The Fab Four Take To The Stage
Jul 7th, 2014 by 'holic
The heavens have opened and so my advice to get out in the garden is rendered rather pointless. Twenty-four hours before the first semi-final I have a chance to look at the World Cup once more as the pointed end looms into view.
It is a strange tournament too. I missed much of the early phase but everybody was quick to tell me I was missing out. The knock-out stage I have seen in it’s entirety and I am left with the same sort of feeling as someone who has booked a table at a once lauded restaurant only to find the chef has moved on and the fare is more ordinary.
The lesser sides who lit up the early phase are now history. Farewell Colombia and Costa Rica (and Switzerland), and thanks for the memories. Not surprisingly the big guns of South America, hosts Brazil and their old rivals Argentina, will face up to Europe’s current strongest, Germany and Holland, respectively. So this is where continental advantage kicks in and the Europeans meet their match, right?
Well but for a sickening broken vertebra for Neymar I might have been more inclined to accept that. Without him there are huge question marks about this Brazil team. One could argue that about the other three semi-finalists as well, but you can see where they might click and score goals. Popular belief has it that Oscar will be pushed up behind, or alongside, Fred and Hulk. He has undoubted quality, but will need the others to shake off the inconsistency and lack of imagination they have suffered from thus far.
Germany come to the party having already recorded three clean sheets. Manuel Neuer has been the goalsweeper (you read it here first!) of the tournament, and ahead of a mean defence is a midfield that has everything. Schweinsteiger and Khedira anchoring behind a fluid trio of Ozil, Muller, and Kroos. Will the BFG return after missing the quarter-final victory over France with a bug? Will we get to see Lukas Podolski at any stage. I tipped them before the tournament and earnestly believe that the three Gunners will be lifted to new levels next season if they can earn the epithet, World Cup winners.
I am on Germany to spring not much of a surprise, perhaps by a 2-1 margin.
On Wednesday one could argue that Argentina face a similar burden to their neighbours. Maybe Di Maria is not the talisman, as Neymar is to Brazil, but he does provide variety and a significant threat. Without him to worry about the Dutch will be able to focus just a little more on the genius that is Messi. He came into this tournament with some pundits playing down his status as the best player in the world because ‘he hasn’t done it at international level’. He is possibly three hours playing time away from wiping out the few doubts that can remain about his talent. However the Dutch will do everything to crowd him out of the game and how successful they are at doing that will determine their fate.
The Netherlands have three key players who most definitely could hurt the Argentines in Sneijder, and the loathesome pairing of Robben and van Persie. Bitter, me? You bet I am, but that doesn’t alter the fact that this Dutch team has reached the last four on merit. They have shown devastating class against Spain, character against Australia and Mexico, and although sentiment demanded that they were slated after beating Costa Rica in a controversial penalty shoot out I would argue the end result was probably the correct, if not popular, one.
I really can see this going to penalties again, which makes the result a lottery, but something is telling me Argentina will nick it at the death. A South American tournament cannot produce an all European Final, surely?
Whatever happens I hope football is the winner and we are not discussing terrible injuries and unsporting behaviour. When the stakes are so high don’t be surprised if that is exactly what we are talking about on Thursday.
Have a good couple of days, ‘holics.
697 Responses to “The Fab Four Take To The Stage”
First?
My guess is that Brazil will get through on a dodgy home-team penalty, perhaps in extra time, and that Argentina will beat the Dutch by the odd goal in three within the 90 minutes.
argies gonna beat Germany, holic. but I hope not, even though I lose my pool. the group games had some killer games, indeed, last 16 some relative duds. hope the garden dries up, and you can enjoy a sunny spot to partake of an elixir that will cure all your ills…
3rd is a trophy, right?
Germany v Argentina for the third time in WC history( one awful final, one excellent one). The Dutch team have some very ordinary players like Vlaar and De Guzman. So have Brazil. Would we take Fred in place of ago round. I very much doubt it.
I agree with you Holic. This tournament lacks quality and has been overhyped. There is a dearth of world- class talent.
Good piece, Guv.
ttg@5 – I’m guessing “ago round” = Giroud. It’s like reading some of my text messages – who knew that predictive text would render awake as cycle, or good as home? The poor so-and-sos that get text messages know now.
Has the season started yet?
COYG
All the goals and all the upsets seem to have run out. Let’s get these last few games over and done with, and let the real football come back. The only hope for an interesting outcome is for Messi to lead Argentina to an epic upset victory. Just about everything else would be ho-hum. This World Cup was fun up to the round of quarterfinals, when I probably should have stopped watching.
Liverpool’s place
El puno – my poor attempt at sarcasm in previous drinks was aimed at only Ivan and arsene.
You said – Bolster the squad and the revenues will increase.
It is like Ivan and arsene have been throwing poor quality darts at a dartboard for 9 years hoping one of these lesser quality darts will stick.
The added problem with buying poor quality products is you can’t even flog em on ebay.
They finally bought a quality dart in ozil and what do you know, we win the FA cup.
Friday it seems is their chance to shine and correct past transfer mistakes….
Hope your confidence in BIG Ivan is correct.
why track ?
.
why?
.
track?
.
TUNE surely?
.
has
every RAY DEE O dj
become
tommy
STEREO
vance
.
start behavin numpties.!
..
it’s a TUNE!
.
grrrrrrr!!!!!
.
(moooo)
🙂
The man has spoken…
Impressive detail, Guv, for something you’re not very enamoured with.
Personally, I have always wanted the Dutch to do well, latterly for obvious reasons like Dennis, Overmars, Helder – well, you catch my drift 😉 – and they have more often than not beaten themselves.
Now they have discovered a spirit and togetherness, and I cannot take to them at all – again for obvious reasons like the cheating Robben and van Persie.
I rarely disagree with H2H but I do over Tim Krul. His antics were pretty poor in that shoot out and a bit insulting to the Costa Rica players. It might have been different had he played the rest of the game, but to come onto the pitch and immediately start getting in the faces of the Costa Rica players looked pretty classless to me.
I wish you luck though, mate, and hope your bar is a full and bouncing one.
It’s Germany, or Arsenal International, for me, for the reasons Holic mentioned.
cba,
what if it’s a tune about a train.
Does that make it a track ? 😉
“verily i say unto thee”
.
🙂
.
how goes it big man?
.
champion i hope
.
🙂
you too trev 🙂
pair o’ gooduns
Little procedure on Thursday cba. Had to turn down the Puma launch. Otherwise chipper my friend.
Hope that knee is getting there Trev.
We’re a creaking bunch, ain’t we? 😉
better creakin’
than
makin’
no noise at all
.
long may we creak
Trev -just a shame one of the Costa Rican players didn’t tell Krull to “get back on his f–king line and worry about saving this thunderbolt coming your way”
But in gentlemanly fashion they concentrated on taking the penalties.
A journo in one of the UK papers summed it up nicely – ” that is a win at all and any cost ” mentality
Very South American and sportsmanship runs a distance second
Pangloss
Well guessed ! It was indeed Giroud I meant.
When I pressed submit it looked OK but the gremlins took over.
Thanks for pointing it out. It made little sense as it stood!
No the season is in five weeks as we are often reminded on here!
Evening Holic,
Twenty lengths swimming with full kicking yesterday, and 200 extra standing kicks for good measure. 😉
Hope all goes well for you Thursday – whatever it is. 😉
day before friday?
Day before Friday indeed.
Love you lot 😉
in similar
trev,
but not remotely
similar
i did
several rounds
in the bar
today
.
liquid and annoyance
.
ran out of home made
so
had to throw money
at
that nice shower
who
caught it
with glee and a till
.
🙂
trev has joined both Esther Williams’ Revue and the Rockettes! wolfie is going to be jealous of your costumes.
and best’o’luck for Thursday, guv.
Good one H
Hope you and yours are well.
I assume your emails are coming via the usual route,
‘ Carrier Pigeon ‘ !!
Apart from potted highlights at the end of news bulletins,the only ‘ live’WC action i have seen,are the 2 penalty shootouts between
CR and Greece,and CR v Holland.
Having watched the classy Krul leave me gobsmacked at his crass baiting of the CR penalty takers,i don’t think i will be watching any live WC action again any time soon.
From an Arse point of view,it would indeed be a great fillip for our 3 Standard Bearers if they could win the Trophy.
Am i right in saying that the weak/spineless/flat track bullies that are the Arsenal,are the only PL team with 3 players still involved in the World Cup.??
Cheers
The Sweeper
PS i have some responses to follow, to posters in previous drinks.
In particular to the one impersonating Mr Guff and Mr Waffle.!!!
pickin’ on a man
who clearly
fragrantly
had
salty
thirsty bringin bacon
not long since
.
divils
landlords
.
grrrrrrrrrr
25
🙂
i’m guessin h2h
woulda said
.
no
you’ve chucked too much
in me till cba
go home
and
buy your 17 children
those shoes
you promised them
.
the shoe-needin-shites
Nice preview H. All the best for Thursday.
Good to hear the knee is coming along nicely Trev. Keep kicking.
Heh at cba.
@31 – poor soles. 😉
Cheers, bath.
Guy on radio 2
A nitwit
Of course
i’ve heard
The Paragons
twat
play
The Nerves
Hanging on the Telephone
.
now
.
most people
don’t know
that
was a cover
It is in the job spec, cba.
Hope all goes well on the day before Friday, ‘Holic.
Trev: glad to hear you are kicking on…
NBN
thats as well as may be
but
*Alloa accent*
“Sloppy”
@27
Man City have 3 players in the Argentina squad.
Aw fuck
sorry for the language holic
am doin work on me house
a fuckin slug was up the side of me pint
fuck
jeez
im man big but i screamed like a wee girl
saxa shares are going through the roof tomorrow
Fuckin slimey bastards
Up the side of me jar in me oem house
fuck
Theres plaster dust everywhere
fuck knows where the fuckin cunt came from
up the side of me jar
fuck it
was it lurkin
jeez
fuckin disgustin
Gimme a fuckin alsatian growlin anytime
What’s going on chaps?
It’s so quiet out there, like the calm before a storm…
Wake me if we sign anyone, until then I’ll be doing Arsenal quizzes on QuizUp over here in the corner
cOr
keep an eye on yer pint
cba, yer two funneh.
Sentimentally I want to see Germany win the thing, with all three Arsenal players starring. Equally sentimentally I would love to see two Messi masterclasses winning it for the Argies. He seems to have gone off the boil lately with injury and what appears to me to be mild disinterest in doing the same genius stuff over and again for Barca. This time the challenge is there for him on the biggest stage of all and the world’s best player – by a country mile, imo – could be poised to prove it once and for all.
But that’s sentimentally. In the real world I fear a Neymar and Thiago-less Brazil are sitting ducks for the super-efficient Germans, with Poldi and possibly Per still sitting it out. And Argentina’s one-man band and suspect defence will be up against it against the best front three in the tournament so far, Robben Van Sneijder.
I still think the weather could play a part, and whoever wins the first semi will have an extra day’s rest before the final – a big advantage, imo. Funny how that was always in Brazil’s favour!
Öskar
Oi! Who’s been sipping me Guinness while I make it to number 1 in the world in QuizUp?
Creakin’ away but keeping my elbow lubricated. AWfit as a fiddle for a 64 year old I must say, based on the Copacabana tapes. Cheers ‘holic on procedural matters. 🙂
Back-reading I see ‘holic and I are pretty much on the same page (sorry about that, I shoulda read the OP first!), which probably means I’ve jinxed someone.
Öskar
Cannons. I’m partial to a bit of QuizUp myself. Haven’t played the Arsenal one much though. I’m dangerous in LOTR though. And Freaks and Geeks.
so debuchy has now officially gone on record and stated that he didn’t even provide the quote that was put on instagram allegedly stating that he was/is going to arsenal.
confirmed nothing more than we are talking with arsenal.
why is that no surprise.
cba, que passa this “Alloa accent?” I looked it up on the internet and found this: “I met a girl from Alloa once she kept going on about her ‘bits’, I later realised she was talking about her ‘boots’.” I realize that either or both could be sloppy, but I am none the wiser.
Aussie, Tafari Moore, the 17-year-old Academy player who has signed a pro contract, is a right back and a Dani Alves wannabe. So who needs Debuchy?
I still yearn for a Lauren wannabe. He was the sort of full back who looked as if he played with a machete tucked down his sock, and was ready to use it if necessary…
NBN @54 – Ralph used to box a bit I seem to recall… Maybe paddy waited to be on the bus rather than outside it?
Aussie – that was a couple of days ago mate. We can’t get anything out until we have a shirt to sell with the name on the back. Friday is the day. Bin bags at the ready after that?
@51: You should try it Goonsterham! There are few tricky questions but it’s a great way to pass the time and brush up on some Gooner trivia. 😀
NBN – noted about tamari and yes I am also unexcited about debuchy.
ElPuno – I can think of no other reason why we have completed not a single piece of business other than Fridays puma launch.
we certainly don’t like to rush…..
I sincerely hope for our club El Puno that your supreme confidence in Big Ivan and his sidekick Arsene to spend on world class upgrades is noted and executed.
a question from left field
is it remotely possible that Arsene would consider playing vermaelen at DM ?
he does like to get out of the central defensive role and move foreword, he has a decent left foot strike when he gets on to them and he is strong.
Hey Aussie, maybe the boss doesn’t rate Vermaelen’s passing ability enough to play that role. I think he’d certainly be up for the tackling aspect of it
aussie/CoR: I think the biggest problem for TV5 in the DM role is his lack of tactical discipline and positional organization. Arteta is Arsene’s tactical representative on the field, and TV5 for all his strengths was never a tactically strong player. In an attack minded side like Arsenal the DM needs to be able to control the tempo of the game, not only tackle but also ensure that the defensive shapes are kept right, keep possession under pressure and to be able to, as CoR mentions, choose the right pass in all situations. TV5 has a good long range pass — and actually a good cross when playing as the left back, similar to his compatriot Vertonghen’s crossing abilities — but he is not very good at protecting the ball or control the tempo with short passing.
Agree COR, he has a number of the right attributes for the role except the passing part.
I was thinking given our depth of quality in midfield, we have plenty of ball players/passers, perhaps the role can go a bit old school and we simply need a, to steal a quote from NBN above
“a Lauren Wannabe” maybe in that role too.
i.e. someone who looked like he carried a machete tucked in his socks”
priceless
El Puno — from the previous set of drinks, about the CB position what I meant was that if TV5 leaves we will need to get an experienced CB as the third choice, of course, but in that case for the 4th choice CB we may simply look to find solution from inside for the next season, either Iggy or Hayden. Not the most nerve-soothing set of choices but that is my guess what we will do.
I know Iggy had a very ordinary loan season with Leicester but I think he has promise, only 22 or so, and we might see him improve significantly hanging around Per and Kos for a season.
Also, it is not entirely inconceivable that Debuchy being of similar physical stature and having a similar kind of aerial dual winning record (actually better percentage than Sagna last season — see http://news.arseblog.com/2014/07/why-wenger-has-changed-targets-from-aurier-to-debuchy-by-the-numbers/ ) may be able to stand in as the 4th choice CB if necessary. May not be as convincing as Sagna, but will do the job if really needed.
I am not sure if we can get a top class CB who would be significantly better than these options as a potential 4th choice.
Historically speaking, who were our 4th choice CB either in the 2002 double winning squad or in the Invincible side?
DRF – agree that TV5 does like to bomb forward like a 100m sprinter and then realise we are a tad short at the back.
I was just trying to think like Arsene for a moment and save the club a few bucks in that role as he is inclined to do on occasion…
Lars Bender or better it is then !
aussie — that kind of Gattusso-esque DMs no longer work in the modern football. You need someone who must be able to pass, and must be tactically astute and not just a crunching tackler.
aussie @ 64: The fact that Arsene had tried to sign either Bender or Gustavo last season — if the rumors and the insiders here are to be believed — I think speaks volume for the fact he knows it is an area we would need to invest in, especially with Arteta aging.
Be patient, have trust and you will be pleasantly surprised.
Be patient, did I say? 🙂
‘Night from a sleepy Boston, you Tokyo and Sydney dwellers.
Both Barca and Manure are after Hummels, apparently. Why aren’t we?? One of the best CDs in the world currently, who played DMF earlier in his career. Also German and playing alongside Per nationally. That’s Arsenal DNA in my book.
Öskar
Hang in there Aussie. I was similarly rubbished a couple of seasons back when I suggested TV5 could make a decent DMF. For all the reasons you mention, strong tackler, loves going forward and has a cannon shot.
Worth I try, I say, but it ain’t going to happen now.
Öskar
You’re ITK now, Dr F? In what way will we be pleasantly surprised, pray?
Öskar
Ned @ 53
I think the mad Mick was alluding to the ghoul known as Hansen.
Although he is from Sauchie. 😉
Fact:
Ronaldinho yesterday described Mesut Ozil as a “super technician…who plays like a brazilian” and who “benefits the Germany team”.
So there you have it. Coming from the man himself!
🙂
All the best for Thursday H! Viva the NHS!
@67: Oyasuminasai from Kobe Dr. Faustus. May you dream of big Arsenal signings and fans of other clubs weeping and gnashing their teeth
DrF – point well taken about 2002 and 2004. When you 4th choice central defender gets an extended run in the team when it matters you don’t make a lot of history. If there is any takeaway from that, it would be look at the meteoric rise of King Kolo as a defender in the latter. AW can find answers in all sorts of unexpected places. (I’d still sooner we told Djourou to stay a year than go with someone like Hayden who is totally raw, but Arsene Knows 🙂
Rumour:
Debuchy medical complete
Likelihood rating 8/10
Morning GT – only 3 sleeps left until Friday 🙂
#PrayForSanchez
Morning El
Couldn’t come any sooner
Come on Mesut
oskar
.
d’ye see ?
