The Arsenal started the first of a run of potentially tricky fixtures this weekend with a trip to Villa Park to face the only Premier League team to beat us in 2024. As I have given the result away in the headline, I won’t indulge in any ‘could we, would we, shenanigans’ and will move straight to the celebratory Yes, Yes, Yes!! We rolled them over with a controlled performance and, though straw-clutching Villa fans may point to their few chances as a sign that they were in the same league (they really weren’t), a thoroughly deserved three points nestles firmly in the old points bank.
1st half
The big book of adjectives has been well-thumbed in several other reports of the first-half – dull, uneventful, cagey being the most popular. However, my own preference is for professional, and I suspect Mikel will have been quietly satisfied with the way we came to a Champions League side’s ground, dominated them for 50 minutes, silenced the crowd, and allowed only one real sniff at goal in 45 minutes. To be honest it was a large sniff, and I certainly inhaled as Watkins managed to side-foot an easy chance wide midway through the first half. Was it a foul on Gabriel before the chance? Regardless, that miss apart, a passive Villa side provided little threat, and a couple of showy Rogers runs aside, lacked the skill or creativity to worry a solid Arsenal rearguard strengthened defensively with the inclusion of Timber in place of Zinchenko. Obviously, a goal for our dominance would have been the preferred icing but we spurned the half-chances and opportunities that did come our way and thus it was goalless at the half-time oranges.
2nd half
No changes at half-time and no change in the pattern for about the first 10 minutes of the half until a wide-open Onana was allowed to get in a deflected shot from the edge of the area – I will let Mikel take it from there “I thought it was a goal because I saw the reaction of the defensive line, there was none! The ball goes on to the crossbar and we were all watching the ball. I was going ‘oh no please` I see the striker in that position (it was Watkins three yards out for the rebound) and normally it is a goal but David’s reaction was unbelievable”. My own thoughts exactly Mikel. The boss was smiling charmingly as he said this, however, I doubt he will be quite so charming when he talks to the defence about the sin of ball-watching later. The game changed a little at that point and Villa finally remembered they were at home and had what I thought was their best period of the game for the next 10 minutes.
However, shortly after the hour the baton of fate was to twirl once more, and this time it pointed squarely at Leo Trossard. Emery made two substitutions taking off Watkins and McGinn (somewhat oddly I thought, but fortunately I no longer need to care about his subs) and Mikel made the one that counted, taking off Gabi Martinelli and bringing on Leo. Moments later, Konsa drifted a big chance at the far post wide with a cross shot that turned out to be neither. We immediately went down the other end, Øde dinked a ball into space behind the full-back and Saka, quicker of thought and foot than Digne, just got to it and crossed, via Rogers (I think), the ball came for Leo to slot home a calm and accomplished finish with what I believe my Japanese commentator claimed was his first touch.
Aston Villa 0 The Arsenal 1
The Arsenal faithful were in fine voice, Leo had scored again! The team also seemed more fired up. We resumed normal service and controlled the game well to prevent any fight back, then struck again to kill it off with about 15 minutes to go. Leo was once more to the fore, bursting down the left, he crossed to Bukayo at the far post, our Starboy waited until the opportune moment and precisely cut the ball back to Thomas just on the edge of the area. It was a finely struck shot from TP5 around the defender to the near post and though Emi got down in time it seems his left hand is not quite as useful as that of David Raya. I was pleased for Partey as he had had a challenging afternoon looking after Rogers, but it’s all about end product and here he produced it from a DM position.
Aston Villa 0 The Arsenal 2
And that, more or less, was all she wrote. Øde blasted one over the bar that he should in truth have slotted home but we never looked in any danger of letting it slip. We were treated to the immaculate timing of a Saliba special as he took the ball perfectly off the toe of Ramsey just as the hapless fool thought he was going to get a shot in. Another treat was William’s nimble feet on the left wing as he danced aside and caused two Villa players to run into each other. Riccardo Calafiori came on for Timber and had to be dragged away from a confrontation with panto villain Emi, Reiss Nelson came on to give our No 7 an additional seven minutes rest, the stadium half-emptied and Oliver blew his whistle for the final time. On we go to a top of the table clash with Brighton next, the only fly in our ointment is a potential injury to Jesus – fingers crossed for him and that we get Merino done and dusted this week. Mikel did mention that we were a little short up front………………….but I think I will leave that speculation to others.
There were many positives to take from the game apart from the always welcome three points. Firstly, another clean sheet, and in what looked on paper a tricky away game, was great. Secondly, the finish by Leo, who must be pushing hard for a starting place next week. Thirdly, the performance of Timber; he was a solid defensive presence, he didn’t do anything particularly flashy, he just did his job. Exactly what was required in the circumstances. Fourthly, we gave the ball away less than last week, obviously we can get better but it was progress. Last, and by no means least, our Player of the Match, David Raya stepped up again when it counted. Well done sir.
I should say that volunteering to write this match report was my first act of faith in the team this season, I never doubted we would in Mr Benjamin White’s words “put it right”. Talking of Benny Blanco by the way, I thought Oliver did well to keep it calm when the dastardly McGinn deliberately kicked the ball at William, and was then accidentally hit by a ball kicked in his direction by Benny. And on that note, I will finish a report that was a real pleasure to write.
Cheers OM. A very satisfying report of what turned out to be a very satisfying match.
That really was a very good three points.
I think we do need to do something more than Merino in the market. Nelson will probably stay, but he offers hard work and decent positioning without bringing the goals and assists that we need.
Hopefully Eddie completes his move – I think that’s a good deal for us, him and Forest, everyone wins.
And Martinelli’s end product has fallen off a cliff. He doesn’t beat his man on the outside and cross effectively. Neither does he cut inside and get a cross or a shot away. And I don’t remember the last time he actually dribbled past his man with skill or speed and had the chance to bear down on the keeper one on one. Given that teams double up on Saka, they basically leave their right back to defend against Martinelli, so he gets a handful of opportunities each match to take them on individually, and in the 2 games so far he’s created almost nothing, which was also true far too often last season.
He’s still a good player, and I’m sure he’ll get scoring and assisting again. Probably the first goal or two will bring his confidence back. But with Jesus’ injury, even if it is a minor one, and the lack of options from the bench, we really need to add something to our attacking line-up. Preferably a winger who can get minutes on both sides.
