Will be interesting if they can maintain the intensity from the last few seasons. they have generally been reasonably stable in squad players and you start to wonder if in fact they can maintain it for another year and still believe their manager, not having won any trophies.

According to this article a number of players are in doubt for the Newcastle game including Lacazette (he may still be fit), Smith-Rowe and Pépé. Some injuries or not ready to play.
https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/ ... e-16727138

No mention is made of Tierney so I assume he must be available to play. I looked on the official site as well and he is not mentioned while all the others are.

https://www.arsenal.com/news/team-news-lacazette-pepe-bellerin-holding

This is probably as reliable as anything Gaz - not that it's particularly helpful.

As I understand things, Tierney is some weeks away from fitness. Luiz and Caballos should both be available though.

By the time I wake in the morning the season will have already commenced. I am not getting up at 5am to watch Liverpool and Norwich. Go Norwich

Implies Tierney could be in full training in four to six weeks. I would not bet on him being in the first team before the end of September.

The thing about Torreira that gets missed that winds me up is that he was very good until we switched formation and played 3 at the back.

Everyone always misses this, because of the Holding and Bellerin injuries we started playing 3 central defenders and it meant asking him to play further forward and be more creative. I really don’t think that’s his strength. He’s a destroyer and simply wants to sit in front of the defence breaking up play, yes he has a good range of passing and can drive forward but it was patently obvious that the new formation doesn’t get the best out of him or Özil

This is very close to the first 11 I’d be interested in seeing apart from I’d swap Luiz for Holding when fit and I’d pretty much rotate Luiz and sokratis. This means we haven’t got 2 thirty year old defenders and Holding can do some of their running for them. I can’t see Mustafi getting a look in this year.

This leaves Xhaka, Özil and Mhikitaryan benched and as back up.

I think what will actually happen is there will be a lot of rotation with Emery rotating his strikers and only playing them together now and then meaning Özil gets games.

On the predictions for the year it’s early doors but I’ll call it and say I think we will make the top 4. Man united and chelsea are there for the takings at the moment and if we can integrate our new signings we can do well.

I wasn't looking forward to the start of the season. Now, I'm a bit more interested. I'm also doing my annual "holding my breath until City and Liverpool [insert the current top sides] lose'.

I'm going to prefer City over Liverpool for the title for a few reasons I won't go into. Not a big deal if Liverpool wins it but if one of them has to, let it be 'Citeh' I guess.

If I had my way, Tottenham would fall out of the top 4 along with Man Utd.

https://theprideoflondon.com/2019/01/14 ... ield-base/

A good sum of Luiz and his ability as a DM. Makes sense to me from what I have seen of Luiz.

One of the annoying things about being obsessed with Arsenal and football at large is that my American friends who don't follow the sport will tell me well known public news about Arsenal as if its going to be new to me. Its nice and being a friend but really, its like saying to a Los Angeles Lakers fans, "Hey did you hear LeBron James is coming to the Lakers?" Or telling a Brit "Hey did you hear Boris Johnson is Prime Minister" It's like 'duh'.

I get the sentiment but really? Especially if its news I don't feel like re-living. "They AG, Arsenal lost to Tottenham yesterday" Really? That's conversation? And I've gotten a few of those.

Can understand the clamour to get rid of Mustafi but,we only have 3 first choice centre halves, Sok, Luiz and Chambers if you don't count him, Mavro is not thought to be good enough, Holding won't be available for several weeks Medley is no where near ready so although he's a mistake waiting to happen, we really can't lose him .
Also it's a pity we couldn't find a short term rightback, although Ainsl tries his best he struggles there.

Ah I see I hadn’t realised that. So does our total include the full £72m for Pépé and the full £25m for Saliba?

Moreover, Chambers was good in midfield but appalling in central defence for Fulham last season. I’m not at all sure he’s any better than Mustafi in defence. I agree that Mustafi probably couldn’t be unloaded because of our lack of numbers in central defence.

Believe me if we get an offer for Mustafi we will sell. He’s central defender number 5 and not needed because he’s a liability

Monreal is also being linked to sociaded today as we can still sell overseas after the window

A few fans were saying on twitter that the cash the club have actually spent itself this summer is around the 45 million budget being quoted after the deductions. The rest is on instalments.

Fans are hailing Raul Sanelhi for the acquisitions and I agree in a footballing sense they are all good buys on paper but is the club just loading itself with debt to get talent into the team. For example we only paid 22 million of Pepes fee up front.

I know most transfers were always paid on instalments but I always thought the bulk of it 50% plus was paid up front by Arsenal. I guess what I’m saying is the new day and celebrations some of our fans are jubilating about maybe not an increased transfer spend just loading up debt.

Club bulletin on Tierney: "Groin. Will continue to receive treatment and assessments. Hoping to integrate into full training in 4-6 weeks."

Sounds like late September or even October before we see him. Bellerin sounds like he's a month behind Tierney.

Going to be quite a while before we see our new defence.

#AFC statement: "Mesut Özil and Sead Kolasinac will not be part of the squad for our opening match against Newcastle United following further security incidents which are being investigated by the police."

Seriously wtf ! The line up v Newcastle will be all over the place

Bizarre.

I’m old enough to remember a time when squads started the season fit and raring to go.

