The Arsenal rocked up at Villa Park for their penultimate league game of this strange season, on a warm July evening knowing that qualification for a European place, albeit only the Europa League, was still a possibility even if not entirely in our own hands. Qualification by winning the FA Cup for a record 14th time remains a possibility but last year’s lesson in Baku suggests that we should do our best not to rely solely on a cup final result. Thus, a victory tonight was an important objective for the Arsenal. It was also important to a Villa team scrapping for Premier League survival, three points off safety. Villa could be expected to fight tooth and nail for every ball. Who would want it more?
Mikel’s selection demonstrated how much he wanted to win this game to give us the best possible chance of reaching a qualifying league position. His starting 11 had 6 changes. It showed offensive intent but was understandably coloured by the need for rotation after the major exertions of the team that won the FA Cup Semi-Final only three days ago.
The recently brilliant Martinez kept his place in goal. We retained a back three with David Luiz flanked on the right by Holding who replaced the hamstrung Mustafi and on the left by Kolasinac (shiver) who replaced Tierney. The excellent wingbacks from the weekend were rested with Cedric replacing Bellerin and Saka replacing the revelatory Maitland-Niles. The much-improved Ceballos retained his midfield place but Xhaka was replaced by Torreira. A front three of Nketiah, Lacazette and Aubameyang were selected for goals, the latter with the added incentive of the Golden Boot. Could we maintain the standards achieved in our last two games?
Our front three lined up with Lacazette playing deep centrally and Nketiah and Aubameyang playing in what would once have been called the inside right and inside left channels respectively. Early knockings provided an open game with plenty of space in midfield. Villa sat deep aiming to catch us on the break.
The Arsenal had more possession but made precious little use of it in the first 15 minutes though a lovely passing move from our box to theirs deserved more than Saka’s intercepted low cross. Ceballos was looking silky in deep midfield and Saka and Cedric were making good forward runs. An inviting high cross from Saka forced Reina into a desperate punch above two Arsenal forwards. By 20 minutes we were pressing Villa with a series of corners and 71% possession in the preceding 10 minutes. Villa’s responses relied on Grealish driving through midfield when our attacks broke down but our midfield dealt with most sorties close to halfway generally with two men closing down Grealish. When they didn’t our defence held firm. At the first ‘water break’ Villa replaced Elmahamady who had tweaked a hamstring after 7 minutes sprinting to beat Saka to a lovely through ball.
On 26 minutes, Trezeguet scored against the run of play with a well taken shot from inside our box. A cheap corner was given away on our right following confusion between Ceballos and Luiz. The ball was headed on by Mings to the far side of the box finding Trezeguet unmarked and he struck a hard, low shot past inside Martinez’s left-hand post. The keeper had no chance. Questions can be asked of Aubameyang who let Mings get a clear run to the front post for the flick on and of Cedric whose attempted block was feeble compared to the blocks we saw on Saturday. Who was supposed to mark Trezeguet?
Villa 1, Arsenal 0
Our first response was a moon-shot from Ceballos after a free kick for a foul on Lacazette. After 33 minutes Lacazette couldn’t keep his feet in the box following a challenge from Grealish after Aubameyang found him from the left. Never a penalty. After 35 minutes Torreira saw yellow for clattering some Villan only 5 minutes after clattering Grealish. Careful Lukas!
As we came to the last 10 minutes Arsenal were dominating the ball, moving nicely through midfield and up both wings but a good final ball was proving elusive. There was no sign of panic but no great urgency either. With 5 minutes to go Villa broke again and forced a couple of corners on our left. Both were cleared but a Grealish chip back in allowed Trezeguet a clear header towards Martinez that was fortunately weak. A determined run into the box by Nketiah from the right yielded a corner that we wasted. Then another Villa break ended in a Grealish 25 yard shot from our right that cleared Martinez’s bar but could easily have landed in the top corner. As the game slipped into added time the pattern had settled into toothless Arsenal possession and swift Villa breaks.
Half Time: 1-0
Arsenal had had 60% possession but no shots on target in the first half. If Villa could hold on to their lead they would be sitting out of the bottom three above Watford. However, they had won only once since the restart and have dropped 21 points from a winning position this season by losing 31 late goals. Would Villa stay true to type and could Arsenal find a creative spark? Mikel replaced Torreira with Xhaka for the second half in an attempt to get more of a grip of this match and keep 11 men on the pitch.
In the opening three minutes of the half, Villa pressed forward and forced three corners on our left, all of which were cleared. We responded with intricate footwork between Ceballos and Kolasinac in the Villa box which came to naught. Then a beautiful curling cross from Cedric was flicked on to Saka who fired over. Luiz gave Villa another dead ball opportunity with a foul on Grealish wide on our left but Lacazette cleared. Then a ball from Nketiah found Aubameyang in the box but his shot on the turn was blocked. We were back to end-to-end football.
We seemed to have reverted to a back four as Kolasinac was now playing wing back rather than centre back and getting forward regularly with Saka moving inside. However, Grealish had become more prominent in midfield as the hour approached probably as a result of Torreira’s replacement. Our defence was also looking less authoritative than in the recent games and we conceded a further pair of cheap corners that fortunately came to naught. Before the hour, Pepe replaced Luiz and Tierney replaced Saka. We were definitely now a back four with Holding and Kolasinac at centre back. Lacazette was then booked for a foul on Grealish just inside our half as the Villan broke through our midfield. On the hour both teams had had 5 attempts, Villa having 2 on target but the Arsenal still with none. Aubameyang then sprinted into the box from the left but he overhit his cross and the attack fizzled out.
