It seemed so strange not to be there. We have had five Wembley Cup Finals since 2011. I’ve been lucky enough to have been at all of them. The ritual was engrained. Early travel to Wembley, couple of beers, dinner on the way home. So many pictures were on social media before the game, including several of the gentleman (and I use the word advisedly) above, Dave Faber, the Goonerholic. Dave loved a final. Several drinkers in this bar enjoyed his company there, many many more read his reports.
So the TV and the sofa it was. I chose the BBC, mainly for the sheer pro Arsenal exuberance of Wrighty, who nicely squashed the odious Cashley. I’m told BT Sport had RvP. He would have turned my beer so I gave that a swerve. Aunty Beeb it was, despite Danny Murphy on co-comms, never a fan of ours.
It was a matter of considerable pride that our 20 man squad included seven Academy graduates – and that doesn’t include Martinez or Bellerin who both joined at 16 from abroad. Is it that we are down to the bare bones, or are we blessed with a golden Hale End generation? Whichever, it must have made Per Mertesacker and Freddie Lundberg glow with pride. The team was a 3-4-3 with KT, Luiz and Rob at the back, Hector and AMN at wingback, Xhaka and Dani in midfield and the big three of Auba, Laca and Pepe up front. No Kola thank God and a reward for AMN for his excellent game against City. I hope he remembered to take Mahrez out of his shorts before the game started. A lovely and typically Arsenal touch was a massive banner thanking Ken Friar for 70 years service. He started in 1950. Even TTG and goonersince54 haven’t been around that long!
Off we went. In a sign of things to come AMN completely outpaced Azpilicueta on the left and knocked in a perfect cross which Auba headed just wide. But Chelsea were about to have their best period of the game. With the blues pressing fiercely, Xhaka gave away the ball in midfield and Mount closed in and forced a good save from Martinez. On five minutes, disaster struck. Mount again drove into the box, slipped it to Giroud, who cleverly backheeled it (sounds familiar) to Pulisic, Auba’s former Dortmund teammate, who, with great feet, made space and slipped it past Emi. The American was looking very very good.
Arsenal 0-1 Chelsea (Pulisic 5)
For a while it didn’t get any better. Chelsea continued a high press and were dominating midfield, with Jorghino playing simple passes and good running in the channels. That man Pulisic again forced a save from Emi. Then the game began to turn. Kovacic climbed in on Xhaka. Foul and a yellow card. A few minutes later the same player clattered Dani. Foul but no second yellow. Surely he was in the last chance saloon? Dani took the free kick himself but put it just over. The water break on 21 minutes seemed critical if we weren’t going to get overrun. These time outs have played into Arteta’s skills and he was into everybody, arms waving, instructions in umpteen languages being given. Our little Basque is not what you call a laid back manager!
After 25 minutes KT3 played a lovely ball to Auba on the edge of the box who laid it off for Pepe. With one of those reminders as to why we paid £72m for him he curled a worldie into the top corner. Sadly Auba was deemed, correctly, to be just offside when he received the ball. But the improvement continued. Again Kieran played a long ball, fully 80 yards, into the path of an onside Auba. His electric pace was far too much for Azpilicueta. The pulling began five yards outside the box and, stupidly, continued well into the box. Anthony Taylor gave the penalty that nobody seemed to disagree with, not even Danny Murphy. Lots of discussion as to whether it should have been a red card, like Luiz at the Bridge, because he clearly wasn’t attempting to play the ball, but Rüdiger’s presence just saved him. A yellow it was. Auba placed the ball, gave one deep breath and drove it nervelessly into the right corner of the net. Get in!
Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea (Aubameyang 28)
We were now in our best period of the game. A long ball to Giroud saw Luiz put his hand on his back. Now Giroud, as we recall, has a very low pain threshold and he collapsed to the floor screaming. No foul and VAR agreed. Cheating little Frenchman. He never got those when he played for us either. It has to be said, Luiz was doing an excellent job on him. Azpilicueta went off with a hamstring and was replaced by Christensen. Xhaka pulled off a wonderful Bobby Moore like tackle. Has there been a better arising from the dead since Lazarus? Pepe was putting in a lot of lovely left footed crosses from the right wing and really troubling Chelsea at the far post. As half time approached he was upended just outside the box. Laca knocked it well wide. Five minutes of injury time. Just time for a yellow card for Mason Mount for another foul on Dani.
Half time Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea
On the BBC half time report a lovely little segment on how clearly you could hear the coaches. It seems that Arsenal had gained another coach, with Wrighty’s screams of “man on” and “tackle him Rob” from the commentary box clearly audible. Wrighty would fit right in on the North Bank.
