Three More Players and Arsenal Are Ready to Go | Who Will Score our 80 Goals?

84 thoughts on “Three More Players and Arsenal Are Ready to Go | Who Will Score our 80 Goals?”

• TA, that’s a nice topic to comment on. I would theorize something like this
  1. Forwards – GJ, Eddie, Marti, Saka and ESR (may be on more signing) – combined 60 goals
  2. Midfield – Partey if he plays(or a new signing), Xhaka, Elneny, Sambi, Viera, Odegaard, – 10-15 goals
  3. Defense – 5-10 goals
  That would give us 80 goals

• Great response, Master Madhu. That’s an average of 12 goals for our five attackers. If Eddie and Martinelli can reach this we will have a successful season. A big ask I think but not inconceivable..

• A big shout to Oz Gunner, NJK84, 17HT,Admir, Retsub, and all other former regulars. Come and join in again. The future is bright for red and white!!!! 🤩 🤩 🤩 🤩 🤩

• Other:?? Foloran Balogun perhaps?

  Martinelli should really be looking to improve in that department, I’ll very disappointed if he hasn’t got between 8 and 10 goals in the EPL.

  Gabriel our big central defender should get 4 on his own so Ben White and the rest should be looking at 4 to 6 between them and why not?

  Other:?? Marquinhos…

• I notice that it’s gone very quiet around the Ukrainian guy at Man City, are City working on a replacement and holding onto him until that’s done and are Arsenal still interested? At least you know what you’re getting when you get a player from Man City

• The goals are what’s missing with Martinelli, Kev, but like you I feel that under the wings of Jesus he will come good this season

• I half expect that Balogun and Marquinos will go out on loan but this may be from January so yeah they could contribute too.

• Let’s give Beth Mead a place in the men’s squad. What a performance!

• I think with europe and 5 subs that we’ll need every player we can fit into the squad Total, also we don’t know how the World Cup will affect our returning international players so I reckon we’ll keep all of them, looking into my crystal ball I see plenty of rotation and substitutions in the months ahead.

  Jack Wilshere has been paraded as our new U18 Coach and I couldn’t be more pleased, BFG emphasised that he got the job on merit and that’s how it should be.

• Martinelli does have goals in him and he should be able to chip in with 5 goals this season. Anything short of that and he should be disappointed. 80 goals is a stretch but not impossible. Such a haul will mean a very good season. Saka, ESR and Eddie should get into low double digits while Jesus should get high double digits, close to 20.

  The defence can chip in with about 8 goals (4 from Gabriel alone); midfield including Odegaard should strive for 15 goals. Other: Folarin, Hutchinson or Marquinhos. There!

  Now, to ensure the defence doesn’t concede too many.

• 1. Crystal Palace A 3
  2 Leicester City H 3
  3 Bournemouth A 3
  4 Fulham H 3
  5 Aston Villa H 3
  6 Manchester U A 1
  7 Everton H 3
  8 Brentford A 3
  9 Tottenham H 3
  10 Liverpool H 1

• My predictions for the selections for the first week:

  Crystal Palace v Arsenal * A (1-2)
  Bournemouth v Aston Villa A
  Leeds v Wolverhampton H
  Tottenham v Southampton * H (3-2)
  West Ham v Manchester City * A 1-4)
  Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen H

• First weeks prediction

  Crystal Palace v Arsenal * A (1-3)
  Bournemouth v Aston Villa A
  Leeds v Wolverhampton A
  Tottenham v Southampton * H (3-0)
  West Ham v Manchester City * 0-3
  Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen H

• Crystal Palace v Arsenal…… Draw (2-2)
  Bournemouth v A.Villa……… Draw
  Leeds v Wolverhampton…… Home
  Tottenham v Southampton… Home (4-0)
  West Ham v Man City………. Away (0-2)
  B. Dortmund v Leverkusen.. Home

• We have improved our set-piece play a lot so I would hope that our CBs could get more goals and I would hope for more from Martinelli. Others have mentioned Folarin and I hope he gets his chance this season, even if it’s only as a super-sub.

• 1 Crystal Palace A 3
  2 Leicester City H 3
  3 Bournemouth A 3
  4 Fulham H 3
  5 Aston Villa H 3
  6 Manchester U A 1
  7 Everton H 3
  8 Brentford A 3
  9 Tottenham H 1
  10 Liverpool H 0

• Crystal Palace v Arsenal * A (1-2)
  Bournemouth v Aston Villa D
  Leeds v Wolverhampton A
  Tottenham v Southampton * H (3-1)
  West Ham v Manchester City * A 1-2)
  Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen H

• I think Martinelli definitely will have more than 4, guessing 8-10. Also believe EN14 and Jesus to reach a combined 30. And maybe we could add a couple of own goals to the counting. Was Sp**s third best scorer from last season with 10…..