Going into the last week of the transfer window with 6 points on the board is great. The team will keep improving and haven’t yet been punished for rustiness. Soon we will be clear on our final squad personel, and I hope there is one more still to come…
Excellent summary of both halves with all of the highlights and downlights appropriately highlighted and downlighted, OM. The two Villa chances caused some considerable discomfort in my underbelly, but both were eradicated completely by our two excellent goals, Benny Blanco’s McGinn Belter and Saliba’s sprint and recovery tackle.
Timber and Calafiori look like excellent ‘new’ signings and I’m enthused by the prospect of Europe’s best ball winner Merino arriving in the week. Thomas Partey has started the season well if just a little rusty. More muscle in midfield will help him a Jorginho contribute potently to a season likely to be jam-packed with games. (In passing, I don’t think Vieira’s absence will impact the team in any noticeable way, other perhaps in increasing game time opportunities for the more promising young prospect Nwanieri).
IF Jesus is crocked AND Eddie leaves we need two in to win the title methinks. I would love one of these to be Eze. Eagles fans will see the matter differently though.
And finally, wonderful to see ESR score an excellent goal and contribute some excellent midfield play in his first home game at Fulham yesterday, happily complemented by Iwobi’s goal for the season.
Nice report, OM. Accurate, concise and with a nice sprinkling of jollity.
Re Martinelli, I think it has been noticeable that whereas Saka gets support in close proximity from Odegaard and White, there tends to be a noticeable lack of support on the other side for our number 11. I guess this is quite deliberate from Arteta – creating a shift in numbers among the opposition to their left hand side and then looking to release Martinelli. It hasn’t quite happened yet this year, but I’m happy to persist with a player who has given us so much in terms of a fast-break outlet over the past few seasons. We’re still a little rusty all over the pitch, or being asked to conserve energy generally in the first half of the season as per last year. I’m happy to continue as we are.
Martinelli is a real talent with great potential for both Arsenal and Brazil. I have no doubt that he’ll be getting a very healthy dose of ‘help and advice’ from MA8 and his staff on raising his game. A let side of Calafiori, Merino and Martinelli will be an interesting assembly to see play. I’m very happy that we have Gabi and Theo competing for the berth on the left.
A fine review Matt, even with a Japanese commentary! A fabulous away day to start us on our travels this season. We left Cambridgeshire in rain, but arrived in Birmingham in bright, warm sunshine. Parked up in the quiet suburban streets of Witton we were a gentle 20 minutes walk from the magnificent Villa Park. I love this ground. Even though it’s always a tough contest, it’s a terrific stage for football, a 19th century ground (they’ve been there since 1897) surrounded by terraced houses, with the grandeur of the steps up to the Holte end. It’s been superbly brought up to date for modern football, whilst keeping all the history. Walking round the Holte End to the Doug Ellis stand, where the travelling supporters go, we saw a long queue. Another burger stall? Programmes? No, it was a small table on which were life size replicas of the FA Cup and the Champions League trophy. Folk were having their pictures taken with these. Given that they last won the FA Cup in 1957 and the old European Cup in 1982, this was an impressive example of keeping the flame burning. Maybe Spurs should do similar with the 2007 league Cup?
After a couple of games in the Doug Ellis lower, we were in the upper tier today. Truly there is not a bad view anywhere, seeing the whole pitch and big screens with ease. The upper tier has the advantage of a crinkly tin roof which, as every travelling fan knows, always makes for a good singing day (Craven Cottage is similar). The travelling fans were absolutely fantastic, singing their hearts out throughout the game, and taking every opportunity to give Emi Martinez stick after he waved goodbye to us last season when Villa did the double over us. It was a great day to be in the middle of the travelling fans and we greatly enjoyed it.
For the first hour we were, in my view, slightly second best. I was super impressed with Morgan Rogers in the Villa midfield. Three times he carved and spun his way past both Partey and Rice and he laid on the chance that Watkins missed so egregiously. Truly Villa has a great signing there. The game turned though, as it did last week, by a fabulous save from Raya. Incredible, and celebrated like a goal in the Doug Ellis.
The game was different from then on. Villa made subs that seemed to give us more room. Trossard came on and after super work by Saka did what Leo does.
Trossard again!
Trossard again!
Trossard again ole ole!
From that point we managed the game superbly. Partey scored with an assist from the chocolate wristed Martinez (we let him know about that) and Odegaard missed a golden chance to make it three.
We haven’t even hit our straps yet. That’s two 7/10 performances and two 2-0 wins, including winning at Villa, a great result.
Yesterday was a good day. My next awayday? A trip to the Tottenham High Road in mid September.
Cheers OsakaMatt, great review and the same to Countryman100 for his “feet in the stand” report. Is there another PL ground where the dugouts are so close? Mikel and Unai could have shook hands and not left their seats! Exactly right, 7/10 performances but six points. Rogers and Onana will boss a lot of games for them this season. Be interesting to see how we line up with Merino & Rice. I’d like to see Declan in a less advanced role. Raya was incredible yesrerday.
Trossard deserves to start but for some reason he seems to be more effective coming off the bench. Agree that Eddie needs to move and 30M is good business. Jesus seems to have one issue after another so it could be an interesting few days if we need more reinforcements.
Our old boys ESR and Iwobi did the business for Fulham yesterday (my new second favorite team). Anyone else note that Rob Holding & Calum Chambers have all but disappeared? At one time I thought they were our CD future but compared to Saliba and Big Gabi, it’s not even close.
Cheers Matt. Finally managed to watch the match, which obviously was not as stressful as it would have been live. Solid performance at a difficult ground.
Very fine report Matt and some excellent comments especially from the ubiquitous C100. I thought our away support was quite superb , as it so often is.
Re the game we are undercooked and I suspect this is deliberate . Declan looks off the pace but is still contributing well. Partey looks vulnerable and Martinelli looks very short of confidence . Great save from Raya who was excellent as was Willie Saliba who is a massive presence .
If we can add upfront I would love us to. The season is long, varied and gruelling and we have a relatively small squad and we need more penetration . But yesterday was a fine win and we have started well
Wolves might be back with a cash offer for Ramsdale based on today’s debacle.
Top report, OM. We saw the same game, if listened to a different commentary. I thought we executed a perfect first half tactical plan to nullify Villa, even if it did not make for enthralling viewing for those who aren’t tactics nerds. Emery couldn’t make the necessary adjustments at half time and we turned the screw in the second half, Leo again showing he is our most composed finisher.
