Andrea Berta, our very hard-working, and one must say effective, Director of Football spent a very busy summer improving our squad. During the recent game with Olympiacos it was very impressive to be able to point to a bench that contained the likes of Saka, Rice, Timber, Eze and child prodigy Max Dowman whose Mum allowed him to sit on the bench provided he wore the scarf his auntie knitted him for Christmas. A couple of months in, I thought it would be reasonable to start to assess how well our eight new signings are doing. The sheer number of quality players brought to the club was staggering, but how are they faring?
Kepa Arrizabalaga – Goalkeeper
Signed from Chelsea for £5million
Thankfully, Kepa is known by this name rather than his surname which earns 42 points in Scrabble! In the 24/25 close season we made what could have been a very serious mistake. Our attempt to sign Joan Garcia of Espanyol on the cheap failed (he may have got wind of Barcelona’s long-term interest as he has become their first choice keeper now) and on deadline day we had to pivot to Neto at Bournemouth, a man with great experience but very much on the decline. In addition, one of the roles of the back-up keeper is to deputise in the League Cup. Neto was already cup-tied for this competition. This was just before Edu announced his departure and it is interesting to note that Neto was a client of Edu’s close friend, Kia Joorabchian – he was very much a fall-back option and fall back is what Neto did on the one occasion we started him. It looked to be a risk to play him again and we didn’t!
Berta was faced with the back-up keeper conundrum. Can you get a goalkeeper willing to sit on the bench, especially behind one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but who would be able to deputise for the number one for a long period if necessary, without a significant drop off in standard? He solved this seemingly effortlessly with the signing of Kepa. Experienced Premier League keeper – tick, International experience – tick, Champions League experience – tick, suitable age – tick and sensible price – tick . This last element is particularly important. Joan Garcia was going to cost £25 million if we bought him in 2024. Kepa had a release clause in his contract of £5 million. He is also very good with his feet and appears to be able to work very impressively with Raya based on training videos.
Assessment so far: Kepa has played one game, had a shut out and looks an ideal understudy. 7/10
Cristhian Mosquera – Centre back
Signed from Valencia for £17 million
Cristhian Mosquera was a player I had never heard of before we began negotiations for him. He seemed very keen to join Arsenal, notwithstanding the fact that we have possibly the best defence in Europe, and he came with a very good reputation in Spain. As luck would have it, he got early first-team experience when Saliba was injured early on at Anfield. We held our breath but he was faultless and one slight mistake against Newcastle apart, he has made a terrific start . He is poised, distributes well and seems able to play on the right and the left in a centre back role. He looks a superb capture and his price already looks a steal.
Assessment so far: We have unearthed another top defender with the quality and aggression to play regularly in the Premier League if necessary. 7.5/10
Piero Hincapie- Left back and centre back
Signed from Bayer Leverkusen on loan with an option to buy – price £45 million?
This signing was something of a surprise. I at least knew of Hincapie, who had the reputation of being one of the best young defenders in Europe. He had been part of the all conquering Bayer Leverkusen team that carried all before them in 2024 and has a host of caps for Ecuador. We wondered why we needed another left back, albeit one who has a great ability to overlap spectacularly and we have yet to find out what the fuss is about. My enquiries of German friends are encouraging. He was rated an incredible player by one Hamburg fan and another Bayern Munich-supporting friend thinks he was possibly the best defender in the Bundesliga. We await his first meaningful experience at Arsenal but suggestions are that he is a fine replacement for Kiwior and adds yet more depth to our defensive resources.
Assessment so far: Too early to tell.
Christian Nørgaard – Central midfielder
Signed from Brentford for £10 million
This signing went very much under the radar, partly because it was another surprise and partly because Nørgaard is clearly likely to be a squad player. A good business contact and friend is a Brentford season- ticket holder and believes we have committed grand larceny having first signed Raya and now taken the club captain at the Bees, Nørgaard. He rates him very highly, saying he was very positively regarded by Brentford fans. Apparently he never goes missing, can play across midfield almost anywhere and is a very strong aerial threat. This move is a huge opportunity for him but as soon as he arrived he was injured in training and is only recently fit enough to play a part. His first start was against Port Vale but he is the sort of excellent professional that helps build real squad strength.
Assessment so far: Too early to tell.
