That diamond encrusted tiara probably cost Özil nearly a weeks wages

The wages of 2 decent midfielders for a week.

We really have a problem with Özil that isn’t going away.

And don't forget old crooked mouth, Laura Kuenssberg.

And getting the defensive side of our game better organised. If we carry on as we ended the last campaign, he could be gone by Christmas.

I like the tiara.

If he doesn’t unearth the bargains he won’t fix the defence though

Emery’s gone anyway by the end of next season in reality

She’s the only one there who is any good

Oh and maitliss

Nice one. My Dad was in the Navy in the Med and Pacific theatres. Never spoke about action, always the good bits. Here he is a young man boxing training on his ship in Shanghai.

Maitlis is a dreadful interviewer and Kuenssberg love of her own image often comes first in anything she is involved in. Both contribute very little to broadcasting but earn vast salaries from it at our expense.

For me if he manages top four and has some good cup runs that would be enough to merit staying longer. With Hazard leaving Chelsea, and United still evolving under an inexperienced manager, that 4th spot is not impossible. Given the gift horses offered to us this year, we should have nailed it.

Maitliss isn’t that bad at all. Kuenssberg is good but unfortunately expresses her feelings things too much which obviously exposes journalists to attack politically.

Compare them to Andrew Neil, trys to force his politics on people and degrades them when they don’t agree.

I agree with you about Neil.

Yes. But the degree to which it has become normal is scary. People are selected into media worlds that present
a version of reality that allows them to minimise cognitive dissonance about the world outside their immediate environment. This guys nails it: we've become a lot more intelligent but not about politics.
https://www.ted.com/talks/james_flynn_w ... anguage=en

Quick touch up for you ...

1946 on HMS Barfleur at Shanghai.

Speculation of Aubameyang leaving... and Lacazette too. Don't think the club would be crazy enough to sell both. Perhaps Aubameyang this season and Lacazette next. The sale of Aubameyang would give emery about 100m to spend but can Lacazette give us at least 20 league goals? If Aubameyang is sold, surely we need another forward... Or would Emery rely on Nelson and Nketiah?

I would not be shocked if they wanted to go. They probably joined on the basis of getting back to CL football. Neither have much time left for a chance to play at that level and if it was me I would want to move on. I can’t see CL football in the foreseeable future.

If I was Lacazette or Aubameyang and an elite club (Barca, Real, Bayern etc) came calling I would want to test myself at a club like that. At the end of your career if you had the chance to join one of them and didn't I think you would be kicking yourself unless Arsenal were serious challengers for big trophies, which they aren't.

Aubameyang, in particular, is now entering the autumn years of his career and may not have many opportunities left to play CL football or win major honours.

The only player I really want us to sign is the Celtic fullback Tierney.

Getting him would allow us to go back to a back 4 with 2 youthful full backs. Would make such a difference

The majority of the other names I see us getting linked to are relatively uninspiring. Equipe are saying we are interested in veletout at Fiorentina to replace Ramsey who seems something of a journeyman French midfielder. Just can’t see these type of players taking us to the next level

We've already got to the 'next level' Wenger was talking about, you just assumed he mean't the next level up, not down, which we are now, formerly a CL club now a Europa league club.

I honestly don't know how any Arsenal fan can get inspired/motivated to bother with the club anymore, we were sold a lie moving to the Emirates cash bowl and told to be patient, then it looked like maybe just maybe in the consecutive summer's where we bought Özil and Sanchez, that we were going to be competitive again, now 4-5 years later we are in a worse position than ever having fallen behind Spurs and Liverpool as well as the rest, let all our 'assets' go for virtually nothing and are basically skint with an owner who is more interested in cutting costs than investing a penny.

If they can still fill the cash bowl with near enough 60k every week to buy that product you have to hand it to them, patience is up from me unless the owner takes responsibility for his own mistakes and that is not going to happen is it?.

I call BS on KSE.

We also have a manager not capable of taking us to the next level IMO. He may get us back into CL via top 4 but he isn't an elite manager. Would love to be proven wrong as I don't dislike the guy, he just hasn't made the pulse race. I'm intrigued to see how Freddie does as part of the coaching set-up next year. Apparently, he is very, very highly rated from within. He will know the u23 players and which are ready to make the transition up tot he first team squad.

I would much rather we went the youth route than by signing more players of the Lichtsteiner type. I'd garner much more fun watching some of our own emerge or by youthful signings than by shipping in some journeymen to fill in the gaps.

Yeah, I've felt this for a while but as I get older I don't feel the same level of angst or concern about Arsenal as I did. I do it almost out of a sense of duty. Defeats are annoying but don't hurt me much, I get over it pretty quickly. It's just something to do a few times a month for me now. I renewed my ST's but honestly got more excitement renewing my Tate membership.

Until we have a winning mentality from the boardroom, I think more people will feel as I do. It's boring, it's stale, it's dull. However, I'll still be there next season, foolishly thinking something different will occur until we all realise about 10 games in that nothing has changed. Again.