I didn’t think Martinelli played badly but I agree with others that he needs to do more if he is going to keep Leo on the bench. Raya’s save will become the stuff of lore like Seaman’s famous one-handed mid-air claw. Saliba was superb. ‘Can England naturalise him?’ must have been running through the head of the watching Carsley. Benny Blanco would have done his England return chances, if he is so minded, no harm. My only disappointment was the lack of a masterclass in goal line s**thousery at corners with two such master exponents as him and Emi on the pitch. Minor handbags with McGinn was a poor substitute.
That was also a pleasure to read on my part, not only a pleasure to write on yours OM.✍️😎
You also cleverly highlighted two of my two fave moments of the game:
“William’s nimble feet on the left wing as he danced aside and caused two Villa players to run into each other.”
(and)
“the dastardly McGinn deliberately kicked the ball at William, and was then accidentally hit by a ball kicked in his direction by Benny”
Other than that, you hit all the most important points including a great title and naming Raya as man of the match because his left hand is clearly firmer than the asparagus stalk Argentine’s. A huge three points, turn of the tables, and a very good ebening. 😆
Thanks all for the kind words.
Ned,
On thé s***housery GK thing, EMI did manage to hurl himself to the floor and con Oliver at one corner but yes Benny Blanco very well behaved. In fact Villa seemed the ones to have a plan where they put three or four players surrounding Raya at corners. It turns out it will take more than to ruffle Raya as he dealt with it well.
Thanks C100, always a pleasure to read of your match day experiences. Good to hear we were giving a little back to Emi 😂😂
@6 up4grabsnow
Yeah, Calum was touted as the next great thing for a while and I always liked him as a player and Rob too come to that but you’re right it’s not close to our current duo.
Calum played for Cardiff in the Welsh derby yesterday, as did Rambo, but I am not sure what has happened to Rob at Palace.
OM – You missed Chris Willock for Cardiff.
Just finished watching the reply. Nothing much to add other than I thought Calafiori looked good in his few minutes.
So I did ecg, even watching his brother play for Newcastle yesterday didn’t jog that memory.
Seems Eddie’s move to Forest is off but Palace are back in according to
Ornstein. Palace’s pre-season optimism seems to have lasted all of two
games as the owners cashed in Olise and Andersen.
OM@12: Four Villa players equals less than one Benny Blanco seems about right.
The Predictathon leaderboard for Match Week 2 is posted, and we have a new leader.
You know were to find it…
Rob Holding missed much of last season because of ankle surgery. But he struggles to get in the Palace team when fit. He had one start last season, in the League Cup and didn’t get a minute on the field in the league or FA Cup. He was on the bench for the West Ham game at the weekend. He is 28 now and you feel his was a promising career missed. He should probably have left us much earlier to play regular football.
Thanks, Matt – nice job and good balance of fact, fun and opinion.
I have to disagree with your last paragraph in that Ben White absolutely hammered the ball at the usually crazed McGinn who looked a mixture of enraged and startled. Great stuff all round from Benny 👏🏻👏🏻
Off to read some tempting looking drinks now ….
Thanks, Matt – nice job and good balance of fact, fun and opinion.
I have to disagree with your last paragraph in that Ben White absolutely hammered the ball at the usually crazed McGinn who looked a mixture of enraged and startled. Great stuff all round from Benny 👏🏻👏🏻
It’s going to be a busy few days for Edu. Hopefully he’s got the photoshoot with Merino out of the way and the announcement is now in the hands of the PR department. I like to think that he is now schmoozing with the club officials of the talented and versatile forward we will hopefully add to our front-line before the end of the week.
Meanwhile he has to be available 24/7 to take the calls from any clubs interested in acquiring the skills of Eddie, Aaron, Reiss and Jacob.
Keep taking the ProPlus pills, sir.
Disappointed that we aren’t getting a loan fee for Vieira given that with amortisation and his contract ticking down his value will decrease . At least Porto are paying his salary . Looks like Eddie will go to Palace on a permanent deal but we still need homes for Ramsdale and Nelson and of course Tierney .
If Ramsdale goes we will need a back-up keeper -likely to be Garcia . We will have to meet his release clause in full .
Don’t rule out a late deal for Raheem Sterling !
Arteta spoke well about Sterling. I’d suggest this is as close as we could get to a guarantee that we won’t try to sign him. Arteta never says a word about anyone we might actually be interested in.
However, Sterling does have the quality of making runs in behind a defensive line, and the pace not to get caught. Even though we will face a lot of low blocks and that skill won’t always be what we need, it is something we have little of in our squad (Martinelli can do it but rarely does, Havertz and Trossard make great runs but lack pace, and it isn’t really how Saka operates, Jesus does it sometimes but not in a way that ends up with goals and assists) and exactly what we need against sides we deem as being our equal or betters.
I’d love to see us get a player who can do this, as it would be so useful in the CL and the heavyweight PL match ups. Not Sterling, but someone who can do what he’s done so effectively for his whole career.
Forgive the pluggage, but Layth has publicised our site well.
https://www.onlinegooner.com/articles/view/a-grand-arsenal-day-out-at-villa
If anyone still believes that C137y are going to get off their charges scot-free, the bookies (collectively according to Danny Kelly researching for his radio show) are offering only 12/1 against them being relegated ! 🙏🏼🤞🏻
C100 – yes indeed, very nice tribute and a great piece by yourself, Sir !
Great work C100
Pleased to see you accoun5 getting the wider audience it deserves . We’ve built a nice relationship with the Gooner . A big improvement on where we stood a few years ago when it was a very different fanzine – but those were different times
GSD
You make a good point about the style of forward who would help us.
Chelsea’s problem is that as far as I see it, they have no negotiating position . They have to shed cost or they are in deep doo doo. We could therefore offer them a loan with an option to buy at a very reduced cost and a small loan fee. They’d have to pick up half his salary . They know clubs have them over a barrel
Trev@26: perhaps Danny Kelly reads this blog. Not to succumb to C100’s plugitis, but I pointed out the bookies’ shortening on odds on 115’s relegation prospects over a week ago in the drinks to your excellent Wolves preview.
C100@25: Congrats. Excellent pick-up of a top awayday report.
