Danny, Deal or No Deal, And Don’t Rush Kos Back
Aug 10th, 2016 by 'holic
The boss has been speaking and snippets have appeared on Arsenal.com so I was quick to browse the team news for Sunday. The combined reference to Danny Welbeck and Per Mertesacker being expected back in four to five months took me a little bit by surprise.
In my head I had thought that Danny was ruled out for this season, but frankly I don’t know where that came from. The possibility of him being back in January is a reason for cheer, as long as he is not pushing himself, or being pushed, too hard. Let’s also hope we have not eased efforts to strengthen the front line as a result of Danny’s improving prognosis.
Although it is perfectly understandable that the club do not choose to be open about their proposed transfer dealings it is hard not to wonder what is going on when reports are published saying that neither Leicester City nor Lyon have received formal offers for Mahrez and Lacazette. An experienced defender is clearly now a priority but surely deals can be done concurrently rather than painfully slowly, one at a time? They probably are, in truth, and therefore our frustration is misplaced.
Should we bring in anybody in the next day or two (I know, I know!) it is highly unlikely they will be able to slot into the side on Sunday. That increases the possibility of Laurent Koscielny being asked to start against Liverpool with only a week of preparation under his belt. Let’s hope that we have learned the lesson of playing Alexis too early last season and let Kos ease his way into what will be a long season.
The central defensive options therefore are to play Calum Chambers with either Rob Holding or Krystian Bielik, or switch one of the senior full-backs, Mathieu Debuchy or Nacho Monreal, alongside the former Southampton player. If the latter it would probably be better to plump for Debuchy rather than weaken the left flank of the makeshift back four.
It does mean we had better have our best possession game in place on Sunday. Come back on Friday for a fuller preview of the season opener.
Cheers, ‘holics.
92 Responses to “Danny, Deal or No Deal, And Don’t Rush Kos Back”
poop™
god bless you ‘holic
.
keeping the faith is getting harder and harder
?
having said that
never wore a sheepskin coat
?
i trust Arsène
.
tactics spouted now here
so precise to be ridiculous
Our transfer dealings are laughable,we where told we moved out of Highbury to compete with the big boys,every season we are 2/3 players away from the finished article.just hope the season gets off to a good start for the gaffers case or there will be riots in the stadium,you can see online that the fans are turning on arsene bigtime.it would be very sad to see his legacy destroyed over his penny pinching.
sheezz
its like Xboxes an that
Evening cba,
scholar and gentleman both.
I’ll be apopleptic if September comes and we haven’t strengthened. No point in behaving like an entitled brat in the meantime. 😉
‘holics,
could regulars in the YouRopey please email me for the details of this season’s.
Thank you.
Beat on the brat
Beat on the brat
Beat on the brat with a baseball bat…
‘holic
proud to know ye
glad ye don t launch me
despite my best efforts
i really appreciate ye don’t
top man
holic@8 – I’d be glad to, but have forgotten your !#@& email address… pretty please?
pan G
another goodun
CBA
This place would be very different and less fun without you . I think that’s the view of all the regulars in this bar. It’s certainly mine and I’m a good judge ?
Thanks for the update Holic! This is a difficult time and tempers are fraying online although to be fair not in this bar and in some forums they’d be upset if we signed Messi and Ronaldo.
Everyone is in training now after the Euros but Holic’s counsel is wise. I do hope we can get a CB in for Sunday with some quality because Chambers is not a CB and the other two lads are very raw. My biggest concern is that Ozil and Sanchez appear not to be close to extending their contracts. Our inability to add top quality to the squad must frustrate the hell out of players looking to compete at the very top level . Goodness knows I hoped this year might be different but the old familiar and annoying habits seem to be being repeated.
Let us hope that we can add real quality soon. Ideally you’d like to start the season with your best team and I must say I suspect the Lewandoski and Griezmann stories have a whiff of Arsenal PR about them .
Would that I am wrong!
thunder T
i like you but not in that way
.
.
?
could regulars in the YouRopey please email me for the details of this season’s
The Spurs fans will be emailing you around December this year H
your middle name isn’t diplock is it ?
