OK OK I'm usually right.

Did I just see Trevor Brooking mentioned? He was rubbish at top trumps.

He hasnt a clue Haz. That's Daz that is.

I'll take you on at Risk any time

I think we'll get sixth place. The current seventh place team is Burnley, who are five points behind us. Call me over-optimistic but I think we'll manage to hold them off, and anyone even further behind.

Hoy how wonderful to here from you. I take it that your time in the bunker is well spent & that you are in rude health. You and Wenger being the only ones left probably know how Eva and Adolf felt at the end.
It has been a fine week for me as Theo has left. Obsessed - no just caring about a club I have more than a passing interest in. Just sitting at some outdoor tea rooms having a drink. Came up the mountain as it is a bit cooler at 29 degrees. Bit of a breeze so pleasant here. Better get back to talking with my wife who is trying to get updates on the Tour Downunder. Don’t be a stranger on here.

Let’s just get to 40 points before we work out finishing positions. We seem to have stalled on 39

Arsene Wenger 'disrespectful' over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/42737510

Maybe the Walcott transfer was by mutual consent but nevertheless, its not a good week when we lose two quality players, one of them our best, to the two managers that hate Wenger the most.

AG, what quality player are you referring to? You don't mean Walcott, do you?
Or, are you trolling?

This goes here:

http://iohelix.net/games/

Great fun - He's programmed it all himself.

how true ....

bit of a blunder on the snake , pride myself in knowing a bit about the animal kingdom ..should have said Cape Cobra .

LOL...shoot me but I like Theo. When he's in the mood he's dangerous.

It will be interesting to see if he's kept on the wing or he gets some playing time centrally. Maybe he spoke with fat Sam about it prior? Who knows.

How delightful to see you again and I mean that in a totally non-arch way and congratulations on the use of pusillanimous - ah memories.

Thanks for the translation, Haz, I didn't hear the question to which Wenger was responding but it is still gibberish and I agree with Mr Ordinary that his spoken language has been deteriorating, not just in a grammatical sense but in the sheer meaningless banality of what he says. Perhaps it is just football perhaps it is some new law of thermodynamics which states that in a closed minded French manager energy once spent buying cheap players and converting them into stars will inevitably collapse through a process of stages involving tugging pointlessly on the zip of an overlong puffa into total linguistic entropy.

What a shame Cannon is not around to clarify this matter.

6th seems fairly nailed on, and probably has been since the start of the season. I’d certainly give lower odds to us finishing 7th than 5th though.

Funny how wenger described the situation with so many important players entering their last 12 months as ‘ideal’, and is now saying that it has had a destabilising effect on the squad!

Come the summer Ramsey and welbeck will have 12 months left. Offer them both new terms and if they refuse to sign sell them immediately.

No, I won't shoot you. Too much shooting from where you are already

Question: How long ago since Theo was in his mood?

Just to prove Wenger wrong, I hope he gets to play forward and score tons there.

Wenger is suffering from amnesia

Even if we sign Aubameyang and Mika our central midfield is still distinctly average and it seems rather extravagant to have a defence that is utter shite defensively.

http://www.football365.com/news/man-utd ... arget-seri

Seems like another target has attracted bigger fish.

File with marksmen with a very poor aim and vets who hate animals.

With Wenger at the helm, don't expect him to get the better of other clubs. Only he believes he is doing the club a favour by being "penny wise, pound foolish". He will end up getting half-injured or over-30 players, who are past their prime at prices that aren't exactly rock bottom.

Definitely need another midifelder, or at least a formation change. It’s weird because Wenger clearly loves Xhaka, Wilshere and Ramsey, but he plays a formation that isn’t suited to any of them.

I’m just hoping the new signings help our stale offense a bit. Might at least make the remaining games this season more enjoyable to watch.

Continuing on that thread, I wonder what Wenger sees as our best eleven now. Clearly nothing has changed in defense and goal, so it's probably Čech, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Bellerin and Kolasinac. In midfield I think he'd go for Xhaka and Ramsey (Wilshere has looked great, but there's no bigger Ramsey admirer than Wenger).

Then there's some interesting options up front - don't think he's ready to drop Lacazette, but I can definitely see Wenger push Aubameyang to a wide position. Özil doesn't get dropped. So that leaves players like Wilshere and Mkhitaryan on the bench possibly?

Sounds great - a cup of tea is always a good idea. As is putting the Mrs. first. Keep on chooglin.

