Off And Running On A Dark Friday
Jul 22nd, 2016 by 'holic
Arsenal’s pre-season preparation stepped up a gear with the first team’s opening friendly of the season in Lens. With many players still absent it was very much a squad eleven on view and an opportunity for some of the youngsters to impress alongside experienced heads such as Matthieu Debuchy, Per Mertesacker, and Nacho Monreal.
The match started brightly and as early as the third minute Alex Iwobi cut the ball back to Chuba Akpom, who unfortunately shot straight at Douchez in the Lens goal. The hosts responded immediately but Zoubir lifted his effort over the bar.
Autret brought a first save out of Emi Martinez, and then dragged an effort wide when he outsprinted Per Mertesacker. Lens are a week away from the start of their Ligue 2 campaign and so looked a little ahead of Arsenal in their match-fitness.
Midway through the half Jeff Reine-Adelaide created an opportunity for himself but fired wide of the far post against his former club, then a minute later was denied at the cost of a corner which Ba cleared under pressure from Mertesacker.
The game sprung to life in the 37th minute when Calum Chambers poor defensive header put Zoubir clean through, and although Martinez was equal to his effort the ball found a way to the unmarked Autret who netted at the far post. The scoreline at half-time was established.
Lens 1-0 Arsenal
Matt Macey came on for the impressive Martinez at the start of the second-half, as well as Kieran Gibbs for Monreal, Krystian Bielik for Debuchy, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Akpom, Serge Gnabry for Reine-Adelaide, and Joel Campbell for Mohammed Elneny.
As the hour neared Chambers, switched to the right side of the back four, got forward and supplied a decent cross that just evaded Walcott and Campbell as the Gunners sought an equaliser. Lens had other ideas though and Macey was called on to make an excellent save from a fierce long-range effort by Bourigeaud.
With a quarter of an hour remaining Walcott, put in by the Ox, saw his effort deflected for another unproductive corner. Arsenal made their final substitutions with Chris Willock and and Gedion Zelalem replacing Iwobi and Walcott, and almost immediately Campbell drew a save out of Douchez.
Within minutes the Gunners did strike back at last. Gnabry played the Ox in and a sublime chip dropped inside the far post to level matters.
Lens 1-1 Arsenal
Events elsewhere put this pre-season opener into perspective. Nineteen Gunners have some match practice under their belt and one or two look further ahead with their preparations than others. It was good to see us respond in the second-half, but more telling friendlies lie ahead.
Meanwhile our thoughts are with all those affected by the goings on in Germany. Stay safe.
104 Responses to “Off And Running On A Dark Friday”
Get in.
Season begins.
And get a striker in too, please.
Thoughts with Munich indeed, Guvna. Troubled times.
Let them eat Ox chips
Evening Bath,
Enjoy that tour and soak it all up.
Yes, 6 people dead apparently. As for that striker, there’s as much chance of Corbyn being the next PM. Even Gazidis has been brought into line with his quote that we are already strong enough to challenge for the title. A midfielder with a penchant for red cards, a promising defender from a league 1 team and (stop laughing at the back) a young Japanese striker. Wonderful! I must get down to my bookies first thing tomorrow.
Didn’t see match but the news from Germany is depressingly familiar. The world is becoming a crazy place.
A very early friendly is not much of an indicator but I thought the Gazidis quotes today were a bit pathetic. Swiss Ramble suggested in his last report that we had three quarters of the cash reserves in the whole Premier League. Please Ivan don’t start talking now about clubs with ‘ more money’. Show some ambition and try to compete
@TTG: indeed episodic inhumanity becoming the new normal in Europe it seems.
If you’ve not seen that peach of a goal from Ox yet, enjoy: https://gfycat.com/MediocreElderlyFirebelliedtoad
The Swiss Ramble data TTG referenced in #7 provides much interesting food for thought… http://swissramble.blogspot.co.nz/2016/02/arsenal-brass-in-pocket.html
Third highest net transfer spending over the past three seasons for example.
