Centenary Boys Hold The Gunners, Until Penalties Go Our Way
Jul 31st, 2019 by 'holic
The Arsenal visited Angers this evening to help celebrate the French club’s centenary at the Stade Raymond Kopa. The presence of Jeff Reine-Adelaide in the host’s line-up added to the interest. A young Gunners team included only one new signing at kick-off, Gabriel Martinelli.
After a slow start we fell behind after unlucky 13 minutes had passed when El Melali was played in behind Zech Medley and he rounded Emiliano Martinez before slotting the ball into an empty net.
It took us until the 25th minute of a tedious half to attempt a response but Reiss Nelson pulled his effort wide of the target. Medley, enduring a torrid time, picked up a yellow card nine minutes before the break. Angers were denied a second goal from the resulting free-kick by the flag of the assistant referee.
We almost levelled with a Martinelli header from a Shkodran Mustafi cross but the ball slid agonisingly and narrowly past the far post. The young Brazilian then broke up an attack at the other end although was adjudged to have fouled Reine-Adelaide. The shrill blast of the referee’s whistle to end the half was welcome.
Not surprisingly we made changes after the break. Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Granit Xhaka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Dominic Thompson, and Joe Willock came on for Calum Chambers, Medley, Nacho Monreal, Tyreece John-Jules, and Robbie Burton. The impact was almost immediate. Nelson snapped up the equaliser within five minutes of the restart after an Eddie Nketiah shot was blocked.
The Jeff looked to restore Angers’ lead against his former club with an impressive run but his finish was over the target. How he would have enjoyed that if he had found the finish. He tried again but once more the finish did not match the run.
Just past the hour we strengthened further, sending on Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Matteo Guendouzi and Nketiah. Those changes heralded us taking control of the match at long last, but could we muster a winner from somewhere? Martinelli looked set but the bouncing ball in the box wouldn’t come down for him quickly enough. Then Aubameyang slid a Xhaka set piece wide. We were getting closer.
Aubameyang put Nelson’s miskick in from an offside position. What a shame the young midfielder had not put a great opportunity on target himself. That would have been ok. He looked to have picked up a knock and was replaced by James Olayinka. Another wonderful move ended with Aubameyang volleying over. This was a different match from from the half that had preceded it.
Maitland-Niles can consider himself unfortunate to collect a yellow card as the final whistle approached. On or two of the Angers lads had looked to be suffering inner ear infections all night. Aubameyang drove his next effort off target. We were going to have to settle for the draw with only nine seconds added on.
Maitland-Niles, Willock, Xhaka, and Aubameyang all scored in the ensuing penalty shootout before Kanga fired high over the target. Mkhitaryan, however, followed suit when a goal would have clinched it. The Jeff saw his effort saved by Martinez and that was that. A strange end to a strange evening.
101 Responses to “Centenary Boys Hold The Gunners, Until Penalties Go Our Way”
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And we win the shootout!
No thanks to Mkhitaryan though.
The shootout took everyone by surprise, including those in the crowd who had started to leave en masse.
[…] Original article: https://goonerholic.com/2019/07/centenary-boys-hold-the-gunners-just/ […]
I’m close to Angers and had considered driving down for this game. A fine dinner and an excellent Goonerholic report appear to have been the correct Plan B. I’m pleased to see the youngsters getting a lot of game time.
I didn’t see the game but I’m pleased that theyoungsters got another run-out and that we managed to win. Your report suggests that we managed to control the second half which is positive though for me the most positive sign is your deft turn of phrase, ‘suffering inner ear infections all night’ which indicates that you’re nicely match-fit and ready for the start of the new season about which I’m beginning to feel quite optimistic.
Beers all round this fine establishment.
I’m close to Angers
Have a cup of tea and a fag and calm yerself.
🙂
Thanks for the report Guvnor.
I haven’t seen the game but
it sounds like a typical pre-
season friendly.
