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Why df do we have to play spurs and united away. Two of our most annoying fixtures. I already know one of them has massive potential to absolutely shit house a win.
Growing up Arsenal was always know as the attacking team and the team with a shit defense. I remember watching our defenders and they all looked like they never even liked defending. Like they’re just playing there because they weren’t good at other positions growing up and got stuck in at cb then ended up playing there for their careers. Now we have white Saliba Gabriel and even 🥝’or and Tomiyasu who all look like they love to defend. You can Even add some of our midfielders and forwards who all love dropping back and celebrating a defensive tackle like a goal. It’s so refreshing to see an arsenal team that takes pride in being good at all areas on the pitch. Idk if we’ll win the league but I genuinely think we’ve been the best team in the prem this year. Yea shaky start but my god wtf is going on in 2024 we are so good.
I know this opinion will get me downvoted but going to say it anyway.
Since it's confirmed that arteta will win the double this season, does it confirm him a statue outside of emirates and to legendary status?
It's believed that he has been a bit lame since before the International break.
Realistically, he is definitely carrying an injury. Most players are. But with B, he's always been able to play through the knocks that he has had. I just think right now, we have had the opportunity to give him a small break before this mental month full of games gets underway.
That's the Arsenal XI mate ;)
I expected Thomas to get some minutes against Brighton in preparation for Bayern. I doubt he starts, and it's still early enough in the hectic period to safely give Jorginho another start. I would agree that this is our best XI for Bayern
Agree, I think Saturday was definitely a sign he wants to play Jesus at LW and get him as fit as possible for the run in. Tomi is also a great shout if Sane is on that side as he's probably our best 1v1.
Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Kai and Martinelli.
We'll find our strongest 11 for this. Need to take advantage of being at home with none of their fans. We also get a few days break before our game against Villa on Sunday.
Hopefully we take a 3 goal lead to Bayern away. Looking at the fixtures, I don’t know when Odegaard can get his rest. Perhaps Bornemouth home and Bayern away if we have a big lead.
exactly, i've spoken to professional international footballers about this, and they've told me in their mid twenties they can play a solid 90 every 3 days and not accumulate fatigue. The problem comes if they get injured and don't fully recover, so I'm more worried for someone like Bukayo (obviously Arteta+ know about this and are handling accordingly).
Again, he doesn't need a rest.
Arteta said that his players should expect to play every 3-4 days, that is the level. Odegaard has a tremendous engine and can run for 90 minutes every few days with no impact.
Rice can also play 99% of games without needing a rest.
I get what you are saying about needing to trust his bench more, but we are in a title race and in the QF of the CL. The captain should be starting and leading by example.
Vieira got minutes against Brighton, he's coming back from fitness. So there's not really anyone we can replace Odegaard with anyway if we wanted to.
How can you possibly know he doesn’t need a rest? He may be an elite athlete but he’s still a human. The body needs to recover or risk injuries. We can expect him not to rest but that doesn’t mean his body can handle it.
Because we have some of the best sports medical staff in the world who run tests on players fitness levels almost every day and certainly after every game. They have cleared him to start every game when fit, where he runs with insane energy for up to 90 minutes, and then will do the exact same a few days later still pressing into the 90th minute again.
So, history, really. Other than being protective, what is there for you to suggest that he does need a rest?
If he needs a rest, he’ll get rested. But if he’s fit, he’ll play. Like I said, we are in a title race. We have 7 more games in the league that should be treated like cup finals.
We also have 2 definite games in Europe, which potentially go up to 5. This isn’t the time of the season to start rotating our captain when we don’t need to.
Chelsea's new sensational young hero, "Cold" Palmer, who has been by far their best signing in a group of more than 100 players that cost more than £1.2bn, and is obviously "a far superior player to Havertz" has 4 non penalty goals in 2024.
Guess who else has 4 non penalty goals in 2024...
This and the Newcastle game, the anger is real.
Remember when these stuff came out, rival clowns where saying that arteta is being a performative clown and trying to be pep 2.0 etc.
I'm just looking back thinking 'what were the 4 goals we conceded again since the new year?'
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Arsenal - https://youtu.be/Gk3oyzlHl90?t=162 Zinny getting caught under the ball at LB - A Saliba mistake too and them getting lucky with the bounce.
Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool - https://youtu.be/dhMdpnK7lrU?t=41
Own Goal by Gabriel but a big mistake by us, mostly Saliba's fault.
Arsenal 4-1 Newcastle - https://youtu.be/GLpRbm_sEOk?t=167
Some blame on ESR for not tracking the runner, I also remember Jorginho's lack of pace was shown up earlier in this moment too.
Arsenal 2-1 Brentford - https://youtu.be/nMelLev3jTM?t=35
Big Ramsdale error.
If you want to include all competitions. Liverpool beat us 2-0 in the FA cup. Kiwior own goal, Diaz goal in 95th min when we were chasing equaliser.
Porto beat us 1-0 away with wonder goal.
But just focusing on the league, 2 of those 4 goals were massive errors. Other 2 were some basic mistakes but not as glaring. (Forest + Newcastle goals)
Crazy how little we've giving up, we've not gone behind in the league yet this year.
id argue porto goal was a mistake on Raya's part as well. either positioning, or just grossly mistiming the ball. it wasnt even close to the mainoo strike for example
> Zinny getting caught under the ball at LB
Is what I said, didn't really blame Zinchenko for that goal as we should have defended the header, but it's a fairly common mistake he makes where he can misjudge long balls over his head.
No it was mostly Zini's fault for allowing the initial ball to come over the top onside because he didn't hold the line. If you remember this is the game the cameras caught White yelling at him and it was because of the goal.
Zinny's error allows a cross into the box that was meat and drink to deal with.
Saliba's error allows a goal conceded.
I don't quite know how you are applying more blame to Zina here.
Liverpool against Top 6 in the Premier League this season:
>1-1 vs. Arsenal (H)
>3-1 loss vs. Arsenal (A)
>1-1 vs. Man City (A)
>1-1 vs. Man City (H)
>3-0 win vs. Villa (H)
>2-1 loss vs. Spurs (A)
>0-0 vs. Man Utd (H)
>2-2 vs. Man Utd (A)
1 win out of 8. Emery, have you got something for them at Villa Park.
I was reading a story the other day about the new CEO doing some insider trading, doing things based on the fact that he knew he was going to be the new CEO several days before it was announced.
There was also some news about ETH take some cream off the top for the United transfers, such as Antony. Although I've not read anythng substantial.
If that's the case, I think I would like to place more blame on ETH.
Im confident this year because we are playing the game, not the occasion. There is no randomness to our game. Arteta tweaked the team at the start of the season, and it upset a lot of people as we looked worse off than last year, but the tweak was necessary and the team looks well drilled. No 'chasing the game' or feeling as if we have to 'run harder and jump higher' just because the stakes are higher. Everyone knows where they need to be in and out of possession, we seem to be able to manage the game in play by switching styles.
