This can be argued and debated forever.

Who is the one starter that is the most important to the starting XI?

For me its Ødegaard. We can fill in pretty much any other position. Maybe Jorginho can fill that position the closest but he's no where mobile enough. Rice? Hmm...

Mikel Merino seems to be the next one then.

Whilst it sounds a shrewd move because the mooted fee is so low I can’t really say the players we are being strongly linked with come across as needle movers for us.

We may not have played our full hand yet and maybe a Neto, Williams, Eze or Gyokeres rack up and shock us.

I could certainly see why the club may not be in a rush to sell Emile Smith Rowe.

Long way to go yet

We address left back and DCM we are greatly improved. If we get Merino we are 90 some odd percent complete. Our team would be complete with a number 9 that fits our system but with we got the LB and DCM positions sorted, we are near complete. We score enough goals from multiple options both wide and even centrally to some extent. Scoring isn't our problem. We have plenty of games against very good sides scoring 4, 5 goals. A number 9 would get us that one needed goal perhaps for the times when we are being low blocked, and our usual options don't work.

Getting a DCM for me was the most important position. Timber can play LB and had he been healthy, we'd have improved. With the Italian, Timber, our back line is sorted. It's the middle we need help. Merino or similar type player comes in we are sorted and will improve greatly.

The last piece is a number 9, who can make runs directly to the heart of the opposition on a quick counter when we get the ball back deep. We'll be very dangerous. Martinelli has filled that role at times. Havertz has done some of that kind of role a few times.

Fact of the matter with FFP and our wage bill, our revenue, we are not City. Or even Man Utd, we can't get world class players at every position. We have to work within our means. During our heyday, we were a position or two short in quality to win the CL or even the title in some years. When healthy we had a great spine. Sol/Adams, Vieira, Henry then blessed with Pires, Freddie who was perfect for us but perhaps not for some of the top 4 or top 6.

We have to get the best team we can within our means.

Agreed on Ødegaard, probably the hardest skillet to directly replace in the squad. The one who ‘should’ be his understudy is Vieira but he’s just yet to impose himself in any way. His skills stack up, creative, pure striker of a ball, passing ability. Just something missing still. Needs a big season

Vieira hasn't learned what similar demure players in his position like Fabregas, Modric and others have. That is finding a way to cope with the physicality of the league. He couldn't cope with it when he arrived and I saw a few signs the little he did play, of learning but no where close to where he should be.

When you are that size, you have to be fully aware of everyone around you and anticipate a lot. Be tough when getting knocked. Cope with the fouls.

I think a Bernardo Silva and David Silva are another pair of shorter slight creative players who thrived here.

Calafiori looks set to be done any day now. £33m, full Italian international and only 22. Feels like a good price considering what the big clubs in the prem have to pay for anyone at the moment

I think the pace of the league is also hard to adjust to. It takes time and a run of games. Even Ødegaard needed time to really get to grips with things. Especially for the young players, having disruptive injuries is a massive setback because their changes are going to be few and far between at the best of times. Emile Smith Rowe is a case in point. Its just so competitive at the top.

I'm looking for help to get 2 tickets for the Leicester game at home in September when I return to GB... Can anyone help me with suggestions as to the best places to find them and what I should expect to pay? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

Ornstein


EXCLUSIVE: Fulham close to reaching agreement with Arsenal to sign Emile Smith Rowe. Talks over move worth up to £35m; would be record recruit for #FFC + match biggest #AFC sale. If deal struck 23yo expected to do medical & finalise terms

Arsenal 1-1 Bournemouth FT
Arsenal won 5-4 on a penalty shootout

Vieira scored for us. It was a mixed team of first team and youngsters, Bournemouth looked far closer to their best 11.

We had our moments and so did they, overall, its preseason. It's about fitness. It's also about who might emerge as someone who can play well enough to be on the bench. Among other things.

LOL..1982 World cup... the Scottish accent..."what's he doing? No..NO! 18 minutes gone and Scotland stupidly take the lead against the greatest team in the world. Don't celebrate! You'll only make them angrier. Oh, we're in for a proper doing now. Strachan is like I told you, don't poke the bear. It's worse he's toe poked the bear"

One of the comments said "This was the first time a team scored its consolation goal first"

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2XX6ohrKWdc

Scotland was halfway decent the rest of the game considering who they were playing. As an aside, the one thing I have to often explain to a few friends and asked to answer is 'Why are they like 4 teams playing in the world cup but its one country?" lol...I used to try and answer with the premise 'It's the United Kingdom' and then it just didn't do any good so I just do a shrug of the shoulder play the classic American ignorance say "They're British...go figure"

The departure of Emile Smith Rowe is definitely tinged with real sadness.