I hope Kola and Ozil will play
again soon – I understand the
club’s action and think it’s
right but…..I’d also like them
to be fit for the start of the
season because that’s better
for me me me 🙂
Ned will be on top of this much more than I am but I believe we can only accommodate two more non-homegrown players as it stands. Tierney would, I believe, count as non-homegrown .
This would alter if we were to sell or loan any of Koscielny, Mavropanos, Mustafi, Elneny etc . Two of those four are likely to leave imo. Looking at his underwhelming contributions and his salary I’m not fussed if we parted company with Mkhitaryan. His awful penalty reminded me of McGoldrick at Sampdoria for older fans. That is in orbit close to the Hubble Space Station, the only time McGoldrick reached the stratosphere from my recollection.
We’ve apparently sold Asano for a million. Another of Wenger’s pointless signings who leaves without playing a game.
I wonder how much he cost us in fees and wages?
Tierney is indeed non-homegrown, TTG. Born in the Isle of Mann and raised in Scotland, where he played his academy football with Celtic. You have to have spent at least three years before the age of twenty-one at an English or Welsh club to count as homegrown under the Premier League rules.
The quota is applied to non-homegrown players rather than homegrown. A club can have a maximum of 17 non-homegrown players in their registered EPL squad of 25
The monks count 15 non-homegrown players in the first team squad at this point:
Leno
Sokratis
Koscielny
Mustafi
Monreal
Maprovanos
Kolasinac
Elneny
Mkhitaryan
Ceballos
Ozil
Torriera
Xhaka
Lacazette
Aubameyang
So room for two more, assuming none of the above are sold.
Home grown:
Martinez
Macey
Bellerin
Holding
Jenkinson
Chambers
Maitland-Niles
Iwobi
Guendouzi like ESR, Nelson and the other youngsters promoted to the first team are out of the calculation as a club can have an unlimited number of U-21s in its EPL squad.
So if no one goes out then
we can still accommodate
Pépé and Tierney.
I noticed UE said he was
still talking to Kos about the
current situation which makes
me think the discussion with
Rennes is not going well.
I guess that means the
manoeuvring around the
CB spots with Kos, Mus and
a possible loan for Mavro
will go on until the wire.
Yet again, an away game has been moved to a Monday night with no trains to get home afterwards. This time it’s Sheffield Utd in October.
They just don’t give a monkey’s about the match going fan do they?
Newcastle Away, Sunday 2pm trains £100
Liverpool Away, Saturday 5.30 no trains
Watford Away, Sunday 4.30 no problem
Man United Away, Monday 8pm no trains
Sheff United Away, Monday 8pm no trains
Cheers @SkySports @btsport @premierleague
Pepe confirmed…
Now for those defenders please
Welcome officially Pépé !
wowowowowowowow.
we’re gonna win games 5-4 all day long.
now, sadly, kozzer out, less so mustafi, bring in tierney and a 1-year centerback, and off we go. if mo and mikhi go, and we get something decent for them, even better.
Yes, welcome to Pépé, with Laca
and Auba we really are a threat
to anyone 🙂
Welcome Pépé to the Arsenal.
(Still waiting for the defensive master plan to kick into action but I can handle a few 5-4 wins so long as they don’t turn into 5-6 losses which is actually a slightly unpredictable matter.
Centre halves and full backs are for cowards!
Zaha is next.
We’re going to play an innovative 4-0-6 formation.
Zaha is next.
Funnily enough I have been thinking that this might be The Plan, but was too scared to post the thought as it looked like it may earn me a few pelters. 🙂
Emery thinks just like Countryman 100 @21! Exciting times ahead. We will concede 50 plus goals this season too and that could screw our chances of making top four but we will enjoy the ride. Hope we get in Tierney and Rugani through to bolster our defence. Great transfer window so far.
Having had serious concerns with our senior off-field team at the end of last season, I have to doff my hat to Josh and his executives for pulling off this deal with Pepe. That’s superb work.
