The current state of the league is we can improve the side, bring top quality player(s) this summer and still end up 5th.
My personal opinion is that the last month of the season shows it wasn't just talent but what I always suspected, mental attitude We won some very very good matches. In the 10 matches since we lost to Palace, we won all but Tottenham. And there were some huge wins in there. We had title challenging form, 7 months or so too late.

So really don't need a complete squad overhaul. A few positions (striker, et al.) for sure. But the biggest change to challenging is belief. Its trying get to as close as the last several matches as possible in terms of belief.

Played a couple of pre season friendlies .... remember at the time the newspapers we saying we had the SAS strike force Sunderland Allen Stapleton ...sadly Terry Neill premature ejaculated and shoved him on in a swap for Sanson . Allen did pretty well for Spurs so who knows how it would have worked .

Have you seen this https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... +disguise+

Finally some good news ! Looks like they'll be no changes whatsoever in management from the top down.

Surely no one here could complain about that.

Victory for Wenger as his staff get new deals

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/victory-for-wenger-as-his-staff-get-new-deals-3qtsl9sf7

Arsène Wenger has won a significant battle with the Arsenal hierarchy after the club gave their blessing for him to retain all of his back-room staff for next season.

Maybe one or two of you all will care but congrats to the Golden State Warriors to win their 3rd NBA title in 4 years. Surprisingly LeBron James on the losing side has been in the finals the last 7 years I think with two different sides. Amazing. He may or may not be greater than Michael Jordan but to even be in the conversation is more than enough. Same with Kobe.

I stopped watching the NBA regularly years ago. I watched this finals or at least the last 30 minutes of it. If Lom thinks referring in the EPL is bad, he'd go mental if he was an NBA fan. Its obvious the league views the game as entertainment and the referees are told to look the other way to make the game more exciting. Its pathetically bad refereeing by decree. The refs will do their job only when its a decisive part of the game and the opposition complains. Even though both sides have been allowed to violate the rules the whole game.

Where did Stan's Denver Nuggets team finish the season? With a 40-42 record, 9th of 15 teams in the western conference.

I can't recall meeting these selfless sincere types in the political space. At least not here. All I've seen is politicians fighting each other and not for the love of democracy or their country but just to pull the other side down. Got a letter in the mail the other day from a local pollie who was blaming the other party for a mess that they'd inherited from his party. And that's not political 'spin' that just lying. Then there are the ones who drive their own religious biases through govt policy. Not only blinded by party allegience but their 'conscience'. Working inside government, the same level of blocking and obstruction for self interest is ridiculous.

I'd put most politicians in the same bucket as an estate agent but good on the ones who actually manage to do something meaningful.

As for "why do you think it went up that much?". I have no idea, maybe he told everyone what they want to hear or he writes really nicely.

There are a few world leaders who I have respect for what they're doing/done but I don't see that at the local pollie level that's for sure.

Report from a dodgy source suggests all backroom staff have been retained by the club.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/news/terri ... or-change/

Ringing those changes through the club I see.

Sorry just noticed Warrior had already beaten me to it

That was absolutely a great video. Kiwi will enjoy it. I must admit I don't really like be a passenger when speed is up at the top end but i like driving at that time. I take my hat off to Cameron Smith as he wasn't that scared at all. I would have been packing it with the way Murph was dressed.

Interesting the difference in political systems. Our politicians are completely owned by big money. In whatever form they take. Well, I'll qualify that. The Republicans are completely owned by special interests. Completely. The Dems, it depends. Mostly owned. Ever since Clinton talked them into taking Wall Street money and siding with big business in the early '90s. A devil's bargain. "If you want to stop losing to the GOP in landslides (Reagan, Bush the elder), then you have to do this." Its worked with regards to winning at times (two Presidents serving double terms since then), which hasn't happened for a Democrat since FDR in the 40s. But they sold their soul. The true progressives are few and the base is tired of the hypocrisy. The result is a nation that has shifted to the right. Far to the right. The center of 40 years ago is now ideologically a moderate Republican. Standard Dem principles (unions, war as a last resort, environment, basic human rights, etc.) are now seen as far left socialists.

Trump's election has pulled us even farther right with but now devoid of any moral center.

I remember a few years ago we were after that other Turkish maestro Tot Ali Uzelez. Never came to anything. Wenger Out! And Continuity Corbyn...

