Up the Arse! Goons Thread

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1-1 currently in the friendly vs United. Nwaneri starting again, lots of changes otherwise.

Bit of a gut feel prediction I have here. With the imminent departures of ESR and Nelson etc, I think that opens up the pathway to Nwaneri. He will play more PL minutes (and then some) than those two combined. Nketiah only played approx 110 league minutes in 2024 as well.

There’s something very palpable brewing around Nwaneri and I think he will keep banging the door down to integrate this season.
 

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On another note, it's a sad day with ESR's sale imminent.

I just don't understand why we can't keep him and move Vieira on instead - well I do, selling ESR is pure profit for FPP. But I hate it.

We now need a viable backup for Saka, Odegaard and the LCM position. At least ESR could have covered both CM positions and LW.

I suppose Jesus could spend some time out at LW and RW? I don't mind that, given how unpredictable and dynamic he is, he makes defenders panic. Trossard has played well as a false 9 in the past.
 
As for Calafiori, how can you not love the signing. Everyone has been pumping up his tyres the entire transfer window, and especially after his showing at the Euros.

He seems like such a unique specimen of a defender, just like Saliba.

Can you believe we have gone from the dark dark days of:

LB - Monreal*, Kolasinac
CB - Mari, Mustafi, Luiz*, Sokratis, Holding
RB - Bellerin*, AMN, Chambers

* they don't deserve any hate

To this ridiculous group of absolute weapons:

LB - Calafiori, Zinchenko, Kiwior, KT
CB - Gabriel, Saliba, Timber
RB - White, Tomiyasu

Pretty much all of those players, bar Saliba and Gabriel can play multiple roles.

It will be interesting to see what we do with Zinchenko and Kiwior. I don't think we can afford to lose both, unless Haven or MLS are ready to come in and spend some time playing.

Also, for your viewing pleasure:

 
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ESR should be very well at Fulham. Provided he can stay fit. That’s his next aim, to play 30+ league matches and get consistent minutes into his body. There’s a hell of a player in there.

Unfortunately Arsenal has evolved beyond him in the last 2 years. He was absolutely pivotal though in transforming the momentum and sentiment at the club.

Arteta was flagging, genuine question marks over his future at Arsenal, and he kind of stumbled into ESR being brought into that Boxing Day clash bs Chelsea. In a way, that result turned the tide for Arsenal and Arteta. It’s no coincidence that Saka and ESR shared the song, they were both poster boys of the “project”. Hale End boys at the centre of Arsenal’s quest to climb back up into contention. There was a romanticism to it that garnered tremendous goodwill and support from the fans.

And because of how Arsenal were otherwise stagnating and all kinds of issues with certain players in the squad, it probably led to an over-reliance on ESR. His body was still maturing and developing in those crucial late teenage years, he probably played through the groin pain and made the problems worse.

Even now that he’s been fit for a while, just cannot really nail a place in this current iteration. At another club he should thrive. However here, he’s drifting away. His off ball work when out of possession just isn’t what Arteta demands, and with Arsenal so close now, 2 points off the title, the margins are so damn fine now that Arteta will not roll the dice in hope. He needs absolute certainty of what he asks his players to deliver.

It’s happened before. Ramsdale. To a lesser extent, Zinchenko. And now with Calafiori in, it likely spells the beginning of the end for Kiwior (or Zinny). The margins are that fine now.

What Arsenal need to do when these decisions internally are reached, is to maximise the opportunity now that the club has players of quality and interest or other clubs. The days of them winding their contracts down and walking for free need to end.

And obviously with ESR, Nelson, Nketiah etc, the benefits are significant from an accounting treatment point of view. Pure profits to bank in terms of PSR.
 
Calafiori has joined up with his new squad ahead of their pre-season friendly against English rivals Liverpool and, speaking before that clash, Arteta revealed his delight in getting the deal over the line.

The Spaniard said: "Yes, very happy. It took a while. He is a player that we have monitored for about a year. We were really short in the backline last season in terms of numbers. We demanded so much from them. Wily [Saliba] for example played every minute of the Premier League and we believe that we have to make them much more protected. We identified him as a top player, a talent who has the skills and qualities that are going to make us better. He is still a player with a huge capacity to develop.

"Both positions especially and the way we want to play and the things we want to evolve. In our game model he is a player who is going to fit really well for what we want.
 

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andana said:
We'd need a replacement.

Maybe.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily another striker though, Nketiah is probably 4th in line for that position behind Havertz, Trossard and Jesus. I think we’re well stocked there.

However combined with the exits of ESR and likely Nelson, yes we would need to add someone into that forward group. A wide forward who can play across both sides would be ideal. To rotate in with Saka, Martinelli etc.

Whilst there’s likely more outs than incoming this summer, I still feel there’s one more CM to come in and one wide forward.
 
Destination club

Wikipedia jumps the gun

Mikel Merino Zazón is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal and Spain national team. After starting out at Osasuna, he had short spells with Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United before signing for Real Sociedad in 2018. Wikipedia
 
Interesting that Nketiah has come on as well. Probably shows that Marseille transaction isn’t anywhere near as close, their offers seem very undervalued.
 
That's more than a fair price for Nketiah. Especially coming from a club outside of the EPL (generally less money to throw around).

I'm etrigued by the Merino signing. I love that's he's an accomplished experienced player that's ready to contribute straight away. But where will we play him? My understanding is he is more of an 8 and not a 6?

He's clearly great in duels and is dominant in the air (same too with Calafiori).

RDT_20240801_123534847545889014236371.png

With Gabriel, Saliba, Rice, Merino, Havertz and Calafiori in the same side we will be lethal from corners.
 

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Up the Arse! Goons Thread

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