This team shouldn’t lose anyone important or who has contributed in a big way to this season, but in a way we’ve already strengthened for next year with Timber (hopefully) fully fit for the new season.

With Arteta, Edu and Josh it feels like the ambition is there to go big again in the window. I have no doubt the first second and third choice targets for each position are lined up as well as being ready for an opportunistic signing if something crops up.

Love this team and how much Arteta has changed Arsenal in such a short space of time

I find it odd how some feel that Pep’s genius and the genius of some of the players is almost the excuse for the cheating. It’s like they can’t work out that on the pitch Coty can be amazing and off the pitch they can cheat, and the off pitch stuff leads totally to the on pitch stuff. People say you have to give Pep and the players credit but I don’t.

Ben Johnson took a banned drug that simply allowed him to train harder and longer than other athletes, his body still ran the 100m the faster than anyone in the world at the time, so he certainly put in the work but he fundamentally he cheated to be able to do it so he was stripped of his title and banned.

Let’s see how big the Prem cajones are in October….

Amazing season.

No shame in coming 2nd to the City (115 charges) juggernaut.

Brilliant effort from everyone at Arsenal, on and off the pitch.

I see Chelsea are signing this 17 year old Brazilian Estevao Willian for megabucks.

Can someone please explain how this is happening, I thought they were in all sorts of problems as a result of previous expenditure.

Havertz only started 13 games as a centre forward, in those 13 he scored 8 and assisted 7. Of course it’s too easy to just extrapolate those across a 38 game season and expect 23 goals and 20 assists….but he’s been very good as a centre forward for us. I still want another CF in the window though!

They sold their training ground to themselves for £100m after selling the Chelsea hotel to themselves for £75m. A cool £175m profit to put in the cooked books

Also all these 8 year contracts mean that for accounting each year they are only a small amount, of course it all adds up and it adds up every year. When they sell an academy player it also goes in as 100% profit.
So sell Gallagher for £40m means they can sign 2 x £100m players on 5 year contracts and break even on those 3 transfers for that year. The caveat is they would need to keep selling a Gallagher for £40m to break even in every subsequent year for 4 years.

So some possible reasons for the way they’re doing it but really, no idea

We did

And hopefully like Lance, they will be proven guilty

Wonderful day for me and the missus. Loved the pre-match activities outside the club.
Catherine was very excited whenever Arsenal strode forward. And she shouted louder than me when we scored

Back from the game. A nice pre match pizza washed down with plenty of peronis pre game set everything up nicely. Glorious sunshine and loads of fans in red all over the city.

The atmosphere was electric until word came through city had scored then that was pretty much that. The mood for the last 5 minutes was great. No sorrow or anger just satisfaction and appreciation.

Immensely proud of the side doing everything they could. We couldn’t have asked for more. Won at old Trafford, won at shite hart lane, beat Everton. Still couldn’t win it. Good things will come if our trajectory is maintained.

Stopped at Hammersmith on the way back for a final pint of the season and to reflect and that’s it. It’s all over. A throughly enjoyable ride, loved every minute. Goodbye 23/24

Well congrats to City for winning it then. They really gave it 115 % effort.

I'm very, very proud of this squad. You can't ask much more out of the 2nd half of the season. Title winning form.

I've made no secret I'm a huge Timber fan and he'll slot in well and probably start I think. If we get the 3 positions we've been heavily rumored to be after, striker, holding midfielder and left back, I am confident we'll push to the last game or two or win it.

Depends on City as well as the top 6 form. Either way I am very confident and exciting. I like that City's titles are now tainted. Chelsea's should have been as well 20 years ago.

Still an amazing feat for Lance though. I couldn't even find my bike when I was on drugs.

One small bugbear with refs is their inability to police restarts to be taken in the correct place. Footballers will always seek to gain an advantage. Look where their free kick was vs where it was taken. It’s pretty basic refereeing.

Look when any team gets a throw in right by their own corner flag, they are allowed to steal 10-15 yards every single time.

Of course this is all quite minor in comparison to game changing decisions but it just highlights the inability to do the job their paid to do on even a very basic level.

If I an bear it I'd like to watch all of City's league goals this season to back up my theory that they have a hugely greater threat from long range than us. De bruyne, Foden, Rodri can all play the neat intricate stuff to create good chances in the 6 yard box but all 3 of them are incredible from outside the box. Goals from nothing, goals with very, very low xG chance.

I think if you look at all our goals this season and tot up how many are just individual moments of brilliance I reckon you'd find its actually very few. Saka v Forest on the opening day or Rice v West Ham type goals - we don't score many of those.

