“So what have the Romans ever done for us ?”
Well for much of Arsenal blog world in recent days that should read
“What has Ivan ever done for us (that we don’t take offence to)”
Seriously, what on earth has Ivan said that could possibly offend these great minds and leaders of opinion, or the sheep that accept their agenda driven bullshit?
In case you missed it, Arsenal CEO, Ivan Gazidis, gave his usual pre-season interview to some media outlet or other, this time ESPN. I’m sure many on here could, without seeing it or reading it,give a good guess at what he had to say. Now that is not, like the malcontents claim, because we are some sort of cult, inducted into the mantra of Stan’s(or should that be Arsene’s) mouthpiece, and we lap up and repeat addendum. No its because most of us know the history of our club, not just the Wenger era, or the GG era, I go back to the Mee era, and by saying we know the history of this club, i’m referring to not just what goes on on the pitch, but in fact how the club we support, is actually run, and has been run in the vast majority, if not all its, long history. Arsenal is run, and has been as long as I’ve been a Gooner (almost 50 years), as a self sustaining club, that, does not do panic, that by and large, sticks by its managers, its players, and does not let the media influence or disrupt our plans, long or short term plans.
We would have expected Ivan to tell us that Arsenal are
behind our manager
still believe in him
believe in him, not for his history, but cos we know the work he is doing for us now, and that he still has the vision, the drive, the talent and the forsight that is good for the club,
disappointed that we did not win the league last season
top 4 is not good enough and we want to win the league
are continually upgrading all aspects of the club, not just the team/squad, but also analytical, medical, training, infrastructure, you name it, we are trying to improve it
we have, or to be more precise, we are working, to a long term plan
this long term plan is reviewed and amended where needed continually
we have lots of money
but others have more
we can not spend £100M on one player
so we have to spend our money intelligently
getting the right player, is more important than getting the most expensive player
just because a player is highly talented, it does not mean he is suited to our style of play or would improve us,
it’s getting the player that fits,
we buy big too,(Xhaka remains the most expensive player bought by a BPL club so far this summer) but we also believe in promoting from within
Leicester showed that there are more ways than one to skin a cat, and we should copy the best bits from them, just as we copy bits from other clubs as we see fit.
Guess what? Ivan did tell us all of it, – AGAIN, Ivan with the same as he said last year, and the year before, they say, totally missing the point, that we, just as he told them, again, this year, and last year and the year before, are working to a plan, a short term one, and a long term one. So why the feck would we abandon the path we believe in, we believe is right, believe is TRUE, to the ethos of the club?
Now a certain section of the fan base is up in arms, in fact they tell us they are offended, by Ivan’s words. These are the sort of people that like to tell us that Arsenal embarrass them, that they are ashamed to support the club, and on that note, many of them seem to have a very loose definition of what support is, as they never have a good word to say about anything AFC, they say they do not spend on merchandise, and loads of them (almost as many as claim to have been at WHL last game of 71 season, or to be more relevant to most of them, maybe I should say, almost as many as claim to have been at the league winning game at Anfield, in their favorite managers era, yes bung-meister himself George Graham) claim to have given up their season ticket(no wonder there is so much room for the “tourists”).
So the embarrassed and offended fans, don’t have a good word to say about Arsenal, don’t spend any money on it, and don’t go to games, but it’s the fans who back the club, the manager, the players, and agree with the club being run along the lines it has always been, are the ones holding the club back. Well, that is, after Wenger, Ivan, Stan, Per, Ramsey, Giroud, Walcott.
So I say to the offended, go on, be offended, that is your right, its also your problem, and yours alone, if you need Arsenal to help you in some playground dick swinging contest, and Arsenal are not interested, and this offends you, maybe you should have a good long look at yourself, and your reasons for being an Arsenal fan, and maybe, just maybe, it’s not Arsenal, but you, yourself, that the offence originates in, and yes, you should be ashamed, and offended, and don’t ask what has the Ivan ever did for us.
Thanks to Eduardo for today’s post
Positively Arsenal 
Bellerin, Monreal, Chambers, Xhaka, Iwobi all on for second half, Debuchy, Gibbs, Bielik, Coquelin and Wilshere off
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65 minutes, Martinez, Willock, Zelalem, Alpom and Reine-Adelaide all come on, Cech, Ox, Theo, Campbell and Elneny off.