As the second ‘water break’ approached, Villa had reverted to sitting deep with their defence successfully blunting our efforts at a final ball or dealing well with our crosses, the quality of which had improved with Tierney’s arrival. As the game restarted, Pepe, breaking out of our half, was pulled back by their Luiz who gratefully took the yellow card. The game was now ‘attack vs defence’. Villa then replaced two players with two other players, none known to me.
As 75 minutes approached we had had 75% possession in the previous 10 minutes. However, when another move broke down Grealish sprinted out swiftly and found Davis who put the ball past Martinez’s far post when a goal looked the most likely outcome. That would have been game over. Lady Luck then swiftly switched sides as two minutes later Nketiah’s header from a lovely Pepe corner came back off the far post, struck Reina’s knee and bounced towards the goal line but he fell on it just in time. No wonder he kissed the ball as he rose to his feet!
Grealish remained the main danger and he found McGinn on the edge of our box whose shot was blocked athletically by Martinez. Cedric was then replaced by Willock. I’m not at all sure what formation we were now playing but we had a front line of five!
Inevitably we were even more vulnerable to the break and Kolasinac took a yellow for the team by pulling McGinn back when the Villan span past him on the halfway line. With 10 minutes plus added time to go our passes began to go astray and an unmarked McGinn had a shot from the edge of the box that fortunately sliced well wide. A neat run and cut back by Tierney then failed to find a teammate. Grealish again caught the eye with a pass into our box for Targett but Willock tracked back well to block the full back’s shot otherwise he would have been in on goal.
With 4 minutes to go Targett clattered Pepe at the corner of the Villa box gaining a yellow card and conceding a free kick. Mings headed Pepe’s curling cross over and we wasted the resultant corner. Only 4 minutes were added as Willock received a yellow for blocking McGinn’s breakaway run. Lansbury came on for McGinn with 2 minutes left.
The match ended as Reina clutched a Ceballos long ball into the box. This was our first defeat at Villa in 21 years. Eighth is the highest we can finish and we won’t get European football through our league position. It’s our first finish outside the top 6 in 25 seasons.
The players all put in a shift tonight but the team seemed a bit flat. Without doubt some players have played a lot of games recently and are probably mentally and/or physically exhausted but this match confirmed that we don’t have sufficient quality in this squad. Ceballos looked our best player but Grealish was by far the most creative and talented player on the field and we didn’t have a player with that creative spark.
Mikel was calm and statesmanlike in his post-match interview as he observed that the team gave absolutely everything, were aggressive in the high press and tried to win the game. He’s right. Heads didn’t drop and we kept plugging away. He conceded that “we lacked a little bit of freshness and despite dominating the game we struggled to get the necessary quality and creativity in the final third against a low block”. He added that “we had the right men in the right positions but we lacked the right ball” and he observed that “it’s been a very demanding week emotionally and physically”. He said that he was happy that we were trying to win right up to the end but added that “we have to improve”. Mikel said that he “knows where we are in certain areas of the pitch and the things we need to improve”, adding that “we will get that but we need a bit more time”. He observed that Villa were playing under a lot of pressure as well and congratulated them for winning the game.
The Sky interviewer then noted that a plane had flown over at the start of the game trailing the message “Back Arteta – Kroenke out!” Mikel was diplomacy personified, responding that he is getting “100% backing from the Kroenke’s and the Board and the Sporting Directors and everybody” adding that we have to wait a little bit of time to be there but that the fans have to believe what he is saying as if it was not so, he would not say that.
So, we have to win the cup to play in Europe next season! That would be a fine achievement by our impressive new manager in his first half season.
What did she wear?
Excellent review!
I liked the fact that despite chasing the game we didn’t lose our head or discipline and had confidence in our plan and abilities. The creativity was lacking and there were no moments of true individual brilliance which are often needed to win matches like this when fatigue leads to less-than-crisp passing and movements and the opposition is fighting for every ball.
We absolutely need more technical qualities in this team, but I like the fact that fundamentally a consistency in approach and spirit are taking shape.
Fine and fair report, Bath, laced with Goonerholic-like equanimity under disappointing circumstances. Grealish was indeed the best player on the pitch. We lacked sufficient energy and deserved to lose, although Eddie was unlucky not to score on his header. It’s now two more chances to revive a feelgood factor before seasons end so let’s focus on the first step and relegate Deeney in the process.
Very well described Bath. It was not an easy watch. We had very little penetration, our transitions in midfield are painfully slow and until Tierney came on we had little out wide. He brought new energy and hope . Ceballos worked very hard but we had a lot of players who had shockers .
The subs helped but only a pit. Xhaka gave us more shape but he doesn’t speed up the team, Pele looked very one- footed and frustrating and though Willock worked very hard I’m not sure he injects the requisite quality into the side . Watching Grealish you pined for someone of his creativity and guile . There was a realisation that Soares, Kolasinac and Torreira add little to the mix and Nketiah was not match-sharp. The rollercoaster season goes through another dip. Let’s hope we rise to the occasion at Wembley
An excellent report Bath on a
typical end of season offering.
To be honest I thought a draw
would have been fair.
I wonder if MA has identified the
same areas of the pitch to improve
as most supporters have.
An excellent blow-by-blow account of a contest in which disappointedly few of the blows hit their target and Arsenal’s hopes hit the canvas. Fatigue and the lack of creativity that has been widely observed were at the heart of our undoing last night.