  Would still welcome another goalscoring winger/striker though

• Squad for the USA TOUR
  Aaron Ramsdale, Bernd Leno, Matt Turner, Arthur Okonkwo, Alex Runarsson

  Defenders: Kieran Tierney, Nuno Tavares, Gabriel, Pablo Mari, Ben White, Rob Holding, William Saliba, Hector Bellerin, Cedric Soares, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Reuell Walters

  Midfielders: Mohamed Elneny, Lucas Torreira, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson

  Forwards: Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Jesus, Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka, Folarin Balogun, Marquinhos

• Interesting to see that Arteta is taking all the squad members routinely rumoured to be up for sale!

  Maybe Arsenal are sending a message to those clubs that are flirting with a bid but are obviously looking for a bargain that they’ll not get a freebie this year?

• Surprised me too to see that number. I agree, Kev; it’s got to be a message of some sort. Previously, you get a hint about departing players when you see those left at home. Still, that’s a large squad of players to go on a tour. Hopefully, it serves the purpose.

• As long as we can fit them all into our 25 man squad then for me they stay Eris, especially if there’s no realistic bids for any of them. They’ll just have to man up for a year and be professional and then if they still want to they can leave on a Bosman, who knows, they might even realise how lucky they are to be at a great club like Arsenal and start to play?

• Bringing 5 goalkeepers seems a bit overkill especially compared to 11 defenders, but I’m sure it will be a useful experience for even those players who won’t get much minutes on the tour.

• You could argue we’re missing some of the up and comings in that squad? Patino? Azeez?
  Instead of the 5 GKs?

• Good point, HCM.
  On the number of keepers, wasn’t Leno a target for Fulham with the deal almost done? Runarsson is certainly going out on loan. The tour will be a good experience for him.

• Maybe Fulham are low-balling us on Leno and this is Arteta saying pay the going rate or jog on?

  I see that Torriera’s agent is gobbing off again, this time about agreeing terms with Valencia, that’s great for him and Lucas but are Valencia prepared to pay a fair transfer fee?

  If not then he stays in my opinion and if we have the room.

  Seems as if we’re going to be doing some late business on the selling front?

• Agree with Eris. I expect quite a bit more in end product from Martinelli this season. His overall play was great, tracking back, tackling, being a nuisance and threat…. that’s why he starts ahead of ESR who can’t finish 90 (ever) or play both ends as well….
  Still Marti needs to step up the scoring. I think the Jesus threat will open things up for him, Saka, Vieira..even Eddie. It will be a group effort and constant threats for opponents.

  I’m really excited about this Paqueta possibility as box to box for us. What a difference that would make. We’d be a real Man City type attack with rotation and quality.

• When J is positive it rubs off on you!

  5 goalies means plenty of shooting practice in the U S of A. 🙂

• In the Netherlands emptying my dad’s appartement. Some job!

• All the best with that melancholy task, Total.

  A bit off topic, I know, but I have just read Nicklas Bendtner’s biography, “Both sides”. The lad has his regrets and seems to have earned his reputation as a wide boy. However he speaks well of Arsene and also Mikel. Here is what he says of Arteta…
  ” What he lacks in terms of stature, he makes up for with his piercing almost scowling gaze and an iron will almost unlike anything I’ve encountered before- making him near impossible to get around. Like Wenger, Arteta is a true club man right down to the soles of his feet. He wants to do everything to carry his team forward, and you can see it off the pitch too. Even though he is deeply serious and professional, he doesn’t create a bad atmosphere or give anyone a bad conscience just because their heads are screwed on differently. No way. He’s helpful, a leader by nature and you can tell he’s headed straight into coaching as soon as his body gives up the ghost. I don’t think I’ve ever meet a team mate with greater managerial potential than Arteta.”

• “But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, still, alone, more fragile, but with more vitality, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us, waiting and hoping for their moment, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unfaltering, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.”
  Don’t throw too many things away, TA – if you can, of course .
  A few months from now, the tiniest object will bring back a tidal wave of memories, and tears of joy along with them.
  (Arsenal stuff): I like your idea of “9-and-a-half Emil” a lot!

