Eight Arsenal related Questions

50 thoughts on “Eight Arsenal related Questions”

• Off the top of my head, Total…
  1, Myles. He has been given the opportunities, just as Bukuyu was at left back, a position not naturally his own and has thrived. He’s brave, quick, tenacious and is rewarded with the England call up.
  2. In the present squad; Kai at 9 and Martin at 10.
  3. Tricky. Isak probably. Peak age, pace, form, character.
  4. Packed penalty boxes! That low block so oft employed against us makes space so hard to find.
  5. North London forever. It was written by a Gooner, is anchored in North London, is hymn like in its cadences, carries emotions of longing, belonging and spiritual yearning, it is our “YNWA”.
  6. We do have the take off of Bowies “Starman”; “He’s a starboy running down the wing, His name’s Bukuyu Saka and he’s f…….. amazing”. We could resurrect the Charlie George song, “Bukuyu Saka, Superstar, how many goals have you scored so far”?
  7. This season, second. Next season: champions.
  8. If Bukuyu’s rehab goes well, we will win it.

• Trust Total to come up with something to engage us during the Inter-lull. Without prejudice, let me give it a shot:

  1. The most improved Arsenal player this season would be Myles Lewis-Skelly. All eyes were on Nwaneri to get a foothold in the 1st team but, thanks to injuries, MLS has taken his chance, kept some internationals on the bench and has even been called up for the senior national team. Impressive.

  2. Striker would be Gabby Jesus. Odegaard as 10.
  3. Marcus Thuram. He is strong, has explosive pace and knows the way to goal.
  4. Our midfield super trio of Odegaard, Partey and more goals and assists: I posit it is tactical as we have a disposition to defend first. To change going forward? Have a No. 6 who will cover every inch in front of the back 5 while our No. 8 & No. 10 be allowed to take risks arriving the opponents’ box to improve the numbers when we attack. Much the same way we played against PSV first leg.
  5. Favourite Arsenal song? North London, Forever! Even the Trossard again, Ole ole chant sounds good to the ears.
  6. A most curious thing, that. Saka should have a special song, now ESR has left, rendering the joint rendition void. suggestions? Maybe Bukayo Saka, Baby; Bukayo Saka ooooh ooh oh. To the tune of “Don’t you want me baby” (human league).

  7. 2nd (but it’s not over, is it?).

  8. In the CL? Runner-up.

• Good stuff, Stu.

  Miles is a very good shout; who’d seen that one coming?

  Packed defences and low blocks have been around for a while, but this seaso the more attack minded midfielders just seem to struggle more with this. Martin especially is struggling, not daring to shoot and needing an extra touch too often. He also looks so pale most of the time; he just doesn’t seem himself. Declan is getting better and better now, and hopefully the same goes for Martin.