It’s draining to watch our cross-field and 45 degree backward passing from positions where a ball carrier/player with an eye for incisive passes. It’s essential for future success that, coupled with the resolution of the mess that is currently the Ozil situation, is addressed in the window.
The team that is likely to play in the Cup would have fared better last night. Chel$ki will go into the final as favourites, just as $iteh and the BinDippers did in recent games. There’s every reason to be optimistic.
Our final League game presents an excellent opportunity for Matt Macey and Zac Medley to start in the EPL; for Sokratis, Kolasinac, Ozil and Torreira to showcase their talents in an Arsenal shirt for the final time; for Rob Holding to get more game time; for Maitland-Niles to demonstrate his credentials in midfield alongside Joe Willock; for Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah to sparkle upfront and the international man of mystery ‘Smith’ to be unveiled so that we can see that he actually exists.
With this game on Sunday being a relegation decider, we have to play our strongest available eleven. Anything less would be wrong.
As for Ozil, we’re trying to get rid of him and I hope he isn’t given a token appearance at the end, as a genuine injury now would scupper that possibility even more than his own greed has.
Good to see you in the bar, Cynic.
We will be vilified if we play a B team against Watford and lose. However that’s exactly the kind of starting 11 we really need to allow the tired minds and legs to recover for the FA Cup Final which has now of course taken on huge importance. It’s a measure of our decline that it’s the EL that we are now struggling to get into rather than taking it for granted and struggling to get into the CL. Mikel won’t do that. He has too much honour and he and the club will want to be seen to do the right thing. However I would expect Bellerin, Luiz, Tierney, Ceballos and Aubameyang to be rested for the cup final.
I expect never to see either Özil or Guendouzi in an Arsenal shirt again. They both clearly crossed a line and have failed to make appropriate reparations. Mikel’s authority must be paramount and they must leave or be cast into outer darkness despite our woefully uncreative midfield currently.
Cheers, Bath – a great write-up of a frustrating evening.
I’ve been a “fan” of Torreira – or at least his reputation and early work with us. Emery unfortunately insisted on playing him completely out of position and he unsurprisingly lost form. Back in his defensive role he then got injured and has been very much a bit part player since. I can’t help feeling we are about to lose a potentially excellent defensive midfielder judging by his attitude last night. The stupid tackle on a Villa player going nowhere, early in the game, earned him a booking and limited him to the extent of being replaced at half time. One pair of fresh legs gone – and the idiotic plea to the referee when booked was just that.
I don’t blame him for the performance but it certainly didn’t help. Rather it just annoyed me, all over again, to see yet more evidence of the lasting impact that the ridiculous Emery has had on this club.
Cynic – good to see you back !
The “strongest eleven” argument for Sunday’s game is a perennial conundrum.
Young players eager to impress and claim a squad place for next season, or physically and mentally tired first teamers who desperately need a chance to freshen up for an impending FA Cup Final ?
Personally, I think Arteta should do simply and only what is best for The Arsenal. The other teams, like us, have had 38 games to ensure their own survival. We badly need European qualification – even in the Europa League – to bolster our own finances and squad for next season. Why on earth should we jeopardise that for the sake of saving some other club who couldn’t save themselves over the previous 37 matches ? In all probability they have themselves fielded a weakened team at some stage, in order to take on a closer rival days later.
Well played Bath. A controlled and Faberesque report on what was a very disappointing evening after all the excitement of the wins over Liverpool and City. The three centre forwards just didn’t work and we seemed bereft of creativity.
I agree on the honour of playing a proper side, after taking account of rotation, on Sunday and also agree with Ozil and Guendouzi never donning an Arsenal shirt again.
It’s all about the Cup now.
You sum up the conundrum very well Trev. A week before the Cup Final we ought to rest players who as last night showed are very tired and replace them with players who will demonstrate a lot of energy and commitment . As fairness goes , we will undoubtedly try to win the game as will West Ham against Villa But we owe no obligation to treat this any differently from any other game . You get relegated over thirty eight games and not one .
We rested several players last week and defeated Liverpool ! Arsenal’s interests must be paramount .
I agree we should never see Ozil in an Arsenal shirt again. He will be deservedly vilified for what has happened over the last few months and Watford might be a tad physical for him with his ‘ bad back’ . Guendouzi won’t play either.
Well done Baff. You nailed it. A really classy report.
A huge shame to lose, giving ourselves little to play for in the final game of the leagues season, but we needed all three points and there is no way we deserved them. It was a good reminder of how far away this squad is from contending.
Let’s turn the best profit we can on Guendouzi and take the hit on however much we have to subsidise Ozil’s wages just to get him out of the club.
I’m not too worried about our team selection for the last game. Arteta will do what he thinks is right and that’s fine with me.
Good to see Cynic in the bar. Have a lemonade on me sir.
Thanks chaps. I was surprisingly unsurprised by how the match panned out and while possession and play up to the last third might arguably have justifyied us taking a point, we can’t really have any complaints about the result. On balance, Villa deserved their win and their chance to stay up.
Superbly analysed conundrum, Trev @10. I fully agree.
Welcome back Cynic!
BtM@6: I think it’s a little unfair on Lucas. It was his second (?) start after returning from injury and he didn’t quite find the rhythm in passing and tackling. He has always been consistent and does his job. We don’t have anyone else like him, he is highly rated in football, and I think he has a big role to play under Mikel.
About Sunday, in addition to do the right thing as the match involves relegation fight, I think it’s also important to win the match to be able to go to the final with confidence. The SF performance was built on the Liverpool win in the mid-week. There was a quiet confidence in our defensive performance that we can withstand the barrage. Hope Reiss is back fit for the weekend. Yesterday he would have made a difference with his energy, pace and pressing.
