I’ll be astonished if we finish above any of Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Leicester. Finishing above Chelsea would surprise me greatly even if ‘astonished’ is too strong a word. So that’s six clubs I very much fancy, to varying degrees, to finish above us.

If a top five to seven place gets us in the Europa League then Everton, Southampton, West Ham and Aston Villa are all currently above us. If Southampton beat us at their ground on Tuesday, which I see as more likely than us winning the game, they’ll have a five point lead over us. I see it as perfectly feasible for Arsenal to finish above any of them (Everton, Southampton, West Ham and Villa). I’d say the chances of us finishing above all of them is much less likely. Moreover, I see it as perfectly feasible for Wolves to overtake us.

That’s the reason why I saw yesterday as more of a must win game than Tuesday. We can beat anyone on our day in a one off game. We’ve seen that winning at Old Trafford this season and against Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea towards the end of last season. Hence I considered winning the FA Cup as our best chance of getting in the Europa League, not a league place. That’s why I think criticism of Arteta for playing such a weakened side yesterday has some justification, especially as it was probably our best opportunity of adding to the club’s honours list.

Özil (Paul ) officially gone to Fenerbache.

Plenty more needed to move on for us to really feel we’re clearing the decks and starting again but he has been a millstone around our necks for the best part of 2 years now.

Ødegaard to Arsenal on loan for 6 months is a done deal. £2m loan fee and we pay his wages (which aren’t massive) no option to buy. Arsenal and Madrid to talk at the end of the season.

Decent record in Spain recently and adds much needed creativity and depth.

Really really excited by this. There are of course the usual caveats of whether he can adapt to the PL etc, but whenever I've seen him play he's looked class. Only 22 but a couple of really good seasons of first team football behind him already. There will probably be some criticism about us not having a set option to buy, but first of all that doesn't mean it's a certainty we can't sign him permanently in the summer, and secondly I'd rather loan in someone with top class potential than sign someone who doesn't have the talent to take our offensive game forward. We have enough squad players.

eh ..... Edu ..... Brazilian ................ connect the dots

Yep, let’s see how he does for 6 months. He’s a very good player and has major potential, if Real Madrid want to chase Mbappe or Upamecano in the summer and need to raise funds he could be available. Again, it’s the sort of signing we need to be making.

Agreed. But, given the pile-up of fixtures, Arteta was always going to have to choose between his strongest XI in this match and the league fixture on Tuesday. So it comes down to whether you think we're more likely to win the FA Cup than finish seventh. I can see why Mikel gambled on seventh. And, frankly, I'm getting a bit bored with winning this tin-pot trophy every other year. Four times since Ariana Grande's first UK number one - what more do you want?

The most frustrating thing could be that the better he plays for us, the less likely it presumably becomes that Real will sell him. If he’s underwhelming for Arsenal, the chances of them offloading him probably increase. Having said that, Arsenal’s eagerness to sign him permanently may well move in the opposite direction.

Yep, let’s see how he does for 6 months. He’s a very good player and has major potential, if Real Madrid want to chase Mbappe or Upamecano in the summer and need to raise funds he could be available. Again, it’s the sort of signing we need to be making.

Speaking of Edu....


https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.u ... 42706/amp/

The fixtures pile up for Soton too, who are also wanting Europe, so I can't go with that. To answer your question - five times please! I never tire of winning the FA Cup - greatest, and most interesting competition in football.

I'm always intrigued by the ability of some clubs to spend vast sums of money. Take Aston Villa for example. Last season they spent £143m and recouped £3m in the market. People will point out that this was their first season back in the prem so they benefit from the increase revenue that brings, but that is the same (if not more) for every existing prem club who spent nowhere near that amount. And to prove that wasn't a one off that they now count the cost for they spent another £74m this year with only £2m recouped in sales. They're close to spending another £18m on a French midfielder (who's name escapes me).

So I'm not necessarily comparing this to Arsenal because we know we have spent over the years and had a wage bill that dwarfed any spending by other clubs, but why can Villa spend this much when clubs like Burnley, Newcastle, Palace and Brighton barely spend anything when they've been established in the top flight for a lot longer? Villa may have better sponsorship deals, but not £100m a season better.

We all know how City and Chelsea's owners have propped them up over the years, surely there are other clubs' owners doing the same thing just on a smaller scale. Everton are another example, over the last 4 seasons they have a net spend of £225m with no european football and zero success. How are they sustainable or in line with FFP?

https://www.planetfootball.com/videos/watch-folarin-balogun-skips-past-defenders-scores-stunning-goal-for-arsenal-under-23s/
Balogun's goal for the U23's.