.
.
Z at 71
can say it
for two reasons
.
1 – he added mad
.
2 – a jock is a mick-lite
.
.
dems de rules
don’t blame me
😉
From previous drinks
morning Trev
Those were the days indeed.!!
You will be pleased to know that Cicelia [ please note correct spelling]
is still Head Nurse at the ‘ Secure Unit ‘ of which i have such fond memories.
It used to be a safe haven for demented/confused/deranged/senile,
and simply worn out/knackered past their use by date old Gooners.
I spent many a happy summer frolicking intimately with the delightful C in her live in Chalet,but sadly due to a ‘ fit up ‘ by other Gooners jealous of my closeness to C,i have been permanently barred.
A relatively new arrival at the Unit,had taken to yelling out ” United ”
at the top of his voice at any given moment,which of course frightened the living daylights out of all the Old Gooners.
Suffice to say,a few nights later the new arrival disappeared.
His remains were found in the Incinerator at the back of the Library about a week later.
Somehow without a shred of evidence,the Secure Unit Board of Directors, decided arbitrarily that i was the Architect of his demise,and whilst they had not a shred of evidence to support this claim,the vote was unanimous,and much to C’s distress i was escorted off the premises.
Such is life.
As to the Goonerholic first 11,all the usual suspects were in the team,Lars/Tabs/Zico/TS/SteveT/BTM/H2H/Holic/GT,plus you and I.
As to the positions each were allocated,your guess is as good as mine.
Was that a simpler time.??
Without doubt.
Twitter didn’t exist when Holic first started his blog,and i don’t remember anyone sending their post via their phone either.
We all bashed away at the keyboard and revelled in the madcap virtual world we created.
It was more like Comedy Corner,with some absolute hilarious off the wall posts,that were occasionally related to all things Arse,but quite often not.
I think the bar was all the richer for it,but sadly time moves on and so do people,so we are left to reminisce,and content ourselves with knowing that we were in the forefront of all those wacky times,and that we contributed to them in our own small way.
Cheers
The Sweeper
Hang on – is Holic having a medical for Arsenal on Thursday??? 🙂
All the best with whatever the procedure is, mate.
I seem to remember I was on the right-hand side of the midfield four in the Sweeper’s Holic Bar XI.
Friday draws ever nearer:
http://metro.co.uk/2014/07/08/alexis-sanchez-flying-to-london-to-complete-arsenal-transfer-after-rejecting-juventus-and-ac-milan-4790511/?
Forward
All the best for Thursday Holic.
Holics,
My thoughts are with you. Hope all goes well on Thursday
Rumour:
Luis Suarez deal depends on the sale of Sanchez first.
Both transfers are likely to be concluded this week.
Likelihood rating: 10/10
NB: But for Juve
#forget Juve
Good luck for Thursday, Barman
COYG
GT, it looks like we’ve done it, the field is clear:
http://www.marca.com/2014/07/08/en/football/barcelona/1404811567.html?
And:
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/tuttosport-juventus-cannot-compete-with-arsenal-alexis-sanchez-is-heading-to-london/?
Both the Spanish and Italian press saying he is heading to us and should be announced this week… Roll on Friday 🙂
BIG Ivan don’t play for fun.
Forward
El – I like the look of that article.
Roll on Friday
Hopefully Bender next 😉
Long (40 mins) clip of 1960 European Cup Final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt showing the late Alfredo Di Stefano at the heart of a magnificent football team.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrylk5_real-madrid-vs-eintracht-frankfurt-7-3-1960-european-cup-final-first-half_sport
The football looks so modern. If the clip wasn’t in black and white, you’d never think the game was played more than half a century ago.
Dr.F.
My understanding was that we will seek our fourth centre back from the current staff but it will be the 17 year old Pleguezelo who will be promoted. This was mentioned to me by someone who watches the youth teams and knows several of the coaching staff and I saw it in an article somewhere. A big gamble at his age but he wouldn’t be the first young Ex Barca prodigy to arrive in the first team.
If we are looking for experienced cover Hangeland on a free might be interesting.
Zico@71: Thanks for the explanation.
Well, I can safely say that this took my mind off worrying about the Sanchez deal for a few minutes…
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/07/pink-floyd-new-album-2014-the-endless-river
Let’s not fixate on transfers. I have a better idea.
🙂
clive 80
.
hardly antediluvian though
.
misty eyed yearnings
for
the bygone days
of
pre-twitter yore
.
Excellent video on Arse.com “stars f the new season.” Absolutely buzzing after watching that. I have loved the World Cup and will watch what’s left of it, but all about countdown to the preseason friendlies for me now.
Such a great time to be an Arsenal fan. It always is, but this is special.
BIG Ivan KNOWS!
Mick-lite.
Explains everything. 😎
Misty eyed indeed Cba.
Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/emails on your mobile phone,an app for just about anything.
tapping your mobile phone on a terminal to pay for stuff,
The world’s gone mad.
Top-of-the-morning goal?
Why not?
Tabses it with a panache and glory.
Well in iLonestar. Hi-Tech goal with a hint of the Irish. 🙂
98 🙂
99 🙁
Arrived at the park where my daughter’s Monday night soccer league is played right at game time after a downpour 30 minutes prior to the start, only to find the game was cancelled and it had only been announced on Twitter. All the non-Twitter parents got their kids together for a puddle jumping but rollicking game. The disorganization and nonvirtality of it all was quite amazing.
well in
lonestar abú
El puno and GT – as you both seem to have your fingers on the pulse of the latest transfer stuff, is there any chance we are in for James Rodriguez rather than Sanchez.
crazy 8ball
.
here’s to the puddle jumpers
🙂
Afternoon all. Thanks for your good wishes. Looking forward to this evening’s game.
Oskar @ 70: Now where did I convey that impression? I didn’t actually say that I have any inside knowledge or will ever have. Far from that, outside this Arsenal web-site, this blog and arseblog I do not read anything else on the web about Arsenal, have no tweeter account and generally know nothing about the transfers unless it is posted here. 🙂
I should have said “Be patient, have trust, but don’t expect anything. Then You will be pleasantly surprised.” Kind of an optimist-stoic viewpoint, if you allow me. 🙂
However one can detect certain aspirational and financial changes in club’s handling of players, and that did feed the optimistic aspects of that viewpoint.
The most important of those handling was not just Ozil’s signing, but the fact that over the last couple of years we retained all of our young starlets and the key experienced heads (except Sagna, who really wanted to move) which in itself was an understated but no less sanguine assertion of our improving ambition and ability after the well documented doldrums of the early Emirates era.
Clive @80,
Agreed, agreed.
I used to sit and laugh out loud on a daily basis at the barmy stuff that went on in here. It was such fun to join in with and, while there were often disagreements, there was generally a cameraderie about the place which led indeed to the now regular meetings of Holics pre-match in The Tollie and elsewhere.
As you say, times and people move on. This summer has seen the relentless and humourless bashing out of “we need this” and “I want that” as though some of us won’t actually get it without every last one of the hundreds of repetitions.
Every last attribute of every player is analysed to death by some, as though we’ve never actually seen them play for ourselves, and an opinion cannot seemingly be just an opinion. It must be argued and altered until you just couldn’t give a stuff.
People are free, of course, to write whatever they like as long as the Guvnor is happy with it, and it is not my place to tell folk what to do.
It’s only my opinion, of course, but football is supposed to be fun, first and foremost, and not just a stage for would be Ron-the-Managers.
There are some excellent posts still being made too, but a lot of the fun has all but disappeared this summer, and with it, unfortunately, too many of the best regular posters.
Just my opinion, of course.
Aussie @106 – not got my finger on much but refresh and newsnow, but that seems impossible tbh. Lad is off to Madrid for sure and wherever he goes it will be for more than Monaco payed last summer, which prices us out.
I realise that Hames is flavour of the month, but I’d be happier with Sanchez anyway. Quicker, more and out and out attacker and also much, much better built. Looks a PL prototype. Would be a huge, massive, delightful coup if BIG Ivan reels this one in imho. (With Debuchy that is 2 down, 4 to go 😉
Forward
cheers ELP – I like your confidence.
@80 and 110 Excellent drinks, as ever, by the usual suspects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MjV4EwR7Mg
‘holic My apologies for a link @113 to a video with an advertisement at the start. The advert seems only to play sometimes though. 🙂
News of back room staff shakeups. David Court leaving Arsenal’s youth coaching staff, and conditioning staff uncertainty.
http://news.arseblog.com/2014/07/david-court-axed-in-youth-system-shake-up/
WOO-HOO, new season is officially here 🙂
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140708/pictures-squad-return-to-training?
Rambo looking dashing, but Bould steals the show with his rugged good looks and muzzle 🙂
Forward
nice one trev
.
i was a resident of the arses
so missed much
of early ‘holic
indeed only came here
cos ‘holic himself was
hilarious there
i followed him home one day
like a stray mongrel
.
despite sticks being thrown
progressively further and further away
by some
(some by me)
i can’t help but keep comin’ back
to pee against ‘holic’s tyres
.
like dr. f
its A.com,here and blogs’ site
all i read
here the only place
i lift my internet leg on
.
several regret that i know 🙂
.
but
have to say
i regularly laugh
at people’s posts on here
😉
.
so if i think ‘holic present is a hoot
‘holic past must’ve been a cracker
CoR @ 74: Thank you. And you know what, I dreamt of the City of Ten Thousand Shrines, though I have never been there. You can call it synchronicity …
TTG @ 92: Thanks for that info.
Sanchez, cant wait to see him in our colours, he is magnificent and i truly mean it and not just based on the world cup heroics.
Germany for me to win tonight. They are better, more efficient and worthy to be in the finals than the brazilians.
I cannot believe german papers and ex players wanting Ozil to be dropped, i mean come on, do they not realize his style of play? He will never be the lung bursting all energy box to box player, he is subtlety personified.
Tomorrow i think the dutch will win, not that i want them to but then overall they are better than a one man team called Argentina.
What is more important for the week?? the world cup finals or Sanchez and Debuchy, of course the 2 who matter, time to come to Arsenal guys.
BOOM:
https://twitter.com/carlosbuk/status/486503858303430656
Alexis Sanchez pictured at Arsenal. The end is in sight.
Hallelujah BIG Ivan.
Forward
El Puno, that is unfortunately a fake picture.
The Debuchy family in which young “Maatcheue” grew up might have chosen the wrong spelling for their family name, but that shoudn’t stop us …
When he is warming up before a match where we are going to absolutely slaughter the opposition, and we know it, would it be “Prelude to the Afternoon of Fun” ?
Every time he clatters some opposition forward (take your pick, I imagine Rooney) would that player be un-Raveling?
And first and foremost would he like to be known as “clearly da goon” Debu(ss/ch)y?
Yup Lars.. nice Photoshop.
Hope for El P’s sake he does make it and the deal is not scuttled, the most diligent of our updaters! 😀
Aurier: “People said I had already signed an agreement with Arsenal. This is not true. All I can say is that I like EPL the most.”
Looks like Debuchy is 99.9% then! 🙂
NBN @ 91: Great!! Thanks a lot. Yes the football does look modern and so accomplished. It could be partly due to the opposition being a few levels lower, but I think over the history of the game there have not only been individuals but also teams that would impress as much today as they did at their time.
https://twitter.com/memesbarcelona/status/486520255431602176/photo/1
Please please please…
El and Aussie
With Sanchez the squad is bigger.
I agree. It appears Madrid are the highest payers.
So long James – thanks for the wonder goal
😉
Trev @ 110
Great post.
It’s supposed to be fun. I can do stressing about the Arsenal during the season, but I can’t be bothered to do it during the summer, much less after we’ve just bagged our first silverware in nigh on a decade.
If we cock it all up then I’ll worry about it once August rolls round – if and when we’re shit on the pitch. Until then: feet up, World Cup on, Arsenal won the cup, being linked to the right players, life is good.
Re: Arsenal’s training pictures. Check out Ramsey’s Giroud ‘do.
Good luck on Thursday Holic.
With everyone touting signings being announced Friday to tie in with the Puma launch, how’s that going to happen if Wenger is still in Brazil doing TV work?
On Arse.com today, with pix of the returned players in pre-season already & Bould taking the training session,”due to Arsene’s absence”. I would have thought no signings will be announced without Wenger in the signing pix?
Is Wenger in Brazil through the Finals on Sunday?
And Bouldy’s prominence in the training pictures gives us the answer to the question of AW’s whereabouts. Still playing footy in Rio.
Whoops, Vinny you spotted it before me.
I believe that the plan is for the unveiling to take place in front of a giant photo of Arsene, stood on the beach at Copacabana in his speedoes, one arm round a local bird, the other flipping off his critics.
He’s showboating this summer.
Clive.
Bashing away at the keyboard???? Have those young ladies at The Cross put their prices up???? You be careful my old friend.
🙂
Trev,
Top post, above.
But be careful, you don’t want that mad bastard Feelgood coming out of retirement, word is, he’s already off his meds! 😎
121 + 123 – Gutted to have been photoshop fished. Some horny teenager somewhere having a good giggle about it… Probably a bitter scouter to… Dark times.
When you are walking on the beach with BIG Ivan and you look back and see one set of footprints in the hard times and you say…
Forward
feelgood
feelgood!!!
FEELGOOD!!!!!!!!!
FEEEEL GOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
🙂
🙂
Sky reporting we’ll sign Sanchez and Debuchy in the next 48 hours.
N7 @ 128:
What is apostasy without the religion?
What is religion with the prophet?
And what is a prophet without the fish?
And what is the fish without the bicycle?
In other words, to paraphrase CLR James in his preface to the seminal “Beyond a Boundary” (a must read for anyone, whether you like cricket or not) — or if you are into drinking from the source, paraphrase that crafty colonialist Kipling — “What do they know of football who only football know?” .
My feet is not so up as I worry about the world I will be leaving behind for my son, but Arsenal is all good. 🙂
Cheers fellas,
Glad to see some agree, bt8b, N7,
Zico,
i would welcome Feelgood back with open and eager arms. Come what may 😉
cba, a constant supply of nutty goodness. 😉
Feelgood approaching the city gates?
yeee feckin haaaaa!!!!!!!!!
.
hang on 8ball
show me a fake photo
or i won’t wear it
.
*waits*
.
you lie 8ball?
.
YOU LIE!!!!!!!
.
looks for a seat near trev on the HT, far enough away not to knock knees, close enough to hit with peanuts if he starts punning with a rejuvenated dr. f…
Do I hear the sound of the engine being stoked, screaming wheels as the bound-on brakes slacken and the clackety clack of carriage wheels? Is the HT coming out of the sidings?
Oh, tell me it’s true; tell me…
Trev
.
ye mean ye weren’t
lumpin’ me in with
the
Ron the Managers
.
*self worth evaporates*
.
so my insights
low on insight are they?
.
Yeah ?
.
Smarty Pants!
Best wishes for Thursday, ‘Hols.
As for the rest of you, reminiscing geezers…I forgot what I was going to say.
Carry on.
Cheers 8ball and cba.
Whether it’s online or with me missus – I scores when I wants…
El Puno, ‘holics, I got news: http://www.sport.es/es/noticias/barca/alexis-sanchez-arsenal-por-millones-3363483
Its done. No surprises on the financial details.
I’ve found this website to be most reliable on all things Barcelona. They’re saying that it’s all happening in London and expect the deal to conclude in a few hours.
Now on to cheering for our german trio!
Great News Grav!
It sure is inching closer.. now let’s just see it on our official page!
😀
Looking forward to a cracking match.. early goals.. none of this 1-0 debacle! 🙂
As everyone is saying, let us see it confirmed and then believe that it truly happened.
He will be a wonderful addition and it will give me a great joy to know that we got him when he could have gone and played for any team in the world.
Next up DM, Lars bender/Schneiderlin/Khedira. 1 will be fine, wrap it up and then we can start with the first of hopefully many trophies this season, of course we are winning the community shield.
In the words of Steve T: if it’s not on arsenal.com, it’s not done…
Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
Evening all. If anyone fancies that 2-1 to Germany it is 11/1 at a few bookies.
So Holic, this procedure, let me guess, no further posts for 3 weeks?
😉
All the best, mate.
Nice find Grav!
Grav @148 – cheers mate. It’s been nerve-wracking, but then all the important matches are and this was HUGE.
All credit to the club, picked up a 25 year old star who was 3rd highest scorer in Spain last year and just tore up the world cup. Not for everyone, but I can’t help being very, very excited at this.
Debuchy… Sanchez… 🙂
WHO IS NEXT BIG IVAN???
Forward
It’s a Trophy?
Arsenal First Premier League Team to Reach 4 Million Twitter Followers
http://worldfootballinsider.com/Story.aspx?id=37132
Slips back in from the garden with 10 minutes to spare for the big game. No Feelgood yet?? If we sign Alexis the good doctor may feel the occasion is grand enough to make a reemergence, I should think.
NBN. I refrain from making it 4 million and 1. 😉
Gets back in the fold and declares support for Germany, er, Arsenal East, in today’s game.
anybody have a live stream for Brazil v Germany?
there you go Homer http://www.wiziwig.tv/broadcast.php?matchid=263098&part=sports
Muller!
Thanks Eandy!
and Klose makes history
Well it’s over for BRAZIL 4-0
All seems to be going a bit pear-shaped for the hosts.
and Brazil are being finally found out, well played Germany
Quite right, too, bt8b. Quite enough global twits to be going on with.
