I think accusations of bottling it aren't nuanced enough. I'm not saying that there wasnt an element of fear during the team's recent collapse, but I believe that was probably less to do with a defect of character, and more to do with the team's realisation and subsequent loss of confidence that it could get back into games due to the injuries and loss of form of key players. Yesterday's defeat was in a game with no real pressure as the title had gone yet we were completely lacklustre and blunt.

And they signed Phillips for £45m and he’s just made his first prem start for them today. A luxury signing….for £45m!

I posted before that the stats show it was the two games against City that had to biggest effect. Both us and City dropped silly points to weaker sides.
City led 1-0 v Everton, villa, forest, Newcastle and Man U and ended up just taking 4 points from those 5 games they led and got the important first goal in

Ornstein saying we want gundogan. Whilst he’s precisely what we need I’m not sure we should keep looking at city players

Also says we are interested in Mason Mount which would be interesting and a step in the right direction as a Xhaka replacement.

Great player, hugely underrated. But City want to keep him, he wants a longer contract or more money from them - so if we did get him it would be based on primarily those reasons and I’m not sure we should be offering expensive and long contracts to a player who will be 33 in October, even on a free transfer.
2 year contract and I’d take him for sure

I prefer we spend our available funds on younger players

I think you need a blend. If you are selling xhaka you probably need another older head to come in.

If not who are our experienced lads, trossard 28, Partey 29, gabby M 25. Jorginho 31 but don’t be shocked if he goes back to Italy this summer

Ornstein says we are definitely interested in Mason Mount.
So so underwhelming.
What can he provide that Emile Smith Rowe cant??
Mount would be a waste of a huge transfer fee and wages in my opinion.

No to Gundagan at 32 as well.
Lets move on from City/Chelsea players.

Agree 100%. Mount is more experienced but Emile Smith Rowe could play in the same position.

I can't imagine Arteta seriously being interested in an over 30 Gundogan. And I find it even more improbable that City would allow it after Jesus and Zinny.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... t-30039812

No he can’t. He just doesn’t have the defensive instincts and is anywhere near combative enough to play that position. He’s played that role before and we haven’t been able to control the midfield in those games. The only success he’s had has been playing off the left in martinellis absence and I don’t think you’ll see many advocates of trying gabby in that position either.

I’m not a huge fan of mount however he unquestionably possesses more of the attributes required to play the Xhaka midfield position in that he has a range of passing but can do the dirty work and press as well. All irrelevant really though as feels to me like he’s destined for Liverpool

You have a good point there
But I fear his wages will be very high. We cannot afford another Özil, Aubameyang, and Willian situation

He’s on 140 k a week at city. Not a vast amount.

I’m not necessarily a massive advocate of going for him but he has mastered that exact role we need to fill this summer and if you spent a lot on Rice it may make sense.

Technically city are powerless, Gundogan’s contract is up so he’s free to decide his own future

Flying back from Corfu over London today, saw the Emirates, could just about make out Highbury, then on passing further north, I thought my eyes were deceiving me.

Just got home, and having now double checked on Google Earth, the Spuds stadium really is the shape of a toilet seat from above.

Take a look. Was the architect a Gooner?

Juventus have been docked 10 points in Serie A, which takes them from 2nd to 7th and are unlikely to qualify for the CL for next season. What that means for us is potentially move us up from pot 3 to pot 2 in the CL groups for next season

You'd expect me to defend Arsene, so I will. True there were some flaky moments under him but from memory I can't recall us dropping a title from the sort of position we have been in this season. Not that I am going to criticise this team's efforts too much for even when we had a seemingly comfortable points lead it always felt like City's title to win. They are clearly a more experienced and better team. Yes it was frustrating to run out of go, especially against West Ham and Southampton, but it was always on the cards that City could beat us twice in the run in, which unsurprisingly, they did. All in all a good league campaign by our boys.

So, an Ødegaard, Rice and Caecido or Partey midfield would be.....

Oh I hope so
The toilet bowl

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6043518 ... a=!3m1!1e3

Hope the link works

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/may/23/perhaps-one-day-this-whole-age-of-football-will-require-an-asterisk-manchester-city-premier-league-title

‘ The regimes that fund City, Newcastle, Paris Saint‑Germain and perhaps Manchester United next are autocracies who believe less in the rule of law than the rule of getting whatever they want.’

That's a good article. It is sad but true that cheating is absolutely endemic in football.

I see Neville was spoofing on Sky again last night. When the presenter said that Newcastle's owners were wealthier than City's so they could feasibly buy anyone, Neville disagreed on the grounds that there are rules to prevent that. It is as if the City breach allegations don't exist.

A growing narrative is this years City are the best ever EPL side. This will become more vocal if/when they win the treble. Even if they aren't deemed the best EPL side ever, they'll be discussed as no worse than the top 2 or 3.
So, losing a title to a side that acclaimed is bottling it?

My big disappointment is when the various podcasts, and sports pundit programs at Sky Sports, ESPN, etc, discuss the clubs and so forth, they conveniently leave out the role money played in their success. Even in the transfer window, you'll see headlines of some club has put a 70 mil or whatever price tag on a player that is worth maybe 40 or 50 mil and that 'City' or 'PSG' , clubs with owners with seemingly limitless funds (I'll leave Man Utd off that even though they spend like it) must come up with 70 mil if they want it and truth is they'd come up with 700 million pounds if they felt they needed to.

