Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen! A lot has happened in this year already and we are only a week into it. We beat Brighton comfortably on the new year eve, but then shared points with New Castle in what can be a called a disaster of refereeing. We have also upped our bid for Mudryk but Shaktar thinks we are Manchester United who will overpay for anything and want us to fork a 100m+ for a 22 year old player who has A LOT to prove.
First thing first, we are still enjoying our TOP OF THE TABLE stature. We are only 2 game short of half-of-the-season and sitting comfortably at the top with 44 points.
That’s five points ahead of Man City.
For the next 4 games, we have to play Spu*s (A), United (H), Everton (A), Brentford (H). City on the other hand has United (A), Spu*s (H), Wolves (H), Spu*s (A) and one extra game against Villa at home before they play us at Emirates on 16th of Feb.
Both of our game against Spu*s and United are winnable but are going to be tough. Same with City, playing a Derby has always been a lost cause for them. United for once, can do us a favor, a tough one this is.
Our game against them will be a six pointer. If, and that’s a big If, we managed to beat them, it would not only give us a 3 point advantage against the previous year winners but also instill that confidence among players to push an extra bit for the title.
I’m being too hopeful here but never say never. Not when you are 5 points ahead of the best team assembled in recent years against the best manager on the planet with the best striker in the world!
Coming back to the New Castle game, I would have been happy if we shared points on merits. Refereeing was sh*t and someone needs to do something about it. You can’t grab the collar of a player and pull his tshirt to an extent where he won’t know if he is wearing it inside out! What confuses me even more is the VAR’s role. It was obvious as a day, and should have been a penalty. Arteta made sure he was heard and here’s my middle finger to the disciplinary action being taken against the club.
I am not really in favor of Arteta shouting on the touchline, but hey, that was a cheating and needed to be called out.
I still remember my last year’s article and there is no improvement – Same Old Arsenal, Same Old Referee
Right, onto the Mudryk situation. Rumour has it that we had put up a second, improvised bid which Shaktar thinks is not enough. Well, Edu needs to sit with them and make them realise that we are talking about a 22-year old playing in Ukrainian League. Do they realise that what they are asking was paid for Eden Hazard in his prime who had won everything with Chelsea and was in the top 10 players at that point of time?
And, someone needs to sit with Edu and remind him the priority. We need a Partey’s back up first, Xhaka’s competition and a CF because Eddie alone can’t play twice a week. I know Jesus will be back, but we still need a CF. 3 strikers may be a lot this season, but we are qualifying for Champions League and we would need it soon.
If you say we can use our academy to fill Partey and Xhaka’ position, I won’t mind but where are they? Can we see them having a bit of game time in FA cups and towards the end of Premier League games when we are in a comfortable winning position?
Ok, a lot of frustrations but that 2 points loss against New Castle has rattled me. Lets hope we bounce back and thrash the Spu*s at toilet bowl.
See you in the comments!
Totally agree K’Phobe this is very winnable with the Spud’s form being pretty much counter attacking. Cut the supply off to Kane and keep Son tag teamed and we should be good.
The lads should be up for this where they lift our momentum for the rest of the month as you rightly say. City aren’t going to lay down but look at the difference in squads. Arteta can’t even fill the MF.
Hi Almunia
With tongue firmly in cheek, how did those three masters tips of your’s work out?
Maybe it’s not just the Chinese lads who’ve been in amongst the brown envelopes. I suppose it’s good for neutrals when there are so many upsets. Is Ding Junhwei implicated in all that malarkey?
Hi Tony…..there is always a full replay of all our matches on .com and if you are registered member you could watch all of it to your delight…
Almuniasaynomore …. kinda miss your stories
Tony,
It’s a shame as you’ve suggested, still plenty of good posters there who provide great commentary. I’ll never understand the zeal to shut down any anti-Arteta commentary,differing opinions are surely the lifeblood of football blogs? Like I said a few days ago, tolerance for opposing views seems to be disappearing in society in general.
You’re probably right about Feb 1st,we’ll have a better idea of whether or not a title challenge is sustainable. As others here have pointed out,a failure to strengthen will rightly generate questions about some poor financial management under Arteta/Edu. A lot of funds were wasted though many have attempted to erase this from the narrative.