Spot on eandy
No neymar = no goals and no team spirit in brazil
It’s just like watching the arsenal 😉
I’m beginning to become a little concerned for the safety of the Brazil team. Four goals in six minutes?
El Puno from another supporters perspective, which is quite refreshing.
That would appear to leave Brazil with a mountain to climb???
All of a sudden England don’t seem that bad?????
Gutted we did not spend £50 million on world class centre back Luiz.
Khedira????? Very much yes please. Always liked him and he looks like he has more than recovered.
That number 8 from German team does not look half bad either, shame he does not play for Arse…oh 😉
Interesting to observe Özil’s body language, which some people are often concerned about, is exactly the same as when he is playing for the Arsenal.
Maybe that Özil fellow isn’t as bad as we thought. Frankly, I lost count of the number of assists and other great touches he had in that half.
Demolierung.
173 – cheers mate. Each to their own and all that. We all enjoy it in our own way 🙂
https://twitter.com/GeoffArsenal/status/486615306056790016
News of Sanchez’s imminent, seems to have Ozil gee’d up tonight!
😆
Ozil you un-selfish prick… score some next time! 😀
Thanks lovegood:
Guillem Balague @GuillemBalague · 27m
All agreed for Alexis. Will be anounced soon, possibly tomorrow.Arsenal will pay FCB £27.5 plus £2.3 for objectives. 4 years plus 1 optional
sorry should say imminent arrival
Luis Suárez to Barcelona should be confirmed within 48 hours. Se confirmará lo de Suárez en las próximas 48 horas
Feet up time!
#Bender next
Pleasing scenes GT 🙂
What a steal, when you think we could have bought Lalana for that 😉
Forward
Is this really Brazil ?
Rivelinho, Gerson, Pele, have become Fred, Bernard and Jo.
It’s not only the names that have changed for the poorer. 😉
Great news Goonertown! Thanks for the update!
Wow! When i said no more 1-0.. i did not expect this… 6-0 as of now!
Blimey. Oscar Pistorius has a better defence than Brazil.
Count Drax getting a run out
Özil is very like Bergkamp in that he always has a picture of exactly what he wants to do before he gets the ball.
If ever he doesn’t, he just finds the time to work it all out and then pass.
He looks superior even in this team.
Joachim Löw obviously thinks so – always starts him.
Steve T. – 🙂
El @ 186 – That’s right mate get the digs in from now.
My scouse mates are humbled right now 😆
Trev
#it’s like watching
#alan brazil
.
“oi alan
put that down”
.
sheesh
.
Mr kipling
EFF OFF
Holic, was that 11/1 on 2-1 or 12-1 ? 😉
@189 SteveT
Ouch! …and it’s 7!
And cba. – 🙂
Well.. Germany did beat saudi arabia 8-0… so it’s not unprecedented!?!
😀
Alan playing for Brazil ?
Fat chance.
Or fat chancer. 😉
8-0 anyone?!
Don’t be ridiculous, BB ! 😉
oh ffs Mesut score
Argggghhh Ozil needs to practise his shooting 😀
Indeed Trev…and it’s 8 goals… but 7-1!
fuck
that was close
and what a pass to Draxler…well done Germany, superior in every aspect of their game. Now Messi do your job and knock Dutch out please:P
oh and btw http://news.arseblog.com/2014/07/puma-home-and-away-kit-and-training-gear-revealed/
I second that Eandy!!
GT – we owe them one after last summer. Fingers crossed they ‘do a sp**s’ with all tht bang average British dross 🙂
Holy crow.
It is actually sad to see a free spirited football nation like Brazil descend to that.
But Luiz, Oscar crying like babies – what’s not to like ?!
Now
come on zico
.
hansen can say sauchie
.
he’d sound like
a bumblebee
stung his tongue
if he tried alloa
BIG Ivan!!! Notorious tattle merchant John Cross going large on us signing Remy. Fuck me, it is all really kicking off now 🙂
If that 8mil clause is true, looks a steal for depth/variation to giroud. Balls deep on the holding midfielder now???
Forward BIG Ivan forward 🙂
Thanks Eandy. – some nice looking kit there. Impressed.
My contribution to the speculation:
I said on here about two years ago that I’d heard from a contact that we would have massive funds available in 2014.
I’m still not going to reveal the actual figure but it is beginning to look correct.
Still nothing confirmed yet but it is looking exciting.
Can we get Neuer, by the way ? 😉
Steve T@189: 🙂
How many of the Brazilian squad would get a game with Germany? Neymar and probably Thiago Silva. Possibly Marcello. But that is about it.
Intw: How do they recover?
Juninho: It’s a bit difficult…
Scolari telling Bernard the score : http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/512/media/images/76134000/jpg/_76134794_023079001.jpg
Wow.. just wow!
Sooooo, my pre-tournament tip have beaten the favourites. The Final will provide a much stiffer test of them however. It ain’t over until the fat lady sings 🙂
Going to have to go for the Argies, need Messi to show up and do something special. No disrespect to any Dutch supporters but have had enough of their antics!
Come on Argentina! Would set up a dream final!
Evening Holic,
I’ll just take the chance to wish you well on Thursday again.
Don’t hesitate to drop me a line if you need advice and it’s something I might be able to help with.
Trev: we reportedly made a bid for Neuer in 2010 when he was a 24-year old at Schalke. It was a £22 million double dip for the keeper and our BFG, then at Hanover.
er..Werder Bremen not Hanover, which he left in 2007.
Evening H
check your inbox.
Just why exactly Brazil midfield and defense thought that they don’t have to track any of the off-the-ball movements by Germany and can simply dribble through and score some goals would remain a mystery.
Some off-the-ball movements though, what synchronization, balletic!
For a while I was thinking the 10-1 record for Hungary was going to be broken today. 🙂
On another note, why the WC will never be the no.1 sport in the USA : http://imgur.com/gallery/Lh3zK
😀
@223 Doc
Germans took the foot off the pedal.. wanted to conserve for the finals.
Still they almost did it though! Just Wow!
BB @ 225: Yes, but to be fair at the beginning of the second half Brazil could have pulled back a couple at least if not for Neuer and their own horrible finishing.
For that twenty minutes odd period in the first half Brazil needed someone to step up and organize the shape. It really was bizarre to see that even after the second goal they didn’t quite comprehend what was happening.
Can happen to anyone I guess, I was remembering our awful away drubbings last season …
Ozil now leads the tournament in creating goal-scroning opportunities.
As Arsene said a few times, it is the goal scoring part itself where he can and will make some improvements.
@227: Goal-scoring, not ‘scroning’, obviously 🙂
Counted at least a dozen accurate passes from Ozil. We really need players who can actually do something useful with them. Let’s hope we are more clinical this season!
If we get Debuchy and Sanchez, that shows real intent, add Khedira or Bender and I think we may just have some depth finally!
Up the Arse!
@227 Doc
Complete agreement on Ozil. If we keep scroning it then I guess Ozil will have to learn how to score instead too! 😀
Ttg @ 92,
Had an enlightening conversation with BTM on that lad Pleguezelo last time I was over for the citeh game. He rated him very highly and needless to say I rate his opinion highly – so it comes as no surprise to hear of him again from you !
No surprise in relation to Brazil – I honestly expected them to loose by at least 4. I think the Argies will beat the Dutch and also beat the Germans narrowly in the final of they find any form at all.
Hope everyone is enjoying the summer. I’ve 4 trout from 2 days fishing in the west, the sun is shining, footie is good and the beer is cold…….
Trev @110
Top notch response.
Steve T @ 134 touche. !!
Re BFG
My son has watched nearly all the games at the WC and followed all the Internet info,and he is adamant that he heard Low interviewed re Mertesacker missing the 1/4 final, and he confirmed he had dropped him from the starting eleven.
This is despite reports from other sources saying he didn’t play because he was unwell.
Given that he again wasn’t in the starting line up this morning,and only came on for the 2nd half when the game was all over, the odds are he won’t play in the Final.
Can anyone confirm,or throw any light on this .??
BB- yes thanks for the ‘ humour’!
When I was over there recently one of the Network sports presenters on breakfast TV( a man who would make Adrian Chiles seem considered) seemed to find the name Matuidi hilarious. He could not believe anyone had yet to give him the nickname ‘ Tweety’.
Amazing moment in football tonight. If only Ozil could finish. I share the general view on Khedira who with Kroos gave Germany the runaround. He looks quite excellent. If we continue this rate of quality team building( Wenger himself confirmed the Sanchez deal tonight) we have a real chance of the title this season.
Trev’s point about money is interesting and exciting and it is money generated by good financial management and marketing and qualifying for the CL every year.
Clive
Your son is right Low did drop him but I presume he came on tonight because Hummels was injured so there may be hope for Sunday. It was an odd substitution otherwise given the state of the game
@206 (per the sizing chart): is 6XL the new 3XL? Might have to wait on these Puma kits…
Well done, BB, by the way.
Trev, don’t tease us with your inside knowledge. Give us the full scoop please.
I knew Brazil would be too much for Ger- oh, wait.
Did Ozil sign a 3-year contract? If so, please re-sign him up Arsene!!
We are already dangerously close to a free!
I am not certain that we are in it for Remy, namely because we do have up and coming strikers who need to play and I can’t see Remy wanting to be on the bench knowing the formation we play unless we try the old 4-4-2?!
Lonestar,
It’s not teasing, honestly.
It was a surprising amount I was told, and it wouldn’t be wise to broadcast it.
Just be reassured. 😉
Let the Sanchez deal be over with quick, do not let it come to this :
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10433091_10152458117097752_154080582046850443_n.jpg
Summary of the Brazilian match for those who have not seen it :
Brazil Before the match :http://i.imgur.com/2KQ9tLH.gif ,
Brazil During the match : http://i.imgur.com/cqwCLjA.gif ,
Brazil After the match : http://i.imgur.com/3kr0QuM.gif .
😀
TTG
I think Hummels also missed a game earlier in the Tournament through injury,so as you say,their may be some hope.
Be a shame to get this far and not play in the Final.
Another question for you,and fellow Gooners.
I am intrigued if the signing of Sanchez is confirmed,as to what position he will play for us.
I don’t know much about him,but my Son who follows Spanish football,says he played both on the left and right attacking positions for Barca.
Not sure what position he played for Chile during the WC,as i haven’t been watching it,but my so said he played mainly as a striker.
Given 6 starting positions are taken by the defence and DMF,and you would think Ozil and Ramsey would also be in the starting eleven,with Sanchez taking another spot,that only leaves 2 spots to fill.
If Sanchez plays on the left,Giroud would have to take one of the 2 remaining spots as the striker,leaving 1 position to fill,which when fit,you would assume Walcott would fill..
does that sound about right.??
Could be the first time in many a season that we will have a very strong,if occasionally a grumpy bench. !!
All thoughts welcome.
Cheers
The Sweeper.
Trev
Re your knee,
My Neighbour had a new knee done,and he said it took him about 12 months,with extensive physio/rehab,before he felt completely comfortable/confident.
Bur rest assured looking at him now compared to the hobbling/grimacing mess he was Pre Op,it has taken about 10 yrs off him.
Striding out every morning and afternoon on his walks,you would not know it was the same fella.
Sounds remarkably like me after my back operation.!!
So good luck with your rehab,but if he is anything to go by,you should be as good as new.
Clive,
The whole bench can’t be grumpy – someone will have to be happy, and dopey, sneezy, bashful and sleepy.
Doc always sits in the row behind. 😉
Ah, we crossed Clive.
But thanks.
Rumour:
Remy to Arsenal story growing legs
Porto attempt to get Jackson to sign extension with 70 Mill release clause
Ah bed time
GS54 – a grumpy bench and a world class starting 11 is exactly what has been missing for too long now..
I like the sound of your first 11 above and even Mr Giroud may find it tough to be a guaranteed starter, if Arsene goes out and gets one more forward player, which judging by Trev’s inside knowledge and confidence, sounds highly possible.
with respect to OG, I think he would make a wonderful off the bench sub/striker as he does have the ability and presence to change a game, but he should never be run into the ground again as with last season.
he did a sterling job considering he was knackered for the last half of the season
sounds like arsenal heaven to me !
Goonersince54@239 : I think you are right about Sanchez’s primary position as a Pires-esque left sided goal scoring forward. But he can play the out-and-out winger if necessary as well, depending on the formation we choose. Traditionally Arsene prefers more adventurous wing play on the left side. Sanchez is very good at tracking back as well so will dovetail nicely with Gibbo’s adventurous forays.
He — both him and Theo, I think — may also be played through the middle in some matches, especially when the opposition would tend to press high up with advanced defensive lines (Bayern, Barca, Pool) in which cases latching onto through release balls and scoring for them would be more important than the back-to-goals hold up play of Giroud. Theo showed the glimpses of possibility against the FA Cup Spurs match, and I think we will see more of that variation. Giroud won’t play as many match, of course, and as a result would be more effective and dangerous in the games he plays.
Most importantly it would give us variations in attack we haven’t really had for a while.
Santi and Ozil would rotate more in the central role, giving each of them rests. They will most likely will play together in those situations where we need to congest the midfield and keep possession for long stretches.
It would be curious to see in which position Jack and Poldi are played primarily in this season. I think Jack will have to fight with Rambo, and Poldi with Sanchez, for a starting berth.
Have to agree with Clive and Dr F who have Sanchez in the Pires position. And probably switching wings with Theo on the right … that’s if Theo ever plays a serious role for us again. Frankly, and sadly, I don’t see either Theo or Jack having much of a future at the Ems. Too often injured, and greater competition for their spots.
Frustrating to see Özil putting in another useful international performance, of the kind all too absent from his club form (sorry Trev, I know I’m repeating myself!). Pity he doesn’t score more, which would make him useful for us too.
Öskar
Too good to be true. Surely.
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/487601/Arsenal-ready-to-move-for-Germany-star-Sami-Khedira-as-they-close-in-on-Alexis-Sanchez
Goonersince54@238 – I think the grumpy players are those that won’t even make the bench. Assuming 3 of the 7 spots are taken by defensive players and a keep, that leaves 4 spots for Santi, Jack, Ox, Poldi, and Rosicky. Plus I suppose you have to possibly throw Gnabry, Flamini, and Diaby into the mix. And maybe Arteta if we get a shiny new DM.
The least believable part of the article linked in 246, if the coming of Khedira can be called believable to any extent, is where it says “Spaniard Mikel Arteta set to join Fiorentina.” That’s the only time I’ve read such a thing, anyway.
Dr F/Oskar/Aussie
The other big question is where the Ox fits in to AW’s plans.
Will he occupy Theo’s spot on the right side until he is fit again.??
If he puts in consistent performances he may well be hard to dislodge.
With Sanchez occupying the left side,and Ozil predominantly left footed,i can see those 2 being on the same wavelength very quickly.
This will cause defences no end of trouble.
With respect to the current crop of players,with the exception of Ramsey making runs from deep, and Walcott udsing his speed to get behind defences,Ozil hasn’t had a world class front man in the Ronaldo mode who can take advantage,and more importantly anticipate his slide rule passes between the lines.
If Sanchez is as good as everyone says he is,he may well be the top notch converter to Ozil’s creator.
It is going to be fascinating to see how AW fits all the pieces of the puzzle together.
With some real game changers like Rosicky/Cazorla/Walcott coming off the bench,and further depth with Diaby/Flamini/Gnabry/Zelalem and Coquelin,who are all in the first team squad,keeping the frontliners honest,we have real competition for places.
cheers
The Sweeper
great minds think alike ECG.!!
Agree again, Clive, Ox the obvious right wing until, or if ever, Theo is fit again. Competition for the spot coming from Gnabry, if he stays with us or Poldi with Sanchez playing right.
Much better looking squad than we’ve had for years, whatever combo plays. I could even get excited by the prospect. Better have a brandy to calm the nerves… 😉
Öskar
Sanchez seems like an upgrade to Walcott in every way except speed. And he’s still one of the fastest players in the world apperantly. Ranked 10 on FIFAs website(top speed).
GS54 – Serge Gnabry is the name you are looking for
top shelf youngster who must be given a big go this season. he has it all in front of him. I fear OX maybe injury prone just like theo ?.
hope I am wrong.. gnabry is as strong as an OX – pardon the pun.
if the Khedira link has any truth, then we are starting to look very tidy and Mikel can make a nice solid sub off the bench, just like OG.
one can only hope and try to stay in the garden until announced on Pumaday (that is Friday 10th for non arsenal folk)
Pumaday could be the changing of the club back to its glory days of the past.
P.S. had just about enough of the garden…
Nice picture of Ramsey sporting his new wedding ring on the club site.
http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/scaled/1000×753/jul_14/zp_500299035_SM_8653_B1_13F1FD_3666.jpg
And who is this sporting No 43 shirt? Bellerin?
http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/scaled/1000×694/jul_14/zp_500299035_SM_8389_6C_13F1EF_4975.jpg
Clive: My line-ups would be:
Starting 1st XI:
Szczesny
Debuchy
Mertesacker
Koscielny
Gibbs
Arteta/Superstar DM to be signed
Ramsey
Walcott
Ozil
Sanchez
Giroud
Bench/FA, Beer Cup team:
Martinez/Macey/Back up keeper to be signed
Jenkinson/Bellerin
Miquel/Back up CB to be signed
Vermaelen
Monreal
Wilshere
Diaby/Flamini
Gnabry
Oxlade-Chamberlain/Zelalem
Cazorla/Rosicky/Miyaichi
Podolskyi/Sanogo/Campbell
Starting to look tasty.
NBN@255: Yes.