Incidentally, when we were top of the table, there were media pundits everywhere telling us that Arsenal's success was due to our freakish good luck with injuries.

Manchester City, 23 May. Injuries 1:
Nathan Ake. 'He's getting better. He's at the latter stage. We have to be careful after being injured for the second time in case we need him for United or Inter.'

Crippling.

Not seen it mentioned yet but Saka has officially signed his new contract until 2027. He would have only had 12 months left on his deal this summer so it’s a big one.

We desperately need Saliba to sign next

Saka will have played a part in every league game for 2 years straight. We have to find a way to give this guy a rest next year. We need another wide right attacker

So where are our priorities then for the summer?

So if you assume that we will sell Xhaka, Mari and Tierney for 50 million that’s being highly mooted, nelson and AMN both go on frees and that we aren’t interested in strikers like Ornstein says and we get say..

Declan Rice 100m ( I’m not sure even that would do it, West Ham want 120)
Wide right 60 million ?
Caicedo/mount/other 60M ?

170 million before you realise you are short a left back, probably need cover at right back and you are still unlikely to win a title with gabby Jesus as you striker. You could possibly sell Emile Smith Rowe who would fetch 30 odd million surely but then you are short in midfield. Sell Pépé and maybe balogun to fund the left back.

We need state ownership at Arsenal. China please, or Elon to turn up

Rich

Just read on Newsnow the Irish Times are reporting that Saka has signed and they provide a couple of quotes from Saka which presumably are meant to convince people he has signed but lMO just imply that he has. Anyhow I still take it as an encouraging sign.

No he’s literally signed it’s on Arsenal .com

https://www.arsenal.com/news/bukayo-sak ... w-contract

Includes a video saying “I’ve signed’.

Could be a dark web fake !

I hope the Declan Rice transfer doesn’t turn in to a saga. If it’s sub £100m I can see us doing it, but at £120m I can’t see it happening when we could get Caicedo and Zubimendi combined for a similar fee.

I think we’ll do our business and most fans will feel we’re 1 or 2 players short - but then every team will feel that way. I can bet even City fans are looking at their squad and saying they need more full back cover and central midfield cover.

I think it’s going to be very, very difficult for us to replicate what we’ve done this season next season. We certainly had an element of surprise for the first half of the season.
Can we challenge for the title? I’m not sure. I think securing a top 4 finish will still be tough in itself. I’d like to see more quality and depth added so we can take all the cups seriously, some easy home draws would be nice as well like Man U have had all season!

The Mudryk bids were interesting. We clearly had £70m odd ready to drop on a wide player, we then moved to £70m for Caicedo. Eventually that £70m was spent on 3 players.

With the squad how it is with no significant outgoings I think we need 4 players:
2 centre mids, 1 right sided defender and 1 striker/wide right forward

If we lose anyone from the typical match day squad (Tierney, Xhaka, Emile Smith Rowe) then there is potential that we need more players than those 4

Thing is those 4 players will probably cost you 250 million. I can’t see us doing that without selling our players you mentioned.

I suppose we might be able to recoup funds by offloading players who didn’t really contribute to the first team last year. Maybe somehow get 50 odd million selling balogun, Pépé, Mari and Patino but it’s going to be tough

If you want to know why the links are so strong with us and Rice the clues are in what he’s said previously. He lives in Kingston upon Thames which is a pretty decent area and West Ham train in Romford. He has said he doesn’t want to move away from Kingston so that means possibly around 4 hours in a motor each day. (Must be a nightmare run) Probably minimum then chuck in the fact he’s just had a baby and his birds from Kingston too and Arsenal is the most logical suitor by far with a squad full of international team mates.

Doesn’t stop City or united offering a kings ransom and blowing us out the water but seems to be a factor that is generating the links.

Signed all in pearly whites.

Yes, that list of 4 is based on getting some money in for players who didn't really contribute this year - just the 4 you've mentioned should get us to £50m. There is no reason we shouldn't be getting under £35m for Balogun. Mari has already generated £6m. Leno triggered a £2m payment....there is also tavares, Holding, Trusty - even Mavropanos might trigger a sell on fee if he moves this summer

Rice and Caicedo might cost £200m. But Zubamendi and Gundogan would cost £50m. Diaby is £60m, Asensio is £0. I'm definitely not saying sign the cheaper guy as I think the time is now to push for our No.1 option but we can still be smart. I think there would be some great defenders out there for sub £30m - we've already got 4-5 of them in the squad

Chelsea value Mason Mount at £85m with just 12 months left on his deal. He’s not worth any more than half that right now

I’d say if Fabio vieira is worth 30 then Mount must be a solid 60 million and Chelsea will get it. Feels like one of those deals that will go to the last minute of the window as you will have a reluctant seller playing hardball

Ornstein is saying Mount wants to go to united.

Why on earth I don’t know

RIP Tina Turner
83 years old
Terrific singer