Well, it seems like we have managed to tie down WIlliam Saliba till 2027 for now. Ornstein broke the news about the agreement and it’s going to be a 4 year deal. Saliba has moved on from the one of the best talents to one of the best defenders in the world, and it was very important to not let him go.
So, Edu and the club has managed to tie down Ramsdale, Saka, Martinelli, Gabriel and Saliba, and we are sure Odegaard is not going anywhere too. That’s 6 of the important players from our playing XI. Good job from whoever is involved. We don’t let go the best of our players.
Criticize Edu and Mikel for everything but they have managed to keep the important players. You may argue that we are paying over the odds for likes of 21-year olds, but I am looking to win things even if it means we overpay.
Rice will cost us a whooping 80m+ and will demand a salary of 200k+/week at minimum. He plays for a mid-table team who was fighting a relegation battle for the whole season. Do you expect the likes of Saka and Martinelli, who are probably the best in their places in premier league satisfied with anything less than that? It’s not like we are paying huge money for the has-beens and retiring people (like Willian?).
Credit where it’s due. We have 4 years of no worries in 6 places. We have the RB and LB sorted already. Jesus came in last season and we tied down Nketiah too. It’s the midfield which is a worry, but if we are bringing players, we would have a very stable team, where you don’t have to think for at least next 2 years (that’s when these players have 2 years left on the contract and you decide whether to cash out or offer them some more money).
We are in good place. Hopefully we will sort out the midfield this season, pick ourselves up for the fights at two fronts and win something. I’m going to very specific with my demand as a fan – win Premier League and have a good run in Champions League and I will be happy.
It’s not too much of a ask when we stayed on top of the table for like 90% of the season. It’s not too much when it wasn’t City who won it from us, but we gave it to them. It’s not much when Arteta is in his 4th full season, having spent in the north of half a billion and have a team of his own.
Short one today, hope you are having a nice weekend!
TRVL ‘savvy” – fatboy in a sweet shop Boehly, are you being serious?
Bloom said ‘No’ – fair enough, it was worth asking as by all accounts Caceido and his agent semed willing.
You argue so hard against Edu and Arteta! How do you know what was on our ‘extended wishlists’?
Bob-ok “savvy” might have been a bit of a stretch, but our dithering ways and attempts to finagle payment schedules into the next millenia certainly wasn’t a flattering look either…let’s also remember that this is the same club who managed to get Nkunku over the line for a fraction of his projected fee haul, so maybe I take back my previous “savvy” reversal
secondly, Bloom said NO from the offing, but instead of sticking a pin in it and pursuing other similarly scoped options, we dug in, failed miserably, as we might have hurt any future dealings, then went full darts at a board mode
finally, I don’t claim to know their specific wishlist, but it’s a pretty safe bet for me to suggest who wasn’t on their wishlist, Tross and Jorginho, unless everything leading up to these purchases was an orchestrated ruse
TRVL
Yes, I believe it’s just clickbait. I have been wrong several times in my life and it could be one more, but imho it’s just sensationalization and sells more. ESR is one of our own, he is not going anywhere. Hopefully!
Champions League night, let others say they want City to win because they are playing great football and Man Utd won’t have their treble to count, but as an Arsenal fan, I can’t see anyone else lifting Champions League before us.
Inter has got my support. Plus we have all been fan of underdog story .let the football win over oil money.
Bob
“You choose to ignore the context of the squad Arteta inherited as well as Covid and his own inexperience ”
1) The squad he inherited finished 1 point of 4th and 2 points off 3rd the season prior to him taking over – no debate no opinion fact.
2) COVID affected all clubs it wasn’t only Arsenal – if anything it helped Arteta because it kept fans away whilst he was screwing up.
3) Inexperience – We’re not a social experiment I didn’t think he was ready for the job and argued that point but once appointed I was “OK lets see what he can do” which so far has been a FA Cup fluke and either piss poor performance, bottling it or both.
Why won’t you ever give a position on what won’t be acceptable next season? If Klopp finishes outside the top 4 next season his job will be in serious peril, same with the Poooooooch, Howe and Ten Haag.
TVRL – wish list then availability. You choose to believe that it was slapdash work in January, I recognise pragmatism when I see it.
Trossard seems a very capable footballer who offers an option in a few positions. His impact was immediate. Juninho, short term solution that a big club like Arsenal can afford to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if he left if we do get two, top CM targets in.
No real concerns there unless you’re trying hard to paint a narrative that ignores the practicalities of doing business in the January window.
Off to the pub to watch the game!