Brazil’s media blame MICK JAGGER for their World Cup humbling against Germany
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2014/brazils-media-blame-mick-jagger-3830864
Don’t let Ol’ Mick come to our games!
Wenger has confirmed the Sanchez deal and is apparently flying back to London to announce and close the deal Thursday. Wow. Sanchez is a World Class signing. Ozil same thing last Summer.
I can’t believe it to be honest. We’re spending money. Although you have to just to be competitive. Keep those signing’s coming. COYR’s.
Vinny, that is great news indeed! Got any links on that?
NBN@256- tasty indeed
Only one change – perhaps Arteta not in the mix going by reports.
A full two teams with rest for all if/ when required
Here’s for a grumpy bench and a happy fanbase
Not much wrong with that Ned
Except possibly Vermaelen and Miguel probably won’t be at the Club.
One Arsene Wenger.
Alexis Sanchez for the cost of Adam Lallana (who is older than the Chilean, believe it or not), plus pocket change.
The man is a genius. He didn’t even have to leave his sun lounger.
I must say that if we do sign someone like Khedira or Bender then I wouldn’t be surprised if Arteta left.
It may be about to get interesting though.
N7
All those people who criticised AW for beach football and ‘ holidaying’ in Brazil ! Apparently he personally visited Sanchez who was keen to move to Italy and convinced him to sign.
I’ve been very critical of him and our negotiating team in the past but serious praise is due here. If we get Khedira……..!?
Morning, 🙂
It’s nice to see that previous reluctancies, have warmed to the idea of discussing transfers ( with the love).
Some clubs playing silly buggers with their players. However the wish list continues.
Sanchez was primarily a left sided winger for Barca, as D.Alves pushed ahead on the right with Pedro.
However, the player can do an equally good job on the wings and as a number 9. He is more
Of an advanced version of Ox and will really help the England international prosper. Equally Theo’s, who thrives off of competition.
Sorry should be theo
My quibble with Özil’s slide-rule passes, Clive (#249) is that some EPL teams worked him out last season and nullified him by standing off. Not that anticipating his passes made them easy to intercept, just a bit easier when not committing to a tackle. What we rarely saw from him was the ability to make space by beating a player BEFORE passing, a la TR10.
Just one reason why he was ineffective in the second half of the season after such a bright start.
Öskar
Oskar
By the looks of things. Premiere league teams will now have a different problem to try and suss this upcoming season
😆
Good to see so many Reginald the Managers about today. Pleasing scenes 🙂
Rotation and tactical flexibility. We missed both last year. Arsene never really had a choice though. Now we can switch players and systems if we want. Outside of the last – partly desperate – push in the cup final we never switched from the one up front and a 5 man midfield. Now we can switch and rest. We saw what a boost a well rested side was for Liverpool (je-je) last season, now we can afford to bring in fresh players after the CL. Good shit.
The schedule is brutal and it is getting harder and harder to play lesser PL teams on 2/3 days rest when they have had a week off. We are building a squad that will genuinely let us challenge on all four fronts this season.
Forward
Swapping Remy for a loaned out Sonogo would be an upgrade as well.
Giroud/Remy/Theo/The Panther
Sanchez/Ozil/Ox/Cazorla/Poldi/Gnarby/Rosicky
Arteta/Ramsey/Wilshere/Flamini
Someone to come in and replace the tow old boys at the base of midfield and we are looking pretty damn tasty.
Arsene KNEW 🙂
Hope to see Sanchez and Cazorla play together at the Ems in around two weeks hopefully. 🙂
Ok maybe three
I love Arsene’s response to Richard Keys when asked who has impressed him most during the WC:
‘I have seen many good players here, like you. But don’t ask me the names!’
😆
270 – yeah, was a bit tricky for Ozil to pick a defence when no one had the pace to run behind and teams could afford to push up on us and press high.
We could realistically play Sanchez – Theo – AOC ahead of Ozil now for pace, or, if we want Cazorla – Giroud – Rosicky for passing, or just mix it up. We can change a game from the bench as well now (no more only taking 6 subs away because one guy is hungover.)
Hopefully more to come to solidify the back, but BIG Ivan is working it 🙂
Oskar
Much easier to beat a player and then pass if Ozil has the quality players alongside him to make the early runs,putting the defender in 2 minds as to who to cover.
Worked well in the first half of the season,but once the ‘ runners’ were injured,it made it easier for teams to defend because they could remain static in their position and focus on stopping Ozil,because they knew he was the only threat.
Goonertown @ 266
Don’t get too carried away,we are only discussing one transfer,
[ Sanchez ] which appears by all accounts to be a done deal.
There is still plenty of Guff & Waffle in between. !!
El @276. Although the Ems cup is a pre-season game, it is also a precurser to working out, just who is hungover or still in holiday mode.
No names mentioned 🙂
Will be great to rotate!
Clive @ 277
That was not directed at you, as you are always reasonable.
I agree with you about guff and waffle, but there is always some stress before success! 🙂
A different problem Goonertown (#270)? Only if he brings his international form to the weekly grind, which he’s rarely done in his career. There was a reason RM were ready to let him go.
Not that his WC form has been that good. Apparently his performances have been heavily criticised in Germany and there were calls for him to be dropped for the semi. I thought he had a useful game against Brazil, but who wouldn’t have done against that defence!
Öskar
Gt and ELPuno – agree it is interesting to see many lounge side managers out of the garden.
gardening leave will officially finish on pumaday(Friday 10/07)
Also here’s to the grumpiest bench in the EPL
Oskar
Different as in Personnel
281 – title winning teams are never grumpy Aussie 🙂
UTA
But I’m too excited to be worrying about player on his way to his second trophy in two months with two different clubs.
I doubt he’ll be making the Ems Cup
Point taken Goonertown. Let’s hope the personnel we haven’t yet signed are up to the job.
G’night for now.
Öskar
okay teams not clubs. Excitment is overbearing right now.
GT – Em’s will be important. We have 5 games in 14 days to start the season, including 2 away PL matches after the CL qualifier. We need to get through these basically without anyone who got out of the group in the World Cup you would figure (holiday time + fitness training etc.)
Looks like we are almost sure of a reasonable tie in the CL, so that is potentially another match, or two, to get the squad players all up to speed and some game time whilst we ease the Franco/German/Sanchez contingent back in to the fold.
As you said, that list is still there, but it is looking realistic if we get 2/3 done now and with 5/6 weeks to add another 2/3 🙂
Big Ivan keeps on truckin.
Let’s hope That ozil11 has been working hard in tapping up mr khedira.
That would be a nice addition to Sanchez.
Surely all those Instagram pics togeather with poldi and per have to mean something
Oskar, I have a better idea…
…let’s resume this conversation on the 31 August!
Too much World Cup and transfer news to talk about right now!
Sleep tight!
😆
Based on who we have out training right now, our team would be…?
Schez, Jenks, ???, ???, Monreal, Arteta, Flamini/Diaby, Ramsey, Theo, Sonogo, Gnarby
Missing anyone?
El @ 287 –
I tihnk Arsene knew! 😆
El @ 290 😆
You could stick Gibbo and Oxo cube in there!
Ah, not really 🙂
What about zelalem ELP
or maybe Vermaelen and Kos?
Per is going to be far too busy 🙂
Has the bar lost its collective marbles? People left, right and centre are talking about Sánchez like the guy’s already signed. Some are celebrating the fact that we really are spending money.
All I see is a lot of talk about how close the deal is all over Twitter – hardly a bastion of truth! Until it’s on .com it might as well be as unlikely as us signing Neymar (considering he has a back injury, that might be more likely than we think!).
Please can we call our young tyro – Gnabry rather than Gnarby which half the Gooner Twitterati seem to call him. Goodness knows what will happen when Pleguezelo breaks into the team!
ttg@265: yeah, it’s almost like being in Brazil where (almost) all the top players also were may even have been a good thing… 🙂
Last summer we got Özil in a deal which was heavily connected to Spurs losing Bale.
This summer it now seems we have got Alexis Sanchez in a deal which is heavily connected to Liverpool most likely losing Suarez.
Two great additions to us while simultaneously weakening two major threats for the top four. You would be forgiven for thinking Arsene and Ivan actually do know a little bit about what they’re doing.
Rumour:
Arsene Wenger told Talk Sport that the Sanchez deal is close and could possibly be concluded today!
But that does not mean announced!
We just spoke to Wenger here, deal is as good as done with Sanchez! From the horses mouth! @talkSPORT ON AIR LIVE Follow #AFC @SportsYapper
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) July 8, 2014
Likelihood rating: 10/10
Time for a cup of tea me tink
That was a sneaky one Sanchez stylie there in the right corner…
…Bloody keeper didn’t even see it coming!
😆
My guess is that they will try and announce any deals at the kit launch. You know how good out press department is??? Maybe a bit of a gimme for them for once??
Indeed Steve
Brazilian fans are scary!
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/512/media/images/76138000/jpg/_76138478_brazilfan.jpg
BB. That was a Uruguayan player disguised as a Brazilian fan. 😉
Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona have negotiated a fee of of between 70 and 73m euros (£55.6m-58m) for the transfer of Uruguay striker Luis Suarez from Liverpool.
The fee represents a reduction of 20m euros on the 27-year-old’s buyout clause according to the paper.
————
So pool won’t sell to us at a discount but was willing to take a bite off for Barca?! 😀
Afternoon all.
Cheers guv, and all the best for the impending procedure.
*fingers crossed*
Hi Trev.
Nothing wrong with disagreeing, as I said, I think it all boils down to ones perspective. I wanted Holland to win and thought that Krul won the mind games, some agree, some don’t. I see the one’s that didn’t in the media are the same that have been calling Ozil “pedestrian” in the WC so far, opinions eh.
Whatever, no hard feelings either way my ol’ mate, a pint and a half of your choice awaits on the bar.
As for your post a little later, I know what you mean….
This summer I decided to take the advice of the Guv’ and spend a little more time in the garden. In summers (and seasons) past this was always the place to come for a laugh, ofcourse we all had high expectations, but it was coupled with a sense of gallows humour when things didn’t always go our way. That seems to have slowly been replaced by somewhat more serious disscusions that more often then not, unfortunatly, end up being repetative. No quarter is asked or given, just shouting matches about intrenched views appear, that is the way of the net I’m afraid.
The worst thing for me is that even though we finally managed to break the trophy hoodoo, there are still persistant moaners. People bitching about the “fact” that Arsene may be on a beach, “doing nothing”, when there are no facts to prove such. So many moaning about what other clubs have done, like signing Costa or Lallana is bedwettingly exciting, when the transfer window has hardly opened, plus people looking for any stick available to beat the manager with, its all very tedious.
But still, with all that, this is still by far the best place to come for proper Arsenal chat with a multitude of great gooners that are scattered across the globe.
For now, I’m just gonna enjoy the rest of the WC and the summer and I’ll be around a lot more when the real football kicks off again.
The rest is just fluff.
@306 bt8b
I don’t know what it is, but disconcerting comes to mind…
The incredible prescient logo of the WC : http://i.imgur.com/5gvsgB2.jpg
H2H,
May the better team win. *Cough* Argentina!
😀
@ 306
Read that too.
Scousers are not happy he did not reach the £80 mill club.
🙂
Heh BB.
So, you love Citeh do ya? 😉
Someone got thrown out of the bar in Brazil for ordering this :
http://i.imgur.com/EcBop4y.jpg
Always go Goonerholic! 🙂
so
van Pee’s got the shits
oh the heartbreak
🙂
He has the Rafael van der Farts
🙂
best of luck tonight h2h
BB
I think they might have accepted £58 million if we had offered it!
I hope we combine to stop Everton taking half their team on loan next season. They are apparently interested in Joel Campbell. We would be mad to help them. So of course they can have TGSTEL. I am happy to drive him to Merseyside.
TTG,
It would seem that’s it was a win-win for both player and club there.
But doubly so for us.. since it brought forth Sanchez to us!
Funny how things turn out. 🙂
Ok so if we pull off Sanchez, Debuchy,and Remy, I think we can genuinely compete.
Even though Chavs added Costa + C*sc
What happened to the penny pinching. Unbeilevably thrilled.
Lars @ 298: IMHO, Arsene has probably forgotten more about football and footballers than what we all here will collectively ever know.
Not an exaggeration. Every player/manager etc. who knew him from up close always comment on his encyclopedic knowledge about the game in general and extraordinarily accurate information about individual player’s career. And the uncanny ability to map out a player’s likely career path.
I can imagine a conversation like this:
Alexis: “So, Mr. Wenger, …errm … do you really think my game is suited for English league? I would feel more comfortable moving back to Italy.”
Arsene: “Well, do you remember that away match against Calgary in the 2008 season when you had to switch to three different positions and once Di Natale got injured you had to play as the lone striker and scored that late goal. Well that is the kind of energy and attitude that succeeds in PL and I think you would be great. However we need to work on your headers a bit though, right? Just a matter of technical adjustment. My assistant Bould was a great defender for Arsenal and he can work on your leap timing issues “. [Smiles].
Alexis: “I would like to play for you.”
@319: My imagination ran wild and replaced Cagliari by a town in Canada… 🙂
Oskar — Ozil’s WC form has been very good. And the German management knows that and know what he is about. See below (the stats are from even before the Semi):
http://news.arseblog.com/2014/07/german-assistant-defends-flop-ozil/ .
I would agree though that given teh kind of positions he creates for himself in the final third he should score some more goals, which is one area Arsene has pointed out in multiple interview and I think we will see that next season.
Debuchy number 2 and Gibbs number 3.
http://goonertalk.com/2014/07/09/kieran-gibbs-is-arsenals-new-no-3-debuchy-set-to-take-diabys-old-squad-number/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kieran-gibbs-is-arsenals-new-no-3-debuchy-set-to-take-diabys-old-squad-number
Could be a winning combination. 🙂
Cheers cba.
Will a new 2 and a new 3 add up to a new 5 as well, cba?
Diaby will take no 24, I see.
Surveying the remaining numbers for Alexis to choose from it looks like he might want 27, if he can turn the Eboue / Gervinho vibe into a positive thing, that is. 🙂
Sanchez to take 18 if he comes? That would seem to be lowest available number. He could only stick to the 9 he wears at Barca if Poldi vacates it for some reason.
This is cool about Sanchez, from a Barca fan:
http://www.thebottomcorner.com/2014/07/09/alexis-sanchez-to-arsenal-view-from-a-barcelona-fan/?
“Describe AS in one word.” “Fighter.”
Perfect. I got my footballing education row 1, east lower. 45 minutes of Dixon, 45 of Winterburn. All you can I ask, in my opinion, is that the players want to win as badly as you do. After that I couldn’t really care, a(ssuming it’s Arsene football.) The losing CL final was as good a performance as you will ever see and I celebrated it. Anyway, he looks a good-un.
NBN 324
someone made a boo boo
*tuts*
@El Puno
The glowing article was a good write up which provided some insight on the kind of player Alexis is. I wonder if his versatility is going to be an advantage. Will Arsene actually opt to put him on the wings and not play him as an out and out Striker? Or will we revert to 4-4-2??
Hmmmm.
Tomorrow is the kit unveiling right, so we may just have a OMG moment with the unveiling of Debuchy, Sanchez and Remy, that will be epic.
I am just praying every second that Sanchez is confirmed. He will be a great buy, someone who could have played for any club in the world ala Mesut and he choose us, wowowowowow.
The Germans yesterday proved that team matters than individuals, they are a magnificent bunch of professionals, whereas the brazilians were a pale shadow of a great footballing nation long time ago.
Time for Holland to beat Argentina today, they are the better team and they deserve to play in the finals than a one man team which is been average to say the least. That final will be epic if it does happen.
I’ve always liked Dutch football, I have to say, but just a thought of seeing Van Ghoul lifting the World Cup trophy and then stepping on to a new job with that kind of confidence, makes me sick. And of course, no way that the Cosmos justice will let that Roben twat and his sidekick idiot to be the winners. No way. They can beat Argy-bargies tonight, maybe, but not ze Germans. NEVER!
Aller guten Dinge sind drei, Mesut, Per and Lukas.
Dr F@257: Thanks for the ID on Bellerin. There is a bunch of the younger players in the Day 2 training pictures you could run your expert eye over as I am struggling to put names to some of the faces. But it looks from those pictures as if Matt Macey is being pencilled in as the No 2 goalkeeper absent the arrival of any other.
Aussie@261: I would guess Arteta won’t go unless we have the proverbial super-quality DM signed, but once we have I would imagine he will be off. AW will want Arteta around at the beginning of the season, though, for his leadership if nothing else, until the newcomers are bedded in and the WC returnees back to full form and fitness. Perhaps a January departure is most likely.
Clive@262: I think Miquel may be out of contract, anyway. Vermaelen won’t be allowed to go until we have another CB signed.
El Puno@271: You’ve hit the nail on the head in that the real power of the squad being assembled is that it allows for rotation and tactical flexibility both from game to game and within games. That is something we have lacked over the past few seasons. Also, if we can keep it fit, there is some real pace across the attack with Sanchez, Walcott and the Ox
EP@290. Gibbs for Monreal; Issac Hayden for one of the CB slots; Zelalem and Eisfeld in midfield.
daphne off Eggheads
sounds like
she keeps her dentures in
with peanut butter
.
oooohhh
333
the number of the one legged beast
classy Mesut is classy
Mesut Özil @MesutOzil1088
“you have a beautiful country, wonderful people and amazing footballers-this match may not destroy your pride! #Brasil “
the cancellation of garth brooks concerts
was debated in dáil éireann today
an taoiseach made a statement
.
i despair
i do
i really despair
.
but
bloody hell
what’s worse?