So, all done and dusted. A great league season has left me proud of this team Arteta has assembled but also frustrated by the 115 tonne elephant in the room. The atmosphere around the ground was cup final like in numbers and colours, but to me the buoyant atmosphere lacked real belief. When the game kicked off the noise, red smoke and conviction had cranked right up to frenzied levels but once word got around that Mancity had scored it dialed back to normal. It was a weird game to watch knowing that whatever happened on the pitch would probably be largely irrelevant to our pursuit of the title. Consequently many people were checking the scores more than keeping a close eye on our game. The outpouring of thanks for Arsenals efforts at the end of the game was heartfelt and loud (virtually no one left) but it wasn’t celebratory. Even the players looked understandably subdued which is a shame as they’ve been terrific this season. My hope this morning is that maybe having to construct an Arsenal team which can compete against the best team in football league history, while being be scarred with disappointments in the short term, will eventually give us our own battle hardened and dominant team for years to come.

Reminder ST renewals are supposed to open today.

Can’t see any option in my online account for some reason.

Interesting to see Tomiyasu move across the LCB and Zinchecnko bought on rather than bring Kiwior on in a like-for-like sub when Gabriel went off. Tomiyasu played RB, LB and CB for us this season. I think Timber can do the same. Id like another defensive reinforcement but not at the expense of the right midfielder and forward in the summer. (I've left out back up gk if/when Ramsdale leaves)

As it stands right now this would be my priorty for transfers
1. CM who can primarily play as a 6 but could also play as an 8
2. striker - No.9 goalscorer
3. CM who can play as an attacking 8 (Ødegaard doesn't really have a deputy)
4. CB to compete with Saliba and Gabriel
5. Right winger - tough one this, if we sign a striker and Jesus stays then Jesus can cover minutes, but signing a player to play RW when Saka is going to play all the time is a tough sell
6. left-back - purely if zinchenko leaves

Man U finish 8th, Chelsea scrape 6th having been awful most of the season, Spurs finish 5th getting the record for the only team not to be top 4 after the start they had, Liverpool were 5 points clear and top with 7 to go - but yet the main microscope is on Arsenal and why we 'failed' this season.

Zero goals from direct free kicks too, from only 6 attempts all season! Compared to City with 25 attempts and 3 goals.

Obviously it's the way we play, but it would be nice to be able to mix it up a bit when the defending team is coping with our normal attacking patterns, like yesterday when Everton were mostly comfortable defending our crosses.

None of our current players looks very convincing on direct free kicks. Vieira, perhaps, but he needs to get into the team which is looking less likely these days.

For 3, I don't suppose Vieira or Emile Smith Rowe really count?

For me..

1. CM yes I agree. 6 or an 8
2. Yes I agree
3. We require a pacy winger who can cover for Saka who can break lines but also win games. This really is important.

Those 3 will cost a pretty penny and you could assume the sale of Nelson and Eddie and potentially Partey could help fund them then you have some other areas that would require player sales to fund them without question….

4. Yes CB but feels likely but these are expensive these days so likely you would need to move a player on. Potentially kiwior
5. Attacking 8 to cover left 8 and maybe Ødegaard. Would likely need the sale of Emile Smith Rowe or Vieira
6. Left back, definitely would require the sale of one of Kiwior or Zinchenko and if that doesn’t happen I think we will leave this position another season.
7. Reserve keeper. Self funded by the sale of Ramsdale

Agreed!

I think I heard the pundit say that Saliba has played every minute of PL football for us. Last player to do that for a season for us was Lee Dixon I think but can't be sure.

I'm really excited about who we may buy.

1. Zubimenti is the cheaper option if we don't get Guimaraes.
2. Sesko is the cheaper option if we don't get a PL ready one like Toney or Isak
3. Tough one, my fear is what if Ødegaard is out? We used to say that about Saka but we are f*cked if Ødegaard is out.
4. Kato is young but supposedly who we will get and he can also play LB as he's left footed I believe.
5. Jesus, Martinelli, Trossard, we can rotate if needed.
6. We might play Timber there. He was playing there in the reserve games.

Don't let anyone tell you this was a City side there for the taking, City won 9 straight to win the title. In the previous run ins of the last 7 seasons, there are 6 times of that 7 where the results City produced in the run in would have meant we would have won the title. Only once have City had a better run in than this season.

I’ve said previously that the most important thing this summer is who we sell as that could drastically affect how we would reinforce

If we could get some reasonable fees in

Eddie 25
Emile Smith Rowe 30
Partey 15
Nelson 20
Kiwior 25

We are also losing Cédric and elneny off the wage bill. Getting close to 100 million. That in itself could fund 2 pretty major incomings.

If Bayern are silly enough to spend 40 million on Zinchenko I’d bite their hands off.

