Second that, I have been impressed by him and I keep thinking he needs a consistent run of games and he'll shine. I felt the same about Gnabry before he was sold.

Did you? When was this? I don't remember you clamouring for Gnabry's return - and an extended run in the first team - while he was warming the bench in 2015/16 at West Brom, not long before his departure.

Amazing game of cricket at Old Trafford. Not many saw that coming!

Could be ANZAC Day at Lord's on Sunday.

I really hope Australia win tomorrow as I think England would beat New Zealand on Sunday.

The Guardian are reporting that a deal has almost been reached between Arsenal and St Etienne for Saliba. Apparently it wont affect this summers transfer budget because we are loaning him back for the season.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... st-etienne

Not an issue for managers of super rich clubs. Sign a £40m player and he’s awful just bomb him out on loan, continue to pay his wages and let him slip out the back door in a few years, in the meantime sign yourself a new £40m player.
See Mangala, Bakayoko, drinkwater and countless other examples

It's been 'almost done' for about a week now, people leave but the same old cheapskate bs from Arsenal, no Wenger to blame anymore..

Even if it happens it’s going to have zero effect on improving our defence next season if he stays at St Etienne for a year. The only thing that will is getting new defenders who will play in 2019/20. Just getting rid of Mustafi won’t, even if we do, because that presumably still guarantees lots of games for Koscielny who at this point in his career is just as bad, and possibly even worse.

I get the impression many are trying to avoid moaning about Koscielny too much. I get showing respect for a once fine player. But I honestly think we’d have been better off with Mustafi than him in the Chelsea final and why should that change next season when he’ll be 34 in September?

Pretty good summary of the state of affairs at Arsenal.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cybrown/20 ... 02479c6dae

I think the club should announce that our transfer business is done and save us all the angst. Bernard good point about Koscielny. I thought the way he hobbled through the last part of the season; the fact he was reported as wanting to move away now; indicates that even he realises he is not up to another season.

On the one hand, I am excited to see the younger players charge into the big stage. I am optimistic at least some will impress. On the other hand, disappointed the annual summer cycle of slow-mo transfer dealings is still a mainstay of the club. We are fundamentally out-of-joint as long as Stan is here.

I would love to know what the approval process is within the club. Whether our negotiator can say deal done or has to go away and ultimately Stan has to okay it.

Things have gone very quiet on the Tierney move. If he is so good how is it that clubs are not queued up to sign him? Some story about Napoli interest but that is all.

It suggests to me that due diligence by others indicates there are too many risks with him for that amount of money.

True DHD ... the "poxy little country " punches above it's weight in the sporting world .

I think we'll get dicked by whoever wins the other semi but nice for us to have a brief moment " in the sun . "

On the choice of opponent it would be slightly less painful to lose to England

Most of the other big 6 have pretty secure first choice LB
City have plenty, Mendy zinchenko, angelino delph
Liverpool have Robertson
Chelsea have Alonso and Emerson
Spurs have Davies and rose
Man U have shaw
Even Everton (digne baines) Leicester (chilwell) Wolves (jonny) have established Lb and would and are prioritising other areas

So do I, which is why I want Australia to win today. But whoever you play on Sunday, I will really want New Zealand to win.

I think I could be well behaved at least 1 month per year to get the Neymar type bonus

https://www.givemesport.com/1489012-ney ... utoplay=on

No football has not lost the plot.

Hi gooner7,

We are obviously weaker on paper now than we were at the end of last season........Ramsey, Welbeck and Čech have gone...........and no replacements of any stature yet.

I like Nelson, Willock and Nketiah but have no idea if they are ready to make a meaningful contribution in the PL.

It is looking like perhaps no more than 2 signings for this year (if that) as I don't count Saliba, unless something dramatic happens in the next month.

The other thing is that the season starts in a month so if they miss the US trip it leaves little room for any kind of settling in period or time to work with Emery before the season starts.

Not sure we should put much credence into this but its news nonetheless.
https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/11/arsenal- ... -10172640/

Arsenal offer £40m plus three players for Wilfried Zaha

Arsenal have offered £40 million plus three players to Crystal Palace for Wilfried Zaha, according to reports. Unai Emery’s side have already seen their opening bid of £40m turned down by Palace, who are demanding £80m for their star attacker. The Gunners are restricted this summer with a £45m budget and Zaha’s valuation is well beyond their price range. But according to The Sun, Arsenal have attempted to bridge the gap by offering £40m plus Mohamed Elneny, Calum Chambers and Carl Jenkinson to Palace.

Koscielny is a fine player who has performed admirably, coming back off what could have been a career ending injury now in the twilight of his career and understandably he looks mostly not up to scratch anymore. Mustafi is in his prime and cost us £30M and is a liability. Really are you wondering why people are moaning about him and not Kos??

