Before going into the ruthlessness discussion, lets see what the league allows in terms of who you can register and who can play for a club.
Premier League allows you to submit a 25 player squad, which shouldn’t have more than 17 players not fitting the home grown criteria. A homegrown player is one who has, by the age of 21 years, been registered with a club in England or Wales for three seasons at least. We had 11 players who qualified as homegrown in the first half team we submitted to Premier League.
James Hillson (GK in case you are wondering)
Gabriel Martinelli
Reiss Nelson
Eddie Nketiah
Aaron Ramsdale
David Raya
Declan Rice
Bukayo Saka
William Saliba
Emile Smith Rowe
Ben White
That’s 3 more than the required criteria. I was under the impression that we would need to replace ESR, Nketiah and Nelson if they leave but I was wrong. We are in surplus, and it makes more sense to me now that we are adamant in selling the likes of ESR. We get the money, we buy a player from other league and he improves us massively. It’s only the money we need to worry about.
Arteta loves his buys. We are only selling the academy products, where we show the transfer fees as 100% profit. It gives us the leverage to spend more.
Coming back to ‘ruthlessness’, how is it going to help?
We can all agree that Nketiah can’t make into the playing XI of a title winning team. He is the only ‘true’ CF we have, and yet he falls behind the likes of Trossard (a winger), Gabriel Jesus (a winger), Trossard (a winger, again), Havertz (played in midfield most of the time). He scored 4 goals in 5 consecutive games at one point but those were more of a highlights than glimpse. We know by now, we need an upgrade on him. It’s rumoured that we are asking for 50 m euros for him from Merseille, I doubt they are going to pay that much but anything above 30m is a good business.
ESR – one of my favorites from the recent batch; always saw in him the glimpse of Wilshere but he had more injury records in common than performance. I am still baffled we are selling him and think we can make him deputize / compete Odegaard. But if I think it logically, he has been mostly injured in last 2 season. He had a great run in 2021-22 season where he scored 10 goals and assisted 2 in 33 games he played. He has never been the same since, mostly injured. As much as I love him, we can’t afford to have passengers in the team. A 3 month injury can be expected in the most physically demanding sport, but not being available for 3/4th of the season, in 2 consecutive seasons is not going to help. We have stuck with broken players in the past, we have lost their value and we have regretted it later. Lets get that money and move on.
Nelson – again an emotional attachment from the Arsenal fanbase. He is one of our own, gave us some moments of brilliance but can’t really make into the playing XI. 20 million and we should thank him for his service.
I doubt Mikel is bringing three players. We will promote from academy. We will groom them for a year or two, in games where we can afford to. Nwaneri is going to get a lot of chances this season. We will announce our squad not long now and we can discuss it more, but I see it as an opportunity to get some academy players in the mix, give them game time when we are 3-0 up against the likes of Bournemouth or Forrest and let them be seen on the camera. If they turn out to be Saka, we thank the gods. If not, we sell ’em for 15-20m and move on.
Mikel learnt from Pep. Pep does fuck all in grooming a player. Pep doesn’t believe in waiting for a year to see a player develop. He spends 50m+ on back ups. This premier league rule limits this madness, and forces us to keep our academy running. It’s really a win-win situation because you either get a brilliant player or some extra money for the other 17 players who are pre-dominantly going to start each Premier League game. I wished we did it by choice (Wenger era) but we are doing it by force.
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Great stuff TRVL missed your dulcet tones here. Head scratching seems to be our usual TW feelings and emotions.
Always the question, why?
Merino being summed up as Xhaka 2.0 with more mobility makes me wonder why we’re selling ESR. Is Merino better? Will Merino be MOTM in any games?
30 days to go for the TW and 17 days to kill off, sorry I mean kick off.
El B is reportedly happy with the players he has, so why then is he selling ESR and buying Merino?
KP
I’m not convinced we’ll get a CL birth, I could see us 5th or 6th. Ratcliffe is not going to keep TH if the wheels come off early. Slott seems to be happy and the club with him. Expect Spuds, Villa, Palace, Fulham, Brighton, Newcastle and Bournemouth to be improved and tough to take points from their home games.
City, Pool, Manure and Chavs will be better also. Can we take points from them home and away? With no 20+ PL goal striker I doubt it. With no 8 CAM I can’t see it. We will be too one dimensional down the right and occasional flurry down the left. Centrally, very lightweight.