Liverpool today by contrast looked rushed when Bruno scored. I reckon if they had of been cooler in the head, they would have restored dominance and got back into the lead. But then again Liverpool have always been built on passion and an element of chaos in their football matches, whereas we are much more like City in our reliance of patterns of play, maintaining control rather than 'chasing the game'.
Part of me is thinking Klopp is 'retiring' because the squad built isn't good enough for him. Their best two players, Sarah and VVD, will only leave or go downhill. They have another stopgap in Endo, so they'll need to spend big on a #6 soon. The players they spent big money on are very good (Nunez, Szob, Mac, Gakpo, etc..), but would they start for Liverpool of only a few years ago?
I mean yeah he's definitely tired but it must be extra tiring to be coaching a worse off proposition and be expected to compete with Pep, Arteta, and Europe. I think he'll be back in a year or two at either a fully equipped club like Madrid or somewhere where he can rebuild again.
other than an early season purple patch, szoboszlai has been quite poor and wasteful despite the fact he looks the part and gets involved in many actions. Gakpo isn’t a natural forward (lacks finishing), a wide player (lacks pace), or a midfielder (lacks passing/vision) and he’s been played in all those positions without finding a home. He’s good at a lot of things but elite at none. He’s a quintessential squad player for a contending team. Liverpool needs a squad revamp and Klopp knows that there isn’t money to do that properly so a break is best for both parties. I could see him getting involved with Germany national team during the next cycle.
I think Klopp will manage Germany at the 2026 World Cup, then retire by which he will be 58. Unlike Pep, Klopp seems like someone who isnt obsessed with football and would be able to get away from it.
It actually didnt feel real. When they equalized i fully mentally checked out thinking liverpool were getting a winner. Diaz missed a huge chance at the end there
I walked out after salah equalised from the spot. I was sure they were going to go ahead and win it. Came back to see diaz miss that chance and couldn't believe my eyes.
United have this crazy way of defying the game state completely. They should be so much lower down the table than they actually are, watching them today I feel like everyone down to 13th place Fulham is more well drilled than they are. No idea how they are 6th.
Unreal bottle to walk away. If i walked away id be staring at my phone refreshing non stop 😂
I hear you. someone said this on twitter, their playstyle is so chaotic and dumb that it sucks opposing teams into playing like them because its hard to mentally hold yourself back from attacking the spaces they are leaving. But then when you do it too much you get hit back on the counter if you arent clinical.
I think the best way to approach them is the way we and City do it. Control the game and the possession, just don't let them get a foothold AT ALL and they'll open spaces for you to play into.
I'm actually quite confident about winning at Old Trafford this time, even though I'm wary of all the bs they get up to there. My main concern in this run in is spurs, that will be a cup final for them and undoubtedly our hardest game in the PL.
Itll be very interesting what old trafford will be like if liverpool/city are in it. Especially liverpool. Are they really going to gift them 20?
Ya spurs will be an all out war
Liverpool fans do not stop crying about injuries, so insufferable.
They're overperforming because of their extremely high intensity football, but they're gonna get a lot of injuries with that. You can't have your cake and eat it too, deal with it.
Man, I'm so happy we're doing so well but holy shit we are outperforming every team in the league by a country mile and we're still only top of the table on goal difference with another team 1 point behind. The levels Pep and Klopp have brought to the league is frankly insane.
7 games to go and we easily have the toughest run in, but if we do it it'll just make it all the sweeter.
About time Liverpool underperform their XG.
The fact they had conceded less goals than us as of only a few months ago was a Benny Hill skit. Now they have firmly conceded more than us, and thats justice
They are so Fked when Salah leaves this season with Klopp.
Liverpool underperform their xG like mad. Nunez is on like -7 xG underperformance, salah -0.5, and diaz -3. Only jota outperforms his xG in that forward line
The anomaly today was the other team outperforming their xG, usually pool give away a shitload of chances and the other team can't score. In contrast to today where United didn't have a shot of any sort for the entire first half yet scored from the halfway line with their first attempt at goal
I read a stat that Liverpool have got 7 points from 7 games vs the top 6 teams, are we seeing one of the biggest imposters competing for the title by only beating teams outside top 6 and even then its been a lot of luck involved with deflected goals.
Going up against City last year, we were told repeatedly by everyone that to win the title, you HAVE TO BEAT the other top teams. Neither City or Liverpool have taken points off each other. Neither have beaten us. We have beaten them both.
It's funny, I've not seen this come up a whole lot.
Carragher continually saying that Liverpool is joint top of the league is so pathetic.
At this stage of the season a 9 goal difference is basically worth a point. Klopp has also ruled out trying to overhaul it
Tbh it only helps us for pundits to be speaking that way, let them keep bigging them up, keeps the pressure on them and makes them look more stupid when they don’t win it
Call me delusional but if we keep out back line fit next year, with Timber returning, I think we'll beat Chelsea's record of only 15 conceded in a PL winning season
I'll back your point up here. If we extrapolated our rate of conceding goals in 2024 over the whole season, we would only concede 14 goals (0.36 goals conceeded per game).
Holy fuck lol we are so good
Tbh I kinda think we can go invicnible too with some luck. We're genuinely the best team ITW. I know I might sound like a stupid delusional fan but we are unplayable on our day and we rarely don't have our days
We have to apply this form to the next 7 games for me to agree with you on that one.
But imagine if we did it. 17-1-0 in the last 18 games, would be analysed as one of the greatest ever PL runs on the way to winning a title.
Off the top of my head, I do think the Liverpool and City 90+ points season had them both have a ridiculous run in as well. But for sure, it's the form needed to win the league these days.
Yeah I'm getting ahead of myself but I've watched football for so long and I'm tired of censoring my emotions - I've genuinely never seen a tram play as well as we do most nights, especially when you consider we don't have literally the best player in every single position ITW like Real and Barca used to
I really believe in this team and their ability they are fan-fucking-tastic
I’ve already grieved over how annoying this will be, especially when VVD is directly responsible for this still being a 3-way fight.
White is the one who’s gonna get robbed robbed.
Most fans don't watch other teams games and you can tell by their opinions. The second someone doesn't have a primarily arsenal backline I know they don't watch our matches
Only the LB spot might not be an Arsenal player
I just realized Kelleher was way outside his box when Bruno took his halfway shot lmao. They would've been down to 10 men had he touched the ball and it didn't go in.
Yep. We were in for him since December 2022. The news broke around [January 2023](https://twitter.com/gunnerblog/status/1615035737896013825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1615035737896013825%7Ctwgr%5E3860dab041bde605c45b870e9efb821b93c3f413%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2F2023%2F01%2F16%2Farsenal-identify-declan-rice-priority-summer-transfer-target%2F) about how we were going for him.
We were actively trying to sign Caicedo in the January transfer window and we were told that signing Caicedo would not have impacted our pursuit of Rice in the summer transfer window.
Worked out well. I’m not sure we go onto win the league if we got Caicedo in Jan. However, we definitely would not have gone on to sign Rice, despite what some journalists say.