Koscielny was a fine player. At this moment in time, the best you can say is there’s not much difference between them. If I had to choose between one or the other playing an important game, I would see it as a very difficult choice because as Rich said recently, Mustafi does have some good games. We all want to show respect for Koscielny, as I said I understand that. But he’s now just as much a liability, and perhaps even more so.

There is no way that CP will take three surplus players from us plus cash in exchange for Zaha. Not going to happen. Apart from the fact that a deal/ contract for three players would be so complex to arrange who would want three cast offs?

Well according to the official website Kosielny has refused to travel to the USA. In other words he is on strike and probably trying to force a move he wants. Once was captain. The club is an embarrassment and turning us into a laughing stock.

Should be sacked immediately.

Absolute *%^@ show of a club. WTF has caused this to happen? Clearly the good ship Arsenal is not a happy craft. This cannot be allowed to happen. Fine him and put him on the transfer list. No one is bigger than the club

If he wants a free transfer, give it to him. These days he’s rubbish anyway. Just don’t pay up the final year of his contract.

Thanks Bernard ..... would mean so much for the country sort of like Leicester winning the league .
Probably because of being a miniscule liitle joint we tend to take an interest in any sport we are contesting in a final .

You blokes are off to a decent start same score as NZ v India 15 for 3 .

Archer 's just given Carey a decent rap on the chin .... shades of Harold Larwood

Makes sense. If he is on £5-£6m a year we'd be saving that money, and that's probably the transfer fee we would get for him anyway. Get him out the door. Stating the bleeding obvious but we need to get a couple of central defenders in the door ASAP. Saliba may be a great long term deal but he can't help us this season.

Why ?

How can a player with 1 year on his contract just assume the club will let him leave on a free transfer so he can packet a huge amount of wages elsewhere ? He’s basically agreed a wage offer on the basis he was being given away and now is upset. How is that the club’s fault. When Petr Čech left Chelsea aged 33 they didn’t give him a free he cost 7 million

Why shouldn’t arsenal ask for a couple of million at least for a veteran French international.

*%^@*** footballers eh, I’ve seen it all now.

*%^@ Kosielny, not fit to lace the boots of Andy linighan

It’s just daft now

It’s like the football clubs only exist to make the players and their agents money. The pogba situation is just ridiculous too

We must send a strong message to the whole team over this problem. If we fine him it must be a substantial amount - not a weeks wage - 2 million pounds and leave him to crawl under the nearest rock. Then sack him if possible. Start legal action for damaging the club. If we wants to leave he can buy out the rest of his contract. I am more than a bit annoyed that the club will now start the season in crisis mode. The story will no longer be who we buy ????? - but how the club is imploding.

This really must be a serious problem if the official site has put out a statement.

Also the “statement” is pathetic

Should state that he’s stripped of club captaincy with immediate effect and the club don’t consider appropriate behaviour from its playing staff and the clubs values

Arsenal are such easy pickings. From other clubs, agents and even our own players

Until the club gets run properly we’ll be savaged

Kos needs to be stripped of the captaincy immediately.

The problem now is if we can’t sell him, and his actions make getting any fee for him more difficult do we
Make him sit in the reserves for a year never considering him for the first team and he can leave on a free next year
Cancel his contract as he wants to save ourselves £5-6m in wages

That Kos is past it - and now all but gone - makes no difference to how we see Mustafi. Better than an injury ruined veteran is not a glowing reference. You’re making the comparison, and I can see why, but no one else is or needs to to say Mustafi hasn’t been and isn’t good enough to even be a rotation player for us. Unless something changes drastically with him, like staying on his feet for a start.

Tells you all you need to know about our ambition (lack of), that we even considered keeping Kos, let alone Mustafi.

Feel sorry for anyone who is wasting their time/money on the 'London Nuggets'.

Funny to see Arsenal try to get to Palace’s valuation of £80m for Zaha by offering £40m plus Chambers, Jenkinson and Elneny.
When you see prices for some players then those 4 could be worth £40m but the key will be their wages and the fact that there seems to be little interest in them.

The playing staff needs such a huge overhaul but yet we simply can’t shift any dud off our books without basically letting them go for free. I thought it would take 2-3 windows to properly overhaul the squad but it is looking like it will take 5-6 transfer windows with the success rate so far, and that will probably mean these players running down deals……again.

Arsenal made a rule for players with 2 years left on their deal to either offer a new deal or sell them, the only exception being players of a certain age nearing retirement. All sounds very sensible. Players with contracts up in 2 years are: Aubamayang, Özil, Mustafi, Mkhitaryan, Sokratis

Would you sell Aubamayang for £75m if it guaranteed we picked up £60m for Özil, Mustafi and Mkhitaryan and shifted them off the books?

I will take Kos' disrespect and tired 34 year old legs over Mustafi.

That's how low I rate Mustafi.

Pretty unsettling, isn't it? Oh well, that is the way Arsenal will be for a while now

Captain? Was he ever one?