What is an elite manager ? Mourinho, Guardiola, klopp?

Just like Emery any of those guys would have struggled to turn mustafi, Xhaka and Kolasinac into world beaters.

Is Allegri an elite manager ? Well the rumour was we spoke to him he was offered the job and he said it would need an investment of 150 million to get us competing again which we obviously can’t oblige.

Were Wenger and Graham elite managers when they joined?

At the end of the day Its a squad with 4 good players and 2 reasonable squaddies in it. 6 players.....6..... that’s all.

I wrote at the start of the season Emery was on a hiding to nothing, I hope Emery chucks some of these chancers under the bus and like you looks to youth.

The reality is he is done for anyway. Our impatient fans will need to see a “name” come in or an ex player to allow them the time to complete what is necessary. The Only hope is that Emery can improve the squad enough so when the new guy comes in he takes over a squad better than Wenger left, which shouldn’t be hard

A number of us here have expressed similar sentiments. But I think majority of fans won't be able to take it if results don't go our way.

Yes absolutely this is the problem.

Made me laugh earlier in the season when after only a few months Emery was speaking reasonable English but obviously not perfect and our fans were praising him. Cue a few bad results and ............................” that Emery can’t even talk proper!!!!”

As long as Emery can get the players to perform their best as a unit, that's all that matters. As for Ramsey's replacement, I'd like to see Iwobi tried as a box to box midfielder. I think he may be more effective driving forward from a deeper position.

Jesus Christ just imagine it, we’d be giving away possession literally every time we got the ball.

Let’s try Lacazette as a sweeper,

With our current side, we need someone more along the lines of Blackstone, Houdini or Copperfield.

Deja vu.

England score another late ‘winner’ only for it to be overturned after a couple of minutes by VAR.

I bet they won’t use VAR to check for defenders tugging shirts in the area. There would be about 10 penalties a match.

Harold Shipman would be a good start then we can build from there

I think I will hold my hand up to being one of them. I am happy for us to try youth but I expect a couple of mistakes in a season but not all the time. Compared to wages at places like Everton and Spurs these players often earn pretty good money so I have expectations they will perform at a reasonable level.

Iwobi is not a young player but he fails to deliver and makes a lot of mistakes. How many mistakes and really poor performances should we tolerate?
N-M is a young player who I have cut a lot of slack to but his error rate is starting to be alarming. The real test for any young player is after 20 games in the EPL, when opposition coaches have all the DVD footage and can dissect their players. When Chambers came into the team people were talking of him as the greatest thing since sliced bread but when his weaknesses were exposed he doesn’t even rate in the position we purchased him to play in.

I am just not convinced that our youth scheme is producing the quality of players required. There is no Fabergas or Bellerin I have seen . Both of them only came to our youth set up very late. Who was the last player who started with us as say an 11yo and actually became a great player. Maybe the whole system needs an overhaul.

Nelson, Saka, Nketiah & Willow show promise. Bring them in next season. If not, when will we ever know if they can make the step up?

I see this being City's year again. My hope is they don't go the season unbeaten. I think the Invincibles record is in jeapordy as long as City is in this state. Yeah, yeah, I know how difficult it is because the league is much tougher than ever top to bottom but City has the resources and the talent to do it. If the don't get the record, it will be discussed as a possibility in each of the next few seasons if/when they get into December without a defeat.

Its crazy but Liverpool could have done it last year and still not win the title. Its a crazy league we are in right now.

As far as the league, it will be Liverpool pushing City once again. Tottenham has 3rd on lock for the most part unless Chelsea or Man Utd have a resurgence. I see Man Utd of the two making a come back first. Hazard leaving is a huge blow. Pogba leaving isn't as big. Plus Man Utd will spend. Chelsea haven't been nearly as much as they did back in 2004 in those years.

Man Utd's American owner has learned that spending money will pay off for branding, unlike ours.

I'd echo those who would rather we go with youth than middle of the road type signings. I can't think of too many players at 25-26 who weren't already at a top club who went on to suddenly become world class when signing for a top club.

We should be in the U23 market, identifying the top talent and potential and realising we can't swoop up these players for sub £10m

City won the league by one point ahead of Liverpool. I think you’ll find the game Liverpool lost was against City. Had Liverpool avoided defeat in that game and drawn, Liverpool would have gained one point more than they finished with and City would have had two points less. So assuming all other results would have stayed the same, had Liverpool avoided defeat in the game they lost, they would have won the league.

My old man:

My grandfather .... was travelling to NZ but stopped over in Australia and enlisted with the Ausies when the WW1 commenced . Sent to France .

Looked up his record

On arrival in England first day .... up on charges AWOL , trespassing ... ...and drunk and disorderly ...... fined 10 / 6

said to Mrs Kiwi ... "See ... the drinking .... it's not my fault it's a genetic thing ".

Touch of colour for you ..

Rog ...

thanks Rog