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86 minutes, willock with some good footwork puts monreal in on the overlap and his cross is tapped home from a few yards by Akpom 2-1
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FT: MLS All Stars 1-2 Arsenal
well deserved win, a bit off for the first 15 minutes of the second half, but the introduction of the young lads improved us a lot gave us back our speed and attacking play, ox, theo and campbell had ran out of steam. Willock and Reine-Adelaide brought a real sharpness to our play with their running at their defense. Great overlap by nacho for akpom to score the winner.
holding impressed me, as did Bielik in the first half, what a pity his poor pass was so badly punished. Xhaka has a sweet left foot. Ox good till he tired. Zelalem with a few fine passes too. Iwobi’s touch was a little off but he got himself very involved in the game.
a nice little run out, and of course Akpom scoring the winner makes it all the better, if for nothing else than the meltdown that is sure to follow, you know “now fucking wenger won’t buy a striker” and all that
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From the few highlights I saw a good run around for the players and a chance for the youngsters to show what they can do as well as Granit. Holding looked composed against Droggie albeit the Ivorian managed to scuff one past Cech.
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Not a lot to complain about last night, and a lot of positives to take out of it.
Poor Theo isn’t doing himself any favours, but these games are not reAlly his kind of format. Others can write him off.
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Theo looks void of confidence, playing like he is second guessing everything he is doing, he is passing when he should be shooting and shooting when he should be passing it.
for me Debuchy was our player the most off the pace of the game.
Odd thing, just like the Lens game, several of our players found the pitch very slippy.
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Does anyone know how much our cheapest season ticket costs – and how many matches that ticket covers?
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Yes Tim . Ask Daniel Cowan , he wrote a blog on it breaking it down with comparisons. Ever extensive piece it was.
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GeoffArsenal @GeoffArsenal 10m10 minutes ago
Rambo back in training today, Alexis yesterday, Mesut on Monday. They’re coming back. #Arsenal #COYG
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arsenal launch their second and cup kits later this evening
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Cheapest non subsidised tickets around a grand depending on whether you went to extra home games or not last season. The season ticket covers 19 PL games and 7 cup games, this works out per game cheaper than the spuds and chelski for non champions league football not bad eh!
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the arsenal kit launch is in LA at 8pm, which I think is 4am uk time
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so Marhez is signing a new £100K a week contract with LCFC
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Watched the game v MLS All Stars. I enjoyed it and was very impressed with Holding, Xhaka, Zelalem, Iwobi….I could go on but I won’t……
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I’m glad Mahrez is staying at Leicester. My hope was that they would remain intact because they are not finishing in the top four next season. I wanted no excuses for them…..
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here is a notion you might find interesting to debate
just cos a player is considered highly talented, and has better stats than the player already at your club, does it therefore stand that he should improve your team if bought. I ask this, as I’ve come to the conclusion that it is this sort of logic that most fans base their “wanted list” on, and is the reason why there is such a meltdown from them during transfer window time. Player x is perceived to be better in his position, at another club, than player y is at our club, so therefore if we buy player x we have improved the team. Simple logic for simpletons. Lukaku outscored Giroud last season, therefore if AFC signs Lukaku, he will improve us a lot. What also goes hand in hand with this assumption, is also the notion, that if player x can amass great stats at a lesser club, then it only stands to reason if he is surrounded by the better players at our club, he will amass even better stats. Again, its said, if Lukaku can score loads of goals for Everton with their poverty midfield, then imagine the bucket loads of goals he’d score with Ozil and co creating for him.
There never seems to be a thought as to how a player actually suits our style, how his actual skill set fits in, how his game would suit our players, our tactics, how he might interact with the guys we already have, is he suited to forming a new partnership.
I said above, that its this sort of logic that many fans base their thinking on, and I would expand it and say that even some managers do it, journos do it a lot, and for me it is one of the things that is in force within the selection of England teams, it is why so often we see the latest media darlings fast tracked into the team, and when you look at the team, they are all highly talented, all usually have had a good season, but its just a collection of individuals, and no real team building has taken place.
I think Ivan’s comments about having to be smart in the transfer window, and being careful not to make a mistake, was him saying that unlike fans, the club and our manger consider a lot more than just the reputation of any potential target, and its about “getting the right player in” and not just the “biggest name, or biggest priced” player in, but that if we consider the best option we want is the “biggest name or biggest priced”, then we will still try to do it.
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the scummy sun up to its usual cunty nonsense,
http://www.101greatgoals.com/news/the-sun-stitch-up-arsene-wenger-with-ridiculous-backpage-headline-quote/?