Surely not? Is it possible? Hmmm?
We’ll see! 😉
Still waiting for that fox in the box. *checks watch, sighs*
When the moon hits your eye,like a big pizza pie,
Thats a Mahrez
http://news.arseblog.com/2016/07/report-mahrez-to-sign-for-arsenal/
maybe
What a tease you are.
£45m for Mahrez is about double what he’s worth on a good day. There’s no way he’s worth that.
Still, it ain’t my cash…
Arsenal paying 45million for Mahrez. Hahahaha that made my day.
If we end up signing Mahrez it will be interesting to see if both him and Alexis start, on different flanks. Both are maverick, both like to cut in, and may end up crowding the middle too much. It’s an affliction our build-up play already suffers from.
Given the striker situation, if Mahrez joins, we might be thinking of using Alexis as the center forward alternative of Giroud. With Xhaka at the base the midfield will now have enough combination of skills to vary the attacking shape based on whether its Giroud or Alexis.
I also wonder if Conte bringing his trademark 3-5-2 will influence many of the smaller teams to play with wing backs, in which case we can try the old fashioned 4-4-2 against those teams with Giroud and Alexis playing centrally, Ozil and Mahrez on two wings, and Rambo playing centrally. Will be very interesting to see how Xhaka and Rambo get along. We should be preparing for life after Santi anyway.
@15: In last three years in terms of total net transfer spending we are in the top 3 of PL. We signed one of the best young talents in central midfield — who was trusted to be the captain of a club if ‘Gladbach stature at 23 — for 35 million pounds this season. But please don’t let the facts get in your way of mirthful sarcasm at the club you supposed to love.
@Doctor You really think we will pay 45million for Mahrez after paying 35million for Xhaka in the same transfer window. When was the last time we paid that much for just two transfers. I am stating the facts from the past, not saying it cant happen in the future. Am not been sarcastic by the way, cos I don’t think Mahrez is worth that much. I rather use that money for Lacazette. And please don’t bring up any issue of me loving the club shit. Why is that when someone questions whats going on with the club. Your love for the club always comes into question?
IMO 45 mil would be a perfectly reasonable fee (in today’s market) for last year’s PFA player of the season. Reminder that he’s only 25 years old. If your memory needs jogging have a peek at his highlight reel from last year.
Of course it’s a lot etc but if we’re not willing to spend in that bracket more than once a summer then we can quickly wave goodbye to our “big club” status. Arsene knows this and he also knows this is a massively important window for his own legacy at the club. With just a year left on his own contract and Alexis and Ozil watching to see how ambitious the club is as they ponder their own futures, I do believe at least one (hopefully two) big $$ signings can reasonably be expected. Of course if they do come, it’ll be with the maximum stress. ??
Mahrez is class. I’m having that. Get it done Arsene.
Lacazette couldn’t even make the France Euro finals squad, SAG. I think we can do better. Or save the cash till we can.
Mahrez is a snip at £45m. I would probably be mostly financed by selling Theo anyway. Not that I would see it as much of an upgrade.
Beware the one season wonder
SAG@18: Our highest combined sum for the two most expensive transfers in a season is £51million, in 2014-15 for Sanchez (£35 million) plus Chambers or Welbeck (both £16 million). We spent a record (for us) £95.6 million in all that season. Debuchy (£12 million), Gabriel (£11.2 million), Ospina (£3 million) and Bielik (£2.4 million) also came in.
To add some detail to Dr F’s@17, this is the average gross transfer spend per season vs the average net (i.e. minus sales) by Premiership clubs over the past five (not Dr F’s three) seasons. But we are still top four in net spend.