21/22 season he was great and looked so dangerous. Previous season he really saved Arteta who had a very tired looking squad and got loads of game time. For a while some may recall he was being rated a higher prospect for success than Bukayo certainly by myself.

Talented lad and I’m not sure where it’s gone wrong. If he could just adopt some more defensive minded principles and get his fitness up. Hope he gets lots of gametime at Fulham and gets back into England reckoning

His departure will bring the need to bring someone in I think but Merino wouldn’t fit the profile. Probably someone closer to Ødegaard and Vieira than a box to box player.

After weeks of links to various players seems like we are finalizing a few. Calafiori is a done deal. Merino seems a done deal. Those 2 alone and we'll be much, much better. I'm fairly certain Merino wasn't our first choice but he was the deal that could be done that fit what we are looking for.

There is increased chatter about Nico Williams which I thought wouldn't happen based on the amount of interest from big clubs with money. If it happens I have to assume he wants to come because it makes sense. Big club, with a need for that position and on the cusp of doing big things, EPL, CL in the next few years.

On the way out, it was a given that Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson are on the block and if we get a decent offer, Nketiah. Just guessing that all three would get us over 80 mil maybe? Not sure. Reiss Nelson is the one least wanted. Then Emile Smith Rowe and then Nketiah. Other players as well. Zinny, Kiwior, and a few others.

Why does it seem like other clubs who are keen to sell get full price or more but we don't seem to? It may not be true but it seems like it.

Saliba signed for us on this day in 2019 and we are very, very fortunate, he didn't push for a transfer during the first few years. A season where we had Holding, Luiz, and the unflappable Mustafi as defensive options. And other than picking up Gabriel in the summer of 2021, no real standouts (Mari came in that summer as well).

Credit to Saliba in hindsight.

One thing that is a bit unique is that Arsenal with the best defense in the league bought a defender and has a defender (Timber) coming back pretty much as a new signing. We were maybe 3 or 4 goals against in certain games away from winning the title. One way of looking at it. Its probably easier to concede less than to score more.

A closer look at Nwaneri

These numbers can't be right, can they? Purchase value vs current value of the EPL clubs.

https://www.givemesport.com/comparing-e ... HbR1PfUCpg

It's clear Kiwior and Tierney are being shopped to be sold. If both can be sold fine, but of the two, I'd much prefer Tierney. Kiwior is a nice enough lad but I am not confident when I see him play. To be fair, sometimes it seems he's been thrown into the deep end of the pool. However, overall, he's a risk.

I've heard a few Youtube channels of other clubs who watched the recent pre season match say nice things about Myles Lewis Skelly and how he impressed them and we have a future starter at LB in him.

There is interest in buying Nwaneri from what I gather and we can cash out but I'd prefer if we nurture him. See what he matures into.

Re the Manchester airport incident.

If police officers were indeed assaulted in carrying out their duties, including a lady officer allegedly suffering a broken nose and others requiring hospital treatment, then the culprits got exactly what they deserved. Charge them and give them a harsh sentence and send out a message that playing the race or religion card in these kind of high risk situations will not be accepted. What if they had been terrorists, refusing to allow a search is a massive red flag to security staff and any possible threat has to be quickly neutralised so as not to endanger lives. As the old saying goes, if you can't do the time don't do the crime.

If you come to the UK then be prepared to respect our laws (including the right to stop and search people, especially at an airport) and our customs.....if you are not prepared to abide by our laws and respect our customs then don't come. It's not rocket science.

Calafiori medical today then flying out to join the group in America

Considering we barely saw Timber last year were adding two big players to the best defence in the league. Interesting that Timber has been preferred at CB instead of Ben White - both can play CB and RB (Timber also on the left)

Such flexibility in the back line
White RB/CB
Timber RB/CB/LB
Tomiyasu (RB/CB/LB)
Calafiori (CB/LB)
and whilst we've never seen them there I'm certain that Saliba and Gabriel could do a good job at full back on the right and left respectively

Agree Socrates, but I'm afraid that horse bolted some time ago.

Hi Rich,

Yes, Timber really is like a new signing.

I really do think we need a topclass CF (still not convinced by Havertz as a 9, he's too wasteful) or a game-changing wide man. Something that little bit extra to push us up a level and do something special when we really need it. How many times has De Bruyne, for example, conjured up something brilliant when City are struggling to find a breakthrough.