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interesting article about kim kallstrom and his time at afc
https://m.reddit.com/r/Gunners/comments/4v5yo5/interesting_quotes_from_arsenal_exloanee_kim/
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I like the away kit, but am not taken by the cup kit
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If you haven’t done so already, please read that Kim Kallstrom piece (http://tinyurl.com/hdfryaw). Tells you a lot how our great club and especially our great manager is held in the highest of esteem by actul pros, in contrast to our mouthy tweeters and bloggers.
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interesting the bit where kk says afc had him change from one car to another to throw any media off the scent of the deal. Picked up at the airport in one car, arrives at london colney in another car.
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Arsenal u19’s play their second group game in the Durban U19 tournament,
Team: keto, pileas, tella, da graca, bola, dragomir, smith-rowe, mavididi, sheaf, Allende and malen
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Durban_U19 @Durban_U19 8m8 minutes ago
45′ Goal ! @Arsenal secures a goal just before half time . Half Time Score @Arsenal 1-0 @Sporting_CP
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Jeorge Bird @jeorgebird 27m27 minutes ago
Dan Crowley scored for Oxford against Barnet today past former Arsenal goalkeeper Josh Vickers.
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Durban_U19 @Durban_U19 2m2 minutes ago
It is all over for @Sporting_CP here at King Zwelithini Stadium, Durban. Final Score @Arsenal 1-0 @Sporting_CP #DurbanU19
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Robbie from ArsenalFanTV is claiming he had a chat with Gazidis(in LA, Robbie is out there for the friendly games), and that Ivan refused to do an interview(on camera), cos the interview he gave to the New York Times was so badly distorted in England, but he did tell Robbie, re signings, “we are not stupid, we know what is needed, and we will get it done”.
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Arsenal FC @Arsenal 14m14 minutes ago
🗣 Wenger: “We are still in the market for players – at the front and at the back.” #ArsenalUSA
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Wenger “Do I think we will sign an experienced central defender before the season starts? Yes, I do”
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Wenger: “Talking about individuals in press conferences makes things difficult [to sign them]. And it’s difficult enough.”
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Wenger has confirmed that Mertesacker will not return to action till the new year. It cuts down one of the options for the captains armband. Cech was captain in the first half v the MLS all stars. Monreal was captain for the second half. Koscielny and Cazorla both wore the captains armband on occasions last season. Ramsey or Wilshere can not be ruled out either. Alexis is the Chile captain, and Xhaka has lots of experience as a captain.
Odd thing is, many say we have no leaders.
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on the topic of who should be our captain, I see no reason why Xhaka should not get the job, why should length of time at the club have anything to do with it. Length of time at the club should come into it if its a club captain you want, but if its a team captain, then it should be whoever can do the job the best.
How long was Gallas at the club before becoming captain, Vermaelen too.
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oh and seeing as I mentioned Vermaelen, could he be the experienced CB that will join us this summer. Imagine the meltdown.
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WENGER DISCUSSES THE TRANSFER MARKET
Arsène Wenger discussed transfers at his press conference at the Stubhub Center on Saturday.
Here’s a transcript of what he said:
on transfer approach…
I buy players that I feel can strengthen our team. Today you have to be very strong inside the club when you are responsible, not just to buy [for the sake of buying]. There’s always a wave of opinions. I must say people are better informed today – they know all the players. They tell you always that you should buy but when you ask them who to buy, they become much shorter. If you look at the market in Europe, there’s a lot of money available but not many players who really strengthen the teams. If you look at the teams that spend the most money in Europe, they’re not necessarily the teams that won the championships. The global investment of the clubs around us didn’t stop Leicester winning the championship.
on transfers…
We are still on the market for players. [Be it] at the front or at the back – we are on the market. Unfortunately we are not alone.
on Mahrez and Lacazette…
The best way to conclude transfers is not to talk about them, which is very difficult in the press conference! We are on the market but I don’t want to talk specifically about any player because that makes it more difficult for me – and it’s difficult enough.
on if he expects to sign defender before the season starts…
Yes I do.
Copyright 2016 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source
Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160730/wenger-discusses-the-transfer-market#wkcuF1jRtKWh0LZG.99
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Would love Vermalean back if he is over his injuries.. we have unfinished business together… maybe on loan
but him and Kos just did not seem to click
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Eddy, why not Vermaelen and RVP?
Oops, now I am off !!
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i almost added RVP to that last post myself just couldn’t bring myself to.
Not sure AW would agree seems to validate their going – RVP, Nasri, Cesc and Hleb were the ones that i as unhappy with the most for leaving.. I almost feel as if I echo AW.
TV on the other hand moved on with less problems
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