Good morning Positive fans far and near,
The penultimate hurdle of the Premier League season safely skipped over last night. A predictable result for us. The two goal margin hardly reflected our control for long periods of the game and the siege of the Black Cats’ goal. Our performance was as easy on the eye as any home game this season, and a good deal more pleasant than some dour bus parking events. Fair play to Pickford, and all the Sunlun defence, who gave their best and were a good deal more competent than I have seen them in their other diabolical excuses for professional football this season.
Of our lads;
Another very good evening for Xhaka, from ‘zero’ to ‘Arsenal legend’ in just four games. His diagonal, long passing game is exquisite at times. Hector had another impressive match and it is very difficult to see quite where he and the Ox are going to fit onto down that side when both are fit. Both can play at right wing back and do it well. Where their combination leaves Theo I am not sure, sweating presumably? Ozil and Sanchez’s instinctive appreciation of each other’s position and intention sparkled, and Larry battled throughout.
Very disappointing to see Aaron succumb to what looked like another muscular injury. Hopefully the Welshman’s withdrawal was precautionary as he is a man who is made for Wembley.
I suppose the only slight question mark in the course of the evening was whether we really, REALLY, required a three centre back set up against the PL’s weakest team, and who play only Defoe up front ? One advantage the approach had was that, at various times, Rob, Shkodran and Nacho all carried the ball forward and were prominent in attacks. The centre backs were a bit cautious for my taste but the job was done. We will certainly play three at the back against Everton and against Chelsea so it may just be ensuring the players are as used to the system as possible. I suspect that Arsene will have the defence in this morning for an hour of “passing back to the goalkeeper” practice. (Bloody Nacho !)
So the dice are set to roll on at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Top Four or Thursday, Madrid or the Moldovan Post Office team ? We press onward with hope, as ever.
Enjoy Wednesday.
Positively Arsenal 
Carefully raises eyebrow?
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Arsenal team next season with Usmanov as owner
DeGea
Hummells Van Dijk Chilini
Alves Veratti Kroos Kolasinac
Ronaldo Aguero Messi
isn’t that how it works
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Missed out on Suarez again then – ffs Usmanov
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R&W bid?
Coinciding with the employed lemmings’ genius PR campaign?
Blimey.
Hostile. Corporate. Takeover (attempt)?
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Slightly more interesting topic which a few here including NOTH will undoubtedly enjoy:
Met someone whose brother used to be one of Pat Rice’s charges in the eighties alongside his other slightly older youth team players who went on to be stars although it appears that Adams doesn’t need to drink in order to destroy himself but I digress, this former Arsenal youth team player was also dragged down to the England’s youth team camp by some nobody by the name of Bobby Robson, (the kind of useless manager that an aaa type would sack from a club).
However he eventually rejected the overtures and encouragement from Rice & Robson and chose a career in accountancy!
I hope that yarn makes a nice change from the other gibberish pumping through the ether.
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How do you guys feel about the Usman bid? (real or not)
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well mills i would not be surprised if the bid is for real, and if he does get control then we will be his play thing, we would see a churn of both players and managers and we will buy a few trophies of course. we would be a step closer to having jose as our manager one day, and that would be the saddest day in our history
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T’internet has it’s uses:
“A hostile takeover is the acquisition of one company (called the target company) by another (called the acquirer) that is accomplished by going directly to the company’s shareholders or fighting to replace management to get the acquisition approved.”
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on the share bid – it seems usmanov’s bid is only at the price the club is currently valued at, and yes, it is about 33% higher than when kse bought the shares, but as the value of AFC has and is increasing year on year, why would stan sell. It’s not like r&w is offering 33% more than current value.
maybe, just maybe, like his £100M transfer fund offer from a few years back, its far more about Usmanov PR than about any real attempt to aid Arsenal FC
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So now we know what has been going on in the background. The club can hardly make announcements about the future of the manager when there is a possible change of ownership. Interesting – I wonder how much the agitators were paid to unsettle the club with a view to pressuring the current owner to divest himself of the grief? It’s not the first time R&W holdings have sunk to that level. I was always convinced that they were behind the ‘noise’ on the internet last time there was a power struggle and attempt to takeover AFC.
