1 The mancs need Sanchez to improve their final third passing accuracy – LMAO
2 A hatful of early goals make Saturday afternoons stress-free – like in the good old days at Highbury
3 We’ve missed Nacho Monreal more than some might like to admit
4 ‘Sanchez is the new Cantona’ according to an attention-seeking hack
5 GoonerB in the flesh is just as wordy as GoonerB at his keyboard 🙂
6 The spuds’ chips are thin and soggy if Eriksen isn’t fit
7 At the age of 21, Alex Iwobi could do with support from his own fans rather than ridicule
8 Ant looks good in a wig
9 Sanchez has morphed in the eyes of the Gooner faithful from charming Chilean Golden Retriever fancier to Golden Retriever ‘fancier’.
10 Henrikh Mkhitaryan wants to escape the evil clutches of a career-wrecking monster in Manchester
Arsenal News 24/7
Sanchez the new Cantona. Are you off you fooking head?!
Because they both have black hair?
Can’t you fooking read?
‘Alexis Sanchez’s move to Manchester United is reminiscent of Eric Cantona’s switch from Leeds in 1992, said Neil Custis on Sunday Supplement’
No, I cannot read between fooking lines. that bit wasn’t in the post!!
and what’s that about ant in a wig and spuds without Eriksen. Could you kindly elaborate sir?
Eriksen had the shits ========> spuds were shit
That was great, Chas, I just feel so liberated after reading that there Post.
10 things you learned at the weekend and passed on to us — that’s about 5 more things than I learned in my lifetime so far. Thank you. 😀
Iwobi is suffering the most ridiculous footballing abuse — and it beggars belief, unless it is being used to indirectly abuse AW.
I am astonished to learn that the real life GB is as gabby as he is in Blogdom — and I thought the blog comments emanating from him were the ruminations of all that camel food he scoffs.
But he is a nice guy too! 😀
Nice work chas … you brought a much needed titter to a drab Monday morning.
I could add to your list that TV studio pundits can only tell a dive from a penalty when it relates to one of their pet teams 😦
The Chilean is dead to me … his relentless tweeting of the private jet flight to his new sugar daddies made me puke
Ant is the new Joan Collins ….
Well that wig on Ant has ruined it for me — he looks so much better in the blond one!! 😀
…and where did the wig come from??
Who carries a wig to a football game?
Hi Rasper,
What was with the definition of ‘sardonic’ you gave on the blog yesterday?
You know full well it is a supersonic sardine.
Ant the ‘new’ Joan Collins, Rasp?
Well he is about 60 years younger than her, so that is ‘new’ I guess. 🙂
Morning Zee, maybe in your world 🙄
🙂 🙂 … or maybe he’s more like David Ginola in an Arsenal shirt?
You missed 2 obvious things-we-learnt (or not) from the weekend.
# 1. Arsene dismantled the daft 3-at-the-back formation, (for the first time in yonks) giving us an extra midfielder (5 players instead of 4).
Maybe it’s just coincidence we scored 4, and dominated midfield. Maybe not.
The match report from the BBC site, and others, also didn’t pick up on this point, nor my second point below.
Considering in the past (correct me if I’m wrong) you have championed that daft 3-at-the-back formation I’m surprised you have made no mention of the issue today.
———————————————-
# 2. No player was playing out of position (again, for the first time in yonks).
Am I correct in thinking you’ve previously said you’re “perfectly happy” (or words to that effect) with players out-of-position. Once again, correct me if I’m wrong.
———————————————-
No offence to you personally is intended on my part when applying these observations, GoonerB. I just thought that you, of all people, might have commented on these two issues seeing that you have done so in the not-so-distant past.
Personally, up against any opposition, I would want us playing a flat back four, and preferably with a “proper DM” as our first line of defence. And I never want players out of position unless really necessary.
Once again, respectfully, no personal offence to you intended.
Just stating my case x2.
Thanks for the post.
