Fixtures March 31st - Manchester City - Etihad Stadium - 3:30 Pm

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       Injuries                 Steve Gleiber



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Post #522241  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 1:51 am 
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TOP GUN wrote:
Rich wrote:
One thing we need to bear in mind with the group of underperforming players that made up the attack today is that they haven’t played with the confident vibrant team with partey, Saka, smith-Rowe, at the moment when they play they are in there with each other.

I’m not saying if you put them in the best team on an individual basis that they suddenly find their form but it is a factor to consider. After all Lacazette was out of form and has had a new lease of life playing with the movement, energy and quality of the younger players


If you have a midfield of El Nenny and Xhaka you will struggle. End of story really the wingers and forwards won’t get the distribution needed to do the things that score goals


Elneny is now back to his all-energy, no impact performance.

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Post #522242  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 6:41 am 
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Soton is usually a tough place for any side to go and get a win. Second, given a choice between losing a cup tie and a league match with how we are right now, I'd take this loss if we had to lose a match. Our chances of winning the cup or even getting to the final were slim to none (last season notwithstanding).

I'm just happy Partey, Gabriel and Martinelli are playing together. Combined with others we'll be much tougher. I think eventually Arteta should make Partey a box to box type and put the players in the midfield that compliments that. He's a bit more defensive midfield minded right now. But he's a different player for Ghana from what I understand.

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Post #522243  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 7:58 am 
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So, did Willian prove himself worthy yesterday? To me, he is the next "Özil saga' unfolding in front of our eyes. Finally rid of one very high wage player, and now we need to contend with another.

Willian tried to be driven yesterday, but he just wasn't driven enough. There was an attack when he stood watching near the halfway line, while a through ball was going fast down the right side of the field. Emile Smith Rowe would have started his run, and positioned himself for a pass, or to hop onto any loose ball coming from the attack. Lazy, pedestrian, retirement player. It is very disappointing to see such a player. No self-respect to one's own profession.

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Post #522244  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:06 am 
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Stop using Pépé. We over-paid and over-hyped him. He just cannot make it happen for us. Never mind the moving balls, he can't even make a dead-ball situation look dangerous. To me, he seems to want to make some magical play all the time. He keeps trying to take on as many players as he could, but he just can't do it.
Arteta should coach the team to play the ball in front of him, instead of to him. Make him position properly for the through ball. Play it in front of him and he will do better to use his speed to charge down the right and with a clear field in front of him. Play it to him and he goes into his trickery dribbles. Gets past one, maybe two, but most times gets caught in the next attempt. Then, he would give his blank-stare as if that was all was needed for losing the ball.

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Post #522245  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:08 am 
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When would we see Balogun? Is he so much worse than Nketiah? Or is Arteta using his personal bias and not favouring him?

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Post #522246  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 9:28 am 
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TOP GUN wrote:

Willian is a mistake brought on by trying to get an alternative option to Pépé who was a huge expensive flop signed by the previous regime. Likely initiated by Edu as they share the same agent.

Saliba is an issue that relates to us not being able to play him for financial reasons.

There is no manager that is going to get a tune out of Xhaka and El Nenny trust me. 3 have already failed, a fourth would too.

Half our squad isn’t good enough. Replacements are required and coaching won’t affect a damn thing until you bring in better personnel


You've a fair point about the squad, TG, some are simply not good enough and no amount of coaching will change that. However, you must admit that Arteta is also not getting the best out the squad as a whole. His handling of individuals with regard to the non-negotiables is questionable, his team selections, tactics and substitutions are also questionable.

I get the bit where he inherited an unbalanced squad but at this point I do not see a manager who inspires me to think he knows exactly what he's doing.

He brought on Saka, probably our most effective attacking outlet this season, and then moved him to LB. How does that work when you are chasing a game.

I just don't know anymore. I think the club has lost the plot and so have I. :laughing7:


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Post #522247  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 9:57 am 
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When a new manager comes in what is the minimum we should expect in terms of his coaching improving existing players? It is unrealistic to expect a manager to improve every player in the squad, and you’d also think players at a certain age aren’t going to improve whoever the manager is so that job is more about slowing the decline and making them effective.
So the question is, which players has Arteta improved, kept the same or made worse.