  I like the song but you may need to work on the Saka-lyrics. 🙂

• 1. I don’t think there is one. I rule Ethan and Myles out of the possible answers. What they’ve done is just … be themselves, and I keep thinking Myles would be better still in his natural midfield position.
  2. Tricky … because I wish MA had a “Plan B“ 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2 setup. Assuming he’ll stick to his 4-2-3-1 ’til kingdom come, I’d say:
  Saka-Merino-Nwaneri
  Havertz
  3. First, let’s be honest: letting all of Balogun-Biereth-Hutchinson-Nelson-Nketiah-ObiMartin-SmithRowe slip away, in 12 months time or so, doesn’t make us the sharpest knives in the professional football drawer, does it?
  Now … as all of you I’ve read things about Nico Williams, and as all of you football lovers some of his performances have left me in awe. However (to be accentuated, Bill Burr style): he’s been a 5-goal-per-season-only-player so far, in La Liga. Does that bode well for what he could bring us, in the PL and the CL? I don’t think so, and his price tag is very likely to go through the roof (£70m at least). For roughly the same fee, we could get Gyokeres, but I don’t think – and I tend to agree with that – Mikel will go for such a profile, ie a player who does pile up goals, but is also a kind of black hole, since no move of the team can escape his gravity, so that it would put an end to what has been our main strength lately – the dispersion of goals through the whole forward line.
  So what? No one? Well, each season, there’s always a team I try to follow through, because of the sheer quality of the football they play. This season I think there’s been no match for Barcelona so far, which means I’ve watched quite a few of their games. Ferran Torres is the one player whom I find to keep improving constantly, a goalscorer who is also an all-round forward, technically brilliant, tactically acute, a kind of perfect football player to me – and he’s rumored to be valued somewhere between £20m and £30m “only“.
  4. Well, this hasn’t been our skipper’s season, has it? As for Tom, this has never been his main asset … Rice looks like he’s put on his scoring boots lately, and it’s obvious there’s more in him, so why wouldn’t he turn this late output into a downright spree?
  Now, the injuries have highlighted our problem with predictability, lack of invention when faced with a low block – I keep thinking we should’ve tried to rely on counterattacks more (see answer to 2.) …
  5. I’ll stick to Saliba-“Tequila“. Bill could do with it being sung over and over again, btw, this hasn’t been his best season either … To an Arsenal fan, his performance with France last night was so poor it just beggared belief.
  6.
  the LB falls back on his ass
  the keeper watches the ball fly past
  we want you, Bukayo
  we want you, so bad
  7. “Made it ma! Top of the world“
  8. “Made it ma! Top of the world”

• Cheers Eris, good stuff too.

  I dont know Marcus Thuram but you are selling him well. I agree with you on Miles and I think that Timber has also been a great addition to the first team this season.

  Good point on the tactics. Even though Partey has been exceptional this season, I think you are right with the view that Odegaard and especially Rice sit often too deep. I wonder whether Rice will take on Partey’s role next season and Merino/Zubemendi and Odegaard/Zubemendi will be the more attack-minded midfielders? I have not seen enough of Zubemendi to know what sort of midfielder he is; he could also be the planned replacement for Partey…

  I like the song for Saka.

• I like Ferran Torres, LeGall. If he will go for the sums you put up, I’d take him, in addition to Marcus Thuram.

• No.1
  Lewis Skelly is a great shout but I was trying to think of someone whose had a season or more with us and has stepped up this season from last and it’s difficult, as this season I believe has seen a slight drop in our levels from last season.
  Raya springs to mind as I think that he’s improved but for me it’s Big Gabriel, who to me has outshone Big Bill and that’s not easy to do.
  He’s added to his threat at corners and defensively he’s matured and is a true leader in the team.

• No.2
  Hopefully we’ll have more options next season, but as it stands it has to be Kai Havertz up top and Martin Odegaard in the 10.

  No.3
  Players rather than player Total…
  But if it’s to be one player then it has to be Benjamin Sesko for me.
  I’ve liked him ever since I first saw him and I’ve seen no reason to change my view.
  He brings a dynamism to any team, an energy and a controlled aggression, good in the air, hard working, has a blistering shot and he’s young so the ceiling is high. I believe that Arteta can coach him to become our version of Haarland, different but similar.

• No.4
  As mentioned above, our midfield and maybe the coaching staff are struggling to find an effective way to circumvent the low block/mid block that our opponents are using with regularity. I’m not sure it’s just on our midfield alone as it seems to be a personnel issue in both midfield and attack. Partey has never been a great goal scorer more a scorer of great goals, Odegaard has just had an average season, Rice has been like Red Adair, trying to cover for everyone else and he can’t, Merino had an unfortunate start to his Arsenal career and isn’t yet a fixture in the team more a Jack of all trades and that’s it isn’t it?

• No.5 & No.6

  No.6 first, I have no idea why Bakayo doesn’t have his own song yet, it’s odd as he’s our star player, but songs are organic, you can’t force them on the fans, they have a life of their own. I mean if Raheem Stirling actually scored an important match-winning goal he’d end up with a song!
  Like the Kai Havertz song they sometimes emerge from the wish to take the piss out of a rival.