• Great quote on Arteta by NB. Organisations based vision and strong values go furthest, but they exactly need the sort of leader Bendtner is describing. Love to hear more, Stu.

• Powerful stuff, Legall. Who wrote that? We kept quite a bit and I think you are right. The memories don’t need objects perse but they help and my dad had some lovely things. Getting them to Scotland is another challenge.

  We need to get Emile into the team properly somehow. He is Class.

• That sounds like Proust? Whoever it is, it has a beauty to it. Thanks Le Gall.

  Total, would you have a word with your namesake and compatriot, Frankie DeJong about joining the “project”?

• He would be brilliant, Stu. Such a control of ball and space, almost balletic. But he needs to make it at Barca, I think.

  Of course it would be great to see him come and play ArteBall. I would certainly tell him that he would flourish here and that no club is working on a more exciting project right now, that he would be the fulcrum of the team and would play the totalest of total football at the home of football.

• Proust indeed, Stu:
  
  Scott Moncrieff’s awesome translation – a masterpiece in itself
  I fear ten Hag will indeed lure FdJ (as well as de Ligt, maybe?) to OT; … ten Hag’s Utd is such stuff as some of my nightmares are made on

• Chris Wheatley
  @ChrisWheatley_

  Omari Hutchinson set to join Chelsea from Arsenal, as first reported by
  @TheSecretScout_
  .
  The 18-year-old was speaking with the Gunners over a new deal but talks had broken down. #AFC

  (It can only be about money)

• Kev, I usually hate it when I get the feeling not everything’s been done to hold on to one of our Hale End wonderkids
  Not sure this is only about money, though, the lad is a left-footed RW, he and his advisors may have thought that, with 20-y-o Bukayo ahead of him, Arsenal wasn’t the right place to stay.
  As for the club, with Cozier-Duberry – who could soon turn into yet another outstanding left-footed RW – only a year younger than Omari, they must have thought they were in a position not to bow to the kid’s agent’s demands.
  What I don’t really get right now is the 19-y-o Marquinhos deal – but I don’t really know him, he might prove to be a truly exceptional talent – I, for one, hope so anyway.
  So, good luck to Hutchinson, he’ll need that if you think what’s happened so far to such a talent as Hudson-Odoi in West London

• Hi Stuart, I hope you are enjoying your sabbatical – it was good to see that total and yourself were able to spend time together. If you would like to join in our two competitions from the start this year you still have time before the season starts.

• Hi Le Gall, if it’s not about lucre then I’m baffled as to what else it could be, unless Omari wants to learn Latin, I mean which club is likely to give him more minutes on the pitch?

  Chelsea will most certainly offer him more dough, it’s what they do, c’est la vie…

• Arsenal have made drastic changes to their recruitment policy over the last 18-plus months. Technical director Edu has shifted tactics and decided to pursue younger players to blend with world-class talent already at the club and in future acquisitions.

  The impact has been drastic and the departures of players such as Willian and David Luiz has seen Arsenal improve overall and join a race for the top-four this season, despite expectations of just a top-six battle.

  Both Luiz and Willian were clients of agent Kia Joorabchian when joining Arsenal, as is currently out of favour right-back Cedric Soares. Willian in particular failed to make an impact at the club despite earning a significant high wage compared to better performing teammates.

  The three signings were criticised by many Arsenal supporters and external pundits such as Jamie Carragher. In fact, the pair were caught in a public feud over Arsenal’s dealings regarding Joorabchian’s clients.

  Willian and Luiz have now both gone and Edu has succeeded in bringing in younger options not represented by Joorabchian.

  Cedric too is surplus to requirements and few would be averse to seeing the club move the full-back on in the coming window, therefore, removing all involvement of Joorabchain from the senior squad.

  However, the problem regarding this proposal to remove the agent’s association is made difficult when the fact that one of the Gunners’ most exciting youngsters Omari Hutchinson is represented by Joorabchian through Sports Invest UK Ltd.

  (From Nov 2021)

• Cheers Kev, how wrong they were a out Soares who has been a great stand in last season.

• Ok T A. Will come out of retirement once again. Quite excited about Jesus and Vieira. If ever two names could turn a team around this is it. Hopefully we will stop trying to put square pegs in round holes, which always seem to catch us out.

• Nice one, Retsub. Agreed re holes and shapes. 🙂

  Like you I cannot wait to see those two play.

• https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jul/16/arsenal-reach-verbal-agreement-to-sign-oleksandr-zinchenko-manchester-city

  This is a great deal, if it works out. Martinez was signed for far too much by the Mancs. He is good but not that good.. Zinchenko fills two positions for much less.