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Post #522248  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:20 am 
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Teams lose in cups - even Real got a shock this week - so I don't see defeat to Soton as a disaster. Law of averages said they should beat us someday in the FA Cup. What bugs me is not starting with our strongest eleven in a competition we are good at winning.

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Post #522249  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:36 am 
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socrates wrote:
TOP GUN wrote:

Willian is a mistake brought on by trying to get an alternative option to Pépé who was a huge expensive flop signed by the previous regime. Likely initiated by Edu as they share the same agent.

Saliba is an issue that relates to us not being able to play him for financial reasons.

There is no manager that is going to get a tune out of Xhaka and El Nenny trust me. 3 have already failed, a fourth would too.

Half our squad isn’t good enough. Replacements are required and coaching won’t affect a damn thing until you bring in better personnel


You've a fair point about the squad, TG, some are simply not good enough and no amount of coaching will change that. However, you must admit that Arteta is also not getting the best out the squad as a whole. His handling of individuals with regard to the non-negotiables is questionable, his team selections, tactics and substitutions are also questionable.

I get the bit where he inherited an unbalanced squad but at this point I do not see a manager who inspires me to think he knows exactly what he's doing.

He brought on Saka, probably our most effective attacking outlet this season, and then moved him to LB. How does that work when you are chasing a game.

I just don't know anymore. I think the club has lost the plot and so have I. :laughing7:


Do you think playing Saka at left back in a minor number of games is the cause of our woes Soc ? He’s shown a capable back up left back in that position and we are overloaded with wide players. Personally I’d like to see more of Ainsley in midfield but do I think that would solve our problems ? No chance

These are on the whole minor debatable issues and not the reason for our current predicament.

The truth is our squad isn’t really all that good soc. I can name you 9 players out of our 25 man squad who just aren’t up to starting regularly for a team competing for top 4. You could probably do the same yourself. If Thomas Partey doesn’t play our midfield is ghastly and you will struggle.

The truth is Darren probably described it best a while back when he said we are a “basket case” that no other top manager would be involved in anyway and I’ll add the first thing any other manager would do is ask the board for 200 million quid because half his first team squad HAS TO GO! :laughing7: :laughing7:


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Post #522250  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:54 am 
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TOP GUN wrote:

Do you think playing Saka at left back in a minor number of games is the cause of our woes Soc ? He’s shown a capable back up left back in that position and we are overloaded with wide players. Personally I’d like to see more of Ainsley in midfield but do I think that would solve our problems ? No chance

These are on the whole minor debatable issues and not the reason for our current predicament.

The truth is our squad isn’t really all that good soc. I can name you 9 players out of our 25 man squad who just aren’t up to starting regularly for a team competing for top 4. You could probably do the same yourself. If Thomas Partey doesn’t play our midfield is ghastly and you will struggle.

The truth is Darren probably described it best a while back when he said we are a “basket case” that no other top manager would be involved in anyway and I’ll add the first thing any other manager would do is ask the board for 200 million quid because half his first team squad HAS TO GO! :laughing7: :laughing7:


I was talking specifically about moving Saka to LB yesterday when we needed a moment of inspiration.


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Post #522251  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:57 am 
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Rich wrote:
When a new manager comes in what is the minimum we should expect in terms of his coaching improving existing players? It is unrealistic to expect a manager to improve every player in the squad, and you’d also think players at a certain age aren’t going to improve whoever the manager is so that job is more about slowing the decline and making them effective.
So the question is, which players has Arteta improved, kept the same or made worse.


I mean it’s an interesting question but 3 different managers with different coaching teams and different tactics have now finished 5,6 and 8th in the past 3 seasons and I can see us finishing in something similar 8-10 this year too.

Isn’t it just where we are ? Rather than analysing who’s improving which is obvious (Saka,Emile Smith Rowe, Tierney etc) I’d suggest now is the time to work out which players have demonstrated they aren’t up to it for successive coaching teams.


