The Seasonal Arsenal Defensive Stats Showing One Clear Winner

169 thoughts on “The Seasonal Arsenal Defensive Stats Showing One Clear Winner”

• Good stuff, PB. I will have a read a bit later and get back to you, probably tomorrow! 🙂

• GN$, Here are my predictions:

  June15th Hungary v Portugal * 0-2

  June15th France v Germany * 1-3
  June 16th Finland v Russia D
  June 16th Turkey v Wales H
  June 16th Italy v Switzerland D
  June 17th Ukraine v Macedonia H
  June 17th Denmark v Belgium H
  June 17th Netherlands v Austria H
  June 18th Sweden v Slovakia H
  June 18th Croatia v Czech Rep H
  June 18th England v Scotland * 1-5

• You recognized that fullbacks and defensive midfielders often have higher tackle and interception numbers than center halves. What you didn’t recognize when comparing Mavropanos and Saliba’s numbers is that Mavropanos was the right sided center half in a 3 back system, i.e., a hybrid fullback/center half. As such his numbers are going to be similar to a fullback. It is also instructive that the during the 2019-20 season VVD averaged 0.7 tackles per 90, compared to Saliba’s 0.8 tackles per 90 this season.

• Its difficult to make judgement calls with defenders because without context stats dont tell the whole story also with Whoscored theres no way they watch every game, never mind every player and lots of times I’ve seen their descriptions of players supposed strengths and weaknesses and thought they were wide of the mark.

  And with defensive stats they definitely dont tell the whole story. I do think we have decent defenders but they have often been left exposed by the players in front of them

  Thanks for putting this together!

• Wow nice one place, very revealing. Obviously one area that is aclear improvement under arteta is defence which is also backed up by numbers as you have shown. Other headline numbers like goals scored against and goals conceeded from set pieces should also indicate it.
  Thanks for this pb.

• Nwm, you are perfectly right pointing out that Mavropanos’ position – thus his challenges – are different than of Saliba’s. However I didn’t draw such conclusions that Dinos is a better defender, just that his contributions were numerically superior. Maybe Saliba – or Gabriel, Chambers, Mari – would have similar tackles and interceptions (maybe even more) if played in a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-2-1.

  Nevertheless I do believe that Mavropanos is a great – and hugely underappreciated – defender, who not only deserves to be given a chance at Arsenal, but might become a clear starter sooner than most of us would think. And here are my arguments:
  – He is huge (12 cm over Chambers [currently playing full back], 5 cm over Holding and Luiz, 4 over Gabriel, 1 cm over Mari and Saliba)
  – His 2.8 interceptions per game is not only Bundesliga’s best, but is still the highest among PL and La Liga players. That’s quite something from a 23-year-old.
  – He is not only an interception machine, but a balanced, all-round defender with #19 in the Bundesliga in tackles, and #28 in clearances.
  – Mavro was the best in his club in tackles and interceptions, and second best in clearances. He was the highest (WhoScored) rated defender for VFB Stuttgart, and the only one defender with a MotM award.
  – His every (!) defensive stats (including blocks) are better than any of such Bundesliga giants like Konate, Upamecano, Orban, Davies, Hernandez, Süle, Pavard, Alaba, Can, Akanji, etc. However I must admit, that a defender of a strong team would inevitably face less amount of crosses, dribbles, shots…
  – He managed to effectively neutralize high profile attackers like Jovic, Reus, Haaland, and others.
  – Despite his hectic loan spells and unfortunate injuries he managed to develop himself to the Greek squad, where he is the tallest, youngest and most valuable defender. And I’m quite sure that by 2023 he will be the highest value player of the entire Greek squad (unless Christos Tzolis conquers Europe).

• I’m one of those who isn’t as stat driven Peter but I found your piece, surprisingly for me, a very interesting read and look forward to your other pieces even if I am old school.

  Rob Holding comes out of it as arguably our best and most effective defender and yet Luiz was the Arteta poster boy because he had the passing skills the manager required. I guess it shows how the game has changed and how players are perceived.

  Personally I like my defenders to be good, er, defenders but I understand that this isn’t the modern way, or so it seems to this Luddite. Being able to tackle isn’t deemed as important anymore as player theatrics seem to driving that particular skill out of the game. By tackle I mean winning the ball cleanly but even when that is achieved the referees are influenced by the tacklers’ opponent if his scream and swallow dive onto the turf has artistic merit and yet shirt pulling and holding/obstruction in the box is legion and mostly ignored by the on field officials and VAR.

  Holding and Tierney for me have been our most efficient defenders over the Arteta era but Luiz oddly is the golden boy, I don’t get this from any stats it’s just what I see but Peter your stats seem to support this as well my friend as a Luiz according to the stats is way down the list. I’m not sure that I can get my head around all this contactless defending but I do suspect that our great old English back four would struggle in some aspects of the modern English game of today.

• There definitely does seem to be a sea change in how Arsenal defend and compete in general, it’s almost as if Arteta has seen how Arsenal players are routinely treated more harshly by officials than many of our opponents and has adjusted our style to lessen the possibility of yellow and red cards being issued to Arsenal players. It still hasn’t lessened how Arsenal are treated by officials and how many fewer fouls we commit to earn a card in comparison to almost everyone else and how we suffered more than any other team from overturned VAR decisions, can it just be a coincidence?
  Let’s see how we do next season and then revisit the duplicity of our chums from the PGMOL.

• Fine follow up write up, PB. It bears noting that Arsenal have had improvements in defence like we have not had in a many seasons; being top 3 in goals conceded stats says a lot about the impact of the structure Arteta’s coaching team has instilled in the boys. Usually, coaches like to build teams from the back so, if anything is to be taken away from how we performed in the last season, it is that we now need to take this a step further by securing the DM area more and just improve on creativity and clinical finishing to get into European places, next season.

  I had high hopes for Mavropanos and believed in his potential to make it into our first team to hold down a place. Now, you have only reinforced that hope by bringing up his stats while in the Bundesliga. With Diamond eye (Mslintat) being so interested in keeping him at Stuttgart, it won’t surprise me if he opts for a move though, Sven being his benefactor and all; it will depend on his level of ambition and self belief. It is about time we had some fearsome centre backs again (Adams + Keown or Bould type players). Mavropanos and Mari or Gabriel can bring this to fruition.

• Morning all,

  Here are the competition results after day two:-

  1st GN5 with 4 points
  2nd Eris & Stuart with 3
  4th Kev & OMG with 2
  6th TA & PB with 0

• Hi Peter, I will read your post between games today.

• I absolutely agree, Dexter, that these stats don’t tell the whole story – nor are they supposed so.

  I’m quite sure that these stats and contribution are evident to Arteta and Edu, as they have a network of scouts and even better access to relevant stats that are not publicly available. (OK, I’m not entirely sure, but I’m a cynical @$$hat.) These data might be more novelty to the everyday fan, to put our current squad members (including the boys on loan) into context with the rumored new defensive signings. And while a mere statistic comparison doesn’t do justice, it might show that either Conor Coady or Ben White would not only cost north to 30M (of which we would never get for Saliba, Mari, Ballard or Mavropanos – possibly only if combined), but – based on last season – would be significant downgrades to our current (fringe) players.

  There are only 2 reasons to sign them: they are English (which could improve homegrown stats as well as prove likable to some xenophobic British fans) and the transfers would demonstrate that there is a major transition going on – a.k.a we are finally splashing the cash. But for me both arguments are unacceptable. Especially as Madhu and Eris pointed out correctly: the number of goals conceded is one (or probably the only one) aspect that has noticeably improved under Arteta.

  Just like Eris said, we should devote thes window to improve (defensive) midfield and communication/transition between defense and attack. The former should be 1 or 2 new signings of the highest quality. The latter could also be in form of a new creative player, but could come as better individual and team coaching, or properly customized tactics and formation.