• Retsub, If you scroll back to the start of this post you will see that we run two competition’s – they are just for fun.
  Last season Eris won both competitions – so he is the target!! Just post your choices if you wish to join, it rules are pretty straight forward but if you need clarity just let me know.

• I share Le Gall’s view completely.
  We don’t know anything about the money. A player at 18 years of age is making about 2-3k per week at most. And that’s the top, they usually make this dough in a month. Let’s say for the sake of discussion that Omari was offered 10k per week by Chelsea – for comparison: Broja (20) makes 6.5k, Ampadou (21) 7.5k, Chalobah (23) 12-20k. I seriously doubt that Arsenal wouldn’t be able or willing to match that, even if Chelsea added 150k as a sign-on bonus.

  I don’t belong to Hutchinson’s entourage either, so I cannot guarantee that he decided to move solely because of Marquinhos’ signing and the related lack of first team chances; but this explanation is a lot more plausible than him having a Chelsea heart or Jorobachian getting his revenge; and the money rumor sounds like a bias to reduce cognitive dissonance.

• Kev, you asked: ‘I mean which club is likely to give him more minutes on the pitch?’
  Probably any.

  While we are in the middle of the transfer window, and those might not be the squads starting the campaign, Chelsea has promoted no less than 5 players (20-21y) from its academy: Anjorin, Broja, Gilmour, Ampadu & Gallagher. Arsenal promoted none, unless you count Saliba who went on loan after playing a few games for the U23. So while there is no chance this year that he will be playing a single minute for the first team, that’s identical to the minutes he would have been playing for Arsenal, being the 5th choice RW behind Saka, Pepe (or his successor if sold and replaced), Nelson and Maquinhos, and the 4th choice AM behind Odegaard, ESR and Vieira (while Lucas Paqueta might be on his way here), and he shares this position with Marcelo Flores. So this year is gone, but at least he has the chance to join Chelsea’s first team in 1 or 2 years challenging Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi for the RW position or Mount, Havertz and Ziyech for attacking midfield.

• Thanks GN5. I will try and keep up. Sabbatical was going well until the Irish toppled the All Blacks…

  1 Crystal Palace A 3
  2 Leicester City H 3
  3 Bournemouth A 3
  4 Fulham H 3
  5 Aston Villa H 3
  6 Manchester U A 1
  7 Everton H 3
  8 Brentford A 3
  9 Tottenham H 3
  10 Liverpool H 3

  Crystal Palace v Arsenal * A (0-2)
  Bournemouth v Aston Villa D
  Leeds v Wolverhampton D
  Tottenham v Southampton * H (3-0)
  West Ham v Manchester City * A 0-2)
  Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen H

• starting lineup:
  turner
  soares-saliba-gabriel-tavares
  partey-xhaka
  saka-odegaard-martinelli
  jesus

  bench
  okonkwo
  bellerin-holding (walters)-mari-mniles
  torreira-elneny
  pépé (nelson)-lokonga-nelson (balogun)
  nketiah (balogun)

  not involved:
  ramsdale/leno/tomiyasu/tierney/white/marquinhos/vieira/smithrowe (wish marquinhos/vieira had been)

  COYG

• Leno, Ramsdale and Vieira, we can understand; are White, Tierney and Tomiyasu having fitness issues?

  Still, a strong starting line up. COYG!

• Arsenal started well, camped in Everton’s end.

• Saliba playing quite well, Everton conceding a lot of fouls, possible push on Jesus in the box, not given.

  Jesus shot and save, another Arsenal corner, great corner, header by Xhaka hits post. (16mins)

• Everton quite like a late tackle, we need to be careful, drinks break, Tavares is doing ok, I am really liking Jesus, another lunge by that thug Doucoure this time on Martinelli, Soares Is playing well, close again from Saka Cross, Jesus scores from corner, blasts it in from far post. (33mins)

• Saka 2-0 (35mins) created by the son of God and finished at the far post

• Arsenal are playing very much – a la Man City – in the Everton half, pressing them back into their final third, I know it’s early pre-season but Everton look a bang average team.

  A bit of a late flurry by the Toffees, Saliba and Partey deal with it, almost a red card foul by Godfrey on Jesus, Godfrey the man who stamped on Tomiyasu’s face last season, he gets a fortunate yellow.