If we can sign a decent CB and Ceballos effectively fills the gap left by Rambo I now believe that we could challenge for second place.I don’t think Tierney signing/not signing changes the equation significantly.
Unfortunately I think Shitteh remain well ahead in quality and depth of quality and Rodri is a great addition.
However Pool have bought no-one decent, possibly shot their financial wad last season and are still paying for it and probably won’t have the luck with injuries to key players they had last season.
Manure are struggling to offload dead wood and convince good people to join them and they have Bilbo Baggins as manager.
The Chavs have their transfer ban and have lost their best player by far. The Marshdwellers have made a good signing but they are Spudz and will almost certainly spud things up.
I know we look over our shoulder at Wolves, Leicester and Everton but I do think we have significantly strengthened if we can just sort out the final piece of the jigsaw. CB
I do believe we might have a good season.
Neck out time:
Prediction
1 Shitteh
2 Arsenal
3 Pool
4 Marshdwellers
5 Chavs
6 Wolves
7 Manure
8 Lesta
9 Everton
That is neck out stuff sir.
I thought I was optimistic
thinking we’d be third.
But agree a decent CB
is the key piece now.
With Pepe in the mix we can just play 5-1-1-3
Auba Laca Pepe
Özil
Ceballos/Torreira
Kola/Xhaka Holding Socratis Mustafi Belle/Niles
Leno
Hello Goonerholic
I need to apologize . My father didn’t sanction any of this but we were all struggling. It’s my fault . We were told the worst. He was mortified when he heard my mother had talked to everyone because he’s a private person and telling the world he has a tube up his cock is what he pointed out . So it’s my fault he told me because he said use the list after you plant me in the ground cos he said he knew a person who disappeared when he was talking to him and he didn’t want to disappear like that . But he did say bury me first to my mother and really she didn’t deserve it . So . He’s still really unwell he had been keeping stuff from everybody before but I think after tonight no more messages here anymore
I’m Declan by the way
our Ciaran and Liam have messaged here too
the tablet is the remote control for the telly sometimes
declan, ciaran, liam… so glad you’re letting us know what’s up with the old bastard. he’s important here. can i ask, do you mean “no more messages here” from him, or from you three (or four or five, or whatever)? i hope the latter, only insofar as it would mean your dad was coming back on his own todd.
thank you for sharing him with us. tell him i’m going to steal in and drink all his treacle stout if he doesn’t get better.
Thoughts are with all the cbas. Stay strong and send the old bugger back to us when he’s fit and ready for more mayhem.
Don’t look back in Angers, I heard them say… ;-p
What’s all this about Khedira and Rugani then?
Been reading various uninformed newspaper articles and items on the radio that repeat the theme of ‘how dare Arsenal sign someone like Pepe when they need defenders’. Despite the fact that we are making moves in that direction, I can definitely detect anti-Arsenal sour grapes.
This guy is potentially lethal, will have full backs shitting themselves, and will hopefully give the finger to biased idiots like Joe Cole who are predicting Arsenal slipping out of the top six.
*Prepares to watch fullbacks shitting themselves.*
Wonders if they will allow multi angle slow motion shots.
Like those moody crowd shots they love so much in UEFA competitions?
First commentator to use the phrase “poetry in motion” gets a slap.
cba, whatever is happening we all hope you make a full recovery and can rejoin us soon. Your unique style is both loved and missed, as are you.
I have a stupid question to all who are informed. Why do we not sign players like Maguire when he was still with Hull City? I think the same thing happened when Cahill was signed by Chelsea from Bolton back some years ago. Why can’t we spot some of this talent? Are we that short sighted?
We had a manager who would rather sign players who were never going to play for us, like Asano, Park, Wellington… Joel Campbell… and lots more, than scout the English leagues properly.
#39, I wonder who that manager was?
Tapera and Cynic.
Both harsh. We tried to sign Cahill. Made an offer and it was rejected. Fat Sam ridiculed the amount called it derisory. When they eventually sold him to the chavs he went for less than our offer.