TTG@23: If Porto is picking up Vieira’s full salary, then not getting a loan fee doesn’t seem so bad. I think Vieira is the lowest-paid senior player, but he still earns £2.36 million a year (less than half of what Eddie and Reiss get), so we are saving that plus his NI and other non-wage costs. Arteta signed him, and I think he hasn’t completely given up on Fabio yet.
Ned @30 – oh, sorry Sir !
I either missed it or have forgotten in the meantime.
Have to admit that while I try to keep up, I don’t always get to read every drink – seem to be stuck in the middle of too many hospital and doctors appointments at the moment – hip is done, now getting the knee arranged. Still, at least it’s all happening which is a huge relief.
Trev@32: Getting healthy is far more important. More strength to you.
Thanks for the updated Predictathon, Ned !
Whilst disappointed to have dropped two places, I am pleased and relieved to see that Uply’s wrist is finally showing signs of strain which has caused him to loosen his grip on my shirt and slide down the table 😉
As another result of their win at Villa, Arsenal have now taken more points (3) away from Villa Park this season than the combined points haul (2) between all of Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea in their visits to Villa Park last season.
Thanks for your Predictathon update, NBN. Much jostling of the table I see.
Just checked the predictathon table.
I am now suffering from a severe nosebleed.
This standard cannot be maintained.
Not to pile on the pressure or anything Countryman, but I believe that last season Pangloss colly topped the Predictathon leaderboard from start to finish.
colly = coolly
Nice report Matt; I look forward to reading many more on similar results from multiple authors over the coming months.
bt8@38 – don’t exagerate; I think it was week 6 or so before the table sorted itself out. I see that I am currently enjoying(?) a novel view of the table. I appreciate C100’s confusion, I am certainly breathing air with much more oxygen than I’m used to. The nice thing about the Predictathon, as compared with say the You Ropey League, is that all the work is now done, there is no temptation or opportunity to tinker with anything, all that remains is to strap in and to try to enjoy the ride.
COYG
Good review of a strange old game Matt
I continue to be impressed by Leo since his switch from Brighton.
The goals he scores regularly for us, he makes look easy, but in truth are anything but.
He just caresses the ball into the net from all positions, proving that power is not the only way to score.
Being 2 footed helps, but calmness under pressure, and technical excellence are his raison d’etre.
He reminds me very much of Arshavin in that respect, who also made the difficult look easy.
I still cannot find a goal Arsenal scored last season that was better than Leo’s equalizer against Chelsea.
I have watched it several times, and it still has me shaking my head at the stunning quality of the finish, at the far post with a mouse hole of space to aim at back across the keeper, he cushions the ball with his instep into that very space.
Very few players could have scored that goal, and Leo made it look effortless.
The conundrum is, that he always looks good coming on as a sub, finding pockets of space around tiring defenders and setting up others with sublime passes, look again at the fantastic one touch cushioned instep pass to Declan in behind the Villa defence that set up our Captain for what should have been the 3rd goal.
His lack of pace is probably what keeps him on the bench given the wide left side spot is the only real position that is still in the melting pot as a permanent place for him.
Brighton starting line up will tell us more on this next week.
Thanks to a few more gents for your kind words and also I’d like to echo TTG’s sentiments on the wider publication of C100’s away day wisdom – fully deserved.
Glad to hear you’re at least partly on the mend Trev👍👍
Thanks for the predictathon update Ned and hello to all my new
friends in the relegation zone. Consoling single malts all round 🥃🥃🥃
Best of luck to Charlie Patino in Spain, Eddie in South London and Vieira at Porto.
The lack of an option to buy for Vieira leads me to agree with Ned that MA still
has a light in the window for Vieira.
Of course in reality there is always an option to buy but I doubt Porto will fork
over enough cash anyway. It may be a decent move financially if Vieira has a
good season at Porto and restores some of the value lost from a couple of seasons
of mostly bench-warming.
That’s now eight clean sheet in Arsenal’s last ten away games. Quite amazing really, and a testament to a great defensive team.
Eight clean sheets I should have written
What’s the odd s between friends bt8 🙂
Thanks for a fine review Matt, I think we all saw the same game. It was one that was good marker for gaining 3 pts at a very difficult venue.
The transfer window is rapidly drawing to a close with less tha 4 days to complete any business. The jungle drums are relatively quiet on incomings – if any prospective deals are in the offing they need to get their skates on ( and certainly a lot quicker than it’s taking for the Mike Merino to be completed ). With Eddie’s prospective departure & Veira’s loan to Porto agreed, we need to add 1 forward to the group, especial as Jesus’s fitness cannot be relied on. TDD could be an interesting one this time around.
Lashes it with his swinger, only to see it deflect off the defender, spin up over the keeper and hit the bar, falling at the feet of the onrushing…
Cheers Uply.
Tabs would be very proud of that. My shot must have done a Martinez, not a Raya, and hit the keeper’s back and gone in. I’ll take it.
Blogs on the money with his concerns about referees turning a blind eye or a mere yellow to truly violent conduct in the first two weekends of this season. Shape of things (and serious consequences) to come?
Somehow fortunate finish, GSD, but they all count!
Well in!
Meanwhile Keenos is also bang on the money with his observations about our lamentations on goalkeepers past, a forward present and financial opportunities (?) spurned:
Thanks for the link @54 Bath, a very well argues piece.
Carabao cup starts for us in September. Here’s the detail of how the draw will be made.
https://www.arsenal.com/news/new-process-carabao-cup-third-round-draw
Well in for the half-ton, GSD. As important to be lucky as to be good…
bath@54: Thanks for the links. A timely reminder that the grass isn’t always greener.
And Blogs is right to worry about lax officiating. A chokehold isn’t like a reckless bad tackle where a player gets their timing horribly wrong. It is a deliberate act.
Thanks for the links Bath / c100
I thought Keenos was perhaps a tad harsh on Emi’s goalkeeping prowess but I certainly agree the World No 1 claims are nonsense.
I saw the Joelinton tackle live the other night and thought it should have been a red immediately – it was so obviously reckless.
https://www.arsenal.com/news/mikel-merino-signs-arsenal-long-term-deal
Despite the necessary slow speed of negotiations (I am reliably informed because Edu insisted on conducting all communications via carrier pigeon) we gave finally got our man. Which is pretty cool when written down.