At the start of the second half, Pulisic, clearly Chelsea’s best player, ran through our midfield and just put the ball past the post. But he was screaming as he hit the shot and another hamstring had popped. He was replaced by Pedro, whose first act was to seriously outpace Rob Holding , although to no great effect. The game was really open and we broke leaving Laca with the ball and an unmarked Auba screaming for the ball. Unfortunately Laca released the ball just too late and Auba was closed down.
An hour gone. We were giving Chelsea too much space again as the 25 degree heat began to make for tired legs. The Arsenal faithful online were growing increasingly fretful, including your correspondent. But just as we were worrying, Hector picked up the ball in our half and he drove, like Martinelli at the Bridge, right through the middle of the Chelsea midfield. He was taken out ten yards outside the box, but Taylor played a good advantage as the ball fell to Pepe on the right. He slid in Auba, who turned Zouma into a pretzel before dinking a delightful little chip over Caballero. What a goal! One worthy of any Cup Final. And what a player. New contract please – just pay the man!
Arsenal 2-1 ((Aubameyang 78)
Now the nerves really kicked in. We are not renowned for holding leads, to the extent that dog walkers will not allow the team to substitute. Then, a key moment. Kovacic fouled Xhaka. A yellow card came out, but it was for Ceballos, who was mouthing off. Then, in slow motion, as if he had heard all the Arsenal fans screaming (maybe it was Wrighty) he pulled out a second yellow, then a red, for Kovacic. Danny Murphy, who will seldom admit there has been a foul unless a leg is hanging off, was disgusted. Chelsea were down to ten men with ten minutes to go.
As befits an all London final, it was getting feisty. Rüdiger fouled Xhaka and got a yellow. Arteta got himself booked, in the Wenger tradition. Chelsea made three subs, bringing off Mount (who had looked very dangerous), Giroud (who had done little after that early backheel assist) and Rüdiger for Abraham, Hudson-Odoi and Barkley. Then a moment of horror. Martinez, excellent all game, came for a long Chelsea ball and appeared to have caught it outside his area. Anthony Taylor waved it away (is he trying to make up for sending Kos off against Villa?) and, for some reason, no replays were shown. After the game, a BBC replay appeared to have shown that the ball was just, just, on the line. Wrighty was convinced, Cashley less so.
Eddie came on for Laca. Luiz went down and his race was run. Sokratis came on. Barkley’s sole contribution was to foul Eddie and pick up yet another Chelsea yellow card. Up went the board. Seven (!) minutes of added time. Oh my God. We were defending deep when we should have been passing, passing, passing against ten men. Pepe got away with a clattering foul on the edge of our box. Pedro burst through from the loose ball but Emi again claimed it confidently with Papa shielding him well. Pedro went down and stayed down with what looked like a painfully dislocated shoulder. Chelsea were down to nine men. For some reason Arteta played with our heartstrings and brought on Kola for the excellent Kieran Tierney. After an interminable period of about eleven minutes of added on time the final whistle went. We had won our 14th FA Cup!
Full time. Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
Oh my. Arteta wins the Cup as player and manager, emulating George Graham. We have now won 10% of all the FA Cups ever. Silverware (where’s yours Tottenham?). You in the drinks can decide the stars, but for me every manjack was a ten. What a triumphant end to a very bumpy season of three managers and our worst league position for 25 years.
Then a hugely pleasing coda. It appears that by winning the FA Cup, we take a place in the Europa League group stages in October (gosh who knew?). The team finishing sixth in the Premier League have to go into the qualifying stages and play three one off games to reach the same stage, starting in mid September.
Oh yes, the team finishing sixth? Tottenham Hotspur FC.
I thereby declare August 1 as St Totteringham’s day by proxy.
One man who would have so enjoyed that, as well as the day and the win, is Dave Faber to whom this blog is dedicated. On the first FA Cup final since his sad death on Christmas Day, I hope he was watching from heaven with friends, family and maybe a glass or two of Ambrosia.
Cheers Dave. This one was for you.
Get in!
XIV
🎗
Excellent, C100. The Guv’nor would be proud.
Great stuff, Countryman100. A report for the ages.
Look down in pleasure, Dave
COYG
Great stuff C100, a goal to remember
from Auba after a season to mostly
forget. We can all go into next season
– only a month away – in better heart.
First 10 minutes aside everyone played
well and a big thank you to Mikel
top post, c100. caught the game well, and is infused by our patron’s spirit. he would have so enjoyed the drinks today, most likely starting with a little auntie beecham’s.
i had visions of another Baku-esque nightmare with their goal. but after the first drinks break we grabbed hold, and didn’t let it go until auba dropped the trophy 🙂 on the back of that performance (and the resulting knockdown of sperz to europa qualifiers) i am so happy today, and ALWAYS proud to be a gooner…
Masterful, CM100, simply masterful. Your report, sir, is as enjoyable to read as the game itself was enervating to watch. Faberesque in its quality. Love the dogwalker observation.