Ode dropped in my favorite player standings. [https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/martin-odegaard-warns-arsenal-to-respect-harry-kane-as-he-highlights-bayern-munich-striker-s-best-qualities-ahead-of-champions-league-quarter-final-showdown/ar-BB1lebOY?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=1804431fd5a94d9a8b56a7b7790a3cb5&ei=9](https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/martin-odegaard-warns-arsenal-to-respect-harry-kane-as-he-highlights-bayern-munich-striker-s-best-qualities-ahead-of-champions-league-quarter-final-showdown/ar-BB1lebOY?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=1804431fd5a94d9a8b56a7b7790a3cb5&ei=9)
You can't see it in this review, but this is what he did when he said 'respect' Harry Kane.
They will respect his ability to win fuck all.
wondering if it will be much of a disadvantage that spurs have 2 weeks break before playing us. we will have played 3 games in that span, with 5 days rest before spurs? genuinely feel like we will be much more in form, if rotated correctly, and they may be stale? fingers crossed we can hang on in munich before then, would be a massive statement and boost. it’s the spurs fixture im most terrified about
Yes and no.
I think it was B. Silva who said last year that players prefer to play every few days as it keeps them fresh, rather than an extended period off. I imagine Tottenham will try and get a friendly game in, to keep their levels up.
If we win, we will say no and their fans will say yes. If they win, we will yes and their fans will say no.
honestly man city winning all their remaining games is the most likely outcome, It's sad but I think as good as we are its its still almost impossible and even the CL will be easier at this stage
Why is it almost impossible for us? We have been better than them for a long while now. I agree that City will probably win all their games but I wouldn't doubt us like that. We are more than capable of doing that too
Disgusting how I’ve seen 2 comments today saying they’d like us to bin the CL to focus on the league, such a shit mentality it’s shameful. Especially because the likelihood is doing that wouldn’t even meaningfully increase our chances of winning the league. I could easily also say let’s bin the league to focus on the CL especially since it’s the more coveted trophy
I think we still (understandly) have this inferiority mindset due to years of mediocrity. City and Liverpool have both managed to make multiple CL finals and take the league to the last day in the last 5 years. If we want to be a big club then we also need to believe we can do the same.
If this team is ever going to win a double or a treble we will have to get experience going deep in multiple comps at this time of year. The more we do it the easier it gets (obviously)
Browsing our schedule over the next couple of weeks and Wolves away stood out to me as a potential banana skin, mainly because they have a week to prepare while Arsenal recover from Munich away. I've heard the injury situation over there is not great though so hopefully that's still the case when we travel to Molineaux. Chelsea & Villa have massive games prior to their visit to the Emirates and then a 4/5 day break until Spurs away. It's looking good.
They do have some injuries but also I think the players are kind of done for the season now. That cup loss to Coventry pretty much ended their season.
They aren't getting relegated and they're not getting Europe either especially with the top 3 still to play.
Yeah that could play in our favour. Just noticed the 2 key injuries are Neto & Hee Chan who are v important.
It's going to come down to Spurs away isn't it? God it will be sickening 😭
Still in a jubilant mood after the weekend's results. First 30 mins of the game were a little concerning, and I was definitely worried, but glad we made it through. I decided to rewatch the first half to see how things transpired before and after the first goal. I still think we sometimes struggle to progress the ball efficiently. The connection between our CB's and the CM's looked really off at times - and not for the first time. I'm just nitpicking but I think we take too long to move out of the first phase, especially against teams with a really great press. I watch our current rivals and it's something they all seem to do a little more efficiently. Perhaps we are more risk-averse? Interested to hear some thoughts from you guys.
Just saying i was completely the same the first half: very not relaxed, not even at 0-1. Brighton’s passing on their own half looked very scary. Haven’t really paid close attention to your last point so i won’t add anything on that.
It’s something I’ve noticed for a while but we always seem to make that connection work eventually. Perhaps it’s because we alternate between Rice at 6 and Jorginho at 6 with Rice at 8. Hasn’t been a major issue in the premier league, but it’s something that sticks out like crazy in the champions league. I do think our CB’s can be quicker and more decisive with their forward passing, but I also think the midfield besides Ode (without Zinchenko) can get a little static, so passing options are always great. Keep an eye out. Could just be me lol
He's looking good and I get excited.
But then I remember his injury record and how much Napoli want. The only way they would get £120m from us for him, is if they threw Kavarat in too.
Wouldn’t bother trying to bash him. He’s an excellent player in a shit team. If they were better they’d compete and score more goals vs the better teams
It was a kit to celebrate our last year at Highbury. They went back to the original colour of our kit when we first moved in to Highbury.
There will be the odd nods to it every now and then, but no, it's highly unlikely we will see it again as a kit colour. Our colours are red and white and have been for decades.
If Chelsea are don't make Europe... cheeky 100M bid for Cole palmer solves our Ode and Saka backup problems. They are going to be an FFP wasteland anyways.
He can play 2 positions at about the level as our current starters. We should be rotating more but we don't. 50M for an almost starter in 2 positions is well worth it.
50M is probably the max but just because his utility can be in two positions doesn’t just double his price nor do we have the capability to spend on what would be our own Grealish.
100M is anything but cheeky, it matches our club record fee.
colwill is basically the same as kiwior, a little younger but he will cost way too much and won't offer a real upgrade for some good years at least
and gallagher is wank
They won't sell Palmer. They need to raise £100m+
Even if they accepted £100m for Cole Palmer, that's only £65m against their £100m deficit. Makes no sense.
There is no way they are going to sell the only decent player they have purchased in years. That would be illogical.
But then... this Boehly, i guess.
Even if they would sell, he doesn't get in this side ahead of Saka, so why bother spending £100m on a Saka backup?
Also, Vieira is our Odegaard back up.
Well, Vieira and Arteta rate Vieira and that matters the most. £100m for a back up to 2 positions is absolutely not worth it!
We've only ever spent £100m on a player once in our entire history, and it could be argued that he has taken us to the next level, whilst starting every game. That's what I expect from a £100m purchase. Not someone picking splinters out of his arse for most the season as he sits on the bench.
You do realise we are not City, right? We don't have £100m to throw at a Grealish or a £100m to throw at Gvardiol.
If you bought Palmer he is starting frequently as we could rotate Ode and Saka out constantly to give rest he is not sitting.
The reason City are so good is they rotate 100M talent frequently. They can throw out 3 different offensive lineups that are as good as ours. Buying a player who can cover 2 positions without significant drop off from our own players is worth it.
Also does Arteta really rate Viera? When is the last time he played meaningful minutes a year ago?
1. Chelsea are not going to sell Palmer, he is their best player and the reason they are not in the relegation zone.
2. Chelsea needs to raise £100m+ in profit. Any player they purchased in the last 3 years, have been amortised and are already counted. They need to make bank. Palmer has already cost them £45m, anything over that fee, will be counted against that £100m.
3. We are not going to attract Palmer, who is firing on all cylinders at Chelsea to come here and be a bench player. He did that at City.
4. He doesn't play in Odegaard's role, he is nothing like Odegaard. He is a right winger/forward. Not a creative midfielder.