  Everton at this rate will be fighting relegation. (H/T)

• Jesus is limping, but it’s nothing to worry about just a sore calf

• A few half time changes, Turner makes good save after some sloppy play, Eddie for Jesus, Pepe for Saka, Holding for Tavares, Bellerin for Soares, we seem to be playing three at the back, Elneny for Odegaard, Niles for Partey.

• Arsenal looking a lot less secure at the back and in midfield and are having to do a lot of defending. (56mins)

• 6 changes – back to 3-4-3
  turner
  saliba-holding-gabriel
  bellerin-mniles-elneny-xhaka
  pépé-nketiah-martinelli
  let’s hope turner’s save at the beginning of the half will boost his confidence …

• Everton have made a lot of changes as well and have replaced the grid iron types for more technical players, Jesus goes off and it’s last seasons attack! (63mins)

• Gabriel is a great player, we’d be crazy to even think about selling him, Juve can sod right off, drinks break, ah Tarkowski is playing for Everton I forgot about him.

  Walters on for Gabriel, Mari on for Saliba, Lokonga on for Xhaka, Balogun on for Martinelli. (70mins)

• 4-2-3-1 for the last 20 minutes
  turner
  bellerin-holding-mari-walters
  mniles-elneny
  pépé-lokonga-nelson
  nketiah

• Changes have seen us go back to a back four, Walters is at left back, the game seems more even now, Eddie almost in on a short back pass, nice turn and shot by Eddie, foul on Eddie and yellow card, Mari pushed in box from Elneny free kick, clear pen, not given. Walters looks at home. (80mins)

• Nelson for Martinelli then not Balogun, my stream is a bit fuzzy.

• Nice calm play out from the back, the lads seem more settled now, I do like Walters, proving that if you’re good enough Arteta will pick you even if you’re 17 years old… (86mins)

• Mari gets yellow for a foul on Iwobi, nice shot by Pepe after good work by Eddie, picture has frozen 🙄

• Missed the 3 minutes of added time after the 90 but another positive result, a clean sheet for Turner, around 20/21 players got some minutes, a good run out, looking forward to seeing Marquinhos again and Pablo Vieira in the next game.

• when jesus’s off duty, we look a bit like the doors without morrison, but job well done anyway, and yes kev walters’s very impressive
  I even know where I’d like to celebrate the win in Baltimore (no such place in real-life though, unfortunately):
  
  bring on chelsea

• Thanks for the commentary on the game, Kev (and Le Gall). Couldn’t stay up to watch.

  Hapy for another win.

• Yes thanks for details about the game.

  Can’t wait for real games. One CM signing more and this will be the best transfer window I’ve seen. All done without the benefit of champions league football to offer. Masterful job by Edu and Arteta.

• Peter, Chelsea brought through a few young players when Frank Lampard was at the Bridge and they had a transfer ban and now Roman isn’t around to write off £100/£150m in debt every season it’s possible they’ll be forced to turn to their academy players again and not before time, but will they be as competitive as they were under the money laundering mob, that’s the question?

  Hutchinson held a first team numbered shirt (7) in his PR pictures so maybe Chelsea really do see him as a part of their senior squad which to me points towards a more cost effective team building policy, then again the shirt number could have equally been a ploy to sweet talk Hutchinson into their clutches?

• Wow, I didn’t expect to see indepth game comments whilst checking in this morning!!! Brilliant stuff lads.

  First half team was close to our strongest it seems; and that was a joy to watch judging the comments.

• Cannot wait to watch the highlights or more if available.

• PB, JYNC,LE GALL – you are all welcome to join in our prediction contests – the more the merrier.

  Thank you for your predictions Stuart, they have been recorded.

• Thanks Kev. What was your impression of Saliba?

• My pleasure Stuart, I’ll be honest I haven’t actually watched any of the games Saliba has played whilst out on loan at St Etienne or Marseille and I also never got caught up in all the media/on-line hype about him and Arsenal or the so-called issues he had with Arteta therefore I watched him with an open mind.

  He didn’t make any notable mistakes, he was strong and composed on the ball, his passing was good and he has pace, he’s also quite tall (and he owes me a fiver). I thought he dovetailed nicely with Gabriel but didn’t look as good in a back three alongside Holding, to be fair to Holding he also looked better in a back four. Those who are in the Saliba camp will say he is better than Ben White but I don’t agree, Arsenal need four top quality centre backs to compete for the top honours because you have to rest and rotate, we now have three in White, Saliba and Gabriel who compliment each other, Saliba’s contract has to be worked out before I fully commit to him and selling Gabriel is an absolute anathema to me.