Jesus I’m on the fence about and would potentially keep. He buzzes around the pitch causing chaos and it’s no coincidence our winner came from his exuberance intercepting yesterday. He’s the closest thing to a wild card we have really.

I think we'd struggle to get £20m for Nelson, I think that will be a sub £10m sale at best. Eddie £25m would be a good sale. Emile Smith Rowe will likely have plenty of takers, the sort of 'risk' teams will take for think £30m is fair for what we should be looking for. Partey's price is reliant on Saudi I think - He's a player that if you're only being offered sub £15m then its almost worth just letting him see out the last year of his contract with us as asquad player. Kiwior would likely have takers back in Italy £20m to get our money back maybe.

Of those Kiwior and Partey would definitely need replacing. Emile Smith Rowe and Vieira for me remain the two unclearest players in the squad.

If Emile Smith Rowe isn't part of Arteta's plans, and its hard to see any evidence of this, then we should move him on - and for me I'd be looking at Eze from Palace. 25, English, plays in the left 8 position for Palace but could easily play right 8 or even right and left wing with his skillset. For me he has 2 big things we lack from that midfield position, fast direct dribbling and a threat from long range. Just watch a compilation of him v Villa let alone for the rest of the season. I think he'd be perfect for us. Palace are in a strong position with his contract running until 2027 and they reportedly have put a £60m price tag on him. That wouldn't put me off at all. Especially if you're getting £30m+ for Emile Smith Rowe.

Zubimendi talk seems to have cooled a bit as the player doesn't seem overly keen to leave Spain. £50m release clause so certainly half the price of Bruno G - but much more certainty of what you get with Bruno G as we found by buying Rice last summer

Here is how I’d categorise the current squad for the summer planning.

1. Important player - Do not sell: (9)
Saliba
Gabriel
Saka
Ødegaard
Rice
Timber
Havertz
White
Raya

2. Good player – only sell if a ridiculous offer comes in (5)
Tomiyasu
Trossard
Martinelli
Jesus
Jorginho

3. No immediate rush to sell but get a good deal if we do sell (3)
Emile Smith Rowe
Vieira
Zinchenko

4. Sell for the best price we can get (8)
Ramsdale
Partey
Tavares
Lokonga
Tierney
Nketiah
Nelsen
Marquinos

5. Gone: (2)
Elneny
Cédric


If we sell all those in group 4 and none in group 3 we’re left with 17 players, so you’d be looking at bringing in at least 5 more plus a 3rd choice GK and maybe some youth promotions but not many of them seem close.

https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/ ... 3036781840

How on earth was this not a penalty for Chelsea at the weekend?

https://x.com/santismagic/status/1792345766691844560

Worth a read if you want to get in to the Man City cheating and have someone else do the hard work and explain it to you from the very start

To add one more bit to my championing us signing Eze from Palace, he was in the Arsenal academy at a very young age and is a boyhood Arsenal fan. Stump up the £60m and he will be desperate to move to us. He should be in the England squad for the Euros no doubt for me

The UK government has admitted to The Athletic that its embassy in Abu Dhabi & the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office have discussed the charges leveled at Man City by the Premier League, but are refusing to disclose the correspondence because it could risk the UK's relationship with UAE.....

Final 18 games, 54 goals scored at 3 goals per game average and only 9 conceded.

And yet it is still clear to me where we can get better next year

Just looking at the league table again and its crazy the amount of goals teams right near the top of the league conceded. Villa, Spurs, Chelsea, Newcastle (4th to 7th) ALL conceded over 60 goals this season - 60! 14 teams conceded more than 60 goals, when only 24 teams in the previous 4 seasons combined conceded over 60.

Arsenal have never conceded 60+ goals in a 38 game season. Why are there so many poor defences now? Are attackers just better? Have rule changes given more advantage to attackers? Is the change to ball playing defenders meaning they lack basic defensive skills?

To be honest I’d be all over him and Olise too who looks a perfect back up to saka but I think we will end up prioritising a midfielder who plays deeper. Both players look perfect for how we play.

Chuck palace 90 million and Eddie for the pair.

Yep, I think Olise could end up playing more inside than as a true winger. Technically he’s very good. Another with a good long range shot.

I see lots of names as the Saka back up but I don’t think we can sign someone who only really plays as a right winger, they just wouldn’t get the game time. If they could play right or left, or right and up top, or right and cover Ødegaard it makes more sense. Or you go and find an outstanding 18 year old who plays right wing.

I must say I was encouraged by Martinelli on the right v Everton, very different to how Saka plays there but I thought he was a good threat from there always driving at the full back and going on the outside to get crosses in

Latest rumor is Ramsdale plus money for Isak.