So it looks like the crews of Arsenal supporting contractors are doing a fine job at the new Sh*thole. 🙂
Spuds fans are revolting (fuming), travel plans are in disarray and the tawdry N17 club is at the mercy of the FA and UEFA in terms of being allowed to rearrange fixture venues – possibly right up until the end of the year!
It would seem that the aforementioned ‘safety certificate concerns’ are doublespeak for ‘half-finished’.
Apparently Twickenham was in the running for hosting the spuds home game against Man City at the end of October, but Twickers refused as they said that the bill for post-match fumigation was likely to be prohibitively large.
Oh well, let’s hope it all gets sorted really soon!
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
he he he
Thanks Chas, fine sleuthing for a Motning ROLF 🙂
To answer yesterday’s fine poll, all three, Licht, Torreira and Ouzi would be in my starting XI. Nuff said
In the name of fair play to all premier teams and their travelling fans, it makes an awful lot of sense to relegate Totnum
All behind the curtains….yes, very funny
Did you like your ‘view of the azure blue sea’?
Was it close to the truth?
Morning All,
It’s all gone Spursy. What a comedy 😀
Hi Didit.
Morning all, thanks Chas. All joking aside I hope that this leaves them a bit unsettled which translates to the playing side of things. Most pundits are writing us off for top 4 but as I said yesterday I don’t feel we are much away from Spuds, Utd and Chav’s (Pool and City are a different prospect at the moment).
Chelsea are in a similar position to us with exciting new management and we may be fairly evenly matched this year. I am looking at Spuds with this unrest and a potential Maureen melt-down and strop at Utd, due to a lack signings and Pogbagate, to derail them both somewhat.
We are going to win the Europa anyway and get into the CL that way, so it shouldn’t make too big a difference.
OMG, i have heard on the radiio that only 3 first of their games are to be played at Wemberly. I didn’t realise it is more than 3
ha ha ha, and i was thinking how the feck they finish the build so quickly when ours went on for years. Now I know how.
Eddie 🙂
I thought the MOTD analysis was interesting in our game with City where they indicated Mahrez and Sterling playing wide and overloading our FB’s gave them an edge in the game. We didn’t, (or couldn’t), reciprocate.
It got me thinking that I feel Emery has inherited a problem of AW’s penchant for midfielders that are techie passing ones who are better suited to central areas and don’t offer the same quality in wide areas. I don’t really see any of Ozil, Micki, Ramsey as offering quality in wide areas (Xhaka, Elneny, hairy one, pit-ball are definitely pure CM’s so aren’t options anyway).
None of that aforementioned trio really have the pace or trickery on the ball to twist and turn run at defenders and take them on to offer quality out wide. Conversely City have at least 3 who can in Mahrez, Sane and Sterling. Each of these 3 have the qualities of a true winger/wing forward but who can come and operate in central areas and still offer top quality in both parts of the pitch, whereas our 3 only really offer top quality in central areas and lack those key aspects that would make them effective at the highest level in wide areas.
It was a problem of AW’s for a few seasons and one that Emery might need to solve over time and a couple of TW’s, with the right players coming in and trimming the amount of techie CM’s we have. I actually see our only options being in the young players Nelson and AMN who both have the pace and trickery to offer this. Maybe Emery will have to put faith in them more this season at times at the expense of a more senior CM player.
AMN is interesting because I feel he is top quality but he is starting to enter the bracket of AOC of being a bit of Jack of all trades. I still wonder whether his best position could be as a winger. When all the FB’s are back and fit I hope Emery defines a specific position for him and gives him a good run in it.
Some players started out at a younger age being considered more a forward player and converting to a defensive one,e.g Ashley Cole and Bellerin. Others started more defensive then ended up more attacking like Bale. I wonder if AMN should be more a Bale and ultimately be pushed forwards. The few times I have seen him in that position I have been impressed and I feel he could offer us something very similar on the attacking left flank that Sane does for City.
GB. I guess that would be why there was so much talk of Dembele from Barca.
Ozil is the nearest to a tricky player but his floating role results in the FB’s being required to supply the crosses.
I hope that neither PEA or Laca get shoehorned into the role
GB
BR got in before me, re Dembele.
I think our “middle three” should be Ouzi right, Torreira centre, AMN left, now.
LBG – you too can’t say Matteo?
From AFC.com
“Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Ainsley has sustained a small fracture to his left fibula and will be out for six to eight weeks.”
Damn, just seen that AMN has a fracture and will be out for a bit. He has time on his side, but when he comes back I hope Emery either starts to look at him as becoming more a 1st choice FB or pushes him into the Sane role.
Raddy, I think the whole thing is in the subtle difference between a natural wide player that can come in off the flank and a natural central player that can go wide. I feel the former adapt to playing centrally far more than the latter adapt to playing wide which, for me, requires a more specific skill set not found in any of our senior midfielders.
