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.
Marc-I was only speaking of a LB recruit if Zinchenko is sold on, as I think MA will start next season with the same back 4 as he did this season, which was White, Saliba, Gabs and Timber on his wrong side…as for the front 2 gig, I was joking in a way, as I was speaking of those matches where Havertz was deployed as the Striker and Rice spent more time in the opposition’s box than in our end of the pitch
as you know by now, I’m not a fan of wasting 100+M on a DM only to play him as a CAM…much in the same vein as I’m not a proponent of our attempts to redress our longstanding Striker issues by paying above the number for a tweener with a poachers chance of scoring, then gifting him the job simply because MA gave assurances to Rice and/or due to the fact that Havertz fared so poorly at his first positional assignment
as for our midfield, I said a DM over a CM because if my beliefs about Rice’s up-field aspirations are baked into our future plans, we need another defensive cover piece, especially after our re-upping of Jorginho, who undoubtedly got some assurances before putting pen to paper…actually I wouldn’t be that surprised if Partey stayed then left on a free next year, as his monetary return might not be worth the effort, unless he wants to ply his trade in sunny SA
“Arteta insisted that the “only way” to improve was for the Arsenal faithful to keep demanding more of their team…there’s only one way to do it: you have to be more determined, you have to be more ambitious, we need to have a lot of courage and push every limit and everything that we have, because that’s the next step”
look like even Arteta agrees with many of our collective sentiments…now all he has to do is put some of those latter qualities into practice in his everyday managerial life
looks like
regardless of all the nonsense surrounding the supposed Havertz turnaround once he moved farther up the pitch. “Arsenal’s need for a Striker is an open secret”…”If you’re looking on how they can improve they need to get a striker who can score all type of goals, even when Erling Haaland has not played at his best he has scored goals.”
I dare anyone to look at a montage of Havertz’s goals this season and say, with a straight face, that he’s the answer…he’s had a couple things going for him during his recent purplish patch:
(1) he has no legitimate competition for the spot, which speaks volumes about how poor Jesus has been since his injury some 18 months ago…let’s hope we can get the tidy sum we’re gifting him off the books over the next couple of months, although I very much doubt there will be a lot of suitors without us providing some sort of significant financial sweetener
(2) opposing teams simply haven’t adjusted their respective coverage to account for him like they would with a Striker of consequence…in many ways, his time up top has reminded me of Xhaka’s experiences as a more advanced midfielder, as he’s found himself unmarked on numerous occasions inside the box and rarely, if ever, has the opposition sent more than one defender in his general direction…furthermore, he’s played most of his minutes with Saka on his right, which stretches defences, and the little fox in the box Tross to his immediate left, so he’s the least threatening member of our front 3 at all times…to be fair to him he has done a better job at taking his chances in more recently, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has showed no real sign of his old self minus a few glimpses in two matches within a 7 day span
(3) he has become some sort of line in the managerial sand rorschach inkblot and as such every Artetite and his brother are constantly scouring the stat packs for any positive nugget they can use to prop-up this gangly man who’s standing on the hill their willing to die on…so when he started to actually look like someone you might pay a quarter of the wages to, everyone with “skin” in the game rushed to their keyboard to heap plaudits on him…I get it though, as this sitaution was bound to occur considering what transpired during the Willian experiment
in the end, I just hope when it comes time to spend there will be an adult in the room with considerable influence who can bring some common sense to the Striker conversation…as several posters on LIR have so logically suggested, if MA is left to his own devices Havertz will invariably be shoehorned into the lineup match-in and match-out and if that’s up top I just can’t see us winning anything of consequence for another year running…now this doesn’t mean I would rather stick with Jesus and/or Eddie than acquire a more youthful “project”, like a Sesko or a Zirkzee, as they might actually challenge Havertz for minutes, should they even be given a chance to prove their respective worth, but I would much rather we showed some real intent by identifying the best available starting option then do everything in our power to secure his services
Norg
Thanks for your kind words.
TRVL
Pleasure my friend.
BOB
Last words, no BS it’s all out there on LG.
I kept your profession quiet and anything I felt wasn’t pertinent. I’ve told Ambarish I have no problem if he want’s to delete my post; my reasoning is I won’t be addressing you further or Aitcho who I think is you as well.
I think you like a tipple and enjoy posting when you do. You’re in a stressful and emotionally challenging profession, so it’s normal to wind down with something to relax with. I did notice you were belligerent in your rants in the evenings, but wrote more sober posts when you first got up and read LG.
I share my mistakes as much as successes. I hope both will educate others to what’s possible in life and how easy it is to make mistakes.
I’m very much into helping improve the mental health here in the north, and am looking to set up some clinics with medical wellness and retirement homes for the wealthy to support the clinics. I’m sure your wife would be in full support of this. A dr friend near graduation wants to use the clinics to do outreach medicine to the villages deep in the north. The retirement homes will be supported medically by the mental health and medical wellness clinics that will be 24 hour.