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Post #522252  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:59 am 
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old man of hoy wrote:
Teams lose in cups - even Real got a shock this week - so I don't see defeat to Soton as a disaster. Law of averages said they should beat us someday in the FA Cup. What bugs me is not starting with our strongest eleven in a competition we are good at winning.

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?

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Post #522253  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 11:00 am 
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socrates wrote:
TOP GUN wrote:

Do you think playing Saka at left back in a minor number of games is the cause of our woes Soc ? He’s shown a capable back up left back in that position and we are overloaded with wide players. Personally I’d like to see more of Ainsley in midfield but do I think that would solve our problems ? No chance

These are on the whole minor debatable issues and not the reason for our current predicament.

The truth is our squad isn’t really all that good soc. I can name you 9 players out of our 25 man squad who just aren’t up to starting regularly for a team competing for top 4. You could probably do the same yourself. If Thomas Partey doesn’t play our midfield is ghastly and you will struggle.

The truth is Darren probably described it best a while back when he said we are a “basket case” that no other top manager would be involved in anyway and I’ll add the first thing any other manager would do is ask the board for 200 million quid because half his first team squad HAS TO GO! :laughing7: :laughing7:


I was talking specifically about moving Saka to LB yesterday when we needed a moment of inspiration.


That’s fine but he’s probably the best left back we have Tierney aside. It’s just another marginal point. We should be able to rely on our other players at some point. Just really makes my point, we can’t rest our core players or shuffle our pack as we aren’t good enough


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Post #522254  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 11:15 am 
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In the midst of the Özil saga, Willian £1,000,000 a month for three years, how did that ever happen.

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Post #522255  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 11:23 am 
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Parkerknoll Gooner wrote:
In the midst of the Özil saga, Willian £1,000,000 a month for three years, how did that ever happen.


A crazy decision but an example of how one bad decision in the transfer market can cause others.

We sign Pépé for huge money and he has a bad season so we need a cheap alternative as our budget is limited so we offer big wages to a player past his prime because he had no transfer fee.

One bad mistake bleeds into others


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Post #522256  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 12:09 pm 
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TOP GUN wrote:
Parkerknoll Gooner wrote:
In the midst of the Özil saga, Willian £1,000,000 a month for three years, how did that ever happen.


A crazy decision but an example of how one bad decision in the transfer market can cause others.

We sign Pépé for huge money and he has a bad season so we need a cheap alternative as our budget is limited so we offer big wages to a player past his prime because he had no transfer fee.

One bad mistake bleeds into others


Honestly getting out of the cups cuts down on fixtures, and allowed us to rest players during a hectic fixture pile up. As well as being frustrating and risking losing momentum, I agree on those points, it’s also a blessing in disguise.

I do think Arteta is turning the ship. Klopp is often cited but look at Hassenhutl as a case in point. He’s got Southampton working as a tidy unit, after losing 9-0 to Leicester not long ago. You need time to implement incremental change which is long lasting, not that new manager bounce bollocks.

Arteta hasn’t had one full season yet. Willian is obviously the massive fly in the ointment, but no one would have thought he’d be this bad from the off.

To the points about some players being “in” and “out” I would say Arteta has a way, the same as every manager has a way. You fit into that, or you don’t. At City Joe Hart who was doing fine didn’t fit into Pep’s way and eventually they landed on Ederson.

Eventually after a season or two or three it settles and it works or it doesn’t.


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Post #522257  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 12:27 pm 
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old man of hoy wrote:
Teams lose in cups - even Real got a shock this week - so I don't see defeat to Soton as a disaster. Law of averages said they should beat us someday in the FA Cup. What bugs me is not starting with our strongest eleven in a competition we are good at winning.

It is easy to see why we would start without one or two of Tierney Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Saka, Lacazatte and Aubs, given that games will be coming thick and fast ... but all of them? My goodness!

S'ham are above us in the league, and its an away game, and we'll be playing them again. Even if it wasn't an important game, the risk of losing momentum is great. And it was an important game. The FA cup may have been our most realistic target, given that the Europa Cup looks very tough and (as you say) we are good at the FA cup.