  No.5
  The Big Gabby song, ‘he’ll give you hell, the King of Brazil, the wall at the back is Gabriel’ I love that song.

  North London Forever is great as well, but it’s the King of Brazil for me.

• No.7
  Runners Up but a lot closer to Luckypool than we currently are.

  No.8
  My head says we’re not going any further than Madrid.

  But my heart says we’re on our way to Munchen. And if my heart prevails then who knows???

• “May your heart live forever”, Kevski.

  Love your song, Eris. How about…

  And you can tell everybody
  This is your song
  It may be quite simple, but
  Now that it’s done
  I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind
  These words that I sing
  How wonderful our Arsenal is
  When Bukuyu’s on the wing.

• Great stuff guys.

  I think you are right,Kev, Raya has improved this season.

• Nice Song, Legall.

  Agreed on the too large number of attacking players having been allowed to leave. It bit us in the Arse this season.

• This is superb, Stu

  And you can tell everybody
  This is your song
  It may be quite simple, but
  Now that it’s done
  I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind
  These words that I sing
  How wonderful our Arsenal is
  When Bukuyu’s on the wing.

• Miles and Mikel score for their countries….who said we need a CF at Arsenal?!

• 1. That is a matter of comparison methodology, but I would go with Jurrien Timber. After a season to forget last year he not only cemented himself as the first choice right back, but at the time of injury crisis he was the left back who never failed to impress. (He missed 3 PL g ames this season, we won only one of them – the home game against the very bottom team.)

  2. I am with my brother Eris and/thus Gabby Jesus with this.

  3. Based on the phrasing of the question I would assue the single attacking signing scenario (so no LW + ST + RW), and I would also disregard the astronomical price/salary options like Mbappé, Haaland, Wirtz, etc.) That leaves us with players who already play in top teams and thus unlikely to join (Alvarez, Barcola, Raphinha, , Gakpo, Marmoush) and players that are in the process of outgrowing their current team. So if I can’t go for Alvarez my choice is Joao Pedro from Brighton.
  And I absolutely agree with LG’s view on Nico.

  4. My answer will not shock anybody here: I suspect the reason behind the reduced midfield goals is sub-optimal managerial decisions (bad coaching if you prefer), as well as some individual bad luck. It is the ever increasing discipline, that led to the preference of limiting counterattacks on the expense of our own attacing performace. Or to put it more (football) scientifically: if they can reduce xGA (expected goal against), then it becomes higher priority than to increase xG (expected goals scored).

  …

  7. #2 It was over in December, Eris.

  8. I think all remaining games are 50% (Real Madrid, PSG, Barcelona), so we have 12,5% to win the CL. Unless it gets Bayern Münich, as there is no chance to beat them at Allianz Arena – and there should be a rule against plaing a cup final in the stadium of one of the qualified club.

• Nice one, PB.

  Agreed on Timber. You are a big fan of Alvarez, I see. Interesting choice.

  I get the point of tactics but Rice and Odegaard do get the chances but just don’t seem to be able to convert them this season. Nothing Arteta can do about.

• PB and Kev, both of your calls for the question No. 1 seem good to consider, for sure. Raya did improve over last season; Timber qualifies having not played a part the previous season.. Monster of a full back (wonder why he wasn’t featured for the Netherlands in their last game vs Spain).

• Happy for the Arsenal ladies giving Liverpool a right trouncing, after losing to them in the W FA Cup, just days ago. Way to go, girls!

  Hopefully, it was a dress rehearsal for their UEFA Women’s CL Q/final return leg against Real Madrid ladies. It has to be Attack! Attack!! for the second leg on Wednesday. Rooting for them to win the tie.

• See ya’all at the World Cup finals, boys. Yeeha!