Martin Zubimendi – Holding midfielder
Signed from Real Sociedad for £67 million
In the 2024 Euros, England faced Spain in the final. It was the season in which Rodri dominated the Premier League and he threatened to do the same in the Final until he went down injured and was replaced at half-time by the Basque, Zubimendi. Most English fans sensed a real opportunity, only to see Zubi play extraordinarily well and together with Ruiz and his club colleague, Mikel Merino turn the game in Spain’s favour. He was described as a holding midfielder but he put out fires all over the pitch, linked effortlessly with attack and defence and used the ball superbly. It looked likely that he would be nabbed by Liverpool but he decided at the last minute to reject that move. Edu and Jason Ayto leapt in and deserve great credit for negotiating the agreement to bring Zubimendi to Arsenal.
Zubi is one of those players who is a delight to watch. He links play effortlessly, has great ability to spot and end danger and I read he is apparently the winner of more headed duels this season than Virgil Van Dijk! In our game against Nottingham Forest he scored a superb volley and then out-jumped the Forest defence to notch a second. In the recent game with West Ham he entered the fray halfway through the first half replacing Ødegaard and ran the game thereafter. He is a very high quality signing indeed.
Assessment so far: Martin Zubimendi is possibly one of our best signings for many years. 8.5/10
Noni Madueke – Winger
Signed from Chelsea for £47.5 million plus add-ons
Of all our summer signings this one was possibly the most surprising and seemed to be concluded most rapidly. It was also the most controversial. Apparently angered by yet another signing from Chelsea, albeit one who is a current England international with experience in the Premier League and EreDivisie and who can play on either flank, a group of highly insensitive fans ‘welcomed’ Noni with a petition imploring the club not to sign him! Fortunately, Andrea Berta is not deflected by idiots and having brought Noni to the club, we were able to enjoy his ability to take on full backs on either side, cross to great effect and although he wasn’t famed for working back at Chelsea, his work rate with us has been admirable. He has also starred for England where he is putting pressure on Bukayo Saka for his place! Sadly, in the Forest match he injured his knee and looks likely to be out for a number of weeks which has interrupted some very satisfactory progress. Having bemoaned the lack of a deputy for Saka, we now have an exciting alternative. Hopefully those creators of that stupid petition have repented their behaviour .
Assessment so far: A very impressive beginning. Come back soon Noni! 7.5/10
Eberechi Eze – Midfield player
Signed from Crystal Palace for £67.5 million
It seemed inconceivable that having apparently concluded a deal with the player, Arsenal cooled their interest in a man who played the major part in Palace’s FA Cup victory. Worse than that, he seemed to be headed for Tottenham! Then Kai Havertz was injured and seemingly in a few hours Ornstein was reporting that we had concluded a deal for Eze, self confessed Gooner and a man who looked like the cat that got the cream when he was paraded to the crowd just after signing. I was delighted by this deal and believe it will be one of the main reasons why we will win the Premier League this season. He has begun to establish himself in the team, although his long- term role may be coming from the left or one of two number 10s as was the case against West Ham. He is a superb talent and a match winner
Assessment so far: A good start but much more to come. 7.5/10
Viktor Gyökeres – Striker
Signed from Sporting Lisbon for £57 million plus add-ons
Of all our signings Gyökeres is probably under the most pressure, so desperately have we craved a striker. We were strongly linked with both Viktor Gyökeres and Benjamin Sesko but Berta exhibited a strong preference for Viktor and he showed a huge desire to play for us, a feature that all our summer signings had in common. His introduction has been mixed. He has shown encouraging signs, works extremely hard but is still a work in progress. But it is hard to find another striker who would represent better value and his physicality has definitely given us greater attacking impetus.
Assessment so far: Some good moments, three goals but surely more to come. 7/10
Arguments will rage about my comments and my suggested scores but I think they are fair. It is very early in the process of attempting to build a trophy-winning side but I’m not alone in not only being thrilled by the introduction of so many great players but also the willingness of KSE to invest heavily in the squad. We raised very little by way of sales proving that it wasn’t just Edu who couldn’t raise large sums for our players!
This is a great time to be an Arsenal fan and we have begun our season well. Do you agree with my assessments and is there still work to be done? Hit the Drinks and let us hear your opinions.
TTG I pretty much agree with your analysis. Zubimendi is the cream of the crop. A totally world class, elegant footballer. Mosquera looks an absolute bargain and has performed really well. Eze and Gyokeres are really exciting (Gyokeres is freeing the front line players around him and will soon be banging them in. Madueke before his injury was doing the impossible and making us agree that we weren’t missing Saka while he was injured. We haven’t really seen enough to rate Hincapie and Norgaard yet.