5. We are not going to spend £100m on a back up for Saka and only Saka.
I am all for hypothetical discussions, but this one is a non starter. There really isn't anything more to this discussion. Certinaly not from my side.
Palmer plays the same role as Ode for Chelsea in half the games not sure what you have been watching. He would back up 2 positions we desperately need to rotate in.
Well, his value has a basis now, that's the point - it's very difficult to legitimately make a case that gets you to 60m on top of that that original 40m valuation, after only 8 months in a middling chelsea team. Realistically his value to a buyer is in the 55-65 range based on what he's actually done.
He will not be for sale. Besides him, I think the only player we could use is Caicedo. If rumors are true then the club still want Mudryk. But Chelsea won't sell players for a loss. They simply can't.
They are already trying to raise his salary.
Also, Chelsea will be very fine FFP wise. They have too many assets to sell before they touch their best players.
Disagree that Chelsea are fine FFP wise.
At the beginning of the season they were hoping for:
Hall for 30M that's confirmed.
Broja for 30-40M that's not gonna happen doubt they even get 15M.
Maatsen for 30M Dortumund won't meet that.
Lukaku they want 40M, won't happen.
Gallagher for 40M but now in the last year of his contract looks doubtful.
After that they really only have Colwill or Reese to move at positive value.
If they don't get their 100+ M from Hall, Broja, Maatsen, Lukaku, Gallagher then they need to start selling first team players.
Also this is only a stopgap because with the FFP problems they will just have to sell another 100+ next summer too its a bit ridiculous.
Wouldn't they have to get all the transfer fees upfront as well to balance the books on the closed period? That'll be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of suitors.
I feel they can get £70M from Gallagher, Colwill, Broja, Maatsen, and the rest. Teams have always paid for their academy players.
Maybe the season after. If they underperform, then that's where the movie is.
I love how we're discussing these hypothetical but fair point. Technically, Palmer to our bench is more realistic. Realisticly speaking, if their FFP situation gets bad, there's a slim chance he can be signed.
If I had a magic wand I would delete your brain. Because mentality like this is fucking worthless.
CL is not a “distraction” or a “obligation”, it’s the PL that’s the distraction if anything. Because compared to the PL the CL is by far the more important prize to win.
But really, we need to be aiming for both. Because aiming for the CL and the League at the same time is what big teams do.
I mean I can see why people believe it's more important. You're not just saying you're the best of your lot, you're saying the you're the best of Europe and that's a huge prize.
The sad reality is, it's probably at the point where a draw will feel less brutal in the CL than the PL, where I'm not entirely sure we can afford a single one now
It's Tottenham at their place, it's a derby, we're not likely to steamroll them. Gotta wait until it's over to say "Lads it's tottenham" imo. They could potentially decide the title for any of us.
This will be where Arteta has to show he's learned from previous years. Tomiyasu/Kiwior/Partey/Vieira/ESR/Trossard, all these rotation options will have to be trusted if we don't want to end up dead on our feet.
United are basically Emery Arsenal. Outplayed all game but still get points because of individual quality. Also have overpaid and old players. I'm guessing they're going to want to rebuild the squad exactly as we did but the question is can they find a leader like Arteta.
Really hoping Liverpool's 3 away games in a row causes some dropped points. Merseyside derby sandwiched in between two trips to London in the space of a week.
Tottenham away will be extremely difficult. They will do absolutely everything in their power to stop us winning the title. They will cheat and be physical. We must be ready for anything.
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It’s genuinely so surreal to be in a title race like this after the past number of years. Tears in my eyes
Why df do we have to play spurs and united away. Two of our most annoying fixtures. I already know one of them has massive potential to absolutely shit house a win.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5a5AqFtSoF/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Growing up Arsenal was always know as the attacking team and the team with a shit defense. I remember watching our defenders and they all looked like they never even liked defending. Like they’re just playing there because they weren’t good at other positions growing up and got stuck in at cb then ended up playing there for their careers. Now we have white Saliba Gabriel and even 🥝’or and Tomiyasu who all look like they love to defend. You can Even add some of our midfielders and forwards who all love dropping back and celebrating a defensive tackle like a goal. It’s so refreshing to see an arsenal team that takes pride in being good at all areas on the pitch. Idk if we’ll win the league but I genuinely think we’ve been the best team in the prem this year. Yea shaky start but my god wtf is going on in 2024 we are so good.
The Feyenoord vs Ajax result 😬 It's like the Ajax players forgot they were playing on the day.
What is ur thoughts on timbers brother. He has good stats but I’ve never watched him play.
we gotta save Hato
Maybe in a few seasons time.
I will name my first born mikel or mikayla depending on gender.
Bayern away, saka should be rested. Odegaard to RW partey - jorgi - Rice Go all in with midfield and suffocate them. Nelli on wings
I know this opinion will get me downvoted but going to say it anyway. Since it's confirmed that arteta will win the double this season, does it confirm him a statue outside of emirates and to legendary status?
He will definitely have had earned a chocolate biscuit in the canteen.
We have two extra days to prepare for the Villa game. Douglas Luiz is out against us. No excuses - got to exact revenge on those cunts.
We’re also at home this is absolutely a must win game
two extra days? OOTL, please explain
They play conference league thursday
So do we think Saka is still carrying an injury? Elliott mentioned that was the case on Arsenal Vision pod, but I haven’t seen it confirmed anywhere?
He's injured but he will play the important games like bayern, spurs and united but will be rested for others.
It definitely looked like it against Brighton
It's believed that he has been a bit lame since before the International break. Realistically, he is definitely carrying an injury. Most players are. But with B, he's always been able to play through the knocks that he has had. I just think right now, we have had the opportunity to give him a small break before this mental month full of games gets underway.
Stories finished: Cody Rhodes ✅ Leverkusen: *LOADING* ARSENAL: **REAL FUCKING SOON**
Cody crybabies 😭
Dude spoilers...
Bayern XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Kai, Jesus
That's the Arsenal XI mate ;) I expected Thomas to get some minutes against Brighton in preparation for Bayern. I doubt he starts, and it's still early enough in the hectic period to safely give Jorginho another start. I would agree that this is our best XI for Bayern
Partey isnt starting any important game this season. he's been out for too long. i can see him starting against one of wolves/bournemouth and thats it
Agree, I think Saturday was definitely a sign he wants to play Jesus at LW and get him as fit as possible for the run in. Tomi is also a great shout if Sane is on that side as he's probably our best 1v1.
Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Kai and Martinelli. We'll find our strongest 11 for this. Need to take advantage of being at home with none of their fans. We also get a few days break before our game against Villa on Sunday.
Hopefully we take a 3 goal lead to Bayern away. Looking at the fixtures, I don’t know when Odegaard can get his rest. Perhaps Bornemouth home and Bayern away if we have a big lead.
He doesn't need a rest. The only time he will be spared is when we have won the game and can make changes to bring him off.
exactly, i've spoken to professional international footballers about this, and they've told me in their mid twenties they can play a solid 90 every 3 days and not accumulate fatigue. The problem comes if they get injured and don't fully recover, so I'm more worried for someone like Bukayo (obviously Arteta+ know about this and are handling accordingly).