.
400,000 tickets sold
.
jeez louise
.
.
near half a million
.
holy furg
David Ornstein on Twitter, just now:
“Arsenal close to completing Sanchez signing for around £30m. Deal in principle & personal terms agreed, just some details to sort #AFC #FCB”
The Ornacle has spoken. I think it’s ok to let myself get excited now. Actually who am I kidding, I’ve been excited for days.
Signings update over at arsenalgent.
honestt to fuck
has anyone any patience?
.
‘holic’s jar bar
has been a perma-christmas eve
this past while
.
go to bed
and
when you wake up
Father Wenger will
have left a very expensive
action man
under
yer red and white tree
.
ok kiddees
Are Farca disbanding or something? Cesc. alexis..and now apparently Tello Song and Dani Alves..
Not that Im complaining.. Fuck em.
@337 to be fair Ornstein got quite a few things wrong last summer.
cba, I hear you, and that’s fair enough I suppose. But you can hardly blame us for getting excited about a player like Sanchez, especially when his transfer is as far along as it seems to be. In other words, you can be Grinchy if you want, but the rest of us little whos from Whoville are going to deck the halls a little bit if you don’t mind.
Sajit, I’m don’t doubt he did. They all do. But he is one who tends to hold out a little longer before pronouncing his tweets.
It’s not any one oracle that gives me confidence, it’s the whole chorus together, and the complete absence of any sour notes i.e. stories about hitches or snags.
Of course it could all go bad and disappoint us all. The wisest among us are have a long habit of ignoring rumors/tempering expectations as a defense mechanism. But there does come a point (yesterday or today for me) when it becomes worth the risk. If I’m wrong, I’ll suffer the consequences.
If Suarez doesn’t go through we don’t get Sanchez.. simples!
Till then… http://i.imgur.com/nlGAjn2.jpg
🙂
342
point well
and
entertainingly made
🙂
Cheers cba. Care for some eggnog?
BB@329 – It does give us some interesting options. I wonder of the cup final will lead us to more 4-4-2, Sonogo made such a difference up with Giroud. We could have Sanchez or Theo move up front as needed and play Cazorla or AOC wide in a midfield 4.
NBN @332 – would be nice to see us varying our approach game to game. Arsene knows, but the standard hung-ho full-backs and 999 pass build ups came unstuck a bit away from home last year. Sounds stupid in a 7-1, but look at Germany last night, gave up on the ball for 5 minutes at the start, just hoofed it away, to take the sting out of brazil first.
Forward
Remy and Bernard linked. Would be one hell of a summer if they get in another attacker, that would be 5 with a keeper and a Bender. Divine.
Testify BIG Ivan
El Punö, I’ve gotta hand it to you. While the rest of us try to ignore the speculation/watch the World Cup/drink whiskey in the garden/do yoga you are just GOIN FOR IT.
Have one one me. Cheers fella.
on* me obvs dammit
Backing my hunch. Have backed both teams to win on penalties at 10/1. Come on the draw 🙂
cba,
I know what you mean, mate.
I’m excited at the prospect of what we may be watching at The Ems bext season too, but to keep repeating it every two seconds gets a bit flaming wearing.
Some very clever and subtly disguised references I spotted back there from one or two posters in response to my exasperated piece on Guff and Waffle yesterday. They clearly didn’t get the point at all.
I’m not a kill-joy wanting to ban excitement and all transfer discussion. That’s why I flagged up the Tim Stillman piece – a thoughtful and intelligent analysis of what the squad might need and even a mention or two of specific personnel who might fit the bill.
It is the constant repetition – constant repetition – constant repetition – boring isn’t it – of “we want this one” / “we’ve got that one” about things that haven’t even happened yet that is plain boring.
Be excited by all means but unless the entire readership have turned into goldfish, the repetitions every two seconds are probably a bit unnecessary.
Come on Messi! If you don’t win it, you’re going to be on loan to us!
😀
Puno – Bernard, really ? And he is better than who, exactly ?
Meh, I’m afraid.
De jong is back.. uh-oh! Going to be a cruncher of a match!
Well as much as I have not read anything about Bernard, logic would dictate that players would want to leave Shakthar with all the terrible stuff happening in Ukraine. So I suppose someone just considered that + Arsenal seem to be doing some business = links player with us.
and to add to that, I have seen him play for Shaktar in Europa league against Viktoria Plzen, and even though Shaktar surprisingly lost, he was head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch, however as Trev said, do not see him as an improvement above any of the current first team players we have.
354 – yeah, not an exciting one I must say, but probably bogus. They put loads if this crap out to cover up what they are really doing. I’m fairly certain BIG Ivan is using that little duming as a smoke screen whilst we tie up ADM #HeardItHereFirst
Duming = dumpling 🙁 #WhereMeArshavin
349 – why thank you squire. Got to get out fix somehow while Arsene is in Rio :/
Next rounds on me 🙂
All the best for tomorrow Holic..
I had some very, very intelligent things to say and then I remembered I am a bit drunk and then forgot what those intelligent things were.
Oh well.
Shit happens, I suppose.
As you were, lovers of the Arse.
Thanks all 🙂
Aww
feck off
ya drama queen
you’ll be grand
🙂
352
362
.
its 6kg sugar
dash of lemon
half tub allinsons
water to 30l
lid on
wait for magic
.
mind you
.
waiting here has become
.
.
.
hasn’t it
A small glass of Oramorph 2014, Appelation Completely Uncontrollé, with lunch tomorrow, Holic ?
Good stuff it is ! 😉
‘holic
can i suggest
some
early Who
as you stride
towards
“procedure”
“procedure” being the operative word. 😉
Trev
Re Bernard spot on. He is a midget who is part of the most mediocre generation of Brazilian players ever and earnt a 3 from the Times for yesterday’s performance. I’d rather give Gnabry a decent chance. Just because it’s a deal it doesn’t make it exciting.
as i said
the best barman
in
the best bar
is gonna be gold
.
you wouldn’t believe
the number of lurkers
i know
who don’t leave drinks
and
as i said before
don’t know
i can’t be arsed
.
subterfuge
🙂
Doc,
Looks like Vlaar isn’t too shabby after all, excellent defending throughout!
The dutch may just nick this, best offence is a good defence?!?!?
😀
cba is nothing but
a pseudo – intellectual
bargain bucket beckett
.
.
yup !
.
.
yer point being?
Yet another very flat game. Tension- filled but so lacking in flair or invention. Typical of most of this a World Cup.
When one speaks about a DM though the role that Mascherano has played here exemplifies just what we lack – a strong tackler and great reader if the game who is a great shield for the back four
congratulations h2h
long may yer till ‘ding’
🙂
it is a luxury
to have LB7
commentating
.
sounds like he’s
garglin’ lard
but
socks round the ankles lard
.
🙂
oohh schiitt!!!
😉
Argentina late bloomers! Rubbing it in to Brazil too..
Hope Di Maria can be back.. what a final that will be then!
As predicted Germany Vs Argentina!
😀
Right result- Holland are arch bores . Forget the first game Soain committed suicide. Germany look decent favourites to me on Sunday
Like I told you before the tournament. Argentina v. Brazil.
Oh. Sorry. 🙂
Ah, but tis the Finals, Argentines definitely will be up for it but if there are to be favourites then yes it’s ze germans! After that 7-1 how can they not be?!
Just hope Di Maria will be fit enough to play!
😀
How does one know that one cannot be arsed, I wonder.
Van Balls didn’t substitute the goalie this time did he?!
😀
Great wager Holic! All the best for the procedure on thurs.
What a disappointing 2cnd WC semi, Holland were schitt and the Argies not much better. Here’s to the Germans winning on Sunday.
I predicted Argentina to beat Germany in the final before the tournament, so I’ll stick to that. It would be typical if Argentina won after both teams’ respective semi-final performances anyway.
TTG@373: I would think a lot of that has got to do with the tactical formations and tight marking of space. However neither of these teams had players capable of great visionary passing. Sneijder, Messi, Mascheranho all can pass well from deep but not of the calibre to open up very tight defenses from a single release ball, especially given the runners are all being tracked man-to-man.
Messi did release Perez and Lazezzi a few times and they should have done better with the ball.
The Dutch were too route one, didn’t show enough patience to work around Mascheranho-Biglia.
If Argentina approaches the final this way, we will get to see Ozil’s true value. He will have to be instrumental in opening up space.
@385: Lavezzi and not Lazezzi…
howdy uply
are you well?
bustin fer a snooze
but
Scarface on RTE 2
BB@382: For two consecutive matches he had no real attacking strategy except for to just rely on Robben to create something, anything.
On the other hand, excellent demonstration of organization and defensive marking from both team.
Mascheranho MotM?
Ron Vlaar probably played the game of his life. The Villa supporters might be wondering about that … 🙂
Martin Keown :
“When Ron Vlaar plays for Aston Villa he plays in a back four, and he is not really as good a player. For the national side he plays in a back three and is much better.” ..
——————
Tis an anomaly, maybe Vlaar just needs space… 🙂
Vlaar played his heart out and didn’t make mistakes in the box.. top performance.
Mystic Meg, fuck off 😉
“I really can see this going to penalties again, which makes the result a lottery, but something is telling me Argentina will nick it at the death. A South American tournament cannot produce an all European Final, surely?”
Who is a lucky fucker? 😉
Cent, mon ami, sorry to hear about this
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28235156
Hopefully the Nigerian authorities would be reasonable.
Congratulations ‘Holic.
And who’s the next Man U manager?
Loser.
Little energy in the Dutch today. As I feared the tough earlier games finally caught up with them. Neither Robben nor Messi escaped the shackles, and no-one else on either side looked likely. A bit of a bore frankly and only the Germans would have wanted even more of it with extra time and penalties. They will be laughing. Do Germans laugh? Whatever they do they will be doing it.
And doing the Argies at the weekend.
Öskar
On reflection we MAY be on the brink of signing two players, one of whom is a direct replacement for Sagna and, arguably, no better than he was … and one whose transfer depends on Liverpool who stuffed us this time last year.
That doesn’t justify the huge leap of anticipation that seems prevalent in the drinks lately. We need both those strong rumours to resolve PLUS at least two more significant signings (and no significant departures) before we can hope to match those that finished above us last season, and who are also improving their squads.
The line-ups I’ve seen suggested in earlier drinks in this round look great, but of course take no account of injuries which we, with our record, can expect. Apropos which, perhaps our most significant signing of the season was made a month ago … Shad Forsyth, German national football team physio for the last 10 years and, presumably, one of the guys chiefly responsible for Germany being in the WC final … http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/383548/Arsenal-make-their-first-summer-signing-American-physio-Shad-Forsyth
Forsyth’s signing could be momentous, but I’m going to side with those expressing caution, at least until the final squad positions are filled.
Öskar
NBN @ 332: Let me try my best . I know these faces only from Arsenal magazine — rather good at informing about the reserves — and highlights of the reserve games in the Arsenal player. 🙂
1/23: Bellerin, Hayden, Coquelin (he is back but surely to be sold/loaned out)
4/23: Zelalem .
6/23: Akpom, Bellerin
7/23: Bellerin
9/23: Matt Macey
10/23: Akpom (background), Afobe, Olsson (background)
12/23: Coquelin
13/23: Olsson
15/23: Hayden, Bellerin
20/23: Zelalem
21/23: Eisfield
22/23: Bellerin, Hayden, Coquelin
Oskar @396, You are quite right to strike a note of caution and realism in the midst of all this Sanchez hysteria. Now they say Khedira’s salary demands are so high Arsenal may have already turned to other candidates to fill our midfield vacancy. Me, I’m perfectly ready for a round of Schneiderlin hysteria. 🙂
sets it on a plate…
I had Schneiderlin in my original fantasy football team last season, but I had to drop him cos he didn’t score enough points. I hope that doesn’t prove the case if we sign him. Good club player though and wouldn’t break the budget.
Öskar
But I still think we need a couple more players of higher quality in order to be serious contenders for anything.
Öskar
A couple more in addition to Debuchy and Sanchez that is.
Öskar
Thanks for the plate, scruz. I only just noticed!
Öskar
If Schneiderlin can give us some steel and improve our defensive solidity then he would be worth every penny even if he scores zero goals. Arteta has scored almost zero goals the last two seasons if you discount the penalties, so it’s not like we are relying on goals from that position anyway. Not sure if this will convince you, but if he can do this all the time then it’s a no-brainer. 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk0BxCU1Qk0
Not expecting goals from a DMF, 8ball, just being facetious about my fantasy football team (where defenders score points in other ways). I think Schneiderlin is a useful player, but there are better players I’d like to sign, IF we can.
Öskar
Astute business move by Nike, spotting a sinking ship.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28220281
Holic having a medical at Arsenal! No wonder AW has been smiling so much 😉
Anyway, I’m here to keep law and order in his absence. 🙂
8ball, shouldn’t you be asleep? Heck, why am I not asleep 🙁
I’ll tell you why. The last two games were a travesty!
Hey abb 😀
Morning all. Quiet on the transfer front this morning. Surely not??
Could it be because?…
😆
Hi Eandy 😉 Morning all. No, last night really happened 🙁
Morning abb – I’m glad for the Argies. Happy Messi made it. He is such a humble player. Karma came back for Robben.
Goonertown ☺
Second that Goonertown.
Hope the Argies are rested enough for the finals though, looking forward to it!
Just in case anyone was wondering about the delay in the announcement of the Suarez/Sanchez deals, both players have now undergone simultaneous medicals. Sanchez in London and Suarez in Uruguay.
Catalan radio station RAC1 announced today that both medicals have been passed and the deals are likely to be announced today.
Meanwhile, 7 hours ago Gillum Balague stated the following, in response to a concerned gooner asking if the deal was 100% done:
@portoDuque @Mascherano
absolutely done deal @7h
Any minute now Holics!
Nanoo Nanoo 🙂
Goonertown Christmas in July! All wrapped up with a pretty bow. 😉
Pleasing scenes GT. Now fingers crossed for that holding player and a striker…
Forward
Pleasing scenes indeed El
Season greetings to you too abb
🙂
If the Sanchez signing is announced today at the kit launch it demonstrates considerable ‘influencing skills’ by our negotiators.
It does sound as if it’s likely to happen which will be great but at this stage I think we should keep everything crossed.
Rumour:
The sale of Suarez was planned before the bite. Cesc was sold to partly meet the release clause. The club eventually managed to get the clause reduced by 20 Mill, exploiting several different clauses in the contract, including those relating to overseas bidders.
Likelihood rating 10/10
Well, it’s back to being a Merseyside mess with Rodgers at the helm!
C’est la vie
Everything crossed here and waiting patiently
Holics, do you have a preference between Khedira , Lars and Schneiderlin?
While Khedira is class – I personally hope we go for Morgan. Think the kid is class.
And the kind of player who gets on with a job.
Spanish newspaper El Confidencial suggest that Sami Khedira has rejected a new deal with Real Madrid.
Furthermore, they indicate that the German international is pushing for a move to the Emirates.
Both Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker are believed to be attempting to convince the 27-year-old to swap Madrid for London this summer.
I dont usually link Mirror but when I do..
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/could-alexis-sanchezs-arsenal-transfer-3835892
Afternoon all.
Woah, what a steaming pot of poo last nights game was.
It was nice while it lasted, but unfortunatly it’s over, wait, except ofcourse for Saturday’s play off match, a game as eagerly awaited as a root canal.
Oh well, at least I can go back to dispising all the mongs in that team, of which there are many.
Ahhhh, it’s good to be back.
a sneaky lunchtime Green Spot
on the bar
for all the
nervous nellys
nervous expectant nellys
and
secretly nervous regulars
.
only one between you, mind
i’m not made o’ money
.
now where does ‘holic keep the straws
20 should do it
oooh!
pink bendy ones!
.
hurry back big man
yer ramshackle band needs it’s conductor
@396
To provide some balance to Oskar’s uncharacteristic note of caution: if anyone needs me, I will be in the corner of the bar, running round in small circles with my underwear on my head and Alexis Sanchez’ name scrawled across my forehead in marker pen.
Seriously: Alexis fucking Sanchez.
This time last year we were all praying for Fellaini. Many would have been perfectly happy with Michu. Now we’re signing Alexis Sanchez.
What a time to be a Gooner.
COYG
N7,
I was Definitely NOT praying for Fellaini.
😀
@ BB
Praying for Fellaini to go to Utd?
Distinctively remember the first time i saw Alexis play for Barcelona, he was coming on as a sub and he was extremely quick and beat players for fun on the wings.
Thought to meself, that just isn’t fair, to have that kind of player on the bench, wish he was playing for us… and now it looks like it just may be.
🙂
N7@428 – I don’t understand.
Has the zen atmosphere of the garden been terminally undermined by holics downing pints and soaking up rays?
Ooooooooooommmm Ooooooooommmm Oooooooommmm
N7,
😀
Looks like he’s off somewhere else again too…
423 – I agree mate, the French lad looks most like what we need. (Not seen much of Bender I must admit. The possibility for some Futurama themed nonsense does appeal though:/)
@ Pangloss
Early this morning I awoke with a jolt from my meditation, stumbled back into the bar, leaving the warm air and bright sunshine of the zen garden behind me, raised my head to the heaven and bellowed a single word:
SAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNCHEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZ.
I may well return to the comforts of the garden soon enough, but I thought that, since I had taken the time to return from the astral plane, and given that my underpants were already on my head, I might as well spout a little positivity to counterbalance some of the moaning.
