You are correct about the Man U live in. With Saka in the side England could actually win something. He is the best prospect I have seen in our team since Ces. Maybe I need to watch a full England match to see the value of Bellingham. Something that is not going to happen.

I don’t read the Athletic but subscribe to the Guardian. But I was talking about mainstream UK media who seem to regard Bellingham as some type of second coming.

Quite so!

Yes I was there McQ. We lived in Riversdale Road and it was a 5 min stroll. Don't think we missed a game for years.

Now that you mention it, I do recall there being a European Final on TV. Live football was pretty rare in those days.

Saka’s new contract being reported as £300k per week INCLUDING all incentives, endorsements and bonuses. So not £300k per week as a basic wage.

As far as I know all players get some degree of appearance bonus and win bonus, and many would have goal and assist bonuses built in.

Even if it was £300k a week basic he’s worth it.

Our annual wage bill is currently £135m a year less than Man U. Taking Saka’s wage from £75k/week to £300k/week is barely scratching the surface in bridging that gap. Guaranteed Champions league money next season all but secured as well….

Yes he was transcendent, though as a down-to-earth man, he would have laughed at such a description. Although rightly much associated with Spurs his early days at Chelsea should not be forgotten. As a kid he was so exceptional AC Milan bought him, and he was able to score goals in Serie A. I once heard him say in an interview he would have liked to have played for Arsenal.

This is what the Great Man said:
Arsenal have class. I remember when I was at spurs, the Arsenal players would arrive for matches in their navy blazers with the gold gun emblem sewn into their pockets and grey slacks. We couldn't match their ground with that beautiful main entrance, marble halls and spiral staircase. Even in 1961 when we won the double, we were never as big a club as Arsenal.

Yes the weight of Arsenal's history lays heavily on Spurs, and that doesn't seem to be lifting any time soon. Mind you, that Spurs Double side was one of the best ever English outfits, and it came about because they were willing to spend a bit more on the very players we had been strongly linked with - Blanchflower, Mackay and Jones included.

"Even in 1961 when we won the double, we were never as big a club as Arsenal" I've heard this quote before and hadn't realized it was him. Wow. Someone had it on their avatar on here I think. Can't recall.

I didn't know about the Chelsea association. Milan buying him is a statement.

Team of the season so far by the people who comment on the Give Me Sport site.
He's having his finest season but I raised an eyebrow to Xhaka's inclusion.

Leeds have a number of key injuries ahead of our game. Tyler Adam’s is definitely out, Wober and Gnonto were injured in the international break

Partey ahead of Xhaka probably.
Martinelli only has 1 goal less than rashford and he has 1 more assist than him - shows how the Man U-centric media can build someone up. There is a genuine argument to have Martinelli over Rashford.

I also think White could be in ahead of Trippier but granted it would be strange to not have a Newcastle defender considering they’ve conceded the least in the league.

Alison probably deserves a shout in goal, he’s been Liverpool’s saviour so many times but unlikely to get recognised because of their general poor season

Haaland is the only one where your couldn't make a case for an Arsenal player. Amazing, considering where we were a few seasons ago.

I was surprised that Rashford only has one goal more. I hate Man Utd with a passion but it seemed like other than Haaland, Rashford has been the most consistent. Maybe it is the Man Utd centric media as you say, it just seems that way, the guy is on fire and having a career season.

Question for the forum - what do you think has been our most important goal this season?

I'll throw a few that I think that could be for a variety of reasons:
Martinelli v palace (a) opening day. tough away ground, bad memories, kickstarted the belief
Gabriel v Fulham (h) late winner - kept the momentum
Saka penalty v Liverpool (h) winning goal - showed we can beat Liverpool who were an elite top 2 team over the past 4 seasons and we'd got nowhere near them
Saka v Leeds (a) played terribly but still won
Gabriel v Chelsea (a) - dominated and won away at a top 6 team
Nketiah v man U (h) - late winner v a massive rival
Martinez og v Villa (a) - stopped a mini crisis becoming something more, changed belief again
Nelson v Bournemouth (h) - the sheer emotion of it

Of all of that I'm tempted to go for the Martinez og v Villa, we were 3 without a win, we played badly the first half and came back well but missed chances. A 2-2 would have been deflating and extended the winless run and doubt would have crept in. Winning that one was massive

Nelson's winner against Bournemouth. It was just massive. Nearly every team that wins the league has a moment like that. It would have been hugely disappointing to drop points in that match and to win it when it looked over was monumental.