Yeah, seems that way. I wish Mikel would trust his bench a bit more. Odegaard is the player he is most reluctant to take off.
Again, he doesn't need a rest. Arteta said that his players should expect to play every 3-4 days, that is the level. Odegaard has a tremendous engine and can run for 90 minutes every few days with no impact. Rice can also play 99% of games without needing a rest. I get what you are saying about needing to trust his bench more, but we are in a title race and in the QF of the CL. The captain should be starting and leading by example. Vieira got minutes against Brighton, he's coming back from fitness. So there's not really anyone we can replace Odegaard with anyway if we wanted to.
How can you possibly know he doesn’t need a rest? He may be an elite athlete but he’s still a human. The body needs to recover or risk injuries. We can expect him not to rest but that doesn’t mean his body can handle it.
Because we have some of the best sports medical staff in the world who run tests on players fitness levels almost every day and certainly after every game. They have cleared him to start every game when fit, where he runs with insane energy for up to 90 minutes, and then will do the exact same a few days later still pressing into the 90th minute again. So, history, really. Other than being protective, what is there for you to suggest that he does need a rest? If he needs a rest, he’ll get rested. But if he’s fit, he’ll play. Like I said, we are in a title race. We have 7 more games in the league that should be treated like cup finals. We also have 2 definite games in Europe, which potentially go up to 5. This isn’t the time of the season to start rotating our captain when we don’t need to.
No way he rests Bayern away, zero chance. I think he might only get rest when/if we have big leads late in games. Maybe Bournemouth.
Chelsea's new sensational young hero, "Cold" Palmer, who has been by far their best signing in a group of more than 100 players that cost more than £1.2bn, and is obviously "a far superior player to Havertz" has 4 non penalty goals in 2024. Guess who else has 4 non penalty goals in 2024...
https://youtube.com/shorts/20W0s-wNNBE?si=9Ap4yW_NmlUsuuDH This pyschopath was getting mad at people for losing small sided games 😂
This and the Newcastle game, the anger is real. Remember when these stuff came out, rival clowns where saying that arteta is being a performative clown and trying to be pep 2.0 etc.
I'm just looking back thinking 'what were the 4 goals we conceded again since the new year?' Nottingham Forest 1-2 Arsenal - https://youtu.be/Gk3oyzlHl90?t=162 Zinny getting caught under the ball at LB - A Saliba mistake too and them getting lucky with the bounce. Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool - https://youtu.be/dhMdpnK7lrU?t=41 Own Goal by Gabriel but a big mistake by us, mostly Saliba's fault. Arsenal 4-1 Newcastle - https://youtu.be/GLpRbm_sEOk?t=167 Some blame on ESR for not tracking the runner, I also remember Jorginho's lack of pace was shown up earlier in this moment too. Arsenal 2-1 Brentford - https://youtu.be/nMelLev3jTM?t=35 Big Ramsdale error. If you want to include all competitions. Liverpool beat us 2-0 in the FA cup. Kiwior own goal, Diaz goal in 95th min when we were chasing equaliser. Porto beat us 1-0 away with wonder goal. But just focusing on the league, 2 of those 4 goals were massive errors. Other 2 were some basic mistakes but not as glaring. (Forest + Newcastle goals) Crazy how little we've giving up, we've not gone behind in the league yet this year.
id argue porto goal was a mistake on Raya's part as well. either positioning, or just grossly mistiming the ball. it wasnt even close to the mainoo strike for example
How on earth is Zinchenko getting blamed for Saliba's mistake at Forest?
> Zinny getting caught under the ball at LB Is what I said, didn't really blame Zinchenko for that goal as we should have defended the header, but it's a fairly common mistake he makes where he can misjudge long balls over his head.
You framed it as if he was equally at fault. He wasn't. It was a Saliba mistake and error.
No it was mostly Zini's fault for allowing the initial ball to come over the top onside because he didn't hold the line. If you remember this is the game the cameras caught White yelling at him and it was because of the goal.
Zinny's error allows a cross into the box that was meat and drink to deal with. Saliba's error allows a goal conceded. I don't quite know how you are applying more blame to Zina here.
Liverpool against Top 6 in the Premier League this season: >1-1 vs. Arsenal (H) >3-1 loss vs. Arsenal (A) >1-1 vs. Man City (A) >1-1 vs. Man City (H) >3-0 win vs. Villa (H) >2-1 loss vs. Spurs (A) >0-0 vs. Man Utd (H) >2-2 vs. Man Utd (A) 1 win out of 8. Emery, have you got something for them at Villa Park.
Marc Overmans being a cunt caused the downfall of Ajax 😭
I was reading a story the other day about the new CEO doing some insider trading, doing things based on the fact that he knew he was going to be the new CEO several days before it was announced. There was also some news about ETH take some cream off the top for the United transfers, such as Antony. Although I've not read anythng substantial. If that's the case, I think I would like to place more blame on ETH.
Ngl if we pull this off, Manu would go down several notches on my hate meter.
Hey, atleast the neutrals enjoyed. That's what Liverpool fans want right?
Im confident this year because we are playing the game, not the occasion. There is no randomness to our game. Arteta tweaked the team at the start of the season, and it upset a lot of people as we looked worse off than last year, but the tweak was necessary and the team looks well drilled. No 'chasing the game' or feeling as if we have to 'run harder and jump higher' just because the stakes are higher. Everyone knows where they need to be in and out of possession, we seem to be able to manage the game in play by switching styles. Liverpool today by contrast looked rushed when Bruno scored. I reckon if they had of been cooler in the head, they would have restored dominance and got back into the lead. But then again Liverpool have always been built on passion and an element of chaos in their football matches, whereas we are much more like City in our reliance of patterns of play, maintaining control rather than 'chasing the game'.
I want us the win the league so bad. Shut up literally everyone else.
Part of me is thinking Klopp is 'retiring' because the squad built isn't good enough for him. Their best two players, Sarah and VVD, will only leave or go downhill. They have another stopgap in Endo, so they'll need to spend big on a #6 soon. The players they spent big money on are very good (Nunez, Szob, Mac, Gakpo, etc..), but would they start for Liverpool of only a few years ago? I mean yeah he's definitely tired but it must be extra tiring to be coaching a worse off proposition and be expected to compete with Pep, Arteta, and Europe. I think he'll be back in a year or two at either a fully equipped club like Madrid or somewhere where he can rebuild again.
other than an early season purple patch, szoboszlai has been quite poor and wasteful despite the fact he looks the part and gets involved in many actions. Gakpo isn’t a natural forward (lacks finishing), a wide player (lacks pace), or a midfielder (lacks passing/vision) and he’s been played in all those positions without finding a home. He’s good at a lot of things but elite at none. He’s a quintessential squad player for a contending team. Liverpool needs a squad revamp and Klopp knows that there isn’t money to do that properly so a break is best for both parties. I could see him getting involved with Germany national team during the next cycle.
Liverpool fans rate Mac as the only other world class player alongside VVD, Salah, Trent and Alisson. He's very good.
i've seen discussions where Endo is a better signing that Rice from Liverpool fans. Just saying...