• Re Luiz. I agree with your conclusion, Kev, but David brought such leadership to the back-line, that was painfully missing since the Mertesacker-Koscielny partnership. And even if Luiz was less efficient – to say the least – in defensive contributions, I’d like to think that he played an important part in the recent development of his fellow defenders. Probably from the next season ‘goals conceded’ stat point of view it is better that David has moved along, I’m sure he will become a good youth coach and possibly a high profile manager; and therefore I regret not being able to provide him the (loyalty-building) opportunity to start earning his coaching badges with our academy.

• Hi, GN5. Regarding the predictions game, just wondering if it won’t serve purpose better (as well as being more convenient for you) if you presented the results after all games in each selected batch of games are played. Of course, there will be overlaps of games at the group stages but I guess that’s why you post the next round of picks intermittently, I imagine.

  I feel, that way, we can know the winner after each round of picks….and so on. Or, what do you think? In the end, you are the selector and invigilator (I felt like spelling those two words in my best Jamaican patois/accent 😁), so your call.

• Eris, did know that you have a planet named after you?

• Cheers PB for an intriguing post. I would like to see how our team has done in terms of clean sheets and average goals conceded compared to other teams. I just feel that the stats categories tells us something but don’t make us any wiser. I also feel that possession and pass completion stats are key here. The best defence is not having to defend because the team is constantly attacking, but this would mean bad individual ‘Whoscored’ stats…. If you know what I mean 😀

• Morning all,

  Here are the next round of games for your predictions:-
  * = correct score game.

  June 19th Hungary v France *
  June 19th Portugal v Germany *
  June 19th Spain v Poland
  June 20th Italy v Wales
  June 20th Switzerland v Turkey
  June 21st Macedonia v Netherlands
  June 21st Ukraine v Austria
  June 21st Russia v Denmark
  June 21st Finland v Belgium *

• Eris,
  Thank you for your suggestions –

  I’ve created my spreadsheets so that they automatically calculate the person by person totals by the chosen groups, and overall totals, so it’s easy for me to post up to date selected group totals on a daily results.
  Our first selected group of games ends today so I will post final group scores in the tomorrow morning the scores will include the 4 point bonus for the person/s who had the most game choices correct.

  Here are the up to date scores through June 13.

  1st GN5 with 7
  2nd Eris with 6
  3rd Stuart with 5
  4th Kev & OMG with 4
  6th PB with 3
  7th Total with 2.

• Well done, GN5. Clear proof that that with age comes wisdom 😎😎

• TA, let’s start with the clean sheets statistic.
  This is TransferMarkt’s table on the clean sheets, however it is based on goalkeepers and not teams, as it shows the goalkeepers with the most clean sheets. (You can reorder if you are more interested in clean sheet percentage.)
  https://www.transfermarkt.com/premier-league/weisseweste/pokalwettbewerb/GB1

  There is another list with team clean sheets. Since I don’t want to link multiple URLs I just process it below, and hope that it will look just fine:

  1. Manchester City 19
  2. Chelsea 18
  3. Aston Villa 15
  4. Manchester United 13
  5. Arsenal 12
  Brighton and Hove Albion 12
  Everton 12
  Leeds United 12
  Liverpool 12
  Tottenham Hotspur 12
  11. Burnley 11
  Leicester City 11
  West Ham United 11
  14 Wolverhampton Wanderers 10
  15. Fulham 9
  Southampton 9
  17. Crystal Palace 8
  18. Newcastle United 7
  19. West Bromwich Albion 6
  20. Sheffield United 5

  According to these stats :
  – Leno made the 5-8th most clean sheets in the PL – a club name starting with an ‘A’ always helps. 🙂
  – When we take the number of games into consideration (excluding anybody with less than 4 games – including Rúnarsson and ex-Arsenal Joao Virginia both with 100%), Bernd is the 10th-11th most efficient goalkeeper
  – That is a mid-table performance; neither tragic, nor to be proud of, and in the same ballpark as Ryan’s 1 clean sheet in 3 games
  – Leno is ahead of Allison and Rui Patricio (neither club is considering a GK upgrade as far as I know), but behind Pope, Henderson and R. Sanchez
  – Ryan kept 1/3 for Arsenal, and 2/11 for Brighton, which is not a good return, but the improvement trajectory is impressive.

  A final, yet interesting defensive comparison is the goal conceded vs. expected goals conceded xGA.
  According to the data Arsenal had the 5th lowest xGA (behind Man City, Chelsea, Brighton and Manchester United). This shows that the defenders didn’t give the opponent too many and clear opportunities to score. However when the actual goals conceded is compared, Arsenal is the 3rd best (behind Manchester City and Chelsea), showing that – especially in contrast with Brighton and Manchester United – less goals realized than the size oif the chances. Either because of superior defender/goalkeeper positioning, or simply because the opponent screwed up the attempts big time.
  However if we are willing to rate the defensive competency by xGA-aGC (expected goals against minus actual goals conceded) the 6 best teams are: Leeds (9.02), Tottenham (7.55) Aston Villa (7.25), Liverpool, Fulham, and Arsenal (4.23), while the list ends with Chelsea (-5.10), Brighton (-6.09), and Southampton (-9.45).

  I plan to process the passing stats in a week (after the offensive contribution). And while I also see the ball possession a good indicator, the passing stats do not take the difficulty of the pass into consideration. Therefore it is easy to jump into conclusion that a person with higher passing accuracy possesses better passing skills, however there is a good chance that he made mostly safer passes.

• Oh dear a very determined Scottish team lost to a classy Czech team, I fear that England will have a tough time against both teams.

• Great stuff, PB. That’s a lot more hopeful. 😊

• The biggest most important defensive stat is that Arsenal conceded only 39 goals, third best in the league. Now that is something to build on!! 😁 🍾 🍾

• Kev, a planet named after me? Didn’t know that, to be honest. 😎

  GN5, that’s great to know so, it’s all good. And we’ll done as your lead is sustained.

• TA, that is indeed quite an improvement to our past seasons and and overall great achievement compared to other top6 clubs. No let’s focus on scoring more goals.

  Kev, I’ve been reading on dwarf planets and gas giants for about an hour now, because of the interesting fact you shared about our brother. 🙂
  Way to go, Eris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet)

• Thanks GN5

  June 19th Hungary v France * A 0-2
  June 19th Portugal v Germany * D 1-1
  June 19th Spain v Poland H
  June 20th Italy v Wales H
  June 20th Switzerland v Turkey H
  June 21st Macedonia v Netherlands A
  June 21st Ukraine v Austria D
  June 21st Russia v Denmark D
  June 21st Finland v Belgium * A 0-2

• Eris (minor planet designation 136199 Eris) is the most massive and second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System. Eris is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO), has a high-eccentricity orbit, and is a member of the scattered disk. Eris was discovered in January 2005 by a Palomar Observatory-based team led by Mike Brown, and its discovery was verified later that year. Eris is the ninth-most massive known object orbiting the Sun, and the sixteenth-most massive overall in the Solar System (including moons). It is also the largest object that has not been visited by a spacecraft. Eris has been measured at 2,326 ± 12 kilometers (1,445 ± 7 mi) in diameter.[11] Its mass is 0.27 percent that of the Earth and 127 percent that of dwarf planet Pluto,[20][21] though Pluto is slightly larger by volume.[22] As Eris orbits the Sun, it completes one rotation every 25.9 hours, making its day length similar to Earth’s.[23] However, other sources disagree on the rotation period.[24]

• Nice one Pete, I saw a vid on You Tube about it, as of yet there isn’t even an asteroid called Kev, but I live in hope… 😉

• Just watching Spain vs Sweden and Isak hasn’t done anything to make me think that he’s what we need.

• Morning all,

  Here are the final scores for our 1st group in the Euro 2020 competition:-

  1st GN5 with 6/10, plus 2 points for one correct score and 2 points for joint most correct predictions = 10 points
  2nd Eris with 6/10 plus 2 points for joint most correct predictions = 8 points
  3rd Stuart with 5/10 = 5 points
  4th Kev, PB and OMG with 4/10 = 4 points
  7th Total with 3/10 = 3 points.