???
but
thanks fella
that’s a very nice thing to say
but
i am more than aware that
stuff i drag in here
has no business being here
and would offend people
.
this is ‘holic’s house
.
i get the fools pardon
to an extent
mind you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQsr1buOCbc
fr. eddie daly just died
he was a brave and good man
“We want to spend the money when we have it,” Wenger told Sky Sports.
“What is very difficult today is to find the quality of the players who are available and if you look well despite all the money that is available in England there is very little movement since the start of the transfer market.
“We are in the transfer market and on one side we are focused and concentrated on the players we have to get them in a fantastic shape. On the other hand, of course we are looking outside to strengthen.”
Change the fucking record mate. You’re not going to be able to buy Messi for £200 000. There’s plenty of movement in the transfer market, just none in your head.
facts are facts
and
again I need to shut up
sorry
but it defined all our lives here
if ye know fellas in their 50s and 60s and 70s
irish fellas
in england they will have had all the shit
got it meself in 80s
if it’s uncomfortable to discuss
fuck you
I don’t know why you are getting so stressed Cynic.
Lower your expectations,and you won’t get so disappointed.
As far as i can ascertain,we have a perfectly good squad as it is.
No need for any additions.
We are very well positioned to aim for a top 8 finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkOpgr1ElXg&list=PL_ALx_BOYRPa3keDEVMLLyBXJV9Z9mDJc
You aren’t tolerated cba, you are treasured.
This is a place where so many learn different stuff.
I was going to every game home and away in the 70s and 80s, and you will know the diversity of the travelling Gooners then. We had David, Liam, Judas *spit*, Pat, Pat, and Sammy plus the squad lads.
I will never forget those lads who had my back in those days. Politics and football? Nah. Two different things. People and people? You know. 🙂
‘ holic
my time in london was brilliant
but
i won’t lie
i have no time for the “northern Ireland” Jersey
it’s a piece of clothing i have no time for
it’s a piece of clothing I can’t stand
.
of course i remember the pictures of pat in shoot
sammy too
but
i won’t lie
.
it was
why the fuck is pat playing for them
.
to this day
loadsa northern Ireland shirts means i have taken a wrong turn and am in the wrong place . If I said my name out loud would I be welcomed . Nope
i’d get belted
Has anyone got the YouRopey League fantasy code? I can’t simply renew because my emaill address has changed. Tks
This close season I have found it increasingly hard to defend Wenger and the quotes that Cynic has reproduced make it harder still. So it’s hard to sign players and increasingly expensive. You are paid £8 million plus a year, a salary that exceeds most CEOs in much bigger companies with much bigger budgets and much bigger problems.
Wenger sees the market the same way every year. Has he seen how Leicester have approached it or Tottenham who have gone for squad depth and done their business early? We do an early piece of business to coincide with season ticket renewals and then settle in to the game of poker that ends with us folding on deadline day.
Give the quality issue a rest Arsene . We recruited the guy who did the online wizardry at Leicester- the geek- but not Steve Walsh who identified and helped to recruit the talent. So often Arsenal are linked for weeks with a player, the bogus transfer gossip machine goes into overdrive and then it transpires we haven’t made a bid as Holic outlines here. Forget the tales of mega signing I just don’t believe them and while they are the things that make an Ozil or Sanchez resign I’m not sure Arsenal come over enough as ambitious to recruit stellar talent.
Wenger has become so set in his ways and so obstinate and so omnipotent at the club that he isn’t challenged . And to compound things we have an injury crisis just for a change. We have a very tricky beginning which we’ve known about for two months and we risk dropping points by going into vital games under strength . It’s so unnecessary but expecting Wenger to change is just not going to happen
tgt@29
you are right. Wenger ‘s perspective of transfer dealings seems to be cast in stone. fans have been clamouring for half a decade now, it my hope that the other half that still sojourns in wenger ‘s past glory see the light… come mid-season when the the trophies are beyond sniff we shall have a united front in calling for a paradigm shift.