Now I’ve reached the end, I think there’s something in my eye. Dave would have loved your report as much as he’d have enjoyed the day itself.
Great report, Countryman, on a super day for Arsenal fans everywhere. Watching intently from my seat next the rooftop bowling green I was mostly quiet throughout the opening stages until about the half hour when I uttered the phrase “Arsenal had a very good drinks break.” The Arteta effect remained strong from then to the finish. Speaking of finish, did you see Auba’s second goal? It brought tears to my eyes and a feeling it was our day, which it most assuredly was. Excellent tribute to the man who brought us all together on this blog, I must add. 😁😁😁😁😁😁😆😆😆😆😆😁😁😁😁
Cheers Countryman!
baff@6 i had to laugh at the lead mention…took me a couple of times to see what he meant, my pun0meter is generally muted at this point of the day.
Great report Countryman – a fitting tribute to a great result and especially to the man who bought us all here in the first place.
After we’ve all endured a tough past year supporting the team we love it’s no surprise there is an outflow of joy at how it as ended. Kudos to the team to a man for playing a blinder – every single one of them. They were focused in following the boss’s match plan and the result fully deserved.
We have secured an absolute gem in Mikel Arteta and the board & executive must fully support him in the market – he has got you out of jail from how we were looking at the end of last year, do not let him down!
Wonderful report C100. You could have been there …and don’t we all wish we had been! All those Chelsea t-shirts abandoned in Olympic Way and whingeing Chavs on the tube. We would have loved it .
I find Cup Finals which we play in ( thankfully many) very emotional and thankfully we tend to do very well in them . I was also suffering from a slight wetness of eye as I considered Holic in his pomp watching his beloved Gooners. I then received a text from the guy who used to sit next to me at Arsenal for many years. He lost interest when Kroenke bought the club . His Dad died a couple of years ago and he would have been 100 yesterday . He commented that our Dads were probably watching it together and I envisaged a lovely sight of them encamped with Holic and my mate Dean who died of Covid this year . That would have been quite a party ! It’s been quite a season too .
scruz@9, I had to read it twice. Brilliant!
Excellent report, C100.
Must say that although Kovacic second yellow was wrong, I cannot understand how Azpilicueta wasn’t sent off for the pen. The foul continued into the box; There was no attempt to get the ball; and Rudigers presence is red herring as he would not have been close had Auba not been pulled back. I suspect the referee saw that at half time and knew he had made a rick.
And more than that, some payback for Jorginho not being given a second yellow card in the game at The Emirates in December, following which he scored for The Bus Stoppers. Good.
Oh and Giroud – I used to really like him, but after that swan dive when he seemed to think he was in the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, he can do one.
That is all.
Clock End Rider
I agree about Giroud but I found his celebrations in Baku obnoxious .
Frankly I’m agnostic on him. The bloke behind me hated him and blamed him for everything from the Potato Famine to the Great Depression. He is effective if you play to his strengths and the opposition haven’t done their homework but he’s slow ( incredibly slow) and one-footed. He does lay the ball off brilliantly and is very good in the air but I didn’t realise someone as big as him could fit in Luiz’s pocket
TTG, yeah in hindsight you’re right.
I am enjoying the delightful taste of schadenfreude at his miserable boat shown on tv after the game. Call me a small, petty man. I just don’t care!
A lovely report Countryman! True to the tradition of great ‘Holic reports after the cup wins.
So many things to write about and be excited about. Looking forward to the next season eagerly.
Lots of great performances, but in the last couple of months Kieran Tierney and Emi Martinez have played some of the best footballs in their respective position in this year’s English season. They have been nothing sort of extraordinary. Them and Auba up front being world class and many a competent performances all around the pitch.
That second goal … masterful! Can watch it in a loop ..,
In early December 2019, the outlook for Arsenal was bleak and the prospects of a fight to avoid relegation in the final stages of the season were real and scary. Had anyone offered the opportunity to bet on very convincing wins against $iteh, Liverpool and Che$ki in quick succession AND a FA Cup win, I would have held on tight to my silver unless the odds had been eye-wateringly long.
Fast forward to August 1 2020 and a warm summer’s evening at Wembley stadium and, seemingly against all odds, Mikel Arteta has taken the shambles bequeathed by his predecessor, fostered belief in his players and fashioned a level of commitment and style of play that makes his first choice eleven capable of beating anyone on their day.
C100, a splendid reprisal of an excellent day and a result of tremendous importance to the immediate future of the Arsenal and the spirits of all of us whose lives are intimately intertwined with the club’s wellbeing.
Fantastic day.
But it’s never too soon to begin to focus on the areas of the squad that obviously need improvement. ExCom, step up to the plate. The time is now.
Interesting to watch the video of the team celebrating in their Wembley dressing room. Arteta dancing in the middle and everyone else round him. Says it all.