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ΜċGεε @Labo_Goon 1h1 hour ago
Offering to pay somebody 1.3billion for his 1.3billion makes absolutely no sense. No amount of bitching will change that!
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I agree Ed. Thing is how long can such a take over be kept at bay? Also would Wenger stay if the Usman took over? When did all this start with Kronk v Usman this season? Bayern away? Ollie Kahn said after that game on German tv that he thought AW had lost the dressing room. But he has the dressing room back now.
Been a Storm sea this year for AW and the lads. As I wrote earlier, Wenger is a man of dignity, the sort of person to guide you through troubled times.
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It makes absolutely no difference to me which billionaire owns Arsenal football club. Why would it ?
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well anicol it might as to how the club is run, we could see the self sustaining model we are currently run under, thrown out, in favor of the popular throw money at it model, we could embrace the managerial and player merry go round,
we might buy a few titles, maybe even the cl, we might see jose as our manger and be treated to his “master class” type of football.
would any of that make a difference to you or your views of Arsenal
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So if the majority shareholder does not want to sell, how do u force him? I just don’t get this hostile take over thing….
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Pff. More Usmanov PR. My feeling is Ian Wright was made a party to it when he started the ‘Kroenke must go’ thing a month or so ago. Because there was otherwise no indication that this was in any way a realistic possibility.
Arsenal’s valuation is 2b dollars (and likely growing). Where is the premium to tempt Kroenke to sell?
And for that matter, why do the media and lots of fans assume Usmanov will spend his own money to help Arsenal? As far as I’m aware not only has he never said so, he has carefully avoided saying so even when asked.
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No
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team spirit
If you can forego the illusion of this being a sport, but only a business. The media narrative (bad publicity) and the refereeing decisions (sabotage), aligned with ‘mass protests’ would be part of how a hostile takeover would likely proceed.
Moshiri quit to go buy Everton. I was wondering what Usmanov’s plan was. Once again, it seems to me that it is to first create, and then fish in, troubled waters.
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yes shard, usmanov has never said he would spend his own money on arsenal, many think he did, and that he would, due to his offer to underwrite his proposed share issue to “fund transfers”, and his comments that the current board are not spending what is needed.
again both things imply something that has not actually been said.
What I dislike about Usmanov is the timing of each and everyone of his statements and leaks, they are always at big moments in our season, either on eve of massive games, or when we most need support. Its all a pr exercise by usmanov at the expense of afc.
what kind of majority shareholder would that suggest he would be
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Whoever owns Arsenal football club will do whatever they want to do. I do not know Tan or Usmanov and I will never meet or speak to them. Their investment in Arsenal is a matter for them. I have no expectation that each will act in what he perceives to be his best interest. I have no more interest in their opinions than they have in mine.
I think that covers it.
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so anicol you are saying that the football afc play has no bearing on your views of arsenal, that if we appointed jose as our manager it would make not one iota of difference to you.
well we differ big time on that then.
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True
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Exactly eduardo. Hence my ‘troubled waters’ comment. To me it is clear. I want Arsenal to be successful, but I do not want Arsenal to have success they haven’t earned. Whether that is through diving and cheating on the field, or through having a ‘businessman’ supposedly blow his money on players and trophies (meanwhile much of the money goes out of the game through agents to…where?)
By the way. Someone should ask Usmanov the question whether he intends to use an LBO to finance this purchase.
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In the formidably unlikely event that Jose bowled up at the Ems, or something equally hideous I would accept it with reluctance – rather like putting up with the catering.
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So what would you do Shard – if AFC joined the dark side ?
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TS you are right that stan can not be forced to sell up if he does not want to, or if he does not need the money, or get an offer too good to turn down. it really is that simple.
the FT report suggested that there are a couple of others interested in a takeover bid for AFC, even if usmanov fails with his. maybe our nigerian prince will come in to save us yet
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I’m hoping I wouldn’t need to figure out the answer to that andy.
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if others are looking to buy afc, could this bid by usmanov just be a way for him to rise the share price so he actually is the one who makes loads of money off of arsenal, and he can ride off to goodison park
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I don’t think Kroenke is going to sell though. Arsenal is one of the biggest sports brands in the world. They have prime location (and property) in London, and has much potential for convergence and collaboration with the other sports franchises KSE owns. Especially with the Rams’ move to another big city, LA.