This is why we often look too narrow in our play and seem to rely purely on our FB’s for attacking width in all areas of the pitch from the half way line to the opposition goal line. When it is our only option it is easier for the opposition to stifle our wide play, but also to exploit the vacated space on the counter-attack while our FB’s are stuck up the pitch playing like wingers.
With Mahrez and Sterling playing a lot in the advanced wide attacking areas, both Mendy and Walker became a second wide attacking option rather than the only one. This could be the biggest problem area for Emery to sort out and will probably take 2 TW’s and this season to adapt.
Ironically Raddy I feel our current solution (outside of youngsters like AMN and Nelson) actually lies with Laca and Aube, and rather than consider one of them as being shoe-horned wide I would look at them both as 2 mobile strikers that can give us width in attacking areas. They are part of a breed of more modern strikers that have played earlier in their career as wide wing forward types before becoming number 9’s (Henry, Lukaku, Costa e.t.c). I prefer them in the modern game over the more traditional centrally static number 9.
They should give us attacking width in a job sharing way between them, but more due to their natural instincts in wide areas rather than because they are being shoe-horned. When one goes wide and becomes the link/ supply player the other can attack centrally. We also have good back up in Welbeck and Nketieh who are similar players.
If you then play Micki centrally just behind them in a 3rd striker / number 10 role who can also attack the box we should be able to have a mobile front 3 that give us a blend of goal threat and last 3rd attacking width without having to make it the sole responsibility of the FB.
This allows Ozil to play slightly deeper in a free role behind Micki with 2 HM’s covering him. We also have 4 holding midfield players now as well as 4 striker options now and still Ramsey to consider in either covering the Ozil or Micki role.
Did I bore the pants off everyone 🙂
The intelligent Vines brother loves your stuff, GoonerB. 😊
The other two can’t help it if they’ve got ADHD.
GoonerB
Certainly hold your comments/thoughts in high regard!
Following your second paragraph to Raddy, would like comments from those with more experience of watching AMN in the U23s before he broke into first team. My understanding is he is/was by preference and by previous selection a central midfield player. Based on the first team performances I have seen, I believe he could “adapt” well to the wider role for two reasons. Firstly he has considerable pace and secondly, has a trick or two suitable to beat a “wider” defender. (Obviously currently not significant as an opinion, as my super intelligent next Bros down has noted for all that he has an unfortunate injury. ( If you regard Walker’s part in it as unfortunate!)
Agree absolutely with the role Lacs and Auba should play to give width further forward, with the belief as always that all players should be flexible in their mobility and positioning.
Eddie. Not using Matteo as love the Ouzi comparison made originally by my intelligent Bros.
PS My youngest Bros is also super intelligent, but rations his input to the site in case there is overload on the part of some AAers!
ha ha ha
i thought you and the drunks are related 🙂
LBG
It was GoonerB who referred to you as the intelligent brother.
I just wanted to make sure he knew which of us I was talking about.
Eddie
Rumour has it
No explanation required Chas 🙂
the 3 of you do not look alike, that’s true.
did you lot hear about depressed Barnsley fan? He twitted he is struggling, Barnsley CEO read it, contacted him saying that they have a new coffee machine installed, would he like to come round fora cuppa and to see what the club can do for him? How awesome is that??
I missed payment deadline for the silver membership a couple of years ago, no reminder was sent, I lost my card. I wrote to them explaining I am not well and unless reminded cannot remember things…they requested a doctor’s cert and supporting evidence to renew my membership. Feck that.
I am going to support Barnsley me thinks
Eddie
Wicked rumour has it, same Mother, multi fathers!
LBG 🙂 🙂 you is from Enfield not Anfield
i complaint today (as on most other days) to a leading bank who really showed shocking incompetence, i won’t bore you with details. Anyway, they apologised, gave me £100 and offered to send flowers and wine. I told them I don’t drink, but like a fag. No, they are not allowed to send cigarettes.We settled on chocs which are really good for my diabetes. Why are they allowed to send booze but not fags?? what’s that all about
how is the old lad, JB? did he go to the game on Sunday?
JB is feckin ace.
With coke especially.
JB 🙂
you know some dudes want to legalize all drugs. how is that going to work – do you go to your local chemist and ask for an once of coke, 15g of heroin and a bag of hash?
i need to prepare for that
Love the misunderstandings 😀
I would hope that we have an eye on a winger, trouble is they are few and far between plus we sold our only speedster to Everton (which was a fine piece of business)
GB. Inevitably we will use PEA and LAca out wide, as you say, a modern striker is highly mobile but I long for the days of Big Raddy and Geordie Armstrong
My favourite bit of chicanery from twitter today.
i heard a ref quit today cause people saw a leaked video with him and a animal
has to be fake news right
allegedly Arsenal are desperate to cut their wage bill and a number of players could join foreign clubs before the window closes on August 31.
who? Welbeck?
NEW OLD POST
Ospina for one hopefully welbeck also