• Here are my predictions for our 3rd group of games:-

  June 19th Hungary v France * A (0-2)
  June 19th Portugal v Germany * H (2-1)
  June 19th Spain v Poland H
  June 20th Italy v Wales H
  June 20th Switzerland v Turkey D
  June 21st Macedonia v Netherlands A
  June 21st Ukraine v Austria A
  June 21st Russia v Denmark A
  June 21st Finland v Belgium * A (1-2)

• Thanks for the update GN5. Is it getting lonely for you at the top?? 😅

• 67000 spectators in Boedapest. You would think, Hungary must be doing okay with covid… No they are not, they have one of the highest death rates per million people in the world.

• So I guess they were dying to watch a game of football?

• That’s true, TA. For long Hungary had the most coronavirus deaths per 1M capita, and now we ‘only’ have the second highest figure because it turned out that Peru was doctoring their own statistics. And while the Czech Republic or Bosnia and Herzegovina might climb up the ladder, Hungary will always belong to the top5 in this measure.

  However this is mostly due to the unprecedented incompetency of the government and health officials (in past decisions), the less than average health parameters of most Hungarians, as well as the Balkan conditions of the local hospitals. People with proper vaccination are at minimal risk watching the game outdoors – especially in such a heat. (They may increase the exposure by loudly celebrating the game in a pub, but that can happen in any country.)

  We will see whether there will be a spike in new COVID cases in the next couple of weeks, and new death is early July. While the former is quite possible, I expect the hospitalization and mortality data keep decreasing from their peak as of mid-April.

• Peter, I had a nice conversation with a South Korean passenger earlier today and they as a country are probably among the most effective in dealing with these issues in South Korea mainly because of other pandemics that routinely arise in that part of the world, like SARS etc.

  I asked her about North Korea and according to their great leader they don’t have any cases in that country!

• Yes Kev, the Asian countries were better prepared due to past experiences.

• Let’s hope you are right. PB.

• Wow! That’s some work of research on Dwarf planets, guys. Other than being quite the Geography student in High school, I have not been fond of Astronomy since that stage of my life so you can imagine how much of an eye opener this bit of information is.

  Kev, as brothers, surely you (PB too) can stake a claim for the planet; or the naming rights to any one in the vicinity of Eris. 😀

• GN5, find below my predictions for the next selection of games:

  June 19th Hungary v France * A (0-3)
  June 19th Portugal v Germany * A (2-3)
  June 19th Spain v Poland H
  June 20th Italy v Wales H
  June 20th Switzerland v Turkey. H
  June 21st Macedonia v Netherlands A
  June 21st Ukraine v Austria H
  June 21st Russia v Denmark D
  June 21st Finland v Belgium * A (1-3)

• June 19th Hungary v France 0-3
  June 19th Portugal v Germany 1-1
  June 19th Spain v Poland Home
  June 20th Italy v Wales Home
  June 20th Switzerland v Turkey Home
  June 21st Macedonia v Netherlands Away
  June 21st Ukraine v Austria Draw
  June 21st Russia v Denmark Away
  June 21st Finland v Belgium 0-2

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57379155

  Nice piece on Xhaka

• 14/08/2021 Brentford v Arsenal
  21/08/2021 Arsenal v Chelsea
  28/08/2021 Manchester City v Arsenal
  11/09/2021 Arsenal v Norwich City
  18/09/2021 Burnley v Arsenal
  25/09/2021 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur
  02/10/2021 Brighton v Arsenal
  16/10/2021 Arsenal v Crystal Palace
  23/10/2021 Arsenal v Aston Villa
  30/10/2021 Leicester City v Arsenal
  06/11/2021 Arsenal v Watford
  20/11/2021 Liverpool v Arsenal
  27/11/2021 Arsenal v Newcastle United
  30/11/2021 Manchester United v Arsenal
  04/12/2021 Everton v Arsenal
  11/12/2021 Arsenal v Southampton
  14/12/2021 Arsenal v West Ham United
  18/12/2021 Leeds United v Arsenal
  26/12/2021 Norwich City v Arsenal
  28/12/2021 Arsenal v Wolverhampton
  01/01/2022 Arsenal v Manchester City
  15/01/2022 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal
  22/01/2022 Arsenal v Burnley
  08/02/2022 Wolverhampton v Arsenal
  12/02/2022 Chelsea v Arsenal
  19/02/2022 Arsenal v Brentford
  26/02/2022 Arsenal v Liverpool
  05/03/2022 Watford v Arsenal
  12/03/2022 Arsenal v Leicester City
  19/03/2022 Aston Villa v Arsenal
  02/04/2022 Crystal Palace v Arsenal
  09/04/2022 Arsenal v Brighton
  16/04/2022 Southampton v Arsenal
  23/04/2022 Arsenal v Manchester United
  30/04/2022 West Ham United v Arsenal
  07/05/2022 Arsenal v Leeds United
  15/05/2022 Newcastle United v Arsenal
  22/05/2022 Arsenal v Everton

• Here’s my 3rd group of scores GN5.

  June 19th Hungary v France……A (0-3)*
  June 19th Portugal v Germany…H. (2-1) *
  June 19th Spain v Poland……….H
  June 20th Italy v Wales…………..H
  June 20th Switzerland v Turkey.H
  June 21st Macedonia v Holland.A
  June 21st Ukraine v Austria…….D
  June 21st Russia v Denmark…..A
  June 21st Finland v Belgium……A (0-3) *

• June 19th Hungary v France 0-4 (A)
  June 19th Portugal v Germany 1-0 (H)
  June 19th Spain v Poland Home
  June 20th Italy v Wales Home
  June 20th Switzerland v Turkey Home
  June 21st Macedonia v Netherlands Away
  June 21st Ukraine v Austria Home
  June 21st Russia v Denmark Draw
  June 21st Finland v Belgium 1-4 (A)

• Thanks for the match overview, Kev. Looks like a doable start.

• Thanks for posting Arsenal’s 2021/22 schedule Kev – I’ve entered it into a spreadsheet so we will be able to make our individual predictions – more later.

• Interesting and encouraging;

  Dan Critchlow
  @afcDW
  ·
  Just been asked about Azeez, so worth mentioning again he’s not out of contract this summer.

  I know that’s what it says on Transfermarkt, but he has a deal until 2022 with an option to extend to 2024 #AFC

• Morning all,

  Here are the results of our Round 2 on the Euro 2020 competition through June 16:-

  1st Kev with 3/6 plus 2 point bonus for a correct score = 5 points
  2nd GN5, Eris & Stuart with 4/6 = 4 points
  5th PB with 2/6 = 2 points
  6th TA with 1/6 = 1 point
  “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
  Competition to date:-

  1st GN5 with 14 points
  2nd Eris with 12 points
  3rd Kev & Stuart with 9 points
  5th PB with 6 points
  6th TA & OMG with 4 points.
  “”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
  The next update will be after the completion of the games on Friday 18th.

• Oops – the results of the Round 2 games are out of 5 games played not 6 games.

• Interesting article about Torreira.

  https://www.planetfootball.com/in-depth/torreiras-arsenal-plight-the-blurred-line-between-human-commodity/

• Thanks for the results, GN5 ⚽ ⚽ ⚽

• Here are the final games in the Euro groups, please make your predictions.
  As usual the asterisk = correct score game.

  June 22nd Czech Republic v England *
  June 22nd Croatia v Scotland
  June 23rd Slovakia v Spain
  June 23rd Sweden v Poland *
  June 23rd Germany v Hungary
  June 23rd Portugal v France *

• How poor is England’s midfield? They are missing a Xhaka type…

• Thanks for the new batch of games, G.