Hi Lincoln,

It feels like we are on the edge of civil war.

This is (was) a christian country with centuries old laws, customs and values reflecting that.

It is not racist to expect immigrants to respect those things, in fact it should be a non-negotiable as Arteta would say.

The govt has to understand this and draw a line in the sand. Enough is enough.

They were from the UK though right. From Rochdale (total khazi btw)

I think one of the cops involved is going to get done for excessive use of force from looking at the video. You just can’t do that.

However as a frequent traveller through airports I can’t say I’ve ever witnessed the armed police stationed there trying to plug the travellers for no reason and it’s telling it happened to a local rather than any of the thousands of travellers going through there who probably can’t comprehend or speak english language.

Break a woman’s nose and you deserve a good hiding though frankly. Beggars belief really that then 200 people turn up at Rochdale police station screaming allahu akhbar protesting. Just madness and accelerated by social media use.

Like I said the other day I think the big issue that will emerge over the next few years is law and order in the UK. There seems an emerging culture of people happy to break the law and the last government has brought the criminal justice system on its knees so that crimes like theft and non fatal violence doesn’t incur jail time. Won’t get fixed unless a sold plan is put forward.

As people have rightly pointed out, where were all these protestors when the grooming gangs were imprisoned for the rape and sexual abuse of minors. In fact, where were they when it was going on within their community, turning a blind eye perhaps?

If the police have reason to stop and search at an airport then the safety of passengers and employees is foremost and if that means the need for a person to remove a veil worn for religious reasons than as upsetting as that may be for them that has to be done. Refusal to do this has to be seen as a potential threat to security and the individual has to be forcibly removed. If relatives intervene with physical violence then that has to be dealt with and any threat quickly eliminated.

I do think that you are correct in that the officer kicking the suspect in the head will probably lose his job but people have to remember this is a high risk situation and adrenalin is flowing. How were they to know that that these were not a bunch of terrorist prepared to do anything possible to evade capture? If the officer loses his job then the individuals responsible for the injuries to officers should be jailed. Send out a message.

There are problems in your first comment. It aligns to he fact that it’s linked to a wider problem pushed by the far right. An entirely different problem.

Politicians and grifters have a lot to answer for and are exacerbating situations for their own purposes.

I do think there are problems with integration in the UK with people of race and religion really, it does feel like there are groups of people who don’t really consider themselves Brits first and foremost. That said this scenario needs to be looked at for what it is. A bunch of utter dickheads behaving unacceptably at an airport. Thousands of different people of varying religions went through the airport that day. Those people were just arseholes who got a deserved kicking.

By the way plenty of people act like dickheads ..

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 2467.html#

First I've heard of it so went to the internet. I'm still confused. The official news sites (Sky, CNN, etc) are all vague. I don't know if they are trying to be careful and not state anything they can't fully verify or they are leaving out things that are not disputed to frame a narrative.

The most I got was there was a report of an assault in 'Terminal 2'. No idea who was the purported victim or assailant.

We must not have a situation where anybody with religious beliefs can claim non-adherence to the civil law and regulations that apply to the rest of us. As you say the seeming refusal to abide by the rules at an airport was a red flag to security, as it always should be.

Ridden by such jockeys such as Blair, Brown, Cameron, Clegg, Johnson, Sunak and no doubt, Lester Starmer.

When it comes to immigration, non-integration and crime when are we going to wake up to how we are being hugely conned by our governments and elites? Common-sense shouts how things are not working, yet we sleepwalk on. Some of the numbers are staggering. By the official figures annual mass immigration in excess of 650,000. Under Sunak in one year 2022-23, a million NI numbers were issued to incoming foreigners - a golden key to all we have to offer. Not a penny paid in to the system, just help yourself. Academic polls indicating that some 40% of younger British-born Muslims believe jihad against the British state is acceptable. Report that serious crimes against women rose by 40% between 2018-2023, and yet the data on who committed the crimes is unavailable. Strange that because if we wish to "prove" any of our institutions are institutionally biased or flawed the facts and figures are readily at hand. Of course to point any of this out is to be "far-right". The end of our secular, liberal and tolerant society is coming. I feel sorry for those of you young enough to have to live with the alternative.

https://x.com/Arsenal/status/1816862272871858326

Penalties vs Bournemouth

I recall you mentioning you’re off to the promised land, which part of Maple land are you heading to?