I get that there is this stand off between player and club which is basically "commit and we'll play you" versus "play me and i'll commit" but eventually Arsenal are going to be the ones who lose out in this.

If Balogun gets minutes and leaves for free or if he doesn't play and leaves for free he is going to get a very good deal at a very good club, there is nothing we can do to stop that. But if the only way to get him to sign a deal is to give him minutes then we need to take that first step. If Arsenal are worried about setting a precedent for other young players in terms of them delivering ultimatums 'play me or i'll leave' I think that is nonsense because Balogun is worthy of a place in match days squads.

What makes it all the more silly is Nketiah is down to the last 18 months of his contract now, so in the summer Arsenal are going to need to make a decision on him and for my money that decision should be to sell to the highest bidder which opens up the route to the first team even more clearly for Balogun. The Same is true of Lacazette who will only have a year left. And then consider Aubameyang is 31. The pathway to regular first team football couldn't be any more clear.

If Balogun is better why hasn't he played ahead of Nketiah?

https://www.planetfootball.com/videos/watch-folarin-balogun-skips-past-defenders-scores-stunning-goal-for-arsenal-under-23s/
Balogun's goal for the U23's.

I get that there is this stand off between player and club which is basically "commit and we'll play you" versus "play me and i'll commit" but eventually Arsenal are going to be the ones who lose out in this.

If Balogun gets minutes and leaves for free or if he doesn't play and leaves for free he is going to get a very good deal at a very good club, there is nothing we can do to stop that. But if the only way to get him to sign a deal is to give him minutes then we need to take that first step. If Arsenal are worried about setting a precedent for other young players in terms of them delivering ultimatums 'play me or i'll leave' I think that is nonsense because Balogun is worthy of a place in match days squads.

What makes it all the more silly is Nketiah is down to the last 18 months of his contract now, so in the summer Arsenal are going to need to make a decision on him and for my money that decision should be to sell to the highest bidder which opens up the route to the first team even more clearly for Balogun. The Same is true of Lacazette who will only have a year left. And then consider Aubameyang is 31. The pathway to regular first team football couldn't be any more clear.

And the clear favouritism from Arteta and Edu :20hospitals:

He’s out of contract and leaving.
There’s no point playing a player who doesn’t want to be with us

It might be worth asking why Balogun doesn’t want to be with us, if he doesn’t? Could it be a lack of playing time? If it is, would he have stayed had he Nketiah’s playing time? If so, it takes me to Gunfire’s question. If Balogun is better than Nketiah, why hasn’t Arteta played him more?

Seems to me that it's a good idea for them to try and show support for Willian - a very good player who has hit a rare patch of bad form during a really poor spell for the entire team. Getting him back to performing to the ability he showed for Chelsea during his 7 years there is definitely in the best interest of the club.

Seems to me that it's a good idea for them to try and show support for Willian - a very good player who has hit a rare patch of bad form during a really poor spell for the entire team. Getting him back to performing to the ability he showed for Chelsea during his 7 years there is definitely in the best interest of the club. Thought his performance against Southampton was a step forward for him.

Same answer really Bernard. If he has no future with the club and is leaving for zero transfer fee why should the club give him valuable experience. I don’t think we should be playing him if that’s the case.

Frank Lampard to be sacked. Enjoy yourself Thomas Tuchel.

He’s out of contract and leaving.

There’s no point playing a player who doesn’t want to be with us

But he wants to stay if he gets game time.

My question has more to do with why he wasn’t given more playing time before he decided to leave, if he has and if he is better than Nketiah?

Bad news. Tuchel could do something with them.

I think people are writing off Willian as useless far too quickly. As you imply he produced enough over a long time at Chelsea to show he has the ingredients to be a fine player for Arsenal. Unless age has caught up with him and since joining he’s grown older by five years rather than five months.

Lots of comparisons between Arteta/Solksjaer/Lampard - Solskjaer has had a lot more experience than the other two. One big difference I've noticed is how many managers, players, ex players say Arteta really will be the business and the way he talks about football is top class. I have rarely heard that about the other two. Of course, talk is cheap and he still needs to produce the results

Of the three, Arteta is the only one where I've seen some semblance of a method with the way he improved our organisation and defensive structure in very little time. We went from being a complete mess defensively to being pretty hard to score against, and not by luck, desperate last ditch defending or a goalkeeper that constantly bails us out. That doesn't happen unless you have some managerial ability.