Pangloss and Chris, I will email you the code tonight. 🙂
Those names you mention were all honorary Englishmen though, H.
Like cba.
*runs away*
😉
You want us to be like Tottenhame, Ttg? Harry Kane got away from the Arsenal academy at age 9 for reasons which may well have made sense at the time. And I think they got lucky with Alli and Dier, the other two of the three who made all the difference last season.
Apart from those three they had a history of buying endless over-priced players who failed to make the Prem grade. Consider the players they bought with the Gareth Bale sale … Soldado, Lamela, Capoue, Chiriches, Paulinho, Chadli and Eriksen. How many of those would you like to see down our end of the Seven Sisters Road? Eriksen, that’s all. If AW had bought the rest I can just imagine the outcry.
I haven’t seen a single transfer in this window that I envy the buying team for. Certainly not Pogba (at the price), nor even Ibra who has been brought in like a mercenary for today only with no thought of the future. Sure prices have risen dramatically, but there is still a limit to what every player is worth.
Thanks ‘holic. Because I changed my email address I couldn’t renew last year’s leagues or keep the squad I ended up with. But one thing I couldn’t change was my team manager’s name, so Oskar the dog returns for another season. Please don’t tell Mad Max.
@Chris 33. great point. it’s rather not that he buys a whole set of players just to please the fans, that failure hinges on what the coach needs, like mourihno in the first n second coming proved a success, or sven did with mancs when they won the Prem in god knows how many fuckin years.
you identify what you want. get the players you need to get what you want, then go for it. when sir Alex needed one more trophy before he left the game. he knew he wanted a top class striker. he made sure he got Van Persie the cunt.
two years ago wenger was faced with the same. we could have had Suarez! what did he do, triggered the clause with a pound n thought that was enough… till a busfull of lawyers pooped the party.
so everyone knows we need a striker…. eyes open.
the striker doesn’t need to tick all the four boxes, just one! can he score a lot, and I mean a lot. yes? sign him up!
We could do with Dave O’Leary this Saturday or even Sammy, with or without shorts. Interesting how no focus here on Stan or even AW’s mouthpiece Ivan. He is the all powerful one, if he wants to play Russian roulette with our season in trying to land a bargain on August 31 to prove some kind of point about his innate brilliance and individuality, he will do so. The rest of us stakeholders can go and screw ourselves. He wants to try and win his “World Championship of Managers” but only if he does it his way. One Arsene Wenger, apparently.
I am getting pretty tired of and bored with the negativity from many on this site. There seems to be a growing sense of entitlement which i always associated with Liverpool fans. I agree with Chris that there has not been one transfer elsewhere where I thought we should have bought the player. I do believe we need another striker and defender but they have to be an improvement on what we have. The strikers who we could realistically buy are not good enough. The ones we would like to have such as Lewandowski or Griezmann are unlikely to be available and would not want to come to us. Not our fault, it is just where we are in the pecking order. I think we will get a centre back, probably Mustafi, but otherwise will make do with the players we have already. And, they are good enough to win the league! The biggest issue for me is the supporters and whether they will lift the players and the manager (still the best out there as he has been for twenty years), when they go a goal down or misplace a pass or lose a game. Judging from the whinging on this site, I suspect not.
Spot on Devon! Cannot agree more.
You will all eat these words. I promise.
I see Devon got there before me and said it better than I could.
Also I can’t help notice that some people are having their customary panic attacks quite early this year. We still have three f…..ing weeks to go. Lewandovski, Griezman, Morata even Aubameyang are still in the mix. Let’s have some optimism.
Evening all. Some good stuff as always but as has been the same for several years now, our transfer policy is a shambles. If we are worried about prices then guess what, they will only get higher as revenue goes up.
The latest being reported by Sky is that Mustafi has agreed terms but we have not agreed a fee. Now I have no idea how much truth there is in that but it just sounds so Arsenal.
Those above are quite right when they say that the window has 3 weeks left. A lot can indeed happen in that time. I would love to sit here on the September 1st with 3 major signings in the bag. However, if I were a betting man??????????
