The Arthur Melo deal could be off as it seems Juve are insisting on an obligation to buy for £35m.
The mirror I think report our midfield targets as Melo, Wijnaldum, Guimaraes, Danilo and Tielemans

There were reports recently that Roma will come back for Xhaka in the summer, Elneny is also off, so come the summer we need at least two specialist central midfielders. I’d also be interested in someone like Mazaroui at Ajax who is available on a free and can play RB or Def-Mid

Right now we should go for the Wijnaldum deal on a 6 month loan. We’re
Desperate. Even if everyone is fit and here we need another central midfielder

100% watch Kante and Jorginho cover when Alonso bombs forward for Chelsea. They manage to do so without having to get themselves sent off and nobody says they are getting hung out to dry.

The nearest socrates did to that was in post 540775 on page 13520 when he told Hazuki what Carragher had said. You had plenty of chances to point that out before this post by you, which immediately followed my one explicitly saying it (540889) on this page (13523). Why don’t you just admit you do read my posts?

Have you not seen the stick Jorginho gets from Chelsea fans? Many would have him hung, drawn and quartered let alone dropped and sold.

I think you’re right about one thing though. Xhaka isn’t as good as Kante. I wonder how many midfielders across Europe are though? Is there anyone who is? I’m struggling to think of someone, but I accept that’s a subjective view.

It’s now being mooted


https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mike ... c3c88d34e6

Inconsiderate bastards I didn’t know that . Just imagine how they would be carrying on if he came close to getting himself sent off in every single game they played

The Minamino sitter as it’s being reported. But was it? I wasn’t sure at the time.

Did the ref indicate a foul on Ramsdale in the build up? It looked that way to me, and the match report in today’s Times says just that.

No matter if we win, lose or draw you can see the character of this side. Things won’t always work out but there hasn’t been a game where they have downed tools. There’s never dejected heads and none like Ronaldo throwing their arms around when they don’t get a pass.

We still have a few players in the squad that need to be pensioned off but if we can replace them with more depth and quality the sky’s the limit,

Also chambers and holding need to be kept around. You need players like that who can be called upon that give their all.

I have to say I’ve really enjoyed this season so far in victory and defeat. The most positive I’ve felt about Arsenal since 2011

Wonder who they’d have blamed if he’d not bothered to cover the defenders who left Jota unmarked and through on goal?

Jesus George .... Aussie Govt cancelled Novak Djokovic 's visa for not meeting Covid requirements .
Djokovic lawyers challenged that decision in court . Judge overturned the Govt decision .

Then the Aussie Govt twiddled their thumbs for a few days and have now cancelled his visa for a second time at 6 o 'clock this [ Friday ] evening .

Note the timing ; with no courts open over the weekend it must be doubtful if his lawyers can get any injunction against the latest ruling .

He might be bundled on to a plane and deported tomorrow or Sunday .

There is quite a large Serbian community in Melbourne and they are quite a hot blooded lot ..... interesting times .

I know we had fine wins against the likes of Tottenham, Villa and others. But yesterday was probably my favourite performance of the season, so far at least. Liverpool are still probably favourites to reach the final, but we showed so much guts and determination in drawing 0-0 I felt proud of the whole team.

I don’t think that their comments are based on the single incident but rather more on the serial nature of incidents.

As I have posted before I have mixed feelings about him. We definitely look like a better team with him in it. But as Mario Balotelli once said “Why always me?”.

And yes, he was hung out to dry by others out of position last night.

Bizarrely city was my favourite. A class performance robbed by the officials. Followed by spurs at home, the sheer jubilation of our fans at that game inside the ground and outside after was something I haven’t seen since Highbury, I enjoyed it so much.

It was pretty much an open goal .... it was a half volley which he botched by taking such a swing at it . A gentle side foot was all that was required .

Might be a good idea to get the Maxply re strung Big Fella ... with the need to replace Novak ; you might be getting a call from Australia some time soon

My favourite performance was the one against Man City. It was like last night but additionally we were so creative and dominant for a long period. All round a more compete performance for me.

I get that it was an open goal. But would it have been chalked off anyway due to a foul on Ramsdale?

What about when he booted the guy on the halfway line at Leeds and was lucky not to go for that?

We had a 11 men behind the ball he doesn’t discriminate he boots them regardless of his teammates position on the pitch.

So are we all on board with Arteta now, happy to extend his contract?

As for Xhaka, surely any decent judge of football would want to see him lining up against your side.

I find that a little puzzling ; but each to their own .

I'd rather be entertained with a few goals scored [ by us ] , flowing football
That game was all about chewing fingernails for most of the match and breathing a huge sigh of relief at the end .

If we win the second leg it will be remembered as a fine against the odds battling performance if we lose it will be remembered as another example of Xhaka Lunacy . .

It's quite hard to argue against that, despite the proximity of White. Jota had excellent chance of controlling the ball sufficiently well to have a goalscoring opportunity and that is sufficient in terms of the rules. And what can one say about Xhaka's challenge, except that we need to pull finger in the transfer market?