I think across the board competition for places is driving quality up. Also players really want to play for us and Arteta, both players from outside and also existing players who are signing up new contracts.
The future is very bright.
Excellent TTG!
Totally agree with all; but surely (don’t call me Shirley!) more to come from Nørgaard and Mosquera!
Nice work, TTG. As ever, a few comments.
I’m not sure it is too early to tell about Norgaard. He is a Premier ready, tempered in the fire, squad player who is going to be used, hopefully, only to give a break when needed to the first choice players. I think he’s a very smart, low-cost, low-risk buy.
Gyokeres on the other hand is one on whom at the moment it is too early to tell. He is very much the player I thought he would be- physical, direct. Some of his touches are poor but then again some of his connecting play has been really good. I think he is a very limited player but perhaps Arteta can improve him, as he has done so many others. For me, physical, direct play and effort are kind of ‘hygiene factors” rather than marks of distinction, qualities which were signally missing from the front line, but which any number of forwards could have brought. I really want him to develop and score a hatful. And playing in this team will help him, once the “automatisms” develop. Too early to tell,
Boringly, I find it hard to disagree on any of your assessments, TTG. Like C100, I think Zubimendi is the pick of the crop and I think he may even look even more world class when he has fully settled into this team. Madueke astonished me – I did not see much of him at the Bus Stop but I didn’t see that verve and drive. Mosquera is another who has surprised me – despite his two seasons in the Valencia first team, I expected a raw gangly youth, I did not expect a Saliba 2.0.
Kepa is, as you say, a very smart piece of business – a snip at £5m and a very competent back-up; we must be paying him well. Eze is a great signing – a very talented player who will bring creativity to the attack and will deliver exactly what we need. I think Nørgaard is a solid signing and I hope he gets enough game time to satisfy him as it must be difficult to go from being captain of a team to a bit-part player. I don’t know anything about Hincapié and I was astonished that we signed another left back though I understand he provides cover for Big Gabby .
The fly in the ointment is Gyökeres. I am sure that the angst in some quarters, and there does remain doubt in my own mind about his overall ability, relates to the expectation that he would deliver a massive slice of his goal haul in Portugal from the beginning of his Arsenal career despite widespread recognition that the PL is a far harder stage on which to perform. Add to that his very different style from that of the usual Arsenal forward we have seen since the Arsene Wenger era began. He has none of the silky touches of even Giroud let alone the style of Henry. He brings a different dynamic. A bull in a china shop, if you like. At the moment he is drawing centre backs around him like a bees to a honey pot and that alone will create opportunities for others. Whether that is a result of his reputation rather than his threat remains to be seen but I suspect if the opposition guard is dropped then the goals will flow. His movement is distracting, his strength impressive and, given the ball, he has one thing in his mind – score a goal!
All in all, a great summer window. We have the strength in depth that we have lacked for years and have added quality where it was needed. OOOOO 2 B…….!
I’m sorry TTG but this is off topic. However I have given my thoughts on the new signings above and in the last drinks. Keenos on She Wore has written a very interesting piece on the stadium expansion which is being rumoured. Well worth a read.
Nothing much to disagree with in any of that, TTG. What is most striking about your list is the Dog That Did Not Bark. There doesn’t look to be a dud among them: no Neto or Sterling-types. The test of Berta’s work will be the second half of the season, of course, when the fatigue, injuries and suspensions kick in. A test for Arteta will be keeping the whole squad primed and ready for that.
Your point about the competition for places is well made. Calafiori, for one, seems to have upped his game this season to keep out MLS.
C100@5: Not to toot my own horn, but, toot, toot, let me re-up our own stadium expansion piece from July (and a hat-tip to the editors for commissioning it):
Thanks TTG, to be honest I think the only bit I’d really disagree with is the part about arguments raging as I think you’ve been fair. I’d probably be a touch more upbeat on Vik and a touch more cautious on Noni but like everyone I’m just glad we’ve got them all.
C100/ Ned
Thanks for those pieces . Ned’s American insight gave us a very interesting perspective on how KSE might approach this prospect , reinforced by the introductions they have subsequently made to the board and I hope we will imminently have a piece from the Arsenal Supporters Trust which will look at how the fans may be affected by this development .
Personally speaking and given my age my Arsenal live watching habit will diminish significantly if we move to Wembley . It is not a convenient place to visit and although I went to every game it will inevitably fuel memories of our Champions League experience in the late 90s which was designed to create bigger attendances given the restrictions on Highbury because of UEFA’s insistence on increasing their revenue from sponsorship, thus reducing attendances the Home of Football.