Personally I am of the opinion that if we lose our first Premier League fixture and don’t buy Messi, our title hopes are as good as over and we might as well sell the Emirates, Bosnian Gooner.
Mustafi’s agent has come out and said the player has agreed to join Arsenal and only the fee needs to be finalized. Believe it at your own risk but I think that it will happen. Please, Arsene I love you to bits but if I get to know we lost out on a fee for a quality CB, then I give up totally. A striker and the few left will cost a fortune and i can understand you and the board not wanting to or not having enough funds to do so. CB no ways. even if it means 30 million, pay the money and now.
Sunday should see monreal and chambers starting than holding and chambers. Gibbs can play lb and Monreal Rb. Xhaka and Elneny please and not ramsey and up front Santi, Theo and ox will support Alexissssssssssssssss. Worry is mane and Coutinho for they have the guile and pace to trouble the defense. Overall if our 12th man keeps their emotions outside the stadium and supports the team, we should nick it, the odd goal in 3.
Let’s have some optimism.
Why?
Every year it’s the same story.
Other clubs buy, we “can’t find the quality”, people get a bit anxious, other people (people like you for example) have a moan about others being anxious and assure us that the masterbrain cannot possibly be thinking of not adding to the squad and there’s plenty of time, then the transfer window closes and it’s “Well we’ve got to behind the team” and by Christmas we’re all (even the summer positivity mob) bemoaning the lack of transfers in the summer and talking about how we’re a couple of players short and wondering how Wenger can fix it in January.
It is the same every year and to be honest it is so much of a Groundhog Day feeling that it no longer really bothers me that much.
We ain’t getting relegated, we ain’t winning the league, we have a fair old chance of seeing the same infighting played out both online and in the stadium and the manager will no doubt find a reason to extend his contract and it will continue ad infinitum.
Gnabry scores two more, admittedly against Fiji, taking his tally to 5 goals in 3 matches. This shows at least that the fitness issues are behind him. His breakthrough season with us was quite impressive and in Iwobi, Gnabry and Campbell we have three exciting talents to push Ox and Theo on the wings.
Cannot wait for Sunday. I liked the focus on a more aggressive, pressing, counterattacking, fast football in the pre-season and even the youngest of our team members are now physically and temperamentally better suited to play the modern game than we have been for a long time.
Get behind. Dratted typo.
Broglie @44: Good one mate! Who knows, some of us (Cynic for example) may even go that road once our stingy, stubborn and outright incompetent manager gets the boot and, a year later, he (Cynic) realises that we are well-below the shitty CL spot and that he (Cynic again) is required to lecture us about other possible solutions.
Dr F @47: “Cannot wait for Sunday. I liked the focus on a more aggressive, pressing, counterattacking, fast football in the pre-season and even the youngest of our team members are now physically and temperamentally better suited to play the modern game than we have been for a long time.”
Doc, be careful with your outpours of optimism here.
I’ll see you in December for the usual round of “We’re only a player or two short, why didn’t we buy in the summer?”, Bosnian.
Although I hope we don’t have that conversation for a change this year (a generalised we rather you and I)
Cynic, this year will be tougher than ever. I trust Arsene and Ivan know it better than you and I. That is why they bought Xhaka and that is why Mustafi is on his way, too. Like all of us, I am also hoping for a good CF but if it does not happen I will not throw the sink at AW. Instead, I will support those who will be selected to defend our colours. I can’t help it mate.
I apologise if my previous post was a bit harsh.
Devon Stu – well said.
Chris – Also a good point(s) up in the drinks. There seems to be some real young talent at the club. But will it get the chance to flourish – that is the question. Todays intant gratification culture and the billionaire owners changed the game (a discussion thats been had a thousand times) and also supporter expectations have also changed accordingly, and that is the real irony.
Iwobi, gnabry, akpom look very promising. Id throw Ox in there, as hes still young, promising and not made the shift forward. They cannot all go out on loan. This will be an [another] intersting campaign.