Norg has invented a “pellet” that can clean 20 liters of heavy metals and arsenic to make water drinkable. When discussing this with Norg I did some research and found that where I live the water is contaminated from old mining.
My oversharing is to help others especially with mental health issues. Talking to junior’s friends here, and in BKK I am amazed at how easily they talk about their in-spectrum issues. It was so taboo in my early years.
Now there aren’t enough doctors here for 70 million people. In schools around 10% have ADHD at varying levels. The potential reality is 7 million people here are affected by ADHD and what ever that ties to, which can often be autism in my friend’s son’s case.
Out or in or do the hokey cokey, Bob, I don’t mind as long as you don’t bother me. The guys here understand why, so you shouldn’t not enjoy posting here. I won’t bother you or your alter ego Aitcho.
There will be no more posts about you from me.
Bob, instead of throwing a hissy fit and embarrassing yourself drawing more attention to the post by demanding its removal, you might have thought for a moment, and then thought what you had said had been uncalled for at the very least, and apologized. I would have.
The difference here is if we get something wrong we let each other know either with a bit of banter or just being better informed by others. It works nicely where Ambarish tells us LIR, at the last count, had 70K readers and growing.
Don’t stop posting on my account the blog is big enough for both of us and many more.
LIR is for everyone who has a valid input with POVs where you see the club improving.
For me, as it’s been since El B’s day 1, I’ve vehemently stated El B is not the right manager to win big trophies for us.
Same for the rest here; we want to win the Pl and CL and be challenging when we don’t win. If a manager came in and had these results 13124 over 5 years I’d be happy, especially if we added a CL to those 5 years.
The way I see it is we just lost 2 titles we should have won, and were in pole position to do so. 88511 and I’d be happy with my club, I just wouldn’t like the manager, but I’d see the sense in keeping him and would back the squad 100% as I do now except the ones we should move on now:
Zinchenko
Jesus
Vieira
Eddie
Reis
Tavares
Lakonga.
Havertz, Kiwior have done enough to warrant a 2nd season providing Havertz is is back up to the new 9 we bring in and Kiwior can fight Branthwaite if we brought hin in as LB and back up LCB. With Timber and White at RB/RCB we are covered.
We need to replace Partey but keep for next season if we can’t get a decent fee.
We need a creative 8 and a 20 PL goal a season plus striker.
We also need a winning manager who doesn’t bottle run ins.
So far we’ve been 100% right where I wished we’d been 100% wrong.
“Rudd shared what she’s been hearing about Arsenal, and it’s very different from the stories that have been doing the rounds in recent months…The noises coming out of Arsenal are not that they feel they need a striker”
even though the majority of “media” sources are suggesting otherwise, there has been a growing sentiment, among those supposedly in the know, that maybe just maybe a top-notch Striker isn’t in the cards for us this summer…now we still could be in the market for a Striker, if we find a way to rid ourselves of Jesus and/or Eddie, albeit neither are likely to garner the kind of interest that would satisfy our oft-times minboggling valuations, but it’s far more likely that we would simply acquire a coin toss proposition on the relative cheap
all that said, I’m not suggesting that we can’t repeat what we did this season without making a substantial move up top, as the PL has become incredibly top heavy and most of the “top” teams are still in transition; not to mention, many of the more traditional CL giants are in a state of flux, minus Real, who appears dead set on restoring themselves as the undisputed Kings of the footballing world…so if we want to settle for being almost PL champions and going for a similarly deep CL run again, we can likely do so with very little effort in this window
we could trim the roster, get a supposedly versatile inverted LB like Ferdi Kadıoğlu for somewhere’s around 30M, sign Raya and replace Ramsdale, then only splash some real cash on a Bruno or Palhinha, depending on the seriousness of our Rice playing in a more adavnced role plans, and simply cross our fingers and run it back…maybe we luck into finally ending up on top, but I would suspect that Pep, who might be leaving after next season, will make a relentless push for another treble by shoring up a roster that was one of his most vulnerable since arriving from Bayern, which could leave us in a brides maid’s dress for the 3rd season running
or instead we could act like City or Real and put our fucking big boy pants on for once and take FULL advantage of the present situation by going all in…these teams I’ve mentioned don’t tweak their way into prominence, they do everything within their power to bring in the kind of players that will best move their collective needles…so don’t mistake my critiques as the ramblings of a not so closeted Arsenal hater, but those of a 4+ decade long fan wanting nothing but the very best for my beloved side…have a good one
TRVL
We have a store cupboard full of strikers (or similar) already. Havertz is a striker (?), Jesus, Eddie. Two of three surely will be sold to make way for an addition because there will be a spare seat or two on the bench.