• June 22nd Czech Republic v England 1-1
  June 22nd Croatia v Scotland Home
  June 23rd Slovakia v Spain Draw
  June 23rd Sweden v Poland 1-2
  June 23rd Germany v Hungary Home
  June 23rd Portugal v France 1-1

• TA, I did think you were taking the piss when you predicted a 1-5 loss for England against Scotland. As it turned out, they could easily have lost that game, had the bounce of the ball gone for the Scots.

  It was a game played in true Derby fashion but with the away side wanting it more. This result will let England know there is work to be done.

• GN5, here are my predictions for the last round’s batch of games:

  June 22nd Czech Republic v England 1-1
  June 22nd Croatia v Scotland D
  June 23rd Slovakia v Spain A
  June 23rd Sweden v Poland H 2-1
  June 23rd Germany v Hungary H
  June 23rd Portugal v France H 2-1

• N5 the Lucas article makes me so sad. I was elated with him from the beginning and it’s all falling apart. I wonder if Emery could use him again. We’d get a better fee than from South America at least.

  TA, I’ve usually been annoyed with the National team being overrated. Now they have strong attackers and a decent defense. A little like us, but I rate our defenders a lot more. Midfield is clearly our weakness, and as I’ve watched England lately, it’s so mediocre that it makes us look good. I don’t see all the fuss about Rice. I wouldn’t take him on my team, and he’s their best midfielder. I have never seen him take over a game or even be a big influence.

• June 22nd Czech R v England…. D (2-2*)
  June 22nd Croatia v Scotland….. H
  June 23rd Slovakia v Spain…….. A
  June 23rd Sweden v Poland…….H (1-0) *
  June 23rd Germany v Hungary…H
  June 23rd Portugal v France……D (2-2) *

• Total, England played with the handbrake on, they’re a great squad but the manager is inhibited and the team reflect that. I fear that Southgate will just fritter away the potential of this squad with his mind numbingly negative and unimaginative tactics.

• Johnno, I’m not sure that Emery was totally sold on Torrieira because he switched his position later in his time in charge and it clearly didn’t suit the Uruguayan, Emery wanted Banega but as with many of his choices never got his man.

  Now Guendouzi is another matter, I can easily see our enfant terrible ending up at Villarreal.

• Morning all,

  Oh boy the England/Scotland game was a disappointment I fully expected a rousing England victory but instead we saw an insipid performance. Two games played and only one goal scored – where is the fire power – what has happened to Kane – where was our midfield………………..?

  So many question marks – lets hope that Southgate has the answers.

• Here are our Round 2 results from the Euro 2020 competition:-

  For just Round 2:-
  1st Eris with 9/11 plus 4 bonus points for a total of 13
  2nd Kev with 8/11 plus 2 correct game score points for a total of 10
  3rd PB with 7/11 plus 2 correct game points for a total of 9
  4th GN5 and Stuart with 8/11 for a total of 8
  6th TA with 4/11 for a total of 4 points

  “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
  For the competition to date:-
  1st Eris with 21
  2nd GN5 with 18
  3rd Kev with 14
  4th PB and Stuart with 13
  6th TA with 7
  “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

  Well done Eris 9 correct predictions out of 11 games is very impressive and earns you the deserved bonus of 4points and the lead in the competition. But you have to keep on your toes as there are 15 games left in the final two rounds for us to overtake you.

• The England U18 coach is being touted as the man to replace Steve Bould and Zech Medley is linked with a permanent move to a Belgian club, obviously with clauses inserted so we can benefit if he moves on to bigger and better things.

  Brother Eris has shot off like a rocket, look at him go, whilst GN5 is on one of his buses and the rest of us are on Boris bikes. 🙂

• Eris is at it again!! 😁

  Thanks for the update, GN5. This is hotting up nicely.

• Heh Kev, I am on my clogs 😊

• Kev, I’m so relieved that I’m not the only one thinking Southgate as an inadequate coach.
  Since I have no emotional investment to the national team, I won’t mind him fail, hoping that his successor will infuse (even more) youth power to the next English team, that would include Saka, ESR, possibly even Willock, Balogun, Nelson, Nketiah. Maybe we’ll even see Holding and Chambers getting a chance for the Three Lions.

• Good point, Kev, but why play with the handbrake on? Fear, bigger fish to dry, lack of hunger?

• Yes J, they have good midfielders but tactically it was poor v the Scots with no heart or core in the centre of midfield.

• Clip clogging along Total – your 5-1 win for Scotland prediction was just a tad partisan.

• Hehe he GN5, Oranje all the way my friend. 🙂

• June 22nd Czech R v England… D (0-0)
  June 22nd Croatia v Scotland…. D
  June 23rd Slovakia v Spain……. A
  June 23rd Sweden v Poland…….D (2-2)
  June 23rd Germany v Hungary…H
  June 23rd Portugal v France……H (1-0)

• I don’t know Total, he has so many attacking players but approaches games more akin to Mourinho than Wenger, he should be sending his players out full of confidence and telling them to show everyone how good they are, as Terry Venables did in 1996, but no it’s all safety first rubbish.

  Peter, Southgate had more luck than any manager of England has ever had in the last World Cup, he had a great side, the Press were behind him, the fans were behind him and he certainly had the luck of the draw but he just lacks that X factor and that’s reflected in his team.

• My thoughts exactly. I’m proud to be your brother, Kev.
  And Eris doesn’t bring shame to the family either. 😀

• Thanks Peter 😀

  Big result by Hungary

• Yeah Kevvo, England sat too deep and was predictable. Tierney was great for Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

• Scotland thoroughly deserved the result Total, but why isn’t Southgate sending out the England players full of confidence, he should be sending them out to put on a performance and to show how good they are because they are great players but instead it was all about safety first.

  I mean you bring on Grealish to give the team some unpredictability and you stick him on the left wing, I mean ffs, bring on Sancho and put him on the left wing and have Grealish through the middle!

• Alf Ramsey when he was just plain Alf left out Jimmy Greaves in 1966 when Greaves was the best English striker around and replaced him with Geoff Hurst because Hurst suited the system.

  Harry Kane presently doesn’t seem to suit our system but will Southgate have the courage and foresight to leave him out, somehow I doubt it?

• Fully agreed. Just look how the Dutch use Wijnaldum and FdJong in midfield. Makes all the difference.

• Thanks for keeping up with the updates, GN5. Nice to see the “3 brothers” taking up the top 3 positions, already. But, it’s still early days and as GN5 admonished, there are still enough games to snatch back the top position from me. France already gave one a reminder of that with that draw vs Plucky Hungary in the first game of the day. As they say in Nigerian parlance, France “fall my hand”. 😀

• England has not been up to it this tournament. Not sure why but, maybe Southgate has got to throw some caution to the wind and allow some of the players express themselves, if the Three Lions are to stand a chance of qualifying for the next round. An allusion to the long and arduous season will be a tame excuse because that affects every country, to a good extent.

  With players like Grealish, Saka, Calvert Lewis, Sancho and even Rashford, you’d think you have enough fire power to be combined (any three combo) to good effect. I guess the team may be going through a transition or they miss Maguire that much.

• I only saw the 2 Dutch games from the Euros so far (as they are the only team I truly support).
  I think they have a great defense (which could be further boosted with a fit Virgil can Dijk) and a competent midfield – where I’m not particularly impressed by de Roon, but they did quite good against 2 (soon 3) weaker teams. However I feel that the quality is missing from the attacking department. Not just a genius like Bergkamp, but the lethal goal machines that the Netherlands used to ‘produce’ on a regular basis like van Hooijdonk, Kluivert, van Nistelrooy, Huntelaar, van Persie, etc. Memphis Depay is a fine player no doubt about that, but he is not a real finishing striker; at least I see him more of a winger/AM/secondary forward (like Dennis himself) than a poacher.