Chelsea — £90.1m — £39.6m
Man U — £88.0m — £62.0m
Man City — £86.5m — £59.4m
Liverpool — £67.3m — £27.8m
Tottenham — £54.9m — £260,000
Arsenal — £48.8m — £31.2m
Southampton —£40.2m — £2.6m
West Ham —£25.0m — £19.8m
Everton —£23.1m — £9.4m
Crystal Palace — £19.7m — £12.5m
Sunderland — £19.5m — £10.6m
Leicester — £18.6m — £11.1m
Swansea —£17.0m — minus £537,000
Hull —£15.3m — £7.1m
Bournemouth — £14.8m — £10.5m
WBA — £14.7m — £10.6m
Stoke — £13.3m — £8.9m
Watford — £12.6m — £10.7m
Middlesbrough £10.7m — £8.7m
Burnley — £5.1m — £1.1m
It’s not how much but on what.
That outlay includes the ridiculously overpriced Calum Chambers and £10m for Debuchy, plus the two huge buys in Sanchez and Ozil. I don’t remember selling too many players for big sums recently either.
As far as Mahrez goes it’s stupid money. I’d be happier with Payet for that sum.
I seem to recall Mahrez being a little bit special the season before last at the Ems – he’s a very talented boy and given his age I’d be happy to see him at the Arse on a long term contract.
I’d also be happy with Payet at that price but after his performance at the Euros I suspect that somebody would pay even more.
The sums do seem high but I’m starting to believe that with the league being awash with the new tv money that these sort of prices are the new normal so we may as well get amongst it now.
Too many midfielders? I think we’ll shed a couple before the end of the window.
UTA.
If Pogba is going for 100million, there is no way on earth that Payet will go for 42 to 45 million price range. Especially after the contrasting performances of both individuals at the euros. Wijnaldum from Newcastle was bought by Liverpool for 25 million …Therefore a price of 45 million for Mahrez would be perfectly appropriate. This is an over inflated market because the whole world knows that English clubs are awash with new TV money. Therefore comparisons with our expenditures in past transfer windows doesn’t make sense at all. By the time this window gets over, most of the top 8 to 10 clubs would have shattered their past expenditure records for a single window including our.. We fortunately can recoup some of our expenditure by selling Theo and trim our wage bill by loaning out youngsters like Gnabry and Jeff.
I would agree with Dr.Faustus @16 with regards to Mahrez. Both him and Sanchez starting in the same Xi in the wide positions would be very unlike Arsene in the sense that he always prefers a more technical player on one wing if the other is occupied by a mercurial type. Does that mean Sanchez playing as a centre forward or does that mean we will be playing two upfront with Sanchez playing off the main striker like he does for Chile. Or is it an indication that we might sometimes even play 3 at the back ala conte which might explain the purchase of a 5th centre half in Holding? Or worryingly enough is it an indication that Sanchez’ ankle is going to take a bit longer to heal??
But I would definitely prefer us signing Mahrez and having those conundrums than not… He was in terrific form last season and has tremendous natural flair – the kinds that can turn a game in one moment of brilliance. When that kind of player becomes available – you just have to go for him…
coopers stout kit – £10
dark spraymalt – £7
black treacle – £1.50
little bit the brown sugar – 50p
40 pint bottles – free transfer
.
.
“Just do it !”
“Don’t fuckin hang about to the last fuckin minute”
“Just get it fuckin done before herself shuts the kitchen window on ye”
.
.
.
IT’S THE WAITING WHAT KILLS YA
.
.
Happy Sunday ‘holic an ‘holics an all
.
UP THE ARSENAL !
net spend – 50p per pint
or is it gross ?