The Maguire question can be labelled at any club. Same with Van Dijk. Same with any other player that went for effectively peanuts and then made good. I don’t remember a big transfer battle amongst the top clubs when Van Dijk or Maguire we’re bought?
I agree that AW may not have covered himself in glory with some of his later day dealings in the transfer market. However, to use your words Tapera, it would be very short sighted to suggest that he can’t spot a player from many of his other acquisitions?
That brings up another question for me. Are any of the players that Leicester might sign to replace Maguire NOT good enough for us? & that wud be James Tarkowski (Burnley) or Lewis Dunk (Brighton). I wonder.
We tried to sign Cahill, but evidently not hard enough. We were linked with Van Dijk when he was at Celtic, but Wenger had a blind spot when it came to defenders just as he had with keepers.
Tapera. What do you think? Would you be happy if we signed Tarkowski or Dunk? Do you think they are good enough? Would you be happy if we shelled out silly money for either?
Biscuit. Who bought him from Celtic? Lots and lots of bigger clubs with blind spots i’m guessing then???
If you gents have any of that wonderful hindsight left then please share some of it around?
@ #44. Steve T, it all depends on how much teams pay for players like Dunk & Tarkowski.
Leicester only paid 17M for Maguire in 2017. A 17M bust, if it turns out to be one will palatable in my humble opinion.
Where is Sanongo and Squillaci. We miss their services.
https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/harry-maguire-man-united-transfer-3090587
Fat Sam said a lot of things, mostly
bollocks. And he spat his chewing
gum out onto our sacred grass.
Completely off the point but I just
wanted to say it.
But to stay on point. AW
bought some players who
worked out brilliantly and
some players who didn’t
work out at all – just like
any other manager really.
Why focus on the ones
that didn’t work out?
Tapera. Those splinters must be agony?
You asked if the likes of Tarkowski or Dunk were good enough? I’m asking you what you think? Do you think they are good enough? If you don’t, it’s even less of a debate than I thought?
With your hindsight we could have completely followed the Leicester route and bought Kante, Drinkwater, Mahrez and Maguire when they were all available. We could then have bagged 4 decent players and still made £125 million profit when we sold them?
There again, if your auntie had bollocks, she would be your uncle.
Matt gets it. Both with AW and transfers along with his assessment of the odious creature that is Fat Sam.
Why focus on the ones
that didn’t work out?
There were far more flops than massive successes and at times it seemed we were signing some fucking terrible shite just to tick a nationality box. I remember him saying something completely stupid about wanting to sign an Asian player because Asia deserved it. It seemed at the time that anyone Asian would do and I’ve long wondered if there was some sort of ulterior motive behind all these relatively expensive players who had no chance of getting a work permit and went out on loan for the duration of their time here.
Flogging Bielik to Derby for ten million is decent business.
MLS news headline:
Rapids match to go ahead despite plague in area
Apparently Kroenke is attending the Colorado Rapids match this evening.
What the Guv’nor said about cba @37.
Hang in there, big man. We all want you back here fighting fit.
Best of luck to Bielik at Derby.
Agree with Cynic that it was
good to get some cash for
Bielik.
Seems to be a CB day so my
tuppence worth is……
I wouldn’t want Tarkowski or Dunk
personally and I think 80m for
Maguire is insane. Manure have
spent 130m strengthening their
defence, hopefully that will
work as well as buying Smalling
and Jones did.
I am starting to reconsider my
opposition to a 1 year contract
for the ageing donkey Cahill if
we really can’t find anyone better.
I hope Raul can pull something
out of his hat as CB is a big gap
for us just now.
We signed a Japanese player can’t remember his name ( Inanochi ) wasn’t for shirt sales and promotion of the Arsenal’s global frachise
Inamoto, who never played a minute but paraded around Highbury with the Premier League trophy, looked half decent at the World Cup and then got sold to the first team that offered us a bean.
I’d like someone to look in to our transfer business during the Wenger era, because there were so many questionable deals that had zero benefit whatsoever for the club.