  Holland can still reach far, but they need to improve their form (or has some luck) as currently there are a handful of teams with stronger line-ups. I hope in 3-5 years (next Euros and the WC after) the Oranje could become the strongest contender with Koopmeiners and Gravenberch turning integral parts of the team (one or both of them could be playing in Arsenal jersey then). But there is a strong demand for a class striker. Maybe Malen coud develop into the next big thing, or Boadu, or somebody completely yet unknown could be the future Haaland.
  And a new van der Saar / van Breukelen could come in handy too.

• PB, you missed the most lethal Dutch goal machine of all,,, Marco VB. I had two Dutch coaches as a boy here in NZ and was fashioned to love Dutch football. Along with the Hungarians of the ’50’s, that Dutch side of the ’70’s were the best team never to win a World Cup.

  Thanks GN5. And congrats to our front runners. I seem to be having an Arsenal season of mid table mediocrity. Loving the tournament, tho’.

  June 22nd Czech Republic v England 0-1
  June 22nd Croatia v Scotland Home
  June 23rd Slovakia v Spain Away
  June 23rd Sweden v Poland 1-2
  June 23rd Germany v Hungary Home
  June 23rd Portugal v France 1-2

• Stuart that was a bitch-slap. 🙂 But a valid point indeed.
  He was only 28 during the Euro 1992 in Sweden – the first tournament I followed (as a 13-year-old kid), but I have more recollections from Dennis than Marco (especially as the latter had to finish his career a few years later) – hence I became an Arsenal fan instead of a Milan supporter. But credit where credit’s due: Marco van Basten was a once-in-a-generation phenomenon, and is sorely missed from today’s Dutch team.

• We could improve on De Roon, PB, but he is still doing an important job. The Dutch have multiple goalscorers and I predict them to go far as long as they don’t have to play Portugal next round.

• …. If Portugal do make it into the next round. The winner and runners up in that group is anyone’s guess, TA.

• Yes it is Eris. Crazy group! 😁

• Nah, PB, only a twitch on your coat tails. I agree DB had more to his game than MVB, they both embodied that DNA of grace, power and sublime skill which Cruyff and Rinus Michels injected into the Oranje.
  I also had a Hungarian Coach in my ;late teens: Juan Schwanner, who died a few years back at 94. He played against Puskas and shared memories with us of the Magical Magyars.
  I did some work in Hungary in the mid to late ’80’s down and around the old Yugoslav border. Loved swimming in Lake Belaton. Had a few kick abouts with locals who were huge FTC fans.

• Van Basten had everything you’d wish for in a CF. We Dutchmen were spoiled to have MvB and DB to come through in quick succession.

• Nice memories, Stuart. You had quite experienced coaches.
  Schwanner Juan/János has a Wikipedia page in Hungarian, and I just read that besides managing new New Zealand national team for 10 games (W5, D0, L5), he is the only Hungarian player ever to win the Brazilian championship (with Flamengo in 1954). You have been coached by a minor celebrity.

• Before we move on to the attacking statistics, here is an interesting defensive piece about the how frequently a team commits fouls.
  https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/burnley-among-least-frequent-foulers-in-europe-despite-their-physical-reputation-3279647

  The CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post, using data provided by In Stat, showed that the lowest foul frequency was measured for Arsenal (one foul every 10’44”), while Getafe is at the bottom end of the table (one foul every 5’44”).
  Apart from Getafe, the highest foul frequency per big-5 league was measured for Hellas Verona (5’54”), FSV Mainz (6’30”), AS St-Etienne (7’10”) and Fulham (7’48”).
  Conversely, apart from Arsenal, the following teams committed the least fouls per minute: Barcelona (10’29”), Bayern Munich (10’19”), SSC Napoli (9’37”) and Nîmes Olympique (9’13”).

• Morning all,

  Here are my predictions for our final group 4 games

  June 22nd Czech Republic v England – A (1-2)
  June 22nd Croatia v Scotland Home – H
  June 23rd Slovakia v Spain Away – A
  June 23rd Sweden v Poland – H (2-0)
  June 23rd Germany v Hungary – Home
  June 23rd Portugal v France A (1-2)

• Here’s the schedule for the remainder of Euro 2020.

  There are only two days between the end of the group games and the start of the knock out part of the competition.

  I’ll do my best to get the next group of games posted on the evening of the 23rd so you will all have to be on your toes to get your predictions posted before the 26th.
  ””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””’

  KNOCKOUT PHASE
  Round of 16
  Saturday 26 June

  1: 2A vs 2B (18:00, Amsterdam)
  2: 1A vs 2C (21:00, London)
  Sunday 27 June

  3: 1C vs 3D/E/F (18:00, Budapest)
  4: 1B vs 3A/D/E/F (21:00, Seville)
  Monday 28 June

  5: 2D vs 2E (18:00, Copenhagen)
  6: 1F vs 3A/B/C (21:00, Bucharest)
  Tuesday 29 June

  7: 1D vs 2F (18:00, London)
  8: 1E vs 3A/B/C/D (21:00, Glasgow)

  Rest days on 30 June and 1 July
  Quarter-finals
  Friday 2 July

  QF1: Winner 6 vs Winner 5 (18:00, St Petersburg)
  QF2: Winner 4 vs Winner 2 (21:00, Munich)
  Saturday 3 July

  QF3: Winner 3 vs Winner 1 (18:00, Baku)
  QF4: Winner 8 vs Winner 7 (21:00, Rome)

  Rest days on 4 and 5 July
  Watch great EURO solo goals
  Semi-finals
  Tuesday 6 July

  SF1: Winner QF2 vs Winner QF1 (21:00, London)
  Wednesday 7 July

  SF2: Winner QF4 vs Winner QF3 (21:00, London)

  Rest days on 8, 9, 10 July
  Final
  Sunday 11 July

• On principle Holland has 67% chance to avoid the third team from group F, and I don’t see real chance to meet Spain there. Especially that I’m quite certain that unless Scotland draws with Croatia the Oranje will meet this games winner (D3) in Budapest.

• Trae Coyle has left Arsenal on a permanent deal to join FC Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland.

  Like with Zech Medley, I’d say this is a good decision, it’s the right time for him to try and get his senior career going properly.

  No fee mentioned for either.

• https://arseblog.news/2021/06/mark-mcguinness-joins-cardiff-city/

• Thanks for the update, Kev.
  I’m a bid sad as following a really good loan spell Mark was a secret candidate for me to play in the first team in a couple of years – unlike Zech or Trae – but Cardiff City is a decent Championship side, so the move should be within the interest of at least 2 parties. Assuming that Arsenal got some money (in the lower 7-digit region) for the 1.94m tall Ireland U21 player it could have been the best solution, as the (vicinity of the) first team is stacked with young talents: besides the experienced quartet of Mari, Holding, Gabriel and Chambers – who used to play RCB before his transition to RB -, we have Saliba, Mavropanos and Ballard on the fringe of first team football (with Rekik and Monluis waiting their turn), so I can accept that Medley and McGuinness pursued their career elsewhere. Good luck to both of them.

• From what I’m hearing there’s no transfer fee for any of Medley, Coyle or McGuinness, but sell on clauses inserted so that we might benefit later down the line.

  I guess that’s just all we can really expect in these WuFlu times…

• From what I’m hearing on line there’s no transfer fee for any of Medley, Coyle or McGuinness, but sell on clauses inserted so that we might benefit later down the line.

  I guess that’s just all we can really expect in these WuFlu times…

• Yes Peter, I also liked Mark and was hopeful that he and Ballard could be 1st team material in the near future.

  Could be that Arteta and Mertesaker are looking for a different profile of centre back?

• We are blessed with great cb options. I think deeper than any other club. At some point we may have to trim a tiny bit more to get our best 3 or 4 enough minutes to be happy. Especially with no Europe,, frustration will set in quicker.How did the season go for Saliba overall? I remember hearing good things.

• How much truth is there in the rumours of Aston Villa interest in Emile Smith Rowe?

  On the surface it would seem completely insane to consider selling one of our brightest prospects, a player who most Arsenal fans consider is as central to our team going forward as Bakayo Saka.
  A young player with enormous potential who has given us glimpses of what he can provide and where he can take us – one of our own.