• Well, I’m not commenting here because I am (only) an Arsenal fan, but also – and mainly – because I am a Bergkamp fan. And – besides his not irrelevant ball controlling / technical skills and tendency to chip and lob – I hugely admire him for his versatility for being efficient as the lone forward (in Ajax) he was at his peak as a secondary striker being unpredictable whether he dribbled, shot or provided a key pass to his striker partner like Wright, Anelka and Henry in Arsenal and van Basten or Kluivert in the Dutch national team.

  So for the question #3 I was drawn to find someone with similar qualities who could thrive as the secondary striker but could also take on the task of spearheading the attack. If age wasn’t an issue I could go for Totti, prime Müller and peak Griezmann (or even Dennis himself), but nowadays the secondary striker role is less popular. Nevertheless I would definitely go for such a player from the limited contemporary supply.

  I exclude Cunha as he got a new deal from Wolves who are increasingly less likely to get relegated, and Marmoush who would be so much better utilized in London than in Machester, but that is crying over spilt milk.

  Julián Alvarez: besides excelling behind Haaland in his stint at Manchester City his technical ability in tight spaces and versatility between playing as a lead striker or support forward definitely echoes Bergkamp. Like the Dutch master, Alvarez has the unique combination of playmaking vision and finishing ability (which Odegaard also has in his best days). With Messi expected to retire from international football after the ’26 WC and Lautaro Martinez being the epitome of inconsistency I think Julián is the long term solution for Argentina. Unfortunately he worth around 100M and he feels appreciated at Madrid, so a move to Emirates is not really on the table.

  Joao Pedro is a young talent with excellent dribbling skills, close control, and a keen eye for goal. His technical prowess allows him to take on defenders and create chances. He can play as a forward, secondary striker, or attacking midfielder – just like Dennis in his twilight years – providing flexibility in the attacking setup. He has the ability to make young raw talents like Ferguson and old could-have-beens like Welbeck shine, which is something we would value at Arsenal. Joao’s rare combination of technical brilliance, positional awareness, close control and ability to turn in tight spaces would make Bergkamp proud. Plus he is tall; not as in Sesko, but he is still an aerial threat; which I’m afraid is a huge factor for Arteta. He is Brazilian, so we might have some ties to him even with Edu gone.

  What makes me excited about a potential – yet extremely unlikely – Pedro deal, that he is not on the radar of the big clubs. While everybody knows how good Mbappé, Gyökeres or Isak really are, Joao would be a transfer like Bergkamp, Henry and Giroud (or Suarez, Palmer and Salah if you prefer) that shows we not only have money, but have vision and skills.

• While I don’t know how to make short comments, I can definitely break them into two. 🙂

  And I must admit, that one of the best potential secondary strikers is happened to be employed by Arsenal. His name is Kai Havertz. And it is a galactical sin that we haven’t even experimented with him at Bergkamp’s role. Imagine this line-up:

  ——————————Raya——————————
  Timber——Saliba——Gabriel——Calafiori
  ———————————Rice——————————
  ——Saka———Odegaard———Martinelli—
  ——————————Havertz—————————
  ——————————Jesus——————————

  I know that there are a few clubs where 4 defenders and a single DM might seem insufficient defensive capacity, I think – taking into account how few goals we conceded last season – it is not such a liability. Apart from Raya (29) the eldest players are Jesus and Gabriel, both 27. And we have White, MLS, Nwaneri (maybe even Nelson or Vieira) to provide support still without a single summer reinforcement!

  I don’t think Kai’s long-term position is the central striker, but he is not a box-to-box midfielder either. He is a great player (albeit unappreciated in the UK), he has the technical skills, he’s elegant on the ball, has a lovely touch, plus his movement off the ball is intelligent and fluid. He can play with his back to goal, and while he doesn’t have the eyes for Dennis’ defence splitting passes (to be fair, who has?) his linking with runners beyond him is reminiscent of Bergkamp. However, Arteta is struggling to find his best position; and ‘just’ being a giant with decent aerial skills does not justify Kai playing every game when he’s fit.

• That was a good read, PB.