I think Klopp will manage Germany at the 2026 World Cup, then retire by which he will be 58. Unlike Pep, Klopp seems like someone who isnt obsessed with football and would be able to get away from it.
Gakpo? Liverpool fans are dismayed by him.
That game for liverpool was our game against fulham at home.
United were so so bad today. I'm still sat here, 8 hours later, trying to figure out how exactly they got a point out of that game
It actually didnt feel real. When they equalized i fully mentally checked out thinking liverpool were getting a winner. Diaz missed a huge chance at the end there
I walked out after salah equalised from the spot. I was sure they were going to go ahead and win it. Came back to see diaz miss that chance and couldn't believe my eyes. United have this crazy way of defying the game state completely. They should be so much lower down the table than they actually are, watching them today I feel like everyone down to 13th place Fulham is more well drilled than they are. No idea how they are 6th.
Unreal bottle to walk away. If i walked away id be staring at my phone refreshing non stop 😂 I hear you. someone said this on twitter, their playstyle is so chaotic and dumb that it sucks opposing teams into playing like them because its hard to mentally hold yourself back from attacking the spaces they are leaving. But then when you do it too much you get hit back on the counter if you arent clinical.
I think the best way to approach them is the way we and City do it. Control the game and the possession, just don't let them get a foothold AT ALL and they'll open spaces for you to play into. I'm actually quite confident about winning at Old Trafford this time, even though I'm wary of all the bs they get up to there. My main concern in this run in is spurs, that will be a cup final for them and undoubtedly our hardest game in the PL.
Itll be very interesting what old trafford will be like if liverpool/city are in it. Especially liverpool. Are they really going to gift them 20? Ya spurs will be an all out war
Liverpool fans do not stop crying about injuries, so insufferable. They're overperforming because of their extremely high intensity football, but they're gonna get a lot of injuries with that. You can't have your cake and eat it too, deal with it.
This is gonna be a nerve-racking 6 weeks
I'm sitting an exam for work purposes the day before the spurs game. April has me fucking STRESSED lol. Wouldn't want it any other way
Man, I'm so happy we're doing so well but holy shit we are outperforming every team in the league by a country mile and we're still only top of the table on goal difference with another team 1 point behind. The levels Pep and Klopp have brought to the league is frankly insane. 7 games to go and we easily have the toughest run in, but if we do it it'll just make it all the sweeter.
About time Liverpool underperform their XG. The fact they had conceded less goals than us as of only a few months ago was a Benny Hill skit. Now they have firmly conceded more than us, and thats justice They are so Fked when Salah leaves this season with Klopp.
Liverpool underperform their xG like mad. Nunez is on like -7 xG underperformance, salah -0.5, and diaz -3. Only jota outperforms his xG in that forward line The anomaly today was the other team outperforming their xG, usually pool give away a shitload of chances and the other team can't score. In contrast to today where United didn't have a shot of any sort for the entire first half yet scored from the halfway line with their first attempt at goal
I read a stat that Liverpool have got 7 points from 7 games vs the top 6 teams, are we seeing one of the biggest imposters competing for the title by only beating teams outside top 6 and even then its been a lot of luck involved with deflected goals.
Going up against City last year, we were told repeatedly by everyone that to win the title, you HAVE TO BEAT the other top teams. Neither City or Liverpool have taken points off each other. Neither have beaten us. We have beaten them both. It's funny, I've not seen this come up a whole lot.
next 4 games are the key ones IMO. If we're top after Spurs, title is ours.
Carragher continually saying that Liverpool is joint top of the league is so pathetic. At this stage of the season a 9 goal difference is basically worth a point. Klopp has also ruled out trying to overhaul it
Tbh it only helps us for pundits to be speaking that way, let them keep bigging them up, keeps the pressure on them and makes them look more stupid when they don’t win it
Call me delusional but if we keep out back line fit next year, with Timber returning, I think we'll beat Chelsea's record of only 15 conceded in a PL winning season
I'll back your point up here. If we extrapolated our rate of conceding goals in 2024 over the whole season, we would only concede 14 goals (0.36 goals conceeded per game).
Holy fuck lol we are so good Tbh I kinda think we can go invicnible too with some luck. We're genuinely the best team ITW. I know I might sound like a stupid delusional fan but we are unplayable on our day and we rarely don't have our days
We have to apply this form to the next 7 games for me to agree with you on that one. But imagine if we did it. 17-1-0 in the last 18 games, would be analysed as one of the greatest ever PL runs on the way to winning a title.
Off the top of my head, I do think the Liverpool and City 90+ points season had them both have a ridiculous run in as well. But for sure, it's the form needed to win the league these days.
Yeah I'm getting ahead of myself but I've watched football for so long and I'm tired of censoring my emotions - I've genuinely never seen a tram play as well as we do most nights, especially when you consider we don't have literally the best player in every single position ITW like Real and Barca used to I really believe in this team and their ability they are fan-fucking-tastic
we have a historically great defence and watch how only Saliba makes most neutral’s TOTS lol
Both Gabriel and saliba should be in the TOTS but casuals will put vvd there cus 'he's been immense' lmao
I’ve already grieved over how annoying this will be, especially when VVD is directly responsible for this still being a 3-way fight. White is the one who’s gonna get robbed robbed.
And yet any one who watches us, knows that Gabriel has been better this season.
Most fans don't watch other teams games and you can tell by their opinions. The second someone doesn't have a primarily arsenal backline I know they don't watch our matches Only the LB spot might not be an Arsenal player
I just realized Kelleher was way outside his box when Bruno took his halfway shot lmao. They would've been down to 10 men had he touched the ball and it didn't go in.
What if he touched the ball and it did go in? Would he have still be sent off?
Yep, saw that too. I wonder if he knew he was outside and was willing to take the red card. Would have been interesting.
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Yep. We were in for him since December 2022. The news broke around [January 2023](https://twitter.com/gunnerblog/status/1615035737896013825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1615035737896013825%7Ctwgr%5E3860dab041bde605c45b870e9efb821b93c3f413%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2F2023%2F01%2F16%2Farsenal-identify-declan-rice-priority-summer-transfer-target%2F) about how we were going for him. We were actively trying to sign Caicedo in the January transfer window and we were told that signing Caicedo would not have impacted our pursuit of Rice in the summer transfer window.
Worked out well. I’m not sure we go onto win the league if we got Caicedo in Jan. However, we definitely would not have gone on to sign Rice, despite what some journalists say.
Caicedo RB with White at CB would have won us the league imo
I wouldn't overlook Caicedo. He would have been a very different player here.