As horrible as Mourinho is (Allardyce is nowhere nears as awful) you must try to get over the focus on managers. Looks like it could be good business for all concerned. We move on one player who doesn't want to be here and another who has done his time, in return for hopefully a couple of guys who can lift us. If the Gabon guy comes and hits his straps then we surely have lost nothing in the deal?

But omoh its to a club that we need to get past to be in the CL possibly. A direct rival. Never a good thing that your best player goes to Man Utd. Even the 6th place Man Utd, never, ever, ever!!

..fat Sam is as bad or worse than Mourinho...to me at least. He loathes Wenger. Mourinho, its partly an act for mind games purposes. fat Sam hates him for real.

I actually agree with this. Sanchez has been here four years but it's time to move on for all concerned, couldn't really care less where he goes. Not over-excited with touted new signings but it will be more interesting than what has gone on so far this season with an out-of-sorts star bashing his head against an out-of-sorts team run by an unlovable wanker of a manager who probably only owns two of those v-necks, one goes to the dry cleaners on match days. There, Hoy, we are in total agreement aren't we?

Yes, the notion that selling Walcott to Everton is somehow bad beause Sam Allerdyce apparently hates Wenger (which in itself is probably a ridiculous notion) is up there with AGs sillier ideas. We're getting good money for a player we have zero need for anymore, and Walcott gets a chance to shine at a really good club more suited to his current level. On paper that's a win-win.

With Sanchez, selling one of your best players to a club you're aiming to compete with is never good, but with the way the situation has developed it had to be done. We desperately need a fresh start, building around players who actually wants to be here.

If you're right about Allardyce hating Wenger, and I'm not sure you are, that makes him okay by me. I firmly believe Wenger is inflicting damage on a club I've supported for what's now over fifty years. So why should I be bothered by anyone who dislikes him? At least for that reason. I'd say the same about Mourinho.

Seems appropriate to dust off this classic Wenger headline
http://www.football365.com/news/wenger- ... and-sanogo

Agree with this. £20m rising to £25m is exactly the right deal we should have done. Walcott hasn't been used this season. Use the £25m to reinvest and bring in a player who can contribute

Also on Sanchez, horrible situation to have got ourselves in to but however far we've gone there is always the chance to reassess and make the best decision at that time.
Should have tied him down to a contract - fail
should have sold him last summer for £60m - fail
sell him now for £10m plus a player? when the next option is a sulky player contributing less nothing and destablising any team morale we have left leaving for free at the end of the season.....

If you say so, AG. Sam, on the other hand, says: "I've had some good fun with Arsene. I got under his skin but those were the early days. Our meetings have been much more amicable since, on and off the field.

"I've always had a huge amount of respect for him. Winding-up was just a procedure we used as and when it was necessary."

Who is telling the truth? Given Wenger's decade long empty promises, and gibberish press conferences, I don't think Ade was far from the truth.

http://www.espnfcasia.com/english-premi ... -city-move

I love Adebayor.

Because he is the Platonic ideal type of a PL footballer.

A lying, greedy, mad, narcissistic, mercenary who Wenger quite correctly knew had to be got rid of quick smart (I believe that's the expression, mcQ?).

Nothing he says about anything on any level at all can be believed - in fact if you want to know the truth: "what Adebayor says except the opposite" would probably be a decent starting point.

Also because the row over his dad's profession between babu and chocolate gooner was one of the funniest things I've seen on here. Dunno why he's blaming us for it either - it was the Tottenham fans who came up with it.

Wenger was hinting that Sanchez could be involved v palace as the deal wasn’t done today. Absolute madness, and haven’t we been here before with ox. He might as well just field 10 men. What if Sanchez gets a bad injury?!

Wenger now saying our future transfer policy will be to go for up and coming younger players because we can’t compete with the biggest sides. This is some back track from the promises we were sold with the move to the emirates. Granted we wouldn’t have known about the oligarchs coming in but there is only 3 of them. Weren’t we sold competing with Bayern and that there were only 10 or so players in the world out of our reach?

Honestly I thought being able to go up against the richest 5-6 clubs in the world, and those same clubs with rich histories, was always going to be difficult if not impossible. But fans haven’t ever asked for that, all we’ve asked for is for us to improve the teams with the resources we have (and certainly to be able to compete financially with or over Liverpool and spurs!

However, the idea that we need to bring in younger players (who still cost a lot) does make sense - the Dortmund, athletico, Monaco, spurs (!) model is where we are at.

It's that wisdom and forward thinking that got us where we are today.