.
nope !
it’s de-fuckin-licious
?
pints all round for the patient gooners
.
sláinte fellas
I get everyone’s point. The question is simple, will Arsene pay 45million for Mahrez? I see all the financial stats. We are good in making deals for fees under 20million. My point was I don’t see Wenger buying multiple players for fees higher than 30million in a given window. We need a damn striker and we here talking about buying mahrez. So what happens to the striker situation if by some miracle we get mahrez. I thought a striker has been our priority for the past 3 seasons. Higuaín is out now with Juventus making a deal for him.( lots of cash by the way). What are we waiting for? I just don’t get whats going on. I guess am just frustrated.
http://metro.co.uk/2016/07/24/have-adidas-just-revealed-chelsea-have-hijacked-arsenals-deal-for-leicester-city-ace-riyad-mahrez-6025555/
Having Mahrez, Ozil and Sanchez behind Giroud doesn’t make sense to me. A different style of striker is needed. I just don’t get our transfer strategy.
Why the fuck are England batting?
Don’t complain about cricket chat, it could be worse. It could be tennis.
Or Formula Bore.
Are these transfer rumors our “transfer strategy” or the muckraking media’s news invention strategy?
The huge inflation in transfer fees appears to be the direct result of the massive rise in income, particularly TV income. In Europe only a few sides like Real and Barca , Juventus and Bayern spend very big. From time to time we see Wolfsburg or someone like them emerge. But in England we have many teams spending big now.
Arsenal always like to do a big deal, coincidentally around season- ticket renewal time and then we get into Wenger’s poker game situation which we all hate , mainly because we don’t play it very well. It contrasts with Dortmund who despite losing two real talents have signed eight very good players in the window already, several of whom eg, Guerrero and Dembele I would love to have at our place. They get business done early and seem to identify interesting buys early on.
Mertesacker’s remarks today are sadly spot- on. We still have time to buy but it would be great to start a season with a full roster , not one we are trying to sort out on transfer deadline day.
We have Ospina looking to leave just as we seem about to lose Szczesny
Is this a symptom of the fact we don’t plan this stuff very well?
any savvy sorts here
just found a wee mac laptop
800Mhz PowerPC G4 processor
384 MB memory
Mac OS X
10.3.2
the end and start of my abilities
wiping it clean with a damp cloth
powering it up
clicking on ‘about this mac’
is this useable or just museumable
cheers if anyone can help
iBook G4
It’s very underpowered and elderly, cba.
The OS is way old, there’s no RAM in it and it’s an old PPC processor so it’s not really much use, unless you just want to run a basic word processor and listen to MP3s.
In my humble.
cheers cynic
it has loads of tunes on it
so i think I might just use it as a rather pretty wee tune player
is everything too old to watch youtube videos
It is highly likely that you won’t get a browser that will run well enough on it for YouTube.
good man yerself
cheers fella
If it’s just an old one you’ve found and not costing anything, you have nowt to lose. Use it as a big iPod 😉
TTG, interesting that you bring up the ‘planning’ aspect. I for one think that we did really well to bring xhaka as early as we did. If we were buying him now – it is pretty obvious another 5 to 10 million would have been added to his price tag just because of the crazy prices flying around. At the end of last season, it was quite clear that topmost priority for us was a deep lying midfielder and a striker. Adding another goal scoring & assisty wide man and a central defender were second on the priority list. The Vardy bid before the euros was clearly an attempt to sort the number one priority nice and early. For the second priority, we could then wait for some good opening or opportunity.
Unfortunately for us and fair play to Jamie Vardy, he decided to stay at Leicester. That put a spanner in the works because the striker market is really limited and therefore over inflated. Any move for the likes of Morata, Higuain or Lukaku was always going to be a long negotiated one and quite expensive. The second rung of players like Batshuayi or Lacazette would be relatively easier to pull off but but not entirely satisfactory. If we do sign Mahrez, it might well be an indication that the manager is looking for a distribution of goals from the wide forwards as well the centre forwards instead of a 30 goal main man. So we might indeed sign Mahrez and Lacazette. But in a nutshell we are having to to do a balancing act because we are not the sort of club who would spend 80 or 90 million on a single player, neither are we a club who would shell out wages of 250,000 per week because of our salary structure. Manchester United can do that (where even the granny shagger has wages of something like 300,000 per week) and that’s where they landed Mkhitariyan ahead of us and they can also spend 100 million on Pogba and still pay him a bomb in wages (Also in Moronho they have a manager who does his high spending right upfront every time he moves clubs because frankly he doesn’t have to bother what happens three seasons down the line cause everyone is fed up of him by that time anyway. So Gazidis wasn’t entirely off the mark in his comments.