🎵 … Wemberley, Wemberley … 🎶
Superb post Countryman
Our beloved Landlord would be mightily chuffed at the continuation of the high standards in the new bar, that he set over the life of the Gonnerholic blog.
I have 3 longtime Chelsea supporters among my mates,and all 3 are class individuals.
They all contacted me to say well done on the win,no moaning about injuries or contentious decisions,as far as they were concerned,the better team won.
To Bath,ATG,C100,Scruz and anyone I’ve left out,a mighty thanks from me and I’m sure everyone of the Holic brother and sisterhood,for the sterling work in getting the new bar up and running in Dave’s memory.
I hope to be posting on here until they have to carry me off in a box. !!
See you all early Sept.
Take care all
Cheers
@15
CER
😃
I must admit I laughed at
OG too. Anyway, he’s had a
good couple of years and we
all have to lose some time.
Unless you’re a spud, then it’s
all the time.
I noticed Mikel made a point of
thanking Guen and Ozil for their
contributions to the Cup run.
That was good of him.
Arsenal’s seven FA Cup wins in the 21st century include three of the six finals held in Cardiff, and four of the fourteen finals held in the new Wembley Stadium, in short order matching Arsenal’s seven FA Cup wins in the 20th century, all of those at the original Wembley.
The players looked resplendent in the new strip. Good marketing by Arsenal to have the team wear it on the day and encourage early sales around the world on the back of the Cup-win-feel-good factor. If (when?) Auba signs, demand for that No 14 shirt will rocket. The earlier the better, all income now will go straight into the pot from whence comes money for transfer fees. I’m still hoping for a Partey.
On the other hand I would far rather we won the Cup in the classy kit we started the season with. This new one is dreadful.
Commercial imperatives prevail in this brave new world, I’m afraid……
Thank you for all the kind comments above. In return, how about settings Auba’s winning goal to the Titanic music? OK then …. https://twitter.com/eddielongbridge/status/1290006287170719744?s=21
A question to chew on: how far short of our best available team started at Wembley?
CM100 @26, it’s ok but not dramatic enough.
I would propose Wagner’s ‘Entry of the God into Valhalla’ from the final scene of Rheingold. I don’t have the skill to marry it to the goal clip though.
That WAS our best available team, Ned @27.
Agree with Bath. Saka was looking very tired towards the end of the season, unsurprisingly. Given the injured players, I thought Arteta played the strongest team available. Neither Ozil nor Guendouzi would have been in squad either.
Had he been fit, Mustafi would have started for Holding, Ned.
Rob played well for the second time in a final (and as TTG has pointed out, now has more winners’ medals than the entire Spuds squad), but Pulisic showed how slow his recovery is once he’s been beaten. There is much of the BFG in Rob’s playing style and as the friendly German showed, if your recovery speed isn’t good, the key is not to be beaten in the first place.
AMN played really well, Saka wouldn’t have let us down on the left either had he been given the nod.
Even although Kolasinac is the undisputed master of the 45 degree backward pass (which I’m told is now called a ‘Kola’ in the same way that a famous Dutchman’s dynamic turn was called a ‘Cruyff’) he’s effectively our fourth choice for important games. Hopefully he’ll get the message and have a great career elsewhere 🙂
I don’t have brilliant contacts at Arsenal now but I do have decent ones at Chelsea and they are absolutely convinced that Willian will sign for us . I’ve no idea if the other strong , earlier rumours will come to pass- Coutinho, Sarr and Partey – but although he’s a very tidy player I just can’t see why a cash- strapped club would give Willian three years at his age .Not sure where he would play ?
Willian and Coutinho are distinctly underwhelming names to be linked with. I’m a bit bored with solving other club’s problems for them, especially when we have so many problem players of our own.
My bad. I meant best available from the squad if everyone fit, not from those available on the day.
My two-cents is that Mustafi would be at right CB, Mari, left CB and Tierney left wingback at the expense of Rob and AMN, which would have been tough on AMN as he played well in the final and semi-final. Otherwise the rest of those who started comprise the first XI.
Over the course of next season, I would expect Saliba to come into the reckoning. It will be interesting to see how long Arteta stays with a back three, one because it is the only formation that Luiz really works with and next season is realistically his last, and two because of the way Arteta morphs the three into a four at times, which suggests to me that Arteta would have to find a right-sided equivalent of Tierney to play right CB if he is to persist with it. That isn’t Mustafi, Holding or Sokratis. It might be Bellerin, but I don’t think he is a strong enough defender. He also needs a Busquets like DM, which isn’t Xhaka or Torierra, or even Cebellos.
Ned,
Our best available 11 with no injuries and
no naughty step?
