Freddie's a lot shorter so he'll be better suited to setting out the cones.

Match ticket came this morning and received the visa to get into Azerbaijan last week. The only thing I haven't had are the flight tickets from Thomas Cook. Sent them a message asking what London airport I'll be flying from, the times of the flights, and whether there will be coaches to take fans from the airport in Baku to the ground and back again after the game.

Sent that message last week and I've not heard a single bloody thing from Thomas Cook. Probably made all their staff redundant before going out of business.

EDIT: Just had a look on Arsenal.com and it now says Thomas Cook travel for the game is no longer available. In panic I phoned the ticket office, and thankfully they said that's because all the flight tickets are sold and they're not putting on any more planes. It seems Thomas Cook are sending out the itinerary for the trip this Friday. Phew!

Expect the announcement at midnight on Wednesday May 29th.

Abramovich eventually made plans for Chelsea to be self-sustaining. As did Jack Walker who also wanted Blackburn to be self-sustaining after winning the league. It may take a while but I think MC will do the same. We are not fortunate to have you as our owner who would have been prepared to bankroll the club for short/mid-term success before embarking on a sustaining model. Instead we got Kroenke who proceeded straight towards self-sustaining.

So according to this if Man City are banned from europe for next season we would take their place. Given the totally unsatisfactory UEFA response to the Mkh issue and the Europa final they had better make this happen.

https://www.football.london/premier-lea ... n-16306590

Fantastic effort, Bernard. Looking forward to hearing how it goes in Baku. At least it can't be as bad as your excursion to Wembley in 1969...

Bernard:I doff my cap to your commitment.
I’ve been to every Arsenal European final from Parma onwards but I have to admit I didn’t ever really consider going to this one. I really hope UEFA see sense after this debacle.

Obviously Freddie

So Čech is joining Chelsea as sporting director after next week.

Im sorry for me there’s too much of a conflict of interest and he shouldn’t play in the final. Leno all the way

Wiltord strikes me as more of a motivator than Freddie who is more placid.

Being linked to a lot of young players.
Saliba tall CB
Palacios all action CM
Hermoso Spanish CB
Claude-Maurice forward from Lorient
Martinelli young forward from Brazil

I haven’t heard or seen any of them play.
Some of the fees are still quite high but it would seem even with champions league and raising money from player sales we will be shopping in the £10-30m range

I agree 100%.

So do you think Kroenke May be a plant working deep undercover.

Me too.

As good as Bale is, I'm surprised about their fans and management thinking he's not trying hard enough or whatever he is accused of. I didn't think he would do well there but he's been great.

They seem spoiled and entitled. If I was a top footballer, I wouldn't consider going there. Really. Barca as well. They just seem to act as if they are bigger than the sport.

I am thinking Freddie will soon be up there with the greats in this coaching lark. No doubt Real will be in for him in a year or two. Meanwhile, last week I thought I saw Sylvain moving the plant pots around at my local B&Q.

Sylvania probably has more job security.

What makes you think that?

Where the plan pots catching him offside?

I think Leno should play, but that’s because he’s our no1 keeper, not because I have any doubts about Čech having a conflict of interest. He strikes me as an honest guy and a consummate professional.

You've got it. There he was hanging about on the wing five yards beyond the Dunelm Ceramic Blue and the Soft Round Flower pots. Henry was giving him one of those looks.

Pictures of Aubameyang and Lacazette in next years kit doing the rounds on Twitter. If they are the final version then I think people will like them. The home kit in particular looks like a retro 1987/88 season kit. The away kit looks a bit more like the shade of yellow/gold we wore in 2002 when we won the title at OT.....but with a hint of the bruised banana kit about it.

Like both but the away kit especially because it’s our yelllllllows heritage


Seems similar to our yellow kit around 85-87 ish if I recall. It’s perfect

More is less

Adidas will play their bruised banana card fully at some point though

Third kit is to be blue. May or may not be this one.