Well done, bath, on filling the glass as half-full as you possibly could. We indeed were flat — half a yard off the pace mentally and physically throughout the game. However, these are the sorts of games that we have to win routinely if we are to get back to top table.
Beyond not having enough snap in our play, I also thought we played through the inside channels too much. Especially in the first half, we seemed to have an allergic reaction to playing it out wide. As a result, we did not get behind Villa’s defence enough for cutbacks. Even when Pepe came on, his first choice seemed to be to drive inside or pass backwards and inside. Rare were the attempts to run at defenders and get beyond them.
Dr F @17, I think you are right that Torreira brings something to the party though he needs to develop a greater subtlety in his game. I thought that he had a decent first half and his replacement had more to do with his deserved yellow card and our previous experience of Kvanagh as a trigger happy referee. Going down to 10 men would have ended any prospect of salvaging that game. After Torreira was replaced by Xhaka our ball recycling got better though our attacks got no quicker but I feel (I haven’t seen any stats) that Grealish became even more influential when we lost possession. Torreira had kept a bit of a lid on his forays the lack of which resulted in several chances for Villa to seal the result in the second half.
As BtM observes, Mikel may not fancy Torreira but if that results in his departure then that is another specialist role that must be replaced in addition to the creative midfielder, box-to-box midfielder and rock-like central defender that we need. A big ticket for a club with modest resources.
A realistic and nicely played out match report Bath.
Irrespective of our heavy programme since the resumption after lockdown, we appear unable to raise our game away from home – it is a major concern and it’s vital that this is addressed next season if we have aspirations for finishing in the top four.. Mikel’s team selection didn’t work out ( or the players let him down ). He can only play around with those currently in the squad and yesterday evening further highlighted where the weaknesses lie – our well informed drinkers in this bar have already noted the deficiencies.
If making the Europa cup is vital to our finances and player acquisition, then, stating the obvious, winning the FA Cup is a must and this should reflect in the team selection for the Watford game. I think we should honour the other teams fighting relegation and play the strongest team available but not to the extent of selecting players in or on the fringe of the red zone or those that need injections to see the through the match.
There are five full days of rest between the Waford game and the FA Cup final. That should provide plenty of scope for a strong team to be fielded for the final league game of the season without it necessarily being the strongest possible. Auba, for one, looks like he could do with a rest, especially as the Golden Boot now looks out of reach.
bath@20: Going down to 10 men might have been just what we needed to win the game. In the home fixture, we scored all three of our goals after AMN was sent off for a second yellow to secure a come-from-behind 3-2 win.
Trev, We should probably go with the “physically and mentally tired first teamers who desperately need a chance to freshen up for an impending FA Cup Final” versus Watford and drain them further. We could sing them onto the field with a resounding chorus of “Good Old Arsenal” to signify the wonderful standards Arsenal seeks to maintain (with a respectful nod to Sir Chips Keswick while we’re at it).
Should fatigue result in them getting thumped at Wembley, we can sing them off again with a chorus of “Tragedy!”
In fact it’s not too difficult to field a very credible team capable of beating Watford without picking one of the team likely to start at Wembley**.
**With apologies to the creator of the Watford preview 🙂
@17 Dr F, I’m a fan of Torreira and would be sorry to see him go.
My great hope is that the much rumoured arrival of Partey will actually happen. IF it does, Xhaka, Ceballos and Partey will likely be regular starters and Lucas (who has been linked with a move back to Italy) may be allowed to leave to help fund Partey’s arrival. Income from release of Guendouzi and expense reduction, should Ozil depart, might then be used for a more creative midfielder.
Like Bath, I’d also love a new CB, but I think Partey/new creator might be given preference. AND of-course, I know absolutely nothing, so none of this is probable.
BtM & Trev: A club like Arsenal should be able to leave its preferred starting XI on the bench and still field a team capable of beating any side in the lower half of the division. Or at least a club like Arsenal once Arteta has put it back together.
Backdrinking, I find that I have failed to congratulate bathgooner on his excellent piece. I apologise.
Congratulations on an excellent piece, Bath. Reading it, and between the lines of what newspaper reports I have been able to bear, it appears that The Arsenal just weren’t at the races yesterday evening. I blame myself for an over-optimistic preview. I shall try to keep myself on a shoretr leash should the opportunity arise again in future.
Is there any firm information about a start date for the 2020-21 season? What about the bloody transfer window?
COYG
Pangloss
Your name implies you will always be optimistic!
I don’t know anything official because it has not been announced but I have heard a date of September 12th for the start of the season. The window will possibly open after the Cup Final ( a glorious Arsenal victory ) and stay open until the start of the season .Tgat might be bollocks but it is feasible bollocks!
Trump is to Alternative Facts as TTG is to Feasible Bollocks?
Btm
Very sensible suggestions . I think having signed Saliba and Mari and resigned Luiz we may see my man Sarr if we pursue him and will retain either Holding or Mustafi . I think Rob will go and so will Sokratis and Kolasinac.
I’d jettison Torreira. He doesn’t suit the Premier League . I think he will try to hold on to Ceballos but we will lose Elneny and Guendouzi. I’d love Ozil to be sold too . Upfront we might let Auba go if he won’t resign or Lacazette.