A tricky question but with 3 CBs
GK: Leno (Emi, Macey)
RCB: Calum (Mus, Papa)
CB: Luiz (Rob, Mari)
LCB: Mari (KT, Kola)
RWB: Hector (Cedric, AMN)
CM1: Xhaka (Luiz, Calum)
CM2: Dani (LT, Guen)
LWB: KT (Saka, AMN)
RW: Pepe (Nelson, Saka)
CF: Laca, (Eddie, Gabi)
LW: Auba (Gabi, Saka)
I am happy with the GKs and the
attackers but not the defence or
midfield. I hope Saliba can solve
one problem on the right. Calum
is only there because I’ve seen
enough of Mus and Papa. Same for
Mari, who looks slow, being
picked on the left. KT is wasted there
and Kola not good enough.
And I really hope we buy someone
in CM as the balance is just wrong
at the moment. If Dani kicks on
next season and Hector returns to
his best I’d keep them plus KT – the
rest of the defence / midfield should be
changed over the next two transfer windows.
If we play with a back 4, Joe W, ESR
and Ozil come into it.
Quite a negative summary considering
we just won the Cup! But I want to
challenge for the title.
Matt,
It’s an honest summary .
We have just beaten Chelsea but they have already signed Ziyech and Werner who are top-class players and are close to signing Havertz who is one of the big coming talents in Europe. They are looking at Obiak in goal because they are poorly served there especially compared with us. That sort of quality recruitment is beyond us. I sense we are trying to add to the experience base and we are targeting players of quality with question marks above their heads . I don’t always agree with Cynic but I have my doubts about who we are likely to bring in from what I’ve heard. Borussia Dortmund it ain’t !
Your summary is a good one . The best deals we can do are to sign Auba and Ceballos and kick Ozil out of the club . That Cup win has changed so much about the mood of the club
Good summary that, Matt.
I’d keep Martinez in goal and start Saliba at RCB. Too early to judge Mari for me, I haven’t seen enough of him.
Unless no one else will have them, Kolasinac and Sokratis are ‘gone’ I think.
Agree with TTG and Cynic in
not wanting Willian or Coutinho
or anyone else that Kia can’t
find a home for.
I heard spuds are interested in
Coutinho. They’re welcome to
him though sadly for Coutinho
I think Maureen would sink his
career in short order.
I was looking through the transfer
window and saw that Banega left
Sevilla for Al-shabbat, we were
linked strongly with him last
season. Bullet dodged I think.
I also noticed Lille have loaned 9
players out to Mouscron in the
Belgian league. That’s just taking
the piss.
Great report Countryman on what was a great day. It was almost as if our name was written on the cup some months ago. A great win against Citeh and an even better win against the chavs in the final.
Great character shown by everyone. Aubameyang’s second was a thing of beauty. The celebrations after we’re great to see.
I’m very much with The Sweeper when it came to the response of the fans from CSKA Fulham. Most were gracious to the core. They could easily have moaned about both injuries and the sending off, but there was none of it. They fully recognised that the better team on the day were the victors.
It was however the total opposite from those spud supporters in Middlesex. Thst has now be the source of amusement since the final whistle. Hilariously, they have been fuming. I’ve taken great pleasure sending pictures of Maureen celebrating 6th as if 6th is now a trophy. The best one was the photo of Matt Smith celebrating. How great was that? It becomes even better when you realise that an Arsenal teenager who has not played a single minute for the first team, now has more winners medals then Harry Kane. Just comedy gold.
A fitting end to the season and more than half be toast was drunk in honour of The Guvna.
On the subject of transfers I would happily welcome Willian on a free. I’m also happy to trust Arteta in his judgement of Coutinho. I would love to see us sign Ceballos on a permanent deal. I think he’s been excellent in the last six weeks. Get PEA to sign a new deal. Add to thst a quality centre back and midfield general and we will be in a hearhty state.
Steve @41, I couldn’t agree more. I am firmly behind signing whoever Mikel decides can contribute to his project. For me, Mikel Knows Best (AFATR)!
Ok. I’ll bite…
AFATR?
As far as Tomas Rosicky?
Let’s just sign the BLDM and see how far it gets us. A couple of monster defenders and an Özil departure and replacement however would not go uncelebrated.
…
(To avoid Pangloss asking about BLDM):
Busquets-Like Defensive Midfielder
Pardon my loquaciousness. My morning coffee must have been particularly effective today.
Pangloss @43, it’s from the last line of the old song, We are the Arsenal and we are the best…
Cartoonist David Squires’s take on the Cup Final in The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2020/aug/04/david-squires-on-the-aubameyang-contract-renegotiation-final?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
If only Willian were free I might welcome him too.
Large signing on fee, hefty wage in a position
we have no urgent need.
It would be ASITWD
OM@39: Mouscron has previous in the dodginess department:
https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/sports/football/65784/belgian_football_club_bought_by_maltaregistered_company_for_10#.Xylhb1XPybg
OM@35: I would have Mustafi at right CB over Chambers, if only because we don’t know what Callum will be like once he returns from injury (though that might be true for Mustafi, too), and am still split over who is the no 1 keeper. Otherwise, I pretty much agree with you 100%.