  But there you are, Villa are chancing their arm and that maybe shows us all how we are viewed these days with the Ownership we have, a club that is viewed perhaps as vulnerable and open to selling its best…

  It’s not a comfortable feeling when a club like Aston Villa, who we as fans mostly view as our inferiors are confident enough to think they can cherry pick our best young talents. It makes you realise maybe how far we have fallen under KSE and how we are very much now a mid table club under the dead hand of Stan and Son.

• Hi J,
  Under the defensive statistic post it would make sense to compare Saliba’s stats with Ben White’s.

  White has played 3200 minutes, Saliba only 1800, but he spent only a half season on loan, as his first half was screwed up big time. The former had no goal contribution, Saliba scored a single goal during his spell.
  Ben is 182 cm (according to WhoScored), William is 192. The Englishman is 23 years old, while the the Frenchman only turned 18 this March.
  White had 2 youth caps, Saliba had 22 (international friendlies as well as competitive games).

  When it comes to defensive contribution, Ben leads in tackles (1.4 vs. 0.8 per 90 minutes) and interceptions too (1.7 vs. 1.3 per game), however he sometimes played RB, DMR and even CM where such skills are utilized more often. His passing accuracy (83.2%) is inferior to Saliba’s 91.3%, but it is a less comparable statistic as it does not take the difficulty/complexity of the pass into consideration. If we consider the clearances per game as the primary CB skill there is a huge gap in favor of Willian: our loanee made 4.0 on an average game, while White performed only 1.4. 2 other defensive stats leaning towards Saliba are the aerial duels won (1.9 vs 1.4 per 90 minutes) and blocks (0.8 vs. 0.6).

  Finally – but possibly most importantly – the average rating of Ben White (as a CB) was 6.59 this season, and for Saliba this rating is 6.66. Which is slightly better unless we factor the Satan’s influence – in which case Ben is more favorable. At the end of the day Saliba seems to be the better choice, as he is younger, taller, had higher average ratings and scored a single goal (and he is a really good passer as it is highlighted on his WS profile page) – however the differences are not that big to imply players of different leagues. If the 2 defenders were priced around the same I would go for William, but he doesn’t seem to worth 30M more. Since currently Saliba “belongs” to Arsenal, while Ben White cost around 50M it’s hard to argue that signing the latter and letting the Frenchman go would be a clear and obvious sign of our clubs are being run by idiots. Let’s hope that the whole White gossip is just exuberant agents operating the rumor mill – as you and Kev correctly pointed out that Arsenal is indeed blessed with great CB options.

• Did Aston Villa make a bid to test the water as reported (£25m)..?

  Did Arsenal themselves encourage Aston Villa to make a bid for ESR to test the water (increased bid of £30m mooted)..?

  Is Smith Rowe actually available and is it all part of the re-build?
  You know, sell Smith Rowe to finance the signing of Maddison?

  Are KSE not providing any loans/funds as reported and Edu has to sell if we want to sign Ben White or Aouar or Neves or Bissouma or whoever?

  Is this the world we inhabit now?

  Arteta must know he needs to act to save his job, a poor start next season and it’s likely that his position will not be secure so he needs to bring in the players he feels we need to compete with the top four/six and not just compete with the likes of Wolves, Leeds and Villa in mid table.

  Do we trust Arteta to do the right business?
  And do we trust Edu?

  I’m not really sure myself but the Smith Rowe news has made me feel uncomfortable.

  The European Super League fiasco showed us that we cannot believe a word that passes the lips of Enos and Josh, they are mendacity personified, so rumours of an injection of funds leaves me seriously unimpressed. Arteta needs to do a lot of business and while this transfer ‘phoney war’ doesn’t bother me too much (it’ll liven up at the end of the month as contracts expire) as we move into July the pressure will ramp up and I worry that mistakes could be made for short term gain.

• Nice comments Peter, the thing I like about Ben White is his versatility and the fact that he can operate equally consistently in the back four or in a back three and even as a full/wing back, but also the fact that he’s just as comfortable as a defensive midfielder ticks all my boxes, an English Van Bommell perhaps and what a great player he was!

  I still believe that Saliba has a future with Arsenal and if the rumours are correct he’s going to be loaned out to another Premier League club next season.

  But then who really knows what Edu has planned?

• Morning all,

  Here are the results of our Round 3 of the Euro competition:-
  “””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
  For the week:-

  1st Total & Eris with 5/9, plus 2 points for a correct score and 1 point for 4 way tie for most correct = 8 points
  2nd Kev & GN5 with 5/9, plus 1 point for 4 way tie for most correct = 6 points –
  also Stuart with 4/9 plus 2 for a correct score = 6 points
  6th PB with 4/9 = 4 points
  ””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””’
  Prediction competition to date:-
  1st Eris with 29
  2nd GN5 with 24
  3rd Kev with 20
  4th Stuart with 19
  5th PB with 17
  6th Total with 15
  ‘”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
  Congratulations to Total for coming joint first with Eris who stretched his lead at the top.

• I’m going to spice up the completion for the last sixteen;-

  HERE ARE THE NEW RULES:-

  ONE POINT FOR A CORRECT PREDICTION = HOME OR AWAY WIN OR LOSS
  TWO POINTS FOR A CORRECT SCORE – IN EVERY GAME PLAYED
  FIVE POINTS FOR MOST CORRECT PREDICTION’S = HOME OR AWAY WIN OR LOSS
  TEN POINTS FOR 100% CORRECT PREDICTIONS = HOME OR AWAY WIN OR LOSS

  It’s just a fun competition and my hope is that these changes will give everybody a shot at coming first overall.

  You comments or thoughts would be appreciated.

• Hi GN5, it does spice up the competition for the elimination stage. Looking forward to it from the underdog’s perspective. 🙂
  May I recommend 1 slight change? (IT could be difficult to implement in excel though.)

  1 point for the correct predictions
  2 points for THE PROPER GOAL DIFFERENCE
  3 points for the correct score
  …

  My reason that currently if team A wins by 5:1 both 1:0 and 4:0 predictions worth a single point, while the latter demonstrates more precision or accuracy in my view to grant an extra point.
  What do you think?

• PB,
  Thank you so much for your thoughts, while your change would be more precise – it would indeed be a tad difficult to implement in Excel.

  Truthfully I’ve already made the necessary changes to my spreadsheet formula’s and with the group games ending tomorrow and the last sixteen games starting on the 26th it does not allow me much time to change my data base so I would prefer not to have to make major changes.

• Sure, GN5, I understand – as would everyone.
  Maybe we can reopen the goal difference topic before the net season prediction tournament. 🙂

• Thank you for your support Pete.

• When are we going to see some more pictures of Baz?

• Follow TA on LinkedIn.
  He recently provided allegories between the first weeks of a puppy and HR consultancy (new colleague induction).
  It was indeed insightful, but the picture of the dog – in fact 2 puppies – stole the show. 🙂

• Yes we could reopen the discussion prior to next season but I would have to get a very clear understanding so that I don’t go down the wrong path with the creation of my spreadsheets.

  Currently my preference has been to keep them as straightforward as possible so that I can report the results in a timely manner and keep accurate data on the season to date results. Also being able to audit my input is essential in order for me to ensure accuracy.

  To be honest it can be time consuming but I’m very happy to continue with competitions as long as they don’t get too complex.

• Thanks Peter, I’m on Linked In myself, I went on it years ago but I’m not sure how to use it really so it’s out there somewhere on the superhighway shelf just gathering dust.

• Kev, I would be hugely surprised if ESR goes. I think Villa are likely to lose Grealish to oil money, and are trying to keep their fans happy by expressing interest in Emile.
  Isn’t it fab to see three dribblers on the pitch for England. Bukayu and Jack are having a great time.