If anyone would like a calming joss stick, I’ll be handing them out for free all this afternoon, and there will be a thirty minute communal bongo playing session over by the jukebox at approx 10pm GMT tonight. Bring your most zen-like grooves.
OMMMMMMMMYGODWEBOUGHTALEXISSANCHEZ
Why is BB praying for Fellaini ? 😉
Calm down, just stirring the pot 🙂
Anyway, cba has the right idea. Now where are those straws …
BTW, I wouldn’t mind that Jamie Rodriguez from Columbia wearing the red and white ☺
Jack Wilshere in super hero mode:
http://fitbamob.com/r/gunners/7PZ9W3k/
@ Eandy
It’s a done deal then!
You NEVER say goodbye to your hairdresser unless you’re really leaving, it’s a taboo with south americans!
Case in point : http://www.africatopsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/diego.jpg
😀
Sajit, I am flattered that you think I can do a job for the Arsenal but I am afraid I have to say no as 40 years of age is probably slightly too much to try and take up a career as a professional footballer…
abb
you get a Green Spot
all to yerself
.
*bats moths away as opens wallet*
.
yup
i have enough
.
horse it into you
like a woman possessed
.
🙂
Ommmmmmmmmm 😉
Wow I pop out for a plain bagel and some skittles and come back to find the bar littered with comments
Sajit – My preference is Bender. I am hearing that pocochetto or whatever his name is at Sp*rs, is trying to convince your boy Moragn to follow him to the lane. Khedira seems to be made of good stuff too. I have not see much of Morgan, but I am sure he is good.
@431
I am not jumping on the bangwagon here. I thought the exact same thing about Alexis. He looked like an ideal upgrade to the then waning Arshavin (remember him?)
Long may it continue! 🙂
Oskar @396 –
Spot on, and interesting about Shad Forsyth which I hadn’t picked up on at all.
In response to my guest piece a while back, someone who was clearly pretty close to what happens at Shenley said, basically, that they know it all there, analyse everything and have the best possible people to sort it all out.
It was quite a put-down of a response. Whoever it was might possibly now be feeling a touch uneasy ……..
Lars @ 439: Ha ha! I was actually going to reply to Sajit’s post that we didn’t know you are such a DM stalwart. 🙂
Sajit, just so that you are asking, for a DM/pivote role in our set-up I will prefer someone more naturally conservative like Gustavo. But if we must choose from your list I would prefer Lars Bender.
Khedira is more of a Ramsey-type player, box-to-box . I would like someone whose template is Pirlo or Xabi Alonso.
Oops, forgot to change me moniker back ! 😉
Blast, that was me @443 Oskar. 😉
And whatever my name is, I will be right over in the corner running around with N7 just as soon as the Sanchez rumours become truth.
Fellaini indeed – pffftttt ! 🙂
Goonertown @442 –
Well the trouble is, old son, when you’re in here noone else gets a chance to say anything. 😉
Enough meditation can lead you to creating something so sublime as this
https://www.facebook.com/DalaiLama/photos/a.10150641618452616.395022.339188887615/10152218801182616/?type=1&theater
Dr, F. Somewhere above, I’m not too bothered about the ban to be honest, I’ve got Arsenal to look forward to ;).
afternoon trev
ahhh
go on
i’ll stand you a green spot too
🙂
I think quite a lot of people will be disappointed this night, knowing Arsenal they will probably not announce any signings today just to crank up the excitement a little bit more.
Cent @ 450: Don’t we all? 🙂
Morning New York Times, in a column about children migrating all by themselves from the central American countries to US, tells a story about two brothers in Honduras being killed brutally by gangs when the younger brother goes out in his cycle to look for the missing elder brother.
Ages? 13 and 7.
Most of us are just so privileged …
Trev @ 448
What would you do without me?
😉
Fifa announce Luis Suarez’s appeal against his four-month ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini has been rejected.
….this had better not throw a spanner in the works… what’s holding up sanchez?! Come on already! 😀
well
453
aren’t you just
the upbeat cheerful gift
that
keeps on taking
.
When on earth will the announcement be? Please i am sick worried here unable to work for i have seen such things collapse in the end on many a occasion. Just Sanchez to Arsenal confirmed and then we can worry about the DM we desperately need.
Sajit, I to agree that Schneiderlin will be awesome, he will fit in with Aaron fantastically in the midfield. Will we complain if we get Khedira? Hell no, we need a DM and he is proven. Whatever it maybe i just pray that we wont have to see an Arteta Flamini pivot again, obviously no dis respect to them but honestly that never worked,never will.
‘giggles’ cba and Trev in the house 😉
huh, say’s my comment is awaiting ‘moderation’
but I can see it 😉
Never done anything in moderation my whole life 🙂
I’m under moderation too.. Must have been something bad ..
Like saying Suarez instead of Sanchez 😀
…and please don’t start anytime soon, abb@458
The daily fail are reporting that Sanchez has two medicals, one today and one tomorrow and Debuchy has one on Monday.
Likelihood rating: Still awaiting moderation 😉
You would not want to meet him in a dark alley.. : http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/76165000/jpg/_76165867_tim-howard.jpg
moderation
is the star
by which
i guide my ship
of
gluttony
Rambo’s looking well slick in those new training snaps 🙂
You fellas are all terrific !
🙂
if anyone finds 463
wandering aimlessly
please return
to
a
Mr. P. Retentious
Donegal
🙂
oops
464
.
sorry
463
bb
🙂
Well well 468 🙂
@463
Quite right. He’d be bloody impossible to read.
I hate it how Twitter keeps trolling me every day.. I see Sanchez trending every now and then.. so does Arsenal.
click to check whats new.. And “Arsenal close to signing Sanchez”
F**k you.
I. believe the Mail are wrong
Debuchy had his medical on Monday and all the photos to be released on the website were taken then
469 gtown
yup
.
i’m well
.
couldn’t stretch
to two wells though
.
stretched once
didn’t like it
As a sidenote.. I will be very sad if Arteta leaves. He is such a great professional. A great team player.
We cannot keep selling off our senior players. We need characters and fighters like him in the dressing room.
Personally, I rate Arteta higher than Flamini.
If we sell players such as Bac and Arteta in same season we will be making the same mistakes we made for our trophy drought.
Why did Chelsea / United keep their senior pros even though they were well past their sell date?
They need players / winners in the dressing room.
472 – Interesting. Any insider info on this two medicals nonsense?
Ttg.
The Mail is wrong.
In every conceivable way.
Andy Goram always had two medicals before a transfer.
And four psychological evaluations.
howdy h2h
am outside meself
luke kelly-the night visiting song
blaring over the mountains
sometimes life makes sense
.
crested ten for everyone in the bar
.
jeez
feck off
green spot’s expensive
🙂
.
NOW
COME ON YOU RIP FUCKIN’ ROARIN’ REDS
‘@LeeDixon2 5m
Just spoke to Arsene. He’s very happy about Sanchez and Debuchy’
🙂
I think it may be underpants on the head time.
Heh cba.
Outside, eh?
Watch out for those mad dogs and marauding cattle.
Don’t try to relieve the latter of their nail polish.
I hear that makes them bullshit crazy.
Heh N7.
A couple of pencils in your nostrils and repetitive use of the word “wibble”, should add to the overal look you’re aiming for.
Ommmmmmmmmmwibble.
Heh @ H2H
We are living in a world where Arsenal (Arsenal!) sign players like Ozil and Sanchez.
Pants on the head and pencils up the nostrils feel positively normal.
Wibble.
Even if we dont add any new players but dont lose Arteta.. i think we can geniuinely compete..
On the other hand if we get Remy…and a Schneiderlin… wowoooooowww
I think Cent’s word of caution is good advice. We are salivating with expectation of the arrival of Sanchez, Debuchy and others to follow an there is no question that they were not going to be announced before the launch of the new kit. Cent has called it, I think. Tonight will simply be the kit launch….long planned and rehearsed and starring the stars of 2013-14. If you expect the new signings you will almost certainly be disappointed.
I’m not saying they won’t arrive. I think there’s too much smoke now for that. However I would suggest we wait for .com before getting our pants on our heads and sticking a couple of Venus HB’s up our noses.
The odd ‘wibble’ of anticipation would be OK though.
Back to the Zen garden or the beer garden, N7. 🙂
Lee Dixon gone mad? Doesn’t he know that until it’s up on the club website you just ignore it? 😉
Exciting times. What a roller coaster summer this has been.
Forward
Sajit, dude as much as he has been a thorough professional, Mikel does not have the legs needed to play in that pivotal role in the midfield. We all remember how he was hassled all over the pitch by the bigger teams and the more physical teams in the league. That is their strategy. Mikel is intelligent enough to know his limitations and work around it but more often than not he is found out. So if we do find the right replacement, we can say thank you to Mikel and let him go.
Where is Sanchez???????
🙂
h2h
.
cows are big
really fuckin’ big
i have a half door
opened top
one morn
a “wee” calf
size of an aircraft carrier
tried to come in
breakfast on his mind
ye can’t swat one of those
with a rolled up Grauniad
.
i’m philisophical
’bout the whole thing though
.
cattle are people too
My guess is that the mail are trying to speculate about something they have not been involved with, from the start.
Damn you, N7,
I got all confused and shoved the pencils up me pants !
No chance of dancing in the corner now. 🙁
Hi abb ! Keep smiling, Nursie. 😉
Left a pot of tea for Holic on the stove. Please keep watch. Maybe one of you could slice up some lemons. Sugar bowl is behind the cash register 😉
Heh, cba.
Philosophical about cows, eh ?
Sort of –
to be is to moo
to moo is to be.
? 😉
Wish you well, Holic,
if you’re out of the horse piddle yet ? 😉
OI !!!!!
‘Holic !!!!!!!
.
get well soon
please
.
swimming in a
treacle of dull
doesn’t sit
well with me eyebrows
.
not that they’re not
luxuriant
and
quite the lady magnet
.
but
.
oi!
‘holic
heal thyself!!!!
*convinced*
.
saw a heifer
get down
with the boogadee beat
cos
she
was “wonder mike
and
he’d like to say hello”
.
h2h
the beasts in nail polish
is
nowhere near as funny
as
the beasts puttin’ on same
.
moo giggling
straightening their udders
hoping the bull
from 3 fields down
is gonna be there
Squirty buggers
Those udders
Amongst udder things
Milk flies out
Straight
Past-your-eyes
And that is the cream of
Me milky puns.
Your welcome. 😉
*hoofs a big toed one vertically*
.
who will slot the 5 ton home?
henry?
the mild mannered janitor?
no
Sanchez!
Nick Hornby’s article :
Has the World Cup been that good?
http://www.espnfc.com/blog/world-cup-central/59/post/1943558/nick-hornby-has-the-world-cup-really-been-that-good
It’s not about Sanchez! 🙂
I was really looking forward to getting that 500-goal. Alas.
disappointing
.
whats that cattle?
.
eh?
.
okeydokey
.
captain beefheart it is!
aaaahhhh
.
don
.
the greatest of all the van vliets
sorry Toby
but
ye can’t say
i didn’t telegraph it
🙂
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140710/alexis-sanchez-agrees-to-join-arsenal
YEEEEES
THE MONKS
THE SONICS
.
cattle know
.
yup
.
cattle know
.
WAAAAHEYYYYYYY!!!!!!!
OOOOO YES!
MOOOOOOO
MOOOOOOO
LEXY
MOOOOOOO
boom
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140710/alexis-sanchez-agrees-to-join-arsenal
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
It’s official!!!!!
GET THE FUCK IN.
Let the festivities commence
now
fuckin roll on this season!!!!!!
.
YEEEE HAAA
there is a santa
Who would’ve thunk.. Sanchez being confirmed before Debuchy!
😀
One Arsene Wenger!
WELCOME!
Some pics in Kit : http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140710/gallery
wowowowowowowowowow!!!!!
*puts boxers on head and joins n7 and trev*
We now have 2 proper outstanding strikers! Finally.. some Depth! 😀
from 20 minutes ago on SkySports..
“Arsenal and Barcelona are increasingly confident Alexis Sanchez will complete a move to north London. Sky sources understand Sanchez is not yet in London, as has been reported, but it is believed a deal has been agreed in principle. A deal for Newcastle right-back Mathieu Debuchy is also thought to be imminent.”
Just shows exactly how much meeja know …
Welcome to Arsenal, Alexis!!
A fantastic footballer in a great club supported by fantastic supporters and he will be playing under one of the greatest managers in modern football.
That’s all there is to it. 🙂
wengah aaaaaht!
well said dr F
cba having a proper field day. well deserved.
and oh, good signing.
hope ‘holic got the news
we’re in yer man’s house
after all
.
i’m happy
Hallelujah. Praise be BIG Ivan, praise be.
Forward 🙂
The real puma for Puma.
Hey Up Lads,
Hope all are well – Made myself a promise I’d try and steer clear of the summer bollocks this summer but after today fuck that, What a great day to be an Arsenal fan, Massive Massive fan of Sanchez and more excited about this transfer than Ozils although that was mega! This boy has pace to burn an eye for goal can go past people for fun but even better than that he’s a team player and works his nuts off for the cause – Happy Fucking Days 🙂
If I can just get these pencils out ….. 😉
Sanchez what ?
Do what ? Do what ?
Oh, not that one ? 😉
have to issue a warning
to the women of donegal
cba is loose and slobbering
.
batten down yer hatches
🙂
There you have it.
Enjoy gooners
WIBBLE
530
🙂 🙂
I rate this as massive as Ozil.
we are THE ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!
Have we signed anyone yet?
FUCKIN A RIGHT! How the fuck am I supposed to get any work done the rest of this afternoon? I might as well go home right now.
Ozil from Madrid last summer, Sanchez from Barca this summer. And they say we don’t have ambition! COYG
A couple of teasers of what to expect :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cEKfWdGvA0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEHwhtKcdA8
Yum! 🙂
can’t fuckin’ wait
.
CAN’T FUCKIN’ WAIT
.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
.
🙂
Just to understand the gravity of it all.. Here we have a player who has played with Neymar and Messi and Iniesta and Xavi! and didn’t look like he was second best most times too…!
Let that sink in…
Up The Arse!!
😀
Let’s not get too excited, afteral, L’poo have signed Lallana and Lambert from a mid table team, plus some Tin Can geezer………..
Oh.
HahahaahahhahahhahahahhahahahahahHAHAHAAHHHHAhAhahAhahah
We got Alexis Modahumpin Sanchez!!!
Wild beast from Tocopilla!!!!
Goals galore!!!!
“There Can Be Only One”
Born To Booze. Live To Sin.
But seriously. Sanchëzil. Has quite a ring to it, no?
H2H… Tin Can….
Methinks we’ll rattle them this time….
😀
I actually think he’s better than suarez.. plus he doesn’t bite 😀
Check out some of his goals and assists in my earlier posts! Wow!
Ole!
Great bit of business and got it done sharp played arsene and co.does this mean that phil (Pinocchio)Thompson was talking shite? Massive link in the chain welcome Sanchez UTA!
If anyone wants me I’ll be over in that corner with N7 and the others with me boxers on me nut and doing silly dance routines while giggling like crazy…
Barman, a round for everyone on my tab please!
What a Signing!!!!! Can not wait and looking forward to playing with Alexis Sanchez!!!!! #COYG
— Theo Walcott (@theowalcott) July 10, 2014
I’d be just a little bit worried if i was you Theo… 🙂
I cant believe that over paid, lazy manager!
Sitting around comentn on French TV. What’s he doing for the club this summer!!
Venga OUT!
Oh ….
I don’t understand how Alexis Sánchez Is only worth 28 million in the current football market. He’s world class. Top 10 in the world for me
-MicahRichards
Micah Richards@MicahRichards
*tickles Lars*
.
.
we are THE ARSENAL
What a lift this will be for everyone around him.
such a top top signing
More then 50 days before transfer deadline, we bought the fantastic player.
Something strange is going on….or samithing?
I love that AW gazzumped that twat Brendan Rodgers.
Good luck with mid table-ness next year!!
Thank u sanchez for choosing us..thank u Wenger..the question is..was it the stadium move that restricted arsene hand
“Hello, Mr. Alexis. How may I assist you?”
https://twitter.com/Danskin1886/status/487309470524272640/photo/1
for the time being
hello happy tunes
hello happy tunes
happy tunes
of yesteryear
.
we are RAMONES
we are BUZZCOCKS
.
now
let rip pete
ya wee manc genius
Ofcourse it was Kc.
If anyone things any other manager in the world could of kept us competitive during all those years, then I’d like to know who they think that was.
No Arsene = no stadium, no continued presense in the CL, no Ozil and no Sanchez.
*thinks
göönsterham,
Brilliant! Just Brilliant! But methinks Sanchez will do a lot of assisting too, he won’t be taking corners, that boy can head a ball!!
For me this is the most exciting signing since DB10. Building on the signing of Ozil last summer. Bringing us back towards the level we were at in 2003.
More to come as well.
*adopts the N7 pose*
http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/content/images/2007/05/09/pants_396x222.jpg
Hope you’re doing well Holic and this news makes up for any medical meddling you’ve had to put up with today. Large Ardbeg on the bar to toast the new lad and your recovery.
Slainte
Are we there yet?
come on bath
get yer drawers on yer head
🙂
You tear me up, cBa, but I’m still in the real world and hoping to be sixteen again although I don’t know what do to do with my life being so hollow inside but i still believe in radio nine.
That is my raison d’etre.
Nothing left. I’m late for the train.
Sanchez!!!