I think with Marc that this season too many sides will be getting back to business again. The last 3 years most have had many long dips during seasons. I don’t see that happening this season.
At least we’ll know in 6 weeks with a few games played.
Last 8 CL I could see it’s around that time the wheels start to come off with our consistency. If we get last 4 our PL games will suffer where rotation becomes less.
Early exits from the tin pot cups? Yup I concur with you. Again any longer runs will cause more rotation headaches.
We have a very tough last 12 run in games including Pool and Manure both away I think.
We can hope for much better, KP. How much good it will do us is another thing.
We might win the Emirates cup I rate us 50/50 to win that lol.
L’pool at 0630 tomorrow morning for me, so a much better time for your guys I would imagine.
Any idea who is showing/streaming the game?
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+beautiful+game&client=safari&sca_esv=ac57164e41e9010e&sca_upv=1&channel=iphone_bm&source=hp&ei=WMioZrz0LJro1e8PotXDgAc&oq=the+beauti&gs_lp=EhFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocCIKdGhlIGJlYXV0aSoCCAAyBxAAGIAEGBMyBxAAGIAEGBMyBxAAGIAEGBMyBxAAGIAEGBMyBxAAGIAEGBMyBxAAGIAEGBMyBxAAGIAEGBMyBxAAGIAEGBNIoTZQnglY6CpwAngAkAEAmAFyoAGLB6oBAzguMrgBAcgBAPgBAZgCDKACkQioAhXCAgcQKRiABBgTwgIGECkYFhgewgICECnCAgoQKRiABBjUAhgNwgIQEC4YAxjlAhjqAhiMAxiPAcICEBAAGAMY5QIY6gIYjAMYjwHCAgUQKRiABMICBxApGIAEGA2YAyCSBwM2LjagB8wo&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp
Nice football movie
Hi Tony
I hope all is well with you.
I think we’ll have enough for top 4 this year. There are some terrific players in our squad these days. The missing link is a top quality manager and motivator which is where we’re really missing out. And a proven goalscorer who can magic something out of nothing when we need it. Not all of our traditional rivals will massively improve – I still think Chelsea and Manure are susceptible, Spurs will always be Spurs, and what’s to say Villa will get better? All that said, Arteta holds us back from being a great team. Second (again) or third…
KP
Were you thinking of Erica with your typo. Play her as a 9 and she could use her chest.
KP
You’re right about the squad having real talent; I’ve said for 3 seasons now we have the squad to win the PL, but it’s El B who has to make it happen.
That’s where it goes wrong for me. Is 2nd or 3rd again going to be the new trophy? CL each season, so Stan and son are happy.
The Wenger status quo is once more in situ. The books are balanced financially each season, and Stan and Josh wait silently for the super league happy with El B if he maintains CL.
A song to sum El B up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr-SNCtoyPk
The song title that is
This from the Mirror on Viktor Gyokeres:
“Sporting have a €100m (£86million) release clause in Gyokeres’ contract that the Gunners could trigger to secure the striker this summer. However fresh claims suggest they are ready to put in an initial offer of £55million to test the waters.
Should an offer be accepted, Arsenal could have the perfect trick up their sleeve to convince him to join them. With Cedric Soares leaving the club following the expiration of his contract, the No.17 shirt has become available.
And offering him that shirt could act as a real sweetener given his previous liking for the number. The 26-year-old currently wears the number nine for Sporting but has consistently had the No.17 on his back for his country and also when he played for Coventry City.”
Show reels Scouted and last season highlights for Sporting Lisbon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Fsjo4HjXg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfdEkQ246ME
I’l wait to see.
KP—-who knows what might become of ESR if given starter minutes, but the fact that Fulham has paid a club record fee does give me cause for pause…ultimately his health will determine his future success
Tony—the reasons why MA appears to be opting for Merino over ESR is twofold, (1) he’s given assurances to Rice about going forward, which wouldn’t work with the more direct and less defensively sound ESR, and (2) ESR doesn’t really fit our still largely sideways tactical model…maybe MA’s going full-Moysey and Merino and Rice are going to take turns getting forward…nothing like mimicking one of the most offensively stunted managers in the last half decade…what’s next? are we going to bring in Sleepy Roy as an offensive consultant, now that his CP gig is done and dusted…regardless, Merino is not a viable deep-lying pivot, which likely means we’re going to keep deploying an inverted backer and continue to be right-side dependent outfit
… If Erica Roe’s Bristols had been where her QE2 starter buttons were, that would surely have been a goal.