That is utterly disgusting

Not sure Čech understands how decisive his moving back to Chelsea has become. After the Mkh mess another distraction is not what we needed. Emery has been put in a difficult place by this.

And it’s coming to pass.

The Times today is reporting that Sponsors have been unable to give the tickets away due to the same travel/visa/timing problems that affect supporters. A significant proportion have been returned. Looks like there will be thousands of empty seats.

That’s the inevitable outcome of a game that now treats its ‘customers’ like third class citizens. All about TV rights and stuff the person at the turnstile.

I simply don't like yellow as a colour so in my view that away shirt, like all yellow shirts, is ghastly. When people go on about yellow shirts being Arsenal's heritage, our record in cup finals wearing yellow is dreadful. I researched our record in cup finals for an article I did in The Gooner a while back and we've lost many more than we've won in yellow. That's part of the club's heritage I can do without.

The blue third kit looks okay in my opinion. Not my favourite shade of blue, but at least it isn't yellow.

Not sure what side of the fence I come down on here.
Čech moving back to Chelsea is a unwanted distraction but I wouldn’t be calling in to question his professionalism and commitment to Arsenal for the final.
The bigger question is playing your 2nd choice Gk in the biggest game the club has had since the champions league final in 2006.
Leno is the better gk, so gives us more chance of winning. That is clear.

But in order to have a No.2 as good as Čech, Emery might well have had to make certain promises to the players that he would start all the Cup games. How might the squad feel if those assurances were taken away at the last game?

I’m sure some will say sentiment has no part to play in a game of this magnitude but that may dismiss the long term effect on team morale and respect.

I’m praying Čech doesn’t make a blunder in the game.

Welbeck scored a hat-trick in a squad 11 a side 90 minute game, might he be fit enough for the bench in Baku? Surely with 12 spots in the bench, Welbeck would be fit enough for 10-15 minutes. He would be a handy player to have because the likely squad will only have Iwobi as any kind of senior attacking sub.

Also, let’s hope that it doesn’t go to a penalty shoot out.

Has Leno ever saved a penalty for us? I can't remember one, and he's faced a few. To be honest I think Čech and Leno make the same basic error when facing penalties. They both dive too early, making it easy for the penalty taker to adjust and put it the other side to the one they've dived to.

Dortmund have once again moved quickly to replace an outgoing player, Pulisic sold for £58m, with two exciting players at decent value, Brandt and Thorgan Hazard. Both signed for less than the fee received for Pulisic.

Shoot outs are quite different to facing pens in a match. In a match you face an experienced No.1 penalty taker. In a shootout you face guys who rarely take them and they are taking them in a higher pressure situation. From watching shoot outs there are two things that often happen with these penalty takers, they shoot hard and down the middle, or they sidefoot to the same side as their preferred foot to give more control on the shot. When weaker pen takers step up I think it’s worth waiting a bit longer.

Hang on we’ve worn yellow in many successful games. 71 final, 79, 89, bernabeau

The blue shirt looks horrendous but I think it might be fake

Who would you back from Arsenal if it went to pens?
Aubameyang and Lacazette would be 1 and 2.
Don’t think I’d trust Özil.
Xhaka would have to take one - I’d be nervous
If AMN takes as calm a pen as he is generally on the pitch he’d be ok.
Kolasinac prefers to pass than shoot - nope
Don’t fancy any of the defence.
Torreira takes free kicks so should take one.

Not sure we would have too many I’d count on

I think we haven’t had a decent penalty keeper since. Seaman and your absolutely right it’s all about having the guts to stay on your feet as long as possible

I think it’s not that Čech or Leno are great penalty stoppers just that a 25 year old keeper will have better reactions than a 36 year old.

I think an amicable solution needs to be reached and Leno should play but wearing Cechs special helmet as a tribute

Mhikitaryan is taking a pen definitely if he was out there. Probably Monreal too