Incoming? Partey , Coutinho on loan and from what I hear Willian is a serious target . This worries me and we would need another midfielder . If they don’t promote the boy Smith we might see another young midfield player recruited . It may depend on who Joorabchian wants to bring in 😃
bath, thanks for the excellent, if excruciating to re-live, review. all game long we seemed running in treacle, and while grealish was excellent at times he seems to have learned from other players with inner-ear challenges how to hurtle himself groundward at the slightest of touches…and not be caught out doing so. i fully expected him to swan lake in the box and gain villa a penalty.
that said, i have always liked villa, certainly more than watford. so if villa stay up at hollow-ball deeney’s expense because we couldn’t turn them over, more the better.
i have soft spot for lt11, and hope arteta can find a use for him in the system he’s building. however, if we do get partey and keep ceballos i think btm’s@25 will pertain. and losing capitola rob would indeed be a blow, not least (for me) because i have his name on my latest arsenal shirt…and i’d like to see he and kt3 form half or 2/3 of a backline with saliba, mari, and hecate for years to come.
cynic, welcome back. some chocolate on the bar for you, as well as a beer or six.
Not to forget that among the CBs, we also have Saliba returning from loan, and for midfield, ESR. Mavropanos is spending next season at Stuttgart so will be out of the picture. I assume, the same will be true for loanees Elneny and Mkhitaryan as they are as good as sold. There are some returning Academy loanees who might get a look in next season, John-Jules, a forward Arteta reportedly likes, and Ben Sheaf, a DM. Osei-Tutu seems to have done well in Germany but competition for places on the right of mid-field is strong, the same challenge that faces Olayinka and the new U-23 signing George Lewis. Olowu is a highly rated CB but still young and may stay in Cork for a while. There is also, of course, for the midfield, the international man of mystery, Matt Smith.
It’s interesting how Holding and Mustafi’s fortunes have changed over the year, TTG. Mustafi was almost at the point where we’d pay to have someone take him off our hands while Holding was imperious before his cruciate. Mustafi’s recovery under Arteta is remarkable, while much of Holding’s poise and confidence have dissipated. I’d like Rob to stay, but………
Your Holding shirt will become a rarity item, Scruz and appreciate, appreciate if Rob departs for pastures less green 🙂
Has anyone ever seen Matt Smith play? When I saw ‘Smith’ on the bench I thought they’d abbreviated ‘Smith-Rowe’ until I heard he’d scored for Huddersfield last week 🙂
It’s going to be a window of hard decisions. Which is, of-course a good thing after some of the wasteful windows, completely absent of hard decisions, in recent years.
Some Scouser has f*cked up his calendar and thinks it’s Guy Fawkes night.
After we’ve beaten them in the final, Chel$ki will go on to be the team to beat in League next season.
ned@32, you’re missing balogun, for now, too, right? or has his departure been announced? if we lose one of laca or auba, he’ll have some space to move into the team.
i keep seeing pictures of IMOM smith, he’s a fair-haired, good-looking kid who wouldn’t look out of place sitting in the 6th form. but i’ve not read about or heard about his football skills one jot. hopefully he’s worth the bench space he’s taking up!
btm@33, i, for one, will always appreciate both rob and my holding shirt…the one arsenal player i’ve met and drunk a beer with 🙂 for now.
I’ve heard that Rob speaks very fondly of his time in the bar with you too, Scruz 🙂
lol, @37. he should, he was with his then-girlfriend and let’s just say i can’t fault his taste.
Re Smith,
I saw him play in the Youth Cup semi against Blackpool. He looked a stylish midfielder , good passing range and decent engine. It was a very easy win indeed and the show was stolen by ESR. He beat six men in a dribble to earn a penalty. He might well make some sort of appearance on Saturday .
I had a chat with someone who knows things behind the scenes at Chelsea. To my shame he asked me to advise them many years ago but they wouldn’t voluntarily go int9 bankruptcy 😃
I’m actually very alarmed by what I hear . Willian is out of contract and wants to stay in London as he has a young family . He earns close to £250 k a week. Joorabchian is his agent and is pressing Chelsea to give him a three year contract. They are only offering two. Guess who is poised to offer him three? If we do sign someone of that age to placate an agent I hope he can bring us Messi and Neymar on a free too. If Coutinho and Willian sign we would have them, Soares and Luiz who have joined in one year from Joorabchian’s stable . So much for developing the Borussia Dortmund model .
I meant of course that Smith might play on Sunday . ESR is ineligible as he is on loan at Huddersfield.
Howdy Cynic.
Bath, I presume your illustration is of the lord mayor’s parade then. I looked (with spectacles on) but didn’t spot anybody dressed in rags
Bath, from memory we only got colour tapestry in the 15th century. Up that point it was all black and white, with only 3 channels to watch. No live sport with only edited highlights of the 1066 cup final, bizarrely played on the south coast and featuring the first team wholly made up of Johnny Foreigners.
It all went downhill from there, of course.
bt8 @41, it is and there aren’t. I was scratching around for a title and focused pre-match on ‘Heroes and Villains’ but then I remembered my father’s old bridge partner’s phrase and thought it apt. That was the best illustration I could find. After posting the report, I undertook a back drink and I noticed that CM100 used the first part of the phrase so I guess it’s widely used by the intelligensia.
CER @42, heh! Perfectly correct, sir. Earlier, in the pre-tapestry era, the Pictish teams used to come south and win regularly but post-match ‘festivities’ and vandalism eventually led to an attempt to limit the fixture. “Ban us fae Wembley?” they sang, “Ye cannae ban us fae Wembley!”
Bath, Ha!
Playing downhill, even with the wind at your back, against Johny Foreigners has never been an easy task, CER and it would be fair to say that results are mixed 🙂
A couple of comments from Blogs this morning prompted my brain cell to fire up.