• For a change, Southgate has started players with some flair and it is an improved offensive display by England. The Czechs aren’t doing badly themselves but look a bit short, in comparison.

  The Scots have something to play for in the 2nd round.

• Meant to say…second half*

  Thanks, GN5 and good job, TA, for topping the log for that round of results prediction.

• Arsenal recently offered contracts to five of our young players, Taylor-Hart, Oyegoke, Ogungbo, Ejeheri and Butler-Oyedeji, well Oyegoke has announced that he won’t be taking up Arsenal’s offer so it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up? Either he’s had a nice contract offer from a good club with better opportunities of an early 1st team prospect or he’s realises that he’s not really got a chance of breaking through, whatever the reason good luck to him…

  Brentford like our young players – watch this space?

• Well that’s what I thought initially Stuart regarding Smith Rowe, but if Aston Villa made a bid it would have probably only been because Arsenal encouraged some interest, I mean what about a part exchange deal? Smith Rowe plus £50m for Grealish?

  For me I’d hate to see Emile sold but who knows?

  Just saying btw…

• I don’t know, brothers…
  Aston Villa’s increasing interest for ESR seems counter-intuitive for me, as we expect some loyalty from the youngster who broke into the PL and international stage by the club, and from our perspective it seems like a step back to join Aston Villa. Where minutes wouldn’t come guaranteed with Grealish and Buendia in the line-up. However the same can be told upon our interest towards Maddison; currently we are an inferior team and Leicester could very well expect some loyalty – and 2.5 times the ESR fee in question – for their talisman attacking midfielder.

  What complicates the situation is that if we seriously consider signing a world class AM (like Odegaard, Llorente, Nkunku, de Paul or Coutinho), we don’t know if ESR is expected to be his backup/understudy, or should be fighting for the other attacking – non-striker – options along with Martinelli, Saka, Pepe, Willian, Nelson, (Solomon), etc.
  Nevertheless I don’t see it as a matter of offer. If the club can get Emile to sign a new, long-term contract then the sum from Aston Villa will be irrelevant. However if he is either greedy, or just expect playing guarantees that are difficult to fulfill (especially without playing in Europe), than he could be sold. But even in that case I expect an international transfer (Germany or Spain, possibly a swap deal with Real Madrid) than joining another mid-table PL team.

• Your sentiments are similar to mine, PB. Unless ESR suspects he may not get enough playing time at Arsenal and is waiting to see what we do in the market before he signs up, I don’t have any concerns about our appeal to retain his services.

  Don’t forget his agents may also be doing what agents do when contract renewals are around the corner.

• ESR kind of has his private agent (with only 3 players, and only ESR with any market value). However Jordan Wise can still be a greedy bastard, but let’s hope for the best. (In fact he represents Zech Medley too, who left Arsenal earlier this week, but that might have been the best decision for most parties involved.)

  The Netherlands will meet the Czech Republic in Budapest this Sunday, as predicted. I expect them to prevail, but it could be their most difficult task to date.
  The Arsenal players did not get a favorable draw: Xhaka’s Switzerland will either face Belgium or Group F’s winner (France?) after the Dutch game, while England and Saka will likely meet Germany in the next round on Tuesday.

• Here are the results of the Euro Group Games:-
  ”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””’
  For our final group games:-
  1st GN5 with 4/6 plus a 4 point bonus for most correct predictions = 8 points
  2nd Kev & Stuart with 3/6 plus 2 points for a correct score = 5 points
  4th Eris & Total with 2/6 = 2 points
  6th PB with 1/6 = 1 point
  ””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
  For all of the group games combined:-
  1st GN5 with 32
  2nd Eris with 31
  3rd Kev with 25
  4th Stuart with 24
  5th PB with 18
  6th TA with 17
  “”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
  Now on to the knock out competition, I’ll post the last 16 knock out games shortly.

• Testing

• These are the last 16 knock out games and I’ve also listed the rules that will apply.
  Hopefully the rules will give everybody a fair shot at winning the competition.

  Euro 2020 – Last Sixteen Rules
  Correct Game, Win or Loss = 1 Point
  Correct Game Score = 2 points
  Bonus Most Correct, Win or Loss = 5 Points
  Bonus ALL Correct, Win or Loss = 10 Points

  Every game is a correct score game.
  Most correct bonus does not apply if ALL correct
  bonus is won.
  June 26th Wales v Denmark *
  June 26th Italy v Austria *
  June 27th Netherlands v Czech Republic *
  June 27th Belgium v Portugal *
  June 28th Croatia v Spain *
  June 28th France v Switzerland *
  June 29th England v Germany *
  June 29th Sweden v Ukraine *

• GN5, thanks for the update on the scores. Am enjoying the relegation battle with PB. Great battle between you and Erismus, but keep an eye out for the cabman. 🚖 🚖 🚖

  Just checking re the below: are you looking for scores after 90 minutes or, if there is a draw, final scores (which still could be a draw?)? Do we then indicate who wins after penalties?

  June 26th Wales v Denmark *
  June 26th Italy v Austria *
  June 27th Netherlands v Czech Republic *
  June 27th Belgium v Portugal *
  June 28th Croatia v Spain *
  June 28th France v Switzerland *
  June 29th England v Germany *
  June 29th Sweden v Ukraine *

• Great comments guys. I have been v busy in recent days and this remains the case for a little longer. Hope to issue PBs latest post today, though.

  Emile is surely not going to be sold. Villa are simply showing off with anticipated money for sexy legs Grealish. They can have a Guendouzi or Torreira instead 😋

• GunnerN5 is really getting into his quizmaster mode, nice one GN.

  Hey Total, don’t ignore Stuart, he’s just on the periphery waiting for any slip ups.

  As for the championships themselves, I’m not too happy about 3,000 UEFA officials, sponsors and general hangers-on getting a pass to visit the U.K. and to bypass the regulations, therefore as much as I’d like to see Angleland beat the Holy Roman Empire I’d be equally happy to see us out of it so that UEFA can go elsewhere, maybe Berlin, that would be nice this time of year…

• That should be a great match, Kevinski. Some good games next week.

• I’ve not actually followed this championships that closely this time Total, I’ve mostly seen some highlights or just the goals on You Tube, but all things considered it’s actually been a good competition and a great psychological lift to people across the continent in general I think.

  I think a Belgium vs France final would be amazing and I’d definitely be rooting for Belgie, I guess the way the draw works out will decide the outcome.

• It’s very unpredictable, Kev, and that makes it exciting. The football is quite good too but now the real games begin. You are missing out my friend. 🙂

• Assuming the competition focuses on the end of 90 minute result:

  June 26th Wales v Denmark 1:1
  June 26th Italy v Austria 3:0
  June 27th Netherlands v Czech Republic 2:0
  June 27th Belgium v Portugal 3:2
  June 28th Croatia v Spain 0:2
  June 28th France v Switzerland 3:1
  June 29th England v Germany 1:1
  June 29th Sweden v Ukraine 1:0

  If you need a winner for the full game, GN5, I will complete my predictions.

• Kevin, sorry to disappoint, but Belgium and France are both on the same ‘branch’ of the upcoming games’ tree, so they can meet in the semi-final. There are Italy and Spain (even the defending champion, Portugal) though, trying to have a word on who will be reaching the final.
  On the other branch Netherlands are expected to reach the semi (if they beat the Czech Republic they will face the winner of Wales:Denmark in the quarter final), and whoever wins the England:Germany classico will be the favorite against the whoever qualifies from the Sweden:Ukraine fixture.

• Thank you for your great question Total, here is my response:-

  1. Your score should be after completion of the game including extra time and penalties.
  2. Simply add 1 goal to the team who you predict will win after penalties.

  Thank you for your prompt predictions PB.
  I will use your predictions as an example – you have indicated that two games will end in a draw, you just have to add another goal to the team you think will win after the penalties.

• Just for further clarity your score should include goals scored in extra time – if you think that the game will still end in a draw then add an extra goal to the team who you believe will be the winner.

