On this Sunday afternoon, every team will play their 38th game, the last one of this season 2023-24. Premier League never disappoints you, who will be crowned the champion is not decided, yet! There’s not much to play for the other teams however.
Relegation battle : We already know the three teams that would be relegated. Luton, Burnley and a piss poor Sheffield United are going down.
Europe qualifiers : Newcastle and Man United are hoping Chelsea loses it’s last game and that they can win (while the other one should also lose) to secure a place in Europa League. Aston Villa have already qualified to Champions League football next season, so a 5th position Tottenham can’t do much about it.
Title challenge : This is the most important bit. Man City and Arsenal have two points difference, and there are 4 conditions that can happen.
- City loses, Arsenal Wins – We run away with the title. For this to happen, David Moyes needs to do us a favor, while we need to get pass the Dyche’s football.
- City draws, Arsenal wins – We win again since we have a better goal difference to City (60 to 61).
- City wins – irrespective of what happens with any other teams, if City wins, Pep will have another trophy to show in his cabinet.
- Arsenal draw / loss – If we draw against Everton or in worst case lose, City will be crowned Champions irrespective of their result against Moyes.
If you ask me personally, I would love the second scenario, a nerve breaking one where we beat the best team on the planet on goal difference of just ONE, on the final day of the league. That would be a WOW! moment. It’s not happening though, don’t keep your hopes high.
The best part of all of this is, that we are in contention for the title. The worst of it all, we depend on West Ham to beat City for us, and it’s not happening. Not on the final day, not when City needs a win to secure 4th title in a row, not at Etihad. There’s a very slim chance the west London club do us a favor, since Spurs and Son went on full Spursy mode against Pep. A very slim that one, but it won’t let me not be all excited for the game.
I was full ballistic in December when we dropped a lot of points. I was mad when we let Emery school us when we needed a win. The lads couldn’t sustain the pressure, nor the manager towards the end of the last season, but we have improved in that area. We have hold the fort since our Dubai’s training, and we have been giving some sleepless nights to Pep.
Lets not underestimate our achievements. Klopp fought against Pep for 8 seasons and only won one of those titles. He was second with 97 points in one of them. He had the best front 3 in last decade, Salah , Mane and Firmino and along with the best defender in VVD, he still couldn’t win more than once. Arteta has a lot to do before he matches Klopp. He is learning, and we are improving. I hated the pace at which we did, and I still do, but now since that bad phase has gone, I am very optimistic about the club in coming days.
Doesn’t mean I am not critical how we are letting go of Reuell Walters for free. A 19- year old Right Back, who made the Arsenal bench numerous times but couldn’t make it should still cost a couple million dollars in the market. Arthur Okonkwo is also leaving as a free agent, he should have costed more than a couple of millions. Aaron Ramsdale have been dropping hints of his transfers, and in his latest Instagram post, we saw a farewell message to him. The rumours points out a 15m fees to Newcastle. Now, how in the hell do you sell a player who was starting every game last season, and who is not playing not because his form dipped but because Mikel prefers David Raya over him, for only 15 million to a club that has all the money in the world. It’s not like we are selling him to Crystal Palace or Bournemouth.
Elneny and Cedric are leaving at the end of this season. I’m okay with that, they had their time here, and it’s over now.
In other news, Arne Slot will be the new Liverpool manager after Klopp. He is currently managing Feyenoord and is considered a top manager. We have seen what happens to those ‘top managers’ in the premier league – Ten Haag, Ralph Ragnik, Ange – and I will not have kept my hopes high if I was a Liverpool supporter. Plus, they will go through a rebuild now. Man United is in shambles, Chelsea are shit, Spurs will remain Spurs for the foreseeable future, and it’s going to be another City v Arsenal.
Right, that’s all for today. If you have a lucky charm in your house, hold on to it for 90 dear god minutes tomorrow, and pray West Ham sees Milwall in City. We also would have to win against Everton for sure. Lets close the season on a banger, irrespective of what happens.
See you tomorrow.
Killroy
May 28th 4.45 – the answer is there.
Norg, thanks for the tip I have no idea how I missed that as I was looking for it.
KP
Thanks for the explanation of El B and it fits as in El Barstado or El B as in the B manager, 2nd rate.