• “Arteta inherited a club in a shambolic state, has done his best with a squad that is mess, and which contains about 4 players who are unquestionably not for sale.”
• “Since they took over, KSE have spent plenty of money.”
Well, yes and no. And it’s all relative.
“Plenty of money”
The current squad has cost Arsenal £464M on 35 players so, yes, plenty of money. But said differently, that is one Neymar, one Coutinho one Pogba and one Maguire (or mix and match your own Van Dijks etc to get to £464).
The squad component costs follow. Highest prices paid in each category by EPL teams are for reference.
Arsenal
Goalkeepers (3) £19M (Arrizabalaga £72M)
Full Backs (5) £26M (Wan-Bissaka £50M)
Centre Backs (9) £116M (Maguire £78M)
Mid-Field (9) £116M (Pogba £95M)
Forwards (9) £187M (Pepe £72M)
The current term for ability is ‘quality’ and that is usually reflected by price. So, in price terms on ‘quality’ players, our only strike (I’m not using the word success) is Nocolas Pepe where we lead the EPL.
However, prudent, careful recruitment can deliver quality at much more attractive price points. Would we swap all three of our keepers for Arrizabalaga (or the fella at Liverpool)? Would we have preferred Wan-Bissaka over Tierney? Personally, I wouldn’t in either case.
While purchase of the Auba, Laca and Pepe/Martinelli front three has been a success it is at Centre Back and Midfield (since the demise of Ozil) where Arsenal’s efforts to improve the squad have, frankly, fallen very short. Unless William Saliba turns out to be a star, we have no player close to ‘world class’ in either of these two categories and they are self-evidently the critical areas for improvement. (Four world class players a title winning team make – old Fife proverb).
“The squad is a mess.”
Maybe. But it’s a mess that has beaten ManU away, Liverpool at home, knocked $iteh out of the Cup and drawn with Che$ki with ten men at the Bus Stop after losing narrowly to them at home after Leno’s single error of the season. And it’s a mess that still has a good chance of winning the Cup and qualifying for Europe via that route.
But I’m not missing Blog’s points. Of-course the squad needs strengthening. The areas for improvement are clear. Arteta has said that the coming window is one for “hard decisions” and Blogs suggests only four players are ”unquestionably not for sale”
This season has been Arsenal’s poorest in 25 years. It HAS to be the nadir in this modern era. Arteta, the young players, the talented elder statesmen (only Auba?) who remain all have critically important roles to play but a new sunrise will only be golden if the coming window is managed at a world class standard.
ExCom – step up to the plate. Earn your corn.
Splendid post, BtM.
Apparently we’re wearing next season’s shirt in the FA Cup Final and the last league game. Fuck that.
CER @42, Bath @43, BtM @44
Thanks for those clarifications. The 1066 cup final sounds quite memorable, but the northern vandals also seem to have been quite persistent. 🙂
Not quite sure why that worries you Cynic.
We’ve often worn special edition shirts in finals What’s so special about this season’s kit?
That’s a very thought- provoking note Btm.
I read Blogs after I read your note and like him would like to bury this season.
He references 1995 the last time we finished outside the top six. I remember the season well. It was pretty ghastly but also ended in a Cup Final – which ended with Nayim from the halfway line ( and me losing my luggage next day en route from Paris to Zurich) .
George lost his mojo mainly because of the Rune Hauge affair (easy mistake to make I often get £440 k from casual associates in fresh notes at the Park Lane Hotel )
Reverting to Blogs’ article and your analysis I think the key is KSE have spent money but not that wisely either in terms of salary or fees paid or received . We effectively pissed £70 m up the wall when we made a mess of renewing Sanchez and not getting rid, we dropped £50 m on Ramsey and about £15m on Welbeck. Whoever signed off the Ozil deal deserves to be put in that hole Blogs describes . That’s an avoidable loss of well over £150 m .
With my management consultant hat on if asked to look at what might have been done better I would have charged them an obscene fee for telling them they lacked financial oversight at KSE( they would have undoubtedly paid it because they lack financial oversight 😃) They have wasted about half their annual operational budget on poor decision-making . While some clubs get huge cash injections the newly crowned champions sold assets at the maximum prices they could and filled key spinal positions with top- quality assets sometimes at big prices but they turned a profit and by great scouting improved the team mix . They are owned by a big American sporting franchise too.
We’ve not mucked up everything . We identified real talent at very good prices in Tierney, Leno and Martinelli. This is why I fear us being drawn into deals for players past their best like Willian . I’d rather we gave the shirt to Nelson or Saka and focused on buying a couple of top- quality centre midfielders .
I’m sensing that Sanllehi isn’t as good as I thought he was. But he wouldn’t have to be very good to outperform Gazidis . The jury is out on Edu . Without the right oversight and nous we can’t support a potentially great coach in the right way
BtM and TTG. Top analysis, top posts.
Good stuff above, if not very cheering.
ClockEndRider,
Everything only in black and white – only three channels on the telly ……
Why, I thought, has this geezer come in here to talk about the last time Tottenham won the league ? 😳
I was reading a recent analysis of Covid infection. They were trying to find correlations between areas with high rates and alighted on Blackburn and Leicester. I started to become uneasy about where this was going when they pointed out that they were two towns who had won the Premier League and propensity to win it was clearly a risk factor.
Their conclusion was on that basis that the safest place to live in England was Tottenham High Road 😃😃
CER, bath, BtM and bt8: it was the hard-fought away win at Stamford Bridge in the semis that did for them on the South Coast in 1066, having to play the final on only three weeks rest.