That is not to say that everything we are doing is absolutely correct. But to say we didn’t plan is incorrect too. Dortmund as pointed out by TTG are a good example. It just seems that our second and third choice options aren’t that obvious. And transfers are complicated business. We might want to get things done early but it depends not entirely on just one party. I would be really happy if we are able to sort out the striker situation latest by the time it is one week before the first league game against Liverpool.
We hate Wenger’s poker game because he’s always bluffing. On an empty hand.
yup
my recall of it is limited
think it’s from where i worked a dozen or so years ago
but it’s bunged with clearly tons of my music
so yeah
big ipod plumbed into an amp it is
mind you i have amps several dozen years old
so it’ll look modern beside them
nice wee find just clearing out a backroom
?
truth be told
was in an old cracked brew bucket in me brew kitchen
with a fortunes worth of pro audio and video cables
RESULT ?
got it hooked up to
an old NAD amp and NS10s already in there
i could broadcast to russia just opening the back door
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UBZdrJJEwQ
on now
Vrooommmm VROOOOOOOMMMMMMMM
DG
I think you touch on the key point about our dealings. We could compete, fee wise at least on anybody. The salary issue would need consideration but a lot of what I regard as sensible Gooners, who are businessmen themselves , feel that if the market has moved we must move with it. I’m not sure if Arsene isn’t too protective of Stan’s money when signing a Higuain or Aubameyang might yield a great reward. Signing Lacazette or Bacca might not, staying with Giroud on his own, certainly won’t .
if i can ask sumfin else
nosey fuckin bollix that i am
is trev just sitting out the bullshitting season ?
the mighty zico too ?
are they alive , well and sitting up and taking nourishment ?
and no
i’m not just picking the clever ones
.
is tabs ok too ?
?
cba the three fellows must be retrievable
maybe via iMac? ;)?
You jammy slag, cba. 😉
worth a try , many balls
.
*puts more turf int back o that there sparkly singing mochine*
.
.
.
?
nope
I just watched the remake of Robocop. Why the fuck did they bother.
yes cynic
yes i am
I am also lustily looking forward to The Godfather prequels
what could possibly go wrong ?
.
.
.
.
.
?
More to the point, why the fuck did I bother?
cba – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRaVVPovwKw
????
Randolph Scott is calling me. It’s only Sugarfoot but it will be like watching Citizen Kane compared to that Roboshite.
L8RZ (as the kids used to say in 1991)
good call
Randolph at his worst better than most at their best
unforgiven on itv4
gonna give that a blast
seems like a lifetime ago
which when ye think about it
it is
ye forget people were born in the nineties
and talk on here
like proper grown ups
no stabilizers
still
FUCK OFF YA WEE SHITES
YOU KNOW NOFFING
.
……. back in my day ……
ah what’s the point
.
be kind to yer knees youngsters
Really getting into it, love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFcDjPlukZw
Don’t mind admitting I smiled when I logged in just now and Cynic and cba are chatting. 🙂 Holiday ends tonight so I suppose I’ll have to produce more bollocks now. I’m picturing cba with a Russian army satellite dish in his wall, a la Only Fools and Horses, and planes homing in. 🙂
*thunder thunder thunder*
.
clint –
“Who’s the fella owns this shithole”
.
.
.
yeah
……
.
.
clint-
“i’ll come back and kill every one of you sons o’ bitches”
clint isn’t happy !
.
just sayin’ !
.
.
.
.
.
*makes armpit farts*
actors are scary
G’day.