Kroenkephobe,
Allen was destroyed today,never saw that coming. O’Sullivan’s to lose now. I tend to cheer for Selby these days but I wouldn’t tip him,his struggles off the table over the last few years have blunted his effectiveness on it. Poor old Charlton are on a hiding to nothing at OT tonight. The club is in turmoil. The current owner is trying to sell,yet the Valley and training ground are still owned by the previous owner. A real mess,I fear for them. Was playing pool last night,missed the Oxford game,not one for the ages by all accounts. Getting the NLD butterflies yet? It doesn’t register as a huge fixture over here. Arsenal v utd is still more important,funny isn’t it? I was only at WHL once,to see Spuds play West Ham in the mid 80’s. They actually had players worth seeing then. I’d imagine you’ve a few memories from back in the day. It’s a huge game now,regardless of local rivalry,it’s good to be relevant again isn’t it?
Mulerise,
How are tricks? Hope all good at your end. I wrote a few stories last year and MB put them in a section entitled satire. Took a break then and haven’t got going again yet. Hard to explain really. Sometimes I can’t write the ideas down quickly enough and other times I can’t even be bothered to continue a thought. You will know more about this than I do I’d imagine. Thanks to Mb I always have a place to put them anyway!
Kroenkephobe,
No,Ding isn’t implicated and the suggestion is that 10 is the final number. I watched the Hansie Cronje film on Netflix recently. As films go it’s not very good,but the story fascinated me. The insidious way that the gambling syndicates lured him in meant that he was corrupted without even knowing it himself. A tragic story even before his untimely death. From what I can infer from Jason Ferguson’s comments,a lot of these Chinese lads have found themselves in a similar position. I don’t expect Stephen Lee type 12 year bans although Liang Wenbo is in trouble for assault charges against his girlfriend also. Seemingly the WPSBA are only weeks away from wrapping it all up. Got to admire the speed and honesty with which they’ve handled it. Would not have too much faith in the footballing authorities to behave in a similar vein. Did you watch the Netflix documentary on Fifa? Paradoxically it reveals what we all suspected yet still shocks and horrifies.
Aluminiasaynomore,
Am good thanks. You had better snapped outta your writer’s block … 😎…’cos myself and many others are surely missing your wits….am sure I missed the Short stories you were alluding to,if you could repost, that would be lovely.
Mulerise,
Glad to hear you’re well. If you go to the top of the page to the menu icon ( 3 horizontal lines ) you’ll be able to access the satire section. Some stories there to keep you going for now. Writer’s block is my pseudonym for laziness.
Hi Almunia
That turmoil you describe in snooker is possibly not the worst thing for armchair fans although it may diminish the sports standing in China which I assume is a big source of cash. Thinking about Stephen Lee and indeed Higgins, I can’t help wondering if the former was harshly treated.
I used to live in Haringey in 84 and 85 in a student flat (when the young ones was on TV – can you imagine the destruction and carnage?), equidistant from thof and whl. Going away to games then was properly hairy so when we were away, I often went to see Spurs. It always felt edgier than Highbury (but that’s possibly because it was implanted in my psyche that I was behind enemy lines). I saw a shit load of games that year when Everton won the league (85?) including said toffees beating spurs easily. I was smiling all the way home.
Yes, some of the cricket corruption was terrible. A good number of Pakistan players were also thoroughly exploited over the years. Cronje was pretty naive.
22 was a terrific year for the England (and Wales!) cricket team. I was thinking of you when Ireland beat them in the T20. A bit weather affected but a win is a win. For me, the key game was the way they dominated India in the semis (sorry Ambarish! ). I don’t know if you follow the tests but they had a marvellous summer and then winter in Pakistan.
I’m looking forward to the NLD. I think we have a strong chance of getting our first win at North London’s finest NFL stadium. 🏈
Mulerise14
Thanks for the tip I did try to join before, but it must have been a tech issue day, so I just forgot about it with me having all my bases covered at the time.
Good to see you here .