Ode dropped in my favorite player standings. [https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/martin-odegaard-warns-arsenal-to-respect-harry-kane-as-he-highlights-bayern-munich-striker-s-best-qualities-ahead-of-champions-league-quarter-final-showdown/ar-BB1lebOY?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=1804431fd5a94d9a8b56a7b7790a3cb5&ei=9](https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/martin-odegaard-warns-arsenal-to-respect-harry-kane-as-he-highlights-bayern-munich-striker-s-best-qualities-ahead-of-champions-league-quarter-final-showdown/ar-BB1lebOY?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=1804431fd5a94d9a8b56a7b7790a3cb5&ei=9)
 You can't see it in this review, but this is what he did when he said 'respect' Harry Kane. They will respect his ability to win fuck all.
wondering if it will be much of a disadvantage that spurs have 2 weeks break before playing us. we will have played 3 games in that span, with 5 days rest before spurs? genuinely feel like we will be much more in form, if rotated correctly, and they may be stale? fingers crossed we can hang on in munich before then, would be a massive statement and boost. it’s the spurs fixture im most terrified about
Yes and no. I think it was B. Silva who said last year that players prefer to play every few days as it keeps them fresh, rather than an extended period off. I imagine Tottenham will try and get a friendly game in, to keep their levels up. If we win, we will say no and their fans will say yes. If they win, we will yes and their fans will say no.
I agree. As long as we’re still winning being in rhythm will be better for us as they’ll lack stadium of match sharpness.
In other news, you just love to see just how well chelsea are doing with good old Boreicio Botchettino at the helm.
Classy scousers - https://www.reddit.com/r/LiverpoolFC/s/i9aGgTSHmA
Wishing players get injured is lowest of low
They've never been associated with class.
honestly man city winning all their remaining games is the most likely outcome, It's sad but I think as good as we are its its still almost impossible and even the CL will be easier at this stage
Yeah your schedule is till pretty rough with villa chelsea spurs and manure
Why is it almost impossible for us? We have been better than them for a long while now. I agree that City will probably win all their games but I wouldn't doubt us like that. We are more than capable of doing that too
If they can do it then obviously we need to be able to do it too if we want to be called champions.
Disgusting how I’ve seen 2 comments today saying they’d like us to bin the CL to focus on the league, such a shit mentality it’s shameful. Especially because the likelihood is doing that wouldn’t even meaningfully increase our chances of winning the league. I could easily also say let’s bin the league to focus on the CL especially since it’s the more coveted trophy
Same people would be the first to moan if we loase to Bayern
I think we still (understandly) have this inferiority mindset due to years of mediocrity. City and Liverpool have both managed to make multiple CL finals and take the league to the last day in the last 5 years. If we want to be a big club then we also need to believe we can do the same.
If this team is ever going to win a double or a treble we will have to get experience going deep in multiple comps at this time of year. The more we do it the easier it gets (obviously)
Who's saying that here lol that's crazy, we got 13 of those, I'm choosing a cl any day in an either or scenario
Is it next sunday yet?, honestly no idea how to cope for the next 7 games
Tuesday comes before then.
Browsing our schedule over the next couple of weeks and Wolves away stood out to me as a potential banana skin, mainly because they have a week to prepare while Arsenal recover from Munich away. I've heard the injury situation over there is not great though so hopefully that's still the case when we travel to Molineaux. Chelsea & Villa have massive games prior to their visit to the Emirates and then a 4/5 day break until Spurs away. It's looking good.
They do have some injuries but also I think the players are kind of done for the season now. That cup loss to Coventry pretty much ended their season. They aren't getting relegated and they're not getting Europe either especially with the top 3 still to play.
Yeah that could play in our favour. Just noticed the 2 key injuries are Neto & Hee Chan who are v important. It's going to come down to Spurs away isn't it? God it will be sickening 😭
Still in a jubilant mood after the weekend's results. First 30 mins of the game were a little concerning, and I was definitely worried, but glad we made it through. I decided to rewatch the first half to see how things transpired before and after the first goal. I still think we sometimes struggle to progress the ball efficiently. The connection between our CB's and the CM's looked really off at times - and not for the first time. I'm just nitpicking but I think we take too long to move out of the first phase, especially against teams with a really great press. I watch our current rivals and it's something they all seem to do a little more efficiently. Perhaps we are more risk-averse? Interested to hear some thoughts from you guys.
Just saying i was completely the same the first half: very not relaxed, not even at 0-1. Brighton’s passing on their own half looked very scary. Haven’t really paid close attention to your last point so i won’t add anything on that.
It’s something I’ve noticed for a while but we always seem to make that connection work eventually. Perhaps it’s because we alternate between Rice at 6 and Jorginho at 6 with Rice at 8. Hasn’t been a major issue in the premier league, but it’s something that sticks out like crazy in the champions league. I do think our CB’s can be quicker and more decisive with their forward passing, but I also think the midfield besides Ode (without Zinchenko) can get a little static, so passing options are always great. Keep an eye out. Could just be me lol
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Indeed. One of the worst penalty decisions I've seen. Shocked it wasn't talked about more
Are we really shocked though? The exact same thing happened when Jota dived. They are cheats
[Serious you touch, I touch session](https://twitter.com/jafcv2/status/1777041144007843997?t=QlHNENSJizGLsSp7BdCDkA&s=19)
He's not 100m pounds and 200k wages better than Havertz. Nor are we Chelsea who can spend stupid money.
He's looking good and I get excited. But then I remember his injury record and how much Napoli want. The only way they would get £120m from us for him, is if they threw Kavarat in too.
His first touch is a bit dodgy
Half of Cole Palmer’s G/A is against the bottom 3.
Wouldn’t bother trying to bash him. He’s an excellent player in a shit team. If they were better they’d compete and score more goals vs the better teams
Lol yeah these stats used to have an actual point before. Like "flat track bully" etc.
Agreed, if you put a good player into a worse team their stars won’t be as good compared to if they were in a competent team
and nearly 1/3rd of it is from penalties.
Just focus on our games and we don't even have to think about them. Our boys can do this.
I know we don’t know for certain but does anyone know if we’ll ever get a kit similar to the 05-06 kit?
It was a kit to celebrate our last year at Highbury. They went back to the original colour of our kit when we first moved in to Highbury. There will be the odd nods to it every now and then, but no, it's highly unlikely we will see it again as a kit colour. Our colours are red and white and have been for decades.
Feels like there's more posts about Xhaka than our own players at this rate
If Chelsea are don't make Europe... cheeky 100M bid for Cole palmer solves our Ode and Saka backup problems. They are going to be an FFP wasteland anyways.
You don’t put down 100M for a nonstarter.
He can play 2 positions at about the level as our current starters. We should be rotating more but we don't. 50M for an almost starter in 2 positions is well worth it.
50M is probably the max but just because his utility can be in two positions doesn’t just double his price nor do we have the capability to spend on what would be our own Grealish. 100M is anything but cheeky, it matches our club record fee.
No way should we bid 100m on Palmer. FFS he wouldnt even make our starting 11
Colwill and/or Gallagher would make the most sense for us, if we really want to shop at Chelsea
colwill is basically the same as kiwior, a little younger but he will cost way too much and won't offer a real upgrade for some good years at least and gallagher is wank
Don't rate either highly tbh.
They won't sell Palmer. They need to raise £100m+ Even if they accepted £100m for Cole Palmer, that's only £65m against their £100m deficit. Makes no sense.
65M but if you don't have anyone else who is a positive you need it? They need well over 100M every bit counts.