I hope you are wrong in December, Cynic. I do feel quite optimistic about our chances, as I have done since the summer of 2013 when Ozil arrived. I think generally our transfer activities are normally pretty sound and realistic, bearing in mind our place in the pecking order of European clubs. Some deals go through relatively quickly like Xhaka, some take longer and some go through at 11pm on the 31 August. Often that will be because the selling club needs to find a replacement first. There is an added problem now in that other clubs are trying to screw us more so than ever when selling a player. We all accept we will have to pay more than a year ago but finding that balance between acceptable and getting totally screwed is difficult. Take Mustafi for example: I don’t know how good a player he is having only seen him play once for Germany in the Euros. Initially, I read he would be available for about 17million Euros. Then we were told he had a buy-out clause worth 43million Euros. So clearly there has to be a period of negotiation or else we get screwed like a lot of clubs currently are.
I believe the media and the usual sad little pundits deliberately paint a picture that Arsenal are useless in the transfer market and are afraid of spending money. I don’t think it is true. Ozil was the most expensive midfielder ever in England when we bought him. Signing him was an amazing coup, bearing in mind that Chelsea, Man U and City all could have paid him and Real Madrid more than we did. The same could be said about Sanchez.
We can win the league if we are consistent in our play and avoid a disproportionate number of injuries, particularly in a certain area of the pitch. I believe the main reason we didn’t win last season was because we lost nearly all our creative players at the same time and for a long time. I also think that is why the goals dried up, more so than the quality of our strikers. Even Messi may have struggled without Cazorla, Willsher, Rosicky and Sanchez creating chances. We will see.
No worries Bos, we all want the same thing. Some of us get a bit bored with the same old same old is all.
Drinks on the bar for all (on my tab, H) 😉
Thanks Bosnian Gooner, Cent and Homer. I was expecting to get slated but thought it was worth trying to change the tone. COYG.
If Cynic is buying, then Im definitely drinking!!
Thanks for the drink, Cynic. It’s beer o’clock time.
Just on question and pardon me if I’m stating the obvious as it has been a long day, but if there are no strikers out there that are good enough to join our squad, why is it that have we submitted two (publicly known) bids so far this summer for strikers?
By doing so aren’t Arsenal making the statement that these strikers have the ‘required quality’ to strengthen our squad?
I know it’s the opinion of some supporters that these strikers may not be good enough but there were enough supporters who believed that they were which would have the potential to possibly lift the spirits of a large proportion of the fan base.
I think the issue therefore remains whether or not these said strikers are worth the fees being commanded by their clubs.
Ever since the Arsenal were able to release competitive funds for transfers a few years ago as a result of paying off for the stadium, we started to spend in similar regions to the majority of clubs out there barring the obvious few, albeit in very numbers therefore only buying 1 or two per window. If I understood Wengers quotes from yesterday premier league interview, I’m sure he himself implied that himselfnimplied that with such inflationary transfer fees being transacted, that Arsenal are finding they are having to adapt as prices are only going to get higher.
It’s true that we are a few weeks away from the window closing and closer to confirming the signing of Mustafi. I just hope that Arsenal do the right thing and at least try everything within their will to sign that extra goal scorer that we so realistically need. Just to provide that extra depth we need to rotate and cover injuries. There are a lot of 1 in 2 strikers out there available. However, It almost seems counter productive if we sign a player the fans won’t back!
King
I doubt AW or any manager or negotiator is going to publicly state their desire for player X. That largey gives away any remaining bargaining power. Also it could be an infraction for AW or the club to announce publicly that it wants to sign/intends to sign/will sign, e.g, griezeman from ateti, while he is still inder contract at that club. Tapping up is an odd concept amd i dunno if a club has been sanctioned for that latey. But i suspect there are calid reasons why AW doesnt broadcast his summer signing plans to the world.
In ay event, a drink for you …Cynic is buying!!
Cheers Cynic (and others in the Bar)!!! Never in doubt that you, or indeed the vast majority of other people returning here, are genuine supporters. THIS IS THE BEST ARSENAL PLACE IN THE WORLD (no disrespect to Arseblog).