The problem is that modern societies need government (the tax cutting supply-siders are complete loonies/charlatans and get found out whenever they are in power). Government is 'good' to the extent that democracy works, and democracy only works well if people get involved. That means doing their homework about what politician are offering, join unions, starting new parties and unions if the existing ones are captured, etc.. Cynicism and apathy are exactly the wrong responses to declining political mores. Those will get you Donald Trump eventually.

I doubt that this fiasco is ideologically significant at all. He's hardly benefiting the Republicans, but he's just such a joke that even the hard right will be able to wash its hand of this. He's not their boy, after all. He is a creature of 'reality TV'. "Basil Faulty comes to the White House" isn't much different to 'the Apprentice", really.

So hopefully where it is significant is it's a shock to the electorate about how silly they have been in not taking politics seriously, and not heeding the warning signs.

On the subject of MPs some are very good but it's also true some are self serving. My constituency has been a perfect example of both.

Currently we have the odious Steve Baker, who is a friend of Nadine. When elected in 2010 he refused to see non-party members in his surgeries for quite a while and completely screwed the constituency by refusing to back it. He even refused to see me about an on-going issue the previous had dealt with as 'I don't talk to Labour members'. However the previous MP, also a Tory, came from the other end of the spectrum. Paul Goodman was a supportive constituency MP who would work hard to go the extra mile for his constituents. I know so many people who he helped but just personally he was superb helping me fight the MH services (and wrote a wonderful letter to them that completely eviscerated all their so-called points) and he also went to the Spanish Embassy in London with my Ma after my Dad died and she needed a new passport as she was upset her new one wouldn't have my Dad's name as her surname anymore (as is normal in Spain). This really did upset my Ma as it was shortly after my Dad had died and at one point I was genuinely worried it would break her. Anyway he got the Embassy to agree to issue her another 10 year passport with her married name in it on the understanding the next one wouldn't which gave her plenty of time to get used to it. Notably when I thanked him for all his help but apologised he wasn't going to be getting my vote he replied something like the majority of people round here don't vote for me but they're all my constituents. I liked that - it's how it should work.

Theo earns 140k a week.

Surely it pretty much starts and ends there

45 million for Sanchez. Shouldn't get his right boot, 60 million in today's market

I wouldn't sell do something to be sheer bloody minded if he's trying to move to city

Earns?

If I recall correctly, jealousy wasn't the main reason Babu gave for his hatred of Bayern. He also cited their arrogance and their unethical practices.

Plus Lome's distaste for Bayern doesn't make him fond of United, so why bring that up?

As I believe it hasn't been mentioned overmuch on here, didn't England spank the Aussies at cricket the other day? Stokes and Morgan were brilliant. Don't really care if we lose out to Pakistan- sending Smith's mob back home tail between legs was enough.

I've never noticed lomekian moan much about Manchester United, or certainly not as much as he seems to about Bayern these days. I specifically remember Babu admitting jealousy was a very major reason for for his dislike of Bayern. If you don't, maybe your memory is at fault. Because I actually asked him why he did, and that was what he said.

Did you see the highlights of the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka game? The celebration of one of the Pakistan fans at the fall of one of the Sri Lankan wickets made me laugh. Watch it for a few seconds at 16 mins 30 seconds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... v-pakistan

Ok addressing your points para by para.

1) You've missed the point here. I said 'sell on'. ie the fee that Arsenal got when Blackburn sold him to spurs...which was much greater than the original fee. We did the same with Vela. We always do it with the more talented kids we sell, as do both clubs. Bayern's agreement circumnavigated that via unorthodox means that certainly undermine the spirit of the rules, even if potentially not the rules itself. Also Gnabry is much much much more talented than Bentley as evidenced by achieving more than Bentley did at every single relative age group internationally and at club level. Stronger, quicker, more two footed, a better finisher, a better short passer (Bentley was better at longer passes), and with a lot more fighting spirit.

2) Rumours are relative. Cos of the podcast and occasional column I do, I not only get into a lot more digging than most football fans, but also am part of a team who collectively do a lot of digging. I also occasionally have contact with people who are in a position to know more than makes it to the public domain. Of course until something is proven conclusively it remains partly speculatory, but some rumours have a lot more smoke than others, even if the fire can't be seen. Also a lot of 'rumours' that have contradicted my viewpoint and been dismissed by me on here have been treated as such because there is concrete 100% proof to the contrary.

