Not sure, Liverpool usually offer a degree of pragmatism if the player has been a good servant. 2 year contract might make sense if they offered a logical fee like 5-8 I’ve always been impressed by his professionalism.

I doubt Henderson would want just a 2 year deal with us when that is effectively what he currently has at Liverpool and can play Champions League. No chance Henderson leaves for £5-8m in my opinion. Club captain, premier league and champions league winner with 2 years left on his contract - they'll want £30m because it would cost £30m to replace him. If Arsenal were in a similar position and could only get £5-8m for a similar player you'd want us to just keep him until he's 33 and let him go for free. Selling for £5-8m wouldn't make sense.
Liverpool are very good sellers, they got £20m for Solanke and £23m for Brewster as well as the ones I posted earlier which included a player who they signed for £400k, never even got a work permit for Liverpool and they sold him to Berlin for £6.5m. They'd do us no favours in the fee if we really did want him.

Depressing and kind of scary.

Just back from playing at my tennis club. One player there who ‘follows’ Arsenal and knows that I do says to me “So Arsenal have signed some more players then”.

He follows this up with “two more black ones”.

I say “is that a problem?” and he replies “Well no, but….”

I say “What do you mean but?” and he replies “Well it would be nice to have a mix.”

Good grief!!!

Racism alive and well in Sussex.

Here's a good stat for you. In terms of premier league goals per 90 minutes played last year Pépé had a better scoring rate than Bruno Fernandes and Son.

He finished last year strongly, I think we should want him to hit 10 goals and 10 assists this year, first choice wingers should be Pépé and Saka. If he can get 30 starts he should be aiming for those figures.

Suggest you find a better class of tennis club LTG.

Very sad LTG and exactly why Racism will never ever go away.
What an absolute c***.

Have to remember that there were no summer tour games last year due to Covid. So this year's summer tour games had to have been quickly put together over 8-9 months. Guessing of course.

Or maybe have "Bertie" on the back. No reflection on Queen Victoria of course.

A mix of what per se. Thing is a few players are mixed race. Doesn't matter at all really what they are.

I fear that you are right. Quite astonishing and the person is so far removed from a stereotypical ignorant hooligan. Quite casual and unthinking prejudice. At least they now know what I thought about that. Probably won’t change a thing though.

Don't think anything was mentioned as to how many players or staff were impacted. Makes sense to cancel tour as precautionary. Need fit and healthy players for season start up.

Make mine a hot model.

Told we need to increase our 3rd offer to 32 million for ramsdale.

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/footbal ... s-rejected

Seems crazy money and you can’t make head or tail of the logic involved.

They are either selling Leno or we are giving them fringe players in exchange or at a reduced rate to offset the cost. If people are questioning the white fee they won’t get this. Plus he’s another revoting Englishman

Even more nuts when you consider that we had Martinez.

There are a few prem clubs interested in Maitland-Niles, this is where we really need to play them off against each other and get a big fee. Every other club would be putting a £40m price tag on the kid. Played for England, only 23 and can play multiple positions. There are not many full England internationals at that age who would be valued at less.
The only way to really generate good funds from sales is to sell to fellow prem clubs, the rest of europe are looking at loans with options to buy or are scrapping around with silly low bids.

I would love to know the thinking behind Arteta and Edu even contemplating spending that sort of money on a bang average keeper like this.
What on earth do they see in this guy???
I really do question their sanity if they would be prepared to spend even 20 million on Ramsdale.
Just winds me up thinking of it.
Just beggars belief.

Can’t see us paying that money. Surely 25 at most.

He is highly thought of by Bournemouth fans though and was their player of the season when he was there. He’s also at the moment the most likely successor for Pickford in the England team and only 23 which is very young for a keeper. How bad can he be.

James gunnerblog said they like that “he’s quite good with his feet” is he? Prem experience. And I suppose young and homegrown completes the square equalling £30M+ apparently.

What’s somewhat ironic is Leno was literally touted as a ball playing keeper especially compared to Čech. Remember Leverkusen trolling Čech on Twitter after one of his dodgy displays with the ball at his feet? I think that’s seen an area of weakness for Leno that could be improved on in the market.

Read an article we are having trouble selling Lacazette. Even in the low 20s. He's 28 so its pretty much now or never. I like him though. I like him probably a wee bit more than the average gooner. Now, I don't know if he can fit into Arteta's set up but as a player, I like him.

I don’t think Leno is anything like as bad distributing the ball as some do. If some think it’s a weakness, for me it’s a weakness that just isn’t there. That isn’t me saying he’s at a Neuer level. Just that to call it a weakness is not only an exaggeration, it’s grossly over the top.

Look, I’ve no idea what Ramsdale is really like. I’ve said a few times that the only games I watch these days are those involving Arsenal. Unless a player does something eye catching against us, either good or bad, I’m unlikely to notice him. But however good, bad or indifferent Ramsdale is, I think the criticism of Leno’s distribution is basically unfair.