It is hard to reflect with satisfaction on a game where one of our two available central midfielders does that and leaves use in such a pickle. Feels a bit Pyrrhic.

I agree with that. What is the opposite of a Pyrrhic victory? A battle lost that contributes positively to the overall war effort.

That's a yes for me. When we first started that good run by winning against Tottenham in such a convincing fashion it felt as if we'd maybe turned a corner. Then we dropped down again after a couple of good performances and the doubts returned. However we picked ourselves up again, and judging the first half of the season as a whole we've taken a clear step forward to where we're now consistently looking impressive. It's never been just about the results for me - I wanted to see a clear direction forward with the way we play, and we're seeing that now. The players are growing in confidence, and they're clearly buying into Arteta's philosophy.

That is true. But the fact that a player is exposed in no way exonerates him for attempting such wild challenge. Too many rash moments like that from Xhaka, I'm afraid.

Contrary to reports last night there may still be life in the Arthur Melo deal. Arsenal want loan with option to buy, Juve wanted obligation to buy. Clubs negotiating the loan fee and Arsenal to cover full salary which is apparently £125k per week - so £3.2m for the 6 months he'd be with us

Very, very nervous about the NLD. Not that I don't think we can beat them or at least good for a draw (which I'd take right now). I am worried we exerted too much team energy against the Reds. I hate losing to the scum more than almost anything. No more than any gooner I suppose but its painful and I am glad I don't live in London when it happens.

Yeah, it's pretty simple the way I see it; if we continue to perform like we did against City we're going to win a lot of games and pick up a lot more points than if we continue to perform like we did in the win against Burnley.

It's important not to look too much at individual results. If you generally perform well you will get rewarded over a long period of time. I think we're seeing the opposite with Man Utd to draw a comparison; they haven't performed well consistently for ages, winning mostly because of individual efforts by a few very talented players. In the long run that's not sustainable, and that's why we've seen them slide down the table this season.

I suppose an obligation might be ok I mean he’s a decent signing for the amount being reported.

The only problem as I see it is that we need a defensive midfielder to replace Mr Red Card rather than a box to box type. Seems he’s more of a Partey than of Mr Red Card or a guimares.

Looking ahead to Sunday, it's obviously a huge game. A win would be a firm statement that we're on our way to a top 4 finish. At the same time, we shouldn't build it up too much - a loss doesn't mean the end of our fight for a CL spot.

If we do lose, they'd be one point ahead of us with two games in hand. However, our next 5 league games after Tottenham are Burnely (H), Wolves (A), Brentford (H), Watford (A) and Leicester (H). All very winnable games. Tottenham on the other hand, have Leicester (A), Chelsea (A), Southampton (H), Wolves (H), and Man City (A). Fair to say we can expect them to drop some points during that run.

Looking forward to Sunday, though not without a healthy degree of trepidation. I think this will be the first that most Gooners have seen of their new stadium. It's certainly my first time.

You going, Bern? Anyone else?

Yeah I am. My first visit too, at least inside the ground. When I test drove my current car (so I did end up buying it), it was from the BMW showroom on the Great Cambridge Road, the A10. It was when because of Covid they were letting potential customers test drive cars alone and they asked me to bring it back between an hour and ninety minutes. You can go quite some distance in that time.

So I was thinking ‘where the hell shall I go’? I thought ‘I know, I will go and see Tottenham’s new ground’, (as well as other places which are hardly the other end of the country). I have to say it looks very impressive from the outside.

I'm trying a new access route this time. Though I always used to, I haven't driven there for years so more recently I've walked from Seven Sisters - bloody 30 min yomp. On Sunday though, I have a pissy lunch in The City beforehand and I'll be taking a train from Liverpool St to White Hart Lane - 23 mins. Some trains are 18 mins.

I’ll be going to White Hart Lane station as well. Mind you I always did for their old ground since the parking restrictions on the road White Hart Lane made me stop driving there.

I think for most players it will be more mental exhaustion than physical. The back 5 in particular can;t have run as far in that game as a typical game as we pretty much set up camp in our own box.

Burnley v Leicester is postponed as Burnley don't have enough players.

Arteta does need to give consideration to trying to postpone v Spurs. If it were me it would rest on Tomiyasu, Emile Smith Rowe and Saka all being fit. If we can play all of those then play the game. If they're out then we have to push for the postponement.

Spurs are missing Son and Romero (as far as I can tell), We're missing half a squad. I'd rather play them with all our players back and them having Son back but I could understand if we decide to go ahead and use it as some kind of siege mentality.

I thought both got it right

Agree, extend Arteta's contract

We need to push for a Postponement. Find a way.

The sheer number of players missing if saka and soares don’t make it

I think we'll try, and I think we have a shot.

But honestly, if we get the game postponed, isn't that another example of how ridiculous the rules are? Do we have anyone other than Ødegaard out with covid currently? Aubameyang, Partey, Elneny and Pépé are at AFCON. Smith-Rowe and Tomiyasu are injured, possibly Cédric and Saka too. Xhaka is suspended. It's not really related to covid at all.