I fear that a sojourn at Wembley would waste all the efforts that fans and the club have put into building a matchday atmosphere that is starting to make the Emirates feel like the fortress that home grounds should be. I have never been to the new Wembley, but from watching games on TV, it seems to have the soullessness of a stadium built for something else, a characteristic it shares with the London Stadium.
Thanks TTG for yet another piece to keep us engaged through yet another Interlull. Nothing to disagree with but thoughts on Gyökeres : from the very little I knew about him – only really our CL games against Sporting Lisbon – I thought, to be honest, he might be a bit of a one trick pony. Not a bad trick to score around a hundred goals in as many games. He obviously looked very strong, quick and direct but I wondered if he would get found out against the better quality centre backs he would encounter in the Premier League. He’s the kind of centre forward who is going to be reliant on getting the type of service he needs as he maybe doesn’t have the greatest variety.
But that is still to be seen at this stage. Maybe he will be able to adapt and develop. He certainly works extremely hard and creates space for those around him by constantly occupying both centre backs.
I hope the goals will come as the team adapts to him as well. And let’s not forget that Henry, Bergkamp and Pires all took months to settle in this league.
Thoughts on stadium expansion :
Something worries me about the whole expansion thing. My seat, before I had to give it up due to hip / knee problems, was half way up the West Stand upper tier , over the half way line. Brilliant view but the players looked surprisingly small. Just recently managed to get to the Forest game with Bath – Row 25 Clock End Upper Tier and the players are starting to look like Subbuteo figures. If they add another tier to the Emirates how remote from the action are you going to be …
It took a long time to get the atmosphere going after the move to the Emirates. If everyone gets moved around again and 10,000 new fans come in, what will happen to that ?
C100 @5, thanks for the link. Keenos is on form with that piece and raises a lot of the issues whilst Ned @7’s piece from the summer added a useful LA perspective. I am conflicted about what’s in the public domain and Keenos summarises both sides of the argument well for me. The first 17 years after the move to the Emirates, following the exuberance of the early noughties when we had a team full of champions whom we lost then couldn’t replace properly, has been a chastening, if not harrowing, experience reaching its nadir under Unai Emery.
Since that low point, Mikel Arteta has catalysed a transformation of the team while Josh Kroenke and Tim Lewis streamlined the club’s structure and cleared out the sheisters. The current squad looks stronger than any I remember and we are in with a shout of grasping the trophies we crave. Is now the time for the disruption of a relocation to Wembley? It may not be possible given the structure of the stadium bowl but it would certainly be better for on the field continuity if we could phase the expansion work in stages so that we do not need to relocate to Wembley. I’m not even going to consider the consequences of the diversion of vast financial resources from the team into bricks and mortar again.
I think Bath and Trev have summed it up well really on the stadium expansion. Instinctively I feel “bollocks to that” about adding 10,000 more seats in the clouds and I don’t even go any more.
Of course I understand on a commercial level the financial imperatives of providing Silent with an ever increasing heap of plunder but the arguments in favour of the build just don’t look very convincing really.
Many thanks for this excellent piece, TTG. I’m thinking these players will help to haul us over the line this season.
Talking of commercial, it seems we are currently considering the shirt sleeve sponsorship and whether to continue with Visit Rwanda. I hope we stop personally but I expect we won’t.
Why is Rwanda so popular as a holiday destination?
Gorillas, safaris and ecotourism. The fact that it is awar zone in the East doesn’t seem to put people off and the FO doesn’t have an advisory
Some back-of-an-envelope numbers on the stadium expansion, for context. I am not privy to the breakdown of the actual matchday revenue numbers (ticket sales, hospitality packages and in-stadium spending). These calculations are based on averages of the aggregate numbers in the published accounts.
There were 30 home games in the 2023-24 season — 19 Premier League matches, five Champions League fixtures, and an FA Cup tie for the men’s team, alongside five games for the women’s team. The season’s matchday revenue was £131.7 million, averaging about £4.4 million per game. Assuming, for argument’s sake, that the stadium was full (capacity: 60,704), that would amount to approximately £72-73 per person per match (your contribution is appreciated!).
At that level of revenue per fan (which is probably a conservative estimate in 2025, given inflation in ticket and beer prices), adding 10,000 seats would bring in an extra £725,000 a match. Raising the capacity to 80,000 would generate an extra £1.4 million a game. With 30 home games, that would result in annual matchday revenue of £153 million or £174 million, respectively.