Whoops…
I mistakenly thought this was a Gooner B post !!
I started the post as first in line.
My comments addressed to Gooner B still stand though.
Now I’ve posted I realise it’s a CHAS post.
So, Chas, you could have dealt with my 2 points – even though your post was semi-funny.
Big Al, semi-funny is better than not funny at all.
Cheers.
As far as your comments on shoe-horning and formations are concerned, I’ll leave them to those better qualified to match your extraordinary footballing insight.
High praise indeed, Chas.
I’m actually blushing while typing this.
You’re extraordinary too, Chas.
I’ll leave the punchline to Eddie…
Elton goes rogue
Thanks Chas. 2 things I have learned over the weekend (and today):
Firstly is that your predictive text is obviously wonky as I am certain that point 5 was supposed to read “GoonerB in the flesh is just as much a worldy as GoonerB at his keyboard”.
Secondly that Ant had a haircut between getting off the train and arriving at the FFB. I did have a brief suspicion that 9.35 wasn’t Ant at all and that Susan Boyle was a gooner.
Uncanny 🙂
Ah those 2 could make beautiful music on a train…..I’m not standing, yeh yeh yeh.
hahahahaha
Big Al. Will come back a bit later but just have a quick look at my 10.01 yesterday 4th main paragraph down and the last bit of the comment. I know like everyone else you probably looked at the comment for 0.85 seconds and moved on to the next one 🙂
GB, 0.85secs was a bit of a stretch, I skipped past after 0.5secs
I didnt see any mention on here of the new backroom hire Huss Fahmy. So we now have a sports contracts legal expert who is going to help sort out the Ozil contract renewal plus was supposedly spotted/photographed with Gazidis and Mislintat at Dortmund airport.
Looks like the backroom boys are getting down to business, hello Aubameyang…
GoonerB
Re your 10.01 yesterday.
I didn’t see your post (none of it) let alone the 4th para.
I had a day off.
But, nice one! You’re now officially off the hook.
Hang on… you’re back on the hook again.
Your preferred line-up is “problematic”. There is no DM (yeah, I know… we don’t have one). But there is also no holding midfielder.
Maitland-Niles
Ozil, Wilshere, Mkhitaryan
Lacazette, Aubemayeng
Fact is, every team needs either a DM or HM, like it or not. Balance is a necessity. And, no, M-N is not either of those positions. Shame though, ’cause your team is good on paper.
I can’t be with you for the rest of the day, unfortunately.
It’s nearly 7pm here and…
…the bars are open, and the birds are calling my name…
Gotta go !!
Great post
Transfers wise – we are looking at Aubam but there is talk about including Giroud in the transaction and I am not keen on that
If Miky and Aubam come, we will need some balance because neither is interested much in defending and same applies to Ramsey and Ozil so how do we line-up? I agree that we still need a DM – Gueye (Everton) or Ndombele (Lyon) could provide that quick fix or we actually bring Witsel back to Europe.
If you play:
————— Aubam, Lacaz —————————-
Mhiky ————- Ozil ————————–Ramsey
———Wilshere———Xhaka—————-
———-Monreal, Kos, Mustafi—————-
You are exposing your wings a lot and are not getting the best out of Miky and Ramsey and you are benching Bellerin and Koli
We may end up benching Lazette for the sake of balance and play a 4-3-2-1
Cech – Monreal, Kos, Mus, Bellerin – Wilshere, Xhaka, Ramsey – Ozil, Miky – Aubam
Ospina – Koli, BFG, Holding, Debuchy – Wellbeck, El Neny, M-N, Iwobi – Lacaz, Giroud
Cheers chas
Sod Saturdays game, those old pics you posted were fantastic. Bought back so many happy memories of our shitness.
The only one I had to look twice at was Pat Howard. Apart from Petrovich all the others played long enough for me to admire there numbness, but I could barely remember Howard? Which was a shame, because he was really shit.
i really miss those days. It was a time when been crap was a thing to be admired were as now not been as good as Pele means a death sentence imposed by some ugly git on youtube.