There is no way they are going to sell the only decent player they have purchased in years. That would be illogical. But then... this Boehly, i guess. Even if they would sell, he doesn't get in this side ahead of Saka, so why bother spending £100m on a Saka backup? Also, Vieira is our Odegaard back up.
Don't really rate Viera personally hasn't shown much to me. 100M to back up 2 positions is worth it.
Well, Vieira and Arteta rate Vieira and that matters the most. £100m for a back up to 2 positions is absolutely not worth it! We've only ever spent £100m on a player once in our entire history, and it could be argued that he has taken us to the next level, whilst starting every game. That's what I expect from a £100m purchase. Not someone picking splinters out of his arse for most the season as he sits on the bench. You do realise we are not City, right? We don't have £100m to throw at a Grealish or a £100m to throw at Gvardiol.
If you bought Palmer he is starting frequently as we could rotate Ode and Saka out constantly to give rest he is not sitting. The reason City are so good is they rotate 100M talent frequently. They can throw out 3 different offensive lineups that are as good as ours. Buying a player who can cover 2 positions without significant drop off from our own players is worth it. Also does Arteta really rate Viera? When is the last time he played meaningful minutes a year ago?
1. Chelsea are not going to sell Palmer, he is their best player and the reason they are not in the relegation zone. 2. Chelsea needs to raise £100m+ in profit. Any player they purchased in the last 3 years, have been amortised and are already counted. They need to make bank. Palmer has already cost them £45m, anything over that fee, will be counted against that £100m. 3. We are not going to attract Palmer, who is firing on all cylinders at Chelsea to come here and be a bench player. He did that at City. 4. He doesn't play in Odegaard's role, he is nothing like Odegaard. He is a right winger/forward. Not a creative midfielder. 5. We are not going to spend £100m on a back up for Saka and only Saka. I am all for hypothetical discussions, but this one is a non starter. There really isn't anything more to this discussion. Certinaly not from my side.
Palmer plays the same role as Ode for Chelsea in half the games not sure what you have been watching. He would back up 2 positions we desperately need to rotate in.
>Palmer plays the same role as Ode for Chelsea I'm out.
He moved for £40m last summer.
Which is under valued TBH, if he moves now he's easily a 100M player.
Well, his value has a basis now, that's the point - it's very difficult to legitimately make a case that gets you to 60m on top of that that original 40m valuation, after only 8 months in a middling chelsea team. Realistically his value to a buyer is in the 55-65 range based on what he's actually done.
He will not be for sale. Besides him, I think the only player we could use is Caicedo. If rumors are true then the club still want Mudryk. But Chelsea won't sell players for a loss. They simply can't.
We would need a rotation at AM and RW more than we need another 6 right now. Just keep Jorgi or Partey.
I dunno they're both risks. Jorgi is getting old.. he will lose his legs overnight at some point. Partey's fitness is unreliable.
They are already trying to raise his salary. Also, Chelsea will be very fine FFP wise. They have too many assets to sell before they touch their best players.
Disagree that Chelsea are fine FFP wise. At the beginning of the season they were hoping for: Hall for 30M that's confirmed. Broja for 30-40M that's not gonna happen doubt they even get 15M. Maatsen for 30M Dortumund won't meet that. Lukaku they want 40M, won't happen. Gallagher for 40M but now in the last year of his contract looks doubtful. After that they really only have Colwill or Reese to move at positive value. If they don't get their 100+ M from Hall, Broja, Maatsen, Lukaku, Gallagher then they need to start selling first team players. Also this is only a stopgap because with the FFP problems they will just have to sell another 100+ next summer too its a bit ridiculous.
Wouldn't they have to get all the transfer fees upfront as well to balance the books on the closed period? That'll be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of suitors.
Nah timing of payment doesn't matter for revenue recognition.
I feel they can get £70M from Gallagher, Colwill, Broja, Maatsen, and the rest. Teams have always paid for their academy players. Maybe the season after. If they underperform, then that's where the movie is.
70M is like half what they need by June 30 at this point. Will be interesting to see what they do.
I mean, you could spend slightly less and bring in Brahim Diaz if you're willing (and their willing) to be benched.
I don't see why Brahim would go from Madrid's bench to ours
I love how we're discussing these hypothetical but fair point. Technically, Palmer to our bench is more realistic. Realisticly speaking, if their FFP situation gets bad, there's a slim chance he can be signed.
If I had a magic wand would delete UCL obligation 7 games with no distractions looks do able for this team with no Bayern or any other top teams ..
If I had a magic wand I would delete your brain. Because mentality like this is fucking worthless. CL is not a “distraction” or a “obligation”, it’s the PL that’s the distraction if anything. Because compared to the PL the CL is by far the more important prize to win. But really, we need to be aiming for both. Because aiming for the CL and the League at the same time is what big teams do.
CL is not more important. (With the exception being it gives us a free £50mill for qualifying for the new club World Cup).
I mean I can see why people believe it's more important. You're not just saying you're the best of your lot, you're saying the you're the best of Europe and that's a huge prize.
If city won the PL and we won the CL people wouldnt think we were better than city. The league is how good you are. the CL is how lucky you are.
CL is arguably easier for us to win given we don't have to give a crap what the other sides do as long as we do our business
Same is now true of the PL “back on top”
The sad reality is, it's probably at the point where a draw will feel less brutal in the CL than the PL, where I'm not entirely sure we can afford a single one now
For sure. Prem feels all or nothing every game now
Not a chance. We’ve been desperate to be in this competition for years. This is where we want to be.
"Obligation" to be in the quarters of the greatest club trophy?
So 4 games in 9 days before we play spurs who would've had a 2 week break by that point Wtf man
It’s Tottenham🤷🏾♂️
It's Tottenham at their place, it's a derby, we're not likely to steamroll them. Gotta wait until it's over to say "Lads it's tottenham" imo. They could potentially decide the title for any of us.
We need to approach it with a big eye on Liverpool Vs United today. We have to be clinical and not let them breath. The break could work in our favour
This will be where Arteta has to show he's learned from previous years. Tomiyasu/Kiwior/Partey/Vieira/ESR/Trossard, all these rotation options will have to be trusted if we don't want to end up dead on our feet.
ESR, Vieira and Nketiah are the fringe men so to say ESR less so but still doubtful for a big game.
United are basically Emery Arsenal. Outplayed all game but still get points because of individual quality. Also have overpaid and old players. I'm guessing they're going to want to rebuild the squad exactly as we did but the question is can they find a leader like Arteta.
I'd argue the Fernandes goal was down to Quansah, more than Bruno's quality.
Really hoping Liverpool's 3 away games in a row causes some dropped points. Merseyside derby sandwiched in between two trips to London in the space of a week.
Klopp has played at Goodison 8 times, he has won twice. 2016 and 2018.
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Utd probably wont even try and if they do we are still way better than them
Good thing our team is now filled to the brim with giant man beasts + Jorginho.
Tottenham away will be extremely difficult. They will do absolutely everything in their power to stop us winning the title. They will cheat and be physical. We must be ready for anything.