I'll let Rich (or another brave soul) say if this has any chance of coming to fruition...

https://ninetyminutesonline.com/arsenal ... y-abraham/
Arsenal should sign Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham

Lacazette is 30

For the life of me I can never understand why people put together these "Welcome To Arsenal" clips until a player has actually signed for us.

Couldn’t agree more Tom. From what I have seen, Abraham joining Arsenal is a damn site less certain than how it looks for White, and I’m a long way from being certain it’ll definitely happen with White either.

True, but pretty much everything about being a football fan is baffling and pointless, and posting those videos is harmless enough.

I don't think it's actual fans doing those clips though, but channels dedicated to compilation videos. They probably just put a team name in the title to generate clicks.

Your dealing with a different generation now. Kids seem to watch more you tube than television these days. Just look at AFTV as an example 1.3 million subscribers ! That’s mental.

People setting up channels to create content blah blah blah. It’s a whole new era

I have a lot of hope for Britains future from what I’ve seen of our younger generation from having children and their mates. More technology centric, many have a great work ethic despite being young, and they seem entirely removed from the horrendous outdated disgusting rhetoric that LTG encountered yesterday and still exists in older generations. Really hope the politicians don’t inhibit these kids futures.

That's exactly right.

Link for the day that I'm least likely to click on:

Trevor Sinclair tears into Arsenal's transfer policy amid Aaron Ramsdale pursuit [Mail Online, link not provided, call me a killjoy]

If it was finger-on-the-pulsers like Danny Mills or Simon Jordan, maybe I'd be interested. That bicycle-kick goal all those years ago was pretty good, though.

Dick Advocat was manager of Zenit St. Petersburg. He was told he could not sign any black players. He said if Pele was here and we could sign him would you say no. The supporters said no. Quite amazing how stupid some people are.

Largely true, but then there is this:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... nOtNpAvwGo

Yes, if the plan was to breed more variants of the virus, they could hardly go about it better.

Good point! And being a fan is like that. The link between (for me) the Jennings/Rice/O'Leary/Brady/Supermac/Stapleton era and the current bunch gets more tenuous every year. But then a Saka or Smith Rowe pops up when you least expect it. Just when I thought I was out...

Saka is total class, on and off the pitch. 19 years old, unbelievable. I could barely do my shoelaces up when I was 19.

We must enjoy him while we can.

RE: the links to Tammy Abraham. It is an interesting one because currently our two main strikers, Lacazette and Aubameyang are probably our two highest profile and highest earning players - but in my opinion neither are actually suited to the way I think Arteta wants to play or suited to the idea of the 'modern forward'. Of course both Lacazette and Aubameyang have good qualities but I could easily see a situation whereby the Arsenal hierarchy are actively looking at a way of moving both on sooner rather than later.
We have Nketiah who's time at Arsenal is surely up, and for my money he also doesn't fit in to Arteta's style or fit the 'modern forward' typology.

Then we have Balogun and Martinelli, both fit that 'modern forward' - quick, high work rate, flexible and mobile strikers - its yet to be seen how much Arteta likes them. Abraham would represent a very different type of striker to the two of them. If you move Nketiah and Lacazette on for £15m each and pay an extra £5-10m for Abraham it could be seen as good long term planning. Abraham in 4 years is probably still likely to command a similar fee he's being priced at now as long as he has at least 2 years left on a contract and no major injuries that slow him down.

My reservation is would we be buying a striker who is just that level below elite and who's ceiling is never going to get him to that elite status.

https://arseblog.com/2021/07/getting-high/
Good blog saying the things I've said with more eloquence about targeting and signing ball playing defenders to improve our attacking output. Similar reasons for the signing of more mobile central midfielders who can progress the ball more quickly, even if that means dribbling it.

Smith-Rowe has signed a new contract and will wear the No.10

Emile Smith Rowe gets a new contract and new squad number in 2 completely unrelated incidents

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!
Finally

Emile Smith Rowe SIGNS!!!!

GREAT NEWS!!!

I was worried with those Villa bids and nothing materialising with the new contract so bloody relieved we have finally tied him down.

Just happened to be checking Newsnow and saw Emile Smith Rowe name corner of my eye but didnt think anything of it and instead clicked on a story about Maddison.

Then once finished reading scrolled down to be met with the words Smith Rowe signs new deal

GET IN THERE!!!
VILLA DO ONE.....

Yes, great news - good point about Villa! At the end of 2019/20, Huddersfield fans were raving about him after the six-month(?) loan there, talking about him as a future England international, and I hoped they were right. It's a relief that we'll get to find out here, rather than at Villa Park, where we're getting our regular Emi Martinez updates.