Just was limbs all over the stadium I’ve never seen anything like it at the emirates. I didn’t think we could top this seasons last minute winner againest united and if we do win the league we will all think back to that moment.

The only time I remember our home ground exploding like that was when Bergkamp scored a last minute winner v Bolton in 96 when he thumped a similar last minute winner to put us in Europe at tottenhams expense

This in my opinion is the best fan cam of the goal hitting the net made even more funny by the reactions of the Bournemouth fans

https://youtu.be/xFfP3GBH3ek

BBC saying "Tierney substituted.... hobbling off"

We are going to need all hands on deck for the next few weeks....hope he's just knackered

Arteta has spoken before about his 5 Phase pan for Arsenal and that currently we are in Phase 3 but ahead of schedule.

So could we assume that Phase 3 was not winning the title but having a decent go and being competitive for it - maybe 80 points for example?

So if Phase 3 isn't winning the title I'd assume Phase 4 is winning the title and Phase 5 is winning the Champions League?

And if Phase 1 and 2 weren't about winning titles they must have been about turning around the sinking ship, setting his non-negotiables, creating the togetherness you see in the team and putting together the recruitment of the right type of players and the style of football - all of that happens in the first two phases to allow the titles to follow.

I recognize most but not all

Arteta and Edu at the emirates tonight to watch Arsenal’s women’s team take on Bayern in the champions league. They get it

Between Henry and Clichy is Darren Dein football agent and David Deon’s son. Between Lehmann and Parlour is Aliadiere

There's a club out there that just keeps on giving.
https://sports.ndtv.com/football/totten ... an-3905035

So the guy responsible for recruitment and having a big say in the next manager is banned from football for 2.5 years.
There is Kane’s future to sort out and any new manager is going to inherit a squad built inConte’s image with lots of natural wing backs but no decent full backs and zero creativity in midfield. Nothing coming through the academy and a £1b stadium still to pay off and still with no naming rights.

When you put it like that there are few positives. Next year may be a little difficult for them but to be honest I was hoping Conte would stay and continue with their current brand of football

I have just seen the price of a ticket for the final Arsenal game against the Wolves at the cost of
FIFTY THREE THOUSAND POUNDS!!
That is preposterous, who can afford that???

Of the forum, only Warrior...

Apparently Özil shows you to your seat though for that price.

We’ve just literally been having this discussion. Funny this was brought up

Therefore I’m pleased to announce I’m prepared to offer a 2 grand discount to any forum member who wants my season ticket for the wolves game at the bargain price of 51 thousand nicker. PM me and I’ll provide my banking details so you can arrange a transfer

I’d rather see it go to a friendly than a rich Asian chap who flys in on his private jet only to find himself sat next to the nutters usually sat around me who are 8 pints and several spliffs of wicked Jamaican sensei in by the time kick off arrives.

First come first serve so no moaning when it goes quickly please

I’ll also add that I do wonder if this is what contributed to so many empty seats at the palace game because at the moment arsenal are the hottest ticket in town and it was weird seeing so many empty seats for a weekend game that could have easily been sold on ticket exchange. I do wonder if they had been touted to folks who hadn’t turned up.

Anyways who cares. 51k and it’s yours folks. Get in quick to avoid disappointment

Also I’ll add finally it seems a little bit…… shall I say…… presumptuous. But who cares reach out to me.

Warrior wuld give them £100,000 and say keep the change!

Isn't that illegal?

Not taking anything for granted here but if we can match City's results/points in the next 3 games then we play Southampton at home whilst City play their FA Cup semi. If we can get the points in the bag it could leave quite an uphill task for City even if they do have 2 games in hand. Match their points in the next 3 and beat Southampton and we'd be 11 points clear when we meet City at the Etihad on April 26th.

For the next 3 though we play after City in every game

https://www.football365.com/news/arteta ... nsfer-snub
Arteta apparently keen on Eric Garcia of Barca, once of Man City so he must know him from there. Right-sided CB

Partey and Tierney took part in full training for us today. Haaland not spotted at City's training - perhaps is groin injury is more serious than just pulling him out of the international break. Lets not forget Haaland's injury record at dortmund - he missed 28 games in 2 years with them

For some strange reason I find myself thinking more of what he does when he plays.