I can’t see the sense in giving Willian a three-year contract. One, possibly, to provide some experienced transitional cover. But why would we lock ourselves into what will no doubt be a hefty salary for a player who will be 34 at the end of the contract — unless Arteta is thinking of selling Pepe or Nelson?
Thanks Ned.
I dug a little after reading that
story and found this one.
I assume it is within the
rules – if so I would like
the rules changed 😉
@53
I’d have to guess Nelson as he
doesn’t seem to have convinced
Mikel and we would take a big
financial hit if we sold Pepe after
one season.
Perhaps in the labyrinthine
football world Raul is just doing
his mate a favour and letting
Willian be linked to force a
better deal elsewhere. I’m
clutching at straws there.
From Ornstein and other commentators this morning it appears that Arteta is the one pressing for Willian and is not being palmed off. He wants to inject know how and experience of success into the team.
With this assurance I’d agree with Steve and Bath . In reality it is very clear that Mikel is not a yes man to Sanllehi and he has definitely earned the right to pick his own signings . At his best ( and the same goes for Coutinho ) Willian is an immense asset, very good with a dead ball and I understand a very committed trainer .
We do need to shed Ozil though. Or put Ozil in a shed
Every man needs a shed TTG.
I fear that Özil could sue for constructive dismissal if he was told that his duties next season will be cleaning the boots, painting the lines and cleaning the latrines. If not, that’s what I would tell him is his future role at Arsenal.
Bath,
He could creosote that shed as well.
Mikel Arteta has apparently bought an Elite Protection Dog to safeguard his home .
Walking it is clearly another job for Mesut . But why invest on a Dutch Shepherd when you’ve got Kolasinac?
I’m going to settle down with a glass of red and watch the West London derby to get into the Premier League tonight. I like both clubs but I have many family connections with Fulham and it’s the best away day in football. Beers by the Thames in Putney, then over Putney Bridge and a walk though Bishops Park to the ground. Wonderful.
I’m genuinely neutral tonight. I have always liked Fulham as they were one of the first English teams of which I had heard due to a Johnny Haynes card I acquired as a nipper. This was reinforced when they played lovely football and won at my first visit to the Old Toilet courtesy of a kind Manc-supporting trials co-ordinator and meetings organiser I worked with who had access to a neighbour’s season ticket.
However I love the romance of Brentford’s story and a gnarled old Senior Registrar I worked with in Glasgow Royal Infirmary’s A&E (truly jungle medicine) 40 years ago was a giant Bees fan. So I’m leaning thayway.
It sounds like either will be an improvement on several recent incumbents of the PL.
I echo both gentlemen’s’ comments . I love Craven Cottage , I have many friends who are fans and the atmosphere at the club is great . I first went there in the early sixties and it was a unique feeling in the crowd .
I like Brentford too- how could you not like a team with a ground with a pub on each corner I think Brentford will just nick it but my heart is with Fulham. I’d love to be back at the Cottage next season but doubt that’s feasible
All Fulham in the first 25.
It’s one of those evenings where Dave would have had the football on the laptop and the cricket on the iPad.
Winners at Wembley:
1. Arsenal
Losers, in no particular order:
1. Chelsea
2. Tots
3. Wolves
https://www.google.com/amp/s/talksport.com/football/fa-cup/740811/arsenal-tottenham-qualifying-rounds-europa-league-chelsea-fa-cup/amp/
Did I miss anybody?
bt8 @66,
4 John Terry
(who was sitting in row Z of the west stand in full kit ready to join the celebrations if the wrong team had won)
Remarkable goal from a free kick by left back Bryan to put Fulham ahead in the play off. 15 minutes to go.
It’s been an awful game because of the pressure but Fulham are clearly the better side.
Bryan again and that’s it. Fulham 2-0 and back in the Prem.
Late goal from Brentford but it’s all over.
Fulham deserved their victory even though it disappointed me as I was looking forward to the thrill of penalties after the turgid fare served for most of the match. Scott Parker does come across as a good tactician. It’ll be interesting to see how they do in the PL. I would like a day out at the Cottage given everything i’ve heard about it.
If only Willian were free I might welcome him too.
Large signing on fee, hefty wage
If he’s asking for the reported £100k a week, ’tis a mere bagatelle thesedays. That’s nearly a month of Willian for one week’s unused Ozil. Bargain.
OM@54: Interesting about Lille and Mouscron. It makes sense for big clubs to have a feeder club if a league doesn’t allow ‘B’ teams. The geographic proximity works well for Lille and Mouscron. We used to use Margate for the same purpose way back in the day. It would probably do more for our youngsters’ development if they could go to an Arsenal subsidiary rather than be parcelled out on loan piecemeal around the Championship and League One.