Kola, Ozil and Torriera along with Martinelli, Laca, Auba, Tierney and Pepe featured on the club site modelling the new home kit. Make of that what you will about who will be here next season.
https://www.arsenal.com/news/arsenal-stars-new-adidas-home-kit
Norwegian semi-final opponents at Stamford Bridge apparently had to play on only five days rest following their quarterfinal victory at York. Three weeks? Pfft!
Unai Emery has been officially announced as the new manager at Villareal, where his predecessor “left the club despite a fifth-placed finish that secured a Europa League spot.” Another club treading water, it sounds like, but the water is boiling.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/53513821
Re: Ozil. A high priced fashion model, if you ask me, but as we have paid him all that money already, I guess he is a self-sustaining one.
speaking of colored tapestry, i remember how chris (oskar the dog) was always telling us how much detail he could see on his tapestry, not least because it covered the wall of the cathedral.
So to beat the topic started @45 to death:
Goalkeepers (£19M)
Leno (19M), Martinez (0.1M), Macey (0.1M)
Full/Wing Backs (£26M)
Bellerin (0.5M), Soares (Free), Tierney (25M), Kolasinac (Free), AMN (Acad)
Centre Backs (£116M)
Chambers (16M), Holding (2M), Luiz (8M), Mari (8M), Medley (Acad), Mustafi (35M), Mavropanos (2M), Saliba (27M), Sokratis (18M)
Midfield (£116M)
Xhaka (34M), Torreira (26M), Ceballos (Loan), Guendouzi (8M), Willock (Acad), Ozil (43M), Elneny (5M), Smith-Rowe (Acad), Smith (Acad)
Forwards (187M)
Lacazette (53M), Aubamayang (56M), Pepe (72M), Martinelli (6M), Nketiah (Acad), John-Jules (Acad), Saka (Acad), Nelson (Acad), Balogun (Acad)
At a total of £464M, while it’s not an insignificant amount, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever hear Shirley Bassey (Who?) singing “Hey, Big Spenders” in connection with Arsenal’s player purchases. Nor is it likely that Queen singing “One Vision” will be applied to a cut-and-paste approach to team building.
It’s easy to be critical of a shopping approach that has us mix regular visits to Poundstretcher’s basement with the occasional mad dash to Harrod’s top shelf. And it’s even easier too to pooh pooh deals for the Swiss Captain, the German World Cup full-back and the Greek Shithouse that were made with the best intentions at the time, but didn’t entirely work out. I won’t belabour the point by going through the squad. (Nor will I repeat TTG’s excellent point that some player exit management has been shite).
But there are some VERY good deals in there. AND, look at the contribution the Academy is making/has the potential to make over the next couple of seasons (“entirely dependent on them doing it week after week, year after year” as MA8 would qualify).
So, if Blogs is correct and there are only 4 players who are unquestionably not for sale, who are they? Well, here are the eight of the four that I’d most want to keep.
Martinez, Bellerin, Tierney, Mari*, Saliba, Saka, Aubamayang, Martinelli.
Yours??
* Based only on his performance in the World Club final vs Liverpool.
We’ve often worn special edition shirts in finals What’s so special about this season’s kit?
Isn’t the special edition usually the season’s kit with FA Cup Final embroidery? As for what is so special about this season’s kit, it doesn’t look like a tart’s wallpaper.
Plus I was going to buy one, now you can get it at a reasonable price, but as we’re abandoning it before the Final I will stick to my old 88 home shirt. Humbug etc.
Cynic
I suspect the wearing of the new kit is a charm offensive to keep Adidas sweet. They would have signed that kit deal hoping /expecting we would return to the Champions League next season. One assumes the FA Cup Final will attract a lot of publicity which may convince them they are getting value for money or something like it .
I had you down as a bruised banana man !
BtM@61: Excellent post. I, too, was wondering which four were the must-keeps.
If there was silly money on the table, I would knock Martinez and Bellerin off your list.
But then I might add Nketiah to it.
bt8@59: There is a splendid piece of unintended irony on the club web site right now.
There is a panel on the home page advertising the new adidas 20/21 Pre-Match Range featuring pictures of Kola, Pepe, Saka and Ozil. Under Ozil’s picture it says ‘Shop now’.
Perhaps not unintended…
BtM@61: My choices of must-keep next season in the descending order of “must-ness”
Saka
Martinelli
Tierney
Leno
Auba
Martinez
Laca
Reiss
Hector
Pepe
Eddie
None of the rest are must-keep. Sorry about AMN and Joe.
The reason Auba and Laca aren’t top of my “must” list — they are still must — is because very soon we will have to replace them. Whereas in Saka-Gabi-Tierney we have three absolute gems who are very young. Not just talented, strong competitors all.
Saka is getting Mkhitaryan’s No 7 next season, apparently
Emi and Hector, Ned? Oh no!
Dr F, while I haven’t seen it, I’ve heard that a list exists of the ten top young talents in European football. Three of them are Arsenal players. Not your three though (I suspect Tierney isn’t quite young enough). You have two of them though.
From the back to the front, the three are Saliba, Saka, Martinelli. Now who is Blog’s fourth?
Reasons to be cheerful, Part 1. 🙂
Only just chanced upon this new website after scrolling down the drinks on ‘Holic’s website.
Hello all. Nice that this is going on. Much respect to everyone.
I think Tierney is the fourth ‘unsellable’.