  I love Rob Holding, he’s a proper footballer but I fear that as a squad our level is becoming problematic for him and moving above what he can deal with and I also hate to see so-called Arsenal fans take the piss and criticise him because he isn’t Bobby Moore, he doesn’t deserve that. So I guess what I’m saying is we need one more top quality centre back and that could be Reuell Walters.

• Kev I’m also waiting to see if Saliba will commit. Seems a bit full of himself from all I’ve gathered.

  On the midfielder we all want.. I’m afraid we’re going to let it go down until late in the window, to maximize the quality that we can land. We did it with Ødegaard last season.

  Since we’ve done great work in the window already, I can’t fault Edu for his strategy at all. We just have to be patient.

• Thanks Kev. I only managed the highlights of the Everton game, so didn’t see too much of Saliba’s contribution. I too, appreciate big Rob, and agree that letting Gabriel go would be oh so wrong. I guess it will be all down to the players wishes and length of his present contract.
  Omari to Chelsea reminds me of when we sold Andy Cole to Newcastle. He had so much promise (which he fulfilled for Newcastle, Man U and England) and yet Ian Wright was in front of him and Kevin Campbell was coming through. It is a tough but honourable thing for a club to let a young player go to build a career elsewhere. Arsene too, demonstrated his father heart with players in this fashion.

• Good thoughts, Kev.

  Re Saliba, I agree with his pace and eye for the pass- And his physique is also impressive: he is not only 192 cm tall – being an asset in both boxes – but his stamina is also great, as he played 4600 minutes last season (compare it with White’s 3200 and Gabriel’s 3300). His lack of goal contribution surprises me though, while Gabriel scored 5, Mari 2 (in 1600 min), Holding 1 (in 1200) – Mavropanos 6 in 2900 – him and White failed to score or assist. I’m not saying it as a liability, just strange.

  Re Holding: I love the guy, too. I have never met him, but based on interviews and small clips he is probably the most amicable player of the squad. His performance is fluctuating as he is capable of both masterclass and disaster-class. And I really appreciate him not being impatient as he seem to be fine with being a team player, despite being capped at youth level.

  Re defense: I also agree that the back 3/5 doesn’t really seem to suit Arsenal. It is a really early stage though with minimal feedback, but I would also opt for a back 4, that seem to work better for most players at the moment. But even so it will be difficult to purchase a 4th top level CB without first level guarantees. So he should indeed come from the squad (Holding, Mari) or the academy. I don’t know how tall is Walters, but he seems too fragile to me for a center back. But he is only 17, so it may change, however I consider him – at the moment – a candidate for the RB role.

• It’s only pre-season, etc. … but Saliba was faultless against Everton.
  I watched him every time I could last season, he had impressive moments in Ligue 1 but two-third of Ligue 1 teams wouldn’t survive in the Championship, so …
  Marseille’s most important game last season was their Conference League semi-final against Feyenoord
  The first leg in Rotterdam was one of the most pleasant games I saw in 2022; in the first leg, in a fabulous atmosphere, Feyenoord were flying and scored 3, Bill wasn’t exactly at fault but on the first goal in particular I couldn’t help thinking about what The Kos – my kind of defender – would have done in the same situation, it’s an understatement to say that in the danger zones Bill has paled considerably in comparison with Lolo so far.
  Last summer he was part of France’s nightmare run in the League of Nations, and against that Danish guy who scored two in Paris – forgot his name, sorry about that – he looked like a kid bullied by his big brother in their parents’ backyard
  So, a work in progress if ever there was one but I found what he did in Baltimore comforting
  As for Rob, I must be his second biggest fan after you, Kev – and he certainly can thrive in a back-3, remember this?
  
  Back to Feyenoord- Marseille: there were 3 gooners on the pitch (Bill, Matteo, Reiss) – Reiss was, by far, the most impressive, he wreaked havoc on the right wing in Rotterdam, and worked his socks off in Marseille as a RWB – a position where I secretly hope MA will give him at least one chance, with a … back-3 (White-Rob-Gabriel??) propping him up

• Good comments fellas, maybe the goalscoring issue is something Saliba can improve on at Arsenal with different coaching?

  Yes Andy Cole was just at Arsenal at the wrong time and George Graham was really fair with him by allowing him to join Newcastle.

  LG, maybe the issues with our back three vs Everton came from the midfield where we missed Partey (a bit of a worry) and up top where the pressing fell away with the withdrawal of Jesus?
  Didn’t Bill play mostly in a back three at the Velodrome?

• Indeed great comments and dialogue!!

  New Post New Post 🙂

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