Back to work, tax return deadline is looming
In
VP, I knew someone would downgrade my 0.85 seconds and was just waiting to see who was the first that couldn’t resist it 🙂 To be honest I was expecting either Zee or Chas to get in there quick but you beat them too it. You are right 0.5 it is. With 0.85 I was getting confused with Aubemayeng’s 0-100mph stats 🙂
haha Big Al, those Thai parrots calling you are very clever…pint for big Al, pint for big Al. You can read my response later but FGG and I had a discussion on the holding midfielder in our toing and froing yesterday.
I actually wrote a couple of posts about the DM a couple of years back to distinguish (in my opinion) between a holding midfielder and a more box to box midfielder who has more freedom to play up and down the pitch (can’t remember when). Wilshere and Ramsey are classic box to box DM’s but for them to be more effective and have that freedom they need a specialist holding midfielder next to them that holds position more and screens in front of the back 4.
I think all our mainstay midfielders are the latter and the reason is (as FGG pointed out last night) that it seems AW doesn’t believe in a specialist holding midfielder. Coquelin was the closest we had but we needed a better one and AW has actually now got rid of the one true holding midfielder we had now anyway, so read into that what you will. Personally I think he feels that 2 box to box DM’s can work in tandem effectively and a holding midfielder is too defensive in its thinking and anti football.
I see it differently and personally believe we need a specialist holding midfielder. I actually believe we will become a more effective attacking outfit with this one correct player in place because of the extra freedom they give to the other players to play their natural game instinctively.
On Saturday Jack had more freedom to play with Ozil because we had 2 covering midfielders in Elneny and Xhaka. The problem is it took 2 of them to do the specialist job of 1 and neither of them can do that role alone. When Jack plays with Xhaka he has to cover a lot more for Xhakas defensive deficiencies in the role and he loses some of his freedom to impose himself on the game.
This brings us to AMN, as it has been said quite regularly that this is his natural position. I also wrote in another post that I feel that pace and athleticism were more important than size and strength in the role. You can’t have anyone that is brushed off the ball easily obviously, but watching AMN he looks strong when going shoulder to shoulder with players.
More importantly he does what I would refer to as steal the ball from players while staying on his feet rather than going to ground in a full on wipe out attempt. At the top level in the modern game I feel this type of pacey athletic more refined tidying up in front of the back 4 and subsequent recycling of possession is more important than a behemoth of a player.
I think AMN can do it and further I feel getting this position right could be a big key to us. I don’t think the 2 similar box to box switch works that well in practice (looks good on paper) and liken it to the Lampard / Gerrard problem England had a few years back.
If AMN can’t do it then we need to get someone in who can, but AW has to give him a run of games there so we can find out. Alongside my optimism of who it seems is coming to us these are my main concerns, that he will not play AMN there and that he will persist with trying to get 2 similar DM’s alongside each other.
I hope that gets me off the hook Al while you are hooking up with god knows whatever parrot that has called out to you from god knows what seedy……sorry….. culturally refined bar 🙂
Yes we need a DM/HM for sure and I agree that Jack is more a box to box and would say that Rambo is even more of a 10 than an 8 in terms of his best position…
For DM/HM – I would like us to test Monreal there but it seems that it not even considered…If we want to buy one, then I would go for:
– Gueye from Everton
– Ndidi from Leicester
– Illarramendi from Sociedad
– Carvalho or Danilo from Portugal
– Ndombele from Lyon
These guys would bridge holes and have the engine to also move the ball if necessary
If we bring in Aubameyang for 65 Mln EUR + bonuses – I am worried about our balance. We could end up having Lacazette on the bench or Miky…In any case – offensively, we will be ok. We need to bulk up defensively to give our stars upfront the freedom to score. We wont be able to play
– Wilshere, Ramsey, Miky, Ozil, Lacazette and Aubam together
– one of them will have to be left on the bench
– who will it be?