3) I said attrition because your capacity to argue minutiae until the other party gives up has been well evidenced on here! I'm sure a straw poll would support that view...Re insults...on this occasion you said something akin to me being not quite hysterical, but still implying that I was, and in a recent tete-a-tete have also directly accused me of hysteria. And the rest, which generally involves being condescending and patronising whilst trying to be correctional when a disagreement stirs...etc.

4) If you think I've moaned more about Bayern than Man U, your memory is either short-term or selective. Why do I dislike Bayern? Their financial power and influence in German domestic football has meant that the Bundesliga is theirs to lose every year, which for me ruins the competition. Unlike Man U this isn't still reliant on a genius manager. Every year they buy players to weaken rivals as much as strengthen themselves. Though not nearly as detestable as Barcelona in such stakes, they are well known for tapping players up, and using the press to support them. They love exploiting a loophole. They have an arrogance, though earned, which is hard to like. They openly bully other teams financially. Their teams, though often brilliant, are also prone to cheating (though again not to the same level as the Spanish teams or anyone managed by Mourinho). They remind me a little of the German 1990 world cup team...deserved winners, but lost a lot of respect due their cynicism and simulation. They treat their managerial and coaching staff with very little loyalty.

It galls me more because, there IS much to admire about they way they do things and run large parts of the club. But their approach to a few things just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I dislike Barcelona for similar reasons, but for the time being Messi softens my disdain for them because the guy is such a total sporting genius. I find myself wanting them to lose until he gets the ball...to think he was thinking about joining us when Cesc did! Madrid, likewise, though their way of doing things has got a little better under the current president, and they've got less cheating bastards than normal at the mo. With the Spanish, there is also the issue of the totally bent TV deal - as in portugal.

Juve aren't wildly different either (and certainly were worse under previous regimes), but again my view is softened a little by the beauty of their kit, the fact that apart from Rome, Italians are on balance incredibly friendly, and the irrationality of me liking the fact that the club is owned by fiat and almost every car in Turin is a fiat. Plus, it helps that on the few occasions we've played them, we've turned them over! That said, Serie A needs to hope the Milan clubs finally get themselves together, because despite the efforts of Roma and Napoli, its a poor league.

Obviously I despise Man Utd, especially with Mourninho, Chelsea and Spurs. Liverpool have given me 87, 89 and one or two others, and took all with fairly good grace, so I'm less bothered. I hate modern City's way of doing things, but I used to really like the old Man City so I'm still kind of pleased for their fans. I obviosuly hate Stoke too. Horrible club in a horrible town with quite a lot of horrible fans (having too much experience of all 3). Don't like any of the teams with Hooligan elements too, so was disappointed Birmingham City were saved by Redknapp.

To be fair, he does go on to say that he thinks our new formation has helped him a lot.

Disappointing, but nor surprising. The question is, will anyone be added, and why are some of those deals for 1 year rather than Arsene's 2 years?

There are plenty of useless local politicians too.,.I've dealt with a few professionally...but they tend not to last for very long unless they are just at councillor level, in which case there isn't that much they can do. The good ones definitely exist, but there is a problem now of politics being seen as more important than what politics is actually for. Being a good politician is often more important than being good at being in office. There is a problem with a lack of short-medium term accountability, but ultimately, the ones who stick around for donkey's years without getting a sniff of a big posting are often decent.

lomekian, my exact quote was "I won't call your reaction hysterical, just way over the top." I actually said that to make clear I WAS NOT calling your overreaction hysterical. Simply way over the top. It was not meant as an insult, so you simply misunderstood what I meant if you took it as such. I know exactly what I meant, and you misunderstood me. If my life was dependent on a ball being controlled and passed to a sixpence forty years away, I would want Bentley to do it rather than Gnabry. These days I also think your desire to wear someone out via attrition is beyond mine. I just get too bored these days. I was in two minds whether to write this post and only did it to explain your misunderstanding of thinking I was implying an insult. I admire Bayern as a club massively. If you slag them off, you are highly likely to attract a post from me. If you really don't realise that, I'm surprised. I really would be surprised if Arsenal were likely to lose a vast amount in resale values over Gnabry. It just doesn't bother me as much as it presumably does you.

Correct Kiwi, Sanchez holds all the cards. If he goes to Bayern we'd have to accept a reduced fee. If he insists on City what do the club do? They can't insist on him staying without signing a new deal - we'd have a disruptive unhappy player who'd sign a pre contract agreement with somebody else in January. And we'd lose whatever fee is being offered. Unbelievable bad management that this situation even exists.