Strange how George Graham was the only manager to be banned for transfer dealings , because lots of ex managers not in jobs anymore or who have died had done rather a lot of transfer deals with no come backs .
Maybe a bit more clever in their dealings ?
In fairness to Wenger he was largely brilliant in the market when he first arrived. He identified Vieira and Garde when he arrived. Vieira was sensational, Garde average but he cane in a free. He signed Anelka for £500k and sold him fo4 forty times that ( signing Henry) . He brought in, during his first close season- Overmars ( massive success, sold for megabucks), Petit ( ditto) , Grimaldi ( cost buttons, did a job ) , Boa Morte- didn’t come off but fee recouped on sale and now a scout for us , Mendes- cost nothing did nothing and Chris Wreh who scored some vital goals and cost very little. He was way ahead of the market then.
People caught up with him and passed him. Leicester identified seams of talent and Arsene didn’t innovate in his contacts or methods which got overtaken . But we always had duds and every club does – Malz, Bischoff, Muntasser etc.
But the golden nuggets in tge early days are too often forgotten. Wenger’s Problem was not realising that the market and the opposition had changed and altering his methods.
@55,56,57
There is not a single shred of
evidence that AW personally
benefitted financially from any
transfer dealings during his
time at Arsenal.
Inamoto played professionally
– still does I think – for a number
of clubs in England, Germany,
Turkey and Japan. He was an
established international who
wasn’t quite good enough for
a top level PL club.
Happens all the time with signings
at any top level club.
Apologies- my previous mail
was meant to reply @55,56
but not @57
@57 yes, GG was scapegoated
unfairly as you say. Sadly, he
was guilty as sin too.
Cynic. I think you must have a very short memory. I do agree that we have bought far too many “next best things” (a phrase that I brought to the bar by the way) but very few cost big bucks. Inamoto was never going to be a risk. His price was quickly realised with shirt sales back home. The biggest blip cane when we ended up buying Mustafi, Xhaka and Perez for a combined £80 million. How much of that was down to AW and how much was down to Gazidis we will never know
You can add several other names to the list provided by TTG. Freddie, Pires, Gilberto, Sol, Kolo, Lauren, Cesc, Ramsey, Santi, Mad Jens, Edu, RvP, the list is endless.
We want to question AW’s signings and in the same breath suggest we should be looking at Tarkowski or Dunk??? Really?
Can Declan play on the centre of defense? If he has half the wits of his Dad the oppo would have no hope on the mental side of the game?
Reportedly the scene at the training ground every Thursday lunchtime when Junechi (?) Inamoto was here, went thus –
Japanese Reporter, of which there were always many –
“Mr Wenger, will Inamoto be playing this weekend ?”
Mr Wenger – “No.”
Japanese reporters shuffle out and return in hope the following Thursday.
I heard he was brought in completely over Arsene’s head and was a fairly obvious attempt to corner the Japanese football shirt market – which, in fairness, it did reasonably well.
Junichi Inamoto is now 39. Since January this year has occasionally been playing (four league games out of 18) as a defensive midfielder for SC Sagimahara in the third tier of the J-League.
It appears that in his one season with us (2001-02) he was on loan from Gamba Osaka. He appeared in four games: two sub appearances in the Champions League, for a total of 20 minutes; and two League Cup games, both of which he started but neither of which he completed. He never made even the bench for the Premier League team. But he did play a combined 66 Premiership games for Fulham and West Brom, scoring four goals, and 43 Bundesliga games for Eintracht Frankfurt. He won 82 international caps for Japan, playing in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cup finals.
In case you missed it, the second division season has begun.
Stoke City 1 QPR 2
Ha Ha Ha!
Rob Holding is back in action, which is good to hear.
Good news about Holding.
Maybe the problem is we have been trying to sell Mustafi and Xhaka to football clubs. Have we tried roller derby clubs?