I think we will only get a proper DM when we have a change of manager as AW hasn’t valued that role since Gilberto Silva left … what an underrated player he was!
RC, didn’t you like my suggestion of the 4-1-3-2 from yesterday? It did place Ramsey on the bench, but then all the big sides that want to compete at the top have internationals on the bench.
In any case RC, (in the line up I mentioned) if Ozil is injured or needs resting, Wilshere can move to the right of centre with Ramsey into the central role. If Wilshere is injured or needs resting then Ramsey can take his position. If we are away and want to control the midfield more, we can drop to one striker and play the extra midfielder (Ramsey). I don’t see him wanting for playing time, just that right now I wouldn’t see him in the strongest first 11 if those 2 expected players come in.
Xhaka comes after both Jack and Ramsey in the pecking order for me so this adds an extra problem. However, once injuries and other such factors are taken into account I am sure he will also get decent playing time. If any of the players doesn’t like it and wants to go so be it. We then have a space that we can maybe promote from within. Players like Rene Adelaide and Willock will need to come into the equation at some point.
What is a HM
Holding midfielder
Her Majesty
Lol
Thanks rasp, I play a lot of Fifa so was thinking something else
Thanks Chas. Not having seen the game I couldn’t possibly comment.
I cannot see how Mkhit fits into the team. Seems a strange signing unless Ozil is leaving in summer
It’s done! Thank god. Maybe now the club can move on. We should get at least a weeks peace before talk turns to Özil and Wilshere’s contracts, and then after that it’s another year of Wenger will he/won’t he! Sort it out Arsenal!
We have a new toy at the club, one who was player of the year in Germany before Mourinho got his dirty paws on him. Hopefully he can recapture that and Sanchez has a drastic drop in talent when he hits 30!
Can’t help but feel annoyed at the whole Sanchez thing (80 goals in 165 games. Suddenly Walcotts record looks dogshit!) but we as fans have to move on aswell if the club are to do the same. It’s an exciting new era for the club and one that I honestly believe will see us climb back into the top 4 and into contention. The future will look much better when Özil and Wilshere are signed up.
Thanks Chas
I learnt absolutely nothing from the game.
I don’t like the four early goals, as 75 mins were pretty pointless and I like some drama. Prefer the early goal, followed by some squeaks, with a climax of three late goals
Is Ant on any “special lists” anywhere?
Ooo, Micki has signed. Superb, love the fellow.
My God that Sanchez is a steaming turd of a man
GB/Big Al,
If, as it appears, Wenger doesn’t rate the HM position, then what do we think changed? After all, he had some of the best at the club during his earlier years in Petit, Gilberto (unbelievable player as Rasp points out), and even that one amazing season from Flamini. Has he gone off the idea, or do these 3 players deserve a bit more credit and actually were all more than capable of going forward themselves, and all that’s changed is we haven’t been able to get the same sort of standard?
Its been an area of failure for us during the last 10 or so years wether through transfers or youth system. Is Wenger looking for the wrong things from that position or have we just failed massively to get the right players in?
Muamba
Eastmond
Diarra
Frimpong
Arteta
Flamini
Coquelin
Bielik
Kamara
Song
Hayden
That’s a few of the ones we’ve had. A couple have done a decent job for us, but not a single name stands out from that list as a top class HM player. We’ve definitely had them though, so maybe he hasn’t gone off the idea but he’s just not found the right one.
ha ha ha
excellent work Chas 🙂
Good stuff, people, Micky wins the prize for the most erudite blogger with the coolest description of Sanchez – something to do with steaming, as I recall. Good man.
Quite enamoured by the near professional analyses offered by RC78 and my camel loving friend Gooner B a MkHit fan. Excellent.
Chas is a byword for strange but eye catching photos and quirky but clever comments. Love it.