Some interesting stuff above, as always.
Why is our net spend so high in recent years? Because we are still playing catch up?
Transfers are complicated? I agree. That’s why you need the right people in the club dealing with them. Is Ivan good enough? Is Ivan the man?
Our transfer policy is at best misguided. The signings of the likes of Sanchez and Ozil have been great. But then we have spent a lot of money on squad players. Players that at best make the bench. That includes the like of Gabriel, Welbeck, Chambers, Debuchy, Ospina etc. There are more. £60 plus for players that aren’t starters? That I will never understand.
Chris has championed the likes of Hummels for as long as I can remember. Would we have been better off not buying the likes of Gabriel and Chambers, but instead spending that money on a Hummels or player of similar ability???? Personally I do not think its a difficult decision.
Too many average squad players and not enough real talent has been our problem more many a season now.
All in my humble opinion of course.
?
in other business
‘hol ?
you have to log in
i thought you strode majestically through internetland
doors futuristically Blake’s Sevenly
throwing themselves hingewise
with a gary numan *schwiszzzchhhh*
.
nope ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Bv887-JlM
ye in oz steve ?
Morning CBA.
Down in Oz with the family and visiting family.
Home after the season opener.
All well in your world sir???
You’re a gentleman and a scholar, Steve T.
balls to what i’m up to
.
Hope ye have a crackin grand time , Steve
Top Man
Look after yerself chief
they’re feckin mengkle down there
?
see 72
.
the man’s a nutter
albeit a nextdoor nutter
?
Randy Scott was a poofter (no insult intended). You need a proper tough guy for Westerns, like Lee van Cleef – a real man’s man (and I don’t mean that in a gay way).
Cheers CBA. Spreading the Arsenal gospel as far as I can.
Keep The Ramones and home brew flowing.
Hi Chris. Hope all good your end.
Heading up to Cairns today. Should be fun.
If Mahrez joins us, would there be any other team in recent history with more primarily left-footed players?
Would Mahrez lighten Ollie’s burden of build-up play and have him hound the box instead? And also, Ozil’s need to be the chief creator?
With Mahrez demanding two defenders, wouldn’t that take away one or two players waiting for Alexis to go Right- as always?
With Mahrez on the wing, doesn’t that translate to Hector bombing ahead more judiciously? (Think: Pires, and that guy who went to Chel$ea)
With an actual dribbler since Gervinho finally ran off the pitch, out of the Emirates, and away from London- wouldn’t this be our Master key to the bus parking teams?
@79: Good observations! Bellerin’s attacking effectiveness would improve considerably. While not quite as talented as Alexis I think Mahrez can be tactically more disciplined and as you said can draw defenders out and then switch play quickly to make Alexis more effective. One of them will have to be more of a wide player as both cutting in wouldn’t work.
I also think Alexis as a mobile number 9 in a line up with both Ozil and Mahrez can be very effective, especially with a genuine distributor from deep in Xhaka.
Even before last year, towards the end of the 14/15 season Mahrez really stepped up as Leicester had a fantastic end of season run to avoid relegation.
Good luck Steve T, Cairns is a top spot. Be sure to take the train trip up to Kuranda on the Tablelands, and when you scuba dive on the Barrier Reef (as you must) be sure you’re back on board before the boat leaves! The 2004 movie Open Water was based on a true story about two Americans who got left behind and were never seen again … https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/jul/23/2
24 hours is a long time to tread water in shark-infested waters…
Fuckin’ hell cba, the doors in Blake’s 7 hardly ever opened like that, they never had the budget. There was one episode though where the doors opened with a sound like an orgasm. Stratford Johns was in it.
Not the door the episode.
Although it might have been him that was causing the orgasms, who knows… it was usually Paul Darrow who did that though. For the female in the audience anyway.