Will El B go full on Wenger and say at the end of the window – there were no strikers of qwalitee so we remain with our star man Havertz.
Apparently bookies are slashing the odds on City getting relegated next season due to their up coming hearing.
I’m not sure a points deduction is going to be enough for what they’ve done unless its somehow turned into something that will knock them down multiple divisions.
Norg-that’s undoubtedly my concern…for all his attempts to mimic Pep, albeit to a lesser level, he sure does have a lot of the same “feels” as the latter days Wenger…just wish he would follow Pep’s lead when it comes to his more recent Striker pursuits and stick to trying to emulate Wenger’s pre-Emirates coaching traits…have a good one
Marc-the whole thing worries me from a domino effect sense…while on paper it appears like a slam dunk case, from the outside looking in, I feel like what has transpired in Chelsea since the new ownership has arrived seems far more optically egregious, so the whole thing reeks of a legalese wet dream, meant more to slap hands on occasion than gut the fuck out of the top teams, who all could likely find themselves in the crosshairs if the governing body followed the letter of the law…I just like the visual of a room full of actuaries, high on ketamine, trying to figure out the odds of this or any other kangaroo court case
TRVL
City aren’t actually a top team and Chelsea before Abramovich weren’t close either.
Remember this is being driven by the PL (not FA) which is run via a system where all 20 clubs get a vote but ManU, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Everton, Villa are teams that are all historically far bigger than either of those 2 and hold the power.
What will be behind this is if City get off it gives Newcastle carte blanche to go and do whatever they like – if Newcastle can who do it why not some other non club?
Marc-I’m well-aware of how this particular situation works, I just meant that above all else the PL is a multi-Billion dollar business that doesn’t want to cut off their nose to spite their face…all of the participating members benefit from the inclusion of teams like City and Chelsea and if they were to punish them so severely that we had another Leeds type scenario, that would definitely negatively impact their respective bottom lines…so whereas they might cast “public” dispersions in the direction of the offending parties to appease their own fanbases, in private, they likely adopt a decidely different tone…that said, I understand the concerns involving Newcastle, especially considering it’s new ownership group, but I think they would rather have the status that comes with City’s inclusion within the top division, even if it meant that others might take some similar financial liberties, than pursue a course that required them to excommunicate their most successful clubs, both here and abroad, and publicly admit that they’re the corrupt fucks we all know them to be, considering the length of this “investigation” Cheers
TRVL
See I disagree with you 100% there. If they completely destroyed City by kicking them out of the PL and forcing them to start again at the bottom tier (it happened to Rangers who were far more important to Scottish football) and bankrupting them in the process the PL would notice for about 35 seconds and then move on.
The only people who’d care are a tiny number (by football standards) who really support City – 25,000 – 35,000 max.
Marc-I get your thought-process, but things have changed rather substantially since the time in which the Rangers were sent packing…the money involved now, especially in the PL, as compared to the miniscule Scottish equivalent, is so astronomical that it behooves all involved to seek other ways in which to punish offending members…no matter the real facts, it would be a massive stain on the League as a whole, especially if they were required to air their dirty laundry in a much more public setting…at least now it’s all seemingly just conjecture and speculative, but if you move forward with some sort of relegation action you risk putting your own necks on the line, as the obvious question becomes why did it take you fucks so long to act, which would likely bury everyone involved…not to mention, one of the underlying reasons why people of great wealth get away with this kind of weaselly shit is the belief that anyone in a similar situation would act accordingly, which is something all the new Billionaire owners won’t take lightly, as they don’t want someone going through their respective books with a fine tooth comb moving forward…just my thoughts…of course, I hope I’m wrong
TRVL
Not at all – the info that damns City was leaked to a German Newspaper, City’s defence is that it was obtained illegally not that its untrue.
There would be no reflection on other PL clubs unless they were caught breaking the rules and its worth £50 million a season to whatever team gets City’s place in the top 4.
Greed won’t protect City it’ll destroy them.
Marc-maybe Wenger has been working behind the scenes as an incognito whistleblower…it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds
Morning all
The zipper king wants to introduce a new offside rule as set out below:
“The Wenger offside law being introduced in 2024-25 is a possibility. IF the attacker’s entire body completely overtakes the last defender; it’s offside. But, if a small part of the attacker’s body is ‘offside’, it WON’T be considered offside anymore.”
It clears up the hairs breadth green and red lines looking for the smallest of infringement. It does offer the forward more advantage than defenders. Why not go the other was that the attacker should keep 100% onside with all his body?
The rule I want changed is to raise the flag as soon as player is deemed offside.