The Post has also been supported by a good supporting cast led by Fin Ginger Gooner and Terry the Tax dodging Wombat!!
Thanks tio All. 😀
Kyle Naughton has been excellent for Swansea tonight. I know he’s an ex Spud but he would be a very useful, home grown cover for Bellerin. Can’t imagine he would be expensive if they went down.
Ox back to his normal self tonight I see!
You can always trust Liverpool to make things seem brighter. If 2 results summed up that club in the last 5 years it’s beating top of the league at home, then losing away at the bottom of the league! Brilliant!
What a great few days for the Arsenal. We score 4, the spuds drop 2 points, pool lose to the side at the bottom of the league, we offload a hyperactive dog botherer and acquire a player who appreciates what Arsenal is about …. happy days 😆😆
My favourite comment deserves repeating:
“GB, 0.85secs was a bit of a stretch, I skipped past after 0.5secs”
Pleased about the Miki signing. I know the obvious line for pundits and media e.t.c is that Utd got the better end of the deal but I think there is more to Miki than Maureen got out of him. I just feel he may suit our type of play a lot better and I also don’t think it is a given that Sanchez will pull up trees at Utd. In fact I can even see the potential for manager / player disagreements with Sanchez.
Time will tell now but if we can get Auba as well then I think we will have had a good TW and will be stronger both as a first 11 and a squad after the ins and outs than before the TW, with options on 2-3 strong formations and a strong bench. You can’t ask for more than that and all that remains is to tie down Ozil and Wilshere. Other additions can wait till the summer.
FGG, I reckon the holding midfielder is a bit of both ofwhat you ask in not always having the best ones but also Arsene not really placing great import on this type of player.
I think Muamba, Eastmond, Frimpong, Le Coq and Kamara all just fell short at the highest level.
Diarra was good enough but it seemed there was some dispute there and we lost a good un before he could really feature for us.
Song and the Flamster were pretty decent but we lost Flam when he could have become our mainstay and got him back past his best. Song was actually really good when he remained disciplined but became less of an effective holding player once he went Songinho on us. Was this his own decision or was he encouraged to do it?
Hayden was a CD I believe that could possibly have been a HM. I fancied him being given a go but AW didn’t see enough in him. Bielik? Is he still too young to say? Is he a HM or CD?
Arteta was a good midfield player but not a HM and was in the sides when we had those 2-3 thrashings that year, which for me perfectly exemplified Arsene’s blind spot in that position in preferring greater technical ability over greater protection and cover.
Lol
U forgot Diaby
Swansea win with a 3% chance as calculated using expected goals.
🙂
Scousers beat top of the table then lose to bottom. Noice
Elton gets everywhere.
6:50 Instant classic. Add to favourites and top pussy kitty bag 🙂
As for: Mkhitaryan literally translated from Armenian is Michael Thomas
Don’t do shit like that to me unless you’ve done proper research 🙂
Naturally, I will not be doing any research, just believe what I like
6:53
WHAT?
Morning All,
Research is for train spotters. Never bother with it.
Can someone explain how we line up with Miki? Does he play in Iwobi’s position and what happens when AR returns to full fitness?
Simple Erik
Miki straight swap for Sanchez. Him und Mesut floaters behind/alongside Laca
AR With Jack and Granit, or if we’re scared, we play either AR or Jack and slot in another central mid defencey sort
Are you a fan of Sicily
I don’t believe this Ollie/Auba swap stuff
Just too good to be true.
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Sanchez quotes and Elton photos are hilarious
What did the scumbag actually say, I only heard him saying that he moved to the biggest club in England
Digressing slightly – I went to a cinema to watch ‘All the money in the world’. Not a bad film with some great moments – the richest man in the world (then) installed a phone booth in his house in case visitors needed to make a phone call 🙂
Sicily? Fab.. Palermo beautiful if you are a fan of shabby chic.
and what about Etna, beaches, roman ruins…and heat, bloody heat day and night 30C +
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