Evening bromley. I suppose it depends on how much less Bayern would pay than City, and whether Sanchez would join Bayern even if we accepted their offer. If it's £10m less (let's say Bayern are offering £35m and City £45m), I can understand accepting Bayern's offer. But if Sanchez desperately wants to join City and would rather stay at Arsenal another year and then join City on a Bosman, I'd probably accept City's £45m now.

Especially as we've been here before with van persie.
All avoidable by showing some ambition.

Anyone notice Mbappe wears the No.12 for France - just like Henry

SEASON TICKET NEWS

My brother joined the waiting list for club level season tickets in March 2017. He put his name down for four seats at about £3k each. He was told the waiting time would be about three years. The club have rung him twice in the past 24 hours to try and get him to buy the tickets for the coming season. Four behind the goal at £2.8k each or four in a corner at £2.6k each. He did not expect them so soon!

Agreed. I don't see any benefit in Arsenal allowing him to run his contract down. His going might not be so bad if we can buy properly this summer. But it's difficult to be confident of that happening. As has been noted recently on here, sorry can't recall by whom, City have plenty going forward already, so how much difference Sanchez would make for them is debatable. Having said that, I'd still much rather he went abroad. A big fat £100 million from China would be ideal

I think it was dec who made the point you do. I'm fairly sure david.d thought Sanchez joining City would win them the league, but dec suggested it wouldn't make much difference because City are already so strong going forward and it's their defence that needs improving.

It's a good argument for proportional representation too. It has its flaws but enables the voter to split their vote according to local and national preference.

We spent £100m last summer. Sanchez is all about Sanchez. He has never renewed a contract anywhere. While we have offered him a very generous deal, other clubs can pay more. That will likely be the decisive factor.

Yes, Bernard, I made that point. I think City are already a superb attacking outfit, but downright poor at the back. John Stones had a dismal season. Otamendi struggled too. They had problems with the keeper and their fullbacks are weak. I think Guardiola expects far too much of his defenders. He wants them to perform like midfielders.

What you suggest about politics as being more important is where my cynicism lies. If there was constructive debate where one party suggested improvements to another's policy, or actually proposed something completely different but also feasible then I'd probably take a bit more interest. Here the general narrative is one of mud slinging and just trying to poke holes in the idea without actually proposing anything else. Watched a Singaporean minister for Transport on CNBC a while back and he was outlining their plans. Clear vision for the next 5 or so years, money allocated, concrete plans and then off they go. Politicians here will block, divert and delay any decisions for years before even laying a brick. Then if it does actually get started it usually ends up in a budget blowout and mess that someone else needs to clean up. National Broadband Network(NBN) being the latest example of a complete and utter cock up.

Your point about short term accountability is absolutely valid. 4 year cycle and probably only about 1-2 years of that is spent delivering anything productive. If I could change one thing it would be to stop Ministers from controlling the narrative and information as much. Also put a bit more control on sensationalist media rubbish. Put in some real metrics and performance indicators then make them transparent and public so that everyone can see the facts. Some of this has started but it's not there yet.

Wow. Video of the building fire in London is horrific!! My goodness.

A few reports today that Lyon will allow Lacazette to talk to us but want Giroud and money in exchange. How do people feel about that deal? I think Giroud is too important to lose him especially if Alexis'future is unknown.

How about Lacazette = Theo + Wilshire + DeBuchy + 1pound.

New fixtures out in an hour or so. Seen one 'leak' showing us away at Bournemouth on the opening day.

Generally the fixtures don't matter that much as we all start and finish on the same day so get the same rest over the course of the season, and we all play each other twice. However, you don't want to have a group of big games close together (injuries, suspensions, fatigue have more affect) and you want to have your easiest home games after European games.

Hi Dec,

The problem is that we are probably going to lose him for below his market value and where do we find someone equally as good who isn't coveted by bigger clubs?

We will be playing catch-up again.

At this point it looks like the summer window is unfolding exactly as per the norm.........an early signing to raise the expectations of supporters followed by rumours of big bids for high profile players which make it look like we are serious but in reality are unlikely to succeed even if true.

Not to mention rumours Wenger has managed to veto any changes to the backroom staff. You couldn't make it up.

Horrific scenes at that tower block. I just hope that there are not people still trapped inside, although there are suggestions many may be. Tragic.