The lower of the two figures would propel us to the top of the Premier League matchday revenue rankings (Man U, £133 million in 2023/24). However, it would still fall short of what is now the benchmark: Real Madrid’s estimated £215 million in matchday revenue since the revamping of the Bernabéu.
One could approach the £153 million number with the existing capacity and prices by increasing the number of games to 35 and the £174 million number with 40. More women’s games and deep runs in the Cup competitions for the men might do it, although you would need to sell out all the women’s matches, be fortunate with home draws in the Cups, plus, of course, win a lot of cup ties — a risky basis for financial planning.
Thus, finding a way to increase the matchday take per person becomes necessary. This would be difficult and unpopular if it were done by raising general ticket prices. Instead, the practice in many stadium redevelopments now is to increase the number of high-priced hospitality seats and put them closer to the pitch. Making room for more prawn sandwiches, however, will mean building new seats to relocate existing seat holders, even if they end up with the subbuteo view.
My two cents are that executing a redevelopment along those lines would be the focus of the internal discussions. Rumours that the club is considering increasing the capacity to 70,000, not 80,000, encourage me to think my guess might be correct. I also speculate that the return-on-investment calculations for any expansion favour the smaller figure, considering the engineering challenges of building out the Emirates.
Matchday money is only part of the story. The other revenue source, although it falls under commercial or sponsorship revenue, involves making use of the stadium on more of the 330-335 days of the year when it is not being used for football, such as for concerts, conferences, and other sports.
That is a key factor in how Real Madrid became the first football club to generate €1 billion in annual revenue. Best estimates suggest that the redevelopment of the Bernabéu has increased Madrid’s yearly commercial income by 50%. If we achieved the same, it would generate nearly an extra £110 million annually. However, the stadium expansion would also need to cater to audiences beyond football.
I have no better inside track on the internal debate over the stadium redevelopment than anyone else, which is to say I have no track at all. However, it is reasonable to assume the discussions are focusing on how to incorporate more high-yield hospitality seating and how to adapt the stadium site to be more suitable for multi-use.
It will be less about how many seats to add and more about how to maximise yield, as well as how to phase the work so as few revenue-generating matchdays as possible are lost.
Declan Rice captains England tonight.
We got him half price you know.
Excellent, TTG. I’m in harmony with your summary of the current status of our excellent summer recruits. The picks of the bunch for me are 1) Zubi and 2) Eze. I’m more optimistic regarding Victor than you are but time will tell.
As always, Ned, a very well considered contribution @19. Every time I find myself at the back of a very long line into any of the underground stations post-match, I ponder and doubt the wisdom of adding another 10,000 bums on seats and resulting bodies in queues. Without a very considerable contribution to TFL coffers to enable significant access and flow improvements to both Arsenal and Holloway Road stations, I think that safe crowd management considerations may loom large in planning permission decisions.
Thanks Ned @19, a fair summary of the situation, hopefully the numbers will work in favour of other options!
Thanks TTG for an excellent piece whilst we now endure another interlull. Our incoming transfer business this summer was highly productive- it has strengthened our squad to a very high level. Like others I believe ZubiZubiDoo is the pick of a quality bunch of incoming players but very closely followed by the others. My one concern is Gyokeres who looks a level below but he certainly makes up for it by sheer effort – he’s a handful, often requires 2 or 3 defenders to nullify which in turn creates space for the other attackers on the field. Hopefully Mikel can improve his level enough to become a great goal scorer for us.
Ned, you input into the projected stadium enlargement is most useful with the information on how stadiums are financially operated in USA. The recent appointment of new directors point to a very American influenced project. I agree with BtM that the transport infrastructure cannot cope as it currently stands and another 10000 plus spectators would make the agreement by Islington council highly improbable without massive investment- which would have to be funded by the club in the current financial climate.
Uply@23 and BtM@21: Your point about the transport infrastructure is well made. Even Highbury strained the Tube’s capacity. I can’t imagine what it is like now.
Drone delivery may be the answer. You will be picked up, strapped into a harness, flown across London at air taxi altitude, and deposited in your seat. Imagine what the adrenaline rush would do to the stadium atmosphere…
Amy Lawrence on the stadium expansion.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6703097/2025/10/10/emirates-upgrade-arsenal-wembley/
Even though I don’t like the place I’d prefer to go to the London stadium (as Amy suggests) than Wembley. Much easier for travel.
