthy Spuds trying to draw him into another foul.
Head down Martinelli cannot see where to shoot into the goal.
Solanke is intelligent.
If interference with goalkeeper is not called, oops I would say the ball crossed the goal line ,in the air before Raya clawed it back in
Timber is very strong. So has a neat physical way of obstructing an opponent without drawing a foul.
But
Of course ElB pois é um bastardo and incopetent
Timber lucky not to see red. The lad can be rash and is a hothead.
Could see a red for 2 yellows here.
Good to see you Hooper.
End to end stalemate and getting stale from both sides. Halftime needed.
Looks like there is no VAR today. Timber had his spurs down on Pedro Porro foot.
Lucky
Ref’s gone card happy if he doesn’t cool down at half time we’re going to see a red.