I was in Argentina Dec 2019. From the US I made the trip to Montevideo going to the stadium and museum were the first WC was played in 1930. Then to Buenos Aires and after that I traveled to Ushuaia took a 4 night trip through the Magellan straight and landed in Punta Arenas, Chile then up the country to Santiago and back to the US east coast just in time in 2020 before the lockdown started, it was fabulous.
Didn’t learn any Spanisch as that was the wife’s job using Duo Lingo 😅
KP
How is the old DB5 going? Are you tempted to use the ejector switch when motoring along the M4? You could invite El B to take a ride – we could then see if his hair is real or just a piece of lego.
Having spent several lengthy periods abroad do you have a strong command of languages?
“According to the report, all of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Crystal Palace and Fulham want to sign Nketiah.
However, the biggest stumbling block could be Arsenal’s £50m price tag”
Can you even imagine a club actually offering anything remotely close to this absolutely bonkers evaluation, especially considering his wages??? I can only hope this was a misprint
£50 million for Nketiah?
That at least explains the weather being chilly and damp its not the 1st June on Saturday its the 1st April.
TRVL
Add to that list Ipswich Town if McKenna stays. It is now likely he will chance his arm with a massively inferior squad in the Premiership. He sees Eddie fitting into his squad – £50M – I doubt there will be any takers – Ipswich will be hoping for a loan deal. Mckenna reckons Eddie is a £70K per week player at the top end. Who runs our contract set up – Garlick.
Busy today but saw this as I did my cursory glance at the click bait.
What’s your thoughts now, TVRL?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13477129/Benjamin-Sesko-says-yes-Arsenal-transfer-summer-Gunners-line-45m-RB-Leipzig-striker.html
For the uninitiated like me here’s his reel;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOQ_dHg-S4M
News of the day
(1) Sesko—its looking more and more like if we move for a Striker it appears that the 20 yr old, 6’4 Slovenian international is at the top of our list…at somewhere near the 55M mark, there will be plenty of well-placed suitors, but if the reports are to be believed, we’ve been forging a relationship with his camp for some time now…grain of salt aside, there’s no doubting we’ve physically scouted Leipzig and his agent has been spotted at the Emirates on more than one occasion…of course, this could be a case of jumping to the wrong conclusions, but when you consider MA’s MO, he does fit the present profile
Havertz has become MA’s most recent pet project and another hill he’s seemingly willing to die on, even though he appears impervious to the kind of recruitment criticisms his predecessors have faced…since there’s little chance that Havertz is returning to his earlier role in the midfield, as that was largely a failure, I just can’t imagine anyone supplanting him up top, much to my chagrin…as such, it would make sense if we targeted a more youthful, potential high ceiling option, who would be one for the future while still providing some depth and positional competition
even though I like what this player could bring to the equation, as he’s quite pacey considering his length and he appears much more clinical in front of goal than any of our present options, I would much rather we went in a more readymade direction…that said, this checks our long-term plans box, but maybe doesn’t move our title aspirations needle for next season, especially if he’s stapled to the bench behind MA’s gangly bestie
(2) Zinchenko appears to be on Kompany’s wishlist for his new gig at Bayern…not exactly the kind of flashy first move one might expect for the German giants, but there’s no doubting he’s incredibly familiar with the player, due to their longtime City connections, so it could have some validity…with Davies and Kimmich apparently on the move, this year or next, I can see how Zinchenko could fit in as either an inverted LB or a DM in a two-pivot system…with Tomi re-upped and Timber likely set to be shoehorned at RB, this might make some sense, with the right monetary motivation…that said, he might be the kind of depth piece you keep if you’re trying to be taken seriously as a future top-top club…this decision could be further complicated by that fact that we might be contemplating the possibility of letting Kiwior return to the Serie A, as Milan appears very interested
(3) Youssouf Fofana, the French International midfielder from Monaco…a bit of an unexpected target until you take into account his price tag, 20+M, and his rather vast admirers…with this in mind, I just don’t understand his valuation, considering his relatively youthful age, 25, and what he brings ot the table as a progressive passing, deeper-lying midfielder, who can physically impose himself on a match without sacrificing his offensive contributions…I guess maybe the fact that he has only 1 year left on his contract could be impacting his present valuation, but one wonders if this might be a good time to not look a gift horse in the mouth
maybe we’re looking to return to our former double-pivot selves, when Xhaka and Partey combined forces…this might allow our backers and Rice to get forward more often, as Fofana could provide ample defensive cover, while likewise enabling us to be much more direct on the counter, unlike in the past…once again not a needle moving hire, but it has all the makings of the sort of hidden gem acquisition that MA would clearly crave, at least from a managerial CV perspective…it will be interesting to see how this develops in the coming days and weeks
Maybe this will explain the El B moniker
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/pierre-aubameyang-arsenal-mikel-arteta-32922289
Looks a likely scenario since Auba is not trying to ingratiated anyone here.