C100@26- ditto. Wembley is bloody hard to get to, from, into and out of. Stratford would be much easier for the vast majority of supporters. Hopefully it won’t come to that though. Islington council is far more likely to bow down to the nimbies than allow a further expansion. And as others have pointed out, the transport infrastructure is barely sufficient as it is. I’m struggling to see how there’s a decent return on investment to be had short of adding another 20k to the gate, and that just doesn’t look feasible. Unless we’re all missing the point and the ownership is considering building elsewhere.
I’d imagine the only team West Ham would share their ground with is Leyon Orient.
KSE are in this for the long haul so any expansion, as costly as it will be, will turn a handsome profit at some stage.
Maybe they plan to dig down like the Azteca and I’m sure Islington can be bribed and TFL would support an upgrade to all the local stations. Maybe a new station after Drayton Park.
SP@28 – Digging down will be difficult and expensive, not least because the Piccadilly line runs close to if not underneath the ground, with all the concomitant issues that throws up. A straw poll of season ticket holder friends shows that people will look to defer their season tickets for any period where we have to play at Wembley. Not scientific, I grant you, but everyone remembers the aggravation of just the CL games being held at Wembley 25 years ago. Given London’s public transport and road networks have continued to sink to 3rd world levels since then, I would think there hold need to be a serious incentive for ST holders to suffer that kind of nightmare.
CER @29, spot on!
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/oct/10/martin-zubimendi-arsenal-spain-interview
Thanks for the link SP. That lad is gold dust. Mikel pulled off a coup capturing him. He will definitely take us up a level.
Otherwise, there’s a deathly hush in the Goonerverse. There aren’t even tumbleweeds rolling down the street!
Yes, it’s a bit quiet. Though more a hush of expectation now that we’re top and have a top squad too 😄
@29 Oi CER, no way our transport networks
are as bad as Londons. Bloody cheek 😂
Seems LJW is in line for the Luton manager’s job.
They’ve just gone down two seasons running so
I suppose something must be rotten but anyway
best of luck to Jack
LJW deserves a lot of luck as a coach as he was SO unlucky with injuries as a player and never got a chance to display his talent fully.
I played golf with a very downcast Luton fan yesterday, Matt. New stadium investment costs have meant a very limited lack of spend on their playing staff and hence their sorry decline. He was keen to have LW as the team’s new coach and was under the impression that Jack would bring Steve would with him as his defensive coach if appointed. Time will tell.
Steve Bould of course.
@37 BtM, well we can empathize with the paying for your new house problem i suppose. It seems Bouldy only joined QPR this summer (I hadn’t known he left Belgium to be honest) so not sure he will just leave that soon. As you say, let’s see, but it’d be good for Jack to have him along I think.
Off to the women’s game today v Brighton. Going with my wife, son, daughter and daughter’s boyfriend. They could do with our support, they’ve had a rotten start to the season. If anyone else is going, be aware the Piccadilly line is shut.
A win is a win for the womans team just now and 1-0 to the Arsenal works I guess.
Good that the Brighton player is up and about after the head injury. Hope she is soon
better,
I’ve just watched Scotland struggle to beat Belarus 2-1. They have a shockingly poor midfield (slow, porous and lacking creativity) and defence (porous and disorganised) and a journeyman in attack. If they get lucky in the play-offs (they won’t win either of their last two matches against Denmark and Greece and will get a play-off place if, as seems likely, Denmark beat Greece later tonight), they will once again be an embarrassment in the Finals and once again not get out of the group stage.
It really makes me appreciate the privilege of watching the Arsenal. Different gravy!
C100@25: Thanks for the link
CER@27: As per my @19, the most promising RoI comes from creating more high-priced seats rather than just cramming in as many additional seats as possible.
I’m another one who would much prefer to go to the London Stadium rather than Wembley – and I dislike the stadium as a football venue although I very much enjoyed watching Mo ( Gooner) Farah winning the Olympic 5000 metres there !
My trains from Kent go through Stratford International although I usually drive to Ebbsfleet which is 14 minutes away on the train . We often share journeys with usually unhappy Hammers some of whom are not the sharpest tools in the box. Settling the car park one night at Ebbsfleet they were perturbed that we were paying £5 less for our tickets. We told them Arsenal had negotiated a special Gooner rate with Network Rail. This made them apopleptic . It hadn’t occurred to them that we got to the car park later !