  Alvarez did not impress me much in the PL, but I guess playing second fiddle to the Berserker was not easy for him.

  I like Kai but I cannot place him. He sort of can do anything and he is a good player to have in the team, but a comparison with Dennis is not for me. Martin is our new Bergkamp but the only thing that is missing is regular goals. He is much more a creator than a completer-finisher, and Dennis just had it all (as you have mentioned).

  I think now that we have Ethan knocking on the door, who I believe could be ideal in the DB10 role, the focus will be on getting a quality CF and real competition for Martinelli next season.

  Unlike you and others, the combo of Jesus and Havertz in the middle – Kai naturally the deeper one – does not excite me very much. Both miss too many chances, and that is one too many imho.

  Thanks for the great comments.

• Nwaneri as secondary striker behind the main center forward but ahead of Martin ‘the playmaker’ Odagaard is an exciting idea that I would very much like to explore.

  We’ll see whether with Saka being fit and attacking reinforcement(s) made would Ethan still have a reasonable role without an ‘injury epidemic’ or would struggle starting games, though.

• PB, I think that when all are fit, Ethan will be used a lot in either Saka’s position or in Odegaard’s. Not many starts as yet, but 30 minute stints constantly. He scores and assists and Mikel just cannot ignore that.

• Food for thought, mates … Thanks!
  Now I think none of our discussions about next season’s frontline should rule Dowman out of it. That’s a Yamal-kind of wonderkid we have in store. Reads the FA site report of saturday’s U17 Young Lions against Slovenia: “Max Dowman’s teasing cross perfectly found the head of Simmonds, who nodded England in front“, “Dowman was the driving force of majority of England’s attacks“. Yamal had just turned 16 when he was given his first Barcelona and Spain starts, which Max will on december 31st.
  My guess is … He’ll be part of the first team’s pre-season and his cameos in the friendlies will dazzle each and every one in the Arsenal fandom. Then he’ll be put back into the U21 fridge for a while – the skipper of which he’ll become in no time (he has already captained the U18s). At the latest, he will be given his first start with the big boys in the last days of september’s EFL Cup 3rd round, will put on an Ethan-against-Bolton kind of performance, and there’s no way he’ll be taken off the first team’s week-end /midweek squads from then on.
  Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if reliable sources came out with his invisible-only-to-the-blind blossoming as one of the reasons why the club’s deciders were reluctant to spend big on an attacker during the latest WTW, and the more I think about it, the more I respect that – it takes fortitude not to yield to the kind of pressure they were under, then.
  The question is not if, but when three-quarters of our frontline will have the names of Nwaneri-Saka-Dowman in it, which is what makes the management of transfer windows so tricky at the moment. We are in need of two players, one upfront and one on the left, yes we are, because neither Ethan nor Max can be burdened with a full PL-CL season yet, but soon enough they will, so that at least one of our two buys will have to make way in a not-that-far future. My hope for Berta is that he always sleeps like a log, whatever the pressure …

• Excellent performances by both Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis Skelly for England this week, proving that the Arsenal Academy, despite all the harbingers of doom, are actually doing a good job and Arteta has done a great job bringing them into the senior squad and developing them.

• I’ve always been quietly impressed with how Murillo defends when I occasionally see Nottm Forest on TV, he reminds me somewhat of our own Gabriel, resolute, strong and quick to snuff out danger. Not so it seems when playing for Brazil, taken off at half-time with his country losing 3-1 (4-1 @ full time) to their big rivals Argentina. So pleased that Gabriel was suspended for that game. 🙏🏻

  Still no confirmation on Berta, maybe he doesn’t want to be announced yet until he feels more confident in speaking English as he’s bound to do a raft of pressers following the announcement of him as our new Director of Football.

• I was not too displeased to have Gabriel miss out in that game too. I do hope he was allowed to report back to the club so he can rest up for the next club game against Fulham. Murillo was poor (or unlucky) for Brazil against Argentina. The whole country will hurt from that result too.