It’s one thing to get money. It’s another to sell your business when you don’t need the money, and I reckon both Stan and maybe more so, his son Josh, see sports as their business.
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its only a ploy to sell season tickets,
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Arsenal’s valuation went up 659m dollars in the last year according to the Forbes bean counters. The Rams overtook Arsenal simply by moving to LA, and will likely grow once they get their new stadium up and running (it’s been delayed by a year) because being in LA rakes in the money (though they’ll have competition from the Chargers moving from San Diego to LA as well)
Rapids: 110m (last in MLS)
Avalanche: 360m (19th in ice hockey)
Nuggets: 890m (22nd in basketball)
Rams: 2900m (6th in NFL)
Arsenal: 2017m (5th in football)
Now unless Kroenke really needs the funds to build that stadium complex in LA, especially after the delay, I don’t think he’ll be selling Arsenal. If he wanted to, he could just borrow money against his asset instead of selling it.
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Jose Mourinho: “If, in the next transfer window, we manage to be successful, I think we can (challenge for the title).” #MUFC
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Exclusive: Arsenal to release Savvas Mourgos and Kostas Pileas
Arsenal will release youngsters Savvas Mourgos and Kostas Pileas when their contracts expire at the end of next month.
19-year-old midfielder Mourgos was on trial at Reading recently having been informed by Arsenal that he won’t be offered a new deal.
The Greek youngster, who joined the Gunners as a scholar in 2014, impressed in some of his fleeting appearances for the U23s this season but has been deemed surplus to requirements.
Pileas, who can play at centre-back or left-back, will also be let go after two years at the club.
The Cyprus youth international featured for the U23s and U18s this season but made several errors and wasn’t deemed to be of the quality to make the step up. Pileas has been on trial at Leicester City as he looks to earn a move elsewhere.
Midfielder Glen Kamara and defender Kristopher Da Graca are also set to be released this summer, while there could be several further departures from the U23 squad.
Posted in Uncategorized on May 18, 2017 by Jeorge Bird.
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Cannot see Kroenke selling, possibly Usmanov telling Kroenke how much he may have to pay should he want to take Usmanovs shares?
In some ways, might be nice to get a more conspicuously engaged owner than Kroenke…..but not sure Usmanov is the man….though to his credit, he has stated his admiration for Wenger.
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Sounds like there may be other higher bids, from Usmanov and others.
I guess everything has its price, though have been led to believe Kroenke doesn’t sell his clubs.
Slightly unsettling times…looking at the performance of some of stans other clubs these days, and seeming tolerance of a level of what stans critics term mediocrity of these clubs,I worry a bit for us after Wenger under the kroenkes, the right new owner may be a better option, but a serious risk the same
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Paddy @VieiraPaddy 2h2 hours ago
Tony Adams 2-0 down after 8 minutes hours after firing shots at the greatest manager he’s ever known. Fool.
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in his offer letter Usmanov is reported to have also told Kroenke he’d be willing to work together to make Arsenal “great again”
now wouldn’t that fuck the kroenke out brigade right off, usmanov and stan together, and they could force the small shareholders to sell up too
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Arsene Wenger dismisses Tony Adams’s ‘sad’ criticism and challenges him to prove himself
Jeremy Wilson, Deputy Football Correspondent
19 May 2017 • 10:30pm
Arsene Wenger has dismissed Tony Adams’s outspoken criticism of his training ground style as “sad” and told his legendary former captain that he now has the chance to prove his own coaching qualities.
Adams took over the La Liga club in April and has since overseen six consecutive defeats. He was previously also relegated as manager of Wycombe Wanderers and then sacked by Portsmouth.
Adams has credited Wenger with extending his own playing career but, writing in his new autobiography, said that the club’s most successful manager “is essentially not a coach” and admitted that he said in a previous interview that the Frenchman “could not coach his way out of a paper bag”.
The former England captain also suggested that he might have been “too challenging” for Wenger to give him a senior coaching job at Arsenal.