The last time our paths crossed we enquired if there was a special price season ticket for them as they all left at half-time ! I wouldn’t have dared do this with the types I used to see at Upton Park .
Ned@43- makes perfect sense.
TTG@44- Genius!
TTG assessment: excellent report!
Stratford definitely an easier commute for me too. Wembley is a hard no.
Baff, spare thought for the Czechs who got beaten by the Faroe Islands, now breathing hot on their heels and in with a marginal shot at a play-off place.
BtM @37/38. Oh, for a brief moment I thought you meant our very own SteveT.
Ned @43, 19
I realise that the “likely solution” you put forward is the most likely scenario in your view whilst , possibly/probably ?, not your personal preference.
My own view is that if Arsenal feel the need to increase capacity it should be to allow more Arsenal fans to see the team play live – not to push existing ticket holders higher up, further away from the play, so that more wealthy, corporate, tourist types can pay for hospitality closer to the action.
My experience when I’ve sat in Club Level for the odd league cup game is that the hospitality fans arrive late, return late after half time, and leave early. Goodness knows what happens in the boxes. Consider that too when Arsenal’s fortunes inevitably hit less successful times – inevitably but hopefully temporarily – and see what that does for the atmosphere so excitingly built up recently.
It has already become impossible for so many fans to take their sons and daughters to games – if they can afford to go at all. More expense and a reduced experience will see them gone forever. This needs some truly long term consideration.
It occurs to me that we haven’t heard from Goonersince54 on this or anything else for a long time.
Hope you’re well, Clive.
Should I?
It was at Goodison about five years ago that I first heard the away fans chant “AFTV, get out of our club”. And witnessed some physicality towards its makers. In my experience all away fans hated them and most home fans. Only supporters of other teams thought it was hilarious.
Here’s an update from Keenos as to what’s going on now.
Thanks for the link C100, be nice to see the back of AFTV.
Well in on the half-ton, Matt!
@47, Ollie, one thing for certain if Steve T went with ack to Luton, the Hatters would end up playing with more width. Most likely they’d be the widest team in the universe and Steve would still want more (“Can we widen the stadium, Jack?”).
Also, when I went to watch, I’d still end up buying him a pre-match pint; a half-time snifter and a double ‘sherbet’ after 90 minutes.
I est, of course, but only a very, very little 🙂 🙂 🙂
With Jack, not ack!
Heh.
Your ‘j’ key seems to have some issues, BtM.
Trev,
You mention the box experience . I’ve only ever been in one box at the Ems although I often sat in them at Highbury . I was invited by a very old friend to one of the big 4 audit companies box. We were playing another team from North London. I qualified because I was a NED at a company where they were auditors. There were maybe 12 people in the box. Pre- match we circulated. There was very little football chat and what there was centred around whether guests had seen a game before. In our box we had one Gooner and a Spud. Terrific seats towards the Clock End on the West side .
It was the game that ended 4-4 . They scored two in injury time. I was gutted . Our host brought the Spud and me together afterwards. ‘ Honours even , you must both be pretty satisfied?’ The Spud looked at me knowingly. ‘ I’m ecstatic but he ( pointing to me ) must be really unhappy . Arsenal were way better ‘. The rest ( those who hadn’t left early ) , gabbled on about IR35 and European accounting rules . I would have had more fun sticking needles in my eyes . But I’ve heard tales of punch-ups in boxes when you have serious fans there . The best experience I had was when I took a box for the Everton game when we won 4-0 to take the title . I only invited serious Gooners and everyone had a wonderful time . But normally you can’t do that and spend a lot of time having to be nice to people whose team you detest or who know nothing about the game .
Well in for the half-ton, OM.
Interesting and delightfully numbers-heavy piece by the Swiss Ramble on his Substack addressing the question, how could Arsenal spend so much this season?
https://open.substack.com/pub/swissramble/p/how-could-arsenal-spend-so-much-this
Trev@48: your assumption is well founded. Sadly, though, that ship sailed long ago.
Max Dowman is now the youngest ever goalscorer for England U19s, surpassing Ryan Sessegnon’s record set in 2016. Dowman is also the first 15 year old to score for England U19s.
Martinelli has scored for Brazil.
C100, that’s good. He’s on a good run of form. That will be consolation for him after Brazil squandered a 2-0 half-time lead to lose 3-2 to Japan.
I see Big Gabby wasn’t involved. Stayed on the bench despite the second half defensive porosity.
Much rejoicing here even if it was just a friendly as it’s the first win against Brazil at the 10th attempt.