As I’ve said before, the experienced, albeit ageing Cahill, wouldn’t be a bad shout on a one year contract, but he’s probably going to Burnley. i forget who it is we have been linked with on a two year loan, but that is too long.
One of the entertaining things about the window has been the element of surprise and the logic of the purchases so far but we face the last five days needing at least one centre back and ideally a left back. Tierney appears to be on the agenda although I’m far from convinced anyone really knows where that one is. We’ve been on the verge of upping our bid almost perpetually throughout the window without actually seeming to do so. This boy is by all accounts a great player but is about as fit currently as Jimmy Anderson and we won’t see him in red and white until mid- October I would have thought. We must have a decent centre back and I guess that a plan is in place which isn’t Rugani. I would have thought Cahill made sense and we could still beat Burnley to him . The Coutinho story makes no sense at all so will probably happen !
Steve T on 48.
I take strong offense to this “There again, if your auntie had bollocks, she would be your uncle.”
I really don’t appreciate your language.
@64
Ned,
A tip of the hat to the
industrious monks 🙂
Good news on Rob – hope
there is no reaction and he’s
back ASAP.
But even so he’ll need a few
games to get up to speed.
As long as we sell them to clubs outside the Prem we have until September 2 to sell players M and X.
yes, Kos too bt8 as I guess
his destination is France.
I’m pondering over whether
another half season of Mus
is better than getting Cahill.
OM
I think Cahill every time.
He’s by no means perfect but he comes without the baggage Old Mustafi carries with him. In Raul we trust ( I hope)
Tapera@70. If that is genuinely the case then you might want to ask yourself if football is the game for you? If it still is then I’m still genuinely interested to know what your thoughts are re Tarkowski and Dunk?
I also think that Cahill for a season would be a sensible acquisition. If he is out of contract then we can sign him at anytime and it doesn’t have to be before the Friday deadline. I would take him ahead of Mustafi.
It’s the 21st Century, Steve, your auntie no longer has to have bollocks to be your uncle, she just has to identify as uncle and the job’s done 🙂
I would like to remind some of
the ahem gentlemen of this
fine establishment that it is a
public bar and not a pubic bar.
No further mention of my
unmentionables would be
greatly appreciated.
Cynic, Steve,
Your auntie declaring as, or becoming your uncle in a season of transition, seems to be not unexpected.
Perhaps we should instead buy the left-back Celtic acquired from Rapid Vienna in the summer as cover/competition for the injury-wracked Tierney, Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, for the great name if nothing else.
Ned, is that definitely a name ? Sounds like backing vocals ?
Inamoto is 39? Never would have expected him to make it that far seeing as riding in a sidecar with the Green Hornet is a bit of a dicey way to get around.
Unless he was riding as Robin on the bat cycle
“We do desperately need a central defender but they are offering Coutinho at a rock bottom price so let’s just forget our calamitous defensive situation and dish the money to Barcelona.”
In someone else’s voice not mine.
What a goal by Auba! Fed by Özil, Auba took it beautifully.
Cynic@77.
Genius. Very well put. Can’t believe I had been that stupid
?
AMN with a worldie at the Camp Nou.
Careless back pass by AMN for own goal. We just can’t defend for 90 mins.
Ken.
I’m impressed. I would have swapped your 90 minutes for 30 seconds.
Undone by a simple lob into the box and Suarez scored. Need of the hour (decade) is to buy a good defender.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TIlpyeal10M
For all those gender of undecideds and for those with delicate ears.
Also for cba and family. Keep fighting big man and get back in here soon. You would be horrified at some of the shenanigans that have gone on in your absence.
Right, that’s it. Lethargy can do one. I’m going go the century.
Am I ashamed? No. I’m going cba style
But that’s unethical???
Is it heck as like???
On a train. Bit of 9 below.
“More to do when I was 7”
If you know?
You know.
And not a farm animal is sight!!
Bath Spa.
Quick scoop Bath????
And there you have it. The century, cba style
What a load of BOLLOCKS
65 hours remaining. I’d go for Tarkowski and Dunk