• Good luck to our ladies as they take on Real Madrid ladies for the right to get into the semi-final of the UWCL.

• Half time and it is 0-0 (Agg. 0-2). Madrid ladies defending well while the Arsenal ladies control territory, almost like the second half of the first leg.
  If Arsenal don’t score early in the second half, Madrid will get emboldened to sneak in one.

• …. And it is 1-0 to the Arsenal! Russo, it was, I think.

• 2-0!!! Caldentey. Another Chloe Kelly assist.

  That early goal had the visitors rattled. The Tie is tied. 😂

• 3-0!!!
  Alessia Russo is probably the only good thing Man U have done for Arsenal. 😂

• Russo hat trick!!! 4-0.
  VAR are reviewing. Offside.

• Thanks for the updates, Eris.

• Arsenal into the semi final. Congrats to the girls. I thought they were the better side in the first leg but conceded 2 goals and had it all to do in this second leg.

  The fans have done well too, driving them on. They have put it all down on the pitch today. Lyon are a formidable opponent, though.

• Cheers, TA. I thoroughly enjoyed this game, because the intensity with which the girls approached was exactly what I expected. The result made my afternoon here.

  The clash with Lyon will be interesting because the Lyon ladies are technically up there. However, there is a passion about our girls that gives hope of an upset.

• March 26….
  Happy birthday, Mikel Arteta. 43 today.

• Thanks, Eris.
  Don’t have the DAZN subscription required to watch women’s football down here …

• Just watched the highlights, How could that fourth be denied??
  Looks like it was free on DAZN YT … Shame on me 😡

• Sounds great, Eris. Should have watched it myself.

• Overcoming a 2-0 deficit is always hard, and keeping a clean sheet is key. Arsenal women rock!

• Just 43 and almost a veteran at managing. What’s chapeau in Spanish?

• I’m beginning to wonder if Arsenal are beginning lose or have actually lost interest in Zubimendi.

  If we don’t sign him and he joins Real Madrid we’ll then see, as usual, the club, Edu, Arteta, Bertie Mee, Charlie Satterthwaite et al, blamed for incompetence for not completing his transfer and Real Madrid will be held up as a serious club whilst Arsenal are a shambles, yawn. Yeah, the usual juvenile nonsense…

  Of course it’s more than likely that Zubimendi, as rumoured before, just wants to remain and play his football in Spain?

• And if you were wondering?

  Charlie Satterthwaite holds the honour of being Arsenal’s first ever goalscorer in the First Division.

  The striker had a keen eye for goal during his six-year spell with the Club and notched 48 times in 141 starts.

  Satterthwaite made history on September 24, 1904 with the opening strike in a 2-0 victory over Wolves – Arsenal’s first goal and victory of their maiden campaign in the top flight of English football.

  He had joined five months earlier from West Ham, before making his debut on the opening day of the 1904/05 campaign in a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle.

  Satterthwaite finished as the team’s top goalscorer that year and also in 1906/07 (with 19 goals) before retiring in 1910 at the age of 33.

  His younger brother Joe also played for the Gunners, which made them the first siblings to achieve the feat.

• Yeh, he lit up the old Manor Ground, Kevski. Got us to the semi’s of the FA Cup in that ’06-’07 season, where we got beat by “The” Wednesday.

  With MLS potentially stepping into a number 6 role, perhaps Zubi may be deemed surplus to requirements? Max Dowman will be 16, same age Yamal was when he debuted for Barca. Imagine Declan and MLS as the double pivots with Martin, Ethan and Max as choices in front of them. Mouth watering. Still, if both Thomas and Jorgi go, then Zubimendi would be a most excellent replacement.

  Amen, Eris. Our girls were (to quote Alicia Keys) on fire.

• Just caught up with some previous comments. Looks like I’ve gone and plagiarised the Dukes thoughts. Well, I guess I have permission from that greatest of American bards who sings, “if there’s an original thought out there, I could use it right now”.

• New Post 🙂