Ned,
I agree it is good for Lille as you
say. Maybe even Mouscron though
I wouldn’t be happy if my team
was loaned 9 players from one
club, it’s not really my team
any more would be my feeling.
Anyway, Margate were at that
time in the old Southern League
I think. Mouscron are in the
Belgian 1st division and it’s
quite conceivable the teams
could meet in European games.
One more Arsenal youth product establishing himself at the top: https://theathletic.com/1970663/2020/08/04/bennacer-exclusive-ac-milan-arsenal-pirlo/?source=shared-article
When we let the highly promising ones leave, don’t we put buy-back clauses?
We should probably figure out a way of keeping Balogun in the squad. Or only let him leave on a loan.
Dr.F
We usually put sell-on clauses in deals for young players in the event that should they succeed we can get part of the transfer fees they generate going forward. I believe that when Bennacer went from Empoli to Milan we received a significant windfall. We will undoubtedly put such a clause in Balogun’s contract .
We have let a number of excellent prospects go from Wenger’s time most notably Malen, Ozyakup and this lad , all of whom have been conspicuously successful . It is, I suppose part of the risk of assembling such a diverse group of young players , some of whom mature after their time at Arsenal. Buy-back clauses are less common with Arsenal but often I think they try to negotiate first-refusal situations if players are sold on .
It was interesting last night that Dominic Thompson who we sold to Brentford before the start of what is now last season generated £3m which is a decent fee for a left-back with no first-team experience. He only played two games for them and was not on their extended bench last night which might either mean he was injured or has failed to make an impact . Brentford are the big suitors for Balogun
I was very interested in the excitement generated among drinkers here about Arsene’s impending autobiography. It may be my inbuilt cynicism but I’ve rarely read a sporting autobiography that left me feeling I was being told the whole story .
With Arsene I also think he is far too decent a man to tell the unvarnished truth about the goings-on during his tenure. He protected a lot of people during his time at Arsenal and I don’t see him dishing the dirt now even though the publishers and any ghost writer involved will encourage him to do so.
The story of Arsene would be most interesting told by people like David Dein , some of his major players and confidantes like Bob Wilson who have known him for twenty plus years . They are reluctant to spill too much because of the mutual trust they have . I’m not sure we will find out exactly what happened at Highbury and the Grove in the boardrooms but we will hear more stories about who we might have signed and drive ourselves to distraction with what might have been . I shall certainly buy it and read it with interest but I’m not expecting it to be quite the revelation some are anticipating
TTG @78, wise words and almost certainly absolutely correct.
Re: Bennacer. Was expecting him to do well. After all , he is well-born. 🙂
The arithmetic implies most of those coming up through the ranks will not make it to the first team. Inevitably some good ones will get away, too. In one sense, it would be more worrying if all the players who had come up through the Academy and left flopped.
Dominic Thompson, who has just turned 20. managed only six minutes for Brentford in the Championship season just concluded. However, 21-year-old Josh Dasilva was Brentford’s ever present DM. He joined them from our U-23s on a free in the summer of 2018.
Anyway, good for him and let’s hope he has an off-day when Arsenal meet up with him in European competition, which is bound to happen. Not the off-day part though, if you see what I mean.
Thanks for that, Ned. I thought DaSilva’s name sounded familiar. Brentford’s loss at Wembley is not particularly surprising seeing as it was really their first appearance on the big stage. If they follow the pattern of many teams they may succeed at their second attempt, assuming they can keep their players together as a unit, in which case we might see Josh and companions in the first flight before too long.
Encouraging update on our youth recruitment. With the note we had recently on new additions we look to have an exceptional group of youngsters next year
Petrie and Peck lead the way for next crop of Arsenal U16s
@56 TTG, If MA8 is pushing for Wiilian, that’s good enough for me. Respect. I think Willian is a very good player. Inevitably his arrival will create competition for starts in the EPL for Nelson and Saka on either wing, but he can play effectively as a 10 too (so competition for Coutinho?).
As for Ozil, if he has good gardening skills he can come up here and help me eliminate my hydrangea white scale issue, carry my golf bag, clean my bike and he’s very welcome to spend time in my shed. Does anyone know if he can play bass guitar – preferably in the style of Jack Bruce – but I’ll be doing the vocals so don’t get him fired up on the prospect of doing those?
Carry your golf bag BtM? With his back?
I note the chorus of “if Willian and Coutinho are good enough for Arteta they’re good enough for us”. I’m still not sure and think it is very agent driven. I will remain agnostic until we see if they fit into our team. I just hoe they get very vigorous medicals and that the fourth year rumoured option for Willian is on our side only.
55 staff redundancies at Arsenal. Unfortunately, none of them are Mesut Ozil.