Devon @54, you totally read my mind, mate. Can’t wait for Sunday…COYG!
Optimistic, positive and outright behind my team. Worry is why is that proverbial missed by a whisker continue to haunt us. We know this midfield will create chances, we also know Giroud is not the kind of forward who can finish on the ground as well as he can in the air, we need the famous fox in the box player and yet we wait for it every season.
No it is not easy. No we cannot outbid for the big name strikers but can we not find a Javier Hernandez or an Eduardo kind of a player. These players will fit in, won’t cost a bomb and will be effective. We don’t need a proven goal scorer, we need an effective one.
Every season is of hope, The Arsenal is all about hope, despair and rejoice. Please boys it is about time we win and prove the world that we indeed are the champions.
@ devon, to me Jese Rodriguez is the player we should have signed. I still think there was no striker/forward better than him on the market. 25M for a young forward like him was a real steal. I’m an ardent fan of Arsene and will continue to support him, but to me it looks like he didn’t look at the right places to fulfill our striking needs. I certainly can’t say there was no one available who can improve our squad without making financial sense.
Derrick, I thought Jese is an attacking midfielder…but I might be wrong.
Vinay, are you sure we need an Eduardo type of player? To me, if Giroud is not around we have nobody with real presence in the box…almost no point to deliver any crosses. So, I would rather go for someone like Morata and make him and Giroud fight for the starting lineup. If we decide to go for speed rather than height we can always count on Alexis…even Walcott.
By the way, I had a chance to speak to Eduardo earlier this summer. I go to Kiev once a month and stay in the same hotel as Shakhtar players. He is still the GOONER.
Bosnian Gooner, I watched Jese quite extensively since his days as a Spain u19 and in RM Castilla. He won the u19 Euros with Spain playing as a lone striker, was top scorer and scored the winning goal in the final.
He played as a sort of false 9 in RM Castilla, and even broke the goalscoring record for the Madrid youth side. And then he broke into the first team, scored in his first game against Barcelona in La Liga. He could play in both wings, has two good feet, fast, and is also able to play as a striker.
These are the attributes that made me think he’s perfect for Arsenal. Can play anywhere on the front line, alongside or as a viable alternative to Giroud as a mobile pacey striker.
I’m not saying he’s a perfect player, he had a ligament injury during his breakout season which curtailed his growth a bit, but surely he was worth the punt. There’s no telling, but I think he would be a big success for PSG.
Chris
Every one of those Spurs players was signed before Pocchetino. I wouldn’t want any of them but I would want Alli. Aldiereweld, Janssen and Trippier. All signed by Pocchetino. He seems to have a much better organised to have a much better organised approach than his predecessors of whom there have been so many I have forgotten them! My point is that the game and the argot transfers is moving on.Are we? And re Mustafi there appears robe no deal in place at the moment .Quelle surprise !
Pardon me spillchucker is on form tonight- but you get my drift……hopefully
Thanks Homer!
Am looking forward to Sunday’s game guys! I love to hate the scousers! 😆
Thank you Derrick. It sounds like he could have been a good signing. I am also wandering what happened to Slimani from Sporting. I remember him from the WC in Brasil and I watched some YouTube clips. He looks like a serious all-round CF. Good with the ball, excellent in the air, strong…and I think his price is not astronomical.
This may be a second-chance season for us (and AW). Pep will take at least a season to rebuild City and doesn’t have a La Masia to pipeline to fall back on to kick start the process. Klopp needs another season to get Liverpool playing his way. Pochettino has to kick on with a Spurs team that overachieved last season until it found its natural level at the end. Mourinho is a worry: he will make United hard to beat in short order, if not world beaters. Conte is a dark horse; we don’t know how quickly he can turn Chelsea around, but like Mourinho he fashions his teams on the basis of sound defense which should make Chelsea competitive this year. I don’t believe lightening will strike twice for Ranieri and Leicester. As Devon Stu said, if we find consistency and stay reasonably fit (I know!) we have a shot at the title this season.