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Post #522258  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 12:30 pm 
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Ash wrote:
TOP GUN wrote:

A crazy decision but an example of how one bad decision in the transfer market can cause others.

We sign Pépé for huge money and he has a bad season so we need a cheap alternative as our budget is limited so we offer big wages to a player past his prime because he had no transfer fee.

One bad mistake bleeds into others


Honestly getting out of the cups cuts down on fixtures, and allowed us to rest players during a hectic fixture pile up. As well as being frustrating and risking losing momentum, I agree on those points, it’s also a blessing in disguise.

I do think Arteta is turning the ship. Klopp is often cited but look at Hassenhutl as a case in point. He’s got Southampton working as a tidy unit, after losing 9-0 to Leicester not long ago. You need time to implement incremental change which is long lasting, not that new manager bounce bollocks.

Arteta hasn’t had one full season yet. Willian is obviously the massive fly in the ointment, but no one would have thought he’d be this bad from the off.



I agree I mean if you think about it Arteta has only made 2 strategic signings in Gabriel and Partey. Willian is a filler where edu probably said look we haven’t got the money to sign a winger but we can get this guy on a free for the time being and sell him in a couple of seasons.

Only 2 new core players your not going to get a revolution and a new day with that.

Plus he’s still dealing with the madness of our previous decisions. Mustafi is paid 100 grand a week and yesterday didn’t make the bench despite having 2 keepers on it because clearly the club are desperately trying to move him on. Stuff like this is beyond his control.

One new football manager can’t reverse a decade of bad decision making overnight.


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Post #522259  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 12:30 pm 
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TOP GUN wrote:
socrates wrote:

I was talking specifically about moving Saka to LB yesterday when we needed a moment of inspiration.


That’s fine but he’s probably the best left back we have Tierney aside. It’s just another marginal point. We should be able to rely on our other players at some point. Just really makes my point, we can’t rest our core players or shuffle our pack as we aren’t good enough

That is the key problem. Having so little depth in terms of players who have any form whatsoever was going to come and bite us sooner our later. So I guess I can't really blame Arteta for yesterday.

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Post #522260  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 12:39 pm 
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Parkerknoll Gooner wrote:
In the midst of the Özil saga, Willian £1,000,000 a month for three years, how did that ever happen.


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

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Post #522261  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 12:44 pm 
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Dear Arteta, plan well and win on Tuesday. Then all this talk about your ineptness will go away ....... until .....

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Post #522262  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 1:19 pm 
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Decaf wrote:
It is easy to see why we would start without one or two of Tierney Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Saka, Lacazatte and Aubs, given that games will be coming thick and fast ... but all of them? My goodness!

S'ham are above us in the league, and its an away game, and we'll be playing them again. Even if it wasn't an important game, the risk of losing momentum is great. And it was an important game. The FA cup may have been our most realistic target, given that the Europa Cup looks very tough and (as you say) we are good at the FA cup.

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.


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Post #522263  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 1:47 pm 
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I think for every signing we want to make we need to be asking ourselves the question - how do we sell this player? That may seem stupid when you haven’t even signed the player but more and more teams are being lumbered with high price and high wage players that are a drain on the club. We’re not the only ones we just feel the pinch more than others because we aren’t as rich as those other clubs.

An example is we’ve been linked with 2 cheap English left backs as cover for Tierney. Bertrand and Mitchell (from palace). Bertrand is probably the better player right now, but he’s 31 and his wages and signing on fee would easily be double that of Mitchell. Bertrand is on £70k a week at Saints. He’d want a 3 year deal at at least £100k per week. If you add a £5m signing on fee that is a £20m commitment with little chance of moving him on in that 3 years and no resale value. Mitchell would, you’d think cost half that for his 3 years and would be 23 at the end of the 3 years. Young English left back playing prem football usually has a £10m price tag. All hypothetical of course but one is a far more sensible move than the other for a club in our position.


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Post #522264  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 2:25 pm 
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Özil (Paul :42laughter: ) 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.