I once recall a commentator saying if Ray Parlour’s head had been where his hair was, that would surely etc etc.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Erica is still milking that twickenham episode for all it’s worth. Yuck – I’ll get my coat…
continue to be a…
the reasonings behind MA’s Merino push:
(1) “transfer is now viewed as a “easy deal to do””
(2) “he will be akin to a Leandro Trossard or Jorginho type signing”
(3) “his personal admiration for the Spaniard’s personality”
(1) “easy to do” should never be a primary reason for acquiring someone unless you don’t know how to conduct your business or you can’t attract top-notch players—this speaks volumes
(2) those two winter deals were knee-jerk maneuvers when we couldn’t get better deals over the line, so the notion that they were part of some sort of elaborate long-term managerial masterstroke is fucking ridiculous…not to mention, their very presence has stymied us from seeking more apropos pieces…after all, it’s not like either player helped us achieve our ultimate goal in either of the last two seasons
(3) I’ve never heard Pep speak about Rodri’s fucking personality, which doesn’t mean it’s not something worthy of consideration, but I’ll take a potentially problematic Rodri over someone with a good personality, especially on a team run by the a micro-managing monopolistic MA…it reminds me of someone trying to set you up on a date and when you ask about them all they will say is that they have a good personality…let’s hope this isn’t a butt ugly deal
Well said TRVL I got nothing to add to save repeating myself.
The proof is in the playing so we’ll see over the first 6 games.
If the squad stays fit with good rotation we might have something to be happy about and I’m trying to convince myself here more than you guys.
Blind Faith we call it. First live performance in 69.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJJnA6zEcGk
The drums might sound like cardboard boxes but it’s a piece of history for audiophiles alike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWPntKAWvHs
Another very special lady blues guitarist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWPntKAWvHs
Shades of Albert Collins from the 80s.
A rare gem
The late great Jeff Beck with Jimmy Paige hall of fame track Be cos 2nd induction first was in 69.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHKsg3NIIgQ
We lost to Pool early this morning for me, so I didn’t bother.
Emirates cup up next.
“Slot wasted no time in demonstrating his tactical flexibility”
“Slot wasted no time in making it clear that he’s not afraid to mix things up when required”
“…Rather than forcing players into unfamiliar roles”
Tony—these are a few of the reasons why I favour Slot’s chances, especially with the talent he inherited…he’ll likely continue to develop several of their high end academy pieces, then add a piece or two with the future in mind…I would imagine that next summer will be far more crucial once VVD, TAA and Salah have flown the coop…they will make a concerted push to play in matches that matter come April & May, but might struggle to compete for a title until he’s put his stamp on things, unless the aforementioned veterans are fully fit and reenergized…in that vein, it sounds like Salah’s on a bit of a mission…as we know all-too-well, he’s no joke and he’s likely looking to raise his stock after a dip in form that seemed to coincide with his Klopp falling out…Slot will undoubtedly try to get him the ball quickly and closer to goal, so he doesn’t have to work so hard on each and every possession
only time will tell, but I expect that Slot will be a real thorn in our side in the coming years…there’s some who believe he will be another underachieving ten Hag-like manager, but organizationally this Pool is nothing like the one his counterpart faced upon arriving at ManU and his disposition isn’t nearly so rigid/prickly, which might help him win over the more senior players…to be fair, ten Hag was never given a fighting chance, albeit he didn’t help himself at times…it will be interesting to see if his fortunes change now that he appears to have a say in all football-related matters
To be frank, a window of Calafiori, Merino and our “like a new signing” Keeper doesn’t represent a summertime win for me…far from it in fact…now if we can get Merino for around 25, on a 2-year term with a reasonable sub-100/wk wage, which shouldn’t be that difficult considering his contractual situation, then made a big splash or two up top, this would drastically change things for me…not sure if the latter is in the cards, unless MA is trying to underpromise and overdeliver, like a scheming brokeback hero
New post.