Irony Corner – a few years back Paul Darrow did adverts for mobility scooters and was sprightly in real life, so he didn’t need one and it felt like a cheat. Now he does need one, after losing both of his legs following an operation, and there’s no job advertising scooters available. Acting is a cruel profession.
End of rambling nonsense.
Shit. Wrong episode, it was Roy Kinnear not Stratford Johns. Easily confused by fat bald blokes
*looks in the mirror, sees Roy Kinnear looking back at him*
you should do irony corner as a regular guest post
gooners need chuckles !
albeit somewhat sad chuckles
Orgasmic doors.
From 27.00 in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ7IT0O9-7I
brilliant !
what the fuck were they thinking ?
I dunno but gives me the horn to this day 😉
Honigstein claims it’s impossible to understand the manager, and the club is not two players away from competing but simply can’t without change.
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/club/arsenal/359/video/2915961
Make of that what you will, but the German is hardly a hack tabloid journo. I don’t understand the hand wringing about costs on this site any longer. “Arsenal is not a club that pays high wages or high fees”, though our wage bill is 10m behind city according to some sources. We also have one of the highest transfer spend (net spend too) aggregates in the league. We finished second last season after all that spending, but unsurprisingly our points total probably should have yielded fourth or fifth.
We dither over 10m only to lose out on Higauin and see his price double or triple after he’s 28 years old ( it should also be said that Juventus buy and sell fantastically well and actually seem to have a plan) We dither and buy a cast off, though excellent, keeper and nothing else when we knew we’d need more this year with a minimum of 3 going out. This was in the face of the new TV deal coming into play this summer and having the whole league awash with cash.
We are overpaying on wages and fees for mediocrity while Wenger searches with little reward for the diamonds in the rough so he can be called genius or some such. I love the old Wenger but not old Wenger so unfortunately I’m with Honigstein. Hopefully, the old economist starts looking at his models and surprises us all. I’m not holding my breath.
ESPN +Football = oxymoron.
In the old onion bag.
UTA.
The worry is it is already late, very late and we still do not look like signing anyone who we truly need. A striker, Cb, right wing and Lb are the priorities in that order and I do not see even one being fulfilled. Why does it take us so long/ every season we cry over this and we have no answers. Is there no accountability for all this? Arsene Wenger is a legend and I love him to bits but is he not answerable to all this? Ok if it is the board, then they should be even more accountable for the club is generating more revenue than they could imagine.
We will struggle this season. I am not dramatizing it but honestly, we will be vulnerable to the same mistakes. An aging Per, no support striker, still dependent on theo to fulfill his promise on the right wing, Gibbs and his lack of positional awareness, all this is so rhetoric. Why are we not doing anything towards this is beyond me.
Arsene/board, there is no ideal world and honest evaluations. In an inflated market, you need to pay the top dollar to get your man. If it is maharez or lacazette or even a lewandowski, no one will come cheap, heck not even goonersaurus.
Minnesota’s second tier professional team gets international coverage for all the wrong reasons.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36857987
mouse busted
Will get one sorted and and the same time get a bit of advice off a computer geek about how to best set up the system for me
that was supposed to be an email
and you thought I knew what I was doing
how wrong you all were
my geek stats are very poor
very poor indeed
the moral being
– don’t have gmail open beside goonerholic and drink beer beside both
Vinay @91, how is a left back a priority if Gibbs is still with us? We would need a left back only if we sell Gibbs. I will be happy if we don’t sell Gibbs because frankly there aren’t any better second choice left backs than him in the league.
time to ram my thickasfuckitude home
with the double onslaught of bbc2
university challenge and only connect
them that quite fancy themselves
prepare to receive tough love
8
9
BOOOOOOOMMMMMMM
Just seen that the BFG may be out for 5 months. Pretty sad if true.
Charlie Harper is older then Wenger.
Teenage, I wanna be teenage…
Per Mer is out.
met charlie harper
really nice fella
loves his fishing
belfast band runnin’ riot were supporting them
good night
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>