Marc, you don’t and have never rated Arteta, I get it. I will stop trying to convince you of any positivity towards his continued employment!
Last game of the season,looking forward to it. Can’t see inter stopping them,City have only themselves to get over,not always easy,especially when you want something so badly. Nerves are a great leveller. Still, would be mad to back against them. I think KDB is going to go down as a member of the best premiership team ever. Toss of a coin between him and Kenny Dalglish to get into my all time eleven ( english lge). He’s a joy to watch in fairness and extra points go to him for the pain he must cause Chelsea fans every time they see him!!
Ambarish,
The new look is class,well done.
Tony,
Apologies for lack of response, will sort that soon.
Bob,
You get to go to the pub to watch it? And to the Emirates for home games? And Lords for the cricket? No wonder you’re so positive!! Looking forward to the ashes next weekend. US open in golf also. All is not lost!
Bob and TRVL,
I will leave that discussion to you guys, but personally I feel it’s not always black and white. Arteta inherited a bad squad, no doubt with the likes of Mustafi and Bellerin. He fixed that. He also inherited Guendouzi and Torreira, whose market value he plummeted and we had to let them go for peanuts. Add Laca and Auba in that list too.
He sensed our fanbase is getting toxic, so he connected with them and the Arsenal fans are on one of the loudest these days. He had his favorites and we have paid price (willian 37 games after assisting 3 in his first game and never doing anything great), Pablo Mari and Mustafi over Saliba, side-lining Emi over Leno etc.
We also have played some great football last season against the likes of Manures, Chelseas and Liverpools. We also have surrendered against Southampton and West Ham which basically took the title away.
So I am going to blame him for letting the title slip but then will praise him for putting us in that position where we are sorry that we missed it.
Cheers, have a nice one guys! No agenda, don’t care what the a million a month traffic blogs says, we are just fans.
like most sports football is a copycat gig, so whomever wins at the highest of levels are invariably used as the functional blueprint for anyone hoping to achieve such heights…now some might say how could one possibly emulate their particular model unless money was no object, but if you think about their squad construction, minus Haaland and maybe Grealish, most of Pep’s choices weren’t without their respective doubters, so this isn’t the PSG model, where you have Mbappe, Messi and Neymar etc…at your disposal…Pep has a firm understanding of what he requires to deploy the kind of football he most desires, then he searches high and low for those who might best succeed within these particular parameters…as such, I hope they win tonight and put another feather in the caps of those who precribe to his sort of cerebral approach
in the highly anticipated race for midfielder replacements for those within the top7, we’re now trailing Pool, City and now Villa…fortunately the only one of the fresh recuits I would want in our side is MacAllister, who was purchsed for what appears to be a relative steal
Ambarish-“will praise him for putting us in that position where we are sorry that we missed it”
I get the sentiments, but it’s a little too beggars can’t be choosers for my liking….that said, I don’t harbur any ill-will towards those who support the manager, so long as it’s not reminiscent of the full-on blinders variety that prevaded during the post-Highbury Wenger era…as such, kudos to you for at least acknowledging some of his failings, but it doesn’t quite cover it for me…I land a bit more on Marc’s side of the ledger, albeit only in regards to his last two points, as the first one presupposes that we only needed a retool and not a rebuild, which I never agreed with considering our hiring choice
no “now” before trailing
if DeBruyne needs to be subbed that could change everything…Pep must have been shitting himself before he got the player’s thumbs up
I spoke too soon…looks like it’s Foden for DeBruyne…certainly that must mean some tactcial finagling now
tactical
Deja vu for De Bruyne, albeit he wasn’t assaulted by that thug Rudiger this time. TRVL,you could be right about the game hinging on that. The city system is heavily reliant on him. Foden is a lovely player,but he can’t play that role. Time for Haaland to step up and justify his wages.
Inter must be beginning to believe, Neo style.
KDB subbed, can it be the spark Inter needs?
TRVL, yes in short. It’s perfectly fine if any of us in inclined towards or against Arteta and co.
Almunia-Pep might be desperately hoping for some more Gundogan late season magic…I would suspect that Mahrez wil be coming in shortly, which will allow Silva to drop into the midfield…the big question being who will Pep sacrifice to get Mahrez on the pitch…it’s clear that Inter are taking a more wait and see approach, in the hopes that they can snatch victory in the latter minutes, which might be a savvy decision in light of City’s past late match disappointments
TRVL,
Mahrez,Alvarez and Walker are all likely to make appearances and tbh a number of city players are way off the mark but I would imagine Bernardo Silva and Grealish are the two most likely to pay the price if things don’t improve.