First Auba saved his credibility by the almost single handed only Trophy FA Cup
ESR saved the club hurtling towards relegation battle.
Typical El Bastardo, sem duvida .
Here’s one for you all something different and KP I know you’s be supporting if in your next of the woods.
With all the shit with City and cheating this is a breath of fresh air.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5113010/
Haven’t got to the above comments yet.
Ambarish
Every time I log in I have to re-enter my details, is this something you can can do your end? I add save each time
Tony-I didn’t even realize that you had posted that Sesko link and subsequent question until this morning…you must gave posted yours while I was writing mine…Cheers
“Arsenal want to tie down Mikel Arteta to a new long-term contract before accelerating their summer player recruitment plans”
really??? if this is true, shame on both parties involved for putting the team’s best interests on hold until MA stuffs his pockets to the fucking brim and beyond…hopefully this isn’t actually the case, but with rumours about Peps potential exit next summer and the managerial musical chairs presently in the PL, maybe it’s more of an exercise in due diligence…imagine how much of a dick you would have to be in order to leave a club that has given you far more than you ever deserved and/or earned, prior to last season that is
tbh I wouldn’t be upset if we were to sign Sesko, Fofana, Bakayoko and one of the two LBs, Hartman or Kadioglu, as all appear to be highly skilled players at their respective positions, but I don’t know if they get us over the line here or abroad next season…now if we can get rid of several periphery pieces, tweak our tactics so that we add considerably more directness and properly rotate, so that players like Sesko are given a real opportunity to usurp Havertz up top, I think this could put us in really good stead both now and in the coming years…just not sure if any of these aforementioned 3 things are realistically in the cards considering MA’s history…not to mention, at some point we have to make a real concerted push, especially whilst many of our closest competitors are still in transition, or we might find ourselves in a similar predicament as during Wenger’s latter reign when we missed our window by prioritizing the future to the detriment of the now…simply put we can’t keep punching that gift horse in the mouth
KP/Norg/Marc
One for you guys and where I started my music biz days. Dingwalls Camden lock was cool. Albert Hall and the Electric ballroom all in one street I think.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28772111/
Tony
Just playing a Terry Reid track – I saw him at Dingwalls – must have been 73 / 74.
KP
Did you ever get posted to the Balkans?
If Bayern want Zinchenko that could be a major result – we’ll get a fee, maybe not much but better than paying his very high wages whilst he doesn’t play much and then goes on a free.
Not sure how Arteta will cope with a player leaving without paying off his contract though? I mean it doesn’t count unless you pay them to leave.
TRVL
No problem I just popped in with a headline and link, much prefer reading your thinking. I added it because we’d talked before where you added options.
Zubimendi has turned El B down so unpolished gems it is. The elite don’t want El B they want to win trophies. Being a professional elite footballer, winning is everything for them.
El B prefers 2nd and getting a pay rise. Josh and Stan haven’t quite got the being “winner” part right yet.
If it had been the gillette & Braun owners from Pool, they call it a close shave…. Ok I’ll get my coat….
Norg
I thought Dingwalls and Camden would be fond memories for you, too. The series looks good
Marc
I did wonder if Company had what it too for Bayern? Now he want’s Zinchenko it makes me wonder even more? Let’s hope he tanks Bayern by taking Zinchenko, Jesus and Havertz.
Now, that would be an excellent window. We could buy Roy Obinson and improve with those 3 gone.
Eddie and Ries easy to find new homes.
I see Manure want Branthwaite.