Or, if delivered by carrier pigeon, pretty coo.
I expect Merino to be rather warm than cool, GSD.
Another name for an already richly punnable squad!
Unless someone comes in with a £20m package for Reiss Nelson, then I assume he’s gonna stay. I doubt it will be a priority to engage in negotiations with any club that doesn’t start off close to our valuation. We don’t have time for months of haggling and brinkmanship, so unless we get an offer we think is too good to pass up then I reckon he’ll stay. Numbers-wise, we probably need him to anyway after loaning Vieira.
So, if he’s still with us… is he gonna be an use?
He’s positionally solid and works hard. He just often looks like he’s a talented kid playing with the big kids – he’s got the game to compete but lacks the confidence to show it. We need goals and assists. Recently, Bournemouth magic aside, all he really offers is a body to replace Saka when we are 3 goals up and a game is won. He’s not been someone who we could turn to when we aren’t ahead in a match.
Does anyone think that might change? What can he offer this year?
Sorry Ollie. I blame my spillchucker. It changed ‘wool’ to ‘cool’.
Mikel Merino signed, sealed and delivered. The Athletic call it a “win now” signing.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5720483/2024/08/27/arsenal-mikel-merino-arteta-transfer-signing/
Woj hangs up his gloves https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/aug/27/wojciech-szczesny-arsenal-juventus-football-retirement
Good for Woj for going out with his head held high and not slinking off via the Saudi side-door. There must be a ‘Happiness is a…’ Hamlet ad in there somewhere.
Ramsdale’s move to Wolves is reportedly off as they can’t afford to buy him or to pay his wages if he goes there on loan. Was that new contract he signed just before losing his place an Edu masterstroke to ensure we have a top No 2 or an albatross around his neck that means we can’t get rid of him?
Welcome to Merino, who I am sure will not prove to be a sheep in wolf’s clothing but knit into the team immediately. I’ll get my coat…
Merino’s welcome interview on the club site is quite impressive: https://www.arsenal.com/news/merino-reveals-his-promise-our-supporters
Thanks for the link @66, Ned. Merino sounds very positive and confident in general, and also sounds sure that his choice of Arsenal is the right one to make the next step in his career, and to help his new club win trophies. I wouldn’t be too surprised if his settling time is minimal.
Ned@66 – couldn’t agree more. He comes across as a hugely focused, team-oriented individual. I can’t wait to see him on the pitch. His English is more impressive than a number of British players I could mention…..
That’s £125m for Balogun, Willock, Nketiah and ESR. Plus good selling on clauses for lesser lights.
Let’s be having no more about “Edu can’t sell “ eh?
Ned
I was immensely impressed by Merino’s interview just as I was by Calafiori’s . There was me thinking they’d have to talk the lads through the basics in English and in Merino’s first interview he uses terms like ‘ aligned ‘ . There was no hint of a Geordie accent either !
It is clear that signing players is a long game and this one like Cakafio4i was in the offing for a while, probably since Arteta decided Havertz fitted the striker role better than left midfield .
I hope in what remains of the window we can get some clarity on the goalkeeping situation. I’d like Ramsdale to have a chance to play . I understand Garcia of Espanyol is lined up to compete with Raya and I think Tommy Setford will be no3 keeper .
So will we sign a forward ? I doubt it although there are some interesting names out there. If we do it is more likely to be a winger who can play centrally ( or vice versa) than an out and out striker . I’d like us to move on Reiss Nelson . He’s not likely to make it with us but could have a great career elsewhere .
Caka4iori – that’s invention !
That’s a very impressive interview. Thanks for the link @66 Ned.
MM23 comes over as an intelligent and modest young man who was canny enough to swerve some elephant traps in that interview that were there despite the supportive nature of the questioning.
I cannot wait to see him in our team.
Edu has sold the players for decent prices but they are good players. He hasn’t produced earth- shattering deals , just good sensible deals that any half-decent Sporting Director would achieve . What Edu has done well is to improve our squad enormously over the last three years. We’ve had some duds but very few and most of the deals have been excellent
As for the sell-on deals let’s check what the sell-on clauses are . They are rarely published at sale time . It’s a good way of clicking into future hikes in value but we need 50% sell on fees for the very low sales like Patino. Has that been confirmed as the clause or have we assumed it must be that because the fee is derisory ? Biereth, BNC and Charlie will hopefully come good . We have also lost ACD and Walters for nothing and Martin Obi for a small compensation ( don’t think we could do too much about that )
TTG@73: I don’t think sell-ons, like the rest of the details of players’ contracts, are a matter of public record; contracts have to be lodged with FIFA to ensure that they comply with FIFA’s rules, so there is a repository of the information, but it has to be volunteered or leaked for the details to become widely known. However, those who fish in these waters say that 20-25% is the customary rate and 30% is not unknown but not common.
You may recall a couple of years back that the club was hauled over the coals by FIFA for putting a variable sell-on clause into the sale of Chuba Akpom to PAOK Thessaloniki; this said that the Greek club would have to pay an additional 10% on top of the sell-on rate if they subsequently sold him to a club in the United Kingdom. We won on appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. I have been told that Real Madrid subsequently included a variable sell-on clause in one transfer that would be activated if the player was sold to a club in a specific region of the UK, I assume the north-west.
That is a credible story. Firminio had a release clause in his original contract with Liverpool some years back that could be triggered by any PL club except us.
GSD@61: You are broadly right about Nelson. He needs a run of games to build his confidence and rhythm, which he is not going to get with us. He will be a bit-part player running at tired full-backs once Saka has been safely parked on the bench with his feet up. To my mind, his Achilles heel is not technical ability or work rate, but his decision-making, which is not sharp enough for an attack like ours. That might improve with regular football and he could have a perfectly good career at any PL club outside the elite. I hope for his sake that he does not end up as another Rob Holding.
Ned
It’s also interesting that Arsenal, as part of the negotiation over the Vieira loan are making the loan fee conditional on him playing an agreed percentage of games ( not sure if that relates to starts or appearances from the bench). That will be interesting . Frankly I’m not sure even if he tears it up in Portugal , if it has much bearing on how he might develop with us. Arteta believed he didn’t show up well in training .
£34 m is a very high fee for Vieira. Not sure what we might get back and who from. Porto have pulled our trousers down on that one I’m afraid
Welcome to Merino, looks a good deal and I think we haven’t been fleeced on that one as the lad seems to have the chops.