Interesting discussions as always in the bar. I am really looking forward to Sunday and am full of optimism for the new season. That’s the only way I roll when it comes to the Arsenal. I have to agree with Dr.Faustus’ observation about the fact that the emphasis on a faster game and pressing does make this team exciting and I would add that it makes us more like the Arsenal teams that we have become accustomed to under Wenger. The rope-a-dope version of last season was more of an anomaly.
As for the burning question about signings, I think Mustafi is definitely going to be signed in a day or two. As for the striker, things remain complicated as ever. The absence of a real top class centre forward in the market might mean us going for a Mahrez. That might mean converting Alexis into a Centre Forward. With the midfield we have available this season, Alexis should prosper in that role if he manages to curb his instinct to drop deep for the ball and starts playing on the shoulder of the defender. Might take a few games but it could prove to be a masterstroke ala Van Pursie. The purchase of Mahrez or any other wide player would mean having too many players for the wide positions. Ox, Theo, Iwobi, Campbell, Jeff, Gnabry. I suspect that the latter two will go out on loan and so might Akpom albeit in January if Danny Welbeck is indeed due back in January.
The midfield with the addition of Xhaka, Elneny and the returning Santi looks really strong and also dynamic in terms of different types of strengths of all the players. If the front three find some consistent goal scoring form, this team might just turn up with some champagne football.
Apparently we had a £15m bid for Mustafi turned down by Valencia.
15 frickin’ million in this market.
Classic Wenger lowball offer. If he wanted a Lambo he’d stroll into the dealership in South Kensington and be like “Yeah I want that SV-640. Give you a tenner for it.”
*resumes bashing of head against nearest wall*
‘We can win the league if we are consistent in our play and we don’t have a disproportionate number of injuries’. I think that’s probably true of about the top 5 or 6 clubs. In our case, neither situation has arisen in the past 10 years at a conservative estimate.
Just back from the pub so now catching up. Porto Rosso, @72, I don’t think AW makes the actual offers for players, so I think ” classic Wenger lowball offer” is unfair on AW. He manages the players, other people do the negotiating. As for @73, yes, top 5 or 6 can win the league this season and we are definitely one of them, so talk us up not down. There is no clear favourite and with good support and some good fortune we can do it. As for injuries, I expect us to get some, but not all in the same area of the pitch, i.e. midfield or defence. Anyhow, have a drink on Cynic. Cor, this is cheap, better than up the pub.
Hi Devon, hey fair point about the bidding process, it just seems like numerous transfers have gone astray through a refusal to go above a certain price (bar Ozil etc); and with the received wisdom that Wenger has an all-encompassing influence over the club I guess that’s the go-to conclusion. Not that anyone knows the truth of the matter, that could have easily been made up by any click-whoring hack.
And you know what, I want to be optimistic but the chances of the cards all falling right for us, Leicester-style, are slimmer than Claudia Schiffer’s waist.
Anyway drink accepted!
Mazzarri is the new Watford manager and Puel in charge of Southampton. Two very astute and experienced managers in the mix. Mazzarri had Napoli playing some accomplished counter-attacking football with Hamsik and Inler. Moyes is back, and despite his recent lack of success I think he is very good at getting the best of mid-table teams.
We will need to become tactically a little bit more prepared and varied and move away from the finding solution in the playing field approach. When our manager and the team commit to a tactical vision for a match we look as matured and intelligent as any team, and then our individual and collective qualities truly shine. We played brilliant football against City or Bayern or ManU in the last season where the thoughtfulness that went into the preparation of our game was visible and the players carried out that vision superbly. It is against those mid-table teams when we go with the attitude we can just outplay them we are surprised by their resilience and preparedness.
Treat each opponent with full respect, both on and off the field, and prepare very well. If we manage to do that I think we have as much of a chance as winning the league as anyone.
If we do not add the quality required then we will struggle to finish in the top 4.
If we don’t add the quality required then don’t be surprised if by this time next season both Ozil and Alexis are playing elsewhere.
We need to act and we need to ensure that we are not further left behind.