Was only thinking it’s been some time since I offered something wild for a while musically.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJsEydTonJk&list=OLAK5uy_kzqmlESLKwJ43zGR7VFQRWkeljh3L4w0w&index=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfKAHla9wSM&list=OLAK5uy_kzqmlESLKwJ43zGR7VFQRWkeljh3L4w0w&index=12
The first and last 2 tracks fo Freak of Nature’s Gathering of Freaks. A great album to even you up.
That would get the blood pumping played before the NLD.
I used the ‘The Parting’ when making a MC 2-club ride video in Bali. I took a Thai 3-man film crew and I directed and edited. This particular scene is of a Thai MIGS (member in good service) guy in slow motion walking just as the sunset was fading along the waters edge with waist length hair drifting ins the wind.
Was a cool scene you can picture if you use enough imagination.
*The first and last tracks of Freak of Nature’s Gathering of Freaks. A great album to liven you up.*
If you’re part of a MC club you have to have a road name. The Thai crew also had Thailand’s go to guy for piloting drones, so we had drones flying as we rode/drove. Of course the Thai crew had to have names, so I named them X, Clicker & U-Turn.
I wonder if anyone here can work out the origin of ‘U-Turn’s’ road name?
You welcome @ Tony.
@Almunia thanks for the direction….am a bibliophile, will certainly feast my on ’em
Eyes*
Just watched some of the most infuriating 90 minutes of football between Real and Valencia in the Coppa Del Rey what a fucking dismal league La Liga is, just about a nudge above the Irish farmers league.. Piss poor passing, outrageous heavy touches that look more like passes. Well glad that the subscription with ESPN+ ends in February with no chance of renewing since I found the caps of the ESPN-FC show online.
ESPN over paid way too much for La Liga when they anticipated MBappe and Messie to play in that league. They decided to up the yearly subscription by 40% and I decided up yours with a middle finger salute since I get what is of interest to me that you have online for free.
Sorry it is the semi final of the Spanish Supercopa
Morning LIR’s
Sad news for audiophiles and music lovers as Jeff Beck dies: R.I.P. to one of the greats of his generation and many before and after I might well add.
You can see where Arteta gets his ‘we need players’ rants because after a minor blip comes a rant in the press from: Pep G. Losing 2:0 to The Saints made Pep blow his mind screaming for new players to be brought in being reported this morning. Of course some of this will be psychobabble for Ten Hag’s benefit that he’ll have no problem seeing through.
It’s derby talk!
But really what a sad little man complaining his squad isn’t good enough after bringing in Grealish and Haarland in recent seasons. For no smoke without fire because City have been stuttering of late and making hard work of getting results. They are not the once well oiled football machine ramping up over 100 points etc. With the financial side beginning to level the PL playing field with smart scouting, as Leicester was once and Brighton consistently gets right.
How Pep must be rueing letting Zinko and Jesus go. Even the ‘Fat Ladyboy Duck’ as Thai kids call Sterling would have helped? Maybe, maybe not with his current form and service.
Pep and his sycophant, Arteta, seemingly need new toys all the time to be relevant in managing football. I’m sure there are those out there who think I’m crazy because this is the great Pep Gardiola: a serial winner at worst.
But is he really? His stats will firmly point to yes.
If the big white elephant in the room that is Pep who has never managed on a shoe-string budge, then no is the only answer, if Pep is to be properly rated against his PL manager protagonists. The obscene money City has spent has, without question, bought titles, but Pep can’t buy the CL: no he has to win that against equal spending teams to be really deemed to be a GOAT in management.
Pepe’s under graduate: Arteta can’t function without money either. The only BA Arteta has, where the letters represent in his case: Bullish Arsehole, for he is both. Bullish in never being wrong and Arsehole for his treatment of his players with self serving ‘non negotiables’ that his pets get passes for.
Edu & Arteta’s mismanagement of our squad means we HAVE to buy again to hang on to our precarious hold on the PL summit. One long term injury to Partey and many more of our marauding 11 and we’ll hang on to our title run like waves grabbing furiously and fruitlessly on rocks.
So, because of Edu’s and Arteta’s poor buys, such as Sambi, White when we needed a 6/8, Cedric the list goes on as well as moving out players we all saw could do a good job for us, such as Joe Willock now playing well for the Bar Codes.