Come across well in his interview too, not the sort to go on the lam.
I’ll get my sheepskin.
Honestly,I’ve had enough of the Merino puns.
Some of them are just too baaaaaad.
Morning All.
Couldn’t agree more, CER. Tup it on the ‘ed, chaps.
Too right, CER. The gloves are off.
An informative profile on Mikel Merino by Phil Costa on Arseblog:
Got to say, I’m enjoying the windup of the mickeys over us thinking about Darwin Nunez.
Some of them are seriously losing their shit over it.
Hahaha, I laughed about that one too C100, but I hope the story about signing
Tickle from Wigan is true.
Bath@81: Thanks for the link. A well-balanced profile. I note it contains another example of a conditional release clause.
CER@78: I thought the punsters in the bar were just showing their chops.
Mike McDonald on the Villa win: https://gunnerstown.com/arsenal/2024/08/25/felt-like-april-positives-needs-hopes-vil-0-2-ars/
Excellent report! Being away for last few weeks didn’t watch any of the first two matches live but have now watched the recordings. I did catch some history making live-on-tv football, Panathinaikos losing to Ajax in an European qualifier after an insanely long penalty shootout. Some of the Athenians in the bar had their backs turned as they couldn’t bear to watch it. 🙂
My only observation is that we are still very very dependent on both Ødegaard and Saka for the creative side. I think Vieira was meant to be the player who could deputize for either, but as that hasn’t worked out, we do need someone who can make a reliable enough impression of either with a ball on their feet. I think it’s as important a gap to fill in as is the excellent signing of Merino.
A few words also for the old Arsenal boy Szczesny who announced his retirement. Only 34, and refused to go participate in a pointless league in the desert for money. Always liked him, makes me respect him more. He did turn out to be a great goalkeeper, and ably replaced possibly the greatest modern era keeper Gigi Buffon in Juventus. I still wish he had stayed with us, as he was a far better keeper than Cech at that latter stage of Cech’s career. Best wishes to him in his post-playing life.
In the same way that I’ve been wondering about what Reiss Nelson might contribute, I’m also thinking about Partey.
I’m sure we could have got a fee for him if he’d wanted a move, but it seems he wants to see out his contract; he wants to play the last year he signed up for. He knows his boss won’t accept anything less than maximum effort and he could have gone to Saudi for the money (which he’ll presumably still be able to to do further down the line) but instead he wants to stay and work his balls off for one of the most demanding managers in the world.
Why?
I’m sure there are a lot of personal reasons to do with his attitude and character. No one has the career he’s had under the mangers he’s had (Simeone is another ruthless operator) without a helluva lot of grit.
But I also think he reckons we are gonna win stuff this year and he wants to be in on the action.
One on hand, he looks far less physically imposing than he used to. I used to say that did the job of two players, both destroyer and playmaker. He’s less of a destroyer these days, although I’m sure he’ll have the occasional game where he looks imperious. But his vertical passing is the best we have by some margin. Only Jorginho gets anywhere near him, and even he doesn’t have that same regular ability to thread a ball through a small gap and take out the entire opposition midfield.
I guess we will have to hope we get lucky. Can we maximise the positions he creates for us with his passing, whilst avoiding getting punished when physical opposition midfielders burst past him? How can we best protect him and get the most from him.
On the Arsecast Extra, James (Gunnerblog) recently made the excellent point that Partey is probably someone who needs to play regularly to get some form going. When his appearances are bitty and irregular, he rarely convinces. Whereas, say, Jorginho, is a safe pair of hands (feet) however much he’s been playing.
If we start playing a midfield trio of Merino, Rice and Odegaard, then how do we use Partey, and what can we expect from him?
As our squad is nearly finalised, I’m wondering about those two players who, I think, would have left the club if we’d received the right offers or if they’d been keen on the move.
If we can get the best out if Reiss and Thomas, then that may be the difference come May.
We all know that players like Saka, Odegaard, the CB pair, White etc are gonna be magnificent. City have their equivalents. Our squad is a little shy of numbers though and we can’t be carrying dead weight if we want to find something extra on those tough PL days where things aren’t quite coming off. To say nothing of the fixture pile up that runs in the CL and domestic cups cause.
When needed, can Thomas play like he did a couple of years ago? And can Reiss finally relax and trust himself enough to show what he’s got?
P.S. Ned nails Reiss. He doesn’t make the right decisions. My feeling is that he second guesses himself too much, going for safe passing options rather than dribbling or playing a tougher pass. He doesn’t want to lose the ball and cost us possession. I think this comes from not quite believing that he belongs at this level. Which, in turn, makes him play more conservatively and with less of the quality which is his biggest asset at this level. The young man is a much better footballer than he shows. I hope he gets out of his head and let’s his feet do the talking.
Ornstein report in The Athletic published a few minutes ago:
“Southampton have reached an agreement with Arsenal for the permanent transfer of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale for a fee of £25million.
The next step is for the 26-year-old goalkeeper to undergo a medical with the club before completing his move.
Arsenal will now advance their efforts to sign 23-year-old Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia.”
Thanks for everything Aaron, I’m sorry your moment in the sun at Arsenal was just the one glorious season, but all the best to you with Southampton.
The squad is starting to have an aspect of delightful refreshment about it.
Glad Aaron is going somewhere to play. I saw his first game at West Brom and I was right behind the ball when he made that astonishing save from Maddison at Leicester.
Thanks for everything and the very best of luck Aaron.
I sincerely hope he takes over from Pickford as England’s number 1.
Best of luck to Rammy on the south coast. He’ll get a lot of work at St Mary’s, which is what he thrives on. I wonder if we have a buy-back clause if Southampton gets relegated. I doubt they could afford his wages in the Championship, and his time at Bournemouth and Sheffield United is an ill-omen for the Saints.
I echo C100’s good wishes for Aaron.
I spoke last week with the CEO of Willow who revealed how active Ramsdale has been in supporting the charity and how highly he is regarded personally and professionally by David Seaman .
It seems we prefer our goalies to be Spanish. There is no way they would let Ramsdale leave without having a replacement in place and that man is Joan Garcia of Espanyol . There is talk of signing a no 3 keeper who is homegrown but that’s not an attractive gig for a bright young keeper . That’s Scott Carson territory
We have drawn Bolton Wanderers at home in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Either Tuesday 24th or Wednesday 25th of September
Best of luck to Aaron.