Just my opinion of course
Point taken Ttg (#66) re Pochettino and Alli, Alderweireld, Janssen and Trippier. Poch is way ahead of any manager the spuds have had since Bill Nicholson (or maybe Graham and Jol anyway).
But I still wouldn’t buy any of the above now, simply because we already have better in all their positions, and it’s not more bench players we need.
I’d tick the Poch box as AW’s successor though.
… I’d also take Eric Dier as a CB to solve that current problem.
Devon Stu @ 54 & NBN @ 70, thank you.
King
As am i.
Sure, We got problems. And we should have mustafi locked up by now. But Arsenal always does it the hard way.
Come sunday its match day. And at that pount we got what we got. And its ON!!!
Homer,
Agreed, if we can’t beat Liverpool with the quality we already have at present, we can forget about winning the league. One or two extra players will not help us on Sunday. We need to be tactically aware and astute with our preparations!
I agree with the majority of support in that we do need to add the required quality by transfer deadline day, as the league with the 3 other competitions thrown in, is a marathon and not a race and we do not want to be caught wanting again!
Drinks all around, to keep the spirits high!!
🙂
BBC pundits have written off our chances, which is good reason to be optimistic in my book.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37040156
I am loving the return of the Sunnysiders!
So many good drinks above and a great tone to carry into the new season.
Unfortunately I must admit that I find little in common with the attitude of many gooners these days. Too much entitlement and glooming. I really believe that the tide of negativity from fans affects the club, team and goes directly towards the opposite outcome from the one we all want.
So I love the positivity and I hope it lasts. I am very excited about the new season because, whatever else it brings, it will give me a chance to watch and cheer on our boys in red! That is the height of my ambition. All the rest is just extras.
And do you know what? With that as my starting point, I CAN’T BE DISAPPOINTED! And not many gooners can say that!
There is no truth, people- only perspective. ?
Have a good one all. Cynic, all these pints seem to be running up your tab, so I’ll offer you some respite and join you in a lemonade. Cheers Holic and Holics!
YouRopey League code, ‘holic? My current email address is the one I use for this site. Tks.
This is a pretty outrageous letter from a very average club who you’d think would be happy with any support they can get. It is apparently a one-off letter, sent to one person, but it’s still pretty grim. It can’t have been anything serious or illegal, or they wouldn’t have given him his season ticket, as they apparently have done.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CppK9Q8UMAAfgDi.jpg
Cynic, this is unbelievable. Pure “1984”. I hope the recipient will reply in Pythonesque manner: ‘Why don’t you go home and play hide and fuck yourself’.
Not good news at the presser on reinforcements.
Let’s just focus on Sunday now. Hopefully Holding will be a real find this season. Maybe we will see Sanchez upfront this season?
That is outrageous, Cynic, what Charlton are doing. I don’t know what they are hoping to achieve. It could also be interesting from a legal point of view if one were to sign it and then continue to say things the club doesn’t like. It seems a crazy idea and is bound to lead to trouble.
Totally agree with all your sentiments above, GSD.
gsd, and others he referenced, consider me another sunnysider. having seen the lads in red at the end of july, i am still buzzing and happy as a pig in a poke about the new season. having no expectations (because my expectations don’t matter to the club, and that’s as it should be in my humble opinion), i too can’t be disappointed…until i see the lads play without effort, etc. at that point i can and will be disappointed in them for that; however, i can’t see that happening!
cynic at 86, i find that letter ridiculous. he should get the ticket, tell them to fuck off, then sue the shit out of them if they try and bring the hammer down. the letter smacks of “ooh, ooh, whine whine, you can’t say that, it’s not right”… i wonder that it wasn’t a joke letter put together by one of the guy’s mates to take the piss out of him, or by someone genuinely pissed off at his comments who found a way to make him nervous…
right. the missus and i are up at 6:30 am sunday to drive the 45 miles to the bar where the south bay gooners congregate. looking forward to that first pint of the black stuff around 7:30 am!
Any news on Mustafi yet?!
Lookinf forward to Moaninho pulling a Zwicker! : http://tinyurl.com/h85z6ab
😀
Football is back 🙂 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>