  Does anybody have other questions, or need need more clarity?

• I’m with you Total, so far the competition and the fans have rejuvenated my love for football. The EPL has become somewhat humdrum and disappointing in comparison.
  Even the referee’s and the VAR decision making has been less controversial.

• I think I understand, GN5.
  So in all cases if I think that
  – after 90 minutes Germany will win by 2:1
  – after 90 minutes ENG:GER will be 1:1 and in the extra time Germany will score
  – after 90 minutes ENG:GER will be 1:1 and without further goals Germany will win the penalty shootout
  … I should predict 1:2

  Am I right?
  There is no need to predict extra time then?

• PB,

  In short you have to predict the final game score regardless if it’s over in 90 minutes, after extra time or after penalties.

  So if you think it’s going to be tied after 90 minutes and still tied after extra time then add an extra goal to the team you think will win the penalty shoot out. The correct score bonus will be applied to the score you choose at game completion.

• Here are my predictions :-

  June 26th Wales v Denmark = 1-2
  June 26th Italy v Austria = 3-0
  June 27th Netherlands v Czech Republic = 3-2
  June 27th Belgium v Portugal = 1-3
  June 28th Croatia v Spain = 1-2
  June 28th France v Switzerland = 3-1
  June 29th England v Germany = 2-1
  June 29th Sweden v Ukraine = 2-0

• Updated!

  June 26th Wales v Denmark 1:2
  June 26th Italy v Austria 3:0
  June 27th Netherlands v Czech Republic 2:0
  June 27th Belgium v Portugal 3:2
  June 28th Croatia v Spain 0:2
  June 28th France v Switzerland 3:1
  June 29th England v Germany 1:2
  June 29th Sweden v Ukraine 1:0

• Thank you for your predictions PB – also for your thoughtful contributions to the rules.

• That’s a shame Peter, I think a Belgium vs France final would have been a humdinger.
  Italy are looking very effective.

• GN5, what about draws and penalties?

• Oops, forget that last comment.
  Up to speed now. 😀

• Thanks GN5.
  June 26th Wales v Denmark = 2-1
  June 26th Italy v Austria = 3-0
  June 27th Netherlands v Czech Republic = 3-2
  June 27th Belgium v Portugal = 2-1
  June 28th Croatia v Spain = 0-2
  June 28th France v Switzerland = 2-0
  June 29th England v Germany = 2-1
  June 29th Sweden v Ukraine = 2-0

  Sorry for Hungary’s demise, PB. They put up some great performances. Kev, I am going for a top four place. It’s a trophy, we all know…

• June 26th Wales v Denmark…. 2-3
  June 26th Italy v Austria………. 3-0
  June 27th Holland v Czech R.. 2-1
  June 27th Belgium v Portugal.. 3-1
  June 28th Croatia v Spain……. 2-1
  June 28th France v Switzerld.. 4-0
  June 29th England v Germany. 2-1
  June 29th Sweden v Ukraine… 2-0

• June 26th Wales v Denmark * 1-2
  June 26th Italy v Austria * 1-0
  June 27th Netherlands v Czech Republic * 3-2
  June 27th Belgium v Portugal * 1-2
  June 28th Croatia v Spain * 2-1
  June 28th France v Switzerland * 2-1
  June 29th England v Germany * 2-0
  June 29th Sweden v Ukraine * 1-2

• https://arsenalyouth.wordpress.com/2021/06/24/arsenals-13-new-scholars-player-by-player-from-richards-to-cozier-duberry/

• Thank you for your predictions guy’s – I’m just waiting for Eris and then we are ready to go.

  You need to get them in today Eris as the first game starts on the 26th at 7:00am in the UK, 12:00pm here in Canada.

• https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/12341803/kieran-tierney-feels-amazing-after-signing-long-term-arsenal-contract-extension

• Hi boys. Enjoyed reading all the comments, as always.

  Wow! GN5, you’re a hard act to follow with your results update; loving how you have everything all down pat ….and great in-swingers from PB too. Well done, for reclaiming top spot. Now, we are entering the business end, may the force be with us all.

  I shall send in my predictions soon enough.

  Been a busy last few days…..

• Here goes….

  June 26th Wales v Denmark 2-1
  June 26th Italy v Austria 2-1
  June 27th Netherlands v Czech R 3-1
  June 27th Belgium v Portugal 1-2
  June 28th Croatia v Spain 1-3
  June 28th France v Switzerland 2-1
  June 29th England v Germany 2-3
  June 29th Sweden v Ukraine 2-1

• Interesting to see pictures of Alex Lacazette back at the training ground already doing some work, it’s as if he is preparing for a big big summer?

  What next for Alex and for Arsenal concerning Alex, I mean do we try to sell him this summer or do we offer him a new deal or do we let him run down his contract?

  With money being so tight everywhere what kind of fee would Arsenal find acceptable if we sell him but if that fee wasn’t matched by incoming bids do we keep him anyway?

  If we keep him do we risk tying ourselves to a long, expensive new contract if there’s no bidders or do we try to move him on in January, alternatively do we take the hit next summer?

• Thank you Eris, now we are all back in the game, this will be an interesting round as there are so many points available.

  Kev, it’s unusual for a player to be back in training so early and like yourself I’m scratching my head to guess why?

  1. Maybe he is just intends to be at peak condition for 2021/22?
  2. Trying to impress Arsenal?
  3. Trying to impress potential suitors?

  Who knows at this point – only time will tell.

• Cedric Soares is in training with him GN5, so maybe a little bit of No.1

  And a little bit of No.2

  Maybe a lot of No.3

  As you rightly say who knows, but it might influence our transfer policy regarding a new striker?

  Peter, it seems as it Oyegoke is going to join Brentford…

• Yeah, GN5. It is going to an interesting round even more so because of the expected surprises. With international football, it is tricky to judge form and strengths sometimes.

  I am not sure it is clever for Laca and Cedric to be back in training so soon. However, they may be thinking about their national team mates in the Euros remaining active and just feel like keeping warm/fit as well..

• Belgium and Portugal have served up a humdinger of a contest. The Portuguese deserved it but Belgium has stolen it, in my view. CR7 is disconsolate as, amongst other things, he misses out on his record.

• I’m actually quite pleased that the Belgians went through Eris even though it was quite an even game.

  There is always something unpleasant about the way Portugal conduct themselves on the pitch, epitomised by the lines of Pepe who is a really nasty piece of work, very talented but too many snides in their team.

• As far as the Dutch are concerned someone mentioned on the radio before their game that the Czechs are a bit of a Jonah to the Nederlanders and so it proved.

  As least Basil can soften the disappointment.

• It would make a change if we had different winners this year, so I’m pinning my hopes on Belgie as I can’t rely on Angleland.

  Mind you the Danes seem to be on an emotional roll so you can’t rule them out and they’re a likeable team.

• Morning all,

  These are the current standings in our competition:-

  Last two days:-
  Kev & PB 3/4 = 3 points
  Eris 1/4 plus correct score = 3 points
  GN5, TA & Stuart 2/4 = 2 points

  Euro 2020 to date:-

  GN5 & Eris 34
  Kev 28
  Stuart 26
  PB 21
  TA 19

  Nobody will win the 10 points bonus for 100% correct game predictions.

  It’s now a four man race for the lead………………………

• I bet nobody predicted Croatia 3-5 Spain

• Hey guys, I am still v busy but hope to issue a new post by PB midweek.

  Loving these Euros. XhakA playing superb tonight.

• I bet nobody predicted a 3-3 AET between France and Switzerland. Captain Xhaka was very influential too.

  Penalty shootout to decide it.

• Huge Swiss hearts. What a game of football. Granit the rock, disciplined, skillful, his finest display. Sign him up…

• After that display Roma can’t really quibble over the transfer fee to Arsenal can they?

  Some refreshingly different names going into the next round, now if England can just…?

• New Post (just a quick one) 💚

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