*releases the ball to the nearest defender in preparation for a century*
Excellent report, OM. Much the way I saw it. I’ve kept the game on DVR (much to the ire of Mrs. Lonestar) so I can replay the frames of Benny Blanco blasting the odious McGinn with the match ball…over and over again.
Ned, cheers to you and the monks for the updated predictathon calculations. Maths were never my strong suit; so the calculations and wild swings are beyond me. My more statistically capable mates would mutter something about “variance” and “noise,” so I reckon the pack will overtake as the season progresses. There’s been no breakaway from the peloton, I am merely happy to have won a stage. Can I get a red jersey? 😉
MCMBD
Arsenal sort of avenged their Youth Cup thrashing by Liverpool away last season by winning up there 5-3 today. The goals are on the website .
Lots of lovely play but this boy Max Dowman is special. He scores the last goal which is a beauty
Launches a pass to opposite side of the pitch towards the sprinting winger…
Good morning all, enjoying a cup of coffee to starts the day.
What’s that? Oh,oh the crowd is screaming ‘lay it off, lay it off’
for some reason so i flick it cleverly across to…….,
…rude not to …
A proper poachers goal, Trev. And Arsenal need a replacement for Eddie…
A three am goal Trev? Do we add insomnia to your hip and knee problems?
Well in Trev!
TTG. Cheers for that bit of insight into how Ramsdale is viewed. I’m not surprised based on what I’ve seen. He’s a class lad and an excellent keeper.
He’s spoken himself about his challenge in staying fully engaged in matches and this makes him probably better suited to a team like Southampton than one like Arsenal. The volume of shots will keep him on his toes and give him a chance to excel.
I wish him all the best, and agree with others that he’s England’s best keeper – I hope he gets the gig soon as its been years since Pickford had the position by anything other than default.
Well poached, Trev!
Nice finish Trev 🫡
And also like others I wish the best of luck to Rammy. I think he is the best English keeper too. I was, to be honest, underwhelmed when we signed him but he quickly impressed and was a clear upgrade on Leno. If I was a Wolves fan I’d be disappointed we missed out and then let him go to a rival like Southampton.
Stories in various place that Benny Blanco won’t be in the first England squad. If that is because Ben has still made himself unavailable then fair enough but if Carsley isn’t picking him for footballing reasons then I will have to lower my expectations of him several notches.
Excellent and well thought out drinks @86 & 87 Dino. A large glass of your favourite tipple awaits you on the bar.
Good news for Aaron and good luck to him. Wings his way with the best wishes and gratitude of this Gooner, not only for his excellent work between the sticks and for his personality that engaged the whole team with the fanbase but also for the dignified and thoroughly professional manner with which he handled his replacement as first choice keeper by David Raya. Top bloke!
Well in for the ton, Trev. That’s commitment! Sitting up until 3am to pounce on the chance. Well impressed.
Lots of great drinks above and well done the Under-18’s.
Matt @107, I noticed on MotD that at Carsley’s side at Craven Cottage sat the very man that is alleged to have been the problem that made Ben White leave the England squad. While he is involved I think Ben will prefer to watch England games on the box (or not!) or it may be the case that while he’s involved, there’s no chance that Ben will make a squad.
A 3.00am strike indeed. I’m afraid until this knee is done I’m asleep and awake at all sorts of odd times.
All the best to Aaron and Eddie as many others have said. And a welcome to Mr Merino – the man who’s going to win us the league ! No pressure 🤣
Well in Trev at the ton, allthough a bit tricky as I was asleep at the moment of your big score. Thus, I recuse myself from any consideration for VAR duty but will continue to celebrate your achievement from the terraces.
Re: Bolton at home in the Carabao Cup right after we have consecutive matches against S***s, Champions League and al-C115y in the previous 10 day period in mid- to late September as cited by C100 above. An opportunity for our brighter squad lights to show what they contribute to our cause, and one not to be wasted.
bt8 – I beg your pardon – VAR ? There was no need for V A bloody R to get involved at all. It was a very late run from a perfect set up and I was way behind the ball when Matt flicked it on. In fact, like VAR, I was quite probably asleep – still, nice to see VAR admit it for once.
Well in for the insomnius ton, Trev.
Lonestar@96: A virtual red shirt is yours…
I, for one, am more than happy for Benny Blanco to put his feet up during Interlulls. Also, am I correct in assuming Trippier’s retirement from international football was a graceful jump before being pushed?
Just attaching this piece on Eddie by Tim Stillman as I thought it’s a good piece and an honest tribute to the efforts Eddie made. Best of luck to him
Thanks Bath @108, I hadn’t realized that guy hadn’t been booted into the long grass.
To my amazement Rammy didn’t make the squad either.
The future England keeper is not in the England squad. 🙁
To be fair, that list smells a bit of ‘caretaker’ vibes.
I don’t get selecting Angel Gomes for this particular session. However good he’s been in the pre-play off CL qualifying match many weeks ago, he last played a few minutes of football nearly a couple of weeks ago, when a worrying head contact had him severly concussed. He wasn’t even in the Lille squad yesterday.
Thanks, Ned @113 – and if a jump involved Trippier I would be very surprised if it was in any way graceful ….. 😳
French teams af home, unfortunately.
Will wait for the fixtures, but either way I will be in the right part of Italy at the wrong time, as I am going the week before the first match.
Looks an ok draw to me, not sure how many points will be needed to make the Top 8 and avoid the play-offs but I guess around 16 will do it.
When we play who in the new-fangled CL group stage will be announced on Saturday.
I was just studying the map as I will be in Italy when we play
Atalanta. Anyone know anything about the possibility of buying
CL tickets to see The Arsenal away? Extremely remote on my red membership
I suspect.
Hens teeth, Matt. It goes on the number of away credits you have. One away game = 1 credit.To give you an idea, last Aprils CL QF away leg at Bayern went down to 4 credits before selling out. And we received a large allocation as the Allianz is a cavernous stadium. I’m assuming that as Bergamo is a small satellite town of Milan (apologies to any Bergamaschi reading), we won’t receive more than a couple of thousand away tickets.