Now it seems as if players are already crocked, or tired from playing during the league break. This one is a newbie though.

Conflicting reports apparently on Tierney's injury time. Lennon states about 2 weeks only.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.footba ... 730787.amp

Or it could just be that the £45m figure was taken as fact at the start of the summer and used as a stick to beat the club with. Rather than admit they were wrong could it just be that people are now coming up with various ways to make a £45m figure fit. We spent a lot of money. It was needed. Now it's up to the players and management to make it work.

It is very odd indeed and maybe there is something a bit more sinister behind it. You couldn't see the club inventing a security threat just to justify squad selection.

No way, that would ridiculous.

Don’t rule out it being Özil using it to pull a sickie though !

Just weird.

I doubt it. I'd say it's advice from the plod.

Liverpool starting off with a bang. Not gonna watch any more of this massacre. With what we are fielding at Newcastle, I'll predict a draw as of now. 0-0 or 1-1.

Well no. Apparently there was a recent incident or two since that attempted car jacking 2 weeks ago. Just saying.

If that is the case then I start to suspect that the car jacking may have been a kidnap attempt. Özil is a bit close to the Turkish president and some of these areas really are a bit different. Don’t know why people are saying he is pulling a sickie when usually these people don’t want him in the team : so they should be happy.

No excuses at Newcastle.

Oh okay Zed if that's the case fair enough ........maybe some Kurdish extremist group looking to gain some leverage at Özil's expense .

Must admit when I read they been left out of the Newcastle trip for something that happened two weeks ago , me being the no nonsense paragon of toil ...

My first thoughts were " Jesus Wept ....... used to be a time when players did half a day down in the pit before scrubbing up and reporting for a three o ' clock kick off " ..... and here's these two nancies still suffering from some
perseved 'trauma' a fortnight on .

It's with some cynicism I view this current PC World .....they've cancelled all lolly scrambles in NZ because two kids bumped their heads together diving for the same sweet , all the swings in Auckland have been removed from play areas because one broke .

As boring as I am I find this stuff fascinating. Shows the start of the medical and the media work our new players do. Tierney comes across as a down to earth kid.

https://youtu.be/Nb060yInqj0

If Özil is out, Pépé not yet fully fit, cellabos and Lacazette carrying a knock and Torreira not had enough pre season I think we could see a front 6 of
Xhaka Guendouzi
Mkhitaryan Willock Nelson
Aubameyang

Hi Rich.

I hope that with a weakened side we can still get something out of the Newcastle game. It would be a shame to dampen all the positivity with a defeat.

The Özil/Kola situation is worrying and it is hard to see how it can be quickly resolved. I've no idea what has gone on but if, for example, they've upset some gangsters then how does this get sorted quickly?.

Morning Socrates. I’ll be disappointed with anything less than three points. I hope we’ll still have enough quality to win even without having our best team out, whatever that is.

Arrest the gangsters.

Come on now. They are misunderstood. Pat on the head- just like the bloody Qld system. The sooner some of these do Gooders realise only prison will stop them from offending the the better. Once they out they will reoffend but you need to give the community a rest.

I hope we do. Bernard. I am really excited by what the new signings might bring to the team this season but I'm not sure if any of them will feature and even if they do they've had so little time to settle.

I wouldn't have fancied the bunch that finished last season so disasterously to get a win at St James and it looks like it might be more or less them less Lacazette if he's not fit.

Easier said than done I'm afraid.

Saw an article a few months back "Prisons to start reforming offenders". Thought that they've been trying that for decades and it's not working, maybe go back to making it a really *%^@ experience.

There are simply no real consequences anymore..

Following on from the banning of Lolly scrambles and swings due to the risk and danger, maybe we should stop driving cars or ban cigarettes and fatty food due to the risk. Or Walmart after the shooting in their store who have banned demos and advertising for violent video games but are still selling guns in the same store. What a world we live in. So many stupid people in charge.

Saw an article a few months back "Prisons to start reforming offenders". Thought that they've been trying that for decades and it's not working, maybe go back to making it a really *%^@ experience.

There are simply no real consequences anymore..

Following on from the banning of Lolly scrambles and swings due to the risk and danger, maybe we should stop driving cars or ban cigarettes and fatty food due to the risk. Or Walmart after the shooting in their store who have banned demos and advertising for violent video games but are still selling guns in the same store. What a world we live in. So many stupid people in charge.

I find it very sad that a team like West Ham, who will probably finish in the top half of the table, cannot give Man City a game at home.

Money has affected football so much, I mean City are really no more than a mid to lower PL club but to use a Wenger expression they have been financially doped to make them worldbeaters.

Not sure what the answer is. Pundits are saying that other teams have to find a way to plug the gap but realistically they've spent £120m on two players this summer, one of whom is a fullback.

Had Roman kept spending and Man Utd's big signings panned out, it would have been battle of the billionaires at the top but I wouldn't surprise me if the PL looks like the SPL but not nearly as dominant as Celtic but basically City winning 4 or 5 on the trot and the league becomes a race for top 4 and maybe a domestic trophy if they can knock city off.

PSG is making the French league boring. Bayern as well in the Bundesliga albeit they made their money sans an Emir or Oligarch.