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Post #522265  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 2:27 pm 
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Bernard wrote:
Decaf wrote:
It is easy to see why we would start without one or two of Tierney Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Saka, Lacazatte and Aubs, given that games will be coming thick and fast ... but all of them? My goodness!

S'ham are above us in the league, and its an away game, and we'll be playing them again. Even if it wasn't an important game, the risk of losing momentum is great. And it was an important game. The FA cup may have been our most realistic target, given that the Europa Cup looks very tough and (as you say) we are good at the FA cup.

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.


EDIT: Don’t forget, if four of Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool, Leicester or Tottenham attain the Champions League placings the one who misses out will presumably get one of the fifth to seventh positions. If Chelsea are likely to get another, it leaves all of Everton, Southampton, West Ham, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Wolves to fight it out for the other.


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Post #522266  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 2:56 pm 
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Rich wrote:
Özil (Paul :42laughter: ) 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.

And their fans are being asked to chip in. :15laughter:

https://www.footballtransfers.com/2021/ ... om-arsenal

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Post #522267  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 4:16 pm 
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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.


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Post #522268  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 4:23 pm 
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Rich wrote:
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.


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Post #522269  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 4:56 pm 
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Patson Daka, 22, 6ft 1, RB Salzburg striker, 18 games, 16 goals 5 assists so far this season. There are certain teams that are always worth keeping an eye on for up and coming talent simply because they have such a good set up and track record of enhancing players. 27 in 45 games last year as well.
I’m not saying buy him but this is the kind of profile and player we need to be looking at. Sub £25m type player with huge upside potential


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Post #522270  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 5:33 pm 
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Just heard Thiago is only making his 8th appearance for Liverpool, top class player. I expect a lot of people would feel that’s been unlucky for Liverpool to miss him.....Partey has only made 7 appearances for us


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Post #522271  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 5:35 pm 
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Hazuki wrote:
Rich wrote:
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.

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.


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Post #522272  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 5:43 pm 
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gooner7 wrote:
Parkerknoll Gooner wrote:
In the midst of the Özil saga, Willian £1,000,000 a month for three years, how did that ever happen.


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

Exactly. A no brainer. The Brazilian Connection.

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Post #522273  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 5:52 pm 
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Rich wrote:
Hazuki wrote:
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.

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.

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.


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Post #522274  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 6:10 pm 
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Speaking of Edu....


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

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Post #522275  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 7:30 pm 
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mcquilkie wrote:
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 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.

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Post #522276  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 9:17 pm 
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Bernard wrote:
Rich wrote:
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.

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.

There is that risk, but then again Real Madrid works like no other club. My feeling is that it's rare that they loan out players who then come back and make it with them, so if Ødegaard plays well for us and likes it here I think we have a decent chance of making the move permanent providing we have the money. Like Rich said, there's a chance they might go for a marquee signing in the summer, and they would have to offload someone to do it.

Not going to get carried away since it's a big transition to make for a young player, but Ødegaard, Saka, Martinelli and Smith-Rowe looks like a great young core to build our offense around if things go well.


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Post #522277  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 9:41 pm 
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Rich wrote:
Hazuki wrote:
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.

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.

I agree it would be a good loan. At an age where he will be desperate to prove himself and have some great young players also trying to prove themselves.

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Post #522278  Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 9:45 pm 
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You may have forgotten this player but some interest in a transfer and any incoming funds would be welcome

https://insidefutbol.com/2021/01/24/ars ... ed/491332/

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Post #522279  Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2021 12:55 am 
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Zed wrote:


Lots of cheap talk from Willian. Making himself sound like a culprit to some strange forces. Certainly not a "spirit is willing, flesh is weak" situation for him. More like a "spirit is poor, while flesh is still able". Come on, stop pretending, you are just not working hard enough.

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

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Post #522280  Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2021 1:04 am 
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Amidst all my negativity of the poorer players, I must celebrate the wonders of Saka, Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe and Martinelli. Our youth brigade we must build on.

Add to that, Partey, Gabriel, Mari & Soares. Our better buys.

And the maturing player in Holding

And the assuredness of Luiz & Leno & Lacazette

And (hope) the return to form of Aubameyang

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