A quick Inter web search tells me that the Atalanta ground holds 21k. We won’t get more than 2k tickets I’d have thought. Far more chance of getting tickets to Inter. Although that means going to the ugliest city in Italy. Outside of Genova, that is….
For anyone interested in doing some scouting/spying, Inter vs Atalanta is tonight. Bound to be a stream. I’m going to search on RAI.
OM, I suspect you could probably get a ticket in the home section from either an Italian online ticket agency (search on Google) or from a tout in Bergamo/Milan on match day.
Rumours are building this morning about Sterling to Arsenal. A loan, a low price sale, how to deal with his wages, who knows. I’d be in favour.
Matt, unless you’re staying in Italy for a few months, you can’t know for sure you’ll be there for that match yet?
Unless Chavski terminate his contract and expect no fee AND Sterling accepts a 60% wage cut and is prepared also to accept only a 12-24 month contract OR he comes to us on a one season loan with wages supplemented by 60% and no loan fee or a loan fee of a relatively modest sum <£5m, I'm not in favour. He brings a lot of baggage, still gets a large salary for a back-up and has been pants for 2-3 seasons. I think even with the conditions I've outlines, the negatives probably still outweigh the positives.
Polite disagreement is a feature of this blog Bath! I think there are more options than you put forward. But we’ll see. Not seeing any rumours about anyone else.
Tim Stillman view on Sterling
https://x.com/stillmanator/status/1829485174385483926?s=61&t=cVFjCyGkt4y-Ne45LtfqkQ
C100@130: I can see Stillman’s logic, but his suggestion would still cost upwards of £300,000 a week, which seems rich for a single-season patch.
Ollie, I will be there for about 8-10 weeks as I have awarded myself a long holiday😉
If it’s Reiss Nelson or Sterling who would you choose?
Merino has got injured already in training!
Personally, I wouldn’t want Sterling given his last couple of seasons. Mikel did say no when asked about it earlier in the week. The reports I have read simply say that Sterling has been offered not that we’ve inquired in any way.
Mikel Merinois out for a few weeks with a a shoulder injury, possibly a fracture, after Gabi landed on him in training. Not sure which Gabi.
CER, Bath – thanks for the thoughts on a ticket for the Atalanta game. I see myself as a long shot but I will see if some Italian contacts might help out.
Aha, fair enough then, Matt!
I know some people from around Bergamo, not sure if they can help on tickets though.
One definitely not, as he hasn’t got a clue about football (despite being Italian….)
Thanks Ollie! I will have a think about as I am not sure I want to be in the Atalanta end so to speak…….I know some people in Milan and I will see what they think.
Not a great start, especially for a ‘duel monster’. “Welcome to the Arsenal. Mikel!”
If there is a fracture, then it’s probably 6 -12 weeks out.
I’d definitely take Sterling on loan with no loan fee (or a low loan fee) and half his wages paid by Chelsea.
If Arteta okays the move, then he is exactly the type of player we need. He’s a pacy winger who finishes well, can play on either flank, and makes great runs behind defenses and beyond a striker who drops deep.
I wouldnt worry at all about his form in a shambolic Chelsea squad.
And if Chelsea need him off the books then we can drive a hard bargain. If the club are as comfortable and relaxed about our forward options as is being reported, then they should explore getting the best deal for a season loan for Sterling, safe in the knowledge that they can walk away from the deal at any time; Chelsea need to make it more than we do.
The Athletic say we enquired about Dan Bentley but Wolves aren’t interested as they haven’t got time to find a replacement.
Frankly, I think we’ve handled this unusually poorly
We should have decided a while back if we wanted him or not.
We knew what fee they wanted (and so had a decent idea what fee they might accept).
If we did want him, we should’ve got it done a couple of weeks ago and not left it on our plate until the final day when Wolves have no incentive to let him go.
We’ve been good in the transfer market lately, but we knew we wanted an experienced, homegrown, no.3 goalkeeper. We identified someone who would fit the bill and would be, in the scheme of buying football players, a cheap option…
And now we won’t have that no.3 keeper because our deadline day enquiry has been rebuffed. Predictably.
It’s a bit crappy to even enquire about him on the last day. What do we expect Wolves to do? Let us have their backup keeper and go without one themselves?
It’s not like we’ve got anywhere with any other options. And whatever happened with Ramsdale, we knew we needed a no.3.
Quite why we bothered making a lowball bid for Garcia when it was clear to the world and his wife that Espanyol wouldn’t let him go 2 days before the end of the window unless we payed his release clause is beyond me.
The Neto pivot is a great bit of business. Selling Aaron to Southampton is also a sensible move. Completing the purchase of Raya is also excellent business.
As far as goalkeepers go, we’ve made some great moves and some really crappy ones. We’ll end up with a top number one, a solid number two (Neto might not appreciate that description) and a kid as number 3. That’s probably about what we deserve for a very mixed window re goalies..
Great points GSD.
Sterling as a 12 month loan with no or minimal loan fee and wages from Arsenal of 150k per week and no obligation to buy gets cover for both wings , gets him out of Chavski’s hair and some money off their expenditure for the season. Saves them £6m. All adds up.
I think Wolves have today signed Sam Johnston who wasn’t happy as number 2 keeper at Palace. Is he or Sa going to be Number 1? Does that mean Bentley may be available now? Or is he happy to be number 3 at Wolves?
Neto, if confirmed, would be excellent cover for Raya. Thirty-five but with a glug of big club experience (Barca, Juventus), plus more at Valencia and Fiorentina. He has also played 10 CL games. His stats are better than Dan Bentley’s and not so far short of Raya’s (and on shot-stopping better than Raya’s). Don’t know whether this deal has been brewing under the radar or is an opportunistic grab with Bournemouth signing Kepa.
I see that Brighton has loaned Amario Cozier-Duberry to Blackburn for the season. Couldn’t we have made an arrangement like that and held onto him?
Welcome to Neto then, our new backup keeper as it seems a done deal
Cheeky bidvfor the 1 1/2 ton?
Damn bad first touch but the second chance drive up the wing might do the trick, if the winger can just find some pace
Ornstein now says all parties working on loan of Sterling to Arsenal before the 11pm deadline
https://x.com/david_ornstein/status/1829595240677999058?s=61&t=cVFjCyGkt4y-Ne45LtfqkQ
“No issue expected”
Why is Ornstein bringing Shakespearean royal succession language into the Sterling transfer story?
>>>>>>>