All the big PL big guns are finding it hard to get into a team winning rhythm. Us included! We just were quicker out of the blocks seeking out results – some we shouldn’t have got, but that happens to a title challenging team riding its luck.
The second we start dropping points Pedro and his many pseudonyms (Nigel T, P Pete) and arse licking Don Un and his aliases, such as Raulishus and probably others will be making excuses as they always do. Don will do a flip flop as is his way. BobN16 will be firmly on the fence again worrying about the gray areas, as an excuse and looking for fence sitting, middle ground, smug answers. All a bit playground & plastic for me. Take all sorts do and if it makes them happy, so be it.
We have the choice to post or not when we feel we want to have a voice. That’s OK on LG, as long as it’s not an apposing voice. Then Orwellian Pedro and his cronies scream in unison: BIN! So much for free speech in the UK. Says it all really.
Let’s see what happens in the TW first, as that is what matters most. 2nd guessing maybe fun for some, but it’s not for me. I can neither influence nor outright choose players, so I simply don’t bother. Sure, we can see where other players would be a good fit for us; some far more consistently than others. Marko, Freddie L, Battista, Raptora, Habeshi G (80%) 🙂 Guns and others all watch far more football than I and generally are right with their choices. and are always good sources for new players or others that have suddenly bloomed to check out.
LG has its uses with Tom & Useroz, Northbanker +, and us past LG posters who enjoy LIR Ambarish has set up added to the quality posters named above. I just feel it’s a poor use of a once balanced & excellent Arsenal blog resource. I guess I’m Pedro bias and not LG bias completely, as if that would matter at all to others what a 68 yo Gooner thinks on the Internet.
If LG facilitates Pedro’s career path then it will have been worth his time and financial investment. Is that selfless? Not really who can say they have never got a laugh or felt happier for reading the blog, I can’t, but not for a very, very long time and long before Almunia’s satires that kept us sane for brief spells about 6-gun, dick swinging, Pedro trolling, ‘he who shall not be named’ and scatter gun, fast talking Arteta.
Sadly, you can’t force genius, which is what Almnuina dishes up when the creative moments arrive. It’s a real shame also, but put a creative genius in the right environment and ideas will come and flow. I feel LG drained that from Almunia. Hopefully, the creative well is filling up once more and we’ll be picking ourselves off the floors once again with tears running down our faces that smudges AFC Forever’s eye liner every time.
Would LG represent good value for money for me. Not really, but I can see the allure for others from a Gooner blog POV. That said, had Pedro kept a balanced narrative throughout Arteta’s tenure, then for me such gratuity would be worthwhile to be chatting with the greats that were the staple diet of LG and who rarely if ever post these days.
Another gem this morning is that Guendouzi is wanted by Emery at AV. I hope the Arteta mishandled reject doesn’t come back to bite us. Emery was always far better than Pedro would admit and would have got 4th if we’d had bought Zaha and not Pepe for a few £million less. Sad fact is Emery was treated badly by us simply by not buying the players he wanted. By the time Arsenal realised it, it was too late for Emery. It’s going to be interesting to see what Emery doers with his 2nd stint in the PL.
One player I don’t want to see in an Arsenal shirt is Tielemans. His form has really dropped off with Leicester’s slow downfall under their lackluster manager who seems to have lost his way as he does in his managerial pursuits.
That’s it from me for today. Bit of a mixed bag and I felt some balance should be projected about LG other than the condemnations being as one sided as LG is at the moment. I hope I have achieved that here.
K’phobe here’s a good Welsh band’s song from a brilliant songwriter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q9_ZEtuTR8
“I’ve never been happier to make an arse of myself”: Piers Morgan backtracks on his demand to see Arsenal boss sacked” reports the DM.
Piers may live to regret the timing of his backtrack and could well end up backtracking on his backtracking. 🙂
Tony
Ambarish being a techie guy could set up the most refreshing page among all the blogs. Also his followers seem top class , professionals . The discussions are academic and to the point . No cat fights and waste in name calling unlike the biggest quantity Le Trees.
Do have an occasional overview nevertheless. Today the great Sidthepapalous is taking intelligent potshots at the Pedro. Worth having a look today. Just hilarious, but seem to have gone over the head of the multitude