“He seemed to like an assistant such as Pat Rice or Steve Bould, both great club men who were not going to ruffle feathers,” wrote Adams.
Wenger did employ Adams last year to work as Under-18s coach before he then left for another job in China. Asked if he was hurt by what Adams had written, Wenger said: “No. Who gives importance to that? He can show what he can do now. I know him for a long time. It’s sad. I do not give too much importance to what Tony Adams says. I would like to dedicate my time to something that is more interesting.”
Wenger also stressed that he could only give people jobs on the basis of his need and their potential contribution. “You have to employ people who can help you to be successful,” he said.
“If I leave Arsenal Football Club tomorrow I have no right to come back because I have worked here. You have to be needed. [If] you have made a career as a player somewhere, it doesn’t give you any divine right to come back.”
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Not sure Steve Bould or pat rice are the types not to ruffle feathers!
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Mandy
To me, that is the most disrespectful part of that statement. The Wenger can’t coach thing attacks Wenger’s ability, but this statement attacks the character of three of his former colleagues (Wenger included)
I’d like to know which manager worth his salt is going to allow one of his coaches to dictate how training happens? It has nothing to do with not ruffling feathers or being yes men, as he’s implied, and everything to do with wanting to work while accepting that the boss has the final word (and not throwing a strop in public because you disagree) It seems to me Tony Adams doesn’t want to earn his stripes at Arsenal. He might even have learned more if he listened to Wenger rather than just being outspoken and thinking he knows it all.
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As for none of Kroenke’s other franchises win… Take a look at their ‘worth’. There are far larger teams they need to compete against.. Now I know American sports work differently, but there is a spending cap in place, and apparently Kroenke spends at or near that cap for all his teams. Maybe the demand is he should exceed the cap and pay luxury tax like some other owners do, but that seems similar to Arsenal fans demanding Kroenke finance our transfers.
Personally, I think you exceed the luxury cap in US sports when you have the platform to win and just need that little bit extra. I don’t follow the other sports, but the Denver Nuggets despite having improved since he took over are nowhere near winning in the ultra competitive Western Conference (they got to 3rd a few years ago, but failed to make the playoffs this year).
Also, one could say that moving the Rams back to LA is exactly about winning. They even fired their head coach mid season because it was going worse than expected after they traded for the no.1 draft pick (more ‘ambition’)
The fundamental flaw with Kroenke’s ownership as far as I can see is that he is not ‘involved’. Which I think just means he doesn’t do knee jerk reactions and doesn’t meddle everyday. Personally, I prefer that, but to each his own.
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If Jabba the Hutt takes over then at least there’s the possibility of David Dein returning? And that surely would be good news for Arsenal?
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If his PR campaign is anything to go by, (“giant space slug drinks at your local!”) if his paid trolls are any measure, then: no.
The toupe and moustache combo isn’t great, but at least it doesn’t make you throw up before a dip in a boiling cauldron.
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But clearly the “Lion of Uzbekistan” has a lot of support from Scudamore and pals.
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Given Tony Adams’ flamboyant record whilst working for possibly more then one petrogarchy including within the former Soviet Union what odds would I get from the owner of Stoke that his self-humiliation this week both on and off the pitch is just a random and unfortunate confluence with the story of the ongoing takeover attempt which surfaced yet again?
Almost as if such antics from the former skipper and failed manager were predictable once he threw his hat in with ‘Arry and da Ladz.
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If I had the time and a spare film studio at hand I’d re-shoot Sexy Beast but I’d cast ‘Arry in the Ben Kingsley role.
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Sorry my bad: ‘Arry as our Ray & of course the mild & balanced Jose as the figurehead.
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Twitter has been such fun for a couple of days, I’m an expert now at shooting fish in barrels.
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the funniest thing is the wenger out brigade who want usmanov in cos stan going will mean wenger going and of course usmanov will bring dein back.
so usmanov who has usually talked positively about Wenger, would bring dein in, a man who is one of wenger’s best friends, yet the wob think that all this would mean wenger out. care in the community is clearly not working
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so is usmanov a ditherer. why is he haggling over the price, has he no ambition, how can we expect him to get the players we NEED, if he can’t get a deal like this done, whats the point in him having all that money if he wont spend it.
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