Anyone got any thoughts?
today’s rumour mill is rife with “news” about some wide-side depth…most are familiar names, others not so much so…Olise and Neto have appeared on our radar before, whereas Nico WIlliams is a relatively new player of interest…all are talented and pacey players, who likewise fit the multi-positional profile, but one is a major injury waiting to happen and the other 2 likely won’t come without assurances, especially knowing MA’s rotational shortcomings
I get why some might be intrigued by the possibility of acquiring Neto…on his best days he’s a tidy player with speed to burn and the ability to unlock defences, but those days don’t come near often enough to justify spending 65+M for this oft-injured winger/AM…we should avoid him like the plague, unless we actually believe that his injury history has more to do with the negligence of his former employers than his seemingly fragile nature…sadly, this looks the most likely of the 3, even though it might be the most expensive and riskiest option
I’ve only watched Nico a half dozen times or so in the last two years, but even in that relatively small sample size, he’s definitely impressed me…he’s a two footed player, so he can play on either side of the pitch, and he’s top-notch when it comes to ball-carrying, which makes him difficult to defend…I can’t help but think if he came it would be curtains for Marts, as he already fell down the pecking order at the tail end of the season; not to mention, Nico’s unpredictablility in attack might seem like a rather enticing prospect for those propagating the notion that Mart’s has been figured out…personally I feel that this has been overplayed by those who feel beyond obligated to justify any and every move our manager makes, so when Tross started to get the nod, this tall tale gained considerable traction…let’s face it Vinicius Junior would struggle in our sytem that leaves you largely isolated and facing double-teams on a regular basis…I just don’t think he would come without starter assurnaces, which severely complicates matters, and I’m not sure he’s shown that he can score enough goals to warrant the inherent costs, as there would be competition for his services
as for Olise, there’s ample chatter about United’s interest, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be poached in the meantime; after all, they have bigger organizational fish to fry before they start making bigger money buys…I do like this player’s up-side, but I do worry about all his soft tissue injuries, especially for someone who plays in wider spaces…the other obvious issue with him is that he’s generally been deployed either centrally or on the right side of the pitch, so unless he’s willing to sit behind Saka and Ode, he likely isn’t worth the level of investment required…that said, it would show some real intent if we could convince him to be a depth piece, as he’s a far superior option to either Nelson or Vieira
any thoughts?
Well, Well – the unexpected. Chiara, my contact in Bergamo has just e-mailed – the mighty Atalanta defeated the unbeaten Leverkusen. Gasperini did it with a reject from UK football scoring a hat trick.
City – it will depend on how their legal mouth piece can deal with the representative of the PL.
Stan is one of the main owners pushing for action against them – the squeaky clean Stan who files his accounts in Wilmington where they look no further than the table top and not whats underneath.
Tony
I’ve seen Wenger proposal before and I like it – it basically shifts the onus to give a bit of advantage to the attacking play. If any part of the attacker than can be used to score is onside then the player is onside.
It keeps the offside rule as black and white but should allow more goals.
Wenger has had some good ideas in the past – one where all leagues were aligned meaning no international breaks during a season I thought was good. International tournaments would be played in close seasons or winter breaks.
NORG
Wenger whatever your opinions about him loved football and was a purist – he wouldn’t want or suggest anything that would hurt the game.
Doesn’t mean he’s right of course but his ideas are at least worth listening to.
Rumours going round that Munich want Vincent Company as their new manager.
Can’t say I saw that one coming.
Marc
Indeed a strange one. BM is more a coaching role than a manager with control. Perhaps that why Pep didnt conquer all when he was there.
It is a real merry go round with manager changes this season – more so than players.
Interesting.
If correct El B has earned his moniker on par with Trump, Erdogan, Modi , Bolsonaro …
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-arteta-ramsdale-steve-round-32873005
Hoopah
A year on and Steve Rounds replacement, Carlos Cuesta is also looking to leave. He has had two meetings with Norwich who are keen to take him on.
Tony-I don’t mind Wenger’s suggestion, as it’s more of a spirit of the rule kind of amendment…that said, some will see it as a potential slippery slope type situation, as it might ultimately aid those looking to get rid of VAR altogether…for me it’s never been about VAR itself, it’s been about the piss-poor implementation
VAR – the PGMOL now love what they hated – it has promoted inferior beings to one of importance – just a pity they do not have the intelligence to use it properly.
TRVL
Agreed Rugby TMOs down have many problems other than perhaps repeating the views too anytime. It’s rare they get one wrong even with such tangles of bodies.
I tend to get triggered whenever Wenger get’s involved these days. The PTSD of 2009 to his demise took its toll.
To follow on with something different. Masterchef Australia is outdoing itself once again. These people are amateur cooks who end up plating restaurant quality food. Reyonald was one such cook who now has restaurants.
This link is some of his dishes with some great comments from judges. If you like food, you’ll enjoy this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rknHkImmKz0