In a market like this you are not likely to get silly offers but if we did I’d sell Pepe . I’m keen to sell Bellerin , I think he’s very overrated . You rip tge guts out of a club if you sell too many though .
I think Btm and I have given Mikel enough pointers now to reconstruct the squad .
Steve-o
Lovely to hear from you, you are most welcome
Welcome in, Steve-o. New digs but the same spirit. (And many of the same old faces.)
Sadly, Bellerin isn’t the player he was before his injury. He has lost that bit of pace which made all the difference. He is still a good full-back and probably our best right-back, and we have more pressing concerns in other positions. However, if the opportunity for an upgrade presents itself, we should probably take it.
Steve-o welcome from me too. This is an international bar – where do you hang your hat?
Great posts from BtM and TTG.
On the credit side we got top
money for Iwobi / Ox and even
Feo considering his age.
I think Dr F’s top 4 may be the
must keeps. Some of our other
players may be unsellable for
more negative reasons
If anyone has planes to charter and it is a habit I detest I would have thought calling out Ozil for his parasitic behaviour, refusing to take a pay cut and seemingly prepared to sit tight and take his grotesque salary rather than ply his profession would be a more appropriate subject than the Kroenkes much as I resent their ownership .
But as we’re making lists……
I’d like to keep all of the goalies
and attackers. Plus Tierney, Saliba,
Calum, Luiz, Soares, Joe W, ESR,
and LT. Of course I might have
completely changed my mind by
October.
Welcome Steve-O. Good to see another longstanding Holic regular find his way to this new establishment. We’ve tried to make the environment as comfortable as the original. Your favourite tipple is on the bar, sir.
Not fair to either Bournemouth or Villa if we field a weakened side against Watford. Even more importantly, we should grasp the opportunity to send the odious Deeney down to the Championship – show him some steel rather than a soft underbelly. The turd.
I had you down as a bruised banana man !
Only when I’ve been without female company for a while…
I do have an original 91 away but the Adidas badge is falling off so I no longer wear it. 🙁
Guid tae see so mony weel kent faces in the baur. Drinks are on Lars. He left his wallet behind the bar. :0)
This feels more and more like the old bar as old friends return. Today, Dave would have had the cricket on the TV in the corner (he loved his cricket). So I’m going to settle in for a virtual Friday lunchtime pint on Lars while keeping an eye on the Test match. Welcome back.
Proper summer’s day, C100.
C100,
Cricket doesn’t seem like the kind of game one would tend to watch from behind the couch, but I could be wrong of course. Dave is probably watching on Chris’ TV though.
Greetings, Dorset Mick, Steve-o and all other lurkers
A strange thing just happened.
I read that Mustafi has been ruled out of the Cup Final and I felt disappointed. (Really).
I had him down as one of my definite starters.
he must have had a relapse, it was very recently announced he was back in training.
and he *is* a loss…but then again, we are a mid table team this year, so our expectations are just a bit skewed.
But Leno will be back in full training next week. Selection decision for Arteta?
Not unless Emi has an absolute
stinker tomorrow Ned.
I agree with all this. The keeper position is Emi’s to lose. Mustafi is a first choice centre back atm. The final is going to be a big challenge. Can we exceed ourselves and thereby our expectations for a third time? I really hope we can but I am not confident.
Bukayo Saka given the No 7 shirt. In the footsteps of Brady, Rocastle and Pires.
Not to mention Armstrong and Rosicky! I hope he lives up to the reputation of those guys better than its previous incumbant.
Looking to the next generation after Saka, Nelson, Willock, AMN, Nelson et al, things look extremely encouraging according to this Online Gooner review of this year’s Arsenal Academy intake:
https://www.onlinegooner.com/articles/view/5255
C100@92: As implied by my @69, that also means the incumbent No 7, Mkhitaryan, is definitely not coming back. Probably also means around £7.5 million incoming from Roma for him.
All the squad photos of the players on the club site are shown wearing the new kit. Someone must have been busy with Photoshop.
In other shirt news, Saliba is getting No 4 for next season. The club’s confirmation also mentioned that the incumbent, Elneny, will switch to No 25 next season. No such information given for Mkhitarian. Does that mean a permanent deal has not (yet) been done for Elneny to stay in Turkey?
Ned@97, indeed it does. A few weeks ago I saw something about him being in dispute with the Turkish club he is on loan to because of salary unpaid and a statement from them about the same time that they could not afford to buy him permanently from Arsenal. I did see something else a little later about someone else in the eastern Med being interested in him but have seen nothing since so I guess he may be back.
Chips the ball over the opposition defence for a runner…..
Whispers going around that Lars wallet has been reactivated. Let the imbibing begin! 😉
Bath@94
I used to get really interesting info from a Gooner much older even than me who used to be allowed into Shenley to see the ‘boys’ as he called them and used to follow the reserves, latterly the U 23s at Meadow Park . Sadly he is too infirm to travel now so I don’t get any tips about rising stars . His son told me last season that the next big thing will be Azeez and young Patino had already made a mark.
The Online Gooner is now a little closer to the club since Layth assumed the reins and this suggests that this is a very reliable insight into the new intake .Amazing that we have a Brazilian CM at this level . Presumably we had to bring his family over to support him?
4, 7, 25. Good numbers all, but two of the three of Saliba, Saka and Elneny feel just like new signings, psychologically speaking. The third, Saka, still has the feeling of simply being new. 4 and 7 could be impact players next season if we are lucky.
nice ton, bt8. and nice to see that lars’ wallet is stuffed full again (the never-ending repleteness).
but that’s that for the villans.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>