Thanks TTG@77 and NBN@81: nothing to disagree about. However, for someone like Balogun who has such a high ceiling won’t a well-managed loan deal be more productive? If he continues to improve and shows the ability to withstand the rigors of professional football then a chance with the first squad next year, if not we can sell later. I have seen a few highlights of him in the U-23 level, he was playing at an entirely different level than the rest.
Speaking of strikers, what happened to John-Jules? Given our Europa involvement next season maybe some game time for him in the first half of the season?
Dr.F
John- Jules went on loan to Lincoln after Christmas but immediately suffered a nasty injury . He is back at the club and one assumes he is rated more highly than Balogun.
I find it very sad that while Ozil sits on his bony arse costing us £18 million , 55 people have lost their jobs The outflow of finances is probably similar . My revulsion for the man is growing exponentially
BtM & Countryman: as much as I dislike the Ozil fiasco and the various negative consequences — financial, reputations (not an insignificant number of people believe that it’s the club hierarchy trying to push him out, which makes no sense to me, but that perception however insubstantial does no good to the club unfortunately) — to the club, I personally want to be careful about making Ozil the main culprit.
It is most likely he hasn’t been able to live up to the challenges Mikel put in place for him. Arteta did play Ozil in most of the pre-lockdown matches. Given that we were not going to control possession or dictate the tempo of the match Ozil’s already declining efficacy gets further reduced in our current set-up. And he may have failed to make the necessary changes to his game. Even at his peak he needed a bit of special treatment from Arsene, and Arteta evidently has a more egalitarian demands on work ethic, which I think is for the best.
However, another less obvious problem can be the state of his emotional health. Given the continued stigma around mental health especially among footballers — Per himself has been very vocal about the need for support and transparency, especially after first Enke and then Biermann committed suicide — if it later comes out that Mesut has been suffering from one then I think we will feel terrible. Yes he earns a lot of money, but as an employee it is not his fault that his employer had chosen to give him a significant pay rise. If it happened in any other industry with contract-driven employment terms then the employee would have hardly received any blame for assuming his contract will be honored as long as he is making himself available. At no point of Ozil’s career he gave an impression that he cares more about money than playing football. If that had changed in the last couple of years then that’s a very unfortunate downward trajectory of who in my opinion has been one of the most uniquely gifted and truly artistic footballer of our time.
It is all rather sad.
TTG@90, I posted mine @89 before reading yours. I feel very bad for the Arsenal employees who lost their jobs. I hope the club has good severance benefits and post-employment support.
On a larger scheme of things, I accept I will lose respect for Ozil if given the current worldwide circumstances he doesn’t make himself available for an understanding that helps the club.
On the other hand, the club is owned by multi billionaires who should also have moral commitment to support their employees in times of trouble. Extended and comprehensive unemployment support until they find new jobs should be expected at minimum.
Dr F. I take your point about mental illness and Ozil. But ..
1) Even at his best he was not “the most uniquely gifted and truly artistic footballer of our times”. To name just three, Messi, Ronaldo and Bergkamp are streets ahead and did it for many years.
2) He was the highest paid player, but the only one to refuse a pay cut, as all his team mates and staff did. That, to me, is reprehensible.
Football and other sports are fairly unique in their contracts. In most fields, although you are on a permanent contract, if your performance drops below acceptable, you get put on a performance improvement programme and if you don’t improve, you get fired.
Countryman @92: I didn’t say the most unique, but one of. At his peak, he was world class and just the next level after Ronaldo-Messi-Iniesta . 🙂
Agreed that he should have definitely followed his team mates. Inexcusable.
Was Ozil not at the final because he went AWOL, because the club ordered him away, or by mutually agreed terms?
He’s had every other illness, he might as well claim mental illness as well. Four corners, the line prize, he may as well go for the full house.
And if it is true that Arsenal’s redundancies will include scouts, Francis Cagigao among them, that’s a false economy if ever there was one. Match day staff and hospitality staff you could understand, but the blokes who are tasked with finding players and saving us paying huge transfer fees just makes no sense to me.
Bt8
I think we were only allowed to take a party of a certain size to the Final. Mustafi and Martinelli attended on crutches, Leno was there although not match-fit so I guess if Ozil had wished to attend he could have . Guendouzi pissed off on holiday . I understand he asked to take his wife back to Turkey with his new baby . Not sure if he watched the match. The congratulatory tweet that followed was probably written by his social media team
Cynic,
I’m certain that they are not parting company with Cagigao – he is a highly valued scout/ negotiator who discovered Martinelli
Cynic
I now read the news. I’m genuinely astonished about Cagigao. He was a youth playe4 and I thought h3 had replaced Mislintst.
Maybe Joorabchian is doing our scouting fo4 us.
It’s an awful development
sorry, chaps/chapettes. no ton this time.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>