(Dons boxers, grabs pencils, and runs wildly about the garden…)
who can
resist
🙂
The best thing is we have given Barcelona the money to by Dracula and put the bin dippers back where they belong ! 6th if lucky
567
a whole heap o’ 🙂 :):):)’s
top stuff
Anyone heard about Manquillo… How good is he? Is he really better than jenks?
Evening all, and thank you. I will be typing left handed for a few days, which isn’t great to be honest. Therefore new piece will be delayed. Apologies. Unproductive summer from me.
Anyway, great signing today has helped massively, as have two bottles of red wine, some delicious malt, and a bunch of pills. Wish I could have made the Puma launch 🙁
Please bear with me. Ta muchly 🙂
H2h..I agreed ..let’s win d most coveted European trophy ..AW deserve it so much
Thanks cba.
In two consecutive years we brought in two key players from Real and Barca first team squads. There may be one more this year .
Achieved through our diligence, our patience, our planning, our stadium, our football, our well earned sponsorships and by our manager.
A decade or from now when the history of our beloved club will be revisited as we rewrite history it would marvel at the patience shown by the club , and most supporters, in face of tremendous negative pressure.
Holic, hope everything went well. Two bottles of red wine? Excellent idea!
Please be aware Liverpool FC will be holding at minutes silence after missing out on Alexis Sanchez 🙂 What you smoking up there !!
me singles
were prize possessions
but
life and shite
meant i had to sell
most of them
.
still annoys me thinkin about it
The amount of sour grapes they are heaping on us is amazing.. makes me feel real good about Sanchez!
This is for the pool fans and others who are just mad with envy :-
http://i.imgur.com/uHTr63l.gif
Who’s the Dog’s Bollocks now?!
😀
‘holic
i’ve left a wee drop
behind the till
its homemade
double distiiled
and
carbon filtered
.
poitin isn’t what it used to be
🙂
All the best for your recovery, ‘Holic. Sanchez signing is quite the tonic — but a couple of bottles of the finest claret is always a good Plan B.
Alexis vants to play vith Venga. 😀
Get well soon ‘holic.
*Ahem*
I can formally confirm that the Holic Bar Zen Garden will, for one night only, be rechristened the Arsene Wenger Oasis of Godlike Genius.
Please grab a drink of your choice, reposition your underpants on your head and step outside to join us as we loudly celebrate the great man and whip ourselves into a frenzy over the silky skills of Alexis Sanchez and the sheer, mind bending fitness of his missus.
Perennial moaners are welcome to join the congregation: zen knows not judgement or recrimination. It is never too late to see the light.
Now would you all please put your motherfucking hands in the air, look to your left, look to your right. What do you see?
That’s right…the Promised Land.
Well worth that wait.
COYG
WIBBLE!!
So happy.
Spent some fucking money.
Up yours Stingy Voyeur, wherever you are!
Wobble? 😉
What an awesome day!
Got to get fresh underpants to put on my head cause the ones I’m wearing are a little wet already 😉
Ah.. what a day!
Some smoking gun is due : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gQEDwjhaDE
😀
WIBBLE! WIBBLE!
What a relief 🙂
And Alexis, too 😉
Waves to Trevor and company ~~
Just browsing the sites out of fun while waiting for the kit reveal event to start and the amount of bitterness from fans of other teams is marvelous.
I have to confess that I did not see much of Sanchéz during last season but reckoned him playing for Barca and doing quite fine. When I saw him play for Chile on WC I really wished we would have signed him but it looked like something detached from reality…much like signing of Mesut last year, so to celebrate such occassion I am adding accent to my moniker, same as I added umlaut 11 months ago.
Welcome to Arsenal Alexis 🙂
Howdy Cba….you sound in top form.
Been following your latest moos
A drop of potine.now you’re talking
A man tipple to go along with the wibble
Now talking of the bovines, local farmers here
Have made premium vodka from milk and
Is sold in upmarket stores…they call it Black Cow
Like you met a few in my time, none of them little heifers.
Sad to here about yr singles, what goes round comes round
Trade some of yr home made at a local boot sale
Buyers and Sellers will both be spinning in no time.
Get the fuck in there! What a brilliant transfer 1000 times better than Fabregas!
Mr Alexis Sanchez? Welcome to Arsenal Football Club 😀 !!!
“Ehm, hi Mr. Wenger, remember that very talented midfielder we purchased from you?”
“Eh, yes?”
“Well, there seems to be some problem with his DNA. Is it possible to send him back?”
“Eh, nope!”
“Oh, I see. But …..”
“Well, once we’re chatting, do you mind if I look around in your shop? I might see something I like.”
Been wearing a silly grin on my face all evening. Guess that’s what some Sanchez does to you.
Massive, massive signing & statement of intent.
So proud to be Gooner tonight.
Congratulations to every Gooner out there. We’ve waited so long for days like this.
Perfect, Éandy.
We now have Sanchez & Sir Chez at the Chez au football 😉
Starts an early per assist with a cross field pass to new signing Debauchery……
!!!!!!!!!!SANCHEZ!!!!!!!!!
Howdy uply
🙂
Any news on Debuchy?
Well in Cba…yee ha! Who said you couldn’t hit a barn door with a banjo;-)
can i just say
WHAT A GLORIOUS 6 TONNER
.
bagged it
with
good looks
and
modesty alone
.
*preens*
Of our (now) current squad, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and now Alexis Sanchez have all signed due to personal intervention from Arsene Wenger.
No one underestimate the influence of this man on the footballing world.
Kit launch not exactly going to plan I think…….
Who cares????
We got Alexis Bloody Sanchez!!!!!!
WIBBLE
@Sarah J
… while on a beach on Copacabana!
Have to say the kits look damn sexy when seen on players http://news.arseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/puma6.jpg
the unveiling “event” was rather anticlimatic to be honest, anyways, time for me to hit the bed. Night all 🙂
Wishing you a speedy recovery, Holic. 😉
Typing with the left hand…… does that imply repetitive strain in the right wrist …. ? 😉
Heard on radio tonight that bet365 have us as 9/1 FIFTH favourites for the title behind, in order,
Chelsea
Man City
Man Utd
Liverpool
Arsenal
If you’re a gambling man – I’m not, but might be tempted – it could be time to get on. 😉
Someone say Kit?! : https://twitter.com/Goonerz1886/status/487358627637121024/photo/1
Mesut Özil – £42 million
Alexis Sanchez – £28 million
Total (so far) = £70 million
and that, Tottenham Hotspur FC, is how to spend some f*cking money !
Glad to see the confirmation of the rumour, at long last. Also glad that the shirts revealed at the Puma launch don’t contain the one Sanchez has been photographed in. Don’t know who designed that one but I think people have had their heads chopped off for less.
Sanchez a big strengthening of the squad – and no doubt about Arsene’s involvement in this one either. Debauchery (love that name) is a good replacement for Bacs but not a strengthening, except he’ll probably last a couple of years longer.
More is needed but that will do for starters – very exciting times.
Eandy – that new kit certainly ain’t for pork pie lovers. 😉
Can you believe this guy?
Dave Kidd @dkidd_SMirror · 2 h
Premier League signings of £30m plus are guaranteed successes. Torres, Shevchenko, Robinho, Ozil, Carroll, Lamela, Berbatov…
How could he ever put Mesut among those other players…green with envy I tells ya!:D
Sanchez is fantastic, didn’t see much of him at Barca but in the WC I was thinking it would be great if we could get this guy….and Arsene did it. Wenger AGHT.
Don’t stop now LeProf, build a champion.
Good you are back home in one piece Holic and your sense of priorities has not been affected.
Trev 605 bet 365 crazy…I always thought bookies had their head screwed on…such delusion must be associates of the swamp dwellers.
bwin apparently are having Arsenal to win PL 9/1 aswell..but for the love of god it will not let me combine that bet with bet on UCL victory at 26/1 😛
When Sanchez was younger and just trying to dribble :
http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view/45671/alexis-sanchez-o.gif
It will be interesting to see who will be attracted to AFC by the Sanchez signing and the statement of intent inherent in it. Özil and Sanchez in two windows now, but this time there are still 7 weeks left to add more.
Ray, re le stingy voyeur, you are the man, thank you. It will follow. Bless you. 🙂
Unbelievable
Sanchez
Wow
That is what ozil needs
This is what arsenal need
I am absolutely buzzing and so relieved that we have shown out intent
Even better if poo lose suarez
Classic day pumaday
Now that Christmas has arrived in July, and everyone is enraptured and all that (and I welcome Sanchez as much as the next Gooner), let me just ask this.
What’s the plan?
What, exactly, is the philosophy for this team?
It seems to me that, for the better part of the past 9 years, we’ve tried to be the eastern Catalan province at the same time Barca were ascendant. (“BMBD” seems to have done a job, by the way…y’all are welcome. 😉 )
With all the Khedira talk, is the plan for us to now become the western Bavarian enclave at the same time Bayern are top dogs?
I dunno. Is it too much to ask Wenger to synthesize an “Arsenal identity?” Perhaps he is returning to an identity of the past? 4-4-2? Lightning counter attacks on the back of resolute defending?
Perhaps I should just swill some champagne like everyone else?
I guess that would be western Catalan.
Never liked geography.
Or northwestern, even.
You see the point I’m driving at.
Perhaps.
Soooooo, have we signed anyone yet? 😉
Would have joined the festivities earlier but walked into the wardrobe as had pants on head at time.
Yipppeeeee! Great news. Before the pants incident I was at a big dinner in London and several Gooners were in highly festive mood as the signing was announced.
I also understand we are likely to add Ospina, Khedira and Remy as well as the Atletico Madrid reserve right back on loan. Jerks and Bellerin go out on loan. Now hopefully Vermaelen will stay. Arsenal look a better bet than United for the title.
Now must get out of wardrobe
Lonestar @ 621: One can also argue that Arsene has always used different tactics that are best suited to the players he had, and not vice versa. The lighting counter-attack of the early era was tailored to the supreme athleticism, verve and insouciance of the players he had at his disposal. In the penny-pinching post-Highburu days the only extraordinary talent he had left was Cesc and the game plan was built around him, which was passing-and-possession. But even then it was hardly Barca-style , we never used the collective pressing, and even then in the midst of Cesc excellence some of our best moments were built on counter-attacking, e.g. the Arshavin goal against Barca.
Last couple of years this latent pragmatism came more to the fore, especially in last season where we really used many different ways to win matches. The 1-0 away win at Spurs was stylistically so different — or the 1-0 away win at BvB — than say the 2-0 home win against Napoli it would be impossible to find any thematic unity behind them.
I understand all this is probably overly simplistic, but I think the only sustained narrative in terms of playing style that we have had under Arsene is “synchronized movements.” Collective play. Expression of individual brilliance in the service of an harmonious efficiency. But always, primarily, to win matches. He is one of the sorest losers among football managers. Thankfully. Fortunately.
@626: Not sure how “Highbury” became “Highburu”, sounds like a dangerous concoction pretending to be an innocent drink …
Nice, Dr. F.
I just want us to carve out a identity for ourselves. Not tiki-taka light. Not mini-deutsch.
I do take your point, however. And I can certainly get behind a sore loser.
“Just win, baby.”
Great signing I love love love it!!!!!!!! keep it coming Wenger. Didn’t think they could pull it off, I have to take off my hat for them.
Thanks Lonestar @ 628.
I understand where you are coming from. I think the identity is probably best earned — and not self-defined — in terms of playing excellence and records . You say “Arsenal 2004” and immediately the free associations bring forward “invincible”, “Henry”, “Pires”, “Inter Away”, “Against Liverpool win after trailing” etc.
So I will be happy if in 2025 the sudden mention of “Arsenal 2015” brings up “Treble”, “First CL”, “Ozil”, “Rambo”, “Sanchez”, “Giroud”, “7-0 away at Liverpool”, “4 games and 4 wins against Chelsea” etc. etc. 🙂
TTG@625 – i would be happy with the addition of khedira on top of the sanchez signing.
all others are just bonuses.
as Steve T said many drinks ago, all we wanted was for arsenal to be our best.
Arsene looks like he now also wants to show the world that he wants to be the best also and the budgetary restrictions seem to be lifted.
Khedira would be nice…..
Sanchez17 – welcome
Now THAT’s what I call a transfer! And all the sweeter cos señor Sanchez didn’t want a bar of Poo. Smart as well as skilled.
Öskar
Your Tibetan mandala (#449) was beautiful, Dr F, but I’ll stick to books for a quick relax. Major sand mandalas can take teams of monks months to complete and life is too short!
Fun guy the DL, I played frisbee with him in 1990.
Öskar
did last night happen?
yes in-fuckin-deedy it did!
🙂
“We need to go to bigger challenges now because for this club the FA Cup is not enough.”
Mikel Arteta
Forward
@ 636
Tried to look for you through the crowd
Onwards and upwards
Long may it continue
637 – Morning GT. Been soaking this all in, calmly. My balls in tabasco moment been and gone last week. I knew Ivan Knew. Still, a wonderful day for the club and its fans, let’s hope it starts the process of returning us to the very, very top.
(Go here, enter full screen and keep clicking the right tab really, really fast, it’s awesome:
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20140710/pictures-alexis-sanchez-in-his-puma-kit? 🙂
We must not relax though. More work to be done. How about this from Arteta eh:
On the possibility of more signings…
“One of them is almost done I think – but we have to see. I don’t think it’s going to stop here, I think they’ve got more targets. I don’t think the players should get involved in that at all. They’re doing their work well. Let’s just be patient.”
Superb scenes. A holding player and another Giroud and we will be untouchable next season with Ramsey, Wilshere, AOC, and Gnarby all developing as well.
Forward 🙂
Indeed El indeed
Let’s announce Debuchy on Monday
Kehdira’s back next week
And talks are ongoing with Remy
Long may it continue
GT – well said @ 639
El Puno – bigger challenges ahead indeed and looking forward to thise challenges with sanchez17 and SK? in the squad soon
Oskar – cant help but ask about your comment ‘Fun guy the DL, I played frisbee with him in 1990’
real or rumour”?
if real – how was it and what were the circumstances
Well it actually happened, I’ll admit to being impressed!
I also need to dine massively on my headwear collection as I promised if we got a signing in before the end of the WC.
*lines up his 4 hats, seasons them with Cholula and parsley, tucks napkin into shirt collar*
Can someone pass me some cutlery?
Real enough, Aussie. He was to appear by satellite at a conference I was doing in Surfers, and we were in India to arrange the technicals. That is, we were going to use all our own equipment and crew so that we didn’t have to rely on the locals. Simple enough really, video recorded live and uplifted direct to satellite, powered by our own generator.
While the tech guys were calculating the satellite position for the uplift (probably more complicated than it sounds, but I’m not technical) I was meeting with the man to discuss what he’d actually do. That took about 10 minutes instead of the hour we had scheduled, so he took us for a walk around his garden. And that was when we gave him our gift A frisbee. I mean, what else would you give a spiritual leader and living god? Apart from a large cheque of course, but that had been paid before we left Aus.
He was like a big kid with the thing and couldn’t stop giggling. He probably thought we were crazy Aussies, but it went without a hitch when the event happened later. Fun days.
Öskar
Boom. BOOM. BOOOM!!!
http://metro.co.uk/2014/07/11/arsenal-chief-ivan-gazidis-confirms-arsenal-working-on-more-big-transfers-4794282/?
BIG-Fuckin-IVAN. That’s my boy. Straight from the sauce. Have a bit of that. Boom.
Here it comes. Better hold on tight, because Alexis was just the start.
BIG Ivan is like that dude from Seven, you won’t comprehend his masterpiece until it is complete. Woo-Hoooooo!
Forward
Okay, okay. Take a deep breath. Let’s think about this for a second…
We need a holding play and a striker. (Keeper is a nap, but let’s leave that.)
We sold rights to Vela and got a fee for Cesc. (BIG Ivan just don’t quit:) Papers said 15, lets call it 10. Take a high figure and say Debuchy and Sanchez are 40. That means we have an easy 70mil left to invest in two areas of need…
That could split a lot of ways. Remy is cheap, maybe we hump another star midfielder? Or, go for Schneiderlin or Khedira who only has one year left at Madrid and still have two thirds of that left over…
Exciting times. No more pissing about with Silvestre in defence and 6 men on the bench against the European champions for us 🙂
Arsene KNEW 🙂
BIG Ivan comes, he comes with the thunder.
Wet dream, add one of: Javi Martinez, Paul Pogba, ADM.
Probably a terrible idea, but I’d still love a bit of this:
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/mario-balotelli-posts-deletes-a-photo-pointing-a-shotgun-at-his-haters-instagram/
What’s holding up Debuchy? Could it be we have other plans instead? 🙂
Next I want Sami Khedera. He has been working well with ozil.
Morning H
check your inbox,
you might find the contents useful.
IF Alexis Sanchez was an ice cream vendor :
http://imgur.com/gallery/UBac8
😀
Hmm..so kits are available..for which player should I go though. Last year I bought away kit with TR7 on its back and was adamant that the next one is going to be puma home kit of Özil, but now when Alexis arrived, Mesut seems soo last year 😛 choices choices:P
@ Eandy
Adopt the new Arsenal philosophy – buy two, one with Sanchez and another with Ozil, or even a new holding MFer.
Welcome back H; I trust the “procedure” went well and you will soon be on the mend. I fear that “typing left handed” fell in that gap between “too much information” and “not enough information”.
I congratulate the doubters among us for continuing to doubt. Here’s hoping that the passage of time will make that stance increasingly difficult to maintain.
COYG
bath – that thought crossed my mind, so I will possibly do just that hehe, Özil for home and Alexis for away kit (which looks quite great in my opinion)..even the third/cup kit looks quite good.
That’s it Aussie – head down mate.