Big Gabby was well off out of it.
I thought Martinelli played well though.
Merino has scored two for Spain.
And now Eze scores a cracker for England!
And Eze for England.
Martinelli only played for 57 so wasn’t on for the collapse.
The glorious Azzurri also winning, with Calafiori playing on the left side of a three up in Udine. Likely to have to play a qualifier to go to the WC. As they have for the last 2 world cups. 3rd time lucky? Italy to miss 3 consecutive World Cups is unthinkable.
Oops, 66 was me…
CER @67, tutti hanno saputo!
As long as Italy don’t draw Scotland in the Play-off! But I feel in my bones that that’s the draw we’ll see. A gimme for Italy.
Well, the Italians did lose a play-off to North Macedonia last time so there is always hope!
According to Italian reports it seems Sweden are the most likely opponents (they lost to Sweden in the 2018 play offs). I’d imagine losing two play-offs in a row has got to get in the players heads at least a little
Mikel Merino has 6 goals in his last 3 games for Spain. Viktor Whoooo ? 😳
@56, It’s no oke, Ollie 🙂
Quite a few goals for the Arsenal internationals this interlull but more importantly, for me anyway, no news of any injuries so far. Fingers crossed and all that.
Next stop isn’t a bus stop in Fulham.
So far, in the absence of any news of injuries (fingers crossed here too), it does look like a good Interlull for the Arsenal. A few competitive minutes for legs in need of game time and a few goals for players whom we need to be sharp as tacks. Now it’s back to the ‘day job’ and just enough time for an intensive focus on what it takes to get three points at the Cottage.
Every fit player bar Kepa and White went away. Arseblog sunpms it up when he writes “ Mikel Arteta is probably sick of playing ‘three and in’ with Ben White and Kepa, so he’ll be glad to have the rest of his troops back from their travels. “ Any idea how many of Fulham’s motley crew were away? I always thought that performances under Wenger that first game back after interlulls tended to be poor, for good reason. Hopefully minutes for Norgaard, Merino, MLS, Nwaneri, Eze and Martinelli somehow work in our favour.
A fair number , CER @74:
Fulham call-ups:
Senior squad
🇩🇰 Joachim Andersen (Denmark) – World Cup Qualifiers
🇳🇬 Calvin Bassey (Nigeria) – World Cup Qualifiers
🇳🇴 Sander Berge (Norway) – World Cup Qualifier & Friendly
🇧🇪 Timothy Castagne (Belgium) – World Cup Qualifiers
🇳🇬 Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria) – World Cup Qualifiers
🇨🇦 Luc De Fougerolles* (Canada) – Friendlies
🇳🇬 Alex Iwobi (Nigeria) – World Cup Qualifiers
🇺🇸 Antonee Robinson (United States) – Friendlies
🏴 Harry Wilson (Wales) – Friendly & World Cup Qualifier
Under-21s
🏴 Luke Harris* (Wales) – European Championship Qualifiers
🏴 Josh King (England) – European Championship Qualifiers
🇸🇪 Jonah Kusi-Asare (Sweden) – European Championship Qualifiers
Under-19s
🇧🇦 Dino Kaiser (Bosnia-Herzegovina) – Friendlies
Under-18s
🏴 Seth Ridgeon (England) – Friendlies
*Currently out on loan
That’s a relief, Bath!
White and Zubimendi sat out training today . White hasn’t been playing but Zubi turned out for Spain in the interlull. Fingers crossed !
Nigeria played on Tuesday at home ( Lagos ?) and were in Lesotho a few days before. That suggests they travelled back on Wednesday . So that is three players who had a pretty full itinerary over the interlull. A couple in North America too
TTG@78: Nigeria play their home games at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, which is in southern Nigeria, about 100 miles east of Port Harcourt towards the Cameroon border. Against Benin on Tuesday. Bassey played the whole match, Iwobi played 89 mins, and Chukwueze played 45 mins.
Fun fact: the VIP lounges at the Godswill Akpabio stadium are made of bulletproof glass.
@80 thanks for the fun fact Ned 😄.
Bullet proof glass doesn’t sound very godswillish to me 😉
Ned @79 – Surely Bassey will be tired after 90 minutes in Nigeria – Iwobi surprised if Alex is too ….
Matt @ 81. Or ‘fun’ in fact!
Haha, excellent work, Trev @ 82! 😀
Surely Bassey- now there was a woman. I didn’t realise she’d gone to play centre back for Fulham
>>>>>>>