Ivan points out the same thing in that clip to Arsenal Fans TV
Good find El @644
BB @ 650
🙂
Heh Pangloss, I did wonder about Holic ‘having to type left-handed’ – not saying I know how he feels but plenty have had that ‘problem’ before.
One thing that I love about getting Sanchez, apart from We Got Sanchez, is that he chose the right club over Pool who meanwhile have replaced the biter with Lambert.
I’m wetting my pants at the thought of this season but can I sound a note of caution: let’s see how things pan out in the first 10 games of the season. Spurs fans must have been going down the Seven Sisters road in open top buses after all the signings they made and, er, that turned out well…
Yeah Porco, wise words, as much as I am excited about Alexis signing, I am bit afraid how the start of the season turns out, but that is possibly from the fact how much I want us to succeed.
But for now, I am just going to bask in the light of this signing like basking basker from baskerville.
WIBBLE..
that’s all.
Hey, Pangloss,
I’ve just been watching Sanchez’ top ten goals on Arseblog news and, do you know what ?
Arsene KNOWS and he KNOWS BLOODY WELL !!! 🙂
I believe that this is the start of the new era. The frustration of the ‘Wenga Aght Brigade’ at our budgeting over the last decade will have been as nothing compared to that of Arsene Wenger as he tried to keep us competitive during those years and couldn’t hold onto his top players. Now it’s different.
I wonder if the naysayers will recognise their errors and maybe even recant. Piers Morgan, for one, could graciously start that process. However I suspect the obtuseness that stopped them in the first place recognising the financial problem that came with the new stadium and Arsene’s achievements despite it probably prevents them recognising the error of their continued howling at the moon.
I guess they are condemned to find some source of dissatisfaction somewhere in the club’s efforts to return to the top. I wonder what that will be?
Good to see Joey Barton offering tips on consistency to Alexis. He must have seen a lot of him on the telly in the World Cup. Plus he’s obviously well qualified. You can always learn from a man who scraped promotion via the playoffs, never let his guard down whilst inside and wouldn’t pick up the soap. Now that’s consistency. Shame about the lower level, but heh, keep on thumping Joey.
Forward
In Arsene We Trust.
Never lose faith, lads.
@ Bath
Great post.
I think it’s time for a little bit of a review of the last ten years, this time with the benefit of hindsight.
2004: Arsene Wenger is the hottest manager in Europe, having just lead us to an unbeaten title win. He can get any job in the world.
He agrees to sign on for an unprecedented project with the Arsenal, whereby he will attempt to keep us competitive while having virtually no transfer funds for approximately a decade. To complicate matters further, he will not be able to publicly admit that the club is skint.
In that time, he is forced to deal with unexpected bumps in the road: the defection of trusted players, the emergence of not one but two clubs who are loaded to the gills with unearned oil money, the resultant massive inflation in transfer fees and wages.
Somehow, he manages to keep us if not competitive then not too far off. Throughout the latter stages of this period of prudence, he is routinely accused of refusing to spend money, being stubborn or just plain having lost his mind. The club insist that everything will change circa 2014, but many fans are (perhaps justly) sceptical. Some are outright contemptuous.
In summer 2013, he signs Ozil. The haters continue to slate him: “it was forced on him”, “look how late he left it”, “not the position we needed”, “it’s a one-off”. After one summer of material spending, he returns the club to winning ways, bringing home the FA Cup.
In summer 2014 he signs Sanchez and Debuchy, with more to come. It becomes blatantly apparent that he was subject to severe financial limitations, and that they have now been lifted.
He has built the stadium, secured the club’s long term future at the top table of European football and ridden out the storm.
He now has a relatively short period of his career left to put the cherry on the cake by bringing home the title. I’ve no idea if he’ll manage it – competition is tough – but to my mind he has secured his legacy as the greatest manager we have ever had, and probably ever will have.
John Maynard Keynes once famously said: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”. Well, the facts have clearly changed in this instance, and there would be no shame in certain parties admitting they called certain aspects of the last few years wrong. On the basis of the last 12 hours, I suspect that few of those I have in mind are inclined to do so, and that reflects poorly on their character.
For my part, I am just glad we have had Wenger as our manager. Glad he achieved all he did in the early years. Glad he accepted the challenge and stuck around when we didn’t have tuppence to rub together. Glad that he is with us now as we reach the promised land.
I’m glad he loved the club enough to do this for us, and to sacrifice the best years of his career to get us where we needed to be.
He has my respect, he has my loyalty, and I hope that the support can unite squarely behind him now as he looks to push us on to where we belong.
COYG
Correction to the above: “On the basis of the last 12 hours, I suspect that few of those I have in mind are not inclined to do so, and that reflects poorly on their character.”
N7 @ 664
I read a lot here but that has to be up there as one of the best drinks I have read in this bar.
Cheers!
@N7, I’m not sure what you’ve seen in the last 12 hours, and I admit that I haven’t been keeping my ear particularly close to the ground. I suspect that you original phrasing was what you meant, and that your rephrasing should have read “On the basis of the last 12 hours, I suspect that a few of those I have in mind are not inclined to do so, and that reflects poorly on their character”.
That aside, and begging pardon in advance from Trev. N7 knows.
I sincerly hope that it will be appropriate to add a few paragraphs to the above at the end of next season, and I believe it might well be.
I stated my ongoing objectives for Arsenal just after the season ended; they were very conservative and met with practically no response. Setting my sights rather higher, and very much in the realms of best-case scenarios, how about back-to-back domestic doubles (we were within inches of that in 1998-9) or a Champions League/Premier League double? A bonus would be to win the League Cup (I genuinely can’t remember who is sponsoring the bloody thing this week) with a team of kids.
My only regret is that all of this, if it comes, will be after Hansen has retired; I would have paid good money to watch him eat his words.
COYG
Oskar643 – great story.
Sanchez also highlighted the
chance of working with Arsene
Wenger as another key factor in
his decision to spurn the
advances of Liverpool and
Juventus.
“I feel happy to be here. I know
this club has a manager that
looks after his players and really
takes care of them. I’m here to
win titles and to achieve as
much as possible,” he added.
“I know that Arsenal is a club
that really cares about its
players. I feel I can learn a lot
here. They have a great team
and that’s why I decided to
arrive.
“I was told [Wenger is] a
manager you can learn a lot
with, who wants to achieve great
things in football, and that’s
what helped me make the
decision to sign for Arsenal.”
Onearsenewenger
BBC Transfer News @
BBCTransferNews 4h
Sami Khedira’s agent will meet
with Arsenal representatives
later today to discuss a move
from Real Madrid to Arsenal.
#AFC
BBC Transfer News @
BBCTransferNews 4h
Sami Khedira’s agent will meet
with Arsenal representatives
later today to discuss a move
from Real Madrid to Arsenal.
#AFC..
Pangloss knows – rushed that correction out the door as was late for lunch, cheers for the catch.
WIBBLE
@ imissbergkamp
Too kind, cheers!
Some tasty back-drinks there, particularly baff@661 and N7@664. Special commendation from the Grammar Committee to Pangloss@667 (first paragraph) – splendid work, sir – above and beyond the call of duty. Beat me to it into the bargain. Grrr.
Talking of bargains, surely David Ospina on a free is one such? Problem of course may be that he doesn’t fancy being no.2 – AW will certainly be prepared to play him in the domestic cups but, barring injury, all the big games are still likely to be Chezzer’s – as they should be of course.
Certainly a splendid beginning to the transfer season – good to hear from Ivan that we can expect more, hopefully of similar calibre.
Interesting the difference in assessment of Sanchez between Stoichkov and Barton. Time will tell – I know who my money’s on.
What a great signing!
Absolutely thrilled.
My initial thoughts are that Sanchez has been signed as the primary striker and not just as a wide player. I think given that he’s played a peripheral role in barca to accommodate Messi , Neymar et al, then Wengers primary persuasion to bring him to London was that he’d be the primary striker. Therefore if Geoff is right in claiming we’d sign a striker and a wide player – that means we have more business to do.
I’m with Bath – this really is an enormous change at the club and one we should all be excited about and grateful to the manager for making it all possible.
N7
That is one of the most eloquent and balanced assessments of Wenger’s achievements that I have ever read. I have found myself doubting the great man at times. I know there has been exasperation in the Boardroom at his huge commitment to the project as the level of fan criticism has built up but every Arsenal fan needs to ask the question about who on earth could have delivered what he has given the financial constraints he has operated under?
Revisionism isn’t always popular with those who have got entrenched positions but I think it is almost impossible to think of another manager who would not only have the loyalty to his club to pilot them through a huge transition knowing that the financial privations would lead to stinging personal criticism but also kept the side in the champions League. Where I have doubted in the past is when the financial shackles could be released. Most of us seeing the financial performance and the more rational financial analyses by the likes of Swiss Ramble have felt the handbrake could be released and Ozil aside the events of the last three windows have been discouraging.
Throughout this time I can’t remember a tetchy interview, a sniping at the Board or an aggressive personal defence . His incredible integrity and willingness to wear a hair shirt of financial prudence is a lesson to us all. He may not win the League again. I doubt his tactical acumen at times but notwithstanding this he must be lauded by every Arsenal fan for what he has done for our club.
Certainly if this close season pans out as it looks like doing I will be even more impressed with a remarkable man’s remarkable achievement. The Arsenal story over the last fifteen years is one I think all of us can be very proud in relating. Our success has been achieved in a sustainable way and with the wider interests of the club always uppermost in the strategy adopted. Let us see how Liverpool and our beloved neighbours from the Swamp fare as they build their stadia. Maybe when we see their struggles people will know the scale of Wenger’s achievements and many of us who doubted him will feel even more humble than we do now.
..and lastly..
Thank you Suarez for bringing us Sanchez!
😀
TTG @ 676
Let me return the favour by praising your post – very nicely balanced, and reflects all the good and bad of recent years.
I think it would be a great shame if this “moment” (by which I mean this summer) were to be allowed to pass without some proper reflection on the grand scale of the achievement over the last ten years.
I will admit that I had my fears when we were promised that the spending would resume: I wondered if we were being sold a pup (the club have always reserved the right to pretend we have money even where we do not), I wondered if there might a germ of truth in the stories we all heard about Wenger’s frustration with the state of the market, I wondered how we could possibly compete with the oil clubs, most of all I wondered how an institution could possibly go from 0-60, as it were, and demonstrate the know how to pull off top level transfers from what would effectively be a standing start.
It is glorious to see that those fears have been largely needless – we can assume from recent developments that the gloves are now off, and that the privations we have suffered through were a worthwhile sacrifice to leave us better placed that we could ever otherwise have been.
I believe that we are a support who have suffered through a collective crisis of faith: in the manager, in the players, in the club, in the board, perhaps even in our love of the game. We appear to be out the other side now, and I really hope that the season to come sees a proper united front, with Gooners shoulder to shoulder, because that’s how it should be, and how we are at our best.
Totally agree that rival clubs’ own struggles to come will undoubtedly shine an extremely favourable light on Arsene’s stewardship over the last few years. History is going to judge him very kindly indeed.
What stuns me most of all about this stuff is the long term vision and discipline in execution. It really is a quite extraordinary achievement, and I struggle to think of a ready comparative within the context of football, an industry plagued by gimmickry and short termism.
My thoughts on Wengers long term vision, written two years ago here:
http://gingers4limpar.com/?author=12
BIG Ivan has proved an able sidekick these last few years. David Dein certainly no longer missed.
A decade in the making, but still work to do. AW deserves to end with a European Cup in trophy room. It is written.
Forward
And still it continues – great stuff ttg and N7 again.
Arsene is not perfect – none of us are, we’re all heroes and all villains – but he is class, both as a manager and as a human being.
N7 that was an eloquent and succinct review of Wenger in the past decade.
I will admit my faith in him wavered so severely I wished him out of the job 2 years ago. I thought he’d lost it and he wasn’t capable of getting decent signings on board.
Looking at the lean years in hindsight, when various fans laughed at Arsenal for celebrating 4th like a trophy, and some said Wenger had hoodwinked the faithful into lowering their expectations, NONE of these critics had the stones to admit what was really going on their heads: they would have killed to be where Arsenal were every single season and their only way of expressing that was through snide remarks.
Unfortunately that’s what football has become. The spite and stupidity that most fans spew forth is the childish norm, while Wenger stands almost alone as a man of principle in an epic shitstorm of vitriol and nastiness (compare his urbane level-headedness with the cynicism of Mourinho). Whatever happens for the rest of his reign, he’s a true gent who has the courage of his convictions.
Oh, and we got Sanchez. Boom!
Sorry TTG didn’t mean to overlook you: your words deserve kudos too!
H2H – commiserations to you and yours on Wednesday night’s result. At least the Oranje won’t have to suffer the indignity of being hammered by the Germans in the final.
Apropos of the second semi-final, Danish TV sports news had a little piece last night with a reporter talking to a painter and decorator who had just painted a wall white. As they sat there watching the paint dry and chatting about it, clips of the Holland-Argentina game, with bits of commentary, were interspersed. Not especially original, but I enjoyed the way they did it.
A series of great posts N7. Exactly as you said, an audacious vision and then the rigor, patience and discipline to execute on the vision despite myriad roadblocks on the way.
Arsene himself had said a few times over the last half a decade that history will judge this little window of time much favorably. Or words to that effect.
If I may, supporting Arsenal from a distance all these years I have always felt that we are actually doing rather remarkably well appearing in CL every year, having such a strong brand identity, playing good football while paying off for a spectacular stadium. And it was not me alone, many Arsenal supporters I had met in real or virtual worlds thought that way. Especially those who were less under the influence of the incessant negativism of the “Arsenal in decline” narrative perpetuated by sectors of the British media.
There may have been the odd head-scartching decision in terms of ignoring blatant holes in the team etc., but they were minor quibbles that are raised even when a team is flying.
While the short-sighted perspective was screaming (many with mirth, a few with horror) about Arsenal’s slow march into mediocrity, the club was cleaning up the remaining debris and dust from the launch pad to prepare for the take-off into true merited excellence.
The next couple of seasons are going to be tough in terms of the media assessment. The established order will sense more danger, the negative voices would get shriller, early achievements would be trivialized, before slowly the reality dawns on all of them.
While they were busy laughing at the enemy, the enemy has surpassed them and moved on so far ahead all they can see now is the vapor trails left behind.
Arsenal, the greatest British club in the decades to comes.
Well, I’ve only read as far as @673 but great work from bath,N7.
Will have to read further later as work beckons.
However, in the meantime,
Pangloss @667 –
“That aside, and begging pardon in advance from Trev. N7 knows”.
Pardon not granted.
N7 does not know – N7 only knows that Arsene knows !” 😉
Excellent posts N7 (gold star), TTG, Faustus, dk, Puno and others. Good to see a great man finally get some credit against a past sea of criticism.
A ECL trophy is the minimum he deserves. Here’s hoping the necessary signings come and the team delivers for him.
COYG
and credit to Pangloss for editorial spped and accuracy.
And to Trev for philosophical correctness, but actually N7 may actually know as well. 🙂
Great day, we’ve landed a real striker, let’s get our other targets in asap.Further good news, I’ve managed to acquire a ST for next season and the Germans are still in the hunt for the WC, pretty good!
Yes, bath, I know. 😉
Trev – apologies. I will make great efforts to get to the Tollie in the coming season and have a drink with you. Until then the tempatation to credit you, each time I follow the “xyz knows” line is just too great.
Sorry.
Meanwhile, virtual drink on the virtual bar for you.
I know 😉
N7, take a bow mate. Magnificent summary of the last 10 years. Eloquent, incisive, and utterly coruscating of the “Wenga won’t spend, Wenga’s a dinosaur, we’ve always had money” drivel that we’ve all had to tolerate from the terminally stupid/miserable these last few years.
Will they ever admit that they got it badly badly wrong? Of course they won’t. Just watch the dickbrains come out again at the first glimpse of, God forbid, something as terrible as a home draw. Who cares! They are an irrelevance.
That post should be framed and reproduced each and every time the ‘eight years of failure’ guff is trotted out.
A doff of the cap Sir. Truly excellent.
One Arsenal. One Arsene Wenger.
Good posts above from N7. Hope all’s well Holic.
Great to see Sanchez signed, sealed and delivered wearing the new Arsenal kit already. Great work by Wenger & Co in getting it over the line. Arsenal supporters all over the World are so excited as we’ve all been truly tested these last few years.
Probably the best “World Class” Striker we’ve signed since Bergkamp. That’s saying something and also sends out a clear message to our rivals.
Keep the foot on the gas Arsene. Don’t stop now.
Some great drinks there from the usual suspects. Thank you all. Thanks too to Clive for what follows. I won’t be typing much for a day or two as left handed I am rubbish!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
As an AKB’er who was tempted by the dark forces of the BBB near the tail-end of this season, I hold up my hand and acknowledge the wrongness of such doubts.
Mr. Wenger loves this club and has put himself and his family through significant, though stoically undisclosed, traumas in his support thereof. He guided us through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and now we can lie down beside the still waters.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow Mr. Wenger (regardless of results on the pitch) for his remaining days. No matter how his tactical decisions may irritate me in the future, I know he KNOWS best. And I will support him come hell or high water.
Piers Morgan can just go do one.
I am so very excited that my children have the chance to come of age during the next “Pax navalium societate.” Long may it continue.
this place is singing today! n7, thank you. you put into words my thoughts, and then some. beautifully done. wall of fame stuff, could be a guest post if the temporarily one-handed needed a hand.
speaking of which, get well soon, holic.
WE GOT SÁNCHEZ!!!